No, really, I mean it.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Happy New Year
No, really, I mean it.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Monsoon melody
Some bloke named Danimal with a bit of not inappropriate karaoke craziness. He looks Canadian to me, but that's no excuse. There's a fair bit of rainy night stuff going on around here right now as well. The onset of the monsoon has brought rain, wind, thunder and such. There's a cyclone off WA, another could form in a few days over the Gulf of Carpentaria and much of the Top End is subject to a severe weather warning. Despite all that, I love a rainy night too. I'm not going to sing about it though.
Merry Catmas
Cats must surely be the most caring and giving of all domestic pets. Ours left a dead, smelly present under our Christmas tree during the night. Note the carefully placed tinsel ball. It's a nice touch.
Then again, he may just be upset about the meowing pencil sharpener.
Purrrfect present
What do you get the cartoonist who has everything for Christmas? Why, you get them a cat's bum pencil sharpener, that's what. Not only does it keep your pencils pointy, it meows as you sharpen!
And it comes with a litter tray! Excellent.
Year in review #9
One from earlier this year. According to the ABS Territorians take more holidays than anybody else in Australia. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't take it on holidays with you.
Year in review #8
One from the Centralian Advocate. The Intervention also included plans to block unsuitable cable TV content as part of the Feds sweeping pornography ban on Indigenous communities. Such a ban would have hit the entire Territory and, so far, it hasn't happened.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Done deck
Before
After
So far our new deck has survived one big party and two large earth tremors, all in the same night. The fact it's still standing is a tremendously good sign.
After
So far our new deck has survived one big party and two large earth tremors, all in the same night. The fact it's still standing is a tremendously good sign.
Year in review #7
A Tombstone Territory from September that covers just about all the big NT issues during 2007. Is it any wonder we like a drink around here?
Click for a larger version. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Year in review #6
It's all about the lifestyle, apparently, and protecting it at all costs. The L-word played a significant role in Territory politics throughout 2007, appearing in government press releases 23 496 063 times. And the year isn't quite over yet.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Year in review #5
A demerit points system was introduced for the first time in the Northern Territory on September 1. From memory, the first driver pinged under the new regime was a drunk mother with five kids in her car. Needless to say she was also the first motorist to lose all 12 points in one go. Only in the Territory, eh?
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Behind the lines 2007
The National Museum of Australia has launched its annual Behind The Lines exhibition, featuring the work of the country's top editorial cartoonists. (I didn't submit anything this year so I'm not in it.) This year's review covers everything from the NT Intervention to the recent federal election, and the good news is it's all online right here:
Year in review #4
July. The Federal Government's 'intervention' into Aboriginal communities in the Territory kicked off with medical teams conducting 'compulsory' medical checks on Indigenous children.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Fluoro felines
Officials in South Korea say scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases. In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.
Year in review #3
Climate extremes are here to stay, the Weather Bureau announced in June, telling Territorians to get used to weird weather. They might be onto something. Not only did we shiver through some of the coldest nights ever recorded in the Top End, we've also sweated through some of the hottest for good measure.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Protected
A message from my anti-virus software:
You have been protected against 73777 viruses over the last 336 days.
That's a lot of viruses, and does not include the 1 987 345 emails from my rascally friends in Nigeria, who are just about the only ones who ever email me even though I never reply. That's dedication for you.
You have been protected against 73777 viruses over the last 336 days.
That's a lot of viruses, and does not include the 1 987 345 emails from my rascally friends in Nigeria, who are just about the only ones who ever email me even though I never reply. That's dedication for you.
Year in review #2
One from May this year. Amid dire predictions southern Australia may run out of water one of these days, Darwin was pegged as a possible destination for water-seeking refugees. (As luck would have it we now have plenty of highrise apartments for them to move into.)
Typical
The Territory met boys have warned Top Enders could be in for a December cyclone, the first since 2003. Monsoonal weather could kick in as early as next week, presenting a 'higher than normal risk' of a storm developing over the Christmas period, which is just bloody typical. Regular readers will know about the giant deck being added to our house. The builders are almost done, and will have it finished just in time for us to sit out there and very probably get very, very wet. Bugger.
"And he said it was one of the best nights of his life."
NT News story intros don't come much better than this one:
A Territory Senator last night admitted to being stripped to his underpants and hand-cuffed to a pole in a sleazy Russian nightclub.
Legend.
A Territory Senator last night admitted to being stripped to his underpants and hand-cuffed to a pole in a sleazy Russian nightclub.
Legend.
Year in review #1
Thought I'd post a few of my better efforts from throughout 2007, in a year-in-review sort of way. This one's on the great sausage mystery. Despite consumer surveys continually finding Darwin to be the most expensive place in Australia to buy groceries, we still manage to have the cheapest snags in the land, which remains unexplained even now. It's a worry, particularly given how damned tasty they are around here.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Political climate
Click for a big one. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
The heat is on
After suffering for a week or so through heatwave conditions - which busted maximum temperature records across the Territory - Darwin finally copped a corker of a storm around 3am this morning. Around our way it knocked out the power for a bit and resulted in one wide-eyed child and one even more wide-eyed cat jumping into our bed, which is not designed to cope with such a crowd. Grrrr. The storm also bowled over a big old bouganvillea in our front yard, blocking the driveway. I love the smell of chainsaws in the morning.
The above cartoon is not based on any real persons or actual events, in case you were wondering, and is copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Dan Dingo - The Final Chapter
Well, there you go. That's all 30 episodes of Dan's first, and possibly last, adventure.
As mentioned previously reader response to the strip as it appeared in the NT News was totally underwhelming, so I'm not sure if Dan will be back or not. At least I had fun putting it together. So there.
Click the image for a big one. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Future shock
I never could have imagined - say even ten years ago - that I would one day be standing in my very own Darwin kitchen on a swelteringly steamy December afternoon making Fairy Bread, something I have never before attempted. Nor could I have ever imagined in my wildest flights of fancy that I would produce an apprentice who would positively demand such exotic culinary delights for his various end-of-year functions. He's a busy boy and the fairy bread-making outbreak may not be over yet. Such is life. I suppose.
Link: A guide to perfect fairy bread, including surprise variations.
Dan Dingo - Episode 29
Click for a larger version. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
Death of a legend
It's always sad to hear of the passing of an Aussie cartooning legend, especially one you never had the honour of meeting in person. I didn't know James Kemsley as well as I should have. We used to speak irregularly on the phone during his long tenure as president of the Australian Cartoonists' Association and he always came across as a genuine sort of bloke, with a passion for Aussie cartooning and cartoonists second to none. I should've made more of an effort to stay in touch, I guess. James passed away yesterday after a long illness. He was 59.The ACA sums up, all too briefly, his achievements:
James touched the lives of many cartoonists, both in Australia and abroad, during his illustrious career. James began drawing the iconic Ginger Meggs in 1984 and built on its success both in Australia and overseas. He served as President of the Australian Black and White Artists Club and later the Australian Cartoonists' Association. When he wasn't in an official role his guidance and assistance continued spanning over 20 years. In 1990 he was awarded the Jim Russell Award for outstanding contribution to Australian cartooning, two Stanleys for Comic Strip Artist (1990 and 2004) and the Gold Stanley for Cartoonist Of The Year in 2001.
Privately he helped many cartoonists find their way through the maze that is freelance cartooning. Many will be indebted for his enthusiasm and guidance. Cartoonist, actor, entertainer, cricket tragic and keen St. Kilda supporter James led the charge for the ACA culminating in the association being recognised with a Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2005.
He will be sorely missed.
RIP James and thankyou.
The Ginger Meggs website
Dan Dingo - Episode 28
Only two thrilling episodes to go! Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
We're hot
Darwin's Charles Darwin University has been awarded half a million bucks to study the potential impact of climate change on the NTs environment and way of life. And not a moment too soon. It's pretty darned hot around here at the moment, with daytime temps in the mid 30s and overnight temps in the mid to high 20s. Which means, of course, we're all bunkering down in airconditioned bliss, making the environment inside our homes much nicer than the one outside.
Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.
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