SF0 / simone53 / Welcome Wagon

25 + 70 points

Welcome Wagon by anna one, Moose, Harry Lee, Loki

October 22nd, 2010 10:28 PM / Location: -37.81985,144.97242

INSTRUCTIONS: Give a newcomer a proper introduction to your city. Proper.

Loki & anna one traveled over the great oceans to Melbourne. Harry & Moose made sure to provide a proper introduction.

Harry's summary version of the story:

-Harry met Loki and anna one and didn't wet his pants!
-International intentional intense tasking!
-Cows! Lots of cows!
-And much more!

anna one's version of the story:
It was a foregone conclusion that we would do some tasking. Upon meeting each other in downtown Melbourne, the question was, which task? We called a few other players for suggestions of what we should do. That's what international calling plans are for, right?

After a series of complications finding phone numbers and country codes, we called Spidere & teucer. We also had handy the phone numbers for Burn Unit and Kyle Hamilton, but we didn't get through to them.

Spidere told us to:

-find some where to get wet. Public fountains? 2 of us must throw in a third person.
-find a stranger. anna one must ask them to help decide ....
(This displeased me apparently, and I stopped writing down the instruction all together. As I recall, the strangers were to decide whom was more charming, Harry or Loki.)
REQUIRED: Find somewhere to get totally soaking wet.
-find/purchase/make something black & white. Wear it around your neck.
-all four must play leapfrog on a crowded sidewalk
-Park: play viruses, zombie tag or a mini-journey.
-find/acquire a 'most beautiful flower'
-public dance off - single elimination. passerby judge. bracket system.
-drinks: toasts to suggestions from strangers or toast strangers.

teucer told us:

-Go to the river, improvise fishing equipment and attempt to fish. Get strangers to join in. Have strangers actually catch a fish. Document.
-Go to the nearest train station. Three carry the fourth person onto a train.
-Find four different items with representations of cows.
-Find a piece of trash in each of the 7 colors of the rainbow. Leave them in an attractive looking pile in front of a government building.

Straight away, we headed for the train station. There was an errand to run, so while waiting in line at the CountryLink rail-office, Harry made collars and ties out of the printed time-tables. The time tables were xeroxed. Black & White, Worn Around the Neck.

We then purchased fares and the Three of us Carried Moose onto the Train.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Upon arriving at our destination, we found our first representation of a cow:

And then there was Leap Frog on a Crowded Sidewalk.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

On the bridge over the Yarra river, we found our second representation of a cow:

We collected colorful bits of trash along the river, piled them up, as artistically as was possible and left them installed atop the nearest government-owned building handy: a memorial to the fallen soldiers of Melbourne in the Great War. An Attractive Pile of Rainbow Colored Trash.

Next, we found A Place to Get Totally Soaking Wet.

All along the riverside there were lots of lovely flowers, but the Most Beautiful Flower was impressive, huge and bore lots of squishy, foamy fruit. It was also the only flower we could not name, as none of us had encountered it anywhere else before.

We then made our way back across the river. It was on the bridge that Harry Improvised his own Fishing Equipment and Attempted to Fish. Strangers walked past us, strangers drove past us, but none were inclined to join us.

We encountered a marathon of some kind, and running in this race was a Cowboy and an Indian. We chased them down, all the way to the finish line in order to photograph our third representation of a cow:

Then we settled into the lovely park and played tag. We encouraged others to join us and few did in little bursts of enthusiasm. There was tree climbing and many other activities of which anna one did not make any photographs. Once exhausted, we Found Another Place to Get Totally Soaking Wet. This time we all got under the water.

By now, we were hungry. We found a good place to grab a bite to eat by the river. Harry got fish and chips with an extra fish. He then singled out a young uniformed graduate (all the schools in town were holding their graduation ceremonies that day, so the city was awash with young people in their official school uniforms).

He explained himself, took a few steps away and threw the extra fish at the stranger.

The Stranger Caught the Fish without any trouble,

but he wasn't hungry, so he gave it back. Harry was so happy that he levitated. We ate fish.

Already it was time for anna one & Loki to catch their train leaving town, so the four made a mad dash back to the train station. Thankfully, on the last bridge to be crossed that day, they found the fourth representation of a cow:

For further details, please read the captions on the extra added bonus photos below.

- smaller

something B&W, worn around the neck

We started at the train station, making collars and ties out of Australian-Rail time tables.

carrying Moose onto the train

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Download FLV

It's hard to take photos when you're holding onto someone's leg.

Cow #1

We got off the train and were immediately confronted with Sooshi-Cow.

World First in OZ

When I think about ice-cream, I always find myself dreaming of raw fish and Japanese cows. Don't you?

leapfrog in a crowded sidewalk

Because the Sooshi Cow made us so excited.

Leapfrog on a crowded sidewalk

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Download FLV

There was a little girl, maybe five years old- totally mesmerized. Business man in a suit? Annoyed. Typical.

on a bridge over the river, we found the Melbourne crest

A spouting whale, a clipper ship, a hanging sheep tied up in a bow aaaand...

Cow #2

It's true that all of Australia is covered in vast quantities of sheep and cows. And kangaroos and parrots.

double red

Both California taxes and fish-shaped soy-sauce containers come in bright fire-engine red.

Rainbow of trash

We cleaned up the promenade along the Yarra river.

On a government building

Australia is covered in sheep, cows and memorials to WWI dead.

Rainbow of trash on a WWI memorial pedestal.

Not a commentary, we promise. All of the Yarra river promenade is government-built.

A place to get soaking wet.

They totally dove in. Really. They don't look wet in the following photos because the Yarra River is 80% dirt, 19% trash, and 1% mutated fish.

Most Beautiful Flower

There were lots of traditionally pretty flowers all around, but this one was striking.

The Most done-blooming Flower

To be fair, it wasn't so much of a flower any more- most of it's petals were wilting at the tips of it's swollen fruit.

Open fruit

The fruit snapped in half despite it's stringy husk.

seeds

Inside were foamy segments we assumed to be seeds. Although we were tempted, none of us was brave enough to taste it.

Improvised fishing equipment

Not a lot of fish jumping for the sneaky knot-hook on the end of the fishing... rope.

Cow #3

On the other side of the river, there was an event that appeared to be a marathon of some kind. We followed this COW-boy and Indian pair all the way to the finish line and through the amassed crowds in order to photograph our third representation of a cow.

Getting soaking wet, take two

Look at how wet they are!

fried fish

We stopped for a bite to eat along the river. Harry got fish and chips with some extra fish. Then he picked out this fellow from the uniformed crowd of high-school graduates.

tossing the fish