Went to the World Championship Swimming Competition last night. Amazing stuff. Not the sort of thing I'd usually attend. Hence, somewhat unversed in swimming etiquette.
Checked the program, it listed the events, nothing in it about not appreciating the male swimmers. Shockingly, apparently they wear those full body outfits so they can swim faster.
Well, that is just a waste of a good resource. In today's marketplace, it is all about "adding value".
I had to wait until each race was over before they would peel down their tops so I could appreciate their chests. I don't remember shouting out - "ooooh, nice pecs". I am sure it was the rowdy lady in the aisle behind us.
Mummified would never be so badly behaved. I would be more likely to shout "Has it been half an hour since you ate ?" followed closely by " I'm not nagging, I just don't want you to get cramps when you hop back in the pool."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink
The heading above is a fib.
Australia is currently suffering a particularly nasty drought but I have been watching the television ads and apparently it does not matter if you mislead people -you just have to make sure that they remember you so, there we are -" water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink"(I expect someone really clever came up with that one - sadly, it wasn't me).
In fact, this post is about our new water tank but, sensibly (in my very sensible view), I did that tricky thing with the heading and lured you in.
What a devious mummified ! What a sneaky, beaky, tricky mummy...
Of course, I have a toddler so I spend quite a lot of my time being tricky. When I uttered the word sh*t recently in front of said child, I quickly added - sheet, doona, pillowcase - that's what we put on the bed. Phew !
But back to the water tank issue. We have got a quote and if we order now we will probably get one in 22 weeks. If we order this week and not next week when it could take even longer. 22 weeks ? That is like - AGES AND AGES AND AGES.
However, we need it because soon (unless God provides 40 days and 40 nights of rain or some such) it will be unlawful to water your garden at all unless you have your own supply - tank or grey water run-off from washing machines, etc etc...
Imagine that...
When I lived in England, I would often complain about the rain. Now I look at the sky and try to be encouraging. "Go on, rain - you can do it - you know you can - you've just lost the knack - it's probably only a confidence thing..."
So far, a little luck but not much...
Can anyone out there do a rain dance and if so, could you post a comment explaining the steps ?
Australia is currently suffering a particularly nasty drought but I have been watching the television ads and apparently it does not matter if you mislead people -you just have to make sure that they remember you so, there we are -" water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink"(I expect someone really clever came up with that one - sadly, it wasn't me).
In fact, this post is about our new water tank but, sensibly (in my very sensible view), I did that tricky thing with the heading and lured you in.
What a devious mummified ! What a sneaky, beaky, tricky mummy...
Of course, I have a toddler so I spend quite a lot of my time being tricky. When I uttered the word sh*t recently in front of said child, I quickly added - sheet, doona, pillowcase - that's what we put on the bed. Phew !
But back to the water tank issue. We have got a quote and if we order now we will probably get one in 22 weeks. If we order this week and not next week when it could take even longer. 22 weeks ? That is like - AGES AND AGES AND AGES.
However, we need it because soon (unless God provides 40 days and 40 nights of rain or some such) it will be unlawful to water your garden at all unless you have your own supply - tank or grey water run-off from washing machines, etc etc...
Imagine that...
When I lived in England, I would often complain about the rain. Now I look at the sky and try to be encouraging. "Go on, rain - you can do it - you know you can - you've just lost the knack - it's probably only a confidence thing..."
So far, a little luck but not much...
Can anyone out there do a rain dance and if so, could you post a comment explaining the steps ?
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Oh Stella !
Well, well, well....
The land of Oz has finally grabbed the "mass-tige" (vs prestige - ie haute couture) concept by the lapels and Target (a big US chain store here) delivered the first collection by Stella McCartney about 2 weeks ago.
The day it was released there were hordes of ravenous shoppers salivating outside the store from 6am that morning so that they could be first to buy the new collection.
It was not a limited collection (ie they made lots and lots of them girls and boys) but it was mass hysteria and made the TV news.
I know they still had more because my mum went in there and bought herself two items the week after. And very fetching they were too.
Listen, I know I'm square. I'm so square that I am practically rectangular but the frenzied shopping for labels thing is just beyond me. I mean seriously, are we so bereft of intellect that buying a new outfit causes wild surges of adrenaline to rush though our systems ? What the heck is going on ?
Answers that do not include four letter words are most welcome.
The land of Oz has finally grabbed the "mass-tige" (vs prestige - ie haute couture) concept by the lapels and Target (a big US chain store here) delivered the first collection by Stella McCartney about 2 weeks ago.
The day it was released there were hordes of ravenous shoppers salivating outside the store from 6am that morning so that they could be first to buy the new collection.
It was not a limited collection (ie they made lots and lots of them girls and boys) but it was mass hysteria and made the TV news.
I know they still had more because my mum went in there and bought herself two items the week after. And very fetching they were too.
Listen, I know I'm square. I'm so square that I am practically rectangular but the frenzied shopping for labels thing is just beyond me. I mean seriously, are we so bereft of intellect that buying a new outfit causes wild surges of adrenaline to rush though our systems ? What the heck is going on ?
Answers that do not include four letter words are most welcome.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Indigenous rights and wrongs
For those expecting a laugh, you may want to change channels...
Surfacing now, in mainstream media in Australia, at last, is the issue of sustained and widespread domestic and sexual violence against women and children as young as seven months. Dribs and drabs have variously been reported but the size of the epidemic is now becoming known.
First a snapshot = some stats and facts provided by Louis Nowra in his Article in The Australian - ALR - March 2007
* The rate of domestic assault in indigenous communities is 8-10 times that of non indigenous communities
* The sexual abuse of girls is so widespread that one-third of 13 year old girls in the Northern Territory are infected with Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea.
* Last year, Alice Springs crown prosecutor, Nanette Rogers, reported a case where a woman was bashed and stabbed by her husband throughout her marriage. Eventually, her husband beat her to death, tied up the corpse and left it on an ant's nest.
* A seven month baby was taken from its home and raped. She needed surgery under general anaesthetic. A six year old girl was playing in a waterhole when an 18 year old petrol sniffer grabbed her, pulled her under and simultaneously anally raped her and drowned her.
I have no slick comment to make, no glib retort. My mother's heart says get the women and children away from these hellish situations. Yet this is hard to do when "traditional (customary) law" is given precedence over "white man's law" and (false) claims made by the perpetuators that tribal law allows them to rape.
And if that is the case and we do separate the victims from the aggressors - do we end up with another stolen generation - disenfranchised from their culture. Given what their culture and the extreme poverty of their circumstances has delivered to a large majority of women and children, is this a bad thing ?
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I refer you to Louis Nowra - Bad Dreaming
Surfacing now, in mainstream media in Australia, at last, is the issue of sustained and widespread domestic and sexual violence against women and children as young as seven months. Dribs and drabs have variously been reported but the size of the epidemic is now becoming known.
First a snapshot = some stats and facts provided by Louis Nowra in his Article in The Australian - ALR - March 2007
* The rate of domestic assault in indigenous communities is 8-10 times that of non indigenous communities
* The sexual abuse of girls is so widespread that one-third of 13 year old girls in the Northern Territory are infected with Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea.
* Last year, Alice Springs crown prosecutor, Nanette Rogers, reported a case where a woman was bashed and stabbed by her husband throughout her marriage. Eventually, her husband beat her to death, tied up the corpse and left it on an ant's nest.
* A seven month baby was taken from its home and raped. She needed surgery under general anaesthetic. A six year old girl was playing in a waterhole when an 18 year old petrol sniffer grabbed her, pulled her under and simultaneously anally raped her and drowned her.
I have no slick comment to make, no glib retort. My mother's heart says get the women and children away from these hellish situations. Yet this is hard to do when "traditional (customary) law" is given precedence over "white man's law" and (false) claims made by the perpetuators that tribal law allows them to rape.
And if that is the case and we do separate the victims from the aggressors - do we end up with another stolen generation - disenfranchised from their culture. Given what their culture and the extreme poverty of their circumstances has delivered to a large majority of women and children, is this a bad thing ?
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I refer you to Louis Nowra - Bad Dreaming
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