Since we don’t live by politix alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
Although it’s been uni break over the last week, I’ve been a busy boy. I now have a date with destiny for my doctorate - I’m presenting to a final seminar on 30 October. This is the internal examination stage of phd completion according to the QUT rules - it’s a bit like a viva voce where you talk about what you’ve done and found and are questioned by a panel of senior academics (and the audience!) - in my case from QUT’s Humanities Program (once was a Faculty…) I more or less wrapped the thing up on Friday, did a little revision yesterday, and lazed around last night and watched Maggie Cheung movies on dvd, and today and tomorrow before the teaching and marking onslaught resumes, I’m giving the thesis a final spit and polish.
So I’m very chuffed!
Folks might also remember I’ve been doing a bit of travel writing - of the insider’s guide to where you live variety. I filed my copy for that and sent in the invoice on Tuesday arvo, and it was a really neat gig. On Monday, I went for a wander around Paddington and took some photos - not for the project itself - but as an aide memoire. It turned out to be a dodgy day to be walking - 35 degrees maximum. But it did also prompt me to decide that walking for about an hour a day was a good custom to be revived - so I’ve been doing that ever since - in the late afternoon on cooler days and at night on hotter days. Anyway, here’s the photographic record of my Paddo perambulations. It’s a really nice part of the world, and somewhere I wouldn’t mind living. But the real estate market would really have to collapse before I could contemplate buying there!
White picket fence II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
If you’d like to see a larger image of the photos, click on them then click on “full view” once you’re inside the gallery.
Steep streets by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Miss Posh Poodle I by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Miss Posh Poodle II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Colourful cottage by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Paddo house II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Sassafrass by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Kiln gallery by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Paddo houses by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Spring by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Grey shop by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Kookaburra Cafe by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Paddo shops by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Colourful shop by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Congratulations on the thesis completion. I’m interested in the viva arrangement - that’s not common in Aus but I think it’s great idea. I’m working on more-or-less steadily on mine - although not today as it’s a long weekend on NSW and I’m trying to take some time off. Tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow. We weeded the garden, and am now feeling a little stiff. Might be time for an afternoon nap.
Thanks!
At QUT it was introduced when they first started offering research doctorates back in the early 90s - one of the motivations was to ensure that there’d be higher hurdles to jump for candidates than elsewhere to convince people that doctorates awarded by a university which hadn’t previously been a university were worthwhile. Generally, there seems to be more rigour in things like confirmation of candidature as well at QUT than at some other places I’m familiar with.
I doubt that really is questioned now, but I think it’s a nice idea. It’s good to be able to give back something to the university rather than just have a thesis disappear onto the library shelves, and to have a formal opportunity to have input from a wide range of people and not just supervisor/s.
It does slow the examination process down though - after the panel assesses it, there’s a three month period set by the degree rules before it can go to external examination. But again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing in the sense that you get another chance to fix any problems and tweak it, and hopefully means that it’s in better shape before external examiners assess it.
Mark: please pardon this transgression of the usual LS guideline “we don’t live by politix alone”, ( actually I have formed the impression that LP is getting very lite as a politix, as it is played, locally, discussion site, these days, something to do with Teh Left not really knowing what to do when Teh Evil Conservatives aren’t there to flay anymore, just a theory) but it could be a watershed event, (well a tantalising drop of the good stuff in an otherwise parched landscape).
You’ll know better than I how to interpret it, how it could play out, if at all.
For those with nothing at stake in Qld politix, please just pass by.
Danny, it’s largely a matter of time on my part - when you’ve got a lot more going on in your life than usual (full time teaching load + thesis completion), something has to slip beneath the radar. So I haven’t been paying much attention to Queensland and Brisbane politics. I imagine that will change in the future.
I must say that development - if accurate - is not entirely unexpected and very interesting.
But I must also say the Saturday Salon thread might be a better place to discuss it!
A black weekend for Ozymandias… About 10am Friday I noticed that my upstairs neighbour’s shower was on steady drip. I’d had cause to mention this to Steve in the past, as it resonates in my bedroom below, and he had been careful to turn his taps off firmly ever since. About 4pm, when the dripping was driving me crazy, I knocked on his door but got no response. I saw his car was in the carport, and thought maybe he’d gone out with a mate for the weekend. Early on Saturday morning I saw his bathroom light was on. I knocked again; still no response. A peek through the blinds showed his glasses and tobacco were on his kitchen table. I rang my landlady who agreed it all sounded a bit suss, and she came over with a spare key. Neither of us wanted to go in, so we called the Police. When they were still inside after a couple of minutes, we feared the worst. How long does it take to confirm a four-room unit is empty? Sure enough, they emerged to say that Steve had died. They asked if I would mind identifying him. He was half-sitting on the edge of his bed, naked, his feet and face a dark purple colour. It looked like he had started feeling unwell in the shower and gone to lie down, and then died suddenly, no time to ring or call for help. Poor bugger was only 52.
As happens when someone dies suddenly, I keep seeing his (living, smiling, friendly) face and hearing his voice, and wishing I had taken the time to get to know him better. I haven’t slept much since. That’s life, I guess.
Chapel Hill 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. A very nice drop from the Coonawarra, in the prime of it’s life right now.
More than I can say for the consumer unfortunately
That’s a sad tale, Ozymandias!
I’m very sorry about your neighbour, Ozymandias. Look after yourself - something like that, where it’s somebody you don’t know that well, can still affect you a lot more than you might think. You may need to talk to a professional about it all at some point as it sounds like a traumatic series of events.
My weekend has been rather less dark. I’ve been in the nation’s capital while my partner is conferencing. I spent much of yesterday recovering from Friday night - I don’t know how many I had in total, but I lost count at a dozen standard drinks, and we were out for a couple more hours after that point. Very foolish behaviour indeed, and I’m definitely not recommending it. My first genuine binge in several years, and I’m still trying to figure out why exactly things went in that direction. I did meet some interesting people, although I can’t imagine what sort of impression I made on them.
This morning I went over the lake to the NLA, but it turns out the main reading room doesn’t open until 1.30pm on Sundays. I decided I wouldn’t wait, but bought the latest ABR and a recent Overland and sat in the foyer reading until the cafe opened and I could get a coffee. I’ve spent the afternoon in the hotel room working on a lecture on some recent Australian films.
Condolences on your trauma, Oz. There but for the grace of God and all that…
Ozymandias, I had a very similar thing happen to me a couple of years ago. I found a friend of mine dead, in his flat. It was a Monday monday morning and I knew something was very wrong when I saw the weekend newspapers sitting outside his front door.
As klaus said, be very careful with yourself. It’s more affecting than you may think at first.
Ozymandias, just seconding (thirding?) what Klaus K and Fine said. One conversation with a good professional might save you some nightmares or depression later. That is a pretty awful story.
And good on you for noticing and worrying and taking action. If he has family or beloveds anywhere, you have done them a kindness.
O that sounds like an experience my Mum had, old spinster neighbor not seen, other neighbour said had gone to her brother’s for the weekend, Mum said no etc and finally police broke in and found nice neighbor dead.
Me, have driven down to niece’s place at Kalangadoo–picking up a speeding fine en route
— for 4 days of R&R. Incl spending a few hours in Coonawarra!
Bloody thing about the fine, an $20 ‘victim’s levy’ which made me see red:- I am a victim of crime and the @#$& cops did nothing but give me a VoC booklet and lie about fingerprinting being done and a witness report.
Not quite as sad as Ozy, but Lion Nathan, the makers of the world’s worst beer Speights, has added insult to injury by stopping making Swan Stout, the favourite elixir of one of my most knowlegeable commenters. The Worst of Perth community is rallying round, trying to find any bottleshops with a few last stubbies left for him.
http://theworstofperth.com/2008/10/05/the-last-soldier/
Cheer up OZ, we all go sometime and quick and easy like your neighbor’s a better marble to draw than a lot of others.
This weekend is World Animal Day, so I celebrated by going to church, which is unusual for me. But the local High Anglican Church has a service celebrating companion animals. It’s huge. There we are, about 400 people, over a 100 dogs, a few cats, rats, lizards, a sheep, a goat and even a horse - Subzero who won the Melbourne Cup in 1992. All in the church, except for Subzero because he can’t deal with tiles underfoot. It’s very sweet. Hymns are sung, there are lots of bells, smells and barking dogs. But no stoushes. We then adjourn to the church’s garden for a sausage sizzle, a cup of tea, an individual blessing from the priest if so desired and a photo opportunity with Subzero. Apparently it’s being going for 15 years and it’s getting bigger all the time. I saw a few friends there and then we adjourned to the pub.
Congrats on the thesis-finishing, Mark! Must be a great feeling. I’m a few months from that stage, but not many — finishing the second-last chapter tonight.
Congrats Mark, well done, and good luck with the viva. A friend of mine gave hers at QUT the day before giving birth - here’s hoping yours is less stressful!
Maggie Cheung movies. Cool. Which ones? Have you seen Irma Vep?
Oh yeah! That was one of them.
I first saw it @ BIFF in 1996 or 1997 - around then anyway - when Maggie Cheung herself was a guest of the festival - they were having a Tsui Hark retrospective.
Also saw Green Snake:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106559/
And was in the same cinema as Maggie! Fanboy excitement!
The other one I watched last night was the other Assayas film in which she stars - Clean - which is really excellent, if you haven’t seen it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388838/
Thanks, Lefty E and Brett - it is a great feeling!
Nice one Mark: when I finished my thesis for submission a couple of years ago I had been expecting this euphoric wave to wash over me, followed by the party to end all parties. What I got was a wave of relief, and a realization that I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about goofing off when I should have been working
The euphoria happened after I opened the letter saying my external examination had passed.
I was probably getting keyed up about my own completion seminar/thesis defense, call it what you will. I gave mine AFTER submission, due to me living in a different city to my university by the time I actually completed. I took the “speak long enough to bore them into submission” approach. After over an hour everyone there was desperate for lunch, so the gag was enacted and the questioning thankfully truncated!
Heh! Thanks, Ophuck, and thanks for the seminar tip!
On another note, Im currently on the outskirts of Brisbane, at Ms LE’s ancestral German-Australian farm, watching the neighbours burn the cane by night. Awesome! Fire licking sky!
Mark:
Hearty congratulations.
By coincidence, have just finished watching ABC’s broadcast of the BBC’s “The Lost World of Tibet” which showed film of the present Dalai Lama doing his vivas for higher-order monkdom at three monastries …. with present-day comment by the Dalai Lama on how he felt at the time about the questions and the styles of different examiners. If perchance, anyone you know has recorded it, you might get a kick out of watching it. {Relevant bits are past half-way through the program and start with showing how young monks debate then some minutes later the program comes back to the Dalai Lama doing his vivas just before escaping to India].
I have figured out, through my own exhaustive audio analysis, that Let It Be… Naked is much better than Let It Be. In particular, Across the Universe well and truly sh*ts all over the 1970 version (that is probably not news for proper fans; it was for me). If Spector doesn’t go down for murder, surely we can get him some jail time for the ‘Wall of Sound’ orchestra work?
BBB
Thanks for the supportive comments, people. I am seeing a psych today on an unrelated matter, and will mention Steve’s death to him. Cheers.
Congratulations Mark on the completion of your thesis.
That must be a load off your mind. I hope all goes well with the interrogation of peers.
Thanks for sharing the experience. It is the closest many of us will get, or want to get probably.
Mark - Maggie Cheung herself was a guest of the festival - they were having a Tsui Hark retrospective.
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That was one of the things Brizvegas did that we down south followed - realizing that Asians make good movies. We had Tsui Hark here last year. Maggie and Assayas were guests of MIFF when Irma Vep came out. When they were married?
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Haven’t seen Clean it’s on the list. Olivier Assayas was the first Western film journalist to do a comprehensive book on Chinese cinema back in his Cahiers di Cinema days. He makes fun of the Western (Tarantinoesque) fetish for HK violence in total disregard for everything else: I zink Bullet in ze Head is a grat grat film.
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The Gen X/Y film crowd in HK hate Maggie Cheung and Jackie Chan and all those. Heaps of intergenerational resentment in my experience. Almost irrational. Compliment these folk at your peril.
Mark, the final seminar shouldn’t be too hard because you will have though so much about it already that you’ll be prepared for anything.
I didn’t have to do an oral defence of my PhD, but I did have an incredibly gruelling viva at the end of my honours year: 90 minutes of interrogation from a panel of five people, including a visiting professor, on the contents of my two 12,000 word Hons theses plus the 4 three-hour exams. Defending the theses wasn’t too bad, but having bits of my exam papers read out to me and then being asked ‘What did you mean by that?’ was a tad strenuous. At one point I said ‘Good God, are you absolutely sure I wrote that?’
I’m fairly sure they don’t have to do it like than any more. And I am glad.
Ozymandias [5]:
Sad indeed. My condolences.
The good thing is that, in an age when callousness is applauded and a sense of duty despised, you and your landlady cared enough about your neighbour to do something …. when it would have been far far easier to just look the other way and say it was not your responsibility. Good on you!!
Adrien @ 27, they were married in 1998. They signed the divorce papers during the making of Clean.
wmmbb and Graham, thanks!
Dr Cat, wow, that’s a series of big hoops to jump through for an honours degree! Thanks to you too - I’m not sure if I’ll be nervous or not yet - at least after a decade in the lecturing game, I don’t have too much stage fright to worry about - content aside.
Wow.
Ozymandius, what a terrible weekend. Hope you’re okay.
Congrats on finishing thesis, Mark.
I had a very quiet weekend, mostly reading Ferling’s Almost A Miracle, which I finished, then started on Hague’s biography of Wiberforce seriously. A bit of note-taking, watched some TV, DVDs. Off-line all day today because of thunderstorms.
Adrien [27]:
Hey! Fair crack of the whip! Not all Westerners are obsessed with HongKong ultra-violent garbage …. what about everyone who queued up for tear-jerkers like “Going Home” or “Not One Less” or “Red Sorghum” or for fascinating social issues ones like “Shower” or for the Jackie Chan ones that satirized and raised screen violence to an art form comparable with grand opera?
Red Sorghum is also top novel, Mo Yan is one inventive writer with his satirical finger to the pulse of China’s chest, loved “Republic of Wine” and I will be reading his new novel when I finish my thesis.
Best of luck Mark, I’m in the finishing stretch myself, I didn’t know Australian unis did vivas - I thought it would be too expensive. One of the fellows in my department did his PhD in England, and had specialists fly in from Ireland and France - the French guy arriving about a half-hour into the questioning (couldn’t see my department being able to afford to do that.) Even then the viva I heard described was really a formality, apparently the main rationale was to ensue that anyone awarded a thesis had done the work themselves - with the questioning ensuring that it was actually the work of the person questioned.
I did however notice a Go8 spokesman in the HES wanted to introduce vivas at the end of all postgrad theses, but unless there was extra funding it would be impossible, as my department wouldn’t be able to fly in the specialists in my field from overseas - although hopefully with the diverse range of topics and texts I’ve covered there will be a cornucopia of articles and presentations that can be spun out of various sections of the thesis that will show the fruits of my loins so to speak.
but I don’t have to do a viva
Congrats, Dr. Bahnisch!
At QUT, it’s an internal panel for the seminar, Stephen.