Book Review: Burrunjor

 BURRUNJOR

 The Search For Australia's Living Tyrannosaurus 

Author:                           Rex & Heather Gilroy

Publisher:                         URU Publications

Type:                                 Soft Cover

Pages:                                336

Genre:                               non-fiction

Published:                        2011

ISBN:                              9780987226204
                                         9781326839390 

 This book explores the fascinating fact that people, often through no fault of their own, continue to encounter large reptilian beasts in the outback and rugged bush of Australia.

 The book itself is well made, it is resplendent with black and white photos and drawing thorough. One criticism i have of some of the photos is that rock art and foot prints seem to have been outlined. While i understand this is so they appear easier in print, i can also see some "skeptics" scoffing that the evidence was just drawn on in chalk. While i am sure this is not the case, it is a shame that maybe two pictures couldn't be included for some of them, one with outlines and one with out for comparison.

 Speaking of evidence we have examples of whiteness testimony, and remember one witness claiming you did a crime in court is enough to get you killed even in some democracy's. I don't think any of these witnesses had any benefit in coming forward, in fact most were ridiculed by friends and family when they told of their harrowing encounters.
 We are shown tracks many of them have been measured, photographed, sketched and even cast in plaster. I should note that these tracks match no accepted extant animal species in Australia, or the world for that matter. And it should also be noted that these tracks are not fossilized! Meaning they are from recent footfall of some unknown animal. 
 Evidence of kills that could only have been from a large carnivore have been discovered, in some cases witnesses have caught the culprit in the act. Some of the poor animals have been prize winning cattle, not something any farmer is going to kill on a lark.
 In a similar vein the beast has been seen destroying property, I can attest to the difficulty in dealing with an insurance claim for a natural disaster, i cant imagine the insurer being any less helpful, but i recon blaming property damage on a creature thought to be extinct might get you there.

 Now for those who, due to a woeful misunderstanding of scientific method, believe that such a creature can not exist because it has not been declared extant by established science, a common theme will emerge upon reading any Cryptozoology book. When witnesses go to establishment scientists they are often ridiculed, scientific institutions in Australia have a long history of "losing" evidence, and so called "skeptics" professional or not, have a bad habit of making unfounded claims without looking at or considering the available evidence. The witness only "obligation" is to provide whatever evidence they have, then it is up to "the scientist" to investigate that evidence.

 So enough of my ranting lets get back to this book. The forward entices the reader into exploring the subject of tyrannosaur like beasts that have been sighted within Australia (and New Guinea) from way back in the Aboriginal Dreamtime to at least the publish date of this book.

 The book looks at what the beast could be and how it might have come to still be roaming the Australian bush. It should be noted that this book appears on some whack-a-doodle young earth websites. These donkeys seem to think, by some fantastic leaps of acrobatic style logic,  that any existing prehistoric creature somehow proves their particular brand of religion. For the record this book does not in any way support a "young earth" fallacy, the book even shows some fossilized prints and skeletons. It also does not support any unscientific anti-evolutionary nonsense. 
 Rex Gilroy has been an avid explorer of Australian mysteries since 1957, he is known as the father of Australian Cryptozoology and associating him and his work with such anti-science does a disservice to him and to the whole scientific field.

 I can recommend this book to anyone interested in Australia, history, Aboriginal culture, dinosaurs, and Cryptozoology.

Also

Halloween in Australia

Its not Halloween in Australia 

 

 Its Beltane night in Australia as i am writing this, i am currently single and have no plans to connect with any other Pagans tonight.
 For the last few years the ignorant masses in Australia have stated to trick or treat on October 31st which is Halloween and Samhain in the northern hemisphere. These people don't seem to realise its not Autumn here, but i shouldn't be surprised these are probably the same people that celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule at the height of Summer.

 I don't even know if we can blame them, the shops are still selling all the Samhain paraphernalia at the wrong time of year, and it seems respect for the religious holy day has been ignored in favor of cheap commercialism. 

  I have lamented this take over of Beltane before here Halloween 2015 and i have been saddened by the lack of interest in Samhain 2015.

 I don't know what to do about it. There are fewer trick or treaters at my door this Beltane, probably due to me politely informing the adults that they had the wrong night in previous years. However if we accept that those avoiding my house are the same people that know facts, then that would mean that these people are purposely being religiously bigoted, and that's pretty sad.

 If there were more Pagans in my small town then perhaps we could make a big show of trick or treating at the right time of year. But sadly there isn't and i feel that these people would just start double dipping so to speak. 

 Possibly the worst part is that i would love to share our most holy night with the non-Pagans, but no one comes to my door on Halloween/Samhain.

 If you know anything about Beltane, it isn't really an appropriate night for responsible guardians to send their children to strangers houses. It negatively effects our holy Beltane rites and it basically means we have had to delay any real celebrations until well after the streets are cleared of the seasonally deluded and their brood.

 I had mused in the past abut celebrating  Día de Muertos or the Day of the Dead on the 31st, perhaps doing the Day of the Dead thing early in the evening and then getting back to the Beltane celebrations later in the night. However i didn't know if The Day of the Dead was seasonal or an actual date (dates really), and i was also uncomfortable with the cultural appropriation aspects of doing this. But i have since discovered that The Day of the Dead was originally an Aztec festival, and was originally celebrated in Summer! So that set the time of year about right, and this year among the tatty "Halloween" merchandise i saw a number of Day of the Dead items, mostly calavera (candy skulls), so it appears the cultural appropriation cat is already out of the bag. Also i feel less guilty about this aspect due to my dealings with La Santa Muerte.

 So what to do? Tonight more than others i actually find myself annoyed that the ignorance, laziness, or religious insensitivity of others had made me concentrate on Samhain when i could be celebrating Beltane.

Door to door for Día de Muertos

 Obviously you should only go door to door for  Día de Muertos, if you are actually celebrating the festival as respectfully as you can. An appropriate costume would be colorful and have candy skull make up or a devil mask. a funny poem might facilitate the exchange for lollies.

  Going door to door for Beltane

 If people really must go Mummering on Beltane perhaps we can at least expect them to do so respectfully. A modified Hoodening could work. You should really only go door to door on Beltane if your family is needy, or perhaps you have at least given to a respectable charity.
 Dressing as fairys, goats and other horned animals, rabbits, bees, and the Obby Oss (Mari Lwyd) might all be appropriate.
 Singing the Obby Oss carol or a Beltane song, a Beltane blessing, or reciting a clever rhyme could easily replace the inappropriate "trick or treat?".

Going door to door on Halloween / Samhain

 Make sure you have the correct night, its April30th / May 1st in Australia. Only go to peoples houses that are participating, they will have "spooky" decorations and will have their front light on. Go in a costume, you have to put some effort in.

TIME article outrages those against animal cruelty

TIME for a resignation?

I used to think TIME was a reputable magazine and source of news. I had placed it into the same category as National Geographic, ABC, or Huffington Post.
This was until my partner posted on Facebook this article entitled Australians Are Trying to Decide if It’s O.K. to Swear at Sheep.

 What this TIME article is glossing over and trying to trivialise is the PETA expose of the widespread abuse and mutilation of sheep in the Australian wool industry.

My own thoughts on the issue and its initial response can be found in my post; PETA Wool Exposé.

How the 'TIME Staff'' could watch those videos and read that report and then write a story without expressing disgust at the physical abuse, astounds me. 
The story focuses on swearing at the sheep, and does not address the seriousness of the other abuses uncovered.

I have contacted TIME for an explanation and asked for those TIME staff to be fired or make a public apology and am awaiting a response.
If i had a TIME subscription i would be canceling it.