being on time, the typewriter, and the landline...

Been doing a lot of thinking about social media in the last month or so, sometimes completely avoiding it due to the fact that I had school assignments to finish.  Now that's done I've trawled it here and there, catching up on the happenings of friends, reading way too many articles and getting a good giggle out of political cartoons.

Several points of note:

It occurs to me that you possibly mean something to someone when they actually *don't* blab about your quite personal interactions in the social media sphere.  There are a number of personal interactions I could be referring to here - use your imagination - but I will give you an example to kick off the thought bubble:

I had a conversation with an old friend the other weekend, who I didn't personally know had a split with their partner (it had been a very very long time since I'd seen them in the actual face), that they were 'outted' via social media.  What they meant by that was that they hadn't discussed what was happening with their partner with their family yet; the other person involved changed their 'status' to simply 'single'; and all hell broke loose. I said 'Oh dude; I'm so sorry that happened to you'.  He doesn't use social media, never has, but she did.  Calls came from family around the world demanding to know what was going on.  I felt bad that this kind of thing could happen, because isn't that up to you? On YOUR time?

I suppose it's a respect thing. Do you respect another person enough to ensure that if you are going to proudly announce those types of things on social media by doing something as seemingly meaningless as changing your relationship status, you've actually checked that your other has had relevant conversations with those in their world first?!

Personally you can never quite tell with me when something completely outstanding in my sphere has happened, unless of course it really does relate to only me and doesn't involve someone else.  Such as I was truly happy to finish last assignments of the course, or sometimes when I have confirmed/won a new contract or am returning to an old one for another year.

I do, periodically, ask that other friends send strength to other friends going through rough times, but it's not like I would announce specifically what aforementioned rough time is; simply that some love and thoughts are passed in their direction.  If someone asks, that person has the right to tell them in reply; not me.

Now, the trolls. Oh the trolls. I admit, there has been some discussion around here about starting a website called "I enjoyed arguing with you on the internet (but here's why you are stupid)".  Like a fact-checker really, for the complete ignoramus out there, the ones who answer something you post on a social page with insults.  You know I'm fine to debate things with people, in fact I will totally revel in it, but the one's who respond with something like 'what a fat fuck' I have zero tolerance for.

If you're going to start an argument on some website, news, social or otherwise, be able to back yourself up without pulling the insult card.  Sometimes I have actually learned something from having a heated debate over a topic, or been sent a link to articles, etc etc. But when it's just as plain as 'you are an idiot, you should resign' blah blah blah when you DISAGREE with something someone says, just keep your hands away from the keyboard (idiot! hehe).

I've seen some of that, mostly on Twitter, lately directed at a Senator I actually really respect and support for she had put up a 'meme'.  The backlash was rife. How do you ignore that?! Being called stupid in the public social sphere?! I suppose it should be the old water of the ducks back; but as if that kind of blatant disrespect doesn't hurt.  In this case referring to 'oh but it was under Labor's watch'. And yes it was, however it is more about how international relations are dealt with under a CURRENT Government you numbnuts (see, here I go!).

So, why did I call this post 'being on time, the typewriter, and the landline...'?  Well, for a couple of reasons.  I did read something recently that pointed this out; but you know I feel like when we weren't so social media connected you used to turn up ON TIME for things.  I suppose that's pre-mobile phone really isn't it. When I didn't have a mobile phone (I was 19 when I first got one, and that was quite some time ago now), I called someone on the old landline, made arrangements and turned up somewhere on *time*.  It's not to say I don't now turn up on time to things, but I also can admit to finding it easier to be able to pull out of something if I'm simply not feeling up to it on the day. That's pretty awful you know, sorry friends.

*digression time* Though my excuses lately can usually run from a munty body that I'm not looking after very well (true fact; stupid spine), stemming from being too poor to be able to afford treatment on said munty body because of chosen career path change from 5 years ago when I was more able to hold money-fights.  You can usually tell. I'm more than happy to announce my own munty body goodness in the social sphere.

Sometimes I feel you can also see someones true colours coming out in their own 'avatar'.  Just a one-off throwaway can really reveal that.  Would they say what they say online having a drink with a group of friends?! Probably not, unless there's been too much wine flowing.

And advertising... ohhhh online advertising. You know I'm presuming that if I suddenly changed different parts of my profile, the advertising would really change around me. It seems to pick up pretty quickly on those kinds of things.  I guess that's why it's successful for some businesses.

And the typewriter?! Oh, the typewriter. Well, I did learn to type on one. It was electric, mind you, but it was still a typewriter. And they're making parents buy kids as young as 6 IPad's.  Reason number 412 not to procreate I say.

xJ

Just found a piece of paper...

that lists some of the shows I attended two years ago at the Adelaide Fringe, so I thought I'd record it here.

A-la 2012 season...

Sam Simmons
Soap
Gordon Southern
Eric Amber
Mark Watson
Kaput
Slapdash Galaxy
The Table
Sammy J & Randy
Morgan & West

All wonderful performances, so much comedy in there, but MY overall performance (if this is the whole list I attended, I'm not sure) is pretty WEAAAAAAAAK!

That is all.
xJ

Lies! All lies!

I have to admit I am getting pretty annoyed actually, with just feeling angry at our Government all the time lately. They barely deserve capitalisation and all.

You know, I'm no economist but this magical idea that electricity prices will immediately drop as soon as the carbon 'tax' (which isn't a tax by the way) is repealed is an outright lie.  Firstly, if they expect businesses providing this service to be able to just overnight change a price, they are sorely mistaken.  Secondly, well the industry is saying it - plus they do have other costs.  Thirdly, they are mostly all privatized, they are there to make profits for shareholders, they absorb these kinds of costs into their business or they wouldn't survive. Fourth, our wages here are really high. Fifth, fifth... you get my drift.

I saw something else pop up on the screen today that said the initial amount our government (capitalisation now removed) offered to the Philippines initially was 390K. That's the cost of a nice house in the suburbs. If this was actually serious thank GOODNESS they have revised it to $10M.  Okay, so I see the 390K was for 'emergency supplies' and the rest is in 'aid' (see below link). Their initial offer was disgusting. Where is the military deployment in all this you utter GEESE!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-11/global-aid-response-typhoon-haiyan-australia-red-cross/5082024

Their complete disregard for the poor in the rest of the world when we are so rich is a real joke.

The fact that the *people* are now funding something as vital as the Climate Council is a joke.  But at least this one action by the people of Australia, funding this so quickly, shows we all give a damn.

This post has been sitting here uncompleted for about a week now, but I still feel the same. I am sick of feeling angry, so sick of it.  I can't stop watching the news or reading articles because I have the need to feel informed.

Stupid people, who needs 'em.
xJ

I'm pretty sure...

if TMBG and Devo were ever on the same bill my brain would explode...

Who watches over you?!


Come in boogie boy, you're late!


Thank heck that the particles of the universe ended up in the creation of music. No, truly. I can't imagine life without it.

xJ

VOX POP's are BACK!

VOX POP: There is something wrong with the heels on these shoes.... RIGHT?!

PART II: Those are clearly holes.... RIGHT?!

So yes my body is sometimes wonky so one shoe seemed to collapse quicker than the other... but in a month?! For reals. Your shoes suck, multinational!  You know usually I buy a couple pairs of shoes each year, I have one pair of work shoes I've had for two... so you can't tell me it's me. A-holes.

Because apparently they sold 8,000 units of these and there is less than 0.3% fault of returns with this design and when they got them back they couldn't find a fault...

QUESTION!!? (in my best sammy j impersonation) Is the person you gave the shoes to quality test a) blind and/or; b) if they are blind, also unfortunate enough to have no fingers to feel said-spongey bit that shows you how they put the shoe together in there?
Well it's interesting and all, but I could make better shoes with a piece of bloody cardboard.

Here endeth the rant.
xJ

study vs. procrastination

i hereby claim myself the queen of procrastination. for ever and ever.

in other news... well a few months back i purchased an emergency pair of black boots for work. realised i had no flat shoes to wear and heels every day, even small work-type ones, do cause a problem for ye olde psoas...

more on that later. okay so, the emergency shoes... well buying shoes always frustrates me because i pretty much never ever have the amount of money just lying around that i need to buy my actual dream work festival shoes (Magnums). So on this occasion I was downtown and went into *insert multinational here*. This is so irregular for me to even enter that store, as i say it was pretty much a 'shit i really really need shoes for work right now' emergency.

if you can call something like that an emergency. cyclonic high winds or bushfire... emergencies! really thinking you need shoes for work? probably not so much.

what did i say about procrastination? let's add deviation to that.

ultimately these shoes collapsed in the heel within a month on both shoes. inside and out. now i know i do walk slightly lopsided sometimes because of aforementioned muscle fuckery but you know i'm always a little bit annoyed about this throw-away society, so about a week ago i decided i would email them some photos of what had happened to the shoes. and come to think of it, they ended up CAUSING the muscle fuckery to happen again as they were collapsing... regardless... i had been meaning to do it since getting back from Sydney in the middle of June, but then there was canada and then there was blah blah blah... suffice to say they'd been sitting here under my desk.

in one of the emails i said 'you know you always advertise towards families - that things are cheap but that they are quality and it is convenient, so it kind of concerns me that you've ended up with an inferior product in your line; so i dont much care about a refund but i'd like to show you what happened to these shoes for your quality control or purchasing department before i throw them out'... in fewer words; actually probably more. you get the idea.

so i guess you might be thinking this is a rant about how shit *inserted multinational* is, but quite the contrary. they were actually reasonably quick in responding, asked if i still had the receipt (i did, magically), and for my contact information. also this morning they even phoned from their head office and asked if i could give them the item code off of the receipt for the report they were sending to the quality division, and could i return them to the local store closest to me so they can be sent back and looked at.  "i'm so sorry this has happened to you - we take our complaints and quality control very seriously" - WOAH! for reals.

a point! i should always have a point.

the point in this instance is, if you are not satisfied with the quality of a product, and it is a genuine complaint, speak up. in my head i was going 'seriously, i don't care how much these cost, they lasted a month and that is shithouse'.

"cradle to cradle" i always try to think, and yeh great this pair of shoes last four weeks and now where do they go? to landfill.

crazy hippy!

and you, Psoas Major, you can wait for another story and another day.
xJ

let's face it...

i'd rather be dancing around the living room than doing any of these freakn financial subjects i have to do for sKool.

BOO-URNS.

I said boo-urns.

xJ

time-wasting is a bitch

okay, first things first... never EVER play that stupid candy game you'll get stuck in it for at least an hour.

i think this overwhelming feeling happened to me around my last birthday too; questioning everything. because let's face it, celebrating new year is something fun to do with your friends, but your smurfday is your *personal* year.

i make lists every january. they're not so much resolutions, but just things i want to get done throughout the year. i think this is probably about the fifth year in a row i've done it. i'd have to go back and check my old diaries (or planners for you North American types).

so i've noticed each year i'm going pretty well, until around this time of year when i realise how little of the year is actually left, and i suppose i'm used to working calendar-year in my mind. now i think i'll work it from smurfday to smurfday. seems more appropriate.

which is why, yesterday, i started a 5 year plan piece of paper. it's stuck on my wardrobe. so far it's just a bunch of words that tick around in my mind often, things i would like to work on or words that will remind me to elaborate on what i actually am manifesting a little later.  this plan will include personal missions as well of course. however writing what you want for a 5 year period and what you want for a 1 year period... boy is it so much harder.

the word 'settle' barely even slips into my mind. i got way too used to living out of a pack, and being in one place for too long really does my head in.

in some weird kind of side note that popped into my head;  i've always thought i'd end up volunteering somewhere less fortunate and do something great for people. it hasn't happened yet. maybe it just isn't time.

that idea of having somewhere of your own to come back to is always a joyful thought. but where?! WHERE in the world should that place be? well i can tell you the places and the neighbourhoods i feel most comfortable of course, and i'm sure you all know the answer to this anyways. so i won't bother to elaborate. and could i ever afford it. never.

i'm not even on the road that much overall i suppose, but i feel unsettled in the home town because i really haven't truly engaged with it again. and i feel like i should have by now having truly been back here almost two years. TWO?? i possibly miss the awesomesauce of the late 90's in this city. yes, i know i was a hell of a lot younger, but it's not solely that. i felt like there was this big wave of completely awesome music and creativity here during that time. so many many good times. where did it go? it's got to be around here somewhere.

i've always defended the home town from people who said it's boring. and now... well, i don't feel it's necessarily boring but i feel like i have to search for what i want to find a lot harder. disconnected.

talk about a slump. ho-ly. fucking brain slump you mean.
caution to the wind? anyone?! please!

i'd hate to play the blame game but i will on this occasion. money. money you shithead. why do you make things so much harder for us all. (yay capitalism!) you can't eat money, you can't shelter in money (easily) and you can't wear money. you think the people in this world who are really REALLY without it, care about it? i'm pretty sure they care about food and shelter more.

i'm just saying.

from the all-over-the-place mind of an almost-35 year old. *twitch, twitch*
xJ

how do you know when you're winning at life?

i posed myself this question just now, and i'm pretty sure i've already worked it out.

you are winning at life when you can bloody laugh at yourself.

like... really laugh, call yourself a goose, and wish there was another one of you so you could sufficiently slap yourself in the face for being said goose.

oh gawd, i started a sentence with 'like' and i just lucked out on being a Gen Y (thank heck).  no offense to the non-self-centered awesome folk in that generation that i have the pleasure of knowing; that blog that went around recently explaining Gen Y really hit the nail on the head actually; in a parody generalizing kind of way. so i suppose the thing that needs to be added to that well put together piece of stick figure hilarity is that 'if you didn't find the silly in this article you are not winning at life (you fool)'.

i believe you are also winning at life when you are not too proud or too stubborn to ask for help when you need it.

you are winning at life when you are not afraid to speak your mind.

and mostly you are winning at life when you take those small opportunities, brief encounters, and shared moments in time, putting them in a corner of your mind for taking out later and providing a little grin for yourself when you really need it most.

here endeth the ranteth.
xJ

though may i present to you this moment in time where i grinned from ear to ear...

pure art and love

somebody recently proclaimed to me, "pure art and love from here forth..." - which may or may not make your mind tick the way it did mine. art and love; not bad things to have in your heart, not bad things at all.

today has a rant, and it is presented to you as the following:

i have this tiny tiny bedroom in the place that i live, and i'm grateful to have anything at all when so many don't of course.  large wardrobe though, poses problems when most of it is simply stacked with luggage and bags, plus boxes of stuff left unpacked because the place i live is shared and there's no need for most of it to be out of it's boxes at this moment in time.

when I had my own space entirely, let's call that last place that was *really* my own Wilton Street (ahh Wilton Street) there was a place for everything. never terribly much clutter. spread out; all used regularly. cleaned really well once a week on 'bin night'. and yet most things contained in that house were completely easily flittered away when i left that town, given away to the students living across the road, put on the street for the taking or sold cheaply to generous friends.

for those of you that never got the opportunity to visit; each wall in that house was continuously evolving, so much so that people would stop and try to find the thing that was added since their last visit. large habit of mine, keeping strange bits of memorabilia, sometimes in tins. i love tins.

most of the more notable pieces i have, wooden sculptures, flags, and the like, are from the various roads travelled. and sometimes things would be put on the wall together without me noticing. i recall a day where i noticed every photograph of a person i had in a particular part of one of the corners of the house - well they were all staring the same direction. it was completely unintentional, however probably subconscious i suppose.

you will notice there are no tins in view in either of these old Wilton-photos, but mr potato head burning an american dollar bill makes up for that.

i digress.  my point is that many creative juices have been flowing in the old mind of late - in fact for the last few years - and yet putting said ideas into fruition seems always an issue.  i can't write about said things here in the blogosphere of course, for fear someone will beat me to it. but i suppose i've decided if i am stuck here in this olde city where i grew up, then if i can't contribute something creative and interactive for the people that constantly flit around the world like me, then i have failed (myself, mostly).

is this just an reaction to turning 35... well yes that eventuality is coming up rather more quickly than i'd like. mostly the reaction is: 'how the hell did that happen?!' to tell you the truth.

where DO the years go?! are they saved up for later? i saw a good ole meme the other day that said 'what if that light people report seeing near death is just you being pushed out of another vagina?' - which made me giggle. because the reincarnation part of some trains of thought has always fascinated me.

the point, the point, the point... yes yes julie faye make a god damned point! there is no point i suppose. sometime in the future i will have a weblog with a point. it will be ABOUT memorabilia and i'd love some other contributors from other parts of the globe. actually i have about 3 ideas for idea-sharing type websites.

okay i thought of one point. two, actually. OPTIMISM and HOPE. well, yes, okay.... some of the rants you may have read here in the past may seem a little grumpy; let's face it, we now have possibly the worst ignorant idiotic prime minister in australian history (i'd put him up there with dubbya, truly); but recently i asked one of my besties: 'fuck, what is it that make people think i'm eternally optimistic?' - her answer was because you are a believer that we can actually do something about all this fuckery (i of course added the last few words, but i'm a big fan of the word 'fuckery' - though she truly is cool enough to say such things in real life - ha!)

this message brought to you with little capitalisation on purpose.

xJ

MTV Makes Me Wanna Smoke Crack...

I don't really know that many people with cable here in Aus, it seems a lot less common here than up North, but staying at the lovely Sarah's this week in preparation for Sydney Film Fest which starts tomorrow, and there it is... Foxtel.

Hmmm... Oh so interesting. I've put some music on whilst I try and type up this final assignment...

1) So is it just me, or is the new Will.I.Am song totally shithouse?! Or is it shithouse because I am allergic to Justin Bieber, and if it was someone more tolerable doing the voxx, like Justin Timberlake for example, would I find it less offensive??

2) Got excited because I saw a 'Girl Power' slot starting, and I think aweeeesomeee... bring on the Spice Girls and some old sheeeet from when I was in high school. That would be hilarious, because it already was back then and I am sure that it would continue to be hilarious right NOW! But, no, it's recent "Girl Power" I guess - so my biggest notes on this is - that all the songs sound the same. Who is Demi Lovato, and why are her arms doused in black paint?! She gave herself ink tit-prints, that's about it. Whining about something. Relationships mostly; I think. I can't be sure.

3) Well this one I kinda like because it has a funk base and doesn't sound so plain as the other ones, there's some freaky black and white clothing going on making my eyes weird... Q.U.E.E.N. I think is what the song is.  Janelle Monae, there we go. Never heard of her, probably never will hear her again.

Anyhooo.... lah lah lah...
xx

Sunday Rant on a Monday...

I have to admit to not putting finger to keyboard before now because, of course, time-wasting... avoiding finishing assignments... having wine time and OH GOD there's another one of those feminine hygiene ads that I hate...

I digress.

So last week when sitting around at home alone, I thought "It's May!! I'm going to go backwards and read every entry from May since this blog began".  Now I don't believe I got all the way back to 2003 but I did come across a very interesting entry that I re-shared with one of my closest friends. And she pointed out something I had obviously missed whilst re-reading... along the lines of: "Ha! You became a citizen of the world."

What I'm referring to was a particularly low point in which I had an anxiety attack at work, brought on by a spiggin' douchebag of a human being who was being completely and utterly disgustingly rude (like, dude, it wasn't my fault you fucked your workmate and ended up living with her psychotic self...). Shortly thereafter the attack was confirmed and medicated by a doctor, and then I went back to a job which I was obviously dedicated to for some unknown reason, taking another couple of years to finally quit and follow the Festival Follower dream.

(The Festival Following is still not perfect, it's a work in progress in fact.)

I met someone a few years ago who is the ultimate inspiration, and if I can achieve what they have (approximately 4 months or so of actually being a citizen of the world in every given year) I feel I will have achieved my goal.  It's getting pretty close, exciting of course, but terrifying at the same time. Not entirely sure why. Sounds pretty awesome really.

I was born in the late 70's and therefore just scraped in on Gen X. (That heck for that.) And now heading well into my mid-30's is kind of interesting.  I realised recently that I was worried about this frown mark appearing in my forehead.  A friend said "I don't understand why people get so bugged by that."  - Not being a particularly girly or vain person, it seems an odd thing to be worried about.  However I had this thought that you know what?! In this world of Android phones, updating status' on the bus and being constantly contactable and reading your emails on the go, guess what?! You're all going to end up with one. I thought it was all my years of computer based work full-time. (13 years at my count.) Turns out it's probably the fucking Android.

I could probably be doing much better than I currently am at the FF aspect of my existence, but you know between November and mid-April I was pretty well sorted. Short break and a few weeks in Sydney coming up. Not bad, not bad.... work in progress, as I said.

(Oh darn, brain has gone to putty - I had so much to write in my head about 20 minutes ago)

Fairly shortly I will be done with my course and that feels kind of nice. It's not exactly what I was hoping for, but I can't say I learned nothing at all.  Now of course must decide on further study, including a language, before I creep any closer to 40.

40. Wow. That would be something.

Quick politics rant points:
- Clive Palmer = ick.
- Thank heck it's Budget Night tomorrow. Sick of the big media speculation, you'll have it in your hot little hands so REPORT IT PROPERLY.
- A vote for Labor in the Senate is most likely a wasted vote. Please help keep some Greens Senators in there to hold the balance, and block stupid legislation, should we end up with a full-blown Lib Govt *shudder*

For the record, take time out WELL before you actually have an anxiety attack. They're unpleasant as shit and drugs make you dopey.

xJ

In essence...

In essence, hey? Well, that's nice smelling I suppose; essence that is. Depending on what activities you have finished off on this fine (?) day, wherever you are.

So, I'm down to 24 emails in my inbox; hey that's a vast improvement from about 65 a few weeks back. Heck! Why does this happen!? Too much to focus on, and yet little motivation to do so.

Well, I guess I'm talking about my 'study' here, which usually quite easily turns into using faceCOOL, youtube benders, and too many cigarettes. Though I am running out of time to complete the last 3 subjects before the Semester ends and I take a trip to SydneyWood; so crack my own whip I must. (yes yes Yoda, shut up).

For those of you who have attempted external tertiary study, you most likely feel my pain. When the course content isn't *quite* what you were after, but there's every possibility it may help you secure a longer, better, wider, contract... well, you just finish it off now don't you. No matter how frustrated and annoyed you get with it, and how much time you waste TRYING desperately to finish an assignment instead of falling asleep at the content... zzzzz.... or you know, for example, commit to writing more often in your very old neglected blog that sod all people would even bother to trawl any more *cough*...

About a week or so ago I had a few beers with the folks I currently do some temping with after work on a Friday, and on the way home got one of those 'what am i doing?!' feelings. I had then tried to phone the lovely Sam for an existential chat, unfortunately she was out. Regardless, these feelings generally arose so much more in my 20's - so much so that I decided to pack it all up and move to Bristanbul in 2004.

Last Friday I was again talking to myself in my own head (not out loud, that's crazy, right?!) about the choices I am making and whether they are the right ones...

When I got home and was sitting out in the pergola, I looked up and realised.... it was a full moon. A cunty full moon!

Now I grew up being told, particularly in high school, that I was a hippy. Probably far from it in reality, except that I gave a shit about the planet and social issues, and liked seeing bands and producing radio shows instead of buying Adidas Equipment sweaters and playing basketball. (BAM! Suck on that 90's kids!)

Okay, okay and there was that giant silver peace symbol necklace I used to own. Whatever happened to that?! Never mind.

I'm not really sure what a full moon does, but it seems to bring out the crazy in everyone, the questions; so. many. questions! But never really werewolves... I can't claim to have ever seen that.

Procrastination, my favourite hobby, let's be honest; but then again, I absolutely can tell you exactly what I've done in the last 24...

• a load of laundry; inevitable.
• listened to Public Enemy's "Fear of The Black Planet", Elvis Costello's "When I was Cruel", Novi Split's "Keep Moving" and currently The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "It's Blitz". (instilling such good memories of the New Years dance floor at Falls - wet weather craziness!). I'm currently cataloguing everything media-based that I own - which will take quite a while - but in honour of that mission I'm trying to go back and listen to all of the albums I have, and I guess decided where to cull if I feel the need.
• Installed Spotify on my computer, to listen to a little Glitch-Hop in preparation for my Canadian Summer. Hey, I chase the Summers as best I can. It's not going too badly. So shoot me. *shrug*
• Had a chit chat with Canadian & Australian friends via the web.
• Been distracted by the many fantastic comedy videos put out there by the delightful Jy Harris - who I look forward to seeing in July (...has it been 3 years?! Ho-ly!).
• Which somehow eventually reminded me to look up that weird American guy Toby as well who videos and records himself narrating himself playing video games. I get it, he's funny, but the mind boggles about the celebrity status of this dude, and many many other youtube sensations. Psy, anyone?!
• Washed and blow dried my hair, necessary to do in the middle of the day on a weekend, instead of first thing in the morning. Seriously, who blow dries their hair?! *Pffft* Me, obviously. At least in colder weather.... Curls. Yeah, I have them. Embraced them in the last few years, with some help from Neel.
• Read Benjamin's article on New Matilda about the NDIS. Great!!
• Filled out my scribbled notes into the dreaded current assignment, formatting the 'function agreement' part of said assignment, but yet to have filled it with data. At least it looks pretty.
• Got half way through writing an email to Minister Conroy about the importance and validity of helping to fund Community Radio, particularly with all the upgrades to equipment that will be necessary in coming years; and the importance of rural stations.
• Hmmm... what else?!!... a little bit of something something I suppose... Yes, that will do.

What is the point of this entry? You are probably asking this after reading the above waffle.

Mmmm waffles.

I apologise for that, I truly do, but hey, at least I just taught you how to procrastinate didn't I?!

And so, in closing...

Dearest Friends around the World, you are all spectacularly talented and I love you.

Don't ever forget that.

xJ

Do I have a psychic ability?!

You know come to think of it, an awful lot in the last year, I have absolutely been able to "call" when something is about to go pear-shaped, seems a little sketchy or wobbly.  Some would call it a "gut-feeling" I suppose.

Butterflies?! No, not necessarily.  I basically go 'no, no, there's something wrong here; this isn't going to happen'.

Anyway, why am I suddenly so good at it?! Did I get better at reading other human beings behaviour in the last 12 months?! It's terribly interesting indeed, ye olde human brain.

Alternatively, am I putting it out there in the universe that I don't want what it is that is being offered, and therefore poisoning the status quo, making it not happen.

Woah man... deep.

In other news:  I started watching a documentary yesterday about water, simply called "Water". Haven't finished it yet (so can't give you a link or much else so far), but seemed appropriate to start it in 33+ degree heat, in our driest craziest season on record in this country.

So I'm really interested in finishing this one because the content so far seems so different to others I have watched. Including that water has a memory, will recall when it is abused, and changes form. SO AMAZING. GO SCIENCE!!

Looking forward to finishing it off.

xJ

Do we really want a return to the Howard years?!

Early in the noughties, at least I think it was then, the second time Howard got voted in to power... I remember being at my boyfriends house at the time and the only person in the household rooting for that guy was my boyfriends sisters boyfriend (Bueller?!).

He actually came out of their room, where they were watching the telecast also, chanting "four more years".  

I'm pretty sure the rest of us opened beers.  For we knew that for us, low to middle income earners and students, that we were all screwed.

I mostly ignore polls in the media, especially the big media, because it's all owned by the same rich guy and seems rather biased.  And somehow I don't believe that Abbott would win an election if there was a vote today.  So far, not a single person I know has indicated that they support Liberal, the views of the party, and their absolute ignorance about things like climate change and providing their members with conscience votes on issues that may be important to their electorates (a prime example being gay marriage).

So if we think about just that for a moment... a Government that has policies yet doesn't let it's members choose to vote in either the Senate or the Lower House genuinely, and with the voices of their constituency.

Sometimes when I hear Abbott interviewed I get particularly worried. Here is a guy who has obviously never seen a documentary about water; conservation or use thereof.  Countries around the world are pulling right away from putting up dams, and yet this guy wants to put in 150 of them in Australia.  Who is advising this guy?! Obviously not a climatologist, scientist, conservationist, or anyone with any knowledge of the subject.

Growing up in South Australia, we always conserved water. Our State has always been the one that has suffered, being at this end of the Murray River. Cotton farmers are allowed to pull water out of the river systems at alarming rates in a country that is so baron and so dry and with so little agriculturally viable land.  My father piped the water tank into the laundry sink, as well as the bathtub, in the 1980's. Why do I remember this?! Because I almost lost a toe helping him install the pipe from the shed to the tank.  We would bucket water from the bathtub out on to the lawns when there had been little rain, and use the cold water from the water tank to half fill the tub or to do hand washing.  It absolutely boggled the mind when moving up to Queensland in late 2004 only to find people whining about newly introduced water restrictions.

I was thinking "what?! you're only just getting them NOW?" - when us Southerners have had to always think about it. At least for the last 30 years.

Ranting aside, I'm freak;n scared. I hope Australia does not make the wrong choice.

Our most important issue, in case you hadn't noticed over this summer period, is the violent change in our weather patterns.  Thinking about this yesterday; I don't recall these insane weather events happening throughout my childhood, and even into my teen years. And yet if you look at this summer, watching the news whilst they say "well there's 300 fires in NSW at the moment and 95 of them are uncontained..." you have to wonder... what's going to happen next?!

Can we not simply take the lead in a Green Energy Revolution?! Show the rest of the world how it's done. Push clean energy industries and make our exports again competitive ! Help the third world evolve, without the use of fossil fuels??!

I'm certain it can be done. But will Australia take up the challenge.

We shall see.

Stand strong, Australia.

xx

I think the whole world should read this book...

Making so much sense to me at the moment. I'm reading "Hot, Flat & Crowded" by Thomas L. Friedman. He's a Pulitzer Prize winner (3 of them) and works with the NY Times. Though this book is directed at Americans, as we're following their way of life (The American Dream yet with more decent beer) I think the book has great relevance to our society here, and everywhere.

http://amzn.com/0312428928

(Hopefully that link works for y'all).

So I'm not even finished but I'd like to share a quite good point from the book in the chapter about 'petropolitics'.

From the chapter "Fill 'er Up With Dictators":

"To be sure, professional economists have long pointed out that an abundance of natural resources can be bad for a country's economy and politics   This phenomenon has been variously diagnosed as "Dutch disease" or the "resource curse." Dutch disease refers to the process of de-industrialization that can come about as a result of a natural resource windfall.  The term was coined in the Netherlands in the early 1960s, after the Dutch discovered huge deposits of natural gas in the North Sea.  What happens in a country with Dutch disease is this: First the value of the currency rises, thanks to the sudden influx of cash from oil, gold, gas, diamonds or some other natural resource discovery.  The strong currency in effect raises the price of the nation's goods to foreign buyers, making the country's manufactured exports very noncompetitive and imports very cheap for its citizens.  The citizens, flush with cash, start buying cheaper imported goods without restraint; the domestic manufacturing sector gets wiped out; and presto, you have deindustrialization."

Sound familiar, Australia?!

Just sayin'.

Talks a lot about the fact that if we can't lead developing nations in the way in which they produce goods and use fossil fuels, because of course they are influenced by, and entitled to, the way in which we live; then we're up shit creek without a paddle. (good ole saying that one)

Look at the pictures that have been coming out of Beijing lately.

Anyways, I have a copy of this book that I'm very open to sharing once I'm done. So let me know if you'd like to read it.

Food for thought. One love.

xxJ

Planet Challenge!!

Welcome to Planet Challenge; Population = YOU.

If you will care to oblige me - today is February 7 and by my calculations there are 3 more weeks left in this month; or 21 days if you prefer.

So I'd like to set a little challenge for you all:

WARDROBE CHALLENGE!!

*insert little disco dance here*

I'm making up some little rules right now, you can submit your 'tweaks' to these rules if you like and we'll see how the game goes.

Over the next 21 days:

1) You cannot wear anything in your wardrobe more than once;

You know what you wore today?! Guess what you can't wear it again til March 1st!

Obvious exclusions: work wear (uniforms I mean), or if you're like me and currently only have one pair of pants / jeans (I have one pair of jeans, sadly, at the moment after recently parting with an amazing pair), you may wear them more than once.

2) Accessories!! Don't forget them, but you can only wear each of them only once as well.

You know... all those hats you think 'does this look silly?' or the earrings that give you a headache, maybe that tie your boss gave you?! WEAR THEM ALL, at least once; not all at the same time.

3) You can only do a load of laundry once you're down to your last pair of undies and/or socks!!

Think about saving some water, some cash, some time. All good things.

And if you decide, whilst your wearing something during these next three weeks that definitely once and for all you don't want any more, do launder the item if you need to but keep it aside until the end of the month. (I've already started a small box in my room).

THE PURPOSE:

Well, I've been thinking about it, and an old friend in Tassie recently held a CLOTHES SWAP. Thought it was a pretty neat idea; so some time after the course of this experiment, all those questionable clothes and accessories you've been puzzling about for some time can get together with some other clothes and accessories and have a part-ay. The leftovers can go to charity.

Besides, it's coming up to the end of summer, but it's still festival season across this great country of ours.

With Adelaide Fringe about to kick off, well, damn straight it's time to let your freak flags fly. Get kooky, get crazy.

That costume-type wear that you never dig cause you may get embarrassed?! Dig it out and wear it.

That stupid skirt you don't wear because you have to iron it?! Iron the blumin' thing and decide once and for all if it should be left all wrinkled in your wardrobe, continued to be worn with pride, or passed on to someone who might not mind ironing whilst watching tele. (ref: my dad - though he probably wouldn't wear a skirt).

Also, all of this month I am doing FebFast, (our team is called Choose Bacon if you want to sponsor us) so I figured a little gathering to have a glass of champagne at the end  of this month some time might be nice. So if you're in A-Town, wanna join in the little challenge and have a little soiree afterwards; leave a comment and let me know you're IN!

One love.
xJ