POLICE QUESTION QUEEN AFTER CELEBRITY GOES BANANAS

 Purple People Eater  Rampage

A welcome back  to  Magnetic  Island  party  was held aboard a yacht  this week   for Larry, the cussing lorikeet , the subject of many posts in this blog  who has also appeared on national television . Present at the knees up was the  island's Queen of the Jungle  who had  looked  after Larry   for  a  long time on the  island  when  his owners were  away.

 While  boarding with the  Queen, she pampered  Larry and they had   interesting discussions . During that period she  provided  him with a  whole wardrobe of  triangular shaped  purple  nests in which to  sleep at night , with which he became  very fond . Larry would not  allow anybody, including the Queen ,  touch what  became  known as  his  Purple  People  Eaters .

Larry, named after Cyclone Larry in which he was injured , making him unable to fly , with  a  Purple People Eater .
 

Larry left the island and went to live  at Mission Beach with his owners . They brought their  yacht  , with Larry ,  down   to  Magnetic island  and the Queen was invited to come aboard . Not so nimble as she used  to be , the Queen tottered aboard , bearing the three Purple People Eaters  for him. On spotting  them,  Larry  became excited , whistled , danced about , was not heard utter over and over  a naughty word like bugger , and  ran  in and  out of  one . 

Larry  became so  jubilant   he  began   biting people on the  ankle -perhaps a love  bite, a thank you for showering him with Purple People Eaters?

 

Some home brew was  broken out  and the  Queen quaffed a drop , giving it her tick of royal approval . During Larry's stay at the  Queen's  leafy  castle  he had attended  many parties  at  which German  food  and  wine flowed   to mark a birthday , a new hip , or some other  major event .

 

 

Due to her  wonky joints, the  Queen was helped   down the gangplank  to her  car ... and was  pulled over by police   doing  breath tests. Asked if she had consumed any alcohol recently  , she admitted that she had  been drinking  home brew  at  a party for  a lorikeet. The  officer probably thought  now I  have heard  the ultimate excuse.  

With  his  beaut   collection   of   Purple People Eaters tucked away in  his kitbag, Larry left  the island  and  was  driven  back  to  Mission Beach .

TOWNSVILLE GHOST FLEET LATEST: MAJOR CHINESE BLOW IN

Our  S(h)ipping  Reporter, the  only  one north of Garden Island , scoops  local  media  yet  again .

Chinese writing  visible along its  side ,  a large  cargo ship  with   a stack  of  what could be  mistaken   for  massive   huge  pipes for  the mooted  Snowy 2.0   hydro electric   expansion , demands  attention .  But not of  the local sleeping , don't go near the water media . It is  the  Hong  Kong  flagged Huanghai Advance ,166.37metres long by 27.74metres wide .

Our  roundsman, unfortunately not armed with his camera at the time , was  informed eight  giant  wind turbines are being unloaded from the vessel. This is surely  a major  event , a  major story   for Townsville , if  any   news organisation wakes  up.   Where are  they   destined    for , what will be involved in transporting the  huge components along the  highways and  back roads, are more coming , does the vessel have a  history of shipping  wind turbines to other parts of the world?  The arrival of the  vessel  increases interest in  all  the other renewable   energy  projects  going  on  in  the  north .

 Another bulk  cargo ship in port  , with a catchy name , Interlink  Dignity , flagged in the Marshall  Islands,  could be of interest to  a  cub reporter ; the flag of the Pacific nation adopted when  flown on self government day May 1,1979, designed by  Emlain Kabua , First Lady of the Republic .
 

While  checking out the seafront nightclub  precinct , our maritime  scribe  noticed that the Taj Mahal is under new management, surely of importance for the subcontinent ,  and  there is a sandwich board  advertising a   medium   who  operates  in a  dark room   who  can  communicate  with  reporters   in   deceased   newsrooms and pass on news tips . Spooky.    

PASSING SLASH OF COLOUR

Butterfly and Xora . Vallis photo.

THE EPIPHENOMENA OF CANADIAN EVERYDAY LIFE IN AUSTRALIA

Queenslanders exposed  to  pulp  fiction , a frozen turd and a  grope in the dark

An unusual exhibition,  featuring  the  work  of  eight  British Columbia artists , making great use of photography,  was launched in Brisbane   circa  1976 . It was  organised by  the   Pender Street  Gallery , Vancouver , Canada , as part  of  an exchange with  the  Institute  of  Art, Brisbane .

The  introduction  in  the   illustrated  catalogue  makes  the  point that  it  was a small  exhibition , not   a  massive  one , so  cohesive , rather  than  comprehensive. It said there had been a current  rehabilitation of   "regionalism" in  much art  writing and  practice  in  Canada . In the  case of  west coast Canadian art  , all too often it was categorised as  holding up a sense of romantic frivolity as its  true spirit .

 Some of that   frivolity and ingenuity  sure  came  through in  the interesting  exhibition. One of the eight artists , Fred Douglas , presented  mock up  pages for a proposed  book  about  a jazz club in Vancouver in the  early 1960s , The Cellar,   linking the  text  with  unrelated  photographs , below, including mom and  dad  drinking  beer . He had studied  at the Vancouver  School of Arts , exhibited widely, worked as an exhibition  designer and  photographer for museums , documented  native  Indian  bands .  

A close up pic of a  horse turd  in a dry part of British Columbia ,  by ( John )  Tod Greenaway , whose experience included  layout and  lettering for  newspaper advertising  in Calgary and Winnipeg , writing continuity for  radio and television, script writing for  documentary films in  London and  Canada, operating a  fishing camp,  teaching English in Spain  and photographing artwork , must  have   caused   much  comment . 

 He had also written the libretto   for a folk opera , two half hour radio plays , a radio drama   and  the commentary for No Place To Hide , a 10 minute film for the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament , produced by  Derrick Knight , London .

The catalogue illustrations   included  Fingerprint Expert  at Work by  Christos Dikeakos , below,  who had taught Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of British Columbia , exhibited  widely in Canada  , New York ,Tokyo , Uruguay, Poland  and  Czechoslovakia .

It was explained the things in the world that Dikeakos addressed  were culturally and  politically specific to Canada, but paradigmatic  of a  universal sensibility ... Similar in their intent to factographs of Heartfield  in the l930s , they forsake  the stark  agitprop simplicity of the political "affiche " for the establishment of a more contemplative situation.They require reading , a  reading in which the  assimilated materials establish  a continual jarring between image and  text, repetition and  interruption, horror and humour .

  

A photograph of  a  couple caught cuddling  in  a  parked car  was captioned: Inflagrante  Dilecto (detail )  by Ian Wallace.

Born Shoreham, England , Wallace  had been a  resident of  Canada  since 1944 , received a M.A. in Art History at the  Vancouver School of Art ,  and  had  exhibited  paintings, sculpture  and  photography.  

 

UPCOMING :  The  l957  Canadian  art  exhibition  which  toured  Australia.  

NORTH AUSTRALIA MEDIA WATCH : MONKEYING ABOUT IN DARWIN AND TOWNSVILLE ZOO BEAT

A recent  Little Darwin  post  stated  the boastful celebrity   monkey seen above  showing off its scrapbook  to   ace photographer  Ray Sharpe (anybody know where he is now ? )  , had been smuggled into Darwin  by a man   identified  as  Monkey Bob . It  should have  been  Monkey Bill .  We apologise sincerely to  Monkey Bob   and his simian  drinking  mates  and  lady friends for  this  gross error .

 

New Zealand Coup

 

The Townsville Bulletin  recently reported the Kiwi budget  had been brought down by  the  new Liberal   government .  It was, of course, a  Labor victory.

 

Island News Blackout

 

The oddly written Magnetic Island  Police  Report in the  weekly community news sheet , with scant  details  about  incidents,  clearly  indicates that the  Townsville  media is out of touch  with  what is happening   on   the city's  Jewel  in  the  Crown .

In any  really competitive, alert  media  set up , which Townsville  clearly does not have , the following   island   situations  would  be  quickly  followed up , expanded  :  fake American currency   found  on  the island ; what was  that packet of   white  substance ( dropped  in  a bottle shop ) ? ; the  suggestion that  two wallabies  found floating in the harbour  had  been  stabbed ; a  stalking  case  ;  drug raids , etc. This  situation  shows  that  media  police rounds  is  poor  in  Townsville, especially  in relation to the  island .  

 

Thank  you  from  France  for  help  after night of  terror  

 

Another strange island  event  which  managed  to  get some coverage on the mainland involved  the  group of  French tourists   at   West Point   who were   terrified  when a man  slashed  the tyres on  their  car  and  they were left stranded  overnight , fearful   of  what  the offender   might  do  if he returned.   A  Good Samaritan local   was alerted to their  plight and   plugged their tyres, one with   four   holes ,  enabling them to escape .  Police  investigated , but nobody has  been  charged. The man who helped the  shocked  visitors  subsequently received a  profuse   letter  of   thanks  from   France . Could  he end up  receiving the   Croix de  Guerre  and a  peck on  both cheeks ?

Townsville  war memorial  neglect  unnoticed

 Right under the noses of the  mainland media pack , without them noticing , is the constant ,  longtime  neglect  of  war  memorials  in  what is a military garrison town . Our S(h)ipping Reporter , the only  one north of  McMurdo Sound  , points out  that   yet  again  he recently  noticed  the large  Coral Sea Battle  memorial  had  a build up of  leaves  , there was  still  broken glass behind the Victory in the  Pacific   fountain   ( just down the road from the Townsville  Bulletin), and  the  plaque with wartime  information  in  the  North Queensland Garden of  Remembrance (not far from the ABC)   still  is  hard  to read.    

AUCTION OF INTEREST

Jewellery , pottery , Asian art , collectibles , decorative art  and   furniture  from  the    estate of  the  late  Australian art  researcher,  Margaret  Vine  , of  Magnetic Island , will  be sold online  by the   Leonard Joel Auction House, Sydney, this  coming  week .  It includes 93 items of jewellery  and two  1880  Victorian  glass fronted  bookcases  in which  she kept her large collection of  opera recordings , a Queen Anne  oak  gateleg table , two Persian and one  Iranian rug . 

SHIVER ME PELICAN !!!

Brrr! Freezing  North  Queensland   is  captured  in  this  Cairns  photograph  by Abra  which  seems to show  a Pelican in  ice . The  caption is being typed  by a blogger in pyjamas , dressing gown, with  football  socks on his feet , a small blanket wrapped about  his head to keep  ears warm . Puffed up cold Curlews  are  at the  door , peeping in  as if  they want to  be let  inside  for  warmth .