At least I don't have the headache and hayfever-like symptoms I woke up with. Have been to the weights/trainer session, and feel fairly good in body. Suppose that means I haven't been 'inert'. Mentioned that Marc asked if my legs were going to be trashed for two days again (with a bike ride tomorrow morning in mind), so she decided to spare my legs and trash my arms instead.

Just feel like I've come home and hit a brick wall in terms of motivation and 'get-up-and-go'. How unusual.

My wrist is iffy still. Last night it got bad after taking the minutes at the netball meeting. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. It eases after a night's sleep. So what now? No computer AND no writing?

Sitting on the playroom floor yesterday sorting through kids' clothes that have been grown out of by the Midde One - I got a sore back. Doing stuff like that always gives me a sore back. *whinge, moan*

Run out of my usual blog reading - why has everyone been so quiet? (What? You have lives?)

Feeling great despair, basically, for the future of this country. Yesterday Cait decided to apply a Chaser style general knowledge test to these two other teenagers (in the car on the way to netball) One is 14, also in Year 9. The other is 13 or turning 13, in Year 7. She decided to run the 'dumb test' after Zoe was babbling about having to do a speech that included something about our multi-cultural society. They asked "What's multi-cultural?". Duh? What?!

So, first question in her "Chaser" test - "Who is the Leader of the Opposition?"

They DID NOT KNOW!! And not only did they not know who it was, they didn't really understand what we meant by Opposition Leader.

In the end, I mischievously asked "Who is the next Prime Minister of Australia?"

"John Howard" they chorused. (Me: No, he's the current PM. Who could be the NEXT PM?) John Howard, they answered. And then at every question, they just parroted their parents and it's gotta be 'John Howard, John Howard', till I felt like running us off the road.

I suppose spruiking your parents' opinions in itself is fairly normal. There's no doubt we are raising our kids "our way" politically. (And socially -with, I like to think, a moral conscience.) But at least they know who the effing Opposition Leader is! And they choose themselves to watch political satire like The Chaser - which doesn't confine themselves to harassing only one side of politics, and encourages you to question whatever you hear in the media - whether it be advertisements, fashion trends, or politicians. And Cait watche shows like Media Watch which demostrate that you certainly can't believe everything you read in the papers or see on TV.

The views of these other parents scare me though, given the parrotting spewing forth from this other 14 year old. I shouldn't be surprised because at a BBQ I was at with her parents last year, they said they were 'proud to be Australian' during those Cronulla race riots - which basically just made me feel sick. Violence against everyone of a middle eastern appearance is such a good way to solve an issue isn't it. So I shouldn't be surprised that the 14 year old thinks says that Howard getting us involved in the war in Iraq was a good thing because "yep, otherwise the terrorists would be out here getting us, they would!" [I suggested that it wasn't actually Saddam or Iraq who blew up the twin towers... and asked why Iraq and that particular dictator was the one the US chose to invade as opposed to all the other brutal dictators in the world right now. (Oil perhaps?) - It was way beyond anything they understood anything about. I gave up.. and I didn't even bother asking where the weapons of mass deception destruction were.]

My daughter says a lot of kids in her year don't have a clue about what is going on in the world around them. There are only two of them in her group of friends - AND her English class (which is supposedly the advanced class) who watch the news.

But all of them will be eligible to vote (and in Australia they have to vote) in about 4 years time.
Heaven help us.

So I am quite despondent today. I don't usually tend to do my political ranting on my blog (I just usually yell at the TV and radio, and just about throw up when I hear Howard's voice. And his cronies.. nearly threw something at Joe Hockey on the tv the other night.) Because, much like out there in 'real life' I don't like to alienate people who hold differing opinions to me. However it suddenly struck me yesterday that I don't actually get to mix socially with like-minded people with whom I can chat/talk/rant/rave about the important stuff of the world. Stuff that means something to me. It's all building up inside, and I'm about to blow!

My faith in decency and compassion has been totally shattered by this current government. From the Tampa/Children Overboard lies that won them one election - to the disgraceful way this government treats desperate refugees, to the illegal war in Iraq, to the IR laws and the disgusting union bashing... I have long held the view that the Australian public votes with their hip pocket nerve and a bugger you Jack as long as I'm alright view. It just seems to be getting worse, somehow... Why do there seem to be so few people who can take a minute to think about others and imagine themselves in their shoes for a minute. Others who aren't as educated. Aren't as articulate. Aren't as well off. Aren't as safe. Imagine yourself desperately fleeing a country where you couldn't say "I disagree with the policies of the Leader" for fear of being locked up! Or even just imagine yourself with none of the basic wage and conditions that you have come to accept and that have, incidentally, been won for you over the years by collective bargaining... those bastard unions.

Going back to Zoe's speech... her topic was Australia- the Lucky Country. (Found out later that it was supposed to be related to multi-culturalism.. she'd missed the preparatory sessions on it when we were on the Big Ride, and then she had a couple more days off school - the teacher still wanted her to do it.. I also found out it was part of some GATS (Gifted and Talented Students) thing, which I also knew nothing about. So we helped her prepare without knowing exactly what she was supposed to be doing!!)

The kid really needed help (she had a lot of tears over it)... and we did our best to help her come up with the ideas and to put them in her own words. When I say 'we', I mean Marc, because I suck at this sort of stuff. I have no idea how to judge what sort of 'standard' is expected of her age (she is only 8!).. I was hard pressed not to make it overly complicated by pointing out that the term 'The Lucky Country' was coined by author Donald Horne as irony.

She went to school with it prepared last Thursday and covered stuff like the geography, climate, safe, democracy etc. (I managed to slip in the quip that because we have freedom of speech "my mum can say she hates John Howard without getting locked up")

She got equal first with another girl and had to do it in front of the seniors the next day. Note home from teacher said to include multi-cultural stuff and relate all points back to multi-culturalism. FFS? I ended up by that point just writing out some stuff for her on why we are lucky in that respect, but seriously, you couldn't relate Australia not being on any faultlines to multiculturalism! And I found it terribly hard not to shoot down all the 'positives'. How can Australia be so proud of its multiculturalism, when our track record - the Aboriginals, the White Australia policy, One Nation, refugees, Cronulla race riots - is nothing to crow about in terms of being a wonderfully tolerant multi-cultural nation.

(She came first and has to do some more speeches... oh dear!)

Well... now that I've scared off half of the few readers I had ...

... and... just don't tell me if you do like John Howard or believe that the war in Iraq was legal.. or anything else along those lines. These views are the essence of who I am, and so there is no chance of changing them. And I will only become more despondent and 'inert' than I already am. And you wouldn't want that, would you?

Labels: appalling, grumpy, opinion, political

"A common emotion on Anzac Day is: never again. And yet we keep marching off to war. " ....

"I fear we'll never run out of diggers to march on Anzac Day."

Ross Gittins - "Why 'never again' will never work" - SMH - 25/4/07

Labels: opinion

Most mornings it's the news on the radio that gradually drags me into consciousness. Yesterday I groaned as I heard about the massacre in Virginia. A 'not another one' groan... mixed with that bewilderment that a human could do that. Other mornings I sigh sadly when they happen to mention how many more people have been killed in Iraq. More bewilderment, really, about the situation that is causing it.

This morning though, it was a "huh?! - wtf?!!" when I heard about this refugee swap deal with the US. (I thought I'd misheard, till Marc came out of the shower and said, basically, wtf? about it as well.)

"Defies logic" is right. I suppose nothing should surprise me anymore over what Howard and co will do as regards refugees. Who the hell dreamt that one up?

And don't start me on the spin that his Lordship tries to put on it in that news link.

Strangely enough I'm with Labor and the Greens on this one. And Magic Bellybutton I'm sure!

Labels: huh, opinion, political

The one good thing about your own blog - as opposed to say a bulletin board - or 'real life' even - is that you have the power to hit a delete button. So when you get wallies who don't read the request in your sidebar - the one that says 'If you can't say something nice, don't say ANYTHING' - you can just ERASE them.

You know the type... the people who don't like what you've written because they think it is trivial, but find the time to post an even more trivial comment telling you that you that they can't believe you have the time to waste on trivial topics! AND! They are always too gutless to say who they are. "Anonymous to protect identity"? Give me a break. 'Anonymous because I am Gutless' would be more appropriate.

So, it is such a liberating feeling again today to be able to hit that little trash can, and tick the box that says 'Delete comment forever'.

Don't you wish you had one of them in the 'real' world sometimes - for the type of people that are unnecessarily and insufferably rude for no reason at all. The type that think they must be better than you ! That come into your personal space, and then say something to put you down.

By all means, gutless people, write your own blogs, and have a whinge about the blogs you think are full of trivial stuff. But while you're doing that, just realise that you are doing exactly the same. Writing about something TRIVIAL!

Which is what I'm doing right now, but hey, I'm not the one writing negative things on other people's blogs, criticising them for being trivial !!!!!

Labels: opinion, Trivial and lovin' it

While I'm in an Omega mood, I have to write about something that gets me all 'grrrr', so that I have to fight off the "is there something wrong with me" heebie jeebies.

It's the generalising of women in regard to their typical habits, and likes and dislikes. Sometimes you see it in the jokey emails doing the rounds, and other times people just drop it into conversation. I probably get more annoyed when women do it, because I think they should know better that as a gender we have so many individual differences!

At the school recently I opted to buy tickets in a raffle for the fruit & veg tray rather than the basket of body products. The (very annoying) woman from the front office tried to talk me into the basket.. "What woman wouldn't love this..."... My response: "Well, me, actually - I hate all that stuff!!"

For the record, I am woman (hear me roar), but I don't like:

• makeup. I hate having to get the damn stuff off. Especially off my eyes. Foundation never works on me.. first I look like a clown, then it seems to wear off me quicker than any other woman.
• perfume - it makes me sneeze
• baths - I get bored!
• perfumed baths - boring and smelly!
• fancy underwear - the lace is scratchy, I need to wear cotton undies because otherwise I get thrush, (so I've never seen any sexy lingerie in cotton) and what's the point in putting some fancy bra on that doesn't support you if you need to move at more than a snail's pace? (I'm all about comfort!)
• all those fancy skin products. I stick to sorbolene and cetaphil.
• high heeled shoes - I can't walk in them! I get excruciatingly sore feet (I need to wear orthotics in my normal shoes) - and even if I managed to get through an evening with the agony of the feet, it would throw my back or hips out, so I'd be up for more chiropractor visits than normal.

There are other 'characteristics' usually attributed to 'all women' that tend to annoy me, but I'll stick with my practical list for the moment...

I know that there are similar generalisations made about men, so I'm not just getting all on my feminist high horse here... (I growl to myself when women bag their husbands for misdemeanours that they attribute to their husband being simply a male, rather than his particular personality.)

So the next time you are about to say 'What woman wouldn't like...' - think again! If I said 'What woman wouldn't want to ride 450 km on a tandem with her daughter' you'd think I was nuts, but I'd rather do that than wear or use any of the above!

Does anyone else react to these generalisations, or is it just me?!!

Labels: Omega, opinion

I love my country.. Well, I love so much about my country. I'm quite passionate about all things Aussie. It's mostly natural Australia, if I think about it. The bush.. native flowers... the landscape ... And that's why I just don't get off on contrived, patriotic symbols and celebrations.

Tomorrow is Australia Day. (Which seems to be rapidly becoming Australia Week or something; the kids and I were getting so confused about why there was an Australia Day concert on tonight, we had to check the date! - it's easy to get confused between Anzac Day on the 25th (April) and this!) But you know what? I couldn't give a stuff about it. Except that it's a public holiday, and I'll take any public holiday that I can get (on Marc's behalf, seeing he's the worker; it means he has a day at home! With us!)

So, our national day is January 26. It commemorates the landing of the First Fleet in 1788. And I just can't accept it as a date to be proud of the nation that we are. Yes, yes... it was English settlement.. white settlement.. which has led to Australia being who we are today. To the Aboriginal people it's Invasion Day... and I have to say I can't say I blame them. And no, I don't have a jot of Aboriginal blood in me.

But I'm not quite sure what is the quintessential Australian...

It would be more appropriate to have our National Day on the anniversary of Australia itself actually becoming a nation. Some 113 years later. Silly founders of Federation scheduling that for January 1. Didn't they know that would already be a public holiday for New Years Day?

And the flag thing... It's not like I'm original in wishing it was different. Yes, I know the diggers fought under it in WWI and WWII... but (as the article says).. that's a spurious claim. And now that Anglo-Aussie thugs claimed it as theirs during ugly race riots, it would make me cringe to be associated with it. (And that cringe factor was cemented at a recent BBQ when some local people said they were 'proud to be Australian' that day. That scared me. )

So, I think we're due for a new, all encompassing flag... that reflects our multi-cultural nation (or at least doesn't Anglicise it)... that acknowledges the Aboriginal people that were invaded on January 26 1788. And the green and gold that are our national colours!

Maybe when we become a republic, when we have had reconciliation with the aboriginal people, with a flag that is green and gold, with no Union Jack/British Ensign in the corner, I'll have a real reason to celebrate a real Australia Day. A day when this song - "I am Australian" is truly meaningful. When the current Australia Day commemorates more than the First Settlement.

Labels: opinion

(or "Struggling for Content" - to quote 'someone' reading over my shoulder.)

I've always thought the English language could be pretty ambiguous, but I didn't realise that two people (who were married!) could have such a vastly different understanding over a general term used to estimate quantity. (And only discover this after more than 20 years together!)

We had a BIG debate in this household tonight. I have to add here that it ran along gender lines, (which means that he was outvoted by 4 to 1!), although that probably wouldn't be relevant in a larger scale sample. It does make me wonder (as I do occasionally) what planet he is from! ( I thought it was only Mars!)

It started when he took exception to my "under-valuation'"of our triplet bike with a post I made on a tandem bikes discussion forum. We are concerned about a change of plans on this Big Ride we are going on in March; an almost surreptitious change we picked up on their website in the past week suddenly has all bikes being put on trucks to be transported over a particular unsealed, and steep, section of road which was previously advertised as a choice to ride. Our beef with it is that there is no way we want to chuck our (new) triplet on a truck where it might get scratched and damaged. Despite getting a bit of a bargain with it, replacement cost would probably hit around 10K (aussie dollars). Not wanting to be specific I just said that the bike was worth 'several thousand dollars'. It got the message across that it was valuable. I thought.

"It's worth way more than that!!" he said.

"Yeah, yeah.. so, let's not split hairs, I was generalising... to give the picture that it's an expensive bike we don't want scratched."

"But get real, we paid more than $3,000 for it!"

"Three thousand?... I said several."

"Yeah, well, several is around three."

"No, no, no", the rest of us chorused. "It's more like six.. seven... eight... "

And we kept arguing back and forth, and will probably never agree! The girls and I reckon a couple is 2, a few is 3 or 4, some is around 4... and several is more than that.. say 5 - 10."

Of course I jumped onto Google, and discovered that many have been 'here' before, and the same disagreements ensue. A dictionary doesn't really help - "More than two, but fewer than many". (Now define many!)

My conclusion from my browsing is that those general words we use for quantity do depend on context and the spin you are trying to impart.. (I don't know what other non-specific quantitative word I could have used! The next one up is 'many'!)

Still, even with that in mind, this ambiguity in our language could conceivably lead to some greater misunderstandings (and even let downs!) than we had here tonight. If not with interpretation of quantity, then over what constitutes worthy blogging material. (Like he's an expert!)

Labels: aarrrgghhh, opinion

I'm not very good at explaining why I believe or feel the things I do. I'm the type that reads or hears an argument for (or against) something, and says either 'Bullshit!' or 'YES! Exactly!' when the author (a more intelligent, learned and succinct individual than myself) manages to identify and put into words something that is churning around as a gut feeling with me.

I read something like this the other day. Submitted to a usually humorous reader contribution column of the Sydney Morning Herald ("Heckler: Apply wit to something that makes your blood boil") I was disappointed the editors didn't hand this one over to a more important opinion page. Why haven't I heard this before? It adds yet another reason for why I think there is something very wrong with the whole Iraq invasion. On top of the many others. One of those "YES! Exactly!" moments.

THE problem with war today is no one wants to win. Once upon a time it was simple: invade, rape, murder and pillage until you subjugate the inhabitants or there are none left. Call the combined nations an empire and move on to the next country.

Then events after World War II gave rise to the absurd concept of "peacekeeping". A paradigm of meaningless marketing jargon. Where on Earth is there any peace to keep?

The trouble is, we're trying to have civilised wars. It's not very nice to take people's land off them, so we'll just drop in for a while, like Super Nanny, and try to sort
everything out. But protecting people and resolving conflicts are the civilised
traits of a highly developed species. War isn't. War is anathema to civilisation. If all's fair in war, then by definition, war, like love, can't be fair.

Today's armies are asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back. They're not invading or all-conquering or even allowed to kill anyone, unless they're being shot at. It's little more than target practice, with them as the target.

Once you decide to have a war, you can't pussyfoot around. You've got to identify the territory you'd like to occupy. And then you have to annihilate anything that stands in your way and seize it.

Therein lies the rub. The reason no one wants to win is not just because too many people, such as arms manufacturers (US) and arms dealers (eastern Europe) and organised criminals (Northern Ireland) and politicians (Sri Lanka) and religious leaders (Middle East) have a vested interest in wars continuing indefinitely; it's that no one has a clear objective of what to do if they win. No one has the master plan essential for true, lasting victory.

The wars of yesteryear were usually driven by the clearly stated goals of a megalomaniac: something focused, like world domination. Today's wars are so wishy-washy. How did America possibly expect to win the Vietnam War without invading, occupying and subjugating North Vietnam? And what then? Even if President George Bush had on the war in Iraq, as he erroneously claimed three years ago, did he have the slightest idea what he wanted to do with it? Give it straight back to the locals? That is not what war is about. And as for most of the world's terrorist groups, the England cricket team has a better understanding of the consequences of victory.

In future the question our esteemed leaders should be asking, before they sacrifice a few more thousand innocent lives, is not whether this war is right or wrong, but: "Do we really want to win it, and what the hell do we do if we do?"

Mark Silcocks. Heckler Column. Sydney Morning Herald. 11/1/07

http://www.smh.com.au/news/heckler/its-not-that-war-is-hell-its-more-like-war-is-limbo/2007/01/11/1168105113208.html

Labels: opinion

"If a government wanted to figure out how best to defend the country, it wouldn’t hold an inquiry into the air force. It would hold an inquiry into … defence. So if a government wanted to figure out how to plan for responsible energy consumption in an age of climate change you’d assume it would hold an inquiry into energy consumption. Instead, the Australian government holds an inquiry into … nuclear energy." crikey.com.au newsletter 22/11/06

Yes indeed. It was something that had been bothering me, but I hadn't been able to put my finger on it. Just one more current political.. issue.. that leaves me staggered.

****

Ah, but, you didn't think you'd be reading political comment here did you. It's another side of me that I haven't given much airing to on here. Usually I'm too mired in the everyday trivial stuff, but I actually do have a reasonably active political conscience, even if I'm not so good at expressing myself in that department, or doing anything constructive about it. Amongst the blogging and reading of blogs, I do spend some time reading the papers (online, and on Saturdays the old-fashioned way.) And I am cheered by the intelligent blogging emanating from the States.. it is hard not to lose hope when they put Bush in as President .. (and Australia has continued to put the morally bankrupt Howard in as prime minister.) Sometimes lately it is tempting to do the proverbial ostrich.. but I can't let myself lose touch with the bigger picture. Expect more quotes.

****

However. The little picture. Today has been a lazy day. Biiig sleep in. Couple of loads of washing, which I am keeping an eye on because of some ominous clouds building up. Drove Caitlin to a friend's place (she'd have to have a school friend who lives just about in Coffs and not round the corner...)

I've caught up with the washing up. (What an admission that is...)

I've looked at the vacuum cleaner a few times and said to myself "I really should get that out."

I've put the cricket on the telly because it makes it feel like Marc is home. And it's always good to watch Australia flogging England, no matter what the sport.

Marc is finally online (on Skype).. at the office on a Sunday I gather, because their internet at their apartment is mucking up. However he is 'away'. I am tempted not to wander too far away from the computer, despite the call of the vacuum cleaner, in case we get a chance to chat. Such is my life when he is away.

I am checking the time and wondering when it is appropriate to switch from coffee to a beer.

I have checked the tide times, and I *think* I will take a walk up the beach in a couple of hours.. when it is getting closer to low tide.

I am fighting off a sore throat/cough thing.

I let the younger two go to the park, with money for an icecream at the shop. Got sick of Alison's hang dog face... despite the fact that I was so cranky with the state of their bedroom yesterday - discovered when she was already at a birthday party. She says it is cleaned up, but I didn't even have the energy to go up and inspect.

I *could* start thinking about Christmas plans!

Labels: Christmas, daily, opinion

Until today I had viewed the Steve Irwin phenomenon with some detachment. I had always dismissed the guy as a bit OTT.

A bit? Are you kidding? You couldn't get any more Over The Top than Steve Irwin.

Believe it or not we never really saw any of the Crocodile Hunter shows (mostly a reflection of my TV station choices) and, like quite a few other Australians, I tended to cringe at how overboard 'Ocker' he was. He rose to celebrity status in the US, and we didn't quite know whether to be proud of him, or embarrassed that he was perpetuating an image of an Aussie that didn't really sit quite comfortably with us.

I mellowed a little when we visited Australia Zoo a few years ago, and I was quite impressed with the place, even though I'm not really big on zoos per se.

I weakened more when I saw him being interviewed on 'Enough Rope' (a fairly well regarded interview show on our national broadcaster, where the interviewer, Andrew Denton, tends to try to dig below the surface), and I could see that the guy was truly unique. He personified the term 'WYSIWYG'. The guy really was full on, like that, ALL the time. No pretensions. Just full on passion. And I mean, how could you not admire (just a bit!) a guy who would turn up an invitation to a dinner party with the President because it 'wasn't his thing'.

You couldn't fault his love for his family, even if he probably made some questionable parenting decisions at times. The crocodile feeding with baby Bob in his arms was the obvious one. The more trite example that came up in the interview was something about him letting his kid have icecream for breakfast if she wanted it!! (Terri must surely, at times, have felt like she had 3 children.)

But it became apparent that this bloke really did put his money where his mouth was. More than his TV shows, and his zoo, his private contributions to such a wide range of practical conservation programs were what really impressed me.

I recategorised him from a 'wacko' to an 'alright wacko'. By god, at least he was out there doing something he believed in, which is more than what I do.

I reacted to the news of his death in the same way I react to news of anyone dying. I loathe making more of a celebrity death than any ordinary person - but I tend to tear up when I hear of anyone dying - whether it's a local 'nobody' who has family and friends who will miss them - or someone in the limelight.

A few extra tears escaped because he was exactly the same age as me. And a parent, like me. And oh how I felt for his wife and kids. 44 is too young to die, even if it is doing something you love, and in a way you have brought on yourself.

I might have even held back on some emotion because of the celebrity factor. On principle, you know. It doesn't do to be worshipping celebrities, especially one who has toyed with death and danger all his life.

But the memorial service today brought me undone; not that that is too difficult, but I really was trying to be pragmatic. I first caught it on the radio while I was driving in to town, and then again, replayed on the telly tonight. And I cried.

The world has lost a true conservation warrior, and that truly does make me sad. I don't doubt that his family and friends will continue his work. His daughter is a chip off the old block if I ever saw one - and it was her most amazingly presented tribute that will surely have had tougher nuts than me wiping away the tears.

...We cringed at times and shook our
heads - but true to Nature's call
There was something very Irwin in the make up of us all
Yes the more I care to think of it -
the more he had it right
If you're going to make a difference-
make it big and make it bright!
Yes - he was a lunatic! Yes - he went
head first!
But he made the world feel happy
with his energetic burst
A world so large and loyal that it's
hard to comprehend
I doubt we truly count the warmth
until life meets an end
To count it now I say a prayer with
words of inspiration
May the spoltlight shine forever on
his dream for conservation...

(Rupert McCall - excerpt from his poem,
read by David Wenham at the memorial celebration)

Labels: opinion