Reflections on Dark Mofo 2013

After visiting MONA on the weekend to see my friend Tony Brennan play a MoFolk gig in the Void Bar on the lower ground floor of the Museum (brilliant, Brian Ritchie) it struck me I'd written very little about Dark Mofo. What a fantastic debut winter festival. It has simply redefined this part of the year for Hobart - and has set SO many people talking about "what is possible". That one attribute is, in itself, of dramatic value in terms of our own city's self-deprecating internal discourse. As opposed to "omg - that project/idea/proposal is just stuck in red tape/can't get through {insert stultifying organisational acronym here} etc " Instead of the negative mantra, I've heard all over the place: "What if...? Could we...? Would this work...?" I absolutely cannot wait for the next Dark Mofo. How exciting, sweet antici........pation. Leaving with one of the most amazing installations I've been lucky enough to witness: Ryoji Ikeda's Spectra Light Tower. Quite astonishing. And our beautiful Hobart and Mt Wellington in the background

Tourism Tasmania campaign beats a new tune

Tasmania - Go Behind the Scenery Fantastic new campaign by Kath McCann and her team at Tourism Tasmania with a creative partner, Sydney's JimJam. The 60 second TV ad reveals the extraordinary effect David Walsh's Museum Of Old and New Art (MONA) has had on so many levels from within Tasmania, and from without (parts of it feature in the advert) The digitized, dervish Luhrmann-like sequences with their rotating points of view and 3D optics rush at you and the overall effect of the advert is so energized in comparison to previous beautiful, but static, wilderness powerpoints. This really *does make you stop and think about "what is behind" the front bit; the quirky, engaging, cultural, and outright weird and wonderful. People, across all segments, are so "up for it" like never before. They'll have a go - they want to get around it, and have a look at Tasmania - from all angles, at all times of the year, and not *just the shiny well-known bits. And the thing is, this mew campaign absolutely captures this dynamic shift that has occurred in the market since MONA's seismic start-up. The heads-down, furtive secrecy and 'oops I shouldn't look' persona has given way to a prevailing sense of cultural glasnost since the opening of the magnetic, compelling, consensual, adjective-robbing, parallel universe of wonder and awe perched out there on the banks of the Derwent in #Hobart. (I'm only sorry Nolan's Snake is moving out of the exhibition for a while - it's the most captivating work I will ever see, I think). The melding of art and culture with "the spectacular views" and "food and wine" as foundation and fundamental elements of Tasmania's tourism value proposition has never been clearer than in this campaign. Of course, it's writ large in massive black texta now in the shape of MONA. But the growth of the festivals subculture - like the magnificent Ten Days on the Island, on right now - has built the platform as well. It sure is a different take on a well-tried set of product and stories - but brilliantly captures the shifts. Great production, congrats TT. I tweet @VinceTaskunas

Still alive, thank goodness

I'm ashamed to say that I haven't updated my blog for nearly a year. This correlates almost exactly with the period in which I discovered an affinity for Twitter, personal and professional-wise. Whilst I haven't blogged here at all, I've micro-blogged plenty via Twitter. It really is a fascinating platform: especially for an Enneagram 7 like me.
free enneagram test If you haven't had a look at Enneagram personality types, you should. The Institute website says: The Enneagram uses numbers to designate each of the [personality] types because numbers are value neutral— they imply the whole range of attitudes and behaviors of each type without specifying anything either positive or negative. Unlike the labels used in psychiatry, numbers provide an unbiased, shorthand way of indicating a lot about a person without being pejorative. The types analysis has been very valuable to me in my development as an executive in a large (small) multi-business lines organisation, and I have used it extensively in my understanding of others, and self. It's just a touch ironic that the last time I wrote here was about Sydney, and rugby union. We've just come back from four days in Sydney. The rugby was poor standard, even though it WAS Bledisloe Cup, Aust vs NZ, at ANZ Stadium. The All Blacks won (of course). It was my first (and my wife's first) live Wallabies match so that, ln itself, made it exciting. Afterwards, we went to Barbeque King - Chinese. Fabulous food. Good collection of comments here

Sydney's beauty

I managed a lovely little mini-holiday in Sydney with some of the family recently.

It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful our biggest city in Australia really is.

Yes - it is a BIG city, and everything that comes with that. But the location, around Sydney Harbour, is startlingly attractive.

In particular, the magnificent open public spaces in and around Darling Harbour are a real highlight for visitors.



Light fittings, Wildfire restaurant, Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay

Evening, from Newtown rail station

Reflection off King's Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney

The Sydney Opera House at night from Wildfire restaurant, Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay

All Blacks Win It: French just fail to close out an All Black #RWC2011 choke

Roll on Rugby World Cup 2015 !!

I've had such a good time watching the Rugby World Cup finals - except the one the Wallabies lost to the All Blacks, of course...

Last night's decider really was one of the most exciting rugby finals I've watched in a while, despite the low scoring and the ball-handling errors (although nothing will beat Wilkinson vs Australia in RWC 2003 for a long time....)

It serves as a reminder why I get so excited in the lead-up to this compettion every four years. It is just sensational sports viewing: the greatest game in the world.

It has to be said: the All Blacks are deservedly Rugby World Cup Champions for 2011.

Just like TV's Survivor - they've outplayed all comers, outlasted huge scares like the one Les Bleus gave them last night, outwitted opponents (the Australians, devastatingly, in particular) by playing them at their own game and winning the battle of tactics, over and over - and out-muscled, out-bustled, and out-rugbyed every opponent they faced.

They've even out-choked their own traditional choke - and put that choke around the throats of their opponents through a consistently tough and altogether ultimately undefeated defence.

Once and for all, the All Blacks showed that making and holding tackles wins the big games.

As Wallaby scrum-half Will Genia said back in August after the Wallabies were smashed by the ABs at Eden Park:

"No matter how long you hold that pill for they’ve got a good enough defensive system to hold you out and they showed that. It was very, very hard."

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans agreed, saying: “They scrambled defensively very well and those sorts of qualities will be important come World Cup time.”

Quite prophetic, in fact, Robbie.

The last half of the 2011 RWC final was exactly like that. As the pressure built on the All Blacks to hold onto their slimmest of leads at 8-7, it was clearly becoming waaay too much for some NZ tweeters who were including references to holding their breath, various types of coronary care and nervous breakdown in their increasingly-feverish tweets (these, at least, provided some light relief on the side).

It was tense and it was exciting. Despite the fact that the French had most of the possession, the All Blacks held them out. Denied them.

Towards the end, the All Black defenders looked completely dead on their feet, battered and sorely tested after dozens of phases put together by heroic waves of Bleus led in the loose by their incredible captain Thierry Dusautoir and a dominant platform in the lineout via Imanol Harinordoquy (a lineout reliability factor the Wallabies desperately needed - nay must have had, and sadly couldn't consistently deliver - if they were ever to challenge for the title).

But the time evaporated and the New Zealanders kept finding something, managing to keep "scrambling" in defence, covering huge overlaps out wide being created by a magnificent final charge of wide-running, hugely-brave French backs. Led by the efforts of scrum half Dimitri Yachvili, tough tackle-breaking centre Aurélien Rougerie and fullback Maxime Mèdard they gave it everything they had from the first minute of the second half in a desperate attempt to break the All Black defensive line.

They just couldn't beat the choker-hold of the strongest-willed All Blacks defence we've seen for quite some time.

Former England and British Lions hooker and now UK Telegraph rugby writer Brian Moore said this morning that "The French refused to play their role as biggest underdogs ever" but that "the All Blacks' defensive wall ended brave France's hope of a breakthrough."

Moore went on to write that:
"In the end, it was pressure that told for the French; not that imposed by attacking pressure, rather an enormous rearguard defensive display from the All Blacks in the middle period of the second half."

It's quite a good commentary actually - and from an ex-front rower, which makes it all the more sensible and realistic. Worth a read.


Let's be very clear here. I don't like the All Blacks.

I do not have a strange attraction to their regularly-infringing (but rarely-penalised) forward pack, led by the all-time unpenalised infringer in Richie McCaw.

And I will not succumb to the sickening media fawning that is occurring across all channels right now.

In my heart I was going for the French (as much as I don't like them, either).

But after yesterday's grinding win against a tough, brave, committed Les Bleus who fell desperately short of their own glory, it is utterly impossible to not respect the best rugby team in the world right now: the 2011 All Blacks.

Congratulations to the All Blacks.

Visit to Bruny Island

Went to Bruny Island on Tuesday - it really is one of our family's favourite spots.
Unfortunately, couldn't find a fish to catch, but it was nice to get away and spend some relaxation time.


The D'Entrecasteaux Channel


Tinderbox in the distance - looking up along Nebraska Beach, North Bruny Island


Nature's sculpture - the rocky outcrops at the end of Nebraska Beach, Denne's Pt North Bruny Island


Nebraska Beach


Nebraska Beach


Nebraska Beach


Looking across the Channel to North-West Bay/Margate from Nebraska Beach - North Bruny Island


Going home: approaching Kettering at sundown, from the Bruny Island ferry

The Essence of Hobart: Mt Wellington

One of the great natural attractions of my home town, Hobart in Tasmania, is
Mount Wellington



I've recently discovered a bit of an attachment to the huge, volcanic backdrop to the port town of Hobart. We have a beautiful view from our place at Kingston and, as many people would experience in their mountain home towns, Mt Wellington seems to have a different mood, clad in different robes and painted by different artists every day.

Here are a couple of different snaps from my house, and from other observation points (including Hobart's Eastern Shore with Camera+ at night, and the cracker from the "organ pipes" on the side of the mountain itself, courtesy of my work colleagues who climbed it the other day).