Sydney School of Arts & Humanities
Impressions
No 2 - 2025
ISSN 22093265
I thought dinosaurs were extinct, but then ... look what I found!
We go to an awful lot of time and effort searching for months, even years sometimes, in hopes we will find their fossilised remains to be carefully examined and preserved in our museums. There is something inherently human in our need to never lose sight of these amazing beasts, as if their fate is forever tied up with ours, especially as we face the consequences of our own making.
The catastrophe that was about to unfold began one morning in early spring some 66 million years ago. Dinosaur babies staying close to their mothers' sides as they foraged for food, others heading for the river to drink and wash their huge bodies or tend to their wounds from the previous day’s encounters.
Huge Flying dinosaurs gliding overhead through the pristine air. 'Oh, isn’t this marvellous! What a beautiful place to roam and multiply our species!'
What they did not know was that a huge asteroid from a gravitational interaction with giant Jupiter was now on a collision course with earth and that within a matter of minutes the world they had lived happily upon for thousands of years was about to undergo a change so deadly it would completely wipe them out.
With lightning speed, as quiet as it was silent, the huge asteroid hit the Yucatan region in what we now call Mexico, setting off a 10-metre high seismic wave.
Within a few minutes this wave of extreme heat, not unlike the heat from molten rock, incinerated everything for miles around.
The eco system was completely destroyed along with the dinosaurs, their fossilised bones impacted by the blast in such a way that palaeontologists have no doubt as to the force of this deadly event.
The nuclear winter that followed lasted for thousands of years, with only those smaller animals who could burrow deep into the earth's surface escaping the fallout.
It's hard for us to imagine such an event happening today and yet when we watch images on our screens of the wild fires around the world - sudden devastating floods and cyclones - we have a small glimpse into the vast natural forces at work in the universe.
The warning: never get too comfortable!
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Story credits:
Text: Meg Mooney
Photos: C V Williams
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BOOKS FOR SALE
'PUCCINI'S BUTTERFLY'
An original fictional take on the composer Giacomo Puccini's life and times - what inspired him to write Italian opera, the delights and conflicts of his love life, his extraordinary sensitivity, and his single-minded drive to create.
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A celebration of Italian life, both high and low.
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Amazon review
This book is so captivating. Beware that you won’t be able to put it down. So grateful for the opportunity to read it.
NEW PUBLICATION
Paperback $24.99 (new rrp)
Ebook $7.99
Available now at
Ariel Bookshop
in Paddington Sydney
or click through to
Amazon Books
for paperback or ebook copies
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'CLOUDLESS LOVE'
The internet and artificial intelligence disappear overnight in a cloud of confusion.
Where are all the automatons?
They've walked off the job and left humans to cope alone.
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What's next? The tech stuff might be gone but love still triumphs.
A son’s story of the debilitating illness, Anorexia Nervosa, that his single mother suffered from throughout his childhood. Read more
An exciting debut story from writer and poet Ferdinando Manzo, Arco explores man’s battle with the sea in an attempt to seek solace. Read more
BOUNTIFUL
GREEN POWER
Environmentalists who've changed the
Australian landscape
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Featured activists include:
Judith Wright
Bob Brown
Albert Namatjira
Olga Truchanas
Peter Garrett
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Sao Khemawadee Mangrai's memoir of living through good times and bad in Burma before an escape to a new life of freedom. Read More
This Sydney Collection of poetry and pays tribute to a city that has become a second home for Ferdinando Manzo. It describes the city’s soul. Its life. Even its dark side. Read More
Former counsellor, the late Leo Ryan, writing about how people can bring on the changes needed to have a great relationship. Read More
'I Will: A Memoir of Stroke, Renewal and the Power of Song' is Jenny Sheldon's account of recovering her life and voice after being left unable to speak following a stroke. Read More
Author Dr Christine Williams describes what happens over a period of several months as she undergoes treatment for back pain by a Zen Thai Shiatsu bodywork masseur in an ‘Age of Aquarius’ revelation. Read More
Ferdinando Manzo’s poetry features themes of the sea and the emotions, particularly the deeply felt joys and melancholies experienced by men. Read More
A thrilling debut novel from Sydney author Diane Harding, ‘Reported Missing’ follows a couple’s ordeal as they risk everything to save their daughter and grandchildren from her abusive, even murderous, husband. Read More
Geetha Waters’ stories centre on a girl growing up in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the ’60s and ’70s. Read More
A Taste for Diamonds is a love story that spans two continents, from London to Buenos Aires, as Harriett and the man she loves face the consequences of getting involved in the international diamond trade. Read More
Geetha Waters’ engaging selection of short stories is a reflection on Jiddu Krishnamurti’s impact on her education based on her experiences at a school he founded in South India. Read More
A skyful of stars, an architect’s dream house, vengeance and betrayal, immaculate love. Anthology is a collection of short stories across a wide range of themes and styles. Read more
In this first volume of a three part memoir, Wil Roach writes about living within a Caribbean culture in the heart of London, as a child of the ’60s through to the ’80s. Read more
BUSTING OUT
Emerging writers showcase collection of new writing:
*Couchsurfing to rollerskating
* Valentine's Day to uber-sex,
*Mont-Saint-Michel to the Gold Coast.
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What's not to enjoy?
The first full-length biography of Christina Stead (17 July 1902 – 31 March 1983), an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. Read More
Syam Sudhakar’s poetry draws on his cultural roots in Kerala as well as the splendour of its natural habitat. Read More
Sachin Tendulkar's
extraordinary career
The highlights of his brilliant rise to fame. Easy reading based on the popular blog,
'Searching for Sachin'.
The life of the 20th-century philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti was truly astonishing. As this new updated edition shows, people from all over the world would gather to hear him speak. Read More
THE NEW MESSIAH
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A story for film
by Ross Vecchio
This film treatment available to film producers and directors is also of major interest to the general public. Find out more about the charismatic figure Krishnamurti, representing a blend of Eastern culture and Western education, who was adored by millions across the world.
An experience of compulsory quarantine for an Australian traveller returning home during the coronavirus pandemic - after being stranded in Peru when the country's borders were closed.
She was lucky to find a seat on a charter aircraft.
The trials, tribulations and tips on how to get through the ordeal locked on a hotel room for a fortnight.
Amazon Books Review
'I found myself glued to each and every page.' 5 stars
Ingrid Raj’s thesis provides research on a selection of Anglo-Burmese writing published from the period of British rule in Myanmar (formerly Burma) up until 2007. Read More
A mystery thriller set in Sydney by crime writer Peter A Stankovic, featuring a hero struck with amnesia who must recall his identity while battling master criminals. Read More
Nicky Gluch’s memoir, published in 2019, is set in Israel in 2013-14. It explores how the experience of living and studying there led Gluch to pursue a musical career. Read more
Lawrence Goodstone's collection of short stories featuring snapshots of the human condition, set in Australia, ranging over a number of genres from crime to science fiction. Read More