Another Friday Rolls Around

Mutterings continued.

Last night I watched an episode of Midsomer Murders I hadn't seen before. Orlando Bloom was in it; he played the baddie who was killed off in the first ten minutes or so (and there was great rejoicing...yay....). Amusing discussion later between Barnaby and his off-sider, Troy, about Lord of the Rings. Troy, on being asked if he had read Lord of the Rings replied that he hadn't, but he had read some of The Hobbit. It was about elves and fairies and he couldn't get into it. Heheh.


Cool news:

'Gogo Fish!' wins top children's literary award


19/08/05

A children's book published by the Western Australian Museum has won a prestigious Children's Book Council of Australia award.

Culture and the Arts Minister Sheila McHale said today that 'Gogo Fish! The story of the Western Australian State Fossil Emblem' had won the 2005 Children's Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.

Gogo Fish! was written by palaeontologist Dr John Long and tells the story of his discovery of a 375 million-year-old Gogo fish fossil in the Kimberley and the campaign by Dianella's Sutherland Primary School to have it named as WA's fossil emblem.

"To win a Children's Book Council of Australia award is considered the highest honour for children's writing and I congratulate Dr Long and the WA Museum," Ms McHale said.

"The museum's publications arm publishes a range of information books for adults and children and this was the first time it had received a CBCA nomination, so to go on and win is an excellent achievement."

Dr Dawn Casey, the museum's chief executive officer, attended today's awards ceremony at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

"This award showcases the museum's role and that of its curators in the area of science," Dr Casey said.

"The fossilised remains of the Gogo fish have been found in rocky outcrops that were once reefs and helped reshape scientific thinking regarding the evolution of animals with backbones."

Dr Long has been writing children's books for 10 years and 'Gogo Fish! The story of the Western Australian State Fossil Emblem' is his first book to win a major literary award.


Sheep prevent spaceport

Plans for the UK's first spaceport has been scrapped - because of sheep.

Scientists had planned to build a rocket base in Thurso in the north of Scotland to launch satellites over the North Pole reports The Sun.

However, Government quango AEA Technology held talks with the European Space Agency but they feared rockets might crash on to sparsely populated islands in Orkney and Shetland - home to thousands of sheep.