The Australian Index

Extract: a collection of mainly graphical results from a research project that focused on revealing how people feel anger, joy, fear, sadness & love. a simple survey asked 250 participants between the ages of 6 & 75 years from 35 different countries to graphically represent these emotions on a set of human silhouettes.

Extract: This is such great art for a heart-on-the-sleeve indie-folk album. Nothing that makes a statement, nothing iconic, just a pure - if a little cheap - visual representation of the feel of the album.

The introspection and self awareness of those halcyon days when you have had time to languish around in the grass and clover sum up both his laid back finger picking and downbeat breathy vocals.

Extract: For the last few years when driving past the man-made lake on Mounts Bay Road in Perth I’ve wondered why all the trees are white.

The kids always ask me why, and I, like the guy on that ad - you know the Great Wall of China is to keep the rabbits out guy - make up some rubbish because I don’t know.

Extract: 90 seconds…

That was the sum total of Stephanie Rice’s much lauded appearance in Make Me a Supermodel last night.

Rice was there to give some pseudo coaching to the swimmers, errr models, while they struggled up and down a lap or two of a Sydney pool.

Extract: Rupert Murdoch has brokered a backroom deal that will see Barack Obama appear tomorrow on the Fox News show The O’Reilly Factor with its abrasive right-wing host Bill O’Reilly. The interview will end a long boycott of Obama appearances on the Murdoch-owned network. While many will question the wisdom of his appearance on a station that often appears to be a paid-advertorial for the Republican Party, the timing is crucial as it is designed to deflect attention from John McCain’s acceptance speech at the GOP Convention in St Paul.

Extract: When one is young and naive, criminal law seems really exciting. But ultimately, I ended up going down the private law path. This is what happened the day I decided criminal law was not for me.

It all started when I had to stand in for a court clerk who was off sick on a day when there were appeals against sentence. It seems that they bunch similar appeals together. That day was sexual assault and rape day, as far as I could tell. Strangely enough, I can deal with murder better than I can deal with sexual assault and rape. The latter really upset me. By the afternoon, I was very depressed and distressed. But we reached the final appeal of the day. The end was in sight.

Extract: f you loved The Wisdom of Crowds, easily the best bestseller I’ve read since The Theory of Moral Sentiments and that was published in 1759, you’ll lerve this post by Michael Nielsen. Michael himself is quite an achiever. A graduate of the Uni of Queensland, he’s not only a scientist of some considerable standing (judging by the claims made on his website), he’s a truly fabulous writer. Check out these simple but compelling standards, and see how he meets them in this essay on the chess game of the century.

Extract: Newsagents still talk of territories and complain when a newsagent or other small retail business offering similar product moves too close to their business.

We ought to embrace competition for it is out of robust competition that fight harder and smarter for our own businesses.

Extract: The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year is a competition that amuses me greatly every year. Accordingly, generous chuckles were generated by the news that to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oddest Book Title of the Year a 'best of the oddest' competition is being held. Let joy reign unconfined. Odd contenders include...

Extract: Let me begin by explaining how your humble narrator's face became projected on a wall.

As you may well know, my favourite book of 2007 is The Trout Opera by Matthew Condon. I finally got to meet Matt in the flesh after a great session on the historical novel (or 'novel of now' - see below). I asked Mr Condon if he was sticking around for any of the Festival Club activities, and he enquired as to what went on in said club. I told him about the entertaining LoveTV and how much I had enjoyed Jackie French baring her soul.

Extract: The Atrium at Federation Square was regularly packed with queues of people waiting to get book signed by various authors outside the Readings bookshop.

Extract: Reflecting and building on the approach taken for last year's Australian Federal Election, Google has developed a comprehensive election coverage site for the upcoming Presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Extract: Cool Melbourne, found online at coolmelbourne.org, has been set up a one-stop shot for all things environmental, inspirational, practical and sustainable. The organisation was founded by photographer and adventurer Jason Kimberley to make an eco-link between science and Melbourne community, businesses and schools. But, of course, how do you get people to visit the web site?

Extract: It turns out Matt Hayden was wrong - we didn't lose the 2005 Ashes because of divine intervention. No, we were defeated by breath mints. Specifically, breath mints illegally applied to the surface of the ball to induce reverse swing. And no, this accusation doesn't come from Nathan Bracken with sour grapes. This comes from the fresh breathed confession of "the man in charge of looking after the ball", Marcos Trescothick.

Extract: The punters in money markets have a saying. Interest rate cuts are like cockroaches – there’s never just one of them.

Late yesterday they were backing their intuition with money.

The prices on the futures market suggest they’re expecting an extra three interest rate cuts over the next 12 months, bringing about a total cut in interest rates of 1.00 percentage points – some $175 per month.

But that’s not how the Reserve Bank sees it.

Extract: I really can’t recommend this chicken recipe enough. It’s simple to prepare, and really delicious. We had around one and half chicken thighs each in our bento boxes.

Extract: With Hurricane Gustav approaching the Gulf Coast it has been interesting to see how the internet is being used to disseminate news and information.  Blogs, Twitter, forums, Flickr, Utterz and a range of other social media are all helping to cover the Hurricane as it nears the US.

Extract: One of the worst possible things a father could hear is that his son has been rushed to hospital after being bashed in a gang attack. Even worse, though, may be the news that his son has participated in a gang attack which has left the victim in hospital.

Over the weekend a father learned of this second scenario before hailing me outside a downtown hotel. He climbed in with a mate, both middle-aged boozers and requested, “Mate, we’ve gotta get to _________ police station, quick as you can.”

Extract: A photography course I took earlier this year reacquainted me with the joys and tribulations of shooting photographs on 135 mm photographic film and using old manual SLR cameras.

Reflecting on my experiences, I came to see waiting as one of the defining aspects of film photography and how it is different from digital photography. It is a slow process, and a slow technology.

Extract: First of all, let me say on balance I am in favour of Not Quite Hollywood. I think it is good that these films are being celebrated, not for themselves per se most of the time (though more about this anon) but because it’s part of popular culture/social history that hasn’t been seen or discussed enough. Perhaps I should also add that I am in favour of this film because I really enjoyed it.