FEAST OR FAMINE

Maestro (1989) is Goldsworthy’s first book, set from 1967 to 1977, embodying the theme of migration and identity for two main characters, one young and the other old. A young man, Paul Crabbe, at the age of fifteen, is uprooted from Adelaide in the south of Australia to Darwin in the north, by his parents. An older man – now 80, Herr Eduard Keller, was uprooted from Austria as a refugee, and eventually landed in Darwin where he worked from his “home” as a piano teacher. Keller’s home is a weatherboard room above the front bar of The Swan hotel. The smell of beer and cigarette smoke seeps into the room with two pianos: a grand Bosendorfer for the maestro and an upright Wertheim for the student. Paul Crabbe is his student, for one lesson a week. One day Paul enters the room waiting for his piano lesson. While the maestro is absent he looks at the photograph propped on his teacher’s piano: his son Eric and his wife Mathilde. Not much else is known about the myste...

Gatton Man (1994) is an Australian murder mystery: a true one and the longest murder investigation in the country’s history. My interest in the book came about because I lived in Gatton, rural Queensland,­­­­­­­ about 100 kilometres west of Brisbane, in 1996-1997. Three Murphy children are murdered on December 26, 1898, in a paddock, two kilometres from Gatton – lying bashed beside their dead horse. They had taken the buggy and horse to go to a dance, but the two sisters, Ellen (18) and Norah (27), were found dead with their brother Michael (29). But more than a murder mystery, it is the exploration of the nature of a murderer. The author did not know his father was a wanted man. All he knew were of the thrashings and beatings he and his siblings received and that “we knew of a terrible force within him.” The murder occurred before the author’s birth, but he is intrigued by it, close to his farming property. He recounts his childhood, raised by his father W.J. Lilley (...

Before maps, people only knew their own neighborhood, says New Scientist (19 January, 2013). However, digital maps that are accessible on smartphones are customizing our needs which is transforming and influencing our world. One of the first efforts to digitalize maps was in 2001 when the UK’s Ordnance Survey published virtual versions of their paper products, entering the mainstream after Google listed businesses with small maps to locate them. Now there is a competitive rush to produce digital maps. And while the ocean remains mostly digitally uncharted, companies are now exploring that frontier to feature shipwrecks, shipping lanes, and other features. As New Scientist says, the most coveted territory is closer to home: the indoors. Navigation aids are being developed so that people can find items in their own home or in a public building, such as a store or library or museum. Floor plans are being listed for airports, hospitals, train stations, and universities, to nam...

A Book of Scientific Curiosities: Facts and Feats (2005) is jammed packed with exactly as the title describes: facts, feats, and interesting oddities. Fortunately there is order in the myriad of facts. The contents are divided into 10 sections, such as The Heavens; The Earth; The Living World; Mass and Energy; The Nature of Matter; People and Places; Science in Society; Keeping Count; and two appendices – Measuring Things and Timelines. From science history to people of science to the various sciences themselves, the information ranges from half a page to three pages, which makes it easy-to-read, easy to pick up and put down without losing your place, easy to drift through, or easy to read in detail. In it, there is something for everyone: from the microscopic to the macroscopic, tera to pico, convergence to divergence, terminology to vocabulary, and from chaos and confusion to clarity. It covers astrology to zoology, air to zodiac, and al-Ma’mun to Zhang Heng.  ...

The Medusa in Medusa’s Gaze: The Extraordinary Journey of the Tazza Farnese (2012) is that of Greek myth, once a beautiful woman punished by Athena who braided snakes into Medusa’s hair rendering her hideous. But the image of Medusa is on one of the most beautiful pieces of art in history. Given the book by Belozerskaya herself, having read one of her previous books, Medici Giraffe (2006), I found this one more fascinating, focusing solely, intently, and deeply on one piece rather than a collection. Russian-born Belozerskaya is an art historian with a number of books to her credit. This book is richly endowed with black and white photographs, but the ones of most intrigue grace the front and back covers – for their detail, colour, exoticism, and ornamentation. These are the colour photographs of the Tazza Farnese – a libation bowl of banded agate, circa first century BC. Libation is the act of pouring liquid as an offering, as in a religious ritual. The 22cm (8.5 inc...

On the grounds of Parliament House, Prime Minister Julie Gillard announced Ita Buttrose as Australian of the Year on Friday January 25, on the eve of Australia Day. Ita Buttrose, journalist, businesswoman and health awareness advocate, was recognized for her “brilliant and groundbreaking media career” as well as championing health education. She rose from a copy girl at The Australian Woman’s Weekly magazine to establishing the Cleo magazine in 1971. She was also the first female editor of a city newspaper in 1980, working at the Daily Telegraph in Sydney. In her year of honour, the 71-year old Buttrose aims to promote dementia and champion the rights of ageing Australians. Afghan refugee, Akram Azimi, was named Young Australian of the Year for his work with youth in remote Western Australia. Community leader, Shane Phillips, was honoured as the Local Hero, while palliative care specialist, Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks, was named Senior Australian of the Year. In additio...

Outside of fashion, Grace still strikes an impressive figure. Perhaps it’s her hair. Grace (2012) is the memoir of Grace Coddington, the British-born former model and current creative director of American Vogue magazine. Thrust recently into the spotlight through the documentary film The September Issue (2011) about the inside workings of the magazine, Grace is easily recognizable. Coddington, “The Cod”, writes of her early years, her loves and lovers, her personal and professional partners, and of course fashion designers, models, celebrities, stylists, photographers, make-up artists, hairdressers, assistants, and bosses. Every aspect of the complex and complicated interconnected web of production to prop to final photograph is detailed in an easy-to-read style, with a veritable list of who’s who in the business.   From inspiration to fully fledged photo shoot, Coddington explains how some of the most memorable Vogue features were created, and how fa...

Australia Day on January 26 is a family and friends day for all Australians and all in Australia. It’s a day to celebrate what’s great about living in the country. It’s also a time to reflect on its original custodians, where people have come from, and historical milestones.   Australia Day is a popular day for people with permanent residency to officially become Australians during the citizenship ceremony. Citizen ceremonies are held throughout the year, but on Australia Day the numbers rise, particularly in Canberra, the nation’s capital. I’ve attended several to witness the citizenship of friends, in the open air next to Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin, amid the official speeches, the jet flyover, and the 21-gun salute - after the Aussie breakfast. This year will be particularly special as it is the country's 225th birthday and it is the Centenary of Canberra – its 100 th birthday on March 12. Canberra Times reported that at the free Aussie Breakfast, st...

Ned Kelly, one of Australia’s notorious bush rangers, was finally interred in blessed ground, more than 130 years after his death. The Canberra Times (January 19, 2013) reported on Ned Kelly’s burial. On Friday, January 18, Kelly’s bones were placed in a coffin and given a Requiem Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Wangaratta, in the Australian state of Victoria. The burial will take place on Sunday in the Greta cemetery where he’ll be buried in an unmarked grave beside his mother Ellen’s unmarked grave, and near two members of the Kelly Gang: Dan Kelly and Steve Hart. During the gun fight with police near Glenrowan in which Ned Kelly donned a suit of armour – a metal mask and chest plate - Kelly was shot and convicted of murdering a policeman. After he was executed by hanging in November 1880 at the age of 25, his headless body was buried in a pit on prison grounds at the Old Melbourne Goal. Kelly is believed to have around 450 descendants today. Relative...

Is leadership innate or learned? Scientists have uncovered a gene that they believe creates leaders. The leadership gene (known as rs4950) is believed to be an inherited DNA sequence. And by leadership, scientists mean “taking charge” of a situation or people. Scientists also think that leadership skills can be learned, but that there is a gene that initiates the drive to be a leader. For example, some people don’t want the responsibility or power of leadership, while others do. The Canberra Times (January 16, 2013) reports that researchers from the University College London found the gene after analyzing DNA samples from around 4,000 individuals and matching them with information about jobs and relationships. Workplace supervisory roles were used as a measurement of leadership behaviour. The University College London showed, in the journal Leadership Quarterly , that a quarter (25%) of the observed variation in leadership traits between individuals could be explained ...

Are humans naturally good or bad? A BBC article (14 January, 2013) reports that experiments with babies may reveal the answer. Psychologists think babies’ minds might showcase human nature because they are yet to be influenced culturally – they don’t have many friends, they’ve never been to school, and they haven’t read any newspapers or books. Yale University psychology researchers conducted experiments to determine whether babies have a sense of right and wrong, and whether they have an instinct to prefer good or evil.   Experiments were conducted using puppets. The stage was a scene featuring a bright green hill, and the puppets were cut-out shapes with wobbly eyes glued onto them. These shapes consisted of a triangle, a square, and a circle – each in different colours. The puppets performed a short play in which one of the shapes tried to climb the hill, struggling up and falling down. The two other shapes played roles of helper or hinderer. The helping shape assi...

Tablets found in ancient Rome contained pollen grains from an olive tree as a key ingredient. Other ingredients included plant and animal oils. New Scientist (12 January 2013) reported that an analysis of ancient pills recently found on a cargo ship wrecked off the Italian coast at about 140 BC suggested that physicians treated sore eyes with the same active ingredients as doctors do in the present day. Erika Ribechini of the University of Pisa, Italy, heading the analysis team, said that the pills may be the oldest medical tablets ever analyzed. The disc-shaped tablets were 4 centimetres wide and a centimetre thick. Ribechini thinks the physicians of Rome dipped the tablets in water and dabbed them directly on the patient’s sore eyes. She maintains that there is evidence that Pliny the Elder, the Roman physician, prescribed zinc compounds for the treatment of sore eyes almost 250 years after the shipwreck. (PNAS, DOI:10.1073/pnas.1216776110 and E. Ribechini’s ...

Children under five years of age, who have swimming lessons, may develop better language, literacy, and numeracy skills in school. In a four-year study Griffith University in Australia surveyed almost 7,000 parents of children from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America, and independently assessed 177 children aged 3-5 years. The study found that children who had early swimming lessons performed better in school tests. They scored significantly better in numeracy, mathematical reasoning, oral expression, understanding, complying with directions, and visual motor skills (cutting paper, drawing lines, and colouring in). They achieved certain milestones earlier than normal populations of children below five years of age, the interim report, Early-years swimming: adding capital to young Australians , stated. Both the parents’ survey and the child testing (to a lesser degree) supported the outcomes. There was a view that only wealthy families could afford swi...

The Australian summer has been breaking temperature records, with most states recording the highest ever temperatures on record. Temperatures of over 40C, especially the record number of consecutive days over 40C, have been recorded to date in the summer of 2013. An article in Health & Wellbeing (January 11, 2013) said that heat alone kills more Australians that road accidents. Figures from the government’s Climate Change Health Risk Assessment show that thermal extremes currently contribute to 1,121 deaths a year in major Australian cities. The figure is expected to reach 2,030 by 2020. Dr. Liz Hanna of the Climate Change Adaptation Research Network – Human Health, at the Australian National University, says Australians vastly over-estimate their ability to cope with heat. She says people begin to feel ill when their body temperature reaches 38 degrees Celsius. Metabolism and moving muscles generate heat and this starts to become difficult when the air temperatu...

The threat of wild fires, or bush fires, due to scorching summer heat is always a threat every Australian summer. This summer has been one of the worst fire seasons due to the number of fires, their wide-spread coverage, and their ferocity. In January, bush fires have been recorded in every state of Australia, with the Tasmanian fires the most devastating to date – and summer is not yet over. Canberra is not only the capital of Australia, but also the capital of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – a landlocked territory that houses the Australian federal parliament. It is surrounded by the state of New South Wales (NSW). So far, the Canberra Times (January 9, 2012) is reporting that the ACT has largely been less affected by bushfires, but this could change as the temperatures and winds escalate. Ten years ago, in January 2003, Canberra and the ACT had its worst fire – with So far, we have had 13 grass fires (in suburbs including Fyshwick, Macquarie, Higgin...