With a population of 11,947 adding hundreds of former detainees is changing the social construct of Nauru perhaps?
Cinema: Silent & World; East Asia Culture; Teas; Japan & Korea foods; Literature old & new: In English or Translation; Humour
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With a population of 11,947 adding hundreds of former detainees is changing the social construct of Nauru perhaps?
#BOTD Alan Ladd con Veronica Lake en una foto publicitaria para The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942).
Indeed, there's a box involved there. A little dissemblance required when watching that movie (and likewise many others)
Re Putin & co on extending lifespan, organ swaps etc. Gotta tell you my (advanced) age peers, if you don't change the subject quickly, go on forever to earbash you about that stuff. What's more, Putin can't even do anything about going bald fast. Perhaps Xi and Kim's abundant locks got to him.
'now swept it under the rug' ???
I bet it wasn't on his (very dodgy) CV when he got his new job, nor his antics in New Zealand tourism before he entered politics here.
There are some very skilled cabinet makers in China (thinking of my wooden 5x7 view camera made there, and a few other things) that rival the ones in Japan.
As a tea lover I'd put up with Putin for a few minutes if there was an opportunity to have some Imperial Grade Dragon Well tea, reserved for high rank Communist Party officials and their guests, 'High-end Dragon Well can sell for 15 to over 100 dollars an ounce' www.seriouseats.com/dragon-well-...
It might help to 'fight the drug war' if idiot Americans stopped sticking the stuff into and up various parts of their anatomy and destroyed the market.
I assume that it led to this (very boring to me, but I guess dog fans have rights) TV series where detective Rex returns, again www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/art...
I feel it’s important to once again remind everyone that the greatest movie ever made was released in 1908 and everything else is just battling for distant second youtu.be/qApoxM41NGQ
Last time I passed it I was on my way to Waimarama, retreat of a heap of folk involved in the 60s renaissance of the Kiwi film industry: Bruno Lawrence, Geoff Murphy, Martyn Sanderson,, Alun Bollinger. The days of 'communes'. I think I own one sq metre via a donation to buy the land.
Health Means Stealth. Newsday.com/matt
Something I hesitate to use electronically because I'm not sure if it's cross platform. And I think it's a 'special character' on my antiquated set up.
Here's a fun read that's appropriate currently: 'The Senility of Vladimir Putin' www.thecommononline.org/review-the-s...
I don't know, unless the govt there conceals them, I've never heard of it. I'm also unsure of the grounds that let yeshiva students off, and that issue arises from time to time. There's this complicated film from another period of atrocities www.wsws.org/en/articles/...
History will be gone in 50 years? Or syntax?
Perhaps there's a point at which they have had so many new organs installed that they aren't the same person, and might even turn out to be nice people?
Not to forget that all Israeli citizens are compelled to do national service in the IDF, apart from the 'yeshiva boys'
Ah, but there can be complications, as depicted in this amusing novel www.thecommononline.org/review-the-s...
'Out of sync' indeed. For me, as a once film dialogue editor, that is hardly up to a description. We fussed about half frames (about 1/48 of a second) I've seen videos here that would be 3 or 4 seconds out.
Typefaces. Fonts are Italic, bold, caps, small caps, upper case, lower case. There is still time for prescriptive, not descriptive. Unless you are referring to those basins churches use for baptism.
So soft!
And facial recognition is being considered as one tool for Australia's clumsy proposal for online age verification. What could go wrong?
The witch hunts are accelerating. Sad is definitely the word, particularly for the 'bitter, twisted bigot' opinion; which is allowable now.
Pope Leo received a motorcycle today from the “Jesus Bikers all the way from Germany; Leo signed it and the motorcycle will now be auctioned off for Missio Austria children's aid project in Madagascar. 🇲🇬
(*from 2023*) "In both your cases your prospects of rehabilitation are good” www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10...
'"Good luck with the future, gentlemen," County Court Judge Kellie Blair said to the pair, as she stepped off the bench' and staggered back to the liquor cupboard in her office
He's great. I bought one of his books when I was more active in landscape photography and chasing notable clouds as subject or background. Check out 'Cloud Appreciation Society' around the net.
When we said we wanted pockets, we didn't mean this.
Oh dear (as a male and with plenty of pockets too) I mustn't laugh, but that is the most ludicrous piece of design I've ever seen. Is it an attempt at some sort of women's cod piece?
From a land distant geographically, close (G*d help us) in culture, and equally guilty of the sins of displacement and colonisation, I'd say, in our charming patois: He's up himself. My 'hard scrabble' immigrant Irish great grandfather would laugh at that nonsense.
Memories of Martinborough Pinot Noir cheap as chips in a Masterton pub bottle dept. They didn't know what it was all about. Siebel Red was still around then; I understand that it was grown to establish root stock for the better varieties, and the wine was a byproduct, but I'm far from expert re wine
How did I not know there's a ginormous slide just casually sitting in a park in Pōneke??
Lawyer caught using AI-generated false citations in court case penalised in Australian first
Not all heroes wear capes, sometimes, like Jenny here, they just use puns and homophones.
The Norton Critical Edition for anyone really interested in the story. Two thirds is background and context material. Or Bill Morrison's version 'Spark of Being' using found film www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq4f...
I didn't even know that they had merged. But I don't use any of their products. Kraft here spent many months figuring out what to rebrand their 'Coon' cheddar after resisting appeals to do so, so it may take a while to find out.
Around here the posse nods in agreement with whatever 'good news' the politician is presenting, like those dolls in the rear windows of cars.
I wish that could be me instead of the grumpy old geezer that I can be. Perhaps the leisurely smoking of cigars is the key? Or a partner like Gracie?
They depict Māori ancestors, they have been described as cultural treasures, they are made from wood and shell — and they are now returning home after more than a century overseas.
I have children and grandchildren, citizens of Aotearoa, there. I wouldn't wish this bastard on them. But some of the more robust Maori 'gangs' might make short work of him, so...
My 10-years old son is walking home from school alone for the first time. Kidnappers, drug dealers, strangers? Not worried. Other parents driving SUVs is what I am terrified of.
theconversation.com/how-australi...
One of the two major mosques in Sydney is the Gallipoli Mosque, in a suburb with a significant Turkish emigre population. No hard feelings have ever been expressed, and the small war memorial in a park a km away memorialises both country's fallen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_...
Abuse not required. Go away, and read eminent literary critic Harold Bloom on the KJV. You do claim to be a writer after all; of something other than harangues on social media perhaps?
Looks like, to quote one of the phrases correctly attributed to Mark Twain, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” ― Mark Twain
Hmmm..that front row in the first & widest shot: the coppers bring back memories for older NSW folk of the days of Masons vs Catholics in the force. And is that Gillian Segal next to them?
'Christianity eats shit.' Just as I predicted, the string extends. But you are an 'author' so I suppose respect is expected. Superb use of the English language; perhaps you should spend a little time reading the King James Bible and see how real writers employ it?
It's a very mixed bag, former NSW & Victorian Premiers there too. NSW Premier Bob Carr was Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs briefly: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...
Portugal's foremost twentieth-century poet, Fernando Pessoa, opining on Australia (Portuguese: É-se feliz na Austrália, desde que lá se não vá).
My (badly processed) preserved peas threatened to explode, scars might have occurred if the kids were in the proximity and if they did so.
Me in the lobby of the LA Museum of Art; 'Now what the hell do the Americans call the dunny? I don't need a bath. Ah...men's room, that will do'
Idiot, no wonder no-one follows you.
I found it a curious film, saw it in a cinema and again via streaming. The Icelanders seemed to want to retain their traditional beliefs on one hand and to accept the Lutheran Church on the other. Perhaps it wasn't the best choice of missionary.
Streaming free on SBS On Demand in Australia (only) www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/mov...
“I’m trying to explore my dark side, but I’m beginning to worry that I may not have one” (Chris Madden) www.chrismadden.co.uk/cartoon-gall...
I'm in Australia, and we have both, but mainly a busy school bus system in my area. One run allows adult passengers so I can tell you from traveling on it occasionally that it's a riot of juvenile socialising and interaction, and I'd guess important informal learning.
I hope it works better than the ill fated Paddy's Market in Sydney, which was a desert last time I passed it on my way to the busy shopping centre above it.
Thoughts and prayers #3,478, 633 An 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead after he was shot while running from a home after having rung its doorbell, Houston city officials say. The boy had been ringing doorbells and running as part of a game known as “doorbell ditch” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
A man seen holding a placard depicting alleged police killer Dezi Freeman at an anti-immigration rally in Adelaide on Sunday has been arrested.
New addition to the 'slow cinema' catalogue, if you enjoy the genre: 'April' from Georgia, Eastern Europe, via Mubi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_(...
Deep thinker here.
I thought that the hive had settled that false quote attribution a week ago? But stand by for a string of Bible/Christian haters to respond.
Seiji Ozawa (with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod)- BOTD
My perception of the 'word' is that some in Australia ape the 'unAmerican' expression, made official in the times of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) that persecuted leftish Americans last century.
I normally refrain from 'Zionist this..Zionist that' but it's time to speak up conservative Jewish Australia. I'm sure that you're on their list.
"Our concept for the walls was 'aftermath of a King Midas orgy.' Our inspiration for the fireplace mantel was 'gift table at the nuptials of a historically insignificant Habsburg.' And our direction for the doors was 'whatever gold crap we have left.'"
Interesting event concept. Though there are those in Taiwan who would have it so that there again banned songs in the future focustaiwan.tw/culture/2025...
'Dunny'
It's sad news, and I bought many CDs there when I lived in Auckland, but CDs have been seriously challenged by (inferior) media Sydney CBD has only 3 specialty CD & vinyl shopfronts that I'm aware of plus the usual JB HiFi (not for connoiseurs) random stock.
📢 Online anonymity is often a lifeline for those "most at risk" in the community. Experts say the government's proposed social media ban could cut off vulnerable people from critical digital spaces.
Clarification please! We Down Under wish to know: it's a dog breed n'est-ce pas?
The National Guardners
I'm a learner, but I've found that often 2nd and 3rd steeps can be more appealing than the initial one. Seems to work with Ceylon teas, too. One tea merchant I've shopped with in Sydney was adamant about re-steeping the premium Pu Ehr that he sold, 'all day'
Ever feel like you’ve hit a wall and can’t keep going? You may have run into a #yokai known as nurikabe. Translating as ‘plaster wall,’ this odd phenomenon occurs on roads late at night in the form of a huge invisible wall, blocking the way for travellers. Any attempts to... #MythologyMonday 1/4
No pufflings, nor a teenage Bjork (she was 20 yo) but bleak Icelandic landscapes: 'The Juniper Tree' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jun...
Thank heavens for Don Mei who hammers the point that re-steeping is part of the process.
With everyone and their dog drinking matcha these days (though usually diluted in a pint of milk), I wonder if there will be more interest generally in the pleasures of tea. This Oolong from Taiwan is so vidily floral that you might think it was an orchid flavoured tea.
Taiwan Ali Shan Oolong is my latest discovery (almost so, I've been working on good Ceylon teas) Great stuff. Cheap Daiso Matcha is sufficient for milky mugs or muffins or ice cream.
I think I prefer the summer treatment…winter is a bit too uriney
At least it specifies 'your own'
Artificial intelligence is predicted to influence many sectors of work, and it is no longer a question of if, but how. Yet experts say the technology can also bring opportunities.
Even so I don't know how people afford meat at all. I don't eat it, but I do have a little seafood and I thought Tuna steaks were expensive, but they can be cheaper than that meat you show. Tofu's cheap & versatile, sustains a lot of people around the world.
I bought many CDs there when that was a new medium; great selection of classical music.
SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) is Australia's multicultural and multilingual national broadcaster. Government funded and I believe the outstanding broadcaster in all content in the country.
The little woman at home must have been busy in the week before. And wondering how she could get away from this jerk.
A prototype orgone energy accumulator?
The reign of Samoa's first female prime minister is almost certainly over, with provisional results in Friday's national poll indicating a new government will lead the Pacific nation after months of political turmoil.
In Australia don't shout at the clouds in the Blue Sky about the neo nazis in capital city streets last weekend, write to your MP and let them know that 'the democratic right to protest' is not applicable to anti democratic thugs; or your own expression of outrage. Blue Sky has no power to stop them
I took it as a pun on 'policy'
I don't remember the 'White Australia Policy' being anything like this. Immigration was restricted, the 'Bulletin' masthead said 'Australia for the White Man', the Chinese population was accepted overall; but uniformed thugs chanting 'Heil Australia'? A personal family matter for (born & bred Oz) me
Saw a Kārearea last weekend and helpfully confirmed its identity thanks to the wonderful NZ Birds Online resource that features recordings of its call, such as this delightful one
To my present shame, I did. It was a rural hospital and the sheep farmer potential fathers were making jokes about '200% lambing' ie having twin babies.
Actually, Frankenstein is a doctor success at the Venice film festival
There have been some substantial penalties imposed on major Australian media in the last decade theconversation.com/costly-defam...
When working on the Australian TV series 'Skippy' we of post production had a 'day off' with the 2nd unit picking up stock shots of the kangaroo. There were a half dozen of them, those not in a mood to 'perform' were put back int their carrier bags and another chosen. Tail wagging wasn't a thing.
This is my favorite thing about dogs used in horror and thrillers: pay close attention and you'll see a lot of high, wagging tails, as the dogs are very pleased with themselves because they did the trick.