Blog — Page 245 of 279

ThinkInc: An evening with Dr. Lisa Randall

Seymour Center

Sydney, Australia

November 19, 2016

What is science about?
What is it meant for?
Advancing information?
Advancing understanding?
A way of thinking?
A body of knowledge?
How did we end up here?
Why are we here?
Who is to blame?

Opinions. 
Truths. Subjective and objective.
Facts.
Uncertainties.
From an incandescent mass we have originated and into a frozen mass we shall return.
Is the world we live in a three-dimensional spatial region within a system of “warped” extra dimensions?
Would that explain the relative weakness of gravity?

Successful science tells the story of “how” culminating in the “why.”
Cue Dr. Lisa Randall.
Dr. Lisa Randall works on writing, revising and editing that story. 
A story in progress.
Randall has dedicated her life to finding unexplored corners by probing the abstract, unfazed by uncertainties. 
A quest fueled by passionate curiosity that propels her down the rabbit hole, off to explore a world of extra dimensions, intriguing particles and elusive dark matter.

Apart from being an accomplished author, more worldly appearances in the realm of pop culture have seen her opposite Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, appeared on Charlie Rose, the TV talk show, and a cameo on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and ultimately a listing in TIME Magazine’s "100 Most Influential People" in 2007.

In person and in conversation during ThinkInc’s “An evening with,” Dr. Randall is refreshingly blunt, detached and has a “matter of factly” approach when she enlightened us about the fact that the universe is one.

Her at times steely expression is testament to the life of a theoretical physicist who traverses the abyss between the unknown and known, guided by intuition, stoically walking the thin line between making hypotheses that change our outlook on life or trailblazing wrongs that still help steer the way to the truth. She is an advocate of keeping an open mind and well aware that some of her more unorthodox ideas will be labeled as a “stretch” by her peers.

Without jargon or mathematics, she steers us through centuries of sometimes-tortuous astronomical history and is particularly illuminating when briefing us on the cosmic objects that sometimes land on planet Earth with unpleasant consequences.

Randall’s story draws on a wide variety of disciplines, including biology, paleontology, meteorology and mathematics. 
Yet by far the most compelling part of her is when she brings together all the strands of her theories, describes its genesis and looks to the future.

She is at ease with the unknown and explains her work of creative computational cosmology with carefully drawn analogies to the uninitiated. 

A lucid explainer, street-wise and informal. 
To the point.
Someone who has far bigger fish to fry than discussing the tedious subject of being a “woman in science” or feeling an urge to prove herself as a pioneer at every given occasion, something her male counterparts would not have to waste time on.

The event had something to offer to both – the initiated subject matter experts as well as the inquisitive general member of member of the public, which is something that has become a trademark of ThinkInc’s events.

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Photos by KAVV

20th Japanese Film Festival

Sydney, AUS

November 17-27

The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) is presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney. The JFF started in 1997, 100 years after the first foreign cameraman arrived in Japan, with three free film screenings by former Festival Director Masafumi Konomi, and has become the largest Japanese film festival in the world, showcasing a vast, well curated variety of cinematic delights from classics to newly released films currently screening in Japan as well as bringing out special guests from Japan for exclusive Q&A sessions and film screenings.

The history of the cinema of Japan is an interesting one as its DNA and the distinctive narrative style that is the foundation of traditional Japanese filmmaking is infused with the idea of the haiku as poetic art, which narrates with images rooted in the traditions of Kabuki and doll theater.

The Japanese Film Festival caters to all of its distinctive genres: Be it the equivalent to the Hollywood western, i.e. Samurai cinema with honor as the main plot theme; or anti-war films, which JFF pays homage to with a range of post-war classic films by Tadashi Imai and Kaneto Shindo: With Japan being the only nation to have experienced a nuclear attack, it is literally the first and only post-nuclear, post-apocalyptic society. These movies often explore the trauma that resulted from the atomic bomb attacks, even when they are at face value not explicitly about the event.

Another curious genre in Japanese film originating from the late 1950s is Yakuza. With a clear relation to the Hollywood gangster films, documenting the uses and customs of the Japanese mafia, a cultural phenomenon that has its antecedents in the samurai tradition

A new audience spawned demand for ultra-violent movies bereft of plot and desensitized beyond recognition, which the JFF also caters to with 18+ flics.

Japanese animation deserves a chapter all to itself. Standing out for highlighting of human values based on an exceptional technique that connects with the public on an aesthetic level, creating a colorful mirror suspended in time.

Your humble narrator and Japan aficionado had the chance to watch Kampai! For the Love of Sake – a documentary about the passion that fuels the brewing and the spirit of sake.

Personal narratives of three modern sake brewers trace the global love affair with Japan’s favorite alcoholic beverage.
Following not only the fifth-generation brewery owner Kosuke Kuji but also the journey of the Westerners Philip Harper, who became a master brewer, and John Gauntner, who was re-christened the “evangelist of sake” by Japanese sake luminaries make the documentary all the more compelling, as it tracks the journey of sake from the brewery to the restaurant table.

The documentary was accompanied by a sake tasting event, during which Gauntner’s seven basic tasting parameters found their application – fragrance, impact, sweet versus dry, acidity, presence, earthiness, and tail – on the five basic types of sake, each having its own distinct brewing method and a different percentage of rice milling (seimaibuai).

The Japanese Film Festival will hold court in Sydney until 27 November and one does not have to be a movie buff to be well entertained.

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Photos by Wagamama Media LLC

Deftones

Hordern Pavilion

Sydney, AUS

November 12, 2016

The ever evolving entity known as “Deftones” has been largely intact for close to three decades and is heralded as one of the most experimental groups to have come from the alternative metal music scene, with their sound having been tagged with a myriad of labels:

From “nu metal” at the beginning of their career via “metal gaze” when they incorporated dream pop into their Northern California alt-metal to “space rock” with their musical style further diversifying over the years.

Whatever the label du jour may be, although firmly rooted in metal, Deftones have always been a multi-dimensional band based on their actively entertained beautiful / brutal dualism, which is enhanced by Moreno’s ambiguous, raw yet emotional approach to song writing, adding moody textures with his ethereal and melodramatic vocal delivery.

Throughout the years, live incarnations have at times been a mixed bag depending on the daily form, inner band tensions and other factors, but tonight’s show did not disappoint and cemented the Deftones as one of the more exciting bands:

While throwing in classics, the expansive set list spanning tracks from all eras of their eight album catalogues, including a focus on their most recent effort Gore, proved their longevity and presented a fresh feel. Their core sound might have solidified around their eponymous release White Pony, but they never ceased to experiment and grow, which paid dividends as 28 years into their career, the Deftones are a benchmark in a live context, reinforcing their relevance without needing to rely on riding waves of nostalgia.

Once the photographers exited the front of the stage, Moreno launched himself into the nearly sold-out crowd giving the show a layer of intimacy, leaving the stage to his worthy constituents sonically oscillating between their trademarked guitar chugging and serene melodic interludes, while being framed by a seizure inducing light show added to the sensory overload and overall ambience.

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Photos by KAVV

Made Fashion show

Carriageworks

Sydney, AUS

November 11-13, 2016

In essence MADE is a community and creative hub that originated in New York City. It was incarnated with guidance and oversight from the mayor’s office and lives within the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

In collaboration with the private sector: it develops, creates and implements a wide array of specific programs to bring together players from the realms of fashion design, manufacturing and education, based on principles of transparency, sustainability, ethical practices and local consumption. The community set out to raise awareness not just about looking pretty but also of the social, environmental and economic benefits that are “made” (see what I did there?) locally.

The Sydney incarnation of MADE was comprised of a 2-day festival celebrating the cross-section of fashion and skateboarding with fashion events, skate events and a range of retail pop-up shops, many of them having made the trek to terra australis for the first time:

Faith Connexion brought their androgyne, art infused collections. Mademe catered to girls gravitating towards skate couture, Sydney DJ collective Pelvis exhibited their prints, Pageant bid aesthetic nods to sportswear while advocating a fresh take on feminism; the Danish street wear brand Soulland brought head- and outerwear to the table; Distal Phalanx stirred things up a bit with their black metal inspired logo and collection; Emma Mulholland sold exclusively selected pieces from her latest collection; Lithuanian born and Sydney-based Egyboy wore his influences on his sleeves with often explicitly quoting and signifying the likes of Jeff Koons, Karl Lagerfeld and Warhol; Double Rainbouu leaned heavily on the laid-back, trippy side of things and Melbournian jewellery label POMS showed their unique collection of bling and sunglasses.

DJ Sets serenaded the proceedings, which were rounded out by fashion shows, skate competitions along with sustenance and drinks from a range of food trucks, which made for an enjoyable, relaxed weekend for which contemporary multi-arts centre and heritage listed Carriageworks site as usual served as a perfect location.

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Photos by KAVV

Destroyer 666

Max Watts

Sydney, AUS

November 5, 2016

Max Watts, the name of the venue of tonight’s black and thrash metal proceedings, is a play of the term “maximum wattage,” which seemed appropriate given that Destroyer 666 were holding court.

It was a homecoming or sorts as the band was founded in 1994 in Melbourne after the band’s guitarist’s departure from Bestial Warlust and then eventually relocated to Europa in 2001, followed by extensive touring and firmly establishing their presence in the old world.

Touring on the back of their most recent album Wildfire, Destroyer 666 delivered: Their own brand of blackened, dirty and thrash metal infused with a healthy dose of early Motorhead, and dare I say gruff punk swagger and attitude along with nods to Killers’ era Iron Maiden adds anthemic qualities to their songs, while never taking the foot of the pedal.

The transition from listening to their songs and experiencing them in a live environment is seamless and their commanding stage presence based on sing-along choruses, frantic riffage and all-out thrashers is a natural extension of their aesthetic.

It is Destroyer 666’s knack of transcending genres, incorporating lyrical themes of lycanthropy and nihilism along and taking the audience from thrash assaults to more epic moments In a coherent, engaging manner that many of their contemporaries lack. Underground metal aficionados would be hard pressed to not enjoy Destroyer 666’s live incarnations.

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Photos by T