Humanity + language

 

Sniping in the headlines

It's the 21st Century yet the Sydney Morning Herald choose to focus on a candidate's relationship status in this headline

And it's a relationship status with a disgraced former state premier, which makes it seem like an attempt to discredit her before she even gets the opportunity to run for election.

Five Flying Things

Here's a playlist of videos that aim to provide ideas for creative play for carers of children stuck at home

These were produced with assistance from the NSW Government through Create NSW and Western Riverina Arts.

Please click here to see the full series

Early Song by Erin Nolte

Bought this painting at an exhibition some years ago and it's remained central to our lives ever since 

Encyclopedia of sandwiches

 

Unsub

Last weekend my daughter introduced our family to the TV show 'Criminal Minds' and it has prompted some reflection for me

For a while now I've been forcing my family to share a single screen on Sunday nights.

Initially I'd pick movies for us to watch but in recent years we've been taking turns to pick and it's led to some interesting choices, like the documentary 'Feels Good Man'.

My daughter is often the least-likely to have a film planned to watch, so when she suggested 'Criminal Minds' we opted to watch a TV show.

It's a slick production and the self-contained episodes move at a fast pace to establish and solve a police procedure drama.

The term "unsub" is a contraction they use for unknown subject.

Unsurprisingly it's been a popular and long-running show, but I've only just encountered it since I watch very little commercial television.

In the following days we've watched more episodes and it's led to conversations about the fascination with serial killers, as well as discussions about psychology.

I should mention that in recent weeks I've had a few unsuccessful job interviews, which isn't surprising since I'm not currently working and have a history of shortish periods in employment.

(Shortish being around two years, which doesn't feel short but I'm living in a region where people seem to stay longer in those jobs.)

Anyway, I was given reason to pause and reflect while watching the episode "L.D.S.K." when they gave this description in the profile talk to local law enforcement:

"He has no friends and his career history has been marked by frequent job changes.

"He’s drawn to high-stakes jobs by a need to prove his superiority to a world he perceives has undervalued him."

It made me wonder about some jobs that I've applied for that my partner has questioned whether I'd be happy if I got them.

It made me wonder if my recent spate of job applications was spurred by feeling undervalued.

I'm going to try and be more humble and recognise when I seek validation.

Tuckerbil Swamp

While Fivebough Wetland is promoted as Leeton's premier birdwatching site, Tuckerbil Swamp is also remarkable and a great place to see brolgas

That Tuckerbil isn't considered accessible to the public is part of the reason why you won't get directions at the local visitor information centre and there's often cattle on the land nearby, as well as hazards like dumped metal and concrete.

Nearby Koonadan Historic Site testifies to the ongoing connection the Wiradjuri people have with the Riverina landscape and there are many scarred trees around the region.

You can see two coolamon-shaped scars on the tree shown here and it's likely that Tuckerbil supported a settlement before the Frontier Wars in the 18th Century.

The video below discusses the human remains that were found at Koonadan in the late 20th Century.