May 2009
1. Daylight savings is defeated in Western Australia.
The latest referendum in Western Australia on the issue of daylight savings got voted upon and once again was voted down. The message seems pretty clear - if you put daylight savings to a vote, it will go down - but I seriously doubt this will stop the issue raising its head once again in the future.
Pro-daylight savings publications, i.e. the two main newspapers in WA, were quick to point out that the majority of people living in Perth wanted daylight savings, and by implication that our thriving metrop was being held back by our bumpkin provincial cousins.
While it's true that a large portion of country residents voted "no" - just over 70% - it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that the majority of Perth voted "yes". In a literal sense, this is true - but with results of 50.6% "yes" and 49.40% "no", it's hardly a landslide to be bragging about.
In the lead up to the referendum, there was a lot of pressure being put on by the "yes" campaign that took a "for the greater good" line. It's economically bad for WA to be another hour behind, they cried. To which I thought, well, we've coped with that handicap for a good few years now. And anyway, aren't many of our most lucrative economic dealings with China, who are in the same timezone as us?
It's good for families, allowing busy parents to spend more time with their kids, they said. To which I thought, well I don't have any kids anyway, and if I did I seriously hope I wouldn't be keeping them up until 9.30 just because I'm unable to prioritise my family/work situation.
But the best thing about a referendum like this is, I don't have to consider the bigger picture. I, as an individual, am being asked whether I, as an individual, like daylight savings or not. I don't, and so I voted "no". Democracy in action!
2. "I'm in looooooooove/with a fairytaaallllllle".
The Eurovision Song Contest was once again everything you might hope it would be - with the notable exception that Terry Wogan had resigned his post as commentator. Having commentated every year since 1980, Wogan was as much an instituition as the competition itself, with his trademark sarcasm and snideish comments.
In the UK, Wogan was replaced by Graham Norton. However for the Australian broadcast which also usually used the Wogan commentary, SBS sent over two of its own "personalities" to cover the event. Being neither as witty nor as interesting as a) Wogan or b) the each thought themselves, this was something of a fail for me, and I expect I will have to be disappointed again this year too.
And after the controversy in 2008 of French entrant Sebastién Tellier having sung his song in English (for the first time ever from a French entrant, in a move that was considered blasphemous by pretty much all of France), 2009's entry was a return to a familiar French Eurovision theme - a ballad by a woman in a pretty dress, sung in French. Which appeared to work, with France placing 8th, although to the casual observer (i.e., me) there was little difference between this song and the female French ballad-with-pretty-dress of 2006 (22nd), 2003 (18th), 2000 (23rd - although acutally this was one of my favourites), 1999 (19th), 1998 (24th - also a favourite, those seem to end up down the list . . . ), or indeed even 2001 (4th) and 2002 (5th). Possibly one has to be European to distinguish whether it's crap or not.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Sunday, 3 January 2010
The Year in Review: April 2009
April 2009
1. Swine flu epidemic.
Like bird flu, it once again seemed the end of days was nigh when swine flu came along. Dangerous killer flu! Sweeping the world! Vaccinations in development but months away!
The epidemic that began in Mexico swiftly spread to become a global pandemic, but fortunately in many cases turned out to be not as serious as the initial toll from Mexico suggested it might be. Although the worldwide death toll from swine flu is almost 13,000, many deaths were of people who were particularly vulnerable to serious diseases - such as the elderly, the very young, or those who were already unwell - and for many the swine flu was merely like a nasty remix of regular non-porcine flu.
2. Asylum seeker boat explosion.
A boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers exploded while being escorted to Christmas Island by the Australian navy, killing 5 and injuring many others. As per usual, it took no time for the humanitarians of the right to demonise the asylum seekers, with Colin Barnett claiming that the explosion had been deliberately caused by one or more of the people aboard - though when questioned more closely, he refused to back this claim with any evidence.
As it turns out, it may very well have been one of the asylum seekers who caused the explosion, or it may not. An inquest this month may reveal more about the events. In the meantime, the surviving asylum seekers have been proven to be genuine refugees, and accordingly granted refugee status in Australia.
3. Twitter.
In April, I signed up to Twitter out of curiosity. At the time, I still wasn't sure exactly what it was or what was the point of it. I don't use it so much, as I know only a few people on it, and haven't really ever contributed in a way that would see me meeting new people, so it's not a time-that-should-be-spent-doing-something-else vortex for me, as it has proved to be for other people.
But it's excellent for keeping up with what Neil Gaiman is doing.
1. Swine flu epidemic.
Like bird flu, it once again seemed the end of days was nigh when swine flu came along. Dangerous killer flu! Sweeping the world! Vaccinations in development but months away!
The epidemic that began in Mexico swiftly spread to become a global pandemic, but fortunately in many cases turned out to be not as serious as the initial toll from Mexico suggested it might be. Although the worldwide death toll from swine flu is almost 13,000, many deaths were of people who were particularly vulnerable to serious diseases - such as the elderly, the very young, or those who were already unwell - and for many the swine flu was merely like a nasty remix of regular non-porcine flu.
2. Asylum seeker boat explosion.
A boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers exploded while being escorted to Christmas Island by the Australian navy, killing 5 and injuring many others. As per usual, it took no time for the humanitarians of the right to demonise the asylum seekers, with Colin Barnett claiming that the explosion had been deliberately caused by one or more of the people aboard - though when questioned more closely, he refused to back this claim with any evidence.
As it turns out, it may very well have been one of the asylum seekers who caused the explosion, or it may not. An inquest this month may reveal more about the events. In the meantime, the surviving asylum seekers have been proven to be genuine refugees, and accordingly granted refugee status in Australia.
3. Twitter.
In April, I signed up to Twitter out of curiosity. At the time, I still wasn't sure exactly what it was or what was the point of it. I don't use it so much, as I know only a few people on it, and haven't really ever contributed in a way that would see me meeting new people, so it's not a time-that-should-be-spent-doing-something-else vortex for me, as it has proved to be for other people.
But it's excellent for keeping up with what Neil Gaiman is doing.
The Year in Review: March 2009
March 2009
1. World's Greatest Shave.
The World's Greatest Shave is a fundraising event held every year to raise funds for The Leukaemia Foundation, who provide support for those with leukaemia and blood diseases and their families. People joining in the World's Greatest Shave can choose to shave their hair off, or take the less extreme step of dying their hair.
In 2009, I joined in for the first time by shaving my head. I went down to a number three, with a kickass mullet on the way. I was pleased to discover that I don't have a badly shaped head for being largely bald - just really very round, like a bowling ball.
Check out my sister's photos of the event on her (poorly updated) blog.
2. Watchmen released in cinemas.
Though it largely got a bit of a pasting from critics, I thought Watchmen was brilliant. One of the chief criticisms of it was that it was too faithful to the text, which was what I found so good about it. As far as I'm concerned, the comic is pretty much perfection - so why would you want to mess with that? The movie beautifully augments the comic, adding the extra dimension of the visuals changing within the frame.
The one beef I have with the film was the casting of Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt, which was both awful and thrown into even starker relief against the fact that the rest of the casting was perfection itself - better than any other adaptation I've seen.
3. Shooting attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
Pakistan's status as a venue for international cricket was thrown into even further jeopardy after 12 gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan's team bus and a minivan travelling behind the bus carrying several officials, including the match umpires. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack, which also injured several of the Sri Lankan players and caused the tour to be abandoned.
Australia and New Zealand both played Pakistan in 2009, but in the neutral territory of the United Arab Emirates. And Pakistan had been due to host some of the matches in the 2011 World Cup, which the ICC removed and redistributed amongst the other co-hosts, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after an unsuccesssful attempt by Pakistan to convince the ICC to hold these matches in the UAE. This has led to serious concerns for the future of cricket in Pakistan. Will the team always have to be abroad? Could a permanent venue for the team's "home" games be made in an a neutral location?
Whichever way, it's very sad to see terrorism once again rearing its ugly head to spoil things that people should be able to enjoy.
1. World's Greatest Shave.
The World's Greatest Shave is a fundraising event held every year to raise funds for The Leukaemia Foundation, who provide support for those with leukaemia and blood diseases and their families. People joining in the World's Greatest Shave can choose to shave their hair off, or take the less extreme step of dying their hair.
In 2009, I joined in for the first time by shaving my head. I went down to a number three, with a kickass mullet on the way. I was pleased to discover that I don't have a badly shaped head for being largely bald - just really very round, like a bowling ball.
Check out my sister's photos of the event on her (poorly updated) blog.
2. Watchmen released in cinemas.
Though it largely got a bit of a pasting from critics, I thought Watchmen was brilliant. One of the chief criticisms of it was that it was too faithful to the text, which was what I found so good about it. As far as I'm concerned, the comic is pretty much perfection - so why would you want to mess with that? The movie beautifully augments the comic, adding the extra dimension of the visuals changing within the frame.
The one beef I have with the film was the casting of Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt, which was both awful and thrown into even starker relief against the fact that the rest of the casting was perfection itself - better than any other adaptation I've seen.
3. Shooting attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
Pakistan's status as a venue for international cricket was thrown into even further jeopardy after 12 gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan's team bus and a minivan travelling behind the bus carrying several officials, including the match umpires. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack, which also injured several of the Sri Lankan players and caused the tour to be abandoned.
Australia and New Zealand both played Pakistan in 2009, but in the neutral territory of the United Arab Emirates. And Pakistan had been due to host some of the matches in the 2011 World Cup, which the ICC removed and redistributed amongst the other co-hosts, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after an unsuccesssful attempt by Pakistan to convince the ICC to hold these matches in the UAE. This has led to serious concerns for the future of cricket in Pakistan. Will the team always have to be abroad? Could a permanent venue for the team's "home" games be made in an a neutral location?
Whichever way, it's very sad to see terrorism once again rearing its ugly head to spoil things that people should be able to enjoy.
Friday, 1 January 2010
The Year in Review: February 2009
February 2009
1. Black Saturday Bushfires.
The bushfires of the 7th of February in Victoria resulted in an unprecedented loss of life - 173 people were killed in the highest bushfire death toll in Australian history. The potential for this devastation was known in the lead up to the actual day, with predictions of extreme bushfire weather conditions - but even with pre-emptive moves such as a total fire ban for the entire state and the deployment of firefighting personnel, diaster was not averted.
Disturbingly, investigations showed that several of the fires were deliberately lit, including the fire that razed the town of Marysville to the ground, killing 34.
2. Flooding in Queensland.
It was an awful irony - while Victoria was burning, Queensland was receiving huge amounts of rain courtesy of pressure systems caused by Tropical Cyclone Ellie. Floodwaters rose to their peak in the town of Ingham, where flooding of up to 12.5 metres affected 3000 homes in the area. Some residents were trapped in their homes, while others from lower-lying areas were evacuated to the local high school.
3. The 81st Academy Awards
It was something of a forgone conclusion perhaps - anyone who has a keen enough eye to have observed Denzel Washington's Best Actor win for Training Day in the same year as Halle Berry's Best Actress nod and Sydney Poitier's induction into the Hall of Fame knows that the Academy isn't above favouring dramatic effect over merit - so it seemed fairly obvious that Heath Ledger would take away the Best Supporting Actor statuette, simply from the "dramatic effect" side of things.
The interesting thing here is that actually, Ledger's Joker is a fine performance. At once amusing and menacing, he manages to make The Joker completely unhinged without seeming over the top, helping to make The Dark Knight a pretty serious, grown-up film. Had he been alive, he may very well have found himself reading his acceptance speech on the basis of merit.
The other part of this Awards that I loved was that Kate Winslet finally took home the Best Actress Oscar - and for a part in a Nazi film. Go Ricky Gervais.
4. Kevin Rudd is stimulating.
The ALP came up with the Stimulus Package to combat the effects of the GFC. Basically, if you worked in Australia in the previous financial year, you got given $900. I'm not sufficiently across economics to know whether this was a good financial move or not, but it certainly provided ample opportunity for everyone to make gently crude puns. And therefore, in my opinion, was largely a success.
1. Black Saturday Bushfires.
The bushfires of the 7th of February in Victoria resulted in an unprecedented loss of life - 173 people were killed in the highest bushfire death toll in Australian history. The potential for this devastation was known in the lead up to the actual day, with predictions of extreme bushfire weather conditions - but even with pre-emptive moves such as a total fire ban for the entire state and the deployment of firefighting personnel, diaster was not averted.
Disturbingly, investigations showed that several of the fires were deliberately lit, including the fire that razed the town of Marysville to the ground, killing 34.
2. Flooding in Queensland.
It was an awful irony - while Victoria was burning, Queensland was receiving huge amounts of rain courtesy of pressure systems caused by Tropical Cyclone Ellie. Floodwaters rose to their peak in the town of Ingham, where flooding of up to 12.5 metres affected 3000 homes in the area. Some residents were trapped in their homes, while others from lower-lying areas were evacuated to the local high school.
3. The 81st Academy Awards
It was something of a forgone conclusion perhaps - anyone who has a keen enough eye to have observed Denzel Washington's Best Actor win for Training Day in the same year as Halle Berry's Best Actress nod and Sydney Poitier's induction into the Hall of Fame knows that the Academy isn't above favouring dramatic effect over merit - so it seemed fairly obvious that Heath Ledger would take away the Best Supporting Actor statuette, simply from the "dramatic effect" side of things.
The interesting thing here is that actually, Ledger's Joker is a fine performance. At once amusing and menacing, he manages to make The Joker completely unhinged without seeming over the top, helping to make The Dark Knight a pretty serious, grown-up film. Had he been alive, he may very well have found himself reading his acceptance speech on the basis of merit.
The other part of this Awards that I loved was that Kate Winslet finally took home the Best Actress Oscar - and for a part in a Nazi film. Go Ricky Gervais.
4. Kevin Rudd is stimulating.
The ALP came up with the Stimulus Package to combat the effects of the GFC. Basically, if you worked in Australia in the previous financial year, you got given $900. I'm not sufficiently across economics to know whether this was a good financial move or not, but it certainly provided ample opportunity for everyone to make gently crude puns. And therefore, in my opinion, was largely a success.
The Year in Review: January 2009
So I've decided to try and make a start on practising regular blog writing by giving a review of some of the highlights/lowlights/no-particular-strong-feelings-either-way-lights of 2009, both for me personally, and for the world in general.
The idea I have is that I will write about each month of 2009 on the corresponding day of January 2010 (e.g., I'm writing about January on today, the first, July would be on the 7th, December on the 12th, etc). Though I'm making no guarantees about that - it could be very difficult as I have no internet access at home, and I'm planning on handing this computer (at work) over for upgrading/maintenance in the next couple of days. But we shall see.
So, without further ado, here is the year in review.
January
1. Return of the prodigal daughter.
On a personal level, the most significant part of January was that my time overseas came to an end. I spent New Year's at Hogmanay in Edinburgh, then meandered back south to London via Whitby and Middlesborough to catch my flight back home. Post-Whitby this was complete with an extremely heavy and gigantic ammonite that I found there - all the way back to Australia in my hand luggage.
See my Flickr photostream of Whitby.
I had a great time overseas, but by the time I left I was really ready to be home. I think the longest I stayed in any one place was about a week, and the constant moving araound, not to mention the schlepping of my giant and very heavy suitcase everywhere, had me really ready to just be in one place. And if it's got to be one place, there's no place like home, right?
2. Barama: A New Hope.
I heard a journalist stumbling over his words one time call Barack Obama "Barama" - which I enjoyed so much that I like to resurrect it every now and then. As far as nicknames go, I think it's a catchy one.
This was a significant event, not just for the US, but pretty much for the whole world. Regardless of how the term of office actually turns out, it's moments like these that keep people believing in government - moments of idealism when it seems that politicians can make the world a better place - can, and will, and will erase the mistakes of the past with their vision of the glorious future. Of course, in actuality it rarely turns out like that - we discover that every politician must compromise, we don't agree with the decisions they make, we want them to go further with things . . . But there'll always be that moment of heady optimism when it seems anything is possible.
3. Global Financial Crisis
The continuation of the GFC meant that worldwide, jobs were folding, banks were foreclosing, and it seemed the sky was going to fall on our heads. Like other places in the world, wide-scale recession seemed imminent for Australia, and there was a general feeling of waiting for the storm of impending doom to hit.
The idea I have is that I will write about each month of 2009 on the corresponding day of January 2010 (e.g., I'm writing about January on today, the first, July would be on the 7th, December on the 12th, etc). Though I'm making no guarantees about that - it could be very difficult as I have no internet access at home, and I'm planning on handing this computer (at work) over for upgrading/maintenance in the next couple of days. But we shall see.
So, without further ado, here is the year in review.
January
1. Return of the prodigal daughter.
On a personal level, the most significant part of January was that my time overseas came to an end. I spent New Year's at Hogmanay in Edinburgh, then meandered back south to London via Whitby and Middlesborough to catch my flight back home. Post-Whitby this was complete with an extremely heavy and gigantic ammonite that I found there - all the way back to Australia in my hand luggage.
See my Flickr photostream of Whitby.
I had a great time overseas, but by the time I left I was really ready to be home. I think the longest I stayed in any one place was about a week, and the constant moving araound, not to mention the schlepping of my giant and very heavy suitcase everywhere, had me really ready to just be in one place. And if it's got to be one place, there's no place like home, right?
2. Barama: A New Hope.
I heard a journalist stumbling over his words one time call Barack Obama "Barama" - which I enjoyed so much that I like to resurrect it every now and then. As far as nicknames go, I think it's a catchy one.
This was a significant event, not just for the US, but pretty much for the whole world. Regardless of how the term of office actually turns out, it's moments like these that keep people believing in government - moments of idealism when it seems that politicians can make the world a better place - can, and will, and will erase the mistakes of the past with their vision of the glorious future. Of course, in actuality it rarely turns out like that - we discover that every politician must compromise, we don't agree with the decisions they make, we want them to go further with things . . . But there'll always be that moment of heady optimism when it seems anything is possible.
3. Global Financial Crisis
The continuation of the GFC meant that worldwide, jobs were folding, banks were foreclosing, and it seemed the sky was going to fall on our heads. Like other places in the world, wide-scale recession seemed imminent for Australia, and there was a general feeling of waiting for the storm of impending doom to hit.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
New Year's Resolutions
It has to be admitted: thus far, the blog's not going very well. Mostly because it just hasn't been going at all. Out of all the things in my life that I have to do, this is just pretty far down the list, and so keeps getting put off, and off, and off.
Which leads nicely into my New Year's Resolution. Singular, this time round. Normally I make a long list each year, of all the things that I'd like to do, or to do more of, or to start doing. I write them all down on the 31st of December, ready to spend the next year becoming happier, fitter, more sociable, more learned, more well-rounded, with creative achievements overflowing. And every year, none of it happens.
So this year, there's just the one. I've finally worked out where I'm going wrong with each of my separate Resolutions-of-New-Years-Past, and when the answer turned out to be the same for each, the path was clear.
So next year, my one and only resolution, which I will be trying like anything to achieve, is to find a better work/life balance. As in, less of the work, more of the life.
And hopefully find time for a blog in there somewhere.
Which leads nicely into my New Year's Resolution. Singular, this time round. Normally I make a long list each year, of all the things that I'd like to do, or to do more of, or to start doing. I write them all down on the 31st of December, ready to spend the next year becoming happier, fitter, more sociable, more learned, more well-rounded, with creative achievements overflowing. And every year, none of it happens.
So this year, there's just the one. I've finally worked out where I'm going wrong with each of my separate Resolutions-of-New-Years-Past, and when the answer turned out to be the same for each, the path was clear.
So next year, my one and only resolution, which I will be trying like anything to achieve, is to find a better work/life balance. As in, less of the work, more of the life.
And hopefully find time for a blog in there somewhere.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Farewell Pepper
I just wanted to write a quick post about the very sad passing of little Pepper, my sister and brother-in-law's much adored cat.
Being a rescue cat of uncertain background, Pepper had always had somewhat indifferent health, but it was still a great shock when an emergency visit to the vet's over breathing difficulties turned out to be incurable cancer.
And so last night, after many hugs and kisses and pats and crying, little Pepper was put to sleep.
As anyone who owns or has anything to do with cats can attest, they're idiosyncratic little creatures, with very distinct personalities. This was always especially evident with Pepper, who always considered herself to be every bit as much of a person as the bipeds - indeed, in the Venn diagram of life Pepper would no doubt have considered there to be far more intersection between the Pepper circle and humans than cats.
She always graciously accepted her role in life as the centre of everyone's focus, cordially receiving all her well wishers, and if she ever got a little imperious - well, surely this was because humans are sometimes bafflingly slow to get one's bickies?
There are many things about Pepper that everyone who knew her will remember - from the way her disproportionately small butt and tail used to look as she walked, to the insistent meows whenever anyone so much as glanced in the direction of the kitchen ("Ah, surely you are going to give me food now?"), to the eternally shining optimism which she time after time attempted to eat cravers from empty hands held out ("Ah, surely you are going to give me a craver now?"), but my special favourites are the way she used to look up at her dad when he was carrying her in the special (and peculiar) fashion that only a cat like Pepper could ever consider comfortable - completely content to sit, but just wanting to look at him; and the way she delicately made her way through all her admirers, being picked up and made much of, the night a houseful of people stopped by to see her that coincidentally happened to be around the same time as her dad's 30th birthday.
A very striking girl with huge, bright green eyes, unusual silver/chocolate/apricot calico colouring and a ridiculously outgoing personality, she will be much missed.
Being a rescue cat of uncertain background, Pepper had always had somewhat indifferent health, but it was still a great shock when an emergency visit to the vet's over breathing difficulties turned out to be incurable cancer.
And so last night, after many hugs and kisses and pats and crying, little Pepper was put to sleep.
As anyone who owns or has anything to do with cats can attest, they're idiosyncratic little creatures, with very distinct personalities. This was always especially evident with Pepper, who always considered herself to be every bit as much of a person as the bipeds - indeed, in the Venn diagram of life Pepper would no doubt have considered there to be far more intersection between the Pepper circle and humans than cats.
She always graciously accepted her role in life as the centre of everyone's focus, cordially receiving all her well wishers, and if she ever got a little imperious - well, surely this was because humans are sometimes bafflingly slow to get one's bickies?
There are many things about Pepper that everyone who knew her will remember - from the way her disproportionately small butt and tail used to look as she walked, to the insistent meows whenever anyone so much as glanced in the direction of the kitchen ("Ah, surely you are going to give me food now?"), to the eternally shining optimism which she time after time attempted to eat cravers from empty hands held out ("Ah, surely you are going to give me a craver now?"), but my special favourites are the way she used to look up at her dad when he was carrying her in the special (and peculiar) fashion that only a cat like Pepper could ever consider comfortable - completely content to sit, but just wanting to look at him; and the way she delicately made her way through all her admirers, being picked up and made much of, the night a houseful of people stopped by to see her that coincidentally happened to be around the same time as her dad's 30th birthday.
A very striking girl with huge, bright green eyes, unusual silver/chocolate/apricot calico colouring and a ridiculously outgoing personality, she will be much missed.
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