Food and Drink #53

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There was an image of my childhood library randomly posted on the MT once, it's a beautiful brutalist building which, coupled with school trips to the NT, started a long-term obsession. Sadly abandoned now, too expensive to restore, but one of the first things on my list if I ever win the Euromillions. My university library is a famous example as well.
 
Midsummer joy to all who acknowledge/celebrate. Glorious sun where I am today and it so happens that I had a lone bus commute rather than driving in with husband, so I probably looked a nutter wandering through the city as I changed buses with my face up to the sun smiling.

Today has the chance to be challenging as we have a huge office move coming up and today involves people coming in to help pitch in clearing the inordinate amount of crap that has accumulated and is now obsolete in a digital office space, but oh well. Yes, one of those twenty boxes of disintegrating envelopes with a centimetre of dust on them may come in handy one day but they've clearly not been touched since before the pandemic so they're going in the recycling and we can buy more if we need!
 
Lazarus said:
Fraus: concert ticket advice.

Do Ticketmaster make up their own prices for gigs and how do you know what the face value is for tickets?
For example: Paul McCartney pre-sale went live this morning. Tickets were advertised as pre-sale tickets, and seemed to be around £145 each; (block 313, row 24 as an example)
this evening (still on Ticketmaster pre-sale link) they’re advertising ‘platinum’ 🌟 tickets with no explanation about what makes them platinum.
these are block 313, row 4 and are now priced at £464.95.

I’m not sure if they are touting their own tickets, why there’s no transparency over the prices and what a platinum ticket is, or if I’m missing something?
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It's called Dynamic Pricing. The more demand there is, the higher the ticket price.

Unfortunately, Ticketmaster (i.e., Live Nation) has a complete monopoly of the market. They're actually trying to change this in the US; it will take years, though.


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CarmenGhia said:
Brutalist architecture is increasingly being seen as worth conserving. I know it's not to everyone's taste, but it's part of British heritage and a familiar part of our built environment. People used to think the same thing about functional Art Deco buildings.
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The destruction of Sunderland's beautiful Civic Centre was really depressing, I love brutalist architecture because it was looking forward optimistically rather than being sentimental about an imagined past (like Poundbury Quality Street style)
en.wikipedia.org

Sunderland Civic Centre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
I, too, am very fond of Brutalist architecture.

There are many examples in Sydney, purposely designed to shock and juxtapose amongst our feted colonial buildings.

My appreciation for them is as a mature adult, after I got out of my system the "only feted Georgian/Edwardian architecture is attractive" bias.

This is the Sirius building in Sydney's harbour zone of CBD. I wish I could transfer to you all the impact it has had on our city's story and my personal vignettes

en.m.wikipedia.org

Sirius Building - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Welcome to Sirius Sydney - New Residences for sale.

The Sirius building is being restored and reimagined with boutique residences on Sydney Harbour.
siriussydneyharbour.com.au siriussydneyharbour.com.au

When I was a child, let's say 8yo, we'd travel to the mystic lands of Chinatown in Sydney... across the Harbour Bridge, my dad would position the car so I could wriggle across the back seat and across a brother to roll the 20 cent piece into the toll bucket, and he'd say words like, "now look at the people in the Sirius apartments."

It was so mysteriously exciting climbing across the other brother to stare at the Brutalist apartment block. We lived on five acres. I didn't know that people could live in a box! With windows overlooking Sydney Harbour! I didn't have any words to ask questions.

I used to press my face against the car window and IMAGINE THINGS as little kids do, with my brothers punching me to get off.

In summary, a haiku:

I was an odd child,
With feelings; and remain weird
Thank god cats and meds
 
I’ve always hated ticketmaster. I used it once when it first appeared and vowed never to again. They upped my price and moved my seat - behind a pillar so it cost a lot more and I saw nothing at all. I was livid. When I complained they swore blind I’d changed my booking.

The pillar seats were virtually free because of no view (I’ve a blind friend who went to that theatre a lot and always got those seats for that reason!).

I think it was the usual rubbish about me being on my own so I got moved ..

I heard they’d improved - given there wasn’t any other direction for them to go in I still kept my distance.
 
I love Brutalism too. One of my friends hates it, because it's not "beautiful", but it's not supposed to be. I love that Brutalist architecture is a short moment of mid 20th century history (and optimism!) captured, it cannot exist without considering context and the years that led up to it and when compared to the architecture of the preceding century it is quite mind blowing and reflects the massive technological advances of the 20th century.

Of course, lots of it is gone because it wasn't well constructed and lots of grey, damp concrete in grey, damp countries can be oppressive (which adds to its beauty sometimes, to me, but I don't expect people to live there if they're not functional) and the designs didn't always work when estates weren't maintained properly, didn't have the necessary facilities or spaces for children and resulted in people being isolated and the resultant increase in crime and poverty...

The good examples can be stunning though, especially when contrasted with organic, natural surroundings. I just love it. And now I need to go and buy myself some books about Brutalist architecture 😂.
 
well my interview - i'll not be getting that job.

on the questions i could answer, i think i done quite well, but there were a few where i thought i had strong examples but the way they asked the question, my answer wouldn't have been an appropriate one to give. on those i kind of stumbled through something which i hadn't prepared and yeah, it wasn't great.

I won't get the job, but i'm not sad or mad. this was the one i had to push for and wasn't entirely convinced about anyway.

Also, after the introductions they said "we'll now move onto your 10 minute presentation" to which i replied "i emailed last week when you offered the interview and asked whether there would be a presentation and was advised there wouldn't, and so i haven't prepared one". what that means is the people they've already interviewed, they'll have to discount any scores they'd given them for their presentation!! tit show.
 
Lazarus said:
well my interview - i'll not be getting that job.

on the questions i could answer, i think i done quite well, but there were a few where i thought i had strong examples but the way they asked the question, my answer wouldn't have been an appropriate one to give. on those i kind of stumbled through something which i hadn't prepared and yeah, it wasn't great.

I won't get the job, but i'm not sad or mad. this was the one i had to push for and wasn't entirely convinced about anyway.

Also, after the introductions they said "we'll now move onto your 10 minute presentation" to which i replied "i emailed last week when you offered the interview and asked whether there would be a presentation and was advised there wouldn't, and so i haven't prepared one". what that means is the people they've already interviewed, they'll have to discount any scores they'd given them for their presentation!! tit show.
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Knobs.

Have a Tunnel Dog practising her golf swing ❤️.
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zetta buttons said:
Knobs.
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Mr Laz is home from work now and i was telling him about it - he rightly pointed out that the questions i had difficulty answering were so specific, they could most likely only be answered by someone in that team and asked: if they want to appoint someone who's probably already in post, why advertise it externally (ie, across the civil service and to non-civil servants too). he said they wasted my time.
i'm still more gutted for the people that would have spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a presentation which now won't be scored because someone forgot to ask me to prepare one.
 
Lazarus said:
Mr Laz is home from work now and i was telling him about it - he rightly pointed out that the questions i had difficulty answering were so specific, they could most likely only be answered by someone in that team and asked: if they want to appoint someone who's probably already in post, why advertise it externally (ie, across the civil service and to non-civil servants too). he said they wasted my time.
i'm still more gutted for the people that would have spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a presentation which now won't be scored because someone forgot to ask me to prepare one.
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I suspect that to be a cunning plan where they had to advertise externally " for legal reasons" but didn't actually want to appoint outwith existing team.
 
Lazarus said:
Mr Laz is home from work now and i was telling him about it - he rightly pointed out that the questions i had difficulty answering were so specific, they could most likely only be answered by someone in that team and asked: if they want to appoint someone who's probably already in post, why advertise it externally (ie, across the civil service and to non-civil servants too). he said they wasted my time.
i'm still more gutted for the people that would have spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a presentation which now won't be scored because someone forgot to ask me to prepare one.
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I’m sorry, that’s crappy.
 
I don't know if it's just me but I am sooooooooo utterly fed up with this election and this tit-for-brains political class. This latest betting scandal is so stupid but it's really made me furious. I mean, do these people really want to take every last opportunity to squeeze personal profit out of their role in government so much that they're taking out bets now? What are they stealing in broad daylight while we all obsess about £100 wagers down the bookies?

My threshold for bullshit has been well and truly trampled into the dirt. I am fucked off by the war-mongering, the blithe inattention to climate bleeping collapse, the money-money-money-power-money axis, the endless commissions into unbelievable scandals (Grenfell, Covid, Post Office on and on and on) that do not seem to deliver justice ever.

There are so many excellent people in this country that I encounter all over the place. In the true public services (health care, education, libraries, public transport etc), there is real integrity, passion for the work and care. All those volunteers stitching together a safety net for refugees and the poor and disabled. People running small businesses with heart and dedication. Why is there such a disconnect between the honest, hardworking, community-minded ordinary people who actually hold everything together and the larger elected political class? It drives me mad.

I know I'm generalising wildly and there are good politicians out there and crooks in every other sector of the population too. But...

I'm not a violent person but I am so angry sometimes that I don't know how to contain it. I'm becoming a Brenda from Bristol and I hate it in myself.

Cannot wait to boot the current lot out of office and see as many as possible out of Westminster. But don't have a huge amount of hope for the incoming lot either.
 
Lazarus said:
Mr Laz is home from work now and i was telling him about it - he rightly pointed out that the questions i had difficulty answering were so specific, they could most likely only be answered by someone in that team and asked: if they want to appoint someone who's probably already in post, why advertise it externally (ie, across the civil service and to non-civil servants too). he said they wasted my time.
i'm still more gutted for the people that would have spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a presentation which now won't be scored because someone forgot to ask me to prepare one.
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Totes knobby behaviour. Sorry you’ve wasted time and emotional energy on it. I would suggest the afore mentioned fishy balls as nightsnacks but obviously they aren’t suited for a veggie. Cheesy balls anyone?
 
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