Peter Murphy's Panoramic VR Weblog

Saturday, June 21, 2003

The launch of the new Harry Potter book was celebrated today by 800 fans with this steam train ride (the "Hogwart Express") - which left Central at 7.30am. Panorama. On its return an hour later everyone queued up to collect their copy of the book. A pic of some of the crowd on the station. 11:58:37 PM

Thursday, June 19, 2003

The government has organised a series of "welcome back the Iraq War troops" parades in a number of the state capital cities. Here is the scene yesterday in the first of these parades - in George St in the city ... panorama.  The crowds seemed rather sparse and subdued compared with the normal Anzac Day response. The march was publicised only a day or so before the event -- maybe for security reasons. Here are some pictures from the parade.. a Vietnam veteran bikie ... an "old aussie digger" ... Prime Minister Howard pressing flesh after the parade (there was a lone protesting voice yelling out "You're a liar, Howard!" at the start of his speech) .. Leader of the Opposition Crean with a sailor ... police taping up garbage bins ... the crowd and troops stand at attention for the singing of the National Anthem 10:42:13 AM

Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of Australia - by Matthew Flinders.  And in a somewhat ironic coincidence(?) it also marked the arrival back in Sydney of the aboriginal vessel, the ketch "Tribal Warrior" after its two year trip around the country.  Panorama . The "Tribal Warrior" Asociation website is here. There is also in fact a tall ship Windeward Bound re-creating Flinders' voyage which is due back in Sydney next week. I did a panorama of the Windeward Bound when it departed -- more than a year ago -- from Darling Harbour. ...Foucault on ships: "The sailing vessel is the hetereotopia par excellence. In civilizations without ships the dreams dry up, espionage takes the place of adventure, and the police that of the corsairs" 3:28:58 AM

Saturday, June 07, 2003

Rene Rivkin is a high profile financial advisor and recently he was given a custodial sentence for insider trading -- which sentence he started this morning. Yesterday his lawyers made a last ditch attempt to stave off his imprisonment. In the panorama Rivkin is shown coming out of the Supreme Court after the appeal failed. Here is a picture from the middle of the media scrum -- the woman under his arm is his wife, the guy in yellow is his minder. Update - in the Sunday Telegraph today there were blurry shots of Rivkin on his first day in jail --- taken by someone - "Sam" - inside the prison with a camera-equipped mobile phone. Another sign of the depth of the media frenzy surrounding this incarceration. Update again: Sunday pm - Rivkin collapses in cell - Realmedia report from the ABC. 3:12:55 AM

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Newtown bridge at dusk yesterday - panorama.  Newtown's King Street is a tunnel of traffic but a busy "alternative" shopping/eating/promenading precinct nonetheless. The station entrance here is an elevated open area and always catches the last rays of the sun. An historic photo from the middle of the road. 9:40:33 PM

Sunday, June 01, 2003

There were an amazing number of festivals in Sydney yesterday - the Rocks Arts festival, the Leather Pride festival, the Italian festival at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, and this one at Manly Beach - a food and wine festival complete with camel rides - panorama. Manly has a quite different feeling from Bondi -- the topography is not quite so rugged and the crowds are not so hip and international. But it is more laid-back somehow - and the beach goes on forever. There is a Manly Beach webcam here. 10:55:21 PM