It's an older photo that was first published on my Shot Wildlife blog.
Threatened Species Day
Today is Threatened Species Day.
I've been promoting the day with this photo of a Superb Parrot, which is considered vulnerable due to loss of habitat.
It's an older photo that was first published on my Shot Wildlife blog.
It's an older photo that was first published on my Shot Wildlife blog.
Three beer bottles
Saw this trio advertising clothes on Facebook this week and couldn't help but wonder if they were blowing on their beer bottles.Could they be covering Billie Jean like the Bottle Boys below?
Sounds of (not so) silence
A friend shared this beaut version of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel singing 'The Sounds of Silence' live.
For me this song often prompts one of those 'what if?' moments.
Originally it was recorded without the electric instruments accompanying it, so I sometimes wonder how Paul Simon felt after hearing what happened to it.
After Bob Dylan went electric in 1965, Columbia Records' producer Tom Wilson decided this was now the fashion for folk music:
Gorgoni later said he regretted the decision:
It's difficult to imagine the song without those backing parts now, but I wonder if it would've still found an audience.
I guess Simon and Garfunkel have accepted the electric instruments, or are they included in the live performance above to meet the expectations of the audience?
These days a producer would make it sound like the version below!
For me this song often prompts one of those 'what if?' moments.
Originally it was recorded without the electric instruments accompanying it, so I sometimes wonder how Paul Simon felt after hearing what happened to it.
After Bob Dylan went electric in 1965, Columbia Records' producer Tom Wilson decided this was now the fashion for folk music:
By June 1965, folk-rock had its first number one hit with The Byrds’ amped-up version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” That month Wilson produced “Like a Rolling Stone,” Dylan’s landmark electric rocker… Without the knowledge of Simon or Garfunkel, Wilson hired session players – bassist Joe Mack, drummer Buddy Salzman and guitarists Vinnie Bell and Al Gorgoni – to overdub an electric backing track onto “The Sounds of Silence.”
Gorgoni later said he regretted the decision:
“I love the song – but those guitars ... they’re just awful. I really can’t listen to it now. ... Of course, all the things that are wrong with the recording didn’t stop it from becoming a huge success. So there you go.”
It's difficult to imagine the song without those backing parts now, but I wonder if it would've still found an audience.
I guess Simon and Garfunkel have accepted the electric instruments, or are they included in the live performance above to meet the expectations of the audience?
These days a producer would make it sound like the version below!
Sausagefest
This weekend we held the inaugural Sausagefest.
It came about because some weeks ago while shopping, my partner tried to dissuade me from buying more sausages because we already had some in the freezer.
My response was that we should buy more sausages so that we could compare and contrast the results.
In the past we've compared local pizzas and it's an interesting exercise that I've learned from when I was developing my taste for wine, although I drink less of that lately.
Today we ate five varieties, two were boiled and three were barbecued.
The result was surprising as usually some family members are reluctant to eat kangaroo and it was universally the favourite. The meat was lean and free from gristle, with little extra flavour despite being promoted as containing bush tomato.
In second place was the rook wurst, a Dutch-style hotdog. It was juicy and mild.
Third place was more hotly contested, as I liked the kransky and kids liked the chicken and my partner liked the Italian beef and pork.
A black pudding remains in the freezer and, although I'm curious to try it, no one else seemed very interested in experiencing it.
It came about because some weeks ago while shopping, my partner tried to dissuade me from buying more sausages because we already had some in the freezer.
My response was that we should buy more sausages so that we could compare and contrast the results.
In the past we've compared local pizzas and it's an interesting exercise that I've learned from when I was developing my taste for wine, although I drink less of that lately.
The result was surprising as usually some family members are reluctant to eat kangaroo and it was universally the favourite. The meat was lean and free from gristle, with little extra flavour despite being promoted as containing bush tomato.
In second place was the rook wurst, a Dutch-style hotdog. It was juicy and mild.
Third place was more hotly contested, as I liked the kransky and kids liked the chicken and my partner liked the Italian beef and pork.
A black pudding remains in the freezer and, although I'm curious to try it, no one else seemed very interested in experiencing it.
Fathers Day gift
My son gave me this gift for Fathers Day.
It's a jar filled with positive messages.
Eden's such a little stirrer I see he couldn't help but put this one among them.
Eden's such a little stirrer I see he couldn't help but put this one among them.
Two Men Contemplating the Moon
Samuel Beckett said this artwork inspired his play Waiting for Godot.
PC Hipsta
Wonder if copper Peter Winger realises the cultural touchstone that he's become?
Poisoned Waterhole
Journalist Stan Grant has written about the significance of the name and I wondered if the image of a poisoned waterhole would open up other interpretations of how humans treat their environment.
When I settled on using this poem, I decided to employ a technique promoted by my sometime collaborator Garlo Jo.
He's been encouraging musicians to record the wind playing their instruments on the Vent de Guitares website, which now links to the video below.
Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.
Verdant town of trees
This week saw the fourth haiku in the Crossing Streams collaboration between Naviar Records and Western Riverina Arts.
It was written by Narrandera Library manager Sue Killham, who has supported workshops I've run at that venue and is the chair of Western Riverina Arts board.
Verdant town of trees
Poised upon the rivers edge
Waiting for one day
My response is a jazzy track that hopefully conveys how the town is surrounded by motion, from the wide Murrumbidgee River to the two highways that meet there.
Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.
Verdant town of trees
Poised upon the rivers edge
Waiting for one day
My response is a jazzy track that hopefully conveys how the town is surrounded by motion, from the wide Murrumbidgee River to the two highways that meet there.
Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.
Gender neutral pronouns
There's a need for gender neutral pronouns in our society.
I write this as someone who works in fields often dominated by females.
For example, I've decades of experience working in communications and it's common to be one of a handful of men when I attend conferences.
While working with the Murrumbidgee CMA I was in a communications team with three women. It was somewhat confronting when the general manager called his "media tarts" to the stage during a meeting of the entire organisation.
A couple of weeks ago I was the only male at a meeting and was surprised when the group was collectively addressed as "girls" -- but mostly because I similarly reject being addressed as a "boy" for the inherent infantalising in that term also.
While I'm not convinced that "comrade" is the best word to take forward, it is one of the options that seems to connote a sense that we are all equals.
I write this as someone who works in fields often dominated by females.
For example, I've decades of experience working in communications and it's common to be one of a handful of men when I attend conferences.
While working with the Murrumbidgee CMA I was in a communications team with three women. It was somewhat confronting when the general manager called his "media tarts" to the stage during a meeting of the entire organisation.
A couple of weeks ago I was the only male at a meeting and was surprised when the group was collectively addressed as "girls" -- but mostly because I similarly reject being addressed as a "boy" for the inherent infantalising in that term also.
Get these snacks India
Recently a new grocer opened in Griffith and I guess the owners are Indian because of the usual identifiers like appearance and accent but also because they stock these Indian snacks.
I've written elsewhere that I'd like to see more curry-flavoured snacks, noting an opportunity for rice crackers.
So I was intrigued when I saw these Kurkure brand snacks and bought the green chutney, chilli chatka and masala flavours.
They're made from rice and corn flour and the result is a lot like Twisties snacks in shape and texture but with much more flavour.
The flavours vary from the fragrant yet spicy chilli one, to the saltier and also spicier chutney. The latter has almost twice the sodium content of the former, then the masala was sorta in-between with a bit more of a tomato-sorta flavour.
I'm really taken with them for being spicier and more complex than the flavours of snacks usually found in Australia. Most of the local products seem to be variations on salt in comparison.
I like that Griffith has a growing community from the subcontinent, including a Sikh temple built on the Hanwood side of the city.
Another thing that I like about the city is that it still promotes multiculturalism as a benefit for Australian society and an easy way to encourage people to explore different cultures is with their tastebuds.
In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I attended a meeting of the Griffith Multicultural Council that it included a shared supper.
I've written elsewhere that I'd like to see more curry-flavoured snacks, noting an opportunity for rice crackers.
They're made from rice and corn flour and the result is a lot like Twisties snacks in shape and texture but with much more flavour.
The flavours vary from the fragrant yet spicy chilli one, to the saltier and also spicier chutney. The latter has almost twice the sodium content of the former, then the masala was sorta in-between with a bit more of a tomato-sorta flavour.
I'm really taken with them for being spicier and more complex than the flavours of snacks usually found in Australia. Most of the local products seem to be variations on salt in comparison.
I like that Griffith has a growing community from the subcontinent, including a Sikh temple built on the Hanwood side of the city.
Another thing that I like about the city is that it still promotes multiculturalism as a benefit for Australian society and an easy way to encourage people to explore different cultures is with their tastebuds.
In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I attended a meeting of the Griffith Multicultural Council that it included a shared supper.
Had to smile while eating crocodile
I've wanted to try eating crocodile for a while and took the opportunity this week when I saw it discounted at the supermarket.
The flavour was a lot like chicken, although the texture was more like a bigger fish as I broke it apart in my mouth. It didn't have the same stringy-ness as chicken.
On the packet they describe it as "light like calimari" but it didn't have the same slickness. It felt more like a chicken nugget.
The salt and pepper preparation featured more of the former than the latter. It was very easy to cook in a frying pan and the line on the packaging that it was "As Nature Intended" made me wonder whether it was saltwater crocodile.
The copy elsewhere on the packaging provided further entertainment, from the offer to "bite back" on the front to the description "pre-historic protein" on the back. I was also amused to see the word "compliment" used instead of "complement" -- which might be my favourite typo to spot in the wild.
The flavour was a lot like chicken, although the texture was more like a bigger fish as I broke it apart in my mouth. It didn't have the same stringy-ness as chicken.
The salt and pepper preparation featured more of the former than the latter. It was very easy to cook in a frying pan and the line on the packaging that it was "As Nature Intended" made me wonder whether it was saltwater crocodile.
Amazing visual convulsion
The packaging for this poor imitation of Lego gave me a visual convulsion.
Table carving
My daughter Neve continually surprises me with her creative output.
At first I was aghast that she was carving into the tabletop with a busted ballpoint pen. Then my partner Jo shrugged and said she was happy to see her being creative and the table was cheap.
Last night Neve said she was doing my portrait, so I pulled my shoulders back and lifted my chin.
Then when she said "finished" I saw this result.
She then carved her own portrait and I like the kawaii-style eyes, which at first I thought were sunglasses.
At first I was aghast that she was carving into the tabletop with a busted ballpoint pen. Then my partner Jo shrugged and said she was happy to see her being creative and the table was cheap.
Then when she said "finished" I saw this result.
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