Thursday, July 16, 2009

Australian for 'Culture'


Australia's "Big Things" are to be listed officially as National Heritage sites. BambooWeb offers the following list (or check out Wikipedia's entry):

Western Australia
  • The Big Crocodile, Wyndham - 3m x 18m
  • The Big Banana, Carnarvon - 6m x 1m
  • The Big Apple, Donnybrook - 7m x 4m
  • The Big Ram, Wagin - 8m x 10m

South Australia

  • The Big Orange, Berri - 15m x 12m
  • The Big Lobster, Kingston - 17m x 15m
  • The Big Scotsman, Medindie (Adelaide) - 5m x 1m
  • The Big Rocking Horse, Gumeracha - 18m x 17m
  • The Big Miner, Kapunda - 8m x 2m
  • The Big Winch, Coober Pedy - 8m x 5m
  • The Big Galah, Kimba - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Roo, Border Village - 5m x 2m

Victoria

  • The Big Murray Cod, Swan Hill - 3m x 9m
  • The Giant Ned Kelly, Glenrowan - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Pheasant, Tynong - 8m x 17m
  • The Big Worm, Bass - 250m x 4m
  • The Big Woolbales, Hamilton - 3m x 12m
  • The Giant Koala, Dadswells Bridge - 14m x 8m

Tasmania

  • The Big Penguin, Penguin - 3m x 1m
  • The Big Tasmanian Devil, Mole Creek - 2m x 3m
New South Wales

  • The Big Wine Cask, Wentworth - 6m x 8m
  • The Big Playable Guitar, Narrandera - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Murray Cod, Tocumwal - 2m x 7m
  • The Big Trout, Adaminaby - 10m x 3m
  • The Big Merino, Goulburn - 15m x 18m
  • The Big Cherries, Young - 2m x 4m
  • The Big Gold Panner, Bathurst - 5m x 3m
  • The Big Chook, Mt Vernon - 4m x 4m
  • The Big Wine Bottle, Pokolbin (Hunter Valley) - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Oyster, Taree - 4m x 12m
  • The Big Bull, Wauchope - 14m x 21m
  • The Big Golden Guitar, Tamworth - 12m x 4m
  • The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour - 11m x 2m
  • The Big Prawn, Ballina - 6m x 9m

A.C.T.

  • The Big Mushroom, Belconnen - 4m x 8m

Queensland

  • The Big Barramundi, Normanton - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Barramundi, Daintree - 6m x 2m
  • The Big Captain Cook, Cairns - 7m x 2m
  • The Big Marlin, Cairns - 8m x 2m
  • The Big Cassowary, Mission Beach - 5m x 5m
  • The Big Gumboot, Tully - 8m x 6m
  • The Big Mango, Bowen - 12m x 8m
  • The Big Rum Bottle, Bundaberg - 6m x 1m
  • The Big Mandarin, Mundubbera - 11m x 15m
  • The Big Ned Kelly, Maryborough - 8m x 2m
  • The Big Shell, Tewantin - 3m x 1m
  • The Big Stubby, Tewantin - 9m x 4m
  • The Big Cow, Nambour - 6m x 10m
  • The Big Pineapple, Nambour - 16m x 6m
  • The Big Macadamia nut, Nambour - 5m x 10m
  • The Big Redback, Brisbane - 3m x 3m
  • The Big Hard Rock Guitar, Surfer's Paradise - 10m x 3m
  • The Big Apple, Stanthorpe - 4m x 3m

Northern Territory

  • The Big Boxing Crocodile, Humpty Doo - 8m x 8m
  • The Big Stockwhip, Acacia - 7m x 10m

Hottest 100

Australia's JJJ radio completed its latest poll of the "Hottest 100." The poll dates back to 1989 (go here for prior results), with most polls targeting only on the H-100 for the previous year. However, this year, to commemorate the original H-100 in 1989, JJJ asked for the H-100 of all time (with all time presumably being the modern era of Rock and/or Roll).

The list is, in a word, strange and would appear to represent a clash of generations (X, Y, with a few baby boomers thrown in). OK, so Nirvana comes in at #1, yada, yada, yada. Could have seen that coming from miles away (although it's pretty ordinary as far as Nirvana songs go). But in at #4 is Joy Division with a song that took the #1 spot back in 1989 - it's only slipped 3 spots in 20 years. Not to shabby. There's much love for Radiohead as well as Jeff Buckley and his crooning of songs he didn't write. How Blink 182 comes in above the Stones defines reason, and I won't even get into the myriad absences. Ah well, all for fun right?

  1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
  2. Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name
  3. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
  4. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
  5. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
  6. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
  7. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
  8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
  9. Foo Fighters - Everlong
  10. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
  11. John Lennon - Imagine
  12. Oasis - Wonderwall
  13. Radiohead - Creep
  14. The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
  15. Radiohead - Karma Police
  16. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
  17. Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section
  18. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
  19. Metallica - One
  20. White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
  21. Powderfinger - These Days
  22. Massive Attack - Teardrop
  23. Hunters & Collectors - Throw Your Arms Around Me
  24. The Beatles - A Day in the Life
  25. Pearl Jam - Alive
  26. Michael Jackson - Thriller
  27. Powderfinger - My Happiness
  28. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
  29. Pixies - Where Is My Mind?
  30. Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
  31. Metallica - Enter Sandman
  32. New Order - Blue Monday
  33. Silverchair - Tomorrow
  34. The Living End - Prisoner Of Society
  35. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
  36. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Into My Arms
  37. Tool - Stinkfist
  38. The Killers - Mr Brightside
  39. Pearl Jam - Better Man
  40. Nirvana - Come As You Are
  41. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
  42. Bloc Party - Banquet
  43. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
  44. The Beatles - Hey Jude
  45. Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
  46. Faith No More - Epic
  47. John Butler Trio - Betterman
  48. Beastie Boys - Sabotage
  49. Guns 'N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
  50. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
  51. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
  52. You Am I - Berlin Chair
  53. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
  54. The Cure - Close To Me
  55. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
  56. Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should Have Come Over
  57. Tool - Forty Six & 2
  58. Daft Punk - Around The World
  59. Augie March - One Crowded Hour
  60. Johnny Cash - Hurt
  61. Blur - Song 2
  62. Nine Inch Nails - Closer
  63. AC/DC - Thunderstruck
  64. Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
  65. Underworld - Born Slippy
  66. Elton John - Tiny Dancer
  67. Ben Folds Five - Brick
  68. Blink 182 - Dammit
  69. Jeff Buckley - Grace
  70. The Prodigy - Breathe
  71. The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
  72. The Shins - New Slang
  73. The Clash - London Calling
  74. Nirvana - Lithium
  75. Green Day - Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
  76. The Stone Roses - Fools Gold
  77. Gotye - Hearts A Mess
  78. Smashing Pumpkins - Today
  79. David Bowie - Life on Mars
  80. The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
  81. Pulp - Common People
  82. System Of A Down - Chop Suey!
  83. Placebo - Every You Every Me
  84. Bob Marley & The Wailers - No Woman, No Cry
  85. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
  86. The Beatles - Come Together
  87. Coldplay - Yellow
  88. The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
  89. Rage Against the Machine - Bulls On Parade
  90. Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
  91. AC/DC - Back In Black
  92. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
  93. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
  94. Modest Mouse - Float On
  95. Stevie Wonder - Superstition
  96. Daft Punk - One More Time
  97. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
  98. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
  99. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
  100. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

A Nation of 'Mummy's Boys'

A new article on our favourite Australian cultural phenomenon:

A nation of 'mummy's boys'
July 8, 2009 - 4:08PM .

Australian mothers are breeding a generation of "mummies' boys", new data reveals.
Social demographer Bernard Salt says new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 27 per cent of men aged between 20 and 34 are still living with their parents - double the proportion of women. more

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Climate Change and Social Justice


Melbourne University Press has published a new book entitled Climate Change and Social Justice. The edited volume covers the gambit of issues (responsibility for climate change, intergenerational equity, health, environmental refugees, adaptation and equity in climate policy) from the likes of Ross Garnaut, David Karoly and Jon Barnett among others. I bring up the rear with Chapter 12: Equitable Climate Policy in a Dangerous World. The Introduction by Jeremy Moss provides a good overview of the various chapters.

Get your copy here.