This will hurt me...

A street lamp on Elizabeth Street looking southeast towards the river an - eventually - Antarctica. This was taken one morning last week, and yes, that is the Marine Board building peeking its head in again. Here is a very special Sunday Top Five: top five July 19 babies who've passed on traits to MY July 19 baby ! Vitali Klitschko: combining cold Soviet logic with brutal violence, Ez reminds me more of Vitali than Wlad. Ilie Năstase: supremely gifted, if somewhat eccentric. The little bloke has Ilie's great originality and panache without the mental fragility. Herbert Marcuse: One Dimensional Man , Ez is anything but. Edgar Degas: They share a fondness for ballerinas, in both a critical and romantic sense. Vladimir Mayakovsky: committed to the cause and brave enough to ignore form. Ezra won't shoot himself in the head, however.

Looking skyward on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Franklin Wharf. That's the sharp edge of the Marine Board Building, a tree and a street sign. I like the colours on this one, very 'cool', very 'early morning'. The locals hate this building, but it is interesting enough to feature on this blog a few times already . Anyway, enough of buildings pack with bureaucrats, we have a Theme Thursday topic to tackle! [Cue meandering post.] I might not have mentioned it already on this blog, but I have two sons . Both of my children are charismatic, engaging fellows with a flair for the dramatic. They share a gift for music; they are blessed with a natural rhythm that permits them both tremendous dancing skills; they have seemingly innate abilities in the field of manipulation persuasion; an enormous egotism confidence; immense physical stamina and strength; yet sensitive, compassionate natures. This curse These gifts that both share have led me to ponder the likelihood...

Just this morning I spotted the Marine Board building talking to the Hydro building. What were they saying? I'm none the wiser, as I don't speak architecture. I did overhear an enlightening conversation on the bus this morning, that despite best efforts, I couldn't satisfactorily turn into a poem. I was able, however, to utilise my advanced note taking abilities to share with the world the genius that is the Tasmanian public servant. "For me, I need, like , 30 minutes to get ready. Then it takes me, like , 40 minutes to walk from my girlfriend's house to, like , work. Then, like , it's another, like , 40 minutes to walk home after work. That's, like , that's, like , an HOUR every day!" Much to my dismay, this young fellow informed his collegue that he was shifting from his present job - in the Department Education - to a new one, Treasury . May God have mercy on all of us.

Here you can see the view westwards from the very bottom of Argyle Street this morning. It appears that discourtesy , deafness and poor motor skills are all pre-requisites of a Metro bus driver here in Hobart. Other desirable attributes include morbid obesity , limited mathematical skills , a n inability to read the time accurately and a vocabulary that does not extend beyond the range of grunts and guffaws one might expect of a troop or gorillas in the highlands of Rwanda. Now, far be it from me to cast aspersions on the good folk at Metro Tasmania (can you see how carefully I am choosing my words?), but between you and me – and judging by the sweat stains under the armpits – maybe the gorillas slightly trump them in the hygiene department. After all, I am not sure who might be willing to pick the nits off an unkempt bus driver... Bitter, moi ?

Some terrific light this morning. And of course I am back down at Franklin Wharf, this time though, I have got my back to the water. Here you can see the original Marine Board building, and its more (in)famous replacement. The original has the appearance of almost glowing, due to the sunrise reflecting off the river. It gave everything a nice yellow hue. Personally, I don't think that the newer building itself is as bad as people say, it is more the fact that in 1972 they decided to build a 'modern' gigantic brown structure in such a prime waterfront spot. It might not be big by New York standards, but as the fourth tallest in the city, it is huge for Hobart. Of course, the fact that such an unexceptional looking building happens to block such a magnificent view is bound to annoy somebody!