Queensland

Queensland (abbreviated as Qld) is the second-largest and third-most-populous state in Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,750,500, concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state's South East. The state is the world's sixth largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km². The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Often referred to as the "Sunshine State", Queensland is home to 10 of Australia's 30 largest cities and is the nation's third largest economy.

Queensland was first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The first European to land in Queensland (and Australia) was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, who explored the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula near present-day Weipa. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney; New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement was allowed from 1842.

Twitch

Twitch may refer to:

Physiology

Entertainment

Twitch (device)

A twitch is a device that is used to restrain horses for various stressful situations, such as veterinary treatment. Although it may look and sound inhumane, a twitch calms the horse by releasing endorphins as pressure is applied on the twitch, not causing the horse any pain. It is usually made up of a stick-like handle loop of chain or rope on the end, or a metal ring with a rope loop which is wrapped around the upper lip of the horse and tightened. Another design, sometimes called a "humane" twitch, is a plier-like clamp that squeezes the lip with motion akin to that seen in a nutcracker. The aluminium screw twitch is yet another form of twitch.

How the twitch works

The upper lip of the horse is grasped and the loop of chain or rope is placed around it, then the handle of the twitch is twisted until the loop is firmly around the lip. A wooden handled twitch has the disadvantage that it requires a handler and the handle may injure the horse handler if the horse throws its head. Other twitches may be attached to the halter or headcollar. An emergency twitch can be improvised by placing a loop of leather or heavy cord around the nose and tightening it by twisting a stick around and around until it is tightened sufficiently.

Twitch (film)

Twitch is a Student Academy Award-nominated short film directed by Leah Meyerhoff.

Twitch kicked off the film festival circuit by winning a Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and going on to screen in over 200 film festivals worldwide. Twitch has since won over a dozen international awards and is currently airing on the Independent Film Channel and Skandinavia TV.

Plot

Twitch tells the story of a young girl torn between two worlds: her domestic life, where she must care for her mother who uses a wheelchair, and her escape into the emerging world of sexuality with her eager, hormone-addled boyfriend. Leah's mother plays the Mother role in an essentially autobiographical role for the filmmaker. The making of the film was a component of the IFC series Film School, chronicling the first time filmmaking efforts of four New York University graduate film school students.

Cast

Awards