Stay cool

And then they had to ruin it all with advertising....

TV (or not TV). That's analogue.

With the phasing out of analogue television and the introduction of the digital kind looming, the nature strips are inundated with abandoned tv sets, often found in clusters, as if commiserating their plight. Many of these tv’s could still operate if hooked up to a set-top box, but it seems our consumerist ways crave a shiny new all-in-one device. Another reading of this scenario is that everyone is sick of tv and is simply getting rid of them to spend time doing something more interesting.

Science by design

They just don't design science books like they did in the 1950's, do they? I believe this cover is by Robert Jonas, an American illustrator (1907 - 1997). The genetics modesty panel is inspired!

Ruminations on Rubbish

For the uninitiated, a nature strip is the grassy zone between the road and footpath, often punctuated with a tree. This is where residents can place hard rubbish for council collection, which usually occurs once a year. Few things in life give me more joy than cruising the hard rubbish. This is not only about plucking treasures from the debris, but the whole ceremony and psychology encompassing it. There’s a lot you can tell (or imagine) about a person, a household, and a neighbourhood by their rubbish. And it’s much more fun than spying on what goods someone is buying at the supermarket. Some people don’t like their rubbish being viewed or taken, others want to give you things and tell you stories – either about an item or about themselves. Some piles are OCD neat, others like a frenzied crime scene. People scurry on foot, pretending not to be checking out their neighbours detritus. Others are overtly searching, whether dealers in their vans and trailers or folk like me. There is a polite competitiveness amongst those cruising in vehicles. If someone pulls over to check out a pile, there's an unspoken rule not to sidle up beside them. Some are methodical in their searching style, following a map, marking off streets. I prefer the intuitive approach (ie; I’m disorganised). My most recent swoop of the hard rubbish went like this…. as usual, I’m on my way somewhere when the allure of the junk waylays me. Pulls me in like an ocean riptide. My first stop involved the application of Hard Waste Forensics.

Exhibit A – the dead lawn patches indicate not only that someone found a couple of great items (probably heavy & cumbersome) but that they had been on the strip for days. DAYS! Admittedly the goods probably wouldn’t have fit in my car, but still. I’m thinking a 50’s kitchen cabinet with cool linoleum lining. Feeling unlucky and despondent, I continued the drive-by and chanced upon…. a roulette wheel!

Made of Duralite (TM). (Is that an Australian rip-off of Bakelite?) My luck had turned…. sure enough these old petrol price numbers awaited me, featuring a far more attractive font than the compressed modern ones, and nicer colour combo too.

And to top it all off, these trays from an old fridge. Fancy.

I’m smitten with the meatkeeper.

The Master Key

The Master Key by John Fleming Wilson

A thrilling story of mystery and romance

Universal Moving Pictures

Fifteen weeks Thirty reels

I hazard a guess this metal key was distributed as a promotional tool for the movie? Or did you receive it when you bought the book? Did it give you free entry to the movie? If anyone knows the truth about this mystery please let me know!