52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 38

Oil pastel giraffe wearing a bilby mask - and a bilby wearing a giraffe mask. Signage created in Word, torn edges and painted with coffee.

Week 38: Giraffe

Update:

Two-part paper finger puppet - one finger forms the neck. Outlined in black Sharpie, coloured with watercolours.

Week 38: Giraffe II

Week 38: Giraffe III

Freehand silhouette in black card collaged to a safari print gift bag. 3D eyelashes cut from white paper, with curls rolled over the end of a paintbrush. I was creating this at lunchtime today when a Facebook message came in announcing the passing of my actor friend, Elaine Lee (Vera in TV's Number 96) and I suddenly realised that my new giraffe needed to have - instead of white cartoon eyes - big white eyelashes. (Many happy memories having drinkies in Elaine's dressing room, after a stage performance, and watching her peel off her huge false eyelashes.)

Week 38: Giraffe IV

Mixed media collage with chenille sticks (poking through random holes made with a hole punch), torn paper and self-adhesive faux fur safari skin on a quill board background.

Youtube flashback! Number 96 in Best of Aussie Dramas

Another Ian-chatting-about-"Number 96" Youtube find:


Ian inserted into the famous "Number 96" bomb episode's split-screen shot.

THE BEST OF AUSSIE DRAMAS (November 2002)
Presented by Kate Ritchie of Home and Away. Contained numerous clips of Number 96, with sound byte comments from John Orcsik, Elaine Lee, Jeff Kevin, Lorrae Desmond, Vince Sorrenti and Number 96 historian, Ian McLean. Seven Network.

Youtube flashback! Tonight Live salutes Number 96

Another "Number 96" Youtube find:


Photo © 1993 Artist Services. Thanks Fiona Vizard.

TONIGHT LIVE WITH STEVE VIZARD. (20/7/1993)
Hosted by Steve Vizard. Featured flashback footage and live interviews with Elaine Lee, Jeff Kevin, Steve Bedwell and Number 96 historian, Ian McLean. Comedian Vince Sorrenti conducted a tour of Moncur Flats, at 83 Moncur Street, Woollahra, the actual location of the Number 96 building seen in the show's credits. Seven Network.
Part 1 (Elaine Lee)

Part 2 (Jeff Kevin, Steve Bedwell)

Part 3 (featuring yours truly).

The bookish meme

The Other Andrew highlighted this book meme, and since discussions of favourite books usually brings out the teacher-librarian in me, here goes:

1. One book you have read more than once:
Like Andrew, I'm a hoarder when it comes to books. Wasting time on the Internet these days has definitely cut into the time I might have spent re-reading old favourites, but I would have to choose 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff.

In the 1980s, my friend, Elaine Lee, was appearing in the play version, opposite Judi Farr and the late Leonard Teale. To my horror, the season at the Marian Street Theatre, Killara, was completely sold out. They had just added one more performance by public demand (whew!) but, while I was waiting for the big day, I picked up the book out of curiosity - and was immediately hooked. It's the true story, told in letters, of a feisty New York woman who loves English literature (and the mystique of leatherbound second hand books), and her pithy correspondence - almost love affair - with the canny manager of a London antiquarian bookstore. I just love the way the personalities of both main characters permeate their letters, and to see the evolution of their deepening friendship and mutual respect over many years, and the positive effects a single deep friendship can have on others. One also gets a taste of life in both cities: while stoic Londoners soldiered on under post-war food rationing, hectic New Yorkers' career paths, dental health and rental crises was preventing the following of dreams. Inspiring!

The feature film version with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins is excellent, too, as is an audio version featuring Miriam Karlan and Frank Finlay. The movie's soundtrack album is also a firm favourite. When I finally got to see Elaine in the play, the curtain call bows by the cast were real tear-jerkers. An amazing theatrical experience.

After reading 84 Charing Cross Road (which included the sequel, "The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street"), Elaine Lee herself recommended the hilarious "Underfoot in Showbusiness", also by Helene Hanff, which details her frustrating quest to become a playwright. I then found "Apple of My Eye" on my own, ironically just a few weeks after visiting New York for the first time. That one has Hanff and her friend, the aptly-named Patsy, exploring New York as if they were tourists. They made me want to go back immediately and see everything I'd missed. I eventually found a rare, second hand hardcover version of "Apple of My Eye" (the one with all the photographs), on my next visit to New York. There's this wonderful three-storey second hand bookstore in Greenwich Village, where every book is alphabetized and categorized.

2. One book you would want on a desert island:
I'd have to agree with Andrew on this one: the omnibus edition of The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, . Supports endless re-reading, and I would love the luxury of time to read it again after all the fun of seeing the three movies. (I loved seeing Sawyer reading "Watership Down" as his book of choice or, rather, the default book for a desert island, on TV's "Lost" recently. But it's not long enough for an extended stay.) Coincidentally, the one book Helene Hanff absolutely hated when she had to critique it, as part of her job evaluating books in "Underfoot in Showbusiness", was... The Lord of the Rings.

3. One book that made you laugh:
Mmmm. I love the humour of Peter David, comic book writer and "Star Trek" novelist, who's extended his talents into several series of very funny, very punny, medieval/fantasy books, particularly his Sir Apropos of Nothing trilogy. See also "The Woad to Wuin" and "Tong Lashing". (I also love collections of newspaper comic strips of the 80s and 90s, such as "Bloom County", "Calvin and Hobbes", "The Far Side" and "Robotman". They often give me a good belly laugh.)

4. One book that made you cry:
The ultimate time travel novel, The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold. A young guy inherits a strange time travel belt and turns his life upside down as its power tempts and/or corrupts him. It's a real coming-of-age novel, so as a then-stereotypical science fiction fan in my early 20s, this one really hit home at times. Jokingly known in some circles as "The Man Who Fondled Himself", it certainly adds layers of complexity to all those SF shows that so carelessly flirt with time travel.

I consider David to be a friend, now that we've shared several ST convention experiences together, including one where we were both guests of honour in New Zealand - but I barely knew him when I first read TMWFH. David, of course, is also the creator of "tribbles", those little prolific fuzzballs from "Star Trek". I've bought every novel David has written (and have read most of them), and he always takes his readers on an informative journey.

5. One book you wish you had written:
My unpublished social history on Aussie TV phenomenon, "Number 96". Sadly, after several close calls, the Australian literary market was unable to embrace my proposed manuscript as a commercial venture. (Maybe I should reconfigure it as a doctoral thesis?) The book would have contained behind-the-scenes gossip, previously untold anecdotes and celebrity interviews. Series creator David Sale corrected many false assumptions made about the show over the years. Former executive producer, the late Bob Huber, generously supplied unpublished documents, including writers' guides, confidential memoranda and personal production notes. The book was to have celebrated the indelible marks this ground-breaking series left on its family of cast and crew, on the TV industry and on Australian popular culture. Sigh...

6. One book you wish had never been written:
Worst "Star Trek" novel ever: Deep Space Nine: The Laertian Gamble by Robert Sheckley. I was shocked to realize he was a highly respected science fiction writer. This book was just turgid, turgid, turgid. I read every "Star Trek" novel, and this was just bloody hard work to even keep turning the pages. Ick.

7. One book you are currently reading:
Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonanno. It's the very latest "Star Trek" novel, of course: the definitive and biographical novel of Captain Christopher Pike, whom we saw hale and hearty in footage from the first ST pilot, "The Cage", and so tragically disfigured in "The Menagerie", the only original series (TOS) two-parter. This novel celebrates ST's 40th anniversary, and I was one of the fans on Psi Phi and TrekBBBS who helped make it possible for the author to return to the ST fold after her long exile following the "Probe" debacle.

8. One book you have been meaning to read:
Mmmm. I've bought all of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next (and Jack Spratt) science fantasy novels as they've come out in mass market paperback. He was signing in Galaxy Bookshop one night - and anyone who owns a pet dodo (The Eyre Affair) and gets Lost in a Good Book sounds like someone I want to read about. The covers and blurbs are so compelling, I hope I do enjoy them when I finally get the chance.

9. One Book That Changed Your Life:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry. I knew ST from the animated series of the 70s, and pre-publicity about the making of the first feature film to revive TOS. Picking up this novelization in a supermarket checkout queue (and reading it before seeing the movie) turned me into a ST fan and opened so many new doors over the past three decades.

10. Now tag five people:
Well, tagging people made me feel a bit uncomfortable last week, so I'll cheat a bit and just invite anyone who is interested to play to leave their comments or hyperlinks below.

Playing tag

From KRAD's Inaccurate Guide to Life
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your Blog/Live Journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

Beside her, on a chair, was the missing dress. In front of her, on the table was the missing ring. She said quietly, "Hallo, Harry."

The gin bottle clinked on the edge of the glass as Vera got herself a drink.

From Number 96: The Sins of Harry Collins (1974) by Marina Campbell.

I even have a pic I can link:



No cheating, I swear. My "Number 96" paperbacks were the closest to the computer. It was either one of them, or "The Macquarie Dictionary", and I figured KRAD expected it to be fiction. I hereby tag:

• Dayton's Pimple...


• High Riser


• Retroactive Continuity


• Starfleet Library


• The Other Andrew

And If I didn't tag you, please feel free to add your sentences in the Comments section.

Hail Grigor

Wow, some great trivia - and an unexpected brush with fame - last week. The primary school at which I work has just developed a little history museum of local and school memorabilia, to celebrate the official opening of our new assembly hall - and I got to research a few pieces for the display, including a fascinating old epidiascope exactly like this one! It's amazing what relics are hiding away in school storerooms, gathering dust.

Way back in 1881, my research discovered, the teachers at our school applied for funding to buy some innovative teaching machines, including an "Aphengescope". (I discovered that this obscure, patented term from 1843 refers to a device that was, essentially, a 'pair of lanterns' for projecting small opaque objects.) The headmaster of the day hoped such a machine would make science lessons "more interesting". His funding application was unsuccessful.

Some time early in the 20th century, the school was able to purchase a Ross epidiascope (epi-dia-scope) instead, which served a similar purpose. A forerunner of today's overhead projector, this bulky machine enabled still pictures to be enlarged and projected onto a wall. There are probably not many of these devices still in existence.

The epidiascope gets its name from combining EPIscope, a device for projecting opaque objects, and DIAscope, which projects transparent images in the same way as a slide projector. A knob moves an internal pointer for directing an audience's attention to parts of the projected image.

The two lens mountings represent the two methods of projecting still pictures. The lower has a standard glass slide carrier, fitted to the rear, which would be operated in the normal way. The upper lens mount was for projecting photographs, newspaper cuttings, other printed matter, and even small, flattish 3D objects, such as coins, plant specimens, or a working pocket watch. This was accomplished by the use of the separate projection platform below the body, on which objects could be placed, then raised mechanically until it made contact with a glass plate under the body.

Lit by the epidiascope's powerful lamp, and through various prisms, the image was projected by the upper lens. The lower lens is a F1.3 500mm and the upper lens is F1.3 250mm.

The other discovery was an unexpected showbiz connection. Old school magazines from 1974 mentioned an event whereby Australian actor Grigor Taylor, then of "Silent Number" and "Matlock Police" fame, had visited the school to pin prefects' badges on elected students - because he'd been School Captain himself at our school way back in 195x. (Digit deleted in case Mr Taylor hides his age.) The old honour board is located not far from my classroom and I've scanned it many times, but never noticed Grigor's gilded name emblazoned on it, until now.

One of our other teachers who, as a student, attended the same local high school as Grigor Taylor, recalled her excitement that Taylor's hand-scrawled name had appeared in one of her school text books, although he'd long been graduated. "He was quite a hunk in the 70s," she recalled.

I almost sorta met Grigor Taylor when he was playing school teacher Greg Walker in the school-based TV drama "Glenview High", opposite Elaine Lee and Rebecca Gilling, both of "Number 96" fame. I was at Channel Seven's Epping studios one day in 1978, feeling totally starstuck, to interview Elaine for a teachers' college media assignment, and the rugged Mr Taylor sauntered past with a wink and a smile. How many degrees of Kevin Bacon is that?


The day I almost got introduced to Grigor: young, impressionable, trainee teacher Ian McLean
(right, wearing Giovanni's deli jacket from "Number 96"), interviews Elaine Lee,
who was playing Principal Margaret Gibson in TV's "Glenview High" at the time.
A far cry from Vera Collins, eh?

When providers go down

I had so much to say yesterday - I'd rehearsed it while walking the dog - and then my dial-up refused to connect. Ozemail's server went down in the afternoon and was still offline until just before midnight. I had a terrible sinking feeling I had missed some final last chance to switch over to broadband - someone had left me an urgent phone message a few weeks ago, following up an earlier quasi urgent letter, that Ozemail really needed to convert all its old customers from their now very ancient dial-up facilities. But, because I detest hanging on the phone (like usual), listening to recorded announcements that I could solve most problems by simply getting online and downloading something called "Toolbox" (if I could get online, sure, I'd download anything, but I'd also then be able to upload this and wouldn't need to get the helpdesk's attention, dammit), so I kept putting it off.

I did eventually try the help line, and had to wait about thirty minutes for attention. The friendly but slightly stressed female voice assured me it was just a temporary New South Wales server meltdown, but we did all the prep work to get broadband while I had her on the line... In about a week my problems shall be no more. (Mmmmm, I wonder. The phoneline still crackles terribly during rain and Telstra always denies it's their fault. Sometimes we should be grateful for droughts?)

Anyway, it's all back up again, and I'm assured I have lots more web space that I previously believed, so I can uploaded lots more old pics to the website to utilize here. So cool.

So what was I originally going to say? Oh yeah, I devoted some time yesterday to listening to the official audio commentary to the movie on the "Number 96" DVD. It was very, very cool, although I ended up feeling rather depressed listening to it all by myself. I wanted to be there in that room, getting all nostalgic about the movie, hobnobbing with Elaine and David and Andrew, or at least to be watching and listening with a roomful of friends. ("Number 96" is an excellent movie to watch with a roomful of pals and a bottle of Muskrat.) Blog entry continues after the graphic - I've taken out attempts to allign it more artfully beside the text because my three iMac-compatible browsers seem to hate Blogger parameters - and view these pages so inconsistently from visit to visit. Keep scrolling.



Yeah, so how come it's always just me and the dog lately watching all my DVDs...? Where is everyone on Sunday afternoons? Somehow, every time I buy a new DVD, I imagine myself in a room, kicking back with friends and popcorn, enjoying the movie and all the bonus features. The pile of as-yet-unwatched DVDs gets taller and I still end up seeing them by myself. Now that's pathetic...

Ooooh! I got a credit on the new (second) "Number 96" documentary! Excellent! Now someone pass the popcorn. Anyone..? Hello...?

Fat free forever - again

"Number 96's Jeff Kevin (Arnold Feather) and Elaine Lee (Vera Collins) with Ian McLean and Steve Vizard on a reunion episode of "Tonight Live".

Okay, today's retro photograph (from 1993) celebrates two things. First, I thank myself for finding the "Number 96" DVD today - the very last one in stock was sitting on the "New Releases" shelf at HMV in the city. Stupid Myer/Virgin and Sanity elected not even to order in copies from Umbrella Entertainment for their shops (???), causing me lots of heartache yesterday, and innumerable angry and/or puzzled emails from vistors to my website this week.

And the pic also reminds me that all of the clothes I'm wearing in that scene actually fit me again, and some have even come back into fashion (I hope).

I started my writing life in 1993, and received an invitation to join Selwa Anthony's literary agency not long after. "Succeed Some More in '94", held in the November of '93, was my first event. Although I'm yet to have earned Selwa any commission yet, being a part of such a stimulating group of new and experienced authors is an incredible honour. One doesn't just learn more about writing and publishing at Selwa's annual seminar. Because each Aussie speaker has written (or published) in one or more of a huge range of genres, the attendees have their horizons widened too. I probably wouldn't have had a job as an editor for four and a half years without the self-esteem building and the skills awareness and the motivation that have spun-off from Selwa's seminars. Now I just have to finish writing something. (Or something good, anyway. Or at least something commercial.)

In November 1995, at "Succeed and Mix in '96", Dianne Barker previewed her diet and body shaping book, "Fat Free Forever", which she'd written with her then-husband, TV's "Commando" (Geoff Barker) of "Gladiators" fame. I was so inspired - and feeling Very Pudgy at 90 kg - I started the diet plan the very next day. Before Dianne's book had even been published, the notes I'd made of the diet plan's bare essentials meant that I had managed to lose 10 kg before Easter, and a few weeks later had reached 75 kg, ultimately levelling out and maintaining 77 kg. "Fat Free Forever" even permits a weekly Junk Food Day - and it really felt great when both my brain and my body started craving "healthy" junk food instead of the naughtier stuff. A sensible "sweat free diet" like this suited me well; I do walk a lot, not having a car, but I loathe most other sports and exercise.

However, as with many diets, people do tend to become complacent and fall off the wagon after a while, and they usually put back more than they lost. I barely noticed that, over the next twelve years, I sloooooooowly put back that fifteen lost kilograms - plus another fourteen for good measure! I began to think that I could have written a sequel (or a correction) to Dianne's book. I would have called it "Fat Free for Five Years".

Last September, once again feeling Very Bloated, I had to go to a day surgery to have a tiny carcinoma removed from the tip of one ear. The procedure required twilight anaesthesia and I suddenly realised that, when the nurse asked me to stand on a set of scales, she was going to announce the reading out loudly to the whole waiting room. Sure enough, "101!" she exclaimed, oh so gleefully. My only joy probably came from noticing that my surgeon obviously enjoyed his food more than I. He reminded me somewhat of Dr Frank Campion on TV's "All Saints"...

My (in hindsight, dubious) solution was to go on vacation with some friends who love their junk food, and I returned to work two weeks later weighing in at 104 kg.

Anyway, I resolved to dig out "Fat Free Forever" again - it's been lent out to numerous friends over the years, usually with excellent results - and I'm thrilled to report Repeat Success. It's been much slower going this time. One friend who chose the "Weight Watchers" way instead has spent over $450 to lose her weight. Thanks to FFF, I've now lost 18 kg so far and (according to the more generous 21st century version of the "Weight Watchers" height/weight chart I was given), I only really need to lose four more kilograms to reach a sensible, maintainable goal.

That's more than two Jack Russell terriers' worth of ugly fat I've managed to lose so far. And, to celebrate the fact that FFF has saved me well over $400, I raced out and bought myself a new leather jacket. Honestly, the scent of this jacket is so luxurious, I swear I can smell it from here. (And it's in the bedroom wardrobe at the moment; I'm not actually wearing it.)

My point is, in my typical roundabout way, I can now most definitely fit into the outfit that I bought in 1993 to emulate a TV historian on "Tonight Live". Those cool microfibre slacks once again fit my cool micro waist. Only four kilograms to go and I'm "Fat Free Forever" again. For at least five years.

The return of Number 96!

In a few hours time, Australian DVD retailers will begin unpacking cartons of Umbrella Entertainment's salute to "Number 96", Australia's cult TV soap opera hit, that ran from 1972 until 1977.

In 1993, I seriously began work on a book about "Number 96". It was to have been a social history of the groundbreaking show. The writers' workshops always tell you to write about what you know - and US TV shows, such as "Batman" and "Star Trek" were (and are) well served by a plethora of fiction and non fiction based on those phenomena. Although my "Number 96 Memories" proposal and sample chapters were well received by a big publisher in 1995, when push came to shove the marketing department was against the concept proceeding to contract. If any publishers are still game, I still have all my interview tapes of the cast and crew. Sigh...

Umbrella is presenting "Number 96" as a two-disc collectors' edition. It will feature a brand new 16:9 transfer of "Number 96: The Movie" - yes, in 1974 Australian audiences were able to see their favourite black & white TV characters, uncut and uncensored on the big silver screen, in full colour! While the movie is not the best example of what made the TV series so great, the movie's advantage is that at least it has an ending. Had Umbrella released selected TV episodes instead, new viewers would have been left hanging by the, um, cliffhangers. That's the problem with soap operas on DVD.

The movie will have an audio commentary with my wonderful friend, Elaine Lee, who played Vera Collins; the show's creator/screenwriter David Sale, who generously shared so many amazing anecdotes about the show with me while I was writing my book (and beyond); and TV soaps expert Andrew Mercado. Andrew and I saw "Number 96" as youngsters in our respective home states and we found out about each other's passion for the show only after I did an appearance on "Tonight Live With Steve Vizard", a special 1993 reunion episode about the soapie. I'm so jealous that it was Andrew who got the gig to put together this DVD set - but that's showbiz, of course, and he's worked really hard to see his own dreams become reality. I can't wait to hear the commentary; it's gonna be as hilarious as the movie's reflection of Aussie life in the 70s. (Wait till you see some of the costumes and hairstyles. What were we all thinking in the 70s?)

The other disk will contain a classic documentary on the TV series, restored with all three introductions (one almost lost from the archives forever, but now restored to its rightful place), plus rare Logie footage of the annual "Spirit of 96" train journey, and a newly prepared featurette. And David Sale and Johnny Whyte's original draft screenplay of the film in DVD ROM format.

You might even recognise the villainous Tracey Wilson (Chantal Contouri) in the DVD's archive footage of the Pantyhose Strangler storyline. That's also Tracey/Chantal in the picture above, disposing of the pesky "Number 96" Historian once and for all...