As I have been listening to Heart Radio over the summer, this has been one of my favourite songs I've heard this summer:
It's "This Girl" by Kungs and Cookin' on 3 Burners, featuring vocals from Kylie Auldist, an Australian singer. While I only heard the song recently, "This Girl" was originally released back in February. This particular track is a remix of Cookin' on 3 Burners' original track for "This Girl".
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 September 2016
Sunday, 4 September 2016
Steve Irwin - ten years later
Nearly a decade ago, I wrote this small tribute to Steve Irwin:
I cannot believe that it has been ten years since Irwin's death. I remember the day as though it were yesterday - I read the news in the morning and by the time the afternoon came around (on the US West coast, where I was located at the time), the Internet was almost impossible to navigate with all the people who were logged on at once reading up about Irwin.
When Irwin became famous, he often received criticism for emphasising entertainment over conservation but he used the former to aid with the latter while remaining true to his principles; Australia Zoo is part of that legacy as is the awareness he raised/people he inspired to become involved. He was most certainly a positive force in the world and he went too soon.
All these years later, thank you, Steve Irwin, for your conservation work and thank you to Terri Irwin for continuing it.
"Steve Irwin invested millions in lands.
He did this to protect the environments that wildlife lived in. He
should be remembered for that, and the other great achievements he did."
I cannot believe that it has been ten years since Irwin's death. I remember the day as though it were yesterday - I read the news in the morning and by the time the afternoon came around (on the US West coast, where I was located at the time), the Internet was almost impossible to navigate with all the people who were logged on at once reading up about Irwin.
When Irwin became famous, he often received criticism for emphasising entertainment over conservation but he used the former to aid with the latter while remaining true to his principles; Australia Zoo is part of that legacy as is the awareness he raised/people he inspired to become involved. He was most certainly a positive force in the world and he went too soon.
All these years later, thank you, Steve Irwin, for your conservation work and thank you to Terri Irwin for continuing it.
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
"Self Control" - Laura Branigan
In the mid-2000s, I was introduced to this song from the 1980s, which was in my parents' record collection:
It's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which comes from her third studio album, also called Self Control. The song was a major hit in Australia, Canada, across Europe and in the United States in 1984. "Self Control" was co-written by Raf, an Italian singer; he co-wrote it with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Raf's and Branigan's versions of "Self Control" were hits simultaneously.
"Self Control" and "Gloria" are Branigan's best-known songs. In 1993, Branigan released Over My Heart, her final studio album. Sadly, Branigan died over a decade ago on August 26th, 2004, at the age of 47. The cause of her death was a cerebral aneurysm.
Interestingly, an instrumental version of "Self Control" was used in a modded version of an ancient (by computer standards) DOS game. I heard Branigan's original before I heard the game instrumental.
It's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which comes from her third studio album, also called Self Control. The song was a major hit in Australia, Canada, across Europe and in the United States in 1984. "Self Control" was co-written by Raf, an Italian singer; he co-wrote it with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Raf's and Branigan's versions of "Self Control" were hits simultaneously.
"Self Control" and "Gloria" are Branigan's best-known songs. In 1993, Branigan released Over My Heart, her final studio album. Sadly, Branigan died over a decade ago on August 26th, 2004, at the age of 47. The cause of her death was a cerebral aneurysm.
Interestingly, an instrumental version of "Self Control" was used in a modded version of an ancient (by computer standards) DOS game. I heard Branigan's original before I heard the game instrumental.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
The first answer to Who's On Heart 2014
A voice on Who's On Heart 2014 has been identified! The person who rang up at 12:00 this afternoon, who's name was Andrew, guessed Stevie Nicks, Richard Madeley (I think that's correct; I haven't heard of him before) and Ridley Scott. Although it wasn't stated which name is correct, one of these people is among the three. The award? £10,000!
Andrew said that he wanted to use the money to travel to Australia to visit a friend. It looks as though he'll be able to do that! Congratulations!
As with last year, I was listening to the radio when the answer came. One down, two to go!
Update as of 14/01/2014 at 16:02: By process of elimination in the guesses since 12:00, Stevie Nicks is the first identified voice.
Andrew said that he wanted to use the money to travel to Australia to visit a friend. It looks as though he'll be able to do that! Congratulations!
As with last year, I was listening to the radio when the answer came. One down, two to go!
Update as of 14/01/2014 at 16:02: By process of elimination in the guesses since 12:00, Stevie Nicks is the first identified voice.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
"Never Tear Us Apart" - Paloma Faith
I was going to write a picture post, but my phone isn't transferring its images to my Dropbox account at the moment; I don't have time to sort it out and write my intended before midnight. As such, I'll fill in with a music post; this is "Never Tear Us Apart" by Paloma Faith:
"Never Tear Us Apart" is from Faith's second album, Fall to Grace, and is her cover of the original song by Australian rock band INXS. Faith has a fantastic voice and I'm surprised that I hadn't written about her until now. My Nottingham aunt is also a fan of Paloma Faith; we talked about her when I went up to visit last August.
"Never Tear Us Apart" is from Faith's second album, Fall to Grace, and is her cover of the original song by Australian rock band INXS. Faith has a fantastic voice and I'm surprised that I hadn't written about her until now. My Nottingham aunt is also a fan of Paloma Faith; we talked about her when I went up to visit last August.
Friday, 22 November 2013
"Graduation (Friends Forever)" - Vitamin C
I love this song:
It's "Graduation (Friends Forever)"; it's by Vitamin C and it's the third single from her self-titled debut album. The song was released in 2000 but the earliest I recall hearing it was either in 2005 or 2006 on the Open House Party.
Unfortunately, at present Vitamin C is almost a one-hit wonder. I say "almost" because the single "The Itch" from her second album, More, was successful in Australia, performed fairly well in New Zealand and peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Still, I hope we'll see the return of Vitamin C one day; she shouldn't have to be confined to being a very early 2000s hit, even if her single has the distinction of being the theme song for graduating high school students across the globe.
The last time I heard "Graduation (Friends Forever)" on the radio was on the Open House Party during one of my family's final weeks in the United States. I was surprised to learn that I hadn't written about the song until now.
It's "Graduation (Friends Forever)"; it's by Vitamin C and it's the third single from her self-titled debut album. The song was released in 2000 but the earliest I recall hearing it was either in 2005 or 2006 on the Open House Party.
Unfortunately, at present Vitamin C is almost a one-hit wonder. I say "almost" because the single "The Itch" from her second album, More, was successful in Australia, performed fairly well in New Zealand and peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Still, I hope we'll see the return of Vitamin C one day; she shouldn't have to be confined to being a very early 2000s hit, even if her single has the distinction of being the theme song for graduating high school students across the globe.
The last time I heard "Graduation (Friends Forever)" on the radio was on the Open House Party during one of my family's final weeks in the United States. I was surprised to learn that I hadn't written about the song until now.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
On Julia Gillard's removal
Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, was removed as the head of her political party, which also required her to resign from her position as prime minister. The person who defeated her was Kevin Rudd, who was also her predecessor. Gillard is Australia first female prime minster.
I am disappointed that Gillard's party voted to remove her; Gillard was one of the few female current heads of government of a major nation, and I think that losing such an important woman leader is a step backwards; for her time as the Prime Minister of Australia to end in this manner is disgraceful. She was not afforded the chance to face Australia's upcoming general election, as the men before her did in their respective elections.
Gillard has been a victim of misogyny throughout her premiership. An astounding three leadership elections were held against her and in recent weeks, she was insulted on a menu at a fundraiser for the opposition party and she was subject to homophobic abuse about her partner; her removal as party leader and subsequent resignation as prime minister were poorly timed
I'm not an expert on Australian politics, but from my foreign perspective, I didn't think Gillard was a bad prime minister at all. She seemed decent on the world stage and a couple of times when I watched her debate her opponents I thought she performed well.
Gillard has stated that she will not stand in the upcoming election and will retire from politics when this term ends; it's a shame. I do wish Gillard and Australia the best, and I hope that their next female prime minister will be strong and will have a longer period as head of government than Gillard did.
I am disappointed that Gillard's party voted to remove her; Gillard was one of the few female current heads of government of a major nation, and I think that losing such an important woman leader is a step backwards; for her time as the Prime Minister of Australia to end in this manner is disgraceful. She was not afforded the chance to face Australia's upcoming general election, as the men before her did in their respective elections.
Gillard has been a victim of misogyny throughout her premiership. An astounding three leadership elections were held against her and in recent weeks, she was insulted on a menu at a fundraiser for the opposition party and she was subject to homophobic abuse about her partner; her removal as party leader and subsequent resignation as prime minister were poorly timed
I'm not an expert on Australian politics, but from my foreign perspective, I didn't think Gillard was a bad prime minister at all. She seemed decent on the world stage and a couple of times when I watched her debate her opponents I thought she performed well.
Gillard has stated that she will not stand in the upcoming election and will retire from politics when this term ends; it's a shame. I do wish Gillard and Australia the best, and I hope that their next female prime minister will be strong and will have a longer period as head of government than Gillard did.
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Christmas cooking 2012
My mother, brother and I spent a part of the afternoon performing our usual Christmas cooking. For 2012, we made a white chocolate cherry "cake", a mincemeat flapjack and dark chocolate brownies:
This is the white chocolate cherry "cake". It was supposed to be white chocolate cherry brownies but it turned out like a cake instead. Next time we'll double the mixture and use a bigger pan.
This, believe it or not, is a flapjack. In the United States and Canada a flapjack is a small pancake, but in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia it's an oat dessert. The flapjack we made consists of mincemeat contained within a sugared oat base and top.
The dark chocolate brownies. This cooked mixture will be cut up into brownie-sized pieced, as it didn't turn out like a cake. It's been a few years since we last used this brownie recipe, so I'm really looking forward to eating it again!
I am happy to provide the recipes upon request. I would have posted them here, but as none of them are mine I don't think the authors would appreciate me passing off their recipes as my own!
I am happy to provide the recipes upon request. I would have posted them here, but as none of them are mine I don't think the authors would appreciate me passing off their recipes as my own!
Sunday, 18 November 2012
"Warm This Winter" - Gabriella Cilmi
It's mid-November, and already the radio stations are playing Christmas music. In the past few days I've heard the usual songs played at this time of year, such as "All I Want for Christmas is You", "Do They Know It's Christmas?", "Wonderful Wintertime" and "Last Christmas". It may be a little early to start hearing them, but when I think about it, I participated in some Christmas shopping three weeks ago; if I've done the shopping, it's certainly not too early for the music.
One song, which I have not been able to get out of my head since I first heard it three days ago, is "Warm This Winter" by Gabriella Cilmi, an Australian singer:
"Warm This Winter", released in 2008, is a cover of Connie Francis' hit single "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" from 1962. Cilmi's version changes a couple of the beginning lyrics, but her cover is otherwise the same as the original. Both are fitting tracks for the Christmas season, and hopefully they'll be as much as an earworm for you as they have been for me!
One song, which I have not been able to get out of my head since I first heard it three days ago, is "Warm This Winter" by Gabriella Cilmi, an Australian singer:
"Warm This Winter", released in 2008, is a cover of Connie Francis' hit single "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" from 1962. Cilmi's version changes a couple of the beginning lyrics, but her cover is otherwise the same as the original. Both are fitting tracks for the Christmas season, and hopefully they'll be as much as an earworm for you as they have been for me!
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
"Everything at Once" - Lenka
A piece of music for today's post; it's "Everything at Once" by Lenka, an Australian singer. I saw her a few times in a commercial when I was in Suffolk:
I had not heard of Lenka prior to seeing the advert, and I had to Google the song's lyrics to find out. I like both the sound of "Everything at Once" and Lenka's pronunciation of certain words in the track. Both her albums are available on Amazon UK.
The irony here is that the advert wasn't for her: it was for Windows 8!
I had not heard of Lenka prior to seeing the advert, and I had to Google the song's lyrics to find out. I like both the sound of "Everything at Once" and Lenka's pronunciation of certain words in the track. Both her albums are available on Amazon UK.
The irony here is that the advert wasn't for her: it was for Windows 8!
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Boy finds mother with Google Earth
Another news piece for today's post. I had mixed emotions about the following article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17693816
On one hand, I was delighted to read about a man in India who had re-united with his mother thanks to his use of Google Earth. Twenty-five years ago, at five years of age, he went out with his older brother but ended up taking a nap then erroneously boarded a train he assumed his brother was on...only to return to sleep while on that train and awaken fourteen hours later far away from home. While he was in a new place and frightened, he was clever enough to survive, ended up in an orphanage, and was adopted by a couple in Australia. In the last year or so, he did his research using Google Earth to work out what town he originally came from, then he was able to return there and see his mother again.
The part of the article that saddened me was the bit about his older brother: it was awful to read that he was discovered a month after the younger boy had disappeared...and it was his remains that were found. It is not known if his death was an accident or a deliberate killing. It must have been devastating for the mother to have one child missing and the other meeting a brutal end.
Overall, it was a positive article, and it is refreshing to read about a missing child re-unite with their parent(s). Thousands of children go missing worldwide every year, and too often those children never see their families again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17693816
On one hand, I was delighted to read about a man in India who had re-united with his mother thanks to his use of Google Earth. Twenty-five years ago, at five years of age, he went out with his older brother but ended up taking a nap then erroneously boarded a train he assumed his brother was on...only to return to sleep while on that train and awaken fourteen hours later far away from home. While he was in a new place and frightened, he was clever enough to survive, ended up in an orphanage, and was adopted by a couple in Australia. In the last year or so, he did his research using Google Earth to work out what town he originally came from, then he was able to return there and see his mother again.
The part of the article that saddened me was the bit about his older brother: it was awful to read that he was discovered a month after the younger boy had disappeared...and it was his remains that were found. It is not known if his death was an accident or a deliberate killing. It must have been devastating for the mother to have one child missing and the other meeting a brutal end.
Overall, it was a positive article, and it is refreshing to read about a missing child re-unite with their parent(s). Thousands of children go missing worldwide every year, and too often those children never see their families again.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Powerslide
Back in either 1997 or 1998, Dad downloaded the demo of a computer game called Powerslide, a racing game by the now-defunct Australian company Ratbag Games. Normally, we were not into racing games, as we found almost all the ones we had played to be very dull and similar to each other (we already had Monster Truck Madness 2, and that game was good enough for us); however, Dad had read positive reviews about Powerslide and wanted to try it out.
Despite containing one track, we found the demo of Powerslide to be far more interesting and a bigger challenge than all the other racing games we had played. For example, in Powerslide, all of the vehicles the player could control had different strengths and weaknesses (such as one type being light with good traction but poor acceleration; and another having a bigger body and fast acceleration, but low stability), as opposed to all the car choices being different in appearance only. Another aspect of the game we found fascinating was the storyline behind the "powersliding", and the bizarre names and "bios" of each character. As well as having good gameplay, Powerslide's graphics were highly advanced for the time, with the various landscapes in the game being smooth rather than blocky.
We decided to buy the full version of Powerslide, and we were not disappointed. It was great to have the full allotment of tracks, vehicles, and characters (although all these, along with the higher difficulty levels, had to be earned by winning "championships"); plus the game turned out to be so much of a challenge that it was years before any of us "finished" it. Powerslide became further fun to play when Dad installed a network in the house and we were then able to play it against each other rather than just against the computer.
As for the Ratbag Games themselves, they were going to release a sequel titled Powerslide: Slipstream. However, they were unable to find a publisher for the game; and Ratbag itself was bought out by another company in August of 2005, then closed down by the new parent company at the end of the year.
Ratbag Games may be gone, but from what I understand, Powerslide is still being played...I even play it from time to time. It may be ancient by software standards, but it was groundbreaking for that era, and it still holds up pretty well. Powerslide also works on Windows 7, so I do not envision the game going away while operating systems can still run the program
Despite containing one track, we found the demo of Powerslide to be far more interesting and a bigger challenge than all the other racing games we had played. For example, in Powerslide, all of the vehicles the player could control had different strengths and weaknesses (such as one type being light with good traction but poor acceleration; and another having a bigger body and fast acceleration, but low stability), as opposed to all the car choices being different in appearance only. Another aspect of the game we found fascinating was the storyline behind the "powersliding", and the bizarre names and "bios" of each character. As well as having good gameplay, Powerslide's graphics were highly advanced for the time, with the various landscapes in the game being smooth rather than blocky.
We decided to buy the full version of Powerslide, and we were not disappointed. It was great to have the full allotment of tracks, vehicles, and characters (although all these, along with the higher difficulty levels, had to be earned by winning "championships"); plus the game turned out to be so much of a challenge that it was years before any of us "finished" it. Powerslide became further fun to play when Dad installed a network in the house and we were then able to play it against each other rather than just against the computer.
As for the Ratbag Games themselves, they were going to release a sequel titled Powerslide: Slipstream. However, they were unable to find a publisher for the game; and Ratbag itself was bought out by another company in August of 2005, then closed down by the new parent company at the end of the year.
Ratbag Games may be gone, but from what I understand, Powerslide is still being played...I even play it from time to time. It may be ancient by software standards, but it was groundbreaking for that era, and it still holds up pretty well. Powerslide also works on Windows 7, so I do not envision the game going away while operating systems can still run the program
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Steve Irwin
It is five years ago to the date that Steve Irwin died from a stingray barb in a part of the Great Barrier Reef known as the Batt Reef. I remember that morning well: it was cool and sunny outside, and my brother and I turned my computer on to check the news as we normally did and were shocked to see the majority of news headlines reporting “Crocodile Hunter dies”.
Years ago, we used to watch Animal Planet frequently, with our favourite shows being The Crocodile Hunter and The Jeff Corwin Experience. We were always fascinated by the animals and places seen in each episode: we would be happy when learning about an interesting new animal, but upset when we learnt that the said animal was endangered. We did become fans of Steve Irwin and had a lot of respect for him and his work, and after the Crocodile Hunter, we watched The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, a show covering the day-to-day activities at Australia Zoo.
We ended up talking about him all day when he died, and we watched several episodes of The Crocodile Hunter and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries in the subsequent Steve Irwin marathon on Animal Planet, plus the memorial service and an abundance of other shows about him. I remember the Internet being exceedingly difficult to navigate on the day of his death with tens, possibly even hundreds of millions of people logging on to read about him.
To this day I think Steve Irwin was, and still is, a strong net positive to the world: while his critics opposed his handling of animals (and I can understand their point), his documentaries of nature did educate millions of people of what issues the environment faces; he cared about nature, and through his work and influence, he helped others care about nature too. One fact that we did not know about him until after his death was his buying up of huge swaths of land so that it would be safe from development, and thus, safe for the flora and fauna inhabiting it.
I have read in recent years that Australia Zoo has run into problems, most notably financial difficulties. I think it would be more than just a shame if the zoo ever closed, and I hope the work Steve Irwin did there will not come to an end and be left to live on in memory.
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