#fly screens Melbourne

[victoriaflyscreens]

What Are Popular Mesh Materials Used in Door Screens in Melbourne?

Strength, durability, affordability and better visibility are the key characteristics that have made flyscreens immensely popular in Australia. Every door screen in Melbourne is necessary for your home, as it will prevent pests and insects from entering the property and infecting your kids. Different mesh materials are used in these screens, and knowing about them will help you choose the best one, depending on your needs.

WHAT IS A FIBREGLASS MESH SCREEN?

Fibreglass is the most common material used in the mesh used in sliding screens in Melbourne and fitted flyscreens in Melbourne. It is inexpensive and known for the highest quality visibility. It has features like lightweight, flexible and resistant to corrosion. Depending on your choice, the manufacturer can also coat this material with PVC to enhance its strength.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF FIBREGLASS INSECTS SCREEN?

PROS

Cheap

Good Outward Visibility

Lightweight

Flexible

Cons

Prone To Tearing/Fraying

Stretches Over Time

Not As Durable, Needs To Be Replaced More Frequently

Strong UV Rays Result In Discolouration And Reduction In Strength

POLYESTER INSECT MESH

Polyester mesh has become immensely popular in sliding screens Melbourne and fitted flyscreens in Melbourne. It has developed as an ideal alternative to fibreglass mesh due to its flexibility, tear resistance and durability. This material is less prone to sagging, and this feature makes it further stronger and more durable. You will find this material coated with a vinyl layer as an additional protective barrier. However, the same vinyl layer becomes a reason behind the decreased outward visibility, and another concerning factor is that it is more expensive than the fibreglass mesh screen.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF POLYESTER MESH MATERIAL

PROS

Flexible

Tear-resistant and less prone to sagging

Coated polyester is solid and durable

Vinyl-coated polyester is suitable for pet screens

CONS

 coating resulting in decreased outward visibility

Most expensive out of the non-metal options

POLYETHYLENE (PE)/POLYPROPYLENE (PP)

These two materials have gained immense popularity as mesh materials, and they are used in a wide variety of applications.

WHAT FEATURES MAKE POLYETHYLENE AND POLYPROPYLENE MESH DIFFERENT?

Both are very strong fabrics, completely tear-resistant, and less prone to sagging. Polyethylene is a good insulator of electricity and is sturdier than PP. On the other hand, polypropylene is better chemical-resistant and available in a very lightweight form.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF THESE MESH MATERIALS?

PROS

Strong and durable

Lightweight

Good outward visibility

Tear resistant and less prone to sagging

CONS

Costs more than fibreglass mesh

Not suitable for pet screens

[slidingscreensmelbourne]

What Features Make Retractable Insect Screens The Most Versatile Solution?

Retractable insect screens offer versatility with their easy installation, discreet design, and ability to fit various window and door sizes. They provide seamless protection from insects while allowing fresh air to flow. These screens can be conveniently retracted when not used, enhancing functionality and maintaining aesthetic appeal.

[stanbondsecurity]

What protections does a Crimsafe fly screen offer?

The humble Crimsafe fly screen is the unsung hero in the battle against tiny intruders and airborne nuisances. From blocking uninvited guests to providing a refreshing breath of air, Crimsafe fly screens offer more than just window dressing. Let’s explore the layers of protection these simple mesh marvels provide and why they’ve become so important in homes around the world.

Before we dive into their protective capabilities, let’s take a brief look at Crimsafe fly screens.

Crimsafe fly screens

Crimsafe fly screens, also known as insect screens, or mesh screens, are made from fine mesh materials. The mesh creates a permeable barrier that allows air to pass through while keeping pesky insects away.

Purpose of fly screens   

The main purpose of a Crimsafe fly screen is to block the entry of winged intruders – mosquitoes, flies and other pesky insects. The mesh acts like an invisible barrier, blocking the entry of these tiny intruders while letting you enjoy the breeze and the natural light.

Say No to Unwelcome Guests

Crimsafe fly screens are a great way to protect your home from disease-causing micro-organisms like mosquitoes and flies. Not only do they repel these pests, but they also filter the air you breathe. The mesh acts like a filter, keeping allergens and pollen out of your home.

Ventilation

Crimsafe fly screens also allow for gentle ventilation. When windows are open, fresh air can flow freely into your home, creating a cozy indoor environment without the buzzing of insects.

No sacrifice with light

If you don't want to sacrifice natural light for protection, Crimsafe fly screens are a great option. They're virtually transparent, so you can still get plenty of sunlight while still keeping your view unobstructed.

Increase energy efficiency

Crimsafe fly screens are a great way to increase your energy efficiency. They allow you to enjoy the benefits of cool comfort and lower energy bills. When your windows are open and Crimsafe fly screens are in place, the natural breeze helps keep your home cool and comfortable. This means you can save money on your energy bills and reduce your environmental impact.

Keep insects out

Crimsafe fly screens are not only great for keeping insects out, but they also provide a safe haven for your pets. Installing a Crimsafe fly screen is a breeze. Whether you choose a fixed screen, sliding screen, or a retractable screen, you can install it without any hassle. It’s like having a protective layer on your windows without having to hire a construction crew to install it.

Keep pets’ safe

Keep your pets safe and sound while enjoying the beauty of your home with a Crimsafe fly screen.

Protection from allergens

Crimsafe fly screens provide an extra layer of protection against insects and allergens. The mesh acts like a semi-transparent shield, so you can enjoy your home without feeling like you’re being exposed. It’s a mesh of peace that enhances your living space’s comfort.

Many options

Crimsafe fly screens come in many different styles and customization options, so you can find the perfect one for your needs. Whether you’re looking for a fixed screen, sliding screen, or door screen, there’s a solution that fits your lifestyle perfectly.

Year-Round Defense

Crimsafe fly screens are often used in the summer months, but they’re not just for summer. They’re a great way to protect your home from the elements that can damage your living space during the colder months.

In conclusion, Crimsafe fly screens – a mesh marvel of protection

When it comes to protecting your home, there are few better guardians than Crimsafe fly screens. Not only do they keep pesky pests away, but they also filter the air in your home and help you save energy. Plus, they allow natural light and soft breezes to shine in. So, next time you’re looking for a solution that’s both safe and comfortable, think about the unsung heroes of Crimsafe fly screens – the mesh wonders that protect your home from the world around you.

[werribeeblindsau]

Timber Look Venetian Blinds

Timber look venetian blinds are a popular window covering option for a wide range of home styles. Their slats can be tilted to precisely control light and privacy without blocking out the view. The natural timber slats also add warmth and texture to any room. With a wide range of colours and finishes, timber look blinds in Werribee can complement any interior decor style.

Timber blinds are a great choice for rooms that experience moisture, including bathrooms, kitchens and laundries. They are constructed from co-extruded polymers and high impact polystyrene making them extremely durable, resistant to warping and able to withstand the humidity of these areas of the home. The slats are also thicker than other types of interior blinds which helps them to manage sunlight, blocking out the heat of the sun and limiting the amount of visible light.

These types of blinds are also easy to maintain. They can be simply wiped down with a damp cloth to keep them clean and free of dust. They can also be vacuumed with a handheld cleaner to further remove dust. One important thing to consider with timber look venetian blinds is that they tend to attract more dust than other blind types. This may require more regular cleaning to ensure your blinds remain in pristine condition.

With a range of colour and finish options, timber look venetian blinds can be easily coordinated to your existing furniture and decor. They are also ideal for homes with open plan living areas, allowing you to create a cohesive style throughout your house. If you are thinking about timber look blinds for your home, contact us today to arrange an obligation-FREE measure and quote.

[bitingdrivers]

🎄 merry christmas! have this bones au ficlet as a present. maxiel, 600 words

Max is sitting on the narrow bridge overlooking the lab. He is used to seeing the lab empty, the all-nighters he has been pulling would prove that. But it still feels wrong to him. They are not supposed to be locked here a day before Christmas, quarantining for a disease they were not supposed to get. The CDC made sure they were as comfortable as they could get – gave them sleeping bags to sleep on the cold lab floors, spare clothes and food. 

But it's still wrong. The others were so excited to spend their holidays with their loved ones. But now all they had was a maximum of half an hour on a video call, trying to console their families and giving rushed Merry Christmases before the next person’s turn. 

Charles was planning on spending the holidays in New York with his current girlfriend. She looked very upset on the screen until Charles promised to take her out to some fancy restaurant once he got there. 

Carlos was apparently going to fly to Scotland and spend his holidays playing golf with his family. His mom and dad assured him they would wait for him as long as they needed. 

Lewis called his dad and they chatted about their plans after Christmas – going to church, seeing the Christmas tree. Then he had asked about Roscoe – apparently Lewis has a dog. Max didn't know that. 

Oscar took the longest on his call, his family was very excited to finally have him home for Christmas and now they were trying to find out if “the government would buy Oscar a new ticket, because it's clearly their fault he's missing Christmas.” Oscar said he would ask the CDC, but Max already checked and there's a plane to Melbourne tomorrow evening Oscar can catch if he accepts the ticket Max bought for him. Max hopes he does. 

Daniel didn't call his family. He sent a text and then asked Max if he wanted the hot chocolate the CDC guys brought them. 

So now Max is sitting on the bridge waiting for Daniel. They all agreed to swap their Secret Santa presents in the evening and Max is excited, although he wouldn't tell anyone that.

He hears heavy steps and looks over to find Daniel coming closer with two mugs in his hands. Max moves over a bit, even though there's enough space for them both. 

“Here. Carlos heated them up with a blowtorch for some reason, so be careful,” Daniel carefully hands him one of the mugs. Max accepts the mug and wraps both of his hands around it. 

“I finally identified the coin we found in the victim’s belongings. Apparently it's a copper penny from 1943–” Max slowly lifts the mug. Daniel says something, but Max continues talking. “And this website says that it's worth one hundred thousand dollars–” Max brings the mug to his lips, but suddenly Daniel's hand covers the top of the mug.

“It-it's hot. I said be careful,.” Daniel looks down as he takes away his hand. 

“I'll be fine,” Max says, but blows gently at the chocolate. Then he takes a sip. 

“Is it good?” Daniel asks, his hot chocolate still untouched. 

“Its–” Daniel's eyes are the same color as the chocolate. 

“Hey!” Carlos’ voice startles them both. They look down to see him holding a beaker with eggnog he's been brewing all day, a red santa hat with bells perched on his head. “Everyone is ready to exchange presents, we are waiting for you.” 

“We'll be there in a minute, man,” Daniel says and moves to stand up. Max takes another look at the Christmas decorations around the lab and stands up too. The mug is still warm in his hands. 

[justforbooks]

Bill Viola

Video artist who melded the material and the spiritual and applied modern technology to Renaissance subjects

In 1957, on a family holiday, Bill Viola fell in a lake. He was six years old. Sixty years later, Viola, who has died aged 73, recalled the event. “I didn’t hold on to my float when I went into the water, and I went right to the bottom,” he said. “I experienced weightlessness and a profound visual sense that I never forgot. It was like a dream and blue and light, and I thought I was in heaven as it was the most beautiful thing I had seen.” And then … “my uncle pulled me out.”

It seemed an unpromising start to an artistic career. However, in 1977 Viola began a series of five works called The Reflecting Pool. Four years out of university, this was his first multipart artwork, its constituent films occupying their maker for three years. In the title piece, a shirtless man – Viola – emerges from a wood, walks toward a pond, makes as if to jump into it and freezes in mid-air. The pool registers his entry nonetheless, its surface rippling as though disturbed; the flying man fades slowly away; and, after seven long minutes, Viola emerges, dripping, from the water and walks back into the woods. The Reflecting Pool drew on the near-drowning of his six-year-old self. It was also classic Viola, its most notable features – slowness, water, a numinous spirituality – recurring in his work of the next half century.

It was the subaqueous blue glow of the screen of a Sony Portapak video camera, donated to his high school in Flushing, New York, that first attracted Viola to the medium. He was raised in the neighbouring lower-middle-class suburb of Queens. It was not, recalled Viola, a cultured household, but his mother, Wynne (nee Lee) “had some ability and sort of taught me how to draw, so when I was three years old I could do pretty good motorboats”. A year before his near death by drowning, a kindergarten finger-painting of a tornado won public praise from his teacher. It was then, Viola said, that he decided to be an artist.

His father, a Pan Am flight attendant turned service manager, had other ideas. Fearing that an art school education would leave his son unemployable, Viola senior insisted that he study for a liberal arts degree at Syracuse, a respected university in upstate New York. “And in saying that,” Viola would admit, “he saved me.”

As luck would have it, Syracuse, in 1970, was among the first universities to promote experimentation in new media. A fellow student had set up a studio where projects could be made using a video camera. Signing up for it, Viola was instantly converted: “Something in my brain said I’d be doing this all my life,” he remembered. He spent the following summer wiring up the university’s new cable TV system, taking a job as a janitor in its technology centre so that he could spend his nights mastering the newfangled colour video system. In 1972, he made his first artwork, Tape I, a study of his own reflection in a mirror. This, too, would be trademark Viola, bewitched by video’s ability simultaneously to see and be seen, but also by his own image. The I in the work’s title was not a Roman numeral but a personal pronoun.

Tape I and works like it were enough to catch the eye of Maria Gloria Bicocchi, whose pioneering Florence studio, ART/TAPES/22, made videos for Arte Povera artists. When Viola took a job there in 1974, he found himself working alongside such giants as Mario Merz and Jannis Kounellis. By 1977, his own reputation in the small but growing world of video art led to his being invited to show his work at La Trobe University in Melbourne, his acceptance encouraged by the offer of free Pan Am flights from his father.

The invitation had come from La Trobe’s director of culture, Kira Perov. The following year, Perov moved to New York to be with Viola, and they married in 1978. They would stay in the house in Long Beach, California, that they moved into three years later, for the rest of their married lives. In 1980-81, the couple spent 18 months in Japan, Viola simultaneously working as the first artist-in-residence at Sony Corporation’s Atsugi laboratories and studying Zen Buddhism.

This melding of the sacred and technologically profane would mark Viola’s work of the next four decades. Viola listed “eastern and western spiritual traditions including Zen Buddhism, Islamic Sufism and Christian mysticism” as influences on his art, although it was the last of these that was the most apparent. At university, he said, he had “hated” the old masters, and proximity to the greatest of them in Florence had not changed that view. It was only with the death of his mother in 1991 that he began to feel the weight of western art history, and to acknowledge it in his own work.

Having struggled with a creative block since the late 1980s, he found that the grief of his mother’s death freed him. Summoned to her side by his father, Viola filmed first the dying woman and then her body lying in an open coffin. This footage would be used in a 54-minute work called The Passing, and then again the following year in the Nantes Triptych, its three screens concurrently showing a woman giving birth, Viola’s dying mother and, in between them, a man submerged in a tank of water.

The first of Viola and Perov’s two sons had been born in 1988. Nantes Triptych was, or appeared to be, a meditation on birth, death and rebirth through baptism. If the subject was traditional, so too was Viola’s use of the triptych form. His references to the old masters would soon become more direct still. In 1995, Viola was chosen to represent the US at the Venice Biennale. One part of the work, Buried Secrets, that he showed in the American pavilion drew openly on a painting by Jacopo da Pontormo of the visitation of the Virgin Mary to her elderly cousin, Elizabeth.

Not surprisingly in these secular times, Viola’s subject matter was not universally popular. The art world was particularly divided. When his videos were shown among the permanent collection of the National Gallery in London in an exhibition called The Passions in 2003, one outraged critic dubbed Viola “a master of overblown, big-budget, crowd-pleasing, tear-jerking hocus-pocus and religiosity”.

The pairing at the Royal Academy in 2019 of his work with drawings by Michelangelo from the Royal Collection drew the barbed comment from the Guardian critic that “Viola’s art is so much of its own time that it is already dated, dead in the water”.

Predictably, he was more popular with the public at large, a survey at a Viola retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris showing that visitors had spent an average of two-and-a-half hours at the exhibition. Churchmen, too, were won over by Viola’s work, particularly those of the Church of England. In 1996, the artist was invited to make a video piece, The Messenger, for Durham Cathedral. In 2014, the first part of a two-part commission called Martyrs and Mary was installed at St Paul’s, the second joining it two years later. The project, thanks to ecclesiastical wrangling, had been a decade in the making. “The church works kind of slow,” remarked Viola, mildly. “But then I also work kind of slow.”

That mildness, and the religiosity of his subjects, may have led critics to underestimate the rigour of his work. Like Viola’s art or not, he was a master of it. His appreciation of the promise – and the threat – of technology was profound. Viola chafed against the primitiveness of early video, seeing each development in the medium as an opportunity to be grasped. The close-up portraits of The Passions series, for example, made use of flatscreen technology almost as it was invented.

By contrast, the binary nature of the modern world bothered him. “The age of computers is a very dangerous one because they work on ‘yes or no’, ‘1 or 0’,” Viola mourned. “There’s no maybe, perhaps or both. And I think this is affecting our consciousness.” The dissemination of video as an art form had not been like the spread of oil painting by the Van Eyck brothers 500 years before, he said, video having appeared everywhere and at once. True to these beliefs, Viola saw no contradiction in treating Renaissance subjects, and a Renaissance belief system, with the latest inventions from Sony. “The two are actually very close,” he said. “I see the digital age as the joining of the material and the spiritual into a yet-to-be-determined whole.”

In 2012, Viola was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. His work after this was increasingly made with the help of Perov, a fact that lent a new poignancy to the themes of memory and loss that often ran through it.

Viola is survived by his wife and their sons, Blake and Andrei, and by his siblings, Andrea and Robert .

🔔 Bill (William John) Viola, video artist, born 25 January 1951; died 12 July 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[f1-stuff]

kid fic 👀

Thank you for your patience, anon! Posted below is the 'prologue' of the fic. My google doc for this one is 13k words and counting, so look out for a part one on ao3 (hopefully) really soon! -> WIP game

It’s a Saturday in Melbourne when Carlos is called to the track early for a meeting with his manager and the team’s legal department.

He doesn’t think much of it - maybe it’s about some merchandising opportunity, or a special race suit for Spain. Or maybe he said some comment in an interview yesterday that he shouldn’t have, though he can’t think of what that would’ve been off the top of his head. And anyway, if that were the case, then his press officer would be there. He supposes he might be, actually.

Carlos takes his time, stopping for his usual espresso and saying good morning to any team personnel who’ve arrived as early as he has. He’s feeling optimistic - the car felt good in free practice yesterday, so he’s hopeful they can have a good weekend.

When he finally makes it to the conference room, the head of the legal department’s there, along with his cousin and manager, Caco. What makes Carlos stop in his tracks though is the television screen at the end of the room. It’s displaying a zoom call containing what can only be a room full of Ferrari legal aides and lawyers, all sitting and facing the camera with silent, somber expressions.

His eyes meet Caco’s, who’s already looking at him with an apprehensive arch to his brow, like he thinks Carlos knows the reason for this meeting. In other words, his cousin doesn’t know the reason for this meeting.

A tense, nervous energy permeates the room.

“Carlos. Take a seat,” the chief legal officer, Sabina, says, all business.

Carlos takes a seat beside Caco with trepidation, clearing his throat of sudden nerves. “What is this about?”

“Lucía Ibarra. Does this name sound familiar?”

His jerk reaction is to say ‘no.’ But he pauses, the name scratching something at the back of his memory. Lucy...

“Uh...maybe. Yes, I think so,” he amends. He knew a ‘Lucy,’ short for Lucía, years ago, and he knew her last name once upon a time, too. But it’s been a while. That, though...it sounds like it could be right. “What about her?”

“Do you know this woman?”

“I did- I mean...years ago-”

“Lucía Ibarra, twenty-six years old, living in France and working as a journalist for a small, local publication.”

France?

When he’d met her, she was living in Madrid with dreams of becoming a writer, studying toward a degree in university. She’d had a double-focus in French and journalism, so he supposes it makes sense if that’s where she’d ended up. 

Carlos feels a tickle of pride for her, but it’s buried underneath his bewilderment, as Sabina continues to list off details of a girl’s life that Carlos hasn’t seen or heard from in four or so years. A girl who Carlos had thought he would just continue to wonder about from time-to-time, who’d changed her number after...whatever they were together, so that even if Carlos had wanted to call he couldn’t.

“Carlos.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

“So you did in fact know this woman? That certainly complicates things, but no matter what, we have a plan in place.”

“A...plan-?”

“We’ve contacted your lawyer, who will join our call soon, I expect.”

Carlos meets eyes with Caco, who feels his gaze and returns it with equal dread.

“What...” He clears his throat. “What has happened to her?”

“There’s been an accident,” Sabina says, and his heart sinks. An accident? But it still doesn’t make any sense. What does this have to do with him? “We don’t have all the details. But we’re organizing a flight for you to France-”

“A flight? What- when?”

“Right after the race.”

“But- this is impossible,” Carlos insists, almost feeling like laughing, but sensing it’s the wrong time. He’s just so, completely lost by everything going on. “I cannot fly to France after the race. Japan is in two weeks.”

His race preparation will go to shit if he flies to Europe. The jetlag alone will fuck up his entire system and concentration. Not to mention the fact that he still has no fucking clue why he needs to go to France for a woman he kind of knew years ago, who he hasn’t spoken to since she told him to ‘figure out your shit’ in a hotel room in Barcelona.

He’s sorry to hear about her accident, of course. Does this mean she’s...dead? Shit. But he can’t drop everything to...attend a funeral, or whatever’s going on. And the team should know that. How do they even know about her?

“Carlos, this is non-negotiable. Now, we recognize the sensitivity of the situation, so we’ve decided you should stay for the race. But we don’t want you talking to any news outlets or making any statements.”

Statements about what, he wants to ask. But Sabina beats him to it.

“Lucía Ibarra had a child, Carlos - three years old. And apparently, she’s yours.”

[hypnotisedfireflies]

ooh, I'll ask - what's your headcanon for Australia, New Zealand, and Polynesia??

Thank you for asking! This was a fun exercise to get down in a doc and out of my head.

I think everyone knows that I’m Australian by now.  So yeah, it’s particularly entertaining for me to imagine how things might be in the TLOUinverse on my side of the pond for a change.

Many Polynesian nations escaped Cordyceps completely – Tonga, Tokelau, Kiribati and the Cook Islands amongst these.  They closed their borders and were essentially remote enough to be able to protect themselves from the first wave.  However, that didn’t mean they had an easy time of it.  Many of these nations rely on imports and with those grinding to a complete halt, they struggled in other ways to survive.  Some of these nations also had unwelcome visitors in the form of refugees from other countries trying to fly or boat in.  Most of these brought in sick people.   Some of the nations formed methods of screening refugees who made it to their shores, others rejected them completely, and some nations fell apart over the ensuing years, unable to support so many people. 

The North Island of New Zealand was completely overrun.  The South Island had a bad few years, but pockets of it were able to resist, and within a few years they were able to rally and take the island back.  They were mostly in control by 2005 – they were not fucking around – and Cordyceps-free by 2008.  The nation officially reverted back to its name in the Maori language,  Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu (but most just called it Aotearoa).

It was many years before they conquered the North Island, and then there were several years of warfare to fully secure it.  The haka performed before the Battle of Auckland (which was one of their final victories over Cordyceps in 2015) was renowned the world over – the Kiwis documented much of their war on film, and these were distributed to survivors across the globe.  These were often credited as inspiring a new generation of survivors not to endure and survive, but to fight.

Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu maintained contact with Australia throughout the war, but the situations in the two nations were very different.  The densely populated centres of Australia were decimated.  This is essentially all down the east coast from Brisbane, to Sydney, right down to Melbourne in the south.  Darwin, right in the top end, was also destroyed, but this was mainly from refugees fleeing other nations.  But Australia is a big, varied place, and not all was lost.

Many of the islands and remote towns around the country were able to find ways to survive.  And the largest island, Tasmania, proved to be a haven.  While its population centres were initially overrun like the rest of the continent, the army concentrated its efforts on eradicating Cordyceps in Tasmania first.  There were three major offensives before they got the tactics right and were able to declare the state Cordyceps-free.  The Government relocated here, but it was not the only success story.

Perth did okay.  This is probably because the Infected, much like everyone else in Australia, thought it was too expensive and far away to bother with.  Perth was the site of the first Quarantine Zone in Australia.  Australia had a number of these over time but they were very different to the North American QZs.  Australia’s tended to be constructed in remote areas, not large cities (with the exception of Perth).  They each supported some kind of industry to try and keep civilisation humming along.  These were not perfect, but most were successful. 

The one in Port Hedlund said “fuck you cunts,” to the rest of the country and declared itself independent.  The army didn’t much like that and it was dealt with pretty quickly.  Wagga Wagga, with its RAAF and army training bases, was established not long after Perth and continued recruit training at Kapooka and Forest Hill.  But some of the most successful survival stories came not from those within Australian Quarantine Zones.

Many Indigenous Australians, especially those in remote areas towards the centre, returned to country.  Some of their camps and communities were overrun like everywhere else, but a lot survived.  Some communities adapted so well that their lives were almost uninterrupted.

(It's difficult to explain the scale of Australia, and just how remote some Indigenous communities are, and how far they are from anything else. Suffice to say, there are people who know how to live on country in Australia in a way most of us cannot comprehend, and there are families and tribes that really could weather Cordyceps out - especially those towards the centre of Australia, where the conditions are dry and wholly unsuitable for a mushroom-based infection).

But the QZs kept in contact with one another and most importantly, with Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu.  Trade recommenced between Tasmania and the South Island once both these zones were fully secure, and over time, links were reforged with other smaller nations in the region.  The South Pacific Alliance was formed. By 2023, there was a good deal of cooperation – except for Perth, who also decided the rest of us could get fucked, and declared themselves as the Independent Nation of Perth or some crap.  Nobody was really listening, they’re pretty far away and no one wanted to go there anyway so it was like okay good luck bye.

… I don’t really have beef with Perth.  I’m sure it’s lovely. Anyway, thanks for the question! I'm not sure how plausible all of my theories are, but it's fun to consider.

[afterglowkatie]

Do you have some headcannons of kcc and tiny flying together, maybe on the plane to Melbourne they sit together?

even if their seats weren’t together they would go around trying to swap with anyone to make sure they were sat together, especially on the long trip to somewhere like melbourne (the others let them sit together bc they know they’d be more ‘annoying’ if they were sat separately)

they would put the same movie on their screens and try to play them at the same time and would keep starting over until their movies were playing at the same time. the looks they’d get from others because they would cheer a bit too excitedly when they got it to match perfectly

eventually they would end up sharing a seat, tiny sitting in kyra’s lap while watching a movie and they’d fall asleep like that. katie, alessia, steph would definitely take photos and share them all over socials with funny captions etc and then kyra and r would wake up and just see photos of them sleeping together everywhere

they’d get bored and start to mess around with the other girls. imagine if steph got sat in front of them 😭 making little paper airplanes and trying to fly one to each of the girls from where they are sitting

they both kept hyper right before landing especially if they’ve been stuck in an airplane for a long time and steph has to keep telling them to stay sitting and to not run off the plane and through the airport

[engineer-gunzelpunk]

Traintober 2023: Big World

(A little bit of a story from my humanised TTTE AU This Is Sodor: The Age of Iron, concerning Aus Steam '88)

For Your Consideration

NWR Head Office, 1988

The Fat Controller looked at his calendar and roster of locomotives for the weeks and months ahead. It was coalescing nicely.

The plans for sending a group of Sudrian locos in their human form to the great Aus Steam '88 locomotive festival that was going to be held at Spencer Street Station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was heading apace.

What a clever idea for Flying Scotsman to suggest, using the Australian Steam Festival as a cover to send some of the Sudrian locos to teach the local steam engines how the NWR survived decades of onslaught of persecution; from the LMS, from creditors, from the BR, from Beeching and Marples and the whole bloody lot of them.

What an honor would it be for them to meet not just Scotty but the Australian locomotive rights radicals VR H220 Heavy Harry, VR R707 and NSWGR's 3801 on their own metals.

It would give some of the locos a nice little experience outside of their Sudrian bubble... get them to see the world, to a place where the hateful Lokodammerung was successful and where the preservation movements were running on fumes. Maybe it would pacify and humble them a little, make them see how difficult it really was to be a locomotive and not have what the NWR provided.

He had heard that Heavy Harry's residence at the North Williamstown Railway Museum at the former Newport Workshops... was not the best. It wasn't exactly the luxurious surrounds of the National Railway Museum in York.

Or that R707 was put aside by the VR in spite of being the closest thing the state had to a premier passenger locomotive... and was saved by volunteers fixing him up themselves.

He'd hoped the Sudrian locos would draw lessons from how harsh things could be outside of their little island.

Or that was the fantasy.

The reality would be they would likely get drunk and indulge in all kinds of sin, and he didn't necessarily blame them. The human world outside of Sodor was as exotic to them as railways outside the little island.

This the Fat Controller pondered. Ever since that TV show began airing, he's had to keep its star Thomas under wraps. It wouldn't do for him to get captured in the papers doing something silly, especially since the books and TV shows were a bowdlerized version of what he got up to...

So no, not Thomas, not this time.

He thought of his Strike Trio, and against common sense he had the compulsion to send them. He knew Gordon would be keen to meet a foreign Pacific express passenger locomotive and to meet his brother, and maybe perhaps the Hudsons in attendance.

He pondered Henry and James. Henry had worked pretty hard and he partied harder, but he had been pretty well behaved this past decade after being angry and restless in the 70s... And James, well, he knew that giving him a special job often made him more tractable and agreeable to work with.

Just to make sure, he put Edward down as a sort of unofficial chaperone. If this experiment worked, he would send Thomas out into the world at some point.

Not now though, not while the attention was upon him with a whole bloody TV show named after him having just screened in Australia a year previous and the world's attention was on the little blue tank engine.

"Charles, bring me to Tidmouth Sheds when the listed four have been properly hostled... I have something wonderful to tell them..."

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[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

GHOSTS AND DEMONS AND EVEN WILDER YET

Opening this weekend:

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire--This fifth feature in the franchise begins with a nice macabre episode set in 1904, like something from a creepier version of Disney's Haunted Mansion. This is followed by an extended chase through the streets of Manhattan, as the current Ghostbusters pursue, in the "Ectomobile," an eel-like flying dragon spirit up from the sewers.

It's a reasonably diverting start, and the movie goes on to deploy, in addition to Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon and the kids from 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, most of the available stars from the 1984 original. Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Williams Atherton and Bill Murray show up--no Sigourney Weaver or Rick Moranis, alas--and not just in cameos but with fairly substantive screen time. I was disappointed that the all-woman crew from the much-maligned and underrated 2016 version wasn't invited to this party, but apparently fans are still traumatized.

Anyway, the old vets here are good company--Murray with his peerless sardonoic line readings, Akyroyd with his gee-whiz delivery of expository gibberish. A couple of new adds, like Patton Oswalt as an authority on the occult and Kumail Nanjiani as a clod who sells Aykroyd the spherical ancient artifact that serves as the McGuffin, also get into the proper, uhm, spirit of things.

On the whole the movie, directed by Gil Kenan from a script by Kenan and Jason Reitman, is an enjoyable lavish no-brainer. The closest it gets to any emotional weight is an intriguing plot strand in which the teenage heroine (Mckenna Grace) bonds, seemingly romantically, with a teen ghost (Emily Alyn Lind) after she's forbidden to go 'busting until she turns 18; the actors manage a touching rapport even through the special effects prism.

But if Frozen Empire--which concerns a horned demon with freezing superpowers imprisoned inside the McGuffin--doesn't feel like a home run, it may be the result of too much wholesomeness. The teen romance and bickering family dynamic didn't quite feel like Ghostbusters to me, somehow. What made the '84 film seem new was its mix of extravagant, big-budget special effects spectacle with the snarky, irreverent slacker sketch-comedy of Murray and the other stars. Only when Frozen Empire taps into this sensibility does it truly thaw out.

The movie is dedicated to Ivan Reitman, director of the original, and this film, like several of the others, includes a nod to Cannibal Girls, Rietman's 1973 shocker starring the impossibly young and adorable Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy. I hope it makes fans seek out that amusing low-budget creepshow; there's a movie that doesn't suffer from too much wholesomeness.

Late Night With the Devil--Here's another wry paranormal chiller set in New York, although it was conceived by the Australian brothers Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes and filmed in Melbourne. The premise is that we're watching the 1976 Halloween episode of a syndicated talk show, a perennial also-ran in the ratings to Johnny Carson. Desperate for a sweeps win, the recently widowed host (David Dastmalchian) stacks the guest list with a hokey stage psychic (Fayssal Bazzi), an Amazing Randi-type skeptic (Ian Bliss), and a psychiatrist (Laura Gordon) and her patient, an angelically smiling teenage girl (Ingrid Torelli). This girl was rescued from a cult and just might be possessed.

From the set to the music to the "More to Come" break cards, the Cairnes Brothers truly capture the look and feel of anything-goes '70s talk shows to a degree that will be nostalgic to those of us who remember them. The movie also evokes sources of the period from The Exorcist to Network (Michael Ironside provides stentorian narration in the manner of Network's Lee Richardson), and the soundtrack includes the likes of Flo & Eddie's "Keep It Warm."

The "found footage" conceit is quickly strained; the supposed "behind the scenes" sequences are pretty cinematic and helpfully narrative. But after a while you accept it, largely because the acting, especially the haunted yet game showmanship of the excellent Dastmalchian, keeps us involved.

It's a little scary, but mostly Late Night With the Devil is, like Network, a tongue-in-cheek satire of TV business culture, with ripe lines like "Ladies and gentlemen, a live television first, as we attempt to communicate with...the Devil. But not before a word from our sponsors." I also loved the implication that no amount of supernatural power could overtake Carson in the ratings in those days. Apparently even the Devil couldn't do that.

At Harkins Shea...

Remembering Gene Wilder--This documentary, directed by Ron Frank, does indeed fondly remember the late comedy great. Frank makes Wilder himself the narrator, using audiobook excerpts from his noirishly-titled 2005 memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger.

Born Jerry Silberman in Milwaukee, he grew up trying to make his mother laugh, and later drew inspiration from the mental patients he worked with while serving in the U.S. Army. He wanted, he says, something a bit "wilder" for his stage name when he started acting in New York. Cast in Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children at the Martin Beck Theatre in the early '60s, he met leading lady Anne Bancroft's future husband Mel Brooks, who later cast him in The Producers.

From there, we get a chronicle of some of the highlights of Wilder's movie career--not all of them; Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx and Start the Revolution Without Me, for instance, are passed over. But there's terrific material on Bonnie and Clyde, The Producers, Willy Wonka, Young Frankenstein, his relationship with Richard Pryor, his scenes with the sheep in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (he says that Allen told him that he wanted to do a version of Sister Carrie with a sheep instead of Jennifer Jones), and more. My own favorite of Wilder's characters, Jim aka The Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles, is very well represented here.

Talking heads include Brooks, Carol Kane, Mike Medavoy, Alan Alda, Ben Mankiewicz, Rain Pryor, Harry Connick, Jr., Eric McCormack, and Willy Wonka's Charlie Bucket himself, Peter Ostrum, as well as Wilder's widow Karen Wilder, all speaking with unmistakable love. They tell good stories, but the real joy is simply the big dose of Wilder's utterly sui generis blend of innocent sweetness and strangled volatility. If the clips in this movie don't make you smile, you may need to see a doctor.

[lonelypond]

Luxury

NicoMaki, Love Live, 630ish words, 1/1

Maki and Nico help Umi finish her Halloween costume.

Luxury

Maki’s bedroom currently served as the Tokyo branch of fashion student Minami Kotori’s SongFeather atelier. Costumed as Kagura Hikari, a cast member of the popular anime Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight, Umi stood awkwardly in the center, dressed in a blue military style tunic and a lighter blue skirt with a broad white horizontal stripe. A red sash crossed her chest. Nico, the self proclaimed number one stylist in the business, circled like an overcaffeinated raptor hummingbird, adjusting the lighter blue cape before making quick slashes with tailor’s chalk.

“Almost done.” Nico murmured, reassuring her skittish human mannequin. “Kotori got everything nearly right. The sleeves need some shortening and Nico’s not happy with the unenveness of the collar.

“Kotori expertly handles the tools and challenges of her chosen trade.”

And has your measurements memorized, Maki thought to herself, smirking.

“Kotori is a pro.” Nico waved her fingers dismissively toward the tunic, indicating Umi could take the costume off. “I can finish the adjustments by the time the pizza Maki’s about to order has been delivered.”

“Please allow me to pay.” Umi bowed. “You have both been of great assistance.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Maki sat up from where she was lounging.

“Maki runs a tab.”

“Before I change back to my regular clothes, I want to show Kotori how it looks.”

Nico shrugged; Maki shadowed the gesture.

“No rush.” Nico dropped to lean half against the bed, half against Maki’s legs.

Umi carefully set up her phone on Maki’s desk. Kotori’s greeting chirp was an almost instant reply.

“Umi-chan!”

“Good morning, Kotori. Nico has just finished marking the alterations on the Halloween costume you sent me.”

“Makes Umi look more snackable than usual..” Nico said, whistling.

Umi turned to glare while Maki kicked Nico, who shamelessly winked at her.

“Let me see, let me see, Umi-chan. The full effect. Swirl the skirt.”

Umi stepped back, her posture losing some of its confident swagger as she obeyed Kotori’s command.

“You’re so pretty, Umi-chan.” Kotori gushed.

Umi frowned, ear tips flushing pink.

“Couldn’t I have been Hoshima-san or one of the characters with a sword?” Umi held her dagger by the tip of the handle as if it were an exhibit rather than a weapon.

“Hikari has the only blue cape and that’s such a good color for you. None of the other girls get to wear it.”

Nico’s phone vibrated. She glanced down quickly, snorted, then held her screen up so Maki could read it.

Paris Syndrome: Please raise Umi-chan’s hem by 2.5 cms, Nico-chan. She won’t notice.

Maki rolled her eyes, pushing the phone down, glad not to be the focus of Kotori’s thirsty gaze. Nico chuckled.

Umi and Kotori’s conversation continued, Umi’s voice a near whisper as she slid into Maki’s desk chair, her focus on the voice and face speaking from halfway across the world.

Maki reached down, her fingers brushing through the silken sable of Nico’s hair before Nico captured her hand, pulling her in for a kiss on the palm. Watching Umi, glad for any exchange with her girlfriend, Maki found herself wondering what if had been Nico in Paris, or Melbourne or somewhere else halfway across the world, studying or under contract to perform. Maki would probably be spending as much time as she could following Nico, flying first class, staying in 5 star hotels, the dream of luxury for most people. But Maki had a greater pleasure right here, Nico’s hand and hers entwined, the rising musical powerhouse content as she leaned her cheek against Maki’s knee, no doubt scheming some fantastic scenario for their joint future that she would tire Maki’s ears with after their visitor left. There were no better tapestries to wrap sleep in than the dreamscapes Nico wove out of hope, hard work, and high energy.

A/N: Been sick, but back to writing.

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