Uncontacted Amazonian Tribe.

I was amazed to see in the news this week pictures of a tribe in the Amazon that is yet to have any contact with the outside world. It is great that there are still places on this planet that are so remote and inaccessible that people can exist as they have done for hundreds of generations without any influence from the outside world. The lives these tribes people live are so far removed from anything any westernised person could comprehend. My belief is that now that we know these people exist, there should be no attempt to contact them and thus destroy their unique way of life. Survival International claim that there are still more than 100 uncontacted tribes in the world, most of which are in Peru and Brazil. We owe it to them and the rest of humanity to ensure that the areas these people live in are protected and that their untouched cultures are maintained.

Amazionian Tribal Warriors

Tribal members next to their hut

Tribal Settlement in the Forest

A clearing in the trees

Dwellings in the Forest

Acre State, Brazil

The Tribe was photographed in the Ethno-Environmental Protected Area along the Rio Envira in the Brazilian State of Acre.

Australian Citizenship Test

I am currently studying for my Australian Citizenship Test which I have to pass to be able to apply for Australian Citizenship. I am from an English speaking background and have an interest in Politics, Sociology and History so I am not too concerned about my chances of failing. Most of the things that are likely to come up I probably would already know. However, I am reading through the Becoming an Australian citizen booklet anyway. I think for a person who doesn’t have English as a first language and hasn’t paid much attention to Australian History and Politics, would find it quite hard if they didn’t do the necessary preparation for the test. Having said that after looking at the statistics, the pass rate is very high. I’m hopefully going to take the Test at some point over the next few weeks.

Check-out my immigration story on the following page: Becoming Australian.

Update:

I called the Department of Immigration yesterday to book a time to sit my citizenship test in Brisbane, I received the confirmation email a short time later. However the person I spoke to had managed to book me in to sit the test in Cairns. Not such a great start to the process……. I called them back and managed to reschedule and to sit the test in Brisbane, but I have to wait another six weeks.

How to get the Best Seat on the Plane.

Whenever i fly long-haul, which is at least once or twice a year (from Australia to the UK and back) I am always keen to get the best seat I can. In the past, this process was always fraught with anxiety and apprehension and on a few occasions I’ve ended up very disappointed.

However, now with the introduction of online ticket purchasing with the option to choose your seat in advance, the process has become a great deal easier and a lot less stressful. Not all airlines provide this service but it is gradually becoming usual practice for all the major airlines, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are two which do provide this service.

A friend recently told me about a website called Seat Guru, which provides seating plans and configuration for all the major airlines. This website also provides reviews of all the seats on the plane allowing you to make a more informed decision about which seat to choose.

I recently booked a flight to London on Singapore Airlines and went online to select my seats, using Seat Guru i was able to see the configuration of each plane (one of which is the new Airbus A380) and selected the best seat (for me) on the plane, although a lot of seats had already gone. Anyone who waits until check-in at the Airport to ask for their preferred seat is living in the past and will probably end up disappointed.

19th May 2008 – Furthermore, I was at the Airport the other night and the queue for people who had checked in On-Line was only two deep. Whereas the queue for regular check-in at the desk was at least 60 people deep. Another reason for using the On-line services now provided by many airlines. Also, if you check in On-line you only have to be at the airport 2 hrs before departure instead of 3 hrs.

Click here to read a Review of Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 economy class.

Ricky Gervais Is Hilarious…

I’ve been a fan of Ricky Gervais for a while now, he’s a funny bloke and a great comedian. Like most people I first saw him on The Office (which he starred in and wrote with Stephen Merchant) , then subsequently on Extras (which he also wrote, directed and starred in with Stephen Merchant). But it’s the stuff that most people generally wouldn’t have heard which is the best. Although, having said that his profile is so big now that most people probably have heard it, or heard of it at least by now. What I’m talking about are his Podcasts.

There are three series of these Podcasts (‘The Ricky Gervais Show’) the first one went out in Dec 2005, each series consists of approx 8 episodes which are approx 30mins long, the last series went out in Aug 2006 also at the end of 2006 the ‘Podfather’ I, II and III where released. These Podcasts consist of Ricky and his mates Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington basically talking a load of crap and taking the piss out of each other. They talk about random stuff but some things they come back to from time to time, such as Monkey News – which is Karl telling a story about a monkey or chimp doing something amusing, these stories are based on Fact (apparently). Anyway, the Podcasts are unscripted and seem to be a continuation of what Ricky and his mates talk about away from the microphone, which gives you a feeling that this is actually what they are really like. You can download the Podcasts at a cost from iTunes which are listed under audiobooks, but if you subsribe to the Ricky Gervais podcast through the iStore there are currently about 7 free podcasts from various sources of various lengths which are worth a listen to. I’ve been listening to these on the train in the morning, I’m finding it hard not to crackup at the hilarity of some of the things they talk about, I have had a few strange looks.

According to rickygervais.com Ricky, Stephen and Karl will be doing two hour broadcast which is going to be aired on NME Radio on 9 June 2008 and will also be available on demand from NME.com/radio

Other work:

Aside from the comedy series’ Ricky has done a load of Stand-up stuff which is also really good, anyone who’s been has said it was absolutely hilarious, three of the stand-up tours are on DVD. I’m hoping he’ll do a tour here in Australia at some point, which Ricky if by any chance you’re reading this isn’t that much further away than America, you could come on one of the new Airbus’ and sleep all the way in one of those pods.

America:

I don’t quite understand he’s reasons for going to America, for instance the role he took in that film Night at the Museum was crap, I read the other day that he’s doing the sequel. I reckon he’s gone over there for one of the following reasons:

1. For the money

2. For a laugh and to take the piss (which in the case of selling The Office was obviously due this reasons – why else would he do it?)

3. To raise his profile in America to sell more DVD’s

4. To get noticed in America so that Producers and Casting Agents will let him make movies.

If it’s for the 4^th reason then it has worked because he’s managed to get a starring role in a film called Ghost Town which he didn’t write himself but sounds like quite an interesting story. Also, I read the other day he is writing, directing and starring in his own film which is due out in 2009 called This Side of Truth and also he’s doing a film version of his book Flanimals.

Anyway, come on Ricky do a tour in Australia – Little Britain did and it went down a storm!

The New Indiana Jones Film

I can clearly remember seeing the last Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) film in England at i think the Bromley Odeon in Kent. The movie came out in 1989 so I must have been about twelve at the time. Which means I’ve been waiting 19 years for the next installment (like everyone else). Finally, the wait is over…

The new film (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) is set in the 1950’s to reflect the passing of time since the last film, and so Harrison Ford would look the right age. The villains in this film are the Soviets, this is to reflect the period of the film being during the Cold War. I was pleased to read that the film does not rely on CGI but rather traditional special effects and stunt work so as to be more in keeping with the previous films. The new film is aimed to be less dark than the Temple of Doom but less comic than Last Crusade, aiming for the balance from the first film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lets hope they manage to pull it off and it doesn’t end up a little disappointing, like the Star Wars Trilogy.

CAST:

Harrison Ford: Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones. Jr

Shia LaBeouf: Mutt Williams – Jones’ Sidekick

Cate Blanchett: Irina Spalko – Soviet Agent

Karen Allen: Marion Ravenwood – Same character from the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Ray Winstone: George “Mac” McHale – both a friend of and competitor with Jones

John Hurt: Harold Oxley – a colleague of Jones’ who has previously disappeared while searching for the Crystal Skull

Jim Broadbent: Dean Charles Stanforth – an academic colleague of Jones’ at Yale University

Igor Jijikine: Colonel Dovchenko – Soviet

Sean Connery refused a cameo role in the new movie – which is good because it probably would’ve been a bit lame if he did.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Produced by: Frank Marshall and George Lucas

Music by: John Williams

The film is released worldwide on May 22nd 2008

Beckham in Brisbane

Update: Thursday 30th October 2008

QLD ROAR vs LA GALAXY Match has been Postponed.

Details at the following url:

http://www.qldroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=24519

Update: Thursday 16th October 2008

It has been confirmed, Qld Roar will be hosting LA Galaxy in a match featuring (hopefully) David Beckham  on 11th December 2008 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

http://www.qldroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=24214

There is to be a Ticketek Pre-Sale for Queensland Roar members only between 9am Wednesday 22nd October and 5pm Friday 24th October.  Tickets will go on general sale on Thursday 30th October 2008.

Original Post:

According to a report on the Courier Mail website LA Galaxy will be playing Queensland Roar in Brisbane in November. The last time LA Galaxy played in Australia the whole country went Beckham mad. Even though Sydney FC ended up beating LA Galaxy 5 – 3, Beckham managed to prove he is still one of the best players in the world by scoring a 25 m free kick which was similar to the one he scored against Greece in Oct 2001 that put England into the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan/Korea. However, far less significant.

Free-kick verse Greece, 2001:

Free-kick verse Sydney FC, 2007:

Lets hope he can pull-off another piece of skill against Queensland Roar in November.

The best way to ensure that you get tickets for big matches in Australia is to join the My Football Family website which gives you priority access to tickets for FFA controlled Football matches in Australia.

Update: 02/05/08

However, according to the FourFourTwo Website Queensland Roar has denied reports that LA Galaxy will be playing them in Brisbane.

Byron Bay Coast, NSW

The Northern Rivers region of Australia is located on the far North coast of NSW and runs from Grafton, Lismore and Ballina in the South, to the Tweed Shire in the North and includes Byron Bay, Suffolk Park, Broken Head and Lennox Head.

I’ve just returned from a weeks holiday in this region and wanted to share some of the great coastal views I experience during the stay. We stayed at the Tallow Beach Houses in Suffolk Park near Byron Bay.

Satellite image of the Byron Coast

Lennox Head

Cape Byron and Broken Head

The Beach at Lennox Head

Lennox Head and Broken Head from The Cape Byron Lighthouse

Byron Bay from the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse Lens

The Cape Byron Lighthouse.

Snakes Prevalent

I was surprised to see this sign the other day while on a bike ride near Byron Bay. Thinking about it, this is Australia and there are a lot of snakes, i guess because you don’t see them very often its easy to forget they’re there. Brown Snake

If I had come across one, this is what they look like: