outback

frindley It simply doesn't exist, not even in the Antipodes. Sydney has the prettiest concert hall but Perth's sounds the best; Melbourne and Sydney's orchestras rival each other, as do their universities and their theatre companies; Sydney's harbour wins hands down, while Hobart has one of the best stationery shops, as well as (I nearly forgot) a royal tennis court!!!! Apr 10, 2008

reesetee Yes. Now where is that place? Apr 10, 2008

frindley See, I would want the impossible: the wide open spaces and harsh beauty of the outback, but within cooee of an excellent concert hall, a fine orchestra, several theatre companies and at least two dance companies, with an art museum, a natural history museum, a university with lots of nice neo-Gothic sandstone, a glittering harbour and a really impressive stationery store. I could give the opera company a miss, I guess. Apr 10, 2008

trivet I'm not a fan of the endless prairie - give my drippy coastal rainforest or the smell of a hot Ponderosa pine any day.

Didja know that homsteaders proving land claims on the plains planted trees to break the wind, but in the northwest you usually had to clear trees? Apr 10, 2008

chained_bear I remember reading years ago about the wind on the American prairie, and how it drove some people crazy--literally crazy--when they moved there to "settle the frontier" in the nineteenth century. The wind just never stops. At the time, I thought that was a very strange thing--never having spent time on the prairie--but now that I'm older, when we have windy weather here on the non-prairie east coast for just a day or two, the constant blowing does get under my skin. I always think of those pioneer women out there, working their tails off alone in the house (or with children to care for), trying not to go insane from hearing the constant wind.

I can definitely see how open spaces can get to you over time, if you didn't grow up in them or don't like them. Apr 10, 2008

trivet Me, I love the wide open spaces (all too often, from the comfort of a city). But I grew up in the Pacific northwest, where I'm always relieved to return after a sojourn in the east. Apr 10, 2008

reesetee If you guys just gave away the plot, I'll...well, I'll think of some type of revenge. ;-)

I agree with chained_bear on the wide-open spaces idea, at least for those of us who've grown up on the increasingly crowded east coast of America. I've been out west and it's beautiful, but I was ready to come home when it came time. I suppose it depends in part on your background and experience whether you like that sort of environment as a place to be rather than visit.

That said, I still want to see Australia, outback or no. :-) Apr 10, 2008

chained_bear You're missing the character arcs, which are the core of that particular plot. Most audiences today tend to discount character-centered drama (at least in movies, though probably not theatre). Apr 10, 2008

bilby All aboard for Tallinn. Apr 10, 2008

frindley I'll second bilby: the Australian outback is amazing to contemplate. But I'll be more distressed if I don't make it to Tallinn before I die. Apr 10, 2008

bilby 3:10 to Yuma ... I didn't get it. Countless people are willing to die in violent ways so a baddie can get put on a train to go to court. And the baddie, who's an Australian pretending to be an American and must have been cast for his outstanding Outbackness, appears to only pretend to escape, so woulda got on train anyway. Bandit's honour, you know. If I can think of a sillier plot premise I'll be on the next plane to Hollywood. Didn't even have that showdown-with-eternity stare of a decent existentialist pic.

Geez, I just remembered I'm moving house today so Hollywood's out. Apr 10, 2008

chained_bear Well, most Americans don't like the wide-open spaces of the West, either, but it's part of the American mythology and in that sense everyone still finds it fascinating. (BTW, just watched the remake of "3:10 to Yuma" again and it's still really good. Mm mm mm. I loves me summa dat Western stuff.)

For me, just the word "outback" conjures the smell and light of the place, the way the colors change as the sun moves. Reesetee, you really should try to go. It's an incredible place, like no other. Apr 10, 2008

bilby Truth is most Australians abhor the outback. As a word and a myth it's fine. Apr 10, 2008

reesetee I do too, but not because I've ever been to Australia. Mostly because I'd like to go to Australia. And also because I don't like the restaurant chain. Apr 10, 2008

chained_bear It's a shame, because I really do think of Australia, not the restaurant chain, when I hear this word. But I suspect that's unusual. Apr 9, 2008

frindley Also embarrassing restaurant chain whose menu once prompted frindley to write to the management in disgust. What? No pavlova?! Apr 9, 2008

chained_bear Australian. The back of beyond. Back of the black stump. A remote area, the "boonies."

"Of course, you get various opinions of Outback hospitality."
W. K. HARRIS, _Outback in Australia_ i. 2, 1913. Feb 6, 2007