Imogen Brough on the Voice

Gloria and I have been watching the Voice of channel 9 and were particularly impressed by Imogen Brough's performance sin the blind audition and the Battle round.

However we were disappointed with the performance last night and suspect she won't make it through to following rounds.

NOTE I did not say were were disappoinited with HER performance last night. The disappointment was with the "Coaching" of Rick Martin. Why on earth did he send her out to sing in a key entirely outside of her comfortable range?

So far her demonstrated strength has been in the husky quality of her lower range, breaking out for a powerful climax as she did in the blind audition where all four "coaches" simultaneously turned their chairs in hope of claiming her for their teams.

For her performance last night she was required to sing in a high register continually moving into falsetto.

Poor coaching is almost certain to end her progress in that competition but hopefully will not damage her future in music.

Imogen Brough, you are a unique talent deserving to find success. I hope you find it.

Gloria and I are considering whether it is worth continuing with The Voice.

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This blog has been incative for a long time since I started my new wordpress sites
http://onesimusfiles.wordpress.com/
http://outshadows.wordpress.com/wp-admin/

But the topic of this post didn't seem to fit in with either of those wordpress sites and there didn't seem to be any other avenue to express my disappointment/

Would a Vegan Diet End Animal Suffering?

I’ve just seen a comment on the letters page of the Daily Telegraph that suggested animal suffering will be alleviated with the adoption of a vegan diet.

I think the comment displays a noble but very naive desire.
The problem of animal suffering is more related to market forces and factory farming practices than by meat eating.

Humanely raised livestock, given an equally humane end to life results in far less suffering than many creatures experience “in the wild” as part of a natural foodchain.

A universal vegan diet would ultimately thrust those creatures currently raised domestically for food into “the wild”. It is unlikely that millions of these animals, no longer required for food, will be kept as pets or in zoos. What kind of habitat would be given over to them to allow them to roam in freedom and could they survive?

What suffering would they endure and for how long, until they slip to endangered status and eventually to probable extinction?

Veganism is NOT the answer to animal suffering, but being more selective with meat: eating less and choosing meat from animals raised and slaughtered humanely is a step in the right direction.


Black Cow by Petr Kratochvil

Please note, this blog is mostly inactive. I have moved to wordpress. See here:

http://onesimusfiles.wordpress.com/

Comments on this blogspot site will no longer be posted.

October Garden

An October photo of the various garden beds I now have and a description of how they are being used: see the following link.

http://onesimusfiles.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/october-garden/

How Does My Garden Grow?

…Few things are more off-putting than finding boiled caterpillars hiding within the stalks of broccoli on your dinner plate….


Full article here:

http://onesimusfiles.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/how-does-my-garden-grow/

Announcement

I've been concentrating more on my new wordpress blog in recent weeks. At the moment that one is easier for me to access, even though it seems more difficult to use than this one. As I've said before something has changed. I can only access the dashboard of this blog and not the actual blog pages. As a result I can't even add comments or reply to comments.

Most of my posting to the blog is done via a work computer and either blogger have made some changes or the work IT system has been changed. Access to most blogs found on blogger has been blocked, the automated reason given is something called "placeholders". I don't have a clue what that means.

This also means that I can't view other blogs with a blogspot address, so unfortunately, if you have a blog on that system I can't access your blog either. I therefore haven't been able to read some of my favourite blogs for some time.

I'll keep this blog going and will make an occasional entry like this one, but unless the situation changes I'll be posting most things on wordpress from now on. This is the link to that blog:

http://onesimusfiles.wordpress.com/

This "announcement" will also be posted onto my other blogspot sites.

2012

I’ve clearly done very little blogging in recent months, see here for a brief and partial explanation.




http://onefiles.blogspot.com/2012/03/2012-first-months.html

Simon Crean Leadership

It seems I'm not the only one to have my suspicions about Simon Crean.

This morning's Sunrise on channel seven were reporting that he was another potential challenger for the prime ministership, who could step in as an alternative to break the Gillard-Rudd tensions.

I told my family to keep an eye on Crean a couple of weeks ago after a reported snub of Julia Gillard when he failed to show up at a barbecue she had arranged to discuss matters with the party. This was straight after one of his early outbursts against Kevin Rudd.

Then a couple of days ago, after Crean had a series of media appearances blasting Rudd I wrote my previous post suggesting that we keep our eyes on him.

I think it would be unlikely for Crean to make a leadership move now. If he does make a move I think it will be after the next election (which Labor is almost guaranteed to lose). Then he will give himself a better opportunity to establish himself in leadership with the hope of winning the following election to become Prime Minister.

Aussie Politics

Keep your eye on Simon Crean and the way he weighs into the Labor leadership debate. He may be one to benefit from a Government implosion: being a possible candidate for leadership after Labor (most likely) loses the next election.

To some ambitious Labor members losing the next election could give them the opportunity they desire to step forward to attempt leadership - sweeping away past leaders currently embroiled in powerplays, and presenting themselves as the ones to bring back the stability needed to regain power.

For The Dead Men, Lucy Ward

Georgeous voice.
Great song.

No Wiggle Room for Bad Decision.

Australian children’s entertainers the Wiggles may have made the worst business decision of their careers. The recent sacking of yellow Wiggle Sam Moran to make room for his predecessor’s return not only generated their worst ever publicity, they missed out on a perfect opportunity to perpetuate the Wiggle’s brand for years longer.

None of the original members are getting younger – in fact they are noticeably aging, and three of them have experienced serious health issues. Geoff (purple wiggle) and Greg (returning yellow Wiggle) have both had heart problems, while Anthony (blue wiggle) has made no secret about suffering depression. How long can they continue with age and health against them?

Instead of casting Sam aside like a now unneeded maternity-leave relief worker, he could have been the first in an ongoing replacement program. He was well-established and loved by today’s toddling audience, proof that life could go on without the original Wiggle cast, that the brand has grown bigger than its individual (original) cast members.
Recently I read how most of the Wiggles annual multi-million dollar income has little to do with actual performances. Most comes from other sources such as advertising endorsements. With the dismissal of Sam they missed the perfect opportunity to sequentially replace all of the original members, allowing them to move on to other things – or into a comfortably wealthy retirement financed by their shareholdings in the Wiggles brand. They could have left younger men like Sam Moran to continue the hard work of entertaining children.
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One thing that seems to have been overlooked with the Yellow Wiggle situation is that Sam seemed to do most of the singing for the group during his time as a wiggle. Whenever I saw them on TV, such as Carols by Candlelight, the other members acted as backing vocalists for Sam the lead singer.

Would Veganism Prevent Animal Suffering?

I’ve just seen a comment on the letters page of the Daily Telegraph suggesting that animal suffering would be alleviated with the widespread adoption of a vegan diet.

I think the comment displays a noble but very naive desire.
The problem of animal suffering is more related to market forces and factory farming practices than by meat eating.

Humanely raised livestock, given an equally humane end to life results in far less suffering than many creatures experience “in the wild” as part of a natural foodchain. Man is only one species of meat eater, and the only one with the potential of reducing the suffering of the animals he eats.

A universal vegan diet would ultimately thrust those creatures currently raised domestically for food into “the wild”. It is unlikely that millions of these animals, no longer required for food, will be kept as pets or in zoos. What kind of habitat would be given over to them to allow them to roam in freedom and could they survive?

What suffering would they endure and for how long, until they slip to endangered status and eventually to probable extinction?

Veganism is NOT the answer to animal suffering, but being more selective with meat: eating less and choosing meat from animals raised and slaughtered humanely is a step in the right direction.


photo credit Black Cow by Petr Kratochvil

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind: Bird Whisperer part II

Not long ago I wrote about the swallow that found its way into the office at work. Today I had another close encounter after I heard a solid thump on the office window.

Outside on the ground was a very docile little bird that looked slightly like a small silvereye without the white rimmed eye. It willingly stepped onto my hand and I was able to move it to a safer position on the low branch of a tree.

I was so caught up in the moment that I missed the chance of noting the details that would help me make a positive identification. It was one of those times when a camera would have been helpful. Maybe I’m the only one here at work without a camera now that almost every mobile phone comes equipped with one.

Relying on memory I turned to the birds in backyards website and came up with a tentative identification. http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Eopsaltria-australis

However, for confirmation I went back outside hoping to see the bird still sitting on the branch where I’d left it. It was there, but before I could have a good look, it flew away.
While disappointed that I couldn’t confirm what it was, I was pleased to see it had recovered from its accident, even if it didn’t recognise its rescuer and didn’t fly to my shoulder to express its thanks.

The Ill-Advised Practice of Naming Your Livestock – or even your car.

I don’t have any livestock. The deeds of my house prohibit the keeping of livestock on my property. But I can imagine that naming an animal that is ultimately destined for the table would make it much harder emotionally to see that destiny fulfilled.

I have no livestock but I do have a car – one that is being traded in today on another vehicle that is supposed to use 25% less fuel. And while our old car isn’t a living thing – it did get named soon after purchase, and maybe that isn’t helping to face up to the fact that our relationship will be ended today after more than 7 years of faithful service.

What should be a time of excited anticipation – leading to the arrival of the new car, is in fact seriously tinged with sadness. I’ll be sorry to see “Mulder” go.

Global Rock Challenge

My niece's school recently participated in a school's dance competition. Their performance inspired by Jessica Watson's solo round the world sailing journey is on this video:

Inspiring?
Then please vote here:

http://www.globalrockchallenge.com/Video/3191/True-Inspiration/
.

Art, UFOs, Truth?

Today I came across an online art magazine http://painters-table.com/.

I haven’t had the chance to have a good look at it yet but I did read Budd Hopkins’ obituary http://painters-table.com/blog/budd-hopkins-obituary-1932-2011 and a 2010 interview with Hopkins linked in the obituary.

He was a major UFO abduction investigator and author. I’d forgotten he was also an artist.

I can credit Hopkins for waking me up to the truth about UFOs and alien abductions. His book “Witness” was about a UFO abduction witnessed by a high ranking United Nations official. I found the whole story was beyond ridiculous.

It was clear to me that Hopkins was so caught up with the story that he had lost any sense of objectivity. For me that book was the final confirmation that so many UFO claims are media creations, or at least media driven. The majority of what we “know” about them is filtered through the subjective, often highly biased reporting of UFO “investigators”. The reported “truth” is usually far different to the objective truth of what actually happened. Somewhere between an actual experience and the end product of the published report there is a great deal of embellishment.

That embellishment may not be added to intentionally deceive; it could be that the reporter is driven more by the need to believe than by a desire for truth

Bushrangers: Heros or thugs?

The likes of Ned Kelly and Ben Hall have captured the Australian imagination and become the focus of our folklore and mythology. They are often portrayed as victims of authoritarian oppression and champions of the downtrodden.

But what would we think if we could look ahead, maybe a century and a half into the future, and see today’s car thieves, home invaders, armed robbers and murderers being celebrated as national heroes?

Channel Seven is currently running the Wild Boys series which has been described as a “boys own” adventure. It portrays a police force headed by a ruthless leader who is not averse to breaking the law himself to make sure his idea of order is upheld. The heroes are a group of lovable larrikins whose only failing is their regular practice of holding travellers at gunpoint to relieve them of their valuables.

The series plays up the romanticised picture of the bushranger as loveable rogue that has made heroes of some of the most ruthless criminals in our history. Even the term “bushranger creates a more romantic image than words that more accurately describe their lives and criminal pursuits.

How would you picture a group of men who break into your home and hold you hostage for hours, making threats of violence, demanding to be fed and then taking as many of your possessions as they can carry? Would you find it excusable if they came from a disadvantaged family or had been given a raw deal by the authorities? I’m sure not!
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Recently I have read two new books dealing with the subject of Bushrangers. My brief reviews can be found here:

http://out-shadows.blogspot.com/2011/10/captain-thunderbolt-and-his-lady-by.html

http://out-shadows.blogspot.com/2011/10/bushrangers-australias-greatest-self.html

Just call me the bird whisperer!

A bit of excitement in the office this morning, a swallow made its way through a series of doors and entered the office. It flew around for several minutes, avoiding all attempts to guide it back the way it came. Eventually I was able to corner it near a window and use my jacket as a net. I took it outside and released it.

My office is attached to a large workshop building. Swallows nest and roost up near the roof. The workshop is closed up each evening and the creaking of the large roller doors alerts the swallows that its time to return. The closing of the doors is always accompanied by a squadron of returning birds, swooping between the bottom of the door and the floor. Likewise, each morning when the doors are opened, the birds will leave their roosting site and swoop out for the day.

All is not lost if the doors close before they get through. There is a gap at the corner of the door where it doesn’t quite meet the floor. Any late birds land on the ground, scurry through and fly off again.

Broken News

They’ve recently discovered that Ned Kelly had a skeleton but he kept it buried at Pentridge prison in Melbourne instead of in his closet.
DNA tests proved this – but I don’t think they’ve been able to prove he had a skull of his own. Someone else’s may have been substituted.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/ned-kellys-remains-found-20110901-1jmqi.html

Ned could have turned to art instead of crime but there were no government art grants at the time so he couldn’t exchange a $20,000 grant for uncirculated notes to be displayed under Perspex and given a price tag of up to $25,000.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/cash-artwork-sells-for-21350/story-fn9d3avm-1226126777761

More paintings

Here are two more of my paintings. Gloria has now joined me in this new creative outlet. Two of her paintings follow mine. The blue one at the end is a work in progress.

Mine:






And Gloria's:

Painting the Bible

I’ve taken up a new artistic pursuit: PAINTING.

I was encouraged to do this by a friend who has been painting for years. He paints Bible text on canvas with acrylic paint.

He also introduced me to a NZ artist Colin McCahon who painted many art works based on bible texts. One of his most significant works being Victory Over Death 2, a gift to the National Gallery Australia from the New Zealand Government.

I saw the painting almost by accident on a recent trip to the NGA and it was the most powerful artwork I’ve seen. Since that first viewing I’ve made a second visit to the gallery solely to see that one painting.

My own work is still in the practice stage, with many frustrations and disappointments. I’m trying to come to terms with both paint and canvas and at times I struggle. It should be easy to write text with paint – but its not. Here are some of my paintings so far – remember it is early days yet. Hopefully with practice I’ll improve.

Broken Body Shed Blood



In the Beginning


Way Truth Life.


Word of God



See here for details and images relating to Victory Over Death 2.

http://nga.gov.au/McCahon/1.cfm

http://www.mccahon.co.nz/cm001502