waitingman: (Australia)
This morning, I listened to a radio current affairs program devote about 30 minutes to Chinese students complaining about Australia's bio-security measures to prevent the new Coronavirus spreading here. The students' gripe was that they have to be quarantined for 14 days, before they are tested again, screened & then will be allowed in to resume their studies here. It's apparently unfair that, given they've paid for their courses, Australia won't just open its gates & let them in, no questions asked &, especially, no health checks done

So, you have been living in the country that is the origin & epicentre of a global epidemic, with more diagnoses & deaths every day... & you think it's unfair we won't let you just walk back into our Universities without making sure you're healthy??

Fuck off... Seriously, just fuck off, you bunch of whining, self-entitled brats. To then compound your arrogance by claiming it's racist treatment, devalues the legitimate claims of racism that are, unfortunately, still occurring

Certainly, Australia has some pretty strict quarantine regulations... it always has - that's why we don't have rabies here, or foot & mouth disease, or Creutzfeldt-Jacob (Mad Cow) disease (All of which originated in Europe, not Asia... & we still don't let some Europeans give blood if they were in the UK at the time of CJD). It's why we were barely affected by the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. It's why there was such a kerfuffle when Johnny Depp tried to bring his 2 dogs into the country without quarantining them... or even declaring they were coming with him. We are an island continent, which afforded us some natural immunity for a millennium or 60, but this modern world brings lots of stuff to our doorstep by plane, or boat... Not all of it is good for us, or our flora & fauna. Hence... Quarantine & lots of seasons of Border Security

Two things these students should know... Australia isn't China. And you're not special
waitingman: (Australia)
Tony Abbott wants you to get laid, get pregnant & have more babies, otherwise, there'll be too many 'welfare class' kids...

I just don't know where to even start... Okay, look, sure... the 'populate or perish' message is fine, as it goes, more kids = more consumers & that's good for the economy (Australia, for its size, is a very small market, globally-speaking), but... jesus Tony, do we have to denigrate anyone who doesn't live in your affluent, leafy former electorate, by labelling them 'welfare' people??!!

At least the rest of the article is what we've come to expect from you... & it shows you've learned nothing from the drubbing you received at the ballot box last year... still banging on about cutting immigration rates (from non-white, non-christian countries, presumably?) & supporting the coal industry. Just further proof that dinosaurs can't evolve & require a meteor strike to get rid of them. It's certainly clear that this particular Diplodocus will not go gentle into that good night. He's one of so many people I wish the media would just ignore & not give any column inches, or airtime to - in the hope he'll just wander off into a swamp somewhere, get stuck & make the ultimate contribution to the coal industry... in a couple of million years time

The irony of my bringing attention to his brayings, thus amplifying them further, is not lost on me...

Aside from all that... the last few entries I've done were typed on my phone & it's interesting to read back over them & notice how much more succinct I am, when using my thumbs, as opposed to the 6-7 fingers I use on a keyboard... As you can probably tell then - this was written on a PC, during early, quiet time at work
waitingman: (Australia)
Yesterday (26th January) was Australia Day, marking the day in 1788 the first European settlers turned up in Sydney Harbour, planted a flag & got down to business. This, of course, didn't go down too well with, or subsequently for, the indigenous people who have received the short & occasionally sharp end of the stick ever since

Certainly in my lifetime, there has been an increasingly visible & audible protest movement against the national day itself & its callous celebration of what the indigenous people refer to as 'Invasion Day'. Leaving aside the fiercely argued cases on both sides for a moment, I'm curious about what happens in other countries with similar origins - most notably the USA. How do the Native Americans feel about days like Thanksgiving, or Founders Day etc..? Is there, or has there ever been a protest movement about the whitewashing of indigenous history, similar to what I've seen over the last few decades?
waitingman: (Australia)
... fell like a net...

Last night was one of those real, sweltering, almost baking nights where you'd remove your own skin if it meant you could cool down a little more, or decide that sleeping in the neighbour's swimming pool would be worth the trespassing charge

And now - rolling storms across the city, but all I've seen is a little rain that dried on the windscreen almost immediately, leaving dirty marks from the smoke particles that were mixed with the water as it fell...

Summer in the city
waitingman: (Default)
Australia... land of extremes

How do you put out large fires? With large storms, of course...

Incoming!!

One of a couple of storm fronts that rolled across New South Wales yesterday, tearing roofs off buildings, uprooting trees, dumping golf ball-sized hail & not delivering as much rain as you'd expect... or like
waitingman: (Australia)
The morning after the night before - when all the votes... well, most of the votes were counted. And what we have is a Prime Minister returned for a 3 year term, whom nobody thought would win. I'm not even sure he did

Certainly not the Labor Party, who campaigned with a raft of policies, a united team, but a bit of a lame duck leader who struggles to communicate clearly across the social spectrum & has the electric personality of a used-up 9 volt battery. Compare this to the Liberal Party, who campaigned on little to no policy announcements, a fractured & disunited team who can't agree on anything, but a leader who put all the focus on himself & went at it like the Energiser Bunny, leading to speculation & cartoons about what he'd done with the rest of the team during the campaign...

One he couldn't control is Tony Abbott, who, let's face it, couldn't be controlled with a cattle prod. Facing a real struggle in his own Seat against a credible Independent opponent, he was vocal about all the things he believes, which were all the things that contributed to his electorate looking for an alternative - climate change denial, same-sex marriage opposition, his role in ousting Malcolm Turnbull & support for right-wing thug Peter Dutton to replace him, his support for convicted paedophile Cardinal George Pell... & when that didn't work, did what he does best - ran a negative campaign, claiming his opponent is a Labor Party stooge, despite all the evidence disproving it... Justifiably, he was the first MP last night to give a concession speech, having been emphatically dumped by the people of Warringah - myself included

But that's not really how the rest of the night played out. Where the Liberal Party were expected to struggle, they won. Where the Labor Party were expected to win, they didn't. While this morning, it's still unclear if the Liberal Party has won enough seats to govern in its own right, it's certain that the Labor Party can't - having fallen irretrievably behind during counting last night

There were some other bits of good news... Right wing racist nutjob Fraser Anning was booted out, Clive Palmer, a billionaire mining magnate who spent 80 million on election advertising for his own 'Party', but won't pay out his workers from a nickel refinery that closed down, did not win a single seat in either the Lower or Upper Houses... & the Legalise Marijuana Party are still out there trying to get a Senate seat, as they have been for as long as I remember.

Recent changes to the Liberal Party's rules, mean they can't knife another Prime Minister, so it looks like we'll have Mr Morrison for the next 3 years. The only problem with that, is we also get all those other Liberal Party guys he gagged & locked in a room during the campaign, in the hope we'd forget about them...

Best quote of the entire campaign came last night during counting. Liberal Party Senator Arthur Sinodinos was asked about his party's chances in some marginal seats & whether they had lost them. He replied, warning against "... premature extrapolation"

Arthur for PM!!!!

Standards?

Jan. 24th, 2019 09:26 pm
waitingman: (Default)
Just returned from 'date night' with L-SP - who would argue that, since we don't have children, every night is date night... We had a buffet meal at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel in the city - something that would normally cost $100 per person, but a voucher deal halved that for us & made it worthwhile indulging

Or did it? Arriving at 6.30pm to a quiet, 1/3 full restaurant, the first 2 trips to the seafood section were a definite highlight, though the crab selection really reminds you that those little sideways critters are a lot of hard work for not a lot of reward (certainly not a patch on the Alaskan King crab we had in a Shack in Augusta Georgia a few years ago, unlikely to be bettered!!), but the oysters, mussels & prawns were of superior quality, so plenty of those were eaten as well

By this time, the place had filled up considerably, so when the time came to investigate the hot foods, it was a bit of a zoo, trying to get around people & get to anything that looked appetising. This is where it all came unstuck, really... I don't know what it is about buffets that brings out the caveman in modern humans. People were stacking plates so high with food, things were sliding off, picking at things with their fingers, pushing in or through the semi-orderly lines... all for dishes that, sorry, weren't that great, really... Certainly not $100 per person great... & barely $50 if we're counting that way

And it's not as if there was any shortage of food - waiters & servers were constantly re-filling dishes, only for people to swoop down like seagulls & take waaay more than you'd consider polite & bugger anyone else...

So here's the rub - I'm all for social climbing, ambition & aspiration - hell, I've been doing it all my life - but whatever happened to the raising of standards as you go up in the world. I mean, here we were at one of the city's more expensive Hotels & there were people getting 'round in shorts, t-shirts, baseball cap & thongs - dressed more for the beachside pub than the Sheraton &, as mentioned, behaving like the seagulls you'd find in the beer garden there. L-SP & I had dressed 'up' slightly, for the occasion, but soon discovered we needn't have bothered, given the standards on display... And for god's sake, take your damn stupid cap off when you're indoors!!!!!!

Okay, so Australia prides itself on being egalitarian & 'classless' to a degree & I applaud that attitude to an extent... but whatever happened to the idea of being better, or at least seeming to be??? Or even just the notion that you put a little effort into your appearance if you're going somewhere a few pricepoints above the local RSL Club (in fact, I even dress smartly to visit the Club!). Just because we're a classless society, doesn't mean classlessness is acceptable...

... Or is it? Is this just another outdated aspect of my anachronism?
waitingman: (World Cow)
Or living the dream... Either way, I'm not sure where I am any more, as, according to some people on the internet (so it MUST be true!!)... Australia doesn't exist

Neither does Finland, apparently - along with various parts of Germany & Brazil

Could somebody please build a rocket ship, fly up above this flat earth & see if I really am standing in Australia or not?? It's easy to spot - it's the place that goes (from right-to-left) beach... mountains... nothing... nothing... BIG ROCK!... nothing... nothing... beach
waitingman: (Orang-Utan)
Well, that all just flew by, really - especially the last 10 days or so... Told you the regular posting would tail off by the end of the month. Doesn't feel like it's been more than a week though

January 26th is Australia Day. It's the middle of Summer & the middle of a heatwave too. Those of you who know what a typical Summer in Australia is like, may shudder at the thought of a heatwave ramping up the heat'n'humidity we normally get... It's been "Hot enough to boil a monkey's bum, Your Majesty". so, of course, everyone either hosts, or goes to a barbecue

Bunnings is a national chain of hardware stores. One of the good things about them is they help local community groups & charities to raise money, by having a 'Sausage Sizzle' outside their stores on weekends & public holidays. $2.50 gets you a sausage on 2 slices of bread, with optional onions & your choice of sauce if it's BBQ or tomato. If you're lucky, you can even get mustard. A friend of ours is riding in the 'Tour De Cure' in March & needed to raise enough money to help pay for support teams, accommodation, spare tyres, wheels, lycra shorts etc... & was doing so by having 3 or 4 Sizzles at various Bunnings locations. We agreed to help out at one of them &, as no good deed goes unpunished, our number came up for the Australia Day one down in the far south of Sydney (We live on the Northern Beaches - so it's quite a hike!). We thought it would be a quiet one, as it was a public holiday, the middle of Summer & school holidays... surely everyone would be at a beach somewhere, or in a pool, or just unwilling to get in the car & drive to a hardware store. I know I would have been one of those three things

Wrong!! We turned up at 9am, with extra drink stock, met up with our friend & his Dad, then it was on with the aprons & onto the front counter for Long-Suffering Partner & onto the gas barbecue for me. And it was like that pretty much all day 'til 4pm - there was an incredible amount of people who seem to think that a day off is the ideal chance to start that project at home you've been meaning to get 'round to for months, but need some esoteric power tool & sundry attachments to complete. Not that you'll complete it in one day... Maybe by next Australia Day... But everybody wanted a Charity Sausage - either to fortify themselves before they plunged into the store, or to recover once they'd emerged. Some did both

Our friend did at least 2 more supply runs, cleaning out the nearest supermarket's bread shelf as fast as they could re-stock it &, by the end of our day, we had maybe half a bag of sausages & one loaf of bread left over... as well as a box full of money!!

Collapsing back into the car & heading home, we soon noticed that everything in the car smelled like sausages & onions, but realised it was just us - clothes, skin, hair. The cats thought we were a walking, talking dinner when we got home... they loved the smell, but were annoyed that we both took thorough showers before getting their (chicken) dinners ready. So, a little karma earned & a tick on the wish-list... but I don't think either of us will want to even look at a sausage for a while, much less have them for dinner

Next post - we join 60,000 people in a giant stadium. In the middle of Summer. In a heatwave.
waitingman: (Australia)
Australia - First thing most people think of is kangaroos hopping down the streets of Sydney. Right?

But this never happens. Sydney is a modern, busy, thriving metropolis, with major highways, high-rise living & nowhere for kangaroos to live, except in zoos. Right?

Wrong!!

Okay, so it was a wallaby, not a kangaroo, but let's not quibble. The only way this could have been a more 'Australian' thing, is if the wallaby had been eating a vegemite sandwich & had a six-pack of Victoria Bitter in its pouch (Not even kangaroos will drink Fosters)

Meanwhile, on the streets of Canberra, the Nation's Capital...

The Urban Roo
waitingman: (Default)
So... everybody knows about Australia's killer spiders, snakes, sharks, lizards, crocodiles, emus, cassowaries (okay, not everyone knows about the cassowaries, but you should) & you probably think we're exaggerating a little... or it's urban myths perpetuated by scared tourists (I admit - the DropBear is a made-up monster), but the fauna around here can still be quite alarming to us natives & genuinely frightening to the rest of the world

Here's an article from today's Sydney Morning Herald. You can read the full story here, with photos & links to other true stories of our deadly room-mates on the island...

Not all heroes wear capes: Why Aussies are braver than Brits


"Well that's the best piece of journalism I've ever seen in the Herald," said my workmate. He put his coffee down, and stared at his laptop screen in admiration.

"Which one?" I asked. "The Kate McClymont piece about ICAC?"

"No, that was OK. I mean the story about the British removalists."

Ah, of course. I knew the one he meant, but I had to correct a point of detail.

"Not just British removalists," I said, "but 'burly' British removalists."

"Yes," my friend agreed. "They were burly removalists and yet they were still scared by a huntsman spider ..."

I was forced to jump in once more: "A huntsman spider which – according to the BBC – was 'the size of a guinea pig'."

Yes, my friend agreed, a huntsman spider "the size of a guinea pig".

At that point we both just sat there for a while and considered the story. As published midweek, it was a simple enough tale. A couple had moved from Australia to Britain. A huntsman spider had insinuated itself into the shipping container.

A supervisor was quoted: "He ran two miles up the road when he first saw it," he said, describing one removalist.

Sorry, one "burly" removalist.

My friend took another sip of coffee.

I said: "I'm not even sure what burly means."

"Oh," said my friend. "It means strong, muscular, very large. These men are the best the UK can offer. They are gods among normal people and yet when confronted with a measly, placid, friendly, mosquito-devouring huntsman, the poor things run for the hills.

"I mean, if a burly Pom is this scared, imagine what a normal-sized Pom would do."

We sat there for a moment longer, letting the tale capture our hearts. That defeat in the cricket? Somehow it had lost its sting.

"They clearly don't realise they are harmless," said my friend, interrupting the silence. "If he was found in an Australian house, he'd be treated like a member of the family."

I nodded in agreement. "That's the least of it. He'd be given a nickname. 'Hairy Legs', something cute like that. Or maybe 'Mr Hairy'. If you had a toddler, she'd treat him like a pet. She'd sing him lullabies at night."

We savoured some more. The British really had stuffed up in 1942 when they failed to hold Singapore. Disappointed? We were ropeable. Then there was that thing – was it 1973? – where they joined Europe and stopped buying our lamb chops. That wasn't good either.

It was good to see them get their comeuppance.

"I have a cousin in the UK," I said.

"I have a brother," he said.

We went back to our laptops. "Should we send the story direct on Facebook Messenger?" my friend asked. "Or put it on Facebook, then tag them?"

I took a sip of coffee. "Best to do both," I advised. "That's what I did with the flying fox story."

He looked at me quizzically. I had to explain. It was late last year and The Times of London reported that Australia had been struck by a plague of flying foxes. These tiny, sweet-faced bats can, it's true, create problems with their poo. The Times, though, wasn't focused on the poo. It was focused on the size of the animal.

The name flying fox, the paper confided, grew from the fact the animals were the size of foxes. Essentially, it was a fox with wings. The way the paper carried on, you could see them dive-bombing sheep and carrying the bleating animals back to their nests.

Of course, I'd sent the link to my cousin so she might better understand how brave I must be to walk out my front door each morning; a man dive-bombed by winged foxes.

Better still, the story had come just after Mick Fanning had punched the shark.

"Oh, that was great," said my friend. "I loved that story."

I asked: "Did you send the Mick Fanning video to your brother?"

"Oh, yes," said my friend. "I posted the video wherever I could. I told everyone we're given shark defence lessons in primary school, and that Mick was just doing what every Australian is taught to do when confronted by a shark."

"Me too," I said. "Plus, I sent them the Australian Museum official entry on the drop bear – 'Thylarctos plummetus, a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the koala ... around the size of a leopard or very large dog'. That really did freak them out."

My friend purred with pleasure. "They must think we are so brave – what with air-born foxes and the drop bears, the spiders the size of guinea pigs and the need to punch a shark just in order to have a weekend swim."

I nodded grimly. "We're brave, all right. I'm brave. You're brave. And we're not even that burly.
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