Pottery, paintings and pandanus mats detailing stories from First Nations artists across the country have drawn large crowds at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF).
A major event for art lovers around Australia, the fair is held every year at the Darwin Convention Center as a way for talented Indigenous artists to bring their unique pieces to one central location and share their stories with the public.
This year’s event is expected to bring in millions of dollars for the 78 art centers represented at the fair, delivering an economic boost to remote communities around the country.
Hand-dyed fabrics from Anindilyakwa Arts. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)
DAAF attracted crowds over the weekend. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)
DAAF chair Franchesca Cubillo said arts and culture in remote regions were the “lifeblood of any community”.
“They are the place where opportunities flourish, be it textile design and fashion, or artists sharing the rich history of bark painting or western desert painting,” she said.
Franchesca Cubillo is a Larrakia, Bardi, Wardaman and Yanuwa woman.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Ceramics by Hermannsburg Potters — a crowd favourite.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
But the fair was not just a chance to “share our culture as a gift to the nation”, Ms Cubillo said.
It also allowed artists to earn a wage.
The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) has seen $11 million in sales over the past five years.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Attendees admired the intricacy of desert styles.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
“They’re able to secure an economic return, and that will allow that next generation of First Nations people to feel empowered — to actually start to think about, ‘What might a business look like, operating out of my community?'” she said.
“We’ve got remarkable artists working out of art centres, but what if we had a modeling agency operating out at Gapuwiyak, for those remarkable young men who were a part of our Country to Couture [fashion show]?”
A woven turtle sculpture from Erub Arts.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Art fairs provide much-needed economic opportunities in remote communities.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Knowledge shared between cultures and generations
For Karen Rogers, an artist from Ngukurr Arts Centre, the fair was also a chance to pass down skills to family.
“We’ve got my son at the moment, just teaching him how to do lino printing, printing on material,” she said.
“He’s been doing a good job, like framing canvas. I reckon art centers can offer a lot of things for young people, career pathways.”
Karen Rogers, an artist from Ngukurr Arts.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Pandanus mats from East Arnhem Land.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Ms Rogers said it was fascinating learning about other Indigenous cultures through art, and finding common links.
“This one from Torres Strait, I was really interested because I speak Kriol and they speak different Kriol,” she said.
“They’ve got a dictionary. It was amazing seeing it, because they speak a little bit different to our way of speaking. It was inspiring.”
The Abai Sagulau Buai Dance Team from Badu Island in the Torres Strait performing at the fair. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Pandanus jewelery is always popular with visitors.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Diversity on display
From the tropics to the desert, each art center brought its own languages, styles and practices to the floor of the convention centre.
Lex Namponan, from Wik and Kugu Arts Centre, said his father was a major source of inspiration.
“We [saw] our dad when we were 14, 15 doing sculptures and bark painting and everything,” he said.
Lex Namponan, a sculptor with Wik and Kugu Arts. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)
“As we were growing [up] … it gave us the idea for what we’re doing, and now we’re here, traveling around with all our colleagues.
“I’ve got a big show coming up from this moment, back to home, going out country collecting timbers – milky pine, clays, white clay, red clay – from the ground.”
The art fair runs until 4pm today.
Lex Namponan’s dingo sculptures.(ABC News: Peter Garnish)
Over the past week, across the now-declared disaster area, survivors have shared harrowing stories with CNN of barely escaping the rushing waters, incredible rescue missions, and desperate attempts to save their families and themselves.
But they also have stories of barely surviving the cruel wake once the water receded — being stranded by washed out roads and bridges, struggling to get food, medicine or water in the early days, being rescued by neighbors.
“We’re not victims here,” said Allen Bormes, police chief for the city of Fleming-Neon, where there’s little left besides debris and mud. “We’re survivors.”
More than a week after the flooding, Fleming-Neon Mayor Susan Polis still cries when recalling the devastation she saw in its aftermath.
“Well, I wasn’t prepared. But what can you do when your little town is, your little city is devastated? I mean, it was like a war zone,” she said.
City Hall is destroyed, leaving officials this week to work out of a camper and a tent over a table set up in a parking lot. The water lines on buildings lining Main Street reach well over 6 feet.
The water and debris broke windows all along the main part of downtown, in shops, the town dental office, churches — nothing was spared. Like many other communities in the region, there isn’t any clean, running water.
“Our vision is to build this back better than it was before, before the rain,” said Bormes. With a catch in his throat, he took a moment to collect his emotions from him before continuing. “Because these people deserve it. They deserve to have what they had before and more.”
Fleming-Neon was nearly impossible to reach in the first days after the flood, so help came from within the community. Polis recalled people being trapped in a holler until neighbors acted.
“They had a bridge to basically disintegrate. And for that night, for the rest of Thursday night and into Friday afternoon, there was no way in and no way out, for those people,” Polis said, “So, some citizens, before all this heavy equipment started coming in — the citizens, they fixed it.”
Quick thinking in a close call with death
Letcher Fire Chief Wallace Bolling Jr. still can’t believe he lived to tell how he survived the floods.
Bolling, who people around town call Spanky, received a call that the fire station in nearby Jeremiah was flooding. He drove his pickup to the station, in part to move vehicles to avoid damage. In hindsight, I have admitted the decision wasn’t good.
The water started to rise quickly as he pulled up to the station, trapping him inside his truck, which he said began floating with the current. His only option was to try to steer the truck into an old tanker he had left parked outside the station, he said.
Unable to open the truck’s door or window, “I reached and found my pistol in the back seat, and I shot the window out of my Chevy,” he said. Diving out the window, he made it to safety by climbing on top of the tanker, where he remained for 15 hours as flood waters, downed trees and debris rushed past him.
“I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things,” Bolling said. “I found peace. I wasn’t scared. I had a long talk with the Lord.”
While stranded, Bolling texted his mother and father: “I love you, please don’t worry… everything is fine… I love you.”
Dealing with post-traumatic stress
The Letcher Fire Department was destroyed, with all vehicles damaged. Insurance won’t be enough to cover all the damages, according to Bolling.
While Bolling plans to get the station straightened out, he also has to address his own trauma, he said. He hasn’t been able to sleep and often hears water when he closes his eyes.
“I’m having a lot of trouble. I’m not going to lie,” he said. He plans to talk to a therapist and hopes others who survived the storm can do the same.
“PTSD is real, and I kind of wondered about things, like how to go forward, but you know, I gotta fix myself first,” he said.
But along with the sorrow, there’s pride, too, in the way their Appalachian community has come together, with neighbors who lost everything helping neighbors in the same situation.
Volunteers from all over Appalachia have been sweeping and using small bulldozers to get mud out of buildings this week.
And while proud of their independent and resilient community, officials in Fleming-Neon admit the city is desperate for all the help it can get.
“Our infrastructure needs help from Washington, from Frankfort. We’re going to have a lot of help,” Fire Chief Bolling said.
Gary Clink, who has lived just outside of Hindman for decades, was rescued, along with his wife and a neighbor, by his son-in-law, he said. Now he’s trying to save his wet furniture from mildew in the muddy interior of his home, which had more than 4 feet of water in it during the flood.
“It’s like someone turned the switch to maximum overdrive,” explained Clink as he sat on the porch looking at what was left of his belongings drying out on the lawn, “I’ve never seen water like that. It’s like a dam burst or to tsunami.
“That’s the reason you see garbage wherever you look, houses wrecked. I’ve seen three homes I knew basically lifted up off the foundation base, as they washed down the stream and it ripped them apart.”
And he worries that this catastrophe won’t be the last.
“I believe you’re seeing the effects of climate change right here,” Clink said. “Just given time, if we don’t turn it around, just given time, it’s going to get worse.”
Some are also concerned that people will leave the area because the devastation is too extreme.
“This is literally the end of this little community,” Clink sighed, “These people, you’ll see a lot of them had decent appliances, decent furniture, decent clothes, but it is no longer decent.
“If they didn’t have flood insurance or FEMA can’t step in and actually help… this is the end of the line for this community. I don’t see any way they are going to come back from it.”
Bolling agreed.
“It’s country back here. It’s slow. I mean, we love it. We stay back here,” Bolling said. “But at the same time, it’s never going to be the same. There will be a lot of people leave here. I know that. They have nothing to come back to. But we’ll make it. We’re strong.”
Is the Asus Zenfone 9 the perfect phone for people who want a small Android flagship? That seems to be the case, judging by the glowing reception in last week’s poll – half of people who voted want one.
Another 30% would be interested, if Asus had offered software support longer than two OS updates and security patches spanning two years. To be fair, Asus said “at least two years”, but not everyone is willing to bet $700/€800 on the chance that patches keep coming after mid-2024.
Admittedly, the poll is probably skewed – those interested in a small flagship are more likely to read and vote on a post about the Zenfone 9. Still, the petite handset has a strong chance of becoming a hit in that particular niche, especially since the Xperia 5 IV is nowhere to be seen.
People in the comments argued on how the Zenfone 9 could be improved beyond the software support. The absence of an eSIM, a microSD card and wireless charging were noted.
Price was mentioned as well, but phones with this kind of performance and battery life are not cheap, regardless of size. Even so, the Zenfone 8 launched at €670 last year, €600 if you caught the early bird deal. That would have been a much more palatable price for the 9, but even at €800 people seem willing to pick one up.
Retiring West Coast forward Josh Kennedy has turned back the clock, kicking four goals in the opening half of his farewell game against Adelaide.
The Eagles conceded the first three majors of the game before a short kick from fellow Northampton product Jamie Cripps gave the 34-year-old his first genuine opportunity.
He failed to mark the ball but was awarded a high free kick and took the set shot from the tightest edge of the 50m arc.
It sailed through to put the Eagles on the scoreboard with Kennedy clasped his hands together, giving a ‘thank you’ gesture to the packed Optus Stadium crowd.
The club’s all-time leading goalkicker received a standing ovation when he came to the bench, unfortunately for Eagles fans, it didn’t put off Adelaide’s Shane McAdam, who was lining up for goal and kicked truly to give the Crows their fourth.
With Jack Darling, Jake Waterman and Brady Hough all missing scoring shots, Kennedy returned to the same pocket on the eve of quarter time where, just a few steps closer, he marked the ball.
The crowd erupted again as the ball sailed through the big sticks for his second – and he wasn’t done yet.
Barely a minute later, the spearhead was hit on the lead directly in front from about 50m out.
Teammates get around Kennedy. Credit: Paul Kane/via AFL PhotosKennedy celebrates after scoring his third goal. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Pictures
The crowd held its collective breath as the umpire weighed up whether it had been touched on the line before signaling a goal to give Kennedy his third in the first quarter.
As the siren sounded, the Crows took a three-point lead into the opening break.
Kennedy added another major to his tally in the second, surpassing St Kilda champion Nic Riewoldt’s career tally of 718 to launch himself into 22nd spot on the AFL/VFL all-time goal kickers’ list.
With Jack Darling, Jamie Cripps and Liam Duggan also scoring, West Coast flipped the script, taking a two-point lead into the main break.
Melbourne university student Grace has two gay dads and one mum.
Growing up in this “modern Australian family”, she spends one week with her dads, Anthony and Chris, and the next with her mum, Jane.
“Grace is the real benefit here,” Anthony tells 7Life.
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“She gets each of us with 100 per cent of our batteries charged.”
While on paper it may seem like the parenting trio have nothing but differences, they are in fact the very best of friends.
Grace (centre right) with her two dads Anthony (left) and Chris (right) and her mum Jane (centre left). Credit: Supplied
“Every birthday, every Christmas, every crisis – we are all here for Grace,” Chris smiles.
It takes a village
After 14 years of marriage, Anthony and Jane divorced amicably.
With their beloved Grace to consider, the pair vowed to put their marriage breakdown aside and make their daughter their top priority.
“Jane and I made the decision that, no matter what our feelings were, Grace would always come first,” Anthony says.
So, their daughter spent half her time with her mum and the other half with her dad – and all the while, Jane and Anthony remained close friends.
Grace counts both of her parents as “biological.” Credit: Supplied
But two years later, Anthony met Chris at the gym – the romantic spark catching both men off guard.
Neither Chris nor Anthony was openly gay.
“I was confused for 30 years,” Chris shares about his sexuality.
Anthony was also coming to terms with his new-found attraction to Chris.
The couple entered a romantic relationship and both slowly came out to their nearest and dearest.
Anthony recalls the moment he nervously introduced his new boyfriend to his ex-wife.
“Jane welcomed Chris with open arms. She instantly brought him into the fold,” he says.
Anthony and Chris have just launched a skincare line to help banish teen bullying. Credit: Supplied
Chris also remembers the angst of introducing his male partner to his large Greek family.
“I remember my first Christmas, my family were just coming to terms with me coming out just a few months before,” he explains.
“I was like, ‘This is my boyfriend Anthony, his daughter Grace, oh and his ex-wife, Jane’.”
Despite their apprehension, Chris and Anthony were warmly embraced – and Chris was instantly welcomed as a co-parent to Grace.
For her part, the youngster beamed with delight over her “two dads.”
“Grace and I would strut down the aisles of the supermarket like supermodels,” Chris smiles.
Anthony adds: “There was so much change for Grace. First mum and dad split up and now dad has a new boyfriend. It was a lot.”
Like any family, the blended unit had ups and downs – with Grace often trying to sway the parenting situation in her favour.
“There was a lot of, ‘Well, mum said I could do that’ sort of thing,” Anthony says.
“But because we are so close, I would just call up Jane and ask her.”
Before long, Grace understood the parenting dynamic – and was proud to claim Chris as her “other” father.
Two dads, one mum
For her early education, the parents opted to place her in a “progressive school” where other children also engendered diverse family units.
“It was great. She wasn’t the only one at school with two gay dads,” Anthony says.
But as Grace grew older, she began meeting people outside her “bubble” who had conflicting opinions on her home-life situation.
Anthony and Chris have been together for 13 years. Credit: Supplied
“We realized that this sort of support doesn’t exist all over Australia, and even all over the world,” Anthony says.
severe bullying
Seeing Grace come home with questions about the family unit deeply resonated with her two dads.
Having kept their sexuality secret for so long, for fear of ridicule and rejection, both men had experienced bullying growing up.
“Chris was teased because he was fat, I was teased because I was too skinny,” Anthony reveals, adding he endured three years of name calling because he wore a back brace for scoliosis.
But for Chris, the bullying went far deeper.
Every day at lunch, school bullies would consistently throw cruel jibes, including branding him fat and a nerd.
The constant taunting built ever up in Chris’ mind and, as a teenager, he became suicidal.
The unique family unit are hoping their skincare line can raise awareness for differences. Credit: Supplied
The trauma of his adolescence remained with him well into adulthood.
One day, he was triggered at work and the playground trauma resurfaced.
He was recently diagnosed with PTSD as a result.
“Bullying starts because of differences and labels,” Anthony says.
making a difference
Luckily for Grace, she didn’t share the same experience, although some of her friends did.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, feelings of isolation among her cohort grew.
“Grace was telling us how people were going,” Anthony says, adding that the parents were horrified to hear her speak of her peers’ experiences with anxiety and depression.
The men couldn’t bear the thought of any child suffering through feelings similar to their own at that age.
According to research by social analyst company McCrindle, three in five students have reported bullying – a statistic the fathers just can’t fathom.
All proceeds for Unlabelled go towards charity. Credit: Supplied
So they wanted to try to make a significant contribution towards youth suicide awareness and prevention programs.
They decided to launch a non-for-profit skincare company – and give 100 per cent of the profits to the cause.
“We want to celebrate everyone’s differences and embrace them,” Chris says.
“The more you expose people to differences, the less confronting it becomes.
“And we want kids to be proud of who they are, and their own differences.”
As the pair began early work for the project, they turned to Grace for inspiration.
The unique range of body wash, hand wash and soap inspire each user to embrace their true self. Credit: Supplied
“Grace said, ‘Dad if I want to kiss a girl I want to kiss a girl, if I want to kiss a boy I want to kiss a boy, and I don’t people to label me,’” Anthony says.
So the idea of naming the brand Unlabelled was born.
Everything for the products is sourced and made in Melbourne.
All profits from every purchase of Unlabelled go directly to one of Anthony and Chris’ four chosen charities: Headspace, Kids Helpline, the Black Dog Institute or Qlife.
Journey isn’t over
Chris and Anthony hope their not-for-profit work, and their personal story, will help others embrace ways of life that might be different from their own.
After all, they say, Grace, her mum and her two dads aren’t that different from every other Aussie family.
From their family group chats, to dinner once a fortnight, Jane, Anthony and Chris will always share one thing in common – their immense love for their daughter.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
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Annabelle is encouraging others to live life to the fullest.
Annabelle is encouraging others to live life to the fullest.
Kari Lake walked onto a stage at a conservative megaconference in Texas on Friday morning, just over 12 hours after securing the Republican nomination for Arizona governor.
Former President Donald Trump received top billing at the event, but if the audience was any indication, Lake was a fan favorite. “Kari! Kari! Kari!” people cheered, as they have at rallies back home.
At the same time, her Democratic opponent, Katie Hobbs, toured a community health center serving Arizona’s Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community, the first stop on a three-day tour of central and Southern Arizona.
“I’m focused on what we need to do to win in November,” Hobbs said after the tour. “And that means continuing to talk to voters across Arizona about how we bring people together to solve our biggest challenges. I’m not sure how that happens in Texas.”
The race to become Arizona’s next governor is set after Lake and Hobbs won their party’s nominations in the Aug. 2 primary election. The GOP battle to replace Republican Gov. Doug Ducey was especially hard fought; during a Friday radio interview Lake called it a “grueling fight.”
But with the primary out of the way, the candidates begin a three-month sprint toward November’s general election that will be marked with attacks, national attention and the lingering presence of the 2020 election.
On paper, Lake and Hobbs have similarities. They are both 52, both Phoenix residents, and both mothers of two. But their many differences will take centerstage as Arizonans choose the state’s 24th governor.
Lake, a former television anchor, has no experience in elected office. Hobbs, the secretary of state, is a proven winner, having served in public office since Arizonans first sent her to the state Legislature in 2010.
Lake oozes charisma and picks fights, whether its with journalists she has called the “enemy of the people,” as Trump did, or establishment Republicans who have come out against her populist movement.
Hobbs effuses policy wonk vibes, painting herself as a steady hand and often speaking about bipartisan accomplishments in the Legislature.
“I have a track record of working across the aisle to address problems and deliver results for Arizonans,” she said Friday. “I’m going to continue doing that.”
Stan Barnes, a Republican consultant and former state lawmaker, said “the personalities, style and energy of these two candidates for governor is about as polar opposite as I’ve seen in 30 years of being involved in Arizona campaigns.”
Until November: 5 things to watch for in Arizona governor’s race between Katie Hobbs and Kari Lake
Lots of issues for AZ’s next governor
The issues the Grand Canyon State’s next governor must tackle are many.
Arizona’s next governor will confront a surge of people trying to cross the state’s southern border and drug trafficking there, too, and lead a state stricken by drought while facing a cut to the share of the Colorado River water supply next year.
She will make decisions on education policy with two looming financial cliffs as the state’s income tax rate drops and the increased pull from the land trust expires in 2025.
She will helm the state as conflicting abortion laws are sorted out, and oversee a healthy state budget even as Arizonans are paying more for gas, for skyrocketing rents and for food, or are struggling to find housing altogether.
“I think voters are craving current policy concepts,” said Stacy Pearson, a Democrat and co-founder of the firm Lumen Strategies. “They want to know what the state is going to do about the water shortage, or what they’re going to do about the cost of college. They want to know what they’re going to do about housing shortages and the cost of rent.” “We see this in focus groups right now. It’s not just who has the best 30-second commercial.”
While Arizona’s next governor will be a woman, either Hobbs or Lake, two men will likely dominate the political discourse ahead of November.
Lake, who won Trump’s endorsement last year, has pledged to reform elections, claiming “stealing” in this election cycle, without evidence, and calling for single-day voting instead of the state’s longstanding early voting process. She has tied her campaign to the former president, and the November election offers another referendum on her popularity in the state.
Meanwhile Joe Biden, whose 2020 victory in the state Hobbs has defended, could provide a liability for Hobbs — or certainly, Republicans will try to make it one. Democrats will likely try to tether Lake to Trump, who they view as unpopular, and Republicans will do the same with Hobbs and Biden, whose approval ratings have been sagged.
“They’re practically on the ballot,” Barnes said. “By the time we’re voting on Nov. 8, you might think it’s Donald Trump and Joe Biden running for governor of Arizona.”
The race for the Republican nomination was a litmus test of Trump’s power, in which Lake sailed to victory with Trump’s backing over the more traditional candidate, Karrin Taylor Robson, a real estate developer and former member of the Board of Regents who was endorsed by former Vice PresidentMike Pence.
Likewise the general election offers a second-round test the strength of the America First movement coined by Trump. In Lake’s world, it is Arizona First.
Both will try to appeal to the one in three Arizona voters who are registered independents and who can decide elections in the state. Also potentially in play are moderate Republicans who Lake may have alienated with her attacks from her. Lake won 47% of GOP primary voters, meaning 53% supported someone else and may need recruiting to join Lake’s camp.
The role that Ducey, who endorsed Lake’s opponent and attacked Lake on national television, will serve is “TBD,” or to be determined, Ducey’s spokesman CJ Karamargin said Friday.
Ducey helps lead the Republican Governors Association, which has made a commitment to spend over $10 million in advertising over the next three months and said Thursday “we look forward to working to get (Lake) elected governor this November.”
Trump hit: Kari Lake wins Republican nomination for governor, completing sweep for Trump-backed candidates in Arizona
Candidates roll out their messages
On Friday, as both candidates officially began the rush to November’s election, the themes of the campaigns to come began to emerge.
Lake attended the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, where she was slated to speak multiple times. The conference opened with controversy in the form of a speech from Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an authoritarian leader who came under fire for saying in July that immigrants were changing European culture and “we do not want to become peoples of mixed race.”
Lake’s first appearance was part of a four-person panel to discuss border security. She sat alongside Republican Congresswoman Mayra Flores of Texas, a Mexican immigrant and another rising star in the party, whose name was also chanted by the crowd.
Lake took a hardline stance on the border, also offering criticism of Ducey’s program busing migrants from southern Arizona to Washington, DC, and elsewhere.
“It makes for a good photo op,” Lake said, adding that the buses should drive migrants “to the border and send them back the other way.”
In a signal of what’s to come, Lake Biden’s perceived failures attacked on the border.
“Our plan is to call it what it is,” she said. “We have an invasion at the border and Day One we’re going to call it that.
“We’re not going to sit here with Joe Biden rolling out the welcome mat to the whole world. We can’t accept people illegally like this.”
Hobbs, meanwhile, was back home in Arizona and fielded a reporter’s question about border security after an about hour-long tour of a 200,000 square foot health facility east of Phoenix.
The border is a federal issue, Hobbs said, calling on Lake to “be honest” about what a governor can do in terms of border enforcement.
Because immigration policy and enforcement falls to the federal government, governors are often confined to peripheral measures, like sending in the National Guard to support local law enforcement. Lake’s pledge to declare an “invasion” is an untested legal theory promoted by Trump allies that would assuredly meet a legal battle.
“Quite frankly, the Republicans are offering nothing but empty rhetoric, and lies about what they actually can do as governor,” Hobbs said.
“That being said, the Biden administration needs to do better on border security. And as governor, I’ll be 100% focused on what we need to do to keep our Arizona community safe, and providing the resources that those communities need because of decades of inaction in Washington.”
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger.
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Grand Touring 7 players received an unexpected treat when July’s title update brought a new and very left-field Scapes location: Tomica Town. Turns out, the racing game’s delightful new photo mode backdrop wouldn’t have happened at all if it weren’t for COVID-related lockdowns.
For the uninitiated, Scapes is a GT game mode in which you can plop the game’s cars into real-world, quasi-three-dimensional backdrops and take pictures. The majority of these are views of interesting streets, notable natural landmarks, or certain spots at racetracks from all around the world. But this latest one takes place in a fantastical Tomica playset—Japanese Hot Wheels, essentially—in which the “real” Grand Touring cars are the same size as those 1:67-scale die-casts.
Here are some visuals for the Olds among you still confused.
The whole thing came as a pretty big surprise to fans given Grand Touring‘s typically very serious, very grown-up (almost to a fault) vibe. As reported by GTPlanetthe idea actually came to be in the throes of lockdown in 2020.
In a translated tweet, Polyphony Digital Scapes developer Hiroshi Kanzaki explained, “Two years ago, during the declaration of a state of emergency, we were in a situation where we couldn’t shoot at all, so it was a desperate idea, but I ‘m glad it was well received!! I am deeply grateful to Takara Tomy for their kind cooperation.”
It’s said that desperation breeds innovation, and GT7‘s very creative new Scapes location is definitely an unexpected pandemic-era innovation. It has also given way to this adorably glorious crossover between three Japanese automotive institutions: Takumi’s AE86 stop-motion-drifting around a Tomica Town playset in Grand Touring 7.
GT7 is playable on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Read The Drive‘s review of the game here.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach him here: [email protected]
As his side enters a crucial stage of the season, star Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps will face Match Review Officer scrutiny after a collision with Cal Ah Chee led to the Brisbane defender being subbed out of Sunday’s game.
Cripps copped jeers from Lions fans at The Gabba after making contact with Ah Chee during the second quarter of the Blues’ clash with Brisbane at The Gabba.
Ah Chee leapt into the air and got hands on the ball before Cripps also jumps off the ground and makes contact from behind. Ace Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph pointed out on Fox Footy, Cripps braced rather than reached for the ball yet it wasn’t a marking contest, nor did it appear Cripps was contesting the ball.
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Ah Chee was helped from the ground before being subbed out under concussion protocols and replaced by Mitch Robinson.
Speaking on Fox Footy, Ralph said Cripps’ incident could be assessed by the MRO as medium or even high impact, which would lead to a suspension of multiple weeks.
While Cripps’ accidental landing may have contributed to Ah Chee’s injury, Ralph said precedent indicated that it wouldn’t necessarily help Cripps’ case. Ralph pointed to the ban Magpie Brayden Maynard copped in March, despite a secondary action playing a role in Giant Daniel Lloyd’s injury.
“He’s much more likely to be suspended than not. The AFL’s bottom line is if you choose to bump, you’re responsible for the fallout,” Ralph told Fox Footy.
“This is a textbook case. He jumps off the ground, it’s not a marking contest, he doesn’t really contest the ball, he braces rather than reaches for the ball.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of middle ground. It’s either a football incident and an accident and he gets off, or it’s got the potential to be high impact given the concussion and he could miss two weeks
“It’s probably going to go to court, it’s certainly going to be scrutinized very heavily by Michael Christian. I think he’s in trouble.”
Carlton needs to win at least one more match to secure a 2022 finals berth. But should the Blues lose to the Lions on Sunday then be without their skipper for clashes against Melbourne and Collingwood, their task will be more difficult.
Callum Ah Chee of the Lions was subbed out. Picture: Bradley KanarisSource: Getty Images
Cripps is also fifth favorite to take out this year’s Brownlow Medal.
“We’re watching in slow motion unfortunately and there’s not a lot of time to think,” triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told Fox Footy. “When ‘Crippa’ decided to take off and contest that ball, he wasn’t quite sure of the timing of it all.
“I think he should get off, I think it’s a football incident. But Jonny Ralph knows the precedent better than anyone.”
Triple All-Australian Eddie Betts added: “It’s a tough one to judge, because he turns his body right at the end. But Callum Ah Chee is convicted and gone off.”
Two bushwalkers have been winched to safety and treated for mild hypothermia after spending the night trapped in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.
At about 6pm on Saturday, a 25-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman set off an emergency beacon at Mount Tomah.
The pair had been abseiling and canyoning near Clausters Canyon when they got into trouble and called for help.
Emergency services suspended the rescue on Saturday night due to poor conditions. (9News)The pair spent the night in the Blue Mountains whilst waiting for rescue crews. (9News)
About four hours later, emergency services attempted to rescue the couple but were unable to reach them due to poor conditions and the mission was suspended.
The rescue operation continued at 7.30am this morning, where Police Air located and winched the hikers to safety.
Two Police Rescue officers were then also winched to safety.
Two hikers have been winched to safety in the Blue Mountains. (9News)
Greg Marshall from NSW Ambulance praised the hikers for bringing a distress beacon with them, noting it may have saved their lives.
“This couple were very cold when we got to them and temperatures close to zero degrees made it an uncomfortable night,” he said.
Cows swept 20km in Sydney floods
“They did the right thing in taking an EPIRB distress beacon with them, and activating it when they got into trouble.
“The coordinates we received helped our aeromedical team locate them and get assistance to them.
“It’s an important lesson for everybody who goes out into the bush – take an EPIRB with you. It can be a life-saving device.
“This was a tricky and prolonged rescue operation with all agencies involved working well together for a good outcome.”
A sandwich shop employee saved a choking woman’s life Friday afternoon in Rockaway, according to authorities and dramatic security video from inside the shop.
Danielle Buccelli, 21, used the Heimlich maneuver once she realized a lunchtime customer was choking at Primo Hoagies, the video showed.
“In the moment, with the adrenaline, I just kind of didn’t think,” she said in an interview. “I just did it.”
Buccelli, a resident of Randolph, learned the Heimlich maneuver during CPR training she received as a teen.
Her father joined the Randolph Township Fire Department after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, so Buccelli said she grew up around fist responders, joining the fire department when she was 16 years old. There, she had to get re-certified in CPR every two years.
So when the woman, whom authorities have not identified, began to choke on her sandwich, Buccelli said she was prepared.
“I ran behind the counter and performed the Heimlich maneuver,” Buccelli said, telling herself: “You were prepared for this moment. Now you have to do what you were trained to do.”
Buccelli said she works at Primo Hoagies about 40 hours split into five or six days per week. She added that it’s “all around, a really nice place to work.”
Primo Hoagies’ corporate office said the company gave Buccelli $1,000 for saving the woman’s life Friday. She plans to either save the money or use it toward her wedding de ella next fall.
“Danielle, literally from the start, was a fantastic employee,” said Vinny DeRose, the Rockaway location’s general manager. “She (She) always cared about everyone that came in, and she was just an extremely hard worker.”
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