"Full on" did not enter my vocabulary until I moved here to Sydney but it certainly does aptly describe the Queens Day Long Weekend that just passed (Monday, June 14 was a national holiday - well for every state except West Australia). It means the weekend was fun and totally jam packed!
This long weekend snuck up on me - it was only a week prior that someone asked me "so what're you doing this long weekend" that I responded "what long weekend?". And as I look back I remember that last year on the Queens Day Long Weekend I moved into my apartment so of course it wasn't much of a "holiday" and all I associate with that weekend is unpacking and lots and lots of empty boxes.
As a Commonwealth of England, Australia celebrates the Queen's Birthday on the second Monday of June (it's not her actual birthday) and it also signals the start of the snow season. Canada celebrates the Queen's Birthday (Victoria Day) at the end of May and New Zealand celebrates it on the first Monday of June (I don't get why Australia and New Zealand can't get in sync on the first/second Monday of June - seems deliberate).
Here are the highlights of the long weekend:
(Saturday) Roller bladed around Centennial Park - Tomu thank you again for the upgraded, new rollerblades! I circled around Centennial Park twice in this my first time roller blading since I moved here. I have to admit I missed my former favorite rollerblading park in Mountain View as there I could blade for hours before turning back and the path was a heck of a lot smoother. I'll have to keep searching for a better place to roller blade.
Then I was off to meet friends from swimming for a Sydney Film Festival Screening of Me, Too and then on for a drinks and a bit to eat afterwards.
(Sunday) Swimming squad in the morning then off to meet Sandy to catch a ferry to Cockatoo Island to check out the 17th Biennale of Sydney which is a contemporary art festival. What hit me when I got off the 20 minute ferry ride to the island is how much it's like Alcatraz Island. Cockatoo Island has a plateau where convicts were imprisoned in this large cement prison building and then a flat area with massive old, empty warehouses where ship building and other industrial activity took place. And when you looked back towards the city, you had this amazing view of the skyline and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Unlike Alcatraz - if you escaped from Cockatoo Island and tried to swim ashore, it'd be a short and very pleasant swim.
I've always felt that Sydney and San Francisco are similar (both have a bridge, are on the bay, similar weather) and then to find out both also had an island where they locked away prisoners yet gave them a million-dollar window view from their prison cell of the city skyline and the bridge.
While Alcatraz remains a tourist spot and the prison still stands, there are plans to transform Cockatoo Island into an entertainment quarter with wine bars, shops and theatres. Already people can camp on the island - if Sandy and I were to do this, we've already scouted out which tent we'd want - #4 has a great view!
The empty warehouse buildings made for a perfect canvas for the contemporary art on display.
The evening was topped off with another Sydney Film Festival screening of a bio pic of Charles Darwin called "Creation" which was followed by a Q&A with the screen writer and producer. Then we popped next door for hot chocolate and dessert that came from the heavens :)
(Monday - Queens Day) Woke up at 3:15 a.m. to catch a cab to Darling Habour to watch the Australian national soccer team (Socceroos) play Germany in their first FIFA World Cup Match. It was crazy mad as I reached the FIFA Fan Fest in Darling Harbour (only 1 of 6 in the world) and they'd already closed it out to more visitors as they reached maximum capacity. Fortunately I was a guest of Football Federation Australia (FFA) and was able to push my way through to the Bayside Restaurant in the Sydney Convention Center where we had a great view of the HUGE screen in the harbour where we could watch the game and stay warm inside as it was very chilly.
Australia unfortunately lost 4-0 and it was disappointing that they couldn't get even one goal on the board! Ang and I went for another quick coffee after the game and then I headed home for a long nap before heading to dinner at Nina and Andrew's new home (my former next door neighbors who I dearly miss)! What an exhausting but exhilarating long weekend!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
That's Manly for You: Me and an Ugg
It's not nearly as fierce as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankee's rivalry yet there is friendly debate over which is the better beach - Manly (A on the map below) or Bondi (B).
View Larger Map
Bondi's more well known world-wide and has it's own reality TV show Bondi Rescue and many, many tourists flock here (I'll admit that on my first trip to Australia I visited Bondi Beach but not Manly). It's even where Cisco famously launched its FlipVideo in October 2009 with a Towel Surfing Flash Mob - you can check the Flip Video here:
So what's Manly got going for it? Well it's further from the Sydney CBD (Central Business District) so quite a hike to get there (last Mother's Day I drove up to meet friends for Yum Cha and it took nearly 2 hours to get there, when it should have only been a half hour drive). Besides driving, there is a beautiful ferry ride to Manly. And I've also discovered Manly has one of the few Ben & Jerry's in the area (been there twice already - it's pricey though about $6 for a single scoop).
And it has a really nice pedestrian mall that on June 6 hosted the Taste of Manly: Food and Wine Festival. It started out as a great day with the sun shining (although it was still chilly as technically we are in Autumn) and I enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and lovely paella and seafood. But then the rain poured and I took cover (with my wine glass of course) under the store awnings. And that's where I posed here with this "Ugg" - where else but in Manly?
View Larger Map
Bondi's more well known world-wide and has it's own reality TV show Bondi Rescue and many, many tourists flock here (I'll admit that on my first trip to Australia I visited Bondi Beach but not Manly). It's even where Cisco famously launched its FlipVideo in October 2009 with a Towel Surfing Flash Mob - you can check the Flip Video here:
So what's Manly got going for it? Well it's further from the Sydney CBD (Central Business District) so quite a hike to get there (last Mother's Day I drove up to meet friends for Yum Cha and it took nearly 2 hours to get there, when it should have only been a half hour drive). Besides driving, there is a beautiful ferry ride to Manly. And I've also discovered Manly has one of the few Ben & Jerry's in the area (been there twice already - it's pricey though about $6 for a single scoop).
And it has a really nice pedestrian mall that on June 6 hosted the Taste of Manly: Food and Wine Festival. It started out as a great day with the sun shining (although it was still chilly as technically we are in Autumn) and I enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and lovely paella and seafood. But then the rain poured and I took cover (with my wine glass of course) under the store awnings. And that's where I posed here with this "Ugg" - where else but in Manly?
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Footy: A Fast Paced and Action Packed Game!
My Cisco Consumer colleagues Scott and Adrian invited me to join them at a footie game on Sunday, May 30 between the Carlton Blues and the West Coast Eagles. It was a blast!
First off - you can call it "footy", "Australian Rules Football", "AFL", "Aussie Rules" but officially (if you go by the team's Web sites) it's the "Australian Football League".
How would I describe it - well, it's played on a large oval grass covered field and it's most popular in the state of Victoria. Note: Before it was called "AFL" it was known as the Victorian Football League as all the teams were in Victoria - but when West Australia got 2 teams, Brisbane, New South Wales and Adelaide each added a team they changed it to "Australian Football League".
Amazingly there are 8 teams in Melbourne alone - the competing teams are just blocks apart there are so many in such a small, condensed area.
Footy's played with a football-like shaped ball yet the players can punch the ball (think of serving a volleyball) but not throw the ball (like you'd see in football). Players can also kick the ball and run with the ball for 10 meters but they have to bounce it along the way (but keep in mind that the football-shaped ball makes for rather erratic bouncing).
There are four poles at the end of each field with the two center poles the tallest. If the ball goes through the two tall poles that earns the team 6 points and if it goes between the outside poles it's 1 point. On the score board it'll say 5.5 which means 5 x 6 + 5 for a total score of 35.
Here's a Flip Video which gives a visual brief on the rules of footy.
There are also a LOT of players on the field. There are 18 players on each side. Plus umpires and (wait for it) runners!
It's the most amazing thing! Take a look at this Flip Video - they're the guys in the bright yellow shirts and shorts. And their job is to take messages from the coach to the players. And the truly amazing thing is that right in the middle of the game, they run out onto the field - swerving and dodging around the other players - and chase after the player they're supposed to deliver the message to... and they might even run after another player and deliver a message to him before running back to the side line. And these runners are agnostic - meaning they are not assigned to a particular team so they could be delivering a message for either team.
Does anyone else think this is odd? Why don't they just hold up a sign or signal and have the players come over to the side line to pick up their message? Or use an earpiece or microphone to the captain? Isn't it disruptive to have non-players in bright yellow outfits darting in and out amongst the players? Or what if a runner all of a sudden gives in to the urge and kicks the ball as it sails by him?
The other thing I noticed was that while the ball might be in play at the other end of the field, the defenders at the opposite end are pushing, shoving and getting aggressive with one another. I thought a fight was going to break out but my colleagues tell me that they're encouraged to get aggressive. When I took a closer look at this Flip Video you'll see that they deliberately tripped this player. And for all this aggression, there are no personal fouls handed out.
During the half time, we were served fresh baked hot scones, jam and creme. I thought this was traditional - evidently this was only because we were in a corporate box. Evidently, it's more traditional to eat meat pies at a footy game. I'll have to give that a go at my next game.
In the end Carlton won 15.15 (105) to 11.10 (76).
And here's the coup de grace! Our hosts got us passes into the winning Carlton team's locker room! Here I am meeting two footy players! The locker room was filled with sweaty, half dressed players - many of them had bags of ice taped to their shoulder, calves which just goes to show how rough this game is.
And when I look at this photo I feel like such a midget next to these super tall, super fit (and very young) footy players!
First off - you can call it "footy", "Australian Rules Football", "AFL", "Aussie Rules" but officially (if you go by the team's Web sites) it's the "Australian Football League".
How would I describe it - well, it's played on a large oval grass covered field and it's most popular in the state of Victoria. Note: Before it was called "AFL" it was known as the Victorian Football League as all the teams were in Victoria - but when West Australia got 2 teams, Brisbane, New South Wales and Adelaide each added a team they changed it to "Australian Football League".
Amazingly there are 8 teams in Melbourne alone - the competing teams are just blocks apart there are so many in such a small, condensed area.
Footy's played with a football-like shaped ball yet the players can punch the ball (think of serving a volleyball) but not throw the ball (like you'd see in football). Players can also kick the ball and run with the ball for 10 meters but they have to bounce it along the way (but keep in mind that the football-shaped ball makes for rather erratic bouncing).
There are four poles at the end of each field with the two center poles the tallest. If the ball goes through the two tall poles that earns the team 6 points and if it goes between the outside poles it's 1 point. On the score board it'll say 5.5 which means 5 x 6 + 5 for a total score of 35.
Here's a Flip Video which gives a visual brief on the rules of footy.
There are also a LOT of players on the field. There are 18 players on each side. Plus umpires and (wait for it) runners!
It's the most amazing thing! Take a look at this Flip Video - they're the guys in the bright yellow shirts and shorts. And their job is to take messages from the coach to the players. And the truly amazing thing is that right in the middle of the game, they run out onto the field - swerving and dodging around the other players - and chase after the player they're supposed to deliver the message to... and they might even run after another player and deliver a message to him before running back to the side line. And these runners are agnostic - meaning they are not assigned to a particular team so they could be delivering a message for either team.
Does anyone else think this is odd? Why don't they just hold up a sign or signal and have the players come over to the side line to pick up their message? Or use an earpiece or microphone to the captain? Isn't it disruptive to have non-players in bright yellow outfits darting in and out amongst the players? Or what if a runner all of a sudden gives in to the urge and kicks the ball as it sails by him?
The other thing I noticed was that while the ball might be in play at the other end of the field, the defenders at the opposite end are pushing, shoving and getting aggressive with one another. I thought a fight was going to break out but my colleagues tell me that they're encouraged to get aggressive. When I took a closer look at this Flip Video you'll see that they deliberately tripped this player. And for all this aggression, there are no personal fouls handed out.
During the half time, we were served fresh baked hot scones, jam and creme. I thought this was traditional - evidently this was only because we were in a corporate box. Evidently, it's more traditional to eat meat pies at a footy game. I'll have to give that a go at my next game.
In the end Carlton won 15.15 (105) to 11.10 (76).
And here's the coup de grace! Our hosts got us passes into the winning Carlton team's locker room! Here I am meeting two footy players! The locker room was filled with sweaty, half dressed players - many of them had bags of ice taped to their shoulder, calves which just goes to show how rough this game is.
And when I look at this photo I feel like such a midget next to these super tall, super fit (and very young) footy players!
Melbourne's Yarra Valley Wine and Food Tour
After checking out the superheroes in Federation Square (same day, Sat. May 29) I did my own imitation of Flash and dashed back to my hotel to meet Epicurean Tours for my day trip to the Yarra Valley.
On the one-hour ride from the CBD of Melbourne to the Yarra Valley, the very knowledgeable guide informed our small group that the Yarra Vlley is Victoria's (state that Melbourne's in) oldest wine region and is well known for its chardonnay and pinot noir. The fact he said "chardonnay" surprised me as in the past year I've lived here I drank very little chardonnay when out with work and friends who overwhelmingly prefer sauvignon blanc and champagne and to a lesser extent riesling.
I gave the chardonnay's a go at most wineries and found it just average - mostly because I prefer the round, fruity buttery taste of the California chardonnay. The pinot noirs I tried were fine, but not spectacular - not fruit forward as I prefer, more settle in flavor and fragrant.
In my overall assessment, I'd have to say that in general I prefer the Barossa Wine Valley in South Australia which is famous for its shiraz as I find the wines far more interesting, lots of powerful flavor action going on in the wine.
But that's not to say I didn't enjoy the Yarra Valley (I did ship 6 bottles of wine home) - here were my highlights:
1. De Bortoli Winery - A very well known winery that's been owned for three generations by the De Bortoli family and is widely available in bottle shops across Australia this seems most akin to Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery because it's on every wine tour's itinerary and it's well commercialized and has a great wine tasting room. I purchased a bottle of its "world acclaimed" sweet white Noble One dessert wine which was delightful with the blue cheese they were also sampling.
2. My favorite winery of the day however was the Yering Station Winery which had this funky foilage of purple, yellow and orange leaves (remember that even though it's May it is Fall or as Aussie's call it "Autumn" here). We checked out the vista views from atop the bottling plant, got a peak from the outside of the restaurant (that's only open for lunch, which I've made a mental note of as I'd love to come back here) and then the cellar door (or what I'd call the tasting room). The tasting room had a SoHo New York artsy studio feel to it as there were these great paintings all around this cement-unfinished wall room with the wine bar in the middle. My faves were the Yarrabank Creme de Cuvee Champagne (it was sweeter than the non-Creme Cuvee), the Yering Station 2006 MVR (which is made up of the Marsanne, viognier and roussanne grapes) and the very tasty 2006 Yering Station Sangiovese.
3. For lunch we went to Domaine Chandon Australia which was amusing to me as I've been many times to Domain Chandon California (Napa). In fact in this Flip Video you'll here my memories of when my cousin Mieko went there as well as when I took my cousin Yasushi and his now wife Cindy (their baby shower for this first child is coincidentally today) there to enjoy an amazing oyster tasting plate a few short years ago.
4. At Coldstream Hills Winery I felt immediately at home (or rather work) as they had Cisco IP Phones and we did a wine tasting here and I purchased a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc to take with me to my friend Kristina's (my former manager at Cunningham Communications - she gave me my start in high tech PR for which I'm forever grateful) for dinner with her family that evening.
As we leave this winery you'll see that these Aussies I was traveling with (originally from Perth in Western Australia now living in Melbourne) have some unique talents - whistle blowing with a leaf from a eucalyptus tree.
5. At our last stop we tasted hand-made farm cheeses (there was one covered in ash which not surprisingly tasted like creamy cheese with a bit of ash dust and another which I brought home called "Chevre & Dill" which is goats milk cheese and fresh dill) at the 100-year-old working Yarra Valley Dairy where there were some very long legged cows as you'll see in this Flip Video.
On the one-hour ride from the CBD of Melbourne to the Yarra Valley, the very knowledgeable guide informed our small group that the Yarra Vlley is Victoria's (state that Melbourne's in) oldest wine region and is well known for its chardonnay and pinot noir. The fact he said "chardonnay" surprised me as in the past year I've lived here I drank very little chardonnay when out with work and friends who overwhelmingly prefer sauvignon blanc and champagne and to a lesser extent riesling.
I gave the chardonnay's a go at most wineries and found it just average - mostly because I prefer the round, fruity buttery taste of the California chardonnay. The pinot noirs I tried were fine, but not spectacular - not fruit forward as I prefer, more settle in flavor and fragrant.
In my overall assessment, I'd have to say that in general I prefer the Barossa Wine Valley in South Australia which is famous for its shiraz as I find the wines far more interesting, lots of powerful flavor action going on in the wine.
But that's not to say I didn't enjoy the Yarra Valley (I did ship 6 bottles of wine home) - here were my highlights:
1. De Bortoli Winery - A very well known winery that's been owned for three generations by the De Bortoli family and is widely available in bottle shops across Australia this seems most akin to Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery because it's on every wine tour's itinerary and it's well commercialized and has a great wine tasting room. I purchased a bottle of its "world acclaimed" sweet white Noble One dessert wine which was delightful with the blue cheese they were also sampling.
2. My favorite winery of the day however was the Yering Station Winery which had this funky foilage of purple, yellow and orange leaves (remember that even though it's May it is Fall or as Aussie's call it "Autumn" here). We checked out the vista views from atop the bottling plant, got a peak from the outside of the restaurant (that's only open for lunch, which I've made a mental note of as I'd love to come back here) and then the cellar door (or what I'd call the tasting room). The tasting room had a SoHo New York artsy studio feel to it as there were these great paintings all around this cement-unfinished wall room with the wine bar in the middle. My faves were the Yarrabank Creme de Cuvee Champagne (it was sweeter than the non-Creme Cuvee), the Yering Station 2006 MVR (which is made up of the Marsanne, viognier and roussanne grapes) and the very tasty 2006 Yering Station Sangiovese.
3. For lunch we went to Domaine Chandon Australia which was amusing to me as I've been many times to Domain Chandon California (Napa). In fact in this Flip Video you'll here my memories of when my cousin Mieko went there as well as when I took my cousin Yasushi and his now wife Cindy (their baby shower for this first child is coincidentally today) there to enjoy an amazing oyster tasting plate a few short years ago.
4. At Coldstream Hills Winery I felt immediately at home (or rather work) as they had Cisco IP Phones and we did a wine tasting here and I purchased a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc to take with me to my friend Kristina's (my former manager at Cunningham Communications - she gave me my start in high tech PR for which I'm forever grateful) for dinner with her family that evening.
As we leave this winery you'll see that these Aussies I was traveling with (originally from Perth in Western Australia now living in Melbourne) have some unique talents - whistle blowing with a leaf from a eucalyptus tree.
5. At our last stop we tasted hand-made farm cheeses (there was one covered in ash which not surprisingly tasted like creamy cheese with a bit of ash dust and another which I brought home called "Chevre & Dill" which is goats milk cheese and fresh dill) at the 100-year-old working Yarra Valley Dairy where there were some very long legged cows as you'll see in this Flip Video.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Caped Crusaders Take Over Melbourne - Crash World Record!
My friend Kristina SMS'd me that while I was in Melbourne on Saturday, May 29 I should check out Federation Square as DC Comics in celebration of its 75th Anniversary were trying to break the world record of the most people in superhero costumes gathered in one place.
While I had decided to sign up for a wine tour of the Yarra Valley and my tour left at 9:15 a.m. I thought I'd race down there for a really quick look so I could report back to my nephew Kai on just how many batman's, spiderman's and superman's showed up. I didn't have much hope that many caped crusaders would show up because it was raining and overcast but I should have known better!
A little rain wasn't going to stop these valiant superheroes!
And Tomu, you have to show Kai this Flip Video! I have to say these are the COOLEST Batman wings I've ever seen! And if Kai's favorite superhero is still Batman, I'll endeavor to find these bat wings for him...let me know!
And as I'm sure you're just as curious as I - did they break the world record? Yes they did! With 1,245 people wearing superhero costumes in Melbourne's Federation Square, they broke the UK's record of 1,091. Read more here.
While I had decided to sign up for a wine tour of the Yarra Valley and my tour left at 9:15 a.m. I thought I'd race down there for a really quick look so I could report back to my nephew Kai on just how many batman's, spiderman's and superman's showed up. I didn't have much hope that many caped crusaders would show up because it was raining and overcast but I should have known better!
A little rain wasn't going to stop these valiant superheroes!
And Tomu, you have to show Kai this Flip Video! I have to say these are the COOLEST Batman wings I've ever seen! And if Kai's favorite superhero is still Batman, I'll endeavor to find these bat wings for him...let me know!
And as I'm sure you're just as curious as I - did they break the world record? Yes they did! With 1,245 people wearing superhero costumes in Melbourne's Federation Square, they broke the UK's record of 1,091. Read more here.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
On the way to the Sydney Writer's Festival, there was an injured flying bat...
The day before the Sydney Writer's Festival (May 22 - yes I'm horribly behind in my blog postings) my friend Lisa and I were trying to decide which sessions we should see. As that week's hot news was the resignation of the New South Wales Minister of Transportation due to a TV news show capturing video of the Minister of Transportation leaving an adult bar (interestingly he resigned not for the fact he was "publicly exposed on TV" for departing an adult bar but for using a tax-payer paid vehicle to goto this adult bar), I thought the session on "Forgiveness" with the New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally as one of the panelists would be interesting.
In this Flip Video you'll hear the Premier share that in the press conference the day prior where she announced accepting the Minister of Transportation's resignation she used the word "unforgiveable" and now regretted using that word because it wasn't her place to make that judgement.
After this session on "Forgiveness", Lisa and I went to The Rocks to check out the market and on our way back we saw this injured flying bat on the ground barely moving. Lisa - who has the kindest most beautiful heart - called the Wildlife Information and Rescue Service (WIRE) to report this injured bat. We stayed there until a WIRE volunteer came to check out the bat. In the end she said the bat would most likely be euthanized because its spine was broken. Lisa and I both thanked the volunteer and made a donation to WIRE as it was most impressive that this is what she volunteers her time to do on her weekends for injured wildlife.
Back at the Sydney Writer's Festival, the last session we attended was a panel on True Crime which focused on the challenges facing writers of true crime as they attempt to chronicle the underbelly of urban life. One of Lisa's former colleagues - Roger Maynard - was on the panel as he's written books on the "backpack murderer", the Falconio mystery (a murder in the outback) and a book on the worst POW camp in Japan.
For my sister-in-law Ellen who loves true crime books, I got her an autographed copy of Roger's "Where's Peter: Unravelling the Falconio Mystery". Note to Ellen, I hope you don't mind if I read it first before sending it your way.
After the panel, Lisa and I had coffee with Roger and one of the other panelists Richard Shear (who was also a UK journalist that specialised in true crime stories) and learned that there was something that looking back Roger wished that he had included in his book "Where's Peter". This "something" was that according to the girlfriend, Peter was reading Catcher in the Rye before he disappeared (presumed murdered) yet in all the list of contents of the camper van the book was never found. Leading Roger to believe that Peter was not in fact murdered, but devised his own escape and took the book he was nearly finished reading with him.
In this Flip Video you'll hear the Premier share that in the press conference the day prior where she announced accepting the Minister of Transportation's resignation she used the word "unforgiveable" and now regretted using that word because it wasn't her place to make that judgement.
After this session on "Forgiveness", Lisa and I went to The Rocks to check out the market and on our way back we saw this injured flying bat on the ground barely moving. Lisa - who has the kindest most beautiful heart - called the Wildlife Information and Rescue Service (WIRE) to report this injured bat. We stayed there until a WIRE volunteer came to check out the bat. In the end she said the bat would most likely be euthanized because its spine was broken. Lisa and I both thanked the volunteer and made a donation to WIRE as it was most impressive that this is what she volunteers her time to do on her weekends for injured wildlife.
Back at the Sydney Writer's Festival, the last session we attended was a panel on True Crime which focused on the challenges facing writers of true crime as they attempt to chronicle the underbelly of urban life. One of Lisa's former colleagues - Roger Maynard - was on the panel as he's written books on the "backpack murderer", the Falconio mystery (a murder in the outback) and a book on the worst POW camp in Japan.
For my sister-in-law Ellen who loves true crime books, I got her an autographed copy of Roger's "Where's Peter: Unravelling the Falconio Mystery". Note to Ellen, I hope you don't mind if I read it first before sending it your way.
After the panel, Lisa and I had coffee with Roger and one of the other panelists Richard Shear (who was also a UK journalist that specialised in true crime stories) and learned that there was something that looking back Roger wished that he had included in his book "Where's Peter". This "something" was that according to the girlfriend, Peter was reading Catcher in the Rye before he disappeared (presumed murdered) yet in all the list of contents of the camper van the book was never found. Leading Roger to believe that Peter was not in fact murdered, but devised his own escape and took the book he was nearly finished reading with him.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Busy Day ... Football Federation of Australia and Mass Ball Throwing
One of the areas Cisco's moving into is "sports and entertainment" and on Thursday, May 6 Cisco Australia/New Zealand jumped into this with both feet and a soccer ball!
It was definitely one of the "cooler" press launches I've have the chance to work on! We announced that we were joining the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and their bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia in either 2018 or 2022.
We did the press event over Cisco TelePresence with the CEO of the FFA - Ben Buckley - a former Australian Rules Footballer.
Note: In Australia, what we in the US call "soccer" is "football" and what we know as "football" (as in the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders) is "American football". And Australian Rules Football is called "footie", "Aussie Rules" or by it's formal name "Australian Football League (AFL)" and while there's an American football shaped ball, the game is very different (check out my future blog on the Carlton vs. West Coast AFL Game).
Later in the afternoon I went to a Tandberg, now Cisco, event. This was another interesting experience. Highlights include Norwegian toasts, mass ball throwing and riding a bull.
It was definitely one of the "cooler" press launches I've have the chance to work on! We announced that we were joining the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and their bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia in either 2018 or 2022.
We did the press event over Cisco TelePresence with the CEO of the FFA - Ben Buckley - a former Australian Rules Footballer.
Note: In Australia, what we in the US call "soccer" is "football" and what we know as "football" (as in the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders) is "American football". And Australian Rules Football is called "footie", "Aussie Rules" or by it's formal name "Australian Football League (AFL)" and while there's an American football shaped ball, the game is very different (check out my future blog on the Carlton vs. West Coast AFL Game).
Later in the afternoon I went to a Tandberg, now Cisco, event. This was another interesting experience. Highlights include Norwegian toasts, mass ball throwing and riding a bull.
National Capitol of Australia = Canberra
In 1908, as a compromise between Melbourne and Sydney it was decided that the capitol of Australia - Canberra - would be established between these two cities.
On Tues. April 27, I drove the 3.5 hours from Sydney south to Canberra to work for a few days from our office there and to support media interviews at the Network Centric Warfare Conference.
Canberra is a lot like Washington, DC. It's also a planned city built on a grid pattern with many long streets lined with trees with the capitol building at one end and the Australian War Memorial at the other end.
Before driving back home, I visited the Australian War Memorial and I have to admit I didn't expect the museum to be as extensive as it was. Meaning, I didn't think that Australia - being so far away "down under" - was involved with as many wars as it was. After visiting the museum and it's multiple levels and wings, I learned that Australians were fought in all the wars the UK was involved with as well as those in their region (this included WWI, WWII, Vietnam War, Korean War and the Gulf War).
On Tues. April 27, I drove the 3.5 hours from Sydney south to Canberra to work for a few days from our office there and to support media interviews at the Network Centric Warfare Conference.
Canberra is a lot like Washington, DC. It's also a planned city built on a grid pattern with many long streets lined with trees with the capitol building at one end and the Australian War Memorial at the other end.
Before driving back home, I visited the Australian War Memorial and I have to admit I didn't expect the museum to be as extensive as it was. Meaning, I didn't think that Australia - being so far away "down under" - was involved with as many wars as it was. After visiting the museum and it's multiple levels and wings, I learned that Australians were fought in all the wars the UK was involved with as well as those in their region (this included WWI, WWII, Vietnam War, Korean War and the Gulf War).
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