I recently attended a public lecture at Melbourne University's Object-Based Learning Centre. This moodily lit, formal space is a world-class museum-lab-classroom where students and guests can go look at and handle (with care) physical bits and pieces. Most visitors are students enrolled in museum studies, history and archaeology, but any student can go look and … Continue reading Objective wonder
History
Of myths, coincidences and writing histories
I was thinking the other day about author Sara Douglass. She had one of the best creative writing Genesis myths I had ever heard regarding the provenance of her book BattleAxe (and the subsequent Axis series). I could retell this story, but it is her's and she wrote it down for us. The entire concept … Continue reading Of myths, coincidences and writing histories
Of cobblestones & glass shards
The Rocks is likely the least romantic name for that area of Sydney that now maintains a certain pride in its varied history. From location you'd least want to end up to a tourist destination. Thus, I ended up at The Rocks like any tourist when I was in Sydney. It has stone buildings, cobbled … Continue reading Of cobblestones & glass shards
Cycles of war in three objects
I spent a part of my Friday off at The Ian Potter Museum of Art, where Associate Professor Andrew Jamieson from Melbourne University delivered a lecture on the Nimrud ivories in the university's Classics and Archaeology Collection. Archaeology as the biography of objects The three delicate pieces are more than 2,500 years old and were … Continue reading Cycles of war in three objects
Of old books & cultural synthesis
Wednesday night I attended a lecture at the State Library of Victoria by Professor Michelle P Brown, entitled Art of the Islands, Celtic, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking Visual Culture, c. 450-1050, based on her book of the same name. The evening was sponsored by Monash University Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Professor Brown is also … Continue reading Of old books & cultural synthesis
Virtually, the past
I recently visited the Shrine of Remembrance, Victoria's war memorial (in Melbourne) the other day. I had not been before and I decided I needed to. Mainly for the quiet, but also because of Dunkirk. Then again, a good reason is because of the news lately. So I wandered the galleries and visited the crypt and sanctuary … Continue reading Virtually, the past
Review: Dunkirk, Loving Vincent (& other stories)
It might be that I've seen Loving Vincent and Dunkirk close together but there's something about both of them that appeals to me as a writer. Both go back to primary sources in that they use the letters of Vincent and Theo van Gogh, and the speeches of Winston Churchill in the dialogue to effect … Continue reading Review: Dunkirk, Loving Vincent (& other stories)
Finding out what we lost
Humans are very good at destroying things. Just look at the stark bones of the Great Barrier Reef. Bleached, it could end up being the largest thing visible from space that was once alive. Yet, it's almost too large to comprehend, which is ironic, given it is made of microbes. Our human brains don't really … Continue reading Finding out what we lost
Doctor Who: Hybrid History
Some of the appeal of Doctor Who is that a single episode can unfold in unexpected directions. A straight Vikings vs Aliens episode was made more frustrating and then heart-felt by its twists. I know it's a family show, and I know it's story, not history, but if programs are going to have a play … Continue reading Doctor Who: Hybrid History
More with the historical and other stuff, already
There are lots in the world, I can, like the Dude, Abide. It's not like I want everyone to agree. That'd be boring and there's plenty of boring without me adding to the quotient. But sometimes people like to simplify things where they're complex and also hold dear things they learn, even when the learning … Continue reading More with the historical and other stuff, already
