Podcasts about lightning ridge

في أقصى شمال غرب ولاية نيو ساوث ويلز، تقودنا هذه الحلقة من “مشوار” إلى Lightning Ridge، واحدة من أكثر الوجهات غرابة في أستراليا، حيث لا تُروى الحياة فقط على سطح الأرض… بل تحتها أيضًا. من مناجم الأوبال الأسود النادر، إلى البيوت والفنادق المحفورة في باطن الأرض، نكتشف مدينة نشأت على الأمل والمغامرة، وجذبت عبر تاريخها باحثين عن الثروة من مختلف أنحاء العالم. وبين تجربة road trip طويلة، وزيارات للمناجم، ومتاحف تروي قصة حجر يعود لملايين السنين، نعيش رحلة سياحية مختلفة، حيث يلتقي الواقع القاسي بحلم قد يتحقق… في لحظة.

Hello and welcome to The Craft Room Podcast. I'm so glad you're joining me today, as we are talking about forgotten gems. If you've been crafting for a long time, like me, then you likely have a LOT of amazing products and resources. Back in episode 40 I talked about The Craft Stash, and this is kind of an extension of that episode. Usually when people talk about forgotten gems, they're referring to old movies or television shows, paintings or travel destinations. But this is a craft podcast, so, of course, we are going to be talking about them in the context of crafting. In thinking about this for a few weeks, I've found that forgotten crafty gems tend to fall into one of three categories … 1. Physical (which falls into 3 sub-categories - Consumables, Tools, References/Resources) 2. Virtual/digital 3. Techniques/knowledge So … what can we do to uncover our forgotten crafting gems. Well, before we talk about that, I would like to remind you of one important thing. If you were out in Lightning Ridge mining for opals, not everything you dig up is going to be a beautiful gem. There's going to be a whole lot of rubble, and, let's be honest … there's going to be some dirt. The same applies when searching for forgotten crafting gems, in your stash, on the internet, on your computer, your phone or in your memory. Be prepared to find a few things that you look at and wonder 'Why did I keep this?', and I suspect there will be some dust, and potentially a dead bug in there somewhere. The easiest way to find anything is to look for it, and I'll walk you through from low effort / low time options, then we'll level up. 1. Look 2. Closer Look 3. Sort 4. Organise If there's anything I hope you take away from this episode, I hope it is this … * It's worth pressing pause on bringing new things into your home so you can take some time to look at what you have, decide what you love and curate a craft stash that is a true treasure chest. * Keep track of your virtual and digital gems so you can enjoy them before they disappear. Block out some time to watch that video, look at old bookmarked pages, work your way through that online course or print those checklists and templates and use them. * Sometimes we need to clear the rubble and the dirt (and the dead fly) so our gems can truly shine. One crafters rubble is another crafters treasure. Mostly I hope that you find great joy in your craft stash, and if you find a truly amazing treasure, please feel free to share it, maybe in the Craft with Dawn Lewis Facebook group (link in show notes and on the blog). Enjoy the gem hunt, and happy crafting! LINKS Episode 45 blog post Episode 40 'The Craft Stash' Online Courses & ClassesCraft with Dawn Lewis Facebook GroupShop Creative Fabrica Sign up for newsletterBuy Me A Coffee Benable budget crafting board

What a pleasure it was to talk to Ruth Scurr, author of John Aubrey: My Own Life, about the great man himself, who was born four hundred years ago this month. Aubrey is best know for his splendid Brief Lives but he preserved a huge amount of knowledge which historians still rely on. There are many things we only know because of Aubrey—things about people Hobbes and Hooke, Stonehenge, architectural history. We also talked about Janet Malcom, the genre of biography, and modern fiction.HENRY OLIVER: Today I'm talking to Ruth Scurr. Ruth is a fellow of Gonville and Caius College in the University of Cambridge, where she specializes in the history of political thought. But more importantly, she is the biographer of John Aubrey, one of my favorite writers, who is celebrating 400 years of his birth this year. Ruth, hello.RUTH SCURR: Hi, Henry.OLIVER: Can you begin by giving us a brief life of John Aubrey?SCURR: So born in 1626, 17th-century antiquarian, collector, early fellow at the Royal Society. Well connected to scientific and the literary circles of his day. Someone who sees himself more as a whetstone: a person who could help sharpen other people's ideas. As a recorder, someone who treasured the details, the minutiae of the lives he encountered, and pass those details on to posterity.He's nonjudgmental, witty, kind, inventive. Very, very sociable. Very good friend. But he's hopeless at self-advancement. Begins his life as a gentleman, but he inherits debts from his father and he can never really achieve financial stability.Never marries, ends up homeless and worried about being arrested for his debts. And he has to sell his precious collection of books periodically through his life to raise some much-needed cash, but he keeps his manuscripts safe. And he does this at the end of his life by putting them into the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, afterwards known as the Bodleian, and where they still are today.OLIVER: So how many manuscripts did he save for us?SCURR: Of his own manuscripts or other people's manuscripts?OLIVER: Other people's. Because he was collecting all sorts of precious things.SCURR: Oh, absolutely. He was the person who, when someone died, would go round if he could to their house and ask what was happening about the manuscripts. He's particularly concerned, obviously, with his friends. So he had a close relationship with Robert Hooke and he wanted to make sure that Hooke's many inventions and scientific contributions were recorded.And he has this wonderful line in the life of Hooke where he says, “It's so hard to get people to do right by themselves.” And in his childhood, he had seen the fallout from the dissolution of the monasteries. He'd become very troubled by the habit of using manuscript pages which had been displaced in the dissolution. He saw them being used in schools to cover textbooks. He saw them being used to—or he heard about them at least being used—to wrap up gloves or to create stoppers in bottles. And this really troubled him from, from a very early age.And I think he has another beautiful line where he says after the dissolution of the monasteries, whereas these manuscripts had been kept safe, they flew around like butterflies. And he wanted to catch them and preserve them and to stop people letting the papers and the precious manuscripts of their relatives do the same. So he was very instrumental in rescuing manuscripts, other people's manuscripts. And then fortunately with his own, he knew Ashmole and they had the shared astrology interest.Ashmole was a very different sort of person who basically said to Oxford, look, I'll give you my collections, but there has to be a museum for them. And luckily Aubrey was able to use that museum as a safe place for his own manuscripts.OLIVER: So we know things about Robert Hooke and Thomas Hobbes and all these other luminaries of the 17th century, thanks to Aubrey. What else do we know, thanks to him?SCURR: We know what Stonehenge looked like in his day because he was a very good draftsman. He drew pictures of Stonehenge. He'd grown up in Wiltshire, he'd known those stones from childhood. He understood that Avebury nearby was a comparable monument, and he took Charles II to see it, and persuaded the king to get the locals to stop breaking up the stones, to reuse the stones, which was the practice.He also made drawings of windows because he was possibly the first person as a historian of architecture to realize that you could date buildings by the style of their windows. So we have those drawings. He was also interested in the history of costume. He did a survey of Surrey, of Wiltshire.So these are all sort of focuses in his manuscripts and people who've used them come to really appreciate how pioneering Aubrey was. But of course he doesn't finish them. He doesn't publish those manuscripts. So it's very easy really to overlook the innovation and the contribution and the wonderful imagination that he had.OLIVER: You mean if he'd published a book, he would have a much bigger reputation?SCURR: Well, I think there's two things. Yes, but in a sense, you know, the Brief Lives have been published after his death in various forms. But I think one of the most engaging things about Aubrey is that he's a modest and self-effacing person. And I already mentioned the idea he had of himself as a whetstone to other people's talents.There aren't that many people—certainly not in my life, maybe there are in yours—but who would effortlessly describe themselves as a whetstone to other people's talents. Most people want to be at the center. They're happy to have clever and literary friends, but they want a place there at the table as well.And Aubrey really was very, very invested in helping other people to do right by themselves, as he said about Hooke. And he very movingly—this is one of the inspirations really for my book that I wrote about him—he spent all that time collating the information about other people's lives. And for his own life, he puts down a few lines, a couple of facts and everything.He says, well, this could be used as the binding of a book. You know, it's sort of waste paper really. So he doesn't write his own life. Other people's lives he's going to convey to posterity. He doesn't see his own life as really being at that level of needing the attention that he gave, for example, to Milton or to Harvey or Hobbes, as you mentioned.OLIVER: He's born the year after Charles I comes to the throne. So he obviously lives through a fairly terrible period of history and very tumultuous, changeable in lots of different ways. The new world, the new learning, new religion, new politics, everything is changing. And he's obsessed with the old ways. How did these historical events—is he reacting against his time? Is he just born in a lucky time in a way?SCURR: So he was a student in Oxford during the Civil War. And you are right. The upheaval is very disturbing for his generation. It means he gets called back from Oxford by his father because it's dangerous to be there. And he's really, really upset by that because, it's like us, when we were students or our students today. You finally get away from your family and there you are in this place with all these exciting peers and access to books that you've never had before or at least to that extent, libraries, et cetera.And suddenly there's a war on and you've got to go home. So there's that disturbance. Then there is the fact that actually he was close to Hobbes. Hobbes actually was a Malmesbury man, so Wiltshire, very near Aubrey. And had come back to visit the school where Hobbes had been, which was where Aubrey was at school. And so they had met in Aubrey's childhood, and then he would've been aware of Hobbes having to go into exile. And then Hobbes coming back, of course. And that's a very important time in his life.And it's not an accident that Hobbes asks Aubrey to write his life because Hobbes knows how careful Aubrey is. And he knows that Aubrey has information that he can convey in the life. So that is really the first life that he writes. And it's different from the others. There's a different sort of origin. And it's after he's done that, that he starts to think, well, actually, you know, I can think of at least 50, 55 other people's lives. And now I've got my hand in, I might start on those as well.So in that period of upheaval there are wonderful stories. Maybe we'll look at some of the Brief Lives, but there's this amazing story that he captures in the life of William Harvey, which is a description of Harvey having been at the battlefield in Edgehill and recording one of the people who had been fighting and wounded, surviving by having the good sense to pull a dead body on top of himself, to keep himself warm on the battlefield. Things like that, which make the war very much alive. This is brutal, this civil war. It's a long time ago and we think we passed over it, but the really brutal reality of war is captured in the Brief Lives through the anecdotes and the stories of that generation that Aubrey preserves.OLIVER: How English is he?SCURR: Well, as opposed to what?OLIVER: Welsh.SCURR: Okay. Well he goes to Wales often and is very interested in Wales. I think he sees himself as English. I think he's very invested in English customs and stories and people. He's not nationalistic in any sense like that. What he's interested in is the inherited ways of living.And he's very interested in language and different dialects. That's one of the other things; he starts to collect different words. He was very aware of the Cornish dialect, for example. So I'd say it's a very decentered England that's rooted in customs, traditions, inherited stories.And there's a big place there for both the future and the past. Huge excitement about The Royal Society, English science, what can be achieved through the sharing of knowledge. But again, Aubrey's not an insular person in that respect. So, he wished he could go on the Grand Tour when he was a student. He would really have loved to have done that. It's one of the things that he actually talked to Harvey about, going and traveling as his contemporaries, for example, John Evelyn did.But Aubrey actually says—this is very typical of Aubrey—that his mother persuaded him out of it. His mother didn't want him going off on the Grand Tour. She was afraid for him. And he regretted it later in life. But it's so typical of Aubrey that he would pay attention to his mother and her anxieties.OLIVER: This interest in the present and the past—so he loves all the history, but he's in the Royal Society. One thing I like in your book is the way he talks about, oh, my grandfather still dresses in the old ways, like he's an Elizabethan, but at the same time he's doing a very sort of Baconian project. He's influenced by Bacon. Is Aubrey a sort of paradox? Does this make sense in a way?SCURR: Only in so far as lots of other people are as well. I was just looking at the Harvey life, and there's a story there about how when Harvey was a student he was meant to be setting sail with some friends. And he's stopped and told, “No, you can't get on this boat. You have to wait.” And he says, “Well, what have I done wrong? Why can't I get on this boat?” He said, “No, honestly, we need to have a word with you. You are not going on the boat.” And then the boat sinks, everyone dies. And this is apparently because the guy who stopped him had a dream that he needed to stop Harvey going. Harvey told Aubrey that story.Harvey also is—as Aubrey sort of slightly inaccurately puts it, is the inventor of the circulation of the blood. And you think, well, that's going a little bit far, perhaps not actually the inventor, but certainly the first person to discover, to understand about circulating blood.So there's another example of someone's life includes, I wouldn't be alive unless somebody had had this premonition and dream that I was about to die. Which is from a completely different world, from the rational, scientific understanding of the body or the other scientific advances that are going on at the time.OLIVER: And Aubrey's happy to just sort of coexist with both of those because of his interest in astrology?SCURR: And not just astrology. He's very interested in astrology and nativities, as he called it. In some of the Brief Lives, you see the sort of recording of the information that would be needed to cast an astrological shape for the life.But he is also interested in the fact that people believe in fairies and ghosts. He doesn't look down on those beliefs. Nor does he say that he necessarily believes in the presence of fairies or the interventions of the supernatural. But he's got a very open mind in relation to that. And certainly being simultaneously interested in early astronomy and astrology together is, to us, very striking. But then I think it was much more normal.OLIVER: Why do you think he resisted ordination?SCURR: Because he said the cassock stinks. He considered ordination several times because he knew it would be a living, it would be a way of being able to have some income, probably not very onerous duties. Some of his friends say to him, “Come on, Aubrey, it really won't be that much work. You'll just get a curate who'll do it all, and you'll get the living, and then you won't have to be worrying all the time about your paycheck. You haven't got a paycheck. It would be a living coming to you.”And on one occasion, one of the reasons he gives for not doing that is he thinks well, what if there's another religious upheaval and I have to change sides again? What if Roman Catholicism comes back and I ended up on the wrong side of it?And, again, would it really have been that difficult to go with the flow? But I think, in his own way, he had found his way of living, which was intensely sociable. And perhaps he didn't want that constraint of being a member of the clergy around him.OLIVER: Do you think he was a nonbeliever?SCURR: Well. I don't know the answer to that. I don't think so at all. I think he probably was a straightforward Christian believer. I think perhaps he'd seen enough of the religious conflicts and wars to be afraid of fanaticism on both sides. And that would fit certainly with his relationship with Hobbes.I don't have any reason to think he's an atheist. He's got a beautiful way of writing about death and there's this wonderful line he has when he says, “God bless you and me in our in and out world.” So the fact that we refer to his works as the Brief Lives because they're short, but everybody's life is brief.And even those who live, as he did, into his 70s, it feels brief. And there's these very moving descriptions of him at funerals. I was thinking about this the other day because he often records where someone's buried. And I recently wrote my first entry for the Dictionary of National Biography. I did the one for Hilary Mantel, which was a great honor and extremely interesting.And when I came back to the Brief Lives, I thought, gosh, I wish I'd put at the end of that DNB entry where she's actually buried, that would've made sense to do that. And I didn't do it because the DNB is quite formalized; they've got their formula and you need to stick to it.But maybe I'll add it in. Because it seems to me very moving to record where people are actually buried. That would fit I think with her religious sensibility, with a regard for the afterlife, and with the rites of passage at the end of life.OLIVER: What is it that makes Aubrey such a good biographer?SCURR: So I think the modesty that is in his spirit, the noticing, the minutiae that he both notices and values and his wit. He has a sensitivity to these funny and revealing quirky stories about the people that he knows. Or he finds them in the stories he's told by people who did know them.There's an eyewitness account aspect to it as well. Or at least it's an oral history. “I was told this by . . .” He's extremely precise. He'll try to assemble the facts so far as he can, and then he'll tell you what people's close friends said about them, and he will do so very, very carefully so that you know this is a story that he's been told that he's passing on.And then he doesn't pass moral judgment. He doesn't adjudicate. And finally, he thinks of himself as doing all of this for posterity and that posterity, i.e. us or the people who come after us, will find things there and he's not going to tell them what to find. He's not going to shape the life and say, this is what you should think about it.He will give you the raw materials, he'll give you the stories, he'll give you a flavor of the details of the life, and then posterity can look there and can see, for example, the disagreements between Hobbes and Isaac Newton. There are people who've written lives of Hooke and Newton. And there are people who've written lives and you can be team Newton or team Hooke. Interestingly, Aubrey is team Hooke. He doesn't write a life of Newton. And he wants, as I said, to do well by Hooke. But his way of doing that isn't to say Mr.Hooke was fantastic and Newton robbed him of lots of his ideas. He says, let me show you, let me assemble and make a catalog, if I can, of all these hundreds of contributions that Hooke made.OLIVER: When did you discover Aubrey?SCURR: So I discovered Aubrey because I was reviewing for the LRB, The Biographer's Tale, and I had come across a really interesting—and it's still in the introduction to my book—a really interesting reflection on the difference between Aubrey and Lytton Strachey, a reflection made by Anthony Powell, and I had quoted it or alluded to it in my review. And I had gone and started to read Aubrey as a result of that. So I was led to it through reviewing, via Anthony Powell, and then into the Brief Lives.But then another very strange thing happened, which is I met for the very first time, Janet Malcolm, who is someone who became very important in my life. And because she knew or had been told that I'd written this review, she read the review before we met. And she said to me, she said, “Ruth, I read your review”—and I doubt Janet Malcolm was a massive fan of A.S. Byatt, to be absolutely honest. We never really discussed that further, but she said, “I read your review and I was really interested in this Aubrey. I was so interested in what you quoted about Aubrey and the difference between his biographical approach and Lytton Strachey.”And then it sort of stuck in my mind and suddenly as I was coming toward the end of my first book, which was a totally different book on Robespierre and the French Revolution, I just knew I wanted to write about Aubrey. And I think at the time my then-husband really thought I'd gone mad actually, because you're not supposed to do that, are you?I mean, you're supposed to stick in your period and certainly build on it. So, you know, a book on Marra or even Napoleon would've been okay, that would've made sense. But to circle back to the 17th century and write about Aubrey seemed extremely eccentric.OLIVER: Well, what was Janet Malcolm like?SCURR: Oh, Janet was absolutely wonderful. She has this reputation of being sort of terrifying. And, of course, I was extremely interested in her forensic examination of biography which we had very interesting conversations about. She was a deeply kind person, extremely nurturing of younger writers, and extremely funny as well.That's the other thing that you don't associate with her sometimes from this sort of public image of a very austere interviewer, The Journalist and the Murderer, In the Freud Archives, et cetera. Actually, she was a really warm and extremely witty person.OLIVER: A lot of historians don't think biography is real history. Why do you take biography seriously?SCURR: Well, Michael Holroyd writes Works on Paper—and I love Michael Holroyd so much. And he has this wonderful line—I won't remember it exactly—but it's about biography being the b*****d offspring of history and the novel, and both are ashamed of it.And I think some of those distinctions actually have broken down. I know lots of historians who are very interested in biographical writing. I think it depends. There are certain historical schools that maybe are not so interested in lives.And to be fair, the history of ideas is—which I belong to, and in a sense I'm a rebel from—is one of those. I remember there coming a point where I had spent so much time thinking about the constitutional ideas for the representative republic in the middle of the French Revolution, that actually the French Revolution could have been happening on Mars for all it mattered about the actual sequence of events. What mattered was the structure of the ideas.And it's difficult because the school I belong to in Cambridge wants to put the ideas into context all the time. But again, by context you don't really mean people's lives; more the discourses and the conversations and the ideas of the time that are the landscape, the intellectual landscape, if you like.So I rebelled at a certain point and I was like, well, you know, I'm actually going to go through the revolution day by day because that period is short. And I think it really matters, the lived experience there. I think many, many history books quote Aubrey with enormous respect and say, “as Aubrey says,” or, “according to Aubrey,” and pull those details forwards.I suppose some history is quite instrumental in its use of biography, so it wants to draw the reader in with a few anecdotes and a little bit of what does somebody wear on their head? And who was their first love, that kind of thing. But it's perhaps not very engaged with the real work of trying to capture the shape or the feel of a life.OLIVER: And of a temperament, right? I think one thing biography gives us is that sense that a lot of these big decisions or events in history are quite temperamental. As well as being based in ideas and events.SCURR: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.OLIVER: Your life of Aubrey, at one point you tried to write as a novel.SCURR: Yeah. I had to stop that quite fast.OLIVER: Why?SCURR: Because Aubrey is too important. I didn't want to make up things for him. As someone who's come right up to that line of the history and the novel, I do think it's very clear to be on one side or the other. And again, going back to Hilary Mantel, she wrote those wonderful Reith Lectures on historical fiction.And, like her, I think that it's not about ignoring the facts or embellishing the facts. It is about the gaps. It's about imagining what isn't in the record and should have been, and trying to reconstruct that inside the novel. But at the time, I felt that the gaps with Aubrey didn't actually matter that much.There was so much there that I could pull together to give a sense of him and his sensibility. Now actually, scholars in this field will all be very, very keen to advance our knowledge of those gaps. And that's wonderful. You know, what exactly was Aubrey doing when he visited France? You know, at the time I wrote my book that seemed very unclear.I think my colleague in Oxford, Kate Bennett, knows that now and will write her own biography. And she will fill in many of these gaps that I sort of happily included in the form that I'd found for his life because giving him that first person voice, I was able to focus on the evidence that I thought had been very underused at that point.OLIVER: Now Kate Bennett did a wonderful edition of the Brief Lives with lots of excellent footnotes and investigations. And you wrote that it gave us a new understanding of Aubrey.SCURR: Absolutely. And of the lives themselves. And Kate and I got to know each other and became friends while we were both writing our books. And people we knew before we met were very keen to sort of set us against each other. So they would wind us up. I would meet someone and they'd say, “Ruth, there you are. You've written a book about the French Revolution and now you are going to write a book about Aubrey. But don't you know there is a scholar in Oxford who spent her entire academic life working on Aubrey?” And it built up a picture of fear that you shouldn't trespass on somebody else's ground.And then people would do a sort of reverse thing to her that they would say, “Oh, Kate, gosh, you've been working a long time on Aubrey and where is your Clarendon edition after all? And did you know there's somebody in Cambridge who's going to write this popular book about Aubrey?”Anyway, finally we met at a conference and we really actually just liked each other and we decided it's fine. I was doing my thing. She's doing something very different. And we became friends, and I see that as a triumph over a sort of more traditional, maybe even dare I say, male and territorial approach to academic life and to knowledge in general actually.OLIVER: Yeah. Because the two books are great complements to each other. They're not rivalrous in that sense.SCURR: Absolutely not. Kate's book, it's not just an addition. It's as much as you can ever do. It's a reconstruction of the manuscript as Aubrey left it and intended it with all the gaps and the notes to himself to fill this in. And his changes of mind and his deletions and all of that. And so it's an astonishing thing. Because it's not just a copy of it. It takes you in, it helps you understand what he was intending with those collections, as you called them, my pretty collections.And so that edition that she had been working on for a very long time came out in 2015, the same year as my book came out. And it felt like an amazing year for Aubrey. And now, we'll be celebrating the 400th anniversary of his birth. But that year, 2015, was a very special, obviously for us, but I think for Aubrey more broadly.OLIVER: How much of an influence has Aubrey had on English biography?SCURR: As we know, there's the huge influence in terms of “Aubrey says.” Open any book on the 17th century, and it will be “Aubrey says,” “according to Aubrey,” et cetera. So a huge influence in that respect. With regard to the actual form, I think it's very, very pervasive and important, and we have to look at it very carefully.I mentioned earlier the very important difference between what Aubrey does and what Lytton Strachey did. There are some similarities in so far as Strachey will go for the vivid detail. He give you these powerful anecdotes. But actually he spins them as well.And that's what Anthony Powell so brilliantly showed. And the example was of Francis Bacon, the life of Francis Bacon who Aubrey has a description of Bacon right at the end of his life, the circumstances leading up to Bacon's death where he is on Highgate Hill and he decides to conduct an experiment to see if snow will preserve a chicken or a hen as well as salt. So he is stuffing this carcass of the hen with snow. Catches a cold, ends up having to stay with a friend, sleeps in a bed that hasn't been aired for a long time, and dies. And that's the end of Lord Bacon.So Aubrey gives us all this, and then along comes Lytton Strachey. And he takes it, and he says an old man disgraced, shattered, alone on Highgate Hill, stuffing a dead foul with snow, which makes it sound like he's lost his mind at the end of his life. And then Anthony Powell examined that and he said, look, the story of stuffing the hen with snow is Aubrey's.Bacon was certainly an old man at the time of the incident. He was disgraced. He may have been shattered. No doubt at times he was alone. But Aubrey's story of stuffing the foul on Highgate Hill shows Bacon accompanied by the king's physician, conducting a serious experiment to test the preservative properties of snow and, on becoming indisposed, finding accommodation in the house of the Earl of Arundel.And so you take that same story and, as Anthony Powell says, you combine the story, the fragment preserved by Aubrey with some epithets, and you convey an oblique point. It's a biographical method for actually building up a picture of the person. And it really matters what you do with those fragments.So I think the fact that Aubrey is pretty pure about this, he gives you the fragments and another biographer might come along and think, okay, what's going on here with Venetia Stanley and dying in her bed after drinking Viper wine? Let's build up a story about that. And there was a rumor at the time that her husband had murdered her, et cetera. Aubrey doesn't comment. He just gives you the fragment. And I think afterwards, people have not only used the fragments in their own work, but they've also developed a technique of working up those fragments into whatever picture you decide as a biographer you are going to draw.OLIVER: Now as well as a historian, you are a literary critic. You review novels. You are a Hilary Mantel admirer. Who else among the modern fiction writers do you admire?SCURR: Amongst the modern fiction writers? I'm getting quite old, Henry. Lots of my people are dead now. Alice Monroe is someone I'm extremely interested in. Hilary Manel, obviously, Beryl Bainbridge, Penelope Fitzgerald. And I love the fact Penelope Fitzgerald was a biographer simultaneously with becoming a novelist.And I was thinking back to this actually, that Charlotte Mew and Her Friends—that's the title. And then the Anthony Powell is John Aubrey and His Friends. And I was thinking, is there something about these people who have a lot of friends and the biographical genre? It's interesting.In terms of younger people writing, I just read a wonderful short story by Gwendoline Riley in the latest Paris Review. “A–Z” it's called—very disturbing. Very, very good story. And Gwendoline has a novel coming out later this year, which I shall read with enormous interest. It's going to be called Palm House. I absolutely revered George Saunders, although I haven't yet read Vigil. I'm only on Substack for George Saunders and you Henry. That's it, basically.OLIVER: That shows very good taste.SCURR: Very good taste. Yeah. And a couple of others. My friend Danielle Allen's The Renovator, I also subscribe to, but very few. But George Saunders wrote a wonderful post on his Substack about maybe a year and a half, maybe more even ago, about how he found the solution to the beginning of Lincoln in the Bardo. And he wanted to find a way to tell the story of the death of Lincoln's son. It's so typical of him—and I love this—he said he didn't want the ghosts. He knew it was going to be narrated by the ghosts in the morgue. And he couldn't have them coming home one evening saying, “Oh, you know, I just popped over the wall and had a look in through the White House window. And guess what I saw?” So how was he going to get the voices in?And then he said he'd got these extracts from the letters and from the literature that he needed. And he ended up putting them all on the floor and thinking, what order shall I put them in? And that reminded me of when I was struggling to find a way to write about Aubrey. I suddenly had the idea that I could just put them as diary entries without comment.I would sort of curate these entries and things like that. So, that was a very interesting moment for me about sort of the construction and the choices that go in both to writing a novel and to writing, in my case, a sort of experimental biography.OLIVER: So Hilary Mantel, Lincoln in the Bardo, Penelope Fitzgerald, Beryl Bainbridge—there's a lot of historical fiction here. This is the genre you most enjoy. It's been a sort of golden age for historical fiction.SCURR: But those people aren't just historical fiction writers. It's very important. They have all written historical fiction, but actually they write other novels as well. It doesn't matter the order in their careers, they go in and out of it. So I would say that actually it's those people as writers and sensibilities that attract me.Anita Brookner is another example. I love Anita Brookner's novels. I also love her book on David, the revolutionary painter, that she wrote—Jacques-Louis David—that's a fantastic book. So there's a sense in which I see them as writers and the genre of historical fiction, you are right, it does cut across, but I don't think that's what I'm following. I think I'm following what I find on the page from a particular sensibility and of course a command of language, which is in all of those cases, absolutely extraordinary.OLIVER: Because they're all quite innovative as historical novelists as well. And it's not the main part of what is recognized as their achievement in a way.SCURR: No, no.OLIVER: It's been quietly a second great period of the historical novel. It seems crazy to say Hilary Mantel is our Walter Scott, but that is quite high praise.SCURR: So I think you deal much more definitely than I do with these sort of epoch-defining ideas. I think I'm just more intermittently focused on particular things that I like. I used to do an enormous amount of reviewing. I've had to stop it because—talk about being the whetstone.I was constantly reviewing when I was in my 30s and much of my 40s actually. And I don't regret it in the least. And one of the reasons I don't regret it, especially with novels, was because I would never have read all those novels if I hadn't been reviewing them.And even some of the nonfiction, I wouldn't. But here's an example: Because I'd been reviewing so much, I ended up quite early 2007, becoming a Booker judge. And part of that process is that anyone who's been on the list before they automatically get entered by the publisher—McEwen and Barnes, et cetera. Fine.And then the publisher can put forward two books they choose and they can be anything. And then they assemble a list of so-called call-ins. And those are the books where the publisher says, “Oh, please, please call this in. I mean, we didn't make it one of our two, but we think it's absolutely amazing and you must read it.” And you think, well, if it's so amazing, what were you doing not making it one of your two. But anyway, whatever, we call it in. And on that call-in list there was actually, Anne Enright's novel, The Gathering, and that ended up winning the year I was a judge.And I knew Anne Enright's writing because I had reviewed several of her earlier books, especially one called What Are You Like?, which is quite obscure. It's not the book people think of when they think about Anne Enright. But I knew because I'd done all that time in the reviewing trenches, as it were, how extraordinary Anne Enright is as a writer. And we were able to say, well, absolutely go ahead and call this in. And then sure enough it won.OLIVER: What about biography? Modern biography? You like Michael Holroyd?SCURR: Well, we've already talked about Janet Malcolm. She's a sort of anti-biographer in some respect, sort of subversive of the entire genre. I very much like and respect Antonia Fraser's historical biographies and especially her one of Marie Antoinette which, again, came out very close to when my Robespierre book came out. And it's like seeing the other side of the story and that was absolutely extraordinary.And one of the biographies I go back to over and over again I'm extremely interested in Virginia Woolf. You are obviously a fan with The Common Reader. I was looking at it, preparing for this, that she's got this absolutely hilarious short biography of John Evelyn, and it is called Rambling Round Evelyn. Do you know it?OLIVER: Yes.SCURR: It's so beautifully constructed. It's got the butterflies landing on the dahlias pretty much throughout the actual text of the short biography. But then it's got this brilliant bit where she sort of makes fun of John Evelyn. And she says, the difference between then and now is, if we saw a red admiral, we would admire it, but we wouldn't—and this is very mean of her—we wouldn't rush into the kitchen and get a kitchen knife in order to dissect the red admiral's head. Right? It's so ridiculous and it so makes fun of Evelyn.I was listening to the podcast you made with Hermione Lee. And Hermione was saying that she thought what made Woolf such a good critic was that she was very empathetic. But I also think she's capable of that kind of sharp, wicked distance as well, where she goes, I see you, John Evelyn, you are so proud of your garden, and you're actually—looked at from my point of view—a bit of an idiot in some respects as well.OLIVER: I like her because she's so judgmental, which is not a very popular thing to say, but she is. She is really capable of saying that, you know, as long as prose will be read, Addison will be read. But on the other hand, he's boring and rambling and not very good in many ways. Absolutely cutting.SCURR: No, totally, totally. Yeah.OLIVER: What about some of the sort of big names: Richard Holmes, Claire Tomalin?SCURR: Yeah. Oh, Claire, absolutely. I mean, goodness, they've been such influences on me, both of them. Absolutely Richard and his Footsteps and then of course, and those other books, The Ratters of Lightning Ridge and then The Age of Wonder. That's so important, so wonderful.Claire, I revere, I loved and still recommend to my students her book on Mary Wollstonecraft. I also, by the way, love Virginia Woolf's essay on Mary Wollstonecraft. I think that's a different sort of thing where Woolf describes Mary Wollstonecraft pursuing her lover like a dolphin. She won't let him go. He thought he'd hooked a minnow. He wasn't expecting a dolphin to come after him. It was Mary Wollstonecraft. So, Claire Tomalin, her Peyps, Hardy, absolutely hugely important books and deeply, deeply humane actually.And that's the other thing, I think biography, by definition, you do get the sharpness of Woolf or Strachey, but I think to put someone else's life at the center of your book, that's a humane act. It's to say, no, I'm going to spend this number years of my life preserving and communicating this other person's life. And that's a very wonderful thing to do.OLIVER: What do you think of the sort of standard criticism of biography, that it's just not accurate enough? So, for example, Austen Scholars will point to various things in the Tomalin biography where she's deleted the facts or said things to make the narrative flow, but it's just not really accurate enough. The novelistic tendency overwhelms the historical one or whatever. You've obviously avoided that with various decisions you made in the Aubrey book, but as a genre.SCURR: I'd never say that. That would be a real hostage to fortune, wouldn't it?OLIVER: Well, you know what I mean?SCURR: And saying, look at, look at this—OLIVER: Page 28.SCURR: —at this piece of nonsense you introduced. Well, accuracy is extremely important. What I think about that is it all contributes to knowledge. If someone comes along and finds a mistake or wants to bring in some other evidence—And actually Kate Bennett, she does this with Aubrey as well. She says that, oh, Aubrey's really got this wrong, or he's gotten in a muddle about that. She's not saying, and therefore let's just chuck it out because it's inaccurate. You need to see this as well as that. So I think of it more as a collaborative relationship about adding to knowledge and if somebody corrects a previous book or previous claim or something, or point something, then that's fine actually.Again, going back to Holroyd, he thought that that biography was an art form constrained by the facts. So he's got a place for art in it. And I know what he means by that. And I think ultimately that's probably why I couldn't write a novel about a biographical subject because of being constrained by the facts. And yet Hilary Mantel has written many historical novels that are absolutely constrained by the facts. It's just what they're doing besides the facts, alongside the facts. So perhaps some people are going to come along and contribute other information and other people will come along and contribute some imaginative answer to the whole. And both are fine. I think we should be liberal broad church here.OLIVER: Is the genre dying?SCURR: Not so far as I'm aware. We are always doing this about genres dying, aren't we? Those things are always dying.OLIVER: People talk about biography dying a lot.SCURR: Well, perhaps they do. I haven't been listening to that. Why do they say it's dying?OLIVER: Because you can't sell these 700-page lives of people.SCURR: We can't sell most books. I mean, if we're going to go buy sales . . .OLIVER: This, yeah. Well, this story in The Times recently as well, that all the nonfiction that sells now is trash and that the serious books aren't there. And the whole civilization's dying routine.SCURR: Well if it is, we just have to carry on doing what we are doing.OLIVER: Yeah. What do you think is going to be the future of biography? Because I think more than a lot of other nonfiction genres, it's so changeable, it's so flexible. If you look at any decade, you see so much variety in structure and form. What do you think is coming next?SCURR: I'm like Aubrey; I think that's going to be for posterity to decide. As long as there are human beings, we will tell stories and we will want to tell stories about ourselves, and we will want to tell stories about the people we have loved and or hated, or the people who we think matter, for whatever reason, in science, in art, in literature. There will always be a need for the story of the human life.I think it will inevitably change enormously in ways that we couldn't possibly imagine. Just as Aubrey knew that he couldn't possibly imagine what posterity was going to make of the information that he had collected, and he didn't think that was something that he should be constrained by. He thought it was about passing it on.OLIVER: And what will Ruth Scurr do next?SCURR: I'll ask her. I think she's supposed to be writing about Rousseau and is very excited about that, but has been massively distracted by the Royal Society of Literature and becoming chair of that. So, I'm trying to pull myself back into my project. And I was very excited actually, because again, when I was looking at The Common Reader I saw Woolf refer to the Montaigne, Pepys, and Rousseau as people who had provided these spectacular portraits of themselves. And I was very excited by that. So I'm going to write a book about Rousseau and his time in England.OLIVER: Very exciting. I look forward to it. Ruth Scurr, author of John Aubrey: My Own Life, thank you very much.SCURR: Thank you, Henry. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk

With special guest: Chris Hammer… in conversation with Bill Kable This is the first of Chris Hammer’s books to be set in the Australian outback. There is a murder in a fictional opal mining town loosely based on Lightning Ridge in a far corner of NSW. We go immediately to the gruesome murder scene. The early indications are that so-called “ratters” are involved and that is a story in itself as Chris explains to us what a ratter is in the context of small mining operations. What a pleasure it is to get the latest book from Chris Hammer. Treasure and Dirt includes new characters each with a flaw that we discover just as the characters in the book do. We have to make a decision about which character we can trust. Podcast (mp3)

Yowie Encounter in Outback NSWJourney to the Opal MinesA Yowie witness accepted a close friend's invitation to travel to the far west of New South Wales to work in an opal mine. This remote experience was intended to provide solitude, aligning with a new spiritual journey.Unexpected Yowie SightingsYowies have a reputation for appearing in the most unlikely places. This episode offers another compelling example. Despite the region's arid environment—characterised by red earth, hard clay, and rocks rich in lead, zinc, and copper—Yowie sightings have been reported from locations such as Broken Hill, Tiboo'burra, Wan'aaring, Bourke, and even as far as Wilcannia, where footprints have been discovered.A Surprising EncounterAfter many years listening to Yowie encounters, I believed I had heard it all, but occasionally a story surfaces that defies expectations. In this case, our witness forgot to extinguish his campfire before going to bed. Remarkably, a Yowie arrived and put out the fire by urinating on it. Shortly after, strong winds swept through—winds that could easily have spread the flames. The question remains: did the Yowie sense the risk?Yowies and FireYowie interactions with fire are rare. Notable incidents include a sighting in Glenfield, NSW, where a Yowie sat beside a fire built by children, stretching its arms out to warm its hands. Another well-known figure is the Yowie called "Old Fire Hands" at Woy Woy.Just when we think we've heard every possible report, a new encounter emerges to challenge our assumptions. By now, it should be clear: with Yowies, we must always expect the unexpected.For more comprehensive information, reports and history of the Yowie, visit our Website at www.yowiehunters.comSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/yowiehunters-witness-reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fossils play an important part in how we interact with and understand our environment - including those environments long past. There's a wealth of fossils in Lightning Ridge, which can teach us much about the mid-Cretaceous, and that's exactly what today's guest, Sherri Donaldson, is working on. We caught up with Sherri for World Environment Day to talk about how these ancient creatures can teach us not just about the past, but also our future. Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/tunefmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy is a Gen Alpha beauty content creator from Sydney known for her viral videos, including one that hit 7 million views. She shares beauty tips, skincare advice, and makeup tutorials while managing brand collabs and PR deals.Connect with Nancy!https://www.instagram.com/dear.jiayiiCHAPTERS:0:00 – Intro0:45 – Meet Nancy1:52 – Her content creation journey2:59 – How a 7M-view video changed everything4:33 – What keeps her motivated5:22 – Types of beauty content she makes5:42 – Andy asks for pimple tips6:02 – Where she gets content ideas6:29 – Reposting IG content to TikTok7:09 – Filming routine & content planning7:39 – Organizing video ideas8:15 – Post-graduation plans8:45 – How a drama inspired her to consider becoming a flight attendant9:34 – Fave K-pop groups like BTS10:18 – Why she's no longer into NewJeans10:59 – K-pop concerts she's attended11:56 – Andy's DPR Ian story13:09 – Her TikTok feed & fave creators13:55 – Makeup artist rates15:00 – Filming/editing workflow15:56 – Using AI voiceovers16:42 – Hobbies outside content creation16:52 – Weird DMs from older guys18:09 – Getting recognized in public18:39 – Meeting Felix's sister from Stray Kids19:51 – Fave Sydney spots & karaoke hangouts21:59 – Chinese language & family background23:48 – Thoughts on Jennie & Lisa's Coachella set25:10 – Marrying rich or becoming a housewife?25:39 – Flight attendant dreams at 2026:28 – Religion in Chinese culture27:03 – HSC & school subjects27:47 – Creating content while in high school28:36 – Other young creators in Sydney29:56 – Networking with local creators32:12 – High school friend group dynamics32:54 – Strict parents & curfews34:49 – Social media growth journey36:01 – Getting free PR products37:30 – $400 worth of free Temu stuff39:05 – Upcoming brand deals39:51 – Handling brand approvals41:26 – How she reached out for PR deals41:44 – Scoring an $800 paid PR gig42:15 – Negotiating video rates43:30 – Skin condition chat43:58 – Lightning Ridge trip stories44:48 – Differences between school and family friends46:10 – Being the only Gen Alpha creator in Sydney46:52 – Recent life lessons47:35 – Study routine & habits48:22 – Snapchat location sharing49:44 – Gen Alpha mental health & socials50:38 – Platforms Gen Alpha prefers50:59 – 743-day Snapchat streak51:57 – Messaging apps Gen Alpha uses52:41 – Why they avoid Facebook53:31 – YouTube content habits55:20 – 6-month personal goals55:53 – What content drives growth56:36 – Viral video stats57:27 – Fast vs slow viral growth on IG57:58 – Most viral content = tips58:37 – $800 post got 50k views59:22 – Studying other creators' strategies1:00:25 – Nancy's natural marketing skills1:01:09 – Why she avoids using her own voice1:02:05 – From hiding to showing her face1:02:53 – Handling hate comments1:03:59 – IG notification chaos1:05:02 – Connect with Nancy1:05:19 – Story behind her IG handle1:07:05 – Easter Show expenses1:07:47 – Casual job plans despite content creation1:08:33 – Getting recognized by mutuals1:10:05 – Clubbing content on socials1:10:33 – Thoughts on smoking, vaping, drugs1:12:59 – Dealing with shade from classmates1:14:57 – How she prepped for this podcast1:18:20 – Short attention span test1:20:08 – Andy's story about Felix's sister1:20:41 – Ice Bucket Challenge going viral again1:22:22 – Andy's celeb-connection story1:24:04 – Outro

Put Lightning Ridge Golf Course on your to play list - at the very least, it'll bring you to Lightning Ridge. There's a fantastic sense of humour in this opal town of Northern NSW, it's a field of dreams for many where some even strike it rich. 'Cutty' is a local whose injuries currently hold him off the course, but he knows it, and a fair slice of life in Lightning Ridge. Dave and Phil are mid-game, and Barko's got a memory or two as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonica Newby visits the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge in western NSW and meets a geology professor obsessed with opals from childhood who made it his quest to discover how opals are formed.

If you've ever wished you could create all your jewelry from gemstones you've discovered, you'll love this conversation with my guest today.  Lisa Carroll is a silversmith and self-proclaimed treasure hunter from Australia who recently joined the Slowmade Collective. She loves incorporating Australia's beautiful Lightening Ridge opals into work, but an even bigger thrill is going down into the mine that she and her partner own and discovering beautiful opal specimens. I can only imagine. I'm always trying to source gemstones from small family owned mines with ethical mining practices, but honestly that can be really challenging and with so many stone dealers outside of the US, it's hard to know who you can really trust. I love that Lisa is literally creating jewelry with opals that come from their own mine and I couldn't wait to chat with Lisa about all of this. Opal mining is literally in Lisa's blood. Her grandfather mined opals while her grandmother cut and polished them… and she's proudly to carrying on this deep rooted family heritage.  Lisa was an absolute delight to speak with and her energy was infectious. Of course we talk about the unique qualities of Lightning Ridge opals, the intricate process of finding and processing opals and the challenges and dangers that come with mining… including emus and the occasional venomous snake. Lisa also shares her experiences balancing her work as a hair stylist and salon owner, jewelry artist and miner with family responsibilities, along with the joys and challenges of living a more simple rural life when they are living for extended periods of time at the dig site.  Follow Lisa... Instagram: @thesilversmithandheropalminer Website: thesilversmithandheropalminer.com

Jonica Newby visits the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge in western NSW and meets the geology professor obsessed about opals from childhood who made it his quest to discover how opals are formed.

Your daily kids news podcast. Get ready for a cool story! At the Demons vs Collingwood footy match, over 88,000 fans rocked blue beanies for Neale Daniher's ‘Big Freeze at the G'. Celebrities slid into icy baths dressed as rock stars, raising a whopping $3 million for Motor Neuron Disease. Talk about a chilly way to help! Find out more or donate. Hold onto your asparagus! Jemima Packington, the world's only asparamancer, predicts England will win the UEFA Euro 2024 by tossing asparagus spears. Her veggie predictions have been spot-on before, so England's soccer fans are hoping for a magical win! Travel back in time! Scientists in Lightning Ridge, Australia, unearthed six ancient monotreme fossils, including three never-before-seen species. Imagine a mix of a platypus and echidna ruling the prehistoric world. All hail the mighty monotreme! Guess what? Adults in the USA spent a whopping $2.7 billion on toys this year! From rare Bluey coins to vintage comics, grown-ups are rediscovering the magic of playtime. Who says toys are just for kids? For the full episode notes, click here.

With special guest: Chris Hammer… in conversation with Bill Kable This is the first of Chris Hammer’s books to be set in the Australian outback. There is a murder in a fictional opal mining town loosely based on Lightning Ridge in a far corner of NSW. We go immediately to the gruesome murder scene. The early indications are that so-called “ratters” are involved and that is a story in itself as Chris explains to us what a ratter is in the context of small mining operations. What a pleasure it is to get the latest book from Chris Hammer. Treasure and Dirt includes new characters each with a flaw that we discover just as the characters in the book do. We have to make a decision about which character we can trust. Chris describes the town so well that we can almost taste the dust and feel the isolation. And there is the suspicion of opal fever throughout. When you throw in some big business shenanigans by rogue billionaires and even a religious cult there is plenty of action to follow as you get into this page turner. Podcast (mp3)

Also, a nearly complete titanosaur was recently found! How long did it take for fossils in Australia to turn into opal? And how much do really exceptional fossil sites skew paleontological research?For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Zanclodon, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Zanclodon-Episode-487/Join us at www.patreon.com/iknowdino for dinosaur requests, bonus content, ad-free episodes, and more.Dinosaur of the day Zanclodon, An archosauriform originally named "Smilodon" because of its dagger-like teeth (but that name was already taken by the saber-toothed cat).In dinosaur news this week:There's a new ornithopod, Chakisaurus nekul, which was much smaller than the titanosaurs that surrounded it in what is now ArgentinaA new dinosaur, Imparavis attenboroughi, is a rare toothless enantiornithine that also likely had very powerful wingsA man out walking his dog found a nearly complete 70-million-year-old titanosaurFossils at Lightning Ridge, Australia took their sweet time to opalizeReally exceptional fossil sites (lagerstätten) are important, but they can influence our understanding of biodiversity and development on a global scale You can dig up real dinosaur bones this summer with Colorado Northwestern Community College! Join them for a two week immersive field paleontology experience digging up dinosaur bones from the Jurassic period in Northwest Colorado. There are two scheduled digs: July 6–July 20 and July 22–August 5. There are also two concurrent immersive lab techniques programs available. Get all the details and register online at cncc.edu/dinodigSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Being able to access field trips to dig up fossils has long been a central feature of studying palaeontology, and being a palaeontologist. But what if you have been born with a rare and severe genetic condition, such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 1 like Eleanor Beidatsch? As a nine year old, Eleanor dreamed of being a palaeontologist, but always presumed her advanced physical disability, and use of a wheelchair would make “digging about in the dirt for fossils” impossible.   But Eleanor Beidatsch is many things, and being passionate and determined, is just a part of of it. In this episode of Palaeo Jam, recorded as part of our National Science Week tour, host Michael Mills chats with Eleanor about the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing opportunities to study, her own amazing journey to studying palaeontology at the University of New England, about her fascinating research into velvet worms, and about what comes next.   Check out this video from Eleanor's YouTube channel of her remarkable adventure in 2016, to a paleontological dig in the opal rich desert town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGxIR_yaNo   Stay up top date with a documentary project involving Eleanor, her family, and colleagues during their time at the 2023 Palaeo Down Under conference and the Kalbarri field-trip… https://www.australasianpalaeontologists.org/documentary   Here's a story about Eleanor's journey on the University of New England's website… https://www.une.edu.au/connect/news/2022/09/unearthing-discrimination-in-science   Along with studying palaeontology, Eleanor is a disability rights journalist, and writes for the ABC… https://www.abc.net.au/news/eleanor-beidatsch/101651018   You can find Eleanor on Instagram at… https://www.instagram.com/eleanor.beidatsch/   And on Twitter at… https://twitter.com/EBeidatsch   Here's a link to Eleanor's blog Accessible 4 Me… https://accessible4me.wordpress.com/   For more information on the research being undertaken by the team at University of New England's Palaeoscience Research Centre, head to  https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/palaeoscience-research-centre   Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood   For more info on his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 912, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: biblical quotes 1: Eccles. 11:1 says cast this "upon the waters: For thou shalt find it after many days". bread. 2: "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat". Eve. 3: She said, "Thou hast mocked me these 3 times and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. Delilah. 4: These 3 friends of Daniel were bound and "cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace". Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 5: Samson took hold of two pillars and said "Let me die with" these people. Philistines. Round 2. Category: jingles all the way 1: "Double your pleasure, double your fun" with this gum. Doublemint gum. 2: "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a" this "kid, they got the best for so much less, you'll really flip your lid". Toys"R"Us. 3: They're "The dogs kids love to bite". Armour hot dogs. 4: This motorcycle company likes to "Let the good times roll". Kawasaki. 5: "Call" this service company, "that's the name, and away go troubles, down the drain". Roto-Rooter. Round 3. Category: gems 1: Many samples of this fossilized resin come from sands that are 40 to 60 million years old. amber. 2: The word gem comes from Latin "gemma", meaning this stage of a flower. a bud. 3: Intaglio and cameo are principal forms of doing this to gemstones. carving (or engraving). 4: Australia's Lightning Ridge is known for its fine black ones. opals. 5: Opal and turquoise are found mostly in parts of world where there is little of this. water (rainfall, moisture). Round 4. Category: just us chickens 1: The name of this enclosure where chickens are confined comes from a middle English word for "basket". coop. 2: New Hampshires and Rhode Island reds usually produce eggs of this color. brown. 3: Chickens are often given grit to replenish the supply of stones in this digestive organ. gizzard. 4: This term is used to refer to a miniature member of a standard chicken breed. bantam. 5: Tyson Foods could tell you that this state leads the USA in broiler production. Arkansas. Round 5. Category: born on the fourth of july 1: 1826:Composed "Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair" and "Oh! Susanna". Stephen Foster. 2: P.T. Barnum's circus partner, he took his first bow on July 4, 1847. (James) Bailey. 3: Take our advice and name the columnists born in 1918 as Esther Pauline Friedman and Pauline Esther Friedman. Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers. 4: 1807:His Red Shirts captured Sicily and Naples in 1860. Garibaldi. 5: Pennsylvania-born in 1826, he penned "Swanee River" only 25 years later. (Stephen) Foster. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

V nedeljo, 05.februarja, je v slovenskem misijonu v Sydneyu potekala prireditev ob 50.obletnici blagoslovitve cerkve Sv. Rafaela. Tam smo se srečali z Avstralsko slovensko pisateljico Cilko Žagar, ki je bila na obisku iz Lightning Ridge-a.

CT scanning and 3D printing allow palaeontologists to produce replicas of bones while they remain encased in opal.

CT scanning and 3D printing allow palaeontologists to produce replicas of bones while they remain encased in opal.

If you think you're a tyre changing wiz then think again! An idea that stemmed from a facebook ad talking about an import expo to know delivering the most functional, all round tyre changing compact equipment that you will never go anywhere without. Bec McKenzie is the creator and owner behind Ezijak, a country girl in Sydney looked around and knew it wasn't for her off she went moving to Lightning Ridge to opal mine. Raising a family in the bush during the drought is enough to make anyone worry, Bec backed by her husband Peter took a chance which paid off big.EziJak is by far the best purchase you will ever make for your 4WD, it takes away the strain of not feeling confident about being better than your local Bob J T Mart. Follow Bec on Instagram and follow her Instagram picks:@ezijak@janeharperauthorPlease make sure you leave a review or rate this episode. @married_tothe_land ICPA is the educational voice for rural and remote families and their students. We are committed to ensuring equitable access to education, opportunities, and support for every step of a student's learning journey from early childhood through to tertiary, trade or training. Membership is for everyone who have a connection to rural and remote education. Head to www.icpa.com.au to join and become a member.

This week, stories about people leaving the city to find something beautiful in the country. Lightning Ridge Twins Matilda and Sam visit their father in Lightning Ridge, a trip that exceeds expectations. Producer: Sam Elliot, Matilda Elliot Supervising Producer: Mell Chun From Darlinghurst to Darwin  Daniel visits Darwin to escape from his life in Darlinghurst, but finds more than he expected when he gets there. Speaker: Daniel Alderman Daniel first told this story at SPUN Stories, a live storytelling event in Darwin, showcasing extraordinary stories from the Northern Territory. SPUN also has a podcast. To listen, Search SPUN STORIES on your favourite podcast app.  All The Best Credits Production Manager & Host: Danni Stewart Editorial Manager: Mell Chun Episode Mix and Compile: Danni Stewart Social Media Producer: Timothy Nguyen Community and Events Coordinator: Lidiya JosifovaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard finds a surprising thing in the Dorrigo rainforest and Jo receives a rare version of Monopoly. Jo explores why the Jewish leaders feared the people in Luke 22 and Richard goes deep in the Trinity.Luke 22The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, Fred SandersSupport the show

Firstly, apologies - we weren't able to record in the studio this week, so you won't be seeing our faces on vid. On that note, we're back to the old school set up which thank the lord, didn't have any tech issues. No surprises here, we're complaining about our lives, telling a few random stories and Steph recounts her wild, wonderful and weird trip to Lightning Ridge.ENJOY.KOLIDE ADVICEElla:USE // Disco Stick - Hair Wax StickSteph: USE // Ella Bache Face and Body Cleansing Oil EAT // Opal Street Cafe - Lightning Ridge For all our local advice and recommendations check out @kolideinsta and our newly launched website kolide.com.au and to keep up to date with our work, you can find us @theardentco. If you like what you hear, we'd LOVE for you to subscribe, rate and review. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

For black opal miners in Lightning Ridge, Australia, the search for one of the world's most sought-after gems is just as alluring as the stone itself. Written by Zoe Osborne and Alex Kitanov. Read by me, Emma Jones. 

In this episode, Neil had COVID and so Rob chats to James Morley, bass player with Bon But Not Forgotten and, as part of Regional Roundup, heads to Lightning Ridge in New South Wales to catch up with Rebel Black

Higher education is in crisis, and the Albanese government wants to reform it with a Universities Accord. We look at what needs to change at Australian universities. Plus, meet the retirees taking up opal mining in Lightning Ridge, and we look at whether chivalry in dating is actually a kind of sexism.

Most people see their retirement years as a time to turn to calmer activities. Marisol Torres saw them as an opportunity to have an adventure. After packing up her home in suburban Melbourne, she moved to a corrugated iron shed in Lightning Ridge to try her hand at opal mining hoping she would strike it rich.

Zac's been taken to a black ops site on a small island, so we're releasing last month's bonus episode this week! It's a fun, loose and long one today because we dived as deep as we could into some whacky (or are they??) Australian conspiracy theories.   As the basis of our research we used @John_Macgowan's "definitive Australian conspiracy theory iceberg" which you can see in high(er) res here: https://mobile.twitter.com/john_macgowan/status/1333922659185303553  The ones we ended up going into were: RAAF Min Min Lights Investigation, Tamam Shud, Bjelke-Petersen Death Camps, pre-colonisation viking settlements, and Lightning Ridge vril mining. If you want to send us bonus potlucks about any of the ones we didn't cover we would absolutely love that. Try to make it as a) brief and b) ranty as possible. Preferably you should be pointing emphatically at diagrams that can't be seen by the listener. 

In this episode, Neil chats to business owner and human agronomist, Rebel Black from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales Local Government Area: Walgett Website: www.rebelblack.com

CityBillyHowl'sLightning RidgeFeaturing thrills and chills by :Alphabet Bombers (D.C.)Astro Zombies (Dijon)Black Knights (Stockholm)Bobby Sisco (Tennessee)Crazy Cavan (Newport)Donna Dunne (Dublin)Dusty Chance (Fresno)Frantic Flintstones (London)Gene Simmons (Mississippi)Glen Glenn (Joplin)Gradie O'Neal (San Jose)Guana Batz (Feltham)Hi-Strung Ramblers (Los Angeles)Johnny Cash (Arkansas)LaVern Baker (Chicago)Les Cole (Texas)Ray Tyler (Tennessee)Rockin' Rebels (San Clemente)Roy Orbison (Texas)Salidos De La Cripta (Bogotá)Sonny Flaharty (Dayton)Spellbound (Bray)Stressor (Tula)The Barnshakers (Helsinki)The Cramps (New York)The Eyelids (Cornwall)The Flying Saucers (London)The McCoys (Texas)The Meteors (London)The Sirocco Bros. (London)The Wise Guyz (Kiev)T.J. Mayes (OKC)Uptown Psychos (Los Angeles)Zeb Turner (Lynchburg)1.) Connie Lou - Ray Tyler & The Alabama Pals [Rockabilly Hoodlums Vol. 1]2.) Everybody's Movin' - Glen Glenn [Everybody's Movin'/I'm Glad My Baby's Gone]3.) Full Grown Cat - The McCoys [Full Grown Cat/Throwing Kisses]4.) Meteor Bop - Dusty Chance & The Allnighters [The Real Deal]5.) I Ain't No Good - T.J. Mayes [Dig It Up]6.) I Done Told You - Gene Simmons [I Done Told You]7.) Juarez - The Barnshakers [North of Juarez]8.) Dix-A-Billy- LaVern Baker [I Cried A Tear/Dix-A-Billy]9.) The Sun Shines Down - The Sirocco Bros. [The Jungle Stomp E.P.]10.) Jungle Stomp - The Sirocco Bros. [The Jungle Stomp E.P.]11.) Jungle Rumble - Guana Batz [The Peel Sessions]12.) Rebel Heart - Black Knights [Yonder Comes a Sucker]13.) Roughneck - Johnny Cash [Blood, Sweat and Tears]14.) Eileen - Johnny & The Jailbirds [Out on Bail]15.) Go, Go, Go - Bobby Sisco [Go, Go, Go/Tall Dark and Handsome Man]16.) Traveling Boogie - Zeb Turner [Traveling Boogie/Oh She's Gone, Gone, Gone!]17.) My Baby's Casual - Sonny Flaharty [My Baby's Casual/Our Love Is Real]18.) The New Politician - Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers [Mr.Cool]19.) The Rockin' Alcoholic - Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers [Wild Cat Scream!]20.) Pure Misery - Hi-Strung Ramblers [Run Boy Run]21.) Thinkin' About You - The Rhythm Rockers [Evening Star/Thinkin' About You]22.) Baby Oh Baby - Gradie O'Neal [Baby Oh Baby/Turkey Neck Stretch]23.) Untamed Youth - Rockin' Rebels [Let's Bop]24.) Rain - Stressor [Burn Out!]25.) 3 O'Clock - Alphabet Bombers [Wreckless]26.) Guitar Slinger - P. Paul Fenech [Daddy's Hammer]27.) Hell's Angels - Johnny Bond [Hell's Angels/A Way of Life]28.) A Cat Called Domino - Roy Orbison [A Cat Called Domino/Mean Little Mama]29.) High Voltage - Bobby Lord [Just Wonderful/High Voltage]30.) No More, No More, No More - Bobby Lord [No More, No More, No More/Why Were You Only Fooling Me]31.) Alabama Boogie - Hank Mathews & The Twilight Ramblers [Alabama Boogie/I'lll Come On Home]32.) Bee Boppin' Daddy - Les Cole w/ The Echoes [Bee Boppin'Daddy/Rock-A-My Baby]33.) Keep On Comin' - The Flying Saucers [Keep On Comin']34.) Insomnia - The Eyelids [Rats]35.) Devil Doll - X [Devil Doll]36.) 1000 Demons - Uptown Psychos [Uptown Psychos]37.) Al Acecho - Salidos De La Cripta [Como Alma Que Lleva El Diablo]38.) Just In Time - Spellbound [Eleven Deadly Sins]39.) Runnin' from the Law - Donna Dunne [The King Of Rock'n'Roll] 40.) Do The Stroll - The Wise Guyz [Stay Cool !!!] 41.) Margarita - Astro Zombies [Convince or Confuse]42.) Hardworkin' Man - The Cramps [Look Mom No Head!]43.) Jailhouse Rock - The Cramps [The Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon E.P.]44.) You Haunt Me - Alphabet Bombers [Panic Attack]45.) Beast Before Midnight - The Eyelids [Rats]46.) Psycho Man - 999 [Bish ! Bash ! Bosh!] 47.) Lunatics Are Raving (Demo Version) - Frantic Flintstones [Rare Psychobilly - From The Vaults Vol.1] 48.) Jimmy Jazz - Frantic Flintstones [Rock It Boy]49.) Psychobilly Stomp (The Real McCoy) - The Meteors [Bastard Sons Of A Rock'n'Roll Devil]Rockabilly & Psychobilly Keep A' Howlin'

With special guest: Chris Hammer… in conversation with Bill Kable This is the first of Chris Hammer’s books to be set in the Australian outback. There is a murder in a fictional opal mining town loosely based on Lightning Ridge in a far corner of NSW. We go immediately to the gruesome murder scene. The early indications are that so-called “ratters” are involved and that is a story in itself as Chris explains to us what a ratter is in the context of small mining operations. What a pleasure it is to get the latest book from Chris Hammer. Treasure and Dirt includes new characters each with a flaw that we discover just as the characters in the book do. We have to make a decision about which character we can trust. Podcast (mp3)

A man has been charged with the murder of Lightning Ridge woman Christine Neilan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man has been charged with the murder of Lightning Ridge woman Christine Neilan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poet, writer and author Cilka Žagar, who comes from Lightning Ridge in NSW, recently published a new book about her life and the history of our homeland Slovenia. She also inspired her students to write, and they still write letters to her today. - Pesnica, pisateljica in avtorica Cilka Žagar, ki prihaja iz kraja Lightning Ridge v NSW-u, je pred nedavnim izdala novo knjigo, ki govori o njenem življenju in zgodovini naše domovine Slovenije. Za pisanje je navdušila tudi svoje učence, ki ji pišejo pisma še danes.

Poet, writer and author Cilka Žagar, who comes from Lightning Ridge in NSW, recently published a new book about her life and the history of our homeland Slovenia. She also inspired her students to write, and they still write letters to her today. - Pesnica, pisateljica in avtorica Cilka Žagar, ki prihaja iz kraja Lightning Ridge v NSW-u, je pred nedavnim izdala novo knjigo, ki govori o njenem življenju in zgodovini naše domovine Slovenije. Za pisanje je navdušila tudi svoje učence, ki ji pišejo pisma še danes.

In her late teens Vicki Bokros was managing bikini boutiques on the Queensland Gold Coast, a dream job for a young woman.  An acquaintance, who regularly visited the Gold Coast showed her some coloured glass. Each small piece had expensive price tags. Vicki's interest was piqued and off she went on a road trip to Lightning Ridge to learn more. This one trip sparked a sea change " from the ocean to the outback" followed by an apprenticeship as opal miner in a predominantly male town. A fascinating story of courage, determination, and success.  #opalmining #opals #preciousgems #lightningridge #seachange #outbackaustralia #passion #courage #purpose #blackopal #gemstones

Peter Cooke, Lightning Ridge local, better-known for his role in TV series, “Outback Opal Hunters, is much more than the opal miner. Peter's love of collecting junk/trash, I mean ‘treasure' and crafting it into unique and quirky sculptures keeps him busy long after a hard day in the mine fields has finished. Peter shares his passion for life, and the joy of living in this remote outback opal mining town.  #trash #treasure #stories #opal #opalmining #colour #gems #lightningridge #creativity #trashandtreasure #sculptures 

In this discussion Rebel Black of THE Rural Woman discusses her home famous opal town of Lightning Ridge, the abundance mentality required for community wealth building and the conversion of THE Rural Woman network from company to Co-operative. So much to enjoy. Watch the FULL interview here: https://youtu.be/QdocHh0RlHI #ethicalfields #communitywealthbuilding https://ethicalfields.com/ Social Media: Facebook - @ethicalfields Twitter - @ethicalfields Instagram - @ethicalfields LinkedIn.com/en/ethicalfields

Imagine holding in the palm of your hand an object that holds a big secret - one that could unlock the history of the Australian continent.

Today you’re going to hear from Pattie Lettice.But first a little back story… I was born in Moree and grew up on the North West Slopes and Plains of NSW. My mum’s family is from Mungindi on the NSW QLD border and I’ve always said that’s the centre of my soul. I had to go away for high school and uni and was homesick for the North West for 13 years. I knew if I became a teacher that I would get a job at Moree or Mungindi - that was the dream. I’ve always had a real connection to that country. Towards the end of my degree however I met my now husband in Narrabri and that is where I ended up. I love it here and loved talking about our western towns with Pattie for this podcast such as Walgett, Lightning Ridge and Brewarrina.10 years ago I moved back to Narrabri to do my internship at Narrabri Public School under Craig Jollow and this is where I met Pattie Lettice, our AEO or Aboriginal Education Officer. I took an instant liking to her and have always enjoyed hearing parts of her story. I’ve taught at nine schools in our district and have learnt that Pattie is an absolute stand out in the way that she conducts herself, her inclusive attitude and passion for reigniting her culture with our kids. We share a passion for teaching children and she continues to inspire me to love all children, despite their background, home life or what we might perceive to be their limited potential. Pattie is a living example that no matter where you come from or what you go through, if you set yourself a goal and work hard, you can achieve it.Pattie is a very proud Gamilaraay woman, married to her husband Noel, of 34 years and mother to too many children to count. In December of 2016 Pattie and Noel lost their only daughter Kia to cancer at age 22. Obviously that was a devastating loss for their family and I love seeing how they continue to honour Kia’s memory and carry her with them wherever they go.Our own daughter Bridie started kindergarten at Narrabri Public School this year. Like many families, we’ve missed watching her in her first year of school as we’d imagined. To celebrate NAIDOC week this year, Pattie taught all kindergarten children an Acknowledgement of Country song in language. It was filmed and shared on social media for families to see. I was very overwhelmed by this, here was our daughter who doesn’t identify as being Aboriginal but being included in this cultural opportunity which represented to me that we are moving forward. Pattie makes me more proud to be Australian and also a part of our wonderful Narrabri Shire community.If you’re looking for a resilient, Australian woman from this bush, look no further than Pattie Lettice.

Imagine spending your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where prospector Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Imagine spending your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where prospector Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Imagine spending your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where prospector Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Imagine you spend your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where fossicker Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Imagine you spend your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where fossicker Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Imagine you spend your whole life searching for the elusive, perfect fiery opal. And then, one day, you realise you're holding — literally in the palm of your sweaty hand — a glittering prize of a gem that burns with a secret that could unlock the history of the Australian continent. Welcome to the crazy world of opal mining at Lightning Ridge, NSW, where fossicker Mike Poben is facing a choice that will change his life forever.

Our guest on this week’s episode of FORTY is much-loved Aussie television presenter and former competitive swimmer, Johanna Griggs. Joh knows how to spin a good yarn; from her laugh-out-loud tales of how she and husband Todd fell in love, to learning the art of TV hosting through public humiliation. We dive into Joh’s honest tales of being a single mum in her twenties and a grandmother in her early forties, playing hardball in career negotiations, and how a 20kg bucket of laundry powder is her love language. What happens when you’re resolute in what you want for yourself, and what you expect from others? We find out in FORTY. CREDITS: Hosts: Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills Guest: Johanna Griggs Instagram: @johgriggs7 Producer: Jason Strozkiy - www.strozkiymedia.com CONTACT: Email: hello@thosetwogirls.com.au Instagram: @liseandsarah Facebook: Those Two Girls See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this exciting episode, you’ll get to know Judy and Erle Williamson. They call themselves The Travelling Willies after they decided to sell up their home in Gunnedah and live and travel Australia in their makeshift ‘mobile granny flat’. Hear about their experiences volunteering in remote places, as well as their hot tips on how to financially set up and plan your life on the road with minimal fuss. Share Judy and Earle’s geographical and emotional journey as they take us from Kangaroo Island to Lightning Ridge and everywhere imaginable in between.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The girls talk about the unsolved murder of Indigenous New South Wales woman Christine Neilan.

Rebel Black - syntropic entrepreneur, human agronomist - whose mission in life is to #thrive, #heal and #evolve! Raised on a farm in rural NSW Australia and is the CEO & Founder of THE Rural Woman, a global business which she operates, with support of a remote team from her office on the opalfields in Lightning Ridge, Outback NSW. Rebel loves growing,harvesting, talking about and eating local food, creating safe spaces for people to heal through trauma, working online creating communities and inspiring rural women to #bloomwheretheyare. THE Rural Woman is an innovation driven, creativity inspired, resilience building, productive, proactive, supportive eco-system of rural women from around the world, connecting, learning and discovering together on the topics that matters to us! Rebel is a champion of Rural Woman, and also an advocate of collaboration, connection and support through her town of Lightening Ridge by providing space for Thai Food, Yoga classes and accommodation for tourists. To connect with Rebel and THE Rural Woman go to: https://theruralwoman.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheRuralWoman/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebelblack/

Dinosaur of the day Unenlagia, the Deinonychus-sized raptor from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina.Interview with Jenni Brammall, special projects coordinator at the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge, NSW. She manages the opalized fossil collections at AOC and is helping to organize construction of the massive new Australian Opal Centre building. Check out our video of the AOC or checkout their Facebook page.Our book 50 Dinosaur Tales is now available as an Audibook! It has all 50 of our dinosaur short stories from discoveries in the last 5 years. It also includes 100+ Other dinosaur discoveries in fact sheets. Get a copy or add it to your wishlist by going to bit.ly/50dinosaurtalesIn dinosaur news this week:The new theropod, Lajasvenator, was tiny for a carcharodontosauridHannah the ceratopsian is a Sytracosaurus albertensisDinosaur footprints have been found in the former Qing Dynasty imperial summer resortThe Jurassic World YouTube Channel has a new motion comic seriesTo get access to lots of patron only content check out https://www.patreon.com/iknowdinoFor links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Unenlagia, links from Jenni Brammall, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Unenlagia-Episode-264/

Dinosaur of the day Tuojiangosaurus, a dinosaur that resembles Stegosaurus with thinner plates.Interview with Jen Bauer, a postdoctoral associate at the Florida Museum of Natural History, with a focus on the myFOSSIL project and the Thompson Institute for Earth Systems. She is also the co-creator, along with Adriane Lam, of Time ScavengersIn dinosaur news this week:Aquilarhinus, the new hadrosaur from Texas with a shovel bill and an eagle noseA large group of opalized dinosaur fossils were found in Lightning Ridge, AustraliaThe lawsuit over the dueling dinosaurs is now at the Montana Supreme CourtFor links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Tuojiangosaurus, links from Jen Bauer, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Tuojiangosaurus-Episode-243/

More American Made Jewelry Discoveries   Besides sharing more amazing jewelry designers with jewelry made in America, I thought I’d also take the time to catch up and share some shopping and sale opportunities, which I’ll share in a few minutes.   Summer is for fun and traveling, and we’ve been busy doing that!   In fact after I record this episode, I’ll be headed to DC to visit the Smithsonian museums with my family - and gems etc   For the month of July, I’ve been featuring jewelers and designers of America, and jewelry made in the U.S., starting with Hugo Kohl out of Harrisonburg, VA, who creates jewelry from original, antique tools and hubs used just like they were in the 1800’s.   A lot of his jewelry is accented with ornamentation that held secret messages for the recipients, from cigar band style rings, to signet styles, to the delicately engraved gold wedding bands.   If you missed that episode, it’s number 16 America’s Vintage Jewelry Legacy with Hugo Kohl of Hugo Kohl Jewelry Then, in episode 17, I featured Kiara Boughner of Wade and Willow Hand Forged Jewelry. The Eclectic Story and Designs of Wade and Willow Hand Forged Jewelry with Kiara Boughner   Kiara is a talented young woman, who sources many of the stones she sets in her jewelry with her husband, and often includes their young son on their gem hunt excursions in the California desert.   I was mesmerized by both their stories - if you still have summer travels, make sure you download the episodes yo’ve missed to catch up!     Wrapping up July’s podcasts, we continue with American made jewelry, I have some new designers to share with you I met at the Jewelers’ of America Jewelry Show in NY last week.   I was so excited to meet several people I follow on Instagram, most of whom are designers, and one very special gemologist, who I’ll tell you about in a few minutes!   I attended the show with one of my favorite people in the world, and best friend, Angelica.   We worked together in Virginia for a small indie store, and became close friends.   Angelica is passionate about serving shoppers and their jewelry vision by custom or ready made means.   She has excellent “jewelry intuition”, and can move a job along quickly by interpreting a client’s needs and design ideas to finished jewelry joy.   She’ll be taking over The Jewelers Bench in Hershey, PA at the beginning of next year.   It’s wonderful seeing the evolution of the jewelry trade changing over to the next generation with capable and enthusiastic direction.   I was excited to get be with her at the show as I was getting to meet the designers and see their jewelry.       Ok, so on to what I discovered at the show!   Last weekend, I attended the JA show for the first time, and LOVED it! . I especially enjoyed meeting the jewelers and designers in the New Designer Gallery, hearing their stories, and what inspires them to create their jewelry. . We’re navigating a unique business arena - one that can change in months rather than years. . What’s really exciting is seeing the opportunities evolving and growing from the mechanisms of online reach, not only forming friendships, but connections so we can champion for each other. . Most of the designers I met are women, yet many did not start as jewelry designers - which makes their jewelry and stories even more intriguing and endearing.   I’ll share a few of their stories today, and in the coming weeks, I hope to have more in depth features with them.   I flew to Harrisburg Saturday, so I could take the train to New York with Angelica on Sunday. With filled travel mugs of coffee to go, and our latest trade magazines, we departed for New York.   Before we arrived in the city, we did our homework, and made notes who we wanted to find at the javits center.   We went straight to the New Designer Gallery, a special, but small selection of new designers.     EMILY KUVIN I was excited to recognize the explosion-type designs of Emily Kuvin as I entered the section of the New Designer Gallery.   I’ve been following Emily for several months now, and always love seeing her joyful gem explosions suspended from necklaces, earrings, and as statement rings.   As I visited with her, she shared her formal education and former career was in marketing and journalism. She picked up jewelry design in high school, and transitioned from her former career to pursue and grow her jewelry business full time.   Based in New Hampshire, All of her jewelry is made in the U.S.   Her signature star explosion motif is part of her Stella line, and almost looks like a comic book emotion explosion, but hers are either freeform shapes to create earrings and necklaces or engraved on cuff bracelets.   She also creates elegant but simple forms using three bezel-set stones to form a single triangle, or paired up with a trillion cut colored gemstone.   You can find her at emily kuvin dot com as emily kuvin jewelry design. as well as in several specialty and jewelry boutiques in the Boston and New England area, which are listed on her website.     ____________________________________         I really enjoyed hearing the designers tell their stories, and as we strolled down the aisle, we were drawn to the booth where Danielle of Merzatta warmly welcomed us to visit her and her jewelry.   Bold, but elegant, Merzatta jewelry is designed and inspired by textures and forms of nature.   Cast directly form organic and botanical originals, Each piece I wore and examined was comfortable with its own unique features, and the price points are very wallet friendly.   Danielle and her husband, Chris met while on a construction project in the Grenadines.   While in the tropical location, they would collect trinkets of nature while on walks, like a piece of sea fan coral, shells, and random pinecones.   After returning to the States, their relationship continued, they married and had their first child.   In between starting their family, and their continued design work, they discovered means of jewelry fabrication to translate patterns of nature into jewelry, many taken from the items they originally found in Grenadine.   The couple creates and manufactures Merzatta jewelry from their home studio in New Jersey.   I love rings, and she and Chris have created a selection of beautiful designs, some with stones, like a trapiche emeralds and a star sapphires, others with open designs of the patterns and textures they were formed from.   One of my favorite rings is created from the small pinecones that interlock and spin together. You can see a video in my Instagram feed of the pinecone ring.   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++       Imperfect Grace is a line of colorful jewelry designed with a geometric flair with an endearing history, and is named for the  confidence we grow into as we come into our own adulthood.   Krista Trpkovski, immigrated From the Ukraine at 12, and weaves small colorful gems into her designs as lively as the colorful Ukrainian cross stitch embroidery from her homeland.   The geometric designs and bright gemstones are set into innovative stacking designs that reflect creativity and versatility.   I loved watching her demonstrate how the rings stack together seamlessly.   She makes stackable bands that look like single or double sided crowns, so when they’re stacked together, they look like a solid band, with the gems alternating from either side.   I’ll put photos up and watch my instagram feed for photos as well.   you can fine her at imperfect grace dot co,   There were ten designers all together in the New Designer Gallery, but I’m saving a few of the others for another podcast, because I want to tell you about who else I met and saw at the show!   I also met both Gigi Ferranti and Lori Ann Friedman of Lori Ann Jewelry.   I’ve admired both Gigi’s and Lori Ann’s jewelry because their designs stand out as being unique and innovative , and I love how their combinations of colored stones and shapes.   Many of Gigi’s jewelry designs have what’s become her signature pattern from her Lucia collection - Lucia meaning graceful light reflects the elegance of her jewelry.   Because most of her designs are based on geometric patterns, the rings and bracelets are stackable, and can be worn together or separately.   Besides meeting Gigi in person (and she’s lovely, warm, and welcoming), I had the honor of visiting and wearing her mermaid ring!   If you don’t know what that is, you HAVE to see it!     Mermaid ring in 18K rose gold set with a rectangular 7.09 ct with Brazilian Indicolite Tourmaline, Pink Sapphires, Diamonds and Tsavorite Garnet.   Once in a while, you come across a spectacular gemstone, and the inspiration comes through that stone; this is one of those cases. We love when the stones speak to us and the creativity starts flowing. This is our interpretation of a Mermaid, beautifully crafted with quality gemstones. For gem lovers, a definite conversation piece.   Her jewelry is a show stopper, and every time we passed her booth, she had shoppers and visitors captivated by her and her jewelry.   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Many of the jewelers and designers I feature came from former careers, and ultimately, their skills and past experience contribute to their jewelry in one way or another.     If you’ve ever played with water color painting, you know the color is added in layers.   Building on the concept and design of layers, Lori Ann Friedman of Lori Ann Jewelry, does just that.   How?   It’s a technique that I wouldn’t have expected, but one an intuitive artist like Lori Ann came up with!   For her Mediterranean collection, she Uses high polished gem slices as a the sort of transparent canvas , she then adds layers of gems.   The stones added are mostly bezel-set, and often with a primary center focus stone, surrounded by accent diamonds or other gemstones.     With collections, like     she selects the gemstones while subtly capturing and pairing them with complementary metals and accent gemstones.   Unique combinations, like labradorite, opal and green sapphire create ethereal wearable art, like a ring from her Galaxy collection.   Lori Ann was awarded the Mort Abelson New Designer of the Year from last year’s New Designer Gallery.   Her first career as a graphic designer and art director for an engineering company serves her well as an innovative jewelry designer.   I met up with Lori on one of the semi circular couch alcoves set up throughout the showroom and was able to visit with her before heading to the airport for my return home.   Lori Ann’s jewelry can be found on her website, lori ann jewelry dot com, as well as in Mitchells stores, a luxury brand retail store, with locations  in New York, CT, CA, and OR.   I had been trying to connect with a very busy gemologist while at the show the two days we were there.   You might know her from Instagram as Gemology Geek. Erica was striding down the aisle of the New Designer Gallery when we found each other.   Smart, beautiful and a wealth of knowledge from all sides of the jewelry industry, Erica is a Graduate Gemologist who shares detailed and interesting gem and mineral facts on her instagram feed and stories.   She’s also worked in almost every arena of the jewelry trade, so she’s familiar with the inside, outside and sideways details of what designers and jewelers go through to produce, show and sell their lines.   The timing was perfect, because she joined me and Lori Ann on the semi circle couch, and we enjoyed an enlightening pow wow.   I didn’t realize how quickly the time would go at the show.   First of all, it’s a large space. JA does a great job at organization and allowing for plenty of open space for overviews and visiting with new vendors and attendees.   I’ll definitely go again, and next time, schedule in more time to visit with designers and friends.   Wow! That was a lot! I have been busy this summer, but because it’s the quiet before the holiday shopping storm for jewelers and manufacurures, it’s the perfect time to catch up with them for features and visits.   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Speaking of the storm of holiday shopping…   I have some shopping news to share with you!   Get a jump start on holiday shopping in July - seriously - knock off that gift list early so you can enjoy making cookies and drinking cocktails, eggnog, whaterve -  while everyone else frantically shops when the days get dark earlier.   Check out these two designers’ offers to take advantage of deals that will make holiday shopping so much easier!       There are certain people - especially men - I find are very hard to shop for. Crash Jewelry makes is a whole lot easier.   Christi Schimpke makes jewelry for men and women from minor damaged parts of luxury and high performance sports cars, like Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferraris and more.   Right now, she’s running a 30% off sale on everything in her store!   Cufflinks (they’re not just for men anymore, either), cuff, bangle bracelets, necklaces and earring, all made from the painted doors, hoods and side panels of these luxury cars. What’s really cool about this jewelry besides being made from these cars, is that it’s super light weight.   go to crash jewelry dot com     I’ve been a big fan of Cate Claus of Thesis Gems for sometime now.   She creates jewelry with an organic, and sometimes almost tribal, but feminine feel.   A lot of her metal accents are hammered, which allows for a complementary texture that makes the stones she uses stand out even more.   She only uses stones that have been ethically sourced, and verified to the ethical treatment of those who source and mine the stones as well as for the land it’s sourced from.     Here’s the mission statement from her   We believe that people and the environment are more valuable than any gem. That’s why Thesis seeks sources that are committed to ethical treatment of workers and the land. We are not afraid to ask important questions about labor practices and environmental impact and seek hard evidence. And we donate 1% of our profits to organizations fighting to conserve and defend our planet.   Our partnerships work to ensure that your jewelry is made with integrity, from the time your gem is liberated from the earth in Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, or Canada, to the time it is crafted into a finished heirloom by master goldsmiths in the San Francisco Bay Area or London. -Cate Claus, Thesis Gems     She has a super interesting story that I’m going to share in a future podcast!   Oh! And, her logo is super cool! A lion and a kangaroo as her coat of arms - but very friendly.   Tsavorite, Mozambique ruby, and Lightning Ridge opals are just few of the gemstones beautifully showcased and set within her 18kt yellow gold settings.   Right now, through August 31, 2018, she’s offering $500 off any of her pieces!   See her instagram feed story highlights for complete details and the coupon code @thesisgems.       There are so many wonderfully talented jewelers and designers, and I love sharing their jewelry and stories with you!   If you like learning about new jewelry you can feel good about wearing and sharing, please leave a review in iTunes or through the platform you listen to podcasts on - I’d SO appreciate it!   I’m so excited!!!! We’re almost to episode 20!!!!   Next week, I’ll be sharing the story of a jeweler who not only creates jewelry, but paints it!   AND…we’ll be doing a give away of a bag of gems together, so you’ll really want to listen in, and stay tuned!!   Until next time…cross check your asterism (that’s for gems that exhibit a star, like star sapphires!) and sparkle - talk to you next week!

Aired Wednesday, 18 November 2015, 2:00 PM ETToday’s Stars: Marie Louise and Anthony WilliamMarie Louise went from digging for opals and hardhat construction to passionately enlisting the power of the human heart for creating personal and global peace.Anthony William, known as the Medical Medium®, has helped tens of thousands of people heal from ailments that have been misdiagnosed or wrongly treated or have baffled medical communities.About the Guests Marie Louise and Anthony WilliamMarie Louise is an author, workshop facilitator, and founder of the ’Evolve Yourself Institute’ in Australia. Marie spent 20 years digging for opals in Lightning Ridge, moving on to the hardhat, steel cap boots world of drilling and construction. Her life switched to a different beat when the gift of grief opened her world to personal transformation, creation, collaboration, and connection. Marie’s experience of processing trauma along with her understanding of human behavior, enabled her to develop the tools she now shares to help others retrieve their personal power and self responsibility, and find personal peace. Marie is the author of Discover Worlds Within – Choose to Evolve, and her website is: http://www.eyi.global Anthony William, known as the Medical Medium®, has helped tens of thousands of people heal from ailments that have been misdiagnosed or wrongly treated or have baffled medical communities. He’s accomplished all this by listening to a divine voice—called Spirit of the Most High—that literally speaks into his ear, telling him what is at the root of people’s pain or illness and what they need to do to restore their health.Anthony has been called the Edgar Cayce of our time, and what he does is several decades ahead of scientific discovery. His methods achieve spectacular results, even for those who have spent years and many thousands of dollars on all realms of medicine before turning to him. In his revolutionary book, Medical Medium: Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal, he gives readers access to all that he has learned in over 25 years of bringing people’s lives back: a massive amount of healing information, much of which has never appeared anywhere before.His website is: www.medicalmedium.com

Aired Wednesday, 18 November 2015, 2:00 PM ETToday’s Stars: Marie Louise and Anthony WilliamMarie Louise went from digging for opals and hardhat construction to passionately enlisting the power of the human heart for creating personal and global peace.Anthony William, known as the Medical Medium®, has helped tens of thousands of people heal from ailments that have been misdiagnosed or wrongly treated or have baffled medical communities.About the Guests Marie Louise and Anthony WilliamMarie Louise is an author, workshop facilitator, and founder of the ’Evolve Yourself Institute’ in Australia. Marie spent 20 years digging for opals in Lightning Ridge, moving on to the hardhat, steel cap boots world of drilling and construction. Her life switched to a different beat when the gift of grief opened her world to personal transformation, creation, collaboration, and connection. Marie’s experience of processing trauma along with her understanding of human behavior, enabled her to develop the tools she now shares to help others retrieve their personal power and self responsibility, and find personal peace. Marie is the author of Discover Worlds Within – Choose to Evolve, and her website is: http://www.eyi.global Anthony William, known as the Medical Medium®, has helped tens of thousands of people heal from ailments that have been misdiagnosed or wrongly treated or have baffled medical communities. He’s accomplished all this by listening to a divine voice—called Spirit of the Most High—that literally speaks into his ear, telling him what is at the root of people’s pain or illness and what they need to do to restore their health.Anthony has been called the Edgar Cayce of our time, and what he does is several decades ahead of scientific discovery. His methods achieve spectacular results, even for those who have spent years and many thousands of dollars on all realms of medicine before turning to him. In his revolutionary book, Medical Medium: Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal, he gives readers access to all that he has learned in over 25 years of bringing people’s lives back: a massive amount of healing information, much of which has never appeared anywhere before.His website is: www.medicalmedium.com

Lightning Ridge playing Uncle Pen circa 2011

Lightning Ridge playing Uncle Pen circa 2011