Shaggy Dog Comments...

The gathering of the collective unconscious known as the Nimbin Mardi Grass is this weekend. By timely coincidence, writer John Birmingham (of He Died with a Felafel in his Hand fame), has just released Dopeland, his opus on Australia's marijuana culture. Now Birmingham's been known to have the odd toke, and his two years of research brought him to Nimbin, where he caught up with the HEMP (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) mob, who are responsible for this week's carry-on. We think Birmingham sums up things more eloquently than we ever could, so over to you John: "I could go to my grave a happy motherf#@•er if I never had to see another naked f#@•ing hippy dancing around out in front of the Nimbin cop shop waving a skanky old mull bush like a battle standard. Why do these guys think the sight of some madman's leathery nuts flying hither and yon is going to convince the mortgage belt to turn on their local representatives and demand free doobies for all? Perhaps because they smoke too much?"

Shaggy has a soft spot for photography, and there's an excellent exhibition currently on show at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery. Titled The Good, the Great and the Gifted: Camera Portraits by Yousuf Karsh of Ottawa and Athol Shmith of Melbourne. It features some stunning portraits by Armenian-born Karsh, who died last year, aged 94, ranging from Fidel Castro to Pablo Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ernest Hemmingway, Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier.

His 1941 portrait of British PM Sir Winston Churchill is an icon, in which Churchill's scowl supposedly captures the wartime leader's unyielding resolve. There's a wonderful story behind the picture: Karsh had just seconds to take it as Churchill left a meeting. Karsh would amuse, engage or appease his famous subjects in order to achieve his striking and distinctive portraits, but was having no luck with Churchill, who wouldn't stop drawing on his cigar. So Karsh leant across, apologised to Churchill, and took the cigar from an unimpressed PM's hand. Thus the look everyone believes is the British leader staring down Hitler is in fact a miffed chap who wants his cigar back. The exhibition runs until the end of June. There's a free floor talk at the gallery this Saturday, at 11.30am by Anne O'Hehir, Assistant Curator of Photography from the National Gallery of Australia, on the work of Yousuf Karsh and Athol Shmith.

Operation Tortoise, the 12-day police holiday road blitz, ended on Sunday with a staggering 20,200 speeding offences, along with 10 deaths and 1817 major crashes. Some of the things police detected included a woman travelling at 150km/h on a single-lane road near Goulburn, with six kids in the car. Perhaps its idiots like that which led to the surprising results of a national survey on speeding and enforcement commissioned by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Forty per cent of Australians would like to see more speed cameras on the roads and 23 per cent want tougher speeding penalties. Only about 12 per cent want fewer cameras or lighter penalties. The survey revealed broad support for quite strict enforcement of speed limits, with 78 per cent supporting an enforcement tolerance of 5 km/h or less in 60 km/h urban speed zones (including 29 per cent supporting zero tolerance), and 53 per cent supporting an enforcement tolerance of 5 km/h or less in 100 km/h rural speed zones (including 24 per cent supporting zero tolerance). The full report, Survey on Speeding and Enforcement (CR 214), is available at: www.atsb.gov.au

Locally-based animal welfare group Animal Rights & Rescue Group (ARRG) are holding their second Pet adoptathon, this weekend, May 3-4, at the Old Ballina Pound site off the Pacific Highway (next to Ballina Bowl). They hope to find a loving place for up to 30 homeless animals. Each day runs from 10am to 3pm, and if you're looking for a pet then ARRG has plenty of kittens and puppies, as well as adult cats and dogs. Even if you don't want a pet, you're welcome to come along and talk to ARRG volunteers about the rescue work they do. For kids, ‘Cuddles', the human-sized black and white cat will be handing out hugs and lots of free goodies, and there's other pet care prizes to give away throughout the weekend. And animal trainers and veterinary people will be on call for animal information.

Call ARRG on 6628 1358 or visit www.animalrights.org.au

Among the many quiet achievers recognised last week with the Prime Minister's Centenary Medal was Evans Head resident Ron Doyle (pictured with his wife Betty), who was honoured for his service to the northern NSW community.

Ron played a major role in the establishment of the Coast Guard for the North Coast and is President of the Evans Head Progress Association, Treasurer of the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome Committee Incorporated and also the Dirawong Reserve Trust. Ron has also been a significant player in the establishment of the Museum at Evans Head. Ron doesn't like to be in the ‘public eye' but deserves recognition for the ‘behind-the-scenes' roles he's played – of course with the strong support of Betty.

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