FEAST OR FAMINE

On March 11, millions of people in Japan and around the world mark the first anniversary of the earthquake that set off a catastrophic chain reaction - a tsunami near Ishinomaki which left 19,000 dead and many more devastated and displaced; and the waves that crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Okuma causing their cooling systems to malfunction leading to meltdowns in three reactors.  Many parts of the 20-kilometre (12-mile) exclusion zone imposed around the Fukushima nuclear plant are likely to remain uninhabitable for years, or decades. While many citizens in the affected area, in north-east Japan were forced or urged to flee the contaminated area, some farmers refused to leave. New Scientist (10 March 2012) documents the work of farmers near the Fukushima nuclear plant who remained on their land, and studied the effects of radioisotopes on their crops. Nobuyoshi Ito began to study the nuclear fallout on his crops 30 kilometres from the Fukushim...

The genius is Simon Phillips Norton, a British mathematician born on February 28, 1952 of Jewish heritage—traced back to the Iraqi Jews of Babylon. Written in simple, understandable language, The Genius in my Basement: The biography of a happy man (2011) follows two threads: (1) the upbringing, achievements, and day-to-day life of Simon P. Norton (accompanied by photographs and examples of Simon’s jottings and work); and (2) an illustrated basic introduction to the study of symmetry. While living in the author’s basement since 1981, Norton, schooled at Eton, is exploring the mathematical puzzle known as The Monster, working in the Department of Pure Mathematics at the University of Cambridge in London as an “independent researcher” on group theory, the study of symmetry. It is a unique account of a unique man. Masters attempts to discover what factors contributed to establishing Norton as a mathematical genius. What does Masters reveal about the life of a genius? We kno...

Scientists maintain (The Telegraph, March 7, 2012) that an asteroid with a force of 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb will pass extremely close to Earth in a year’s time on February 15, 2013. Last month Spanish astronomers, at the OAM Observatory in La Sagra in Spain, discovered Asteroid 2012DA14 at a distance of 2.5 million kilometres from Earth. They indicated that the asteroid rock was 45 metres wide with a mass of 120,tonnes and a velocity of 12.72 kilometres per second. It is made of rock, minerals, and iron oxide with possibly some ice or and gases. They estimated that its trajectory will come within 27,000 kilometres of Earth (closer than satellites already orbit Earth at 35,700 kilometres in space). Is there a possibility that it will impact Earth? NASA’s Near Earth Object Program scientists don’t think so. They estimated that Asteroid 2012DA14 will also come close to Earth in years 2020 and 2057, and that the combined odds of it hitting ...

In the past week, from February 27 to March 4, the sun didn’t shine in drought-affected Canberra, the capital of Australia. Six years of drought was almost broken during a week of unprecedented rain – in fact, it was a 60-year record: the biggest Canberra wet since July 31 to August 6, 1950. On February 27, 4.4mm was recorded; 5.6mm on February 28; 29.8mm on February 29; 59.2mm on March 1; 31.8mm on March 2; 0.8mm on March 3; and 62.0mm on March 4. Nearly 200 millimetres (193.6mm) fell at Canberra Airport during the seven days, although only 75mm was recorded in the suburbs. Seven consecutive cloudy days produced three times its average March rainfall (163.2mm in March so far, out of an average of 50.7mm). The wettest March on record was 243.6mm in 1989. With March only barely into its first week, more rain is predicted for the remainder of the month.   The wet week also produced record number of visitors to the National Museum. Other areas in New South Wales h...

Zarafa (1998) is a beautifully delightful simple, but true, tale of the gift of a precious and exotic animal: a giraffe. In 1826 Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, presented King Charles X of post-Napoleanic France with a magnificent, unique, and unusual gift in the hope that it would forestall intervention in his war against the Greeks. But his gift, a young Masai giraffe called Zarafa (meaning “charming”), lived in the Ethiopian highlands and King Charles resided in Paris. It was the idea of Bernardino Drovetti, the French consul general in Egypt and advisor to the Ottoman Vicerory. Drovetti was ambitious and entrepreneurial, dealing in trafficking exotic animals, Egyptian antiquities and mummies to aristocratic Europeans. He tasked fifty-five year old French scientist, Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, to get the gift to the king. Etienne was chosen because of his knowledge of animals, having established the Paris zoo. And so began Zarafa’s epic journey of ...

New Scientist (January 25, 2012) indicated that schizophrenia could be a profound form of jet lag in which the brain’s central clock runs out of kilter with peripheral clocks in the rest of the body. Linda Geddes writes that a genetic mutation triggers schizophrenia-like symptoms in mice also appears to disrupt their circadian rhythm or body clock. She cites the research of Russell Foster at the University of Oxford who has studied the link between sleep disturbances and mental illness. When mice were kept under a schedule of 12 hours of light followed by 12 hours of darkness, they were active when you would normally expect mice to be sleeping, suggesting that their circadian rhythms were disrupted. Foster's team found alterations in the time of day hormones were released from the adrenal glands compared with normal mice. "There is a defect in the way that the master clock is talking to peripheral clocks," says Foster. "It's rather like jet lag. All of th...

Dialogues with Scientists and Sages: The Search for Unity (1986) is a compilation of the views of prominent mathematicians, physicists, biologists, philosophers and spiritual identities. Topics include space, time, matter, energy, life, death, creativity, inspiration, as well as mathematics and science. Each chapter presents a separate individual and their views, either through interview questions and responses, or written directly by the identity. These include British quantum physicist David Bohm (1917-1992) whose focus was on understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular; German-born Tibetan monk Lama Govinda (1898-1985) on Buddhism; Russian-born Belgium physical chemist Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003), the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry (1977); British-born Indian Benedictine monk and mystic Fr. Bede Griffiths (1906-1993) on Christianity and Hinduism; British biologist Rupert Sheldrake (1942-) on his views of parapsychology; His Holi...

In the centre of Canberra, Glebe Park is a lush, brick-paved, tree-filled expanse that serves as a playground for children, arena for concerts, open space for exhibitions and festivities, a spot for family and corporate lunches and picnics, as well as a haven for individual respite and rest. Amid the gardens and trees are a number of sculptures. Egle, the Queen of Serpents, by artist Ieva Pocius, is an elegant bronze caped woman based on Lithuanian mythology. She was a bicentennial gift from the Lithuanian community to the park, unveiled by the Honourable Ros Kelly MP, on November 5, 1988. Egle marries a serpent prince who is subsequently killed by her outraged family. Stricken with grief, Egle undergoes metamorphosis, thus transforming into a tree. Adelaide sculptor, Ieva Pocius (1923-) depicts Egle soaring upwards with a soft roundness to the form. She is renowned for her pieces in stone, wood, ceramic, steel, and bronze. The World Peace Flame Monument by local Ngunnawal e...

The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995) is an epic fantasy-reality comedy-farcical saga-memoir of the last child and only male heir to the spice trade da Gama dynasty of Cochin, a major port city on the west coast of India. Narrated by Moraes “Moor” Zogoiby, born in 1957, it is the story of his fall from grace in a high-born cross-breed family in which his father is an Indian Jew and his mother, a celebrated artist, is Christian with Portuguese heritage (a descendant of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama). He commences with his Moorish roots and his great-grandfather, Francisco da Gama; and tells of his three older sisters, “Ina” (Christina), “Minnie” (Inamorata), and “Mynah” (Philomena); his mother; his father; and his lover Uma Sarasvati, the woman who “transformed, exalted, and ruined” his life.   The story reveals his “family rifts and premature deaths and thwarted loves and mad passions and weak chests and power and money and the even more morally dubious seductions and ...

Large trees play an essential role in sustaining biodiversity and bird life in urban environments, claims an Australian National University study reported in Canberra Weekly (16 February 2012). Research by doctorate student Karen Stagoll in the Fenner School of Environment and Society on large eucalyptus trees in small suburban parks in the nation’s capital, Canberra is the first of its kind in the world. Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia and, due to their abundance, were a prime choice of subject. The research shows that large trees in urban environments provide habitats critical for wildlife—birds and animals. Large trees provide food, nesting sites, and shelter for wildlife in agricultural and forestry landscapes. However, large trees, as opposed to smaller trees, shrubs, and low-lying vegetation, do the same in urban environments. Hence, large trees attract wildlife to urban areas. Stagoll’s research found that urban parks and gardens with more large eucalyp...

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra is a free-entry military museum and hall of remembrance to commemorate the participation of Australians in global conflicts. It displays a series of panels, known as the Roll of Honur, recording the names of over 102,000 Australians. The Australian War Memorial was opened in 1941 in the northeast of the nation’s capital nestled at the base of Mt Ainslie with a view of Parliament House. The large museum contains the Commemorative Area (shrine) including the Hall of Memory with the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, the Memorial's galleries (museum) and Research Centre (records) and an outdoor Sculpture Garden. It contains an extensive display of exhibitions, including films, soundtracks, full-sized military transportation and equipment, artwork, photography, models, and interactive displays. The museum covers periods such as: Colonial (1788-1901); Sudan (1885); South African Boer War (1899-1902); China Bo...

The weekend of the National Multicultural Festival is the busiest, most celebrated event on the Canberra calendar. The office of Multicultural Affairs confirmed a record attendance of 260,000 people for the three day event from February 10-12.

The three day celebration of Australia’s multiculturalism is celebrated in the nation’s capital, Canberra, from February 10 to 12. In addition to the cultures of the pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa, the music, dance and stories of Australia’s First Nations people attracted a large audience. Ceremonies play an important part in the life of First Nations peoples, from chanting, singing, dancing and music. They include initiation of boys and girls into adulthood as well as everyday life. The songs and dances performed during the National Multicultural Festival include the collecting of honey, grinding food, and celebrating important events. Using the unique and iconic sounds of the didgeridoo and clap sticks, they beat time to tell the audience of their stories and culture. MARTINA NICOLLS MartinaNicollsWebsite   Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website Flower Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UP...

At 4:00pm by the fountain at the entrance of the Canberra Centre a flash mob dance celebrated the annual National Multicultural Festival in the nation's capital.

The National Multicultural Festival is Canberra’s premier cultural event which actively involves over 200 community groups, local and national arts groups, up to 70 diplomatic missions, numerous businesses and over 200,000 people who attend over 150 free activities and events during a three day period from February 10-12.  The Festival celebrates the cultural diversity of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) by providing events that positively showcase cultural diversity and encourages people to share in and celebrate various cultures by enjoying their arts, music, dancing, and food. The Festival is produced by the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs, Community Services Directorate, ACT Government. The Festival is held in the Canberra City Centre from Friday February 10 (4:30 to midnight); Saturday February 11 (10am to midnight); and Sunday February 12 (10am to 5pm).