Saturday, November 19, 2011

Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas

"To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboatbobbing sea." - opening lines, spoken by First Voice

"You can hear the dew falling, and the hushed town breathing."

"Only your eyes are unclosed to see the black and folded town fast, and slow, asleep."

"And you alone can hear the invisible starfall, the darkest-before- dawn minutely dewgrazed stir of the black, dab-filled sea where the Arethusa, the Curlew and the Skylark, Zanzibar, Rhiannon, the Rover, the Cormorant, and the Star of Wales tilt and ride."

"Listen. It is night moving in the streets, the processional salt slow musical wind in Coronation Street and Cockle Row, it is the grass growing on Llareggub Hill, dewfall, starfall, the sleep of birds in Milk Wood."

"From where you are, you can hear their dreams."

"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood" - prayer of the Reverend Eli Jenkins

"Black as a chimbley!"

"And No-Good Boyo is up to no good... in the wash house."

“And before you let the sun in, mind it wipes its shoes.”

“Here’s your arsenic dear,
And your weed killer biscuit.
I’ve throttled your parakeet.
I’ve spat in the vases.
I’ve put cheese in the mouse holes.
Here’s your….
…. Nice tea, dear.”

“From Beynon Butchers in Coronation Street, the smell of fried liver sidles out with onions on its breath…”









Images from Heidelberg Theatre Company Production 17 Nov - 3 Dec 2011

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Margaret Calvert & Jock Kinneir - Street Sign Graphic Design

Jock Kinneir (1917-1974) and Margaret Calvert (1936-) redesigned Britain's road and motorway signage system in the 1960s. This included the use of pictographic signs, a new font, clearly readable signs, and standardised colours and shape. They decided to adopt the continental style of using pictograms rather than words on the road signs, and Calvert drew most of the pictograms in the friendly, curvaceous style of Transport.

Margaret Calvert (1936-)

Children crossing sign - 1964 - Eager to make the school children crossing sign more accessible, Calvert replaced the image of a boy in a school cap leading a little girl, with one of a girl – modelled on a photograph of herself as a child – with a younger boy. Calvert described the old sign as being: “quite archaic, almost like an illustration from Enid Blyton… I wanted to make it more inclusive because comprehensives were starting up.”

Modern Australian version of children crossing sign.

Men at Work Pictograph - 1964 - (Kinneir & Calvert)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Maldon Fraternal Society

What was it? 

The Maldon Fraternal Society was a mutual support and friendship organisation formed so that people who had migrated from Maldon to Melbourne could keep in contact with each other and the people they had left behind. 

BACK TO MALDON

MALDON, Monday -The "Back to Maldon" celebrations were continued on Saturday, when cricket, rifle, and tennis matches, in the whole of which the local competitors were victorious, took place. At the Maldon Fraternal Society concert in the evenlng £45 was taken at the doors in aid of charity. On Sunday afternoon this society held a charity service at the hospital grounds, and £30 and 10/4d was taken at the collection.

The Fraternal Society, from Melbourne, took a prominent part in the festivities. The "Comebacks" Band led the procession and the streets were thronged with visitors. Prior to the sports, Councillor Bowen (shire president) entertained the State Premier (Hon H S Lawson), officials of the Fraternal Society, and those of the Easter Fair committee at luncheon.The sports were officially opened by the Premier. The gate receipts were £84 1/-. (The Argus 2nd April 1918 p.10).


 
Maldon District Fraternal Society - Melbourne Syllabus 1953

MALDON Fraternal Society - Dance and Euchrce. Masonic Hall, Leeds St, Footscray, Saturday, 7th. Come Back Orchestra. (The Argus 6th May 1921 p.1).

MALDON.- The following officers have been appointed for the 1924 charity Easter fair:-   President, Mr. J. Bryson, vice-presidents, Messrs. J. J. Hutsh and G. Kingsley, secretary, Mr. H. James, treasurer, Mr. W. B. Apperley. The Maldon Fraternal Society (Melbourne) with Mr. J. Phillips as president. Messrs. J. D. Boyd and J. H. Mitchell, joint honorary secretaries, are  Melbourne organisers, and the "Comeback" brass band has again been invited (The Argus 7th Feb 1924 p.12).

The Maldon Fraternal Society will hold their annual picnic at Caulfield Park on Australia   Day, Jan 30. Hot water and milk provided. All invited. (The Argus, 18th Jan 1939, p.12).

MALDON Fraternal Society. Social, Scott's Hall, Sept. 23. Adm. 2/ (The Argus, 28 September 1946, p.29).




Gift of Maldon Fraternal Society - 1853-1953 Pioneer Memorial

The Sons of Clovis (Ern Malley Affair)

 The Sons of Clovis: Ern Malley, Adore Floupette and a secret history of Australian poetry
Author: David Brooks
The Sons of Clovis is a scholarly tour de force. It begins with the Ern Malley affair, establishing previously unrecognised connections between the Australian scene and French symboliste poetry, before embarking on a fascinating journey through literature, culture, and poetics.

Making full use of his skills as novelist, poet, and scholar, David Brooks has created a page-turning literary history with the narrative tension of a thriller.

In the mid-1940s, writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart submitted a series of poems to the modernist literary magazine, Angry Penguins, under the fictitious name Ern Malley. In a flurry of excitement, the poems were published in a special edition proclaiming the discovery of an important new Australian voice. When the hoax was exposed, it occupied the front page of newspapers around the nation for weeks. It is still Australia’s best-known and most talked-about literary hoax.



For the past twenty years, David Brooks has been on a quest to find the inspiration for the hoax and this journey has uncovered astounding facts that will overturn all previous assumptions about the hoax and its origins. The resulting book is not just an account of the Ern Malley hoax; it is also a fascinating study of literary hoaxes and poetry in general. Written in a playful narrative style that takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey, The Sons of Clovis will be one of the most talked-about literary books of 2011.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Bursaria Spinosa - Landscaping for small birds

Bursaria spinosa


Family:     Pittosporaceae
Distribution:     Widespread in open forest and woodland in coastal Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Common Name:     Blackthorn; sweet bursaria; Christmas bush
Derivation of Name:   
Bursaria...from Latin, bursa, a purse, alluding to the purse-like seed capsules.
spinosa... From Latin spinosus, spiny or thorny, referring to the spiny branches.
Conservation Status:     Not considered to be at risk in the wild.



 Bursaria spinosa is an erect, prickly shrub to about 3-4 metres tall. The leaves are an elongated oval shape 20-45 mm long and up to 12 mm wide, green above and hairy beneath. The flowers are creamy-white, sweetly scented, about 7-10 mm in diameter and borne in dense terminal panicles. Flowers are usually seen in mid summer, around Christmas time, which gives rise to the common name of 'Christmas Bush' in Tasmania and South Australia. Flowers are followed by flattened, purse-shaped seed capsules about 10 mm x 10 mm.



Blackthorn is not especially popular in cultivation because of its prickly habit. However, it is a very useful plant, not only for its summer flowering but its dense, prickly branches provide protection for smaller birds against predators. The flowers are also an important source of nectar for butterflies. It is a hardy species which prefers a sunny or lightly shaded situation in most reasonably drained soils. Plants can become 'leggy' and annual pruning is desirable to promote a more bushy habit. Bursaria will often colonise cleared land.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Patience & Nicholson Aust Pty Ltd


In the 1920's public spirited people in the small Victorian country town of Maryborough jointly raised the capital to purchase and relocate the P&N company from its original location in Elsternwick a Melbourne suburb.

The company is now called Patience & Nicholson Aust Pty Ltd, and is known worldwide for the quality products produced from its Maryborough and Hamilton factories. The brand name of P&N still lives on the tools, drill bits and cutting tools produced by a proud Australian Company.


P&N Football Club / Patience And Nicholson Football Club (Vic)

Guernseys & Nicknames :
P&N wore black guernseys that bore a white band.

Timeline :
1937-39 - Maryborough FA : P&N participated.

1940 (Maryborough FA) :
First Semi-Final - P&N 12.17.89 defeated Avoca 9.9.63.
Final - P&N defeated ????.
Grand Final - P&N 15.11.101 defeated Royal Park 8.15.63.

1945 - Maryborough DFL Grand Final : P&N 13.18.96 defeated Clunes 6.14.50.
1947 - Maryborough DFL Grand Final : P&N 12.7.79 defeated Carisbrook 10.7.67.

1948 (Maryborough DFL) :
P&N had a 2-1 lead in the three home and away meetings with Bealiba.
Second Semi Final - P&N 11.11.77 defeated Bealiba 9.14.68 at Princes Park (Maryborough). P&N may have had their stocks boosted by Ballarat FL Maryborough players.
Grand Final - P&N 11.13.79 defeated Primrose 8.3.51.

1949 - Maryborough DFL : P&N participated.
1950 - P&N became a reserves team for Maryborough side that competed in the Ballarat FL.

Wire-tying machine, metal / plastic / wood, made by Patience & Nicholson, Australia, used by Wing Sang & Co Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1920-1935 - Powerhouse Museum Sydney

 "A few months after we moved to Frogmore, before the main wall of the reservoir was finished, the government ran out of money for the project and everyone was laid off. My father found work at Patience & Nicholson ( P&N), a tool factory in Maryborough. The Hortas were sent to the salt works in Werribee, but after a short time Pantelimon found a job at P&N and sometimes lived with us at Frogmore." [circa 1950] - Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My Father  




Saturday, April 2, 2011

Harvester Judgement


The 1907 Harvester Judgment.was a seminal judgement in Australian industrial relations history when Justice Higgins found that employees had to be paid a "living wage", a wage based on fairness (as determined by the court) and not on the company's ability to pay. Ever since, this judgment has been enshrined by the union movement while it cast a long pall over Australia's economic progress for seven decades.

 

Hugh Victor McKay patented an effective machine for stripping, threshing and bagging grain crops in 1885. An improved model, the Sunshine Harvester, was built from 1893. The business boomed, and by 1904 McKay's had become the largest manufacturing exporter in the Commonwealth.
The Sunshine Harvester factories in Victoria were modern and efficient, and they employed a large number of workers. Operations were eventually concentrated at Braybrook, just west of Melbourne, where the works became the basis of an industrial town called Sunshine.

McKay could be benevolent, but he was also autocratic. Implacably opposed to wage regulation, he was often in bitter conflict with the trade unions. In 1907 McKay was involved in a celebrated court case which became known as the Harvester judgement.

Justice H.B. Higgins, the president of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, declared that an unskilled labourer should receive a minimum of seven shillings for an eight-hour working day, enough to sustain himself and his family in "frugal comfort". Adjusted over time, this became the Basic Wage, the basis for the pay of most Australian workers for the next sixty years.




In November 2007 the far left-wing Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard (who in 2010 became Australia's first female Prime Minister), when introducing the new Fair Work industrial relations legislation, likened the Harvester Judgment to an "uncodified" but "highly influential social clause of the Australian Constitution". That is real faith and it is bedrock union tradition (Paul Kelly, "Gillard caught in workplace trap", The Australian, April 02, 2011). 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Life on a String 边走边唱 Biān zǒu biān chàng


Life on a String
simplified Chinese: 边走边唱;
traditional Chinese: 邊走邊唱;
pinyin: Biān zǒu biān chàng;
literally "Walking and singing at the same time"



A 1991 Chinese film by acclaimed film director Chen Kaige.

Life on a String is an intimate and philosophical affair, telling the story of a blind sanxian player and his young disciple. The film was based on the novel by Shi Tiesheng.



A blind man's master told him that after he has broken 1000 strings on his Banjo, he can open the Banjo to get a script for his eyes. After 60 years he broke the 1000th string...


Monday, March 7, 2011

words

ar·ma·men·tar·i·um/?ärm?m?n'te(?)re?m/
Noun:

The medicines, equipment, and techniques available to a medical practitioner.
The resources available for a certain purpose: "the entire armamentarium of electronic surveillance".

coruscate (v.) 1705, from L. coruscatus, pp. of coruscare "to vibrate, glitter," of unknown origin. Related: Coruscated; coruscatin

Jeremiad

Embarrassment

Occasionally

Harassment

Reduplicative - (e.g. hello hello = hullabaloo,Hanky-Panky,  Hodge-podge, hob-nob, boogie-woogie, helter-skelter,  higgledy-piggledy)




murmuration - 1/ a flock of starlings 2/ an instance of murmuring

Sunday, March 6, 2011

翻譯此頁 Dragon Head-Raising Day (2nd day of 2nd month)

The second day of the second lunar month in China, is a traditional festival, called Dragon Head Raising Day. In Chinese legend, dragons dominate wind and rain. There is a folk ballad singing:

On the second day of the second lunar month,
Dragons are beginning to raise their heads.
The weather is quite favorable to the crops,
And bumper harvests we are going to reap.
Look! The maize sticks are very big and thick.
Sorghum and millet dance their very big heads.


On the day in ancient time, farmers and villagers made an ash path into the houses and kitchens, then wind around the water vats from the outside. This is called leading the dragons back to houses. Nowadays, some old people still keep the custom to have their hair cut or wash hair today. Women are not allowed to do needle-works. It is said that when dragons raise their heads to look at the human world, needles will hurt their eyes. People like to eat noodles and deep fried cakes this day. Well in northern China people in the countryside have the custom to eat fried bean. That caused from a legend story.

When Wu Zetian, the only woman emperor in China, ascended the throng, the Jade Emperor in the heaven got so angry. To punish the human, he transmitted the order to the Dragon King do not give rains to the earth for three years. Before long, the Dragon heard the miserable crying from the human world and saw so many people dead because of the famine. So he defied the command, gave a heavy rain to the earth. When the Jade Emperor realized that, he demoted Dragon down to the human world and lay under a huge mountain for thousand years. Did not allow him going back to the heaven unless the gold beans blossom.

In order to save the Dragon, people looked for the blossom gold flowers everywhere. The day of Feb 2nd of lunar month, when people basked their corns, they happened find if they fry the yellow corn beans, the dissilient beans just like blossom gold flowers. So every family began frying the corn beans, and made altar in their courtyard, burned incense to notice the Jade Emperor in the heaven. When the Jade Emperor saw all of these, he had to release the Dragon King. But this custom still come down to nowadays.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

四大名著 sì dà míng zhù - Four Great Classical Books

四大名著 sì dà míng zhù - Four Great Classical Books of Chinese Literature

四 sì (4)

大 dà (big (great))

名著 míngzhù (famous book; famous work)

are the four novels commonly counted by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of classical Chinese fiction. Well known to most Chinese readers of the 21st century, they are not to be confused with the Four Books of Confucianism.

The works are considered to be the pinnacle of China's achievement in classical novels, influencing the creation of many stories, theater, movies, games, and other entertainment throughout East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

In chronological order, they are:

  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Chinese: 三 國 演 義; pinyin: sān guó yǎn yì) (14th century) more recently translated as, simply, Three Kingdoms
  • Water Margin (Chinese: 水 滸 傳; pinyin: shuǐ hǔ zhuàn) also known as Outlaws of the Marsh (14th century)
  • Journey to the West (Chinese: 西 遊 記; pinyin: xī yóu jì) (16th century)
  • Dream of the Red Chamber (Chinese: 紅 樓 夢; pinyin: hóng lóu mèng) also known as The Story of the Stone, (Chinese: 石 頭 記; pinyin: shí tóu jì) (18th century)

逼上梁山 [bīshàngliángshān]

逼上梁山 [bīshàngliángshān]

(driven to join the Liangshan)

one word phrase taken from one of the four classic novels: Water Margin (Chinese: 水 滸 傳; pinyin: shuǐ hǔ zhuàn) also known as Outlaws of the Marsh (14th century)

Means something like 'everyone has a reason to join the group to fight the government'.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

指鹿为马 zhǐ lù wéi mǎ

指鹿为马 zhǐ lù wéi mǎ

to call a stag a horse; to confuse right and wrong; to talk black into white

[call a stag a horse—deliberately misrepresent]
Early into the reign of Qin Ershi 秦二世, the second Qin emperor, there was an insidious and treacherous Prime Minister named Zhao Gao 赵高. By the time Qin Ershi had ascended to the throne, he had usurped much of the real power of the royal court.

Greedy people are never content. He wanted to further consolidate his power and wanted to depose Qin Ershi while his grip on the throne was still weak. Zhao Gao’s goal was to become emperor himself.

He wanted to test the waters before he attempted a coup, so he devised a clever test to see where the other ministers stood.

One day, when Qin Ershi had all of his officials present with him, Zhao Gao presented a gift to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, I wish to present you with this fine horse”.

“Horse? What horse? That’s a stag, not a horse!” Qin Ershi exclaimed. “How can you call that animal a horse?!”

“But Your Majesty, I assure you, it is indeed a horse,” answered Zhao Gao.

“That’s absurd! Since when did horses grow antlers?” retorted the Emperor.

“This is a horse. But why don’t we ask our illustrious ministers to identify this fine beast. Gentlemen, is this a stag or a horse?”

Attitudes among these officials varied. Some wanted Zhao Gao’s favor, “Oh, it is definitely a horse!” Others were too cowardly to say anything. Some honest ministers saw through the Prime Minister’s intentions, disagreed and said, “No! It is a stag!”

Now that Zhao Gao knew who supported him, he went on a campaign to discredit the honest officials and removed them from power, one by one. These ministers eventually became so fearful of him that it was no problem for him to have someone assassinate Qin Ershi.

Now, the idiom, 指鹿为马 means to intentionally mix up facts, by calling good “bad” and bad “good”. It means to intentionally and maliciously to confuse truth with fiction.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

望梅止渴 (wang mei zhi ke)

望梅止渴 (wang mei zhi ke)

"quenching thirst by watching plums"

(comfort oneself by idle dreams)

Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms period (220-265) was not only a capable politician in managing state affairs, but also a strategist good at leading troops in going to war.


One summer, Cao Cao was leading his troops in a punitive expedition against Zhang Xiu. It was extraordinarily hot. The burning sun was like a fire, and the sky was cloudless. The soldiers were walking on the winding mountain paths. The dense forest and the hot rocks exposed to the sun on both sides of the paths made the soldiers feel suffocated. By noontime the soldiers' clothes were wet through with sweat, and the marching speed slowed down. Some solders of weak physique even fainted on the roadside.

Seeing that the marching speed was slower and slower, Cao Cao was very worried because he feared that he might bungle the chance of winning the battle. But how could they quicken their speed? Cao Cao at once called the guide and asked him on the quiet whether there was a source of water nearby. The guide shook his head, saying that the spring water was on the other side of the mountain, which was very far to have to make a detour to reach. Cao Cao realized that time didn't permit them to make such a detour. After thinking for a moment, he said to the guide, "Keep quiet. I'll find a way out." He knew that it would be to no avail to order his troops to quicken the steps. He had a brain wave and found a good solution. He spurred his horse and came to the head of the column. Pointing his horsewhip to the front, Cao Cao said, "Soldiers, I know there is a big forest of plums ahead. The plums there are both big and delicious. let's hurry along, and we will reach the forest of plums after bypassing this hill." When the solders heard this, they immediately slobbered. Picturing in their minds the sweet and sour flavour of the plums, the soldiers felt as if they were actually eating the plums themselves. Their morale greatly boosted, the soldiers quickened their steps a great deal automatically.

This story comes from "The Fake Tangery" in Anecdotes of This World by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Dynasties period (420-589). From this story, people have derived the set phrase "quenching thirst by watching plums" to refer to trying to comfort oneself by idle dreams.

我爸是李刚 My father is Li Gang

In the evening on October 16, 2010, due to drunk driving and speeding, a black Volkswagen Magotan hit 2 female student pedestrians wearing roller shoes in front of a supermarket at Hebei University. The incident caused one death and one injured. After the incident, like nothing had happened, the driver continued to drive his girlfriend to school. He was then later stopped by number of students and school security guards on his way back. Surprisingly, the young man showed little remorse and fear, he shouted, “Go ahead, sue me if you dare, my dad is Li Gang”. The report of this incident immediately caused uproar in China’s online community.


These couple of days, the incident has caused widespread concerns of the netizens. Internet users expressed their anger towards the perpetrator on web. Posts condemning the perpetrator are seen everywhere. It is verified that the perpetrator’s father is the Public Security Bureau deputy director. On October 19, 2010, a new Internet catchphrase was born “My dad is Li Gang.” And the incident is also known as the “Li Gang gate”.

Corporal Forbes

Corporal Forbes India Cholera Morbus.

Anglicisation of the Latin: Cholera Morbus (perhaps some rhyming slang)

Corporal Forbes or the Corporal Forbes

. Cholera Morbus: Army (esp. in India): from 1820s. (Shipp’s Memoirs, 1829.) Y. & B.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

549 divide by 3

If the sum of the digits of a 3 digit number is divisible by 3 then the 3 digit number is divisible by 3.

549 = 18 / 3 = 6

549 / 3 = 183

Phatic Communication / Empty Talk

Phatic

adj.

Of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas.

Relating to a communication meant to generate an atmosphere of social relationship rather than to convey some information.

Phatic Communication

Etymology

Coined by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942).

Coined by Malinowski from the Greek phatos, from phanai (to speak), which also gave us prophet and aphasia (loss of ability to speak or understand language as a result of an injury)

When you bump into your neighbor on your way out and say, "How are ya?" you're engaging in phatic communion. The idea is not to inquire your neighbor's state of affairs but simply to create a feeling of shared goodwill. Later, at work, when you discuss weather with someone at the water cooler, it's the same idea.

Usage

"When I saw the transcript of that G8 conference conversation between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, my first thought was that it read not so much like a conversation between statesmen as the phatic gruntings of a pair of teenage Kevins." — Jane Shilling; Plenty of Chatter Masks a Dearth of Conversation; The Times (London, UK); Jul 21, 2006.



Monday, February 21, 2011

Curses, like chickens, come home to roost

"And ofte tyme swich cursynge wrongfully retorneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a bryd that retorneth agayn to his owene nest" Chaucer 1390

Curses coming home to roost

Sunday, February 20, 2011

To See The World In A Grain Of Sand

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.