A well rehearsed street performance

 Thelma at North Stoke published this on her website and I thought it was rather impressive, even if it is very wide of the definition of being a flash mob.

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings or Happy Holidays to you all. 

The Australian problem with Jewish

I lunched with my neighbour HH yesterday. She has a close friend who she has known for over sixty years, and this friend is Jewish.

I broached the subject of the recent racially based massacre of innocent Jewish Australians, and a couple of people from overseas. HH, gave me the Jewish perspective as described by her friend. She said she felt fear, she felt isolated and threatened, with nowhere to turn aside from her own Jewish friends. She felt threat from Australia, which of course was never there.

As the week subsequent to the massacre went on, she was overwhelmed by the public support and love from Australia and Australians themselves.

I further questioned HH. Have you ever heard any multi generational white Australians like us be anti Jewish? No. We concluded we were just not really that interested in who among us are Jewish. Ray and I lived in the suburb of Balaclava for about nine years, surrounded by Jewish people. No one ever told us they were Jewish, but we know many were. There were the funny men a train station along in Ripponlea who walked around on Friday nights in tall black hats and strange clothing, but so? 

While the attack may have been by radical Muslim men targeting Jews, in my view, Australians have reacted with the appropriate sympathy and support; seeing the massacre more as an attack on Australians by radical and fanatical religious terrorists.

Our quite strong gun laws have been found to be wanting. The laws are old and have not been updated for a long time. Guns have moved on to be faster and smarter. New South Wales, where the event happened is going to reduce the number of guns owned from six to four. What a laugh. Two guns, maximum. A single shot rifle and a shotgun is quite enough. There is a polling result with 80% of Australians wanting stronger gun laws. Bite the bullet PM Albanese and take advantage of the situation to restrict guns a lot further. 

Joining a gun club or sporting shooters club seems to be a way around restrictive gun ownership. This needs to be strongly addressed.

The tv broadcast of a memorial one week later was brilliant. I had no intention of watching it, yet I was mesmerised. How this first class memorial, broadcast by tv, was put together in a few days was truly amazing.  Well done, that girl and boy. 

We now need to move on and allow consequences take their course. 

Bits

I leave the home for five minutes, and chaos ensues. Well, I was away for a few hours.

With my able assistant Jass, we have been fighting against the Mynah birds nesting on the balcony below. I shoot at them with a great atomiser bottle, and Jass makes her low growl bird noises at them. While they are a terrible bird, attacking other birds twice their size to defend their territories, and while keep their distance from humans, they have no issue at all with attacking Jass with flying near her as if to attack. She crouches down lower. 

Given one bird is now bringing food for the other bird who must be sitting on eggs, I have ceased my failed deterrence. I wrote a note to the apartment dwellers but I sat on it for a couple of days. Then I saw a bagel sitting near their nest, far too big for the birds to bring up, so I guess the birds are welcome to rear their young on their balcony. 

Friday night I went to a pub for dinner with two friends, a couple, another couple of friends who are partners who I haven't seen for a few years, and three people who I didn't know. I suspect one in his fifties had been clued up that I was 'rich' old widower and was quite forcefully and overtly friendly towards me. He was nice enough, but no. I don't want any kind of personal and proper relationship. 

Not long after I devoured my delicious pork chop with vegetables, I felt social overload and made my apologies and left, to tram home. I'd been there for two hours.

"Annedrew," said Phyllis, once I was home, "we had the balcony door open and a Mynah bird came inside to attack Jass". "Jass cowered while we chased the bird around and eventually it flew outside."

JFC, can't I leave home without a disaster happening. Jass has developed post traumatic stress disorder, not eating properly and will have nothing to do with Phyllis and is spending most of her time in the linen press. She'll get over it. I noticed when she transports a toy around, she has her front legs wide apart, space for a kitten dangling from her mouth. She may be desexed, but I am sure her hormones are still partly working. 

I have ten great nieces and nephews and for Christmas I am giving them a miserly $20 each. Ray's ghost was in my ear telling me to not be so mean, but hey, that is $200. When I was but a lad, I would be grateful for a sixpence.

Today I will have lunch with my neighbour HH, except many cafes around here have closed for Christmas. I will be adventurous and suggest Republic Econmica.  We will need to catch a 58 tram to South Yarra Station.

By the time this is published, Sister, Bone Doctor and Jo will be in York, after spending time in Germany and London. They had one day in London where they all felt unwell, but rallied themselves to see Starlight Express. What they have seen in London in a short time amazes me. My sister is a busy go go person. Fom York they will travel to Newcastle to spend Christmas with Ray's family, visit Glasgow and then Edinburgh for Hogmanay, New Year's Eve. At the age of 18, Jo has already seen so much of the world. I was about 25 before I first went overseas, to New Zealand. 

It is hard to believe that in 2023, we were in England, catching up with Fun60 in York, seeing Ray's family and thinking this will a be final overseas journey. But never say no. My mother died later that year, Ray in 2024 and my stepmother in 2025. By age, Step Mother's 97 year old partner will be next, then my surviving uncle, and next will be me. Cheery thoughts. 

But as I recently remarked on a post by Wise Web Woman, which I did partly hear elsewhere, I am a lucky person to be born white in Australia, had a long and loving relationship with Ray, I'm financially secure and live in a great city, I have a great and large family and some really good friends. And I'm now with the company of Phyllis and Kosov. I really am one of the luckiest people in the world, but why don't I feel like that at times?

Monday Mural

I visited the zoo last week and I did take a couple of animal photos, I took quite a few mural photos, mostly in one area. I've decided to put them in this one post.

A Tasmanian devil.

An African wild dog, and of course a tiger, lion and then a snow leopard. Among other artists, the well known Mike Makatron and Jimmy Dvate worked on this mural.

This looks like a domestic cat to me.

A little whimsy.

A variety of a cat, a blue tongue lizard, a superb fairy wren and rainbow lorikeet.

A Sumatran tiger.

And more Tasmanian devils.

Sunday Selections

I am joining with River and others for Sunday Selections. As the theme goes, unused photos from the past.

This tree is an Australian native melaleuca tree, also known as a paperbark tree. The bark was used by our indigenous fok for many purposes, least of all as being damp compressed to make a form of paper.   

Its bark is lightweight, so no damage will have been done to the car mirror by the fallen bark.

We visited Japan in 2010 and had a wonderful holiday in an amazing country. It is now being overwhelmed by tourists and locals are complaining. We had a laptop back then and it was heavy, but to keep it safe I carried it in a backpack. Before we left we bought a Japanese conversion electrical plug to plug in a power board to give us a few outlets. This is the Japanese plug, and while this one doesn't have an earth pin, they are round. 

But the plug we bought had only the two angular sockets and not one for the earth pin of the Australian plug. I drilled and cut into the adaptor to make a space for our earth pin. It worked. 

Swing the locking lever to the left and pee pee alone. If the lever is on the right, pee pee with a surprise guest.  While the signs are amateurishly done, they are amusing. 

A Christmas table runner appeared on the dining table, courtesy Phyllis. It was creased, so while I haven't ironed for many many years, the iron and ironing board being last used by Ray in April 2024, I got both out and pressed the creases out. The iron steam holes wouldn't work initially, so I put it over the sink and pressed the extra steam button a few times and the jets cleared. 

I think this is a Ford Galaxy, still left hand drive. Why was it in the lane behind our building, I wonder. 

A Buick Riviera. Gorgeous, but I would not want to pay the petrol bill. 

 

The linen press is not a smoky patchy colour. The photo lies. It appears to be well sealed against cat intrusion, but it isn't. Why do Phyllis and Kosov keep leaving the door open? They hadn't. Jass must be able to put her paw under the doors to open them, where she perches on table cloths that will probably never be used again. Some things I can't bear to get rid of. 

There is more than one Speaker of House in Australia's Federal Parliament Senate Chamber, and one is of Aboriginal heritage. I've not heard it mentioned, but it is rather obvious.

I checked with a friend who worked at Optus and apparently this Telstra phone building is still in use for the purpose. Note the blue sign at the doorway. There is a world wide site of corporate logos, with several listed for our Telecom and Telstra, but this is not one of them. Quite curious.

By the look of it, the train driver's window has been stoned. That would be so traumatising for the driver. I expect the window replacement cost would be in four figures. 

Let's get a bit lighter. I love this sign to guide people who have gone to the wrong place to be photographed on the famous London zebra crossing. 

I hate that tram windows are covered with advertising, making it difficult to see outside.

When the tram doors slid open, I initially misread the sign. What??? I don't want a million but just a few would be nice.

It is 9.40 pm, one hour and twenty minutes before my bedtime. Yes, in the late evening I keep an eye on the clock. 

The Graduate

The lad done well, and graduated easily with now Master's degree in Food Science and Technology. I am looking at envelope that contained details for attendance at the event and after his identify number at RMIT, it says "Name on Testamur". I have no idea what this word means, but I suppose related to testament. One of you edjicated types will know, I am sure.

Phyllis indicated the event was from 1pm to 5pm. That can't be. We trammed and trained our way there, and as usual his organisation for meeting people was chaotic. It was hot and I told them to buzz off while I bought an iced coffee. They reappeared both with bahn mi in their hands to eat as we walked across the Bourke Street bridge at the northern end of Southern Cross Station. We met with Miss capital of Peru and another of his friends. I am old and have old manners, which means you don't eat food while you are walking in public, but I didn't really notice it. 

I did notice when Phyllis handed his not quite finished bahn mi to me, and disappeared with his friends to where he was supposed to be. "Kosov, you take this", which he did as he continued to eat his own bahn mi. "Onnndreww, I need to find the tickets in my bag. Hold one of the bahn mi". It was very busy but the queue with a bag check and even female purses were quickly checked. Sensibly Kosov suggested we sit at the back to make a quick exit. Oh gosh, the seats were hard plastic, and as the heat rose, so did the hardness of the seats. 

We sat there for the best part of an hour or more before anything happened, and then there was some singing and dancing, Kosov having already finished both bahn mi. Although the seats were reserved, that went out the window. People kept coming and going, bringing in fried food and whatever. It is odd that so many had not eaten before attending. I'll keep my old fashioned thoughts about eating in public to myself.

Eventually things began, with speeches, none of which I could properly hear, so I am unsure why an indigenous person teared up when receiving a doctorate or something like that. Speakers are not honoured by audience silence as they speak? Apparently not, again I am out of step with modern behaviour.

Eventually the handing out of certificates began, sometime after 3.30. They were grouped by what type of degree they were awarded. This was really well done. Their names were displayed on a screen just before they reached the official to receive their certificate, as the person giving our the certificates tipped his hat to them upon their approach. They turned to face a camera, snapped, and off they went. 

As soon as I saw Phyllis receive his award, I was out of there. Shortly after, Kosov came out. I was going home and Kosov would go back in to wait for Phyllis. My hard walk to get to the 58 tram in the heat was fine, if exhausting. By the time Phyllis and Kosov left, the area was so crowded with people leaving the venue, they were just slowly shuffling forward.

Any wise person would have caught public transport to the venue but many had booked parking at a nearby commercial carpark. They arrived, and according to morning radio the next day, the car park was full. People were exiting trying to tell people entering that there was no parking. If you are not going to use public transport, then wouldn't paying $40 for a guaranteed parking space be a good idea? It seems not. What a disgrace. 

My cunning plan for next year when Kosov graduates is arrive at 3.30, stand at the back to see him receive his award and then bolt. 

I don't have a huge criticism of the organisation of the event. Docklands Stadium can hold around 60,000 people. The two lower tiers of the stadium were full, and the top level about 1/3 full, so say something around 40,000 spectators, two hundred staff and faculty, one hundred performers, plus the graduates. The multiple viewing screens were excellent. 

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology is a huge college, with campuses all over the world. In my estimate, 80% of the RMIT graduates were from the Indian subcontinent, 5% white Australian, 10% South East Asian and Chinese, and the remainder 'others'.

It was a very interesting experience, and many of graduates and audience were dressed to the nines.

Her are a few snaps. 

Tipping the hat to each new graduate. 

  

I expect I may have to correct a few things tomorrow in this post. 

Friday Funny, or maybe not

If you have an active cat, you will get this video. On the face of it, it is amusing. But it doesn't take a third view to see how it is either faked or AI. Can you pick up the fakery immediately?

Some time ago I innocently posted the photo below. Apparently there are similar cliff face beds available in Ireland, but this one in China was the one I saw online. The problem is, no one can give a precise location or booking details. It simply must be AI. Outdoor beds on the Emerald Isle is an amusing thought. Ireland is very green, for good reasons, and again without a location or booking details.

It is concerning that what we see online can be fake and we don't know it is fake. Once I master the art of fakery, I will show you how handsome I am. Camera filters can only do so much.