Posts

I have been away recently and I am going to find it a bit difficult to write often because of travelling between two places. I will do the best that I can to make my posts as frequent as possible.

Acts of Kindness

I am reading a new magazine called Empower, which has a section about acts of kindness.
I've experienced many of these during my life. Here are two of the main ones:

1. We were travelling from Singapore to Rome on a British Airways or Qantas flight a few years ago. I stupidly put my passport down next to a computer and then I panicked when I couldn't find it. Luckily it was handed in by someone called Michael. I asked a few people whether they had handed it in but I couldn't find Michael. I'll be forever grateful because this certainly saved me a lot of trouble!

2. When we were in Sydney many years ago we visited Darling Harbour. Suddenly a complete stranger came up to us and offered us two tickets to the Aquarium which he didn't want! It was a lovely experience to see someone swimming with the seals, and look at the marine life.

What acts of kindness have you experienced?

The World’s Most Endangered Mammal – The Hairy-Nosed Northern Wombat

(This photo is from The Daily Telegraph)

Australia’s urbane Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, brought the plight of the hairy-nosed northern wombat to the world’s attention recently. He took five week’s leave at a time of economic crisis to care for these rare mammals. Mr.Henry talked about his holiday when he made a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra. He remarked that: "It turns out that there are more taxes in Australia than there are northern hairy-nosed wombats. Clearly taxes are not an endangered species." He was also pleased to be photographed hugging one of these cute creatures.

These wombats are included in the most endangered species of the world. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century there were populations of the wombats in northern Victoria, New South Wales and about one-quarter of Queensland. These became extinct for various reasons, for example, competing with cattle for feed, and natural disasters. Now there is only one small population of wombats at the Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. The park was established in 1971 to protect the wombats from their main predator, the dingo. Dingoes are a wild Australian dog which has actually eaten wombats.

The mammal has brownish grey fur, a wide head with pointed ears and long claws. It is not a pretty animal but it has a certain appeal. It lives in hot climates and likes to feed at river banks and grassy creeks. The wombats eat native grasses.

It is a nocturnal animal and lives in its burrows during the hot summers. The wombat’s tough claws and strong legs enable it to build burrows easily and it likes to establish its homes close to trees.

The hairy-nosed northern wombat only has one baby at a time but it can breed each year. They breed more in rainy summers apparently so drought can affect the population rate adversely. Strong efforts are being made to breed the wombats in captivity and the possibility of artificial insemination is being discussed.

There are many threats to the wombats, unfortunately. Buffel grass is difficult to eradicate and grows like wildfire, infesting the area of the native grasses that the wombats like to eat. Competing with introduced animals, such as cattle, for food, is still a problem. Inbreeding increases the risk of disease. Natural disasters, such as drought and bushfires, are another huge threat to the small population of wombats.

It is to be hoped that more people become aware of the danger of extinction of these native mammals.

NB: I have this on sale at Constant-Content. I don't like Henry's economic policies but I admire his helping the wombats!

Anzac Day

Lest We Forget

This is by Devar at Flickr: Anzac Day Soldier

New Names for Films

Just for fun! Some new names for movies that I've seen recently:

Burn After Reading: Burn Without Playing!

This was meant to be a satire and was amusing in parts, but I found it a waste of time. Why George Clooney and Brad Pitt chose to star in it is a mystery.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The Interminable Case of Benjamin Button

Cate Blanchett was good in this, but it was fairly boring and went on and on...and on...The best thing about it was the art direction!

The Wrestler: The Modern Neanderthal

I couldn't watch the beginning of this movie at all. It got a bit better but not much.

Country Quiz

Apparently this beloved country would suit me! I'd love to live there but the language is too difficult.

You're France!

Most people think you're snobby, but it's really just that
you're better than everyone else.  At least you're more loyal to the real
language, the fine arts, and the fine wines than anyone else.  You aren't
worth beans in a fight, unless you're really short, but you're so good at other
things that it usually doesn't matter.  Some of your finest works were
intended to be short-term projects.


Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

The Girl Who Wished She Was Australian

Horrified by the murder at Sydney Airport, I was feeling quite down on the weekend. (A certain woman dressed in red and gloating didn't help!) Anyway stumbling on this site really cheered me up: Not Really Australian