brown family tradition

scrabble in front of the fire in the evening. my mum, sister anna and i doing battle on the old school board. anna and i play against one another online all the time now. it's the evening before my sister's wedding so i let her beat me ;)

history with no closure (18)

in case it isn't obvious from the photo or tags, here's my admission that i didn't take this photo today. it's a file photo from our 2009 trip to cambodia because i am too hot and tired at the end of this day for heading out and being creative. this photo is the view from a balcony of one of the buildings in S21, a high school which was converted into a horrific political prison during pol pot's regime in the late 70s and early 80s. it is just one site in the country complete with an unspeakable history of torture and executions. to this day few of the khmer rouge lead culprits have stood trial or been sentenced which has obviously left the cambodian people with a justifiable outrage and disbelief at the lack of justice. very very sad. do we ever learn?

light at the end of the tunnel (15)

now.... i know it's cheating in terms of the 365 project but i am adding a second photo to today. maybe this can count as a credit on another day when i am too lazy to put one up? anyway. this is the original photo i took, sans mands, when i looked back through the rocks passageway (featured in the previous post) and saw all the cool light reflections and shadows defining the bricks and pavers, originating from the bright light at the end (start?) of the tunnel.

shady characters in dark passageways (14)

it might be modern times but there's silhuoetted terror still awaiting in the old dark passageways between and behind old terraced buildings in the old sydneytown area called the rocks.... in the form of a cantankerous amanda brown who doesn't find wandering through endless market stalls as fascinating as i do.... that is until she found the liquorice stall ;)

final walk through this door of history

goodbye poppy.

creepy religious stories abound

i don't remember the name of this dark gothic cathedral in the streets behind the old town square in prague, however the recollection of the horror at having a shriveled old human hand which was proudly pointed out, by our walking tour guide, hanging on a chain from the ceiling as evidence of a religious miracle is still crystal clear in my mind. allegedly it is the hand of a thief who came to steal a statue from the church and the statue came to life (the religious miracle) and grabbed hold of the thief's wrist - so he cut off his hand to make an escape. creepy.

perhaps i just like the quiet

the irony is not lost on me at all that despite harbouring a well-developed suspicion and deep loathing of religion, that i do love the architecture of churches and am fascinated in their history. please don't mistake fascination for admiration - i am also fascinated by world war II history. this photo is taken of the inside of st stephen's cathedral in vienna. amazing catacombs lie beneath, entombing the skeletons of thousands of plague victims. the stuff of horror movies.

the curtain was raised

and the wonders of the east were revealed. night sights and sounds in praha's old town square. simply exquisite. we were walking back to our hotel after an evening in a basement pub sinking czech beer then going to watch an extremely kitsch but highly amusing don giovanni puppet show.

what the hell

another giant khymer face. just because i want to.

ground control to angkor thom

two of the many massive stone faces carved by the ancient khymer people and installed throughout angkor thom. what amazing khymer and cambodian history passing which they have gazed out upon across the centuries.... if only they could actually speak.

not london bridge, not falling down

walking across tower bridge at sunset. tower bridge is often mistaken as being london bridge. probably because london bridge is really quite boring to look at, while tower bridge is quite striking and makes for a much better photo(s). finally i should mention that tower bridge is featured in the spice girls movie when they jump their bus over the bridge. so clearly it has exceeded london bridge in the fame stakes.

barb(aric) wire

this is the remains of a wall at sachsenhausen, a concentration camp north of berlin. i don't really want to say anything more other than the grey clouds in the background are appropriate. i only took a handful of photos when i visited this site. it still makes me feel sad to think about it. actually the one other thing i will say no country or race is without a chequered history or a mistake.

the quadriga & victoria

having spent a day walking throughout central berlin, mostly in the old east berlin, then the sun was setting on brandenburg gate just as we were walking beneath it. there is so much i could say about berlin, but essentially i just love it. what a gritty, dark but also beautiful city in a seemingly constant state of transformation, it seems both ancient and modern all at once, it is living history, more so than anywhere else i've experienced.

take the weather with you

simultanously (well within 24 hours) held in new york, washington, rio de janeiro, johannesburg, london, hamburg, tokyo, shanghai and sydney, the world-wide series of 'live earth' music festivals weathered some heavy criticism, accused of hypocritically producing thousands of tons of carbon emissions when the objective of the event was about raising awareness about climate change. however negative nelly naysayers aside, i think this was a really great and special event and i was proud to be there to be part of it. not to mention getting to see some fantastic australian artists perform, including missy higgins, wolfmother, esimo joe, sneaky sound system, and the re-formed crowded house who headlined - with the crowd singing along to all the old favourites played, nearly drowning out the band themselves. it was a great day - this photo is more about the memories it invokes that the photo itself. which i think often is the special ingredient which makes the best photos of all.

short poppies

i am not a supporter of war generally speaking and i think especially recently as a nation we've been involved a lot of unnecessary conflict for political and economic ends. but i do like this photo with the bright red of the poppy against the dull brass panelling. it is the roll of honour at the australian war memorial.