Will Australians become extinct next week?

[Marc]

Did you ever read Lucifer's Hammer? It's a little slow in the beginning but it is a good book.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute.

i haven't read the book but the two movies are damn good.

EDIT: i'm gonna order the book now

No there was only one movie which was very and that was made in the 1950s. There was a mini-series made in recent years with Bryan Brown and Armand Asante and it wasn't very good.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I don't know about going extinct, but judging by the football tonight, the Australians are already getting annihilated.

 

[Rii]

I almost became extinct this morning. The pre-dawn walk from my house to the local swimming pool is short enough to make it in shorts and a t-shirt regardless of the weather. Except this morning the pool was closed and I had to make the return journey too. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

I don't know about going extinct, but judging by the football tonight, the Australians are already getting annihilated.

Heh.

 

[Marc]

I don't know about going extinct, but judging by the football tonight, the Australians are already getting annihilated.

Nah it's only soccer.

When the Australian cricket really goes into a losing streak then people wonder about the end of the world (well it can be that or the local pub is out of beer).

 

[Australis]

I hope it is the right "The Quiet Earth" that you ordered. There are two novels by this name. The end of the Earth one is by Craig Harrison.

If it is the real one I would really appreciate a copy. I know that several other members on Trekbbs would also like a copy too as the movie is highly regarded. This book is sort of the Holy Grail of its genre because, I gather, not many copies were ever printed.

Really? I have a copy floating around here somewhere, I'll have to dig it out. Didn't realise it was a holy grail type book.

 

[scotpens]

No there was only one movie which was very and that was made in the 1950s. There was a mini-series made in recent years with Bryan Brown and Armand Asante and it wasn't very good.

Movie, mini-series -- to-may-to, to-mah-to.

 

[Angela 0077]

Even a continent-wide plague can't possibly kill everybody.

The survivors will be wearing cool-looking leather gear and driving way-out funky cars.

i like that picture of Mad Max smiles.

Geez that would be bad if all aussies were to become exstinct

Bloody hell even turning to salt would be a bad way to go.

Turns to Mad Max for help.

 

[scotpens]

Geez that would be bad if all aussies were to become exstinct

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroos
We'll build an all-American amusement park there
They got surfin', too!

-- Randy Newman

 

[T'Girl]

End of the world/survival type books are my favorite kind of book.

Try hunting down a copy of "Damnation Alley," the movie adaptation was lame, but the novel was stirring. Read it when I was eleven

 

[Rett Mikhal]

I don't think we'd even know if it happened. People seem to forget about poor Australia.

Ask some people you know what the capital of Australia is (Canberra) and see how many get it wrong.

 

[Marc]

I don't think we'd even know if it happened. People seem to forget about poor Australia.

Ask some people you know what the capital of Australia is (Canberra) and see how many get it wrong.

That's also working on the assumption that they don't confuse Australia with Austria

 

[scotpens]

I don't think we'd even know if it happened. People seem to forget about poor Australia.

Oh, I think the world would notice eventually. There'd suddenly be a shortage of gorgeous blonde models and actresses. Not to mention kangaroos and koalas.

Ask some people you know what the capital of Australia is (Canberra) and see how many get it wrong.

Yeah, most Americans probably think the capital is Sydney. And that the Sydney Opera House is the Parliament building or something.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Many Americans, from what I have been told, think that Tasmania is in Africa. They probably are confusing it with Tanzania.

 

[Australis]

Amazing they didn't confuse it with Tarzana.

 

[Rii]

I don't think we'd even know if it happened. People seem to forget about poor Australia.

Hardly. Australia represents 0.3% of the global population and yet occupies a far larger proportion of the global consciousness. Amongst those folks well enough off to look beyond their noses at all, that is. Australia is an overrepresented nation in every sphere or upon any scale one would care to consider. Given its near nonexistent history, it could probably lay claim to being one of the most globally overrepresented nations in the world. Doesn't hurt that it's also one of the easiest to delineate on a map.

Same thing at the sub-state level, again largely a function of geography. Compare global familiarity with two sub-states (of states that most folks can point to on a map) of roughly equal population: Tasmania and Kamchatka.

 

[Miss Chicken]

The main reason Tasmania is better known than it should be is because of a certain Warner Brothers cartoon.

 

[enlisted person]

Miss Chicken the book arrived today and was a total rip off. It was a book of summaries of Australian authors. It was listed that way on purpose I think. I told the wife to check it out but she decided she wanted it. $12 down the drain. I have given her a hard time over it and I think I should not say any more I will keep looking for this book.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I am not surprised to find out it wasn't the real book. I sort of thought that if I ebook version was available, those booksellers that have a copy wouldn't be asking the price for it that they are.

They are four copies listed on Abebooks - ranging in price between $US431.17 and $US800. The only copy on the Amazon is priced at $US2475!!!! It isn't currently available at UK Amazon or on Ebay.

EDITED TO ADD - Last month the author's own copy of "The Quiet Earth" went up for auction on a New Zealand auction site. Bidding reached $405 but failed to reach the reserve price. I wonder how it would have gone if he had put it up on eBay where it would have had a much larger customer base.

 

[enlisted person]

Its a shame they not willing to share his work with the world. Those prices are high but it would bring in nothing compared to the money made in volume if they would just publish the dang thing.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I can't understand why it hasn't been republished when the movie has a cult following.