I do not endorse the following message:

Every time I’m in a store with a computer section there seems to be a tablet running Windows that has just stopped working. Doesn’t fill me with confidence.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not endorsing the competition (he says, tapping away on an iPad) and I know there are much more embarrassing stuff-ups (like systems crashing at launches – I think this has happened to all the major brands at this point). I’m just disappointed at the banality of it all. Nobody cares. Press any key. Whatever happened to the good old Blue Screen of Death? I remember when my family’s brand new 386 PC crashed – the hard drive wiped (literally crashed). Or even better! The threatening Beeps of Mystery (nothing on the screen, just beeps you had to decode to work out what wasn’t working). Ah nostalgia. Actually, thinking about it, retro is a pretty dumb idea. And anyone who uses one of those wired Moshimoshi handsets with their mobile phone is just asking to be teased (I’m looking at you Anna).

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(Get) Lost Property

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A lesson from Archimedes

In 2012 Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art held an exhibition showcasing selected works by Anish Kapoor. He manages to create some amazing visual effects in his art and is apparently often driven / informed by philosophical ideas – so I enjoyed the pieces… But outside was something truly remarkable. The ‘Sky Mirror’. First exhibited in 2006, the great arcing mirror reflects the skyline and buildings behind and above the observer.

But I didn’t know this when I saw the installation (I looked up the details when I got home). You may notice that the object is fenced off – you could not actually stand in front of the disc and experience the ‘Sky Mirror’ effect. You may also notice steam rising from the ground. This is because hoses were left running on the burnt grass.

Kapoor’s beautiful object also has the same concave, reflective shape as Archimedes’ ‘Death Ray’ (allegedly first exhibited around 212 BCE). Coupled with the Australian summer sun, the lawns outside the MCA suffered the scorching fate of Roman warships.

Like a child with a magnifying glass the MCA curatorial team delivered all the wonder and absurdity I love to find in the world, all within a meagre 35-foot diameter (and a patch of lawn).

Fantastic!

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