Down and out down under

It's been an interesting week in Australia.

1. A retired judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Federal Court of Australia was sentenced to three years imprisonment (with a non-parole period of two years), for attempting to pervert the course of justice. You can read the sentencing judgment here. A recipient of Australia’s second highest civilian honour and previously deemed a national living treasure, Marcus Einfeld was the first (serving or retired) judge to be imprisoned in Australia. He perjured himself while trying to avoid a $77 speeding fine. In US currency, that’s about $53. He told police, the Courts and pretty much everyone else (including national television) that a friend of his was driving the car at the time the speed camera clicked. Trouble was, the person Einfeld was trying to pin the crime on died in 2003. Wtf mate.
2. Heads of government in Australian states are called premiers. Today, Anna Bligh became the first female in Australian political history to be elected premier in her own right.
3. Australia’s Prime Minister wants to give 8.7 million of us nine hundred bucks, just because he’s a nice guy (and we’re sliding into recession). This guy thinks it’s unconstitutional. Thanks, guy.
4. Two Australians died in Afghanistan.

In other (older and less Australian) news, Bob Dylan is releasing a new studio album, the first since the much overrated Modern Times (in 2006). I’ll use that as an excuse to post some of my favourite Dylan videos.



I haven't seen all of Eat the Document, but these two clips are really cool.





It’s also World Poetry Day.

Play me, I'm yours...

While trying to figure out today what city is halfway between Amsterdam and Sydney (to no avail...Google Maps won't let you walk or drive across oceans), I came across this art project in Sydney that placed public pianos all over the city. For most of January, these pianos were available for anyone to play or decorate. This is way better than the horses of Lexington. Maybe if they had been real horses that we could've gotten some use out of...


The idea of pianos as a public, shared, and free commodity has also been embraced by the main library in Amsterdam, where a piano in the foyer is open and available for anyone to play. The Amsterdam library is pretty wonderful in general. It was a main attraction during my excursion to the big city with friends last weekend. Click on the link above for more pictures.