Northeastern Australia was hit Sunday by its strongest cyclone (that’s what they call hurricanes down under) in more than three decades, a category five storm named Larry.
Larry has now been downgraded to a Category 2. There has been no serious injuries although half the buildings in Innisfail have no roof and there has been millions of dollars damage to sugar and banana crops. There are also warnings about snakes and crocodiles that may become active in the storms wake.
Larry was at least as strong as Tracy which hit Darwin on Christmas Day 1974, when 71 people were killed and 70% of the city’s buildings destroyed - my partner lived through this, aged 9 at the time.
A second cyclone, Wati, has formed near Vanuatu but poses no immediate threat.
Vanuatu! I watched some show on the Travel channel about some tribe there, like a documentary of sorts. Very fascinating. They wrap their dicks in colorful threads and that’s pretty much all they wear. Crazy.
Andrew, I think you are referring to a namba, which is a penis sheath made of woven grasses or leaves. When visiting Vanuatua you can do a tour of a “custom village” where the men where nambas and the women only grass skirts.
“Innisfail” is an ancient name for Ireland. (Where half the buildings Used to have Thatched roofs; but they were Roofs. :) Melanie Dickson, may we therefore presume the Queensland town was founded by some of Australia’s multitudinous Irish immigrants? (Some of whom actually emigrated there Voluntarily, as distinguished from in Custody aboard the English prison-ships. :)
Anyhow, here’s wishing a full & speedy Recovery to poor walloped Innisfail & environs. / I gather the Queensland folk are rather better Prepared for these things than We are Over Here.
“Men of the Gael, men of the Pale, the long-watched day is breaking,
The serried hosts of Innisfail shall set the Tyrant quaking…”
~ from the National Anthem of Eire, “A Soldier’s Song”
“…And seven long years is your sentence, you’re goin’ to Van Dieman’s Land,
Far away from your friends and relations, you’ll follow her black velvet band.”
~ from “Black Velvet Band”
“When we’re on a spree in town, we live like pigs in clover,
And the whole damn check goes down the Neck of many a Queensland Rover.”
~ from “The Queensland Overlanders” :)
Joe, Innisfail was indeed founded by an Irishman - Thomas Henry FitzGerald (1824-1888)who was a pioneer in sugar cane farming and politics in the early days of the colony of Queensland. And yes, he was a free settler.
Joe - since when were the Irish so enamoured of *any* Thatcher ?
I thought that the rayson that The Emerald Isle is also called The Auld Sod is because so many cottages/huts/dwellings had sod for their roof ?
B Minich - if I remember my weather lore, they have cyclones downunder whereas we have anti-cyclones up here … it’s one of those Coriolis forces effects, as I recall …
(Although Harry Belafonte can be a tropical depression anywhere on the planet)
Melanie at 1:35 - so you are basically saying that both genders use grass apparel … ?
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March 20th, 2006 at 12:36:14 am
Actually they call them cyclones everywhere in the West Pacific/East Indian oceans.
March 20th, 2006 at 12:38:41 am
Yeah, I know that. My statement is still accurate, though. I didn’t say that “down under” is the only place they call them cyclones. :P
March 20th, 2006 at 12:44:13 am
Does Australia use the same category system as we do?
March 20th, 2006 at 1:07:32 am
Larry has now been downgraded to a Category 2. There has been no serious injuries although half the buildings in Innisfail have no roof and there has been millions of dollars damage to sugar and banana crops. There are also warnings about snakes and crocodiles that may become active in the storms wake.
Larry was at least as strong as Tracy which hit Darwin on Christmas Day 1974, when 71 people were killed and 70% of the city’s buildings destroyed - my partner lived through this, aged 9 at the time.
A second cyclone, Wati, has formed near Vanuatu but poses no immediate threat.
March 20th, 2006 at 1:11:02 am
Vanuatu! I watched some show on the Travel channel about some tribe there, like a documentary of sorts. Very fascinating. They wrap their dicks in colorful threads and that’s pretty much all they wear. Crazy.
March 20th, 2006 at 1:35:54 am
Andrew, I think you are referring to a namba, which is a penis sheath made of woven grasses or leaves. When visiting Vanuatua you can do a tour of a “custom village” where the men where nambas and the women only grass skirts.
March 20th, 2006 at 1:51:55 am
How is it that I posted about a hurricane, and within five comments, we’re talking about penis sheaths? God bless the blogosphere. :)
March 20th, 2006 at 1:52:35 am
P.S. Thanks for the update, Melanie!
March 20th, 2006 at 2:40:21 am
Widespread damage and flooding? I blame Bush.
March 20th, 2006 at 2:56:07 am
I blame Packer. It’s all because of major conference bias. :)
March 20th, 2006 at 3:01:09 am
LOL
March 20th, 2006 at 6:06:42 am
Andrew is a member of NAMBLA? I’m all confused….
March 20th, 2006 at 10:32:04 am
Its weird reading about hurricanes/cyclones during times of year whien they aren’t in season in the US.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:10:16 pm
“How is it that I posted about a hurricane, and within five comments, we’re talking about penis sheaths? God bless the blogosphere. :)”
Amen. / Well. Or the brendansphere, anyway. ;>
March 20th, 2006 at 6:31:43 pm
“… half the buildings in Innisfail have no roof…”
“Innisfail” is an ancient name for Ireland. (Where half the buildings Used to have Thatched roofs; but they were Roofs. :) Melanie Dickson, may we therefore presume the Queensland town was founded by some of Australia’s multitudinous Irish immigrants? (Some of whom actually emigrated there Voluntarily, as distinguished from in Custody aboard the English prison-ships. :)
Anyhow, here’s wishing a full & speedy Recovery to poor walloped Innisfail & environs. / I gather the Queensland folk are rather better Prepared for these things than We are Over Here.
“Men of the Gael, men of the Pale, the long-watched day is breaking,
The serried hosts of Innisfail shall set the Tyrant quaking…”
~ from the National Anthem of Eire, “A Soldier’s Song”
“…And seven long years is your sentence, you’re goin’ to Van Dieman’s Land,
Far away from your friends and relations, you’ll follow her black velvet band.”
~ from “Black Velvet Band”
“When we’re on a spree in town, we live like pigs in clover,
And the whole damn check goes down the Neck of many a Queensland Rover.”
~ from “The Queensland Overlanders” :)
March 20th, 2006 at 7:00:44 pm
Joe, Innisfail was indeed founded by an Irishman - Thomas Henry FitzGerald (1824-1888)who was a pioneer in sugar cane farming and politics in the early days of the colony of Queensland. And yes, he was a free settler.
March 21st, 2006 at 12:08:27 pm
Joe - since when were the Irish so enamoured of *any* Thatcher ?
I thought that the rayson that The Emerald Isle is also called The Auld Sod is because so many cottages/huts/dwellings had sod for their roof ?
B Minich - if I remember my weather lore, they have cyclones downunder whereas we have anti-cyclones up here … it’s one of those Coriolis forces effects, as I recall …
(Although Harry Belafonte can be a tropical depression anywhere on the planet)
Melanie at 1:35 - so you are basically saying that both genders use grass apparel … ?