Vegemite

For the past two days, my lunch-time companions and I have been discussing the history of Vegemite, or rather, we've been discussing our complete lack of knowledge regarding where such a substance could have come from and postulating as to its origins. Here's the answer:

History of Vegemite

In 1922, Fred Walker (1884-1935) of Melbourne, Australia decided to try to make a special "yeast extract" that would be as delicious as it was nourishing for his Fred Walker Cheese Company to sell. The chief scientist in the company Fred owned was Dr. Cyril P. Callister, and it was Dr. Callister who invented the first Vegemite spread. He used brewer's yeast and blended the yeast extract with ingredients like celery, onion, salt, and a few secret ingredients to make this paste. In 1912, a national competition and a prize of 50 pounds was offered to the winner or winners to name the new product.. The name ‘Vegemite’ was finally chosen from the entries by Fred’s daughter Sheilah .

With its unusual and unique flavor, Vegemite was not an immediate success and sales were slow. In 1928 Vegemite was renamed and registered as Parwill in an attempt to boost its sales and to attract customers of the rival spread Marmite (an English yeast spread that dominated the Australian market sinc 1910). "If Marmite...then Parwill" was the rationale behind Walker's strategy to carve a niche in the market for his spread. The name Parwill and Walker's play on words didn't catch on. It was only sold as Parwill for a short time in Queensland. The name was withdrawn in 1935, and the original name was reinstated.

Earlier, in 1925, Walker had arranged with the Chicago, Illinois firm of James L. Kraft to make processed cheese in Australia. A company called the Kraft Walker Cheese Co. was established alongside Fred Walker and Co. In 1935, Walker used the success of his processed cheese to launch a new campaign to revive Vegemite. The company launched 2-year coupon redemption scheme whereby a jar of Vegemite was given away with every purchase of other products in the Fred Walker Cheese Company. Australians tried the product and loved it. Vegemite was well and truly on the road to success.

Two years later, the company held a poetry competition and once again brought Vegemite into the national spotlight. This time its success the prizes were imported American Pontiac cars. Entries flooded in and sales multiplied.

In 1935, the recipe and manufacturing methods was sold to Kraft Foods and has been wholly owned and made by American companies. In 1939 Vegemite received endorsement from the British Medical Association which allowed doctors to recommend it as a Vitamin B-rich, nutritionally balanced food for patients.

In World War II, soldiers, sailors, and the civilian population of Australia all had Vegemite included in their rations. Soldiers’ Vegemite came in three sizes: seven-pound tins for the platoon, eight-ounce tins for soldiers on the go, and half-ounce rations for behind enemy lines. This war-time demand meant that civilian were limited. Hence, advertisements were run to explain the situation: “Vegemite fights with the men up north! If you are one of those who don’t need Vegemite medicinally, then thousands of invalids are asking you to deny yourself of it for the time being.”

The main change to the original recipe in recent years has been to reduce the salt content from 10% to 8%.

Crawl Out of Shape III

Sunday morning, we ran the final in the so-called Spring into Shape race series. We opted to conduct an experiment to see if avoiding exercise for a few weeks would improve our time. I think we've got to reject that hypothesis. We finished in 45:53, which is somewhat of a surprise, given we both felt awful during the race. This time was a few minutes off Race #2's time of 43:52, but allegedly still ahead of Race #1's time of 46:14. The only amusement we got out of the event was the long list of improbable people who passed us, including three grandmothers and two pregnant women, not to mention the blind opossum and the three-legged dog.

Happy Birthday

Once again, the Frankston line has proven to be an excellent place for meeting some of Australia's more interesting characters. I alluded to my encounter with Repo Man and Hip-Hop Boy in a previous post - both good stories, but ones I'm too lazy to tell. Friday night provided another good story, however, as I encountered Donna and three other young women with names ending in "ie" (insert whatever generic name you like, I forget). "_ie" was celebrating her 19th birthday, and thus as I entered Aspendale station, I was urged by the others to pay my respects with a cheery "Happy Birthday". I did so, which prompted squeals of "YOU'RE AN AMERICAN!!!!". I'm not sure when anyone got this excited about meeting an American, but I'm fairly sure it was prior to George Bush taking office. In any case, I'm also confident that the high praise I received for being a yank was almost entirely a function of the large amounts of alcohol the young ladies had consumed (and continued to consume while waiting for the train). Another of the "_ie" girls had just returned from South Carolina, where I'm sure she blended right in, as the culture of many parts of eastern Port Philip Bay is rather similar to that of coastal South Carolina). The girls were on their way to Mentone, I believe, to spend their Friday night celebrating "_ie's" birthday at a local club, so I had the pleasure of their company for a few stops. I was quizzed on all things American (e.g., Disneyland, southern accents, television, celebrities) and American impressions of Australians - I answered "yes" when asked if I thought Australians drink too much (the ladies offering themselves as a case-in-point), but "no" when asked if I thought all Australians were uneducated bogans.

I'm starting to believe that Aspendale station will be the source of the vast majority of my amusing anecdotes involving Australia.

Happy 19th "_ie", wherever you are. . .

Priestly Cup

Yesterday was the annual Priestly Cup round-robin soccer tournament and barbie. Four teams took the field for another manifestation of allegedly old rivalries among the climate folks at CSIRO, Monash Uni, Melbourne Uni, and the Bureau of Met. My initial optimism was crushed after a sudden, last-minute epidemic of the "better things to do" left us hard pressed to field a team. My spirits dipped lower when I arrived on site and heard quite a few British and European accents among our competition. And I also wasn't quite used to playing amidst swarms of flies [seriously, Australia has a fly problem. It's kind of gross.] We gave it a good go, but fell 2-1 and 2-0 during the first two games, but we held the juggernaut of Monash Uni scoreless despite their triumph over the other two teams. We then ate hot sausages (and a few flies, no doubt) and drank cold beer.

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey gobbled up in 12 minutes: Woman crowned gobbling champion

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A day before millions of Americans sit down to eat traditional Thanksgiving dinners, a Virginia woman grabbed the world turkey-eating title on Wednesday by gobbling down a whole roast bird in 12 minutes.

Naked Man Dies In Jump From Downtown Office

From the Washington Post

A naked man darted from a sport-utility vehicle into a downtown Washington office building at lunchtime yesterday and then jumped to his death from the eighth floor, officials said.

The man double-parked in the 1000 block of 15th Street NW about noon, bolted from his still-running gray Jeep Cherokee, dashed past a crowd on the street and ran into the lobby of an office building, witnesses said.

The man pushed his way into one of the offices, where he said "excuse me" several times while charging toward a window, witnesses said. He smashed the glass and jumped through the window, falling onto a parapet between two buildings. Some downtown workers saw him fall.

Before it became apparent what was taking place, the city's parking enforcers reacted to the abandoned SUV, which had leather seats, Maryland plates and no sign of clothing inside. They slapped a ticket on the windshield.

The Show Must Go On. . .

. . .even if no one watches.

Australian Idol wrapped up its third season last night with a grand finale at the Sydney Opera House. Despite the hype, many appear to have finally caught on to the fact that the show is rubbish - viewing of this season's final was down 43% compared to last season. Possible explanations: it appears Australia's talent has already shown signs of depeletion after three seasons. Plus with copycat shows popping up, the public may have finally decided enough is enough. Nevertheless, another season is scheduled. Joy.

Oh, and the winner was some girl from Bendigo.

Bush To Increase Funding For Hope-Based Initiatives

From The Onion (November 23, 2005 | Issue 41•47)

WASHINGTON, DC—President Bush announced today that he will sign a bill providing an additional $2.8 billion for private organizations that emphasize the importance of hoping for change.

Bush presents his plan to fund organizations that hope for change.
"This bill acknowledges the immeasurable role of hope in envisioning a better world for everyone," Bush said during a press conference. "Starting today, I ask all Americans to hope together as one nation that the difficult problems that grip our nation will go away someday."

The president's move will help direct federal funds to such groups as the National Hope Foundation, which has been hoping for a cure for cancer for nearly two decades.

"There are many in our country who are without hope," Bush said. "Yet there are many respected organizations in America that are actively hoping things get better. This program will assist these organizations in obtaining government grants, which will allow them to continue the important hoping that must be done."

Among the programs likely to receive funding is Project Hope You Don't Get Sick, a non-profit organization hoping that over 45 million Americans receive the proper health care they need.

Dream Job United, another likely recipient, is a widely acclaimed program in which the ill-prepared and uneducated are trained to hope for job interviews at top companies.

Another project slated for assistance in is a Louisiana-based teen-pregnancy reduction program, in which volunteers hope teens abstain from intercourse.

Under the bill, wish-based initiatives will also be eligible for increased funding. Dozens of independent wishful-thinking foundations, such as America Wishes Things Were Better, expect to receive grants to fund distribution of pennies, wishbones, and birthday candles.

Those with wishes and hopes applauded the president's move, saying that faith alone cannot rectify the nation's social ills.

"Faith-based problem-solving is noble, but we should not discount the power of hope," said veteran hoper Howard Thorndike, who heads the Please Oh Please Institute, a Houston-based wish tank. "'Hail Mary' strategies, for example, are a part of the fabric of our nation, from the football field to the boardroom, and our government ignores such traditions at its peril."

Bush echoed Thorndike's sentiments. "As your president, I have seen firsthand what hoping can do," he said. "I have heard stories of decent people trapped under piles of rubble, and I have hoped that they would be rescued. And eventually, many were. Recently, powerful storms and destructive hurricanes ravaged some of our great cities. I hope that you will join me in wishing that we do not get hit by any more of those."

Bush added: "Laura and I hope every night that good things will happen for our great country. My fellow Americans, I call on you to do the same."

November

Much of the month has come and gone without me writing a damn thing - largely due to my absence last week from the office. Here's what's been happening:

1)A woman on a flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane attempted to step out of the plane for a cigarette

2)I met "Repo Man" and "Hip-Hop Boy" (on separate days) while waiting for trains in Aspendale Station

3)I attended Greenhouse 2005 and the Priestly Workshop

4)We saw Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

5)Uta represented her company on the tennis court – played well and downed a few opponents, but wasn't able to bring home gold.

6)I watched some zookeepers feed lions

7)Uta’s sister Katrin ended her vacation and returned to Munich

8)Australia’s Wheat Board has become one more in the long list of global companies involved in Iraq’s oil-for-food scandal

9)Model Michelle Leslie was released from Indonesian jail after serving 3 months for drug possession and almost immediately dropped all pretences of being a Muslim. She's now the favorite target of the Australian media - perhaps a fate worse than prison

10)We attended a cocktail party thrown by one of my colleagues

11)While out with Uta's Capgemini crew, I investigated how many Australian drinks it takes for me to incapacitate myself - about the same as in the States, despite my attempt to drink backwards

12)I did an interview for the ABC program “Four Corners”, to air sometime in January (?)

13)I got a raise (along with every other CSIRO employee)

14)I had drinks at the Belgian Beer Café

15)We finalized our travel plans for our South Australian Christmas (we’re unlikely to see any snow)

16)Australia’s annual celebration of youthful excess and poor judgment is underway as the “Schoolies” invade the Gold Coast

17)The Socceroos (crap, what a horrible name for a team) defeated Uruguay to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1974

18) We paid another visit to Der Raum, our friendly neighborhood German/American fusion cocktail lounge

19) Melbourne has erected the town Christmas tree in Federation Square - it's aluminum (hey - bushfire season is here you know)

Raid II

France may be the current leader in civil unrest at the moment, but sparks flew in Melbourne yesterday as the various suspects apprehended during Australia's terror raids appeared in court. Several angry youths showed up in support of their comrades, only to declare a minor jihad on Australia's media. The downside of picking a fight with television cameramen is that they tend to get it all on tape.

IR Reform

Australia's Labor and Liberal parties are currently engaged in a fierce battle over the Howard government's new Industrial Relations laws. The IR laws govern employee rights, which Liberals have argued are an unnecessary burden on employers and the Australian economy. Meanwhile, Labor counters that the laws are a hand-out to big business and threaten to undermine the wages, benefits, and job security of Australia's workers. Labor members have been using the talking point that the new IR laws will create an "American style working poor." A bit harsh, but perhaps fair - Australia's minimum wage stands at $467.40 per week or $12.30 per hour, compared with $5.15 per hour in the U.S. Both parties are spending millions on ad campaigns to influence public opinion, and Labor has its issue for the next election.

Raid

Alleged potential terrorists have been rounded up in Sydney and Melbourne in several police raids. The raids come one week after the announcement of "credible" terrorist threats in Australia and new legislation broadening the power of police in handling terrorist investigations.

Saturday

With Uta seemingly forever in Sydney, I joined up with Giovanni (aka, G-man) for some neighborhood bar hopping. We started at the patio in the Public House, before it become a bit too stuffy with an excess of fancy people in search of post-race refreshment (G-man in particular found the race fans somewhat distasteful, referring to horse racing as "the lowest sport known to man"). We then moved next door to the more working class beer garden at The Swan, until a drunkard put us on the outs with the bartender. We subsequently headed down the street to the newly renovated Richmond Club Hotel, where we stayed for several hours.

Poor Fitty

The man is still trying to keep him down. . .

Cricket Season

Cricket season is well underway here, and for those of you in a non-cricket oriented nation, have no fear - the game is only a Sony Playstation away.

Shoes are Your Friends

With Spring comes the return of another curious Australian phenomenon. As the temperatures rise, the shoes come off, and a large number of people can be found roaming the streets sans footwear. Whether this is a springtime rite of passage to toughen one's disposition for the long, hot summer or an attempt to develop a better relationship with the Earth, I don't know. Personally, given all the dangerous things that lie at ground level here, I'm contemplating having boots permanently attached to my feet.

Wildlife

I've decided to write a book entitled, Things in Australia that Won't Hurt You. It shouldn't take long to write, given that the entire book will consist on one word: Koalas (although there will be a footnote warning that although mostly harmless, these cuddly creatures can have a nasty disposition).

Everything else, however, is quite dangerous. Case and point - last week, I was enjoying lunch out in the sunny garden located at our office. At the time, I was engaged in conversation, at which point something was said that was either hysterically funny, or patently absurd. Whatever the cause, I ended up falling backward off the bench I was sitting on. [Now it should be noted that this qualified as an occupational safety and health "incident", but I declined to fill out the appropriate paperwork.] In any case, falling backwards while seated at a height of about 18 inches is typically not cause for concern, especially when one has a nice plush lawn of grass to break one's fall. However, I instinctively put my hands out to further augment by descent. As my hands made contact with the ground, I became acutely aware that the grass within our garden here at CSIRO is unlike anything I'm used to from the states. You may be familiar with the expression "blades of grass". In this case, this is a very apt description. Whatever strange form of low-lying vegetation I landed on pierced the skin on my hands in about a dozen places, leaving them looking like a pair of pin cushions. Undoubtedly my wounds were also infected with some strange slow-acting, necrotic poison and it's only a matter of time before I swell up and die.

In the meantime, spring here in Australia brings the return of other types of wildlife, largely in the form of small winged creatures that will pester you ceaselessly and crawl into any and every orifice you present. Some people call these things flies. I call them Satan.

Sociobiology

A recent study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences provides a sociobiological excuse for the fixation of males on the physical characteristics of women - they're just trying to maximize reproductive fitness:

Facial appearance is a cue to oestrogen levels in women

M.J. Law Smith A1, D.I. Perrett A1, B.C. Jones A1, R.E. Cornwell A1, F.R. Moore A1, D.R. Feinberg A1, L.G. Boothroyd A1, S.J. Durrani A1, M.R. Stirrat A1, S. Whiten A2, R.M. Pitman A2, S.G. Hillier A3

A1 University of St Andrews School of Psychology St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
A2 University of St Andrews School of Medicine St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK
A3 University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Biology Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK

Abstract:

Although many accounts of facial attractiveness propose that femininity in women's faces indicates high levels of oestrogen, there is little empirical evidence in support of this assumption. Here, we used assays for urinary metabolites of oestrogen (oestrone-3-glucuronide, E1G) and progesterone (pregnanediol-3-glucuronide, P3G) to investigate the relationship between circulating gonadal hormones and ratings of the femininity, attractiveness and apparent health of women's faces. Positive correlations were observed between late follicular oestrogen and ratings of femininity, attractiveness and health. Positive correlations of luteal progesterone and health and attractiveness ratings were marginally significant. Ratings of facial attributions did not relate to hormone levels for women wearing make-up when photographed. There was no effect of sex of rater on the relationships between oestrogen and ratings of facial appearance. These findings demonstrate that female facial appearance holds detectable cues to reproductive health that are considered attractive by other people.

Alito

I received an email today from Progress for America, asking me to please donate $25 (or more) to help support the nomination of Alito to the Supreme Court. In the email, it was stated that "the Left is planning to break with tradition and fight the President's Supreme Court nominee."

Tradition? Must be a new tradition, given that it was the right that just torpedoed the Miers nomination.

I think I'll save my $25 for the ACLU - looks like they'll be needing all the help they can get.

By the way, isn't Alito a brand of breath mint?

News from the Heartland

To find out the latest news from the middle of Australia, check out Alice Springs News

Miss Seventeen

There was a segment on Good Morning America yesterday (yes, we even get GMA, but it airs here between 5 and 7 am and its a day behind) about MTV's new reality show Miss Seventeen.

MTV describes its new reality TV show, Miss Seventeen as follows:

"Miss Seventeen puts 17 accomplished and ambitious young women in a Manhattan loft to compete in weekly character-testing challenges, all under the watchful eye of Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein. The winning girl will receive a prize package including a college scholarship and a paid internship at Seventeen. None of the contestants are strangers to success, but will they be able to keep their cool when the stakes get high?"

Uh, let me guess. . . no? Sounds like hell.

In carrying out this research, I found a website that demonstrates that the only thing more inane than reality TV is what happens behind the scenes. I'm sad to report to all of you that the scale on the Biggest Loser is allegedly fake. Bummer.

Avalon

Katrin (who arrived Thursday) and I flew out to Sydney Friday evening. Taking advantage of cheap airfare on Jetstar, we opted for a flight out of Avalon airport (rather than Melbourne's main airport of Tullamarine). This necessitated an hour long bus ride to the west of town toward Geelong, which included a stop in Werribee to pick-up an additional passenger. That passenger was initially missing, but after some phone calls he was eventually located in the TAB next to the bus station - apparently he'd decided to have a beer and play a few slots while waiting for his ride. We eventually arrived at Avalon and were a bit surprised to find that there were no planes. Anywhere. No one else seemed concerned, however, so we just checked-in at the shack/airport terminal and grabbed a bite to eat. Sure enough, a plane did eventually come along and took us off to Sydney, although we remained perplexed as to why an entire airport exists to service what appears to be a single plane. In any case, Avalon now goes down in my book as the smallest commercial airport I've ever seen. In comparison, the airports of Newport News, Virginia, Bloomington, Illinois, Key West, Florida, Aspen, Colorado, and San Andreas, Colombia are gigantic.

Greenpeace Attacks Coral Reef

Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior II recently declared war on a coral reef as it ran aground due to allegedly faulty navigation charts.

Hat-Trick for Diva

For the third year in a row, Makybe Diva has won the Melbourne Cup, the first horse ever to achieve such a milestone. Questions are being asked as to whether the legacy of the Diva(who promptly retired from racing after the victory) will surpass that of Phar Lap, a beloved icon of Australian horse racing. As I was once again in Sydney, I didn't catch the race, although at only three minutes and 19 seconds, it was pretty easy to miss. What couldn't be missed, however, was the plethora of truly tasteless dresses the women of Australia donned to commemorate the event. Even in Sydney, the fashion display was in full gear. I'm quite sure many an Australian dame went home last night with blistered feet and/or sunburned cleavage (particularly in Melbourne where race day temperatures climbed to 31C).

Back of the Bus

Parks
Originally uploaded by BLP.