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BRISBANE, Australia, A family feud in Australia turned violent and led to a man being beaten with bats and a didgeridoo, an aboriginal musical instrument, a court in Brisbane heard. The court dismissed an appeal by Bronson Terrence Stallan, 31, convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm in the May 2007 beating, The (Brisbane) Courier reported Friday. Bad blood between two families led to a verbal clash outside a Brisbane hotel, the court heard, which became violent. Stallan was armed with a stick, according to testimony, but others joined the beating with weapons "ranging from baseball bats to didgeridoos." A didgeridoo...

Half-naked bricklayer on a bender lunged at police with 4ft didgeridoo By David Sapsted (Filed: 17/02/2006) A bricklayer brandished a didgeridoo at police when they were called to a disturbance at a seaside town, a court heard yesterday. Ryan Jones, 23, ran at them with the 4ft instrument before being sprayed with CS gas and handcuffed. He was drunk, half-naked and covered in blood after fighting with a flatmate, Hove Crown Court was told. After Jones admitted a charge of affray, Philip Wakeham, defending, said: "If one were to compile a list of items to take up to commit affray,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Kept awake at night by a snoring partner? The answer to your woes could lie -- believe it or not -- with the Australian didgeridoo. Researchers in Switzerland examined 25 patients who suffered from snoring and moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, both common sleep disorders. Half the group were given daily lessons in playing the didgeridoo, a wind instrument about 1.5 meters (yards) long which originated in northern Australia and is traditionally made from the trunk of a tree hollowed out by termites. The study, published in the British Medical Journal's online edition on Friday, found that...

The sound of Australia in Joshua Tree's outback By Sara Munro / Hi-Desert Star Bet you didn't know that the International Didgeridoo Festival is happening right here in your own backyard. It's true, but "What's a didgeridoo?" you ask? Not only is it really a word, it's a unique wind instrument with an eerie, hypnotic sound that conjures up the myth and legend of Australia's ancient history and people. Its mysterious, droning tones are weird and wonderful. "It was the coolest thing I had ever heard," says event organizer Grahm Doe of the time he happened upon the didgeridoo...