The letter "T" - part 2 + the letter "U"

Hey there! This Friday it's the last time I'll see you before the Open Days. So we'll have to devote a little time to discussing what's happening and what you will need for your presentation(s).

The rest of time will be taken up by these topics:

1) Tourism revisited ;-)




2) TV

Now, where do I even start... ;-)

Inevitably this topic is going to be very arbitrary. Imagine that a foreigner asks you to recommend best 10 programmes/soaps/talk shows on Polish television now and in the past. Yes? Well? Czterej Pancerni or Szymon Majewski Show? I bet everyone would come with a unique list...

I've been nagging my Aussie friends for suggestions, plus I've discovered some gems of Aussie TV on my own. It will be a very incomplete list, but I feel that's the only way I can do it - just to share with you my personal favs.

First visit the infallible Culture Portal for a comphehensive insight into the history of TV in Australia.

And now you are ready to look at Top 10 Programmes (or rather categories - but let's not be too pedantic, eh? ;-) )

1. comedians: Adam Hills, Tim Minchin, Judith Lucy

You've seen some clips with Adam and Tim already, but now have a look at the one which unites them on screen :-)



And this one shows Judith at her sarcastic best. :-D I rarely find female comedians funny, but her style of comedy never fails to entertain me.



2. radio presenters guesting on TV shows: Hamish and Andy, Myf Warhurst

Hamish and Andy are a comedy duo with their own radio programme but often appear on Spicks and Specks and Rove.

Here is a little clip in which they instruct their mothers to play pranks on Mother's Day. It is not very highbrow humour, mind you, but it's endearing nevertheless :-)
Look for the expression of sheer dread in the boys' faces when they realise what they have made their moms do. And you have to admit that the ladies are really game to take on any challenge ;-)



Myf appears as team captain on Spicks and Specks. She is the heartwarming, adorable, gentle soul of the show. But her being the only girl in the gang, the host - Adam Hills and Kiwi team captain Alan Brough never miss an opportunity to put Myf in an embarrassing situation ;-)

Here is what happened one of the very rare times when Myf's team actually won...



3. talk show hosts: Rove McManus, Andrew Denton, Paul McDermott
4. comedy shows: Spicks and Specks (newest episode on YouTube)
5. kids TV: The Wiggles, The Upside Down Show, High 5, Marine Girl, Silversun
6. soaps: Neighbours, Home and Away, Blue Heelers
7. modern TV dramas: Love My Way
8. "mystery"/sci-fi: Bryan Brown's Twisted, Two Twisted

From Two Twisted promo:
'Two Twisted' follows on from the 'Twisted Tales'(1996) series produced by Australian actor/producer Bryan Brown. These Australian series' follow the tradition of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and 'The Twighlight Zone', of short dark thrillers which develop with a surprising twist. 'Two Twisted' consists of 14 episodes of 30 minutes each, screened in pairs, with a link connecting each of the two episodes. Can you spot the link?

It's another show which I love to bits! :-) Mostly because when I was your age I used to write such sting-in-the-end stories. Nice to see they sometimes make it to the screen.

Hare is the trailer:




9. spoof documentary: The Games

Love the dry humour!



10. entertainment: Strictly Come Dancing



3) Live, Universe and Everything

That's mostly Aboriginal Astronomy. I'll show you a presentation I prepared last year for Open Days. You don't need to read anything.

TIMELINE - aftermath ;-)

An easy, "all-in-one" summary of the bit of Australian history we have covered so far. Links will take you to relevant blog entries.

Feb 2009 - "Black Saturday" - the worst bushfire in Oz history

2008 - Kevin Rudd apologises

2000 - Sydney Olympic Games

1992 - Native Title Act (Aboriginal Australians reclaim their sacred lands)

1970s-80s - boom of independent cinema ("Ocker" films)

1976/78 - battle between two iconic cars: Ford XB Falcon vs. Holden Commodore

1974 - Cyclone "Tracy" destroys Darwin and claims many lives

1973 - Sydney Opera House

1967 - referendum grants Aboriginal Australians electoral representation

1966 - The Battle of Long Tan (most significant battle ANZAC were involved in Vietnam)

1950s - Cultivated pearls industry starts in Broome

1948 - The Shool of the Air broadcasts first lesson

1942 - Darwin bombings (WWII) - the largest military attack against Australia ever

1936 - last Tasmanian Tiger dies in Hobart Zoo

1929 - 1933 - Great Depression

1928 - beginning of Royal Flying Doctor Service

1915 - The Battle of Gallipoli (WWI) - the birth of ANZAC identity and "Aussie voice"

1869 - 1969 - "Stolen Generations"

1913 - construction of Canberra commenced, it becomes actual capital city of Australia

1907 - Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club becomest world's first surf lifesaving service

1901 - 1907 - No 1 Rabbit Proof Fence finished to protect WA pastures against rabits

1st January 1901 - FEDERATION: The Commonwealth of Australia is founded

1880 - Ned Kelly executed at Melbourne Gaol

1879 - Royal National Park founded (world's second oldest national park, after Yellowstone)

1859 - 10 Rules of Australian Footbal (AFL) first written down

1854 - Eureka Stockade (Australia's only revolution)

1851 - Gold Rush in New South Wales

1840 - Edmund Strzelecki explores Snowy Mountains and names Mount Kosciszko

1814 - Matthew Flinders first introduces the name of the continent - Australia

1793 - first free settlers arrive

1788 - 1850 - total of 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia on 806 ships

1788 - First Fleet arrives at Bottany Bay and establishes first settlement in Port Jackson

1770 - James Cook lands at Bottany Bay and claims the "new land" for the British Crown

17th century - European exploration

1606 - Dutch merchant Willem Jans lands at Cape York

1300 - explorer Marco Polo describes "Southern Land"

Time of Creation - Dream Time: Aboriginal ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings form the land

60,000 - 40,000 BC - Aboriginal tribes colonise the continent of Australia

The letter "T"

I'm still not telling you the exact topic, but can give you some hints:
- if you have some print-outs about the topics we have covered, bring them to class
- if you haven't, you may want to brush up on the topics skimming through the blog
- it will be more about your ability to make associations than any memorised facts
- take some coloured markers with you


You'll learn the rest on Friday ;-)










Also, please remember to let me know what you would like to do for the Open Day at our institute.

Grzegorz and Kuba (III year) will be doing a didgeridoo presentation, I'm doing another one on Aussie personality.

I will need 2-3 people to take care of the make-up/dot-painting counter.

We have three rooms at our disposal. Grzegorz and I are taking 210, 207 should be a good place for Aboriginal art and the make-up, and then we still have 209. I should be able to provide another laptop + projector if you need them for your presentation(s).

Please use the comments below to leave your name and a short description of what you'd like to do.

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The letter "S" - cont.

So after Easter break, here we go again. :-)




1. Sport

"Australian sport deserves quality piss taking or none at all."

Australians are a nation of active people and they like to joke that they spend more on excercising than on education, but it doesn't mean that they are going to worship their sportsmen and sportswomen blindly. They always retain a healthy dose of irony and humour.

Asked about cricket, they would say something like that:

Cricket is a game that moves about as fast as a Jamaican on valium. It involves watching 11 men in white clothes stand around a field for a few hours, then break to have lunch, stand around, then break again to have a cup of tea, stand around, then go home. The same thing occurs for another 4 days, and then after all that effort, both teams call the whole thing a draw...

Remember, "Australian sport deserves quality piss taking or none at all." So true ;-)


Australians pride themselves on inventing football. That's correct. Football. (see the link under science). However "footy" may mean different games in different states. More on that here.

AFL







2. Talking about sport, we can't possibly forget about Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.















But the main point is to be able to have fun.

Have a listen to this commentary. Pay attention to how Polish audience react to Aussie scoring goals, and how the commentators react to the goal scored by Poland. A bit eye-opening, eh?




3. Science and the inventive Australian mind.

Have a look at the long list of Aussie inventions.

Here is the history of one of them:



4. Subcultures

This is a trailer of a film that not only started off the great career of Russell Crowe but at that time was a very important voice in the discussion about Australian youth.




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The letter S (part 1)

Many great topics begin with the letter "S" so we'll have to divide this class into two parts.

Here is what we're going to cover this Friday:

1. Australian Symbols

Begin with some serious reading here:




















And then visit my beloved site for a less "purist" take on Aussie symbols ;-)
(click the pic below)




















EUREKA FLAG VIDEO (backup)
GOLDEN WATTLE

2. In the second part of the class we are going to celebrate the life and heritage of Steve Irwin, or as we came to know him better - The Crocodile Hunter.








How could you just not love this guy? ;-)



First part of a great interview. You'll find part 2 and 3 on You Tube.

The letter "R"

As you remember we'll still need about 10-15 minutes to finish the programme on Australian accent.

For the rest of the class we'll be focusing on the following topics:

1. Radio

We have already seen what the wireless was like at the beginning of 20th century, with its aspiration to become the "new BBC". Follow the link above to learn more.





I'm not that much interested in names, dates and details. Instead concentrate on the impact that radio has had on the community in a country where many citizens live in very remote areas.

2. Religion

3. The Rabbit Proof Fence (the history of introducing new species: sheep & rabbits)

4. rocks and mountains







5. rivers (Murray-Darling)






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QUICK TV TIP

11:50 tonight TV2 is showing Gettin' Square (Polish title "Wyrównanie rachunków" - doh!)

You won't get a more "Aussie film" than this one! Really recommended! :-)

I was screening it last year as part of our Film Club. You can read more about it clicking any of the links above.