Ry Cuming, 23, is a singer-songwriter born in the small coastal Australian town of Angourie. Growing up on a beach in Australia, he spent most of his days surfing and listening to his father’s vinyl collection. He quickly developed a love for a number of different styles of music from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. His career took shape as an 18 year-old traveler in Costa Rica. One fateful afternoon while playing in the hallway of a hotel, Ry met a young film producer who would later become his manager. Cuming won two of Australia’s Dolphin Awards in 2004 for Best Pop Song and Best New Artist. (Sources: Wiki & JamBase.com)
Friday Night: Melissa Forbes
April 5, 2013 By 4 Comments
You’re My Alter Ego / Nothing Else Matters
↓ click for audio
Melissa Forbes is a Australian musician, performer, educator and researcher. She was originally trained in jazz and improvisation. She has also studied contemporary vocal pedagogy extensively, and hopes to complete a PhD in the area. She is Associate Lecturer in Voice at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Australia, where she leads a merry band of young vocalists in their quest to reach their fullest potential through singing. Melissa also has her own private studio, The Contemporary Voice Studio. Melissa released her album No More Mondays to critical and popular acclaim. (Source: Melissa Forbes Website)
Love the entire album – - check it out at iTunes link: No More Mondays. Image Credit.
Sunday Morning: Karst Country
March 3, 2013 By 7 Comments
I’m not a time lapse video aficionado…yet, this clip of Australian terrain pulled me in frame by frame and held me spellbound. Haunting. Mesmerizing. And, oh, The Clouds. ”Karst” is defined as: An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.
Good Sunday morning.
Karst Country – infra-red timelapse from Glen Ryan on Vimeo.
Related articles
- For more work by Glen Ryan: http://www.karstcountry.com/
- Time-Lapse Video Like You’ve Never Seen It: Breathtaking Infrared (theatlantic.com)
- Karst Country: A Haunting Infrared Timelapse Of The Australian Countryside (devambardekar.wordpress.com)
- Breathtaking black and white time lapse of Australia’s beautiful terrain (holykaw.alltop.com)
Nemo no match for my Uggs
February 9, 2013 By 42 Comments
Here are my Uggs. Pictured on Nemo’s 19-inch snowfall. The mounds of wet snow on the driveway were no match for the King and his Uggs this morning.
While I was shoveling, I took a walk down memory lane.
Four years ago, Susan and Rachel dragged me to Lord & Taylor and asked me to try them on. (Ugg Sheepskin boots originated in Australia and New Zealand. This brand is headquartered in Flagstaff, Arizona.)
I pulled them on. And, trudged around the Ugg display.
My rant commenced. “What do Australians, New Zealanders and Arizonians know about winter and snow? Have you forgotten I’m Canadian? This is amateur hour.” [Read more...]
Oh my God…look at the fishies!
November 28, 2012 By 36 Comments
Queensland, Australia. Father. Daughter. In a canoe. Have encounter with two Humpback whales which can measure up to 50 feet and weight up to 40 tons. Apparently Humpbacks are “famously” curious toward boaters. This is a WOW. Here’s the direct link.
Friday night with Tom Waits and Waltzing Matilda…
November 16, 2012 By 22 Comments
Tom Waits is certainly an acquired taste. I first came across Waits in two movies. The must see flick: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (“All the World is Green” and “Green Grass”) and an Italian movie with Robert Benigni titled The Tiger of the Snow (“You Can Never Hold Back Spring“). Here’s Waits singing “Waltzing Matilda” – - Australia’s most widely known bush ballad – - which I’ve been told is ”the unofficial national anthem of Australia.” We’ll need our Aussie friends to confirm…
Related Posts:
- Easing into Friday Night with Céu & Herbie
- Chillin’ on Friday Night with Zero 7
- Easing into Friday Night with Patrick Watson…
- Friday Night Serenade…
- Friday night with Andrea…
- Friday night in Tokyo with Kem…
- Friday Night with Chris Botti…
- Easing into Friday Night with “The Long Day Is Over”
- Easing into Friday Night…with Diana Krall
Be what you be, in all that you are…
October 3, 2012 By 12 Comments
First it was AC-DC. Then came Stephen P, Vicki @ The Kiwi Blog Bus and the incomparable Anake Goodall, all from NZ. And then followed Tracie Louise from South East Queensland with her dazzle. And just when you think the Down Under is tapped, I trip into an album from Angus Stone a folk-pop-rock singer-songwriter from Australia. On this album, you’ll be treated to guitar, mandolin, harmonica, trumpets and more…in music that hits my sweet spot. I couldn’t pick one favorite to share, so I’m giving you a taste of my three favorites…enjoy.
↓ click for audio (“River Love”)
↓ click for audio (“Monsters”)
↓ click for audio (“Be What You Be”)
I can still see my trails from the moon,
The compass for my shadow as it falls.
I can still feel my angel,
Come knocking at my door, she told meBe what you be,
In all that you are
Be what you be,
In all that you are
Be what you be,
In all that you are
Are, in all that you are.
Album Cover Source: musicfeeds.com.au
Cranky Old Man
August 19, 2012 By 36 Comments
This is a remarkable story and more remarkable poem. And so fitting for a…Good Sunday morning.
“When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem. And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.” (DK: Apparently, everyone has seen this, but me.)
~ Source: anewstartt
T.G.I.F.: Raptor Sighting Down Under…
August 17, 2012 By 21 Comments
Related Posts:
- T.G.I.F.: Here’s your 5:00pm Bell!
- T.G.I.F.: I’m telling you, that’s not a croc… (7/20/12)
- T.G.I.F.: It’s time for… (7/13/12)
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30 Gifts to 30 Strangers…
July 19, 2012 By 45 Comments
Lucas, a Brazilian man, moves to Australia and is grateful for the country and its people for open their arms to him. On his 30th birthday, he decides to thank 30 complete strangers in Sydney by handing them each a gift. ”Man’s first responsibility is to be happy…The second is to make everyone else happy.” Video is paired with beautiful music (This is the place where I feel at home…).
30 gifts to 30 strangers in Sydney from Lucas Jatoba on Vimeo.
Related Feel-Good Video Posts:
- Perfect Darkness
- Did you enjoy your story?
- Water & Rocks…(South Island, NZ)
- Walk in Nature
- Soak in San Francisco
- Tap. Tap. Tap. On the heart…
- Of Souls & Water…
- Africa in Black & White
- Beauty in Motion
- We are all connected…
Monday Morning Wake-Up Call…
June 18, 2012 By 18 Comments
Photo Credits: fairy-wren. The Emu is the largest bird native to Australia. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height after the ostrich. The flightless birds can reach up to 6.6 ft in height. They can weigh between 40 and 120 pounds. They can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) for some distance at a time. Their long legs allow them to take strides of up to 275 centimetres (9.02 ft). They are opportunistically nomadic and may travel long distances to find food; they feed on a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go for weeks without food. They reach full size after around six months, but can remain with their family until the next breeding season half a year later. Emus can live between 10 and 20 years in the wild. An emus predators are dingos, eagles and hawks. They can jump and kick to avoid dingos, but against eagles and hawks, they can only run and swerve.
Related Posts:
- What’s with the birds?
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call… (6/11/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call… (6/4/12)
- Back To Work Wake Up Call… (5/29/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call #1 and #2
- Monday Morning Wake-up Call (5/14/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (5/7/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/30/12)
Monday Morning Wake-Up Call…
June 4, 2012 By 21 Comments
Photo Credits: fairy-wren. The Tawny Frogmouth is a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. They can weigh 1.5 lbs to 3.1 lbs. They make loud clacking sounds with their beaks and emit a reverberating booming call. They hunt at night and spend the day roosting on a dead log or tree branch close to the tree trunk.
Related Posts:
- What’s with the birds?
- Back To Work Wake Up Call… (5/29/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call #1 and #2
- Monday Morning Wake-up Call (5/14/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (5/7/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/30/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/23/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/16/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/9/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (4/2/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (3/26/12)
- Monday Morning Wake-up Call (3/19/12)
3:51am and INSPIRED!
May 23, 2012 By 20 Comments
Today’s kick-off song is a tribute to Robin Gibb who died on Sunday at 62 years of age after a long battle with cancer. And then on to inspiring posts from some of my favorite bloggers…
From South East Queensland, Australia: Tracie Louise @ Tracie Louise Photography with her inspirational post titled “You Can Change the World”: 
“Maybe it’s not the job that is the problem. Maybe it’s you…DN changed his reality by changing his attitude…He did 3 things which turned his life around in record time…”
And after reading Tracie’s post above, if you do nothing else today, check out Tracie’s Challenge Wins & Top 10 Photos. INCREDIBLE. AMAZING PHOTOS. If you think the Birdie photo to the right is a great shot, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Bucket list here we come…
