Painting of the Week - Léon Riesener by Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix, Portrait of Léon Riesener, 1835

Louvre, Paris

...or as I prefer to call him, Delacroix's HOT cousin! Riesener was also a painter and early photographer - his daguerrotype of Delacroix is in the collection of the Musee d'Orsay. He wasn't as successful as his cousin, and Delacroix often helped Riesener throughout his career. The favour was returned as Delacroix's letters reveal that he stayed at Riesener's country house at Frépillon (Val-d'Oise).

Delacroix (1798-1863) was the leader of the French Romantic painting. His work is characterised by expressive brushstrokes and colour usage, and exotic subject matter and locations - general Romantic concerns designed to create a wellspring of feeling in the viewer. His most famous work is Liberty Leading the People, which some of you may recognise as the painting Coldplay ripped off for their Viva La Vida album cover.

I first discovered the painting of Riesener on the Great European Adventure 2004, when we were given free access to the Louvre after our lecturer tired of having to drag 20 girls and 2 guys around. I and a bunch of others made it to the top floor of the Denon wing to where the 18-19th century French painting...and stopped dead in our tracks when confronted by Delacroix's depiction of his cousin - intensely staring out into the distance from the plain dark background. Unruly curls of dark hair ruffled by a mysterious breeze of unknown origin, with one perfect lock falling on his brow. A perfect example of portraits from the Romantic Era. I had to show him to Pooey when I returned in 2007. He made me swoon once again.

Now, THIS is a heatwave!!!

Some of you will remember my derision at being in London for what they described at a *heatwave*. Melbourne is going through a once-in-a-century-heatwave right now. Here's a breakdown of the this week's weather.

It is predicted that we'll reach 43 degrees C today as well. That will be a new record if we do get three days in a row above 43 because that has never happened here since records started being kept in the 1850s!!! Another statistic is that it hasn't rained here for over 27 days. So much for so-called 'Melbourne Weather'.

Here's the forecast for next week which is slightly more bearable, if you can consider 30+ temperatures bearable. And the graph tracking the weather for the last 24 hours - 30 degrees at midnight? Power!Anyway, good thing the boss is in Canberra because I haven't left my house since Tuesday :D

Yes, this is the real reason I want to move to France.

A few years ago, I was in a heated debate about Brokeback Mountain. To break the tension, another person present asked the question that had apparently been bothering him throughout the movie :

"Do chicks get turned on when two guys kiss? Kinda like how lesbian porn works?"

I swear this was a genuine question. My response at the time was to laugh.

Anyway, today I saw this sequence of pics between Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils, both of France, on the Down The Line! tennis blog.
But yeah, manlove is kinda hot...
*EDIT* in the sequence of pics above which I'm deliberately taking out of context. I'm totally aware that in France, kissing your friend on the cheek as these guys are doing, is totally acceptable.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

And welcome to the year of the Ox.
Ox:
Element: Earth
Partners well with: Snake and Rooster
Characteristics: Loyal, reliable, thorough, strong, reasonable, steady, determined

So....seeing as we'd go well together, anyone reading this turning 12, 24, 36, 48, or 60 this year? Apparently we'd go well together.

Sculpture of the Week - Dying Gaul

Dying Gaul, Roman copy of Hellenistic original (now lost)

Capitoline Museum, Rome
(source)

Moving back to the opposite side of Marcel Duchamp, Dying Gaul is an icon of classical sculpture. Probably commissioned to celebrate Attalid victories over the Galatians, Gaul is the most famous part of a sculpture set of dying soldiers. This one was singled out from the rest of the set and celebrated for its depiction of a noble death and the expressive form.

Dying Gaul was copied many times from the ancient era up until relatively modern times. This copy was found in Rome sometime in the early 17th century, the piece entered the Pope's collection in 1737. There is a copy in the Courtald Institute that used to belong to the Royal Academy that was used for teaching purposes - making the students make copies of classical art as something to emulate.

The naturalism of the pose means that sometimes you (okay, I) see it at strange places in time. For example, Sir Niko of Kranjcar is doing a pretty good impersonation of the sculpture here.

Arm on the wrong side of your leg, Niko!
(Russian Look)

Good Luck Charms

So given that divorce appears imminent, I decided it was only right that I give my hubby the right of reply.
Naturally, he wasn't happy to hear of my decision and took the information into the match.

Marat contemplates my news...

and takes it out on the ball.

The first set was a bit wobbly as he tried to digest the information before it turned to rage. Poor Guillermo Garcia-Lopez got demolished 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

Match over, the news finally sank in and he had to wipe his face and didn't spend as much time celebrating as he normally would.

As he walked off in triumph,

he turned his face so I couldn't see his tears of misery.

The way in which he took the news greatly distresses me. I know we've had such a tumultuous relationship in the past but post-match we found out that in the next round, Marat would definitely be playing Roger Federer.

Mally, doushenka, why?! If we must part, please I need you in the crowd for when I must meet Raja. You are my good luck charm! Everytime you or Pooey have been there, I have been triumphant! Aus Open 2005, Wimbledon 2008, this year...if you must go, I beg that you give me this one last thing! Я тебя люблю!!!

Oh zver muzhik, how can I resist? Very well, I can't be there for the match vs.Federer, but the divorce is off (for now).
(Photos are either mine or getty's).

But anyway, I think it's great how much Marat is loved here and how he tries to return every year. To finish, here are some random Swedes with the giant stack of Henieken cups that they drank.

Crisis averted, heart not broken.

I'm so glad Kaka isn't going to Man City. So glad. For those who weren't paying attention to this, Manchester City, now owned by the bazillionaire Abu Dhabi group offered 100 MILLION POUNDS to AC Milan to sell them the Brazilian, and they were allegedly offering Kaka a salary of 500,000 quid a week.

Yes, you read that right. Every fortnight, he would become a millionaire again and again and again and again...

Kaka is famously super religious - would he be like all the hypocritical Christians I know or would he prove me wrong? I didn't think he would but the part of me that understands human frailty could not cancel out the likelihood that he would go for the money. It's a lot of money.The Fans didn't want Kaka to go. Opposition players didn't want him to go. Fashion designers didn't want to go. Even hypocrites said he shouldn't go (although being hypocrites, this means little). Despite this, it totally looked like he was going to go. But the owner of Kaka indicated that he didn't want to sell. And so Kaka didn't go. Fans of Milan stood outside his apartment and gave him a serenade.

And life around the world continues...

Greetings from Sandy Beach

So something really weird happened yesterday - I went to the beach! I'm a beach hater - the sand, the cold water, the getting brown, the kids, the having to wear a bikini in public and show off my baby pillow (that layer of fat on the lower abs to cushion babies)...we just don't work together.

But dancinghula wanted her going away party there so off we went to play beach cricket and make sandcastles. The water was a bit too cold and full of jellyfish to make anyone other than The Pom want to get into it.

The view. I'm pretty sure the water isn't normally this blue although it has been about 4 years since I went to a Melb beach.

Setting up the wickets.

Le Château de la Chinoise, or Empress Mally's Folly.

I didn't get too burned since I was wearing a shirt over the burn I acquired at the tennis. It was nice to just lie around and read some chick-lit. I wonder if it will be another four years before this happens again?

Sculpture of the Week - Fountain by Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

(pictured is 1967 replica), Tate Modern, London.
(Source)

In 1917, Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) redefined Art when he submitted Fountain to an exhibition in New York. Submitted anonymously to the Society of Independent Artists, the board (some of whom were aware Duchamp was behind it), it was rejected by the Salon because Fountain is a urinal, turned 90 degrees, and signed by the *artist* R Mutt. In defending why Fountain should have been included, Duchamp said what was important was not the creation and ensuing visual representation - hey, it's a urinal! - but the true Art is instead the idea and selection fuelling the piece.

By drawing attentions to the goals, strategies, and purpose of art, Duchamp makes the viewer think more than just "Is this pretty? Do I like it?" This subsequently changed the focus of Art and artists, the echoes of which are still being felt - particuarly in Singapore (hi Flaneur!). Of course, by advocating the *concept* of Art and the questioning of Art norms, attitudes and behaviours, I could argue that Duchamp is responsible for all the crap that people produce and call *Art*. Matthew Barney, I'm looking at you.

My Love for Kooyong or Bless See-through White Shorts

Today I went to see the tournament that my hubby decided to not contest - the Kooyong AAMI Classic. It's a men's invitational round-robin competition where the guys are able to play at least 3 matches on the same surface the Aus Open is played on, thus lending the guys precious time to acclimatise and practice against some heavy competition. Previous winners include Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Andy Roddick. Kooyong is not actually worth any ATP points and contributes nothing to rankings and is thus an *exhibition* tournament. However, because it is an invitational and the benefits it offers, you're guaranteed some pretty good tennis.

Except not from Marat because he pulled out this year. He played last year though - when I happened to be in Sydney. *huff*.

But suboo and I were well rewarded by the guys who did turn up! We were seated four rows from the front, conveniently behind the coaching boxes so we had a lot of face-on action of big frustrated men yelling out stuff to their supporters. It was great. We also discovered the previously unrecognised hotness of Stanislas Wawrinka. The pics I've managed to find of him online don't show his *in motion* hotness so take my word for it.

Suboo enjoys her time in the stands.

This image of Stan (L) makes him totally look like Prince SIR Niko of Kranjcar.
(Getty Images)

His white shorts were totally see-through and he'd bend over in front of us and pick out his wedgie. It was like he was deliberately making us look at his shelf-like butt.

His opponent, the sweet and smiley Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Except not in this pic because he's just lost in 3 sets. He'd be hotter but his long hair makes him look kinda greasy.

Just making sure you know the name of a new tennis hottie.

The next match was Marcos Baghdatis who has lopped off his hair and presented the hairy grapefruit look. His opponent was the super-tall Croat Marin Cilic.

This is not a scale comparison...but it could almost be.

After this match was finished, Marcos played 6 serves against a 3AW (radio) competition winner who tried to win by playing with this GIANT racquet.

This was followed by Carlos Moya vs. Ivan Ljubicic.

Carlos looking as smoking as ever from behind. I just wish he didn't have long hair.

The last match of the day was between Mardy Fish and eternal hottie Tommy Haas. This wasn't actually part of the tournament - they must have just been handing around or something, but IT WAS THE BEST MATCH OF THE DAY. The wind which got all swirling but the players took it to another level. There were some awesome rallies and hit-making as a result of the unpredictability of the way the ball was going to fall. Awesome.

Yes, we got very close and personal to Tommy Haas. He was so hot, the older women sitting next to us said "Oh, he's got a wonderful smile!" when he looked in our direction...and smiled :D. Suboo TALKED to him :D

But then some real action happened in this match that was not tennis. There was a drunk corporate guest who started yelling out rude comments to Mardy and Tommy while they were playing. Combined with the general silence of a tennis crowd and the fact that Kooyong is an old-school stadium and sound travels and we could all hear him. Things came to a head with this exchange:
Drunk Guy: "You smell like p***y!"
Mardy Fish (stops playing): "How can you speak like that with women around?"
DG: "What? It's not bothering them. I have a right to say what I want."
MF: "I think you should leave."
DG: "What? I've paid my money and have a right to stay here."
Security guard: "Okay, you've been warned..." and escorts him and companion out.

So yes, here's to Mardy Fish.

Not a hottie, but a superhero nonetheless
(Getty Images)

So yes, unless you're a corporate drunk, I totally recommend Kooyong as a great day of tennis and perving if you're into that kind of stuff..

Lost for Words

I like to read The Offside website which is basically about soccer/football. They have a daily entry called *The Daily Dose* which consists of what has been reported in soccer/footy that day on other websites. These entries are capped by a weird video from youtube or other video sharing website.

Usually I don't bother commenting about them, but today's video has just left me so gobsmacked that I had to put it here.

There is so much wrong with this vid - here's what I've managed to spot.

• Monkeys racing on bicycles.
• That this must be a common enough occurrence that they've built a mini-track plus stadium for them to race monkeys.
• That they took the effort to train the monkeys to ride the trikes but the monkeys still ride out of the ring.
• The trainers chasing the monkeys on foot.
• The guy chasing down the monkeys and the trainers...on a unicycle.

Feel free to add more of your own!
I can't decide if this video is great or horrible. On one hand, there's a certain level of entertainment value. On the other...it's monkey bike racing. I just..........yeah. This is up there with the lion riding the horse. Only in China?

Grounds for divorce?

You know, I ask so little of my Russian husband. All I need is that he remain beautiful and play a few tournaments here and there so that I know he's healthy. I don't even ask that we see each other much. Just turn up here so I can watch him play, once a year. Sometimes not even that.

But now he's gone off the rails starting off by dating ugly girls, getting into mysterious fights in Moscow, talking about retiring at the end of the year....*huff*. And now he's gone and pulled out of Kooyong when I've gone and made a special effort to see him. *tsk*. Okay, it's because he's got an injured shoulder - probably as a result of the Moscow fight.

Quite frankly, it's behaviour like this that makes me think we should separate and I should upgrade Lashes Gourcuff. Especially since the young frenchie has decided to go all super-skills and pull off a goal like this one:

Skillz are hot.

But anyway Marat. I'm kinda upset at you right now.Why? I think you know why. But I'm a kind and forgiving wife. Do your best at the Open and we have beautiful children together as soon as I finish the PhD.

Oh, how can I stay mad at you? Especially when you smile like that?

Don't push it that far! Love you too. xoxo

New addition to the brood!

So I forgot to mention that Aunty made me a cousin for the 24th time last week when she popped out another baby. Little baby Pork Bun (because his little face looks like a steamed bun) came into the world on New Years Day a large but not too large 3.57kg. We went and visited so Ma and Pa could have a hold and gossip.

Ma gives the Pork Bun his bottle

Pork Bun wonders who is this strange woman feeding him and even stranger person photographing it

Ma & Pa demonstrate to me that they want grandkids

Playing with E and A

E & A seem to be taking the new arrival pretty well - I suppose they're close enough in age that they don't remember not having to share attention. Aunty told us amusing stories of the two always wanting to carry him and freaking out whenever a relative has joked that they were going to take away Pork Bun. Ma tried this out for reals and the kids chucked a huge tantrum! E apparently also declared that he would be willing to share his Thomas the Tank Engine toys with Pork Bun. Now that's true love!

Sculpture of the Week - Appennino by Giambologna

Giambologna, Appennino, 1577-81
Villa (Demidoff) di Pratolino, 12km North of Florence (on the way to Bologna)

Mannerism is a funny stage in art history. It derives from Giorgio Vasari's ideas of 'perfection' in art, in particular his admiration for the use of colouring and muscular forms of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling fresco. As such, Mannerist art is characterised by twisted, expressive figures and weird colour shifts in the paintings. I'm not a particularly big fan of Mannerist painting which is kinda weird and cold, but I've always found Mannerist sculpture to be amazingly full of life!

Think Mannerist sculpture, think Giambologna (1529-1608). Born in Flanders but active in Italy, particularly Florence, he was the foremost Mannerist sculptor of the day, and until the 19th century, Giambologna was considered second only to Michelangelo in reputation. His larger works are characterised by a sense of action and movement, while his smaller pieces have a beautiful delicacy.

The colossal Appennino sculpture is approximately 10 metres in height and constructed out of bricks and stones. Even without the rocky niche that was originally around it, the craggy appearance of the mountain god makes him blend perfectly with the nature surrounding it. The huge figure looks as though he's just crossed the land or come out of the ground and bent down for a drink of water. I haven't visited this in person but apparently it's hollow and there's a room in Appennino's head. Who's up for a visit?!

Strangely prophetic dreams

I wasn't going to put this on my blog but I've decided that, no, it is a totally blogworthy story.

A few nights ago, I was absolutely wrecked by the *holiday* programme of toiling away at uni followed by late night msn sessions. I ended up going to sleep at 9pm which is pretty early by anyone's standards.

I had a VERY bizarre dream. In it, I broke into a house. It wasn't a house I recognised and yet for some reason, my dream was telling me it was the house of Dr K's parents (although it clearly wasn't). They came home while I was there but I managed to escape before they caught me intruding. Unfortunately, I left my car keys inside the house so I had to return and 'fess up to breaking and entering.

Now here's where it got really weird.

When I came back, Dr. I-K was there. Fair enough, they're her in-laws. We had a short talk, at the end of which she very clearly, in my dream, TOLD ME TO WRITE MY THESIS. I remember resisting but she told me again to WRITE MY THESIS.

I woke up. It was 1am. I thought *WTF does that mean?!* So I got up out of bed, turned on my toshi and wrote for 3 hours. I went back to sleep at 4am absolutely buggered....but I got some writing done :D

Painting of the Week - Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga by Francisco de Goya

Francisco de Goya e Lucientes, Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga, c.1788
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) is a very interesting fellow in the history of art. Unlike the contemporary situation for artists in Italy and France, artists in Spain were considered lower class. To elevate themselves socially, artists had to try and associate themselves with church commissions or align themselves to the aristocracy. Goya being an ambitious fellow aligned him to the biggest Spanish fish of all, the Spanish Royal Family.

Things went well for him here and he got many commissions to do portraits of various court members, such Don Manuel de Zuniga, but in 1792 Goya suffered an illness that left him that left him profoundly deaf. Combined with the contemporary Napoleonic Wars, Goya's oeuvre can be divided into the early and more traditional works (which can still be a little creepy), and his more introspective and darker later works such as the Third of May or the Caprichos.

Goya was commissioned by Count Altamira to paint his son Don Manuel not long after he was assigned Court Painter to King Carlos III. In this absolutely gorgeous portrait, the young boy is oputlently dressed in a darrrrrrrling red jumpsuit with a cage of birds and holds a pet magpie on a string which is menacingly stared at by three cats. According to my visitors guide to The Met, caged birds in Baroque period paintings are symbolic of innocence, and thus Goya has painted this as showing the frail boundaries between childhood and the forces of evil.

Resolutions for 2009

Well lets outline what I'm going to try and do this year...

• Take a leaf out of Kahuna's book and try to be more patient with people.
• Having said that, it has been suggested to me that I should also cut loose some deadweight friends. I may also try to do that.
• Reduce my drinking (again). I think last year was a sign that I'm getting too old for that stuff. The spirit is still willing, but forgetting to balance every alcoholic drink with a glass of water means that my flesh ends up weak.
• My new sport of the year will be dancing. I don't know what type of dancing yet. but Suboo wants to take lessons in salsa. Bring it on!
• Submit/Finish my PhD by September, and of course for old times' sake
• Lose 5kg. I probably should amend that to about 2kg, but hey, I never do it anyway!

So here's to a successful year! *clinks champagne glass*