Why Daleks are feared

(photo from BBC)

Cambridge University researcher Dr Robin Bunce has examined why Daleks scare people. From Cambridge University Research News published on 19 April 2011

It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Ever since Doctor Who first aired in 1963, the series has been internationally recognisable thanks to one of the most ridiculous space-creatures ever conceived; a master race of intergalactic pepperpots, armed with a sink plunger and an egg whisk, who (according to popular mythology), are hell-bent on conquering anywhere, provided it doesn’t involve stairs.

But don’t let that fool you. For more than 45 years, the Doctor’s arch-enemies, the Daleks, have been striking fear into young viewers with their chilling war-cry of “Exterminate!”. Like the Doctor himself, they have become an icon of British culture. For many, hiding behind the sofa when they appear is virtually a rite of passage.

Now, with the new season of Doctor Who nearly upon us, a Cambridge University academic has turned his mind to what makes the Daleks so terrifying. Writing in a new paper, Dr Robin Bunce – normally a researcher in intellectual history – explores why these unlikeliest of sci-fi foes bettered the rest, and became the most menacing alien ever to invade the small screen.

His answer has nothing to do with their often-cited, non-human appearance, nor their weird, electronic voices. In fact, Dr Bunce believes that the Daleks succeed because they offer us a moral lesson in what it means to be human in the first place. They terrify us because the evil they represent is a more precise definition than that of philosophers stretching from Socrates to Kant. They are chilling, he argues, because they are a vision of what we ourselves might become.

“The reason the Daleks are evil is because we recognise that they were once better,” Dr Bunce explained. “They are the nightmare future we dread.”

“According to their back-story, once they were capable of genuine emotion and real moral good. Now they are sexless, heartless brains, shut up in machines incapable of intimacy, who have forgotten what it means to laugh and no longer think of themselves as individuals. We recognise the Daleks as evil because they have lost all that we hold most dear.”

Read more.

Actually, Daleks are scary because they want to ex-ter-min-ate humans. Should a 'fictitious' Dalek approach you, it has only one purpose in mind. Surely no potential fatal victim of a Dalek is going to be thinking about what Daleks once were but instead flee for their lives. Now that is scary.

Dr Robin Bunce's paper is actually a chapter in the book, Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside, which has been out for sometime (this year) in the United States.

Finally, real coffee in Paris

About 12 months ago, I wrote about New Yorkers finally getting the real taste of coffee, with Australian baristas from Melbourne, which has a well-known cafe and coffee culture, sharing their expertise.

AFP (through France24) has reported that Paris is now finally getting 'gourmet' coffee, also courtesy of experienced Australian baristas. Excerpt

It's famous for its sun-kissed sidewalk cafes, but Paris has lagged well behind New York, London and Sydney as a Mecca for connoisseurs of fine coffee -- until now.

Gourmet coffee bars and small-batch roasteries are popping up in the French capital, introducing locals to thick rich espressos, artful lattes and the idea that a cup of Joe can be savoured like fine wine.

"Coffee is a big part of the culture" in Paris, said Tom Clark, co-owner of the Coutume Cafe, which recently became the city's newest coffee bar and specialty roaster when it opened its doors on the Left Bank.

"It's just that it's not been respected... It is a living product. It has to be handled with care."

Driving the trend is an entrepreneurial network of young expats like Clark, an Australian living in France for three years who grew up on artisanal coffee, and well-travelled French contemporaries like his business partner Antoine Netien, a champion roaster in Melbourne before his return home.

"Before I went to Australia, I was drinking coffee with no idea how it was made," said French bartender-turned-barista Thomas Lehoux, who now mans the coffee machine at Eggs&Co, a hip Left Bank brunch spot.

"Most French people don't have any idea that coffee can be like wine."

Read more. It may come as a surprise to many people that despite its cafe society, the coffee in Paris is not that good at all.  It would be much the same in Germany, where the coffee is also 'industrial' served with cream and sugar.

Jumping peacock spider

(photo from ABC)

The peacock spider (Maratus volans) is native to the east coast of Australia. Dr Jurgen Otto captured the unique peacock-like display of the male spider, which was featured in ABC's Catalyst program last month.



In detail (see after the 3.00 minute mark).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgAbyYDFeg
See also Dr Otto's flickr (excellent photos) and Spiders of Australia website.

Yes, spiders can be very attractive.

Whale songs trend across Pacific

Australian researchers have found that male humpback whales in the same population group sing the same song but that any changes to the tune spreads to other pods. Abstract from Current Biology

Highlights

- Humpback whale songs have repeatedly moved east across the South Pacific
- The songs moved across the region in a series of cultural waves
- The waves frequently caused complete “cultural revolution” of the song
- The scale, rate, and repetition of these cultural changes are unparalleled

Summary

Cultural transmission, the social learning of information or behaviors from conspecifics, is believed to occur in a number of groups of animals, including primates, cetaceans, and birds. Cultural traits can be passed vertically (from parents to offspring), obliquely (from the previous generation via a nonparent model to younger individuals), or horizontally (between unrelated individuals from similar age classes or within generations). Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have a highly stereotyped, repetitive, and progressively evolving vocal sexual display or “song” that functions in sexual selection (through mate attraction and/or male social sorting). All males within a population conform to the current version of the display (song type), and similarities may exist among the songs of populations within an ocean basin. Here we present a striking pattern of horizontal transmission: multiple song types spread rapidly and repeatedly in a unidirectional manner, like cultural ripples, eastward through the populations in the western and central South Pacific over an 11-year period. This is the first documentation of a repeated, dynamic cultural change occurring across multiple populations at such a large geographic scale.

Media release from the University of Queensland

Humpback whales spread songs across the Pacific

Researchers at The University of Queensland have found that male humpback whales ‘change their tune' every year during their migration across the Pacific.

A study on whale song published today in the US journal, Current Biology, reveals a striking pattern of cultural change over a large distance, with the rate, scale and repetition unmatched in non-human culture.

UQ PhD student Ellen Garland said 11 different humpback whale song types were identified, which typically started in the eastern Australian population and spread in a step-wise fashion across the region to French Polynesia.

“I noticed that the songs moved quite rapidly through the six populations, usually taking two years to spread all the way across the region,” she said.

“This can compare to the game of Chinese whispers, except the song appears to be transmitted with little changes unlike a human sentence in the game.”

Ms Garland said songs had spread across whale populations suggesting acoustic contact or male dispersal between populations in the region.

“The reason we believe the song tends to travel east is because the eastern Australian population is the largest in the region and has a greater influence than the smaller Oceania ones,” she said.

Previous research has revealed that only male humpback whales sing and that song is a behaviour used in courtship and mating.

Ms Garland said all of the males in a population sang a similar song, but it was continually changing and evolving over time.

“Song can undergo evolutionary change, which occurs over a long period of time, or revolutionary change, where the males start singing a completely new song,” she said.

“We believe the song is continually changing because the males wish to be novel or slightly different to the male singing next to them.

“The way whales change their song can be compared to how humans follow fashion trends – someone starts a new trend and before you know it everyone starts wearing the same thing.”

The study is the first documentation of a repeated, dynamic cultural change occurring across multiple humpback whale populations across a large geographical scale.

It was undertaken in collaboration with the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium and investigated song similarity over an 11-year period within the South Pacific region focusing on the populations of eastern Australia, New Caledonia, Tonga, American Samoa, the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.

Media: Ellen Garland, 0406 965 475 or e.garland@uq.edu.au; or Erin Pearl (UQ Communications) 07 5460 1229 or e.pearl@uq.edu.au

See also reporting by

- ABC (Australia)
- Sydney Morning Herald
- BBC
- PhysOrg.com™ (this is worth a read)


Australian whales. Music trendsetters.

more hot than hotter

In August 2007, I wrote (rather reproduced an Associated Press report) about bhut jolokia (the "ghost chilli") grown in northeastern India and claimed to be the hottest, rated at 1,000,000 Scoville units. The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles.

Bhut jolokia held the record for nearly three years until the end of last year when it was superceded by the Infinity chilli at nearly 1.18 million Scovilles then the Naga Viper at just over 1.38 million Scovilles, both grown in the United Kingdom.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that an even hotter chilli has been grown in Australia called the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T rated at 1.46 million Scovilles.

See also The Independent (UK).

football - round 3

Melbourne                 1.1       6.3       11.7    12.10 (82)
Brisbane Lions           5.2       7.3       9.3       11.5 (71)

GOALS
Melbourne: Jurrah 5, Wonaeamirri, Gysberts, Grimes, Sylvia, Bennell, Dunn, Moloney
Brisbane Lions: Power 4, Banfield 2, Polkinghorne, Leuenberger, Redden, Clark, Rockliff

BEST
Melbourne: Jamar, Jurrah, Moloney, Gysberts, Sylvia, Jones, Frawley
Brisbane Lions: Clark, Power, Adcock, Banfield, Black, Raines, Polec

INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Clark (dislocated finger)

Umpires: Schmitt, Chamberlain, Keating
Official crowd:  24, 380 at MCG

The first quarter was good but the Lions could not sustain the momentum. I had not expected a win given Melbourne is supposedly a team on the way up, while the Lions are on the way down compared to last year. Still, it was messy game in the rain. Mitch Clark was everywhere and did some great things but was let down on a few occasions by ineffective disposals. Luke Power was outstanding.

Match report.

Tom Rockliff (photo by Slattery Media, Darrian Traynor)

Mitch Clark (photo by Slattery Media, Sean Garnsworthy)

Luke Power (photo by Slattery Media, Sean Garnsworthy)

Jack Redden (photo by Slattery Media, Sean Garnsworthy)

In other news, my other team, Essendon, won their game.

Some species aren't worth saving according to scientists

A new tool has been developed by Australian scientists to enable prioritisation in the attempt to save species at risk of extinction. When these species fall below a population threshold, they may not be worth saving. Abstract from Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is arguably the most popular measure of relative species threat, but its threat categories can be ambiguous (eg “Endangered” versus “Vulnerable”) and subjective, have weak quantification, and do not convey the threat status of species in relation to a minimum viable population target. We propose a heuristic measure that describes a “species' ability to forestall extinction”, or the SAFE index. We compared the abilities of the SAFE index with those of another numerically explicit metric – percentage range loss – to predict IUCN threat categories using binary and ordinal logistic regression. Generalized linear models showed that the SAFE index was a better predictor of IUCN threat categories than was percentage range loss. We therefore advocate use of the SAFE index, possibly in conjunction with IUCN threat categories, because the former indicates the “distance from extinction” of a species, while implicitly incorporating population viability as a variable.

Media release from University of Adelaide

Scientists have new measure for species threat

According to the authors of the SAFE (Species Ability to Forestall Extinction) index, conservationists with limited resources may want to channel their efforts on saving the tiger, a species that is at the 'tipping point' and could have reasonable chance of survival. Photo by Juliane Riedl. Full Image (175.46K)

Thursday, 7 April 2011

A new index has been developed to help conservationists better understand how close species are to extinction.

The index, developed by a team of Australian researchers from the University of Adelaide and James Cook University, is called SAFE (Species Ability to Forestall Extinction).

The SAFE index builds on previous studies into the minimum population sizes needed by species to survive in the wild. It measures how close species are to their minimum viable population size.

"SAFE is a leap forward in how we measure relative threat risk among species," says co-author Professor Corey Bradshaw, Director of Ecological Modelling at the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute.

"The idea is fairly simple - it's the distance a population is (in terms of abundance) from its minimum viable population size. While we provide a formula for working this out, it's more than just a formula - we've shown that SAFE is the best predictor yet of the vulnerability of mammal species to extinction."

Professor Bradshaw says SAFE is designed to be an adjunct to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, not a replacement.

"Our index shows that not all Critically Endangered species are equal. A combined approach - using the IUCN Red List threat categories together with the SAFE index - is more informative than the IUCN categories alone, and provides a good method for gauging the relative 'safety' of a species from extinction," he says.

Of the 95 mammal species considered in the team's analysis, more than one in five are close to extinction, and more than half of them are at 'tipping points' that could take their populations to the point of no return.

"For example, our studies show that practitioners of conservation triage may want to prioritise resources on the Sumatran rhinoceros instead of the Javan rhinoceros. Both species are Critically Endangered, but the Sumatran rhino is more likely to be brought back from the brink of extinction based on its SAFE index," Professor Bradshaw says.

"Alternatively, conservationists with limited resources may want to channel their efforts on saving the tiger, a species that is at the 'tipping point' and could have reasonable chance of survival."

The SAFE index is detailed in a new paper published this month in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Environment (http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/100177). It is co-authored by Reuben Clements (James Cook University), Professor Corey Bradshaw and Professor Barry Brook (The University of Adelaide) and Professor Bill Laurance (James Cook University).

Canadian Digital Journal (Kimberley Pollock) has a good well-sourced write-up. According to the SAFE index, the ten species most at risk of extinction are

1. Javan rhinoceros (Indonesia)
2. Kouprey (Cambodia)
3. African wild ass (Eritrea and Ethiopia)
4. Iberian lynx (Spain)
5. Northern hairy-nosed wombat (Australia)
6. Sumatran rhinoceros (Malaysia and Indonesia)
7. Ethiopian wolf (Ethiopia)
8. Addax (Sahara Desert)
9. Dibbler (Australia)
10. Riverine rabbit (South Africa)

Australia's ABC interviewed Professor Corey Bradshaw, focusing on the northern hairy-nosed wombat (article, radio interview transcript, audio).

While the SAFE index provides a rational approach, this is not always going to be the case. If tigers and pandas fell below the viable population for saving, there is no doubt that extra effort including cloning would be made to save them.  Today, species like the dodo or Tasmanian tiger would certainly attract considerable effort for saving.

This cowgirl's cow jumps and she's over the moon

From the town of Laufen in Bavaria, 15-year-old Regina Mayer, whose parents are farmers declined her request for a horse, so she did the next best thing, which was to train one of their cows called Luna like a horse. Luna also thinks she is a horse.

Associated Press


Antenne (Bayern)


See also reporting in
- Der Spiegel (English)
- Der Spiegel (Deutsch)
- Nürnberger Nachrichten

Moo!

football - round 2

Western Bulldogs 5.4 10.4 14.7 19.9 (123)
Brisbane Lions 0.2 3.5 4.7 6.9 (45)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Hall 3, Griffin 3, Higgins 3, Giansiracusa 2, Boyd 2, Hill, Jones, Sherman, Grant, Ward, Djerrkura
Brisbane Lions: Redden 2, Polkinghorne 2, Lester, Clark

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Cooney, Cross, Williams, Liberatore, Hill
Brisbane Lions: Black, Buchanan, Adcock, Bewick, Redden, Rich, Rockliff

INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Matt Maguire (quad) replaced in selected side by Broc McCauley

Umpires: Dalgleish, Meredith, Wenn
Official crowd: 22,331 at Etihad Stadium

Totally thrashed. Polkinghorne's two consecutive goals was one redeeming feature in an otherwise uninspiring game. This was also Sherman's first game against his former side.

Simon Black on his 32nd birthday (photo by Getty Images, Robert Cianflone)

Mitch Clark rucking (photo by Slattery Media, Darrian Traynor)

Pearce Hanley (photo by Slattery Media, Darrian Traynor)

Jack Redden (photo by Getty Images, Robert Cianflone)

April fooled fourth

This morning I fell for April fools' pranks. Not once but four times.

First, I visited a colleague on the other side of our floor. He had the local Canberra Times newspaper, which usually prints a serious article on the front page. None could be found. He then mentioned reports about bats in the local area and mentioned seeing some in the tree that could be seen through the window. He insisted there was one just hanging in a branch. I looked and looked and could not see any. Five minutes later...

The second time was when a colleague mentioned that a staff member whom she supervised would be leaving on promotion to another area. My colleague is also going on annual leave in a few weeks so her team would be down from three to one. While I was trying to work out how to fill the 'vacancy' as quickly as possible...

Meanwhile, I had received an email from another colleague who knew about my regular consumption of weißwurst. She mentioned media reporting about "another round of Gammelfleischskandal in Germany" and that Das "Bild is calling it the Schwarzwurst Skandal". So I looked...

Finally, the big boss' executive officer came around to tell me that he wanted to talk to me about something urgent and important. So I grabbed a notebook and a pen while trying to figure out what it could be. Upon arrival at his office, I peered in only to find the prankster sitting in his chair.

I must have had 'gullible' printed on my forehead this morning.

Meanwhile, some of the better pranks today were from
- Lonely Planet on non-human translations of its guides
- The Guardian on their new approach to the monarchy and new live blog
- Google's new Gmail Motion
- Richard Branson buying Pluto
- The Independent reporting about Cristiano Ronaldo being traded by Portugal to Spain
- BBC's 3D radio
- The Sun reporting about gorillas being given iPads
- The Telegraph reporting about ferrets being trained to lay cables for broadband
- Artline's new tweeter pen
- IKEA's Hundstol (see video below)



There is always the possibility that any one of those mentioned above could be serious.

James Creedon from France24 in his international press segment for today seemed to enjoy it a bit more

Refuse, fuse to chair, confuse

From Bellaire, Ohio, WTRF 7 News on Monday reported that a 43-year old obese man who had not moved from a chair in two years had become fused to it. Officials discovered the man's condition after housemates sought assistance when he became unresponsive.



Within the Bellaire community, questions are now being asked how this could have happened.

WTRF 7 News is told by several sources that the man insisted on living his life in his chair, insisted that his girlfriend bring him food and soft drinks.

Someone should have sought help rather than allow another human being, despite their own choosing, to live in such a condition.

the Double Down down under

In April last year, I wrote about the launch of KFC's Double Down sandwich (without any bread) in the United States.

At the time, there were no plans to make it available outside of the United States.

From tomorrow (30 March), the Double Down will be available in Australia for four weeks only (but six weeks in Tasmania). According to KFC's media release, resulting in considerable media coverage, it is being marketed to "young men left unsatisfied by traditional burgers".

See
- The Age
- Herald Sun
- Courier Mail
- Crikey

It will be a hit in terms of sales. The male-bonding over 'Double Down' 'ManTime' might be a different story.

A trans-dimensional paradox loop

In this two-part clip for 2011 BBC Comic Relief (Red Nose Day), the TARDIS materalises inside itself. While a comedic piece, the trans-dimensional paradox loop is a fascinating concept.





See previously - an explanation of the chameleon circuit and an explanation of trans-dimensional engineering.

football - round 1

Fremantle  3.5  6.8  8.14  13.16 (94)
Brisbane Lions  4.5  8.6  10.7  14.8 (92)

GOALS
Fremantle: Mayne 2, Walters 2, Pitt, Mundy, Hill, Lower, Fyfe, Sandilands, Suban, Ballantyne, Bradley.
Brisbane Lions: Brown 3, Beams 2, Banfield 2, Rich 2, Polkinghorne, O’Brien, Bewick, Clark, Lester

BEST
Fremantle: Pavlich, Sandilands, Mundy, McPhee, Mayne, Fyfe
Brisbane Lions:  Black, Leuenberger, Rich, Rockliff, Merrett, Brown, Hanley

INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Power (back, replaced in selected side by Beams), Brown (nose), Staker (ankle)

Umpires: Donlon, Stewart, Kamolins

There was some first class effort by first-gamers and younger players who managed a few goals. Unfortunately, despite leading for most of the game, Fremantle was able to overcome the tired legs of the Brisbane Lions' players in the last few minutes to snatch victory in a close game.

Pictures by Getty Images (Chris Hyde)

Simon Black with a handball under pressure

Mitch Clark with a handball before being tackled

Ryan Lester's first game

Matthew Leuenberger with some great ruck work

Jess O'Brien

Brent Staker with a chest mark

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd attended the game (picture from Brisbane Lions, flanked by club CEO Malcolm Holmes at Mr Rudd's right, and club Chairman Angus Johnson at his right).

Australian (rock) music for President Obama

During an official visit to the White House, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave President Barack Obama a gift of Australian (rock) music on an iPod on behalf of the Australian people. The full playlist (reported in The Australian by Ben Packham) by song (and originating album though not necessarily the original release) included

Paul Kelly
• To Her Door (Paul Kelly’s Greatest Hits: Songs from the South, Vols 1 & 2)
• From Little Things Big Things Come (Paul Kelly’s Greatest Hits: Songs from the South, Vols 1 & 2)

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
• Bapa (Gurrumul)
• Wirrpangu (Gurrumul)
• Djarimirri (Gurrumul)

Temper Trap
• Sweet Disposition (Conditions)
• Love Lost (Conditions)

Panics
• Don’t Fight It (Cruel Guards)

Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males
• Star of the Sea (Drowning in the Fountain of Youth)

Hilltop Hoods
• The Hard Road (The Hard Road)
• The Nosebleed Section (The Calling)

John Butler Trio
• Funky Tonight (Grand National)
• One Way Road (April Uprising)
• Used to Get High (Grand National)

Angus and Julia Stone
• Big Jet Plane (Down the Way)

The Herd
• I Was Only 19 (The Sun Never Sets)

Jimmy Barnes
• Red Hot (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• That’s Right (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Hallelujah (I love her so) (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• That’s How It Is (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Keep a Knocking (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Reconsider Me (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Shake Rattle & Roll (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Rockin’ Pneumonia (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• A Fool In Love (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• You Can’t Judge a Book (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• I was Made to Love Her (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• Young Blood (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)
• My Baby Just Cares for Me (The Rhythm and the Blues Album)

Ian Moss
• Good Times (Soul on West 53rd)
• Standing in The Shadows of Love (Soul on West 53rd)

Dan Sultan
• Your Love is like a Song (Homemade Biscuits)

INXS
• Never Tear Us Apart (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• Need You Tonight (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• The Loved One (Platinum Greatest Hits)
• New Sensation (Platinum Greatest Hits)

Xavier Rudd
• Let Me Be (Solace)
• Better People (White Moth)

Midnight Oil
• King of the Mountain (Blue Sky Mining)
• Blue Sky Mine (Blue Sky Mining)
• Beds are Burning (Diesel and Dust)
• Short Memory (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)

Nick Cave (and the Bad Seeds)
• Into My Arms (The Best Of....)

Troy Cassar–Daley
• Bow River (Standing On the Outside: The Songs of Cold Chisel)

Kasey Chambers
• Pony (Wayward Angel)
• The Captain (The Captain)

Jessica Mauboy
• Burn (Been Waiting)
• Time After Time (Been Waiting)

Crowded House
• Now We’re Getting Somewhere (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• World Where You Live (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Weather With You (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Something So Strong (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• When You Come (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Four Seasons in One Day (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Distant Sun (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Sister Madly (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Better Be Home Soon (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Mean to Me (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• It’s Only Natural (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Fall At Your Feet (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)
• Don’t Dream It’s Over (The Very Very Best of Crowded House)

Kylie Minogue
• Confide in Me (Ultimate Kylie)
• Where the Wild Roses Grow (Ultimate Kylie)

Megan Washington
• How to Tame Lions (I Believe You Liar)
• Sunday Best (I Believe You Liar)

Bliss n Eso
• Bullet and a Target (Flying Colours)

Yothu Yindi
• Treaty (radio mix) (Tribal Voice)
• Djapana (sunset dreaming) (Tribal Voice)
• Dots on the Shells (One Blood)

Cat Empire
• Hello (The Cat Empire)
• Days Like These (The Cat Empire)

Hunters and Collectors
• Holy Grail (Cut)
• Throw Your Arms Around Me (Natural Selection)
• When the River Runs Dry (Natural Selection)
• Do You See What I See (Natural Selection)

Augie March
• One Crowded Hour (Moo You Bloody Choir)
• Janelle (Standing on the Outside)

Missy Higgins
• Scar (The Scar)
• The Special Two (The Special Two)
• Steer (On a Clear Day)

James Morrison
• Chameleon (Scream Machine)
• God Bless the Child duo with Deni Hines (The Other Woman)
• St Louis Blues (Quartet)
• St James Infirmary Blues (Tribute to Louis Armstrong)

Powderfinger
• These Days (Odyssey Number Five)
• Burn Your Name (Golden Rule)
• My Happiness (Odyssey Number Five)
• Baby I’ve Got You on My Mind (Vulture Street)
• Lost and Running (Lost and Running-Single)

Bernard Fanning
• Wish You Well (Tea & Sympathy)
• Songbird (Tea & Sympathy)
• Watch Over Me (Tea & Sympathy)
• Thrill Is Gone (Tea & Sympathy)
• Wash Me Clean (Tea & Sympathy)
• Which Way Home? (Tea & Sympathy)
• Hope and Validation (Tea & Sympathy)
• Down to the River (Tea & Sympathy)
• Yesterday’s Gone (Tea & Sympathy)
• Not Finished Just Yet (Tea & Sympathy)
• The Strangest Thing (Tea & Sympathy)
• Sleeping Rough (Tea & Sympathy)
• Further Down the River (Tea & Sympathy)
• Believe (Tea & Sympathy)

Clare Bowditch
• Message to My Girl (She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn)
• Modern Day Addiction (Modern Day Addiction)

Guy Sebastian
• Like It Like That (Like it Like That)
• In the Midnight Hour (The Memphis Album)
• (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (The Memphis Album)

Living End
• All Torn Down (The Living End)
• White Noise (White Noise)

Silver Chair
• Straight Lines (Young Modern)
• Tomorrow (Frogstomp)
• Ana’s Song, Open Fire (Neon Ballroom)

Wolfmother
• Joker and the Thief (Wolfmother)
• Woman (Wolfmother)

Tame Impala
• Solitude is Bliss (InnerSpeaker)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring
• Which Way to Go (Primary Colours)

Tina Arena
• Chains (Don’t Ask)
• To Sir With Love (Songs of Love and Loss)

Savage Garden
• To the Moon & Back (Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden)
• Affirmation (Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden)

Lior
• This Old Love (Autumn Flow)
• Tumbling into the Dawn (Tumbling into the Dawn)

Christine Anu
• Island Home (Stylin’ Up)
• Sunshine On a Rainy Day (Come My Way)
• No Woman No Cry (Liberation Blue Acoustic Series)

GANGgajang
• Sounds of Them (GANGgajang)

The Go-Betweens
• Streets of Your Town (16 Lovers Lane)

Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter
• Little by Little (Ruby)
• Coolman Baby (Ruby)
• Nagarrindjeri Woman (Ruby)

Archie Roach
• John Pat (Journey)
• Too Many Bridges (Journey)
• Liyarn Ngarn (Journey)

The Waifs
• London Still (Up All Night)
• Lighthouse (Up All Night)
• Bridal Train (A Brief History)

Renée Geyer
• Heading in the Right Direction (The Ultimate Collection)
• Stares and Whispers (The Ultimate Collection)
• It’s a Man’s Man’s World (The Ultimate Collection)

Saltwater Band
• Compass (Malk)
• Djarridjarri-Blue Flag (Djarridjarri)
• Arafura Sea (Gapu Damurrun’)

The collection certainly reflects the Prime Minister Gillard's taste. No doubt, she was ably assisted by the Australian music industry in compiling the collection.

However, it is disappointing that she has omitted excellent groups such as The Church, Matt Finish, Dragon, The Saints, Australian Crawl, Mondo Rock, AC/DC etc. Oddly, she has included Jimmy Barnes but not his earlier band, Cold Chisel. Indeed, the golden age of Australian rock and pop music was in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.

Sarkozy unsure whether France is secular or not

James Creedon from France24 (1:45 minutes into the video of Friday's press review) gives a neat summary of French President Nicholas Sarkozy's landmark speech at Puy-en-Velay on Thursday, 3 March 2011.



In his speech, Sarkozy spoke about France's Christian heritage

C'est ainsi qu'entre 2009 et 2010, 47 des 86 cathédrales appartenant à l'État ont bénéficié d'une opération de restauration. Dès cette année d'autres chantiers majeurs seront ouverts, comme celui de l'abbaye de Clairvaux, autre lieu exceptionnel et témoignage vivant de l'apport de la Chrétienté à notre civilisation. En disant cela je ne fais simplement que rappeler une évidence : l'apport de la chrétienté à notre civilisation. Dans un tout autre genre le familistère de Guise, rare exemple de ces utopies sociales qui ont passionné le XIXe siècle va faire l'objet d'importants travaux.

Here, he talked about state funding of the restoration of cathedrals and the contribution of Christianity to (French or western) civilisation.

In all his insistence that France is secular, particularly in relation to a perceived Muslim/Islam issue, it is an unusual step and an attempt to appeal to Christian voters.

The question remains, either France is a secular state or it is not.

See
- full speech (in French)
- editorial in Le Parisien (newspaper in French)

Blade Runner stars for A*Men

Back in September 2008, I wrote about paralympian Oscar Pistorius as an athlete to watch at the Beijing Paralympic Games. As it turned out, he won gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres (T44) sprints.

Pistorius has recently been chosen as the new face Thierry Mugler's fragrance for men A*Men. It is an inspiring choice.

The 30-second commercial clip was directed by Ali Mahdavi


A behind the scenes look has also been produced


Pistorius the Blade Runner is indeed a star.

Vegemite lite.

I've previously written about Vegemite and Marmite, that wonderful yeast spread that has been a mainstay of generations of children (and adults) in Australia and Britain.

In mid-2009, Kraft launched a milder version of Vegemite, blended with cheese (subsequently named Vegemite Cheesybite) in an attempt to lure new consumers.

Kraft has just launched 'myfirst Vegemite' without much fanfare aimed at younger children, of a watered-down version, to wean them slowly to full-strength Vegemite. Salt content has been reduced by 50 per cent in the new product with more iron and B vitamins.

The new product is sold in a smaller jar (150g) for $3.99 so is certainly more expensive.

Traditional Vegemite sustained generations of Australian children with little adverse affect (everything in moderation), so another variation in product appears to be yet again another marketing exercise.

Vegemite is an acquired taste. Not all adults (as parents) eat it but they should really provide it as an option for their own children.

See reports in Sydney Morning Herald (two).

Sporthocker

Sporthocker (Hockern in Germany) is a relatively new sport that originated in Germany in 2001 where a stool is used to perform tricks used in skating, juggling, acrobatics, dancing and even parkour. The completion of tricks is signified by sitting on the stool.

The sport really took off in late 2007 when a specially designed stool was created by brothers Michael and Stephan Landschütz from SALZIGdesign (priced from €100). Popular contests called Hocktoberfest have been held since 2007.

The Landschütz brothers talk about the sport (as finalists for 2011 ispo BrandNew awards)


From Hocktoberfest 2010, a finals performance


SALZIG Sporthocker Events' Hock Hart 16-18 April 2010
Ein sonniges Wochenende von Hockerern für Hockerer


News report from MDR Fernsehen on 19 August 2010 in which some Hockerer und Hockerin talk about and demonstrate some skills


Skateboards are so yesterday.

Berlin has lately become a centre for new sporting trends. Chess Boxing also originated in Berlin.

It's a pity that the only Australian media reporting of the sport was so disparaging.

Ewe are smarter than ewe think

The Public Library of Science's international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication PLoS ONE has reported that sheep are actually far more intelligent than their reputation holds. Abstract

A. Jennifer Morton, Laura Avanzo
Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Two new large animal models of Huntington's disease (HD) have been developed recently, an old world monkey (macaque) and a sheep. Macaques, with their large brains and complex repertoire of behaviors are the ‘gold-standard’ laboratory animals for testing cognitive function, but there are many practical and ethical issues that must be resolved before HD macaques can be used for pre-clinical research. By contrast, despite their comparable brain size, sheep do not enjoy a reputation for intelligence, and are not used for pre-clinical cognitive testing. Given that cognitive decline is a major therapeutic target in HD, the feasibility of testing cognitive function in sheep must be explored if they are to be considered seriously as models of HD. Here we tested the ability of sheep to perform tests of executive function (discrimination learning, reversal learning and attentional set-shifting). Significantly, we found that not only could sheep perform discrimination learning and reversals, but they could also perform the intradimensional (ID) and extradimensional (ED) set-shifting tasks that are sensitive tests of cognitive dysfunction in humans. Their performance on the ID/ED shifts mirrored that seen in humans and macaques, with significantly more errors to reach criterion in the ED than the ID shift. Thus, sheep can perform ‘executive’ cognitive tasks that are an important part of the primate behavioral repertoire, but which have never been shown previously to exist in any other large animal. Sheep have great potential, not only for use as a large animal model of HD, but also for studying cognitive function and the evolution of complex behaviours in normal animals.

Citation: Morton AJ, Avanzo L (2011) Executive Decision-Making in the Domestic Sheep. PLoS One 6(1): e15752. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015752

Editor: Georges Chapouthier, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France

Received: October 13, 2010; Accepted: November 21, 2010; Published: January 31, 2011

So due to ethical issues with testing on macaques, it was acceptable to test on sheep and the studies inadvertently revealed that sheep have a higher brain function than first thought.

Perhaps it would worth undertaking comparative studies with pigs and dogs. Despite claims of pigs being more intelligent than dogs, they are still bred for food. Raising the status of sheep is unlikely to save their chops.

See also New Scientist.

International press review

James Creedon from France24 also reviews the international (non-French) media. The one for 8 February 2011 is quite entertaining.



Our linguistically talented James is back to wearing glasses.

Egypt and Tunisia: Being caught unaware

The most startling revelation about the unrest in Egypt and the Tunisian revolution were the admissions by the governments of the United States and France that they were caught unaware. Understandably, resources tend to be prioritised based on strategic importance. A country like Tunisia, comprising a comparatively small population of 10.5 million, with a stable though dictatorial government and secular society with a proven record of controlling what it considered an Islamist threat would appear to be of lower importance.

The US State Department were certainly aware of the events unfolding in Tunisia, but may have underestimated how it would turn out, such as President Ben Ali's sudden and unexpected flee out of the country. Perhaps embassy staff, whose main interlocutors tend to be host government officials, were too comfortable with a long-term understanding of the intentions of the Ben Ali government, instead of listening to public mood. They would have found the blog by The Guardian's Brian Whittaker interesting reading. His columns in The Guardian are also worth a read.

More surprising is France's admission, given there was so much reporting and analysis by the French media including access to much content on Twitter by participants (labelled with hashtag #sidibouzid) written in French. Literacy levels are high in Tunisia and many speak French in addition to, and often in preference, to Arabic.

Even during the events of Tunisia, there were already low-scale levels of unrest in a number of countries in north Africa (Maghreb) and the Middle East over similar concerns. It should not have been a surprise that Egypt would be next in terms of the scale of protest activity. Egypt already had a 'martyr' to the cause since 13 June 2010, which has provided a focus for mobilisation, particularly through the internet. The protest planned for 25 January 2011 was known in advance but it was the strength of the larger protest on Friday a few days later that seemed to take many by surprise.

Analysis by some tried to compare Egypt with Tunisia. The BBC even went so far as deeming the "contagion spreading to Egypt" unlikely due to lower literacy and lower internet penetration. Of course, early analysis of what took place in Tunisia over-emphasised the role of the internet and social media, in particular Twitter and facebook. Out of a total population of about 80 million, 17 million internet users might be be considered low penetration. However, this analysis did not consider the possibility that many of the internet users themselves may reside in greater Cairo with an estimated population of nearly 10 million people. It only takes a few million well connected people, along with word of mouth to mobilise.

Amidst skepticism and misreading of the situation, Professor Amin Saikal, Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic studies at the Australian National University, had suggested Egypt as being the next most vulnerable following Tunisia as early as 17 January 2011 while I had picked it a day earlier.

Lastly, public mood was largely misread. Egyptians, like others around the world except those in China and other countries practicing censorship, had also witnessed what happened in Tunisia. It became a driving force for political action.

This post was also published in Crikey on 7 February 2011.

Dalek Week

It's Dalek Week at the BBC.

Viewers voted for their favourite Dalek scenes. This one is from Victory of the Daleks


How Daleks came to exist was explained in the 1975 episodes of Genesis of the Daleks. This is a clip of Sarah Jane Smith seeing Davros, the Dalek's creator, for the first time.


See more - BBC Doctor Who Celebrating the Daleks

A law against flatulence

The Malawi Democrat has reported that the Parliament of Malawi will table a bill to criminalize farting. However, Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga earlier claimed there was no such law intended. As reported

“The Local Court Bill confers jurisdiction on local courts, inter alia, to try offences under Section 198 of the Penal Code which reads: Fouling Air: Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,” Kamanga, who is also Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said.

“How any reasonable or sensible person can construe the provision to criminalising farting in public is beyond me, and to claim, as some people have, that the bill is (an) introduction (of) an offence on farting is not true,” he said.

The Malawi Democrat cites Justice Minister George Chaponda's interview on Capital Radio where he indicated that an anti-farting provision would ensure decency.

Something stinks in all this.

French press review

I haven't written in this blog lately, instead spending a lot of time monitoring global media and Twitter to check out developments in Egypt. I have also been tweeting a lot on the topic.

Staying with the France24 theme, they have a brilliant review of the French and international media, presented by James Creedon.

This is the latest, for 3 February 2011.

Behind the scenes of a news broadcaster

France24 is one of my major sources of news (online print and online live streaming), in addition to several Australian news services, BBC News and CNN on subscription television.

It was therefore interesting to watch a behind the scenes view of the workings of France24 shown by Francois Picard.



News anchor Jessica Lemasurier also shared one of her secrets.

Upright locomotion by Western Lowland gorilla

From Aspinall Foundation's Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent (South East of England), a male silverback Western Lowland gorilla named Ambam was shown walking upright as filmed by Johanna Watson. See 'Gorilla Walks Like A Man' (Aspinall Foundation)





According to keeper Phil Ridges

Ambam's father Bitam used to display the same behaviour if he had handfuls of food to carry. Ambam also has a full sister, Tamba, and a half sister at Howletts, who also sometimes stand and walk in the same way. All gorillas can do it to some extent but we haven't got any who do it like Ambam and he is quite a celebrity at the park.

We think he might use it to get a height advantage to look over the wall when keepers come to feed him and standing up can also help him in looking for food generally in his enclosure as it gives him a better vantage point. Ambam can also carry a lot more food if he stands and uses both hands and walking on two feet also means he doesn't get his hands wet when it is raining!

Channel 4 News has reported that Ambam has become an internet celebrity.

Gorillas have short legs.

The Story of Eames Furniture

I've previously written about the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman and its launch in 1956.

German publisher Gestalten released a book in September 2010 about the designers, The Story of Eames Furniture. Publisher details

Release Date: September 2010
ISBN: 978-3-89955-230-0
Authors: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart
Language: English
Features: 800 Pages, full cover, hardcover, 2 volumes in slipcase
Format: 25.5 x 29.2 cm
Catalog Price: €150,00 | US$199,00 | £140,00

In this unique 2-volume, 800-page book with more than 2,500 images, Marilyn Neuhart tells the story — to paraphrase Charles Eames himself — of how Eames furniture got to be the way it is.

The Story of Eames Furniture was written and designed by Marilyn Neuhart together with her husband John. Both have worked at the Eames Office in various capacities since the 1950s. They have looked after the house of Charles and Ray Eames since the designers’ deaths and have supervised the Eames Archive. More familiar with the material and protagonists than almost any other, Marilyn Neuhart has spent the last 15 years compiling the stories, images, and recollections featured in this book.

In this video from Gestalten, the Neuharts talk about the Eames and the book.


The Story of Eames Furniture: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart - Interview from Gestalten on Vimeo.

The book is wonderful tribute to two of the greatest designers of the twentieth century. On my wishlist.

See also Brain Pickings and The Casual Optimist.

Rehabilitating former fighting dogs

From PBS Need To Know program, a story (inspired by Jim Gorant’s book The Lost Dogs) about what happens after fighting dogs are rescued. There is a backstory relating to an NFL football player who was imprisoned for involvement in dogfighting.

The most interesting part of this story is what happened to the former fighting dogs.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

Read more.

For more information on dogfighting in the U.S., and what’s being done to combat it, check out these organizations:

Bay Area Dog lovers responsible about pit bulls
ASPCA: Ten ways to help end dogfighting
Best Friends
Humane Society: Dogfighting
Pit Bull Rescue Central

Thankfully, there is no (known) dogfighting culture in Australia, although this recent report from Townsville is worrying.

headline of the month

The last entry in my headline of the month was over three months ago. My first for the year. From France24

The weakest Linke: German far left party mired in controversy

A very clever way of combining puns in English and German. Linke is the German word for left (both directionally and politically, just as in English). From a French news outlet no less. Très bien.

Winnie the Pooh, as told by a young girl

in French and totally adorable.



via Huffington Post

Queensland floods - rain we no longer want

Most of Australia was gripped by drought for many years and the rains that broke the drought last year were hailed and welcomed. Unfortunately and more recently, rain continued and became a destructive force.

I've previously written (twice) about the Victoria bushfires of early 2009, the Haiti earthquake of early 2010 and the Pakistan floods of mid 2010.

The Queensland floods this week are a little closer to home. Unlike the rural small towns and villages that were affected by the 2009 bushfires, Brisbane is a large metropolis with a population of around 2 million people. Over the last 20 years, Brisbane and the Queensland south eastern corridor have experienced high population growth, primarily due to internal migration. Most Australians, therefore, would know of someone living in Brisbane.

I was born in Brisbane but now live and work elsewhere. My first home as a baby was located in a suburb, which is now mostly underwater. Two brothers live in the southside of Brisbane, that was thankfully largely unaffected. I also have numerous friends in Brisbane, many of whom moved there and many locals that I have befriended over the years.

I also visit Brisbane on a regular basis, supporting and attending home games of my football team the Brisbane Lions, while also catching up with family and friends. It is my home away from home.

The media reports over the last week have been difficult to watch and read.

This clip from the Courier Mail shows the effect of the flood.


The most heartbreaking story has been about 13-year-old Jordan Rice, who told a rescuer to save his 10-year-old brother instead, before being swept away with his mother. Brave, heroic, selfless and tragic. We weep for him and his sacrifice.

The most poignant words were spoken today by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh at one of her regular two-hourly press briefings

As we weep for what we have lost, and as we grieve for family and friends and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we are.


We are Queenslanders. We are the people they breed tough north of the border. We're the ones that they knock down, and we get up again.

Here is the clip, which is worth watching.


The premier has been a pillar of strength, leading and reassuring her people at what is one of the worst times in the state's history. We salute her.

You can help by donating to Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal (provision is made for international donations).

Round-the-clock reporting is being provided by ABC News 24, which is (geo)unblocked and may be viewed online.

Gibberish

Prisencolinensinainciusol was a song composed by Adriano Celentano, a prolific singer and songwriter, and released in 1972.



The song has enjoyed a resurgence following a mention by Boing Boing in 2009 as an illustration of how English sounds to non-English speakers.

While that wasn't the intention of Celentano, it is certainly Gibberish and was not meant to mean anything.

Vivian Maier - unseen photographer

Broadcast by PBS affiliate WTTW on Chicago Tonight (22 December 2010), this story about Vivian Maier has left many historians and photographers gasping. Vivian Maier was a prolific photographer in Chicago, whose work is only now coming to light, following her death in 2009. There are more than 100,000 photographs by Maier still to be seen.



The majority of the collection is now owned by John Maloof, with around 12,000 held by Jeff Goldstein.

John Maloof, Anthony Rydzon and Lars Mortensen are in the process of producing a full-length documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier. You can back the project through Kickstarter.


A book will also be published by powerHouse Books.

See also
- article in Chicago magazine
- John Maloof's website/blog vivianmaier.com
- Jeff Goldstein's website Vivian Maier Photography
- YouTube channel vivianmaierphoto (Maier also took some video films)