A friend just sent me this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

Totally cried. Makes my attempts at this essay a little bit meaningless. Dolly steps baby, dolly steps.

We, the poor consumer

I was in the shower the other day (actually I am in the shower at some point most days really) and I was washing my hair and having mild ADHD I always need something to read (you should see the pile of books next to the toilet: Cosmo, delicious. [which is kinda gross if you think about it], The Australian Constitution, How to save the world for 10 bucks - just to name a few) or at least have my mind pondering something. So I was reading  my conditioner bottle and it said something along the lines of 130% increase in softness and then I noticed that there was a little asterisk next to it. So I looked to find the disclaimer: Compared to non-conditioning shampoo... WTF???

Ok, so conditioner makes your hair more soft than a substance that is not only not a conditioner but a non-conditioning substance on any level. So it is like saying that this conditioner will make your hair softer than washing petrol through your hair. Now, that's not really that surprising, is it? And the funny thing was that this conditioner only claimed to have a 130% improvement... So it actaully isn't even that much better than using a product that isn't even designed for the purpose of conditioning...

I am glad that we, the consumer, are not suckers for these big FMCG companies... jeeesh!

I was eating two-minute noodles yesterday and there was this huge 97% fat free star popping out at me - which I must admit was part of the reason I ate them because everyone knows these types of noodles are like solidified deepfryers, so I felt excited about the apparent lack of fat. But as I looked closer I saw an... ASTERISK... so I found the disclaimer which said that the noodles are 97% fat free in a 400 g serve. But the noodles only weigh 82g... so how does this make sense... well, if you include the 2 billion cups of water and divide the total weight by the fat in the noodles then you discover that the meal is 97% fat free. Is that smart or are we really dumb and guliable? By increasing the overall weight the % fat decreases but this doesn't change the fact that 40% of the noodles are still lard and saturated lard at that... I may be using a little hyperbole to demonstrate the point...a little. And then the packaging goes on to say that Maggi noodles are the healthy noodle choice... my arse!

Just like McDonald's beef is 100% beef... It is if you patent a company called '100% beef'...

I think there may be a place in society for whole foods...real honest natural food... just maybe... oh, and non-conditioning conditioner that is better than using plant fertilizer in your hair... a thought for the poor consumer please...

j

Bushfires – schadenfreude or philanthropy?

Amy recently sent me an article published in smh.com – a rather cynical article about the insatiable hunger the Australia tabloid media has for natural disasters and Australian’s voyeuristic attitude to such events – and great ability to throw money at these issues in a way to mitigate person guilt/responsibility: http://business.smh.com.au/business/the-punters-love-a-good-disaster-20090217-8a98.html

It also makes me wonder why the fire disaster received so much publicity and fundraising energies yet those affected by the floods up north receive virtually no media or fundraising attention (not to mention the state of affairs in Central Australia). The media decides that it will jump on the bandwagon of two disasters a year and is sure not to exceed this quota. I understand that all disasters cannot receive hype-attention otherwise we just raise the basal line and the care-factor will return to a relative stable level. However my issue is that people are being praised for giving money/services/blood/basic needs to the bushfire disaster yet fail to give blood routinely throughout the year/acknowledge the health problems with Indigenous Australians etc. The real heroes are those who give when NOT in a time of disaster. The unsung heroes, if you wish.  I must say that it is incredible that Australians give so generously during these times of need but it is interesting that people don’t give to charities throughout the year. However when the media personalises the issue we are more than happy to give money – almost thanking god that it was not I who was affected. Cancer? Poverty? Mental illness? There is no face, no story… surely I can’t donate to these causes… 

Do we donate because we care or because we fell guilty? Why does it take a disaster for people to donate? Is it vogue to donate? What will your contribution be in a month’s time? 

Another issue that I find interesting is the dilemma that arises when determining where such funds go. I was at the pub the other having a discussion with a friend who was suggesting that the money donated should go proportionally to those affected by the fires. Such that those who have insurance will receive less than those who have paid insurance. I understand that the purpose of charity is to help those in need but I find it hard to accept that someone who has paid insurance their whole life should be disadvantaged by such foresight or risk-management. (I should clarify that I am not advocating people profiting from such fundraising efforts). The money should be allocated to rebuilding the community. But this is such a ambiguous concept – nebulous to the extreme. Do we look at short term problems or a 5 year plan? Where should the money go? By what criteria do we merit funding? Compensate lost income? Tangible as well as conceptual loss? 

After spending a month in Bangladesh mid 2008 I was involved in determining a criterion for which local families were assessed to receive payments to improve their living conditions. I thought this was a hard and ambiguous task – and I admit that I thought that this was exacerbated by the fact that I was working in a third world city – where poverty is at an all time high and desperation is the currency of the day. However thinking about it now, I don’t think that being in a developed country will make the criteria any easier to determine – except that hopefully the process may be a touch more transparent! We can hope. The sad thing is that it will hard to compensate everyone equally… or should that be proportionally?

Victorian Bushfires Arrive in NSW

I just wanted to post these pictures that Dad sent. The bushfires were about 1000kms from where we live yet the smoke has arrived two weeks later. And Dad, your shirt is hilarious. I'm sure Mum loves your bagels!

"Did you want me for forever for those three days?" - Tomatoes and Basil Dish

I’m still not sure what I think of this blogging thing. But I guess I must see more positives than negatives at the moment (as is evident by this entry). Writing is constructed for an audience; however the problem with blogging is that there can be too many variations of audience and not enough voices. Or perhaps too many voices. Trying to speak to individuals, when perhaps a phone call or a visit would actually be a more successful level of commitment and expression. In one sense it is an incredibly private experience (which almost becomes arrogant due to the medium for which it is published) and on the other hand it is an incredibly open experience in which you let others into your thoughts and ideas on a controlled yet passive level. All this aside; the word ‘blog’ just sounds fucking stupid.

Poem: I promised Amy a poem this week. There are a great number of stories that will never be told. Is this the greatest tragedy of all? I wrote this over the past few months. Still in draft stages.

Untitled – for Amy

 

The curtains are being drawn now

The sun has surrendered

Your crimson face needs rest

Time is not your choice

Nor is it with me

The curtains are being drawn now

For both of us need rest

And have suffered fools too lightly

Songs/Artists of the week:

 

Shirley Bassey – Because she is amazing!

Damien Leith – Come to Me

Eric Hutchinson – Supporting Jason Mraz here in Sydney 15^th April

Powderfinger – Album: Dream Days at Hotel Existence (sounds like a bit of a rip from the Eagles?) particularly Nobody Sees, Wishing on the Same Moon and Whatever makes you Happy from the album Odyssey Number Five.

The Whitlams – There’s No-one

 

The Films that I can’t afford but have seen in the past week:

 

Changeling – Definitely see this!

W. – Fishing for the moon in the water. I had no idea what to expect from this film but I liked this quote which I assume relates to the strikes between illusion and reality and perception.

 

The Reader & Revolutionary Road – Definitely encapsulates the following: Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. I love when films challenge the belief you are special/unique/destined for greatness/ somehow different from the status quo and if indeed this is what we want/need/are prepared for. Is it the fool and the insane that only have such clarity of mind?

Doubt – “Certainty is an emotion, it is not a fact.” Merryl Streep and Hoffman were amazing even if the film was more conceptually driven than plot driven.

My wonderful friend from home visited me from Brisbane this weekend and we had a brief yet fabulous time. I love it when you find those friendships that live outside time and distance simply because you care about each other. We saw “He’s just not that into you” – unfortunately (although perhaps not surprisingly) I didn’t learn much from this film. Later that evening we headed out to a champagne-filled evening at Opera Bar looking out over Sydney Harbour. At that moment the world was simply wonderful!

I wanted to post Marybeth’s recipe too. It was lovely to hear from you MB!

Tomatoes and Basil Dish – SUPER EASY STYLE:

 

This is yummy but requires a couple things from the store:

 

1. Tomatoes – really fresh preferred – 2-3
2. Basil leaves – 3 leaves or so
3. Mozzarella cheese – cubed or sliced or pre-made balls
4. Olive oil (preferably higher purity virgin olive oil - the dipping kind – not the cooking kind)

 

 

Cut up the tomatoes in half circle slices.  

Chop up the basil or tear off small pieces. 

Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and mix the basil leaves and tomatoes. 

Put this mix on a plate with some cheese slices.
EAT- yummy!!!

 

You can also dip with some bread or chips. You can add avocado to it too!

 

 

Battles: winning or learning?

I was just sitting talking to Dad over a 'cuppa' (queen's english: translation: noun & verb: a hot cup of tea with honey as well as the process of drinking this warm beverage which is rumoured to solve the world's unhappiness and tragedies). And he reminded me of an email that my eldest sister forwarded the other week:

There comes a point in your life when you  realise who matters,
who never did, who won't anymore... and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some
kind of battle.

I think the last line resonates a beautiful message. We balance between chance and control. There are some things that I think we want to think are in the hands of fate/chance/luck. But I think we give way too much credit to these forces. I think that we think that things are the way they are because there is no other way that they could be. But this is bullshit. We fall in to the trap of thinking that habits are hard-wired. They are not. You can change your habits and consequently change the luck which lays upon you. Of course we cannot control everything. Although some of us will die trying. Not me. But we can control what we present to the world. The irony of this is that I write this whilst procrastinating about writing a god damn cover letter... argh... not sure if the real world is better or if dreaming is where it's at. Was it Yeats who said that to dream is to awaken?

In the End We Begin Again

Dad's Workshop - Where many of the 'shitty inventions' come to life

Blossoms down the driveway

Mum and Dad - Toasting Life and Mum with her new benches

I have returned home. For 84 days I thought that 'home' would simply be within me. I was wrong. There are small pockets across the world that I left feeling very touched and blessed to have walked there. Hoping to return to some places. But there is nothing like 'Pindari'.

Dad & I - August 2008 in Lilyfield

Mum and Dad in the 70's - Crazy Shit

Mum & I - Will's 19th Birthday Dinner

Pindari - 2008

'Bobby' should have behaved better... Poor thing

Dad & I - Moments before my flight to NYC - Dad has a dirty mo!

Dad in the roof of his latest project - how many shooms can we have? How many shitty invention?

Will & Thomas a.k.a Tom-arse, Gremlin, Nelson (he has eyes like Brendan Nelson), ScumDog Millionaire...

Pindari Afternoons


Song of Day - You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma - Frizzell

Recipe of the Day - Meringue and Raspberry Cream Torte - 

Found in Better Homes & Gardens Mag - August 2008. 

Mum made this for us once. She made her own meringues which are ummm... amazing... but you don't have to.

Prep Time: 10 min plus 3 - 4 hrs freezing time

Serves: 8 (or 1 if you don't like sharing)

2kg good quality vanilla and strawberry ripple ice cream

300g fresh or frozen raspberries

10 purchased meringue nests (gently crushed)

Extra 300g fresh or forzen raspberries

Line a round 22cm springform cake tin with cling wrap. Allow ice cream to soften but not melt. Put 1/3 of ice cream in the base of tin, cover with 1/2 the raspberries and 1/2 crsuhed meringue. Continue to layer ingredients in this manner, ending with a layer of ice cream. Cover tin with cling wrap and freeze 3 - 4 hrs.

Remove from freezer and turn out onto a large plate. Top with extra raspberries and cut into wedges to serve.

Ummm... awesome... we are loving the 80's with these kitchy desserts!