Gleanings from Fallow Fields

Fade away or gradually die

2009-11-18T14:52:00.005+11:00

Some more sad news Edward Woodward's BBC Obituary I mentioned Breaker Morant just recently elsewhere. Callan seems to have branded itself into a generation, too. Glad now DVD releases are available. The Wicker Man has left quite an impact as well. Saw him only a couple of weeks ago, doing a good job in a recent Britcrime TV drama. Only one I can see in IMDB list is Jonnie Johnson in The Bill –

Disturbing Wall Art in Berlin

2009-11-09T09:09:00.001+11:00

Altho' this Daily Mail article, linked at end, has a different main subject – starting with Nicolas Sarkozy's confused recollection of his part in the fall of the Berlin Wall & continuing with general reflections on that event & its 20th Anniversary – there was a background in an accompanying picture that I found striking, disturbing &, unfortunately, memorable (brain bleach wanted). It's the

American Poem

2009-10-23T00:59:00.001+11:00

I AM the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. Do you know that all the great work of this world is done through me? I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world's food & clothes. I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me & the Lincolns. They die. & then I send forth more Napoleons & Lincolns. I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much

So, it's Rio for 2016 Olympics

2009-10-03T04:59:00.002+10:00

When the human world & its damage to itself & its planet gets too much, sometimes looking at a bigger picture can distract us from our distress & despair. (NB: Need better, official links for these two.) Mysterious Mercury reveals more surface secrets to Messenger spacecraftThe Messenger team were hoping to take close-up pictures of other features glimpsed during the first two fly-bys, but an

The Antiquity of the Novelty Song

2009-09-22T06:00:00.000+10:00

An odd thing I discovered while searching for details of a quite different nursery song for someone. Nursery Antiquities, from Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell"The following has been traced to the time of Henry VI., a singular doggerel, the joke of which consists in saying it so quickly that it cannot be told whether it is English or gibberish:"In fir tar is, In oak

The Strange Story of Stan Brock remains untold here

2009-09-09T06:16:00.000+10:00

A report from Guy Adams in Los Angeles at the music arena that has been turned into a makeshift medical centreThe Independent (UK) Guy AdamsSaturday, 15 August 2009The brutal truth about America’s healthcare: &hhellip; Some of these Americans had walked miles simply to have their blood pressure checked, some had slept in their cars in the hope of getting an eye-test or a mammogram, others had

A Sonnet to be kept for a proper time

2009-07-04T02:21:00.003+10:00

SonnetIf I should die some night and never seeDawn's light, my email, and my morning tea,I face the thought with equanimity,In fact, it would be worse for you than me.Not that I want to die and turn to clay.I'm only half-way through, I want to stay, I want more years, more books, more chance to sayI love my life, my work, my friends, my day.But I would know for sure the mysteryPerhaps go on to

Apology Again

2009-06-20T15:30:00.002+10:00

Not putting much here right now. Haven't given up. Life goes on, so far.

Hate Crimes

2009-06-03T22:53:00.001+10:00

One quote from a recent American Terrorist story jumped out. From my local paper's report (‘Gunman says murder of abortion doctors was 'justified'’), via Associated Press, also in variations from several sources"The anti-tax stuff came first, and then it grew and grew," said Lindsey Roeder … he became involved with the Freemen movement, an anti-government group that discouraged the paying of

Two Anniversaries: the Effluxion of Time

2009-05-22T05:01:00.003+10:00

From comments on a review at Rixosous of The Mayor of Castro Street, by Randy Shilts.Today is the 30th anniversary of the White Night Riots, which occurred when Dan White was given a ludicrously low sentence for the murders of Harvey Milk and George Moscone.Tomorrow is Harvey Milk's birthday. He would have been 79. It's hard to imagine.Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | May 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM

Watchmen Widget

2009-02-27T05:12:00.001+11:00

Leviathan's Underbelly: TV

2009-02-11T10:27:00.006+11:00

I've mentioned John Birmingham's book Leviathan* (Assorted links) before (5 June, 2005). Here's one of the chapters, expanded and filmed. Also see the works of Rupert Kathner Underbelly: Back where it all began - SMH TV & Radio - Entertainment:"Sydney had been corrupt since the Rum Corps, but in the 1970s it exploded. A cell of bent detectives effectively franchised crime using 'pet' criminals.

A Minnesota January — Things People Do When It Gets Cold

2009-01-18T04:31:00.003+11:00

Still Too Cold To Go Birding (15th January, 2009)www.birdchick.com/ 2009/ 01/ still-too-cold-to-go-birding.htmlThere's a video of unusual banana use, and stories of bubbles and spray.Elsewhere, there's ‘Is it cold enough for you’ (by dmilstein) showing the effect of cold air on hot water.www.youtube.com/ watch?v=F-ugVrA8e5Mwhich

Humanist Podcasts through December

2008-12-28T14:24:00.010+11:00

New Humanist Advent Calendar Podcasts (link to list) From Monday, 1 December 2008 to Wednesday, December 24th, these were posted up day by day. There's a short entry and an embedded player in the blog, or you can listen directly to the MP3 file. Each interview subject was asked to pick a scientist or philosopher or writer who they'd suggest be commemorated by an annual day, rather like

USA Today: Car Smashes in the Snow

2008-12-23T22:14:00.001+11:00

Ouch - two car crashes survived. Photos shared from Flickr. ~*Leah*~ [untitled] & Lauren takes Pictures, Day 198 of 365

SMH Obituary - Dacre Smyth, 1923-2008

2008-12-13T09:04:00.001+11:00

www.smh.com.au - A poetic observer, unwittingly, of Hiroshima:www.smh.com.au/ text/ articles/ 2008/ 12/ 10/ 1228584924971.htmlSmyth was on HMAS Norman 160 kilometres east of Japan on August 6, 1945, when another officer called him on deck to see a 'spectacular sunset'. Smyth immediately wrote a poem, of which the second verse says: 'No cloud, I say, but yet the sun did light/ On towering columns

Post-Election Musical Thoughts

2008-11-06T20:35:00.003+11:00

DEMOCRACY It's coming through a hole in the air,from those nights in Tiananmen Square.It's coming from the feelthat this ain't exactly real,or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.From the wars against disorder,from the sirens night and day,from the fires of the homeless,from the ashes of the gay:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.It's coming through a crack in the wall;on a visionary flood of

OH NOES! RUN! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

2008-10-06T13:45:00.003+11:00

Panic Nowmore animals

Satellite Photo Maps and 'Reality'

2008-10-02T06:52:00.004+10:00

1) My home is on a busy & important road, running straight for over a mile along the top of a ridge next to central Sydney. On my first use of Google Street View, like everyone else looking for my place, it was in the only block along the whole length missing. 2) Walking in a new area of the city I discovered a tiny hidden oasis right off a big busy main road. Two little angled lanes of brick

Links on Compulsory Voting

2008-09-22T19:59:00.000+10:00

Here's a link to the Australian Electoral Commission's very brief summary page on Compulsory Voting. This links to more detailed PDF documents (1-short, 2-fuller. See also Informality. For excruciating detail see Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918). It covers the Federal law, the States have their own (NSW, see legislation: Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 No 41, Div 13), and each

Life (sort of) Imitates Snow Crash

2008-09-19T02:23:00.004+10:00

Pizza man fined for delivering very fast fast foodSeptember 17, 2008, 3:29 am(Reporting by Pauline Askin, Editing by Michael Perry and Miral Fahmy)SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian pizza delivery man gave fast food a new meaning when he was caught, and fined, for driving 53 km (33 miles) over the speed limit.The 20-year-old man, driving on a provisional driver's license, said he was speeding

Nice Noises

2008-06-20T14:24:00.003+10:00

MP3 extracts of Richard Einhorn's music - composer of Voices of Light, etc, www.richardeinhorn.com/ Audio/ AudioIndex.htmlVoices of Light link www.richardeinhorn.com/ VOL/ VOLHomepage.htmlAnd another space … listen.to/ whitenoiseYouTube clip called Kaamelott - The perfect fifth. It seems to be part of series called Kaamelott, I think. I did LOL (quietly (LQ?)) at 'diabolus!', remembering being

What Cannot be Knitted or Crotcheted?

2008-06-20T01:02:00.003+10:00

Knitted Tardis (don't let the BBC hear, tho'): TARDIS Knit Plush Pattern Instructions, and Pattern Graph; Knitted Tardis Flickr set; and Instructables page: The Tardis - knitted. I would love someone to bring one along to the Sixth Annual 702 ABC Sydney Knit In for the Wrap With Love charity (the Big Day is 1st August this year), 'cos our ABC is & has been the Dr Who purveyor in Australia since

Mud of some sort or another

2008-05-29T17:01:00.002+10:00

Someone mentioned mud, and I immediately sang in my mind “mud, mud, glorious mud” – from ‘Hippopotamus’ by Flanders & Swann.Mud is something they'd love to find on Mars — see HiRISE images of the Phoenix landing site at www.planetary.org/ blog/ article/ 00001472Mud also plays a small, but vital role in the film The Ballad of Cable HogueAnd for a picture that evokes quite different emotions, GW

Some English language alphabets

2008-05-01T12:07:00.004+10:00

John Higgins's silent alphabetA as in BREADB as in DEBTC as in INDICTMENTD as in HANDKERCHIEFE as in GIVEF as in HALFPENNYG as in GNAWH as in HOURI as in FRIENDJ as in MARIJUANAK as in KNOWL as in CALMM as the first M in MNEMONICN as in AUTUMNO as in PEOPLEP as in PSALMQ as in COLQUHOUN (a Scottish surnamepron “Cull-hoon”)R as in FORECASTLES as in ISLANDT as in CASTLEU as in GUARDV as in

Another Death; Another Good Legacy

2008-03-21T14:04:00.004+11:00

It wasn't that far back that Paul Scofield was brought to my mind in relation to discussing Thomas More (in the 'William F Buckley, dead' thread). I watched a few online clips from A Man for All Seasons. Now he joins our other recent losses, leaving, we are comforted, a legacy we can continue to benefit from.From The Guardian, their obituary, personal remembrances, comments from the public; and

Sigh. Six Apart, further apart

2008-03-21T10:54:00.001+11:00

Darkrose (you are so good to me eggplant mike) has put up a translation of an interview with LJ's recent owner (a Russian). It's not happy reading. http://darkrosetiger.livejournal.com/ 373663.html — The Rodney McKay Principle of Consumerism as applied to LiveJournal

Solastalgia: homesickness you have when you are still at home

2008-02-10T20:24:00.001+11:00

Researchers identify new syndromeWednesday 6 September 2006www.newcastle.edu.au/ news/ 2006/ 09/ newsyndrome.htmlResearchers from the University of Newcastle, Australia have discovered a new type of syndrome affecting potentially thousands of people who have lived through human-made environmental change such as open-cut mines, and natural disasters such as drought and cyclones.Researchers, Dr

Outwitting History: A Book-Rescuer's story

2007-12-16T10:52:00.000+11:00

Amazon.com: Outwitting HistoryThe Amazing Adventures of A Man Who Rescued A Million Yiddish Books, by Aaron Lansky "Lansky and his fellow dreamers traveled from house to house, Dumpster to Dumpster saving Yiddish books wherever they could find them—eventually gathering an improbable 1.5 million volumes, from famous writers like Sholem Aleichem and I.B. Singer to one-of-a-kind Soviet prints."

Analysing Raising Arizona

2007-11-18T21:49:00.000+11:00

The House Next Door (mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com)H.I. Pulls the Pin (10th October, 2007)Raising Arizona's universe exists somewhere between a Sam Shepard play and Chuck Jones' 'Dripalong Daffy.' H.I (Nicolas Cage) and his barren, ex-cop wife, Ed (Holly Hunter), participate in wild car and foot chases, throw roundhouse punches that would have knocked John Wayne's eyeballs out, and speak in

A poetic review of Kahlil Gibran

2007-11-10T10:59:00.000+11:00

From FIRST THINGS: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public LifeOn the Recent Publication of Kahlil Gibran’s Collected Works by Alan Jacobs (c) 2007 First Things (November 2007).One very small extract:So again I turn and I say to you,Pass by the Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran,Touch it not nor gaze upon it,But go about your ways in peace of heart and with thanksgiving.

Promachoteuthis sulcus

2007-11-06T01:14:00.000+11:00

ectoplasmosis � The Dream of the Husband of the Fishmonger: "The Dream of the Husband of the Fishmonger"Promachoteuthis sulcus: "Promachoteuthis sulcus (first known as Promachoteuthis sp. C on this page) is known from a single, small (25 mm ML, sex unknown) but distinctive individual from great depths in the south Atlantic Ocean."

Relaxation and Enjoyment

2007-10-19T16:25:00.001+10:00

I've had a lot of enjoyment looking through the list of 50 Greatest CartoonsIt includes, naturally, "What's Opera, Doc?" (pedantry), and Rabbit of Seville? (Una la volta!)

Mysterious Typeface Change

2007-10-16T00:03:00.000+10:00

'For some most mysterious reason, this isn't the blog I once knew'*. Unaccountably and apparently of its own accord, the Title, Headings and Body changed from a serif to a sans-serif typeface. At the moment the sidebar Text and Headings seem to have retained their original serif selves. Who knows how and/or why.I've checked through the template file and can't find any reason. Adding in

Lake George in Others' Eyes

2007-10-15T11:43:00.003+10:00

Lake George. A popular name. There are a number around the world. We have a few (4) in Australia, but I think the most famous, or notorious, is the one in NSW, near Canberra. Tho' as one of its photographers on Flickr says: "traditional definitions of 'lake', 'river', and the like don't really hold in Australia".Lake George's Geomorphology; A brief but clear description down near the end, around

Bogong Moth season in Sydney 2007

2007-10-12T23:15:00.000+10:00

Bogongs – first the recipe, now the film!10 Oct 2007. ABC Sydney. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): It's not just the young and foolish attracted to the bright lights of the big city. Swarms of Bogong moths have descended on Sydney during their annual seasonal migration from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales to the alpine region as they migrate to escape the summer heat.The

Portrait of a Young Man

2007-10-05T22:15:00.000+10:00

Charles Darwin painted by George Richmond in the late 1830s, not all that long after the voyage of The Beagle.

Reminder: A BOOK WRITER SPEAKS

2007-09-22T09:50:00.001+10:00

K.A. Bedford (Modem Noise) FAQ"11. What's it like seeing your book in print? Must be awesome! It is! The first time I saw ORBITAL BURN as a physical, finished object, at Torcon 3 (the 2003 Worldcon), I was also fried out of my mind with epic jetlag and fatigue and, it also being my first overseas trip, and my first Worldcon, crazy nervous energy" …Having a book published doesn't "fix" anything

Living without memory

2007-09-21T00:23:00.000+10:00

The situations that the different people described are in are disturbing and distressing, but what extraordinary things they are capable of, and what strange aspects of knowledge, consciousness and how humans (& perhaps other animals) function their capacities throw some illumination onto.Sometimes I feel that what I'm aware of as “self” is like a little sailboat scudding along over sunlit

Some Online September 11th sites

2007-09-11T08:45:00.000+10:00

Trade Center Memorial Foundation: www.buildthememorial.orgVoices of Sept 11 family Web site: www.911livingmemorial.orgSept 11 digital archive: www.911digitalarchive.orgNew York State 9/11 archives: www.nyshrab.org/ wtc/ s_wtc_projects.shtml

Images from Burning Man 2007

2007-09-08T20:03:00.000+10:00

A gallery of pictures from the playa, called NoSuchImages – burningman2007

Aren't they a lovely couple?

2007-08-19T18:35:00.001+10:00

APEC_2005-Howard_Bush-Busan Originally uploaded by Epacris John W Howard & George W Bush at APEC 2005 (Busan)For an overview of APEC leaders group photos, see this Sydney Morning Herald blog link: blogs.smh.com.au/ photographers/ archives /2007/ 08/ ok_some_targets_are_just.html

From A Feast of Hate and Fear

2007-08-17T07:02:00.000+10:00

An archive of FHF interviews, old and new. Plus hoaxes, rare pamphlets, obscure writings and a few classics.: "ARCHIVES & TEXTS"

Million-to-One Shots

2007-08-10T21:53:00.000+10:00

Standing on a mountaintop in northern Siberia under the rapidly descending bulk of asteroid McAlmont, with a calculating expression and a baseball bat — Everything2.comSomehow this is linked in my mind with the XKCD comic No. 254, viz

Yoshihiro Suda

2007-08-06T06:27:00.001+10:00

Yoshihiro SUDA (nmp net gallery)www.dnp.co.jp/ museum/ nmp/ nmp_b/ gallery/ shokudo/ suda_e.html"a plant can only live by adapting itself to the environment when its seed is first planted in the ground somewhere. If the seed is dropped in myself, then it must acclimatize to the environment which is me. It just so happened that I was a person who sculpted wood. Therefore, within myself, the

Zeppelin versus Pterodactyls, and writings

2007-08-03T22:24:00.001+10:00

Some fun stuff put together on Utoob — Zeppelin versus Pterodactylswww.youtube.com/watch?v=f2PkY3zSuw4Inspired by this, apparentlyratmmjess.livejournal.com/170419.html(Some casting ideas are: "Christopher Walken as the Zeppelin Luftkapitan, Alan Ford as the pissed-off British pilot sent to stop him, Nathan Fillon as the American mechanic for the British ... Tilda Swinton as Walken's frightening

Ice Cool Buildings

2007-07-15T09:37:00.002+10:00

System Relies on Ice to Chill BuildingsSaturday July 14, 3:45 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — As the summer swelters on, skyscrapers and apartments around the city will be cranking up the air conditioning and pushing the city's power grid to the limit.But some office towers and buildings have found a way to stay cool while keeping the AC to a minimum — by using an energy-saving system that relies on

Eucalyptus origins; Cat at Sea

2007-07-06T14:22:00.001+10:00

Scientists up a gum tree over Eucalyptus origins (Yahoo! News)San Bernardino County Sun - Curious cat survives 18 days on high seas

Kamikaze dolphins (from 2000)

2007-07-01T07:19:00.000+10:00

Iran buys kamikaze dolphinsDolphins and other aquatic mammals were trained by Russian experts to attack warships and enemy frogmen, but when funding for the project ceased, many were moved to a private dolphinarium to perform for tourists. Their chief trainer, both in military and civilian life, was Boris Zhurid, who began his career as a submariner before graduating from a medical academy. "But

Two of my loves, gathered together

2007-06-22T21:21:00.000+10:00

Biology in Science Fiction, includes Biotech Art

Death of a Fighting Liberal

2007-06-04T11:10:00.000+10:00

The blogosphere is mourning the death of Steve Gilliard, editor of NewsBlog. Leslie Turek reprinted one of his posts that made the greatest impact on her, and I am copying it as applying in some part to Australia, tho' "Liberal" is far less of a term of abuse here, being the name of the local conservative party.I'm a fighting liberalYou know, I've studied history, I've read about America and you

Mirrored Thoughts

2007-05-26T02:24:00.000+10:00

from the BLDGBLOG (Architectural Conjecture, Urban Speculation, and Landscape Futures) — soon to be available: BLDGBLOG: The Book!Thursday, May 03, 2007Great streets, campuses, and pedestrian nostalgiabldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/great-streets-campuses-and-pedestrian.html1) A "street" is not simply space devoted to automobiles. It's a place of movement, outdoors, that connects different

Dreaming …

2007-05-25T11:13:00.000+10:00

Tailor-Made TravelDump the generic guidebook and get a key to the city—By Angie Vo, Venus ZineUtne Reader May / June 2007 Issuewww.utne.com/ issues/ 2007_141/ promo/ 12553-1.htmlDon't you hate spending half your vacation in a new city poring over guidebooks, trying to figure out whether this art gallery or that club is worth visiting or is just a tourist trap? If you wish you could feel like a

Saturday Night Fireworks; Sydney, Autumn, 2007

2007-05-19T22:38:00.000+10:00

Don't know why they're doing it, but these last two Saturday nights, around 10pm, there's been a fairly big burst of fireworks, it looks like between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.Tonight, as soon as I heard them I threw on outdoor clothing, grabbed my trusty Canon A80 and headed for the closest vantage. This is the result, run through iMovie to join two parts

One Budget Rumination

2007-05-09T07:37:00.000+10:00

Thinking & listening to discussion after the Federal Budget speech for 2007, I came up with a slightly new slant to the ones that I've had before on earlier budgets:This government is like an abusive partner or parent. After beating &/or abuse &/or deprivation — all said to be 'for your own good', or because 'you made me do it' — come the gifts and attention and 'I love you, you know that'.

'Super' chocolate; slogans; Hazards of aeroplane towing

2007-05-05T12:53:00.001+10:00

I'm not sure if this story is good news for chocophiles or bad. Actually, some of the work they're doing sounds like it could be quite useful in more general spin-offs.Super chocolate being developed for army"Scientists from the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) at Scottsdale in Tasmania are working on a new ... vitamin-packed dark chocolate that won't melt in the heat of

Lipidoptera

2007-04-23T11:51:00.000+10:00

This sounds like an example of Lipidoptera, from the ABC Canberra site »Would you like bogong moths with that? (by Caroline Salisbury, Friday, April 20, 2007)"The high fat content of bogong moths – 38.8 grams of fat for a 100g portion, more then [sic] three times that of a hamburger, provide an energy dense food for indigenous groups in cold climates".100g (nearly 4 oz) is the standard amount

Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood

2007-04-21T13:29:00.003+10:00

The "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" show either never made it here to Oz, or wasn't very big. (Play School - based on a UK show, Mr Squiggle - "the longest running pre-school children's television program in the world", and the franchise of Romper Room (museum material) are/were our TV classics (The Argonauts for radio)) I think it was back in 2003 when he died and there was a fair fuss, with

Thought - one of many

2007-04-20T13:41:00.000+10:00

There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world. The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas-covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be, — Douglas Adams, Digital Biota Cambridge speech, 1998 (www.biota.org/

For Easter; remembering loss, sacrifice & a humble heroism: Mbaye Diagne

2007-04-09T10:07:00.000+10:00

At Easter, we remember loss & sacrifice, and heroism of a humble kind. From Obsidian Wings "when you find a saint, you should reflect on his life, try to learn from it, and do him honour":April 06, 2007Rwanda: Genocide And A Heroby hilzoyobsidianwings.blogs.com/ obsidian_wings/ 2007/ 04/ rwanda_genocide.htmlThirteen years ago today, a plane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, the President of Rwanda,

Tourist-eye View

2007-04-04T07:29:00.000+10:00

Sapphire Princess AU&NZ cruise 2007 (YouTube home movies)

A short film; A sad memory

2007-03-30T20:26:00.000+10:00

Doll Facefraser.typepad.com/ frolix_8/ 2006/ 12/ doll_face.html(via Pharyngula)Sorry for long gaps in posting, for anyone who cares. A combination of not feeling too good, and having to use times when I am for catching up on a lot of stuff in Real Life. Plus some being distracted by the "ooh, shiny!" web factor and not getting around to blogging it. Some sad memories tonight; sometimes it seems

Go your own sweet way

2007-03-22T18:17:00.000+11:00

There's a New South Wales State Election on this Saturday (24th March, 2007 — last day of Daylight Saving). I get quite frustrated by all the discussion of 'preference deals' and people saying they "won't vote for X because they have preferenced Y" and they don't want to vote for Y.One of the good parts of the Australian voting system is that YOU choose your preferences (especially in the Lower

Good Media: 100 Centre Street

2007-02-21T13:33:00.001+11:00

Something reminded me how much I really regret there not being a substantial set of DVD, or even VHS episodes of 100 Centre Street (the address of the central criminal courts in New York City). I remember it dealing with some of the reasons why things work out as they tend to do in the US courts, and other related parts of the system. If it had got beyond 2 seasons, maybe there'd be more chance

Ready for St Valentine's Day?

2007-02-13T19:19:00.000+11:00

Order your own 'personalised' romance novel - free sample on this page - I suspect you could do some creative work on the system to get rather amusing results.http://www.bookbyyou.com/lovesnextdoor/demo.aspThese could be useful in the case of painful Customs inspections (www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/05/immigration_search/)The Yugoslav lexicon of swear words --http://www.ce-review.org/00/41/

Richard Sweeny and his Paper Sculptures

2007-02-12T08:56:00.000+11:00

American Inventor Spot Inventive Art: Richard Sweeny and his Paper SculpturesSome very nice photos of some fascinating objects, and explanations.

Scary Mary

2007-02-05T20:03:00.000+11:00

A trailer for 'Mary Poppins' that brings out the darker side. The books are rather scarier than the film, so this redresses the balance.www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFicThis is the original version, made by Chris Rule, with assistance by Nick Eckert.

Women in Science - a study in progress

2007-02-03T13:18:00.000+11:00

Found elsewhere. Just spreading the news for the moment. there's an author writing a book with a tentative title of Where the Girls Aren't: What's Holding Women Back from Careers in Science? who is looking for interview subjects: both women who have left science-related disciplines and those who are still there.More details at www.nasw.org/users/lhall/wtga.html

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T15:55:00.000+11:00

2007 - The year with a licence to kill!In Sydney, perhaps we were referring to "Diamonds Are Forever"?(Photo by James Bridgewood)New Years Eve Photo galleries at SMH World celebrations; Sydney midnight; Sydney early fireworks

Wired for Sound (is the cliche headline)

2007-01-01T10:59:00.000+11:00

Music of the HemispheresBy CLIVE THOMPSONPublished: December 31, 2006www.nytimes.com/ 2006/ 12/ 31/ arts/ music/ 31thom.htmlWhy are we so good at recognizing music?”... Dr. Daniel Levitin has devoted his career to exploring this question. He is a cognitive psychologist who runs the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University in Montreal, perhaps the world’s

Christmas and Nostalgia on YouTube

2006-12-23T18:46:00.000+11:00

Several clips of one ad (sung by Ben Robinson). It's apparently a parody of a classic UK Christmas show. We aren't at all familiar with it here, though I recognise the tune from BriTV references to it, and many of the scenes they fly past. I'm informed one I scene don't know is the Falkirk Wheel (photos & some info at www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ falkirk/ falkirkwheel/), a modern rotating

Tenth Anniversary: Carl Sagan Memorial

2006-12-20T20:01:00.000+11:00

http://nicksagan.blogs.com/ nick_sagan_online/ 2006/ 12/ dad.htmlThough he worried about the state of the world from time to time, it never stopped him. And when we'd talk about what things might be like in twenty-five, fifty or a hundred years, he said he knew there would be difficult challenges ahead, but he believed we were up to the task. He believed in human ingenuity and compassion, in

Shadow on the Morning

2006-12-19T23:28:00.001+11:00

This morning on the way to work I was attacked by a large umbrella out on the footpath, very like this one. It was a cool, windy morning and the people had just put it up and left it without anything holding it down. Maybe they were inside getting weights. Thankfully I say that a passerby ran in to help, then the people from the shop dashed out and dragged it away. Let me urge you to first put

Next, the Rumpole Version? Pigeons; Paris & ... ? hmmm

2006-12-17T16:17:00.000+11:00

Another history archive online from the UK (see 'Standing on Shoulders' 25-Nov-2006, below)The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 - 1834www.oldbaileyonline.orgA fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.Contains 101,102

Bleak

2006-12-04T02:25:00.000+11:00

Bleak Originally uploaded by kerch. . . . or glorious. Something approaching the experience of the Sublime, perhaps — something that Lessons of Darkness (Lektionen in Finsternis) most definitely touches.The summary includes "What must have been like hell itself is presented to the viewer in such beautiful sights and beautiful music that one has to be fascinated by it." which is a very

Standing on the Shoulders: A Wonderful Resource

2006-11-25T10:59:00.000+11:00

The Royal Society Digital Journal Archive, dating back to 1665 and containing more than 60,000 articles, is now available online at www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk and is FREE to access until the end of December 2006. Following this it will continue to be free as part of any of the Royal Society's new journal subscription packages.The Royal Society Digital Archive is easily the most comprehensive

Tentacles of the communications octopus

2006-11-18T08:53:00.000+11:00

Ahh, people ... AdVerbatims (adverbatims.blogspot.com), described as " a hooting good collection of design-related overheards" by India, Ink (indiamos.wordpress.com). She saw it at Graphic Design Bar (www.graphicdesignbar.com), who got it from Veer (blog.veer.com).]

Creek dries

2006-11-04T15:49:00.000+11:00

On October 30th, 2006 Chris Clarke put Creek Running North into a posting hiatus. It's sad, but looking the final Gone fishin', and at other recent posts & comments you can see good reasons. More happily, at least for now it's staying online to read. So go & do that while you can.

Tibet: A photo from Flickr

2006-11-02T03:26:00.000+11:00

TIBET Originally uploaded by PEDRO SARAIVA. Such lovely colours and rhythmn in the accoutrements, and a nice little by-play in the humanity. (from the threeheadedblog)

NZ News: Hide your insulin

2006-11-01T13:49:00.000+11:00

Airline's medicine ban leaves passenger in comawww.nzherald.co.nz/section/print.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1040860New Zealand Herald - National NewsWednesday November 1, 2006By James IhakaA diabetic man fell into a coma because airport staff refused to let him take his insulin on board a flight from Auckland to Christchurch. Qantas yesterday apologised to Tui Peter Russell, who had a severe attack on

Not a good Vegemite substitute

2006-10-28T00:20:00.000+10:00

A new fast food is making its debut at U.S. fairs this fall: fried Coke. Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe — a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then

Free Trade Agreement?

2006-10-23T14:56:00.000+10:00

America bans VegemiteOctober 21, 2006, from The Sunday Timeswww.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20623973-2,00.htmlwww.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20623014-948,00.htmlTHE US has banned Vegemite, even to the point of searching Australians for jars of the spread when they enter the country.... Vegemite has been deemed illegal under US food laws. [It] contains folate, which ... America allows to be

Evanescence & Solidity (again)

2006-10-17T23:40:00.000+10:00

"Bleigiessen", a seven-storey high sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick at the Wellcome Trust, Gibbs Building, 215 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BEsome pictureswww.flickr.com/photos/electricsprout/255666808/www.flickr.com/photos/loplop/245495378/in/photostream/www.tom-carden.co.uk/2006/01/28/bleigiessen/

Fluffy, White, not necessarily harmless

2006-10-15T14:19:00.000+10:00

Clouding the Mind ...pic1.funtigo.com/ valuca?g=25544746&cr=1Many beautiful & fascinating photos here. A few of them are from a World War I German 'Cloud Atlas' produced for pilots, others are from sites around the world. Many of the lenticular clouds look extraordinarily artificial.... One Way or Another "one step closer to that marshmallow-armed society we all dream of" [Ed - of which we all

Loss: John M Ford

2006-10-08T17:45:00.000+10:00

The writer of the poem below died suddenly, shortly after the equinox, a quarter of the year before Christmas Day at the age of 49. He left a sad gap in my online life, and a much bigger, painful, rent in others' lives. I mourn his passing, condole his family & friends, and cherish the works he left us.Obituary: tinyurl.com/oeouj — This is a free Usenet posting (groups.google.com/ group/

The Turning Year Comes Round Again: Five

2006-09-11T11:09:00.000+10:00

110 Stories — some pieces...There's dust, and metal. Nothing else at all.it's airless and it's absolutely black.I found a wallet. I'm afraid to call.I'll stay until my little girl comes back....I can't do that for fifty times the fare.A coronary. Other things went on.It goes, like, something mighty, and despair.All those not now accounted for are gone....A taller building? Maybe. I can wait.I

The Old Spagetti Factory on the Williamette River

2006-08-16T04:07:00.000+10:00

The Old Spagetti Factory on the Williamette River Originally uploaded by novascotiagal65. Spot the difference (No 2)

The Old Spagetti Factory

2006-08-16T03:59:00.000+10:00

The Old Spagetti Factory Originally uploaded by Jordon. spot the difference (No 1)

Another New Word: Planemo

2006-08-04T23:24:00.000+10:00

Update: Excellent page listing extrasolar planets exoplanet.eu/ catalog.php, brought up in discussion by Pete ErwinStrange 'twin' new worlds foundThursday, 3 August 2006, 20:50 GMT 21:50 UK news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5241774.stm?lsA pair of strange new worlds that blur the boundaries between planets and stars have been discovered beyond our Solar System ...The pair belongs to what some astronomers

Another Online Library/Reference Resource

2006-08-04T23:21:00.000+10:00

Digital Domesday'From parchment to pixels as book hits web'news.bbc.co.uk/ nolavconsole/ ifs_news/ hi/ newsid_5240000/ newsid_5244300/ nb_wm_5244332.stm

Apostate! Defiler! Prevert!

2006-08-04T21:51:00.000+10:00

Such words may have been used to describe someone who installs Windoze on an Apple Mac. Below is a no-holds-barred description of just such a boldly transgressive process.windows.ittoolbox.com/ news/ display.asp?i=145986Not sure if everyone can see these, or just the newsletter subscribers — if you're not necessarily interested in the main premise, you might be able to skim the article for a

Knitting for Knit-In (ABC Local Radio)

2006-07-26T12:21:00.000+10:00

There's a whole fascinating knitting community online, swapping hints, experiences, ideas and encouragement and many, many, pictures of their knitted objects.It ranges from very domesticated versions through various degrees of dedicated crafty types to the 'textile art' end. Between — or beyond — are all kinds of tributaries and bayous in the range of expression — some of the less usual

To see a Universe in a grain of sand

2006-07-26T04:04:00.000+10:00

There are some spectacular and beautiful images, selected as finalists in the scientific illustration competition in this gallery: www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/bia/gallery.htmlWhereas this is an older and far less visual contribution to human culture, available at what look like quite useful sites for online literature.www.literature.org/ authors/ voltaire/ candide/www.infidels.org/ library/ historical/

There are times words fail

2006-07-06T02:07:00.000+10:00

The site and idea of 'Pets In Uniform' is weird enough. Then they just took that step or two more ...

Bearcat ... and related links

2006-06-28T16:36:00.000+10:00

Jack the Cat trees a bear (CNN story)www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRcSzqa4cLsSelection of cats doing strange/funny things -- includes a short clip of another cat/bear confrontation near the end (just before 1 minute).www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAE2Kcp0Nt8Another cat with a dogwww.youtube.com/watch?v=rSICRmlZpVMKitten & Puppyyoutube.com/watch?v=RO-3Qdogr9w--------Assorted cat-related comments in response

Live life well. Fail often.

2006-06-25T21:27:00.000+10:00

Live life well. Fail often. And to those who have passed: R.I.P.www.mrcranky.com/movies/rip.htmlMr Cranky on Life, Death & so on... my friend asked a question: "Why should I live a life that brings me no joy?" That question, along with the passing of these three people, has produced quite a bit of thought on the topic of life, its meaning, and what the whole point might be. Pondering that

Assorted: Amusing & Big Picture

2006-06-24T00:52:00.000+10:00

Elements of Subway-Announcement Style By Ken Krimstein (at McSweeney's — a very good site)www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/6/13krimstein.htmlVideo (from YouTube.com) of an earlier event involving Buzz Aldrin of which you may have heard. You may have to view it on a fatter pipe.www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQKxAqpjrooSome thoughts on Pharyngula not altogether orthogonal to discussions about humanity I've had

Torture comes from the Latin word "to twist"

2006-06-07T13:55:00.000+10:00

DRAFTAs the LA Times reports:WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention ... the exclusion of the Geneva provisions may make it more difficult for the administration to portray such incidents [as Abu Ghraib and Haditha] as aberrations. And it undercuts contentions that U.S. forces follow the strictest, most broadly accepted

At last my (surfing) arm is complete again!

2006-05-31T09:28:00.000+10:00

Invisible ManA new biography explores the woman who was James Tiptree Jrby Carter ScholzBOOKFORUMSummer 2006New book about writer of "And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side" (and other stories I've remembered for many years) - www.bookforum.com/scholz.htmlIn James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon (New York, St Martin's Press, 480pp), Julie Phillips skillfully

Two Books: Has much changed since Orwell's Review?

2006-05-19T11:33:00.000+10:00

Review:The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek The Mirror of the Past by K. ZilliacusTaken together, these two books give grounds for dismay. The first of them is an eloquent defence of laissez-faire capitalism, the other is an even more vehement denunciation of it. They cover to some extent the same ground, they frequently quote the same authorities, and they even start out with the same premise,