entertain ideas of great communion

I’ve been having these awful, awful nightmares lately. There’s a variety of them, but...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:07:19 +1000

I’ve been having these awful, awful nightmares lately. There’s a variety of them, but there are a few themes. In some, I am being hunted by someone trying to kill me, or to kill people I love, who I must then protect. In some, people (and animals) I love die in horrible ways, but I only find out when it’s too late to save them. In the others, the ones I’m having most often and I find most awful, I am very heavily pregnant, and then I find out the baby has died, and that I must give birth to my dead baby.

I’m having these dreams over and over and over. I dread sleep.
I wake up exhausted. I wish for one night of dreamless sleep.

"Increasingly, men and women attend matches, watch at bars and discuss the game at water coolers as..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:01:00 +1000

“

Increasingly, men and women attend matches, watch at bars and discuss the game at water coolers as equals. But footy always sleepwalks its way back to sexism. Witness the way the chief football writer of this newspaper is pilloried, the indignation when a woman dared enter the commentary box and the casual contempt for females on panel shows. The dearth of women in meaningful roles persists. The Footy Show, with its sneering, leering patriarch, splutters into its third decade. On Brownlow night, WAGS have been spun around a lazy susan and scrutinised like they’re at a yearling sale. Football, by virtue of its heft, swagger and blokey brio, is an easy target but a deserving one. The game has come a long way but it was miles behind to begin with.

As it currently grapples with everything from homophobia to tanking, Krien poses a more pressing question - how does an often brutal and very male game find a place for women, one that doesn’t stink of servitude and goes beyond mere bums on seats?

”

- Jonathan Horn’s column on Anna Krien’s amazing book “Night Games”, from The Age. He suggests the books is required reading for those in power in sport. I totally agree- I think this column is required reading for anyone with even a passing interest in it. As Krien says in her book, feminists ignore sport at their peril, and anyone trying to understand Australian culture needs to spend some time thinking about and critically analysing sport.

"I hope you’ll think hard about that, honey bun. If you had a two-sided chalkboard in your living..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:20:17 +1000

“

I hope you’ll think hard about that, honey bun. If you had a two-sided chalkboard in your living room I’d write humility on one side and surrender on the other for you. That’s what I think you need to find and do to get yourself out of the funk you’re in. The most fascinating thing to me about your letter is that buried beneath all the anxiety and sorrow and fear and self-loathing, there’s arrogance at its core. It presumes you should be successful at 26, when really it takes most writers so much longer to get there. It laments that you’ll never be as good as David Foster Wallace—a genius, a master of the craft—while at the same time describing how little you write. You loathe yourself, and yet you’re consumed by the grandiose ideas you have about your own importance. You’re up too high and down too low. Neither is the place where we get any work done.

We get the work done on the ground level. And the kindest thing I can do for you is to tell you to get your ass on the floor. I know it’s hard to write, darling. But it’s harder not to. The only way you’ll find out if you “have it in you” is to get to work and see if you do. The only way to override your “limitations, insecurities, jealousies, and ineptitude” is to produce. You have limitations. You are in some ways inept. This is true of every writer, and it’s especially true of writers who are 26. You will feel insecure and jealous. How much power you give those feelings is entirely up to you.

”

- From the advice column Dear Sugar, which was collected in the most wonderful book I’ve read in eons, “Tiny, Beautiful Things”. Go and buy it. like, right now, and read it immediately. It will make your life better, which only the best writing can do.

They pay out 50%, so it was better than nothing, but I still...

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:37 +1000

They pay out 50%, so it was better than nothing, but I still found it amusing.

Me: Hmm, I'm really not sure the Swans will win. We haven't played a mid-level side like Freo this year, and half of our defense is out. Freo are paying over $3 for the win, which seems a bit daft.

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:15:22 +1000

Me: Hmm, I'm really not sure the Swans will win. We haven't played a mid-level side like Freo this year, and half of our defense is out. Freo are paying over $3 for the win, which seems a bit daft.

I know! I'll still tip the Swans, but I'll put $20 on Freo. That way, either my teams wins and I get my tip, or I make money. It's like insurance against disappointment!

Football Gods: You think you can outsmart us? Bwahahahaha, think again!

Ground announcer: And that was just the second draw in the history of games played at the SCG, and the first draw the Fremantle football club has played in.

GPOY footy edition

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:02:09 +1000

GPOY footy edition

waitingonoblivion: Impossible soul playing. The best soundtrack...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:07:56 +1000

waitingonoblivion:

Impossible soul playing. The best soundtrack to any city.

This is the truth.

It’s my go-to walking-home-late-at-night-slightly-dissatisfied-with-my-life-but-not-in-a-way-that-actually-means-I’ll-change-anything song.

What happens when you talk about the Baby Bonus on Facebook

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:09:14 +1000

What happens when you talk about the Baby Bonus on Facebook

citizen-cam: I made a quick thing to explain the budget This.

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:49:21 +1000

citizen-cam:

I made a quick thing to explain the budget

This.

Just sent out the email for my farewell drinks at work. Shit’s getting real.

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:59:37 +1000

Just sent out the email for my farewell drinks at work.

Shit’s getting real.

"Footy’s gender problem is big, because it expects women to be small."

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:16:46 +1000

“Footy’s gender problem is big, because it expects women to be small.”

- I wrote this piece yesterday about Anna Krien’s amazing book, Night Games. To be honest, I’m super proud of the essay, and especially that sentence. I love it when writing comes together.

What kind of Australia are you voting for on September 14?

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:42:00 +1000

atthisverymoment:

iamlvc:

Did you receive Austudy when you went to school? A fee help loan at uni? Have you ever been to emergency but not had to pay? Or maybe been bulk billed at the Doctor? Could you afford pharmaceuticals if they weren’t on the PBS? Do you have to send your kids to a public school? Are you reliant on penalty rates in order to make a living? Do you enjoy taking a lunch break at work? Do like watching Doctor Who and other hit programmes on the ABC? These are the things that we stand to lose under a coalition government. These are the things that Abbott means when he says he is going to ‘hurt’ you. Think about whether or not you can afford to live under that regime. Particularly those of us who attended a shitty school and made it out of low socio economic circumstances. No such opportunities would exist for us under a coalition government. Think about what you’re voting for.

1. No

2. No

3. No

4. No

5. When I was concession but not any more

6. Not sure, depends on which ones

7. I don’t have kids, but if I did I don’t have to send them anywhere, I want to enrol them in a public school

8. No

9. Of course

10. Never got into Dr. Who (please don’t judge?)

Who will I vote for? Still not the Coalition.

I dislike this line of argument. It’s trying to argue against the Coalition, by using one of the prime communication tactics the Coalition is infamous for: encouraging people to judge the merits of public policy based on what’s in it for them. Whatever happened to public policy to create a better society?

I have been lucky and am in the fortunate position where I never had to access Austudy, have never had any serious hospitalizations, can probably afford to pay for brand-name drugs without subsidisation if I really had to (although qualifying this with the concept that it would be a short term illness and not say, years worth of cancer drugs or something, who knows really though), went to a public school and it didn’t ruin my life (who would have thought?!), have never been paid penalty rates for any of my jobs (let alone relying on it), each my lunch happily thank you and not really sure Dr Who is the best example of ABC programming since it isn’t produced by them to start with but have enjoyed Redfern Now, Micallef, A Moody Christmas and ongoing programs like 4 Corners and Foreign Correspondent (they can bin Q&A, see if I care).

My long-winded point is this: even though I don’t access any of these services, it doesn’t mean everyone else’s needs are the same as mine, and therefore also means that services should exist that address broader needs than purely my own. It’s not really about whether I can afford to live under this regime. It’s about public policy that creates a good and equitable society, and as an engaged member of our community I am happy to contribute to this. I don’t think the Coalition’s policies will create a better society, especially for the cohorts targeted by IR changes and other funding decisions.

Labor/Greens shouldn’t have to scaremonger its own supporters into weighing up what’s in it for them personally. They should be able to argue their own position, and why their policies will make Australia more fair, equitable and a better society compared to the Coalition. Public policy should be judged on the merits of achieving outcomes at the population level, not at the level of the individual.

Don’t even get me started about the language used around education (that’s a post for another day), but acting as though public schools are an automatic last choice does a complete disservice to the idea of universal education.

Everyone needs to read these comments by Claire. It is amazing and wonderful. Which isn’t surprising, since Claire is both those things. Also, it makes a very important point.

A big part of my disillusionment with Australian politics is that I feel all the major parties are competing to show how much they give certain demographics- “working families” and seniors. Fall outside that demographic and, no matter how legitimate your concerns nor how addressing them will be in everyone’s best interest, and you’re screwed. Which is how the Australian property market got to be in the state it is today.

“We met about 18 years ago. We kind of, sort of fell in...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:18:37 +1000

“We met about 18 years ago. We kind of, sort of fell in love..”

“I think that would be the best one. With us in our 70s. I...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:18:23 +1000

“I think that would be the best one. With us in our 70s. I would just be incredibly happy if we were that old and still friends and still interested in the same subject matter. That would be pretty exciting.”

—Ethan Hawke

Want a car?

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:12:08 +1000

Want a car?:

Anyone around Sydney need a cheap little car? I’m trying to sell mine, ‘cause I don’t really need it, since I walk everywhere. It’s a perfect first car.

in-the-margins: this old comic gets more relevant with each...

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:42:37 +1000

in-the-margins:

this old comic gets more relevant with each passing day.

This is a very incomplete thought...

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:09:57 +1000

.. really just a tiny bit of an idea, and not a solution to anything, but I’d be interested in others’ thoughts on it.

So we want to remove disincentives for female workforce participation, right?

And a significant proportion of women don’t pay off the HECS debt.

Given that HECS repayments can hit a pretty big number early (8% of your income at 91k, and that’s your income INCLUDING super contributions), surely who does and doesn’t have an outstanding HECS debt will contribute to who is the primary wage earner.

Can we do something about that? About the way HECS liability works? I don’t know what, but it seems there’s the potential there for some minor policy tweaking that could remove a significant disincentive.

This is seriously incredibly well done.

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:37:06 +1000

This is seriously incredibly well done.

citizen-cam: the-metres-gained: skankovich: the fucking ning nang nong is still stuck in my...

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:24:38 +1000

citizen-cam:

the-metres-gained:

skankovich:

the fucking ning nang nong is still stuck in my head

where the cows go bong and the monkeys all say ‘boo!’

On the nong nang ning where the trees go PING and the teapots jibber jabber joo!

I first heard this from Playschool and it was years before I realised it was a Milligan poem.

It’s the ning-nang, ning-nang, ning-nang-nong, the ning-nang ning-nang nong

the-metres-gained: fishingboatproceeds: nanalew: 30secondstoma...

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:45:21 +1000

the-metres-gained:

fishingboatproceeds:

nanalew:

30secondstomarshmallow:

redskiesoverparadise:

filthymitts:

theblackship:

ilvalentinos:

robert-pattinson-hates-his-life:

Rob talking about a stalker he had in Spain.

HE COMPLAINED ABOUT HIS LIFE.

TO A FAN.

FOR TWO STRAIGHT HOURS.

Bless this man.

the man. the myth. the legend.

I’m pretty sure I’ve reblogged this before but it’s definitely worth a second post.

/\

Sometimes I just stop and think about this post

Lest you think it would be fun or feel good to be famous…

sometimes i think robert pattinson is one of my favourite people

and then i realise how people outside of tumblr would react when I say that and so I never do

What Trish said.