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Grandma faces deportation after 40 years in Australia

Mary Ellis, 74, has lived in Australia for over 40 years, but now she faces deportation. The grandmother is known as a local hero in northern New South Wales, for her charitable acts including helping feed the homeless in Tweed Heads, raising money for the Salvation Army. She was even nominated for the NSW Volunteer of the Year award last year. Despite her tireless efforts to help out other Australians, the senior might soon have to leave the country she has called home since she was 31-years-old. "(I have a) Driver's License, ID card, Medicare Card, Pension card. Everything Australians have," Ellis told A Current Affair. "I thought well, I'm a permanent resident. "You know, I carry on doing my daily - what I do every day. Nobody said anything." Ellis, who was born in London and moved here with her partner in 1981, was told that her partner had already arranged permanent visas for them. But one day, the Department of Home Affairs suddenly decided she's got to go. "This is my home and I love Australia ... I want to stay here," the grandma tearfully said. "Just let me get Australian citizenship, please let me.. that's what I want." Ellis has a son and two granddaughters in Australia, who are all Australian Citizens. Migration agent Stanley Schneider has been helping Ellis pro-bono since she was asked to leave, said that she was an absorbed person under the Migration Act and should be allowed to stay. "She's always paid her taxes.. she's never even had a speeding ticket," Schneider said. "She's never infringed anything. She's never offended anyone." The Migration Act requires someone to have been in Australia since April 2, 1984 and not have left, but the Department of Home Affairs claims Mary left the country three times under different aliases. Ellis denies the allegations. "I love Australia. (I) didn't want to go anywhere else," she said. She also said that she has documents that prove she was in Australia during the timeframe in question, which includes a job reference from a Tasmanian restaurant that she worked at from 1983 to 1986, and a Medicare enrolment letter signed by then federal Health Minister Neal Blewett. Ellis' migration agent said that the documents would not have been sent to her had she not been in the country. "Mary Ellis is a decent person. A person we should be absolutely thrilled to have in Australia," Schneider said. "And she's an Australian, Let's face it." In a statement shared to A Current Affair, the Department of Home Affairs said that they do not comment on individual cases. "People who do not have the right to remain in Australia are expected to depart," a government spokesperson said. "Individuals who provide incorrect information may be liable to have their visa cancelled under the provisions of the Migration Act." Image: Nine/ A Current Affair

Legal

"Pathetic" fine for killer of beloved 40-year-old blue groper

In a shocking act of disregard for both marine life and the law, a 26-year-old individual has plunged a spear into the heart of Sydney's Cronulla community by illegally spearing and killing the beloved blue groper known as Gus. Blue gropers, revered for their non-aggressive nature and inquisitive demeanour, have been the official fish of New South Wales since 1996, enjoying legal protection against spearfishing and commercial exploitation. After visiting and entertaining locals in the area for over 40 years, Gus, affectionately named by the community, met a tragic end at Old Park in Cronulla, a well-signed no-spearfishing zone. The incident has left the local community seething with anger and grief, prompting demands for harsher penalties and increased community education. A local Facebook post on the incident quickly garnered more than 100 comments and 500 reactions, reflecting the collective outrage of concerned locals. One individual expressed their frustration, saying, "Omg what an a**hole! I've been trying to find that groper for ages, and now I'll never get to see him. I hope this guy gets a massive fine." Witnesses to the distressing incident, including Tenielle Piek, reported the callousness of the spearfisherman to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/outrage-over-fishermans-pathetic-punishment-for-killing-iconic-blue-groper-in-cronulla/news-story/7dec503e9b95ec1fd8d7e7b0f8438036" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>, who proudly displayed the lifeless groper. Piek lamented the loss of the "Labrador of the Sea" and the vulnerability of these tame and curious creatures to spearfishing. She fears that future generations may be deprived of the opportunity to experience these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat along the shores of Cronulla. Despite the gravity of the crime, the spearfisherman was initially handed a meagre fine of $500, sparking outrage among locals who believed the punishment to be woefully inadequate. NSW Fisheries then tacked on an additional $300, and while the culprit displayed remorse during the interview with fisheries officers and was a first-time offender, the community clearly still feels shortchanged by the leniency of the penalty. A spokesperson from the Department of Primary Industries claimed that the individual was provided with education and awareness material to understand the rules of spearfishing. However, the paltry $300 fine out of a potential $11,000 seems insufficient to deter future acts of this nature. As the investigation appears to conclude, the Cronulla community remains on edge, grappling with the inadequacy of the penalties issued. The tragic fate of Gus demands justice and a resolute commitment to preserving the delicate marine ecosystem. Anything less than a substantial deterrent risks further harm to these innocent creatures and the cherished natural beauty of Cronulla's shores. Images: Facebook

Legal

Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/selwyn-cornish-1297285">Selwyn Cornish</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-hawkins-746285">John Hawkins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> These days, we take for granted that the value of the Australian dollar fluctuates against other currencies, changing thousands of times a day and at times jumping or falling quite a lot in the space of a week. But for most of Australia’s history, the value of the Australian dollar – and the earlier Australian pound – was “<a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/exchange-rates-and-their-measurement.html#:%7E:text=exchange%20rate%20volatility.-,Pegged,or%20a%20basket%20of%20currencies.">pegged</a>” to either gold, pound sterling, the US dollar or to a value of a basket of currencies. The momentous decision to <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/the-long-road-that-led-to-the-floating-of-the-australian-dollar-20141121-11ra30">float</a> the dollar was taken on Friday December 9 1983 by the Hawke Labor Government, which was elected nine months earlier. As they approached the cabinet room at what is now Old Parliament House, Treasurer Paul Keating asked Reserve Bank Governor Bob Johnston to write him a letter to say the bank recommended floating. The letter, dated December 9, referred to the bank’s concern about the "volume of foreign exchange purchases and its belief that if these flows are to be brought under control we shall need to face up without delay either to less Reserve Bank participation in the exchange market or capital controls." By “less Reserve Bank participation”, Johnston meant a managed float; direct controls were to be considered “as a last resort”. The bank had long maintained a “<a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/the-long-road-that-led-to-the-floating-of-the-australian-dollar-20141121-11ra30">war book</a>”, bearing the intriguing label “Secret Matter”, outlining the procedures to be followed in the event of a decision to float. An updated version was handed to the treasurer the day before the decision. The <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/floating-exchange-rates-after-ten-years/">US</a> and the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/23/newsid_2518000/2518927.stm">UK</a> floated their currencies in the early 1970s. Since the early 1980s the value of the dollar had been set via a “<a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2018/dec/understanding-exchange-rates-and-why-they-are-important.html">crawling peg</a>” – meaning its value was pegged to other currencies each week, and later each day, by a committee of officials who announced the values at <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/inside-the-floating-of-the-a-20131211-2z698.html">9.30 each morning</a>. If too much or too little money came into the country as a result of the rate the authorities had set, they adjusted it the next day, sometimes losing money to speculators who had bet they wouldn’t be able to hold the rate they had set. Keating had Johnston accompany him to the December 9 press conference instead of Treasury Secretary John Stone, who had argued against the float in the cabinet room, putting the case for direct controls on capital inflows instead. Johnston’s presence was meant to make clear that at least the central bank supported floating the dollar. <h2>Speculators now speculate against themselves</h2> Keating told the press conference the float meant the speculators would be “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/from-the-archives-1983-the-australian-dollar-floats-free-20191206-p53hjq.html">speculating against themselves</a>”, rather than against the authorities. One banker quoted that night confessed to being “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/from-the-archives-1983-the-australian-dollar-floats-free-20191206-p53hjq.html">absolutely staggered</a>”. “I’m not sure they know what they have done,” the banker said. The following Monday on ABC’s AM program, presenter <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-12-08/20-years-since-dollar-floated/102568">Red Harrison</a> heralded “a brave new world for the Australian dollar”. He said, "from today the dollar must take its chance, subject to the supply and demand of the international marketplace, and there are suggestions that foreign exchange dealers expect a nervous start to trading when the first quotes are posted this morning." At the time, the Australian dollar was worth 90 US cents. At first it <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2013/sp-gov-211113.html">rose</a>, before settling back. Since then, the Australian dollar has fluctuated from a low of <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/australian-dollar-floated">47.75</a> US cents in April 2001 to a high of US$1.10 in July 2011. <hr /> <iframe id="6ExL8" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6ExL8/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> <h2>The long road to the float</h2> The idea first took hold in Australia when Commonwealth Bank Governor <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/hc-coombs-governor-of-australias-central-bank-1949-1968.html">“Nugget” Coombs</a> visited Canada in 1953, at a time when it was one of the few countries with a floating exchange rate. On his return, Coombs wrote the bank should consider Canada’s experience. A strong advocate from the mid-1960s was the bank’s economist <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-4932.1986.tb00915.x">Austin Holmes</a>. Among those he mentored at what by then was called the Reserve Bank were Bob Johnston, Don Sanders and John Phillips. All three were in the cabinet room when the decision was taken. <h2>Backed by Cairns, opposed by Abbott</h2> An unlikely advocate in the 1970s was the left-wing Labor treasurer <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/05Hawkins.pdf">Jim Cairns</a>. But asked in 1979 whether he was in favour of a float, the then Reserve Bank governor <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/about-rba/history/governors/sir-harold-murray-knight.html">Harry Knight</a> responded by quoting Saint Augustine, saying “God make me pure, but not yet”. An oil shock was making markets turbulent at the time. In 1981, the Campbell inquiry into the Australian financial system delivered a landmark report to Treasurer John Howard, <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p1981-afs">recommending</a> a float. The idea was backed by neither the Treasury nor Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Two years later, Howard watched from opposition as Labor did what he could not. The Liberal Party generally backed Labor’s move, with one notable exception – the later prime minister, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/tony-abbott-wrote-20-years-ago-floating-dollar-didnt-make-sense-20131206-2ywpm.html">Tony Abbott</a>, who in 1994 wrote that "changing the price of the dollar moment by moment in response to each transaction makes no more sense than altering the price of cornflakes every time a buyer takes a packet off the supermarket shelves." <h2>A success by any measure</h2> The floating exchange rate has served Australia well. When the Australian economy has slowed or contracted – in the early 1990s, the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis and in the COVID recession – the Australian dollar has fallen, making Australian exports cheaper in foreign markets. When mining booms have sucked money into the country, the Australian dollar has climbed, spreading the benefit and fighting inflation by increasing the buying power of Australian dollars. It’s why these days, hardly anyone wants to return to a <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/exchange-rates-and-their-measurement.html">pegged</a> rate.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217548/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/selwyn-cornish-1297285">Selwyn Cornish</a>, Honorary Associate Professor, Research School of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-hawkins-746285">John Hawkins</a>, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-aud-how-our-australian-dollar-was-floated-40-years-ago-this-week-217548">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

"Divinely gifted" Mamma Mia star passes away aged 40

Broadway luminary Chris Peluso, renowned for his roles in acclaimed productions like Mamma Mia! and Wicked, has passed away at the age of 40. In the period preceding his demise, Peluso reportedly grappled with Schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition characterised by hallucinations and a fusion of symptoms from both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The University of Michigan paid homage to Peluso on their musical theatre department's webpage, confirming the sorrowful news, given his previous attendance as a student. Linda Goodrich, interim chair, conveyed: "The Michigan Musical Theatre family is heartbroken as we announce the passing of our dear family member/alum, the loving, charismatic, and divinely gifted Chris Peluso." Goodrich added: "Chris appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia!, Assasins, Lestat, The Glorious Ones and Beautiful, played Fiyero on tour in Wicked and starred in London in Miss Saigon and Showboat. Our hearts go out to his family." He leaves behind his wife Jessica Gomes and their two children. In the preceding year, friends of Peluso established a GoFundMe page, detailing his inability to perform due to his mental health struggles and battle with Schizoaffective disorder. They beseeched fans to contribute towards his medical expenses in the United States. The page noted that "in recent months, the paranoia has consumed him to the extent that he is unable to work any job and has had to leave his wife and young child and return to America to seek treatment." "Chris has no health care insurance in the US and was recently hospitalised for about two weeks. Currently, he is seeking treatment at an inpatient mental health rehabilitation centre." "In his own words, 'Hopefully this helps bring some awareness to how so many suffer from mental illness in silence. You never know what someone may be going through. Be kind to each other.'" In a November update shared on the same page, Peluso extended his gratitude to fans for their "incredible generosity" and donations, sharing that he was "doing well". "Hi guys! Thanks so much again for your incredible generosity! I'm very pleased to say that I completed the in-patient treatment facility in Tennessee and have been stable and doing well," he said. "The new medication I'm on works well to keep my symptoms in check and has minimal side effects. I'm able to hold down a job again and even began taping some auditions." He added: "It's going to be a lifelong process of going to therapy and working with doctors but I'm so much better than I was before treatment. It really means the world to me to have such incredible support from you all. None of this progress would have been possible without you." A sum of USD $25,000 was raised on behalf of the now-departed star. Images: Instgram

Caring

Harrison Ford is back as an 80-year-old Indiana Jones – and a 40-something Indy. The highs (and lows) of returning to iconic roles

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-mccann-398197">Ben McCann</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> Saddle up, don the fedora and crack that whip: Harrison Ford is back as the intrepid archaeologist in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The film premiered at Cannes, where Ford was <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/harrison-ford-honorary-palme-dor-cannes-1235495463/">awarded</a> an Honorary Palme d’Or in recognition of his life’s work. Reviews for the fifth film in the franchise <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/indiana-jones-5-review-roundup-1235495961/">have been mixed</a>, and it is the first Indy film not to be directed by Steven Spielberg (this time, it’s James Mangold, best known for his motor-racing drama Ford v Ferrari). But this is “event” cinema that combines nostalgia, old-school special effects and John Williams’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-jaws-to-star-wars-to-harry-potter-john-williams-90-today-is-our-greatest-living-composer-176245">iconic score</a>. So, Ford is back, aged 80. What draws actors back after all this time? <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eQfMbSe7F2g?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Role returns</h2> Ford first played Indy in 1981 and last played him in 2008. That is a full 15 years since the most recent film in the series, and 42 years since his first outing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford has form in returning to celebrated characters. One of the great pleasures of watching The Force Awakens back in 2015 was seeing Ford play Han Solo again for the <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3j2j09">first time in over 30 years</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0xQSIdSRlAk?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Actors return to roles for numerous reasons: <ul> <li>financial (Ford was reportedly paid <a href="https://okmagazine.com/exclusives/harrison-ford-paid-indiana-jones-5-plagued-with-problems/">US$25 million</a> for Dial of Destiny)</li> <li>protection of their brand, image and star persona (Michael Keaton <a href="https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/the-flash-movies-biggest-hero-how-michael-keaton-saved-the-film/">returning to play Batman</a> after three decades and three other actors who have embodied the role)</li> <li>professional (Tom Cruise admitted over the 36 years between Top Gun films he wanted to make sure the sequel <a href="https://screenrant.com/top-gun-maverick-tom-cruise-return-how-explained/">could live up to the original</a>)</li> <li>personal (once-huge stars are working less and less, and only feel the need to return to a built-in fan base every few years – Bill Murray in the 2021 Ghostbusters sequel springs to mind).</li> </ul> It’s not always a successful endeavour. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone – two of the biggest action stars of the 1980s off the back of iconic roles as The Terminator, Rocky Balboa and John Rambo – have repeatedly returned to those roles, and critics have been <a href="https://screenrant.com/terminator-dark-fate-undermined-john-connor-storyline-franchise-bad/">particularly harsh</a>. It did not work for Sigourney Weaver in <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/alien-resurrection-1997">Alien: Resurrection</a> in 1997, 18 years after her first time as Ripley; nor for Keanu Reeves in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/21/the-matrix-resurrections-review-keanu-reeves">The Matrix Resurrections</a> in 2021, 23 years after the original. And still, I’m intrigued to see what Michael Mann could do with his long-rumoured sequel to Heat, his definitive 1995 crime film. Ever since Mann published his novel Heat 2 last year – a kind of origin story for Heat’s key protagonists – fans have been hoping a de-aged Al Pacino (now aged 83) <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/04/michael-mann-heat-2-warner-bros-adam-driver-young-neil-mccauley-1235316777/">might return</a> as LA cop Vincent Hanna. <h2>Undoing time</h2> “Digital de-ageing” first entered the Hollywood mainstream in 2019 with The Irishman and Captain Marvel. <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/de-aging-actors-history-benjamin-button-dial-of-destiny-harrison-ford-1234863938/">Via this process</a>, older actors (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Samuel L. Jackson have all been subject to the technology) move back and forwards in time without younger actors having to play them. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OF-lElIlZM0?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Films still tend to cast two actors to play older and younger versions of the same character, a choice that dates back at least to 1974’s The Godfather Part II, in which a young Robert de Niro plays Vito Corleone, portrayed by the much older Marlon Brando in the first film. In 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade features a delightful opening scene where River Phoenix plays the young version of Indiana Jones, before Ford takes over for the rest of the film. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AwH6-Yh7_SM?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Actors used to just play characters of their own age when reprising earlier roles. Paul Newman finally won a Best Actor Oscar for his role as “Fast Eddie” Felson in The Color of Money (1986), a quarter of a century after first playing him in The Hustler. The sequel plays on Newman’s age, and his role as a mentor to an upcoming Tom Cruise, and bathes viewers in nostalgia and memories of <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/paul-newman-schooled-tom-cruise-the-color-of-money/">a younger Newman</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7gmrKAFshE?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> But actors no longer have to exclusively play their age. The first part of Dial of Destiny is an extended flashback, set in 1944, in which Ford has been digitally de-aged to appear in his 40s. This process used an AI system that scanned used and unused reels of footage of Ford from <a href="https://www.cbr.com/harrison-ford-de-aging-indiana-jones-dial-of-destiny/">the first three Indy films</a> to match his present-day performance. Here, it is as if we are getting two Fords for the price of one: the “younger”, fitter Indy and the older, more world-weary version. It makes for a powerfully emotional connection on screen. Yet there are some <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/indiana-jones-5-harrison-ford-de-aging-not-working-1235618698/">pitfalls to de-ageing</a>. Some viewers complain that the whole process is distracting and that the hyper-real visual look of de-aged scenes resembles a video game. Even so, de-ageing in Hollywood cinema is here to stay. Tom Hanks’s <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/tom-hanks-robin-wright-digitally-deaged-robert-zemeckis-movie-1235507766/">next film</a> is using AI-based generative technology to digitally de-age him. Given its reduced cost, speed and reduced human input, AI-driven innovation might have <a href="https://filmstories.co.uk/news/new-ai-driven-de-ageing-tools-to-be-used-in-tom-hanks-project/">industry-changing ramifications</a>. <h2>The star of Ford</h2> Harrison Ford remains a bona fide “movie star” in an industry profoundly buffeted by COVID, the rise of streaming platforms, the demise of the monoculture, and the changing nature of who constitutes a star. In the midst of all this industry uncertainty, it seems there is no longer a statute of limitations on actors returning to much-loved characters. The next big ethical issue for the film industry as it further embraces AI is whether to <a href="https://collider.com/james-dean-digital-cgi-performance-in-new-movie/">resurrect deceased actors</a> and cast them in new movies. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing more actors de-aged as the technology improves and audiences acclimatise to watching older actors “playing” younger versions of themselves. We are only at the start of Hollywood’s next big adventure.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202357/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-mccann-398197">Ben McCann</a>, Associate Professor of French Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/harrison-ford-is-back-as-an-80-year-old-indiana-jones-and-a-40-something-indy-the-highs-and-lows-of-returning-to-iconic-roles-202357">original article</a>.

Movies

How traditional Indigenous education helped four lost children survive 40 days in the Amazon jungle

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eliran-arazi-1447346">Eliran Arazi</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> The discovery and rescue of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/four-missing-colombian-children-found-alive-jungle-sources-2023-06-10/">four young Indigenous children</a>, 40 days after the aircraft they were travelling in crashed in the remote Colombian rainforest, was hailed in the international press as a “<a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/06/11/miracle-in-the-jungle-colombia-celebrates-rescue-of-children-lost-in-amazon-rainforest_6030840_4.html">miracle in the jungle</a>”. But as an anthropologist who has spent more than a year living among the Andoque people in the region, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/100474974/Amazonian_visions_of_Visi%C3%B3n_Amazon%C3%ADa_Indigenous_Peoples_perspectives_on_a_forest_conservation_and_climate_programme_in_the_Colombian_Amazon">conducting ethnographic fieldwork</a>, I cannot simply label this as a miraculous event. At least, not a miracle in the conventional sense of the word. Rather, the survival and discovery of these children can be attributed to the profound knowledge of the intricate forest and the adaptive skills passed down through generations by Indigenous people. During the search for the children, I was in contact with Raquel Andoque, an elder maloquera (owner of a ceremonial longhouse), the sister of the children’s great-grandmother. She repeatedly expressed her unwavering belief the children would be found alive, citing the autonomy, astuteness and physical resilience of children in the region. Even before starting elementary school, children in this area accompany their parents and elder relatives in various activities such as gardening, fishing, navigating rivers, hunting and gathering honey and wild fruits. In this way the children acquire practical skills and knowledge, such as those demonstrated by Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin during their 40-day ordeal. Indigenous children typically learn from an early age how to open paths through dense vegetation, how to tell edible from non-edible fruits. They know how to find potable water, build rain shelters and set animal traps. They can identify animal footprints and scents – and avoid predators such as jaguars and snakes lurking in the woods. Amazonian children typically lack access to the sort of commercialised toys and games that children in the cities grow up with. So they become adept tree climbers and engage in play that teaches them about adult tools made from natural materials, such as oars or axes. This nurtures their understanding of physical activities and helps them learn which plants serve specific purposes. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A youg girl holding up an insect as her family works alongside" /><figcaption>A local Indigenous girl on an excursion to gather edible larvae. Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> Activities that most western children would be shielded from – handling, skinning and butchering game animals, for example – provide invaluable zoology lessons and arguably foster emotional resilience. <h2>Survival skills</h2> When they accompany their parents and relatives on excursions in the jungle, Indigenous children learn how to navigate a forest’s dense vegetation by following the location of the sun in the sky. <figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Map of the Middle Caqueta region of Colombia." /></a><figcaption>Map showing where in Colombia the four lost children are from. Gadiel Levi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> Since the large rivers in most parts of the Amazon flow in a direction opposite to that of the sun, people can orient themselves towards those main rivers. The trail of footprints and objects left by the four children revealed their general progression towards the Apaporis River, where they may have hoped to be spotted. The children would also have learned from their parents and elders about edible plans and flowers – where they can be found. And also the interrelationship between plants, so that where a certain tree is, you can find mushrooms, or small animals that can be trapped and eaten. <h2>Stories, songs and myths</h2> Knowledge embedded in mythic stories passed down by parents and grandparents is another invaluable resource for navigating the forest. These stories depict animals as fully sentient beings, engaging in seduction, mischief, providing sustenance, or even saving each other’s lives. While these episodes may seem incomprehensible to non-Indigenous audiences, they actually encapsulate the intricate interrelations among the forest’s countless non-human inhabitants. Indigenous knowledge focuses on the interrelationships between humans, plants and animals and how they can come together to preserve the environment and prevent irreversible ecological harm. This sophisticated knowledge has been developed over millennia during which Indigenous people not only adapted to their forest territories but actively shaped them. It is deeply ingrained knowledge that local indigenous people are taught from early childhood so that it becomes second nature to them. It has become part of the culture of cultivating and harvesting crops, something infants and children are introduced to, as well as knowledge of all sort of different food sources and types of bush meat. <h2>Looking after each other</h2> One of the aspects of this “miraculous” story that people in the west have marvelled over is how, after the death of the children’s mother, the 13-year-old Lesly managed to take care of her younger siblings, including Cristin, who was only 11 months old at the time the aircraft went down. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Three Indigenous people in western clothes stood under trees in front of a wide building." /><figcaption>Iris Andoque Macuna with her brother Nestor Andoque and brother-in-law Faustino Fiagama after the two men returned from the search team. Iris Andoque Macuna., Author provided</figcaption></figure> But in Indigenous families, elder sisters are expected to act as surrogate mothers to their younger relatives from an early age. Iris Andoke Macuna, a distant relative of the family, told me: <blockquote> To some whites [non-Indigenous people], it seems like a bad thing that we take our children to work in the garden, and that we let girls carry their brothers and take care of them. But for us, it’s a good thing, our children are independent, this is why Lesly could take care of her brothers during all this time. It toughened her, and she learned what her brothers need. </blockquote> <h2>The spiritual side</h2> For 40 days and nights, while the four children were lost, elders and shamans performed rituals based on traditional beliefs that involve human relationships with entities known as dueños (owners) in Spanish and by various names in native languages (such as i'bo ño̰e, meaning “persons of there” in Andoque). These owners are believed to be the protective spirits of the plants and animals that live in the forests. Children are introduced to these powerful owners in name-giving ceremonies, which ensure that these spirits recognise and acknowledge relationship to the territory and their entitlement to prosper on it. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Woman in pink t-shirt sat on chair inside." /><figcaption>Raquel Andoke, a relative of the missing children and friend of the author. Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> During the search for the missing children, elders conducted dialogues and negotiations with these entities in their ceremonial houses (malocas) throughout the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Middle-and-Lower-Caqueta-River-region-State-of-Amazonas-Colombia-Map-from_fig1_255580310">Middle Caquetá</a> and in other Indigenous communities that consider the crash site part of their ancestral territory. Raquel explained to me: <blockquote> The shamans communicate with the sacred sites. They offer coca and tobacco to the spirits and say: “Take this and give me my grandchildren back. They are mine, not yours.” </blockquote> These beliefs and practices hold significant meaning for my friends in the Middle Caquetá, who firmly attribute the children’s survival to these spiritual processes rather than the technological means employed by the Colombian army rescue teams. It may be challenging for non-Indigenous people to embrace these traditional ideas. But these beliefs would have instilled in the children the faith and emotional fortitude crucial for persevering in the struggle for survival. And it would have encouraged the Indigenous people searching for them not to give up hope. The children knew that their fate did not lie in dying in the forest, and that their grandparents and shamans would move heaven and earth to bring them back home alive. Regrettably, this traditional knowledge that has enabled Indigenous people to not only survive but thrive in the Amazon for millennia is under threat. Increasing land encroachment for agribusiness, mining, and illicit activities as well as state neglect and interventions without Indigenous consent have left these peoples vulnerable. It is jeopardising the very foundations of life where this knowledge is embedded, the territories that serve as its bedrock, and the people themselves who preserve, develop, and transmit this knowledge. Preserving this invaluable knowledge and the skills that bring miracles to life is imperative. We must not allow them to wither away.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207762/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eliran-arazi-1447346">Eliran Arazi</a>, PhD researcher in Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (Paris)., <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-traditional-indigenous-education-helped-four-lost-children-survive-40-days-in-the-amazon-jungle-207762">original article</a>. Images: Getty

Caring

A mother’s love story blossoms from a family reunion 40 years in the making

When Helen Mansfield took to social media in search of her biological mother, she could never have foreseen the good fortune she’d bring about - not only to herself, but to those she held most dear, too. It was in 2016 that Helen posted to Facebook, hoping to connect with her mother - who had given her up when Helen was only 10 days old. And a mere five hours later, someone did reach out, informing Helen that her mother was in the United Kingdom, and that her name was Glenda Joy. Helen, on the other hand, was in Perth, Australia. She’d been adopted by a Welsh couple, but had moved to Perth after marrying an Australian - with whom she shares two daughters. Four decades of mystery had gone by, but after that stranger on Facebook had set her on the right path, things had quickly fallen into place. As Helen informed 7News, “straight away, we knew each other. [She] gave me a big hug and said ‘I feel I just won the lottery’.” It should have marked the end of that happy chapter for Helen and Glen, but Helen’s adoptive dad, Gwyn, had other ideas. Because when Helen introduced the two - as her biological mother and her adoptive father - they immediately felt a connection, and set out on a number of adventures together, enjoying everything from the cricket to the beach, and last but certainly not least, a kiss. “I went in to Helen,” Glen recounted, “and I said ‘I’ve got something to say’. “I said ‘your dad kissed me’.” Glen added that she hadn’t been expecting it, but that wasn’t a bad thing, as she’d very much “wanted it to happen”. And it was only good times from there, with the unexpected couple getting married in the United Kingdom after enjoying a commitment ceremony in Perth with Helen as their joyous celebrant. They have every intention of returning to Australia, too, for a trip packed full of celebration with Gwyn’s 80th and the upcoming birth of a great-grandchild. But at the end of the day, Helen is “just really happy it happened”, and holds hope in her heart that their story will offer encouragement to anyone else in a similar position, searching for their biological or long-lost families. “I hope that anybody else - you know, it probably won’t go this far because this is a different story - but anybody else who wants to reach out and find their birth mother,” she added, “should try and do it.” Images: 7News

Relationships

"40 years ago today": Alan Alda celebrates MASH milestone

Alan Alda has celebrated the 40th anniversary of the iconic M*A*S*H (MASH) season finale. The series, which ran on CBS from 1972 to 1983, totalled an impressive 11 seasons with 251 episodes - all of which Alan Alda appeared in as the memorable Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce. However, his credits weren’t limited to just acting, with Alda dabbling in some crew work during his time on the show. And it was Alda himself who wrote and directed the series finale, titled ‘Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen’. The episode ran for two-and-a-half hours, set a ratings record that many consider to be near impossible to beat, and reportedly still holds the title of being the most watched scripted television show episode of all time. In the US alone, over 60% of households tuned in to see the lives of the MASH unit change at the end of the Korean War. Now, 40 years after the episode went to air, Alda has looked back on the milestone, taking to Twitter to celebrate. Alda didn’t so much as have to mention the show’s title, with the show’s legacy doing the work for him. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> 40 years ago today. ⌛️❤️ — Alan Alda (@alanalda) <a href="https://twitter.com/alanalda/status/1630617599116558369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote> In Alda’s replies, and on social media in general, a screengrab from the episode began to circulate - the word ‘goodbye’ spelled out in rocks on a small hillside - and fans proved eager to reflect and celebrate with him. “40 years ago today we got back 30 min of our Sunday night. I would gladly give 30 min of any night to watch the magnificent writings & acting of that MASH unit again,” wrote one fan, before going on to thank those involved in the production. “MASH is one of my comfort shows and still brings me joy, laughter, and tears no matter how many times I’ve seen an episode,” said another, “thank you.” “Ended before I was even born, yet it's still one of my all-time favorite shows!” shared one fan too young to have caught the original run, but was thrilled to join in on the reminiscing, “I'm even in the middle of a rewatch at the moment!” “When I was a kid, I watched the show with my dad - usually as an excuse to stay up a little bit later and spend time with him,” someone else shared, “I wouldn't trade that for anything. This past summer, I watched it again with my son. Still perfect.” “It was shown later in the year here in the UK,” one fan told Alda, “my dad recorded it on our newly rented VCR. To this day he’s never watched the last episode as he never wanted it to end.” And for those seeking a return to MASH themselves, publicist Danny Deraney shared an emotional clip from the finale to celebrate the occasion, while citing the show’s ratings success. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> 40 years ago today, MASH aired its final episode. The episode, directed and Co-written by <a href="https://twitter.com/alanalda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alanalda</a>, became the most watched television program in history. "Goodbye, Farewell, Amen." <a href="https://t.co/a0Qv252oCj">pic.twitter.com/a0Qv252oCj</a> — Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) <a href="https://twitter.com/DannyDeraney/status/1630661000834990081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote> Images: Twitter, Getty

“Love doesn’t know math”: Cher defends 40-year age gap

Cher has defended the massive 40-year age gap between her and her new and much younger beau. The 76-year-old singer is currently in a relationship with 36-year-old music producer Alexander Edwards. Despite the 40-year age gap, Cher is not shying away from the “blossoming romance” and answered fans’ questions about the relationship along with a cheeky photo of Alex in his boxers. “He’s 36 and in end he came after me. I’m the skittish one. We love each other …. LADIES NEVER GIVE UP. Must say he was different for me,” she wrote. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> A.E.Hanging Ot <a href="https://t.co/TB5XXJqlxk">pic.twitter.com/TB5XXJqlxk</a> — Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595612020325240832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> On paper This Looks strange (Even 2 ME) A.E Says ♥️Doesn’t Know Math — Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595690505576161281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> BABE,SOME MARCH 2 A DIFFERENT DRUMMER,I Dance 2 One — Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595695842584731648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote> “He’s kind, smart, hilarious … and we (kiss emoji) like teenagers,” she responded to a question asking about her favourite quality about Alex. “On paper this looks strange (even to ME) AE says love ️doesn’t know math,” Cher tweeted shortly after. The pair sparked rumours earlier this month when they were seen holding hands outside the West Hollywood restaurant Craig's where they met with rapper Tyga for dinner. During the night, Alex was seen kissing Cher’s hand as they drove off together. It was only days after the dinner that Cher confirmed the relationship on Twitter. Image: Getty

Relationships

Fabulous at 40, fit at 50 and sexy at 60 – age does not define your health

It’s quite natural to feel a twinge of jealously when you see celebrities like Cher and Jennifer Lopez looking gorgeous and glamourous at red carpet events. After all, Cher is 76 and J-Lo 53 – how do they look so good when many of us at the same age are either struggling with the horrors of menopause or ailments we put down to our increasing age? The secret is it’s much more than the way they look. It’s their confidence, vibrance and calm sense of knowing about good health that gives them that extra glow. And the great news is you can do the same – you can absolutely be healthy at any age – and, like Cher and J-Lo, enjoy the glow and confidence which comes with it. Accepting sore joints, an aching back, fatigue and extra kilos as inevitable in your forties, fifties and sixties is the first mistake. Some ailments are common but they’re not normal. We place limitations on ourselves because of our age – which, after all, is just a number - missing a lot of opportunities in life. Sure, there are plenty of physical changes that start to develop in those middle years but they can be minimised with extra diligence. I’m proud to say that I haven’t gained any weight since I first began working in the health and fitness industry 30 years ago. I don’t spend countless hours in the gym, or starve and deprive myself. But I do make sure I exercise, do strength conditioning and have a healthy diet. Should you walk an average of 8000 steps a day? Yes, at any age. Should you do strength training three times a week? Yes, for bone density and muscle tissue – and it can be as simple as doing a body weight workout at home, going to the gym or playing a game of tennis. The trick to exercise is being consistent – you’re not training for a marathon, just keeping your body healthy! You also need to be diligent about including a good source of protein with every meal, more in fact than what you ate when you were younger. Protein helps repair cells in our body which in turn facilitates muscle repair and improves our skin. (That helps give you that enviable celebrity glow!) I’m not saying these years aren’t without challenges such as arthritis, menopause, high cholesterol, and blood pressure that often start to emerge in the 40s and continue through the ensuing decades. But the answer is to not blame age for everything. Maybe you’re drinking too much alcohol, not being as active as you should be and choosing to let your diet slide. You need to be honest with yourself. Take some of that hard earned wisdom that we love about getting older and use it maintain your best, vibrant self. You can do it! This article was written by Donna Aston. Donna is one of Australia’s top nutritionists. She developed the popular AstonRX Metabolic Fat Loss Program, Gut Rehab Program and Quick Start Program. Find out more at AstonRX.com. Image: Getty Images

Caring

The FBI tracked Aretha Franklin for 40 years - here’s why

Until 2007, Aretha Franklin was tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with her bumper 270-page file recently obtained by <a href="https://rollingstoneindia.com/aretha-franklin-was-tracked-by-the-fbi-for-40-years-heres-whats-in-her-file/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rolling Stone</a>. The Queen of Soul, who passed away in 2018 aged 76, was subjected to false phone calls and surveillance, as well as having her inner circle infiltrated by FBI sources, according to the outlet. Franklin’s file, first requested via the Freedom of Information Act shortly after her death, is reportedly filled with phrases such as “Black extremists”, “pro-communist”, “hate America”, “radical”, “racial violence”, and “militant Black power”. It also contained plenty of suspicion about the singer, her work, and the other artists and activists she associated with, as the FBI tried and failed to connect the Respect singer to the Black Liberation Army and other “radical” movements. According to the documents, Franklin’s civil rights work and association with activists including Martin Luther King Jr and Angela Davies, became a focus for the FBI, with agents tracking her addresses, phone numbers and activities. The singer’s son, Kecalf, told the Rolling Stone he was unsure whether Franklin knew she was under surveillance but said it was a “waste of time” for the FBI to follow her “every move” for so many years after failing to connect her to radical movements of any kind. "I'm not really sure if my mother was aware that she was being targeted by the FBI and followed. I do know that she had absolutely nothing to hide though…” he said. "It does make me feel a certain way knowing the FBI had her targeted and wanted to know her every move. "But at the same time knowing my mother and the way she ran her business I know she had nothing to hide so they wouldn't have found anything and were wasting their time. As you see…they found nothing at all." The documents obtained by Rolling Stone, which include some newly-declassified files and others that are heavily redacted, include a 1968 report discussing funeral plans for Martin Luther King Jr which described it as a “racial situation”. “Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha Franklin…of this group, some have supported militant Black power concept…[performance at MLK memorial by these prominent entertainers] would provide emotional spark which could ignite racial disturbance in this area,” it reads. The FBI also included files “just in case”, such as her 1971 contract with Atlantic Records to attempt to connect the Blues Brothers star’s business dealings to the Black Panther Party. Letters and reports of death threats were among the collection of documents as well, including one from a man threatening to kill her and her family and another extortion attempt against her. With some documents indicating that there are additional materials in the FBI’s possession that haven’t been released, Rolling Stone requested these records be made available. The FBI has yet to comment on the report. Image: Getty Images

Legal

"An incredible gift": Grace Kelly remembered 40 years on

The royal family of Monaco have shared a series of stunning tribute photos to the late Princess Grace, 40 years after her death. Princess Grace, formerly known as Grace Kelly an American actress, died in a car accident at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke. She appeared in several movies including Mogambo (1953), To Catch A Thief (1955) and three Alfred Hitchcock thrillers before retiring from acting at the age of 26. She went on to marry Prince Rainier III in April 1956, earning her the title of Princess of Monaco, and the couple had three children, Princess Caroline, 65, Prince Albert, 64, and Princess Stéphanie, 57. The official Instagram page of the Monaco Royal Family shared a series of photos of Princess Grace in her memory. “In Memoriam Princesse Grace de Monaco 1929 - 1982,” the caption simply read. Her son Prince Albert said it doesn’t feel like 40 years had passed and people still remember his mother. "It doesn't seem like 40 years," he told <a href="https://people.com/royals/prince-albert-remembers-his-mother-princess-grace-on-the-40th-anniversary-of-her-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEOPLE</a>. “Many times during a day, a week, not only do I find myself thinking of her, but numbers of people still recall her to me. “They remember her and that's a great tribute to her and who she was — to what an exceptional human being she was. "Forty years on, she still captures people's imagination. She managed to capture the imagination and attention of several younger generations and not many have done that. It's an incredible gift that she had. "She had charm and incredible allure about her. And It's not only her beauty or the fashion icon that she was that attracts people, It was her warmth, her heart, the humanity people saw in her that they remember." He said if he could speak to his mother again, he would want her to meet his children. “If I could speak to her, I would say that I wish she were here to see her grandchildren and how great they are. They're great kids." Images: Instagram/Fausto Picedi, Georges Lukomski, Gianni Bozzachi, Italo Bazzoli

Caring

Super rare car hidden in barn for 40 years set to sell for huge sum

A rare BMW 507 that has spent nearly half a century sitting inside a garage has received a fresh breath of life. The 1957 Series II Roadster will go under the gavel at the Bonhams Audrain Concours action on the 30th of September, expecting to sell for between $1.8-$2.2 million. The 507 is widely considered the most collectible and coveted BMW to date. The German marque made only 252 examples of the flagship sports car throughout the late ‘50s. The glamorous convertible’s exclusivity (and price tag) attracted only the most VIP customers. Notable owners include Elvis and King Constantine II. This particular car was delivered new to Caracas, Venezuela. It was fitted with sought-after Rudge knock-off wheels and an optional hard top. As standard, the 507 was equipped with a V-8 engine and 4-speed ZF manual transmission. The antique piece eventually made its way to Montreal, Canada, and was snapped up by the current owner’s late father in 1979. It was driven straight into a suburban garage in Philadelphia and has been sitting there for the past 43 years. According to the auction house, the two-door was actually part of a fleet of 507s kept by the family and was only started up very occasionally. As for the condition, the BMW was treated to a makeover in the early ‘70s and repainted in Pontiac Bright Blue Metallic. Inside the original leather interior has what Bonhams calls a “lived-in” appearance. You can check out the car below: Images: Bonham

Money & Banking

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at 40 – a deep meditation on loneliness, and Spielberg’s most exhilarating film

40 years ago this month saw the release of Steven Spielberg’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial</a> – a film about a stranded alien, the boy called Elliott who discovers it and a bond of friendship that remains as magical and heartbreaking as it did back in 1982. We think of Spielberg movies today as thrilling roller-coaster rides, full of sharks, dinosaurs and swashbuckling archaeologists. Yet for me, E.T. remains Spielberg’s most exhilarating work: a deep meditation on loneliness, friendship and growing up in small-town America. Aided by John Williams’s Oscar-winning score and Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore’s touching performances, E.T. feels both of its time and for all time. As Spielberg <a href="https://www.contactmusic.com/pages/et2x21x03x02" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once said</a>: I think that E.T. is for the people we are, the people we have been and the people we want to be again. <h2>A child in need of a friend</h2> After the breathless trio of Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Spielberg wanted to make a more intimate film about his isolated childhood in suburban Arizona <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/steven-spielberg-et-divorce-parents-anniversary-b2063879.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as he came to terms</a> with the divorce of his parents. At the same time, he had commissioned a script about a suburban family terrorised by a group of aliens with one befriending the family’s son. The DNA of both stories would make their way into this film. Like Spielberg, Elliott is a loner. He’s not playing sport, or going out with girls or getting into trouble. He is introverted and thoughtful. And in need of company. One of Spielberg’s great underrated talents is his direction of children. Many of his films feature young children at their centre – think The BFG (2016), A.I. (2001) and War Horse (2011). In E.T., Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore as brother and sister Elliott and Gertie bring credibility and pathos to their roles, fitting seamlessly into the southern Californian ‘burb culture recreated so fondly by the director. Spielberg’s grasp of childlike wonder is everywhere: notice how he shoots from the children’s eye level and shows adults only from the waist down. For the first time in his career, Spielberg rejected storyboards and <a href="https://ascmag.com/articles/spielberg-et-the-extraterrestrial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot scenes chronologically</a>, allowing Thomas and Barrymore time and space to improvise. The domestic and school scenes (hiding E.T. from the mother, tempting it into the house with Reese’s Pieces, freeing frogs destined for dissection) all feel more real because of this. <h2>And what of our alien?</h2> Before E.T., Hollywood saw aliens as hostile critters intent on planetary carnage. The recent extra-terrestrials in Alien (1979) and The Thing (1982) had caused havoc and trauma. E.T. is different: partly modelled on the facial features of Albert Einstein, it is inquisitive, thoughtful, funny. In the delightful Halloween scene, Elliott throws a white sheet over it as a disguise, and E.T. suddenly spots a child dressed up as Yoda, excitedly repeating “Home! Home!”. From this moment, Hollywood realised the marketing potential of “cute aliens”; whether Ewoks, Grogu or Toy Story’s “Little Green Men”. It is small wonder that Variety <a href="https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial-1200425287/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> E.T. as the “best Disney film Disney never made”. The alien plays another role too: it fills the void of the absent father. Paternal lack and the strains it places on families is a familiar trope in Spielberg’s films, from Jurassic Park (1993) to Catch Me If You Can (2002) to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). All we know is that Elliott’s father is “in Mexico, with Sally”: left behind is a stressed mother and bickering siblings. Some contend that E.T. is a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239568?seq=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modern-day fairy tale</a> or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/15/movies/l-film-mailbag-is-et-a-religious-parable-073792.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Christian parable</a>. For others, it is an illustration of “<a href="https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/18452/23096/9783631837801%20%E2%80%93%20Echoes%20of%20Reaganism%20in%20Hollywood%20Blockbuster%20Movies%20from%20the%201980s%20to%20the%202010s.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reaganite entertainment</a>”, upholding the sanctity of the nuclear family but distrustful of bureaucratic interference and governmental surveillance. <h2>Spielberg at his best</h2> E.T. earned US$800 million at the box office. Adjusted for inflation, four decades on, that is still the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films_in_the_United_States_and_Canada#Adjusted_for_ticket-price_inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth highest grossing</a> movie ever. For some naysayers, its success was further evidence of the special effects-laden, high-concept spectacle film that was beginning to reign in mainstream film culture. But I think E.T. is much more than that: it is a movie with a heart. The special effects are minimal. What counts is the story, and the boy and his friend. Spielberg’s films are to this day <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2011/12/critics-notebook-putting-steven-spielberg-on-trial-50244/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticised</a> as mawkish and overly sentimental, deliberately engineered to cynically manipulate our emotions. Not so in E.T.: the pleasure is genuine and the tears are earned. E.T. became a pop culture phenomenon. The shot of Elliott and E.T. on a bike, flying across the moon, remains an iconic image. “Phone home” has become part of our lexicon. Its message of peaceful coexistence between creatures from different worlds today seems more appropriate than ever. Aliens stranded on earth are a staple of contemporary cinema, from Under the Skin (2013) to The Iron Giant (1999). And Netflix’s current global hit Stranger Things contains a treasure trove of E.T.’s visual references. Spielberg may have made bigger, louder films, and more historically profound ones, but E.T. endures as his best. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial-at-40-a-deep-meditation-on-loneliness-and-spielbergs-most-exhilarating-film-183985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Movies

From fairytale to gothic ghost story: how 40 years of biopics showed Princess Diana on screen

Since the earliest Princess Diana biopics appeared soon after the royal wedding in 1981, there have been repeated attempts to bring to the screen the story of Diana’s journey from blue-blooded ingenue through to tragic princess trapped within – and then expelled from – the royal system. A long string of actresses, with replicas of the outfits she wore and a blond wig (sometimes precariously) in place, have walked through episodic storylines, charting the “greatest hits” of what is known of Diana’s royal life. Biopics about the princess tend to be shaped according to the dominant mythic narratives in circulation in any given phase of Diana’s life. The first biopics were stories of fairytales and romance. From the 1990s, the marriage of Charles and Diana took on the shape of soap opera and melodrama. Now, with the Crown (2016–) and Spencer (2021), Diana has become a doomed gothic heroine. She is a woman suffocated by a royal system that cannot, will not, acknowledge her special place in the royal pantheon. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WllZh9aekDg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <h2>Fairytales and soap operas</h2> The first Dianas appeared on American television networks within months of the July 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana. Both Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story (starring Caroline Bliss) and The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (starring Catherine Oxenberg) invested wholesale in a fairytale lens. They told of the young and virginal beauty who had captured the attention of the dashing prince, whisked off to a life of happily ever after. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/54QRwogBUQI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The Diana biopics fell quiet for the first years of the marriage (fairytales don’t tend to interest themselves in pregnancies and apparent marital harmony), and then reemerged after the publication of Andrew Morton’s exposé, Diana: Her True Story (1992). Morton’s biography was written from taped interviews with the princess and inspired the next generation of Diana biopics, ones that I call the “post-Morton” biopics, which borrow from Diana’s own scripting of her life. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R7OnHYcTqLk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> A series of actors were enlisted to play Diana in these made-for-television productions. Oxenberg turns up again in Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992). In Diana: Her True Story (1993), Serena Scott-Thomas (who, incidentally, turns up in the 2011 television biopic William and Kate as Catherine Middleton’s mother Carole) does her best with a terrible script and series of wigs. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUFUuGpHHPg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Others gave it their best shot. We had Julie Cox in Princess in Love (1996), Amy Seacombe in Diana: A Tribute to the People’s Princess (1998), Genevieve O'Reilly in Diana: Last Days of a Princess (2007) and, briefly, Michelle Duncan in Charles and Camilla: Whatever Love Means (2005). <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eNTR0nZZXn4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> But even large budget films (such as 2013’s cinema-release Diana, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Naomi Watts) had critics and audiences letting out <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diana_2013">a collective yawn</a>. In film after film we were offered yet another uninspired, soap opera-style representation of the princess’s life. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ca2GGofxzX4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <h2>A gothic tale</h2> Critics’ voices were quelled somewhat with the appearance of Emma Corrin’s Diana in season four of The Crown. With Netflix’s high budget and quality production values, many — <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-crown-season-4-review-a-triumphant-portrait-of-the-1980s-with-a-perfectly-wide-eyed-diana-149633">including myself</a> — felt Peter Morgan’s deliberate combination of accuracy and imaginative interpretation of Diana’s royal life offered something approximating a closer rendition of the “real” princess than we’d been presented with before. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tedqw0gMuCI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> And then we come to the most recent portrayal of Diana on screen, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer (2021), starring Kristen Stewart as Diana. What, royal biopic watchers wondered, could it possibly do to top The Crown’s Diana? Spencer’s statement in the film’s opening offers a clue: it promises to be a “fable from a true tragedy”. This is a film where genre imperatives and creative imaginings are placed at the forefront of its representation of the princess. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f-FBHQAGLnY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Taking its cue from the gothic themes and tropes Diana can be heard invoking on the Morton tapes, Spencer’s heroine is trapped in a frozen Sandringham setting, gasping for air to the point where her voice rarely lifts above a soft, almost suffocated, whisper. She tears at the pearls encircling her throat. She rips open the curtains sewn shut by staff. She self-harms with wire cutters. She runs like an animal hunted down manor house corridors and across frosty Norfolk fields. She is haunted by the ghost of Anne Boleyn, another royal wife rejected by her husband, prompting <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a38164090/princess-diana-spencer-horror-movie/">one reviewer to ask</a>: “is Spencer the ultimate horror movie?” Larraín and Stewart’s Diana has her precursor in the spectral, gothic Diana who appears in the 2017 future-history television film King Charles III, based on Mike Bartlett’s 2014 play. The anguished howl of this Diana (played by Katie Brayben) echoes throughout the palace in the same way Spencer’s Diana is framed as the royal who will haunt the Windsors for decades to come. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nyckuIRtag0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The lamentable Diana: The Musical (2021) on Netflix (a filmed version of the Broadway production starring Jeanna de Waal) – with its cliched storyline, two-dimensional characterisation, awkward costuming and early 1980s Andrew Lloyd Webber-style aesthetic – offers some evidence that, even in 2021, the creators of Diana stories haven’t altogether abandoned their investment in the Diana of 1981. But with Spencer, we have a Diana shaped by both the princess’s own version of her story, and the screen Dianas that came before her. Spencer suggests new directions and potential for the telling of royal lives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173648/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlebsnuEI1Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/giselle-bastin-391174">Giselle Bastin</a>, Associate Professor of English, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-fairytale-to-gothic-ghost-story-how-40-years-of-biopics-showed-princess-diana-on-screen-173648">original article</a>. Image: Pablo Larraín/Roadshow

Movies

Aldi Shoppers rave about $40 samosa maker

Image: Facebook Aldi strikes again, sending fiercely loyal customers into frenzy over popular samosa maker. Shoppers everywhere have been raving about this $40 bargain, with many praising it for making “restaurant quality snacks” in minutes. The gadget has been branded “absolutely amazing” with customers and fans sharing snaps of their homemade treats online. The machine can cook up to 24 samosas in one go and features automatic temperature controls and a non-stick surface. One Aussie dad was so impressed by the appliance that he took to Facebook to show off the samosas he made, saying it’s a “big hit” with his family. He made his own mixture using potatoes, peas, onions, chilli, herbs and spices which he then added between two sheets of puff pastry in the samosa maker. Many excited to grab this product, with one woman commenting: “I need one of these machines!” Others are just stunned the samosa maker could be used for other snacks. “WAIT you can make cupcakes in the samosa maker?? Life changing.”

Food & Wine

Sydney man under 40 gets FOUR vaccine jabs

A Sydney man who received four doses of coronavirus vaccine has defended his decision on The Project to mixed reactions. Tom Lee rejected suggestions from Waleed Aly that he could have been taking vaccine doses from someone else who needed the jab. “I don’t think I was. I was as entitled to Pfizer as anyone else. I had the AstraZeneca, I took the risk with AstraZeneca as other people are doing and I thought that I earned the right to Pfizer by doing that,” he said. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> While most under-40s struggle to get one Covid-19 vaccine shot, 34-year-old Sydneysider Tom Lee has managed to have four. He’d already picked up two shots of AstraZeneca and as of this week, he’s scored two Pfizer. We chat with Tom to find out why… <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheProjectTV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheProjectTV</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vg9Sfozw9n">pic.twitter.com/Vg9Sfozw9n</a> — The Project (@theprojecttv) <a href="https://twitter.com/theprojecttv/status/1415601124757884930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2021</a></blockquote> “I have been telling people and there are a range of reactions to it. I just wanted to be fully vaccinated and have as many antibodies against the coronavirus as I could. We are in the middle of an outbreak here and I am feeling pretty good about it now. “For that last Pfizer shot that I had last Monday I had to go through south west Sydney and I was a bit spooked, I thought, ‘God are the three jabs I have had enough?’ but now I feel like I could go for a walk through south west Sydney and I’ll be alright,” he said. Mr Lee said he did his homework before getting the jabs and found that mixing vaccines was an effective way to immunise people against the virus, though Australian health officials haven’t endorsed this yet. “I didn’t go into it blind there have been studies on mixing the vaccines. I read the summary about a study done in England where they were mixing AstraZeneca with Pfizer and the results were good. Apparently 10 times the amount of antibodies in the mix than anyone was getting on plain AstraZeneca. When the opportunity to get Pfizer came up I thought, ‘let’s go, let’s do it, let’s get as many antibodies as you can get’,” he said. “I read today that one of the medical workers in Sydney who was fully vaccinated has got the coronavirus, maybe if she did the same thing I did then she wouldn’t have got the virus.” In reality, the trials studying the benefits of mixing vaccines involved the administration of one dose of each vaccine, rather than the two full courses that Mr Lee had. Additionally, a small percentage of fully vaccinated individuals can still contract COVID-19, which may be due to the person becoming infected before the body has built up enough protection against the virus. Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, recently discouraged individuals from deciding for themselves to get third or fourth doses of either vaccine after receiving a full course of one vaccine. “It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here where people are in a … data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix and match,” she said. “It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start, you know, deciding when and who should be taking a second, or a third or a fourth dose.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Individuals should not decide for themselves, public health agencies can, based on available data. Data from mix and match studies of different vaccines are awaited - immunogenicity and safety both need to be evaluated <a href="https://t.co/3pdYj4LUdz">https://t.co/3pdYj4LUdz</a> — Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) <a href="https://twitter.com/doctorsoumya/status/1414657053180809224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote> An OverSixty reader even hopped online to email us directly about the controversial segment. "Just saw on The Project an interview with a man under 50 years old who claims to have had 2 AstraZeneca vaccines and 2 Pfizer vaccines," wrote the OverSixty reader. "The Project treated it as funny. In my view they should have condemned him for 1: having Pfizer at his age and 2: for having two lots of vaccine. That amounts to stealing someone else’s vaccines. I hope he is made to pay for the extra vaccines, at least." Image: news.com.au

Caring

40 funny marriage quotes that might actually be true

“Getting married is like trading the adoration of many for the sarcasm of one.”— Mae West “To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up.”— Ogden Nash “Before I got married, I had six theories about raising children; now I have six children and no theories.”— John Wilmot “I married for love but the obvious side benefit of having someone around to find my glasses cannot be ignored.”— Cameron Esposito “The definition of eternity is two people and a ham.”— Dorothy Parker “Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?”— Groucho Marx “Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should just live next door and visit now and then.”— Katherine Hepburn “An archeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”— Agatha Christie “By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”— Socrates “One of the keys to a successful marriage is separate bathrooms. When he enters my bathroom sometimes, I’m like, ‘Why are you in here?’ And he’s like, ‘I live here. Can I enjoy my bathroom too?’”— Michelle Obama “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”— Benjamin Franklin “Before you marry a person you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are.”— Will Ferrell “Marriage is the bond between a person who never remembers anniversaries and another who never forgets them.”—Ogden Nash “Marriage is not just spiritual communion; it is also remembering to take out the trash.”— Joyce Brothers “Never get married in college; it’s hard to get a start if a prospective employer finds you’ve already made one mistake.”— Elbert Hubbard “The most important four words for a successful marriage: ‘I’ll do the dishes.’”— Anonymous “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”— Rita Rudner “The best thing to ever happen to marriage is the pause-live-TV button.” —Rick Reilly “Marriage is an attempt to solve problems together which you didn’t even have when you were on your own.”— Eddie Cantor “Husband secretly lowers the thermostat and I secretly turn it back up. We both vehemently deny touching it. Marriage is fun.”— Stephanie Ortiz “A man’s main job is to protect his woman from her desire to ‘get bangs’ every other month.”— Dax Shepard “I’d like to publicly thank my husband [Dax Shepard] for changing half the diapers in our house. I hope he changes all of mine one day…”— Kristen Bell “Just found out the wife is writing a book about our honeymoon, called ’50 Shades of Just O.K.’”— Conan O’Brien “When you see a married couple walking down the street, the one that’s a few steps ahead is the one that’s mad.”― Helen Rowland “My husband and I have never considered divorce… murder sometimes, but never divorce.”— Dr Joyce Brothers “Never ever discount the idea of marriage. Sure, someone might tell you that marriage is just a piece of paper. Well, so is money, and what’s more life-affirming than cold, hard cash?”— Dennis Miller “Husbands and wives are irritating. But without them, who would we blame for misplacing our socks?” — Janet Periat “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now change your Facebook status.” — Anonymous “Marriage is like vitamins: we supplement each other’s minimum daily requirements.” — Kathy Mohnke “If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question.” — Lily Tomlin “I love you no matter what you do, but do you have to do so much of it?” — Jean Illsley Clarke “My wife is a psychologist… Not only does she know when I’m being a jerk, but she knows exactly what type of jerk I’m being.” — Lee Judge “Marriage is an alliance entered into by a man who can’t sleep with the window shut, and a woman who can’t sleep with the window open.” — George Bernard Shaw “Why do married people live longer than single people? I think it’s because married people make a special effort to live longer than their partner — just so they can have the last word.” — Janet Periat “Marriage is really tough because you have to deal with feelings … and lawyers.” — Richard Pryor “I’m going to get married again because I’m more mature now, and I need some kitchen stuff.” — Wendy Liebman “Marriage: sometimes soulmates, sometimes cellmates.” — Rory Elder “Always get married in the morning. That way if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted the whole day.” — Mickey Rooney “When you’re in love, it’s the most glorious two-and-a-half days of your life.” — Richard Lewis “Some mornings I wake up grouchy. Other mornings I just let him sleep.” — Unknown Written by Beth Dreher and Emma Taubenfeld. This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/relationships/40-funny-marriage-quotes-that-might-actually-be-true">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.com.au/subscribe">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.

Relationships

Why this Baby Boomer hit song is topping the charts 40 years on

Fleetwood Mac are back in the spotlight after a TikTok featuring one of their songs went viral last month. The album Rumours was released over 43 years ago but it quickly moved up to No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart this week, jumping six spots from the previous week. The song Dreams had an even more impressive week after a man long boarding down the street used it in his TikTok video. The single has moved up to No. 4 - a 10-spot jump from last week. Nathan Apodaca was the man behind the viral TikTok - dubbed The Dreams Challenge - and quickly became an internet sensation. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I don’t use this verbiage often but this is a whole vibe. simple as that <a href="https://t.co/NfdLsgLkxu">pic.twitter.com/NfdLsgLkxu</a> — DrewFrog (@DrewFrogger) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewFrogger/status/1309531633545089024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2020</a></blockquote> It currently has over 60 million views. Soon it caught the attention of the band’s very own Mick Fleetwood, as he recreated the video. Apodaca appeared on the Today show and said he was honoured after watching the TikTok. "He made his own TikTok account. His first video was this one. The parody of my video. I feel honoured. A legend doing that. It's just amazing," he said. "I got to talk to him in the another interview. He was telling me that his daughters and everything said 'Dad, you need to do this'.

Music

Smartwatch Wars: ALDI’s incredible $40 version of Apple product

Everyone knows buying presents for your dad is the worst. He either tells you he wants nothing or he’ll ask for a pair of socks - which is definitely not what he actually wants. Thankfully, ALDI is selling a smartwatch for the fraction of the usual price as part of its Father’s Day-themed round of Special Buys. Apple and Samsung sell their popular smartwatches anywhere between $300 to $1000, but ALDI has priced theirs at an affordable $39.99. <img style="width: 500px; height: 287.4743326488706px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837459/screen-shot-2020-08-20-at-40643-pm.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0b73a5b185454224a543eb44251256f7" /> And despite not getting the full set of features you would receive in an $849 Apple watch, ALDI’s version still has its own range of tricks. It can connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth and receive call and message notifications, as well as play your music. ALDI’s smartwatch can also track your health by measuring sleep patterns, blood pressure and your heart rate. Smartwatches exploded in popularity when Apple released its first version in 2015. Father’s Day falls on Sunday September 6 this year, so don’t forget. ALDI’s Father’s Day Special Buys go on sale Wednesday, August 26.

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Smartwatch Wars: ALDI’s incredible $40 version of Apple product

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