Geelong have extended their winning streak to 12-straight on Saturday as they topped the Gold Coast Suns on the road.
The win puts the Cats eight points clear on top of the ladder and secures the minor premiership for the dominant outfit.
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The Cats put the foot down from the opening bounce with forward Tyson Stengle in scorching form, slotting three goals to get the game going.
“It’s one of the great quarters we’ve seen from a small forward this year,” legendary Hawk Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.
Anthony Hudson added: “He is putting on quite a show.”
It remained one-way traffic in the second quarter as the Cats went into the halftime break holding a 51-point advantage.
“The Suns are getting a masterclass,” Dunstall said.
In what could be their last match outside of Victoria for the year, Geelong cruised to a 17-4 record on the back of an inside 50 entry landslide of 72-43.
It’s the 15th time the Cats have secured the minor premiership, however the feat hasn’t meant much in recent history.
Melbourne last season was the only club to go from minor premiers to premiers, breaking a drought of seven straight minor premiers to fall short.
Collingwood can pull off the biggest heist in AFL history and pinch the minor premiership, to do so they’d need to win their final two games by around 50 combined goals while Geelong would have to lose next weekend by around 25 goals.
Jeremy Cameron finished alongside Stengle with three goals as the Cats flexed their muscles on the road.
They finish the home and away season on Saturday at home against the West Coast Eagles.
As if there wasn’t enough attention on him with speculation swirling around him about
leaving the Suns for Adelaide, Gold Coast livewire Izak Rankine decided to dye his hair a
shade of peroxide blonde.
Rankine is set to accept an offer of $900.00 a year to be the highest paid Crow and Adelaide supporters would have enjoyed his first quarter goal that included a spin in traffic and cheeky right-foot checkside for a goal. He also won a free kick with a crunching tackle and went within a fingernail of a second goal as his performance lived up to his haircut. He left the field in the fourth term favoring his left shoulder in what could be his last appearance of him as a Sun.
Publisher PQube and the development team at BeXide has this weekend released their anime-style deckbuilding roguelike game super bullet break on the PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 – with backwards compatibility with the PlayStation 5. At the moment this is a digital-exclusive release, with plans to offer a physical ‘Day 1 Edition’ via select retailers on the Switch and PS4 from next month.
In super bullet break, players will be able to collect over 160 ‘Bullets’, cute anime-style girls each with their own special skills who you can opt to put in your deck. Once your deck is compiled, you will need to use them to defat the rogue AI and its minions, reaping rewards from bosses and potentially saving the world.
super bullet break is pitched as offering ‘Gacha without the microtransactions’, as you obtain bullets and other valuable items through battle rewards, open treasure, and/or roll for them in the in-game shop without paying a cent in those troublesome microtransactions.
Promoted features of super bullet break include:
Cute and Colorful Deckbuilding Gameplay!
Save the online game world from total destruction in the world of ‘Super Bullet Break‘where online multiplayer games have been taken over by a rogue AI!
With levels inspired by your favorite games, this one-of-a-kind strategy deckbuilder is filled with a wild bunch of cute and colorful characters –’Bullets’ – each and every one of them unique in their own way.
Can you save the world and defeat enemies in strategic turn-based battles and beat ‘Super Bullet Break’?
Use Our Guide to Master ‘Super Bullet Break’!
‘Super Bullet Break’ is all about strategy, cute girls, and a little bit of luck! We’re here to help you out with the strategy bit in our new video guide! This simple guide will help you battle your way through Super Bullet Break by explaining its core and level mechanics, and by giving you some useful tips to help you pave your way to victory.
Want to be the best at ‘Super Bullet Break’? Use this guide to become an expert in no time and defeat the Buggo menace!
Geelong has extended its winning streak to 12 games and sealed the minor premiership with one round remaining, defeating Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night – 18.11 (119) to 9.5 (59).
The Cats put in yet another ominous performance from virtually the opening bounce, strangling the Suns defensively while the likes of Jeremy Cameron and Tyson Stengle starred in attack.
Geelong will now host West Coast to end its home-and-away season, while Gold Coast will face North Melbourne in its final outing of the season.
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QUARTER-BY-QUARTER MATCH REPORT
first quarter
There were no late changes for either side, with Jeremy Sharp (Suns) and Mark O’Connor (Cats) named the medical subs.
The Suns showed promise early, moving the ball swiftly across Metricon Stadium. But they couldn’t get scoreboard reward for effort.
Geelong, however, could make its early opportunities count, with Tyson Stengle snapping his 40th — and probably best — goal of the season before Jeremy Cameron snapped his first of the night to give the Cats an early advantage.
But the Suns responded thanks to some individual brilliance from Izak Rankine, who gathered the ball in a pocket, spun, kicked off balance and conjured a terrific goal.
“He’s impossible to contain … No wonder the Crows have made him a target,” Fox Footy’s Anthony Hudson said.
The Cats hit back at the other end as Cam Guthrie showed off his left boot and nailed a tough goal, before Sam Menegola and Tom Hawkins snapped a couple more for Geelong.
Stengle then plucked a rare contested mark and snapped his second as the Cats kicked out to a 33-point lead.
Gold Coast got one back late in the quarter, with Sam Day converting a set-shot opportunity, but Stengle couldn’t be stopped as he conjured his third major to give Geelong a 31-point lead at the major break.
Stengle, arguably the recruit of the year, booted 3.1 from a game-high nine disposals and three marks in the first quarter.
Tyson Stengle of the Cats. Picture: Albert PerezSource: Getty Images
“It’s one of the great quarters we’ve seen from a small forward this year,” legendary Hawk Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.
Hudson added: “He is putting on quite a show.”
second quarter
The Cats’ dominant continued after quarter-time as Mark Blicavs and Brandan Parfitt goaled and Geelong’s lead ballooned out to 42 points.
“This is so impressive,” Hudson said.
The Suns got a couple against the grain, with Elijah Hollands nailing a long-range goal before Alex Davies added another.
But Max Holmes showed off his acceleration by foot and nailed a terrific running goal in a steadying major for Geelong.
The Cats led by 51 points at the main break. Their half-time score of 12.5 (77) was their second-highest of the year to date.
“The Suns are getting a masterclass,” Dunstall said.
third quarter
Gold Coast made an impressive start to the second half.
Rankine snapped a classy goal from a free kick before Noah Anderson nailed a running major.
And when Jack Lukosius was moved forward and nailed a set-shot attempt, Geelong’s lead had been cut to 33 points.
As the Suns continued to push the Cats, Geelong ruck Rhys Stanley was subbed out of the game — the second time in three matches that’s happened.
And then Gold Coast had its own injury issues, with Sam Day limping off with a knee injury that saw
Geelong upped its defensive pressure, which led to a Gold Coast turnover and a Gryan Miers goal against the grain, before Zach Tuohy snapped another to give Geelong breathing space.
Cameron then rejoined the party, receiving a handball on the 50m arc and nailing a running goal off one step.
After being challenged by the Suns, the Cats showed their class to steady and take a 55-point lead at the final break.
fourth quarter
Rhys Stanley was subbed out of the game before the quarter commenced, but he appeared to be running freely prior to the move and could be seen smiling after one of the club’s trainers spoke to him on the ground.
Max Holmes opened the term with a major as the Cats continued to boost their already-impressive percentage.
Cameron missed a chance for a third goal, which left the door open for Gold Coast to peg a couple of goals back, which came via Jarrod Witts and Sam Flanders.
A couple of late Geelong goals helped put the Cats further ahead, with one to Brandan Parfitt right before the final siren capping the 60-point win.
THE 3-2-1
3. CATS SHOW NO MERCY IN RUTHLESS ‘MASTERCLASS’ TO SEAL MINOR PREMIERSHIP
This isn’t the season for ‘loss you need to have’ believers.
For this relentless Geelong outfit, as it proved on Saturday night, he has no plans to show any mercy to any rival club during the closing stages of the home and away season.
Despite managing several stars for the game, the Cats were ruthless against the 11th-placed Suns at Metricon Stadium, claiming their 12th straight win and sealing this year’s minor premiership in what legendary Hawk Jason Dunstall dubbed a professional “masterclass”. They produced their second-best first half of the season and finished with their fourth-highest score and equal-third biggest winning margin of the year to date.
While Jeremy Cameron again starred with three goals from 21 disposals, it was a genuine team performance from Geelong where players took the baton of responsibility from each other from quarter to quarter.
Tyson Stengle set the tone in the first quarter with three goals from nine touches, Brandan Parfitt (14 disposals, 1 goal) and Patrick Dangerfield (9 disposals) then took over with dominant second terms, Gryan Miers and Jeremy Cameron worked hard up the ground and hit the scoreboard in the third quarter before the classy Mark Blicavs proved in the final quarter why he’s so valuable to his team.
Dangerfield, in particular, looks like a man on a mission. After withdrawing himself from last week’s game against St Kilda at the last minute, Dangerfield was crucial to Geelong’s dominance over the Suns at the coalface, finishing with game-high contested possessions and clearances.
The only concern was No. 1 ruck Rhys Stanley, who was subbed out of the game in the third quarter with a lower leg injury. However judging by the reaction of the ruckman, the move was very precautionary.
The Cats next week return to GMHBA Stadium for a Round 23 clash against the 17th-placed West Coast, with Isaac Smith and Mitch Duncan due to come back into the side. If the win over the Suns is anything to go by, don’t rule out a pre-finals bloodbath at the Cattery.
2. RECRUIT OF 2022 POUNCES ON ‘ODD MATCH-UP’ TO PRODUCE ‘ONE OF THE GREAT QUARTERS’
If selectors were unconvinced Tyson Stengle was worthy of an All-Australian spot before Saturday night’s clash, they surely would’ve been after his breathtaking first quarter.
Stengle continued to build his case for AFL recruit of the year against the Suns, sparking Geelong to a fast start at Metricon Stadium.
The 23-year-old, who was picked up by the Cats as a delisted free agent late last year, booted three of Geelong’s seven first-quarter goals, including a pearler from the pocket running away from goal.
As well as the three goals, Stengle had a game-high nine disposals and three marks in the first quarter.
“It’s one of the great quarters we’ve seen from a small forward this year,” legendary Hawk Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.Stengle (171cm) was manned up by young Sun Mac Andrew (201cm) – a move described as an “odd matchup” by Dunstall.
While Stengle’s ability to hit the scoreboard was superb, his awesome workrate was also on display. He ran hard up the ground to help the Cats’ defense before working back inside 50 to provide a forward option where he got both front and square and took contested marks.
“He just goes from strength to strength,” triple premiership Lion Alastair Lynch told Fox Footy
“He’s got an unbelievable ability to make something out of nothing. He’s really setting himself up for All-Australian small forward selection … he’s putting together quite a season.
“As far as general forwards in the league, only Tom Papley is in front of him for score involvements.”
Small Gold Coast defender Sean Lemmens was moved onto Stengle for the second term and was able to stop the bleeding, but the damage had already been done.
1. RANKINE GOES ALL ‘AKER’ AMID MAJOR CROWS PLAY
The Suns are doing everything possible to convince Izak Rankine to remain at the club – and rightly so when he can pull off great goals like he did against Geelong on Saturday night.
Although all footy fans will have their fingers crossed for the slick Suns forward after he came from the ground during the close stages of the match with an injury concern to his already-heavily strapped left shoulder.
Earlier, while the Cats dominated the first term, Rankine – who’s weighing up a big offer from Adelaide – produced a stunning major for Gold Coast, spinning out of a tackle and nailing a right-foot goal off-balance that left Fox Footy commentators stunned .
“He’s impossible to contain … No wonder the Crows have made him a target,” Fox Footy’s Anthony Hudson said.
Alastair Lynch said Rankine, who was sporting a new look, was “certainly making a fair impression” in a performance that reminded the triple premiership Lion of a former teammate.
“I don’t know who he barracked for as a kid, but he’s got a bit of Jason Akermanis about him with this new hairdo, the black beard and mustache – and he’s playing like him,” Lynch told Fox Footy.
The Crows are making a major play for South Australian-based product Rankine, offering him a five-year deal worth as much as $800,000 per season – a contract Gold Coast is highly unlikely to match, although it’s still willing to pay him about $650,000 a year.
Senior Suns players have reportedly warned him of the increased pressure that would come playing for Adelaide.
But Lions legend Jonathan Brown said Rankine might be a player that could cope with the extra scrutiny of playing in a footy-mad town for extra cash.
“He’s a very talented player, but he strikes me as a guy that might be better under the pressure. He may need to have the foot on the throat a little bit down there,” Brown told Fox Footy on Friday night.
“The problem is at the Gold Coast, you can fly under the radar. Sometimes a player like him – how hard is he really working and getting the best out of himself? You look at his consistency of him in games and it’s not quite there yet.
“Maybe he might be better off going there and putting the pressure on himself at Adelaide.”
Google Meet has merged with Google Duo and it brings exciting new features like scheduling and joining meetings, virtual backgrounds and much more.
Google has announced that it has brought all Google Duo features to its unified video calling platform Google Meet after the two video calling services merged into a single platform. The technology giant said in its blog post that the new update would bring a bunch of features like scheduling and joining meetings, virtual backgrounds, in-meeting chat and much more in addition to the existing video calling features. Additionally, Google Meet is also getting the live sharing feature which would allow participants to enjoy their breaks in a fun and interactive way. Check out all the interesting features Google Meet will be getting.
New features on Google Meet:
According to Google’s blog post, Google Meet users will now be able to start an instant video call with their friends or connect their classmates at a scheduled time. They can make their video calls more fun by changing their background or applying visual effects before joining a meeting. Further, the users will also be able to use in-meeting chat and captions during the meeting. Besides these, Google Meet will also have the Apple SharePlay-like live sharing feature that lets all meeting participants interact with the shared content in real time.
That’s not all! Interestingly, with the new merger, users can co-watch YouTube videos, curate a playlist on Spotify and take turns while playing games like Kahoot, Heads Up!, UNO Mobile and others. Google Meet users need to update the app to the latest version in order to access the new features. All these new features will be spotted under a new Activities tab accessible through the three-dot menu. Users can click on a three dot menu and start a shared activity like listening to a Spotify track together.
Meanwhile, the tech giant has stated that it will continue to add more features to the video calling platform of Google to help people interact, connect, collaborate and share experiences on any device.
The Western Derby exploded on Saturday night when the Dockers and Eagles broke out in a giant scuffle.
Players from all over the ground converged as tensions boiled over halfway through the opening quarter.
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Hugh Dixon slotted a goal as the brawls broke out and then quickly joined in on the action as wrestles flared all over the ground.
Fremantle’s Caleb Serong and West Coasts’ Jack Redden were in the thick of the action as multiple players were left with ripped Guernseys.
“You saw it coming Pav and they’re all racing in to join into the scuffle. No love lost. West Coast, the underdogs, have come with a fighting mentality and it is right on here,” commentator Adam Papalia said.
“The umpires are trying to control this so they can restart the game but they can’t,” Dermott Brereton added.
“Both teams still wrestling each other, there is a fair bit happening,” Papalia said.
Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich said Serong was simply “flying the flag” in the scuffle.
“Andy Brayshaw was getting harassed by Jackson Nelson when he was coming off and he didn’t like it so he went back at him and it just exploded. Caleb Serong came in flying the flag,” he said.
“A bit of spice in Derby 55,” Papalia added.
The Eagles upstaged their cross-town rivals in the opening term to hold the two point lead after the first quarter.
A result matters not for the Eagles, for the Dockers however the result would have a serious bearing on where they finish on the ladder.
Lose and there best chance is a fifth placed finish. Win and they keep their hopes alive of securing a double chance.
The Dockers responded in the second quarter and head into the halftime break holding a slender four point lead.
Do you make music? Surely you know of Arturia. Do you want to know what we think their top 5 products are? Come with us as we run through the highlights.
Starting in France way back in the year 2000, Arturia founders Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil met as students at the Grenoble Institute of Technology. The technological university was the perfect breeding ground for two great minds to learn the craft of software engineering and hardware design.
Fast forward to 2022 and they have arguable the best emulations of vintage synths and keyboards on the market, a huge range of analog synths, iconic software recreations of hardware audio effects and every studio — both home and professional, plus more.
With an overwhelming amount of product and the music community unaware of the other offerings Arturia have, we decided to put a list together for you of Arturia’s Top 5. We’ve asked the musicians in the office and members of the Sydney music scene about their favorite products from the legendary company, including some we’ve spent some time with on review.
The Arturia family at their HQ in France
The Keylab MkII: the midi controller with everything
Arturia’s midi controllers have seen many variations over the years and they have always had all the bells and whistles for stage and studio. The Keylab MkII — which comes in either 49 key or 61 key — has full-size keys, 16 pads, 9 faders, 9 control knobs, a transport section for DAW control (or anything really!), a screen, 5 pin MIDI in and out, sustain, expression, USB powered and heaps and heaps of other features.
The design of Arturia’s midi controllers has always caught the eye of musicians with the wooden veneer inlays, a small enough profile to be portable, but solid enough to feel like you are playing an analog synth and the tangible controls. The Keylab MkII also comes with Analog Lab V, Piano V and Ableton Live Lite.
Whether you want a controller for your studio or want to pair it with a laptop for live performance this hits all the marks of having creativity at your fingertips.
Check it out here: Keylab MkII
Arturia’s iconic midi controller: Keylab MkII
The Mellotron V: the sampled tape sampler
Who would have thought back in 1963 that the Mellotron — a keyboard instrument that played samples — would be sampled itself! Arturia’s emulation of the infamous Mellotron is one of the best, and they seem to have the newest addition to the software market. The controls are plentyful with and ADSR envelope, Tape Saturation, Noises, Wow and Flutter and the ability to change the original key range.
There’s presets galore — yes, they have Strawberry Flutes so you can get your Beatles vibes on — and there’s even a neat FX section to load up with guitar pedal looking effects and amp sims and reverbs. On top of all this, you can load your own samples in!
Worthy mentions, the price is well below other outdated Mellotron emulations and the CPU usage of this is quite substantial. Get yourself into a good practice of the bouncing/committing audio and you’ll be fine.
As part of our Engineering the Sound video series we reviewed the latest V Collection 9 where this Mellotron and 32 other instruments are bundled up. Watch that here: Arturia V Collection 9 | Full Demo and Review
Arturia’s Mellotron V
Efx Fragments: a chaos of sound in all the right ways
With effects and sound shape shaping being a huge part of modern productions, plugins that are somewhat uncontrollable can create new and interesting sounds you may have never shaped yourself. Enter the Efx Fragments. It’s new for Arturia and isn’t replicating a product from yesteryear.
They call it a creative sound shaper, but simply put it’s a granular delay with endless possibilities. If you’ve ever found yourself getting happily lost in the chaos that can be Soundtoys Crystallizer, than this is for you. In fact, it might just be what you will reach for instead.
With a space age display and tweaking for days, this plugin effect on a track or as a send will open up your mind and sound.
As part of the brand new FX Collection 3, we made a video focusing on the 4 new releases (Efx Fragments is one) within the collection. Watch it here: Arturia FX Collection 3 | Full Demo and Review
Arturia’s own sound shaper: Efx Fragments
Wurli V: a classic recreation in Arturia’s lineup
The expense of buying, and then repairing a vintage keyboard instrument is jaw dropping. With emulations now fast overtaking the function and longevity of these hardware units, it’s no wonder that when someone on staff was asked about their favorite Arturia product, they quickly said ‘The Wurli!’ and they even own a 1970s Fender Rhodes!
This stunning recreation will do all the things an original Wurlitzer 200A Electric piano can do…and more. Open up that hood for extra tweaking and add guitars pedals at foot to expand your sound.
This emulation has been around since Arturia’s early days, but it’s only getting minor upgrades with each new collection — proving they got it right the first time.
Check it out here: Wurli V
Arturia’s Wurli V: a classic emulation
AudioFuse 8Pre: the interface you didn’t know you needed
Say what? Arturia make interfaces!? Yes they do and this one does all the things. The AudioFuse 8Pre is an interface, standalone 8 mic preamp unit, ADAT expander, and comes with Arturia’s FX bundle!
It’s a classy looking unit in which each channel has a dedicated Volume knob, 48v On/Off button, Phase button, Pad button and meter. In this price range, you don’t normally see this functionality. With 8 combo jacks as inputs, 8 outputs plus 2 main outs, Word clock, ADAT I/O supporting up to 96kHz I/O the USB C powered device has got all your connections sorted.
With Arturia’s classic design of sleek but slim, this interface might have slipped through the cracks due to the fact that they are more well known in the software emulation game. But you heard it here first, this interface will seriously upgrade or overhaul your studio — or stage.
Check it out here: AudioFuse 8Pre
Arturia’s audio interface: AudioFuse 8Pre
For more on this great company Arturia head over to their website: Arturia.com
This story was first published in The Conversation.
There’s nothing like the fresh eggs from your own hens, the more than 400,000 Australians who keep backyard chooks will tell you.
Unfortunately, it’s often not just freshness and flavor that set their eggs apart from those in the shops.
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Our newly published research found backyard hens’ eggs contain, on average, more than 40 times the lead levels of commercially produced eggs.
Almost one in two hens in our Sydney study had significant lead levels in their blood.
Similarly, about half the eggs analyzed contained lead at levels that may pose a health concern for consumers.
Even low levels of lead exposure are considered harmful to human health, including among other effects, cardiovascular disease and decreased IQ and kidney function.
Chickens in an Australian backyard. File image. Credit: Thurtell/Getty Images
Indeed, the World Health Organization has stated there is no safe level of lead exposure.
So how do you know whether this is a likely problem in the eggs you’re getting from backyard hens? It depends on lead levels in your soil, which vary across our cities.
We mapped the areas of high and low risk for hens and their eggs in our biggest cities – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – and present these maps here.
Our research details lead poisoning of backyard chickens and explains what this means for urban gardening and food production.
In older homes close to city centers, contaminated soils can greatly increase people’s exposure to lead through eating eggs from backyard hens.
What did the study find?
Most lead gets into the hens as they scratch in the dirt and peck food from the ground.
We assessed trace metal contamination in backyard chickens and their eggs from garden soils across 55 Sydney homes. We also explored other possible sources of contamination such as animal drinking water and chicken feed.
Our data confirmed what we had anticipated from our analysis of more than 25,000 garden samples from Australia gardens collected via the VegeSafe program. Lead is the contaminant of most concern.
The amount of lead in the soil was significantly associated with lead concentrations in chicken blood and eggs. We found potential contamination from drinking water and commercial feed supplies in some samples but it is not a significant source of exposure.
Unlike for humans, there are no guidelines for blood lead levels for chickens or other birds.
Levels of lead risk for backyard chickens across Sydney. Dark green dots indicate areas with safe lead levels. Light green and yellow dots are areas over the safe lead level. Orange and red dots indicate areas with high levels. Credit: Max M. Gillings, Mark Patrick Taylor/ The Conversation
Veterinary assessments and research indicate levels of 20 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or more may harm their health.
Our analysis of 69 backyard chickens across the 55 participants’ homes showed 45 per cent had blood lead levels above 20µg/dL.
We analyzed eggs from the same birds. There are no food standards for trace metals in eggs in Australia or globally.
However, in the 19th Australian Total Diet Study, lead levels were less than 5µg/kg in a small sample of shop-bought eggs.
The average level of lead in eggs from the backyard chickens in our study was 301µg/kg. By comparison, it was 7.2µg/kg in the nine commercial free-range eggs we analyzed.
Map of Brisbane showing levels of lead risk for backyard chickens. Dark green dots indicate areas with safe lead levels. Light green and yellow dots are areas over the safe lead level. Orange and red dots indicate areas with high levels. Credit: Max M. Gillings, Mark Patrick Taylor/ The Conversation
International research indicates that eating one egg a day with a lead level of less than 100μg/kg would result in an estimated blood lead increase of less than 1μg/dL in children.
That’s around the level found in Australian children not living in areas affected by lead mines or smelters. The level of concern used in Australia for investigating exposure sources is 5µg/dL.
Some 51 per cent of the eggs we analyzed exceeded the 100µg/kg “food safety” threshold. To keep egg lead below 100μg/kg, our modeling of the relationship between lead in soil, chickens and eggs showed soil lead needs to be under 117mg/kg. This is much lower than the Australian residential guideline for soils of 300mg/kg.
To protect chicken health and keep their blood lead below 20µg/kg, soil concentrations need to be under 166mg/kg. Again, this is much lower than the guideline.
How did we map the risks across cities?
We used our garden soil trace metal database (more than 7,000 homes and 25,000 samples) to map the locations in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne most at risk from high lead values.
Deeper analysis of the data showed older homes were much more likely to have high lead levels across soils, chickens and their eggs.
This finding matches other studies that found older homes are most at risk of legacy contamination from the former use of lead-based paints, leaded petrol and lead pipes.
Map of Melbourne showing levels of lead risk for backyard chickens. Dark green dots indicate areas with safe lead levels. Light green and yellow dots are areas over the safe lead level. Orange and red dots indicate areas with high levels. Credit: Max M. Gillings, Mark Patrick Taylor/ The Conversation
What can backyard producers do about it?
These findings will come as a shock to many people who have turned to backyard food production.
It has been on the rise over the past decade, spurred on recently by soaring grocery prices.
People are turning to home-grown produce for other reasons, too.
They want to know where their food came from, enjoy the security of producing food with no added chemicals, and feel the closer connection to nature.
While urban gardening is a hugely important activity and should be encouraged, previous studies of contamination of Australian home garden soils and trace metal uptake into plants show it needs to be undertaken with caution.
A productive red hen perches above three eggs in a backyard chicken coop. Similar Images: Credit: SimplyCreativePhotography/Getty Images
Contaminants have built up in soils over the many years of our cities’ history. These legacy contaminants can enter our food chain via vegetables, honey bees and chickens.
Urban gardening exposure risks have typically focused on vegetables and fruits.
Limited attention has been paid to backyard chickens. The challenge of sampling and finding participants meant many previous studies have been smaller and have not always analyzed all possible exposure routes.
Mapping the risks of contamination in soils enables backyard gardeners and chicken keepers to consider what the findings may mean for them.
Particularly in older, inner-city locations, it would be prudent to get their soils tested.
People can do this at VegeSafe or through a commercial laboratory. Soils identified as a problem can be replaced and chickens kept to areas of known clean soil.
This article was co-authored by: Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, Macquarie University; Dorrit E Jacob – Professor, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University and Vladimir Strezov – Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Police called to remove wild turkey from apartment.
Police called to remove wild turkey from apartment.
Julian Wilton, creative director at Massive Monster, is about a day away from releasing a little game called Cult of the Lamb. I say ‘little’, but Cult of the Lamb has already received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and at the time of writing, the game is a top seller on the digital PC storefront Steam. It’s not even available to play yet – those are just pre-purchases.
Cult of the Lamb has had a remarkable pre-release marketing cycle, which built a huge swell of anticipation for the game. Impressions of a public demo released a few months back were very positive. Video game content creators have been showcasing the game on Twitch to captive audiences. The merchandise – a plushie of the lamb protagonist – is adorable. The publicity stunt a limited edition custom controller – was hideous, but it got a lot of attention.
Much of that is thanks to the game’s publisher, the publicly listed, globally-recognized ‘punk’ games label, Devolver Digital. Devolver has provided the Massive Monster team not only with veteran PR and marketing support, but other considerations and resources that would typically be outside their scope as a very small team – localizations to different markets being a key example, something that expands their potential audience greatly .
But if Massive Monster had not received early funding for Cult of the Lamb from VicScreen – formerly Film Victoria, the state government’s creative funding body – its pitch and proofs-of-concept for the game many never have impressed the likes of Devolver Digital, and Wilton would probably be telling me a very different story about development.
Cult of the Lamb. Image: Massive Monster
But here’s the kicker that gets me, especially as a resident of Sydney – Julian Wilton is originally from New South Wales, and only moved down to Melbourne a few years ago because of the Victorian government’s support for its local video game industry.
If Wilton’s home state had any kind of support for directly funding its own video game sector – which includes several aspiring developers in tertiary colleges and university courses, a few independent studios, as well as larger multinational developers – Cult of the Lamb, the latest global independent video game darling could have been the pride and joy of Sydney and New South Wales. But it’s not.
‘We love games’ was the message VicScreen was promoting at an event attended by GamesHub, held at Paper House in Melbourne, as the creative organization showcased the work of several game developers who had received government grants for their projects.
Putting aside the big song and dance, we’ve known for a long time – through numerous conversations with Victorian game developers, as well as through the quality of games that come out of Victoria – that state government funding of independent projects is key to fostering a strong and vibrant game development community that produces excellent work.
It legitimises the creation of video games as a valuable creative industry, and Victoria has several avenues for funding and supporting game development at various stages of production, as well as other business needs.
Terry Burdak runs Paper House, the small game development studio and boutique shop that hosted the VicScreen event. Paper House previously created Paperbark, a lovely game revolving around a wombat, the Australian bush, and the perils of the hot Australian summer – funded by what was then Film Victoria. The studio’s next project is Wood & Weather, a playful god game that lets you control the weather at will, and explores the persistent effects of extreme weather caused by climate change.
Wood & Weather. Image: Paper House
Read: Aussie developer Paper House will track its environmental impact going forward
These are not the kinds of games you conjure when you think about the lucrative business of blockbuster video games, the culture of ‘gamers’, and titles that rake in millions of dollars a day. But like any creative artform, the spectrum is vast, and video games created on the independent side of the scale – like the ones funded by VicScreen – are incredibly valuable. They use the medium to explore the kinds of ideas and stories that the biggest developers would never dare to touch, and in innovative ways that are rarely explored.
According to Burdak, though Paper House is largely run off the studio’s own back, VicScreen funding has helped to greatly minimize the studio’s financial risk drastically, providing more security for its creatives, which then allows the team to pour more energy into their creative work. ‘I’ve been able to make sure everyone (including myself) has moved from being contractors to actual employees, and all the benefits that come from that like sick and annual leave, and get[ting] super’, he says.
A similar story comes from Gucka relatively new First Peoples-led studio working on Future Folklore, a farming management game for mobile devices with a futuristic fantasy setting inspired by the Australian bush. Project director Hayley Percy, a Wiradjuri woman, says that the company has greatly benefited from VicScreen funding, especially since they’ve been putting a strong emphasis on going above and beyond to build out their team in a way that places Indigenous people in key positions throughout every facet of the company. Guck is currently feeling out the absolute best practices to implement this, in what Percy refers to as ‘building a substantial foundation of sustainability.’
Art from Future Folklore. Image: Guck
‘The things that we’re dedicated to are actually setting some different foundational practices in the industry,’ says Percy. She says that having the breathing room to build this has been key. ‘We need to give people the opportunity to build their skill set, and don’t assume everyone needs to be a top gun in their roles, because that’s not how you build diversity in the industry. It has to start from the ground up.’
That approach is a beneficial one for anyone operating in the industry. But Guck’s exploration into this new territory will hopefully also pave the way for how First Peoples are able to participate in the Australian games industry in the future. Percy cited things like understanding how First Peoples might operate differently as a creative team, how there might be differences in how they work with funding bodies and other organizations – and Guck’s hope is that it can filter an understanding of best practices elsewhere in the screen industry .
Wayward Strand from studio Ghost Pattern has long been in the eye of the local games community – it’s a unique narrative game set in 1970s rural Australia that explores aged care through the lens of a pre-teen girl, which uses principles of spatial theater to put the storytelling us on the player.
Victorian state government grants have helped the Ghost Pattern team at every stage of the journey, says Jason Bakker, and that consistency has ensured the game’s distinctive approach to exploring deeper themes has been well-resourced and supported, long-term.
Wayward Strand. Image: Ghost Pattern
Wayward Strand was actually one of the first games VicScreen funded a prototype of, according to audio director Maize Wallin – something that has since become standard practice. Now, over 6 years and 30 collaborators later, Wayward Strand is on the eve of its release in September 2022. It features an incredibly strong Australian voice cast, including screen veterans like Michael Caton and Anne Charleston, in a piece of work that incorporates game, film, and theater elements to create a very special identity for itself.
In that same period of time, Anthony Tan has been working on Way to the Woods, a game that follows a deer and its child through a magical-realist post-apocalypse. Tan began work on Way to the Woods when he was only 16, and the game quickly drew attention for its striking visuals and animation. A trailer that debuted at an Xbox press conference in 2019 caused interest in his passion project to skyrocket, along with expectations for the game.
Tan’s public communication more or less ceased in 2020, as he looked to refocus the game’s direction and reconsider everything about the project in the wake of its sudden popularity – he was, after all, still just learning how to make his first game – and as Anyone would expect, creating something on your own is hard enough without the weight of great expectation.
Tan had received some initial grants from commercial entities like Microsoft and Epic Games, but it was only just enough to keep him afloat as a solo developer for so long. Tan was the recipient of VicScreen funding in early 2022, which he says he has been key in getting Way to the Woods over the finish line, and improving the quality of his working life – which will hopefully feed back into the quality of the game. Now aged 23, he’s been able to move on from working out of his bedroom and in Melbourne’s State Library, to inhabiting a coworking space at ACMI X. This move allowed him to better connect with other game developers and creatives in Melbourne’s community, and catch a bit of sun, too.
All of these stories suggest the same thing: if a government truly cares about its creative arts – of which video games are one of the biggest and most widely appreciated – it needs to go out of its way to specifically fund the small, independent games creators that are vital to the continuation of the industry.
Victoria has been doing it consistently for around 30 years – through Film Victoria and now VicScreen – helping Melbourne become globally recognized as one of the cities where some of the most celebrated games in the world are made. Over half of Australia’s game development efforts are located in Melbourne, and if people like Julian Wilton are any indication, it’s where all the upcoming talent is going to end up.
Screen Queensland has followed suit in an effort to bolster its industry. Screen Australia has implemented similar measures at a federal level, to complement the Digital Games Tax Offset.
Now is the time for a wake-up call to the rest of Australia’s states and territories – and other countries and regions around the world – to develop (or in some cases, resurrect) the games funding programs that will ensure the country is making the most of the increasing global interest in the games sector – and, to ensure we’re tangibly supporting the talented developers who can bring great art into the world with video games.
Disclaimer: GamesHub traveled to Melbourne, Victoria on behalf of VicScreen for the purposes of covering this event.
