The saying, ‘A face only a mother could love’, has been applied somewhat artfully, if unpleasantly, in the latest road safety initiative out of Geelong’s TAC head office.
The team at Brougham Street this week unveiled ‘Graham’, its concept of the ideal physique for surviving road crashes.
And, it’s fair to say, some might prefer to risk the consequences than look like Graham.
Sculptor Patricia Piccinini, responsible for Canberra’s notorious Skywhale balloon, constructed the odd-looking chap for the TAC under the guidance of road accident research experts.
Consequently, major risk areas were either modified or eliminated from Graham’s artificial body.
For example, Graham lacks a neck to avoid breakage but has a bulbous head full of liquid to protect his brain.
And let’s not forget the lumpy nipple-like structures running down either side of the chest to protect his lungs – hopefully Graham isn’t a day-at-the-beach kind of guy.
TAC boss Joe Calafiore explained that Graham depicted the science of human vulnerability to support Victoria’s new Torwards Zero campaign against road trauma.
Graham will go on display at the State Library until 8 August before, er, hitting the road for a regional tour.
Former Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons appears to be gradually returning to public life – in typically forthright fashion.
This week’s foray was during a gathering of stakeholders to discuss central Geelong’s rejuvenation, a focus of Dazza’s brief mayoral reign, which ended when the Andrews government sacked the council in April.
And apparently he was none too impressed with what he perceived as the slow pace of action, or lack thereof.
A source says the colourfully coiffured character, who’s also a CBD business and property owner, ripped into authorities present for allegedly holding back various initiatives.
Mabye he’s right, maybe he’s wrong, but it’s clear that you can take the Lyons out of City but you can’t take the city out of the Lyons.
An Indy online story this week drew a big response from readers when it revealed the date for the first ferry trial between Portarlington and Docklands.
Numerous prospective passengers and others took to Facebook to welcome the trial after almost a decade of lobbying for a ferry service.
In this week’s paper the operator appeals for support to guarantee the viability of permanent runs across the bay and back.
So now it’s up to locals to make it work.
Double Take recalls the success of Geelong’s use-it-or-lose-it campaign on Jetstar flights at Avalon Airport.
Which begs the obvious slogan for the ferry: ‘Cruise It Or Lose It’.
Get to it, ferry fans.
Also on the Indy’s Facebook page this week was a poignant comment in regard to last week’s story about objectors invoking the legend of a local Aboriginal leader against Telstra’s plans for a phone tower in Western Cemetery.
Baa Nip, or King Billy, and six other Aborigines are buried in a tomb at the cemetery, the objectors have argued, but Daniel Hoffman had other rights issues on his mind.
“The dead also deserve reasonable phone reception and data rates,” he posted below a link to the story.
A grave situation, to be sure.
