Monday, June 13, 2011
Arrest for half-naked man who tried to woo woman by riding horse into her house
A would-be knight who tried to woo a maiden by riding into her home on a horse is facing five years behind bars for aggravated breaking and entry. Lovelorn Jan Rudnicki, 40, hatched the scheme to bowl over divorcee Gosia Domoslawska after a night's drinking down his local bar in Jarnoltowka, Poland.
Photo from here.
But terrified Gosia, 36, called police when her drunken suitor - stripped to the waist - galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram. "He’s a loon. I was at home watching TV with my daughter when I heard this deafening crash and suddenly this half-naked man on a horse appeared in my front room," she said.
"I never fancied him before and I certainly don’t now. If this was supposed to win my heart he must be seriously off his rocker," added Gosia. Friend Mirek Nowak explained: "At first we thought Jan was joking. But then he went outside, climbed onto this horse - which he’d ridden to the pub - and set off bare-breasted and bare-backed.
Photo from here.
"The next thing we knew, he’d been arrested." Now the divorced dad-of-seven Jan has apologised and offered to replace the door. But a police spokesman said: "Smashing into someone’s home uninvited is a crime and he will be punished for it."
Photo from here.
But terrified Gosia, 36, called police when her drunken suitor - stripped to the waist - galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram. "He’s a loon. I was at home watching TV with my daughter when I heard this deafening crash and suddenly this half-naked man on a horse appeared in my front room," she said.
"I never fancied him before and I certainly don’t now. If this was supposed to win my heart he must be seriously off his rocker," added Gosia. Friend Mirek Nowak explained: "At first we thought Jan was joking. But then he went outside, climbed onto this horse - which he’d ridden to the pub - and set off bare-breasted and bare-backed.
Photo from here.
"The next thing we knew, he’d been arrested." Now the divorced dad-of-seven Jan has apologised and offered to replace the door. But a police spokesman said: "Smashing into someone’s home uninvited is a crime and he will be punished for it."
Cyclist stopped by police for wearing 'distracting' outfit
A Dutch tourist in New York, Jasmijn Rijcken, says she was pulled over by a NYPD officer for flashing too much skin while on two wheels.
"He said it's very disturbing, and it's distracting the cars and it's dangerous," Rijcken said. "I thought he was joking around but he got angry and asked me for ID."
Rijcken, 31, was not given a ticket during the May 3 incident, and did not get the officer's name, but was left feeling baffled.
"I didn't even think for one second that my outfit could be harmful or disturbing," she said.
"He said it's very disturbing, and it's distracting the cars and it's dangerous," Rijcken said. "I thought he was joking around but he got angry and asked me for ID."
Rijcken, 31, was not given a ticket during the May 3 incident, and did not get the officer's name, but was left feeling baffled.
"I didn't even think for one second that my outfit could be harmful or disturbing," she said.
Australian football fan celebrates his team's victory
A Geelong Cat's supporter enjoyed himself when the final siren went after Saturday night's win over the Hawthorn Hawks.
After removing his Cats shirt and waving it around his head, the unknown fan spent the first rendition of the Geelong theme song removing his shoes, socks and eventually pants before breaking into his patented celebration dance, clad only in his Geelong-blue underpants, without a care in the world.
YouTube link.
Although he was surrounded by families with young children, not a soul seemed offended by the impassioned display, including passing Hawthorn supporters who managed to crack a smile after another heartbreaking loss.
A team of six mystified security guards arrived at the scene as the dance continued well into the third playing of the theme song, though none seemed prepared to venture too close to the fan as he was left to continue his routine and down his final beer.
After removing his Cats shirt and waving it around his head, the unknown fan spent the first rendition of the Geelong theme song removing his shoes, socks and eventually pants before breaking into his patented celebration dance, clad only in his Geelong-blue underpants, without a care in the world.
YouTube link.
Although he was surrounded by families with young children, not a soul seemed offended by the impassioned display, including passing Hawthorn supporters who managed to crack a smile after another heartbreaking loss.
A team of six mystified security guards arrived at the scene as the dance continued well into the third playing of the theme song, though none seemed prepared to venture too close to the fan as he was left to continue his routine and down his final beer.
New Zealand police catch drink-driving family
It must have set a record, but it's one a South Canterbury family would surely much rather not have, after three of them were booked for drink-driving on the same night.
The saga began at about 12.15am on Saturday when a 15-year-old boy was stopped and arrested for drink-driving on State Highway 1 near Pareora. He blew 529 micrograms per litre of breath, more than three and a half times the youth limit.
The teenager was taken to the Timaru police station for processing, where his mother was called to collect him. She was subsequently stopped and arrested for drink-driving on Craigie Ave at about 2.14am, after blowing 776 mcg, nearly twice the adult limit of 400.
But it wasn't over there. The woman then rang her partner to come and pick them both up. He was stopped and arrested on North St at about 3am, when he blew 559mcg.
The saga began at about 12.15am on Saturday when a 15-year-old boy was stopped and arrested for drink-driving on State Highway 1 near Pareora. He blew 529 micrograms per litre of breath, more than three and a half times the youth limit.
The teenager was taken to the Timaru police station for processing, where his mother was called to collect him. She was subsequently stopped and arrested for drink-driving on Craigie Ave at about 2.14am, after blowing 776 mcg, nearly twice the adult limit of 400.
But it wasn't over there. The woman then rang her partner to come and pick them both up. He was stopped and arrested on North St at about 3am, when he blew 559mcg.
Man wearing lots of lip gloss fails to rob bank
A man wearing a flowered shirt and wearing “lots of lip gloss” tried to rob a southeastern San Diego bank on Saturday, but failed, police said.
A teller at Wells Fargo Bank on Euclid Avenue in Lincoln Park refused to give the man any money, despite his demand note, San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick said.
The man left the bank and employees called police at 3:14 p.m.
He was described as black, in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, about 175 pounds, wearing a flowered white shirt, white hat, sunglasses and a lot of lip gloss, Battrick said. The man carried a black backpack with purple letters SWC on it.
A teller at Wells Fargo Bank on Euclid Avenue in Lincoln Park refused to give the man any money, despite his demand note, San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick said.
The man left the bank and employees called police at 3:14 p.m.
He was described as black, in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, about 175 pounds, wearing a flowered white shirt, white hat, sunglasses and a lot of lip gloss, Battrick said. The man carried a black backpack with purple letters SWC on it.
Fundraising marathon man in snail suit sacked after raising less than it cost to complete
A fundraiser who “crawled” the London Marathon dressed as Brian the Snail from the Magic Roundabout has been sacked from his charity job for not raising enough money.
Former firefighter Lloyd Scott, 49, , who has collected more than £5 million in charity since recovering from leukaemia 20 years ago, lay on a trolley and pulled himself along in his heavy costume at a rate of one mile day. He suffered almost constant nosebleeds and vomiting in the month it took him to complete the course.
But taking part in the event cost more than he raised from donations, so his bosses at disabled children’s charity Action For Kids sacked him last week as their director of fundraising. He had hoped to raise £200,000, but collected only £19,500. The charity spent £16,000 buying costumes for him and his team and thousands more on a PR company.
Brian the Snail in happier times.
YouTube link.
The charity’s founder Sally Bishop said: “Due to limited resources, like all charities, Action For Kids must make sure that we make the best possible use of our limited funds. Our priority is always to our donors, and the children and families we support. So it is with regret we had to take this decision.”
Former firefighter Lloyd Scott, 49, , who has collected more than £5 million in charity since recovering from leukaemia 20 years ago, lay on a trolley and pulled himself along in his heavy costume at a rate of one mile day. He suffered almost constant nosebleeds and vomiting in the month it took him to complete the course.
But taking part in the event cost more than he raised from donations, so his bosses at disabled children’s charity Action For Kids sacked him last week as their director of fundraising. He had hoped to raise £200,000, but collected only £19,500. The charity spent £16,000 buying costumes for him and his team and thousands more on a PR company.
Brian the Snail in happier times.
YouTube link.
The charity’s founder Sally Bishop said: “Due to limited resources, like all charities, Action For Kids must make sure that we make the best possible use of our limited funds. Our priority is always to our donors, and the children and families we support. So it is with regret we had to take this decision.”
Pensioners eat promotional soil and seeds mistaken for biscuits
A group of pensioners were left with a nasty taste in their mouths after mistaking packs of soil for biscuits. The residents of a care home in Weymouth told of their horror after choking on mouthfuls of grit after mistaking a branded butter's promotional pack of soil and seeds for biscuits. Three elderly people in the space of two hours alerted the manager of Lawrence Court residential care homes in Southill Garden Drive, Weymouth to the ‘misleading’ Lurpak giveaway.
John and Jean Hobbs’ delight at finding what they thought were free biscuits with their butter turned to disgust when mud filled their mouths and they realised it was a lump of soil and dill seeds. Pensioner John, 79, said: “It was just as though I’d got a mouthful of grit, it was terrible. You imagine that young children would think ‘that’s edible’ but even the seeds weren’t edible so we got a double dose – seeds that weren’t edible as well as a mouth of grit.
“It was especially confusing because it was attached to food. You wouldn’t go into a garden centre and get a pot plant with a sandwich strapped underneath. It could have been dangerous if we’d swallowed mouthfuls of it, we had to spit it out. My wife had a coughing fit, she was in a terrible state.”
Residential care home manager Sharon Grange is warning people to be aware of the possible danger. She said: “You wouldn't think to read the pack because it looks so much like cookies. It’s really dangerous – how many other people have done this if that’s three people in a couple of hours? Why have they made them to look like cookies?”
John and Jean Hobbs’ delight at finding what they thought were free biscuits with their butter turned to disgust when mud filled their mouths and they realised it was a lump of soil and dill seeds. Pensioner John, 79, said: “It was just as though I’d got a mouthful of grit, it was terrible. You imagine that young children would think ‘that’s edible’ but even the seeds weren’t edible so we got a double dose – seeds that weren’t edible as well as a mouth of grit.
“It was especially confusing because it was attached to food. You wouldn’t go into a garden centre and get a pot plant with a sandwich strapped underneath. It could have been dangerous if we’d swallowed mouthfuls of it, we had to spit it out. My wife had a coughing fit, she was in a terrible state.”
Residential care home manager Sharon Grange is warning people to be aware of the possible danger. She said: “You wouldn't think to read the pack because it looks so much like cookies. It’s really dangerous – how many other people have done this if that’s three people in a couple of hours? Why have they made them to look like cookies?”
Pregnant hair washing purse thief sought
A pregnant woman who tricked her way into a Manchester pensioner's home and proceeded to wash her hair and steal the victim's purse is sought by police. The woman approached the 89-year-old as she stood at her front door on Brunswick Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, on Saturday evening.
The thief told the woman she needed to use her toilet and then went to wash her hair in the kitchen, police said. She then sat next to the victim on a sofa, stole her purse and fled. Police said the thief rifled through the elderly woman's pockets to find the purse after the victim had asked her to leave.
The thief is described as white and of skinny build, despite being pregnant. She had a thin face with yellow skin, dark hair in a pony tail and was wearing a dark short jacket and jeans.
Det Insp David Turner said: "The offender must have been absolutely desperate to get her hands on some cash if she is prepared to stoop as low as tricking her way into the home of a vulnerable, elderly woman and then stealing from her. The offender is pregnant and therefore will be clearly identifiable."
The thief told the woman she needed to use her toilet and then went to wash her hair in the kitchen, police said. She then sat next to the victim on a sofa, stole her purse and fled. Police said the thief rifled through the elderly woman's pockets to find the purse after the victim had asked her to leave.
The thief is described as white and of skinny build, despite being pregnant. She had a thin face with yellow skin, dark hair in a pony tail and was wearing a dark short jacket and jeans.
Det Insp David Turner said: "The offender must have been absolutely desperate to get her hands on some cash if she is prepared to stoop as low as tricking her way into the home of a vulnerable, elderly woman and then stealing from her. The offender is pregnant and therefore will be clearly identifiable."
Recipe of the Week - Mexican Pizza
This week I am sharing a recipe I tried from a fellow blogger, Kristi over at Veggie Converter. It is a twist on a home made pizza, making it mexican style! I really enjoyed it! My hubby didn't really care for it though. But he is not a big mexican style food person and he thought it was little spicy because of the salsa I used. Oh well, can't please all the time I suppose! :) I brought the left overs over to my in-laws the next day and my mother in-law really liked it! So that is 2-1. :)
Mexican Pizza
All of my ingredients ready to go! This is vegetarian, but if you eat meat you could use beef instead of the Vegetarian griller crumbles. I am also using my Pampered Chef Large Stoneware Bar Pan. I love using the stoneware, especially for pizza. Once you oil the surface a few times before using it, it becomes naturally stick free. It also makes the crust nice and crispy by evening distributing the heat.
I used a pre-made pizza dough, but you could definitely make a home made crust. I didn't put any oil on my stoneware since I have used it a few times and so it is naturally stick free already.
I baked it in the oven per the directions on the pizza dough container. I believe it was 400 for about 15 minutes. While it was in the oven, I chopped my green onions.
I used my trusty 5" Utility Knife and the Flexible Cutting Mats. The Pampered Chef cutting mats are a lot sturdier than ones I have found in the store but are still flexible enough to transfer items and pour them into your pots or pans.
I also starting browning the veggie griller crumbles. I am using my 10" TPC Saute Pan and a Bamboo Spatula. The saute pan is nonstick, you don't have to even put oil or butter in it! The bamboo is great because it doesn't stain or take on the flavors of whatever you are using it in!
The original recipe didn't call for this, but I decided to add some taco seasoning to the griller crumbles.
I used my 2 cup prep bowl, which also comes with a lid so you can store small amount of items if you need to. I also used our stainless whisk to make sure it was nice and smooth.
After the crust come out of the oven I started layering!
I used a generic brand of white corn and black bean salsa as the "tomato sauce."
Then I added the griller crumbles and green onion. You could also add olives or any other type of mexican style veggies that you want.
And of course, cheese on the top! I used a Mexican style 3-cheese blend.
Bake it at 400 for another 15 minutes.
And the results.....
Yum!! Doesn't that look delicious?! I used TPC's Pizza Cutter to cut it up!
Mexican Style Pizza
1 pizza crust (either home-made or store bought)
1 cup salsa
1 cup of ground beef or griller crumbles (I use Morningstar, found in the breakfast freezer section).
1 pkg. of taco seasoning (not in original recipe)
2 cups of Mexican cheese
1 bunch of green onions (not in original recipe)
Optional: Black Bean Salsa, refried beans, black olives.
Partially bake your crust. Since I used a store bought crust I baked it at 400 for 15 minutes. Top with a layer of salsa, ground beef or griller crumbles, green onions and/or black olives, and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Also, if you are interested in any of The Pampered Chef products that I mentioned, send me an e-mail and let me know!
Be sure to link up your recipes below! Please link back to Recipe of the Week in your post to spread the word about this recipe blog hop! You can also grab the button on the right side of my blog to add to your blog list if you like!
‘PEARL JAM TWENTY’ BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED IN NEW ZEALAND BY ATLANTIC BOOKS ON 13 SEPTEMBER 2011
Allen & Unwin and Atlantic Books are delighted to announce that they will publish PEARL JAM TWENTY – an intimate, unprecedented and lavishly illustrated self-portrait of one of the world’s most influential and successful bands – on 13 September this year. Published in celebration of Pearl Jam’s twentieth anniversary and in conjunction with Cameron Crowe’s definitive documentary film and soundtrack of the same title, PEARL JAM TWENTY is an aesthetically stunning and definitive chronicle of their two decades as a band. The book was acquired by Ravi Mirchandani, Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief, from David Vigliano of Vigliano Associates.
In 1991, Pearl Jam’s debut album, Ten, catapulted the little-known Seattle-based band into superstardom. Then, at the height of their popularity, the band shunned the spotlight, refusing to shoot videos or do interviews. Even as Pearl Jam’s studio albums continued to be critically acclaimed and commercially successful, selling over 60 million albums worldwide, the inner workings of the band – their day-to-day routines, influences, and motivations – remained unknown even to their diehard fans.
Twenty years later, this is their story. PEARL JAM TWENTY is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, rare archival memorabilia and the band’s personal photos, tour notes and drawings. Told with wit and insight into the band members’ own words, assembled by veteran music writer Jonathan Cohen with Mark Wilkerson – and including a foreword by Cameron Crowe along with original interviews with legends and contemporaries like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Dave Grohl – this intimate work provides an in-depth look at a group of musicians who through defying convention established themselves as “the greatest American rock band ever” (USA Today Readers’ Poll 2005).
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand and Weta Workshop sign landmark publishing agreement
In what is a landmark move for both companies, HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand and Weta Workshop have entered into an agreement to publish works which will showcase Weta’s remarkable creativity and talent.
There are major opportunities for both companies in this agreement. The most significant is the global publication of beautifully produced movie tie-in volumes written and designed by Weta’s own creative people, illustrating the amazing skills and talents of the Weta team. Traditionally, the authors of movie tie-in books are several steps removed from the making of the movie, and the books are last minute additions to the movie merchandising plans. However, these books, which will be published under the management of HarperCollins New Zealand’s experienced publishing and production teams, will give a real insight to the creative genius that Weta brings to the projects it is involved with.
In addition to print books, HarperCollins and Weta Workshop are exploring the development of ground breaking digital products which will offer the reader the opportunity for a greatly enhanced experience.
‘We are extremely excited about the opportunity to combine the skills and talents of our people all around the world with those of the multi-award-winning team at Weta Workshop,’ says Tony Fisk, Managing Director, HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand. ‘We see this as a unique opportunity to present the work of our friends at Weta to a global publishing audience and to work together with them to develop ground breaking new projects.’
‘We have been developing book ideas for many years and now with our relationship and friendship with the team at Harper Collins we can see these books reach an even wider market through their global network’, says Richard Taylor, Creative Director and Co-founder of Weta Workshop.
The relationship between HarperCollins and Weta Workshop goes back many years. As the publisher of the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, HarperCollins and Weta have developed an appreciation and understanding of each other’s capabilities whilst working together on The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia movies.
Recent projects include The Art of District 9 and the award-winning The Crafting of Narnia.
press gang - knocking out great books
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Number Crunching the NZ Post Book Awards
June 13, 2011
Stephen Stratford, on his Quote Unquote blog, fired a shot across the bow of the NZ Post shortlist debate. Which is clever, as it’s hard to figure out where the bow is let alone who owns the boat, who is in it and if they’re actually at sea. I prefer bandwagons. Stratford supports the shortlists for fiction and poetry being kept at three titles based on arguments of proportionality (shortlist being statistically on par with submissions), sales (no one buys them anyway) and ageism (they were published, like, a whole year ago). His points are interesting and good (except for that ageism one), if a little statistical. Is that enough to justify shortlists of three titles?
Fergus Barrowman (who prefers a list of five) commented on the blog that he disagreed, offering various points of rebuttal to proportionality and sales; the main points being that three books can’t do justice to a year’s output and, regardless of poor sales, the accolade itself, for publisher and writer, is of great value.
Awards are based on merit, something that should be the primary consideration. Shortlist accolades are only valuable if their meritorious integrity is maintained, but attempting to base that integrity on statistics, be they sales or submission, defeats the standards awards recognise.
The hard fact is that, in any given year, it can’t be guaranteed that NZ writers will produce five works of fiction or poetry worthy of being shortlisted, so a framework of three titles better supports quality. But in those years where a glut of talent stands up and ululates, why not have the flexibility to expand the list to four or five? Have the framework support the quality.
And screw sales – that’s a bonus of awards, not the point of them. Sale boosts for shortlisted titles are small, but that’s a problem for booksellers and publishers, not ceremonies. Booksellers prop up window displays or counter presentations, seeking to profit through exposure, focusing on the fact they’re being exposed instead of the reason for it. A more creative approach may be required by those that make and sell books, but that isn’t something the Award should be worrying about. If there’s a lack of media discussion about the NZ Post Book Awards maybe it’s because the industry people on the ground are vaguely waving at the shortlists instead of gesturing wildly at the books.
Fergus Barrowman (who prefers a list of five) commented on the blog that he disagreed, offering various points of rebuttal to proportionality and sales; the main points being that three books can’t do justice to a year’s output and, regardless of poor sales, the accolade itself, for publisher and writer, is of great value.
Awards are based on merit, something that should be the primary consideration. Shortlist accolades are only valuable if their meritorious integrity is maintained, but attempting to base that integrity on statistics, be they sales or submission, defeats the standards awards recognise.
The hard fact is that, in any given year, it can’t be guaranteed that NZ writers will produce five works of fiction or poetry worthy of being shortlisted, so a framework of three titles better supports quality. But in those years where a glut of talent stands up and ululates, why not have the flexibility to expand the list to four or five? Have the framework support the quality.
And screw sales – that’s a bonus of awards, not the point of them. Sale boosts for shortlisted titles are small, but that’s a problem for booksellers and publishers, not ceremonies. Booksellers prop up window displays or counter presentations, seeking to profit through exposure, focusing on the fact they’re being exposed instead of the reason for it. A more creative approach may be required by those that make and sell books, but that isn’t something the Award should be worrying about. If there’s a lack of media discussion about the NZ Post Book Awards maybe it’s because the industry people on the ground are vaguely waving at the shortlists instead of gesturing wildly at the books.
Zot and the Axolotl is the Tuesday Poem this week
For its title alone, the hub poem on the Tuesday Poem site is a delight. But don't stop there, the whole poem, by Wellington poet Janis Freegard is delightful and envigorating and comes from Janis'
collection (just out) Kingdom of Animalia The Escapades of Linnaeus (AUP).
The TP editor this week, Saradha Koirala, says 'The poems "explore the various interactions between human beings and other animals, but also deals with wider subjects: love and loss, evolution and conservation, sex and death." Freegard has arranged the animal-themed poems according to eighteenth-century naturalist Carl Linnaeus' classification system of the natural world.'
After engaging with Zot and the Axolotl, flick your eyes to the blog sidebar where poets from NZ, Australia, the US and UK post Tuesday Poems they've written or have permission to run. This week there are some delightful and envigorating diversions including links to audio of Kate Camp reading her poem Mute, a video of a 3-year-old reading aloud Billy Collins' Litany, a 'poem' of candles for the people of Christchurch and a one-word poem courtesy of avant-garde poet Orchid Tierney that shakes the word up and makes the reader see it differently.
There are a few poems this week that write about a journey - real or allegorical - human or ant-like, and others which take a journey into love in all its guises. And from Helen Lowe, a poem about yesterday's quake in Christchurch, which is one of those terrible journeys that appears to have no end.
Be envigorated. Go to www.tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com
University of Melbourne, Faculty of Arts scholarships. Ernest Scott Prize 2011 short-list includes NZ title
14/06/2011
The Ernest Scott Prize is awarded to work based upon original research, which is, in the opinion of the examiners, the most distinguished contribution to the history of Australia or New Zealand or to the history of colonisation.
It is one of the many Faculty of Arts scholarships made possible by the generosity of supporters and donors.
The following researchers have been shortlisted for this prize in 2011.
Emma Christopher leads her readers on a remarkable journey taken by petty thieves in late eighteenth century England. England disposed of its criminals by successively transporting them to three different continents: America, Africa and Australia. This is a book with a large span based on fine-grained trawling of the archives to follow the lives of petty criminals, those responsible for transporting them, and the men who commanded them. We learn of conditions in the back alleys of London, on the tobacco fields of the Chesapeake, and in slave dungeons in the forts of West Africa. While we follow the lives of unknown criminals and military officers, Christopher always places these singular stories in the larger canvas of Empire, reminding the reader of the extent of British ambitions and the unbridled power of those in command. Convicts who escaped execution in England, if they survived debilitating disease and starvation in Africa, might die from the severe lashings meted out as punishment. Christopher restores the forgotten history of transportation to Africa in vivid prose that brings each of her continental contexts to life. This is history with a serious purpose written in such as way as to be accessible to the general reader.
A Three-Cornered Life: The Historian W.K. Hancock.(UNSW Press)
A Three-Cornered Life is a full dress biography of arguably the most influential historian produced by 20th century Australia. WK Hancock’s life and scholarship spanned three continents and he pioneered much of the post-imperial historiography of the British Empire. It charts a personal journey from Bairnsdale through Melbourne, Oxford, Adelaide, Birmingham, London, Uganda and South Africa and finally back to Canberra which took in the early days of the ANU. Indeed Hancock famously elevated the idea of historical ‘span’ as a guide to historical endeavour and his own career was a model of an exceedingly broad mind applied to some of the largest questions of modern history.
A Private Empire. (Millers Point, N.S.W : Murdoch Books, Pier 9, 2010)
Stephen Foster follows the career of a prominent Scottish family across 250 years during which time they dispersed into the far reaches of the Empire. The Macphersons of Cluny were Badenoch Highlanders whose ambitions and imperatives took them to Berbice in the north of South America, to Bengal in British India and also to Keera in outback New South Wales. They were true diasporans who sustained their traditional ties with the Highlands across the generations. Foster captures much of the inner story of British imperialism seen through the eyes of a succession of dynamic individuals connected by family and its vicissitudes. Their careers and their interconnections are deeply researched from a wonderfully well-preserved family archive in Scotland. This collective biography narrates a succession of intense personal dramas all set against the wide panorama of empire. It juxtaposes the lives of everyday imperialists, their ambitions and their idiosyncrasies, with the broad tides of Empire. Foster brings the story Millers Point, N.S.W. : Pier 9, 2010 up to date with the current head of the family who has famously wrestled with the legal and political manifestations of racial conflict in present day England. Rarely have the dispersed theatres of imperialisms been interlinked in such a stylish and personalised fashion. Race, fortune and politics are interleaved with family dramas across the wide horizon of the evolving Empire.
Savage or Civilised? Manners in Colonial Australia (University of New South Wales Press, 2010).
Penny Russell’s innovative examination of manners in colonial Australia explores the multifarious ways in which manners encode deference and delineate difference. Through an exploration of a range of sources, from personal letters and memoirs to newspapers and fiction, Russell demonstrates the unease that caused individuals to be constantly aware of social boundaries. She argues convincingly that manners were, in fact, central to the colonizing process since settlement of Aboriginal lands required the conviction that ‘civilisation’ was necessary to overcome savagery for the good of mankind. Yet what was meaningful in one culture was completely opaque to the other. Handshakes could not be innocent when followed by dispossession. As the Australian settlements grew, with their assortment of convicts and settlers, manners served mark out social position. Russell argues that class distinctions and ‘manners’ were all pervasive in colonial society and her book will challenge the enduring myth of Australian egalitarianism.
It is one of the many Faculty of Arts scholarships made possible by the generosity of supporters and donors.
The following researchers have been shortlisted for this prize in 2011.
Emma Christopher.
A Merciless Place: the lost story of Britain’s convict disaster in Africa and how it led to the settlement of Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2010).
Emma Christopher leads her readers on a remarkable journey taken by petty thieves in late eighteenth century England. England disposed of its criminals by successively transporting them to three different continents: America, Africa and Australia. This is a book with a large span based on fine-grained trawling of the archives to follow the lives of petty criminals, those responsible for transporting them, and the men who commanded them. We learn of conditions in the back alleys of London, on the tobacco fields of the Chesapeake, and in slave dungeons in the forts of West Africa. While we follow the lives of unknown criminals and military officers, Christopher always places these singular stories in the larger canvas of Empire, reminding the reader of the extent of British ambitions and the unbridled power of those in command. Convicts who escaped execution in England, if they survived debilitating disease and starvation in Africa, might die from the severe lashings meted out as punishment. Christopher restores the forgotten history of transportation to Africa in vivid prose that brings each of her continental contexts to life. This is history with a serious purpose written in such as way as to be accessible to the general reader.
Jim Davidson.
A Three-Cornered Life is a full dress biography of arguably the most influential historian produced by 20th century Australia. WK Hancock’s life and scholarship spanned three continents and he pioneered much of the post-imperial historiography of the British Empire. It charts a personal journey from Bairnsdale through Melbourne, Oxford, Adelaide, Birmingham, London, Uganda and South Africa and finally back to Canberra which took in the early days of the ANU. Indeed Hancock famously elevated the idea of historical ‘span’ as a guide to historical endeavour and his own career was a model of an exceedingly broad mind applied to some of the largest questions of modern history.
Stephen Foster.
Stephen Foster follows the career of a prominent Scottish family across 250 years during which time they dispersed into the far reaches of the Empire. The Macphersons of Cluny were Badenoch Highlanders whose ambitions and imperatives took them to Berbice in the north of South America, to Bengal in British India and also to Keera in outback New South Wales. They were true diasporans who sustained their traditional ties with the Highlands across the generations. Foster captures much of the inner story of British imperialism seen through the eyes of a succession of dynamic individuals connected by family and its vicissitudes. Their careers and their interconnections are deeply researched from a wonderfully well-preserved family archive in Scotland. This collective biography narrates a succession of intense personal dramas all set against the wide panorama of empire. It juxtaposes the lives of everyday imperialists, their ambitions and their idiosyncrasies, with the broad tides of Empire. Foster brings the story Millers Point, N.S.W. : Pier 9, 2010 up to date with the current head of the family who has famously wrestled with the legal and political manifestations of racial conflict in present day England. Rarely have the dispersed theatres of imperialisms been interlinked in such a stylish and personalised fashion. Race, fortune and politics are interleaved with family dramas across the wide horizon of the evolving Empire.
Jeffrey Paparoa Holman.
Best of Both Worlds: The Story of Elsdon Best and Tutakangahau (Penguin Books, 2010).
Jeffrey Paparoa Holman skillfully interrogates the relationship between the amateur ethnographer, Elsdon Best, and his Tuhoe informant, Tutakangahau. In doing so he charts the encounter between a man wishing to preserve the oral knowledge of the ancient Maori world and his informant, a man bent on an accommodation with the modern world in order to have traditions recorded for future generations. Holman succeeds in his aim is to restore Tutakanghau to a story in which Best has taken centre stage. Holman’s book is a beautifully written exploration of a friendship between two men, both literate and learned in different ways, and anxious to learn from each other. Holman places this friendship in the rapid changes occurring in Maori society: the growth of the money economy, accelerating land loss and the growing dominance of English. The result is an examination of a ‘richly ambiguous interplay of beliefs, ideas and seismic social changes’ that joined the lives of Elsdon Best and Tutakangahou of Maungapohatu.Penny Russell.
Penny Russell’s innovative examination of manners in colonial Australia explores the multifarious ways in which manners encode deference and delineate difference. Through an exploration of a range of sources, from personal letters and memoirs to newspapers and fiction, Russell demonstrates the unease that caused individuals to be constantly aware of social boundaries. She argues convincingly that manners were, in fact, central to the colonizing process since settlement of Aboriginal lands required the conviction that ‘civilisation’ was necessary to overcome savagery for the good of mankind. Yet what was meaningful in one culture was completely opaque to the other. Handshakes could not be innocent when followed by dispossession. As the Australian settlements grew, with their assortment of convicts and settlers, manners served mark out social position. Russell argues that class distinctions and ‘manners’ were all pervasive in colonial society and her book will challenge the enduring myth of Australian egalitarianism.
Learn more about this prize…
Embryo Transfer
Today has been an awesome day! We went to the doctor's office at 11:45 and waited for them to call us back for the transfer. I had to go in with a full bladder. Honestly, that was the most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure. The embryologist talked to us before the transfer and gave us a picture of our two best embryos.
 |
| Hopefully, these are our future children! |
The embryologist showed us where the beginnings of each baby are and the placenta within the embryo. The dark spot on the left one and the crater looking spot in the middle of the right one are the beginnings of a baby. He said hopefully today they will begin to hatch from the shell and turn into a blastocyst. After that happens then hopefully they will attach to my uterus.
Since we've been home I have been resting and taking it easy. I've spent all afternoon laying in bed watching TV. Tomorrow I will be able to move around a little more, but I still need to be very careful. Our doctor seems very hopeful and optimistic. He said that even though everything has gone so perfect, it's not a guarantee that we will get pregnant. Until then, we will continue to pray and leave it in God's hands. I know he will provide and take care of us.
Next Wednesday I go in for my pregnancy test. I will post, either way, after we talk to our family. Jeremy and I want to share the news with each of them first. Thank you for all of the prayers! We are both very grateful.
A Mother Teresa Quote
... one that was used by the salutatorian at my daughter's 8th grade graduation. I liked it a lot. Enjoy!
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it!
A Matter of Taste
Oh shoot! The people at HBO were nice enough to send me a copy of A Matter of Taste, a documentary on Paul Liebrandt that I wanted to watch, and I’m late.
The film airs on HBO tonight (9pm EST), and I'm on the road, visiting family in Denver, while the DVD is sitting on my desk in New York.
So, what can I say? Paul Liebrandt’s a hell of an interesting chef. I’ve always found his food simultaneously weird, delicious and incredibly well-balanced. Most striking: Each component of each dish seems to express itself with intriguing clarity and precision.
The Bouley alumnus had a brief and critically tumultuous tenure some years ago, back in 2000, at Atlas, where then-Times critic William Grimes gave him a glowing three-star review, placing him squarely on the map as one of New York’s most avant-garde chefs. Then a review in Gourmet skewered him, uncharacteristic behavior for that magazine.
At the time, some people wondered if the review had anything to do with the fact that Gourmet’s editor-in-chief, Ruth Reichl, was Grimes’s predecessor.
Liebrandt, who was something like 24 years old, left the restaurant shortly thereafter.
But that’s ancient history.
And also a documentary on HBO, airing tonight.
That network was nice enough to provide me with the pictures in this blog entry, which were taken by Sally Rowe.
top ten pictures from the week ~ 14 June 11 (and a relative of mine starts a blog!)
Hello possums...
seen on wish you were here
how was your long weekend?
seen on brabourne farm
...if you were lucky enough to have one that is.
seen on archiphile tumblr
...mine was mixed.
by nic at make space
I spent most of saturday starting to make a quilt for a new baby
paul candales as seen on the style files
her name is Ruby Grace...isn't that lovely
seen on mfamb
you can see the start of it over on my FB page
seen on archiphile tumblr
but my plans to finish it were scuttled by that thing called work
seen on anya adores
which seems to be crowding my life just a bit too much at the moment
seen on an indian summer
I shouldn't complain...it pays the bills after all
seen on alkemie
but still...
taken by anya adores
My cousin Phillip has started a blog (he says he was inspired by me...silly bugger. I've warned him about blogging addiction)
seen on driftwood interiors
...it's called Reinventing Home and it will chronicle his and his partner's search for their first home somewhere in the Blue Mountains. Pop over and say hi if you get a chance. He's family after all :)
seen on compulsively compiled
There'll be no top ten next week...I'll be out of the country and quite possibly incommunicado!
You'll cope I'm sure......but I've given you a few extras today just in case you don't :)
Best Thrillers of the Year
By Jason Boog on Galley Cat, June 13, 2011 3:47 PM
Last week the International Thriller Writers revealed the 2011 Thriller Awards nominees. For your reading pleasure, we’ve included the nominees below–complete with free samples of all the novels.If you want more books, we made similar literary mixtapes linking to free samples of the Hugo Award nominees, the Best Cookbooks of 2010, the 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction nominees, the National Book Critics Circle Award finalists, the 2011 Edgar Awards finalists, the 2011 ALA Youth Media Awards winners, the 2011 Book Critics Circle Awards finalists, the Best Translated Books longlist, the Believer Book Awards shortlist, and the Best Books of 2010.
2011 SILVER BULLET AWARD: Karin Slaughter
2011 TRUE THRILL AWARD: Joe McGinniss
Michael Connelly – THE REVERSAL (Little Brown)
Jeffery Deaver – EDGE: A NOVEL (Simon & Schuster)
Brian Freeman – THE BURYING PLACE (Minatour)
Mo Hayder – SKIN (Grove)
John Sanford – BAD BLOOD (Putnam)
Jeffery Deaver – EDGE: A NOVEL (Simon & Schuster)
Brian Freeman – THE BURYING PLACE (Minatour)
Mo Hayder – SKIN (Grove)
John Sanford – BAD BLOOD (Putnam)
Best Paperback Original:
Robert Gregory Browne – DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN (St. Martin’s)
Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens – YOU CAN’T STOP ME (Pinnacle)
J.T. Ellison – THE COLD ROOM (Mira)
Shane Gericke – TORN APART (Pinnacle)
Jon Trace – THE VENICE CONSPIRACY (Hachette Digital) (no excerpt available)
Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens – YOU CAN’T STOP ME (Pinnacle)
J.T. Ellison – THE COLD ROOM (Mira)
Shane Gericke – TORN APART (Pinnacle)
Jon Trace – THE VENICE CONSPIRACY (Hachette Digital) (no excerpt available)
Best First Novel:
Carla Buckley – THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE (Random House)
Paul Doiron – THE POACHER’S SON (Minatour)
Reece Hirsch – THE INSIDER (Berkley)
Thomas Kaufman – DRINK THE TEA (Minatour)
Chevy Stevens – STILL MISSING (St. Martin’s)
Paul Doiron – THE POACHER’S SON (Minatour)
Reece Hirsch – THE INSIDER (Berkley)
Thomas Kaufman – DRINK THE TEA (Minatour)
Chevy Stevens – STILL MISSING (St. Martin’s)
Best Short Story:
Mike Carey – “Second Wind” (THE NEW DEAD, St. Martin’s)
Michael Connelly – “Blue on Black” (Strand Magazine)
Richard Helms – “The Gods for Vengeance Cry” (Dell Magazine)
Harley Jane Kozak – “Madeeda” (Crimes By Midnight)
Nicolas Kaufman – “Chasing the Dragon” (ChiZine Magazine)
Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins – “Long Time Dead” (Strand Magazine)
Thomas the Tank Engine appears on new set of Royal Mail stamps
One of the world’s best loved children’s characters is to appear on a new set of Royal Mail Stamps.
Thomas the Tank Engine is making the appearance to celebrate the centenary of the birth of creator Reverend W Awdry.
The stamps show iconic images from the television series Thomas & Friends, with the 1st Class stamp featuring Thomas pulling into the station under the guidance of the Fat Controller.
Thomas the Tank Engine was first seen in the book, Thomas the Tank Engine after Reverend W. Awdry created the stories and illustrations to entertain his poorly child, Christopher.
Christopher Awdry said: “My sisters and I are delighted that the centenary of our father's birth is being celebrated with these Royal Mail stamps. He would have been overwhelmed and deeply honoured to have been recognised in this way, and delighted that nearly 70 years after he first told me the stories, they would still be so popular.”
Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson, said: “In this age of bullet trains and high speed travel it’s great to see that children around the world are still enchanted by a little blue tank engine and his friends. "
Further Christchurch earthquakes
Please let everyone know that The Children's Bookshop and staff are okay.
Where Does Change Come From?
I've started reading the Athens News and ekathimerini in the morning in addition to Der Spiegel. I want to see what the EU debt crisis looks like from inside the vortex. If a society was going to change because it's habits had been self-destructive, where would you expect to see it first? The arts? The editorial pages? Fringe bloggers?
NZ's only Booker Prize Winner Keri Hulme talks to Bookman Beattie in response to The Observer's Robert McCrum's suggestion that she has been "silent for decades"
Well Keri you have certainly started something with your comments about VS Naipaul?It appears so, unintentionally...I've had some good feedback via private emails too.
It is interesting that a comment posted on a blog here in New Zealand has ended up in The Observer newspaper in the UK? One cannot underestimate the power of the Internet.
Well, it's not the first time, is it?! And, as all of us know, who enjoy your blog visit daily, your traffic stats show a large overseas visitor component.
Robert McCrum at The Observer suggests that “VS Naipaul's remarks about Jane Austen and other female writers have finally stirred a fellow Booker prize winner – who has been silent for decades – into action. It doesn’t seem to us here in the NZ writing community that you have been “silent for decades” but what is your reaction to this?
"Silent for decades?" That's a really risible comment.. The last book that was published was "Stonefish", a collection of short stories (pub. Huia, 2004.) There were 4 books published between "the bone people" and "Stonefish" (and one before "tbp.") There has also been well over a hundred essays, articles, reviews, and columns published over the last 2 and half decades, not to mention attendance at dozens of lit fests in that period. And interviews beyond my counting - the last week on Radio New Zealand National.
I'd be first admit that I am not a fast writer or hugely productive, but I am a writer. Writer means just that - someone who writes.
And I've been doing that, and getting what I've written published, since I was in my teens. For the past 25 years, I've been self-employed as a writer and made, averaged out, a modest living.
What are you currently working on?
"The Huia Book" (on the bird) for Huia Publishers birthday celebrations this year; "Fisher In An Autumn Tide" (poetry); the long-ongoing twinned novels, and -right after I finish this - my quarterly column for "Te Karaka" (my tribe, Kai Tahu's magazine.)
Of course it has been rumoured for years around the book world here in NZ that you were writing another big novel?
"BAIT" and it's complement, "On Shadowside", have been around since 1986. The novels exist as 890+ pages of typescript, and many drawings, and I continue to work on them when I can. They are not finished yet. Lotto would help!
Footnote:
Dominion Post report
Author photo at top of story - Don Scott, The Press.
Footnote:
Dominion Post report
Author photo at top of story - Don Scott, The Press.
Shut Up, Naipaul!
Cranky old V.S. Naipaul is such an unpleasant bore that Paul Theroux even wrote a book about his lousy, misogynistic ways. Though the old friends-turned-enemies recently reconciled with a handshake. Now, the prickly Trinidadian has compounded his problems with women by telling a writer for the London Evening Standard what can be no surprise to anyone—that he thinks women’s literary work is not as good as men’s in general and his in particular. Women are “unequal” to him, and tend to write “tosh.” He particularly singled out Jane Austen because of her sentimentality.
There is already outrage about Naipaul’s opinion, adjective-wielding critics defending the honor of Jane Austen and the rest of us. Why do we care so much? Aren’t we confusing the man and his work?
Knighthood or no knighthood, literary genius or no literary genius, V.S. Naipaul has no authority when it comes to women’s writing. I don’t care what he thinks about UFOs either, or animal husbandry or plumbing. The guy is a writer; I care about his writing. The man can seethe and fulminate about other things, but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I won’t listen seriously any more than I would ask him to redo the bathroom.
Read Susan Cheever's full piece here.
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