One of the crime comic books of the 1940s Doctor Fredric Wertham found most offensive in his book Seduction of the Innocent was Crime Does Not Pay. I have read through Crime Does Not Pay issue 63 and found nothing one would not expect to see at the local cinema in the USA, Britain and Australia in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of the stories are of a good quality and so are the illustrations plus the bad guys do lose. It was worth reading, however, to find out what all the fuss was about. What I found was a storm in a tea cup.
Night to Dawn 39 is out with Hearts Rule by Rod Marsden. The story takes you briefly into the world of Dragon Queen which is coming out this year.
Here are some illustrations from Night to Dawn 39 that jolly the stories therein along. Night to Dawn started out as a horror magazine dedicated to the vampire but, over the years, has moved on to also include ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and some dark science fiction such as yours truly can deliver.
There is good news on another front. The library in Wollongong is happy to take over two hundred of my photos of Street art and special occasions in the Wollongong area. Here we have car park art made in 2008 Lutz Lieske for the pub at Corrimal.
There is a touch of humor in some of the wall paintings done for the Corrimal pub car park by Lutz Lieske in 2008.
I recently found this wondrous king snake in a back street of Cronulla, New South Wales.
Not far from the king snake there was a frog quite possibly living in terror of the king snake. There was also a king bird.
Strange art on display on the streets of Cronulla happen to be similar to weird art on the streets of Wollongong. There is a strong possibility it is the same artist at work.
The first professional play staged in Cronulla this year has been sold out. The next play will probably also be sold out quickly because it is a Sherlock Holmes whodunit. It is sure to appeal to the many Sherlock Holmes fans that are around.
last time I was in Cronulla there was bag pipe music in the park and pigeons lazing about in the sun. There were lots of people enjoying the surf on a warm day at the end of summer.
A recent trip to Mt. Keira with Andrew Wood didn’t result in seeing much in the way of bird life. I saw a Currawong. Andrew saw a tree creeper. We were entertained by the variety of fungus to be found in the area.
From Mt. Keira you can look out over the Wollongong area and see what’s happening including the steel works at Port Kembla letting off steam.
Sometimes it is possible to find beauty in a muddy creek. This grebe was found in Bellambi Creek on a day when the creek was indeed muddy.
Recently near Corrimal Beach I met up with two Dollar Birds. After discussing the photos I took with members of Illawarra Birders on a get together night, it turns out that one is an adult and the other is young. Both were chattering away at the time. I tried to get their bird song on camera but without success. Unfortunately, the wind cut across and so spoilt the recording. Even so I got some beaut photos of these birds. I was also told I am not likely to see Dollar Birds in the Corrimal area again until next year.
Here is the young Dollar Bird. Notice there isn’t a purplish/blue bib. Still she was quite a noisy and lively specimen and a real treasure.
Here is the adult Dollar Bird. Notice the magnificent purplish/blue bib. He wasn’t quite as noisy as his younger companion but he did make his presence known. I look forward to seeing them again.
A recent walk south of Wollongong, along a footpath where, on either side of you there’s swampland, resulted in the sighting of these tiny and fast moving birds called Golden-headed Cisticola. Being able to capture one in flight was a surprise.
On the way to Jerrara Dam, on the same day I saw the Golden-headed Cisticolas, we came across a White-bellied Cuckooshrike, which Andrew Wood tells me is an unusual sighting for that area. It was a magnificent specimen that sat patiently while his photo was taken.
Not much of interest was found in Jerrara Dam that day. After leaving Jerrara Dam, proving that great sightings can happen anywhere, we came across three Brown Cuckoo-Doves in bush along the side of the road. One kept going back to the same perch to be photographed by me that I felt was quite considerate of the bird.
A trip to Kiama the same day provided an example of local art. There was this woman sitting where I wanted to take the picture of the art. She may have thought I cared to take a photo of her which was not what I wanted at all. Some people are so full of themselves.
There were also warnings at Kiama about the corona virus still being active. It seems that it will be a while before this virus has finished with our society as a whole. We still have to wear masks on trains and public gatherings are still awkward. Not getting harmed or killed by the virus remains on everyone’s mind. Hopefully that will soon change for the better when we are able to be inoculated against it. The warning on this sign obviously has to do with the summer just ended. The virus, however, can be most active during the change of seasons as we enter autumn. On a more positive note, the blow hole was active that day and I was able to get nice film footage of it erupting with gushes of water. It was a windy day which naturally brought out the best in the blow hole.
There wasn’t much to be seen of Kiama birdlife other than some gulls and a pelican. I did, however, capture a Currawong making himself comfortable on someone’s porch. I suppose it was a good place to get out of the wind.
At Spring Creek we came across lots of flying foxes, all making quite a racket despite it being only mid-afternoon. They may not have been all that happy with us being there.
At Spring Creek hide I caught up with the Back Swans that seem to have come to call the place home as well as a few Great Cormorants and Hardhead Ducks.
After leaving Spring Creek we came upon our first and only flying predator for the day, a Kestrel. This is not the largest bird of prey type to be found in the Illawarra. It was, however, a nice find.