news

Some thoughts on the miners’ interview

Posted by hil

I watched the Ch. 9 interview with the two rescued Beaconsfield miners on Sunday night, and far from being bored, was quite fascinated. Some thoughts:

I was rather touched to watch how they were still taking care of each other. If one was struggling to keep his emotions in check, the other stepped in to relate something funny, or change tack, or give a reassuring touch, while he gathered himself together.

There was not one mention of god or praying. Their spiritual sustinance had been thoughts of their families and taking care of each other. I wonder if this secular aspect would be allowed to persist in a Hollywood version of their story.

These big boofy guys were wonderfully resilient and resourceful. They had good sense and medical knowledge and used them. One was less articulate than the other, but as someone here said, he pegged out the four corners of what he wanted to say, and left you to fill in the middle. I liked that description.

Channel 9 were really lazy. Their editing was sloppy, and they used an old graphic of the men’s position, obviously from a few weeks ago, presumably because they hadn’t been bothered to do a new one with the info the men provided. But I was glad the interviewer for the most part just let them talk without much interuption.

Live-blogging the rescue: Our trapped miners are free at last!

Posted by hil

It’s 5.10 am here in Canberra. I woke up and turned on the radio wondering how the rescue of the trapped miners in Tasmania was going, and was delighted to hear they have been freed from the 1.2 metre cage and cavity that they have been in for the last 14 days, a kilometre deep in the earth.
They are not above ground yet, but apparently it’s immiment. It’s just so hard to imagine being in those circumstances. Now they will have the media to contend with.

Updating:
5.22 am: They say the streets of Beaconsfiled are filling with people waiting for the miners to emerge. The church bell has been ringing. It’s wet and windy, and still dark. The media is interviewing anyone they can.

5.27am: Bill Shorten, the Australian Workers Union leader who has been looking after the families and handling much of the media attention has announced the men will be coming out in about an hour. They have been medically assessed as being pretty fit: #3 on a scale where the average is #4. They are cleaning up and then being reunited with their families at a station below ground. People are allowing themselves to cheer!

In a slightly earlier interview, Bill Shorten kept emphasising that it was the families that should remain the focus. He’s right.

Not surprisingly, there is a lot of symbolism involved in this situation. Much emphasis on the miners wanting to walk out if possible, instead of being taken on stretchers, and wanting to move their work tags from the green to the red side of the board that indicates whether you are ‘on shift’ and down the mine, or ‘completed your shift’ and safely up from the mine. Also much speculation about whether the miners will push hard to attend the funeral today of their fellow miner who died.

5.49: announcement that the miners will be coming out after 6am EST. Or in 15 minutes…

The media has staked out everything fromBeaconsfield to Luanceston where the hospital is. A channel 7 reporter is saying that the 40min drive by ambulance to Launceston will be the longest drive in their lives. Somehow I think thats not true and she is projecting some of herself into that comment!

5.54 am: The wives have been seen heading down into the mine to meet their guys.

There will be a guard of honour as the miners leave the mine.

5.58 am : thewy are out! tags taken! families being embraced!

Todd Russel hugging Bill Shorten

Walking proud. If a little stiff!

much hugging, back slapping, hand shaking. Very blokey :-)Brant Webb getting into the ambulances with their families

6.06: Todd Russell hugging his boy and now going to the ambulance

Todd has chucked his boots off and is joking. Kicking back in the ambulance. People milling around. Obviously talkative and humorous. Much clapping and whistles.

6.12 Miners forming a guard of honour. Ambulances driving out slowly. Police car first, then the two ambulances, then a van for more family

6.17am: They are on their way :-)

The Making of the EXPO Giant Platypus

Posted by hil

You might have seen pictures in the news of the Prime Minister and his wife dwarfed by a giant platypus, on the occasion of the opening of the Australian Pavilion at the World Expo in Aichi, Japan a couple of weeks ago. It was made by a team assembled by the Melbourne production company, think!OTS, and there are some images of the platypus there, if you check their portfolios.

Expox

Yesterday I was delighted to also find photos of the making of the platypus exhibit at Australia at Aichi World Expo 2005 in their Pavilion Photo Gallery. Starting with an artist’s impression, they move on to show how the over-all shape was constructed out of foam, filled with plaster, coated with concrete and covered with leather and soft fur. It’s not clear to me from that description how they end up with hollow sections, but I’m guessing that its the concrete layer that forms the shell. The platypus measures about 11 metres.Here are a few other picture links:

‘Our Mary’ and Prince Frederick with the platypus
‘Our Mary’ sits on its tail
Mr and Mrs Howard with the platypus: 1,2 (both photos by Penny Bradfield)
Update: Platy-cam! (not available anymore)

That Camel Costume

Posted by hil

Given my interest in big mascots, kitsch and otherwise, of course my attention was grabbed by the camel costume story a few days ago. A man travelling from Sydney to Melbourne on a Qantas flight checked in luggage which included both a camel and a crocodile costume. Twenty minutes later he saw a baggage handler wearing the head of his camel suit, driving to and fro on the tarmac. Apart from the usual concerns one might have about interference with one’s private belongs and security, the story has wider implications at the moment because of suspicions that Schapelle Corby is an innocent victim of domestic drug running, where baggage handlers might be involved.

Here are a few other links to pictures:

Camel and crocodile picture (via The Sydney Morning Herald, photo Northern Territory Tourist Commission)
Camel head face-on close-up (via The Courier Mail)
Report and picture of the characters in action at the gig they were on the way to, promoting (for the Northern Territory Tourist Commission) the Bulldogs-Carlton AFL game at Marrara Oval, Darwin, to be played onJune 18.

Qantas has launched a full inquiry, the baggage handler has been sacked and the airline has reimbursed the owner for dry-cleaning the camel’s head. And the Northern Territory Tourist Commission can’t be too unhappy. The unforseen advantages kind of remind me of those in Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant – “I didn’t get nothin’. I had to pay fifty dollars and
pick up the garbage”.

Perth wins the bid to host the 20th UNIMA Congress in 2008

Posted by hil

The following is a press release from the Western Australian government dated June 25th, 2004:

Perth beats China and Switzerland to win World Puppetry Congress and Festival

From the Hon. Bob Kucera, MLA, Minister for Tourism; Small Business; Sport and Recreation; Peel and the South West:

Western Australia will host the 20th Union International De La Marionette (UNIMA) World Puppet Festival and International Congress in 2008.

Tourism Minister Bob Kucera said that more than 1,000 participants from interstate and overseas, as well as thousands of Western Australians, were expected to converge on the new Perth Convention Exhibition Centre for the 10-day festival.v

“This is a major coup for the arts and cultural industry as well as the tourism industry in WA,” Mr Kucera said.

“It was a highly competitive bid won against Switzerland and China, and is a first for Australia.

“To have secured such a unique and prestigious cultural event shows that WA is a desirable destination for traditionally European-focused events.

“Hosting international events like the World Puppet Festival and Congress showcases WA as a culturally rich and diverse tourist destination.

“The festival will also give Western Australians the opportunity to see some of the world’s best puppetry performances throughout the city.”

The bid for the 2008 World Puppetry Congress and Festival was secured jointly by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre (on behalf of UNIMA Australia), EventsCorp, a division of the Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Perth Convention Bureau and the City of Perth.

The event, to be held mid-year in 2008, combines a congress and a festival.

Mr Kucera said that the State Government, through a partnership between the Perth Convention Bureau and EventsCorp, would provide funding of $130,000, and the event was expected to generate about $9million in combined direct expenditure for WA.

The event, which is held every four years, was in Croatia this year, with puppetry companies and artists from Vietnam, Norway, Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France and Canada in attendance.

Minister’s Office – 9213 7000