But now a second crisis arose. The candidate royals began to quarrel among themselves for control. They converged on the brood chambers and jostled for position there. They struggled to climb on top of their rivals. The winners in these encounters seized their opponents’ legs and antennae and dragged them away.
I don’t know if it’s a childhood fascination I had with ants, but this depiction of the fictitious Trailhead Colony reads like a family drama set in a royal household.
Puff: Wonders of the Reef (trailer), traces the journey of a baby pufferfish, aptly named Puff, as he searches for a home on the Great Barrier Reef. The film is directed by Adelaide based documentary filmmaker Nick Robinson, and narrated by Rose Byrne. Looks stunning.
Australian author Allison Tait recently asked sixteen local Children’s and Young Adult writers what they wish they’d known before commencing their publishing careers. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but this insight from Canberra based author Jack Heath, takes the cake:
I saw myself as a social commentator – but I realise now that I was a novelist. People didn’t like me, they liked my novels. I should have spent my time working on my books, rather than play-acting as a celebrity. In a broader sense, I should have focused on writing, rather than being a writer.
Data visualisations depicting the average colours of the world’s countries, based on aerial and satellite map images, put together by Erin Davis. There’s no missing Australia here, how unique is our average colour? Funny though, as I look out the window, I see no end of green presently (thanks La Nina).
Right on cue for the festive season, how to say no to the offer of a drink, for those who don’t drink alcohol. It’s unfortunate though people feel they simply can’t say no thanks, and are compelled to make up an excuse: I’m driving, anyone? But why?
Consider that twenty-three percent of Australians over the age of fourteen don’t consume alcohol at all. And not all of these non-drinkers are underage or elderly either. People in their twenties are drinking less than their parents did when they were the same age, for a number of reasons.
Non-drinkers may be in a minority, but they are hardly an insignificant portion of the population. What’s with the pressure then to drink, if you don’t want to?
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi, Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, some historical fiction and fantasy in the form of Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James, and Love Marriage by Monica Ali, are among titles due for publication.
Cancel the streaming subscription, books are the only entertainment you need.
This was the mindset I was in when I was alone in my cell at Silverwater Mulawa centre, awaiting “classo” (classification) – with a broken TV, no pen and paper, nothing to do except think. I noticed that the previous inmate had left a couple of library books on the table. I picked up an abandoned copy of Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol and began to read. I didn’t know the impact that poem would have on me, and how it would play a part in changing my world view and my life direction.
Colquitt argues those incarcerated should have greater access to books, and why not? Especially considering some of the publications sitting on the shelves in bookstores stand to be destroyed if not sold, wouldn’t it better if they could be of help to others?
