Surf’s Up on The Weekly Web

I don’t know about you dear reader, but I spend far too much time online. Some of my online discoveries find their way onto this blog in some shape or form, while others make their way to my Twitter feed and Facebook page. I have so many sticky notes cluttering up my desktop that I thought I might try a weekly Surfing The Web round-up of the best items I find online each week, and share them here. Speaking of surfing the web, I can’t think of better way to kick off this post than with an article looking at the beginnings of the internet.

The Life and Times of the World Wide Web

My internet service provider is the source for this Out Of The Archives piece about the origins of the Internet, or the World Wide Web as it was initially referred to by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who had the bright idea to begin the project in the first place way back in 1989. Some much has changed in the few short years since the advent of the internet, that it seems odd to think this groundbreaking, world-shaking service has been around for less than 30 years. 

By the way, the image seen above shows the world’s first internet server. I don’t know what the specs for the computer were, but I suspect they were not all that great when compared to today’s super fast computers with their almost unlimited storage drives, and ultra-sharp display monitors.

Read the full blog post here and make sure you follow the link to the world’s first web page.

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NYC's Racist, Draconian Cabaret Law Must Be Eliminated 

For “the greatest city in the world,” New York has appallingly few places to dance. The next time you find yourself confined to toe-tapping to a tinny Top 40 song in a sports bar, or clutching an $11 Heineken in a booming EDM hall, you can thank the city’s cabaret law, a 90-year-old edict that despite being racist in origin and outmoded in practice, remains a very convenient cudgel for the city to wield against local businesses. Many valiant attempts to repeal it have been made over the years. None have succeeded.

So begins a piece by Lauren Evans in a recent issue of The Village Voice, one of the most venerable of New York City’s free ‘street’ papers. Lauren goes on to report that the law, which dates back to 1926. In its current form, the cabaret law prohibits dancing by three or more people in any “room, place or space in the city... to which the public may gain admission,” and includes “musical entertainment, singing, dancing or other form[s] of amusement.”

Read the full article here… 

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Jimmy Breslin: The Last Word

I discovered the writing of Jimmy Breslin less than twelve months ago, and I have been making up for lost time ever since. At last count, I have eight eBooks by Jimmy Breslin on my iPad, and I am working my way through all of them slowly but surely. Sadly, Breslin, who was 88, died earlier this year after long and illustrious career in journalism, which he followed up with an equally illustrious career as an author of (mostly) crime novels, which drew on his many years as a reporter in New York City.

The New York Times’ ‘Last Word’ series are video obituaries of prominent Americans, among them politicians, sportspeople, writers, directors, and musicians. 

Here is an obituary from the New York Times that provide more information about this man. If you are into reading, I highly recommend that you seek out his books in printed form or in electronic form. You won’t be disappointed.

Vancouver Island’s enchanting quarry gardens

Quarries are not generally noted for their elegance, but the glorious Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island show a makeover at its very best. Amanda McInerney paid a visit the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, off the coast of Canada. The gardens have been developed on the site of an exhausted quarry owned by Robert Butchart. In 1909, when the limestone extraction was completed, Robert’s wife Jenny set about turning the quarry pit into a sunken garden.

Read the full article here…

Australia’s Northern Territory

My one and only visit to the Northern Territory took place in 1983, during a brief visit to Alice Springs and Uluru (previously known as Ayers Rock). Somewhere on my Bucket List is a plan to visit that region of the Northern Territory we call the Top End. Thankfully, Monica Tan, writing for the Guardian, has put together a comprehensive guide to the Northern Territory that has reminded me of my previous all too brief visit, and reminded me as well, that I need to see more of this amazing country.

Read the full article here…

Uluru (Ayers Rock) Climb to Close?

~ The big Australian travel story of the past 24 hours is a proposal to close the controversial climb to the top of Uluru/Ayers Rock.

‘Controversial’ because the traditional owners of Uluru have been lobbying for this to happen for many years, while tourists, travel industry operators, the government of the Northern Territory (and now the Federal Opposition), have fought against the proposal.

A draft management plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was released yesterday, recommending a ban for cultural and environmental reasons.

Currently, tourists visiting Uluru are left to make there own decisions regarding whether or not to climb Uluru. Effectively, they must decide for themselves whether they will ignore the wishes of the traditional Aboriginal owners, or whether they will respect them. Now that choice may be taken out of their hands.

Donald Fraser, a traditional owner of Uluru and a former chairman of the Uluru Kata Tjuta Board of Management has long been disturbed by the sight of people climbing the monolith.

“It's a very sensitive area,” he said in a radio interview. “There's a lot of things involved in climbing. Firstly the danger of people falling down and killing themselves,” Mr. Fraser said. And his concerns are real. More than 35 people have died while climbing Uluru, often in extreme heat. In fact, there is already a ban on climbing the rock whenever the temperature reaches 35C (95F).

Uluru is visited by around 350,000 people a year, about half of whom are from overseas. According to the Government's figures, about 100,000 people climb the 346-metre high rock each year against the wishes of the traditional owners.

However, some operators already ask people on their tours not to climb the rock.

Phil Taylor, a tour operator based in Alice Springs said, “We respect the wishes of the traditional owners, and explain to the people the cultural significance that Uluru has for the Anangu people. As a result of that, our figures show that 95 per cent of the passengers that we carry do not climb the rock,” Mr. Taylor said.

Of course there is a lot more to Uluru than just the chance to climb it.

Many tourists go to Uluru seeking to interact with Indigenous people and to be exposed to their culture. Simply climbing Uluru does not give them that opportunity. In fact, most visitors will never be given the chance to even talk with the traditional owners during their visit to the site.

Traditional owner, Donald Fraser says the idea isn't to drive tourists away, but to give tourists and Indigenous people a richer experience in the park.

“There's a lot of other things for the people to see; walk around and learn culture and everything else in a steady way, not only the climb. We're not hunting the tourists away, we're inviting them to come and learn about us and about our culture,” Mr. Fraser said.

Another traditional owner of Uluru, Vince Forrester, said he was relieved a ban on climbing the iconic rock was one step closer to becoming a reality. He said the rock was sacred to the local Aboriginal people and traditional owners have wanted the climb closed since the park was handed back to them in 1985.

Mr Forrester said tourism operators should not be concerned about the closure. "The visitors will get more information by walking around the base of Uluru and getting told the stories which Aboriginal people are available to do," he said.

Commenting on some of the environmental concerns, the Director of National Parks, Peter Cochrane, said there were concern about erosion, and "…there are no toilets on the top of the rock. So human behaviour up there means that we get run-off fouling water holes, and having impacts on plants and animals and the health of Aboriginal kids who play in those water holes," he said.

Clearly, Mr Cochrane was being very circumspect here. This behaviour is akin to visitors urinating against the ‘Wailing Wall’ in Jerusalem, or defecating in the grounds of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Given that Uluru is probably the most sacred of all Aboriginal sacred sites, it is hard to know how one could treat their culture with less respect – or offend them more.

The draft management plan, which is open to public comment for the next two months, notes that recent surveys show 98 per cent of people would not be put off visiting the area if they were not allowed to climb the rock. The plan could come into effect within 18 months, but must first go through a consultation process and be signed off by Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.

More Information
Listen to an ABC radio interview about the proposed ban here…

Or you can read more here...

And here… Plan to ban climbers from Uluru…

Image courtesy of AAP