Indonesian Earthquake Deathtoll Continuously Rising

The death toll of an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has soared to 832, with authorities fearing the numbers will climb as rescuers struggle to get aid to outlying communities cut off from communications and help.

Dozens of people are reported to be trapped in the rubble of several hotels and a mall in the city of Palu, on Sulawesi island, which was hit by waves as high as six metres following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday.

Drones and 'Smart Devices' are now seen as Stalking Devices'

The technological rise in the 21st century has seen new opportunities for domestic violence and harassment against women, with modern gadgets such as Drones and ‘Smart Devices’ having the ability to be used to monitor and stalk victims.

These trends have been seen in which some victims have reported being ‘stalked’ by drones following them by former partners.  Hacking Smart-tvs with built-in webcams, as well as baby monitors and security cameras is also a security risk.

Australian Brewers use Unwanted Strawberries to make Beer

As the biblical tale goes, Jesus turned water into wine, but now Australian brewers are transforming thousands of punnets of unwanted strawberries into beer in support of struggling Australian farmers.

Since speaking directly to farmers affected by the slump in sales caused by the contamination crisis, the beer company says the community response to the new beer range has been significant.

Brisbane house prices rise

Financial service group CoreLogic have announced research stating that Brisbane was the only Australian capital city to see home values grow in the month of September.

The results show Brisbane ascending 0.1 percent, where every other Australian city fell backwards.

Tim Lawless, head of CoreLogic, states that Brisbane currently represents ‘greater buying opportunities’ in comparison with Sydney and Melbourne; as both cities dropped substantially.

Storms clear in time for Brisbane Riverfire Festival

The storms across the Brisbane river has receded, showing clear night skies for the 21st annual Riverfire display.

It is estimated that over 500,000 attended the event, with another 400,000 across  state-wide television coverage.

This comes after the Bureau of Meteorology saw two severe weather warnings cancelled 90 minutes before the firework event.  

Large hailstorms and damaging winds, earlier described as ‘highly likely’ did not occur.

 

Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

 

The 1994 classic Australian film written and directed by Stephan Elliott, based on the book by Allan Scott, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, has hit the stage at QPAC until the 4th of November. You may have seen the posters, the adverts, the branding, but do you know what you’re in for? Because this is a performance that must be seen to be believed.

 

Jen Cloher @ The Spiegeltent

It was a rainy evening towards the end of the Brisbane Festival when Jen Cloher graced the stage of the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent. Despite the array of other performances that were taking place that night, the people of Brisbane trekked out in the drizzle to catch a glimpse of the narrative story-teller playing a one-off show in Brisbane as part of her most recent tour. 

Voidhood: Sleeping With The Fishes

- William Klep, aka Voidhood is an unusual beast, some kind of marine creature I guess, if all the watery motifs and metaphors on his debut EP, Sleeping With The Fishes are to be believed. Quite earnestly the record wrestles with psycho-social and artistic issues through the central imagery of swimming, or often sinking in music, in making a life, or simply drowning in Klep’s own mind.