Our Great Southern Land

Stuff and....stuff

2009-11-21T22:23:00.000+11:00

There's a few things that have grabbed my attention today ...Ohh, shiney!....like the Scottish Govt making businesses recyle.
YES!
A govt that is making people rethink their piles of crap.
Will the Govt be doing the same? Who knows but it's a first step and might I point out it's a damn sight more than Ruddles, Wong & Co have managed to cobble together in Canberra.

Scottish classrooms seem to be circling the plughole alongside their Oz counterparts...let's all hold hands, sing Kumbya and toast marshmallows before the world ends.

All you button fetish freaks can get your fix at Buttonmania's sale that starts Monday.
Yeah, yeah, those multiplying tins didn't all belong to "granny"...we've seen your sort before, loitering around dusty op shops, poking through those jumbled goods at garage sales and the odd white elephant stall, looking to get your next button hit...

On the same link is news of Christmas Event to be attended come hell or mother-in-law visits, consisting of gifts, cards, hand made glorious goodies and vintage haberdashery - MarchRouge, check link for dates and times.

Black Bird Summer Market is about to launch itself upon Fitzroy and the world so click the link and check out the huge array on offer and pick up some Chrissy gifts for your nearest and dearest...and after you've filled your wardrobe maybe a little something for the family?

No, not a dicky bird of trivial history tonight.
Cos I'm draggin' this sad and sorry carcass to bed to catch up on sleep after so many nights in the heat....and I can listen to the rain on the roof as I drift off...
OH!
Heard a fantastic albeit far too short interview with the Topp Twins last Sat'dee night on the wireless.
If you are not au fait with the Topp Twins you may find crib notes HERE (there will be an exam at the end of this post).
Congrats to them on their successful flick (which bested Michael Moore's effort), the awards they've won, the tour they're embarking on and the cancer fight Jools recently won.
Top chicks are the Topp Twins.

Now for the exam....if you can lick your elbow you're a better gal than me, Gunga Din !

November 21 says we can eat til we burst and then start all over again...

2009-11-20T20:59:00.000+11:00

Shepparton survived my good self yet again...I must commend the good folks of Shepp in their stoic tolerance of my foooood collection activities...nom nom nom...
Baked Beans, Baby!
And....stuff....and....shortbreads....and...behemoth jars of gherkins and stuffed olives (not together cos they biatch and moan about having to share their space)...and Aniseed Rings....and...and...fruit galore for my Dear Papa.....and beetroot for The Spouse (yes, I've heard the joke about you can't beet a...)
Then we were sorely tempted by the Peanut Satay and Thai Green Curry sauces but we were Strong and Resisted! but later gave in when confronted with the tins of gourmet pink salmon in both lemon pepper and chili flavours nom nom nom and salad dressing and plum marinade and chutneys and fooood.
Oh, and I managed to snaffle several plum pudds for Chirssy day.

1863 The Maori surrendered at Rangiriri.
Further details HERE.

1871 Vic Pollies passed the Railways Extension Act which saw the massive explosion in the expansion - all over dis joint - of railway tracks, (infrastructure, employment, services to previously isolated towns, new transport for farm produce)...oops, sorry, got carried away.
Kind of like Brumby and Kosky...

1921 King George V who got up on his soap box and Declared! Canada's Coat of Arms to be Official! and the colours, of white and red, to be the Official Hues.

1956 Celebrations for the first 100 years of First Parliament.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd moving right along.....

1976 Gordon Lightfoot hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Chart with The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald.
More info on the actual wreck HERE.
Or you could listen to Gordon warble If You Could Read My Mind....or Sundown...or go listen to Dr Hook and The Medicine Show singing about gettin' theirselves on Cover of The Rolling Stone.
Start clapping!
Join in..."on the cover of the rolling stooooooooooooooooooooooooone"

1988 Chinese Premier Li Peng was passing Christchurch, saw their light on and thought he'd pop in for a visit.
Ok, that was a joke.
He wasn't passing, Christchurch had broken away from the mainland and was sailing to take over the West Island (better known to you as Oz).
Ok, ok, that was a joke.
The West Island had already upped sticks and shifted to the North Pole.
Cos Rudolph said we could.
And Christchurch was actually heading forRussia.
Is my tiredness showing much...?

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.
Anything outrageous is usually humour and/or sarcasm.

November 20 and the food stores are getting hit up big time, baby!

2009-11-19T21:25:00.000+11:00

While you are reading this I shall be leaving home at 6.30am and being let loose on the town of Shepparton.
Yes, the SPC Factory sales are being descended upon for goodies galore nom nom nom nom nom like cranberry sauce, stuffed olives, gherkins, bbq marinades, prunes, apple sauce, gravies, pears in cranberry juice, sun-dried tomatoes, salmon both pink and red, bikkies, cakes, baked beans, 4 bean mix, Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, pasta, cheeses, snack packs, jellies, spices and all things nices.....
nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
*slurp*
Oh, and I may remember to grab some food for Christmas, too.

1915 The cornerstone of the Montreal Free Public Library was ceremoniously laid in place.

1937 Santa decided to exchange his sleigh for a parachute but without Rudolph Santa ended up crash landing in Auckland.
Read further details HERE.

1989 The fabric roof of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal tore during a strong wind storm.

2005 The last NZ resident who served in WW1 passed away on the West Coast; Bob Rudd was 104, he fibbed about his age to join the British Army then immigrated to The Shaky Isles after the war.

Holy concrete shoes, Batman! Let's get out of Gotham before November 19 makes old bones...

2009-11-18T23:12:00.000+11:00

Am not looking forward to stinking oppressive heat for Thursday...for you Northern Hemisphere folks it seems we're stealing your Winter warmth.
Please feel free to just snatch it back from us, ok?

....he's a happy chappy, is Larry.

1902 A 6 foot tidal wave hit Glenelg, flinging seaweed willy-nilly, scaring the bathers and causing the creek to run a banker.
Click HERE to see that I'm not hallucinating again.

Yeah!

What he said...

1902 The magisterial findings into the inquest of the sinking of the steam ship Ventnor was handed down which you can read HERE.
You can read more on the wreck of the Ventnor HERE.

The real reason Anne Boleyn parted company with her noggin; Henry had a fetish for unblemished concrete.

1948 On Prince Edward Island there was the official opening of the world's first commercial microwave telecommunications system, linking PEI with the mainland.
More info HERE.

I missed him playing this particular footpath when he was last in Oz....

1969 The ship 'Hudson' sailed from Nova Scotia to study ocean currents in the Atlantic, Pacific and Antarctic.
C'mon, they were really on a boys fishing trip, weren't they?

The magic of inscribing this obviously worked....about 15 years later.

2008 Newly elected PM of NZ John Key was officially sworn into office.

This is what happens when Big Ears is out of town....

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.
Anything outrageous is usually humour and/or sarcasm.

November 17 landed with the UFO, Little People and a wee dram of black tea

2009-11-16T23:02:00.000+11:00

Bizarre happenings, people!
Hidden messages from the Universe, perhaps.
Wandered down into the wilds of Windsor way yesterday (that's the non-Royal type of Windsor, Brian) when I needed to check the time, so I pulled out the little-used mobile phone.
Yes, the mobile is not used as a form of communication by moi but more of a time piece...no, I don't do watches although I have the odd pocket watch on a chain that is decorating my bookcase quite nicely.
Anyway, the phone (previously spot on for time keeping) tried telling me that not only was I now running on London time but that this particular London time was 10.07am on 5th January 2005.
Now.....I knew most of England had seen the big hand sweep past 10am a fair while back so that was off, for a start.
As for suddenly being on London time...almost 5 years in the past...? Doctor Who was telling me to "turn left" maybe?
Anyway I was early for my appointment so I checked out a street where my great grandparents once lived with their horde of offspring...turned left (!?) down the street shuddering at some of the "new" buildings hoping and praying the house was still in one piece.
And it was.
Standing there I looked at the front step that had seen multitudes of feet, my great grandparents and grandfather's feet...maybe my grandmother's feet when she visited....my father, uncle and aunt's feet when they did the "family Sunday" visits...
I wondered if their ghosts were jostling past this hoyden of a girl rudely crowding and staring at their front door...what if there was some metaphysical law about sending letters to the dead if their houses that held their memories still stood....
Then I remembered we were talking about Australia Post here and started crossing my fingers for this seasons Christmas cards to arrive in this century!

1876 The Melbourne Cup was won by Briseis who was ridden by 12 (or 13) year old Aboriginal (or non-Aboriginal) jockey Peter St Albans (or Michael Bowden).

1895 Mark Twain popped into Christchurch for the touristy turn around the town.
He was impressed with the dedication to the new-fangled craze the cycle, declaring half the population was parked on one while the other half must leap out of the way.

1921 Professor Robert Jack, perched in the Physics Dept of the University of Otago, gave the first radio broadcast in NZ.

1937 Professor Wood Jones vented his spleen in a speech at the Anthropological Society when he declared the story that the Aboriginal Peoples were a dying race when white settlers arrived was "humbug" and it was white man's way of whitewashing the extermination of native races.
"The Aborigines were never a dying race until we started to make them die."

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.
Anything outrageous is usually humour and/or sarcasm.

November is sixteen going on seventeen but Jane Austen says grab Pakenham's gorgeous Bridge!

2009-11-15T22:27:00.001+11:00

Well, Hell didn't freeze over as I managed to immerse The Spouse and Feral Beast in a little culture (other than their daily yoghurt rations) when they sat and watched Miss Austen Regrets on the idiot box.
Ahh, bliss.
Now to get both of them to sit through Pride and Prejudice without their usual howls of pain....!

Solar fairy lights.

1838 Republican rebels clashed in battle with militiamen in Pakenham.
That's Pakenham, Ontario not Pakenham, up the road from Dandy and Berwick in Victoria.
And I'll happily take the Ontario Pakenham's gorgeous stone bridge if they don't need it any more...?

1840 NZ officially became a separate British colony all on its lonesome when it slashed, tore and ripped its ties to NSW.
For more info on New Ulster, New Munster and New Leinster click HERE.

1855 Mr Thomson won the privilege of fencing in those scallywags in Spring Street, the Victorian Parliament.
For his trouble of erecting a corrugated iron fence Mr Thomson was given 1,320 pounds....these days I'm sure there'd be plenty who'd pay to have the privilege of stopping those ~~trouble-makers~~ pollies indoors!

1901 After the third time of an earthquake doing a nasty mischief to the spire on Christchurch Cathedral The Powers That Be wisely decided to repair it in timber and metal instead of the heavy and ouchy stone.

1928 The first French Ambassador in Canada, Georges-Jean Knight, flashed his credentials to the Gov-Gen.

1949 Aboriginal singer Harold Blair criticised the whole Australian nation for its piss-poor treatment of Australia's Indigenous People.
The more things change....

Something...something...tree

November 15 according to Lady Chatterly's party memo!

2009-11-14T20:45:00.000+11:00

Being the generous wee soul that I'm not I'll give you a couple of recipes that suit meals in this disgusting heatwave.

Steam peeled pieces of pumpkin and whole spuds with green beans until cooked.

Let cool, then chop roughly, tossing all into a bowl with bean shoots, chopped salad onion, shredded cabbage, halved hard boiled eggs, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.

Pretty.

1769 Captain Jimmy Cook whipped ~~his mother's drawers~~ British flag up the flagpole at Mercury Bay to claim the land in the name of ~~the next Melbourne Cup Winner~~ King George III.

1841 Completely unexciting - unless you compare it to batshyte and even then the batshyte will win - the market commissioners of Melbourne had their first ~~knees up~~ meeting.
What they discussed I couldn't begin to tell you....nor should you care.
You have the batshyte to keep you amused, remember?

1855 Grand ~~Funk~~ Trunk Railway finally pulled into Brockville from Montreal.

1861 The Otago Daily Times began doing duty as a fish wrapper.

1960 A panel who were appointed by Canada's Attorney-General studied D.H Lawrence's work long and hard but came to the conclusion that Lady Chattery's Lover was not obscene.
Huzzah!!

2005 Port Augusta, just like my minor mansion here, became a dry zone.
For my overseas visitors this means no grog aka alcohol is allowed in a designated area.
You may leave your tipple at the door, the Bats need something to inspire them.

Now, for a light Summer pizza -

Grab a wrap (as in sandwich wrap bread) smear with garlic, top with grated cheese and warm in a frying pan (with lid on) on top of the stove until cheese is melted, then serve with green tossed salad on top.

Steam engine.

Fairy lights are for a lifetime, not just for Christmas....

2009-11-13T23:37:00.000+11:00

I haz coloured sparkly ballz dangling from my front verandah.
Swinging and dangling in the stiff breeze.
Yes.....insidiously the Christmas season has started oh so early here...although some feel that imbibing of eggnog this early will hold back the floodgates of festive frivolity (finger in a dyke, Kel, you're just sticking a finger in a dyke).
I have given in and declared that today will be the day of the erection of the Toilet Tree upon the cistern.

I have also indulged myself in solar LED fairy lights.
If you like the odd twinkler or go all over the top at Christmas go solar. Even if you don't subscribe to the Climate Change thingie (but do belong to the Flat Earth Society) these suckers are cheap to buy, cost $0.00 to run (apart from the odd battery change every other year), look pretty and do pretty much everything the mains powered flashers do....except cook a roast but we're working on that.
From all I have priced, bought and set up I have to give the award to KMart this year for having the widest range and realistically priced solar lights available.
Starting at $9 and increasing only gradually you can choose some pretty lights to suit even the tightest budget.

1828 Meanwhile, back in the Old Dart Tommy Peel suggested the colonisation of Westralia.
It's utter madness, I tell you, that Westcoast Eagle bird will never fly...!

1835 Speaking of utter madness Canada's first insane asylum opened on this day in Saint John in New Brunswick.

1845 Sir George Grey rocked up in NZ, liked the place so much he stuck around for 2 turns around the dance-floor as Governor then fitted in a quick Foxtrot as Premier.
Here's a statue of him we prepared earlier...HERE.

1849 After a firey mob flamed the Montreal Parliament Buildings so much they burnt down Toronto became the capital on this day.
Coz Torontonians used stone, I assume?
And a mighty fine seat of governance it is, too, HERE.

1973 The Kiwi's enjoyed their first live international broadcast on the idiot box with Princess Anne marrying her fine steed Captain Mark Phillips.
Watching paint dry would have been so much better....

2001 In Perth the Spectacles Wetlands became part of the Aboriginal Heritage Walking Trail.

Flower solar lights.

Friday the 13th NOvember flee to the hills, the hills have eyes, The eyes of Laura Mars,Mars 1998

2009-11-12T19:25:00.000+11:00

Oh, yes, we could play this direct-link-movie-title nonsense all day long but!
To the Bat Poles, Wonder Woman!

Arrgh!
Tis Friday da Furr-teenth...brought to you by the Casino Count, Sociopathic Big Bird and Hallucinogenic Mr Snuffelupagus.....Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaa *wheeze* hahahahahaahhahahahahaa...
Yes, Sesame Street turned 40.
Strangely it meant the death of several excellent homegrown educational shows for kiddies and several generations growing up with an ingrained American accent.
*sigh*
And for the love of all that's Holy in the vegie patch; for the last time the f*@king letter Z is pronounced ZED not zee.
Mummy's happy pills are brought to you by Thank God, Pass The Water and Start Baking The Pavlova, Beryl!

For those who liked the Whittlesea Show pics tune into Channel 7 tomorrow night at 7.30pm to watch Better Homes and Gardens as the show was out there filming over the weekend, taking part and judging some of the entries (and Dr Harry managed to get into some of my shots...).

Can I take this moment to tell pollie Kevin Thompson, who wants to cap the number of Kiwi's walking through the front door of Oz, - please there's a village somewhere being deprived of it's very own Sooky La La, I feel this position would suit you down to the tips of your sad little ingrown toes.

1673 The beaver was first mooted as a symbol for Canada.

1954 Hastings in NZ became the first town to flurodate its town water supply.

1973 NZ passed the Domestic Purposes Benefit which allowed single Mums to stay at home with their kids rather than rely on paid work outside of the home.

1979 CJCD, the first private radio station in Canada's North West Territories, went on air in Yellowknife.

1996 Up Qld way the Stradbroke Island Action Coilition presented the Inaugural Premier Awards for Mining Ineptitude.

1998 Judy Spence, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, put the record straight when she denounced the claim in the Guiness Record Books that Palm Island was the most violent place on earth outside of a combat zone, having based their information on a UK newspaper article that used fictious data.

Not a Fergie but a crank started Fordson tractor.

Grand Parade at Whittlesea Show

2009-11-11T22:21:00.000+11:00

Now, if I was clever like BB I'd work out how to upload the mini-film Feral Beast made of the grand parade...but my brain is still in fartage currently being consumed by Weather Customs Control and there's no telling when that's gonna be let loose on the unsuspecting Flat Earth Worshippers.
So, you get the photos.

Light Horse.

This was the chap who transported the bullock teams down for the show.

After this mind melt we will resume normal programming...

2009-11-10T22:25:00.001+11:00

Major brain fartage taking place due to over-enthused thermostat tampering on the big burning ball in the sky of late.
Once we find the student responsible for this prank we'll give them 100 lines of "I must not play with burny-ouchy-things" followed by polishing and waxing several red dwarf planets in the vicinity.
That's all, you may assume your positions of not giving a fat rat's clacker.

Today (Tuesday) was 37 C (98.6 F in the old money) which is Really Quite Inconsiderate, thank YOU Mother Bloody Nature.

Pfft, Mother Nature, my Aunt Fanny Adams.

If you were a human you'd be a single mum, possibly under the age of 15, throwing a tanty cos your first born won't go to sleep at night so you can go out on the town for this your final pub crawl before you spit out the triplets you conceived on the backseat of Zeus' chariot while Hera was chairing the local Country Women's Association meeting.

Whittlesea Show part deaux...with a double half pike split

2009-11-09T23:22:00.001+11:00

Again with the real food...anyone would think these people grew the damn stuff or something...

The black sheep of our family...

The blacksmith checking his mobile....

That sentence just sounds sooooo wrong lol.

Many of these here wee engines; some flattened aluminium drink cans, others pumped water while even more burbled away on kero/petrol/diesel/and oily rag and did...something.

An apron without a pocket is like a dyke without a bike...

The TARDIS blends into any setting...

Jasper, the 27 yr old Shetland pony.

Food stall.

Something....

Wee baby Shetland only 10 days old.

Sawing demo on old steam-driven machinary.

Again steam-driven wood sawing demo, different machine.

Yes, much droolage was taking place.

Goodness, where did he come from...Newcastle with the woolly backs?

*As the term originated from those working in woollen factories who'd carry the fleeces on their back*

Not sure if you'll be able to read it but this was a hut pulled behind the working teams and they'd sleep in it of a night.

2 working bullock teams, from Nowra, showing what a good bullock driver can do with the right commands, a handful of dust and some chaff...

Tomorrow - the Grand Parade.

Whittlesea show

2009-11-09T11:15:00.000+11:00

Dragged Feral Beast out to the Whittlesea Show yesterday...well, it was more I dragged him out of bed then had to run all day to keep up with him!
Now, housekeeping...let's get the nasty stuff out of the way first off.
Transport to the show was not the best; caught the 7.33am train from Oakleigh to Parliament then caught another train to Greensborough where...we...sat...and...waited...for...the...first...bus...to...arrive...at...9.48am.
Yes, the ONLY bus route that travelled to the Whittlesea showgrounds was sticking to it's rigid Sunday time table that runs every 90 mins and does not begin until 9.48am from Greensborough station.
Madness!
I rang Dyson's only to find that to increase the route services is the territory of the Govt (Hello, Kosky, my old friend...I've come to talk to you again...check yer inbox, love, there's a good pet...).
10 kms out of Whittlesea and we were slowed to a crawl with bumper to bumper traffic.
All going to the show.
Single lane each way, Melbourne-bound side totally empty.
Many new housing estates being built.

Ahead we could see the devastation Black Saturday had wrecked on the hill sides.

Evacuation ?!

Are you kidding?!

Eventually the almost full bus got to the showgrounds and
We.
Had.
A.
FABulous time!

Awww, we want.

Please, Santa...?

See? All pretty an' polite an' precioussssssss

And this, lil Johnny, is called unprocessed food, not the type you get from the golden arches but it is good for you.

Throughout the show there were many items and events that were not only fun and excitingly new for FB but many others which caught my eye and reminded me of blogging friends....

*waves to Marita*

Click to enlarge, you might be able to read the speil on the history of the Whittlesea Show.

Bags I'm going out feet first in this beauty!

Ohm yes, there were tractors.

There were lots of tractors, lots of Fergie tractors.

I could be crass and claim I broke the drought for the amount of drool I left behind...

If you really love me you'll buy me this beauty...

Anyone for a cuppa and some damper...?

If I'd known you were comin' I'd have baked a cake....

*waves to Kelley*

Awww, how cute...and sweet...and delicious with minted peas, rich gwavy and baked potatoes...

*waves to Frogdancer*

More later.

A Vintage blog discovery...with history...and books, too!

2009-11-07T09:08:00.000+11:00

I blame Andrew.
He started the 6 degrees of separation by mentioning I Wear A Hat who in turn then mentioned Circa Vintage Clothing ; from there it was all downhill as far as my resistance went and I've spent the past 30 mins drooling over the Art Deco in Goulburn brought to you by the glorious gal of Circa Vintage Clothing, Nicole Jenkins.

Who has a vintage clothing store in Fitzroy.
*nudges Brian of Fitzroyalty*

Who also has a book out.
Love Vintage.
Good girl, she's even listed where to get her Love Vintage book in Oz and NZ.

And who has helped organise a fashion parade to launch another book Our Girls; Aussie Pin Ups of the 40s & 50s.
What: “Our Girls” book launch with Circa ’50s fashion parade and other stars.
Where: The Order of Melbourne, 401 Swanston Street, Melbourne
When: Wednesday November 11th at 6pm
Cost: Free entry.

Remember boys and girls - Xmas is just around the corner!!!

November 7 and ...hugging bears...and....stuff....

2009-11-06T22:05:00.000+11:00

Mercifully I culled a lot for you today (cropped out the crap) so you can skim read the events and be so enthused as to repeat the tripe around the water cooler at work.....
*crickets chirping*
Pass the chocolate teddy bear bikkies, it's Hug A Bear Day and I'm determined to do my duty!

1886 What later prompted the Calgary council to recommend building civic and religious buildings out of sandstone instead of wood was due to a fire that razed 4 hotels, 3 warehouses and 4 business stores after initially beginning in a feed store on 9th Avenue.

1943 Singer Joni Mitchell was born as Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort McLeod, Alberta on this day.
For further details click HERE.

1970 Aoraki/Mt Cook was conquered by "long haired hippies" John Glasgow and Peter Gough.
Read more about the mountain HERE.
Because they could.
Because it was there.

1976 Robert Muldoon accused Minister for Agriculture Colin Moyle of having been picked up by police for "homosexual practices" the previous year which sparked off the Moyle Affair.
More details HERE.
*I have both 4th and 7th November, 1976 for this.

1982 The beautiful Cloudland Ballroom in Brisvegas was illegally demolished.
For pictures and full history click HERE.

2008 Today the military's assistance in the Govt intervention in the NT came to an end after beginning in June to help stamp out child sexual abuse.

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.
Anything outrageous is usually humour and/or sarcasm.

Plug that damn pipe already.

2009-11-06T20:56:00.001+11:00

Just an explanation of the north-south pipeline to those urban bodies and interstate persons who have no flipping idea of what I mean when I mention it.
Quick facts -
Long pipeline taking water from rural food growing area suffering from drought to transport water to Melbourne so we can flush our dunnies.
More salient facts HERE.

Plug The Pipe Campaign HERE.

And, surprise, surprise, the damn thing is threatening several protected species as reported HERE.

*waves to the Premier's office and Parliamentary Library in Spring St*
Hi!!!!

November 6 and a warning not to waste one's valuable sleeping time listening to tripe.

2009-11-06T09:25:00.002+11:00

Woke up to hear the radio presenter chatting to a gal from New York ( that's 20 mins of my life I'm never getting back again). During the conversation someone emailed in asking if the meat baloney was the same as the saying "that's a load of baloney" to which she replied yes.
A little later on someone else emailed in asking if the word baloney was a corruption of the word Blarney (as in the Irish Blarney Stone).
Well!
The gal from NY got up on her high horse and spat the dummy big time, becoming a sarcastic smartarse saying "Well why don't you go back to your Google search engine and look up Balogna in Italy as that's more likely where the word comes from and I know what I'm talking about because I've eaten baloney and it's a mystery meat, nothing to do with the Blarney Stone. We haven't used that saying for nearly 20 yrs over here you're more likely to hear "that's a load of horse*** ..."
She was so incensed and spitting nails she accidentally hung up her phone on-air!
When she rang back she was still going on about the origins of the word baloney (despite the presenter's efforts to change the subject) and being rude toward the poor person who'd asked a simple question!
Memo to self - don't bother waking up to listen to that segment again.

1810 Never let it be said that Gov Lachlan Macquarie was just a pretty face hosting the first Survivor series in the colonies...
Macquarie let Riley, Blaxcell and Wentworth become the sole importers of rum - rum, that which greased the wheels of the settlement and made everything seem almost civilised (and convict blokes looked almost like eligble bachelors through a rum haze) - on the proviso that they build a proper hospital.
See, Rudd? That's how it's done.

1830 Te Rauparaha's war party popped in for a nasty mischief to the homebodies at Akaroa then they went on their way to Kapiti Island with some captives and a pile of human flesh.
Sorry, gone vegetarian this week...

1879 Thanksgiving was first officially observed in Canada on this date before it was shifted to share the week with Armistice Day post-WW1 then in 1957 it was moved, again, to the second Monday in October.

1906 The first long distance telephone line snaked its way up hill and down dale to reach Regina from Winnipeg.
But was there any gossip worth lifting the handset for...?

1908 PM Joseph Ward hammered home the final spike in the North Island Main Trunk Line.
For more info click HERE.
If you pop over to The New Zealand Journal you'll find some recent news of a former station stop being re-introduced and some great old photos.

1968 Surgeons in Toronto performed the first transplant into a human eye using a plastic cornea implant.
Ahh, yes, it's all clear to me now...

1984 The Christchurch Gay Taskforce was born on this day.

1991 Canadians put out the last of the 751 oil well fires started by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's troops at the end of the Gulf War.
Obviously none of you guys were around to fix this mess up off the coast of Oz recently...

1992 Indigenous Archaeological sites in Tasmania, at Rocky Cape, were reclaimed by Aboriginal People.
Goodness! You'd think they owned them or something...!

1997 Indigenous People were offered an apology from the various religious orders for their past treatment of Aboriginal People.

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.
Anything outrageous is usually humour and/or sarcasm.

Fan-bloody-tastic lecture

2009-11-05T21:07:00.000+11:00

Yeah, sorry, should have put in a nerd alert but never mind, it'll wash off under the shower.
Feral Beast and I went to a lecture/talk with Martin Flanagan and Paul Bateman at the State Library tonight.
I'd read a few of Mr Flanagan's pieces but I wanted to say nothing to FB so he had no preconceived ideas or expectations, effectively walking in cold.
Well.
He was transfixed within moments of the discussion starting; these were two good friends having a chinwag on stage, chatting back and forth about the differences between Tassie and Victoria but also the very many links that tie the two states together.
One thing that struck me was when he said,
"You ask anyone in Tassie about Gunns and everyone's got an opinion. But you ask anyone in Melbourne about an environmental issues no one seems to care, whereas if you asked anyone in rural Victoria they'd all have an opinion."
Which is so true and has been proven time and time again when anyone tries to discuss the North-South Pipeline with Melbournians who either know nothing or have swallowed the govt spin hook, line and sinker.
Many subjects were thrown about - sport, footy, Indigenous People, history, heritage, the environment, Windshuttle, Mansel, La Trobe, Hobart, William Buckley, convicts and George Augustus Robinson.
I cannot possibly convey everything that was discussed but I do recommend attending any future lectures involving Martin Flanagan.
A podcast from one of his lectures from 2006 is available HERE.

Meals for the elderly

2009-11-05T11:00:00.000+11:00

Yes, the elderly refuse to gnaw their way through oh-so-tender-steak-that-could-be-torn-like-a-piece-of-soggy-rice-paper.
Cos chewing can be so much like hard work.
Forgive me my snarkiness, but we have to cook a different menu to ensure the old bugger actually eats something more than his dessert...oh yes, we've tried the old "if you don't finish your meal you don't get any sweets" line but he'd happily trot off to bed with nothing on his stomach.
Pulmonary Fibrosis is a c*nt.
So, steam all vegies until you can mash 'em with a fork.
Add them to egg mixture and either
A - make a quiche
B - make an omelette
C - turn it into bubble and squeak served on butter-soggy toast
or
D -bake them into little vegie loaves and tell 'em they're savoury cakes for arvo tea.
Stews, casseroles and thick soups are another way to hide the vegies and get them into the old buggers.
Use an extra large plate and serve up a big serving.
A - the large plate makes it look like a normal sized serving so they won't arc up about the amount.
B - the old buggers were usually brought up through the Depression and had it drummed into them to "never leave food on the plate" so they make an effort to actually eat most of it.
C - use bread and butter as side dishes for them to dip into stews/casseroles/soups while they're eating.
Let the old buggers graze throughout the day; little meals, full of calories, often, while they're watching the idiot box and not having to make an effort to chew.

November 5 when stuff happened but no firey eclipse or end of the world took place. Ho hum.

2009-11-04T19:34:00.001+11:00

Inserted between the trivial tripe will be news items from November 5, 1938.
Beside yourself with excitement now, aren't you?
The kitty litter tray is thataway---------------->>>>>>>

Special mention for Brian ....Guy Fawkes got sprung or blew something up or peppered his parliamentary entry with too much powder.

Once upon a time we here in Oz would celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with bonfires and fireworks.

And then the Fun Police put a stop to it.

And now Nov 5 is as boring as batshyte in Oz.

1881 Parihaka, a settlement which protested peacefully against the confiscation of Maori land, was attacked by 1,600 police and volunteers.

The mining industry was pushing for a *gasp* 5 day working week....were they mad?!?!

1917 In Ontario the Cabinet passed a law banning the use of grain to produce alcohol for the rest of the War.
All those poor barleys that dreamt of soaking up the hops...

Conductor has nfi what Swing music is...colouring inside the lines also confuses him.

1946 The first industrial action of Indigenous People took place in the Pilbara region.

Actual work was taking place on railway infrastructure...were they mad?!?!

1956 Aunty (ABC) began working to earn our 8 cents per day by flashing herself in lounge rooms all over the state.

Automatic telephone exchanges and 133,809 telephone subscribers...madness, I tell you, this phone thing will never take off...!

1959 Bryan Adams was pupped on this date.
And to think - when he first hit Australian shores as a support act for The Police he gave out badges that read,
"It's ok, Bryan Adams doesn't know who you are, either."
Check out his website HERE.

Old bloke claims to be the oldest student from Heidelberg State School...if you're more ancient speak up!

1979 The Regent Theatre in Christchurch was gutted by fire.
To have a gander at some of the beauty of this renovated theatre befriend it on FB HERE.

Bragging that our double-decker buses would be better than London's...awww,bless their wee muddled brains.
Photo HERE.

1993 Cosgrove High School in Hobart was host to the first compulsory Aboriginal Studies Program in the Apple Isle.

Elastic rail spikes....?

She spun across the ballroom floor,

Her figure was fantastic,

Suddenly her rail spike fell down...

You can't trust Coles elastic.

1995 Martin Dickson became the first openly gay Presbyterian Minister in NZ on this day.

Clear your calendars for these upcoming events...like the Metallic History of Great Britain, that's bound to be an enthralling arvo...the nurses' league is getting their heads together...Northcote Baths are open, woohoo....and many more events to ~~bore you rigid~~ keep you from the grip of insomnia.

1995 David Boys from Montreal became World Scrabble Champ.
W00T! (and that's a double word score).

In more exciting news the Church Film Society have got their grubby mitts on...no, none of this Harry Potter or Twilight nonsense, it's The Seven Men of Preston.

Kiwi of The Week is Tohu Kakahi.
Read more about this chap HERE.

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.

Last Tassie Tiger

2009-11-04T11:25:00.000+11:00

Go on, you think you know everything there is to know about it - the media trot out the tried and tired prattle everytime there's a mention of cloning them back into existence - "the last one was named Benjamin, a male, who died of old age at the Hobart Zoo, blah blah blah blah...."
How about trying the truth on for size ; the last one was a female with no name and she died from neglect and exposure due to a fragile male ego under threat from a chicky-babe who knew her onions.

Yeah, kinda doesn't make for good media copy, eh, the fact we managed to screw over the very last (known) Tassie Tiger cos a bloke didn't like being told by a woman *gasp* (how very dare she!) how to do his job despite the fact there were several zoo animals turning up their toes due to neglect in his "care" *ahem*.

Alison Reid (picture HERE) told her tale shortly before she died and it's not a tale that is taught in schools (similar to the fact Tassie Aboriginal People weren't extinct but that wasn't taught in schools for decades, either. Don't let facts get in the way of teaching history now, ya hear?!)
Have a read of some brief facts HERE.

Go read the chapter in Australian Tragic by Jack Marx or The Last Tasmanian Tiger; The History and Extinction of The Thylacine by Robert Paddle or Thylacine; The Tragic Tale of The Tasmanian Tiger by David Owen (excerpt HERE) to find out the truth.

November 4...Shocking Crime Scene in Melbourne Cup win!

2009-11-03T22:46:00.000+11:00

Crikey Moses, Gummy Mary, Sodom and Gomorrah, have been doing some more family history delving and I may have not only identified one of my Aboriginal ancestors in the family photos but the fact her father was one of the early policemen aka 'patrolman' in the Sydney area.
But he wasn't for very long...after barely 12 months he was given the heave ho and royally dismissed by the Gov'ner.
Thank goodness, for a moment there I thought we had a deep, dark stain on our family of a law abiding citizen....!
So, let's have a break and hunt up some inoffensive trivial tripe to tickle someone's funny bone.....

1897 Although they used gas lighting night cycling at Lancaster Park just didn't take off.
Oh, I say! Not enough power in the gas, watt!
Beanz Meanz ~~Fartz~~ Lightz!

An A Cappella musical interlude from Tripod and Eddie Perfect with Meet Me in The Middle Of The Air.

1930 Kiwi-born Phar Lap blitzed the Melbourne Cup.
Click HERE to watch a mini-movie of the event.
Or don't.
See if I care, hmph!

1990 Canadian PM Brian Mulroney offered an apology to Canadians of Italian descent who were forced into internment camps for the duration of WW2.
He had earlier apologised to Japanese Canadians for the same thing.

1992 Marion Rheaume, goalie, became the first chicky-babe to sign a professional hockey contract.

Now, I'm about to do my Molly Meldrum bit here and recommend that you do yourself a favour by going out to get a copy of Australian Tragic by Jack Marx.
It's a collection of little-known/forgotten events throughout Oz history.
Well written, well researched, some subjects have enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and re-thinking long-held stances on some of the more notorious people in recent Oz history.
I think there would be enough stories out there to warrent a second book but obviously there has to be enough interest in this book first so go grab a copy and dip into it!

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.

Melbourne Cup Day 2009 ...here's a tip....Save Yer Dosh!

2009-11-02T21:45:00.000+11:00

OMG.
Xmas is about 2 seconds away.
Start knitting/crocheting/plaiting pubic hair last week some time cos THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO FINISH YOUR PROJECTS.
NEVER.
Do not listen to those fools who tell you that dedication, sleep deprivation and a bajillion hands make light work.
There is NO SUCH THING as "light work" unless you're playing with the electrical power lines.

1883 *snort* The Water Conservation Act was passed with the Metamucil.
Hear that, Holding?
Water Conservation...as in saving water...as in being careful...as in Stage 4 Where The Bloody Hell Are You?!

1886 Henry Reynolds launched his famous Anchor butter brand.
Read more on it HERE.

1894 Billy Barker, Canada's top air ace of WW1, was born on this day.
To learn more about this dare-devil click HERE.

1908 The Catholic Church announced that it no longer thought Canada suitable for missionary activities.

1920 Kath Walker, better known as Oodgeroo Noonunccal, was born on this day.
Read more about Australia's first Indigenous poet to have her work published in Oz, HERE.

1974 Summer daylight savings time was introduced on a trial basis on this date, proving popular enough to come in permanently the following year.

Yellow = New Zealand
Orange = Canada
Green = Australia
Red = usually British or other nationality
Anything in bold, italics and coloured blue is a link to another site with more info.

All Saints Day ..or The Day We Shovel Them Dead Ghosts and Ghoulies Back Into Their Graves...

2009-10-31T22:04:00.000+11:00

1849 The streets of Quebec weren't quite paved with gold but on this day they were lit by coal gas.

1898 The NZ Old Age Pension Act was passed, for older, destitute people "of good character" worthy to receive the 18 pounds per year.
This was the first of its kind in the British Empire.

1903 The Invercargill to Christchurch rail service began choofing along.

1923 Victoria's coppers went on strike.
Laugh? We nearly shat ourselves in the riotous time that followed!

1934 Another hysterical event was when the Federal Govt ordered the NT police to stop chaining up Aboriginal prisoners.

1941 In Ontario the Rainbow Bridge was officially opened to Niagara Falls in New York.
We have yet to convince homophobes to get the fluck over it....

Our Geelong trip or How I Learned To Love Sun-Dried Sushi Au Naturel

2009-10-31T09:14:00.000+11:00

Can I just begin by saying that I love the 6.42am from Oakleigh?
It's been on time these past few weeks (and having said it out loud it will now break down every day) we can grab a seat, there are normal human beings on this train (as opposed to the bug-eyed staring hyped up sardine squished druggies trying to pass for caffeine addicts heading into the office to make another ~~mugging~~ killing) and being a limited express we don't muck around with the MATH stations spending an entire 26 mins getting to ~~So Cross~~ Spencer Street Station.

*NB Quite a number of these shots are Feral Beast's, as he's uploaded the whole lot into his own file and transferred what he thinks I might want across to my file.

Many of his shots are actually for his studies so I'm "borrowing" them for here.

Storm water/creek thing masquerading as a waterway.

Or maybe a nuclear hatching pond for aliens, who knows?

Something to do with...er...the oil industry.

Geelong Railway Station.

Gordon Tafe, beautiful building but I think FB has culled my shots of the stained glass windows *sob*

A faith-based building called, I am reliably informed, a church.

This was a real estate agents offices, road too wide and busy to get a great shot from other side of the road without ending up with tall delivery trucks blocking the shot or myself as roadkill.

This was, I think, the old telegraph station beside the post office.

We were taken with the depth and crispsness of the oak-leaf carvings.

The T & G corner.

This is the National Wool Museum.

Yes, you must attend this place when you next visit Geelong.

You will dream of Sunday roasts skipping merrily through your house...

...or this mofo Funnel Web bitch.

And this croc.

Mmmm, tastes like chicken.

And not an Irwin to be seen...

Then we hit the Ford Discovery Centre and drooled over these beauties.

Sure, they weren't Holdens but some had the classic lines of the "good production years".

Crash test 'roo.

An old sign beside the Ford Discovery Centre.

A public house, m'lord.

Gratuitous chimney shot.

What a hard view we had to cope with...

Cunningham Pier which used to have a railway line out to it.

Just 2 of the 100 famous bollards Jan Mitchell created.

Click HERE for more info on these fab pieces of public art.

Sadly, Debbie Harry told a porkie when she sang "The Tide is high"

The only thing high was the seaweed under the noon day sun.

Just a brilliant splash of P!NK on the foreshore cliff-face.

Will ye nae come back agin?

Like on our Mordialloc to wherever-the-hell-we-ended-up-after-a-million-hours-of-marching the cliffs are eroding.

Badly.

But they've built this beaut winding jetty-type promanade out across the water away from those nasty falling rock things, complete with lighting and bench seats.

The "Learn To Swim" bollard people.

There were gardens, Oh, were there gardens in bloom?!

Everywhere we looked roses, lobelia, freesias, geraniums, jasmine, you-name-it-and-it-was-blooming.

The King Edward VII Sailor's Rest.

Which is covered by National Trust but trifling things like that...

Looking down towards the enclosed sea swimming baths.

*sigh* such a hardship...

Corio Villa which you must read about it's quirky history HERE.

This band rotunda is very similar to the one in Sandringham.

Snapped from the train on the way outta town...

Many pics are missing...there shall be (quiet, polite) words with FB when he returns from Russian school this arvo.