Don Quixote Attacking The Windmill (source of image)
What could a short-sighted, slightly insane and fictitious “knight” from Spain teach us about leadership? Quite a bit apparently, especially if your heart for leadership has grown cold.
One of the greatest fictional works in the late 16th century by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote told the story of a seemingly deranged middle-aged retiree in his 50s who became obsessed with tales of knighthood, fantasy and chivalry.
Set in 1939, Ron Hutchinson’s Moonlight and Magnolias is a comedic take on what could possibly be the true behind-the-scenes story of the making of Gone With the Wind. The premise goes like this: David O. Selznick has only five days to salvage the production of Margaret Mitchell’s bestselling novel while losing up to $50,000 a day. He enlists script guru Ben Hecht and fast rising director Victor Fleming to accomplish the task, locking them and himself in his office with only peanuts and bananas for sustenance.
Premiering at the Playhouse of the Art Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company’s production is helmed by veteran film director Bruce Beresford of academy award winning Driving Miss Daisy and Black Robe fame. Heavy on laugh-a-minute slapstick with a dash of social satire, Beresford’s tightly directed comedy benefits from the close chemistry and polished performance of the leads.
Playing main protagonist Selznick, Patrick Brammall’s energy and intensity portrays a man on a relentless mission, while Stephen Lovatt exudes the air of machismo characteristic of swaggering director Victor Fleming. Nicholas Hammond shines as cynical and calculating scriptwriter Ben Hecht, while Marg Downey’s portrays Selznick’s unflappable secretary Miss Poppenghul.
Opening on an energetic note, the production delivers memorable wisecracks and sharp repartees sprinkled with occasional physical humour. One could sense Selznick’s increasing desperation as reluctant conspirators Hecht and Fleming start bawling like kindergarten kids, and the cross-gender acting by Brammall and Lovatt scores high on hilarity. Towards the end, a distinct moral undertone could be detected as Hecht starts pontificating about racial rights while Fleming vows never to go back to his chauffeuring days.
Praise must also go to Shaun Gurton for costume and stage design, while Nigel Levings provide his expertise in the lighting design. Their painstaking attention to detail lends an air of authenticity in the recreation of a studio office set in 1930s America.
Street art along a wall in North Richmond
Being an avid runner, I often jog around the Parkville and Carlton areas near my university campus and chance upon street art along various walls, pavements and fences. Some of the air-brushed displays are aesthetically beautifully and probably the result of considerable and painstaking effort to create enduring works of art. Surprisingly, I don’t see that many acts of graffiti which are overtly anti-establishment or vandalistic in nature (or perhaps I haven’t been to those neighbourhoods yet).
While musing on this phenomenon, I chanced upon this interesting article by Mark Holsworth who reported on how several merchants in the Brunswick suburb of Melbourne (just a stone’s throw away from where I am putting up at Carlton) have engaged street artists to decorate their shopfronts. Holsworth highlighted two examples of this could be done tastefully. The first is a convenience store located at the Lygon/Brunswick area:
Happening over 17 days, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival comprises some 200 feasting events and activities held over multiple venues both within Melbourne City itself as well as the Victoria region. Attracting about 300,000 guests annually, this annual culinary celebration covers a wide range of gastronomic experiences – from wine tasting, dessert sampling, and talks by celebrity Michelin star-studded chefs, to elaborate breakfasts, lunches, teas and dinners. In a city renowned for its fabulous festivals (I’ve been here three weeks and already experienced three different mega-events!), the Food & Wine is considered by many to be a must-eat experience for conoisseurs of any affiliation.
At the kind invitation of the nice folks from Tourism Victoria, I had the rare privilege of participating in the marquee event of the occasion called the World’s Longest Lunch. With an estimated 160 tables lined up along the Crown Riverside on the Yarra River, the lunch serving more than 1,200 guests was an eating (and drinking) extravaganza of epic proportions! Apparently, the three-hour Italian inspired dining event was fully booked many days before it occurred.
Here’s a pictorial account of my experience this afternoon. Buono appetito!
One of the greatest challenges facing communicators and marketers in the arts is the balance between satisfying artistic input and commercial (or public) interest.
Happening at Melbourne’s Birrarung Marr and Alexandra Gardens area across both banks of the Yarra River, the Moomba Waterfest is one of the longest running festival in the City of Melbourne which has been celebrated since 1955. Pitched at securing community involvement and celebrating Australia’s multi-cultural identity, the celebrations are apparently Australia’s largest free public event. Those of you who are keen to read more about the history and background of the Moomba Festival can check out this paper by the City of Melbourne.
Happening from 6 to 9 March, Moomba promises fun for everyone with activities for families, the musically inclined and the sporty. A major street parade, free concerts, thrilling watersports and exciting theme park rides at the carnival along the river promises participants a spectacle of sight, sound, sweat and sizzle.
Here’s a snapshot of Moomba’s carnival and fireworks show for your viewing pleasure.
Last Sunday, I decided to make a trip down to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International at St Kilda Road, having heard so many wonderful things about it. What I experienced was truly inspiring, and I spent more than three hours wandering and exploring its fascinating and sprawling galleries occupying three storeys. The scale of this attraction rivalled that of the Melbourne Museum, another masterfully built museum.
Established back in 1861, NGV International is the oldest and most sizable public art gallery in Australia (and most probably the Southern Hemisphere). Located in the arts and leisure precinct in Southbank of Melbourne, it has a significant collection of about 63,000 artworks and artefacts. They include artworks from masters like Rembrandt, as well as ancient collections from Pre-Colombian America, Egypt, Rome and parts of Asia. The gallery has a sister museum – The Ian Potter Centre of NGV Australia at Federation Square – which focuses on Australian art. Due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to visit that but I’ll definitely make a date to patronise it soon.
Courtesy of debaird
Came across this article on the definition of Gen Y folks (also called Millenials, Digitals and Echo Boomers) by Mark Healy which stated some possible responses by marketers to this generation should be. Quoting from the article, here’s what the definition of Gen Y-ers is like:
“Born: technically, 1977-1998. I’m talking about the group born post-1990, who are 0-19 years old right now. Optimistic and confident. Believe everyone should have their own path. Communicative but not necessarily classically social. View lifestyle as a right, not a privilege. Digitally trained. Don’t so much reject rules like Gen Xers, but see rules as irrelevant. Same with some institutions.”
Orientation Week has just concluded at the University of Melbourne, and all self respecting students should have got to know every square metre of the campus, every lecturer or tutor that he or she is supposed to be acquainted with, and every single prize winning opportunity available. Hordes of freshmen and women thronged the age-old campus, signing up for various activities, clubs and societies while learning about the various facilities available such as the libraries, computer labs, seminars rooms and so on.
Here are some brief snapshots of my experience this week, focusing in particular on the “Amazing Race” which I undertook this afternoon with three other friends. That got me totally winded and I am “amazed” at how I could still blog after that most tiring (but fun…okay somewhat fun) experience.
The tar roads and concrete pavements were used as signboards with coloured chalk scribbled on them during Orientation Week.
The answer was St Kilda’s Beach – well, at least in the past. After many years of gentrification, the bayside resort area just south of Melbourne city has become a fashionable and swanky beach neighbourhood, attracting families, singles, seniors and anybody who wanted to spend a day at the beach. Other than the beach, the precinct also had a nice F&B and shopping belt along Acland Street, and a nifty little theme park (Luna Park). In a spirit of wanderlust, I decided to check it out last Sunday morning and bought a Sunday Saver tram pass (which cost AUD 3.10) and decided to explore this destination at the City of Port Philip.
Palm-lined roads greeted one along the ocean front, with festive carnival stalls on a Sunday peddling art souvenirs, T-shirts, and other wares.
