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Entertainment

He won the Melbourne Cup at 14, then vanished. Who was Johnny Day?

He won the Melbourne Cup at 14, then vanished. Who was Johnny Day?

The Australian “cultural footprint” that Drewe creates for Johnny shimmers like a reflection in a trick mirror, or in Bert Flugelman’s great stainless-steel cones in the sculpture garden of the Australian National Gallery. Stare at them from one angle and you see ludicrous human distortions, but shift slightly and, suddenly, you see yourself.

The cover of Robert Drewe's Nimblefoot.

The cover of Robert Drewe’s Nimblefoot.

Drewe hooks his reader with a classic yarn synopsis. It begins, “This is a tale of Johnny Day, his country’s first – and youngest – international sporting champion…” and ends, “Then Johnny Day dropped out of sight. People wondered what had happened to him. Wild stories started up…”

And wild they are. in media res is Drewe’s mode, and his reader is immediately thrust onto the Ballarat cricket ground track with Johnny: “The Moscow Maestro is wearing a nanny goat around his neck like a scarf. Tom Day [Johnny’s father] said keep an eye on him, he’s the danger. Forget the goat cravat, the Maestro’s notorious for his sudden pre-race deadleg, the quick knee-blow specialty that numbs a competitor’s thigh for days.”

In nine pages of virtuoso writing, Drewe creates Johnny’s milieu, hints at dangers that will haunt him (“And now he knows what an enemy looks like … A tall pale man with shiny black hair”), sketches his vulnerability (“He needs his mother to hug him”) and his elusiveness, his metaphorical and actual nimble feet.

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And as it begins, so the story runs – exhilarating in its pace and vividness. During one race (circuits of the MCG) Johnny can’t concentrate: “Anything distracts him. A bugle blast from some show-off in the stands, rainbows glistening in an oily puddle, a windblown paper bag. But mostly birds.”

It is Drewe’s potent skill to turn “distractions” into art. He is a magpie writer, with the bird’s uncanny ability to fuse seemingly random pieces of observation into a coherent narrative, patterned and integrated.

Throughout Nimblefoot’s extraordinary tumult of event – ​​maternal love and loss, betrayal, rape and murder in high places, cross-continental flight, immigration scandal, quarantine, plague, pursuit (I kept being reminded of the indelible savagery of Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch), Drewe sustains his rhythm and pattern of significance, like a skilled charioteer, controlling exuberance, and alert to danger. If I found the swivel of voice – from narrative to Johnny’s first person – occasionally disconcerting, that’s a minor quibble.

Give this book to American friends. Or to anyone who might relish serious Australian ironic play with language, meaning, and timeless relevance.

nimblefoot by Robert Drewe is published by Hamish Hamilton, $32.99.

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.

Categories
Sports

Rohan Dennis claims gold in Commonwealth Games time trial

WOLVERHAMPTON ENGLAND AUGUST 04 L R Silver Medalist Fred Wright of Team England Gold Medalist Rohan Dennis of Team Australia and Bronze Medalist Geraint Thomas of Team Wales pose with their medals during the Mens Individual Time Trial medal ceremony on day seven of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on August 04 2022 in Wolverhampton England Photo by Stephen PondGetty Images

Rohan Dennis (Australia) claimed victory in the men’s individual time trial at the Commonwealth Games, as Geraint Thomas lost his gold medal hopes in an early crash.

Dennis and Thomas started as the major pre-race favorites and it was Dennis, two-time world champion and silver medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, who prevailed.

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US

Autocratic Hungarian leader Orban hailed by US conservatives

Autocratic Hungarian leader Orban hailed by US conservatives

DALLAS (AP) — Hungary’s autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged cheering American conservatives on Thursday to “take back the institutions,” stick to hardline stances on gay rights and immigration and fight for the next US presidential election as a pivotal moment for their beliefs.

The exuberant cheers and standing ovations at the Conservative Political Action Conference for the far-right prime minister, who has been criticized for undermining his own country’s democratic institutions, demonstrated the growing embrace between Orban and Republicans in the US

I have mocked the media in this country and in Europe. And in a speech he titled “How We Fight,” Orban told the crowd gathered in a Dallas convention ballroom to focus now on the 2024 election, saying they had “two years to get ready,” though he endorsed no candidate or party.

“Victory will never be found by taking the path of least resistance,” he said during one of the keynote slots of the three-day CPAC event. “We must take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find friends and allies in one another.”

Referring to liberals, he said: “They hate me and slander me and my country, as they hate you and slander you for the America you stand for.”

His entrance drew a bigger welcome than the governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, received moments earlier on the same stage. From there, the cheers continued as Orban weaved through attacks on LGBTQ rights, boasted about reducing abortions in Hungary and celebrated hardline immigration measures back home.

Other speakers will include former President Donald Trump — who met with Orban earlier this week and will address the gathering on Saturday — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Republican candidates fresh off GOP primary election victories Tuesday.

Orban’s visit to the US came amid backlash back home and in Europe over anti-migrant remarks in which he railed against Europe becoming a “mixed race” society. One of his closest associates compared his comments to Nazi rhetoric and resigned in protest. Orban told the crowd in Texas the media would portray him as a racist strongman and dismissed those who would call his government racist as “idiots.”

His invitation to CPAC reflects conservatives’ growing embrace of the Hungarian leader whose country has a single-party government. Orban is also considered the closest ally in the European Union to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that President Joe Biden had no plans to speak with Orban while he’s in the US Asked if the administration had any concerns about CPAC inviting such a leader to speak at the high-profile conference, Kirby demurred .

“He’s coming at a private invitation,” Kirby said. “Mr. Orban and the CPAC, they can talk about his visit from him.”

Trump praised Orban, who has been prime minister for 12 years, after their meeting this week in Florida.

“Few people know as much about what is going on in the world today,” the former president said in a statement after the meeting.

To some attending the three-day conference, Orban is a model leader who makes an impression beyond Hungary because of his policies and personality.

They praised him for his border security measures and for providing financial subsidies to Hungarian women, which Orban has called an effort to counter Hungary’s population decline. Lilla Vessey, who moved to Dallas from Hungary with her husband, Ede, in the 1980s, said what she hears back in Hungary is that Orban is not anti-democratic.

“I don’t know how it happened that the conservatives kind of discovered him,” said Ede Vessey, 73. “He supports the traditional values. He supports the family.”

Scott Huber, who met Orban along with other CPAC attendees at a private event hours before the speech, said the prime minister expressed hope the US would “moderate a little bit from the far-left influences” in November’s midterm elections. The 67-year-old Pennsylvanian said he would not disagree with descriptions of Orban as autocratic and that he has upset democratic norms, but said he thought it would change in time.

As to why Orban is winning over so many conservatives, Huber noted Orban’s attacks on George Sorosthe American-Hungarian billionaire and philanthropist who is a staunch critic of Hungary’s government and a supporter of liberal causes.

“That’s why I was so interested in seeing him,” Huber said.

Through his communications office, Orban declined an interview request by The Associated Press prior to his speech in Dallas.

The AP and other international news organizations also were prohibited from covering a CPAC conference held in Budapest in May, the group’s first conference in Europe. During that gathering, Orban called Hungary “the bastion of conservative Christian values ​​in Europe” and urged conservatives in the US to defeat “the dominance of progressive liberals in public life.”

He has styled himself as a champion of what he calls “illiberal democracy.”

Orban served as prime minister of Hungary between 1998 and 2002, but it’s his record since taking office again in 2010 that has drawn controversy and raised concerns about Hungary sliding into authoritarian rule. He has depicted himself as a defender of European Christendom against Muslim migrants, progressives and the “LGBTQ lobby.”

Last year, his right-wing Fidesz party banned the depiction of homosexuality or sex reassignment in media targeting people under 18. Information on homosexuality also was forbidden in school sex education programs, or in films and advertisements accessible to minors.

Some of the biggest applauses during Orban’s speech came when he described Hungary’s family framework.

“To sum up, the mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our children alone, full stop,” he said.

Orban has consolidated power over the country’s judiciary and media, and his party has drawn legislative districts in a way that makes it very difficult for opposition parties to win seats — somewhat similar to partisan gerrymandering efforts for state legislative and congressional seats in the US That process currently favors Republicans because they control more of the state legislatures that create those boundaries.

Orban’s moves have led international political observers to label him as the face of a new wave of authoritarianism. The European Union has launched numerous legal proceedings against Hungary for breaking EU rules and is withholding billions in recovery funds and credit over violations of rule-of-law standards and insufficient anti-corruption safeguards.

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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

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Categories
Entertainment

Kim Kardashian reveals body fat percentage: ‘Athlete category’

Kim Kardashian reveals body fat percentage: 'Athlete category'

Reality star, billionaire businesswoman, lawyer and now “athlete”.

Kim Kardashian, 41, has revealed her overall body fat percentage – or lack thereof – telling fans she falls into the esteemed “athlete category.”

The mother-of-four shared on Instagram she underwent body composition testing with US company BodySpec, with her results showing she has a total body fat of just 18.8 per cent.

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According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, what is considered a “healthy body fat” depends on your age. In Kardashian’s case, women aged 40 to 59 should fall between “23 per cent to 33 per cent” of overall body fat to be considered healthy.

Meanwhile, the athlete category falls anywhere between 14 and 20 per cent.

Elsewhere in the results, Kardashian further claimed her bones were stronger than “93-97 per cent” of people.

Kardashian, who initially made a name for herself thanks to her voluptuous figure, has significantly trimmed down in recent years after switching to a plant-based diet.

But her oft-extreme methods to achieve her figure have courted controversy at times, more recently when she revealed her rapid weight loss to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s original gown for the Met Gala in May.

She said on the red carpet she lost 7kg in just three weeks to fit into the iconic Jean Louis gown Monroe wore to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

In an interview with Allure in July, the SKIMS founder defended the move, likening herself to an actor preparing for a role.

“If I was starving and doing it really unhealthy, I would say that, of course, that’s not a good message,” she began. “But I had a nutritionist, I had a trainer. I have never drunk more water in my life. I don’t see the criticism for other people when they lost weight for roles — they are [considered] geniuses for their craft.”

Kardashian went on to admit she cares about how she looks “more than 90 per cent of the people on this planet,” adding that she has learned to be more carefree in recent times — but still “hates” one aspect of her body.

“I’m at peace with not being perfect and I wasn’t like that before, I hate my hands — they’re wrinkly and gross,” she said.

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Categories
Sports

Ricciardo will use F1 summer break to build up “hunger”

Adam Cooper

The Australian has faced a difficult few months in the shadow of Lando Norris, and has scored only 19 points to the 76 of his McLaren teammate.

He now has the added complication of McLaren’s interest in Oscar Piastri having reached the public domain in the past few days, leaving his own long-term plans unclear.

Ricciardo hopes to use the time off to clear his head and return in strong form after the summer break for the initial run of races in Spa, Zandvoort and Monza.

“To be honest, switching off normally gives me like a natural reset,” he said after last weekend’s Hungarian GP.

“To a point where I imagine in say 10 days, two weeks into the break, I would have kind of got the holiday out of my system, and then I’ll build that hunger back again.

“So I’ll naturally think about it, after getting time off. That’s normally how it works for me.

“Again, go out with friends, drink some beers, have fun. And then I’ll get to the point where I start to not feel guilty, but just like alright, time to turn it on again. And then it’s kind of a natural switch that will come back probably after 14 days.

“A bit like last year, [I want to] kind of start that second half of this season with a positive bang and just to get the ball rolling. The triple header, it’s intense.

“So I think come out and set some strong intentions. That’s the plan. Obviously, it’s easier said than done. But that’s certainly the plan.”

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Reflecting on the first half of the season, Ricciardo admitted that the MCL36 is one of the more difficult F1 cars that he’s drive thus far.

“Certainly, one of the most,” he said. “I remember where in a race stint you could do 20 laps and you could stay within three tenths probably for a 20-lap stint at times, and kind of just be very in control.

“I feel like stint variation is a lot bigger this year. I’ll see what the other guys are doing. But maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s the whole field, but I’ll be surprised if you see someone doing like 0.1s, 0.1s, 0.1s. 0.2s, 0.1s, and so I think they are just more difficult to produce.”

Asked if he felt on top of the car yet, he said: “There’s some laps, which I’ll put together, and kind of make sense. And I’m like, that was sweet. But then a couple of laps later, I might drop four tenths or something, and then I’m like, ughh…

“It’s not so simple, like a dot-to-dot, there’s some hurdles before getting to the next dot. And so that’s a little complicated.

“I guess when it’s on more of a knife-edge or when there’s more variables, that’s where it starts to become that step more difficult.”

ReadAlso:

Categories
Australia

Defense to truck PFAS-contaminated soil from Katherine’s RAAF Base Tindal to Melbourne

A faded sign that says "Fire training ground".

In a couple of weeks scores of half-size shipping containers filled with tonnes of toxic soil will begin making the 3,500-kilometre journey from northern Australia to Victoria.

Defense has begun tackling the toxic legacy of the firefighting foam that was used for decades at the Tindal Royal Australian Air Force Base and other sites around Australia.

It has been more than six years since residents in Katherine were told that persistently high levels of toxic compounds, known collectively as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, had been found in their only drinking source.

Every year since, roughly 40 kilograms of the chemical has leaked into the groundwater from the RAAF base, where large areas of contaminated soil have been left to seep.

A woman and a man in high-vis walk side by side through a dusty plot of land.
Amanda Lee says there will be an instant reduction in the amount of PFAS leaching from the area.(ABC Katherine: Roxanne Fitzgerald)

Defense has conceded there is “no silver bullet” that would effectively destroy all traces of the “forever chemical” from the base, but it is committed to solving the problem.

“It’s a complex chemical and it’s a very complex remedial challenge,” Defense’s remediation advisor Amanda Lee said.

“What we’ve done here today is come up with the best solution available to us today with proven technology to try and address this problem.”

Despite explicit warnings dating back to 1987 that the product must not enter the environment, many thousands of liters of the firefighting foam were discarded onto bare earth or washed into stormwater systems and evaporation ponds.

A digger operates on top of a mound of smashed up concrete.
High concentrations of PFAS have been found in the old fire training area.(ABC Katherine: Roxanne Fitzgerald)

‘Big reduction in mass’

Now two large areas at Tindal, where RAAF firefighters would wash their equipment and where firefighting foams were used in practice scenarios, have been identified as high priority for remediation.

This week the massive effort to dig up the estimated 60,000 tonnes of contaminated soil and crushed concrete from the two areas began.

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Categories
US

At least 4 killed in Windsor Hills crash, including infant

At least 4 killed in Windsor Hills crash, including infant

A fiery multi-car crash left four dead, including a pregnant woman and an infant, in Los Angeles’ Windsor Hills neighborhood Thursday, according to authorities.

Law enforcement officials investigate a fiery fatal crash in Windsor Hills.

Law enforcement officials investigate a fiery crash in which multiple people were killed in Windsor Hills on Thursday afternoon.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

The crash at La Brea and Slauson avenues was a “multiple casualty incident,” with reports of numerous injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a tweet. The department responded to the crash just after 1:40 pm

Officer Franco Pepi, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson, said four people were killed in the crash: three adults and one infant. One of the adults was a pregnant woman.

Authorities transported eight people to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for treatment, Pepi said. Of those injured, six were teens and one suffered major injuries.

Footage of the crash shows fire trucks on scene and cars on fire.

Smoke could be seen billowing from miles away.

Police believe the driver of a Mercedes-Benz caused the crash, which killed at least four people.

Police believe the driver of a Mercedes-Benz caused the crash, which killed at least four people.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

A woman who did not want to be named told The Times a Mercedes-Benz hit her car as she was leaving a United Oil gas station.

“I was getting out, had got gas,” she said. “All of a sudden that Mercedes is coming at me on… fire. I didn’t have any time to think about it. It hit my car. I veered, hit the bench on the side.”

The crash caused her to fear a gasoline-fueled explosion, she told The Times.

Nearby, the wrecked Mercedes-Benz with a smashed hood had crashed into a curb.

Investigators believe the driver of the Mercedes-Benz was responsible for the crash, Pepi said.

A pregnant woman was among those killed in Thursday afternoon's crash in Windsor Hills.

A pregnant woman was among those killed in Thursday afternoon’s crash in Windsor Hills.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Categories
Technology

The Cult Of The Lamb PS5 Controller Is Very Nice, Very Evil

The Cult Of The Lamb PS5 Controller Is Very Nice, Very Evil

I already had a sick and twisted love for Cult of the Lamb just from playing the preview, but now that love has grown thanks to my new little monstrosity.

I like to think we all remember the evil little beasts that were the Fuzzy sonic the hedgehog Xbox controllers, released in celebration of the very good sonic the hedgehog 2. They were gross, horrid creatures without even the intention to be so. And I absolutely loved them for it. Let’s look at them again, as a treat.

The Cult Of The Lamb PS5 Controller Is Very Nice, Very Evil
Yeaaah. There they are. (Image: Xbox)

They were cryptid-esque, and they probably had a weird smell. Isn’t that beautiful?

Now that’s all unwell and bad, but it had me wanting more. I think there should be more truly wretched and evil controllers, because why not? Luckily, thanks to the good folks over at Massive Monster, Devolver Digital, and the galaxy-brained folks over at Adelaide-based custom controller makers We Are Robots, I now get to have this wicked little gremlin in my sad, sweaty hands.

The Cult Of The Lamb PS5 Controller Is Very Nice, Very Evil
It keeps me warm. (Image: Kotaku Australia)

I love the Lamb. I even praise the Lamb. This controller is the perfect piece of equipment to feed my faithful followers slop and slay Eldritch creatures.

Unfortunately, this controller is not available for sale, but We Are Robots are a very cool and very talented bunch of folks that make awesome custom controllers, so I highly recommend checking out their work if you’re looking for a controller that fits you perfectly .

This controller fits me perfectly for a number of reasons. First of all, I love Cult of the Lamb. Second of all, I’m terrible. Third of all, I think the most beautiful things also happen to be the truly most yucky and icky things. The customizations are smooth, and my hands are warm thanks to the evil-infused wool of the controller.

It’s not long now, my friends, that you will experience the goodness of Massive Monster’s Cult of the Lamb. If you’re not already pumped for it like I am, here’s a little yarn on how much I like it. And if you’d like to know more about what went into its creation, you can check out my interview with Julian Wilton, the creative director of Massive Monster.

Cult of the Lamb releases on PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on August 12th, 2022.

Categories
Entertainment

Beauty and the Geek finale: What happened?

Beauty and the Geek finale: What happened?

“Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for anybody better,” he said of the Beauty. “She was the best partner. I love her so much.

“I’m just very happy that we got spend time together because she really made me shine and I felt like I made her do the exact same thing. We just had so much fun together on the whole experience.”

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast. Post continues after audio.

Emily says Beauty and the Geek helped her heal after being assaulted.

Emily had a tough experience before entering Beauty and the Geektelling 9Entertainment she was a victim of sexual assault just months before the show began filming.

“When everything had happened, I was broken,” she said. “Two of my friends had to pick me up off the floor.”

She says the show helped her to heal, adding that she made lifelong pals with her partner Jason and the rest of the Beauties from the show.

“I feel like coming on to the show, it was like God sending me something to pick me back up off the floor and help me heal, and it honestly did,” she explained. “It made me see my worth, it made me enjoy life again. It healed me more than anything else could.”

Emily revealed she told the other Beauties about her experience within the first week.

“Coming onto the show… the first week that I met the [Beauties] it was crazy how quickly I got along with them,” she said. “I told them about what happened maybe day two of meeting them, and it was really nice having that support throughout the entire show. Also, meeting the Geeks, I saw how boys should treat me rather than how I’ve been treated so terribly before.

“It’s honestly just put all those pieces back together, as I walked in broken from what happened.”

Emily also added that her fellow contestant, Jason, had been an “amazing” support.

“Jason was amazing. Off-screen, I did tell Jason the things that had happened to me and he was amazing. He was so supportive,” she said. “He knew I had a lot of insecurities, and every time I saw him he would give me some sort of compliment and make sure I was feeling okay.

“He was a massive turning point in everything.”

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counseling service.

Feature Image: Channel 9 / Instagram @BATG.

Categories
Sports

Tina Rahimi stuns Sameenah Toussaint in Birmingham debut

Tina Rahimi stuns Sameenah Toussaint in Birmingham debut

“I know now I’m a role model and an inspiration to the Muslim females out there. I’m showing that you can do anything in the hijab, it’s important to get out and be active. They might feel like they don’t want to play sports because people might look at them funny,” Rahimi said.

“I want them to be comfortable going out there. Now they are seeing me on a public stage, doing what I love and showing that anything is possible and who cares what they think of you.”

Kaye Scott (left) is another of the five Australian boxers in the medal mix in Birmingham.

Kaye Scott (left) is another of the five Australian boxers in the medal mix in Birmingham.Credit:Getty

Rahimi is one of five Australians in the Commonwealth semi-finals, joining Kaye Scott (middleweight), Callum Peters (middleweight), Edgardo Coumi (heavyweight) and Caitlin Parker (lightweight) in the next round.

The news wasn’t quite so good for Australian flyweight Alex Winwood, who won the first round against Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba before being clipped with a left just 19 seconds into the second round. The fight was waved off and Winwood was reduced to tears as he left the ring.

“I feel like I’ve been robbed a little bit of an opportunity to provide myself. I felt like I was fine, the call was a bit quick. I went down and just felt like it was the chance to show them what I’m made of, that I can come back from adversity,” Winwood said.

“It’s a tough sport but she [the referee] made up her mind and the referees are there to protect us. It is what it is.”

Later, South Australian heavyweight Coumi was in another class from Anguilla’s Japheth Olton, winning via a second-round stoppage.

Coumi moved superbly as he ducked a flurry of big shots before taking complete control. But the bout nearly didn’t begin at all when Olton turned up wearing a red mouthguard, which is against regulations. Officials let it begin but Coumi was close to winning himself a bronze medal without even having a fight.

“I just wanted to use my boxing ability, use my jab, didn’t want to get into a rough fight. I saw his big shots coming, he was rolling under them, I felt good and fast. I’m just getting started,” Coumi said.

“I wouldn’t have taken a bronze without fighting. I’m here to fight. I have a medal now but I want gold. I came here for the big job.”

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Coumi next meets England’s Lewis Williams, who won a bronze medal at the European championships and is a technical, powerful fighter. But Coumi said he had met him in sparring before and was confident of advancing to the gold medal match.

Get all the latest news from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games here. We’ll be live blogging the action from 4pm-10am daily.