Somewhere Else

Today is the anniversary of James Dean’s death on 30 September 1955. His life is generally summed up as: “He lived fast, died young and shaped the style of a whole generation”. That’s not a bad description, since he died at age 24 in an accident while driving his sports car. In his movies he exudes a sullen anger which perfectly reflects the rebellious side of the1950s.

The bust above is at Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, where some scenes in his movies were filmed. It’s such a good likeness that you would recognise James Dean instantly – even if there was no name given underneath.

Freemasonry is a topic of some interest at present, thanks to Dan Brown’s latest novel. We often see Freemason halls in Australian country towns, but they never seem to be open to the public.

During our travels we have been into churches in many countries, Shinto shrines in Japan, Buddhist temples in China, Hindu Temples in India, and many more. But never into a Freemason Temple – until about two weeks ago, when we found one that was open to visitors.

This simple wooden Masonic Temple is located in the Caboolture Historical Village & Museum in southeast Queensland. It was built in 1907 and sold off when the Freemason group disbanded. Now it has been restored to its former glory. So what’s inside? Well, as you can see, it looks like a cross (excuse the pun) between a church, a council office and a court of law. And do some of those objects and symbols have a secret meaning? Hmmm, only a symbologist like the fictional Robert Langdon could answer that.

We saw this amusing sign in Los Angeles recently. It looks like a friendly warning from the local Thought Police.

We went for a short bike ride this morning. It was a quiet Sunday morning and we saw plenty of birds along the way – including a group of Carnaby’s black cockatoos flying overhead. Yes, the same cockatoos that we wrote about several months back.

Then we cycled through the Perth suburb of Claremont and saw the amusing sculpture above. It shows three of these black cockatoos perched on the drooping flower of a grass tree (balga). It’s by Perth sculptor Andrew Kay, who has produced quite a collection of public sculpture.

We hesitated at the idea of calling this blog post “Pretty Polly”, since in Australia politicians are generally called pollies. But there is no chance of confusion. Cockatoos squawk and squabble and get up to oddly humorous antics; whereas politicians …

With Dan Brown’s latest thriller selling faster than it can be printed, we’re a bit more aware of coded massages than usual. Earlier this month we were in Los Angeles and saw this intriguing symbol on the rear wall of a large supermarket in Venice.

What do you think it means? Maybe a memorial to Honest Abe Lincoln? Or an anti-war protest message? No, wrong both times. It simply means that the supermarket is on the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Rose Avenue – as you can see more readily in the smaller version around the front of the store.

If you happen to be west of Sydney and wondering what to do this weekend, we have a suggestion. Head for Cowra to see the Cherry Blossom Festival. Officially known as the Sakura Matsuri, this annual event is held in Cowra Japanese Garden which fills with blossom in late September.

We were there last year and as you can see, the event gives a good introduction to traditional Japanese culture. Last time they had geisha in kimono, a traditional Japanese music concert, tea ceremony, bonsai, origami, martial arts demonstrations, and much more. We lived in Japan for over five years and this is the most Japanese event that we have ever seen in Australia.

The bright red and green kangaroo paw is Western Australia’s floral emblem. This striking plant is becoming more common as people plant it in gardens all over Australia. But to see kangaroo paws growing in their natural habitat, head for Bold Park in Perth, where these iconic flowers are just coming into full bloom right now.

Last December we mentioned that we had seen Shepard Fairey’s art in Los Angeles. Fairey, otherwise known as Obey, is a street artist turned legal who did the famous “Hope” posters of Obama.

Today we saw a selection of Shepard Fairey’s work Somewhere Else – right here in Perth, in fact. Guest Fine Art in Subiaco currently has an exhibition of street art which includes works by artists from Melbourne, Oxford and Amsterdam. Since the artists walk the fine line between legal and illegal art, they have adopted names like Meggs, Rone and Fake. It is particularly interesting to see their prints/stencils alongside Fairey’s instantly recognisable images.

The Guest gallery/framing shop usually has more mainstream art on display, so it’s good to see Toby Guest – son of the owners – introducing a more contemporary note into this exhibition. And we don’t see works by these artists in Perth often enough. So if you’re in town, head down to Subiaco for a coffee along Rokeby Road and some good contemporary art.

On the weekend we went for a walk around Perth’s Bold Park, looking for wildflowers – especially orchids, many of which flower around this time of the year. The winter donkey orchids didn’t seem to know that spring has arrived; they were out in force (above).

The pink fairy orchids (below) were also in full bloom, often looking more mauve than pink. These delicately coloured orchids mostly grow in shady patches under trees, so you could easily miss them altogether.

While we were in the township of Glass House Mountains recently, we saw this interesting vintage caravan drive past – on the back of a truck.