Video of Bellingen dust storm Sep 26 09

Video of Bellingen dust storm Sep 26 09
Originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson

The second dust storm in less than a week.

I'm a member of the Rainbow Region Flickr group for North-eastern New South Wales.

Another dust storm

Yet another dust storm. Not good for people with asthma and allergies, so this time I'm not going to be brave -- and wreck my health as I did before -- but will stay in bed.

Global Carnival

Response in verse to an unkind, 1,000-word diatribe against me published after my brief criticism of two aspects of Bellingen's Global Carnival.

'A letter to The Courier-Sun'

Many's the time we must tell our truth,
Though many a time come undone,
But tell it we must, though unkindly discussed
And publicly cussed
In a letter to The Courier-Sun.

Latin has an expression for the kind of aggression
That plays only the man, not the ball.
It’s 'ad hominem' –
So, "play the ball, not the man",
Though this is clearly not apparent to all.

If you argue an 'X' but an opponent says 'Y',
That’s good – that’s how debate's lost or won.
But, if you say 'X' and they say you have faults,
That's not debate – it's assault,
And not worthy of The Courier-Sun.

If you've a view well considered,
I'd advise you not dither,
Though with Reason there's scarcely a one
Who will argue precisely
Your points, put concisely,
But "play the man" in The Courier-Sun.

In matters that are local
Like roads, rates, or the Global,
There are opinions we have, every one.
Whether local, or national,
Let's debate the points and be rational,
And "play the ball" in The Courier-Sun.

Categories: poetry, bellingen

Video of dust storm in Bellingen today

Video of dust storm in Bellingen today
Originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson

Dust storm, Bellingen -- pale sun

Dust storm, Bellingen -- pale sun
Originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

Most of the state of New South Wales today is blanketed with thick dust, the consequence of more than two centuries of bad agriculture.

News report on dust storm

I'm a member of the Rainbow Region Flickr group for North-eastern New South Wales.

Categories: bellingen, weather, agriculture

Had had had had had had had had had had had had

It's possible to put the word 'had' 12 times in a row in one sentence, if rather strained:

"In a school English test, John, where Tom had had 'had had', had had 'had had had'; 'had had' had, however, been the correct answer."

It's also possible to use the word 'and' five times in a row in one sentence:

"The restaurant owner rebuked the signwriter, saying, 'There is too much space between 'Wine' and 'And', and 'And' and 'Dine'."

Categories: english

Creepy Christotainment

Although I'm often critical of Rachael Kohn and 'The Spirit of Things' program, mainly for what I see as reductionism of global expressions of spirituality (I could explain, but that's not my purpose today), I also admire her, and I think that in this edition tinyurl.com/mgomgr, 'Logos or Logo', she does an exemplary job of examining the modern marketing of Christian fundamentalism.

It's worth wading through the interviews with two very creepy Jesus marketers, to one with Dr Shirley R. Steinberg, one of the editors of Christotainment: Selling Jesus Through Popular Culture, who speaks with a voice of reason.

Jesus action dolls? Christ! What next?!

Categories: christianity, abc, radio-national, fundamentalism, religion

Australia's ignoble role in invading Afghanistan

I believe that my friend, Graeme Dunstan, will not mind my quoting his words from yesterday's private correspondence. The Afghan war is "the longest, most expensive, most secret and most ignoble war Australia has ever engaged in". I wholeheartedly agree. Out now.

Categories: afghanistan, military, australia, war, war-on-terror

Bomber Beazley home at last

Bomber Beazley has been appointed Australian ambassador to Washington. He never liked anything as much as a photo opportunity while sitting atop a tank, so he should feel right at home.

Categories: military, army, australia, usa

Eccentric Sydneysider Bee Miles

1902 Bee (or Bea) Miles (d. December 3, 1973), was a famous eccentric in Sydney, Australia, a town known for its eccentrics – individualists such as Webster (the immensely popular soap-box orator, a genius about whom, sadly, very little appears to have been published); the Flying Pieman; Rosaleen Norton, the Witch of Kings Cross; the Bengal Tiger (also apparently unsung); William Chidley the natural health fanatic; Dulcie Deamer, the Queen of Bohemia; and of course, Sydneytown’s favourite, Mister Eternity.

Then there was Bee Miles, who must surely be an immortal Sydneysider. According to contemporary newspaper reports, in pre-World War II Sydney Bee was more widely known than the Prime Minister. From a wealthy North Shore family, at only 12 years of age young Beatrice wore a 'No Conscription' badge to school during the contentious conscription referendum in World War I. Later, she was severely marked down for an essay about Gallipoli, which she described as a 'strategical blunder' rather than a 'wonderful war effort'. In this, as in many aspects in her later life, she went quite against the norms of her day ...

Categories: eccentric, sydney, australia

Vale Mary Travers

So sorry to hear of the death of Mary Travers (Peter, Paul and Mary), aged 72.



Categories: music, folk-music

Fête of Cornely (St Cornelius), at Carnac, Brittany, France

Cornelius was elected 21st pope in 251 during the lull in the persecution of the emperor Trajan Decius.

Cornely is patron saint of horned animals, no doubt because of the similarity of the saint’s name with the Latin word for 'horn', but also a remnant of pre-Christian worship of the horned god, who to the Celts was the similarly named Cernunnos (the Stag Lord).

According to tradition, when Cornelius was being pursued by the emperor's forces, he looked behind and saw the ranks of soldiers coming over the crest of a hill. With the sign of the Cross of Christ, he turned them to stone, each one a menhir, or standing stone, forming the megalithic Alignement de Carnac (pictured above; click to enlarge). A church was built on this site, and at midnight at Carnac on this day, the oxen are blessed in a shrine dedicated to the saint, and all kinds of horned animals are processed among Carnac's pre-Celtic menhirs, then around and even within the church ...

Categories: saint, france, deity, calendar-customs, folklore

My Wikipedia nemesis

For a few years, since Wikipedia was new, I have been a Wikipedia editor, with the user name 'Alpheus'. A Wikipedia email has come to me telling me that some person is fraudulently trying to use my ID and login password.

This person has an IP address of 99.234.146.197 and the following is some of that person's particulars:

Country: Canada
State/Region: ON
City: Toronto
Latitude: 43.6667
Longitude: -79.4168

Categories: wikipedia

Is today Jesus Christ's birthday?

Perhaps we should deck the halls with boughs of spring flowers, because an English astronomer suggested that Jesus might have been born on September 15, 7 BCE. Dr David Hughes, of Sheffield University, argued that September 15 is the real Christmas for the following reasons:

In the Gospel of St Luke we read that Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem because "... there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one in his own city" (Luke 2:1,2). Such a decree occurred about 8 BCE.

King Herod (Herod the Great) was so infuriated that a rival had been born (the ‘King of the Jews’) that he ordered the massacre of all baby boys in Israel, but Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt. They stayed there for two years until Herod’s death, said to have closely followed a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses occurred in 4 BCE and 1 BCE.

The distinctive astronomical phenomenon that happened between 8 BCE and 1 BCE, that could be equated with the Star of Bethlehem, is the conjunction of the giant planet Jupiter with Saturn in the constellation of Pisces (considered the Zodiacal sign of the Jews). This began on May 27, 7 BCE and continued for some months – long enough for the three wise men (astrologers) to follow the phenomenon cross country ...

Categories: christianity, calendar-customs, astronomy, astrology

Rein in bosses' incomes

There is a prospect that at the Pittsburgh G-20 meeting of the world's largest economic nations this month there will be moves towards mandating business executives' salaries to be tied to performance. This, however, doesn't begin to undo the damage and right the wrongs. Executives' incomes should be limited to five, or at worst, ten times the wage of each company's lowest-paid employee. Only public clamour will bring this about.

Categories: corporations

Holy Rood Day

Officially known as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, today used also to be called Holy Rood Day, or Roodmas.

Some authorities say the Catholic Church feast commemorates the restoration of the 'True Cross' to Calvary in 629, after the victory of Emperor Heraclius over the Persians. Others say it commemorates the raising of the 'true' Christian cross in the church at Jerusalem in 335 (some sources say 326) by the Empress Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena, also known as St Helena and Helena of Constantinople, c. 248 - c. 329 CE), mother of Constantine. Today may be considered a christianization of the ancient Eleusis feast of Demeter (see Greater Eleusinian Mysteries).

In 1561 John Calvin wrote a tract that said that if all the pieces of the True Cross were gathered together, they would load a large ship, and would take 300 men, not one, to carry it ...

Categories: christianity, folklore, calendar-customs, saint

Beatles Are Back

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTA3fIeQkPE



Categories: beatles, music, rock-music

Tutti Frutti

1955 Los Angeles, USA: Little Richard recorded a bowdlerised version of Tutti Frutti. What the naughty words were that he expunged, your almanackist has not been able to determine, but "all over rootie" is still in the published lyrics.

I always thought it was "I wanna rootie", but perhaps it was just me projecting. The most famous line of the song is when Richard sings "A Wop bop a lu bop ba lop bam boom!" Or something like that.

Following an Australian tour in 1957, during which (on a harbour cruise) he looked up into a Sydney sky and saw Sputnik and was troubled by it, he said he saw a vision of the apocalypse and his own damnation in a dream ...

Watch it on YouTube

Categories: music, rock-music, australia, usa, religion, christianity

Bellingen community fest lost to unaustralian profit motive

Bellingen is called, or used to be called, the Azalea Town and all the flowers are coming out in full bloom around town. Our climate and slightly acidic but fertile soil are perfect for azaleas, that queen of flowers. Sadly, the Azalea Festival isn't held any more, with its parade of colourful floats in the main street and a plethora of community activities. This tradition, held each year around September 15, encouraged fun and community participation at no charge, and the town looked fantastic as almost everyone had azaleas in their gardens, with the show of whites, pinks and reds a feast for the eye.

Sadly, it has recently gone, and the only festivals now are specifically genre music ones, commercial ventures charging very high entry fees. The next such festival is in October, and entry for an adult is an incredible $230 (for three days), beyond the pockets of all but the well-heeled. The owners of the festival require visitors to wear wristbands -- shades of authoritarianism, unnecessary and very unaustralian.

I would love to see the not-for-profit Azalea Festival reinstated, and from what I can gather, so would many other Bellingenites. Not a festival that focuses on one or more types of music at high prices, but one that celebrates the community and a wide variety of aspects of culture and arts, designed for community, and pride in community, not for private profit.

Categories: bellingen, festival

Indian summer, cold snap, phenology and cicadas

In this neck of the woods, around about August 20 it gets warm and almost everyone confidently says that winter's over. I always say, "Expect colder weather around September 10". I should bet money on it.

The last two nights and mornings have been much colder, after our warm spell. It can be quite cold after the Indian summer -- I've seen frosts in Bellingen as late as September 20. Have you seen later?

This seems to pertain to Sydney as much as Bellingen, by the way. Or, so I've noticed over several decades. An Indian summer in late August, followed very often by cold -- sometimes really cold -- weather around about three weeks later.

Following recent Bellingen days with temperatures as high as 33 degrees Celsius -- well over 90 degrees F -- I'm shivering at my desk at 7:45 a.m., and my toes are froze.

By the way, I saw a cicada on September 9 -- it had just emerged from its seven-year underground bed, under my house. This is the earliest I've seen a cicada. More on Australian cicadas at October 11 in the Book of Days, October 11 being the earliest I've heard cicadas in Sydney. Observation of seasonal changes through flora and fauna is called phenology -- more on this at April 14 in the Book of Days.

Any personal knowledge, experiences and observations from readers on similar matters are always very welcome. Amateur phenology is a fascinating way to keep personal tabs on climate change.

Categories: phenology, bellingen, weather

Having felt like dead wood

Having been indisposed these many days, I'm returned to fairly rude health. Without end-to-end episodes of Deadwood, watched from my sick bed on Esmeralda Computer, I doubt my recovery would have been so speedy, nor would my manner of language have become so convoluted yet so prodigiously full of promise.

However, Deadwood is, as says Baz le Tuff, who purveyed to me the 36 episodes of the series at no charge and with customary high piracy, derring-do and skullduggery, a veritable modern masterpiece, and I am hooked. One's faith is restored in TV drama, especially as a welcome succour to the sick-abed.

Categories: tv