Blogging politics, culture, sociology and life from Brisvegas
So Shane Warne has retired and it’s now time for the media to gush forth with tributes. As a Warnee I can not help but jump on the bandwagon. The trouble is, saying something different about Warne is kind of difficult. It’s all been said before and if it hasn’t it sure will be after the announcement of his retirement today.
Shaun at Sidelined has gone for the ‘Two Warnes’ angle and I think he’s right. You just can’t discuss Warne without reference to his utter genius, and utter stupidity.
An article of mine on the state of Ozlit was published at Online Opinion yesterday. I’m reproducing the text over the fold as it may also interest LP readers.
Continue reading ‘Online Opinion article: Australian literature on the nose?’
Elizabeth Farrelly writes today in the SMH of the apparent demise of Oxford Street, Darlinghurst/Paddington (some would call it Paddinghurst) as an ‘edgy’ shopping strip. Reading between the lines, her article is also about the movement of the gay community, the necessary movement of trends and where the ‘edgy’ bit of a city resides. On Oxford Street there’s a lot of empty shops, there’s a lot of dirt, there’s quite a few chain stores and there are far less gay people. Farrelly writes like there is some saving of Oxford Street. For a lot of people it died a long time ago. And that’s not such a bad thing.
Guess what these people are talking about:
“I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine,” one person wrote. “I immediately turned the magazine face down,” wrote another. “Gross,” said a third…”I shredded it,” said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. “A breast is a breast — it’s a sexual thing. He didn’t need to see that.”
Yes, they’re talking about breasts. Specifically, the breast pictured over the fold. (SFW)
My first job is to announce the winner of the inaugural Larvatus Prodeo World Cup Tipping Competition (TM): Mindy (on goal difference, apparently).
(Mindy, if you email me at heygeorg@gmail.com I can put you in touch with haiku, the giver of the prize).
My second job is to give my half-arsed commentary on the tournament. For one who spoke so enthusiastically in the lead-up, I feel it’s only right to burden you with my thoughts in the aftermath.
As a keen observer of higher education policy I was very interested in the higher education ‘debate’ played out on Lateline last night. Maxine McKew hosted Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor of Melbourne University and Julie Bishop, the federal education minister. What ensued was not exactly a debate but was interesting nonetheless in that it detailed how Melbourne have thrown a grenade into higher education strategy in this country.
Briefly: From 2008 Melbourne are to introduce the ‘Melbourne Model‘ which sees them move their focus to that of a graduate school. They are to offer a small number of generalist undergraduate degrees and training for specialisations, such as law or architecture, is to be undertaken at the Masters level. Bishop agrees wholeheartedly with this approach.
Why is this a grenade?
I’ve promised to post about haiku’s not-quite-so world famous World Cup tipping competition again in order to get the competition numbers up. So, if you fancy being able to pick:
get yourself over to this thread and put your tips in.
After you’ve done that, a few WC oddities for your viewing pleasure:
After the last two days I think it’s time for a little diversion on my part. So, as promised in my previous football post and at the suggestion of Haiku, here is the official Larvatus Prodeo World Cup Tipping Post (TM).
Entries must be received before the first match kicks off, and in set format, eg:
Winner: Brazil
Other semi-finalists: Netherlands, Italy, Argentina
Golden boot: Ronaldinho
Number of goals: 163Four points for each correct semi-finalist, four points for getting the winner right (in addition to points for being in the semis), a point for every goal scored by the nominated player. Closest to total number of goals used as a decider if anyone is tied on points. If still a tie then earliest entry wins.
So, you got all that? A tip: before submitting your predictions I would suggest looking at a draw. The nature of the tournament may mean it is impossible for some teams to make the semis at the same time.
And a prize? Well, it’s over to Haiku again:
I’ll supply the prize*
* Prize will probably be a cheesy FIFA DVD, just hypothetically.
I will lead off I guess:
Winner: Argentina
Other semi-finalists: Netherlands, France, Brazil
Golden Boot: Van Nistelrooy (going out on a limb here)
Number of goals: 157
Over to you.
Morris Iemma, you just don’t get it. So you don’t want two year olds drawn into a gender war? That’s fine, because the littlies at Tempe aren’t. As was pointed out in this article over at the SMH, if you had a think about where the centre was and who was using it you just might realise that there were kids there with two mums or two dads or one mum and two dads, or some other combination. And not all of these ’strange’ combinations would arise through same-sex couplings, they would eventuate from divorce, from remarriage, from death.
These kids are seeing themselves reflected in books and other kids are learning about their mates.
It’s got nothing to do with SEX. Get it? They’re not explaining the mechanics of it. No one believes that all stories about a mummy and a daddy imply they have sex so why would you believe that all books about gays or lesbians do the same? Because when YOU think of gays and lesbians you only see sex. You don’t see the whole person. You don’t see love. Just debased and depraved sex. Kids don’t understand or know about sex so why would they suddenly wake up to it when given a picture of a different type of family? Because an adult feels uncomfortable and makes the issue about sex.
My son’s childcare centre is also in the middle of Sydney. There are a number of children with two mums and/or two dads. The carers have discussed with me their desire to discuss this with the children. Can you honestly think of an easier way than through a non-threatening, simple kids story book? No, neither can I.
If Iemma is going to ask how high every time the Daily Telecrap says jump then a whole lot more Labor voters are going to be looking for alternatives further to the left.
Update: Zoe has more at Crazybrave and from Susoz.
If you’re interested in the political debate surrounding mandatory ISP level internet filtering, tune in to the webcast currently underway. Senator Fielding is currently questioning the Govt in Senate Estimates on this issue. Thanks to comicstriphero for the tip-off. In her words:
Resembles a witch hunt. Fielding just likened the fight against p0rn with the fight against terrorism.
Go here to watch it and select HMS 12 (bottom right).
I’ve picked my fantasy football team, I’ve got my wallchart, I’ve read the FourFourTwo guide to the World Cup and I’ve got my scarf. All I need to do now is wait.
It’s hard to share your excitement about sport with people who just don’t care. It’s also hard to keep telling people that there are some very interesting political and social aspects to football when they think you’re just trying to intellectualise a SPORT. But, for those who have a secret admiration for the game of real football and want something to read before the World Cup, I offer you a reader’s guide to football. (And this list is by no means exhaustive).
There was an incredibly moving story on Four Corners last night. A young man, not yet finished high school, who committed suicide. He attended a private school in inner-Sydney, he was incredibly gifted academically and seemed to have the world at his feet. There were, according to a specialist, none of the typical risk factors for teen suicide.
As the story progressed it emerged that the boy was gay. It is also emerged that he suffered from severe acne and was taking, unknown to his parents, a medication that has previously been associated with the ’side-effect’ of suicide. The story didn’t actually point to any one cause. The story laid out the evidence and let the audience take it in.
On a personal level the first thing that struck me was that the fact that this boy was gay was not given a lot of time. His mother pointed out that he became very interested in and concerned about the way in which people form relationships. Some of his letters described the attention he paid to other men and the feeling that even if he were gay, they would not feel for him in the way in which he felt for them. He seemed to feel that he was forever unlovable, as a gay man in a straight world and as a young man in the gay world, suffering from a very obvious physical affliction.
So, Shane Warne’s been at it again. Yes, there’s texting. (Sidenote: I love the way that word has become part of our vocabulary). Yes, there are English tabloids. Yes, there are models. And you know what? It doesn’t bother me one bit.
I have taken a beating in the past from a lot of people who think that a woman of my persuasion, of my thinking, should loathe Warney. And I know I should. I can hear it now: he’s a pig. He’s a womanising bastard.
But boy, can he bowl.
When does a mother lose the right to complain of the hardships and complications of being a mother? When she earns 50k? When she earns 80K? When both her and her partner earn 100k?
Today in the Australian John Coetzee is reported as taking aim at Australian universities for equipping graduates to write books or play music but failing to teach them the history of their discipline.
Should we be worried that the graduating students are equipped to write novels and stories and plays for today’s literary market but not well informed about the history of these forms or about what has been achieved in the forms in the past?” Coetzee asked.
Larvatus Prodeo is an Australian group blog which discusses politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
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