Australian Bush Poetry Is Alive And Well

After many years of taking a spell from the minds of many Australians, Bush Poetry is once again making a resurgence and becoming popular again.

Australian Bush Poetry has been around since the European settlement of Australia. Poetry was written by farmers, squatters, drovers, shearers, horsemen and a myriad of other everyday people.

If we look back through history, the bush poetry that has survived, and there has been plenty of it, reflects quite accurately the times in which those people lived. The stories are wonderful and cover all aspects of life in Australia at the time. There are stories of droving treks, exploits of endurance, great feats of horsemanship, the pain of separation, in fact you could find a poem on almost any topic you would care to name.

Among the greats of Australian Bush Poetry we have names like A.B."Banjo" Paterson, who was probably Australia's best known and loved poet. When you mention bush poetry to Australians and ask them if they know of any, they will generally reply with either "The Man From Snowy River" or "Clancy of the Overflow", two of Paterson's greatest. But he is also well known for many other great poems including "A Bush Christening", "Lost", "Mulga Bill's Bicycle", "In The Droving Days" and a multitude of others. Paterson was a great writer and wrote not only poetry, but also short stories which reflected quite accurately his love of Australia and the outback.

Henry Lawson was another of the great Australian poets who had a truly expressive flair for depicting the "underdog". A socialist and staunch republican, even before the days when republicanism became a real issue for Australians, Lawson was promoting the cause. His very first published piece of work was entitled "Song of the Republic" and was written in support of the striking shearers in 1891. Whether this was put to music at the time, I don't know, but a more popularised version of it has been arranged by Hugh McDonald and called "Sons of the South". Lawson also wrote some other truly classic pieces such as "The Fire at Ross's Farm", "The Roaring Days", "Faces In The Street", "The Lights of Cobb & Co" and "The Sliprails and the Spur" to name but a few.

Apart from these truly stand out poets, there are many others as well who will long be remembered by their work. Will Ogilvie would have to be up there with the best of them. A Scot, who came to Australia only for a period of time, wrote some truly magnificent pieces whilst here, but also continued to write poetry when he went back home to Scotland. He had a magnificent way of depicting scenery and a fantastic manner of creating visions in peoples' minds when his poetry is read or recited. Among his poetry, I think that "The Riding of the Rebel" is his most brilliant.

R.M Williams, the great Australian bushman and businessman, arranged for the publication of Ogilvie's work in a book called "Saddle for a Throne". It can be ordered through most saddlery shops.

These are just some of the more well known poets. There are also others who have written well loved pieces and a bit of research on the web will turn them up. Do a search on poetry by Adam Lindsay Gordon, John O'Brien, Henry Kendall, Thomas E. Spencer and you will be rewarded with a wealth of first class Australian Bush Verse. Yes, indeed, Australian Bush Verse is alive and well. There are competitions, performances, festivals and poets' breakfasts happening now all over Australia. There are also many clubs in place where you can join in and participate in keeping this magnificent art form alive.

Ric Raftis is a bush poet who performs both his own work and the work of the old masters. Ric runs the Australian Bush Poetry Verse & Music website at www.bushverse.com

Related Information of Interest:

iPod Movies - A Cinema In Your Hands
Did you ever see that movie with Sir Anthony Hopkins when he was a primatologist and he was doing work out in the jungle when he befriended a group of silverbacks? Well, what happens is that these bastard gorilla poachers come by and attack the group. What do you know but, the gorillas and Hopkins(!) fight back and kill a couple of the poachers. He goes to an insane asylum and the great silverback goes to the zoo. Mind you, this thing was fierce and desired freedom more than any star and stripe waving, apple pie eating red-stater could even fathom. But, once heï¿½s in the zoo for so long, when they finally open his cage, he's too broken to attempt to walk out. Well, that's like me. Blinking is sometimes too much effort.

But, just today I ran across something that has put the glimmer back in my eye. If you like movies and you ave an ipod photo, then let's talk. Ipod movies are now within the reach of us serfs and peasants, albeit with a little work. Because, the fact of the matter is, ipod movies are not in the realm of ipod photo, no, basically it's for photos. But some tenacity and a desire to watch oddly paced, effort draining clips and you've got yourself a movie night.

You'll need to get yourself set up with quicktime pro, itunes and your ipod, of course. Now you're going to take your movie, I would probably start with something short, like those clips you download from the internet. Get it in your computer and export the clip. Put the sound in your itunes, and then (here's the great part) put all the thousands of individual frames in your ipod photo. Now you get the volume rolling and use the click wheel to scroll through all the frames - and you are watching ipod movies my friend. Technology is beautiful, take advantage, man, take advantage.

Galadriel Anderson is mighty proud about her iPod. Check out more info on iPod movies and iPod Nano accessories.

Memories Are Forever When You Create A Photo Album
It took the digital camera to make me finally create a photo album. You see, I had a virtual photo album on the computer, one which would show the images that I had taken, and where I could arrange them in whatever configuration I wanted.

I realized then, that I had to create a photo album, or forever lose track of all of my precious memories. I simply didn't know where anything was anymore, so I set off to by a lovely hardbound book to create a photo album to organize all of my most precious pictures so that I could show them.

With the prevalence of digital cameras and the fast pace of life, few people really take the time to create a photo album anymore. This is really a shame.

I could even design covers or text for my digital photo album, which was pretty neat. It was so convenient, that I rarely bothered to look at my old pictures any more. I just wasn't up for the effort of digging through them anymore.

I had always kind of wanted to create a photo album, but had never gotten around to it, and over the years I had become pretty good at hunting for just the image which I wanted in my box of pictures.

Then one day, I was having over my sons fiance. She's a sweet girl, and I decided to embarrass him and make her feel part of the family by showing off some of his baby pictures. But when I looked for them, try as I might, I couldn't find them at all.

When you create a photo album, you make something that not only showcases your photos, but arranges them in the personal style that shows you really care about what you are doing.

If you make your own photo album, you can not only select what photos to include, but what kind of book to use, how many per page, and where in your home to display it.
I first decided to create a photo album about a year ago.

Ironically, I didn't even think to create a photo album until I had been using my digital camera for a good while. Back when I used to use my normal, analog camera, I would keep all of my pictures in boxes, and I could go into them and look at them whenever I wanted.

Life is an accumulation of our cherished memories save them by creating a photo album.

Tripods: Staying Still For The Perfect Photo
When it comes to buying a tripod there are a few things that need to be looked at and checked out. All tripods will come with a replaceable head or a fixed head. Some of the tripods on the bit more expensive side will come with a replaceable head that allows the photographer to select the size of the head that will fit your camera. Some of the tripods that are great for amateurs come with a fixed head and in compact style for easier use and carrying ability. Most tripods that have the fixed heads will come with the tilt and pan handles.

Tilt and pan heads have two different handles attached to them from the sides or bottom. One is used to move the camera up and down and the other is used for the side-to-side direction. These types of heads are vital to the movie industry and anyone wanting to take mpegs with a digital camera. The ball and socket heads work well with still photography and it is needed for a firm locking and an easy give for the use of one or more camera that may need to be changed during photo shoots.One of the most popular types of tripods are tabletop or mini tripods.

It is quite simple to mount a camera on to a tripod; all you need to do is screw the camera on it. Yes, it really is that simple! Tripods are used to keep your camera steady and extremely still. In the photography world there is an unwritten rule of thumb on when one should be used, 1/focal length s. For an example if you have a 200 mm lens, the slowest speed that you should use without a tripod is 1/200 s. Anything over that your camera should be mounted on a tripod for a more clear and steady picture.

Albreht Moy has many photographs for sale at his website.

Traditional Jamaican Recipes & Food
The flavors of Jamaica are the product of the island's history combined with a verdant, lush climate. The Spanish, British, African and East Indian have all had an influence over what is today a unique island cuisine made colorful by the many tropical fruits that thrive here.

The waters off Jamaica have always teemed with fish and seafood is the primary protein source for islanders. Snapper, grouper, sea bass and other reef a deep sea fish are caught daily by the many fishermen whose boats line the beaches. Spiny lobster, shrimp and freshwater crustaceans are readily available and cooked usually in a thick sauce. Chicken and goats are well suited to the small mountainous island and are kept by many families but cattle are rare and beef is not the predominant meat.

Many of Jamaica's fruits, including pineapple, mango, banana and avocado were brought to the region by slave traders and plantation owners experimenting with crops. What were once sugar cane fields are now being used to grow fruits and ackee for export and domestic use.

Few other cuisines mix such a range of spices and tastes - sweet, hot and savory - as Jamaican cooking. Jamaican food wouldn't be the same without the spices, seasonings and colors from: Allspice, the pimento berry.

Among many of the spices grown in Jamaica are nutmeg, ginger, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, which are integral distinct flavors of Jamaican cooking. The pungent thyme grows rampantly on the island and is found in the majority of Jamaican foods.

Favourite Jamaican foods are those for coconut cake, rum punch & beef jerky recipies.

Real Jamaican food, when cooked with feeling, is a soul-satisfying experience.

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit rel="nofollow">a href="http://www.worldwide-recipes.com/jamaican-recipes.html" target="_blank">Jamaican Recipes

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the World Recipes website. Jen has travelled around the world and enjoys collecting and sharing recipes from other countries.