6 posts tagged “australia”

I don't know why people give sychronised swimming such a hard time. It looks like bloody hard work. And those girls are fit.

I've been watching a lot of the olympics. I had a large order of coasters so I've been in front of the tv making them. And I've heard a lot of stupid remarks made by commentators.

I was watching the BMX bikes yesterday and the guy said that

Some of the riders have realised they are going to have to ride very fast to make the finals.

Only some of them mind you. The rest of them are taking it easy at the back thinking they'll just cruise through. I'm sure they don't make it to the olympics then think - oh shit, I'm really going to have to ride fast here.

I decided two days ago I was not going to watch the news again until Colin had been dealt with. But there seems to be no avoiding it. And he's just been dealt with. We are very lucky here on the east coast of australia that at this time each year humpback whales migrate from Antarctica up to the barrier reef. They travel right along the beaches and you can be within metres of them. There is a law that you have to stay 100 metres away from them mind you. And they hang around and play and we flock to the shores to marvel at them as they are magnificent. But this year we had Colin (god knows why we named him, it was always going to end badly). He became lost from his mother and today they decided to euthanase him as there was no way he could survive. People are a bit up in arms about it thinking more should have been done. But he needs to suckle for a lot longer then needs krill which we don't have, plus he's going to end up huge.

This week there was a story in the paper about three kids under age 9 who have been sleeping in a dumpster in a NSW town. And really I probably shouldn't be suprised, but everyone seems much more worried about finding Colins mum than they do about finding these kids mum. Not the police and docs mind you, I mean the media and public. If the whales hadn't of been so close to shore we'd never have known about it and nature would have taken it's course. I think that would have involved sharks.

So a sad end for Colin - it's safe for me to watch the news again.

oi, oi, oi.

Its quite amazing to think that the whole population of Australia is the same as the popultaion of Beijing. 16 million.

Here in Australia we all like to cling around the edges near the coast. No one wants to head towards the centre. Hard living in there.

So I guess thats why we love our swimmers so much. We love our swimming stars like we love our cricket team. And for such a small population we produce a lot of good swimmers.

When the last olympics were on I read a newspaper article written by an american journalist who said that americans weren't really into their swimmers. Not big supporters of swimming, more interested in other sports. Maybe like basketball. We don't follow basket ball here at all. No ones interested in it. In fact most americans probably know more about  Lauren Jackson and Andrew Bogut than we do here.

So anyway I don't know if its true about americans and swimming but I really hope all of america is aware of what Michael Phelps is doing at Beijing. What a champion. And he just takes it all in his stride, not caught up in all the hype. I hope he wins his 8 gold medals. As long as he doesn't have to beat too many australians to do it.

I'm feeling nervous at the moment - Stephanie Rice is lining up again.

I get all emotional with the olympics. I just had tears in my eyes when the Italian girl got her gold medal at the presentation ceremony.

Stephanie just won again and another world record. What a gutsy beautiful  girl.

And heres Michael Phelps up again in the relay - he just barely stepped out of the pool from the last one. Amazing. 

Show us something that's been on your mind a lot.

This photo has been on my mind for the last few days. It's one of Papas slides. Not sure what year this was taken but the lifesavers haven't worn those swimmers for a while. And I have to say, they look pretty damn sexy. Much better than those nasty speedos they wear now.

Life-savers

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So I love this photo for some reason. It's one of my favourites. And I wanted to do something with it but I wasn't sure what, because it's narrow and crooked and I wanted to keep it simple. So I've had it on my mind for a few days (and nights) and I ended up with this. And I really like it.

Lifesavers_edited-3

And I'd really like to give a heads up to Obsidian Dawn for the brushes I used for the sun and the clouds. She has some really great brushes available.

After a chat with Baby yesterday I started thinking about us australians and how we just aren't  satisfied with a word unless we can put an o or y sound on the end of it.

Take names - And I'll just get Bazza, Gazza and Dazza out of the way first.

If you're Dave, you'll be called, Davo, John will be Johnno, Steve - Stevo. Jim - Jimbo

If your surname is Black consider yourself Blackie, Thompson - Thommo, Smith - Smithy

If you live in Newcastle - you live in Newy

Brisbane - Brissy

Freemantle - Freeo

When you have a drink you order:

a voddie - vodka

a twiste - twist top

a chardy - chardonay

And just tonight I heard my son say he felt like a bevy - a beveridge

Got a drinking problem, need AA, you're probably an alcho

Morning tea time - then it's time for smoko

You might have a sambo - sandwich, you could put avo on it - avocado

Or maybe you'll spark up the barbie - barbeque

Having a conversation with someone is a convo and if you're going to see them in the afternoon, it's the arvo.

Need your sunglasses - get your sunnies

Had an accident - call the ambo - ambulance

The government is contributing to my alcohol problem.

Here in australia we have a huge drinking culture. Everyone drinks. Matter of fact, I'm drinking now. And we are a nation of binge drinkers.

And apparently no one likes a drink more than teenage girls. Once you hit 13, its game on. They love all those premixed bottles of brilliant coloured grog that we now call alcopops. Do you know that the manufacturers of those bottles even made them smaller so they were a more comfortable fit for a girls hand. I wish they'd been around when I was 13. Would've saved me from the nasty rubbish I had to drink.

So the government decided something must be done,  so they have raised the tax on alcopops. They figure if they make them expensive enough, teenagers won't be able to afford them. And this is where my problem arises.

I'm normally a wine drinker. Or a vodka drinker. Hmm, vodka, lime and soda. However on Fridays I buy myself a 375ml bottle of premix smirnoff black. It's a treat. But when I went to buy it last week, due to the new tax, that one drink of premix was going to cost me $6. So I look around and see that for a couple of extra dollars I can buy a whole bottle of wine. So thats what I did. So instead of my one drink, I now have four. And thats just my treat.

So why isn't it just going to be the same for teenagers. They'll think, well hell, I can buy a cask of wine for not much more than one 375ml bottle of alcopop. Kids aren't stupid. They always find a way around things.

I-drink-to-make-other-peopl

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I was woken up yesterday morning by a kookaburra. How australian is that. A unique sound, yet slightly annoying at 6am.

And besides football, meat pies, kangaroos and holden cars (and kookaburras) nothing is more australian than ANZAC day.

Theres something about the dawn ANZAC service. Held in every town and city in australia. To stand in the dark with a couple of thousand other people and watch the old soldiers march in, and the young. The horses standing in the background, no one making a sound. Then as the sun comes up the bugler plays The Last Post. And you really get goosebumps thinking about all those young australians, miles away from home, waiting in the dawn to go over the top of the trenches. As a young boy I know once said

It gets you right here - as he tapped his chest.

And how fantastic is it to see australians over at Villers Bretonneux this year as well as Gallipoli. A place I didn't know existed until a few years ago. A place where 2000 australians were killed in one night of fighting in 1916 at The Battle of Fromelles.

And how special will this years ANZAC day be for the family of The Sydney crew members. Only just now found after being lost at sea in 1941 with all 645 crew members still on board.

Lest-we-forget