Is this the next economic bubble?

We're on the verge of a new tech bubble. Source: Supplied

AN ECONOMIC bubble refers to swift growth leading up to jarring deflation.

In modern technology, the most notorious and devastating example of this has to be that of the dotcom bubble. With the rapidly expanding potential of the internet, company after company sprung up during the bubble's beginning, hoping to capitalise on the boom in web-based businesses. Then, when the bubble eventually burst, many of these companies went away, failing in spectacular fashion.

Today, it feels as if we're on the verge of a new tech bubble. Whether or not this bubble will collapse or stabilise and cease to be a bubble altogether remains to be seen. But if there's one sector of technology where the constant growth seems almost unsustainable, it has to be the mobile app market.

Fast Company's Aaron Shapiro observed all the way back in 2010, "My app library — littered with exactly 87 apps I used once and never touched again — now reminds me of a graveyard of defunct company logos from the dotcom boom. Like the go-go days of 1999 when everyone had to have a web site, today everyone wants an app."

Shapiro's words ring as true if not truer today than they first did four years ago. Take this week's announcement that Taco Bell has launched a mobile app. As TechCrunchsnakily reports, "This is great, because sometimes saying 'Two tacos, please' and waiting 19 seconds is way, way too much work. Oh, and good news for the sober folk: food ordered via the mobile app can be picked up through the drive-through. They've eliminated the need to get out of the car; they've mostly eliminated the need to speak to anyone."

The growth in the mobile app market is unsustainable. Source: Getty Images

The review isn't completely sarcastic, however. "All ribbing aside," writes the site's Greg Kumparak, "this is undoubtedly going to be the norm at fast food chains within the next few years, so points to Taco Bell for getting in there early. McDonald's reportedly has a mobile ordering app in the works, so they beat ol' Ronald to the punch here."

In fairness to Taco Bell, its app does make sense from a business standpoint, and outpacing other fast food giants is no small accomplishment for the chain. And yet, this news still reinforces the growing pointlessness of app culture as a whole. Like Kumparak points out, you're not really saving more than a few seconds at a time, which, unless you got to Taco Bell an inordinate amount, shouldn't have major bearing on your daily life. And you have to go through the drive-though regardless.

With app development at an highest high, it's logical to question how many offerings like the Taco Bell app the market can sustain, and what the larger implications of the app boom mean for technology as a whole.

The problem with the rise of apps is the same problem inherent in all of modern technology: it's the push and pull of figuring out if technology intended to make our lives easier does so, or if it actually does the exact opposite. Anyone with a smartphone knows this struggle. Something as simple as email can leave you overwhelmed, and the ability to constantly check it while you're on the go (though in theory, a luxury) is at often more oppressive than helpful. Add to this ever-growing concerns over whether our reliance on technology will lead to a world of addicted zombies, dumbed-down by the conditioning of little black rectangles we rely on for everything.

Does technology intended to make our lives easier actually do the opposite? Source: Supplied

Alarmism aside, there does come a point where it's worth pondering if we're spending more time using technological shortcuts than if we eschewed the digital route altogether. This is where apps come in. Since Apple first launched the 'There's an App for That' ad campaign, the concept of there being an app for everything has only moved farther away from being a joke, and closer toward becoming a reality. But when does an app become more hassle than it's worth? To use the Taco Bell app, you have to set up an account, find a store location, and then go to said store, like you would've in the first place. The feature that allows you to customise your food, on the other hand is an added novelty, but again, it all comes down to saving you a few measly seconds.

There's an excellent illustration of this in the first season of HBO's Silicon Valley, wherein lead character Richard attempts to buy a margarita machine. After finding out that Richard works for a hot start-up company, an employee at the store he's in proceeds to pitch him an app that locates your car in the parking lot you left it in. Richard responds by asking why you wouldn't just write down the section of the parking lot where you left your car to begin with.

When does an app become more hassle than it's worth? Source: Supplied

Now, as anyone who's ever been lost in a parking lot or garage knows, finding your way back to you car can be a colossal pain, especially if you've left it in one of those large, mazelike structures attached to shopping malls and megastores. But the solution of simply writing where you parked down as to remember for later is so obvious that an app to help you do this wouldn't only be a waste of time and money, it would be a waste of common sense. If you can't remember to use your basic intellect to write down where you parked, that's on you. Sure, we've all done it, but there's a difference between using technology to make life simpler and an overcorrection that lowers the bar for everybody.

Then there are those apps that would be useful were they not superfluous based on other apps which already perform the same function. For instance the Seamless app, a partner with GrubHub, helps you locate and order food from nearby restaurants. But this hasn't stopped various restaurants from creating their own delivery/take-out apps, just to look technologically hip and relevant. The Taco Bell app actually makes more sense in this light, since they are a chain. But for non-fast food restaurants, the implementation of apps is pure overkill. Is it nice to have options? Yes, sometimes. But when you already have an app that facilitates food pick-up and delivery under one umbrella, why waste space downloading more that do the same thing but for only one restaurant?

Even if the app bubble doesn't burst due to an increasingly crowded marketplace, the future of app development is looking more and more unsustainable. The reason is simple: There isn't enough money to go around. A study from technology research firm Gartner found that by 2018, less than .01 per cent of all mobile apps will be considered profitable.

Sometimes saying 'Two tacos, please' and waiting 19 seconds is way too much work. Source: AP

This isn't just bad news for mobile apps, it's also indicative of more serious challenges for the greater technology sector. Network World's Frederic Paul states that, "Despite continuing increases in the numbers of apps downloaded, the prognosis for monetisation remains grim … Unless those apps' ads can be replaced, or at least significantly augmented by ads for products that actually make money, this whole business is a house of cards propped by a stream of outside money that can't last forever." Paul also notes how this is affecting America's tech giants, writing, "Until those problems are solved, and Facebook, Google, and their competitors figure out to sell cars and food and toothbrushes on mobile devices, it's hard to see how the mobile ad boom is sustainable."

Though there is data suggesting the mobile app market is about to become even bigger, this doesn't change the fact that few people will be earning money from it, and eventually, many companies are going to bottom out. Granted, if the app market is a bubble, it's still likely to have some victors. As Marcus Wohlsen at Wired put it, "The first dotcom bubble had a few big winners that have become internet-defining institutions — think Google, Amazon, eBay, and PayPal. The combined value of those companies today is more than a half trillion dollars. If today's crop of potential internet IPOs contains three or four companies that have the potential to come even close, all the money spent chasing them will some day look like pocket change."

Wohlsen is right, but nevertheless, the mobile app boom is dangerous. Only a fraction of the companies in the midst of it are going to make a profit, and chances seem excellent that the rest will not emerge unscathed. And once your company is busted, you're pretty much done — sadly, there isn't an app for that.

This article originally appeared on Daily Dot and was republished with permission.

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Aussies have no idea about their own country

A new report shows that Australians have a warped perception of their own country. Source: News Limited

AUSTRALIA, you may like to think you know this wide brown land of ours well, but it turns out we have some pretty significant blind spots.

The Perils of Perception report by market research company Ipsos has revealed that there is a significant gap between the perception and the reality of who makes up the Australian population.

"Aussies tend to be wrong when asked about the make-up of their population and the scale of key social issues such as immigration and unemployment," the report states.

Based on a survey of about 1000 Australians, Ipsos found that we tended to over-estimate the number of Muslims in the population and underestimate the number of Christians.

Australians tended to over-estimate the number of Muslim people in the country. Source: News Limited

The average person guessed that there were 18 Muslims out of every 100 Australians, when in fact there are only two. Similarly we guessed that 45 per cent were Christian when the true percentage is 61.

RELATED: Australia ranks outside of top 10 best countries to grow old in

Only 6 per cent of adults are unemployed, but the average Aussie thinks it's 23 per cent; and we think 35 in every 100 Australians are immigrants, when it is only 28.

Of the respondents, about 33 per cent believed more than half of the population was made up of people born in a country other than Australia.

"Respondents who thought immigration was more than double the actual figure said the main reason they over-estimated is because they believe immigrants enter the country without being counted," the report states.

More than half of Australians also incorrectly believe that the murder rate is rising.

There is a significant gap between the perception and the reality of who makes up the Australian population. Source: Supplied

The study covered 13 other countries with high internet penetration — Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the US — surveying a total of 11,527 adults.

On the report's Index of Ignorance, we finished 9th out of the 14 countries. Italy was on top with its people giving the least accurate responses, followed by the US and South Korea.

Australia was equal fourth with Great Britain in exaggerating the number of Muslims in the country, behind France, Belgium and Canada.

Picture: NASA Source: Getty Images

Read more about the Perils of Perception report here.

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First pic of son who killed mum

Disturbed ... Derek Ward had a long history of mental illness, police said. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

THE FIRST pictured has emerged of a New York man who beheaded his mother and kicked her head along the street before throwing himself in front of a train.

Derek Ward, 35, allegedly hacked off the head of his mother, Patricia Ward, 66, with a knife in the apartment he shared with her in Long Island.

Ward, who was unemployed and had a long history of mental illness, reportedly dragged her decapitated body out onto the street on Tuesday this week. Because the remains lay near a home decorated with pumpkins, fake cobwebs and a mock graveyard, witnesses initially thought it was a Halloween prank.

NEW YORK BEHEADING: Why would a son decapitate his own mother?

Ms Ward's brother, Reverend Robert Lubrano, told the New York Daily News that his sister died because she had been unable to obtain medication in time to treat her son's mental illness.

"He killed my sister because we couldn't get the prescriptions he needed. For four days, he didn't have his meds," Rev Lubrano said, adding that Ms Ward had scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist for Friday, three days after she died.

Killed ... Patricia Ward was reportedly beheaded by her own son in New York. Picture: AP Source: AP

Ward was seen kicking his mother's head about 6m down the street.

"I literally thought it was a prank," one witness told WCBS 880. "We saw the body on one side and saw the head on the other side. I thought everything was a prank."

Ms Ward was a languages professor at Farmingdale State College for nearly three decades, and a spokesman for the institution described her as "well-known, well-liked and well-respected".

She was believed to have suffered multiple stab wounds and broken ribs before she died.

About 25 minutes after the murder, Ward jumped in front of an eastbound train on the Long Island Rail Road line.

Suicide ... Ward later threw himself in front of a train. Picture: Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images Source: AFP

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‘We are not trying to push limits’

Kaci Hickox, a nurse who returned home to Maine after treating Ebola patients in West Africa, said she wouldnt comply with a state quarantine. Photo: AP

Not troublemakers ... Kaci Hickox with her boyfriend Ted Wilbur outside her house in Fort Kent. Picture: Supplied.

THE boyfriend of an Ebola nurse refusing to be quarantined insists she is not trying to get anyone sick or push any limits.

Kaci Hickox, who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, purposefully rode their bikes away from town on a dirt path to avoid coming into contact with people.

"We're not trying to push any limits here. We're members of this community, too, and we want to make people comfortable," he told reporters.

Ms Hickox, who returned to the US last week, has been under what Maine is calling a voluntary quarantine at her home in this town of 4300 people.

Bike ride ... Nurse Kaci Hickox, right, and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur ride bikes on a trail near her home in Fort Kent, Maine. Picture: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty. Source: AP

She has rebelled against the restrictions, saying that her rights are being violated and that she is no threat to others because she has no symptoms. She tested negative last weekend for Ebola, though it can take days for the virus to reach detectable levels.

State officials said that they were seeking a court order to require a quarantine through November 10, the end of the 21-day incubation period for the Ebola virus.

But it was unclear whether the state had gone to court or whether there had been any progress in negotiations aimed at a compromise.

Quarantine ... Kaci Hickox in an isolation tent at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. Picture: AP Photo/Steven Hyman. Source: AP

Fort Kent Police Chief Tom Pelletier went inside the home briefly and said afterwards, "We just had a good conversation." He said he was not there to arrest or detain Ms Hickox.

Governor Paul LePage said state attorneys and Ms Hickox's lawyers had discussed a scaled-down quarantine that would have allowed her to go for walks, runs and bicycle rides while preventing her from venturing into populated public places or coming within a metre of others.

"I was ready and willing — and remain ready and willing — to reasonably address the needs of health care workers meeting guidelines to assure the public health is protected," he said.

She's not sick ... Ted Wilbur, the boyfriend of nurse Kaci Hickox, speaks to reporters outside their home in Fort Kent, Maine. Picture: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty. Source: AP

Hickox stepped into the media glare when she returned from West Africa to become subject to a mandatory quarantine in New Jersey. After an uproar, she was released and travelled more than 960 kilometres to the small town on the Canadian border where she lives with her boyfriend.

Reporters have camped out at their home.

Mr Wilbur said he and Ms Hickox spent the day Thursday vacuuming, cleaning, doing laundry and watching a movie, The Avengers. He said he also spent four hours attending class via phone. He has agreed to stay away from the University of Maine at Fort Kent for the time being.

During their hourlong bike ride, they were followed by an unmarked state police cruiser. Later, they took delivery of a pizza.

Answering questions ... Kaci Hickox and boyfriend Ted Wilbur. Picture: AP Photo/Portland Press Herald, Whitney Hayward. Source: AP

States have broad authority under long-established law to quarantine people to prevent the spread of disease. In Maine, state law allows a judge to confine someone if health officials demonstrate "a clear and immediate public health threat."

US President Barack Obama and humanitarian groups have warned that such measures could cripple the fight against the disease at its source by discouraging volunteers like Hickox from going to West Africa, where the outbreak has sickened more than 13,000 people and killed nearly 5000 of them.

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Catcalling for white guys

Experiment ... a white guy walked the streets of NY for 10 hours and filmed it. Picture: Funny Or Die News Source: Supplied

VIDEO of a woman being verbally harassed more than 100 times in 10 hours in New York has hit a nerve.

The woman, actress Shoshana B Roberts, has received death threats, the footage has gone viral — and now there's a parody.

Funny Or Die News conducted an "experiment" to see what happens to a white man walking the streets of the Big Apple.

The generic white guy looks uncomfortable as catcallers offer him burritos, jobs, Starbucks gift cards, high-fives — and a throne. Lucky guy.

The video ends with this note: "100+ instances of verbal street privilege took place within 10 hours. This doesn't include the countless Bud Light Limes, fist pumps, and small business loans that were offered. If you want to help, please do nothing. Leave the patriarchy in place."

The parody clip has been just as divisive as the original. While some say it "pokes fun at mainstream men" and highlights white privilege, others say it diminishes women's experiences of street harassment, particular after the original catcall video woman received death threats.

TROUBLING: New York woman harassed 100 times in 10 hours of walking

CRIMINAL: Catcall video woman gets rape threats after footage goes viral

This woman silently walked around New York City for 10 hours and filmed every catcall she received. Courtesy: Hollaback

For people confused about what men really mean when they catcall women, here's an instructive video.

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Nova’s defence to Senate

Northern Territory Senator Nova Peris says the leaked emails were part of a long-running family dispute, and she denies any wrongdoing.

SENATOR Nova Peris has failed to address key questions surrounding her involvement in seeking taxpayers' money to bring former Olympian Ato Boldon to Australia to carry out an extramarital affair.

In a statement to the Senate on Thursday, Ms Peris claimed email revelations in the NT News this week were part of a family and estate dispute and refrained from explaining all of the sources outside of Athletics Australia that she sought money from to bring Mr Boldon to Australia.

SENATOR NOVA PERIS BREAKS SILENCE

Emails previously published show that amount could be up to $22,000, in part funded by the "indigenous grants mob" and other taxpayer-funded groups.

Ms Peris was employed at the time as a communication officer with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies and operated as an ambassador with Athletics Australia.

"I categorically reject any wrongdoing," Ms Peris said.

"I have done nothing wrong. It pains me to have to talk about my private life but the publication of these emails is part of a long-running and very difficult child access and financial estate dispute."

Ms Peris said she was part of a blackmail attempt and alleged the source of the leaked emails tried to "extract money" from her.

"The release and publication of these emails is an attempt to extract money and embarrass me and my family," she said.

"I can inform the Senate, the NT News was well aware these emails were part of a long running family dispute ahead of its publication."

Despite giving Ms Peris more than 24 hours to respond to questions about the use of taxpayers money at no stage did she raise with the NT News any allegations of blackmail prior to publication of the emails.

Labor Senator Nova Peris addressing the Senate Chamber in Parliament House Canberra, over allegations she improperly used Australian taxpayers money to bring Olympic sprinter Ato Boldon to Australia. Source: News Corp Australia

Nor did she raise any issues regarding a dispute about an estate.

The NT News had been aware for some time Ms Peris was involved in a family dispute, but chose not to publish this fact because it was not in the public interest.

The source of the emails yesterday refuted Ms Peris' claims that money was ever asked for.

"Nowhere in the letter did I try and extort money," the source said.

"In no way did I do that."

Mr Boldon told media on Wednesday that the NT News' report contained "gross fabrications".

ATO BOLDON RESPONDS TO CLAIMS

Ms Peris did not dispute the authenticity of the emails in Parliament.

"I am aware that Mr Boldon has stated that the emails are fake," she said. "What I can say is that the views attributed to me over the past two days, based on the publication of selected words contained in private emails, which I don't have, certainly don't reflect my views. They don't reflect my values and the evidence of this is the life I have led and continue to lead."

Ms Peris told Parliament on Thursday she was separated from her husband Daniel Batman at the time of Ato Boldon's visit and subsequent affair.

"There have been media reports about my role in a trip to Australia by Ato Boldon in April 2010 at the time when I was separated from my ex-husband Daniel Batman who is now deceased," she said.

Praise ... Labor Senator Nova Peris is an honest person and a "great Australian", says Bill Shorten. Source: News Corp Australia Source: News Corp Australia

Emails already published show Ms Peris was asking Mr Boldon if she should break it to her husband that she would be running away with him for 10 days. Other emails indicate she knew she was carrying out an affair.

In a previously unpublished email, Ms Peris told Mr Boldon on April 20, a day after his 10-day tour: "Dan is moving out this week…We r separating, I don't care…It's best for us to do that, he needs to mature and grow, anyway I want to speak with you Ato…I miss you so much."

Ms Peris told the Senate she had been threatened in a letter dated October 9. The AFP have said they had launched an investigation into leaked emails on October 2.

Ms Peris' office refused comment yesterday.

In the Senate Ms Peris said she had spoken to Cathy Freeman whom she called "so so dumb" in an email and that the pair's "friendship remains strong".

The NT News stands by its original story, which deals with a matter of public importance, namely the use of taxpayer funds.

The emails also revealed Ms Peris' thoughts about race issues.

In the NT News' original questions to Ms Peris, it was asked whether she stood by her comment in emails to Mr Boldon that "white people hate black people in this country".

She failed to address this question with the NT News or in Parliament yesterday.

Originally published as Nova's defence to Senate

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Why the Halloween hate?

Kids love it, so why shouldn't we? Source: News Corp Australia

THE world is getting ready for a scarily brilliant Halloween, but Australia refuses to care.

The haters' complaints range from accusations of commercialism to complaints about its overseas roots.

What have we got against this deliciously wicked, thrillingly dark time of year?

After all, it's normal to gorge yourself on chocolate over Easter, or exchange overpriced presents and indulgent treats at Christmas.

But Halloween? There's hardly a pumpkin in sight.

Google Trends shows the volume of searches for the word in the UK is 41, almost double the 24 in Australia. In the US, it's 100.

Australians are known for a sense of fun, and yet we keep trying to bury Halloween.

None of our objections actually make sense.

It's nonsensical to complain that Halloween is a foreign pastime when so much of Australian culture harks back to a British heritage.

British settlers took the tradition to the US and Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries, where it was enthusiastically embraced. It only bypassed Australia because of an accident of timing, according to the Washington Post, with colonisation coinciding with a Victorian backlash against the holiday.

Do we really need to stick to buttoned-up 19th-century morality judgments?

All Hallow's Eve is believed to have originated with the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland, when a pagan celebration merged with the Christian All Saints' Day.

It was thought the souls of the dead came back at this time to visit their former homes.

Now the holiday has morphed again, into a more secular celebration, you could almost call it the perfect reflection of modern-day society's diverse beliefs.

Other vague objections involve the weather, with Halloween marking darker autumn nights in the northern hemisphere.

But if we can merrily exchange snowman cards at Christmas and talk of Easter bunnies and chicks in autumn, then we don't have a leg to stand on.

So let's be ghoulish this year, rather than just grumpy.

Instead of saving the hideous costume for the Spring Races, let's dust off the cobwebs for this, the baddest of all holidays.

Do you love or hate Halloween? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below, or send pictures of your celebrations to news@news.com.au.

It's good enough for supermodel Heidi Klum, the queen of Halloween. Source: Splash News Australia

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Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘I’m gay’

Coming out ... Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new Apple iPad Air 2 earlier this month. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez. Source: AP

APPLE chief executive Tim Cook has opened up about his sexuality for the first time, saying "being gay is among the greatest gifts God has given me".

In an essay in Businessweek, Cook says he has always been a fan of privacy and hates drawing attention to himself but says the words of Dr Martin Luther King often nag at him.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?" Cook wrote, quoting King.

"I often challenge myself with that question, and I've come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important," Cook said. "For years, I've been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I'm gay, and it doesn't seem to make a difference in the way they treat me.

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," he said.

Proud to be gay ... Apple chief executive Tim cook. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez. Source: AP

Cook went on to say that coming out publicly was not an easy choice but said he did so in the hope that it might help others who are struggling with their sexuality.

"I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others," he said. "So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy."

Cook said that rather than being a burden, being gay has helped him to be a better man.

"It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple," he said.

New territory ... Tim Cook (L), with the late Steve Jobs (centre) and Phil Schiller. Picture: Supplied. Source: AP

He said he was proud to work for a company that supported "human rights and equality for all."

However Cook said that being gay was just one part of him.

"Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one's sexuality, race, or gender," he said. "I'm an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things."

Cook said he arrives in his office every morning to be greeted by the pictures of Dr King and Robert F. Kennedy.

"I don't pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I'm doing my part, however small, to help others," he said. "We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick."

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Holmes: ‘I don’t have any fear now’

'No fear' ... Katie Holmes says she is ready for new challenges. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

KATIE Holmes has opened up about her life post-Tom Cruise, claiming she's ready for "new challenges" professionally and personally.

"I don't have any fear now, I don't have a lot of rules for myself, and I don't take myself that seriously," the actor told People magazine.

Coming up, the star will be seen as a vigilante schoolteacher in the new comedy Miss Meadows, and she will soon go behind the camera for her feature directorial debut.

As for her 2012 split from Cruise, Holmes said she has long since moved on.

"I don't want that moment in my life to define me, to be who I am," she said. "I don't want that to be what I'm known as. I was an actor before, an actor during and an actor now."

Over it ... Holmes says she has moved on from her breakup with Tom Cruise. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

She also said the couple's eight-year-old daughter Suri "means everything to me." "I'm learning every day, and I have been since the minute I became a mom."

She also admitted that parenting a tween has its challenges.

"My patience has grown, but between 4 and 6pm ... I mean, wow," she said. "Between tickle fights and glitter art, I try to throw in some manners along the way."

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Man beheads woman in New York

There has been a grisly murder-suicide in New York City. Source: NewsComAu

A MAN has beheaded a woman then jumped in front of a moving train in New York in an apparent murder-suicide.

A man in his 30s is believed to have cut off the head of a woman in her 60s before jumping in front of an eastbound Long Island Rail Road train on Tuesday night, NBC 4 New York reports.

Investigators believe that the woman may be the mother of the man.

Her body was found outside an apartment complex in Farmingdale, Long Island, east of Manhattan, with the head severed. Nassau County police have cordoned off a number of blocks on Secatogue Ave as they investigate the incident and multiple sheets have been placed over the body, CBS 2 reports.

The man's body was found about 800m away, after the train hit him east of Bethpage railway station, police said.

Officials said that the incident appeared to be related to domestic violence, not terrorism.

The Long Island Rail Road line was shut down and passengers were transferred to another train, before being moved onto buses at another station.

The names of the victims have not been released.

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Foo Fighters announce tour dates

The HBO Original Series, Foo Fighters Sonic Highways premieres Friday, October 17 at 11PM, only on HBO.

DAVE Grohl has an open invitation to the White House.

The Foo Fighters frontman and filmmaker didn't believe it either when President Barack Obama first suggested he could "just come over". Bring the family. Hang out.

He tested the invite after he was granted an interview with the President of the United States for his Sonic Highways documentary series.

The series both shines a light on the rich musical history of eight key cities of America and captures the making of the much-loved rock band's eighth record.

STRIPPERS: What reunited Dave Grohl and Courtney Love

Eight songs recorded in eight weeks ... How Foo Fighters' Sonic Highways was created. Picture: Ringo Starr Source: Supplied

Grohl wanted to talk to the country's boss about America as the land of dreams. And pick his brain about music, particularly after spying a hefty volume of Bob Dylan's lyrics in a White House library during a previous visit.

Their conversation aired in the first episode of Sonic Highways filmed in Chicago where they also recorded the album's opening track Something From Nothing.

"We talked about music for a while and afterwards he said 'Bring the family next time, just come over'. And I said 'Oh yeah, I'll just come over to the White House. And he said, "No, really. Come on over'," Grohl says, sitting in the band's Studio 606 in suburban Los Angeles.

"So a couple of weeks later, I had my daughter on a daddy trip, just the two of us, and I told her she could go anywhere in the world, and she said Virginia (Grohl's birthplace).

"I asked her if she wanted to go to the White House while we're over there. So we went to the White House. Believe me, I understand it's nuts."

Inspired by his interviews ... Dave Grohl wrote the lyrics for each new song on the final day. Picture: Kevin Mazur Source: Supplied

It would have been nuts for Grohl and his band mates to contemplate such an epic undertaking as Sonic Highways 20 years ago when he formed Foo Fighters in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death, bringing the curtain down abruptly on his former band, Nirvana.

The idea was to record a song in famed studios in Chicago, Washington D.C., New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Seattle and Austin.

FOO FIGHTERS AT SFS

Fear of creative malaise may have fuelled Grohl's vision but it was the success of his film Sound City, about the influential LA studio where everyone from Neil Young to Nirvana recorded seminal albums, which cemented his desire to make the documentary.

The passionate music man wanted to inspire others to reconnect with the art form in an age where sound is ubiquitous.

Band of brothers ... Foo Fighters want to inspire fans to fall in love with music again. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

"People would tell me they stopped listening to music because it's on the iPod or in the cloud and there's too much to choose from and to me, that just means you are not inspired to go and find it. You have to instil that motivation, get people inspired to fall in love with it, otherwise it's just a sound," he says.

"Not everyone said 'Wow, what a cool idea for a music series'. We got the foot in the door (with HBO) and we realised 'F---! Now we really have to do it because who else is going to f---ing do it?'"

With producer Butch Vig in tow, they spent a week in each city throughout May and June, with Grohl interviewing musicians and the musically minded from Buddy Guy to Nora Guthrie, the daughter of revered American folk singer Woody and sister of Arlo.

The band recorded the musical skeletons they had demoed back in Los Angeles and Grohl would write the lyrics on the final day, drawing phrases and stories from his interviews.

His four band mates Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear all agree the early sessions to write the music before they hit the road were tough.

Pre-production sessions were tough ... Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins. Picture: Andrew Stuart Source: Supplied

"We demoed things six times and they wouldn't change. I could see this unfulfilled feeling in Dave a lot of the time. At one point he said 'This sounds like the record we threw away back in 2002 or whatever'," drummer Hawkins says.

"I remember going 'What's wrong, dude? What are you looking for? He got us to this point and pushed it and pushed it to the point of mental exhaustion about how to do these songs.

"I think in a way he meant to push us to the limit of what we could do and play as a band. And then let it go. You did all that prep and then it's 'Press record. You guys sound great'."

Once on the road, away from making lunches and doing the school runs with the children, there were plenty of good, hilarious and just plain awkward times.

Like the magnificent feast of whole pig stuffed with sausage and wrapped with bacon that was slow-cooked on a smoker by Zac Brown's chef.

Or playing a free street party with Arcade Fire and Trombone Shorty in New Orleans after recording in the legendary Preservation Hall, one of the homes of jazz.

Recording at the legendary Preservation Hall in New Orleans ... Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett and Taylor Hawkins. Picture: Andrew Stuart Source: Supplied

Or hearing Nora Guthrie's stories about repeatedly telling Bob Dylan to go away when he kept turning up at the family home and asking to meet her father. Arlo eventually invited him in.

Perhaps the most awkward moment was when Grohl, Shiflett and Smear decided to visit a Bikini Barista, a coffee kiosk staffed by scantily clad staff, in Seattle.

Surprisingly their barista didn't recognise them.

Smear suggests she may have been too young to clock the famous rockers.

"We were so terrified, honestly, we hardly showed our faces. I ordered from the back of my head. It was altogether creepy," Grohl says.

Sonic Highways ceases to be about the pictures and about the stadiums when the series winds up and the world your winds up.

For a change, Foo Fighters will start rather than finish their musical race around the world in the southern hemisphere with stadium concerts, supported by Rise Against, in February.

They played some epic concerts lasting up to three hours to introduce their previous record, Wasting Light — so will four hours be the go for Sonic Highways, particularly as some of the album tracks clock in well over the five minute mark?

Sonic Highways recording sessions ... Dave Grohl and Pat Smear hang out in the Californian desert for Sonic Highways. Picture: Andrew Stuart Source: Supplied

The band members are horrified by the prospect.

"I like playing until they're done," Smear says.

HEAR: Sonic Highways is out on November 10. The series airs on Go!, Saturday, 4.30pm

SEE: Foo Fighters, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, February 24, ticketek.com.au; ANZ Stadium, Sydney, February 26, ticketek.com.au; Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, February 28, ticketmaster.com.au; Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart, March 2, ticketmaster.com.au; Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, March 4, ticketek.com.au and nib Stadium, Perth, March 7, ticketmaster.com.au.

Frontier Members pre-sale on November 11 (check frontiertouring.com for more details) with general public tickets available from 10am on November 13

FOO FIGHTERS @ GOAT ISLAND

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Nurse: ‘I won’t obey quarantine rules’

Fighting back ... Nurse Kaci Hickox in an isolation tent at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. Picture: AP Photo/Steven Hyman. Source: AP

A nurse who was confined against her will at a New Jersey hospital after returning from West Africa where she treated Ebola patients said she's prepared to go to court if the state of Maine tries to quarantine her.

Kaci Hickox spoke to the US Today show and Good Morning America from Fort Kent, where her boyfriend is a senior nursing student.

She said she has so far abided by the state's voluntary quarantine. She had no contact with anyone yesterday or today, she said.

'Inhumane' ... Kaci Hickox was quarantined because she had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa. Picture: AP Photo/University of Texas at Arlington Source: AP

But Ms Hickox says if the restrictions aren't lifted by tomorrow, she will go to court to fight for her freedom.

"I don't plan on sticking to the guidelines," Ms Hickox said on Today. "I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me even though I am in perfectly good health."

Ms Hickox, who volunteered in Africa with Doctors Without Borders, was the first person forced into New Jersey's mandatory quarantine for people arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport from three West African countries.

Doctor without borders ... Kaci Hickox says her treatment has been inhumane. Picture: AP Photo/University of Texas at Arlington Source: AP

Ms Hickox, who spent the weekend in a quarantine tent, said she never had Ebola symptoms and tested negative in a preliminary evaluation, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were sharply criticised for ordering mandatory quarantines.

"I am not going to sit around and be bullied by politicians and forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public," she said.

Meeting ... Quarantined nurse Kaci Hickox meets with the prominent New York civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, seated, at the isolation tent at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. Picture: AP Photo/Steven Hyman. Source: AP

The Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said her department and the attorney general's office were prepared to take legal steps to legally enforce the state's voluntary quarantine if someone declines to cooperate.

"We do not want to have to legally enforce in-home quarantine," she said. "We're confident that selfless health workers who were brave enough to care for Ebola patients in a foreign country will be willing to take reasonable steps to protect residents of their own country."

Ms Hickox said that she remains concerned by the mandatory quarantines.

"I truly believe that this policy is not scientifically or constitutionally just," she said.

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Elle, Christie ‘fought for Billy Joel’

Cover girl ... Elle MacPherson a few years after she dated Billy Joel. Picture: Sports Illustrated. Source: Supplied

A NEW biography on Billy Joel states that the first night the Piano Man got his soon to be wife Christie Brinkley to come back to his apartment, Elle MacPherson was already waiting for him.

In a new book, Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography, author Fred Schruers, who interviewed Joel for more than 100 hours for the book, tells of how the trio met in 1982 just after Joel's split from first wife, Elizabeth Weber. It was first revealed in 2010 that Joel actually wrote the song Uptown Girl about MacPherson, and not Brinkley as it is widely thought.

The New York Post reports that Joel went to St. Bart's for the holidays. He found a piano bar and began playing; a few moments later, to his wonderment, Macpherson, then just 19, and Brinkley, 28, were standing at either side of the 33-year-old — along with an undiscovered Whitney Houston.

Married Joel ... Christie Brinkley. Picture: Supplied. Source: AFP

Dated Joel ... Model Elle Macpherson. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

They were all vying for Joel's attention, Brinkley tells Schruers. "Whitney says, 'I can sing!' Meanwhile, Elle's draped herself on the piano like Michelle Pfeiffer [in The Fabulous Baker Boys]."

Back in New York, Brinkley and Macpherson competed for Joel, who was living in a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park. His doorman, a struggling actor named Nick Turturro, would rank all the women Joel brought home.

"Usually, he'd hold up eight, nine, 10 fingers," Joel told Schruers. Brinkley was the only one to get 10 fingers twice.

The first night Joel got Brinkley to come home with him, "I was trying to act cool, but somewhere inside me the kid from Hicksville was going, 'Yesssssss!' " When the elevator door opened to his apartment, there stood Macpherson. "Even as part of me thought, 'Oh, God, no,' another part of me was going, 'Holy crap, if my friends could see me now.' "

Still friends ... Christie Brinkley and musician Billy Joel, seen here in 1999. Picture: Supplied. Source: News Limited

Brinkley was unruffled. She left, Macpherson stayed, but Joel was in love with Brinkley. They married in 1985, and the album An Innocent Man was a love letter to her. They conceived their daughter, Alexa Ray, on their wedding night.

Yet Joel's financial crises meant he had to tour non-stop to recoup his money, and the marriage suffered tremendously. The breaking point came in 1993. After a show at Nassau Coliseum, Joel opted to stay at a nearby hotel rather than make the 90-minute drive home, and Brinkley was told by one of Joel's band members that he was having an affair. (Joel denies it.) By the end of that year, they knew the marriage was over — and it marked the last year Joel would issue a new album.

"Christie likes to joke that the end of the marriage ... spelled the end of my songwriting career," Joel told Schruers. "At least, I think it's a joke."

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Sinead blasts ‘stripper’ Miley — again

Not happy, Jan ... Sinead O'Connor has taken another swipe at Miley Cyrus. Picture: AP Source: AP

A YEAR after penning an open letter to Miley Cyrus, in which she claimed the singer was being "prostituted" by the music industry, Sinead O'Connor is again taking pot shots at the 21-year-old superstar.

The singer shared a photo on her website of Cyrus with money stuffed in her mouth, asking, "Does Anyone Know The Whereabouts Of this Girl's Parents?"

In the "musing", O'Connor wrote that Cyrus' parents were "missing in action", adding that, "No human being on earth would be photographing, filming or watching my childlike looking daughter dressed as a stripper with a load of cash stuck in her mouth."

She said the pic of Miley is the "exact opposite" of female empowerment.

Reignites war ... Sinead O'Connor blasted Miley Cyrus and her parents on her blog. Picture: sineadoconnor.com Source: Supplied

The Irish singer also riticised the music industry for the "sexualising of minors", writing that Cyrus is "unconsciously" doing the same.

She signed off the letter by saying the sexualised behaviour of some artists makes for a "double win for an industry crawling with evil".

O'Connor is set to tour Australia in March.

Shock value ... Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour set tongues wagging across Australia. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

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Sinead blasts ‘stripper’ Miley — again

Not happy, Jan ... Sinead O'Connor has taken another swipe at Miley Cyrus. Picture: AP Source: AP

A YEAR after penning an open letter to Miley Cyrus, in which she claimed the singer was being "prostituted" by the music industry, Sinead O'Connor is again taking pot shots at the 21-year-old superstar.

The singer shared a photo on her website of Cyrus with money stuffed in her mouth, asking, "Does Anyone Know The Whereabouts Of this Girl's Parents?"

In the "musing", O'Connor wrote that Cyrus' parents were "missing in action", adding that, "No human being on earth would be photographing, filming or watching my childlike looking daughter dressed as a stripper with a load of cash stuck in her mouth."

She said the pic of Miley is the "exact opposite" of female empowerment.

Reignites war ... Sinead O'Connor blasted Miley Cyrus and her parents on her blog. Picture: sineadoconnor.com Source: Supplied

The Irish singer also riticised the music industry for the "sexualising of minors", writing that Cyrus is "unconsciously" doing the same.

She signed off the letter by saying the sexualised behaviour of some artists makes for a "double win for an industry crawling with evil".

O'Connor is set to tour Australia in March.

Shock value ... Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour set tongues wagging across Australia. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

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Kevin Smith shaves beard, fans revolt

New look ... And Kevin Smith fans don't like it. Picture: Twitter. Source: Supplied

THE internet reacted badly to Mallrats star Kevin Smith shaving off his beard for a new movie role.

Smith posted the image of himself without a beard, admitting that he looks like a "goofy spaz" in his new film Yoga Hosers.

"This is me, beardless, for the #YogaHosers green screen shoot. It's a Face-Brazilian!" he captioned the pic.

Good old days ... Actor Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes in Mallrats. Picture: Supplied. Source: News Corp Australia

Smith definitely looks thinner in the face but that is because he has also lost 10 kilos. No, not from shaving off the trademark beard but by cutting sugar and processed foods out of his diet.

Smith made headlines in 2010 when he was booted from a Southwest Airlines flight because he couldn't fit in one seat.

Smith had flagged that he was going to shave off his beard but few actually believed the 44-year-old.

He is clearly committed to his art. Smith is the writer and director of Yoga Hosers, the second movie in his True North trilogy, and stars Johnny Depp.

However the internet is overwhelmingly asking him to grow the beard back. Here are some of the funniest reactions.

How fans feel ... One of the reactions to Kevin Smith's shave. Picture: Twitter. Source: Supplied

Not looking ... Not happy, Kevin. Picture: Twitter. Source: Supplied

Grow hair ... Just grow it back and we will pretend like it never happened. Picture: Twitter. Source: Supplied

We need to talk about Kevin ... Everyone is outraged. Picture: Twitter. Source: Supplied

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‘Ginger jihadist’ in new Islamic State video

An image of 'ginger jihadist' Abdullah Elmir from the video. Source: News Corp Australia

AUSTRALIAN teen Abdullah Elmir, dubbed the "ginger jihadist", has appeared in a new video for terrorist group the Islamic State.

Elmir, 17, left his home and high school in Sydney to fight with the group in Iraq, and sits surrounded by a throng of jihadists, carrying a rifle in the six-and-a-half minute YouTube video.

The group are shown eating, praying and reciting religious texts by the Tigris river.

It is the second video the red-haired teen features in for IS.

Last week he railed against Tony Abbott, Australia and other western nations in another clip.

Meanwhile, Australia's Special Forces troops have obtained the final clearance to go into Iraq and join the war against Islamic State terrorists, according to Defence Minister David Johnston.

GO-AHEAD: DEFENCE CLEARED FOR ACTION AGAINST IRAQ

AFP WARNS GINGER JIHADIST HE FACES 25 YEARS IN JAIL

PARENTS ALARMED OVER TEEN TERRORIST

Two weeks after the Government first announced the deal had been finalised to send the troops in, Senator Johnston said the legal frameworks were finalised and "we are very ready.''

Around 200 Special Forces, mainly Commandos, have been waiting in the United Arab Emirates for six weeks for approval to enter Iraq to train and assist the Iraqi defence forces in their war against the IS jihadis.

Senator Johnston said Air Chief Marshal Binskin had told him things were "going to plan.''

The news comes as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop yesterday confirmed the number of Australians known to be fighting with the jihadis, or supporting their case, had grown to 185. Seventy-three passports have now been cancelled, she said.

Originally published as 'Ginger jihadist' in new Islamic State video

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School staff accused of ‘gang-rape’

JIS is one of Asia's top schools, and has a large body of Australian students. Source: Supplied

A PRESTIGIOUS international school in Indonesia has been confronted by accusations of staff raping children as young as five.

Parents have made allegations of gang rape, sexual abuse being video-taped and institutional cover-ups at Jakarta International School.

The saga began in March, when the parents of a five-year-old boy alleged that he had been anally raped by cleaners in the school toilets.

The families of three children have accused teaching staff at JIS of rape. Source: Supplied

They said they noticed something was wrong when the child became aggressive, began wetting himself at school and started having nightmares in which he screamed, "Please don't hurt me, please let me go", The Independent reported.

His mother discovered bruises on his stomach and anus, she said, and the boy then told his parents what had allegedly happened. A medical exam was said to have revealed anal infections, pus and lesions.

Six members of staff from cleaning contractors ISS were arrested, but the boy's mother went public with the details after being disappointed with the slowness of the school's response, her lawyer Andi Asrun told Fairfax media.

Four of the five men admitted to the crime, but later retracted their statements, saying they were obtained under torture, The Independent said. The fifth man died in custody — apparently committing suicide by drinking bleach. The last person arrested was a woman.

School cleaner Agun Iskandar went on trial for the alleged sexual abuse in August. Source: News Corp Australia

A second mother came forward a few weeks later and said her son had also been attacked by cleaners, but had fought them off.

At the time, the school said little in public, and calls for its closure grew louder, alongside graffiti sprayed on the gates, harassment of students as they left and attacks on the school's lax dress code.

The first set of parents launched a $14 million lawsuit, not long before further scandal broke in late April, when it emerged that US paedophile William Vahey had worked at the school from 1992 to 2002.

The second mother later told Fairfax media that her son's abusers were school administrator Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teacher's assistant Ferdinand Tjiong, in conjunction with the cleaners. They deny the allegations.

A letter from the accused teaching staff on a petition calling for their release. Source: Supplied

The mother said her son was taken to school offices, and given drugs either intravenously or in a "light blue potion" before being sexually assaulted, often on video. No video footage has been found.

She said he was threatened with death if he told anyone about the rapes, which allegedly numbered more than 20.

At this point a third alleged victim emerged, a friend of the first two children.

In late May, the first parents increased their claim against the school tenfold to $142 million, saying their son would require care for the rest of his life. The second mother sent emails identifying the alleged perpetrators to 12 sets of parents with pre-school children, saying her son had identified them as victims.

The families of three children say they were attacked by teaching staff. Source: ThinkStock

By June 11, all three parents were saying that teaching staff were involved.

Police transcripts leaked to the Wall Street Journal revealed claims by the alleged first victim of secret rooms in the school and a "magic stone" used to anaesthetise the children.

The documents identified eight other boys who were allegedly abused this year at the school.

Bantleman and Tjiong were arrested on July 14, but the school's founding embassies weighed in publicly, issuing a statement saying they were "deeply concerned" about the teachers' detention and that: "We are surprised at these developments given the presumption of innocence in Indonesian law."

The school said it was co-operating fully with police, but also expressed doubts about the claims against its staff, suggesting the ideas may have been planted in the children's heads.

There are suggestions that the children involved may have fallen victim to the power of suggestion in questioning. Source: Supplied

Headteacher Timothy Carr told the Wall Street Journal: "How credible were those original allegations when they were delivered by someone who has changed their story so dramatically over time?"

The teaching staff involved are suing the parents for defamation, with Bantleman's wife Tracey insisting there is no evidence and Tjiong's wife saying her husband is "ashamed" of the Indonesian justice system.

But the first and second mothers accused the school of a cover-up, and lawyer Mr Asrun said the school had "tarnished its image".

JIS educates more than 2000 children of well-off expats and Indonesians, including many Australians, and is one of Asia's top schools.

It is now holding weekly vigils, attended by some parents, in support of the staff members, and a petition to release them has gained more than 10,000 signatures.

But one mother said she had withdrawn her child from the school because "everyone was constantly talking about his case. It was just too heavy for me."

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Woman ‘smuggled $79K in stomach’

Bizarre ... a woman alleged tried to smuggle more than $70,000 into the Dominican Republic in her stomach. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

A WOMAN has been arrested for trying to smuggle $US70,000 ($79,000) into the Dominican Republic — in her stomach.

A National Drug Control Agency spokesman said the cash, likely tied to drug trafficking, was divided up among 16 capsules. The 40-year-old woman also allegedly carried $US69,000 hidden inside her suitcase.

The alleged smuggler was arrested at the airport in the popular tourist district of Punta Cana after arriving on a flight from Brussels. Her name has not been released.

Dominican authorities say this is the first time they have arrested someone who was smuggling money in their stomach.

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Woman ‘smuggled $79K in stomach’

Bizarre ... a woman alleged tried to smuggle more than $70,000 into the Dominican Republic in her stomach. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

A WOMAN has been arrested for trying to smuggle $US70,000 ($79,000) into the Dominican Republic — in her stomach.

A National Drug Control Agency spokesman said the cash, likely tied to drug trafficking, was divided up among 16 capsules. The 40-year-old woman also allegedly carried $US69,000 hidden inside her suitcase.

The alleged smuggler was arrested at the airport in the popular tourist district of Punta Cana after arriving on a flight from Brussels. Her name has not been released.

Dominican authorities say this is the first time they have arrested someone who was smuggling money in their stomach.

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Evil clowns stoke fear in France

Creepy ... Clowns have long had the ability to both entertain and terrify. Picture: FX Source: Channel 10

A WAVE of panic sparked by evil clowns stalking French towns has spread to the south of France where police have arrested 14 teenagers dressed as the pranksters, carrying pistols, knives and baseball bats.

A police source said the group of teens were arrested in the parking lot of a high school in the port town of Agde, as several other complaints poured in over "armed clowns" in the region over the weekend.

In the Mediterranean city of Montpellier a man disguised as a clown was arrested after beating up a pedestrian with an iron bar, while three motorists in different towns complained about "scary clowns" threatening them.

The phenomenon of dressing up as an evil clown and terrifying passers-by — a trend which has also been seen in the United States and Britain — cropped up in the north of France in early October.

In the northern French town of Bethune, a fake clown last week received a six-month suspended jail term for threatening passers-by while in full circus garb.

Using fake weapons these "clowns" have been "mostly spotted outside schools, but also on public roads, in bushes, in a square. Their targets are often young children or teenagers, but also adults," a police source in northern France said.

Theories abound as to the origin of the trend in a country where American fear-fest Halloween has yet to take hold.

These include a challenge launched on social networks, a video published on YouTube showing a terrifying clown pranking people — which has had some 31 million views — or even a recent episode of popular series American Horror Story featuring Twisty the killer clown.

After a rumour a clown was stalking the eastern town of Mulhouse, five teenagers on Wednesday armed themselves with a baseball bat, a teargas canister, a hammer and a truncheon to mete out vigilante justice to the not-so-funny pranksters.

Evil ... American serial killer and rapist John Wayne Gacy was known for dressing up as a clown. Source: Supplied

They were arrested and later released, but the incident prompted the national police to step in to quell the hysteria.

"Since mid-October, a rumour inspired by videos published on the internet, is worrying the population about the presence of threatening and aggressive clowns in France," the national police said in a statement this week.

The statement cautioned that "despite numerous reports made to police, there have been only a few sightings of people dressed as clowns having fun scaring passers-by."

"Symptomatic of the impact of the internet, this phenomenon can lead to damaging individual acts and disturbances to public order."

Whether brandishing a rubber chicken at a children's party or starring as the evil protagonist in a horror film, clowns have long had the ability to entertain and terrify.

Infamous creepy clowns include notorious American serial killer and rapist John Wayne Gacy — who would dress up as Pogo the clown — to the fictitious Pennywise in Stephen King's movie It.

The fear of clowns is known as coulrophobia.

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Brand ‘may run for mayor of London’

Controversial ... Brand has become increasingly outspoken in recent years about his disgust with current politics. Picture: David Livingston/Getty Images Source: Supplied

COMEDIAN and actor Russell Brand is thought to be considering a run for mayor of London, despite repeatedly saying that voting is a waste of time.

Brand, a vocal critic of mainstream politics, reportedly told friends he wants to unseat current mayor Boris Johnson at the next mayoral elections in 2016.

According to the Independent, Brand's spokeswoman refused to deny the rumours, telling the paper: "We are not commenting."

Brand, who was previously married to US pop star Katy Perry, has become increasingly outspoken in recent years about his disgust with current politics.

He has called for the abolition of Britain's monarchy, demanded more compassionate treatment of drug addicts and told interviewers that he never votes because he regards the current political system as skewed to benefit the rich.

Challenge ... Brand, a vocal critic of mainstream politics, reportedly told friends he wants to unseat current mayor Boris Johnson at the next mayoral elections in 2016. Picture: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

While his views have seen him branded extremist in some of the media he has a large following among the young with 8.4 million Twitter followers.

Last week he stoked controversy by telling a BBC interviewer that he was "open-minded" about conspiracy theories blaming the 9/11 attacks on the US government.

He told BBC presenter Evan Davis that he refused to rule out the possibility that the terror attacks were orchestrated by the American government and highlighted the "interesting" relationship between the families of former US president George Bush and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

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Bach’s wife ‘wrote his masterpieces’

Claims ... academics claim Johann Sebastian Bach's second wife, Anna Magdalena, may have composed some of his finest works. Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia

ONE of the greatest composers of all time may not have been responsible for some of his most famous works, with an Australian academic claiming his wife wrote them.

Martin Jarvis, professor of music at Charles Darwin University, has analysed handwriting on works attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Prof Jarvis believes that dozens of these works were written by Anna Magdalena, the composer's second wife, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Research ... Professor Martin Jarvis thinks legendary composer Johann Sebastian Bach copied Cello Suites from his second wife Anna Magdalena. Source: Supplied

Ms Magdalena, a singer, was just 19 when she wed the ageing composer. Although it was previously known that she transcribed for her husband as his health got worse, experts said that scribbles and corrections in the handwriting suggest that it was someone composing as they went along rather than transcribing.

The works Prof Jarvis has attributed to Mrs Bach include the aria in Bach's famous Goldberg variations as well as the Cello Suites.

Original script ... Johann Sebastian Bach's original manuscript for the St John Passion. Picture: Courtesy of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Source: Supplied

Prof Jarvis' research is showcased in a documentary called Written by Mrs Bach presented by British composer Sally Beamish.

Ms Beamish said the research could "transform" the confidence of female composers by challenging the view that the greatest compositions have always been written by men.

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Is this the new Honey Boo Boo?

'Baby Beyonce' ... Bobbi Boyden is a beauty queen at just 19-months-old. Picture: Facebook/Stephanie Boyden Source: Facebook

SHE only learnt to walk five months ago, but miniature beauty queen Bobbi Boyden is already strutting her stuff at pageants.

Dubbed 'Baby Beyonce', the toddler shakes her hips, flutters her eyelashes and blows air kisses at shows in the UK. Her mother Stephanie Boyden, 32, has spent up to 5000 pounds ($9100) on dresses and entry fees for her "diva" daughter.

"She loves the attention of being up on stage and she screams to get up there. I have to hold her back," Ms Boyden, from Essex, told The Mirror.

"In total I've spent about 5000 pounds in three months on my three girls. One dress cost me 200 pounds and she only wore it twice before she grew out if it - but I don't intend to lower my spending. You can't put a price on the look on her face when she's on stage in her costumes."

Bobbi began performing about three months ago after watching her older sisters compete.

However her recent 'Single Ladies' routine has sparked an outcry, with parents saying it's inappropriate the tiny girl is performing in pageants.

"I know some people think it's inappropriate but all of the judges are checked out and given police checks and I wouldn't put her in any danger," Ms Boyden said.

"The crowd are parents and family members - you can't just wander in off the street. There are people who say that pageants sexualise children but I couldn't disagree more. It's exactly the same as a dance competition except the kids win crowns instead of medals at the end. I would never put any of my children in danger."

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Meet the man who eats 20,000 calories a day

Strongman Robert Oberst treats his body like it's a machine. Source: Getty Images

"MY BODY is a machine. It's a vessel for work. If you want your car to run well, you put good fuel in it. Same with your body."

Those are the wise words of American strongman Robert Oberst, the 2.03m, 180kg mountain who is no stranger to $450 weekly grocery bills — just to feed himself.

"I have six meals a day. If I don't eat enough, I get shaky, I get headaches," Oberst told the Munchies website.

"My body is running on a level now where it's used to having good fuel. If I cut that supply off, my body just revolts."

Across those six meals a day, Oberst consumes 15,000 to 20,000 calories — at least five times the recommended daily intake for Australian males.

He eats directly before going to the gym because it enables him to workout harder for longer.

"When you go to the gym and your body's fuelled up with good nutrients and protein, when you get to the point when you're working hard and you're hitting your last reps, you're burned out, there's something else in there driving you," Oberst explains.

"Instead of reaching down and there's nothing there, you have some power left."

Oberst packs his trolley with eggs. He says he could easily eat a carton a day. Source: YouTube

Oberst's diet consists of largely of eggs, meat, pasta and rice. And lots of it.

For breakfast, he'll eat 8-10 eggs and then snack on whole boiled eggs throughout the day.

For lunch, he'll often have two large steaks.

Dinner is a pasta meal, which also includes meat.

And in between it's more meat and more eggs, plus he finds room for six cups of rice.

The main rule is Oberst consumes 1.6kg of meat per day, which can come from various sources.

Meat, meat and more meat. Source: YouTube

"Basically, I clean out the meat section," he says of trips to the supermarket, where he packs his trolley with beef, turkey and pork.

"It's got to taste good and it has to have a high protein content," he says.

He eats no cheese and no dairy.

"It's very strict," Oberst says. "I get one day off every four weeks where I can eat what I want."

The 29-year-old is currently the second strongest man in America but "I am working my arse off take first place".

Oberst competes an the truck pull in China. Source: Getty Images

A former American football player, Oberst worked as a bouncer at a bar before a colleague encouraged him to join strongman.

He describes his job as "travelling around the world and lifting up heavy weird objects".

"I get paid to be the freak show. I'm fine with that."

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The movies getting all the Oscar buzz

Will you be mine? Robert Downey Jr gets into the rough and tumble of screenings for the Academy in New York earlier this month. (Photo Rob Kim/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

FOUR months out from the 2015 Academy Awards, there is one thing pundits agree on: this is going to be one of the most competitive races in many years ... in the Best Actor and Best Picture category.

As for Best Actress, that statuette seems to be Julianne Moore's to lose.

While movie folk still talk about "Awards Season" (running from September through to March, it actually eats up half a year), Oscar predictions nowadays start dribbling in from May, when a handful of prestige titles premiere at Cannes.

Julianne Moore leads the ladies with a moving performance in Still Alice (Icon) Source: Supplied

The heat is then turned up come September when studios begin screening their awards bait for the first time at four taste-making festivals: Venice, Toronto, Telluride and New York.

(In Australia, Awards Season titles tend to be held from cinemas until January/February, in order to capitalise on the hype.)

The crowded 2015 Best Actor field welcomed its first contenders when Cannes threw up Steve Carell playing against type in Foxcatcher as a paranoid millionaire who appoints himself benefactor of the US Olympic wrestling team, and Timothy Spall as a famously eccentric British painter in Mr Turner.

Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo are both on the Oscar radar for real-life tale of paranoia and tragedy, Foxcatcher (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

Toronto pushed two more Brits playing real-life genii to the fore: Eddie Redmayne as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and Benedict Cumberbatch as WWII code-cracker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

Sometimes festival launches rule an actor out, rather than in. Case in point: Robert Downey Jr.

His return to drama with The Judge was tipped to herald a return to Oscar-ville (he's been nominated twice, in 1993 for Chaplin and 2009 for Tropic Thunder). But the response to The Judge has been lukewarm both from critics and the paying public.

This Best Actor race is too crowded for lukewarm.

The Academy loves a tale of real-life struggle: actors Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne meet physicist Stephen Hawking, subject of their film The Theory of Everything (Universal) Source: Supplied

So who's at the head of the pack? Michael Keaton. The former Batman winged it out of Telluride and straight to No.1 nominee status with Birdman, the story of a washed up cinematic superhero attempting a comeback. Sound familiar?

It's not just Keaton's spectrum-blowing performance but the life-imitating-art factor that will appeal to voters. At 63, he has never been nominated and has not headlined a hit since the '90s. Keaton is also considered one of the industry's good guys, so it's hard to imagine anyone begrudging the veteran a reward for a lifetime of beloved movies.

Michael Keaton plays an actor who can't escape his superhero past in Birdman. Sound familiar? (Twentieth Century Fox) Source: AP

Films released outside the Awards Season window really have to shout to be heard once the floodgates open.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood, released in August, has the groundbreaking 12-years-in-the-making angle as well as universal acclaim on its side. It's an especially strong contender in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (for Patricia Arquette) categories.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, released in March, did such strong business for an art house film (locally, it became the highest-grosser in the 22-year history of boutique Melbourne venue Cinema Nova), that its sublime silliness should stick in the memories of voters when it comes to Best Picture and Best Actor (for Ralph Fiennes).

Then there are those films no one has seen as yet, but the pedigree of which screams "Oscar Bait". They'll be vying for space with The Imitation Game, Gone Girl, Birdman et al when it comes to Best Picture.

Angelina Jolie's biggest directorial outing yet, Unbroken, the true story of a US Olympic runner and POW; Interstellar from Christopher Nolan, one of the few filmmakers (along with Gone Girl's David Fincher) who seems to appeal equally to audiences and the Academy; Star-packed fairytale mash-up musical Into the Woods, led by Queen Oscar herself, Meryl Streep; Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as the US military's real-life top sharpshooter; Selma, an Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt-backed biopic that follows Martin Luther King (played by David Oyelowo) on his 1965 voting-rights marches.

Memories of Patricia Arquette's depiction of motherhood spanning 12 years in Boyhood will linger with voters (Universal) Source: Supplied

And writer-director J.C. Chandor's gritty 1980s crime drama A Most Violent Year, starring Oscar Isaac and Academy pre-approved Jessica Chastain, is considered a chance to edge some bigger-name opposition out of the race once it premieres next month.

That the Best Actress field is far less populated than Best Actor this year isn't simply about a lack of quality films or performances.

Sasha Stone, founder of tracking and analysis site Awards Daily, last week wrote: "What I've observed in the 16 years I've been watching films get released ... and the awards race that follows, tells me that movies by or about women have to resonate with men and women to get attention.

"Where a Terms of Endearment or a Broadcast News might have been considered universal enough once upon a time, those movies can't even get made anymore, let alone get anywhere near the Oscar race."

Reese Witherspoon finds herself in Wild. Could she also find an Oscar? (Twentieth Century Fox) Source: Supplied

As for those who have made it onto the 2015 field, Julianne Moore as a professor and mother who learns she has early-onset Alzheimer's in Still Alice is lengths ahead of Rosamund Pike as the missing wife in Gone Girl and Felicity Jones as Hawking's other half in The Theory of Everything (with the caveat that the studio behind Theory may choose to campaign for Jones in the Best Supporting category instead. Ahh, Oscar politics!).

Reese Witherspoon's 1700km trek following a divorce in Wild is also gaining traction, while pundits are waiting on seeing Amy Adams in painter biopic Big Eyes and Chastain in A Most Violent Year before solidifying their Top 5.

Similarly, the Best Supporting Actress field is slender, with Arquette leading the likes of Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game, Laura Dern in Wild and Emma Stone in Birdman.

Veteran character actor J.K. Simmons teaching his way to glory in Whiplash (Sony Pictures) Source: Supplied

The Best Supporting Actor category remains a toss-up, though most money right now is going to J.K. Simmons' vein-popping performance as a sadistic music teacher in Whiplash.

Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher, Edward Norton in Birdman and Ethan Hawke in Boyhood are also circling, while pundits wait on Albert Brooks' turn as a lawyer in A Most Violent Year.

The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards will be announced on January 15.

Then will follow six weeks' worth of contention as to who should, could, will or won't actually win when those gold statuettes are handed out on February 22.

OSCAR BAIT: WHEN CAN WE SEE IT IN AUSTRALIA?

November 6

Interstellar

December 26

Mr Turner

St Vincent

Regular punters and Academy watchers alike are breathlessly awaiting Interstellar (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

January 1

The Imitation Game

January 8

Into the Woods

January 15

Unbroken

Birdman

January 22

Wild

American Sniper

There's no holding Benedict Cumberbatch back: if The Imitation Game doesn't win him an Oscar, something else will (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

January 29

Foxcatcher

Still Alice

The Theory of Everything

February 5

Inherent Vice

February 19

Big Eyes

February 26

A Most Violent Year

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Why you need to wear performance sports shoes

Is it time to get more professional about your running? Maybe you could grow your hair long too? Source: Supplied

MOST of the comfiest shoes on the market are performance shoes, designed for athletes to beat world records, or beat the competition, or whatever serious athletes do.

We also have a sense that if only we buy those amazing running shoes, maybe one day we'll be the next Cathy Freeman.

Sadly, becoming an athlete doesn't quite work out that way and we end up wearing the shoes designed to help us be our best, while on a 2am McDonalds run.

With that in mind, we sent shoe nerd Alice Clarke to test out fancy sports shoes in the non-sporting situations where they're the most useful.

The Adidas Energy Boost makes your run feel like less work. Source: Supplied

Adidas Energy Boost 2.0

The Adidas Boost technology is kind of a thing of beauty. It looks like polystyrene, but has the rebound to give you bouncy energy return for a good few hundred kilometres of use. And the tech fit upper on the 2.0 version of the shoe makes it extremely breathable and soft while keeping your foot cool, so your feet don't feel sweaty or uncomfortable. This is especially helpful when you sleep in and have to sprint to the train in the morning with your work shoes in your bag.

The Boost tech will make the run feel like less work, and the reduced foot sweat allows you to change your shoes in the office without killing co-workers in your immediate vicinity with your unholy stench. Everybody wins!

Bounciness rating: Tiny trampolines.

Comfort: 9/10

Support: 6/10

Price: $180

Available from:http://www.adidas.com.au/energy_boost-running-shoes

The Nike Air Zoom is a very pretty shoe. Source: Supplied

Nike Air Zoom Structure 18

If you have a foot that rolls inward, it can be really hard to find shoes that help you with that, and don't look like something your grandma would own. Sure, you can get $1000 custom orthotics to solve the problem, and you can put them in different shoes, but who has the money for that? The Air Zoom Structure 18s really want to make sure your feet don't roll in, they have three layers of foam to help you with that. Before you get them, make sure you go to Athlete's Foot or something and get your feet tested to see what way your feet roll, or if they roll at all.

If they do roll in, these shoes are ridiculously pretty and extremely comfortable.

They would be the perfect shoe if you had to stand a lot at work, or knew you were going to a party that underestimated how many chairs were required. They're lightweight with a slightly heavier upper than expected, but they're still surprisingly breathable.

Bounciness rating: Wet tennis ball.

Comfort: 8/10

Support: 11/10

Price: $200

Available from: nike.com.au

That is one, big shoe. Source: Supplied

Reebok The Blast

The main features of The Blast are its ankle support and somewhat intense cushioning in the interior. This probably helped many a 1990s basketball player look after their ankles, keep comfy, and produce so much foot sweat they had to wring out their socks after each game. But it still stands as an extremely supportive and comfortable shoe. If breaking ankles on the court isn't your style, these are great to dodge all the slow moving people clogging up the city's footpaths. The grip is better than you'll find on any modern basketball shoe, so you're unlikely to slip, and all that support will help you change directions on a dime without twisting your ankle.

Bounciness rating: Softball.

Comfort: 7/10

Support: 7/10

Price: $150

Available from: reebok.com.au

These shoes are the equivalent of pogo sticks. Source: Supplied

Adidas Crazylight Boost

Fun fact: I can jump nearly 15 centimetres higher in Crazylight Boosts than in bare feet. If I were at least a foot taller, this would be useful for dunking in the WNBL. Which is appropriate, as they're very popular with some of the best NBA players at the moment, including Damian Lillard and Australia's own Dante Exum.

However, since most of us are mere mortals who haven't yet dedicated our lives to basketball, for us they're super helpful for getting books down from the top shelf.

But they're not just about jumping. The Crazylight Boosts were the most comfortable and versatile shoes tried for this experiment, and they come in the biggest range of colours. (Though they are still really great for jumping.)

They're really lightweight and quite breathable, not to mention the added ankle support from the high tops. They're comfortable enough to wear all day and help you reach whatever you need.

Bounciness rating: Blake Griffin

Comfort: 9.5/10

Support: 8/10

Price: $200

Available from:www.adidas.com.au

These shoes will light you up like a glow stick. Source: Supplied

Nike Air Zoom Elite 7

The Air Zoom Elite 7s were designed with the help of athletes to make an amazing training shoe for elite runners.

But the bright colours, reflective patches, and angle that has you ready to run at a moment's notice make them great for walking the dog at night.

The shoe's very grippy sole makes it perfect for all the terrain your dog will drag you over to. The angled and lightweight designed keeps you ready to chase after Rufus the second he slips the leash. And the bright, reflective design will help you be seen more easily, reducing your chances of being run over. No downside!

Bounciness rating: Large, middle-aged dog who really wants to see over that fence.

Comfort: 8/10

Support: 8.5/10

Price: $180

Available from:www.nike.com.au

These shoes are in a word: cushy. Source: Supplied

Reebok Kamikaze 1

The first thing you notice when you look at the Kamikaze 1s is just how gosh darn pretty they are. They go with most things, if you have the confidence to try.

The second thing is how cushy they are, they are almost the shoe equivalent of duct taping pillows around your feet and ankles.

There are nearly 130,000 square metres of shopping space at Chadstone Shopping Centre, and these Kamikaze 1s will keep you comfortable (and slightly warm) through the overzealous air con and long, long walk that a day of bargain hunting will bring you. Shopping 'til you drop is all well and good, but when you have Christmas presents to buy, you want to put off the dropping until you've gotten home and can have a nice cup of tea. Not drop when you're still half way through the list.

Keeping with the trend of 90s basketball shoes, they are a little heavy, and not quite as breathable as the more modern ones, but the cushiony support is nice, comfortable and familiar.

Bounciness rating: Glass marble.

Comfort: 7/10

Support: 8/10

Price: $150

Available from: www.reebok.com.au

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‘Most bogan rendition ever’

Shannon Noll has copped some criticism after singing the national anthem at the Cox Plate. Courtesy Channel Seven

Cox Plate viewers and racegoers were not very complimentary of Shannon Noll's singing efforts. Source: Channel 7

WE haven't heard a rendition of the Australian national anthem so bad since an Argentinian singer butchered it at the Wallabies v Pumas in Mendoza earlier this month.

But Shannon Noll, true blue Aussie and boy from the bush, almost managed to outdo him today - if the feedback from racegoers and home viewers watching the Cox Plate are anything to go by.

Shannon Noll sings during the Cox Plate at Moonee Ponds. Source: Channel 7

The former Australian Idol runner-up took to the stage before the big race at Victoria's Moonee Ponds this afternoon to sing the national tune, apparently pronounced, "Advernce Austraya Fair."

Within seconds, Noll was being slammed on Twitter for "butchering" and "murdering" what was labelled "the most bogan rendition" of the anthem ever heard.

Taking the criticism on board, Noll responded to at least one of the #haters:

Have a listen to Nollsie in the video above (or the full version below) and let us know what you think.

Fair criticism or "what about me, it isn't fair?"

Here's the full clip:

In the meantime, here's some of the feedback:

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Mother of 10 was last woman hanged

Louisa Collins was executed in 1889. Source: Supplied

LOUISA Collins lost her fight for innocence when she was hanged for murder after an extraordinary four trials in 1889, now her family is fighting to have her recognised after her death.

In life, Louisa Collins was one of those characters that couldn't be missed.

The last woman hanged in New South Wales, and one of the only people in the world ever to be tried for murder four times, was said to love to dance, drink, and cause trouble up until her dramatic execution.

But since being hanged at Darlinghurst jail in 1889 after a jury found her guilty of murdering her second husband (she had already been found innocent of the same crime, and two juries decided she didn't kill her first husband before that), she's been lying in an unmarked grave in an inaccessible part of Rookwood cemetery.

Documents to go with piece on Louisa Collins Source: Supplied

Now her family is campaigning to have a headstone erected in the cemetery to recognise their notorious ancestor.

Until about six weeks ago, Louisa's great-great-granddaughter Janis Thompson didn't even know the infamous figure existed, let alone that she was a direct descendant.

Since being tracked down by author Caroline Overington, who has published the first full-length examination of the convicted murderess, she's become fascinated with Louisa's story and has decided that she believes she was treated unfairly.

Janis Thompson, pictured with a friend, is Louisa Collins' great granddaughter. Source: Supplied

"Three juries found her innocent of murder, and one finally decided it was time she was hanged," she tells news.com.au.

"I don't know if she was treated fairly, and it's quite distressing find out the whole story, and after all that, there's basically nothing to remember her."

Ms Thompson has written to NSW Premiere Mike Baird seeking assistance in getting some, albeit late, recognition for her late great grandmother.

An unmarked plot at Rookwood Cemetary. Pic: NICK BLOUKOS Source: News Limited

"We believe that Louisa was dealt with unfairly at the time of her incarceration in that it took four trials to convict her when the evidence was not convincing that she was actually guilty," she wrote to the premier this week.

"We never knew anything about our family history prior to our grandmother and then to discover that Louisa, her grandmother, was notorious has been shocking but distressing when we find she is not commemorated in some way by a plaque or headstone at Rookwood."

Ms Thompson has only come to know about her notorious great grandmother since being contacted by author Caroline Overington, who has written a book about Louisa, The Last Woman Hanged, published by Harper Collins.

After five years of research, she's come to the same conclusion as Louisa's family.

"I'm not out on a limb here. Three juries of 36 men felt the same. It was only the jury at the fourth trial that finally found her guilty," Ms Overington said.

"But of course, that was the only verdict that mattered, and the judge ordered her executed."

Darlinghurst courthouse where Louisa Collins was tried in 1888. Source: Supplied

The book, the first full-length examination of Louisa Collins' extraordinary case, uncovers details about the infamous figure, dubbed by the press at the time 'The Botany Murderess', accused of murdering her two husbands.

One of seven children, she was "married off" at 18 to a man named Charles Andrews, when after 22 years of marriage Andrews died suddenly after suffering violent vomiting.

Collins quickly remarried after five months, and almost as quickly, in just under a year, her second husband Peter Collins was also found dead.

A coroner's report showed Andrews' stomach held traces of arsenic when he died.

Peter Collins showed no sign of the poison, but he also suffered violent vomiting before his death.

Documents to go with piece on Louisa Collins Source: Supplied

Though minimal evidence was available that Louisa had anything to do with either death of the two men — fathers to her 10 children between them — a massive public outcry followed the reporting of both cases, and after four murder trials, it was decided Louisa should be killed mercilessly.

Janis Thompson says the experience of learning about her extraordinary family history has been incredibly overwhelming, and she's pleased her great grandmother's story is being told.

But having a site she could visit to acknowledge that part of her family, and the state's history, is the next step.

"It would be just an acknowledgment, not so much her existence but I think the connection with our family, just keeping that connection going. It's your heritage isn't it," she says.

Rookwood cemetery has 50 years until it will run out of space. Photo: Melanie Russell Source: News Limited

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