Current NRL season odds

Just fyi. Go the Cowboys!

Vote FIOS for Townsville in 2042

Now, this is my sort of broadband!

I'm guessing his day isn't going that well....

Thought your day was shitty?

and another angle

Divers Rich and Ally thank their rescuers

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet and photograph Richard Neely and Allyson Dalton recently only hours after they were rescued from 19 hours adrift off Australia's Whitsunday coast after being left behind on a scuba diving trip.

I shot this as an exclusive for Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper and the pics went to publications around the world within 24 hours of their publication in the Sunday Mirror.

Rich and Ally became instant celebrities due to their harrowing ordeal in the Pacific and jetted off to the US to make appearances on US talk and breakfast television.

Today they returned to Townsville to thank their rescuers, and it was a great opportunity to enjoy a beer with them and talk about their ordeal and the trappings of instant fame!

Australia, The Movie trailer released

The first trailer for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann film has been released. It is available in 480P, 720P and 1080P at this link. It looks FANTASTIC!!!

See all my pics from the movie set at http://www.cameronlaird.com/gallery/2849094_SoQ3t

What a load of bollocks!

Trust an Aussie icon to play with itself in the middle of a worldwide sporting broadcast!  What a classic!

Still testing Animoto

I have thrown another folder of my pics at Animoto and a song from my library and pretty happy with the results. Animoto tell me that they will be offering SD and HD resolutions soon, cool! Feel free to let me know what you think of this!

I'm really starting to love Nine Inch Nails

Up until a couple of months ago when Nine Inch Nails released their Ghosts albums (I blogged about it here) I hadn't even listened to a single NIN track.  Now they have earnt some of my hard-earned cash that I am really happy to have given it to them. I understand that from each CD sale that an artist makes through a music store they earn not much more than $1.00.  Their record companies, wholesaler, retailers, management etc are hoovering up the rest of the cash. But not Nine Inch Nails.  They are giving away much of their music and offering options to buy special merchandise and higher quality audio in the hope that it will attract audiences to live concerts in the future.
A NIN media release recently quoted
"Nine Inch Nails' 36-track instrumental opus Ghosts I-IV, released March 2 via NIN.com, has amassed a first week total of 781,917 transactions (including free and paid downloads as well as orders for physical product), resulting in a take of $1,619,420 USD.
"These figures represent the most relevant and contemporary metric for measuring how Nine Inch Nails' music is reaching its fans," said NIN manager Jim Guerinot.
As previously reported, the $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition of Ghosts I-IV immediately sold out its run of 2500. The $5 Download, $10 2XCD set and $75 Limited Edition Deluxe versions are still available at NIN.com. The $10 2XCD SET will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, April 8 in North America, and April 7 in the UK and most European territories. A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8. Ghosts I-IV has been released under the Creative Commons license."
And now Metallica, originally one of the most ardent crusaders against online music file-sharing have changed their tune.  They now appear to be planning to follow the lead of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails - The Age wrote about it recently here
Big record companies like Sony BMG, Warner, EMI and Universal must be starting to worry about their futures.  Their biggest loss to date was when Madonna left Warner after 25 years to sign a US$120 million 10 year deal with a concert promoter.  Now big name bands are releasing music for free on the internet?  I say the writing is on the wall...

Lovin' Animoto.com

I've only just discovered a new online slideshow service that really rocks. Thanks to Leo and Amber from Net@Nite for the introduction! Here's a quick sample of the service using a few of my pics of model Hofit Golan I shot at the Palazzo Versace on Australia's Gold Coast.

An amazing watch and a more amazing video!

What an amazing bit of CGI to show off the Urwerk 202 Automatic - Twin Turbine Hammerhead watch!  Please tell me there is a HD version of this video in digital surround sound...

Excellent political cartoon!

Not sure if you are following the US Primaries but the race between Obama and Clinton to lead the Democrats into next year's election is a real battle.  Obama seems to have a lead that will be hard to beat and this cartoon from The St. Louis Post Dispatch really sums up the current race!

JT & Charlie on the announcement of Kangaroo selection

I shot this today at a press conference launching JT's new "Electrifying" memorabilia piece.  JT spoke about the memorabilia and then both he and Webb talked about their inclusion into the Kangaroos squad to take on New Zealand in the Centenary test.

Got Milk?

I spent a tough day in the studio on Sunday with 22 girls from the North Queensland Cowboys HotSquad - tough, real tough!  Anyway, I'm real happy with the results so should have something to show soon.  In the meantime I did a job for a dairy company with the lovely Renee and Emma.  The pics will be made into lifesize cutouts promoting their flavoured milk products.

What is Got Milk? - The Got Milk website

Mmmm, fresh coffee...

You may be aware I've developed an appreciation for a really good cup of coffee.
I've got my Rancilio Silva at home which, with its new PID kit, is giving me a "God shot" virtually every time I turn it on.
At the other end of the scale I've had some truly awful coffees as I've travelled throughout Australia and south-east Asia.Like the time in Rockhampton a local donut shop poured instant coffee into their espresso machine portafilter, then heated the milk to sub-nuclear temperatures.
A quick plug: a colleague of mine is selling gourmet coffee, roasted fresh daily.They Express Post and have a money back guarantee. At the moment, if you sign up for their newsletter, you get a bonus sample of their coffee with your first purchase, whether that's 500g, 1kg or more. They've got some interesting coffee articles as well. Plus, if you click on the link below, and sign up, I'll get some free coffee when I buy my next order.
You don't want to deprive me of free coffee do you?
Visit http://www.roastandpost.com.au/offers/CameronLairdblog.htm to take up the offer.

Safari and eBay - is it just me who is having a problem?

Is it just me or is Safari 3.1 and eBay not playing happily together?  All I get when I am trying to add a description is html entry only like below...  Anyone else?

Davis Cup tie wraps up in Townsville

Well, just as I predicted a few days ago it was a 5-0 drubbing of Thailand at the hands of Lleyton Hewitt, Peter Luczak, Chris Guccione and Paul Henley.  The win guarantees Australia a spot in the September playoffs, with the strong win sparing them a showdown with Serbia, who last year bundled the Aussies out 4-1.

See all my pics from the tie at www.cameronlaird.com/daviscup

Webby set to battle Willie in the ring

Cowboys enforcer Carl Webb looks set to meet Willie Mason in the ring!  With the raw power and boxing skills he showed me yesterday while shooting him for the Daily Telegraph I can tell you one thing, I wouldn't want to be facing him in the ring!

 

See more of my pics of Webby by clicking this link

Lleyton leads the Aussie charge

Lleyton Hewitt will lead Australia against Thailand in a Davis Cup tie to be played over the weekend. My prediction.... Australia in three matches - last two will be dead rubbers.

Lleyton certainly looked to be taking this tie seriously though when I shot him this morning.

Townsville's new council is sworn in

 

Townsville's new look council was sworn in today led by former Thuringowa chief Les Tyrell.  Only five of the twelve councillors have had council experience but they make up for this with their enthusiasm.  Go Guys!

(Seated from left) Mayor Les Tyrell, Cr Brian Hewitt, Cr Suzanne Blom, Cr Natalie Marr, Cr Deanne Bell, Cr Jenny Hill
(Standing from left) Deputy Mayor David Crisafulli, Cr Ray Gartrell, Cr Dale Last, Cr Rob McCahill, Cr Jenny Lane, Cr Vern Veitch, Cr Tony Parsons
Photo: Cameron Laird

Expensive shipping prices?

So, I'm in the process of changing from PC to Mac and thought I might do the right thing and get the Applecare extended warranty. Plenty of people on the net have purchased their Applecare on eBay, it is perfectly usable and Apple will cover it just as if it was bought in an Apple store. So, on I go to eBay and it is WAY cheaper than through Apple..... that is until I see the shipping prices to Townsville, Australia  Haha