Digital Radio in Sydney

Well folks, these holidays aren't going any faster.
The days outside are cold and wet, meanwhile college is overrun by American tourists who have the interesting pattern of disappearing during the whole day and coming back to college at 2 AM after a time out in the city. And boy, they sure are loud.

Anyway,
My computer has a TV tuner, and so I am able to watch digital TV, which is slowly but progressively catching speed and becoming better and better. Many national broadcasters are now offering HD quality channels. And they bring out new channels quite often too, it's great to see how I'll be killing time these holidays.

But I do not fully endorse TV viewing, I actually enjoy radio a bit better than TV. And as per usual I tune in to SBS everyday to listen to the Spanish broadcast. It's great to listen to something in my native language often, for I really don't want to lose practice and appear as a total foreigner when I come back to visit.

But radio in Australia is changing as well. Not long ago, digital radio has been introduced to the market, and very quickly a lot of radio stations\ appeared or transferred to digital to offer quality broadcasts.

And one of them that has really captured my attention is SBS Chill, a digital exclusive broadcast featuring nothing else but great chill-out and world music. And one time I even heard a bit of Latin Drum 'n Bass. How awesome is that? It really makes my day. I haven't enjoyed listening to a radio station in such a manner since Radio Bondi FM was good. Sadly, I don't have a digital radio (as of yet), but I can still tune in through the website. And what is good is that the broadcast does not rip a large chunk off of my bandwidth and yet still have a sound quality a bit superior to a 128 kbits MP3.

I really enjoy it. Check the SBS Chill site to have a taste of it. Good times.

Keep on chillin'

Vivid Sydney 2010; curated by Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed

Hmmmm, I knew I should have had a bit more control over my ISO that night. But hey, it was raining, foggy and windy. But regardless of that, the projections are animated! HOW AWESOME! Thanks Laurie and Lou for the show.

You might not expect this, but

I really like winter.

The sharpness of the air to the skin, eyes and nose is quite revitalizing to me.
Coming from a tropical country, and from a place that was quite humid almost all of the time, I really like winter! It's just so great!

And you know what, Sydney would be such a romantic city if it snowed here. Of course, just about everyone here has no idea how to drive on snow or ice, so it would be rather dangerous and messy. It would be quite chaotic. Even in such chaos, life would still look beautiful from the outside.

I mean, just imagine, walking through George St on the way to CQ, and wearing a thick coat and a scarf, maybe a beanie or earmuffs, and mittens!, and seeing the snow on the side of the street, and snowflakes gently and ever so slowly falling from above, and steam coming out from our mouths as we speak, and couples coming out of cafes, holding hands and walking next to each other, and seeing the Opera House surrounded by snow, it would be so beautiful!!

Yet again, a lot of people don't like the idea of having Sydney covered in snow. It would be BAD news, considering how climate change is affecting the entire planet.

But it won't make me stop loving that particular season!

Perdido en la ciudad

I was coming back to college yesterday and the traffic onto the bridge was appalling. I had never experienced so much traffic while driving. My GPS was barking at me in an Australian accent to head over to the Eastern Distributor, but I knew it was going to be just as congested as the bridge. After juggling turns and following retraced routes for half an hour, I surrendered and let the GPS guide me home.

The sun light was just barely going past the sharp-edged edifices of the city, and the air was frozen still. Cars rumbled by, as if enraged by the dying of the day and fighting for each passing second. At least I wasn't suffering from road stress, and I still had a long night ahead, so I could take as long as I wanted to get back home.

Near the Cross, I came to a traffic light and took out my camera. I knew that with such a strong low angle sunlight, many objects would appear starkly dark, and that it would look cool if photographed. Without thinking too much, I pressed the shutter.

When I arrive downtown...

Something strange happens to me when I get to downtown Sydney, the CBD,
when I get off a bus, or ascend from the underground train,
my spirit elevates up high.

I suddenly become very happy,
quite ecstatic,
as if I was empowered by this unknown energy of warmth and joy.

And I smile.

And I laugh,

while everyone else is minding their own business and looking down at the pavement,
or typing madly into their Blackberries or iPhones.



This happens to me just about every time I travel to downtown Sydney.
And I don't know why.

Oh, and today I bought Bibio's new album, "The Apple and The Tooth". The first songs are just incredible, musically junky and noisy but nonetheless very rhythmic and upbeat. And the remixes are really good as well, some of them aren't as good as the originals, but there are some that simply transform the songs they are based upon. I recommend this album only if you've heard Bibio's previous albums.

Sydney is now due for some major changes for what city-planning for a "sustainable" future is concerned (according to what I see from Sydney's 2030 project). Bicycles have been around forever, yet they are used very little here in Australia. It's really sad that a metropolis like Sydney performs low in comparison to other European cities of the same dimensions. Of course, it all comes down to how the city was planned. But drivers of course are part of the blame for why bicycles are looked down at as being a risk. Drivers are very rude towards cyclists. Cars tend to be very fast for us bike riders. Additionally, most cyclists don't have the ability or technology to be able to look behind them when in motion without increasing the risks of an accident. And as a cyclist myself I wouldn't cycle as a commuting alternative if I had to go to a high-traffic area, such as the city. Cars scare me. Buses and trucks are my worst nightmare. Oh, plus high-speed bogans.

Nevertheless, the City of Sydney is now opening up many bicycle lanes that will eventually give the road back to cyclists. I am glad that these changes are being done, but we still have to encourage more people to use bikes so as to make this change happen sooner, better and with greater attention. I commute to work, and it feels good to know that I didn't have to spend on petrol for that journey. I love my bike, I just wish I could get a basket attached to the back. That would be awesome. Oh and some mudguards too.

'Til later.

Towards Valentine's

First post, yeah.


Valentine's has never actually been an event in the year that I have always looked forwards to. Ever since I was young (I'm not that old anyway), I clearly remember the pressure that everyone exerted into each other to express their feelings of love and compassion to other people. And whenever I was targeted, I would always lose.

However, this year it's different. Even though it is still the consumerist, money-spending-oriented day it is and has always been, this time I just see it as a day to give. And it is just that simple action, to give, that has really made me feel, probably for the first time, better and more positive about that day. Fourteenths of February are no longer days of social pressure.

Back at school, not too long ago, I was selling items for St. Valentine's, writing peoples' names down and that overused phrase the whole time. It was busy as hell, with teenagers taking the place of every observable space in front of me. To make it worse, I had only slept about 5 hours the night before, so my listening and writing skills were in someway impaired. But then this year 7 kid appeared out of nowhere behind me and hugged me. My state of exhaustion did not allow me to react to the kid, who was already running away as I took a quick glance at him. Never seen that kid before, must be new.

I wonder if he stole anything and hugged me to distract me





Last week I checked out an artistic experiment/experience in the CBD, namely at The Rocks. The Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA) is hosting a project called Rider Spoke, made by the British art label/company Blast Theory.



The museum provides you a bike and a Nokia internet gadget and lets you lose on the city. You can go anywhere you want (can). The gadget then starts to "talk" to you, giving you instructions on how to play the game. The concept behind Rider Spoke is that bikers make recordings of their answers to the questions from the gadget in hiding places in the city. They can later hear other people's responses as they go through the city streets and alleyways. The questions given are quite personal, yet reflect the entire purpose of the game: build connections with other people in a wireless environment in the city. It is weird at first, but it becomes a rather inspiring and relaxing activity. Sydney CBD is such a good place to go bike riding. It's a shame that bike lanes abruptly finish everywhere you go.

I remember listening to a woman who promised (you promise to do something, anything, at the end of the session) to be less fearful in her life. I listened to another lady saying that she has a friend overseas that she talks to all the time about her daily doings and things (that made me contemplate about my own friends and networks as I approached the QVB..), and how strong their bonding is despite the great distance between them. It is warming to listen to other people about their own lives. This game has its confessional side as well, you are exposing more about your inner self to total strangers in the middle of a city. You remain anonymous, but nevertheless at least someone heard about your feelings, your thoughts.



You finish the session with such a feeling of relief and peace. Plus, you have just done about an hour of exercise!



For now,
happy St. Valentine's day

Take it easy