The Castle of Urania



Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe's first astronomical observatory on Ven, built 1576-80 and dedicated to Urania 'The Muse of Astronomy'.

The main building of Uraniborg was square, about 15 meters on a side, and built mostly of red brick. Two semi-circular towers, one each on the north and south sides of the main building, giving the building a somewhat rectangular shape overall. The main floor consisted of four rooms, one of which was occupied by Tycho and his family, the other three for visiting astronomers. The northern tower housed the kitchens, and the southern a library. The second floor was divided into three rooms, two of equal size and one larger. The larger room was reserved for visiting royalty. On this level the towers housed the primary astronomical instruments, accessed from outside the building or from doors on this floor. Outrider towers, supported on pillars, housed additional instruments slightly further from the building, giving them a wider angle of view. On the third floor was a "loft", subdivided into eight smaller rooms for students. Only the roofs of the towers reached this level, although a single additional tower extended above the loft in the middle of the building, similar to a widow's walk, accessed via a spiral staircase from the 3rd floor. Uraniborg also featured a large basement; it housed an alchemical laboratory in one end, and storage for food, salt and fuel at the other.

A large wall, 75 meters on a side and 5.5 meters high was planned to surround Uraniborg, but never built, instead a high earth mound was constructed and lasted until today being the only remain of the observatory still in place. Uraniborg was located in the very middle, with an extensive set of intricate gardens between the mound walls and the building. In addition to being decorative, the gardens also supplied herbs for the Tycho's medicinal chemistry experiments. The gardens are currently being re-created, using seeds found on-site or identified in Tycho's writings.

Star Castle



Tycho Brahe's underground observatory Stjerneborg, located on the island of Ven, and the destination of me next trip around Skåne. A place which will augment my new found interest in the night sky.

Eyes Only





Keeping my eyes peeled for a new pair of spectacles. I should really be wearing a pair when I am cycling, which at the moment I tend to avoid due to dislike of my existing pair, I would preferto cycle in a pair that I'd enjoy adorning my face. In 2005 I acquired a pair of black rectangular glasses, believing them to be quite in vogue at the time, after failing the eye examination required to sit my driver's test (I have never attemptedthat test again). Now those rectangular frames do nothing but irritate me, as I loathe seeing things out of focus outside of the narrow lenses. I thought a more rounded look could be the way to go to avoid this periferal blurring. Any thoughts on glasses would be appreciated, I am quite an eyewear novice.

At Home with Camouflage





Rock Stars at home with their parents and colour co-ordination. While attemping to high-light the marked generation gap and lifestyle differences between rockstars and their 'olds', Olsen also seems to inadvertently blend his subjects into their not so staid surrounds. An interesting balance between a subject 'at one' with his environment, and 'at odds' with the others he shares it with. Frank Zappa with ma and pa and David Crosby with the old man.


Photos by John Olsen for LIFE.

Merlin & Voodoo




Lägenheten hade en balkong och vi gillade att sitta där och dricka öl på kvällen medan vi lyssnade på skivor och pratade med varandra. Ibland, brukade våra grannars katter besöka oss på balkongen. De hette Merlin och Voodoo. Typiska namn för hippies katter, tyckte jag.
Alex och jag brukade ofta handla möbler till vår lägenhet från second-hand butiker. Jag kommer ihåg när Alex köpte en soffa med klädsel som var täckt med ett kattmönster. Jag tror att den fortfarande är i vardagsrummet.

The apartment had a balcony and we liked to sit there and drink beer in the evening while we listened to records and talked with each other. Sometimes the neighbour's cats used to visit us on the balcony. Their names were Merlin and Voodoo. Typical names for hippie cats, I thought.
Alex and I used to often buy furniture for our apartment from second hand shops. I remember when Alex bought a couch with upholstery that was covered in a cat pattern. I believe it is still in the living room.

(A brief excerpt from a short piece of writing for my Swedish class, about my old apartment in Auckland. It is extremely satisfying knowing that I can describe furniture with cats on it, and offer my opinion on interesting choices in feline names. I feel like I should be compiling a volume of these texts as 'A Brief History of Florence and her family, a collection of thoughts in Swedish. Or something to a similar effect.)

Shelve/Bay/Stack




T.Shelf_Mountain by J1 Studio. Thinking about shelves more often these days, I have just submitted a job application seeking employment as a library assistant at Malmö Högskolas Bibliotek. Fingers crossed I will soon be fossicking amongst aisles and bays of books again.

I would like a shelving unit such as this to house my murder mystery/crime book collection, I believe 2011 is going to be the year I acquire more books - I wonder if I can continue to resolve to only read fiction. I think it was the best decision I ever made.

I Alla Fall









Alive and singing in Paris
2010
Invisible ink on newsprint

Illya Kuryakin /colour field quilt /Sriwhana Spong at Newcall

Things of interest so far in the new year - David McCallum and his records, objects that remind me of abstract expressionist art, collections of things that fly, drinking too much coke.

more drawings in invisible ink. balancing birds on wooden mobiles. hand embroidered wood grain patterned tights.

Rigging



John Ashton - The Psychedelic Furs (1985)




Alasdair MacLean - The Clientele (2008)



Edwyn Collins (1996)
guitar rig as Edwyn Collins not Orange Juice

The guitar set ups from the Guitar men of The Psychedelic Furs / The Clientele / Orange Juice, all from GuitarGeek: The guitar rig database, many interesting characters including Robert Fripp, Chuck Berry, Dave Davies, Brian May and more. I am really only interested in these for the diagramatical aesthetic, the more complicated the more impressive, and bonus points if the guitar is included as well.
There really is a database for everything these days.

Baker Street




Gerry Rafferty!

an adult contemporary ballad from 1978 and the reason behind 'The Baker Street Phenomenon', resulting in the sales of saxophones skyrocketing and a resurgence of saxophones in popular music.