MetaFilter posts tagged with australia

Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this 'satiable Elephant's Child had never seen a Crocodile

KokuRyu — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:22:22 -0800

Thrill-seekers swim with crocodiles in Australia Tourists who want to get cozy with a crocodile climb into a clear acrylic cage, dubbed "the cage of death," which is about 145 mm (5.7 inches) thick and 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) high, wearing just a pair of swimming goggles and a swimsuit. [Pictures] [YouTubery] "I can understand how this might be attractive to tourists but has anyone considered the welfare of the crocodile?" [More about saltwater crocodiles] The attraction is located at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. The cage has no bars, unlike cages used in shark dives, which prevents the reptiles from gripping on but deep teeth scratches are visible on the sides, deterring some hesitant participants. The cage is then slid along runners over four crocodile pens, carrying a maximum of two divers at a time, and partly immersed in the water so swimmers can see the crocodiles under the water but also come up to the surface for air. Via Meanwhile, freshwater crocodiles are encountering a "wave of death".

Awesome

vronsky — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:57:48 -0800

Seminal Synth & New Wave Sounds

Oy, oy, oy...

educatedslacker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:31:00 -0800

Boy goes on "rampage" at Aussie zoo, killing rare reptiles and feeding them to a crocodile. From the article: A turtle, four Western blue-tongued lizards, two bearded dragons, two thorny devil lizards and the zoo's 20-year-old goanna were among those killed. Gallery here.

Was there a Battle for Australia?

Megami — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:16:45 -0800

Australia now commemorates Battle for Australia Day on the first Wednesday in September. But what is 'the Battle for Australia'? Did such a thing exist? Dr Peter Stanley, among others, doesn't think so. And what is it meant to be a remembrance of? The bombing of Darwin? The threat of Japanese invasion? The general fear of a nation? Those who gave their life in service? (but then what about those Australians who served in Europe and other theatres?) Is it just another example of nationlistic 'us to'-ism or an overlooked period of Australian history that is finally getting the attention it deserves? (and thanks to Kattullus for kicking this off with his Gallipoli Post)

Not with a bang but with a televised political satire

sdodd — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:07:41 -0800

"We don't vote for them, we don't even know their names and we're not quite sure what they do. But they wield enormous influence. They are the power behind the power. They are The Hollowmen." You can watch the Australian Broadcasting Company's new political satire The Hollowmen [warning: sound] on the web. Or you can find it via Bittorrent. (Or if you live down under I suppose you could watch it on ABC 1 Wednesdays at 9pm or ABC 2 Thursdays at 8:30pm.) It's worth a look because it may be the funniest new satire on any English-language network. "I tell you, they become prime minister and they start thinking they can do what they want." The Hollowmen follows the Australian Prime Minister's fictional Central Policy Unit, charged with crafting the PM's public policy whilst battling the civil service and the press. Sound familiar? Episode two of the first series could be a "Yes, Minister" episode almost unchanged. But there's a lot less swearing than "The Thick of It." The Working Dog Productions show was picked up for a second 6-episode "series" (AKA "season") before the first episode even aired. Having settled into second place in its time slot, I suspect we'll be seeing more of it in the future. Thanks to this show I now know the national capital of Australia and the definition of "ANZAC."

Twelve Canoes

UbuRoivas — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:09:33 -0800

Twelve Canoes - a beautiful & media-rich site presenting the stories, art and environment of the Yolngu people who live around the Arafura swamp in north-eastern Arnhem Land, Australia. This is from the same mob who brought to you the Ten Canoes movie. Apparently, there are a number of other canoe projects, preserving & sharing the ancient culture of the Arnhem Land aboriginals.

The Eureka Tower Carpark

nthdegx — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:19:12 -0800

The Eureka Tower Carpark in Melbourne makes makes great use of forced perspective for its way-finding system, designed by Axel Peemoeller.

Beren Patterson Travel Photography

netbros — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:15:10 -0800

Tribalcog is the travel photography site of Beren Patterson. Includes simple and easy to use tutorials and his collection of travel pictures that are integrated as a digital postcard system.

impending shark food

ZachsMind — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:31:08 -0800

"Why the fuss? Well, Colin's a baby whale..." Oh no. They named the doomed little thing ('little' meaning about the size of a large car). Mal Holland's report from the Daily Telegraph gives a very illuminating rundown of the nervous breakdown that "Sydney's booming whale watching industry" is experiencing right now... For those too lazy to click on the link, the shorthand version of this story is a baby whale's been found off the shores of Sydney Australia thinking that a yacht was its mum. Colin, as some have now taken to calling him, was found suckling on the yacht. The guy who owns the yacht was quoted as saying it sounded like a vacuum cleaner attached to the hull of his ship. They tried coaxing the little guy out into the open sea, but he appears to feel more secure near the shore. It's theorized that his mother has abandoned him, but no one knows why. Some people are demanding something be done to save the animal, but others are saying this is just part of the circle of life. Zoos won't take the whale into captivity cuz no one knows how to nurse a whale calf for eleven months. A scientist tried to bolster an interest in creating an artificial mammary gland for the guy, but it'd take too long and cost too much. The odds of finding a surrogate whale who will take him in are slim to none, so essentially whale watchers are currently watching a two week old calf starve to death, helpless to do anything. Does humanity have a responsibility to save an orphaned baby whale, or is our duty to let nature take its course? And why do we anthorpomophize starving baby whales?

Pink foam walls reveal national character.

Alison — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:47:42 -0800

Tunnels no Minasan no Okage Desu is a Japanese game show where contestants strike poses to fit through cutouts in pink foam walls. International reproductions of this game show reveal much about national character; reproductions exist in Italy, Russia, France, Denmark, Hong Kong, Korea, and Australia. Though this game show has popped up before, it's popularity has grown to a worldwide scale. Next up is the United States.