Sunday, January 31, 2021

Thought for the Day

 


Colour version:


An alternative version:

Another alternative version:




5 Minutes of History: Australia's first press photograph


What would you say was Australia’s first press photograph? Scenery? A politician? An animal? 

The answer is: none of the above.

Taken by J W Lindt in 1880, it is a photograph of bushranger Joe Byrne, strung up on a door outside the jail house in Benalla, Victoria. Byrne is displayed for an unknown photographer and the painter Julian Ashton who is standing to the left with possibly a sketchbook under his arm. Lindt’s photograph captures not only the spectacle of Byrne’s body but the contingent of documentarians who arrived from Melbourne to record and widely disseminate the event for public edification.





Some even took their children . . .


Byrne (1856 – 1880)[1] was a member of the "Kelly Gang", led by Ned Kelly, who were declared outlaws after the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek. Despite wearing the improvised body armour for which Ned Kelly and his gang are now famous (and which he is reputed to have designed), Byrne received a fatal gunshot wound from a stray bullet during the gang's final violent confrontation with police at Glenrowan, in June 1880. The bullet severed his femoral artery and he died from loss of blood.

Eyewitnesses at the hotel claimed that a moment before the bullet struck Joe Byrne dead, he offered the toast "Here's to the bold Kelly Gang!". Another report states that he said "Many more years in the bush for the Kelly Gang!".

The day after his death his body was hung on the door of the lock-up at Benalla and photographed by the press. His family did not claim the body, and the police refused to hand it over to sympathisers, fearing a funeral would become a rallying point for the simmering rebellion.

Gallery:


Joe Byrne


Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, 
Steve Hart, Joe Byrne


Joe Byrnes’ armour



Rare portrait of Joe Byrne c 1880, from the original edition of the Illustrated Sydney News.





 Joe Byrnes grave in the Benalla cemetery.

Ned Kelly attacks the police in the early morning mist as he emerges from the bush,  He had left the scene to warn sympathisers to call off a planned uprising, the plans having gone awry.  After regaining consciousness, having passed out from loss of blood, he tried to rejoin his comrades, unaware they were now dead.






Saturday, January 30, 2021

Thought for the Day

 


Literary Degustation

Dégustation:
the action or an instance of tasting especially in a series of small portions.

Literary degustation is a term coined by me to refer to reading and viewing in a series of small portions. It was inspired by my receiving my daily email yesterday as part of my Bored Panda subscription, an email with a large number of items, all of them interesting and fascinating. Here is a tasting of some of those items with the links if you wish to access the full content for each . . .
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40 Design Solutions That Don't Solve Problems, Only Create Them, As Shared By This Instagram Account

The ‘Typical Rykozhop’ Instagram page documents how some homeowners have to live with utterly ugly, just plain bad, and downright dangerous interior design decisions. That Instagram site can be sourced by clicking on:




Bored Panda source:
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40 Pets With Unique Genes That Have Given Them Really Distinctive Looks

Pics of animals with genetic abnormalities:

Ren Is A Polydactyl With 6 Toes On Each Foot

Sansa Is A Special Needs Rescue Princess With Feline Hyperesthesia, Different Colored Eyes & More Toes Than You

Bored Panda source:
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Here Are 45 Life Skills That Everyone Should Have

This popular Reddit community called Every Man Should Know is on a mission to introduce you to anything that your dad could have forgotten to cover. You can access that site by clicking on:



Bored Panda source:
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83 Illustrations By “Success Pictures” That Might Motivate You

. . . the illustrations of "Success Pictures," the Instagram account with over 710k followers, . . . focus on positive affirmation and inspire people to keep pushing through and achieve hard-earned and well-deserved success. Some of them give some useful advice or even wisdom, and some of them just remind us about the realities of life. Whatever it is, the key message is simple—never give up and persevere!





Bored Panda source:
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Son Photoshops His Father Into Movie Scenes And Odd Places

There are many ways you can show your love to your parents. One way is to give them a gift, something like a cup that says "world's best parent" or a portrait made in their image. Or perhaps you could simply call them more often and visit (of course, once the pandemic is over). Well, a guy named Matt Bonito decided to show his love to his dad, Dom Bonito, a little differently.

Matt started to create photoshops around his father, placing him in movies, music videos, historical events, and many more odd places. The pictures Matt creates are quite funny and always catch you by surprise. And Dom can become what, perhaps, he wanted to be someday—an actor, singer, politician. Or at least have a nice laugh and see himself in unusual situations.







Bored Panda source:
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Biden’s Dogs Just Moved Into The White House And The Photos Are Just Precious

President Joe Biden’s dogs have officially moved into the White House, and the internet is loving the wholesome canine pics. Champ and Major Biden arrived at their new home in Washington from Delaware on Sunday, January 24, even though Biden officially became the president of the United States during a ceremony on January 20.





Bored Panda source:


Friday, January 29, 2021

Thought for the Day

 


Funny Friday

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Yesterday was the end of Readers Week, dear readers, there will be another at a future date.

Back to the familiarity of some humour with Funny Friday.

A caution at some risque content ahead.

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SOME HUMOUR:

HOW TO FEED A PILL TO A CAT:


Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill inside end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

Call fire brigade to retrieve the bloody cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
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I would like to share a personal experience I had about drinking and driving. This might save you the cost and embarrassment of being arrested for DUI.

As you know, people have been known to have unexpected brushes with the authorities from time to time, often on the way home after a "social session" with family or friends. Well recently, it happened to me. I was out for the night to a party and had more than several margaritas coupled with a bottle of rather lovely red wine. It was held at a great Italian restaurant. Although relaxed, I still had the common sense to know I was slightly over the limit. That's when I did something I've never done before... I took a taxi home.

On the way home there was a police roadblock, but since it was a taxi they waved it past and I arrived home safely without incident. These roadblocks can be anywhere and I realized how lucky I was to have chosen to take a taxi.

The real surprise to me was that I had never driven a taxi before. Not sure where I got it, and now that it's in my garage I don't know what to do with it. If you want to borrow it, give me a call.
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When I was about 7 years old, I accompanied my father to the funeral of a co-worker of his, someone I didn't even know.

When we got there, I stood in a corner waiting for the time to pass. A bitter looking man approached me and said, "Enjoy life kid, enjoy it because time flies. Look at me now, I didn't enjoy it." Then he passed his hand over my head and left.

My father, before leaving took me with him to pay honors to his friend. When I looked in the coffin, I was horrified to see that the man in the coffin was the same man who had spoken to me!!

I was so traumatized I couldn't sleep properly. I had terrible nightmares. I was terrified of being alone. I saw many psychologists, endured much turmoil throughout my adolescent years. It got better as I aged, but I would still occasionally wake up screaming in fear.

It was many years later when I discovered something remarkable that completely changed my life.

That bastard had a twin.
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Pastor William Fuzz had been the only minister in his small town for 30 years and had a wonderful reputation as a good man of God. However, he had a secret passion for the ladies and just couldn't help himself but get involved.

One day he took a beautiful 30 year old parishioner down the dead end lane by the river to make out. Suddenly the bright light of a policeman’s flashlight illuminated the pair.

Thinking he might be able to talk his way out of it, the minister said “Officer it’s okay I’m Pastor Fuzz.”

The cop replied, “I don’t care if your halfway up her ass, get outta the car!”

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FROM THE VAULT:

A motorist is driving past a mental hospital on a dark, moonless night when he gets a flat tyre.

As he begins to change the tyre, he notices that one of the patients is looking at him over the top of the fence whilst leaning his arms and chin on the fence.

Nervous, trying to work quickly, he jacks up the car, takes off the wheel, puts the wheel nuts into the hubcap on the ground and gets the spare tyre.

Whilst taking the spare tyre to the wheel, he steps on the hubcap, sending the wheel nuts clattering into a storm drain.

The mental patient is still watching him through the fence.

The motorist desperately looks into the storm drain but the wheel nuts are gone. He paces back and forth in the dark with the patient still watching him, trying to think of what to do.

Finally the patient says "Take one wheel nut off each of the other wheels and put them on this wheel and you’ll have three on each. That will get you home and tomorrow you can take it to your mechanic and get the missing wheel nuts replaced.”

"That's brilliant," says the motorist, "What's someone like you doing in an asylum?"

“I might be crazy,” replied the patient, “but I’m not stupid.”

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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:

By moi . . .

The Pres is now Joseph Biden.
And he the nation is giden.
End talk of vote stealing,
Get on with the healing,
But the Donald continues dividen.

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GALLERY:







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CORN CORNER:

My 4 year old son said "Daddy, why do people make up things that their children have said for social media? Isn't it just inherently dishonest and indicative of inability to construct a compelling narrative themselves? "
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A kid once asked me "How do stars die?"

I told him "Usually of an overdose."
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If I’m reading their lips correctly, my neighbors are arguing about some creepy guy next door.
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My girlfriend left a note on the fridge saying "Sorry, this isn't working."

Then I opened the fridge and it was still working.

Phew, I thought something bad was going to happen today.

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Thursday, January 28, 2021

Quotes for the Day

Police in Adelaide, South Australia, have requested the public’s assistance in apprehending a woman wanted for serious offences, including break ins and car thefts. The Facebook post appealing for help in finding her has so far been shared more than 4,000 times and liked about 5,000 times. While police are pleased with the response, they said the bulk of the comments were in relation to the wanted woman's name: 


Khe Sanh is, of course, the name of one of the biggest hits and most popular songs of Australian band Cold Chisel, with the result that many of the comments left have referenced the song’s lyrics: 

"I expect the police are looking for her diligently, from the ocean to the Silver City." 

“Have you checked the last plane out of Sydney?” 

“She could be hitting some Hong Kong mattress all night long.” 

“It’s no use looking for her in South East Asia ‘cos the answer sure ain’t there.” 

"Maybe she removed the home detention bracelet with a cold chisel."

Even the police got into the act. “She is no Choir Girl,” police said in a tongue-in-cheek tweet about Cox, referencing other songs by the legendary Australian band. “We’ve already searched Bow River and the Star Hotel.” 


The comment I like best: 

"Should arrest her parents for naming her after a Cold Chisel song." 

Those who want to hear and see Cold Chisel perform the song, click on the following link: