![[title of show]](http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/ShephardSummers/titleofshowsm.jpg)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The House That Utzon Built
The Sydney Opera House was everything we thought it would be and more. It's a baffling and amazing structure, sometimes smaller than it looks, sometimes larger than it looks, always photogenic and magnetizing.
(taken by our friend Clark, from the Sydney Harbour Bridge... nope, me no climby)
One of the first photos of the OH I took... I was suprised at the textures of the materials.
There are a dozen ways to see and view the OH.
And the building seems to morph with every changing angle.
It's amazing the things you can get your friends/hubby to do in photos when you're half-way around the world.
Pigeons enjoy sunning themselfs on the bazillion steps.
Even the light seemed to change the look and feel of the OH.
Nearby... a dozen or so bars and restaurants feeding the hungry gawkers.
We refreshed at "Opera Bar."
And we couldn't go all this way and not see the inside. A modest but fun tour (that didn't allow you to take photos of the 3 theatres inside).
So I got lots of lobby and stairs and structural interior shots instead...
There were multiple opportunities and vantage points to get views of the harbour.
And purple carpet... me likey.
Two views from inside the OH.
Purple carpet. Oh, I already said that.
They remind me of Conquistador helmets.
Our very friendly tour guide.
Lastly....
Sydney offers multiple vantage points of the jewel of the harbour. And the sun and moon give it a whole new perspective, depending on the time of day.
(photo not altered... not sure how my camera managed those colors.... stunning).
Views from The Rocks... a fun area full of hotels, galleries, bars, restaurants, cafes and shops.
View from the Sydney Zoo ....
Views from the ferry to Manly Beach
I don't even know how many photos I took of the OH. Total on the vacation, 2800. Probably 300 were of the OH. Not kidding.
Our friend Clark borrowed my camera and took this on his 6am walk. :)
It really is a magnificent building. If only we could have seen a performance there, our OH experience would have been complete.
More Australia coming up...
~Shephard :)
Labels: Australia
posted by Shephard @ 
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tell the Truth... or Protect It?
The line between telling the truth and protecting the truth is a tricky one to straddle.
I watch people struggle with issues of truth and duty. In the workplace, for example. I wonder at what point the amount of devotion a company requires decreases because of the need for the employee to protect their own health and well-being.
Funny how things happen though.
B gets sick for a couple days, and it ends up being just the right amount of time for us to breathe and recuperate and recharge a bit. How 'bout that. Because heaven forbid those people in charge have an iota of awareness enough to know their employee needs to recharge and be left alone if expected to "create another gem." Instead, they just keep throwing landmines into his schedule, some of them quite exasperatingly insensitive, some insulting. Oh, I wish I could share with you. I'd love nothing more than to call out these Hollywood Wheeler-Dealers for their secret agenda (they must have known we'd find out? Small community). Anyhoo....
Our eyes are fully open now.
We realize that even in our relatively untouched corner of this industry, there is still greed. The sad part for "them:" they have no clue what they've lost in the balance of procuring their trophies. The future is now up for grabs. No longer unquestioned or cut-and-dried.
Silver lining... more like a platinum lining. I am so happy. Although I always admired unswervingly loyal devotion, I also knew the price paid for it. So even though nothing has changed on the surface, beneath it we follow a much different path. Now things are real again. And I am amazingly grateful that The Truth is blurrier, and we can protect ourselves.
Telling the Truth. Protecting the Truth.
They're not telling the Truth. So we're protecting ours. Things change so quickly. Maybe next year, all of this will have dissolved. All except the realization that comes from having one eye on the door for a period of time. It changes you. Our health and happiness comes before theirs now. Imagine that! I couldn't be happier. It was a price almost worth paying.
That's some silver lining.
~Shephard :)