"I always had this picture in my head a homeless person is they're got torn dirty clothes, they're not shaven, they're, they're sort of sitting in the corner you know waiting for a handout and that was my and to think that - I'm not in that category - but I don't have a home for my family."
A report from Australia's Four Corners documentary TV show looking into homeless families in Western Sydney. Link has video and a transcript, plus background info.
posted by bystander on Sep 22, 2009 - 31 comments

Amazing photos of the currently raging Sydney dust storm.
posted by togdon on Sep 22, 2009 - 78 comments

Sydney radio station 2dayFM earned the ire and backlash of the Australian public - rape counsellors, Australian media, and Community Services ministers - after an on-air stunt by morning crew Kyle and Jackie O went horribly wrong. During their regular "lie detector" segment, a 14-year-old girl was interrogated by the hosts and her mother over her sexual history, against her will, and revealed that she had been raped at 12 on air (warning: possibly triggering audio clip embedded in news article). [more inside]
posted by divabat on Jul 29, 2009 - 131 comments

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Balasmic vinegar warehouse "Watch me turn balsamic vinegar and borderline road rage into Truffles." How one guy accidently made the best ever wedding anniversary meal.
posted by Man_in_staysis on Jun 30, 2009 - 34 comments

Tilt-shift video fun! Timelapse video of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras by Keith Loutit. [previously]
posted by UbuRoivas on Mar 11, 2009 - 30 comments

Each week, a decorated matchbox with a tiny present hidden inside is left by a girl (and sometimes willing friends) somewhere in her travels.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Dec 2, 2008 - 16 comments

1930's Bondi Beach fun "Bondi resident George Caddy was best known for his success as a jitterbug dancer. But it's these posthumously discovered photographs of 1930s 'Beachobatics' that's got Alan Davies from the State Library of NSW jumping for joy." [more inside]
posted by lottie on Nov 27, 2008 - 13 comments

Sailing from Sumatra back to Fremantle in November 1941, the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney encountered a Dutch freighter off the West Australian coast. The freighter turned out to be the disguised German mercantile raider Kormoran. After an ensuing fight, the Sydney went down with all hands, the reasons for which have been debated ever since. First the Kormoran, then over night the Sydney have been found by research organisation, Finding Sydney Foundation.
posted by mattoxic on Mar 16, 2008 - 21 comments

Sydney-Filter. Why does Sydney suck so much (particularly when compared to Melbourne)? The Australian Hotels Association labelled Melbourne "a land of skivvy-wearing, chardonnay-drinking book readers" and said Sydneysiders are fit outdoorsy types that don't like to sit in a hole in the wall. Clover thinks otherwise, and now you can join her. [more inside]
posted by strawberryviagra on Sep 26, 2007 - 74 comments

The first OzBus left London last night. A latter day Magic Bus, the new service will cover 15 000 miles in 12 weeks and cross 20 countries before reaching it's destination. Follow one pasenger's journey here.
posted by brautigan on Sep 17, 2007 - 49 comments

Happy Mardi Gras! Originally a serious protest march, the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, to be held this Saturday, is now a riotously festive celebration of queer pride & probably Sydney's largest & most fabulous party all year. For the first time, this year the event will also be streamed across the web, for all those who cannot come down under.
posted by UbuRoivas on Feb 27, 2007 - 46 comments

Free hugs in New York City inspire free hugs in Sydney inspire free hugs in Philadelphia (Warning: Two YouTube links).
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Oct 26, 2006 - 34 comments

Alan Waddell intends to walk every street in every suburb in Sydney. He has completed 192 suburbs so far. He is 91.
posted by tellurian on Apr 6, 2006 - 13 comments

Petrol prices hurting your wallet? Try stealing it instead! A Sydney man has been accused of siphoning 1,000 litres (265 gallons) of fuel from a service station into a large home-made tank in his van. Police allege the 36-year-old man used a Toyota Town Ace van to take petrol from a service station's underground tanks. Another 44,000 litres of fuel (or there about) is yet to be accounted for though.

Police allegedly found fittings and equipment inside the van that could be used to steal petrol from service stations, including a home made tank.

Hard times huh? Sorry there's no photo to go with this. The guy's van is an awesome sight though. Best I've got is streaming video via ABC News (Windows HQ or LQ).
posted by sjvilla79 on Sep 19, 2005 - 25 comments

Inside the House : A virtual tour of the Sydney Opera House. [Note: Flash]
posted by crunchland on Oct 1, 2003 - 6 comments

In anti-war protests in Australia yesterday, children as young as 12 were shown on TV coverage participating not only in protests, but in the violence that followed when the protesters attacked police. There has, in the past, been condemnation of those who bring their children along to protests, but this is the first time I have seen large numbers of children protesting on their own behalf - most of whom would have been truant from school and, judging by the way many hid from cameras, without the permission of their parents. Should we take them seriously, or are they too young to really understand what it is they are protesting against? [more inside]
posted by dg on Mar 26, 2003 - 28 comments

"Acts of bastardry" are still going around Sydney.
Bad conditions help along the Christmas bushfires started by lightning and mad, wicked behaviour. (I certainly know what it's like.) But why did the fires spread so quickly? Didn't something like this happen in 1997? Is it very dry in southern Australia, or is it El Nino?!
posted by rschram on Dec 30, 2001 - 11 comments

Gay Games VI Under the Gun “What has sparked the concern is a three-page E-mail from the executive committee of the Federation of Gay Games two weeks ago that raised the possibility of the 2002 Games being moved or forfeited. The executive committee of the Federation will visit Sydney from July 21–28 for a status report that will be critical. [...] Also, he said a comparison of Sydney's budget to Amsterdam and New York is flawed, because using the exchange rate doesn't matter. ‘We're not buying any of our goods and service in the US.... $11 million Australian is still $11 million Australian.’ ”
posted by joeclark on Jul 17, 2001 - 0 comments

"The Olympics isn't so much a sporting event as it is an unfolding drama." Not content with denying American viewers the chance to watch the Sydney games in real time during the infomercial hours, NBC now plans to show events from Salt Lake City on a tape delay to viewers on the west coast, in order to reach a prime-time audience. A sign that they're more interested in the ad revenue (or in shaping the Games to their own melodramatic style guide) than in being a broadcaster of record?
posted by holgate on Jun 28, 2001 - 14 comments

Just two months after the Sydney teenager Jessica Michalik was crushed to death in the mosh pit at a Limp Bizkit concert, the American rock/rap band is promoting an Internet game in which concert-goers try to avoid a violent death. More
posted by murray_kester on Mar 31, 2001 - 6 comments

PNGDF soliders take arms, hold Port Moresby barracks
PM Morauta in hiding
The Defence Force is protesting pay and planned downsizing of the military. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the takeover was sparked by rumors of an Australian seizure of the Moresby barracks. As of yesterday, more troops have joined the takeover
There are unconfirmed reports that the soldiers would stage a protest march on the Parliament building. The Parliament is not currently in session.
posted by rschram on Mar 19, 2001 - 5 comments

15 year old girl who had a heart attack last Friday at Sydneys Big Day Out during Limp Bizkit's set died yesterday afternoon. This was the original story I read about it, that said she was 18. It seems even worse knowing she was only 15 years old.
posted by endorwitch on Jan 31, 2001 - 10 comments

It's all over... And I can honestly say that watching this Olympics has shaken all the pre-Games cynicism out of my system. It's been wonderful to watch, looked wonderfully organised, and suffused with a sense of good spirit by its hosts... good on you, mates.
posted by holgate on Oct 1, 2000 - 32 comments

Spoilers! Spoilers! See, with the ceremony over, and 10 hours to go before the "official" coverage, NBC are still asking "Who will light the torch?" We know, idiots. Isn't this just a bit silly?
posted by holgate on Sep 15, 2000 - 13 comments

51 condoms. 17 days. You do the math. Wow, someone would have to be in pretty good shape to... Oh...
posted by Tubes on Sep 12, 2000 - 2 comments

All Hands On Deck. If you're an engineer for IBM OZ or Telstra, don't expect to get a day off for the next three weeks. Here comes the Olympics!
posted by baylink on Sep 9, 2000 - 0 comments

Observe a startup. Some startups use a combination of openness and secrecy and while they're getting their act together. REMO (a quirky independent retailer who used to run a popular shop font in my hometown of Sydney) is letting the whole world see everything while they make the transformation to a web-only up-market general store for the whole world.
posted by grestall on Mar 29, 2000 - 5 comments