Astronomy didn’t start with Greeks, Indigenous Australians were 1st astronomers in the world

The connection Indigenous Australians have with the night sky is being communicated through the storytelling of a new generation of Indigenous astronomers.

For 60,000 years, Indigenous people formed a unique relationship with the land, but they also knew the sky.

Professor Ray Norris from Western Sydney University and the CSIRO says there is rich knowledge of the night sky embedded in the songs and stories of Indigenous Australians.

“We found that people thousands of years ago in Australia were clearly staring up at the sky wondering ‘how the heck does that eclipse work’– and sometimes they come to amazing conclusions,” he told NITV.

“You read about this, you hear about this encoded in the songs and stories.”

The Life Code: A Sky Full Of Secrets

Wiradjuri woman Kirsten Banks has made it her career mission to share those stories.

Working as a tour guide at the Sydney Observatory, the physics student says it is a fascinating area of study.

“The thought that Indigenous Australians have used the sky as astronomers for tens of thousands of years, or even before anyone else, is awesome to me.”

She plans on sharing the cultural knowledge as she trains to become an archeo-astrophysicist.

“I love that we have such a rich culture from this land and that they used the sky similar in ways that we use it now. It’s just amazing,” she said…

MORE: Indigenous astronomers share culture through storytelling | SBS News

Perth man strangled in Bali villa: police

A Perth man whose bloodied body was found in a Bali villa is now believed to have been strangled to death by someone close to him, police say.

Stephen Richardson, 63, was found lying naked on his bed in his rented villa at the popular beachside town of Sanur by his friend on Monday afternoon.

Initially police believed he may have died as a result of an accident while intoxicated, but Head of Denpasar District Police Colonel Hadi Purnomo said the autopsy revealed the cause of death to be strangulation.

“There has been an assault that has caused the victim’s death,” he told AAP on Friday.

“There’s also stabbing, blunt object (trauma) too.

“(But) the main (cause of death) is strangulation, which caused the victim to run out of breath and die.”

Mr Richardson’s partner Karen East arrived in Bali on Wednesday and gave permission for the autopsy to be carried out.

Police say they are continuing an investigation into his death but have so far been unable to find CCTV that may lead to a suspect.

They believe the killing was carried out by a single perpetrator.

“The questioning of witnesses also hasn’t led to suspect,” Col Purnomo said.

However, they do believe Mr Richardson died at the hands of someone who was close to him.

“If they didn’t know the victim, he or she couldn’t get into the house.”

There has also been no sign of robbery, with Mr Richardson’s passport, phone, money and jewellery left untouched at the villa.

Mr Richardson is believed to have moved to Bali around three months ago and was living alone at the villa.

Friends had seen him on Saturday night drinking at a local bar.

Fearing for his safety, friend Garry Crocker scaled his fence on Monday afternoon after being unable to contact him for a number of days.

He saw his lifeless body lying in the villa and noticed blood spatters around the property.

Source: Perth man strangled in Bali villa: police | Perth Now

TPG a step closer to buying Fairfax papers

Fairfax Media has confirmed private equity company TPG Capital has made an unsolicited approach to buy its three key metro newspapers and online real estate arm Domain.

US-based TPG Capital has put forward a proposal to buy The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review along with Domain in a deal estimated to be worth about $2.5 billion.

Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood held a meetings at the company’s Pyrmont headquarters on Sunday and wrote to staff in the evening confirming the proposal.

He said it was a “preliminary indicative” proposal and was still subject to a number of conditions including approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, Fairfax reported on Sunday night.

The board is now “reviewing” the deal, Fairfax said in a statement.

The offer from TPG, which bought a five per cent stake in the media company in March, comes after Fairfax announced plans last week to shed 125 jobs to help save $30 million, prompting a week-long strike by its journalists.

“Left behind would be Fairfax’s New Zealand business, which had been seeking to merge with fellow publishing group NZME, Fairfax’s Australian regional newspaper unit, its stake in the Macquarie Media radio venture and a 50 per cent share of online streaming network Stan,” the AFR reported.

Last Thursday Fairfax revealed revenues from its news operations had dropped 11 per cent since Christmas.

The only Fairfax business units that managed to significantly lift revenue were Domain – up 10 per cent – and its digital businesses, up 18 per cent.

Fairfax has been planning to spin off Domain into a separate stock market listed entity later this year.

Last week, huge numbers of Fairfax journalists walked off the job for seven days in response to management’s plans to slash a quarter of newsroom jobs.

The media group has been struggling for years with falling revenues as a result of a drop in income from advertisers and declining circulation figures.

TPG was reported in late March to be interested in making a play for Fairfax, but a spike in the media company’s share price at the time apparently forced it to back away.

Speculation about TPG’s latest offer to Fairfax comes a day after the federal government announced a range of changes to Australia’s media laws, including long-awaited plans to scrap the two-out-of-three ownership rule that prevents a company controlling more than two of three radio, television and newspapers in one area.

The government also plans to axe the rule stopping a media proprietor from controlling a TV licence that reaches more than 75 per cent of the population.

If the proposed changes are approved by parliament they are expected to open the way for a raft of consolidation within the media industry.

Source: TPG a step closer to buying Fairfax papers | Perth Now

“Ooho!” is a water ball. A big drop of water that will replace water bottles

“Ooho!” is a water ball. A big drop of water that will replace water bottles.

We’ve created Ooho!, the edible water bottle. It’s a spherical packaging made of seaweed, entirely natural and biodegradable. Our goal is to create a waste-free alternative to plastic bottles and cups. Our proprietary material is actually cheaper than plastic and can encapsulate any beverage including water, soft drinks, spirits and cosmetics.

The consumption of non-renewable resources for single use bottles and the amount of waste generated is profoundly unsustainable. The aim of Ooho is to provide the convenience of plastic bottles while limiting the environmental impact.

Source: Ooho! | designboom.com