Last Friday afternoon, John Brumby made what seemed like a ridiculous statement, that Saturday could be "the worst day ever in the history of the state." A combination of very high temperatures, extreme winds and bushland dried out by years of drought certainly had potential for something very nasty, but did anyone really think it would happen? There's been a lot of speculation that the reason for the staggering number of fatalities (it's currently 130 but is expected to go considerably higher) is due to the fact that people have forgotten Ash Wednesday. Not that it occurred, or that it was bad, but just how ferocious a fire can be. I was at the beach - Airey's Inlet, where folks are rightly spooked by fire (it was almost entirely destroyed in 1983). We knew it would be hot and that fire danger was extreme, but we had the fire plan in order (kinda) and spent most of the day marvelling at the ludicrous heat. With the radio on 774 listening for any mention of f...
After getting home from work yesterday evening, I turned on the telly for my usual bout of post-work laziness and encountered the tail end of the Steve Irwin memorial service at Australia Zoo. To be honest, after watching a parade of quintessentially "aussie" celebrities strut their stuff, I had to turn it off as our Great and Noble Leader took the microphone to wax lyrical about the Australian-ness of the Crocodile Hunter. It was tragic. Not because of the forced sentiment of the performers, but because it seemed to reinforce Irwin's cult of celebrity, and take from the family the intensely personal experience of the death of a loved one. Nowhere was this more evident than the speech of Bindi Irwin, Steve's eight year-old daughter. I speak from experience as someone who has been on the wrong end of a parent's death. Bindi's speech , while remarkable for it's apparent composure, was a performance for an international television audience. It was not t...
Oh hey. Hi there. Wossup in da hood? Me + inspiration right now = Hah! Still. One must battle on ir regardless. I think lack of holidays over the last three years is starting to catch up with me. The good news? Holidays are on the way. Yesiree - I am off to far flung and exciting lands of exoticness mid April for a whole month of holitags - barely three weeks away. WOOT I tell you! I've been trying to summon the energy to write about David Hicks and why John Howard is going to win the next election (see voter 'care fatigue' and incumbency - I'll get there eventually) but it's too depressing. All I really want to do right now is sit on the couch and watch old seasons of the West Wing. DON'T JUDGE ME! I can't maintain the rage every day of the freakin' year. Not sure about youse, but the daylight savings changeover has buggered me around. I'm still getting up and going to bed far too early. Oh well, if it means I can take photos like this and...
Dude! This is the awesomest thing ever. Ever.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for making my Wednesday afternoon altogether much more enjoyable.