The Journal
All writing
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The Airless Spectacle of Political Onanism
The title of this post is a quote, not about Australia’s Liberal and National party leadership (though it could be – more about that later), but from an article about China’s official 60th birthday celebrations. David Burchell,…
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Tightly Grasp Your Eyeballs
Or if you like, preese not feed fishes with your private. The Courier-Mail, not quite as dismal a rag as many Australian dailies, has an article about Shanghai’s ongoing crackdown on Chringrish. The article links to…
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Daycare Makes Children Fat
A study of more than 12, 000 British children between the ages of seven and nine has found that children who spend large amounts of time in daycare because both parents (or a sole parent) work, are significantly more…
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The Apocalyptic Cult of Global Warming
I have just finished reading Raphael Aron’s book Cults: Too Good to Be True (out of print now, I think, but his Cults, Terror, and Mind Control is still available). The introduction begins with this quote from…
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Still Here – Just
It has been a long time between drinks, but this blog has not been abandoned! For the last couple of months my sister Amanda has been in hospital in Adelaide. I have been as busy as…
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Sexist Ads
The two major Australian grocery retailers are both currently running offensively sexist ads. The Coles ad is the less offensive of the two. ‘You shouldn’t be taxed for being a woman’ it says. So Coles will…
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You Don’t Have A Problem With God, Do You?
It is worth the wait through the annoying ads (and the slow download speed) for this interview between a swish CNN interviewer and a rural US car dealer. Free AK47 with every truck. Mr Muller, the…
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Child Labour
Just got back from Adelaide where Kathy and I visited my sister Amanda in hospital. On every second bus shelter there seemed to be a poster exhorting us to put an end to child labour. It…
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Kick His Ask
Possibly one of the cutest things you will ever see:
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The Gods Are Coming Back
Crop circles with an appealing Mayan theme have appeared in Wiltshire. On second thoughts, I’m not sure that the phoenix is part of Mayan mythology (it’s Persian). But the whole ‘The Mayans believed the world would end in…
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No Gayness For Guru
Last week India passed legislation decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults. This has not been entirely popular. The world’s most popular guru, Swami “Baba” Ramdev, (he has an international TV audience numbering about 85 million) has said a number…
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Frost Makes A Horror Day In Tasmania
Tasmania is Australia’s smallest state, with just 500,000 people. On Friday, nine people were killed in twelve hours on Tasmanian roads. Many roads around the state are again covered by ice and frost this morning. Acting Sergeant Scott…
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Was Obama Checking Out A 17 Year Old’s Backside?
A picture has been circulating around the web over the last few days which seems to show President Obama stealing a longing look at a 17 year old girl’s rear end. I don’t think Obama is…
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World Leaders: Tide Must Not Come In More Than 2 Metres
Well, almost. World leaders have decreed global temperature must not increase by more than 2 degrees over pre-industrial levels. How realistic this is depends what they mean by ‘pre-industrial.’ Generally that term would be taken to…
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Sunset at Second Valley
Last Monday I had half an hour to spare on my way from Adelaide to catch the ferry back to KI. I stopped at Second Valley, which is about five minutes off the main road. It was…
