27 July 2006
5 July 2006
John Hinde Dies
One of the ABC's first foreign correspondents and well-known TV presenter, John Hinde, has died.Mr Hinde began his career at the ABC in the news department and was a correspondent in the Pacific during World War II.
He later furthered his passion in film, presenting a weekly review on Radio National and presenting films on TV.
Mr Hinde died at a nursing home in Sydney aged 92.
Tributes are being paid to veteran Mr Hinde.
Margaret Pomeranz of ABC TV's At the Movies program says he was a legend who inspired her passion for film.
"It's really upset me, I've only just found out about it now," she said.
"For us growing up his radio program on ABC at 7.15pm on Monday night was like a religious quarter-of-an-hour because it was about the only film commentary we had.
"It was like meeting a legend when I finally did go to screenings where John was and it was such a pleasure meeting him."
David Stratton, also of At the Movies, says Mr Hinde was a lovely man who was a pleasure to talk to.
He says he had a roguish look on TV and always presented with wit, perception and style.
"It was something to do with his innate good humour and wit I think, and he would always focus on very often on small details, on whimsical little things that appealed to him, and convey them so beautifully to the listener or the viewer in his television introductions," he said.
Oddly enough, I was wondering just recently if fabulous old John was still kicking; at uni most mornings I walk past the John Hines building, so I'm sure you can see what prompted the thought.
This news article doesn't do him nearly enough justice. It's been some years since he graced our screens with his lilting voice and wicked humour, but he was always a firm favorite of mine. I was saddened to hear of his death, but then again, at 92 I guess you've got to expect these things.
4 July 2006
The Horizontality
No posts for a while for good reason: I've wrenched a few ligaments in my back. If I were more adept at typing while lying down this wouldn't be a problem--in fact, I would have been at work this past week--but for the timebeing it's a quickly dulling diet of DVDs and reading, with the odd merciful dash of World Cup spice.
I've reread Riders To The Midnight Sun during my horizontality. The travel story is fast becoming an overdone genre, but a good one is still hard to beat. This one follows a 30-ish couple who ride cheap, crappy bicycles from the Black Sea to Murmansk in the former Soviet Union. For me, it has it all: the former Eastern Bloc; cycling; ill-advised trips; the angst of "growing up" (ie turning 30); an emerging writer; the creepy, compulsive draw of nuclear power stations; strange food; and vodka. He writes well, so it's worth a look for his crafting alone.
The DVD list is a little hazier. Many of them passed by in a pain-and-codeine fog, but I do remember:
All in all, a mostly poor selection. I think there were around 16 more, but my usually-agreeable brain just won't cooperate. I'm sure you'll cope.
But in news far more exciting, to me at least, is that university results for semester 1 are released tomorrow. Will she make High Distinction? Or will Distinction have to suffice? Will she get enough to land a few of those juicy merit-based scholarships for next year? Or will she have to keep hacking away at her unloved day job?
You'd think that having leisure to loll about would be an opportunity for some quality writing, but sadly, no. Pain is distracting. How bloody annoying.
Edited to add: High Distinction for Writing, but only Credit for French. Bugger! If I'd studied harder I'd know how to say that with a Gallic shrug.
I've reread Riders To The Midnight Sun during my horizontality. The travel story is fast becoming an overdone genre, but a good one is still hard to beat. This one follows a 30-ish couple who ride cheap, crappy bicycles from the Black Sea to Murmansk in the former Soviet Union. For me, it has it all: the former Eastern Bloc; cycling; ill-advised trips; the angst of "growing up" (ie turning 30); an emerging writer; the creepy, compulsive draw of nuclear power stations; strange food; and vodka. He writes well, so it's worth a look for his crafting alone.
The DVD list is a little hazier. Many of them passed by in a pain-and-codeine fog, but I do remember:
- Stepford Wives (thin and unsatisfying, although mildly amusing in parts),
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (despite a cast of favorites, never really got going for me),
- Around the World in 80 Days (not even Jackie Chan could save this one),
- Withnail and I (the world is just so much better with Richard E Grant aboard, don't you think?)
- Cassanova (nice costumes)
- The Brothers Grimm (nice costumes)
All in all, a mostly poor selection. I think there were around 16 more, but my usually-agreeable brain just won't cooperate. I'm sure you'll cope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But in news far more exciting, to me at least, is that university results for semester 1 are released tomorrow. Will she make High Distinction? Or will Distinction have to suffice? Will she get enough to land a few of those juicy merit-based scholarships for next year? Or will she have to keep hacking away at her unloved day job?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'd think that having leisure to loll about would be an opportunity for some quality writing, but sadly, no. Pain is distracting. How bloody annoying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited to add: High Distinction for Writing, but only Credit for French. Bugger! If I'd studied harder I'd know how to say that with a Gallic shrug.
20 June 2006
12 June 2006
Centrebet Time
Time to check in on our old friend, Centrebet. For the Australia v Japan World Cup match tonight, the Centrebet oracle has Australia down to pay $2.25 for a win, and Japan at $3.20. This surprised me, as I felt that Japan were more likely to take it tonight, but I'm sure these people know better than I in this case.
In other World Cup wagering news, Croatia's not looking too optimistic against Brazil, at $9.00 vs $1.38. Those keen for a shot at a few easy dollars could consider Trinidad & Tobago in their upcoming match against England: a T&T win will see you with $17.00 for every dollar you invest, as opposed to a miserly $1.15 for England.
The real money, of course, is in picking the winner of the Cup itself. Good returns on Togo, Saudi Arabia and Angola ($1001). Australia is sitting on $81 at the time of writing, the same as Croatia but ahead of USA, Japan, Korea, Paraguay (not likely to hear their lovely anthem many more times, it seems), and others.
It'll be interesting to see how the Australian team fare. I'm not too concerned one way or another; international sporting events just don't bring out the flamboyant patriot in me. But I do hope that they make it into the next round for the benefit the publicity and excitement will lend the local game.
On a related note, the lovely Les Murray (the soccer broadcaster, not the poet) made it onto the Queen's Birthday Honours List today, along with Bert Newton; the guy who created Humphey B Bear; Greg Combet; Shane Stone, who deserves one on the strength of his astonishing euthanasia law alone; and Margaret Olley.
In other World Cup wagering news, Croatia's not looking too optimistic against Brazil, at $9.00 vs $1.38. Those keen for a shot at a few easy dollars could consider Trinidad & Tobago in their upcoming match against England: a T&T win will see you with $17.00 for every dollar you invest, as opposed to a miserly $1.15 for England.
The real money, of course, is in picking the winner of the Cup itself. Good returns on Togo, Saudi Arabia and Angola ($1001). Australia is sitting on $81 at the time of writing, the same as Croatia but ahead of USA, Japan, Korea, Paraguay (not likely to hear their lovely anthem many more times, it seems), and others.
It'll be interesting to see how the Australian team fare. I'm not too concerned one way or another; international sporting events just don't bring out the flamboyant patriot in me. But I do hope that they make it into the next round for the benefit the publicity and excitement will lend the local game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a related note, the lovely Les Murray (the soccer broadcaster, not the poet) made it onto the Queen's Birthday Honours List today, along with Bert Newton; the guy who created Humphey B Bear; Greg Combet; Shane Stone, who deserves one on the strength of his astonishing euthanasia law alone; and Margaret Olley.
10 June 2006
One of the aspects of international sporting events I enjoy is hearing the national anthems of the competing countries. Tonight's World Cup match: England v Paraguay. First anthem was England's, God Save The Queen. Urgh. What a dirge. We had to sing it in Queensland of the 1950s, which was the era in which I did my schooling in the 1980s. The English really should consider taking on Rule Britannia officially. Yes, I know it's about Britain rather than England, but in the context of the song it's the same thing. It's full of pomp and bravado, just as an anthem should be.
The atmosphere changed utterly when the Paraguayan anthem started up. Paraguayos, Républica o muerte! translates as Paraguayans, The Republic or Death! and in contrast to the title, was jaunty and fun. The Paraguayans in the crowd were jumping around, belting it out with gusto. Leaves Advance Australia Fair exposed as the shameful, limp, written-for-recorder music that it is. I have anthem envy.
Six minutes in to the match and England has scored already. That David Beckham, for all his silly tabloid courting, really can play football. He's come out onto the field with his hair all styled, and I can't help but worry about him. I have on several occasions raised a sweat in summer only to have any hair product I'm wearing run into my eyes and sting like all hell. Maybe he has a No Tears formula product?
The atmosphere changed utterly when the Paraguayan anthem started up. Paraguayos, Républica o muerte! translates as Paraguayans, The Republic or Death! and in contrast to the title, was jaunty and fun. The Paraguayans in the crowd were jumping around, belting it out with gusto. Leaves Advance Australia Fair exposed as the shameful, limp, written-for-recorder music that it is. I have anthem envy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Six minutes in to the match and England has scored already. That David Beckham, for all his silly tabloid courting, really can play football. He's come out onto the field with his hair all styled, and I can't help but worry about him. I have on several occasions raised a sweat in summer only to have any hair product I'm wearing run into my eyes and sting like all hell. Maybe he has a No Tears formula product?
Wrong Dam Question
So much to write about: World Cup, nuclear "debate" hotting up, my recent movie fiesta, why the queen has so many birthdays and what she might make of it all, the Suburban Safari re-design ... but let's chat tonight instead about water.
We're having our first modest rain here in, I'm guessing, a couple of months. At 9.4mm, it's hardly a drought-breaker, but it will make a difference to the lawns and gardens around town. Being south-facing, our place hasn't done too badly; the lawns on our side of the street are still green, whereas our north-facing neighbours across the street have been kicking up dust for a couple of weeks now. The dams are at between 30-35% of their capacity, and soon we'll be stepping up to the next level of restrictions. The topic is a hot barbecue stopper at the moment.
There are a number of solutions being suggested to alleviate the current "crisis" and secure a wet and splashy future for south east Queensland: a new dam on the Mary River, desalination, and *gasp!!* recycling water. I think we're asking the wrong question. Rather than asking, how can we get more water, we need to be asking, how can we get people to start thinking about water differently?
We are very indulged in this country.I see a lot of water wastage going on in my travels around the city. So often I see toilets with a half-flush button that doesn't work. In fact, it's so frequent that I can only guess that it's consciously done as a concession to the delicate sensibilities of shoppers who may not recover from finding a small shred of paper in the bowl. Before the last round of watering restrictions, commercial buildings with inbuilt watering systems often had them running through the hottest part of the day, with spraying risers putting their fine mist up into the air, to be whisked away by the wind, or watering the footpath, pedestrians and gutters.
I have never had to rely on tank water anywhere I've lived, but I have spent time in many places that do. The approach to water usage is completely different. Toilets are flushed only if Mr Hanky pays a visit. Showers are brief: if using soap or hair washing, the water goes on to soap up, then is turned off while you scrub. It's then flicked on again to rinse. That's it. None but the most hardy plants make it into the garden, and watering is done with a watering can. Taps are never left running while teeth cleaning, vegetable washing, or hand washing. When doing laundry, the rinse water from the last load is put back into the machine for the wash cycle of the next, and all of it goes into the garden once it's been used. It's not that hard, really. How much difference would the population converting to this behaviour make to the Brisbane region?
I don't know how much water the average household uses per week, but I would imagine that doing some of the above and installing a rain water tank would make a significant difference. But we're extremely addicted to convenience, and often won't countenance the idea of making a small effort that makes the lot of everyone that bit better. As the Dead Kennedys once said, give me convenience or give me death. But the fact is, no matter how tough the water situation becomes here, we're doing a hell of a lot better than people in many parts of the world. We need to take some responsibility for our water use. But are the people of Brisbane likely to put up with the cold-sweat terror of pee sitting in their toilet bowls?
We're having our first modest rain here in, I'm guessing, a couple of months. At 9.4mm, it's hardly a drought-breaker, but it will make a difference to the lawns and gardens around town. Being south-facing, our place hasn't done too badly; the lawns on our side of the street are still green, whereas our north-facing neighbours across the street have been kicking up dust for a couple of weeks now. The dams are at between 30-35% of their capacity, and soon we'll be stepping up to the next level of restrictions. The topic is a hot barbecue stopper at the moment.
There are a number of solutions being suggested to alleviate the current "crisis" and secure a wet and splashy future for south east Queensland: a new dam on the Mary River, desalination, and *gasp!!* recycling water. I think we're asking the wrong question. Rather than asking, how can we get more water, we need to be asking, how can we get people to start thinking about water differently?
We are very indulged in this country.I see a lot of water wastage going on in my travels around the city. So often I see toilets with a half-flush button that doesn't work. In fact, it's so frequent that I can only guess that it's consciously done as a concession to the delicate sensibilities of shoppers who may not recover from finding a small shred of paper in the bowl. Before the last round of watering restrictions, commercial buildings with inbuilt watering systems often had them running through the hottest part of the day, with spraying risers putting their fine mist up into the air, to be whisked away by the wind, or watering the footpath, pedestrians and gutters.
I have never had to rely on tank water anywhere I've lived, but I have spent time in many places that do. The approach to water usage is completely different. Toilets are flushed only if Mr Hanky pays a visit. Showers are brief: if using soap or hair washing, the water goes on to soap up, then is turned off while you scrub. It's then flicked on again to rinse. That's it. None but the most hardy plants make it into the garden, and watering is done with a watering can. Taps are never left running while teeth cleaning, vegetable washing, or hand washing. When doing laundry, the rinse water from the last load is put back into the machine for the wash cycle of the next, and all of it goes into the garden once it's been used. It's not that hard, really. How much difference would the population converting to this behaviour make to the Brisbane region?
I don't know how much water the average household uses per week, but I would imagine that doing some of the above and installing a rain water tank would make a significant difference. But we're extremely addicted to convenience, and often won't countenance the idea of making a small effort that makes the lot of everyone that bit better. As the Dead Kennedys once said, give me convenience or give me death. But the fact is, no matter how tough the water situation becomes here, we're doing a hell of a lot better than people in many parts of the world. We need to take some responsibility for our water use. But are the people of Brisbane likely to put up with the cold-sweat terror of pee sitting in their toilet bowls?
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