Brisbane is the capital of Queensland (the sunshine state of Australia).
A new bridge linking the northern suburbs and the south side opens to traffic July 5th. It has been aptly named ‘The Go Between Bridge’. The day before there is a family market day for pedestrians to enjoy the sights and convenience of the bridge. The bridge looks good, architecturally, I think.
Here’s image of it -- predawn -- by photographer Sean Janssen, Indigo Phoenix Photography.
Here’s a glossy presentation of the city of Brisbane.
A friend recently moved to the Costa Tropical in southern Spain, so I have been researching a little to learn about the region. It looks quite amazing!
The Costa Tropical is situated between the well known towns of Granada and Malaga in southern Spain.
Granada is an Andalucian city with a difference. It has the alluring woods of the Alhambra and well as the Sierra Nevada as magnificent backdrops; vibrant nightlife and more.
I haven’t been living in Brisbane (Australia) very long so there’s still a lot to learn – especially about unexpected backyard inhabitants!
Recently there was a bit of drama in this household when a guest suddenly found herself face to face with a white-crowned garden snake. It was early evening after rain. Good conditions for the species.
Most Australians have probably heard of the highly venomous brown snake. However there are many other species that are quite common – but harmless. And they live in our backyards.
So it seems it is with the white-crowned snake. It is one of 27 snake species in the Brisbane area!
I was chatting to some neighbours in a nearby suburb and they told that their two cats routinely bring white-crowned snakes from their very bushland backyard into the house! The owners are left to catch the snakes and return them to the backyard.
Media outlet, Reuters, reports that Shanghai opens the World Expo to the public on Saturday, a multi-billion dollar event showcasing China’s booming economy and resurgent national pride, as well as the latest green technology from 189 countries.
From the United States to North Korea, a total of 189 countries will have exhibitions at the six-month event that is expected to attract up to 100 million visitors – the vast majority of them Chinese.
Chinese organisers have hired the team behind the opening and closing ceremonies for the Vancouver Winter Olympics to stage Friday night’s Expo opening.
“We look forward to stunning the world,” said Ignatius Jones, the Australian artistic director of the ceremony, which is to feature fireworks and a chain of searchlights along a 3.5km stretch of Shanghai’s riverfront. Full article here.
Last night I went to an advanced screening of the French movie, Le Concert.
Le Concert is a 2009 film by Radu Mihaileanu with Mélanie Laurent and Miou-Miou. It has won the Best Original Score and Best Sound awards at César Awards 2010.
What a wonderful, feel-good movie! It amazed me how the DIrector was able to so seamlessly combine the genres of comedy and drama without getting bogged down in the politics of Communist Russia in the early 1980s.
For two hours I was in another world -- which in my opinion -- is the mark of a great movie. I must admit that I just adore well made movies on the subject of ‘music’. Le Concert scored 10/10 from me. I’m going to add it to my film library as a reference in film-making -- which is one of my interests.
Hope you get to see the film.
I’ve included some information and interesting links below.
Plot Summary
(YouTube)
“A film by Radu Mihaileanu (Live and Become, Train of Life.) Starring Alexei Guskov, Melanie Laurent, Dmitry Nazarov and Miou Miou
During the Brezhnev era, Andrei Filipov was a prodigy -- the greatest conductor in the Soviet Union and he directed the famous Bolshoi Orchestra. But after refusing to expel his Jewish musicians, including his best friend Sacha, he was fired at the height of his glory. Thirty years later, he is still working at the Bolshoi, but as a cleaner.
When Andrei intercepts a fax from the Theatre du Chatelet inviting the Bolshoi Orchestra to Paris, he comes up with a crazy idea: hell gather up his old musician friends (now working rag-tag jobs), head to Paris and pretend to be the famed orchestra to play Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto. The long-awaited dream to deliver one final performance!
Opening at #1 at the French cinema box-office, The Concert is pure entertainment a warm-hearted, joyous story filled with great wit and humanity. The stirring finale set against Tchaikovskys Concerto is simply magnificent.”
Le Concert -- Interview de Radu Mihaileanu (Director)
The music work which has a central role in the film and is played during the final scene is the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 by Tchaikovsky.
