Friday, January 20, 2006

Moonlighting

During the summertime months, there are a great many outdoor events and happenings. The Sydney festival is on currently, which has a great deal of theater and concerts to choose from, some of which are held in the parks dotting the city.

There is also a genre of outdoor cinema here, which is put on by no fewer than four different organizations. We attended a free, family show last week outside the Olympic Park, which was nice enough. The night before last, however was a real treat, going to a show in the Royal Botanical Gardens that pulled out all the stops.

My advisor told us that the screen, which swivels on hydraulics when inactive to not catch the wind, was shipped from Europe. The facilities featured a full bar with gourmet catering and picnic options. A small grandstand of a few thousand seats were set up and filled promptly. We saw 'Wedding Crashers', which was funny, but in that environment there wasn't much that we wouldn't enjoy. On the right,the Opera House and bridge in the background, with the full-sized movie screen on pylons in the harbour. On the left was the skyline of Sydney.

Tonight we'll trudge up the coast to Bondi for their version of the outdoor cinema, spreading out on the lawn by the beach.

posted by ncawthon at 2:29 PM

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Zap the Bat

Relating back to our previous article on the large number of bats found every nights coming out to feed on bugs at dusk, we've managed to domesticate one of these 'demon birds'. Our neighborhood has had a resident bat for almost three months (around Halloween, coincidentally), he's out there every day and quite easy to see. We've nick-named him 'Zap' due to the fact that he was electrocuted by the power lines, and can be found still clutching with the rigor mortis of his little bat claws.

At first, we treated him with awe, wondering about the strange bat anatomy and what it looked like. Slowly this awe turned to concern, as no one came to remove this morbid crucifix from outside our house. Now, our opinion has turned to disgust. The rain and humid weather has taken its toll on our friend Zap, we think his days are numbered. I had him clutching on until the end of March, but he doesn't look like he will last through the week.

Zap seems to be a little light-headed, having been detached from his torso and dangling towards the cement. What once looked like an intact coat of fur is now a mangled mass of nasty. As the before and after pictures show, only the skeleton is keeping Zap from landing face first onto Pacific Street. We haven't figured out what to do about the post-hanging Zap, but are avoiding parking underneath him just in case.

posted by ncawthon at 8:17 PM