Monday night musings

Sunday night randomness has been brought forward to Monday as I wanted to get some stuff off my chest before it becomes old news - which I dare say most of it already is!

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Congratulations x 2: First, to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has become the first leader of a major world economy affected by the global credit crisis to be re-elected. Voters sent the Social Democrats (SDP) - Germany’s main left-wing party - into opposition after more than a decade as part of the government. The loss is the SDP’s worst parliamentary election result since World War II. Here is a graph of the breakdown of the voting.

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…and congrats to Alan Jones for re-introducing himself to 200,000 listeners across Sydney and the rest of NSW after three months off due to illness. I was up tuning in at 5.30 this morning, and, as I averred on a previous blog, Alan opened his show this morning with the comment “I hope I remember how to do this!” It will be interesting to see how 2GB handles the mooted experiment of having Alan on 4 days a week next year - Jones’ health necessitating the reduced workload. That will be interesting. What will be fascinating, is how other Sydney radio stations will counter-react.

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Canberra shivered through it’s coldest September day yesterday since 1969. The mercury struggled to get to 7.5 degrees. The temperature wasn’t so much my concern on Sunday, rather, the wind. I was being blown down the Hume Highway (for the most part it felt like I was driving into the teeth of the wind), after visiting Sydney for the weekend, and I struggled to keep my car within my lane. I cannot recall driving in more gusty weather. When you see a large coach in front of you swerve all over the road, I suppose many thoughts come to mind; not least of which is “I’m glad I’m not on a motorcycle.”

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The competition to name the new Vegemite-cheese-flavoured spread has ended with a web designer from Western Australia winning god-knows-what (notoriety?) for coming up with the winning entry of ‘iSnack 2.0’. I kid you not. Cross a product-naming competition with an Australian computer nerd and an American parent company and you should not be surprised that the result is unfettered lunacy.

Just back to the regular Vegemite for a second ... I have been eating the stuff for more than thirty years, and I have NEVER put it in the fridge!

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What do the letters E H I and S have in common? Try to work it out before scrolling down for the answer!

They are all just dots in Morse code. (E . | H .... | I .. | S ...)

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Sunday night randomness (a few nights early)

Sunday night randomness coming to you on Thursday night this week, as I will be in the dust capital of NSW over the weekend.

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Idiotic quote of the week goes to NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, for claiming that torn and damaged shark nets on Sydney beaches were only meant to be “a psychological barrier”. If only sharks knew about psychology.

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Sarah Palin made a speech this week in Hong Kong to Asian business people, investors and fund managers. The speech was closed to the media, however, from all reports the speech was well-received, insightful and compelling. Mark A. McDonald in the New York Times wrote of a quote from an attendee at Palin’s speech: “She didn’t sound at all like a far-right-wing conservative. She seemed to be positioning herself as a libertarian or a small-c conservative,” he said, adding that she mentioned Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. “She brought up both those names.”

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Sydney experienced something this week that afflicts country residents at least once a year – a bit of dust in the air. Sydney residents had never seen anything like it. They should get out more. Out of Sydney, that is. Fear not guys – it’s just a bit of dirt. A combination of wind and rain and most of it will be gone – as it now is.

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The long-awaited reunion specials of Hey Hey it’s Saturday go to air next Wednesday night (meh, TV’s full of ironies, but what can you do?) and again on October 7.

Hey Hey goes up against Celebrity Masterchef on Channel 10. As the latter program will be sans the superfluous Sarah Wilson, it should be watchable. Having said that, “celebrities” on the show will include Anna Bligh, Peter FitzSimons and Josh Thomas – which means I will be watching Hey Hey on Nine.

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Most people would be familiar with the following emoticons 

:)  

:(  

:o 

but how about these (answers follow)

(-:  

:*)  

+-:-)

C=:-)

 

 

Left-handed; drunk; the Pope; Chef

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Sunday night randomness

‘Do we need God anymore?’ This is a question posed on the front page of The Inquirer in this weekend’s The Weekend Australian. My answer: ‘of course.’ Just think about it: if God were not there, when we are really thankful, who would we thank?

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Jeremy Fernandez reads the ABC weekend news on the telly. Judging from the fora on Aunty’s website, Mr Fernandez has set many hearts a-flutter with his good looks and “faultless delivery”. The latter comment, rather than reflecting reality, says more about the entrenched parochialism of Aunty watchers. For me, young Jezza is utterly unwatchable. He needs to remember that he reads the news with his mouth, not his facial expressions. While his tone is nice, he must stop trying to get his eyebrows to take off, mid-delivery.

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Back to the Weekend Aussie, and some likely recent appointee to the editorial staff has seen fit to put their stamp on things, and has buggerised around with the format of the magazine in said paper. Such a pity. Phillip Adams now has pride of place on page 1 - on the contents page.  At least when he was on the back page I new he was there and as such I simply never turned to that page. I guess now the only option for me is to begin reading the mag from the back. Also, the delightful Mystic Medusa has been moved from the magazine entirely, to a three-inch-wide strip at the bottom of page 8 and 9 of the Travel section. ‘Astral Travel’ perhaps?

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Finally, before I go and do something about my borborygmy, some Sunday night trivia for you.

Minrekyawswa, a fifteenth century Burmese King, was crushed to death by his own elephant.

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RIP Virginia Chadwick

I was saddened to learn this morning that Virgina Chadwick has passed away of cancer at the age of 64.

Ms Chadwick was a Minister in the Greiner and Fahey governments in NSW - and a very good Minister she was, too.

She was a determined, intelligent and charismatic politician who blazed many trails and, as Barry O'Farrell said on Nine news this evening, "shattered glass ceilings".

Ms Chadwick died only two years into her retirement, where she latterly held the position of CEO of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

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Soldier keeps promise to fallen mate

There is true greatness in this story.

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Alan Jones to return to the airwaves soon

September 28, to be precise - according to Jones' fill-in, Jason Morrison, this morning.

Alan has been away from the mike for so long, I hope he remembers what to do! I and his legion of listeners will be sure to set the radio for 5.30am on the 28th.

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Happy birthday Maggie

Today, 15 September, is the birthday of Scottish singer Maggie Reilly - well-known for collaborating with Mike Oldfield - he of ‘Tubular Bells’ fame, and for being the angelic voice of Oldfield’s ‘Moonlight Shadow’ – for long a personal favourite. 

Here it is.

Father Bob is no quitter

3AW called him 'Melbourne's most recognisable priest'.

Let me tell you, Father Bob Maguire is recognised far beyond the Cactorian border.

Fr Bob's approaching the compulsory Catholic priest and bishop retirement age (75). While many parishioners in other parishes would be ticking off the dates when it comes to their priests' golden handshake day, this is definitely not the case with Fr Bob's congregation - nor the man himself. 

Big Week for me. Phone rang Wednesday a.m. “It’s the archbishop. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” I didn’t have time to think or call for help.

Luckily, Judy, the office manager, was present to take notes.

By the time he left, I was feeling 90 years of age, not 75, the age of statutory senility.

He gave me two dates for compliance. One was my birthday. He expects a letter of resignation. The other is a month later. He expects me to vacate the premises.

Fr Bob is one of the hardest-working, and most inspiring leaders (forget that he's a member of the clergy) in Australia today. He should stay on as the parish priest of South Melbourne for as long as he feels he is able.

Right now Fr Bob may be feeling that if he doesn't abide by Canon Law, he could well be expelled out of one.

Should he eventually tender his resignation, I pray that his boss, Archbishop Denis Hart, accidentally "loses" the letter.

“Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can't retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time.” - Bernard M Baruch

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Murrumbateman snubs ASIO - or does it?

In a victory for common sense, Yass Valley Council has rejected a proposal to dump 35,000 tonnes of asbestos waste at the Murrumbateman landfill. Well - I think it has. 

Yass Valley Council director of operations Simon Cassidy says the contractor did not want to wait months for an environmental impact study to be completed.

Presumably the Council were the ones doing the environmental impact study, in which case it sounds like the contractor has snubbed the Council, rather than the latter giving the bird to ASIO, which the story implies.

Either way, no doubt the squattocracy of the Canberra commuter belt will be raising a cool-climate Riesling to the outcome.

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Libs need to take some lessons from Barnaby

This was on the Leader page of last week's Spectator. Excellent stuff. Herewith a sample:

Barnaby Joyce, leader of the National Party in all but name, gave a formative speech on Sunday at the Party Federal Council in Canberra. He underlined his party’s opposition to any emissions trading scheme, and called for a referendum on the use of nuclear power in Australia. His determination to stake out a National Party position independent of his Liberal coalition colleagues is understandable. The ETS is a political boon for the Nationals. Long a party in decline, they are now the only major Australian party that is outright opposed to an ETS. Many Australians support this position, and far more will support it once the full cost and futility of an ETS become widely apparent.

You can read the rest here.

I am beginning to wish Barnaby were leader of the Liberal Party.

Speaking of which, the NSW Liberal Party State Council takes place next weekend. Will anyone present say anything stirring enough to be quoted in The Spectator - or anywhere else? One lives in hope.

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Australia's long distance trains are a disgrace

Countrylink recently upgraded some of its booking offices. I hope its trains are next on their list.

It might seem a harsh comment coming from someone who takes a lot of photos and videos of them, but I really feel that Countrylink and the NSW government need to smarten up their act when it comes to the amenity and on-board service on their trains.

To illustrate my point, below is a photo of the First Class cabin on a First Great Western train (photo courtesy First Great Western).

FGW operate in the west and south west of England and Wales.

And this is a photo of the First Class cabin of a Countrylink Sydney-Melbourne XPT (photo courtesy yours truly)

If Countrylink aren't embarrassed yet, this is from First Great Western's website on the facilities in their First Class carriages:

We offer a number of benefits to customers travelling First Class:   
• A warm welcome on board 
• Reclining, spacious leather seats 
• Quiet, relaxed atmosphere 
• Tables at every seat, with power sockets for your laptop or mobile phone 
• Room to work or relax
• At-seat service from one of our Customer Hosts
• Complimentary refreshments throughout your journey 
• Buffet ordering service on selected trains 
• Complimentary newspaper
• Exclusive access to First Class lounges at London Paddington and Cardiff Central stations 

and here is Countrylink's spiel about the facilities offered to their first class passengers:

When you choose first class you'll enjoy extra room to stretch your legs and comfortable deluxe reclining (40 degrees) seats. As a first class passenger, you can also upgrade to sleeping accommodation subject to availability at an additional cost of $88.00 per person.

It's like comparing the Queen Mary 2 with the Hong Kong ferry.

Australia's rolling stock is becoming a laughing stock. We are a first-world country with second-world carriages running on third-world infrastructure.

The restoration of rail services to country areas of NSW, together with 21st century-standard trains and infrastructure should be a high priority for Barry O'Farrell if when he becomes premier in 2011. Yes, it will cost a lot of money. Train passenger numbers are steady, but with improved facilities, more people will be attracted to train travel. The old saying "build it and they will come" is very true.

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We will be returning shortly

I apologise for the recent lack of posts. Work has been interefering with my blogging.

Meanwhile, some quick thoughts:

I am pleased Victorian MP Tim Holding was found safe and well. The phrase "the Minister is missing" just didn't have the same ring to it.

I never thought John Della Tango was the best man to take over from Nathan Rees. Still, what is it about Labor Ministers and office nookies?

VH-OJK was the Qantas 747 involved in the depressurisation event last year over the South China Sea. Today, the same aircraft made an emergency landing in Perth after a fuel leak. Apparently the 18-year-old plane is due to be retired in November. I think it should hand in its log books right now.

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