Stupidity Archives - Page 11 of 14

Armstrong to quit TdU & leave legacy as “saddest deception in sports history”?

I won’t insult my readers by trawling through the sycophantic puffery that is passed off as serious commentary on Lance Armstrong in the Australia media. You can pick up plenty of that for yourself in the tabloids and on the TV. And the broadsheet coverage isn’t much better. Most of that reporting – and the guff spouted by politicians - treats Armstrong as if he was some God come to earth on two wheels to lead us into some glorious future after the “war” on cancer has been won.

By Bob Gosford|2011-01-20T11:36:01+09:30January 19th, 2011|Crime, Cycling, Photography, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Law|18 Comments

An open letter to Lance Armstrong…

So I'll take a stab in the commercially-confident-and-very-secret-dark and say you'll be pitching for $AU2.5 million for your visit to South Australia this year. Again, if I'm wrong please feel free to correct me - or get someone from Ranny's office to drop me a line.

By Bob Gosford|2011-01-16T08:07:42+09:30January 14th, 2011|Cycling, Fun stuff, Photography, Roadkill, Some places I've been, Stupidity, Writing and writers|31 Comments

Bug of the week: Garden Praying Mantis – Orthodera ministralis

females benefit substantially from consuming their male partners, a job they complete after the lengthy mating has finished. In one of the first studies able to demonstrate this effect, she found the cannibalistic females put on weight and produced more eggs using the extra energy they got from a single meal of male meat. "Sexual cannibalism can boost the reproductive output of the females by up to 40 per cent," Miss Barry said.

By Bob Gosford|2016-02-25T06:47:20+09:30December 8th, 2010|Animals, Some places I've been, Stupidity|7 Comments

An update on Andrew McMillan’s Living Wake – 3 December @ Darwin Railway Club, Parap

Andrew -- a proud sort of bloke -- has always refused to go on the dole, so has scant resources to fall back on. That's why his friends and colleagues are staging a "Living Wake" to raise funds for his needs until he is back on his feet again. The idea of a Living Wake has some appeal to Andrew – he will be around, in the words of Big Bill Neidjie – the Kakadu Man – “to hear the nice things said about me”.

By Bob Gosford|2017-12-30T09:11:40+09:30November 29th, 2010|Art, Australian politics, Fun stuff, Music, Photography, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Arts, Writing and writers|3 Comments

How to eat a Camel – Peter Warburton

Cut off the foot at the hock and scrape and singe as much hair off as time and appetite will allow. Stick the end into glowing coals. Burn it for some considerable time. Then, strike it smartly with a tomahawk when, if charred, the sole will come off. Place the foot in a bucket and keep it steadily boiling for 36 hours. Then your teeth, if good, will enable you to masticate your long deferred dinner.

By Bob Gosford|2010-11-22T09:52:57+09:30November 22nd, 2010|Animals, Fun stuff, Northern development, Some places I've been, Stupidity|6 Comments

“Oh Humpty Doo…” The Swamp Jockeys: live at the Darwin Railway Club

The Swamp Jockeys were (are?) in that great tradition of Australian bands that form and play just for the sheer fun of it - they must have run out of fun after a few years or found something else to do and for most of us have passed slowly into the happier realms of our memories.

By Bob Gosford|2024-07-10T08:00:57+09:30October 31st, 2010|Art, Fun stuff, Music, Photography, Roadkill, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Arts|4 Comments

Governments, ownership and control of the Yuendumu 100

"Warlpiri people are not slaves, yet many in ‘mainstream’ society persist in claiming some sort of ‘ownership’ of Aborigines. They arrogantly have opinions as to what Aborigines should or shouldn’t do, and believe they have some sort of right in deciding what is best for them. Warlpiri have no power over their destiny. No say in their future. No say in how they should run their lives." Frank Baarda, Yuendumu 2010

By Bob Gosford|2010-10-15T08:31:06+09:30October 15th, 2010|Australian politics, Crime, Fun stuff, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, NT local government, NT Police, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Law, The Northern Myth, The NT Intervention, the Tanami Track, Yuendumu|4 Comments

What do you do when you win 15 grand? Give it away of course…

Chips Mackinolty: "Katherine was isolating in those days. Unless you’d stayed in town for at least two wet seasons people would look at you as an outsider. And if you were crazy enough to do a third wet season they sort of thought, 'Well, he might be a lunatic but at least he is our lunatic.' "

By Bob Gosford|2010-10-09T08:42:50+09:30October 9th, 2010|Aboriginal & Islander Art, Art, Australian politics, Music, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, NT Police, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Arts, The Northern Myth, Writing and writers|5 Comments

A Portrait of a Cyclist as a Young Man – Beyond Doping in the Australian Peleton

The paradox of cycling as a profession is that, if we consider both the lack of long-term career paths and the high volume of commitment required to even begin a professional career, it seems highly undesirable...[T]aken as a form of employment, it would be hard to tell why the average professional has devoted themselves so intently to a career which they themselves recognise as tenuous and likely to have a negative impact in the long-term.

By Bob Gosford|2024-01-08T19:25:58+09:30September 19th, 2010|Australian politics, Cycling, Fun stuff, Photography, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Law|0 Comments

Floyd Landis – I want to be a catalyst for positive change

I do not wish to use the conference as a “soapbox,” nor do I wish “hijack” the world championships. I will not and cannot discuss events or circumstances related to the ongoing investigations and lawsuits involving Lance Armstrong and certain of his current and former business associates and teammates, including what I saw and heard during the relevant time periods.

By Bob Gosford|2010-09-18T20:09:40+09:30September 18th, 2010|Crime, Cycling, Fun stuff, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Law|0 Comments