tourism australia.... oprah's new bitch.

it was revealed today that the queen of day time television, oprah, is planning a visit to our shores. in a deal with tourism australia, she hope to go out with a bang at the sydney opera house. celebrating her final season on television, this move is to me completely unexpected. are we just the highest bidder? or simply, the most desperate for fat american tourists with big wallets and even bigger mouths to come here and misunderstand our culture and get peeded on by a koala?

this will also be the first show to be filmed outside of america. ok so two things: 1, who cares? and 2, why here?

so i do care a little, only as a passing fancy and the 'ha cool' factor. the later point i think interests me more. surely oprah doesn't give two shits about our economy and its reliance on foreign tourism, so what's her motivation. my guess is money. although, tourism australia isn't spilling on how much money they have put into this scheme, new south wales has admitted to putting up $1 million (usd) towards this.

the episode announcing the trip 'down under' was viewed by 40 million americans and an estimated 30 million people internationally. 70 million people! almost 4 times our population. if even a sixth of them actually make a trip here that's.... well i don't know exactly but ALOT of people.

moreover, i can't see your average sydney-sider getting a seat in her opera house audience. the nicole kidmans of australia maybe, but me? probably not. ooh well, nothing we can do about it now.... welcome oprah. i suppose its better that she comes and visits than mel gibson.

seriously, who cares?

answer, the governator!

as i put of studying for a psychology quiz, i began having a look around the new yorker online site for blog post inspiration. i forgot how much i really enjoy writing on this thing. what i expected to find was not what has me angry today. i thought, i would uncover some cool new book, movie, play or music review to pique my interest but instead, i found this.

last wednesday in california a lot of people thought that they would be getting married. not a big deal, people get married every day. except this day all wedding parties were disappointed. the 18th of august, 2010 was set to mark the day when preventing same sex couples from marrying would be deemed unconstitutional. a federal judge thought that this would be a great day to appeal the decision of 'perry v. schwarzenegger'. hence gay marriage is still illegal in the state until at the very earliest the 17th of september or the latest after a supreme court decision in 2011.

ok so what is in a month? it's surely isn't that long, and what is one more year? the answer is, a lot! i have a few friends who are planning weddings and really excited about starting a new chapter of their lives with the person they love. i can't imagine the heart ache they would all go through if, on their wedding day, they were told, 'sorry not today, maybe sometime in september. though, i wouldn't start re-organising'.

my problem with this decision is obvious. but, i guess i don't understand why there is such a fuss over same sex marriage. how can we live in a society that openly allows gay people all other opportunities, but legally binding themselves together is for some reason offensive to the publics moral sensibilities? i'm not going to speak for the christian right who oppose such a union, but i will ask them this. gay people don't choose to be gay, they were born that way, there is nothing wrong with that. it isn't a disease that they caught and the gay men and women i know are good people who deserve to be afforded the same rights as any straight person. moreover, how does it at all affect you?

the answer is, it really doesn't. one line, in a deeply disturbing historical text (i'm speaking of the bible, of course) is all it takes for religious people to oppose gay marriage. god said, "sorry boys if you like streisand and eachother 'like that' you can't get married". ok so that might not have been his exact words, but the sentiment is there. and lets face it, gay people are not the only people to be excluded by doctrine. the catholic church, continues to receive its tax exempt status from the government when its institutional sexism runs rampant. they don't allow women to become priests and openly gay men are disallowed from entering seminal school under the very vague excuse, god said no.

but, most people who aren't religious, and this is a large chunck of the australian population according to the latest census data, don't really mind. and why should they? gay marriage affords couples with legal rights regarding their children, spousal privilege and tax incentives that are made available to all straight married citizens.

seems fair to me. gay couples are just asking for what is given to straight people without question. vermont had the right idea, 10 years ago. come on australia, catch up!

is that...? O.M.G!

....another one of the reasons we love stephen fry. he inadvertently introduces us to some very cool people like, THE STROKES.

(l-r: albert hammond jr., caitlin, fab moretti, nikolai fraiture, me and kathryn)

sorry america, i don't think we should be friends.

it has been pointed out to me recently that, in the past, here on my blog, i have done a lot of america(n) bashing. i feel the need to reiterate that i'm always right about these things but still, not entirely the point.

the reason that i have been waving the 'america is screwed up' or the 'some american people are really stupid' flags that always gets be angry is because as an australian, they are our biggest international allies and more importantly, our protector. this is the country that we negotiate with and give stuff to (like free-trade agreements and soldiers for their wars) and in return expect them to do stuff for us.

this is a country that can't even sort out their own problems and we trust them with the most important of things. i don't think it is too must to ask that they try harder. maybe, i'm too idealistic or naive about how the world works and even if i am, i don't think that that is a bad thing. i suppose, i'm worried that we put far too much trust in a nation that ignored their own people when a cyclone struck new orleans. ignored! as in, pretended it didn't happen. the white house's reaction to the incident was putting their fingers in their ears and going, 'la la la la la'. the national guard didn't go and aid the people of the city you know, because they had green day tickets and/or more likely were busy fighting in iraq. another rant for another day. i just have a serious fear that if this country is unable to aid their own citizens then i doubt they will help us out when north korea comes calling with bazookas and surface-to-air missiles.

we should be scared. i know i am. eek! still, this is a country that with a rich and noble history full of men and women who not only knew what the right thing actually was but, fought hard for what they believed in. i hold out hope that they will pull their shit together, then i watch a joan and melissa rivers special and despair!

suicide's easy, what happened to the revolution?

stephen fry - the sydney opera house - 27th of july - 8pm

foals - manning bar - 28th of july - 8pm

the strokes - the hordern pavilion - 29th of july - 7pm

black rebel motor cycle club - the metro - 1st of august - 8pm

....going to be a big week of AWESOME! woop can't wait. now, i got to go practice my thrash dancing.

go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company.

so, on this cold winter morning i decided to re-aquatint myself with the wondrous show that is boston legal. funny thought provoking stuff that often quote the great works and idea of mark twain. i'm quite ashamed to admit that i do not own one book by this influential and prolific american author; anyone who knows my book collection understands how big a deal that is. still, i have, like many high school children, read 'the adventures of tom sawyer' and enjoyed it about as much as any kid does a book they are being forced to read.

still, this post isn't about twain's books per-se but, rather the idea that live behind his works. ideas that americans pride themselves. still, i'm not sure twain's countrymen today are living by his patriotic example and have even stopped listening. history teaches, why aren't these people listening? this is a nation, where one 5th of americans can't locate their own country on a map, a mere 13% of senior students in the state of mississippi can read at an adult level and one 3rd of students in california can't even find the pacific ocean. the pacific ocean! it's right there.

some of his quotes that could help these uneducated young adults to find some thirst for knowledge are:

- 'classic.' a book which people praise and don't read.

- whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's tome to pause and reflect.

- all you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.

- get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.

- i don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, i have friends in

both places.

- we have the best government money can buy.

- a man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.

- don't let schooling interfere with your education.

- clothing make the man. naked people have little or no influence on society.

- all generalisations are false, including this one.

- fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. truth isn't.

- honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it.

- action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.

- there is no distinctly american criminal class - except congress.

- loyalty to the country always. loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

- better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak out and remove all doubt.

- familiarity breeds contempt - and children.

- i can live for two months on a good compliment.

- laws control the lesser man... right conduct controls the greater one.

- good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

- wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to

have any relation.

- such is the human race, often it seems a pity that noah... didn't miss the boat.

- the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

- the lack of money is the root of all evil.

and finally, my personal favourite in today's australian political climate...

- when red-haired people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.

this is australia!

not america! and definitely not sparta. though some days i do get this strong urge to kick certain people into a big bottomless pit. but, i digress...

in my daily stroll through internet news sites i came across something so deeply disturbing that it has awoken a fierce angry fire breathing dragon within me....and not the cute puff kind! lateline is a goldmine, full of wonderful political commentary and today it did not disappoint.

check this video out!

now, i'm not going to say that christian's don't deserve a voice, they do. i'm just not entirely sure that we should be going the americanised route on this. in god we trust? please. have any of them read the bible, god is vengeful. he killed more people in the old testament that anyone else in the entire book. not someone i am personally happy for my governing officials to be taking advice and guidance from with regards to taxation, immigration and environmental reforms. the guy got a little pissed off one day and FLOODED THE EARTH!

i'm not completely stupid, i do know that the whole jesus/god/bible deal is a metaphor blah blah blah and as i was raised catholic, i'm sure i have some latent rage regarding the subject of organised religion. you believe what you believe. i don't agree with you. the world keeps on a turning. politicians are no exception to this rule, they can have beliefs but i don't want to see them begin to seep into day-to-day policy making decisions.

then again, i conceed that they already have. western culture is drenched in christian morality. stealing is bad, adultery is bader and murder is the badest. in other cultures, with a different religious morality, that order is different. for example in some islamic states adultery receives a harsher punishment than murder. neither is right or wrong, it's just how it is. but, this morality is so imbedded in our societies that it will never be removed. most importantly, i don't like faith being used as a tool for self promotion.

as krudd and tony 'budgie smugglers' abbott freak out over how close the next federal election is going to be, they are willing to do almost anything to get a few more votes. if that means parading their religious beliefs out for everyone to see, then so be it. i really do worry about this 1. because people are eating this crap up and 2. THIS IS NOT AMERICA! that is just not how we roll here and also, well those idiots voted for bush (twice) who essentially made all his decisions with 'gods' council. it really is like talking to your imaginary friend, which is fine i had an imaginary friend when i was 2 years old, BUT these men are world leaders!

please take jesus/god out of the equation when you vote. god doesn't direct these men and if he does 'talk' to them then we have a much bigger problem. 'cause everybody knows, when you talk to god it's prayer but if god talks back then you probably have schizophrenia.

i'm the mascot of an evil corporation!

bart simpson said that, but still, doesn't make it untrue. he was talking about mickey mouse while wearing a black bra on his head but, it has got me thinking again about the choices we make when we buy things. business ethics seem to simply not exist with regard to large corporations like disney. they don't care who they trample on for the sake of economic expansion and simple bottom line profits. so, why should we?

well if the economic crisis has taught us anything, it is that we as consumers do have a collective power. we stop buying cars = general motors goes under. we eat at home to conserve cash and mcdonalds posts much lower annual profits. the first example is true, but somehow, the second is not. this year mcdonalds in complete contrary to their sales, posted profits that exceeded the last two financial years. how is this possible, i hear you ask? like other big companies they cut costs wherever they could to keep their ceo in a nice new jaguar.

a lot of us, i'm sure, have worked as teenagers for large transnational companies for disgusting levels of minimum wage to keep us in new billabong threads and the latest album from britney spears (not that i'm projecting with these examples). at this age you don't even think about what you are contributing to these companies, like mcdonalds, you are immersed in your first real step into the big world of consumerism. ignorance might be bliss but that doesn't make it ok.

if you choose to see a disney movie or wear nike shoes then you have to take some responsibility for the business practices of these companies. you might never see the people, who work for almost nothing in indonesian and chinese sweat shops but, you continue to keep them enslaved. consumer culpability.

i have always managed to somehow ignore this fact. i work, i get paid, i buy shoes, they fit, i look cool and nothing else really enters into it. money for product. it's a simple enough trade. it isn't until you look into where the shoes come from that the little voice in your head (mine is starting to sound like you rob, damn you!) starts to make you feel bad about the decisions you have made.

vegetarianism seems to me quite similar. still, it makes me sad that we live in a world where more people care about animal cruelty than human cruelty. politics text books have told me over and over again that globalisation produces clear winners and losers. the divide between rich and poor is expanding as quickly as globalisation is. just because you are a winner doesn't mean you have to ignore the trail of destruction (losers) you have left in your buying frenzied wake.

next time you have a happy meal i suggest you contemplate your impending heart attack AND the 5 year old child in jordon working for 2 cents and hour. would you like to work for that?

if you want to read into this further, i can't recommend enough that you check out 'the national labour committee' website here. they hope to inform people and 'put a human face on the global economy'. also the picture is by british street artist banksy. his work hopes to make people more socially and politically aware. he is amazing. check it out here.

chevron seven locked.

quick re-blog. my dear sister has her very own blog shaped play thing. check it out and follow her as she travels around 'the land of the free'. a recent day trip, for example, saw her experience the boring sport of baseball.

link link link -> here.