A wit said to me ‘people think population is like a party – the more the better’. But what if the beer runs out? What if the empties start piling up round our chin? What if the queue for the toilet gets so long people are busting?
A new Australian flag
Talk about replacing our national standard has ebbed, waned, diminished and frankly, flagged.
So I thought I’d spark debate by throwing this one into the mix. Its design is based on the indigenous flag. It’s a simple, timeless flag that doesn’t try to look sharp and contemporary, because those factors will fade quickly.
It comprises:
Red, representing the land and its first people;
Blue for the sea and the people who’ve come across it, and
As the centre piece, the seven-pointed star of federation, representing our democracy.
On the upside, it looks like a sunrise, and nobody will get confused between us and the Kiwis. On the downside, it doesn’t contain the southern cross, and is faintly reminiscent of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
This flag was made using this website http://www.wearemulticolored.com. Make one yourself and once you click save, link to it in the comments below! Pop in a quick explanation for it too.
Tit for Tat. Take that!
On the internet I found this video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/06/cab-vs-pedicab-road-rage_n_311303.html
It lies at the centre of the circled wagons of pop culture. It was linked to from bikesnobnyc. It was filmed outside of Dave Letterman’s studio. And of course the Fox video cameras were there because of the recent Letterman sex-blackmail scandal.
It documents a road rage incident, wherein two boofheads in baseball caps bash and berate each other to an accompanying cacophony of censorious bleeps. Continue reading Tit for Tat. Take that!
Liberal leadership
When Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says Malcolm Turnbull has his “absolute unqualified support“, you know it’s only a matter of moments before more political blood is spilled.
The war in Afghanistan.
There’s a flipping great article in this week’s New York Times. It’s about whether the War in Afghanistan can be justified.
I haven’t decided yet…
Why are people so full of opinions? People froth at the mouth if there is a challenge to their views on on Labour’s tax policy, the Liberal’s leadership troubles, the Republican’s media strategy, the Democrat’s foreign policy or the Western Bulldogs forward line policy.
The zoo
I go past the Melbourne Zoo occasionally. It takes up a lot of space. The elephants make loud noises. It smells. I feel bad that all the animals are locked up in there. And I imagine that it is publicly funded.
I kind of felt like the zoo was a thing of the past. Like faxes, fixed-line .gif&maxW=70&maxH=46)
phones, and the p-far.
When Youtube is delivering lions, tigers and bears in their own habitat (Not to mention pandas and bandicoots) why would you bother locking up a whole pack of wild beasts, killing goats by the truckload to keep them fed and risking the escape scenario everyone who lives nearby secretly hopes for? Continue reading The zoo
Travel Disasters: Siberia 2003
In 2003, I made a trip outside Australia. I was 21. I visited a few different places. The story I want to tell happens in June, in Siberia. Continue reading Travel Disasters: Siberia 2003
iSnack Two Point – Oh dear…
The Kraft company has
released a new Vegemite product made of cream cheese and Vegemite.
The product is a high-risk variation on the classic Vegemite recipe – a Vegemite you keep in the fridge. Apparently items kept in the fridge get used more than things in the cupboard, so this creamy new guy should improve sales!
To improve awareness, Kraft ran a competition to name the new product. And the result they chose from thousands of entries?
The Grand Final
Tomorrow is the Grand Final. If you live in Melbourne you already know. It’s all over the newspapers, the news, the radio and now the internet too.
Two teams face off. The Geelong Football Club – the Cats
The St Kilda Football Club – the Saints
A long, green Big Apple
I was not browsing the Christian Science Monitor the other day. I did not find the following article on it:
http://features.csmonitor.com/books/2009/09/16/green-metropolis/
(Ok, ok. I was, I did, and then I lied about it. I’m sorry. Hush now.)
It’s an article about how New York City is environmentally friendly. Continue reading A long, green Big Apple
My first (and last?) car.
I have a theory.
Little Red do ACDC’s ‘Long Way to the Top’
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/tv/video/lav.htm
Little Red are a Melbourne doo-wop quintet.
GDP?
GDP doesn’t make us happy. Economics denies the enjoyment we get from stuff that is free: sunsets, conversation, going for a walk.
“Judging progress by GDP is like judging an orchestra by how loud it is.”
Continue reading GDP?
Exercise won’t make you any less fat
Time Magazine said so.
Dave Eggers
When I was about eighteen, I bought a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Catchy title, no?
Krugman – what’s wrong with economics
I studied economics. Then I worked at Treasury. So I should know about economics. But instead I find it confusing.
There are two types of things I find confusing, normally. One: things that are complicated. The other: things that don’t make sense.
Fortunately, Paul Krugman has just written an article in the New York Times which confirms what I hoped. Turns out large parts of economics don’t make sense! Krugman has good evidence for how ridiculous some economic theory is, in the form of the financial and economic crises we’re having.
This makes me feel heaps better about not getting it. The article goes through some of the biggest, dumbest ideas in contemporary economics and calmly explodes them. Continue reading Krugman – what’s wrong with economics
Bargain!
Have you ever gone across town to get a bargain? Chances are you spent more on time and petrol than you saved. Have you ever wondered why?
Chopsticks
I lived in China for about 9 months in 2003. Before I went, I was familiar with chopsticks. I knew how to use them and I appreciated their novelty. I got compliments from the locals. Ni hui yong kuaizi! (You can use chopsticks!)
But I firmly believed that chopsticks were a rudimentary way to eat food. Chopsticks, I would have told you, were to cutlery as the horse drawn cart is to the car. I thought the Chinese just hadn’t invented the knife and fork.
Confession time
When I have a little time on my hands, I play Scrabble. I do not play in real life, because my insistence on the status of words like taeniae, st, and yin makes me unpleasant to normal people.
Thomas the Think Engine 