Line

We were lucky enough to spot this on the washing line this morning. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Trivia might

Saturday evening saw us at a trivia night to raise funds for East Timor. It was a great night - where the organisers were determined, as they kept telling us, to put the "fun back into fundraising". And it must have worked - they met their $6k target for the evening. And I was as surprised as anyone that our table (whose name was derived from the 6 or so locales from which our 11 contestants travelled - and which started with H and ended in T and had a whole lot of letters in the middle - and which I can not pronounce let alone remember!) won! Of course, the bribes, which were readily accepted by the judges - in the name of a good cause - would have helped all round.

Suicide

In the considerations of what might have happened to Private Kovco, it occurred to me that I had not actually thought critically about the possibility of suicide - even though I had wondered this on first hearing of his death. Initial reports suggested there were two other personnel in the room with him at the time - and it now occurs to me that people who commit suicide usually do it when they are alone. I wonder if that is actually so.

What happened to ...

... Private Kovco. The first Australian military death in Iraq has been shrouded in confusion and, lately, with anger. Private Kovco was killed by a bullet to his temple. The circumstances regarding discharge of the weapon are unknown. Whether he was the only person in the room at the time, or whether there were in fact two other soldiers with him at the time (as first reported) is unknown. Did the gun discharge because a laptop fell on it? As he was cleaning it? Because it was faulty? And why are details being released as "truth" when they seem to be far from it - especially as there are now several different stories - mostly released by the Defence Minister - doing the rounds.
There can be no doubt that this is a sad time for Private Kovco's family and friends. The suggestion that he could have mishandled his weapon, leading to his death, is unthinkable to his family. The fact that he might have been murdered - not in combat - had not been suggested until this morning when the paper suggested his body would be examined by the homicide squad and forensic investigators when it arrives in Sydney, en route to Melbourne, today.
The circumstances of Private Kovco's death have seemed odd from the start. As my Dad pointed out, even if he had been killed in combat, this was news that was unlikely to be released ... imagine the public outcry if one of our own was killed by enemy fire. No - better to provide different and confusing reports - that way no-one knows what's going on - and don't worry that the inference of suicide can be drawn from the reports. I guess time, and an autopsy will tell - but how much physical evidence is likely to be left given Private Kovco's body has been handled/washed by mortuary personnel preparatory to transport/burial?
Will the truth out?

Cutlery

Who don't they give you cutlery at some restaurants until after you've ordered. The people behind me at Grind (our favourite - most wonderful - brekkie spot in Norton Street, Leichhardt) may have provided part of the answer this morning. "Go and tell them that we want breakfast" mother said to young child, and then started chanting sotto voce "we want breakfast; we want breakfast". Obviously it would have been more compelling if they had been banging on the table with cutlery at the time - as has been seen in a movie or two, usually sent in prisons - and on the TV series Super Nanny. Thank heavens they didn't have any!

Sick of Big Brother?

The sixth season of Australian Big Brother started this week and despite promises to myself (not to) I have watched part of the Launch, and a couple of minutes of the daily sessions this week. I have not watched, and will not be watching, Big Brother Up-Late. But it did get me to thinking - if I am reaching Big Brother saturation levels - what on earth must it be like for Big Brother? He has to be there all the time - and he has the added challenge of making sure what comes out of the house has some entertainment value - otherwise how are all those sponsors going to be kept happy - not to mention the network bosses!?

Pennies from Heaven

Well, maybe it's more a case of "dollars to donuts" rather than "dollars into the bank account". Why? Today, for no reason that I am aware of, I received a telegraphic transfer of just over $AUS1600. The question is - from whence did it come? I noticed the addition when I deposited a birthday cheque today (thanks June - sorry that took so long). So, I checked my account online - or tried to ... the system was "down" - and when it finally came back up, the deposit was there but it only said "telegraphic transfer". So, curious (don't call me curious!), I rang the bank. "It's too early to tell" they told me. Apparently it will take a day or so for all the details to be recorded in their system - but once they are, the details will also be available for me to view online. So, at this stage, the mystery should only last for the weekend - and then I'll know who'll be wanting their money back - and that's the "dollars to donuts" bit - it's "dollars to donuts" that it will need to go back to whence it came. Ah well, as long as I'm not charged transfer fees ...

Local paper

How is it that with our local paper "The Glebe", it has a cover price of $1.20 (incl. GST) but we get a bundle of them delivered to the flats for nothing? When do you get a paid paper for nothing? Or is it a case of having to pay for a free paper ... it's possible that just because it says $1.20 on the cover it doesn't actually mean it's not supposed to be a free paper (or something!).

The Da Vinci Code

The film based on "The Da Vince Code" novel (which may or may not have be based in part on a non-fiction work) is due for release around the world soon. How much opposition to the film and its advertising will be mounted by the
Catholic Church - given the central premise of the book/film is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children and the blood line survives to this day. Already there have been calls for advertising on the side of an under-restoration state-owned church in Rome to be removed because it was a "provocation". And I think I read somewhere that Dan Brown, the author, in answer to possible concerns, pointed out that the was "just a novel" ie as in - it's just a story so what's all the fuss about?

Strange laws

Did you know there is a law in Germany to prevent people from "disturbing a dead person's peace". A woman there now knows this after she was fined for transporting her mother's body across the country to save on mortuary transportation costs. Doesn't really seem fair, does it?

Recruitment database

Finally this hits the news in the US - and it has been a while coming. Back in July last year there was a small item in the media about a database that was being assembled by independent contractors for the US Defense Department. It held details of high school students and was to be used for recruitment purposes.
Seems someone has now cottoned on to this and a federal lawsuit was filed Monday which claims that the Defense Department is violating the privacy of millions of high school students nationwide through use of the database.

Lest We Remember

On the 28th of April it will be 10 years since the massacre at Port Arthur in Tasmania. There has been some debate on the ABC's Media Report (and probably in the wider Australian community - and certainly in Tasmania) about the best way to mark this anniversary - or whether it should be marked at all. Into the fray sauntered The Bulletin magazine - with a 12-page spread about the massacre, with a major focus on "The Murderer". This is a focus the people of Port Arthur would have preferred not been given. Although, in support of The Bulletin's coverage, the editor said they were sure there were people who still wanted to know what had motivated "The Murderer" to open fire on innocents at Port Arthur.
Is there any way the media can truly meet the needs of these dual interests ... a community that wants to remember the victims - and a community that wants to forget (the perpetrator)?

Behind the news

There are some things that you just want to know after reading a news report - and know that you probably won't ever find out. Take this recent headline from Yahoo US News: Moussaoui Jury Can't Have Dictionary.

Jurors in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui asked for but were denied a dictionary Tuesday for use during their deliberations on whether the Sept. 11 conspirator should receive a death sentence or life in prison.

The report I read said the dictionary request was denied because it would have been like receiving new evidence. Jurors were advised they could ask the Judge for any clarifications required. They apparently did not - and the reason for the request for the dictionary is not known.

Heirlooms

It's not unusual for people to keep their precious things wrapped in tissue paper in a wooden box. It is unusual though if that precious thing turns out to be a hot cross bun that was baked in 1899. Margaret Haste, a retired teacher from Suffolk (UK) said the 107-year old bun was a reminder of her mother's sister who died in 1899. The bun was the last thing she tasted before dying - and was kept as a reminder . (This is not to say that it was considered in any way responsible for her death - she had been unwell before the bun arrived). The bun now seems to be a family heirloom, and just as it was passed from her grandmother, to her mother, to her, Margaret will pass it on to her children.

Will the real Monthy Python ...

You have to be game to order things online because you never know what's going to happen. Take the UK family that ordered their new television online - and when they unwrapped it - a snake slithered out of the box. Their three year old saw it first - and his screams alerted his grandparents - but also appear to have startled the snake which reared and bared its fangs. The family, frightened, fled the room, barricaded themselves away from the snake and called for help.
The Scottish SPCA came to the rescue and identified the 10-inch snake as a non-poisonous Children's Python - which has now been named "Monty".

Ouch

I know some people with heart problems have dentistry without anaesthesia - which suggest an amazing tolerance to pain - but they're not the only ones - or the first. Anthropologists have now discovered evidence that as far back as 7000BC, some people in Pakistan were already keeping dental appointments - and having their teeth drilled - but whether this was to do more traditional work - or as a way to release "evil spirits" - or for decorative purpose - is not really known. Of course, the discovering was made ina graveyard - so a question that would be worth asking is whether the teeth were drilled while the patient was still alive. So many questions!

Teaser

I have seen the trailer - although teaser is the way it's described on the Apple site - for the Simpsons movie, due out 27 July 2007. It is not a long trailer, and is not that action packed, in fact, most of the action has Homer sitting on his couch saying he can't remember what to say. It has a great start though - as the camera traces the "S" of the Superman logo with the voiceover "in 2007, leaping his way to the silver screen, the greatest hero in American history" - zoom out to show Homer, on his couch, wearing an ill-fitting "S"uperman t-shirt. Can't wait.

Amazon Changes 'Abortion' Queries

Last month Amazon made a change to its site. It changed the way its search engine reacted to the term "abortion" - so a prompt wouldn't come up asking if the user meant "adoption".
Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith said the prompt was not human intervention. Rather, it was because "Adoption and abortion are the same except for two keystrokes," Smith said. "They also, in this case, happen to be somewhat related terms." However, people who typed in "adoption" didn't see a prompt asking them if they meant "abortion".
The company decided to remove the prompt after an email complaint.

More Bunny

A New York Post story tells of a giant German rabbit - really - and since the original story carries a dateline of February, I don't think it's an April Fools Day joke. And there's at least another one of them, as reported on the Snopes site. This is probably the bit where we hope they never get together ... can you imagine what problems we'd have with batches of these bunnies bouncing around!

Opera House

After Yum Cha in ChinaTown this morning, we went for a walk around Circular Quay and the Opera House - which isn't hard to do when you live in Sydney! But it's amazing how you can actually not know your own city - or what makes up your iconic landmarks. The Opera House was opened in the mid-1970's and here, 30 years later, I have finally realised that it is actually not one structure but several. It makes it even more amazing! [The sixth shot is of the Sydney Harbour Bridge - and two group of "BridgeClimbers" on their way up and over the famous arch. The 7th photo is of the Opera House as we're more used to seeing it (just in case it's been a while).]