Ooooh...
This year is a year for flowers, I think!
Today I got the first flowers that I've ever received from a guy *insert blushes n stuff* They were waiting for me when I got home this evening, and are gorgeous. Singapore orchids, two bunches, and enough to make the people who visited tonight to ask me whether they were from a boyfriend...
Will take some photos tomorrow.
*happy sigh*
Thursday, September 29, 2005
For sale!
I decided to try my hand at real estate agent language with a colleague's office that's for sale...Thus, I present to you... *trumpet fanfare*
The Box Office
This spacious, mobile office made of all-natural materials will delight you with its many innovations and features. With simplicity and sleek design as the driving forces in its construction, you cannot fail to be impressed by its style and modernity, even though it contains a lot of old-world charm. It has many stunning views from its tastefully-designed windows and two entrances, one of which is complete with modern expressive artwork. With built-in CSDH,* DDH,** and 2 x TDH,*** it cannot fail to excite a buyer who is looking for an office that has everything. Enquire today!
*Club sandwich delivery hole
**Divine delivery hole
***Toast delivery hole
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Filt'y liars!
I'm thinking about getting back into writing. I mean proper writing-for-myself writing, not the writing that I do every day at work, which is proper enough, but not creative and my own, you know? Maybe I'll get into writing once I've moved into a new place and gather my thoughts together a bit more. Things are a bit hectic at the moment, and will continue to be for the next few months. Oh well, at least I can't say that life is boring, even while living in a small-ish country-like town.
On another thought, smoking is unattractive, when I think about it. Looking at a pic of someone with a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of their mouth suddenly made me stop chewing my pen and cast it away into outer darkness. It just looks so... so... gormless? Drunk people suck as well. The whole "Heeeyyyy... I'm gonna fall on my a$$ soon or lose an item of clothing if I don't stop sculling these shots... oohh... look! There goes my shirt! Ha ha ha ha! That was funny! Now I'll pour vodka into my eye... mouth... or is that eye? F*ck! Not the eye! Who's the b@stard who poured vodka in my eye!??!?! Right! *swings some punches* F*ck, wait, it was me... Ha ha ha! That was sooooo funny!" look is definitely not attractive.
And real estate agents are nothing but filthy liars! Never trust them when they use the word "delightful." It means that the place might look delightful if you had glaucoma and had been punched in both eyes repeatedly. Pfft. This rental business is frightful - I'd forgotten how much I hated looking for rental properties since the beginning of this year. Oh well, expect the worst and you won't be disappointed! (which works in both a pessimistic and optimistic way - hurrah!)
On another thought, smoking is unattractive, when I think about it. Looking at a pic of someone with a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of their mouth suddenly made me stop chewing my pen and cast it away into outer darkness. It just looks so... so... gormless? Drunk people suck as well. The whole "Heeeyyyy... I'm gonna fall on my a$$ soon or lose an item of clothing if I don't stop sculling these shots... oohh... look! There goes my shirt! Ha ha ha ha! That was funny! Now I'll pour vodka into my eye... mouth... or is that eye? F*ck! Not the eye! Who's the b@stard who poured vodka in my eye!??!?! Right! *swings some punches* F*ck, wait, it was me... Ha ha ha! That was sooooo funny!" look is definitely not attractive.
And real estate agents are nothing but filthy liars! Never trust them when they use the word "delightful." It means that the place might look delightful if you had glaucoma and had been punched in both eyes repeatedly. Pfft. This rental business is frightful - I'd forgotten how much I hated looking for rental properties since the beginning of this year. Oh well, expect the worst and you won't be disappointed! (which works in both a pessimistic and optimistic way - hurrah!)
Ole!
...After some trial and tribulation,
She reached the station
And met a sailor
Who had acquired a wooden leg in Venezuela,
And so she married him because he couldn't dance..!
- Noel Coward, Senorita Nina
She reached the station
And met a sailor
Who had acquired a wooden leg in Venezuela,
And so she married him because he couldn't dance..!
- Noel Coward, Senorita Nina
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
I like politics.
But I hate office politics.
Office politics can suck the salt off of my peanuts.
You'd think people would be kind of above that sort of thing here, but hey, I guess there's just some people out there who aren't happy unless they're twisting the knife in (with a smile on their face, of course, and a cheerful, "God bless you!") or gossiping or taking the direct route and saying hurtful stuff to your face.
And people wonder why I tend to avoid going to church!
Or why other people I know (or have heard of) who have been treated in really sh*tty ways by church-run organisations don't bother to go to church.*
You'd kind of think that as Christians we'd know better when it comes to how we treat people, wouldn't you?
Hmm!
*Note: I'm not saying that I'm being treated in a sh*tty way by my work, btw, just that there are some things that are bugging me with it! The people who I know who've had issues with church-related employment have not worked where I currently do, but with other branches of church-related employment.
But I hate office politics.
Office politics can suck the salt off of my peanuts.
You'd think people would be kind of above that sort of thing here, but hey, I guess there's just some people out there who aren't happy unless they're twisting the knife in (with a smile on their face, of course, and a cheerful, "God bless you!") or gossiping or taking the direct route and saying hurtful stuff to your face.
And people wonder why I tend to avoid going to church!
Or why other people I know (or have heard of) who have been treated in really sh*tty ways by church-run organisations don't bother to go to church.*
You'd kind of think that as Christians we'd know better when it comes to how we treat people, wouldn't you?
Hmm!
*Note: I'm not saying that I'm being treated in a sh*tty way by my work, btw, just that there are some things that are bugging me with it! The people who I know who've had issues with church-related employment have not worked where I currently do, but with other branches of church-related employment.
*insert appropriate wild giggles*
*LOL*
THE funniest thing of the day so far just happened!
I was writing to a prize winner to let them know that they'd won the "Good to Go" album by Denver and the Mile High Orchestra and that they'd need to keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks. I'm just ready to send it when I think, May as well read over it to make sure it's all alright...
So I do.
What do I read? Instead of "Orchestra," I've written "Club!"
*falls on the ground laughing*
I can just imagine the scandal if I'd not changed that oh-so-minor slip-up *lol*
Ahhh, I crack me up sometimes *lol*
THE funniest thing of the day so far just happened!
I was writing to a prize winner to let them know that they'd won the "Good to Go" album by Denver and the Mile High Orchestra and that they'd need to keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks. I'm just ready to send it when I think, May as well read over it to make sure it's all alright...
So I do.
What do I read? Instead of "Orchestra," I've written "Club!"
*falls on the ground laughing*
I can just imagine the scandal if I'd not changed that oh-so-minor slip-up *lol*
Ahhh, I crack me up sometimes *lol*
RIP, Don Adams
"Get Smart" actor diesRIP, Don Adams.
You made me laugh with Get Smart. The good old, "Ohh, so it's the old .... trick, eh!" Or, "Would you believe..?" followed by something that sounds like every spy should have waiting around the corner for them but actually isn't there for him, which the enemies would never believe, followed by another, "Would you believe..?" that's slightly less intimidating and so on and so on until all it was was Maxwell Smart, rescued once more by his own stupidity and the smarts of 99.
And who'd forget the credit sequence of Get Smart, where you did the nose-caught-in-lift-door thing.
*teehee* Hilarious!
Thanks for also doing the voice for Inspector Gadget. That was another show I grew up on and totally adored. Once more the bumbling secret agent... But in the best, funniest kind of way.
Thanks for making me laugh, even though I never knew you other than on the TV.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Real estate agent talk
In my hunt for a new home, I've decided that real estate agents are weasels with words. They should stop pretending that "Renovator's delight" doesn't mean that the roof has fallen in over part of the hall way and that the place hasn't been painted in at least 20 years.
Currently looking through some real estate ads, and I think I've figured out what a few terms mean.
...A great open living area, with a sensation of space... means: It does have a sensation of space, yes. But that's only when there's no furniture in the room. Once you get one chair and a coffee table in, the room looks cluttered and you can't get past to go to the kitchen without hurlding the table.
...Cosy wood heater and alarm system... means: Why mention an alarm system? Is it more important than the spa? Why, yes. It's in an area where people will break in to steal the spa. The alarm will be needed. You might want to strap your granny down when in this area, too, just in case people decide to steal her.
...Located at the end of a quiet no-through road... means: This is at the end of a dirt road that's beyond the black stump... or at least 10kms from the main street of the town.
...Old world charm... means: The house is likely to fall over within three months of you moving in to it. This is something that the landlord has noticed and will blame on you. But at least you can admire the pressed-tin work as it collapses around your head at 3am on a windy morning.
...Just a stroll from shops/river/school/etc... means: A bit more than a stroll. You might want to consider taking a packed lunch. Or at least a 2 liter water bottle.
...Immaculate in presentation... means: You won't feel comfortable here. The landlord will be someone who swoops down upon the house to do inspections. They will wear white gloves and run their fingers over every surface, inspecting for dust. One speck found and they will make a face like Alexander Peacock.
...Perfect for families... means: The last people who lived here gave the house a thorough bashing in terms of wear and tear. We've done our best to do it up, but we wouldn't be renting it to young professionals who'd want to host dinner parties. Your children can scribble on the walls to their heart's content here. But you will be charged for cleaning it off...
...Sought-after area... means: Well, it's not really, but it sounds better to say it. We're hoping for a quick rental because we've got a large mortgage to pay off and the debt collectors are threatening to reposess the telly.
Currently looking through some real estate ads, and I think I've figured out what a few terms mean.
...A great open living area, with a sensation of space... means: It does have a sensation of space, yes. But that's only when there's no furniture in the room. Once you get one chair and a coffee table in, the room looks cluttered and you can't get past to go to the kitchen without hurlding the table.
...Cosy wood heater and alarm system... means: Why mention an alarm system? Is it more important than the spa? Why, yes. It's in an area where people will break in to steal the spa. The alarm will be needed. You might want to strap your granny down when in this area, too, just in case people decide to steal her.
...Located at the end of a quiet no-through road... means: This is at the end of a dirt road that's beyond the black stump... or at least 10kms from the main street of the town.
...Old world charm... means: The house is likely to fall over within three months of you moving in to it. This is something that the landlord has noticed and will blame on you. But at least you can admire the pressed-tin work as it collapses around your head at 3am on a windy morning.
...Just a stroll from shops/river/school/etc... means: A bit more than a stroll. You might want to consider taking a packed lunch. Or at least a 2 liter water bottle.
...Immaculate in presentation... means: You won't feel comfortable here. The landlord will be someone who swoops down upon the house to do inspections. They will wear white gloves and run their fingers over every surface, inspecting for dust. One speck found and they will make a face like Alexander Peacock.
...Perfect for families... means: The last people who lived here gave the house a thorough bashing in terms of wear and tear. We've done our best to do it up, but we wouldn't be renting it to young professionals who'd want to host dinner parties. Your children can scribble on the walls to their heart's content here. But you will be charged for cleaning it off...
...Sought-after area... means: Well, it's not really, but it sounds better to say it. We're hoping for a quick rental because we've got a large mortgage to pay off and the debt collectors are threatening to reposess the telly.
Nudey cherub dude!
When I move...
I wanna take the nudey cherub dude in the front garden with me.
And the lion from the back garden...
*innocent look*
But I probably won't.
It might be hard to explain to police, if it came to that, that you took a nudey cherub dude holding a plant thing and a statue of three lion's heads with you when you moved because you thought it was kind of amusing at the time...
;)
I wanna take the nudey cherub dude in the front garden with me.
And the lion from the back garden...
*innocent look*
But I probably won't.
It might be hard to explain to police, if it came to that, that you took a nudey cherub dude holding a plant thing and a statue of three lion's heads with you when you moved because you thought it was kind of amusing at the time...
;)
Swings and roundabouts
Wow...
One of my best friends is starting work here on October 17!!!
Oh my God!
*dances*
This is so awesome :) We're going to probably be sharing a house, provided that we can find one that allows pets, and that will be interesting at least. I've never shared a house before with someone who's not family for a long-term thing. Dorm life doesn't count either *lol* Still, hopefully it'll be good.
And I'm definitely excited.
Nervous, hopeful, excited, all of these other sorts of things, but yeah, over all pretty amazed with what God works out in the end. I mean, just a couple of months ago I was wondering where things were going with life, whether I should buy a house here, what I should do with moving, etc, etc. But now? Well, it's still not really any more certain, but things are lookin' up.
So thanks God :)
You definitely do work in some mysterious ways...
One of my best friends is starting work here on October 17!!!
Oh my God!
*dances*
This is so awesome :) We're going to probably be sharing a house, provided that we can find one that allows pets, and that will be interesting at least. I've never shared a house before with someone who's not family for a long-term thing. Dorm life doesn't count either *lol* Still, hopefully it'll be good.
And I'm definitely excited.
Nervous, hopeful, excited, all of these other sorts of things, but yeah, over all pretty amazed with what God works out in the end. I mean, just a couple of months ago I was wondering where things were going with life, whether I should buy a house here, what I should do with moving, etc, etc. But now? Well, it's still not really any more certain, but things are lookin' up.
So thanks God :)
You definitely do work in some mysterious ways...
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Ouch...
I hate it when you get news that kicks you in the teeth, especially after you've been having a great day.
I mean, I slept in, got up late, had a great shower, made some nice rasin bread toast, took the dog for a walk down the street, bought some really delicious things to cook with, played with the dog from next door, got in and hopped on MSN for a while to check messages and stuff.
One of my friends from kinda way back starts talking to me, I asked why I hadn't seen him around for or heard from him for ages and said, 'Oh my Lord, you're still alive!' His reply was that he mightn't be for much longer. I thought he was joking until he told me his cancer's come back.
:(
I mean, I slept in, got up late, had a great shower, made some nice rasin bread toast, took the dog for a walk down the street, bought some really delicious things to cook with, played with the dog from next door, got in and hopped on MSN for a while to check messages and stuff.
One of my friends from kinda way back starts talking to me, I asked why I hadn't seen him around for or heard from him for ages and said, 'Oh my Lord, you're still alive!' His reply was that he mightn't be for much longer. I thought he was joking until he told me his cancer's come back.
:(
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Ich hab' keine Lust
Hmmmm.Marriage.
One of my friends was saying how his parents think he should settle down, and it's made me think more about marriage (which I'd thought about as I spring cleaned the house today and about how kind of scary it is).
As I've gotten 'older' (at the ripe old age of 22), more and more of my friends have gotten married. Nice for them, of course, and I think I'm happy for them, but at the same time I do tend to think, 'Hey, why not go throw your life under a bus?'
Marriage hasn't ever really been anything on my immediate list of things to do in my life. Never was something I thought about much as a child. Hell, my Barbies and Kens were living in some kind of weird polygamous-sharing-do-whoever thing. I liked weddings and being in them, but they never made my heart flutter at the thought of doing that one day. Fairytale endings were okay, but what happened after the endings?
On the contrary, they kind of made me think, 'Yikes. Isn't it scary to be contracting your life away to someone?' It's a nice thing, I guess, but it also seems like losing a part of yourself.
Maybe I just like my independence too much to want to have someone incorporated into that.
Of course, I'm not ruling it out. It's more of a thing of if it happens, it happens. But it's not my life ambition. I don't feel like I need another person to be validated as a being. If I'm happy with my life, it's all good :)
Mmmm, wheatgrass...
If I have any more chocolate this weekend, I think I'll go into a chocolate coma.
80% cocoa Lindt dark chocolate.
Mmmmmmmm...
*jitters*
Other than that, I am re-arranging my house! And it looks awesome. Going with a more minimalistic feel in a cluttered French provincial kind of way. FINALLY have a spare room that looks not like a chaos room, too. It's a special moment.
Just a bugger the lease expires soon and I must find another house. Drat it.
80% cocoa Lindt dark chocolate.
Mmmmmmmm...
*jitters*
Other than that, I am re-arranging my house! And it looks awesome. Going with a more minimalistic feel in a cluttered French provincial kind of way. FINALLY have a spare room that looks not like a chaos room, too. It's a special moment.
Just a bugger the lease expires soon and I must find another house. Drat it.
Schtiel - Rammstein
Shtil' - veter molchit
Upal beloj chajkoj na dno
Shtil' - nash korabl' zabyt
Odin, v mire skovannom snom
Mezhdu vseh vremen
Bez imen i lic
My uzhe ne zhdem,
Chto prosnetsia briz!
Shtil' - shodim s uma
Zhara pahnet chernoj smoloj
Smert' odnogo lish' nuzhna
I my, my vernemsia domoj!
Ego krov' i plot'
vnov' nasytit nas
A za smert' emu
Mozhet, Bog vozdast!
Chto nas zhdet, more hranit molchan'e
Zhazhda zhit' sushit serdca do dna
Tol'ko zhizn' zdes' nichego ne stoit
Zhizn' drugih, no ne tvoia!
Net, grom ne grianul s nebes
Kogda pili krov' kak zver'e
No nesterpimym stal blesk
Kresta, chto my IUzhnym zovem
I v poslednij mig
Podnialas' volna,
I razdalsia krik:
"Vperedi Zemlia!"
I promise myself I will learn how to pronounce the Russian in this! One day... *shakes fist*
Upal beloj chajkoj na dno
Shtil' - nash korabl' zabyt
Odin, v mire skovannom snom
Mezhdu vseh vremen
Bez imen i lic
My uzhe ne zhdem,
Chto prosnetsia briz!
Shtil' - shodim s uma
Zhara pahnet chernoj smoloj
Smert' odnogo lish' nuzhna
I my, my vernemsia domoj!
Ego krov' i plot'
vnov' nasytit nas
A za smert' emu
Mozhet, Bog vozdast!
Chto nas zhdet, more hranit molchan'e
Zhazhda zhit' sushit serdca do dna
Tol'ko zhizn' zdes' nichego ne stoit
Zhizn' drugih, no ne tvoia!
Net, grom ne grianul s nebes
Kogda pili krov' kak zver'e
No nesterpimym stal blesk
Kresta, chto my IUzhnym zovem
I v poslednij mig
Podnialas' volna,
I razdalsia krik:
"Vperedi Zemlia!"
I promise myself I will learn how to pronounce the Russian in this! One day... *shakes fist*
Friday, September 23, 2005
Commonpoor Bank!
Pfft.
I've been thinking about term deposits lately with the bank, so I've been checking out rates and stuff. Of course you want to get the best interest rate, so it all has to work from there...
The other week I went to the Bendigo Bank, and checked out stuff with them. Then this morning I went to the Commonwealth Bank. I wasn't entirely sure about the Bendigo Bank rates. BUT when I went to the Commonwealth Bank today, I realised that BB is definitely the way to go.
After all, Bendigo Bank is offering over 5% interest per anum/on maturity. Commonwealth Bank is UNDER 2%.
Bollocks to the Commonwealth Bank.
"Don't make me he-bitch man-slap you!" - TJ, Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo
I've been thinking about term deposits lately with the bank, so I've been checking out rates and stuff. Of course you want to get the best interest rate, so it all has to work from there...
The other week I went to the Bendigo Bank, and checked out stuff with them. Then this morning I went to the Commonwealth Bank. I wasn't entirely sure about the Bendigo Bank rates. BUT when I went to the Commonwealth Bank today, I realised that BB is definitely the way to go.
After all, Bendigo Bank is offering over 5% interest per anum/on maturity. Commonwealth Bank is UNDER 2%.
Bollocks to the Commonwealth Bank.
"Don't make me he-bitch man-slap you!" - TJ, Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Spring fling? Hmm!
I swear to God I am not hallucinating. I haven't had any coffee, I'm well rested and I don't take any recreational drugs. But I had to wonder when I looked out my window just about five minute's ago and noticed that there seem to be more leaf shoots on the tree outside than there were about three hours ago. I swear there are! Oh well, it'll be nice to have the tree re-foliated *teehee* I was getting bored of looking at the mountain on the other side of the valley and half of the church. Although by the time Summer is finished, I'll probably be ready for the view of the mountains again. Convenient how things work out, isn't it?
One of my friends sent me an MP3 for Benzin and I can't stop listening to it *lol* *sends profuse happy nicenice thoughts to them* Really, really, really excited about Rosenrot now, although it's over a month until it'll be released here. And yeah, there's probably stuff that's downloadable, but I just love having the album, y'know? Like all of the album art, all of that stuff. But it's only worth spending that much money to buy an album if you really like the artist/group/band a lot. And I have a passion for Rammstein... And Til Lindemann is an Adonis of a man.
I bought Jamiroquai's Dynamite recently, and it's not too bad, but it's not great either. Coldplay's X&Y truly is dismal elevator music, so I'm tempted to turn it into a $25 coaster or give it away. Out, out foul spot! Out of my CD collection!
Oh my God
Clip for Rammstein's new single, Benzin.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!
*faints*
This site has the clip for Benzin. Can we say symbolism? Meaning? Utter amazing-ness? Eye-gasm!? Ear-gasm?! Oh, I can't wait for this to be out in stores. Well... the single is meant to be out in Australia on October 7, but as download only or something like that. Well, we'll just have to wait to find out more about that, I suppose.
Appparently, Rosenrot will be out on October 28, although I'm not sure whether that's the release date for Australia, or just in Europe. Still, I will definitely be rushing out to buy a copy when it's released. I've been waiting for this since last year when there were hints that there was more to come from Reise Reise. Something about there being a special 2 CD/DVD edition of Rosenrot as well.
AND there is news that there's going to be a live concert 2005 DVD released in December or something like that.
If you feel like a German-injection for the day, you can have a read of the official press release on Rosenrot here. I read it earlier and enjoyed getting to learn some new German words, like kompromisslosigkeit and Dornröschenschalf. Figure those out if you can ;)
Es fließt durch meine Venen
Es schläft in meinen Tränen
Es läuft mir aus den Ohren
Herz und Nieren sind Motoren
White-collar workers look for an excuse to vote Labor by John Black
Now this is an interesting article, particularly because I think it has far more relevance to the next election than Mark Latham's books, interviews and general public tantrums will. It's all about tax, economics, money and white-collar workers.
Tax, economics, money and white-collar workers that could win Labor the next Federal election...
Aside from the current Labor party lacking interest (even with the Latham kerfuffle), I think that this could definitely be something that could get them up and over the line in 2007. If the Labor party can offer a "better" way of doing things with tax and the economy (especially the minimum wage and petrol prices, if the claims of price gouging are to be believed), they might have a chance of beating the Coalition.
I think people were willing to NOT vote for the Coalition last year. Australians are sick of the government back-flipping on everything, such as the implementation of the GST by John "I'll never introduce a GST" Howard. Just think back to the children overboard scandals, too. And the war on Iraq. And the refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol. And the way that the government seems to leap through hoops for George Bush (Australians do like Americans, but we aren't a fan of their policies). How the rich seem to get all the tax cuts while the lowest income earners don't get any cuts and the government sets up new procedures to try to ensure that the minimum wage won't be reviewed until sometime in the distant future.
A lot was made of the Latham plan to cut logging in Tasmania, which is something that is vitally important to do. Logging is one of the biggest industries there, but if they keep destroying the environment like they currently do, there won't be anything left there in 20 year's time. There's barely anything interesting about the place as it is, other than its natural resources. To get rid of them is definitely economic suicide. Much more could be done in Tassie with eco-tourism. People are interested in that sort of thing now days, provided that there are some creature comforts associated with it. I went to Tassie about five years ago now and it is a gorgeous place - beautiful forests and amazing wildlife. But they're being killed off by the forest equivalent of strip mining, where everything is knocked down and poison baits to kill the wildlife is put out by the logging companies. The main vehicles you saw on the more 'remote' roads in Tassie were logging trucks. Lots and lots of them, loaded up with the remains of trees. Oh, and did you know that the Commonwealth Bank is the biggest shareholder in Gunns, the major logging company in Tasmania? Yup. I have real ethical reservations with banking with them now *sigh*
But Tasmania and logging wasn't what lost Latham the election, I think. Sure, John Howard came along and said, "Hey, let's keep raping the environment here! It's worked for years. We don't want these poor people to lose their jobs for the sake of keeping a few old trees that could be made into some nice woodchips," so people in Tassie thought that was great and probably voted for him because of that one damn fool reason.
But in other States where we're a lil' bit less isolated and don't have six fingers on each hand, I think other economic factors were at play in why the Howard government retained power. If Latham and the Labor party had been offering up some great tax reforms and looking to reduce the rates for lower income earners, who really need it now with the increase in the cost of living, it would have been a much closer result.
Quoting from the article on SMH: If these higher-income professionals had an alternative low-tax party with a more independent foreign policy on offer - like a Greenish Pauline Hanson, but with brains - professional seats across the country would be lost to Labor and the Liberals. And if Beazley wants to avoid the mistakes of his 1998 tax package, he perhaps could consult the Labor MPs for Melbourne (Lindsay Tanner), Melbourne Ports (Michael Danby), Sydney (Tanya Plibersek) or Brisbane (Arch Bevis)... Before the last election, if Latham had listened a little more to these MPs and to what his fellow Sydney professionals were saying about tax reform instead of the US alliance, and had done his economic policy homework, he'd be implementing his new tax scales now, instead of retailing gossip about himself."
Hmmmm...
Now this is an interesting article, particularly because I think it has far more relevance to the next election than Mark Latham's books, interviews and general public tantrums will. It's all about tax, economics, money and white-collar workers.
Tax, economics, money and white-collar workers that could win Labor the next Federal election...
Aside from the current Labor party lacking interest (even with the Latham kerfuffle), I think that this could definitely be something that could get them up and over the line in 2007. If the Labor party can offer a "better" way of doing things with tax and the economy (especially the minimum wage and petrol prices, if the claims of price gouging are to be believed), they might have a chance of beating the Coalition.
I think people were willing to NOT vote for the Coalition last year. Australians are sick of the government back-flipping on everything, such as the implementation of the GST by John "I'll never introduce a GST" Howard. Just think back to the children overboard scandals, too. And the war on Iraq. And the refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol. And the way that the government seems to leap through hoops for George Bush (Australians do like Americans, but we aren't a fan of their policies). How the rich seem to get all the tax cuts while the lowest income earners don't get any cuts and the government sets up new procedures to try to ensure that the minimum wage won't be reviewed until sometime in the distant future.
A lot was made of the Latham plan to cut logging in Tasmania, which is something that is vitally important to do. Logging is one of the biggest industries there, but if they keep destroying the environment like they currently do, there won't be anything left there in 20 year's time. There's barely anything interesting about the place as it is, other than its natural resources. To get rid of them is definitely economic suicide. Much more could be done in Tassie with eco-tourism. People are interested in that sort of thing now days, provided that there are some creature comforts associated with it. I went to Tassie about five years ago now and it is a gorgeous place - beautiful forests and amazing wildlife. But they're being killed off by the forest equivalent of strip mining, where everything is knocked down and poison baits to kill the wildlife is put out by the logging companies. The main vehicles you saw on the more 'remote' roads in Tassie were logging trucks. Lots and lots of them, loaded up with the remains of trees. Oh, and did you know that the Commonwealth Bank is the biggest shareholder in Gunns, the major logging company in Tasmania? Yup. I have real ethical reservations with banking with them now *sigh*
But Tasmania and logging wasn't what lost Latham the election, I think. Sure, John Howard came along and said, "Hey, let's keep raping the environment here! It's worked for years. We don't want these poor people to lose their jobs for the sake of keeping a few old trees that could be made into some nice woodchips," so people in Tassie thought that was great and probably voted for him because of that one damn fool reason.
But in other States where we're a lil' bit less isolated and don't have six fingers on each hand, I think other economic factors were at play in why the Howard government retained power. If Latham and the Labor party had been offering up some great tax reforms and looking to reduce the rates for lower income earners, who really need it now with the increase in the cost of living, it would have been a much closer result.
Quoting from the article on SMH: If these higher-income professionals had an alternative low-tax party with a more independent foreign policy on offer - like a Greenish Pauline Hanson, but with brains - professional seats across the country would be lost to Labor and the Liberals. And if Beazley wants to avoid the mistakes of his 1998 tax package, he perhaps could consult the Labor MPs for Melbourne (Lindsay Tanner), Melbourne Ports (Michael Danby), Sydney (Tanya Plibersek) or Brisbane (Arch Bevis)... Before the last election, if Latham had listened a little more to these MPs and to what his fellow Sydney professionals were saying about tax reform instead of the US alliance, and had done his economic policy homework, he'd be implementing his new tax scales now, instead of retailing gossip about himself."
Hmmmm...
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Quotes of the Day
There were just too many good quotes! I couldn't bring it down to just one...
"It couldn't have been more magical even if you were penetrated by a magician." - Drawn Together, SBS.
"He's just lucky the fax machine couldn't kick him in the balls." - Defamer.com
"Looks like an extra off the set of a porno called Julius Pleaser: Et tu Bootay?" - Go Fug Yourself
"See what we're saying about sluts? I mean, it's kind of fun - that night... But after you're like, "I don't want to eat candy and watch TV all day. I feel sick. I want to have a shower and go exercise or something." - Viceland.com
"Of course he's replacable. Just not with anyone who's any good..." - Anorak.co.uk
"It couldn't have been more magical even if you were penetrated by a magician." - Drawn Together, SBS.
"He's just lucky the fax machine couldn't kick him in the balls." - Defamer.com
"Looks like an extra off the set of a porno called Julius Pleaser: Et tu Bootay?" - Go Fug Yourself
"See what we're saying about sluts? I mean, it's kind of fun - that night... But after you're like, "I don't want to eat candy and watch TV all day. I feel sick. I want to have a shower and go exercise or something." - Viceland.com
"Of course he's replacable. Just not with anyone who's any good..." - Anorak.co.uk
stuck in my mind
delusional i believed i could cure it all for you dear
coax or trick or drive or drag the demons from you
make it right for you sleeping beauty
truly thought i could magically heal you
far beyond a visible sign of your awakening
failing miserably to rescue sleeping beauty
drunk on ego truly thought i could make it right
if i kissed you one more time to help you face the nightmare
but you're far too poisoned for me
such a fool to think that i could wake you from your slumber
that i could actually heal you
sleeping beauty poisoned and hopeless
far beyond a visible sign of your awakening
failing miserably to find a way to comfort you
far beyond a visible sign of you awakening
and hiding from some poisoned memory
poisoned and hopeless sleeping beauty...
coax or trick or drive or drag the demons from you
make it right for you sleeping beauty
truly thought i could magically heal you
far beyond a visible sign of your awakening
failing miserably to rescue sleeping beauty
drunk on ego truly thought i could make it right
if i kissed you one more time to help you face the nightmare
but you're far too poisoned for me
such a fool to think that i could wake you from your slumber
that i could actually heal you
sleeping beauty poisoned and hopeless
far beyond a visible sign of your awakening
failing miserably to find a way to comfort you
far beyond a visible sign of you awakening
and hiding from some poisoned memory
poisoned and hopeless sleeping beauty...
You know when you have the 'flu and it totally impairs your judgement and later on you're thinking back about some of the 'flu-induced stuff and you just think, 'Woah... crazy...'Example: I *actually* liked Mariah Carey's We Belong Together when I had the 'flu. Then I made a recovery and didn't mind it so much, but didn't want to listen to it ever again. Of course, there were some unfortunate incidents of hearing it while shopping, but it didn't make me want to run from the stores. Now that I'm almost 100% better, today when the song started playing on my iTunes listy thing, I just thought to myself, "What on Earth!? Where was my sanity? This song is absolute bosh from one end of it to the other!"
I feel like I've dishonoured my usual music selection *hangs head in shame*
Perhaps I am a music snob in some ways, although I will listen to almost anything if it catches my interest (including Scottish bagpipe music, which is best played loudly on Sunday mornings whilst cleaning the house - nothing gives you a spring in your step like a nice jig to dance along to!). It's just that, in general, I don't like mass-produced pop crud. Most of it is annoying, most of it's not interesting or amusing (like the Backstreet Boys stuff of sobbing-into-tissues-romantic-serenades - like I care?), a lot of it is really skanky, heaps of the r'n'b/rap/hiphop stuff is violent and/or misogynistic and almost all of it makes me feel like my brain is rotting or something.
But happily, the next Rammstein album will be out in October, which is ear-gasmic. Cannot wait for it! *jumps around excitedly* Rosenrot, Benzin... hmm... yay! I think it's going to be called Reise, Reise Vol 2 or something like that, although it was originally going to be called Rosenrot. We'll see when it arrives, I suppose. YAY!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Give up the day job!
One of my friends from SA was talking to me on MSN tonight and told me I had gotten it all wrong with my job and should become a photographer instead. Hmm...Tempting...
There seem to be a lot of people travelling at the moment who I know, so to all of my friends who are coming, going, staying, wandering, searching and finding, all of the best to you. Traveling mercies go with you and may your luggage never get lost :)
And come back! That means you Kristin *lol*
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand...
- Irish blessing
And come back! That means you Kristin *lol*
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand...
- Irish blessing
Doggy style?
I love serious news in the morning that has a bizarre twist...
Bush and Hitler 'back' stray dog campaign from Ananova.com
Mmmm... now getting visions of George W Bush talking to his doggies...
GWB: Aww, Spot an' Barney, you know I don't feel like nobody loves me no more, 'cept for Condi, but her teeth frighten me, y'know... But I know that you guys are always gonna be happy to see me when I get home an' we can go out and play on the ranch now that that scary lady who was protestin' the oil search in Iraq and how her son had died or something silly like that is gone...
*dogs look at him adoringly*
GWB: Now why don't Dick look at me like you guys do? I'da thought by now he'd love me! But no... I feel inse... inse... insecure in that rel-ay-shun-ship even though I do just what he tells me!
*pats dogs*
GWB: Y'all know, I read a book in school the other day called Spot can run. Spot can run! 'Cept he didn't look nothin' like you do, Spot, an' I couldn't make much sense of the book until Condi said I was holdin' it up the wrong way! I just thought all the kids was laughing because they was happy I'd caught a big dic-tay-ter... That was kinda embarrassin'. But I just laughed it off with them an' then had the school bombed. That'll learn 'em and then they'll love me for settin' them free! Gosh darn, I guess you could say I was the best President-shal lib-er-ay-ter ever!
*goes all misty eyed while dogs chew on White House furniture. GWB suddenly notices furniture chewing going on*
GWB: Hey, stop that or I'll have ter bomb you! Ha ha ha ha, y'all know that's my favourite joke!
*picks up dogs and cuddles them*
GWB: You make me so happy even when everyone else is hatin' me an' saying nasty things, like that mean, mean former President Bill Clinton who says I was just lookin' after middle-class people in New Orleans... An' you know that ain't right, 'cos I was lookin' after the upper class people because they have the oil, y'all know? The only oil some o' them not rich people in New Orleans have is in their hair! Ha ha ha ha ha! Geddit?
*dogs look non-plussed*
GWB: Y'all know, none of them people at the UN Summit got that one neither... Even Johnny Howard, who I think is the only other world leader who loves me! An' if I didn't love him so much we could invade Aus-traay-lier for the oil of mass destruction if they have some. But then I don't think I never saw none when I was there on holidays. But they have these things called kang-ger-oos an' y'all gotta see them, they're so cute, but they ain't as cute as you of course. Or Laura! Now if she ain't the cutest lil' thing... I'ma gonna go 'liberate' her now! Ha ha ha..!
*GWB wanders off, humming. Spot returns to chewing the furniture. Barney wees on the carpet*
Bush and Hitler 'back' stray dog campaign from Ananova.com
Mmmm... now getting visions of George W Bush talking to his doggies...
GWB: Aww, Spot an' Barney, you know I don't feel like nobody loves me no more, 'cept for Condi, but her teeth frighten me, y'know... But I know that you guys are always gonna be happy to see me when I get home an' we can go out and play on the ranch now that that scary lady who was protestin' the oil search in Iraq and how her son had died or something silly like that is gone... *dogs look at him adoringly*
GWB: Now why don't Dick look at me like you guys do? I'da thought by now he'd love me! But no... I feel inse... inse... insecure in that rel-ay-shun-ship even though I do just what he tells me!
*pats dogs*
GWB: Y'all know, I read a book in school the other day called Spot can run. Spot can run! 'Cept he didn't look nothin' like you do, Spot, an' I couldn't make much sense of the book until Condi said I was holdin' it up the wrong way! I just thought all the kids was laughing because they was happy I'd caught a big dic-tay-ter... That was kinda embarrassin'. But I just laughed it off with them an' then had the school bombed. That'll learn 'em and then they'll love me for settin' them free! Gosh darn, I guess you could say I was the best President-shal lib-er-ay-ter ever!
*goes all misty eyed while dogs chew on White House furniture. GWB suddenly notices furniture chewing going on*
GWB: Hey, stop that or I'll have ter bomb you! Ha ha ha ha, y'all know that's my favourite joke!
*picks up dogs and cuddles them*
GWB: You make me so happy even when everyone else is hatin' me an' saying nasty things, like that mean, mean former President Bill Clinton who says I was just lookin' after middle-class people in New Orleans... An' you know that ain't right, 'cos I was lookin' after the upper class people because they have the oil, y'all know? The only oil some o' them not rich people in New Orleans have is in their hair! Ha ha ha ha ha! Geddit?
*dogs look non-plussed*
GWB: Y'all know, none of them people at the UN Summit got that one neither... Even Johnny Howard, who I think is the only other world leader who loves me! An' if I didn't love him so much we could invade Aus-traay-lier for the oil of mass destruction if they have some. But then I don't think I never saw none when I was there on holidays. But they have these things called kang-ger-oos an' y'all gotta see them, they're so cute, but they ain't as cute as you of course. Or Laura! Now if she ain't the cutest lil' thing... I'ma gonna go 'liberate' her now! Ha ha ha..!
*GWB wanders off, humming. Spot returns to chewing the furniture. Barney wees on the carpet*
Orange alert!
Why are minor celebrities in Australia following the trend of minor celebrities in the UK and turning a startling shade of tangerine?!
I was watching the soccer for a bit this morning, but was depressed by our lack of a$$-kicking, so flicked over to the Today show and was shocked to see that Tracy Grimshaw had, against all conventions of good taste and sanity, turned orange! Bright, startling orange! And something had happened to hair to turn it into a wet straw colour, so she looked somewhat like an elongated citrus fruit under a bit of old oat grass.
Arrgh!
So very, very wrong on so many levels.
There is such a thing as a healthy-looking tan (shush, health professionals that say otherwise... people got by for centuries with healthy tans). Unfortunately these d-list celebrities seem to have forgotten that natural looks with tans are the key and have just said, 'Oh, what the heck, Giorgio, make me glow in the dark! Bright orange is the new black!'
I was watching the soccer for a bit this morning, but was depressed by our lack of a$$-kicking, so flicked over to the Today show and was shocked to see that Tracy Grimshaw had, against all conventions of good taste and sanity, turned orange! Bright, startling orange! And something had happened to hair to turn it into a wet straw colour, so she looked somewhat like an elongated citrus fruit under a bit of old oat grass.
Arrgh!
So very, very wrong on so many levels.
There is such a thing as a healthy-looking tan (shush, health professionals that say otherwise... people got by for centuries with healthy tans). Unfortunately these d-list celebrities seem to have forgotten that natural looks with tans are the key and have just said, 'Oh, what the heck, Giorgio, make me glow in the dark! Bright orange is the new black!'
Monday, September 19, 2005
Quote of the day
"I think we've had enough peppermint schnapps for one night, Mr Brogden..." - The Glasshouse
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
Currently reading some stuff on the Sydney Morning Herald site about the Mark Latham diaries, which came out today, and I have to say I'm looking forward to seeing Enough Rope tonight with Andrew Denton interviewing the former Labor leader.
It's interesting how people are saying that the diaries show that Latham has a 'narcissistic personality disorder.' But honestly! It's a diary *lol* Diaries are all about being narcissistic and considering yourself and yourself alone in a totally shameless way. In diaries, you don't have to be empathetic or sympathetic or even focus on another's perspective. The book isn't being marketed as a serious, unbiased, in-depth look at a political party or the times of one of its leaders, either. The word 'diary' does give that away somewhat.
Admittedly, I was unsure about Latham's suitability as a leader of the Opposition here in Australia at first. That was probably because of the way that he went about his politics, speaking his mind in a whatever-comes-to-the-surface-is-gonna-get-said way and not shying away from the good ol' political habit of name-calling. He was some variety of political bully who went in to shake things up, and it was interesting when he did. Him calling the Prime Minister, John Howard, a 'suckhole' was the stuff of wet dreams for people who had long desired to hear such a thing said, too (inappropriate as it was, of course *attempted serious look*). Even better was when he honestly pointed out that George W Bush is the most incompetent and dangerous president in the history of American politics.
Still, it's somewhat disappointing to feel all of the negativity and anger from Latham about the party that he led in his diaries and interviews. Believe it or not, I actually agree with some of the comments our PM made about the matter, especially that we should remember that there are people on all sides of politics working for the best of the nation. Of course, there's backstabbing done by Latham in the book, but then there was backstabbing done to him when he was in the party... a vicious circle, no? Whatever the decision on that is, I still don't want to think about the implied affair between the PM and Pru Goward, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
The mental image of them throwing their wrinkly bodies together in a frenzy of carnal lust makes me want to unleash a technicolour yawn onto my computer monitor for daring to bring that thought up ( Goward rejects claim of affair with PM by Mark Metherell, Wendy Frew and AAP).
As the current Labor party stands, they're uninteresting and uninspiring. Wishy-washy. Their in-fighting and constant lack of seeming to 'gel,' as well as never seeming to stand up for the Australian public in times when it really matters for there to be a voice that challenges things that are happening under the current government, makes them look like a group of squabbling school kids couldn't organise to find their own rear ends with both hands and a road map. Kim Beazley is an uninspiring leader, at least to the public. I mean, he's not someone I'd really want to vote for because he seems to be lacking charisma, fire in the belly and the desire to make a difference.
Latham describes Beazley in The Latham Diaries as being indecent, duplicitous and unfit to clean the toilets at Parliament House. But goodness me, aren't all politicians indecent and duplicitous and unfit to clean toilets? They don't fit down into the bowls of toilets very well, anyways... Whatever the case may be, I don't think Beazley is really that dreadful. It's just he's not an interesting leader.
But really, the Labor party's lack of success and lack of viability as an option when it comes to voting on a Federal level is something that has to be addressed. If all of the States and Territories in Australia have Labor governments that have been in office for quite a long time and seem to be relatively well-liked by the people, why isn't that translating to the Federal arena?
There are those who will say that it's because no-one votes out a government who has seen them through times of financial and economic security, which is somewhat true, I guess. But then we've had quite a lot of problems. And we've been lied to about stuff that does matter. And laws are going nuts when it comes to anti-terrorism stuff. The whole move towards the right instead of keeping balanced. Dismissing the voices of Australians who don't agree. Hmmm...
Let's close with some thoughts from Sting of truth in this suicide mission by Paul Sheehan.
"Once again, the hypocrisy of the media has been breathtaking, as it was with the John Brogden bloodbath two weeks ago. The media has engaged in an orgy of exploitation of Latham's brutality while pretending to be appalled by it. Once again, The Daily Telegraph has distinguished itself, this time publishing extracts from The Latham Diary under the headline: "Mark Latham's diary of a loathsome loser", as if the paper has not been financing, promoting and exploiting this resource.
Latham's behaviour is not so far removed from what the media serves up every day as it subjects politicians and the electoral process to an unremitting campaign of belligerence, cynicism and ridicule. The media condescends towards democracy because it competes with democracy. It competes for power and control of the national agenda. The biggest contest in Australian politics is thus not between the Coalition and Labor, but between the elected and accountable against the unelected and unaccountable.
Mark Latham may hate the media, may refer to "animals", but what is contained in The Latham Diaries is little different to what can be heard on any given weekday on radio 2UE. He would blend right in."
It's interesting how people are saying that the diaries show that Latham has a 'narcissistic personality disorder.' But honestly! It's a diary *lol* Diaries are all about being narcissistic and considering yourself and yourself alone in a totally shameless way. In diaries, you don't have to be empathetic or sympathetic or even focus on another's perspective. The book isn't being marketed as a serious, unbiased, in-depth look at a political party or the times of one of its leaders, either. The word 'diary' does give that away somewhat.
Admittedly, I was unsure about Latham's suitability as a leader of the Opposition here in Australia at first. That was probably because of the way that he went about his politics, speaking his mind in a whatever-comes-to-the-surface-is-gonna-get-said way and not shying away from the good ol' political habit of name-calling. He was some variety of political bully who went in to shake things up, and it was interesting when he did. Him calling the Prime Minister, John Howard, a 'suckhole' was the stuff of wet dreams for people who had long desired to hear such a thing said, too (inappropriate as it was, of course *attempted serious look*). Even better was when he honestly pointed out that George W Bush is the most incompetent and dangerous president in the history of American politics.
Still, it's somewhat disappointing to feel all of the negativity and anger from Latham about the party that he led in his diaries and interviews. Believe it or not, I actually agree with some of the comments our PM made about the matter, especially that we should remember that there are people on all sides of politics working for the best of the nation. Of course, there's backstabbing done by Latham in the book, but then there was backstabbing done to him when he was in the party... a vicious circle, no? Whatever the decision on that is, I still don't want to think about the implied affair between the PM and Pru Goward, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
The mental image of them throwing their wrinkly bodies together in a frenzy of carnal lust makes me want to unleash a technicolour yawn onto my computer monitor for daring to bring that thought up ( Goward rejects claim of affair with PM by Mark Metherell, Wendy Frew and AAP).
As the current Labor party stands, they're uninteresting and uninspiring. Wishy-washy. Their in-fighting and constant lack of seeming to 'gel,' as well as never seeming to stand up for the Australian public in times when it really matters for there to be a voice that challenges things that are happening under the current government, makes them look like a group of squabbling school kids couldn't organise to find their own rear ends with both hands and a road map. Kim Beazley is an uninspiring leader, at least to the public. I mean, he's not someone I'd really want to vote for because he seems to be lacking charisma, fire in the belly and the desire to make a difference.
Latham describes Beazley in The Latham Diaries as being indecent, duplicitous and unfit to clean the toilets at Parliament House. But goodness me, aren't all politicians indecent and duplicitous and unfit to clean toilets? They don't fit down into the bowls of toilets very well, anyways... Whatever the case may be, I don't think Beazley is really that dreadful. It's just he's not an interesting leader.
But really, the Labor party's lack of success and lack of viability as an option when it comes to voting on a Federal level is something that has to be addressed. If all of the States and Territories in Australia have Labor governments that have been in office for quite a long time and seem to be relatively well-liked by the people, why isn't that translating to the Federal arena?
There are those who will say that it's because no-one votes out a government who has seen them through times of financial and economic security, which is somewhat true, I guess. But then we've had quite a lot of problems. And we've been lied to about stuff that does matter. And laws are going nuts when it comes to anti-terrorism stuff. The whole move towards the right instead of keeping balanced. Dismissing the voices of Australians who don't agree. Hmmm...
Let's close with some thoughts from Sting of truth in this suicide mission by Paul Sheehan.
"Once again, the hypocrisy of the media has been breathtaking, as it was with the John Brogden bloodbath two weeks ago. The media has engaged in an orgy of exploitation of Latham's brutality while pretending to be appalled by it. Once again, The Daily Telegraph has distinguished itself, this time publishing extracts from The Latham Diary under the headline: "Mark Latham's diary of a loathsome loser", as if the paper has not been financing, promoting and exploiting this resource.
Latham's behaviour is not so far removed from what the media serves up every day as it subjects politicians and the electoral process to an unremitting campaign of belligerence, cynicism and ridicule. The media condescends towards democracy because it competes with democracy. It competes for power and control of the national agenda. The biggest contest in Australian politics is thus not between the Coalition and Labor, but between the elected and accountable against the unelected and unaccountable.
Mark Latham may hate the media, may refer to "animals", but what is contained in The Latham Diaries is little different to what can be heard on any given weekday on radio 2UE. He would blend right in."
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Kristin, this is for you!
*fanfare*
Della presents...
The Grumpy Judge!
But later that day...
Flashback...
The End.
Management apologises for the poor quality of the photos here - webcams are always dodgy when it comes to taking snapity-snap pix! Hold your complaints!
Della presents...
The Grumpy Judge!
But later that day...
Flashback...
The End.
Management apologises for the poor quality of the photos here - webcams are always dodgy when it comes to taking snapity-snap pix! Hold your complaints!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Easy come, easy go...
As my little dog does a header into his beanbag, rights himself and gets comfortable in front of the fire, I'm sitting here thinking about love of all things. It's rather an un-Della thing to think about. But there we are. Contrary to what it may seem like, my heart is not a little piece of flint *lol*Actually, I do love lots of people and things, and I don't mean in the 'romantic' way, of course. It's just that the word 'love' is one I don't splash around on things.
Just talking about the topic of romantic love with a friend at the moment, and saying that it's something that can make you fly with the eagles or crash to the ground with your heart ripped out and shredded before your eyes. And unrequited love. It's hard to like someone and not know if they like you back... Mmm... those good old coldness-in-the-stomach feelings.
So what's the point of love?
I still don't know, for the 'romantic' version of it. Maybe it's what makes you tolerant of someone and all of their failings and faults and good stuff for long enough until it wears off and you settle down into that deep kind of silent love that just is where you don't care about the failings and faults because you're satisfied with that person. Or something.
*ponders*
I don't think love is like poems, though. Hallmark poems at least. They're too neat and surgical and there's no throwing of plates or feeling like you've been ripped in half and put back together again in a strange way or moments of utter bliss.
Love is a strange beast.
Quote of the day
"A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." - The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.
Don't you hate it how people who you used to have a crush on walk back into your life? And on MSN of all things. There's a guy I know who there was a mutual interest thing happening with when I was first going out with my ex and we had our first lot of problems. And now he's talking to me on MSN, and it's reminded me of all of the things I liked about him.
Arrrghhh!
*shakes fist*
At least he lives too far away now for me to make a twit of myself over him *lol* Even if he's so cute you could just almost like eat him or something... and yes, shuddup *lol*
Friday, September 16, 2005
God does irony, you know...
I got some weird news this evening from my parents, which is what got me thinking about the irony of it all. Oh yeah, I know God has a sense of humour and irony and everything, but it's not really that funny this time!
Alright, it is kind of funny and it did raise a laugh and a smile, but who knows. I guess we'll see how it all works out in the end. It may not be as ironic as it sounds all along :)
Bah!
Alright, it is kind of funny and it did raise a laugh and a smile, but who knows. I guess we'll see how it all works out in the end. It may not be as ironic as it sounds all along :)
Bah!
The Alpha Wanker
I dunno, it's almost 3am and I'm having some sort of theory developing in my head about the alpha male kind of guys who were in the "cool" groups in High School.
They turn out to be the alpha wanker types later on in life, always kind of living in these moments where they're still trying to be back in the glory days of school. Except now everyone's moved on from that and don't give a shit about some guy who never got into uni and now pisses his life away on some average joe job.
Why am I thinking about it? Well, a guy I'm talking to reminds me of it all.
I quote from him (names changed to protect the innocent):
X says:
its school, it makes who you are
X says:
people dont change after highschool
Or the AW is the kind of guy who stays a crush-beer-cans-on-forehead type. You know the ones. They're okay, but they're kind of overly blokey and somewhat immature and likely to try to grope you when they're drunk and you walk past them because they think they can get any chick...
Will work more on this thought tomorrow...
They turn out to be the alpha wanker types later on in life, always kind of living in these moments where they're still trying to be back in the glory days of school. Except now everyone's moved on from that and don't give a shit about some guy who never got into uni and now pisses his life away on some average joe job.
Why am I thinking about it? Well, a guy I'm talking to reminds me of it all.
I quote from him (names changed to protect the innocent):
X says:
its school, it makes who you are
X says:
people dont change after highschool
Or the AW is the kind of guy who stays a crush-beer-cans-on-forehead type. You know the ones. They're okay, but they're kind of overly blokey and somewhat immature and likely to try to grope you when they're drunk and you walk past them because they think they can get any chick...
Will work more on this thought tomorrow...
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Pish-tosh-a-rama!
Okay, so I'm really in a ranting mood today, but since when is 67.4kg considered as being obsese for women? What about BMI issues? Or height? Or other factors like that?
This follows from a study that's been conducted that's revealed that women's average weights have gone up five kilos in about seven years. Gasp, shock, horror, fall on the floor and lie there convulsing all of you who haven't already done so!
And of course women will only get fatter as they get older, or so it says in the article from the Sydney Morning Herald, Obesity: the new crisis for women. Factor in producing children and raising them and having to actually EAT at some point and oh heavens the sky is simply FALLING!
Now before I rave on a little more, I have to add this quote from the article:
Society needed to address the particular pressures on young women, who no longer had time to eat healthily or exercise adequately. "It's the whole struggle of juggling increasingly demanding sedentary work with finding time to cook and exercise," Professor [Christina] Lee said. "Women want education, they want a professional, meaningful job and they want a husband and children. It's up to policymakers to find a way for women to do those things without their health collapsing."
PISH TOSH! Rubbish! ABSOLUTE bollocks!
Could this woman speak out of her ar$e any more!?
No time to exercise. No time they say! We have families! We have jobs! We have studies! Oh so painfully true when you want to use that all as excuses... but you know what's scary?
You do have time. Before I bought my exercise bike, I seriously thought I had no time for exercise at all. My days and nights were packed with stuff to do (ah, the joys of cleaning the house and all of that). Or so I thought. But now I've changed some things around in my schedule, deleted some of the time-wasting stuff and have freed up at least an hour for exercise each night.
Ahhh, endorphine boosting, muscle challenging, life enriching exercise! Seriously, I love it. And there is definitely no such thing as being too tired for exercise, because once you get started on it, all of the oxygen goes wild and even if you can't do as much, you can still do some. It won't make you thin overnight (much as I wish it could... *le sigh*), but you do notice the differences after a while. Just takes perseverance. And, of course, finding an excersie program you like. Aerobics might be your thing. Or rowing. Or jogging. Or weights. Whatever, you just have to find that special thing that suits you.
And it's not that hard to cook a quick and really healthy meal. It's simple to whip up a good pasta with a simple tomato sauce, some salad and a few steamed veggies and takes less than half an hour, even if you're making the tomato sauce from scratch. Or you could bake some potatoes and chuck in some other veggies and have some fish or other meat, if you're meat-inclined. Whip up a roast veggie and couscous salad. Do a healthy lasagne (none of that awful white sauce crud). How about a stir-fry that's simple and non-oil ladened? Or a salad sandwich if your brain really can't manage any of the other stuff. Not that difficult.
You don't need the damned government to make us become healthier. Policymakers finding ways for women to do those things pish tosh. Make a damn schedule. Buy healthier food. Go walking with your family or friends. Go for a walk on your lunch break. I dunno... just don't expect other people to do it for you, because that just won't work. I mean, a government policy isn't going to make you thin unless Amanda Vanstone is personally going to come around to your house each night and force you to go for a half-hour jog, all the time following you with an electric cattle-prod to zap you mercilessly if you fall below a minimum rate of 10km/ph.
This follows from a study that's been conducted that's revealed that women's average weights have gone up five kilos in about seven years. Gasp, shock, horror, fall on the floor and lie there convulsing all of you who haven't already done so!
And of course women will only get fatter as they get older, or so it says in the article from the Sydney Morning Herald, Obesity: the new crisis for women. Factor in producing children and raising them and having to actually EAT at some point and oh heavens the sky is simply FALLING!
Now before I rave on a little more, I have to add this quote from the article:
Society needed to address the particular pressures on young women, who no longer had time to eat healthily or exercise adequately. "It's the whole struggle of juggling increasingly demanding sedentary work with finding time to cook and exercise," Professor [Christina] Lee said. "Women want education, they want a professional, meaningful job and they want a husband and children. It's up to policymakers to find a way for women to do those things without their health collapsing."
PISH TOSH! Rubbish! ABSOLUTE bollocks!
Could this woman speak out of her ar$e any more!?
No time to exercise. No time they say! We have families! We have jobs! We have studies! Oh so painfully true when you want to use that all as excuses... but you know what's scary?
You do have time. Before I bought my exercise bike, I seriously thought I had no time for exercise at all. My days and nights were packed with stuff to do (ah, the joys of cleaning the house and all of that). Or so I thought. But now I've changed some things around in my schedule, deleted some of the time-wasting stuff and have freed up at least an hour for exercise each night.
Ahhh, endorphine boosting, muscle challenging, life enriching exercise! Seriously, I love it. And there is definitely no such thing as being too tired for exercise, because once you get started on it, all of the oxygen goes wild and even if you can't do as much, you can still do some. It won't make you thin overnight (much as I wish it could... *le sigh*), but you do notice the differences after a while. Just takes perseverance. And, of course, finding an excersie program you like. Aerobics might be your thing. Or rowing. Or jogging. Or weights. Whatever, you just have to find that special thing that suits you.
And it's not that hard to cook a quick and really healthy meal. It's simple to whip up a good pasta with a simple tomato sauce, some salad and a few steamed veggies and takes less than half an hour, even if you're making the tomato sauce from scratch. Or you could bake some potatoes and chuck in some other veggies and have some fish or other meat, if you're meat-inclined. Whip up a roast veggie and couscous salad. Do a healthy lasagne (none of that awful white sauce crud). How about a stir-fry that's simple and non-oil ladened? Or a salad sandwich if your brain really can't manage any of the other stuff. Not that difficult.
You don't need the damned government to make us become healthier. Policymakers finding ways for women to do those things pish tosh. Make a damn schedule. Buy healthier food. Go walking with your family or friends. Go for a walk on your lunch break. I dunno... just don't expect other people to do it for you, because that just won't work. I mean, a government policy isn't going to make you thin unless Amanda Vanstone is personally going to come around to your house each night and force you to go for a half-hour jog, all the time following you with an electric cattle-prod to zap you mercilessly if you fall below a minimum rate of 10km/ph.
Booze and bouncers: a lethal mix by Miranda Divine.THANK YOU!
Thank heavens someone has some sense about this whole sorry mess and isn't acting like the world has come to a screaming end because the oh-so-dear dear, darling, beloved, sainted, holy and glorious David Hookes met an early end on the street outside a Melbourne pub last year. Funny how people become so wonderfully well-loved once they die, though, isn't it?
I mean, David Hookes was always feral in my opinion. Some other Australians seemed to think he was a saintly hero of the game of cricket. But I suppose nothing says "Australian Sporting Hero" like a binge-drinking, loud-mouthed knobhead. Maybe Freddie Flintoff should move over here and play for us so that he can attain a sainted stature here as well as in England? Who knows.
When he died, Hookes had a really high blood alcohol level - almost three times the legal limit of .05%. I'd say that probably didn't help with his chances of survival. And it wouldn't have helped with his judgement when it came to punching bouncers. Or being rude to all and sundry (oh wait, that was his usual behaviour...). But being drunk, rude and aggressive really wasn't good.
No, Hookes shouldn't have died. It's not a thing that you'd wish on anyone, regardless of how irritating they are. Live and let live. But you can't really control freak things that happen like that.
I think it's a shame that Zdravko Micevic is being treated like he's killed Jesus or something like that. He's not just been prosecuted by the law, media and Australian public for accidentally causing someone's death by defending himself. It's like it only matters because the guy who he accidentally killed was a celebrity of some variety. And David Hookes wasn't that great a person. What he did for Australia was nothing compared to the work that other people who have met untimely deaths have done, like the top heart surgeon who was murdered in Sydney a number of years ago.
Micevic seems genuinely sorry about it all and honest in his apologies. There have been many, many other bouncers who have seriously injured or killed people with far more intent than this and they've mostly gotten away with it, never having it splashed all over front pages of national newspapers. And their houses haven't been firebombed by members of the public. And their families haven't received racist hate mail and death threats. Maybe something more should be done about training bouncers about how to handle conflicts where patrons get violent with them more diplomatically. But then it's hard to be diplomatic when some drunk person's swinging punches at you, I guess.
Still, Australia needs to do something about its drinking culture before more people die like that, or in car crashes, or from stupid alcohol-fueled violence against friends or loved ones, from alcohol poisoning, or any of the other ways you can die that involve alcohol. But that's gonna be tough when sports stars and other people who are kind of famous are all over the media for getting drunk and getting away with it.
Huzzah!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!We *are* getting Night Watch!!! (website's http://www.nwnd.com.au/ Copy and paste it... can't be bothered putting it into linky bits :) It'll be out on the 13th of October apparently. AND it's not dubbed!!! It'll be in Russian with English subtitles, which is enough to make anyone cry with joy. Even Quentin Tarantino is getting hot over the prospect of this movie.
*cue Hallelujah Chorus*
And Komissar Rex is back on SBS tonight - the old episodes with Tobias Moretti, who wasn't quite as hot as Gedeon Burkhard, but definitely more hot than the guy who's currently playing the police guy.
Mmmm, Gedeon Burkhard... *Homer Simpson moment* He's a total eye-gasm! You'll understand when you see him...
Anyhoo, in a much better mood than last night :) Thankfully the back thing cleared up after a hot bath, painkillers and some time around 2am. Four hours of sleep has to be a good way to get through the day! Hurrah!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Grumpy truth!
My back still hurts and it's making me grumpy. And when I get grumpy I tend to get blunt about things. So my bluntness list for tonight is:# My ex's wife is a skank.
# My 'friend' Andy pisses me off with all of his complaining about stupid crap because he can't handle relationships and needs to see someone who can provide professional help. Or I will administer a bitch-slapping.
# Politics sucks.
# New "anti-terror" laws suck.
# Terrorists should f*ck off. Attack Melbourne and I will personally knee you in the groin. Repeatedly.
# The weekend can't come soon enough!
Ermm... that's about it, I do believe!
*adjusts devil's horns*
Extreme Deep Impact.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
That, apparently, is the name of the psycho 'plane on the shithouse movie of the year, Stealth. Now I have to ask, does that sound like a porn name to you or what? *lol* When Ron Jeremy starts talking like the EDI 'plane, the world will be a more amusing place.
Especially if he's reading from A Field Guide To Vintage Tractors. With a paper bag over his entire body.
But let us merrily skip on to happier thoughts!
Spicks and Specks was so hilarious tonight that I think I've strained a muscle laughing. And to think that there is a further hour and a half of comedy coming up tonight. This might be rather dangerous!
I love comedy :)
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
That, apparently, is the name of the psycho 'plane on the shithouse movie of the year, Stealth. Now I have to ask, does that sound like a porn name to you or what? *lol* When Ron Jeremy starts talking like the EDI 'plane, the world will be a more amusing place.
Especially if he's reading from A Field Guide To Vintage Tractors. With a paper bag over his entire body.
But let us merrily skip on to happier thoughts!
Spicks and Specks was so hilarious tonight that I think I've strained a muscle laughing. And to think that there is a further hour and a half of comedy coming up tonight. This might be rather dangerous!
I love comedy :)
Interesting things so far today
- Beauty takes a deadly turn.
Hmm, so not content to make do with testing on animals, cosmetic companies are using the skin of executed Chinese convicts. And not to test ON, darlings, but to use IN. Yes, that's right. Skin in makeup.
How... gorgeous...
Other than that, I find it amusing how Heidi Klum is described in the media as 'the German model,' which makes her sound like some variety of car or electrical appliance.
I have to say, I'm salivating about the prospect of Andrew Denton's guest for next week's Enough Rope (final one of the series, too, for this year). Mark Latham, the former leader of the Labor party in Australia, and someone I saw as having real potential to be a leader who's there for the long haul. I also liked it how he called the Prime Minister a 'Suck hole.' That had to be one of the most fall-on-the-floor-laughing moments in politics that I've encountered.
And for the icing on the cake today...
- Step to the right as the brethren gather force.
Yeah, yeah, you know I'm somewhat left wing and have a lot of semi-socialist ideals that somehow mix with consumerism and Christianity and all of this other stuff and you know that I don't like the religious right, even though I'm a Christian and you'd kinda think that all Christians would support a 'Christian' thing. But no. You know we've all got different opinions.
So this kind of right-wing politic pushing stuff bothers me, y'know? Conservative governments are crap - just look at what happened with Hitler and stuff. Does his thing of putting stars on the Jewish sound like John Howard's idea to put tracking devices on Muslims, by the way? But back to Jesus stuff. These Exclusive Brethren dudes push the prosperity gospel, which I guess they must have gotten from Jesus telling people to give away their wealth, become humble and follow Him. NOT. The Ten Commandments are good things. They have been where we've gotten our modern laws from, really. But to want to thump people over the head with them seems just odd. Like, 'You! Non-believing heathen fondler! Take THIS!' *whack!*
Christian leaders can be a great thing. I mean TRUE Christian leaders. Think Martin Luther King Jnr. People like him who have lead by peace and a good example. But these right-wingers tend to be nutjobs. Just think of the current US President if you want an example... and he's one of the more sane and normal ones. Which is a scary thought in itself.
Hmm, so not content to make do with testing on animals, cosmetic companies are using the skin of executed Chinese convicts. And not to test ON, darlings, but to use IN. Yes, that's right. Skin in makeup.
How... gorgeous...
Other than that, I find it amusing how Heidi Klum is described in the media as 'the German model,' which makes her sound like some variety of car or electrical appliance.
I have to say, I'm salivating about the prospect of Andrew Denton's guest for next week's Enough Rope (final one of the series, too, for this year). Mark Latham, the former leader of the Labor party in Australia, and someone I saw as having real potential to be a leader who's there for the long haul. I also liked it how he called the Prime Minister a 'Suck hole.' That had to be one of the most fall-on-the-floor-laughing moments in politics that I've encountered.
And for the icing on the cake today...
- Step to the right as the brethren gather force.
Yeah, yeah, you know I'm somewhat left wing and have a lot of semi-socialist ideals that somehow mix with consumerism and Christianity and all of this other stuff and you know that I don't like the religious right, even though I'm a Christian and you'd kinda think that all Christians would support a 'Christian' thing. But no. You know we've all got different opinions.
So this kind of right-wing politic pushing stuff bothers me, y'know? Conservative governments are crap - just look at what happened with Hitler and stuff. Does his thing of putting stars on the Jewish sound like John Howard's idea to put tracking devices on Muslims, by the way? But back to Jesus stuff. These Exclusive Brethren dudes push the prosperity gospel, which I guess they must have gotten from Jesus telling people to give away their wealth, become humble and follow Him. NOT. The Ten Commandments are good things. They have been where we've gotten our modern laws from, really. But to want to thump people over the head with them seems just odd. Like, 'You! Non-believing heathen fondler! Take THIS!' *whack!*
Christian leaders can be a great thing. I mean TRUE Christian leaders. Think Martin Luther King Jnr. People like him who have lead by peace and a good example. But these right-wingers tend to be nutjobs. Just think of the current US President if you want an example... and he's one of the more sane and normal ones. Which is a scary thought in itself.
Warning!
Got this in my e-mail this morning from a person I used to work with/for/etc :) Soooooo funny that I'm sure I startled my colleagues with how loudly I laughed! :-D So here's the warning. And remember that it's important, so pay attention to it!
I hate people that forward too many warnings, but this one is important!
Send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list!
If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on lice and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around a pole, do not do it!
IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.
I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now...
I hate people that forward too many warnings, but this one is important!
Send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list!
If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on lice and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around a pole, do not do it!
IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.
I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now...
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
*sigh*
I'm just wndering if anyone else saw The Cutting Edge on SBS tonight, and whether like me, they cried for the rest of the program once a former Israelie soldier admitted to taking part in the killing of a 14 year-old Palestinian shepherd boy?
I was very proud of the soldiers who had chosen to take a stand and refuse to take part in the violence that the Israelie army is committing. They chose morals and human rights over violence and hatred, which was amazing.
But there were so many elements that were horrific, of terrible, or evil or just plain ridiculously stupid. It's like the Israelie army doesn't realise that it's equally as bad as Hamaas or any of the other Palestinian separatist forces. And one Israelie man yelling at the soldiers who were resisting service that he was sacrificing his life for the 'cause' was so infuriatingly futile after you hear about soldiers murdering a young teenager.
Is that the 'cause'? Is that what he was giving up his life for?
Who knows...
Anyhoo, the program summary: Tonight Cutting Edge presents the story of Israeli combat soldiers (many of them officers in elite units) who have decided, after years of loyal reserve service, to refuse doing their annual 30 days duty in the occupied territories. The film tells the stories of six soldiers, the reasons for their action, the chilling confessions of the experience of being an occupying soldier and especially the difficulties they encounter as the consequence of their objection, collective rejection and imprisonment. The people who object in Israel these days constitute an important landmark in public discourse since they raise the question of the unconditional support the public gives to a government's military actions and the individual moral price of this support. (From Israel, in Hebrew and English, English subtitles)
I was very proud of the soldiers who had chosen to take a stand and refuse to take part in the violence that the Israelie army is committing. They chose morals and human rights over violence and hatred, which was amazing.
But there were so many elements that were horrific, of terrible, or evil or just plain ridiculously stupid. It's like the Israelie army doesn't realise that it's equally as bad as Hamaas or any of the other Palestinian separatist forces. And one Israelie man yelling at the soldiers who were resisting service that he was sacrificing his life for the 'cause' was so infuriatingly futile after you hear about soldiers murdering a young teenager.
Is that the 'cause'? Is that what he was giving up his life for?
Who knows...
Anyhoo, the program summary: Tonight Cutting Edge presents the story of Israeli combat soldiers (many of them officers in elite units) who have decided, after years of loyal reserve service, to refuse doing their annual 30 days duty in the occupied territories. The film tells the stories of six soldiers, the reasons for their action, the chilling confessions of the experience of being an occupying soldier and especially the difficulties they encounter as the consequence of their objection, collective rejection and imprisonment. The people who object in Israel these days constitute an important landmark in public discourse since they raise the question of the unconditional support the public gives to a government's military actions and the individual moral price of this support. (From Israel, in Hebrew and English, English subtitles)
Quote of the Day
"I hate to see a grown man cry, unless he's dressed in leather and chained to the bed..." - Comedy Inc.
Shame on you!
Australian government, you disgust me more and more every week.
Just when I don't think that you can sink any lower, there you go again. You do something even more vulgar than the things you managed last week.
Not content with abusing people's religious and social freedoms with your new "anti-terrorism" laws and trying to insist that Muslim women who wear a Hijab are using it to make defiant anti-government statements, you have an American peace activist arrested and locked in solitary confinement, telling him that he will only be taken out of that state when he gives up on his appeal against being thrown out of the country. And you say that he hasn't breached any of the conditions of his visa.
So why have you locked him up, government?
Is it because he protested against the invasion of Iraq? Are you that worried by people having opinions that contradict your own that you have to lock them away, send them out of the country, silence them? Does this mean that all of the people in Australia who think that war is wrong will soon be rounded up and locked away?
Oh government, when did you think you could take on the attitudes and behaviours of a dictatorship? Things are at a sorry state when you imprison a peace activist. I'd expect it of Sadam Hussein when he was in power, but you? Why?
What have you done with Australia, government? What have you done with our age-old tradition of giving people a fair go? Why don't you listen to the Australian public any more? Who tells you that Australians want war? Who tells you that we need to have university fees increased until the average person will be struggling to afford a tertiary education in years to come? Who tells you to make laws that abuse human rights?
I love Australia. It's a beautiful, wonderful country full of interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds. So why, government, are you trying to change that to make it bad?
Please, government, give Australia its true democracy back. Please let us return to the days where we really were the friendly country. When we weren't attacking other nations. When we weren't being racist. Yes, I said racist. That's what you have become in your own strange way, government. Please give us back our equality. Please let us all have a fair go. Please try to look out for education, health care and social structures rather than spending more and more on the army. Please do what a government is meant to do - be here for us, care for us and do your best for all people.
Please remember that democracy is built on human rights and ENCOURAGES people to have different opinions and to speak about them freely, to agree to disagree. Please give that back to us.
For your sake. For our own. For the future. For the name of Australia, both here and overseas.
Just when I don't think that you can sink any lower, there you go again. You do something even more vulgar than the things you managed last week.
Not content with abusing people's religious and social freedoms with your new "anti-terrorism" laws and trying to insist that Muslim women who wear a Hijab are using it to make defiant anti-government statements, you have an American peace activist arrested and locked in solitary confinement, telling him that he will only be taken out of that state when he gives up on his appeal against being thrown out of the country. And you say that he hasn't breached any of the conditions of his visa.
So why have you locked him up, government?
Is it because he protested against the invasion of Iraq? Are you that worried by people having opinions that contradict your own that you have to lock them away, send them out of the country, silence them? Does this mean that all of the people in Australia who think that war is wrong will soon be rounded up and locked away?
Oh government, when did you think you could take on the attitudes and behaviours of a dictatorship? Things are at a sorry state when you imprison a peace activist. I'd expect it of Sadam Hussein when he was in power, but you? Why?
What have you done with Australia, government? What have you done with our age-old tradition of giving people a fair go? Why don't you listen to the Australian public any more? Who tells you that Australians want war? Who tells you that we need to have university fees increased until the average person will be struggling to afford a tertiary education in years to come? Who tells you to make laws that abuse human rights?
I love Australia. It's a beautiful, wonderful country full of interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds. So why, government, are you trying to change that to make it bad?
Please, government, give Australia its true democracy back. Please let us return to the days where we really were the friendly country. When we weren't attacking other nations. When we weren't being racist. Yes, I said racist. That's what you have become in your own strange way, government. Please give us back our equality. Please let us all have a fair go. Please try to look out for education, health care and social structures rather than spending more and more on the army. Please do what a government is meant to do - be here for us, care for us and do your best for all people.
Please remember that democracy is built on human rights and ENCOURAGES people to have different opinions and to speak about them freely, to agree to disagree. Please give that back to us.
For your sake. For our own. For the future. For the name of Australia, both here and overseas.
I hope you've had your Weet-Bix!
At 7.15am in the morning, it seems totally appropriate to pack one apple, a handful of bagel crisps and a packet of Celestial Seasonings tea bags for lunch. Then you wake up properly later in the morning and realise, yes, an apple is a good idea. But bagel crisps taste like crunchy oil. And tea doesn't really have that many filling properties. Gosh darn.
Definitely not a morning person.
But... surprise, surprise, surrrrrrprise, this morning I read an article online about some research that's been done over the past 10 years that says that girls who eat breakfast tend to be slimmer than those who don't. What a happy thought. If I could bring myself to force food past my tonsils at any time before I have to leave the house at 7.15 or so, I'm quite sure I would be a stick-insect in physique by now!
*le sigh*
Although it is interesting to note this: The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health and cereal-maker General Mills... (my own bolding on the cereal maker bit). Which is interesting, isn't it? I mean, considering that 25% of scientists have said in an independent study that they're more likely to a) out and out lie, b) manipulate the truth, c) leave 'inconvenient' figures out or d) choose areas that will favour positive results for certain things when a study they're doing is being paid for by a company that has vested interests in good results.
Still, that aside, I think that there might be a point in this study. I mean, a good breakfast will help to fill you up during the morning, thus avoiding snacking, and gives your body a kick-start to help you face the day (unless you're eating something like Froot Loops or Cheerios or Nutri-Grain, which alone has more sugar in it per 100g than chocolate mud cake).
But you *actually* have to be awake to handle food, I think. Too early an hour and who knows what could happen! Personally, I'd rather snort lines of ground-up coffee... Although I can face food after 9.30. That time would be really perfect for breakfast. But I'm at work by then. Drat!
Monday, September 12, 2005
Shop 'til you collapse under the weight of your heavily ladened shopping bags
This past weekend was a weekend of shopping!
I shall now attempt to itemise what I bought, which will quite possibly give me a heart-attack at the thought of how much money was spent and mean that I need to go home and fan myself with a small green mock-lizard print handbag.
# Top at TEMT (which I was traumatised to find no longer is an outlet TEMT/Valleygirl store but a *proper* TEMT store, which means no more buying bags stuffed full of clothes for around $40)
# Small green mock-lizard print handbag (Supre sale for $5 - can't go wrong... can you?)
# Black eyeliner
# Exercise bike (which I used birthday gift vouchers to buy from K-mart, so it meant that really I got it for nothing... HURRAH!)
# Two shrugs/boleros from Just Jeans
# Cute peach-pink skirt from Just Jeans
# Purple soft-as-kittens shrug from Jacqui E
# Tweed flick skirt from Jacqui E
# Embroidered skirt from Jacqui E
# Black pleated skirt from Jacqui E
# Grey beaded skirt from Jacqui E
# Grey/black pencil skirt from Jacqui E
# Jamiroquai's Dynamite, which is really boring after a while
# Coldplay's X&Y, which is also boring
# Kill Bill volumes one and two
# Copious amounts of frilly things... *ahem*
# A sparkly ring
# A couple of magazines
# Glasses (drinks, not visual, darlings)
# A stainless steel sieve
# Groceries
# Prolly some other stuff, I can't remember it right now.
And now I am sleepy, after the Kill Bill-a-thon from last night and my 'flu's resurgence. Ugh! Damn thing. All I want to do is go home right now, curl up in bed and read a nice book or something like that. Just over an hour left of work. Nyarrghh! My nose hurts :-p
I shall now attempt to itemise what I bought, which will quite possibly give me a heart-attack at the thought of how much money was spent and mean that I need to go home and fan myself with a small green mock-lizard print handbag.
# Top at TEMT (which I was traumatised to find no longer is an outlet TEMT/Valleygirl store but a *proper* TEMT store, which means no more buying bags stuffed full of clothes for around $40)
# Small green mock-lizard print handbag (Supre sale for $5 - can't go wrong... can you?)
# Black eyeliner
# Exercise bike (which I used birthday gift vouchers to buy from K-mart, so it meant that really I got it for nothing... HURRAH!)
# Two shrugs/boleros from Just Jeans
# Cute peach-pink skirt from Just Jeans
# Purple soft-as-kittens shrug from Jacqui E
# Tweed flick skirt from Jacqui E
# Embroidered skirt from Jacqui E
# Black pleated skirt from Jacqui E
# Grey beaded skirt from Jacqui E
# Grey/black pencil skirt from Jacqui E
# Jamiroquai's Dynamite, which is really boring after a while
# Coldplay's X&Y, which is also boring
# Kill Bill volumes one and two
# Copious amounts of frilly things... *ahem*
# A sparkly ring
# A couple of magazines
# Glasses (drinks, not visual, darlings)
# A stainless steel sieve
# Groceries
# Prolly some other stuff, I can't remember it right now.
And now I am sleepy, after the Kill Bill-a-thon from last night and my 'flu's resurgence. Ugh! Damn thing. All I want to do is go home right now, curl up in bed and read a nice book or something like that. Just over an hour left of work. Nyarrghh! My nose hurts :-p
Ananova.com reports Britney's baby to be dressed in Versace
I'm trying to imagine how the phone call between Donatella Versace and Britney Spears about getting a wardrobe full of Versace wear for Brit's soon-to-be-foisted-upon-the-world child would have run...
*cue scene, Donatella in her private jet*
*sound of buttons on phone being punched, ringing phone sound*
Britney: 'Hi! Britney and Kevvie's lovepad, Britney and bump speaking!'
Donatella: 'Darrrrling, I am calling from my private jet. Now, I hear you are about to produce offspring, how vulgar darrrling... but I can make it better - I shall design a wardrobe of clothing for thees little thing, no?'
Britney: 'Donnertella?'
Donatella: 'DON–a–tella, darling... *mutters* Stupid American trailer trash...'
Britney: 'Whatcha say?'
Donatella: 'Nothing, darrrrling, nothing at all. Now, vhere vere we? Ah yes... clothing! My favourite zing in the world, no!'
Britney: 'What's clothing?'
Donatella: 'Ze things you VEAR darrrrling. Expensive things you vear made from cloth and sparkly things and so on, you know. Zey cover bits of your body most of ze time.'
Britney: 'Ohhhh, that... You know, Kevvie doesn't like me wearing clothes... he thinks I should be na...'
Donatella: 'ENOUGH! I do not vish to know! *mutters* Zis trailer trash is 'arder to deal vith than Euro trash!'
Britney: 'What?'
Donatella: 'Nothing darrrrling. Now, ze clothes! I vill design clothes for your brat... child... thing... ugh... and zey vill be magnificent! No?'
Britney: 'No? Yes? No? I dunno...?? What are we talking about?'
Donatella: 'CLOTHES you fool! *mutters* I vish I could strangle 'er vith 'er own leg, but zen 'ow would the public see the clothing designed by my flagging company, no?'
Britney: 'What?'
Donatella: 'Never mind! I designed clothes for Madonna's children, no? Zey look vonderful! Your... thing... vill be ze envy of ze playgroup! *mutters* Like lovely little billboards!'
Britney: 'Madonna? Ohhh... Kevvie got all jealous and like totally over-protective about that all. He said he didn't like, like me kissing other women or something which is so silly because I'm like...'
Donatella: 'La la la, I am not listening about your trailer trash 'usband!'
Britney: 'Who's trailer trash??'
Donatella: 'Never mind, darrrrling. I vill just send you ze clothes.'
Britney: 'Will there be tracksuits? 'Cos I totally like love tracksuits.'
Donatella: 'No! Zere vill NOT be tracksuits. Tracksuits make you look like, how do ve say, like you are wishing to be f*cked in the a$$ by a gorilla, no?'
Britney: 'Kevvie said we should try...'
Donatella: 'UGH!' *hangs up* Zis vill do nothing for brand reputation... But at least somevun will be vearing ze clothing, no?? Now I need a vodka!'
I'm trying to imagine how the phone call between Donatella Versace and Britney Spears about getting a wardrobe full of Versace wear for Brit's soon-to-be-foisted-upon-the-world child would have run...
*cue scene, Donatella in her private jet*
*sound of buttons on phone being punched, ringing phone sound*
Britney: 'Hi! Britney and Kevvie's lovepad, Britney and bump speaking!'
Donatella: 'Darrrrling, I am calling from my private jet. Now, I hear you are about to produce offspring, how vulgar darrrling... but I can make it better - I shall design a wardrobe of clothing for thees little thing, no?'
Britney: 'Donnertella?'
Donatella: 'DON–a–tella, darling... *mutters* Stupid American trailer trash...'
Britney: 'Whatcha say?'
Donatella: 'Nothing, darrrrling, nothing at all. Now, vhere vere we? Ah yes... clothing! My favourite zing in the world, no!'
Britney: 'What's clothing?'
Donatella: 'Ze things you VEAR darrrrling. Expensive things you vear made from cloth and sparkly things and so on, you know. Zey cover bits of your body most of ze time.'
Britney: 'Ohhhh, that... You know, Kevvie doesn't like me wearing clothes... he thinks I should be na...'
Donatella: 'ENOUGH! I do not vish to know! *mutters* Zis trailer trash is 'arder to deal vith than Euro trash!'
Britney: 'What?'
Donatella: 'Nothing darrrrling. Now, ze clothes! I vill design clothes for your brat... child... thing... ugh... and zey vill be magnificent! No?'
Britney: 'No? Yes? No? I dunno...?? What are we talking about?'
Donatella: 'CLOTHES you fool! *mutters* I vish I could strangle 'er vith 'er own leg, but zen 'ow would the public see the clothing designed by my flagging company, no?'
Britney: 'What?'
Donatella: 'Never mind! I designed clothes for Madonna's children, no? Zey look vonderful! Your... thing... vill be ze envy of ze playgroup! *mutters* Like lovely little billboards!'
Britney: 'Madonna? Ohhh... Kevvie got all jealous and like totally over-protective about that all. He said he didn't like, like me kissing other women or something which is so silly because I'm like...'
Donatella: 'La la la, I am not listening about your trailer trash 'usband!'
Britney: 'Who's trailer trash??'
Donatella: 'Never mind, darrrrling. I vill just send you ze clothes.'
Britney: 'Will there be tracksuits? 'Cos I totally like love tracksuits.'
Donatella: 'No! Zere vill NOT be tracksuits. Tracksuits make you look like, how do ve say, like you are wishing to be f*cked in the a$$ by a gorilla, no?'
Britney: 'Kevvie said we should try...'
Donatella: 'UGH!' *hangs up* Zis vill do nothing for brand reputation... But at least somevun will be vearing ze clothing, no?? Now I need a vodka!'
Four more years?
What did I do on September 11 this year? Forgot about it totally and went shopping, of course. I only remembered about it when I read an article on the Sydney Morning Herald site (Wasted lives, then wasted opportunity by Francis Fukuyama)
I think if America hadn't used it as an excuse to invade Iraq, I would give the day more respect. As it is, George Dubya Bush has trashed the memories of the people who died on that day four years ago by using it as an excuse to create wars, attempt to settle old scores and commit a hell of a lot of war crimes/crimes against humanity/human rights breaches/etc. And if he doesn't respect that day, well, who else can? Especially when the Pentagon pairs the anniversary with a tribute to the military...
Don't get me wrong, I honestly do feel sad for those people who died that day.
But I also feel sad for the American (and other nationality's) soldiers who have died in stupid wars since then. And for innocent civilians who have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. For innocent people who have been attacked in their daily lives here in Australia and in many other countries overseas simply because they're 'Muslim.' For families who have lost loved ones. For laws to be passed by politicians that will see Muslims and other religious groups targeted. Does it make more sense for a President to organise to have more people killed than for a terrorist organisation to do the same thing?
It's people's lives, for goodness' sake. You can't get them back - once they're gone, they're gone forever.
Surely September 11 should be used to remember the proper Christian mandate of not killing. After all, that is one of the 10 Commandments. Unless people have forgotten about what God really wants from us in their pursuit of 'revenge' or oil or non-existent WMDs... Hmmm.
And now they're saying that the use of nuclear weapons will be acceptable to 'destroy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.' I guess that's as good an excuse as any for them to use. And they call Osama bin Laden a terrorist.
I think if America hadn't used it as an excuse to invade Iraq, I would give the day more respect. As it is, George Dubya Bush has trashed the memories of the people who died on that day four years ago by using it as an excuse to create wars, attempt to settle old scores and commit a hell of a lot of war crimes/crimes against humanity/human rights breaches/etc. And if he doesn't respect that day, well, who else can? Especially when the Pentagon pairs the anniversary with a tribute to the military...
Don't get me wrong, I honestly do feel sad for those people who died that day.
But I also feel sad for the American (and other nationality's) soldiers who have died in stupid wars since then. And for innocent civilians who have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. For innocent people who have been attacked in their daily lives here in Australia and in many other countries overseas simply because they're 'Muslim.' For families who have lost loved ones. For laws to be passed by politicians that will see Muslims and other religious groups targeted. Does it make more sense for a President to organise to have more people killed than for a terrorist organisation to do the same thing?
It's people's lives, for goodness' sake. You can't get them back - once they're gone, they're gone forever.
Surely September 11 should be used to remember the proper Christian mandate of not killing. After all, that is one of the 10 Commandments. Unless people have forgotten about what God really wants from us in their pursuit of 'revenge' or oil or non-existent WMDs... Hmmm.
And now they're saying that the use of nuclear weapons will be acceptable to 'destroy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.' I guess that's as good an excuse as any for them to use. And they call Osama bin Laden a terrorist.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
I need to join AA!
Antique-a-holics Anonymous, that is!!!!!
*teehee*
Okay, so it'll sound weird, but I swear food served on antique or art deco platters and plates just works so much better than it served in any other way. Perhaps it's because the chinaware is so different and unique or something like that, but it makes it all kind of special.
I have a total love of antiques anyway, so maybe that's what makes me think this way, but perhaps not.
Anyways, within the past week, I've spent a mere $19.50 on antique/deco chinaware, which is pretty damn good if I may say so myself *lol* On Friday last week, I picked up an old-fashioned serving bowl from an op shop for $1. I think it's a soup tureen or something like that - it's one of those double bowls with room for air to circulate between the two layers of china. Of course, it was love at first sight with it, so it had to become part of my life! In a strange way, it inspires me a lot to do all sorts of cooking that revolves around its use. And it's a perfect size for a salad... and the colour of it compliments green really well. Jelly will probably be the next thing to get tried out in it :)
Then today at lunch I went down the street to do some stuff and popped into the antique store while I was there because it's always just a little bit too tempting to go past! Having spent a lot of time checking out antique stores in my childhood and having a number of antiques on the family property, I'm mostly used to knowing what to look for. There were quite a lot of nice things in the antique store today, and the horrible thought, 'Some old person in the district must have died and their philistine children didn't understand the worth of these gorgeous art deco plates...' popped into my head.
My treasures for today were a WH Grindley art deco serving platter for $14 and a Johnson Bros deco plate (with the most adorable silver and green decoration) for $4.50. The Johnson Bros plate was something I immediately thought of serving fruit on and I knew $4.50 was far too good a price to pass up (considering that the op shop down the road was selling a similar styled thing for $8.50... funny the antique store is cheaper!). Had to do a circuit of the shop before I decided on the WH Grindley platter, though. But then when I was looking at it closely, I thought, yup, I can use this for all sorts of things... So there we go.
If I wasn't a vegetarian, I could definitely see the platter working with a roast duck, surrounded by roast veggies and sprinkled with curlings of green spring onion (to highlight the green band on the edge of the platter). As it is, I'm envisioning layered salads on it. Or stewed rhubarb with a generous dollop of cream piled on top and garnished with a few leaves of mint. Hmm...
You know, I think it's the colours used on the old chinaware that work so well with food.
*teehee*
Okay, so it'll sound weird, but I swear food served on antique or art deco platters and plates just works so much better than it served in any other way. Perhaps it's because the chinaware is so different and unique or something like that, but it makes it all kind of special.
I have a total love of antiques anyway, so maybe that's what makes me think this way, but perhaps not.
Anyways, within the past week, I've spent a mere $19.50 on antique/deco chinaware, which is pretty damn good if I may say so myself *lol* On Friday last week, I picked up an old-fashioned serving bowl from an op shop for $1. I think it's a soup tureen or something like that - it's one of those double bowls with room for air to circulate between the two layers of china. Of course, it was love at first sight with it, so it had to become part of my life! In a strange way, it inspires me a lot to do all sorts of cooking that revolves around its use. And it's a perfect size for a salad... and the colour of it compliments green really well. Jelly will probably be the next thing to get tried out in it :)
Then today at lunch I went down the street to do some stuff and popped into the antique store while I was there because it's always just a little bit too tempting to go past! Having spent a lot of time checking out antique stores in my childhood and having a number of antiques on the family property, I'm mostly used to knowing what to look for. There were quite a lot of nice things in the antique store today, and the horrible thought, 'Some old person in the district must have died and their philistine children didn't understand the worth of these gorgeous art deco plates...' popped into my head.
My treasures for today were a WH Grindley art deco serving platter for $14 and a Johnson Bros deco plate (with the most adorable silver and green decoration) for $4.50. The Johnson Bros plate was something I immediately thought of serving fruit on and I knew $4.50 was far too good a price to pass up (considering that the op shop down the road was selling a similar styled thing for $8.50... funny the antique store is cheaper!). Had to do a circuit of the shop before I decided on the WH Grindley platter, though. But then when I was looking at it closely, I thought, yup, I can use this for all sorts of things... So there we go.
If I wasn't a vegetarian, I could definitely see the platter working with a roast duck, surrounded by roast veggies and sprinkled with curlings of green spring onion (to highlight the green band on the edge of the platter). As it is, I'm envisioning layered salads on it. Or stewed rhubarb with a generous dollop of cream piled on top and garnished with a few leaves of mint. Hmm...
You know, I think it's the colours used on the old chinaware that work so well with food.
*caution: rant ahead*
If I read one more thing about finding a partner to fill the lonely, dreadful, pitiable, gaping hole in your life that simply SCREAMS out to find someone, anyone, to love and adore you and marry you on a Christian website, I am quite possibly going to punch someone. Someone... anyone...
*ahem*
Over-the-top-ness aside, I am starting to get irritated by how many of the Christian magazine sites and so on have heaps of articles about how to become marriage material, how to find Mr/Miss Right, how God will provide them when you're least expecting it (for those who are crying into their copies of Rebecca St James's book about how to become not single and wailing, 'Where is MINE!?' and don't realise that perhaps they should quit with the wailing because it's about as attractive as the scent of a territorial lion), what to do to change yourself so that you'll find someone to marry, blah blah blah...
The message seems to be stop being single, don't be single, hey, you're still single so hurry up and find a boyfriend/girlfriend, dude, God will bring you someone to cure that singleness problem that you have, HEY I told you stop being single! and so on, ad infinitum.
Bollocks! By now I want to have at the authors of the articles with a stun-gun.
And this morning, I got an e-mail advertising a new book about how not to be single from an American publishing place. The book's called Marriable and the ad included such gems of:
This isn't a typical dating guide book. Not with chapters like these...
• How Being "Just Friends" Is a Waste of Time
• Desperate Lies Women Tell Themselves
• Men Lie to Get What They Want
• Nice Guys Really Do Finish Last
• Don't Marry Your Best Friend
In Marriable, newlyweds Hayley and Michael DiMarco offer practical wisdom for surviving singleness in the trenches. Writing from their experiences of doing it all wrong so you can do it right, Hayley and Michael set fire to the so-called "rules of dating success" and give you real dating advice that won't send a potential date running in the opposite direction...
Personally, I think your date would be running in the opposite direction if you mentioned ANYTHING about the book. Especially the title. And the lying stuff - mmmm, now that's attractive. And why marry a best friend? No, no, marry your enemy instead! Hurrah! Or someone you met online, like the couple who wrote the book did. Nothing says love like IM, does it not?
Being single is fun, people should be allowed to enjoy it, and realise that if they do hook up with someone somewhere, that's cool. And if not, that's all good too. Personally, I love being single and don't feel like any of the articles are relevant. Why should people need someone else to feel validated or something like that? I mean, if people aren't happy by themselves, how can they be happy with someone else? It's not like having a partner suddenly fixes the world and makes glittery happiness burst forth from everything you touch. Being single is something you only have for a while - marriage tends to last a lot longer. So why not enjoy life, no matter where you're at? :)
*ahem*
Over-the-top-ness aside, I am starting to get irritated by how many of the Christian magazine sites and so on have heaps of articles about how to become marriage material, how to find Mr/Miss Right, how God will provide them when you're least expecting it (for those who are crying into their copies of Rebecca St James's book about how to become not single and wailing, 'Where is MINE!?' and don't realise that perhaps they should quit with the wailing because it's about as attractive as the scent of a territorial lion), what to do to change yourself so that you'll find someone to marry, blah blah blah...
The message seems to be stop being single, don't be single, hey, you're still single so hurry up and find a boyfriend/girlfriend, dude, God will bring you someone to cure that singleness problem that you have, HEY I told you stop being single! and so on, ad infinitum.
Bollocks! By now I want to have at the authors of the articles with a stun-gun.
And this morning, I got an e-mail advertising a new book about how not to be single from an American publishing place. The book's called Marriable and the ad included such gems of:
This isn't a typical dating guide book. Not with chapters like these...
• How Being "Just Friends" Is a Waste of Time
• Desperate Lies Women Tell Themselves
• Men Lie to Get What They Want
• Nice Guys Really Do Finish Last
• Don't Marry Your Best Friend
In Marriable, newlyweds Hayley and Michael DiMarco offer practical wisdom for surviving singleness in the trenches. Writing from their experiences of doing it all wrong so you can do it right, Hayley and Michael set fire to the so-called "rules of dating success" and give you real dating advice that won't send a potential date running in the opposite direction...
Personally, I think your date would be running in the opposite direction if you mentioned ANYTHING about the book. Especially the title. And the lying stuff - mmmm, now that's attractive. And why marry a best friend? No, no, marry your enemy instead! Hurrah! Or someone you met online, like the couple who wrote the book did. Nothing says love like IM, does it not?
Being single is fun, people should be allowed to enjoy it, and realise that if they do hook up with someone somewhere, that's cool. And if not, that's all good too. Personally, I love being single and don't feel like any of the articles are relevant. Why should people need someone else to feel validated or something like that? I mean, if people aren't happy by themselves, how can they be happy with someone else? It's not like having a partner suddenly fixes the world and makes glittery happiness burst forth from everything you touch. Being single is something you only have for a while - marriage tends to last a lot longer. So why not enjoy life, no matter where you're at? :)
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
I know it's probably awful, but I have a really hard time liking CCM (that's contemporary Christian music to all you heathens *teehee* ;).And it's not like I haven't made an effort to like it, or try to like it at least. DC Talk wasn't too bad in their Jesus Freak (and Welcome to the Freak Show) era and that was one of the very, very rare CCM albums that I actually enjoyed all of the way through. Oh, and I didn't mind Amy Grant when I was younger - I think I had about four tapes of her stuff, which have long since disappeared (no idea where to, though). Serendipity wasn't too bad either, with their Radiator album, come to think of it.
Those are the exceptions *lol*
Most of the CCM CDs that are out there have maybe one or two songs that I'd class as good or interesting on the whole album - the rest give me the feeling that I'd rather be listening to nails scraping down a blackboard. Many lack a diversity of sound and style between songs that would help to make them more interesting. A lot of the lyrics are trite (particularly on P&W albums). A whole lot is 'easy listening' style, and even the more 'rock' stuff is pretty soft.
Problem is, I don't really know where you could start to fix it or whatever. Maybe something with more authenticity or something like that. I always felt that the Amy Grant songs had a lot of that to them - they weren't like, 'Lord I want to praise your name, in the sun, in the rain, I really wanna praise your name, again and again and again, again and again and agaaaaaaaain... *cue prolonged instrumental segment followed by lots of 'agaaaaaaaaain'-ing.*'
Sure, I want to praise God's name. But that's not all. I mean, there's HEAPS more to Christian experience. There's a bollock-load of struggles, problems, issues, discouragement, hurt and everything that comes with it all, as well as the utterly amazing-ness. Then there's a lot of times where you just kind of feel blank. Or don't know what the hell is going on and don't know where the hell to start with it. And there's times where you think, 'Okay, so God is leading, but just where are we going with this???'
And they need better music styles.
Although I think Christians are still somewhat hesitant about rocking out, so who knows. Controversy doesn't really exist (maybe there are more right-wing Christians out there than I'd thought... *gulp!*). There's no real statement or comment pieces on bigger issues of the world. Well, not that I've found yet.
Nevermind. I'm off to listen to some more Green Day ;)
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
A meal away from savagery
I think there was a saying somewhere about the fact that our society is just one meal away from being savages. Y'know, I think the situation in New Orleans with people looting, shooting and being general ferals really proves that point.Although... Not really! Because if you think about the Boxing Day tsunami that affected so many people in so many countries last year, there weren't really any stories about that sort of thing occurring. People generally seemed to treat each other with respect, pitch in to help their neighbours and work to look after each other as best they could in the days and months following the disaster.
Okies, so there were a few reports about paedophiles taking advantage of orphaned or abandoned/lost children, but those sort of adults are scum anyway.
So does this mean that although America is a 'first world' country, they're worse off than some 'third world' or developing countries? I mean, not in terms of wealth, but in terms of actually being human. Morals, ethics, human kindness and stuff, you know.
People have been holding nurses hostage at hospitals in New Orleans (according to the news tonight), letting old people in nursing homes die, George Dubya Bush's response as a leader of the nation was slow and pathetic, people shooting at those who have come to help them out, stealing whatever they can get their hands on, etc, etc, etc.
And America is meant to be a civilised nation under God?
Hopefully more stories emerge about positive things that have happened with people helping to rescue others or other such stuff after the current stuff all dies down, but who knows. It's just one big stupid ugly mess now :(
Spending some time checking out fashion stuff atm here at work and it's depressing! (the fashion, that is - not work!)
Although I guess it's not if you want to look like a low-rent hooker in St Tropez or a pregnant hippy who hasn't washed in three years but will wear a military-meets-safari jacket with your outfit because it oh-so-very-much compliments the wooden beading.
Much more of this pseudo-ethnic clothing and I am going to have a serious tantrum.
Although I guess it's not if you want to look like a low-rent hooker in St Tropez or a pregnant hippy who hasn't washed in three years but will wear a military-meets-safari jacket with your outfit because it oh-so-very-much compliments the wooden beading.
Much more of this pseudo-ethnic clothing and I am going to have a serious tantrum.
WWJD?
I have to admit, this made me nearly snort with laughter when I saw it, which is totally undignified *lol* But it's funny to see that there are 'Christians' out there who are just as moronic as the extremist 'Muslims' or others who take their faiths a bit too far and use them as excuses to kill/maim/destroy/etc for whatever messed up reason they concot to comfort themselves with (rather than saying, 'I just want to kill people I don't like because they have the audacity to disagree with ME,' which is more honest, really).
Extremes of anything can be really bad, so I'm just going to stick to my slogan of WWJKC.
Who Would Jesus Karate Chop.
And once you can figure that out... (Is it anyone at all? Or is it by alphabetical order? Or level of irritation? Or is it all people who listen to crap music?)... I must remind you that it's time for you to wax on, wax off... and watch the eyes. Don't wax them. Or whatever!
But on a serious note, I don't think Jesus would KC anyone. Well, I'm not 100% on that, but then He wasn't Asian when He was here on Earth, and I don't think that the Jews or Romans of the time had that much of a grasp on the whole concept of karate. And Jesus tended to be more about love, peace and healing rather than being able to kick someone's kidneys out... o.0
So why would idiots like Pat Robertson think that Jesus would support him in his calls for the Argentinian President to be assassinated? Why would they think that an invasion of Iraq is an opportunity to show that God can kick Allah's butt? Why would they think that it's good to show extreme hatred and prejudice to people of other faith groups?
If we can't get along with people here, irrespective of how they are or what they believe, how the heck are we meant to get along with them in Heaven?
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton was interesting last night. They had the former KKK leader in the USA, Johnny Lee Clary, on the show who was interviewed in a Signs magazine from last year, and it was funny, because I knew all of what the guy was saying, having read the article *lol*
Still, it was very interesting, particularly now that the ex-KKK guy is a pastor and has come to accept and love people of all races and backgrounds, almost totally due to an old black pastor he met at a public debate about race. The way that the old pastor was always kind to him, never retaliated even when they burned his church and threatened to kill him and always found ways of showing God's love to the people who hated him was amazing. Definitely a very real representation of Christianity in action. And by that I mean real Christianity - where you actually do turn the other cheek and welcome and love people genuinely. And it's pretty brave of Pr Clary to be so active in civil rights following an exit from the Klan.
Okay, it might sound corny, but I think God really does help people to turn their lives around. And it can be really quickly, too. Like one day you can be doing stuff like that, and the next day God will tap you on the shoulder and say, 'Hey, how about we do things my way instead?' and it all just clicks into place, like it was always meant to be that way. Which it was, really, if you think about it :)
Still, it was very interesting, particularly now that the ex-KKK guy is a pastor and has come to accept and love people of all races and backgrounds, almost totally due to an old black pastor he met at a public debate about race. The way that the old pastor was always kind to him, never retaliated even when they burned his church and threatened to kill him and always found ways of showing God's love to the people who hated him was amazing. Definitely a very real representation of Christianity in action. And by that I mean real Christianity - where you actually do turn the other cheek and welcome and love people genuinely. And it's pretty brave of Pr Clary to be so active in civil rights following an exit from the Klan.
Okay, it might sound corny, but I think God really does help people to turn their lives around. And it can be really quickly, too. Like one day you can be doing stuff like that, and the next day God will tap you on the shoulder and say, 'Hey, how about we do things my way instead?' and it all just clicks into place, like it was always meant to be that way. Which it was, really, if you think about it :)
Monday, September 05, 2005
What they said...
I bet there are so many people who read it wrong and went in there looking for something totally different to what was actually on offer!
*teehee*
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Ich bin Berlinerin! *teehee*
Blah blah blah blah blaaaaaaaaaah!Tired and uninspired and in need of a holiday, even though I've been off sick. Still, it wasn't relaxing being sick and trying to not cough up a lung. When I accumulate some holidays from work, I'm going to try to go to Germany. Or Spain. Or Canada. Somewhere nice :)
Other than that, we went up to the snow again today. There was only a teeny tiny itty bitty bit on the very top of the summit, but there were some gorgeous robins there. I want more snow, dammit!
And less Australian Idol, which has to be the worst show on TV. Utterly pathetic karaoke competition of a national scale. Pfft. Not that I have anything against karaoke - I enjoy proper karaoke. But to mass produce it for TV? Blah. And the people on it all sound the same. Closer your eyes and they're about as interesting to listen to as a band saw.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
I keep dreaming of being in Russia.
Although it's not Russia, because it has elements of the Barossa Valley or Adelaide in it, which is unusual. But I've had such peculiar dreams about it all. I mean, the other night I dreamed of being in a park in Russia. The park had all of these architectural elements that reminded me of being the area behind the institute in Nuriootpa, but then I was speaking Russian with other people there and it was snowing on the grass and ice was forming over the little streams in the park. My dog and I were playing fetch or something like that, and enjoying the snow.
Then I dreamed of living in a Soviet-style apartment block with rugs on the walls and catching the train with people and carrying a suitcase with Russian script on the labels. And I met someone who spoke English and was happy to see them because I could talk to them in English, even though they also understood Russian.
Bizarre!
Duck!
See a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck
Well, after kicking around the house this morning trying to get in contact with work people about the conference thingy I'm meant to be at, all the while watching Der Krieger und Die Kaiserin and attempting to NOT think about how much work it'll take to clean the yard after the windstorms of the weekend (one small tree has literally been shredded, so that will take time to get fixed...), I decided to choof along to work because I may as well get a start on next week's stuff, right? Yeah. Or the week after's. You know... whatever.
So I headed out the door at about 9.50am or something like that, and on the way down the street after the street after mine on my walk, I found one shiny pretty 5 cent piece. The penny saying popped into my mind, so I picked it up and put it in my bag, thinking of other things that could make a new rhyme for the penny thing, some of them revolving around words that rhyme with 'luck.'
I guess today has been a bit of a better day, tho! I mean, my cold thingy is clearing up and my ear doesn't hurt hardly at all, which is genius! AND best of all, I can actually THINK! Because my brain had been on severe holidays for the past week (ie: to the point where I couldn't remember if the things I had on my shopping list were things I actually wanted..!).
And I got an e-mail from the lecturer dude who wrote that article I posted about last night, which was awesome! He told me that he wants me to try to get some of the articles I did for his class published, and wants me to keep in contact with him and let him know how I'm going, which I'll prolly do after I get sorted out after this weekend AND finish my damn tax forms. They've been languishing half-done on the table under some things and frightened the hell out of me when I found them yesterday *lol* I was like, 'Dum de dum de dum, dust dust dust... move papers... aiiiiieee!!!' *faint* At least I have until October, but still... heh!
The weather's nice today, too. And my parents are arriving, so they get to see how awful the place looks after wild windstorms *sigh* It ticks me off badly because I'd just cleaned up everything on Sunday and it was looking soooooo nice and then this massive wind/rain/hail/etc storm comes along and wrecks it all :( *shakes fist at clouds*
Best of all - Larie's coming for the weekend next weekend!!! YAY!!! We'll have a great time and hopefully the weather will be decent *lol*
Shopping, shopping, shop-ping! *does the shopping dance* This is freaking awesome! :-D
Well, after kicking around the house this morning trying to get in contact with work people about the conference thingy I'm meant to be at, all the while watching Der Krieger und Die Kaiserin and attempting to NOT think about how much work it'll take to clean the yard after the windstorms of the weekend (one small tree has literally been shredded, so that will take time to get fixed...), I decided to choof along to work because I may as well get a start on next week's stuff, right? Yeah. Or the week after's. You know... whatever.
So I headed out the door at about 9.50am or something like that, and on the way down the street after the street after mine on my walk, I found one shiny pretty 5 cent piece. The penny saying popped into my mind, so I picked it up and put it in my bag, thinking of other things that could make a new rhyme for the penny thing, some of them revolving around words that rhyme with 'luck.'
I guess today has been a bit of a better day, tho! I mean, my cold thingy is clearing up and my ear doesn't hurt hardly at all, which is genius! AND best of all, I can actually THINK! Because my brain had been on severe holidays for the past week (ie: to the point where I couldn't remember if the things I had on my shopping list were things I actually wanted..!).
And I got an e-mail from the lecturer dude who wrote that article I posted about last night, which was awesome! He told me that he wants me to try to get some of the articles I did for his class published, and wants me to keep in contact with him and let him know how I'm going, which I'll prolly do after I get sorted out after this weekend AND finish my damn tax forms. They've been languishing half-done on the table under some things and frightened the hell out of me when I found them yesterday *lol* I was like, 'Dum de dum de dum, dust dust dust... move papers... aiiiiieee!!!' *faint* At least I have until October, but still... heh!
The weather's nice today, too. And my parents are arriving, so they get to see how awful the place looks after wild windstorms *sigh* It ticks me off badly because I'd just cleaned up everything on Sunday and it was looking soooooo nice and then this massive wind/rain/hail/etc storm comes along and wrecks it all :( *shakes fist at clouds*
Best of all - Larie's coming for the weekend next weekend!!! YAY!!! We'll have a great time and hopefully the weather will be decent *lol*
Shopping, shopping, shop-ping! *does the shopping dance* This is freaking awesome! :-D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)