Carbon Cate

Not feeling the best at the moment with a touch of the flu coming on. Mood certainly hasn’t been enhanced by some of the crap being espoused in the Carbon Cate debate as well.

If you’ve missed it, a coalition of environmental groups and unions are running a television advertising campaign in support of the Government’s carbon price policy. The campaign uses a range of people from all walks of life who give their take on the policy and ask the public to support it, among them is actress Cate Blanchett and Mr Bonny Doon himself, Michael Caton.

It was only launched afternoon but strangly we woke up to all sorts of scary headlines in News Ltd papers yesterday morning before the first ad was even run.

Firstly, if another brain dead talking head on the news reports that ‘Gillard’ or the Government is being criticised for using celebrities to ‘sell’ its policy, I’m going to punch the nearest wall. Neither the PM or the Government have anything to do with the campaign so please stop giving that impression. It's coming across as quite a deliberate tactic.

The campaign is organised and financed by the Climate Institute which includes Greenpeace, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Climate Change Institute. Hardly surprising or groundbreaking that those groups might be in support of a carbon price policy.

Secondly, the hypocrisy involved in the scare campaign against the TV campaign is breathtaking. Because apparently Blanchett and Caton are the wrong kind of famous person. Apparently, they’re out of touch with the common people and shouldn’t be expressing their opinions because they’re rich.

Okay. So billionaire mining magnates are the right kind of rich and are entitled to have their say on an important issue. Because when they rallied against the super profits mining tax last year and spent millions on an advertising campaign to convince people it would be the end of the world, well, that was OK. That was all right.

One of the main hecklers whose views have been given undue prominence is Barnaby Joyce. His statements were splashed all over the front page and on the headline pieces saying that Blanchett was being ‘self-indulgent’ and that she shouldn’t be misusing her celebrity.

Right. So once again, some successful and well-off people are not allowed to express a view, but others like mining magnates and retail giants are. And all of this before Joyce admitted he actually hadn’t seen any of the ads when he made those statements.

The other person quoted liberally in the Sunday papers was Terri Kelleher of the Australian Families Association. Because of course, an Association that is vaguely famous for its campaigns against homosexuality and abortion must be a predominant source of wisdom on all things environmental.

Yes, I’m being drool. I admit there is a connection in that the carbon price policy will impact on families as the big polluters will probably choose to pass on their extra costs to consumers. But Ms Kellher and the Families Association haven’t spoken for me and my family on their previous campaigns and they certainly don’t here either.

In my view, doing something about climate change is the right thing for my children and my family. Because I certainly don’t think my grandkids in 2050 will be saying “thanks Grandad, it was great that you made sure you saved a couple of hundred bucks a year while allowing the poles to melt and the oceans to rise”.

Yes, I’m portraying quite demonstrably my thoughts and opinions on climate change. But please don’t take this as a strident argument about that or the carbon price policy. I’m not across the policy’s detail enough and haven’t formed a strong view either in support or defence.

But this post isn’t about climate change or the carbon price policy. It’s about the hypocrisy in opponents choosing to play the man, or in the case, the woman, rather than the ball.

Last time I checked, this is a free country. Everyone and anyone can have an opinion. And if they feel strongly enough to spend a million dollars on sharing it, then so be it.

EDM.

Seachangeitis

Why is the allure of the seachange or treechange so great? Is it a ‘grass is always greener’ thing? Or is there really a better life waiting for us out there?

Yes, the wife and I certainly suffer from seachangeitis from time to time. For as long as I remember, we’ve speculated and dreamt of what it might be like to move up the coast or perhaps down to northern NSW. It’s been the subject of many a conservation and the central point of many a contemplation.

Not helped at all by the holidays we’ve taken over the last few years. Being a little poorer for the son, our holidays have had to be more ‘local’ than others and pretty much all of them have been either up or down the coast with the exception of the odd long weekend in Sydney or Melbourne.

So every time we return from those places, it’s “how good would it be to live there” and “life would be so much easier there”, etc etc. And it takes weeks, sometimes months, of getting back into the grind before those thoughts start to decrease in volume and intensity.

Guess it also comes from the wife having lived at Noosa for a number of years. She was actually living there when I met her but was returning to Bris for work so I can’t claim it was all for me. But she obviously has a bit of a calling back to there as I think life was pretty good for her and a whole lot easier. Maybe it’s my fault then?

Nah seriously, I am wondering though if our particular personality traits lend themselves to seachange thoughts or whether it’s an experience thing.

For instance, up to the age of 13 I moved every couple of years due to my father being in the army. I know during my Uni days as well that I always had a hankering for getting the ell’ out of Bris as soon as I could and moved on a regular basis for the 6 years after from Brisbane to Sydney to UK to US to Sydney to Brisbane.

Regular movings may therefore be ‘in my blood’ and I’m actually going against my natural instincts in having lived in Bris for the last 8 years.

The wife is different though in that she grew up in the same house and didn’t move out until taking off on her own UK and Europe odyssey while at Uni. Besides that stint in Noosa, she’s pretty much lived in Bris her entire life so the experience argument doesn’t quite fly with her.

Anyway, whether it’s a personality thing or an experience thing, the wife and I definitely struggle from time to time with Seachangeitis. Dreaming of what might be and contemplating how we could go about it.

It’s a disease my friends. And I think the only cure will be to actually get off our bums and do something about it. Stop talking and start doing.

Bloody scary though as it is a massive risk. Would we miss our ‘busier’ lives? Would we be lonely away from our friends and family? Would it be a financial disaster? So much to consider and so many unknowns.

Yes, it’s a disease that has quite a hold over us. Whats one to do?

EDM.

Plankity Planks

Man, talk about a ‘broo ha ha’ over nothing. A perfect storm in a tiny teacup. Much, much, much ado about nothing.

I’m talking about the Great Plank Debate. A fine example of the power of the media and their ability to create something out of nothing.  And then run with it and run with it. Until the next thing comes up anyway.

So from what I can tell, and its hard to sift through all the hysteria to find the facts, is that the Qld Police issued a press release warning about the dangers of planking after seeing some photos on the internet of people doing it on cars and on road signs.

Low and behold, a day or two later, a young man falls to his death, apparently while planking on a railing seven floors up. The media goes into a frenzy. The police and other ‘authoritays’ tutt tutt. Radio jocks are up in arms. And the headlines scream “extreme sport kills”.

Extreme sport? It involves resting your body on some object. Yeah, you need to engage your core muscles to achieve a plank. But extreme sport? Ba jaysus, they should try dealing with a two year old on a sugar high.

I digress.

Yes, the facts remain that the death of the young man in question occurred at 4am after an all-night drinking binge and the railing in question was thinner than the new Shane Warne. He could have been ‘sitting’ on the railing and the same result would have occurred. Or ‘standing’. Or ‘knitting’. Or just plain old ‘thinking’ for that matter.

For you see the reason for his death wasn’t the planking. It was the trying to do anything on that railing seven floors up and while heavily intoxicated after a night of drinking.

But blame has to be assigned. Let’s forget about individual responsibility or the sad death of someone with a whole life ahead of them. Let’s blame planking as the cause and print metres of copy and produce hours of television in discussion. Like it’s the fundamental issue of our time.  

Yes, the poor young man had no control over his actions. He was unduly influenced by ‘plankers’ and was sucked in by planking’s extreme nature. Something must be done. Somebody must do something. Will somebody think of the children!

Please. Nothing must be done. Nothing must be stopped. Nothing must be enacted. Just halt this ridiculous media frenzy over nothing and you’ll probably find that it all just goes away pretty quickly.

Until the next stupid craze hits the internet anyway.

EDM.

Little Man Memories

Hearing your first scream as you were welcomed into the world. You were not a happy camper at the time.

Sitting on your mother’s bed as she cradled you in recovery. Our first ‘three of us’ moment.

You asleep and lying along my legs as I sat next to the window of the hospital room and stared out in a fog of uncertainty.

Driving you home for the first time and doing 30km/h the whole way while trying to avoid every pothole.

Being stuck on the couch for an hour one afternoon, unable to move, as you passed out in my arms.

Becoming a pro at ‘swaddling’ and wrapping you up like a sausage roll every night.

Bathing you in the laundry sink and you kicking the water for the first time and splashing my face.

You getting your first cold while we holidayed up the coast. Not exactly a restful or relaxing time.

The first solids you ever eat while sitting in your bumbo on the kitchen bench. The scrunched-up look on your face was priceless.

Taking you bushwalking at Mount Tamborine and carrying you around in a backpack. You kept reaching out and grabbing my ears.

Your six-month vaccination when you hardly cried at all but gave me a look like “why are you letting this person do this to me?”

Singing you back to sleep many-a-night with “A Grand Old Duke Of York”. Couldn’t get it out of my head for months.

You crawling for the first time, when I put you down in front of a toy before finding you under my feet a few minutes later.

Taking you camping and bathing you in a giant green bucket each evening before bed.

The thousands of “look, a train”, “look, a bus” references while driving around in the car.

Missing your first steps while I was at work and nearly getting tearful when your mother rang to tell me you’d done it.

Your 1^st birthday party which I think we, your mother and me, hijacked as a celebration of surviving the first year.

Feeding the ducks at Kedron Brook on our many early morning walks. Including coffees at Maccas as it was the only place open that early.

The harrowing two-hour flight to Melbourne where I had to hold a screaming and restless you the whole way. Needed a massage after that one.

Taking you to the zoo and watching you mesmerised by the giraffes and giggling yourself silly at the seals.

Attending your very first game at the G, all wrapped up in Dees gear, and chasing you around the stadium while trying to keep an eye on the game.

The guilt I felt when you fell off the end of a slide at the park because I was fumbling with my phone to take a photo.

Throwing our arms up together at the same time whenever we go down a steep hill when driving (caused some fear in oncoming traffic each time no doubt).

Watching you mimic me with your toy mower while I mow the lawn.

Catching a ball for the first time out in the backyard and the look of pride on your face.

All the ‘stuckhugs’ I’ve given you in trying to get you to say “Dad” and then it finally worked one day.

You sitting on the couch with me watching the mighty Dees and clapping every time they kicked a goal (with a little prompting).

Helping nurse you through this last week with your bad cold and you stretching out your arms for a hug every time you coughed.

Watching you go off with your friends at daycare this morning and saying “Daddy go now”. Didn’t think the ‘embarrassed of my parents’ thing would start so early.

So on that note Little Man, Happy 2^nd Birthday!

EDM.

The EDM Update

Well, here I am. Back in the swing of things with life returning to normal this week. Ouch though. My first five-day week in quite a while.

News is that the EDM family has come out the other side of recent events and is tracking along for some return to normalcy over the coming weeks. I say ‘tracking’ because the son has now come down with the mother of all flus with a cough like a barking dog and the resultant lack of sleep for his parents. It hit on Saturday afternoon so the weekend was a write-off and just in time for the working week to commence.

So what to write about then upon my return? What’s been happening while I’ve been incognito?

Federal Budget? Hhhmm, only have a few general comments. Overall, its looks pretty solid in trying to get us back to surplus in a couple of years but does contain some strange stuff like geriatric set top boxes. Analysis of it has once again been trivial though and the media fulfilling their self-appointed role as public opinion makers rather than mere reporters.

Abbott also got away with giving a Budget reply that contained no Budget reply. He has articulated some relevant points in the media since but I can’t help feeling he looks more and more like a political commentator providing never-ending analysis rather than the leader of an alternative government with alternative policies and positions.

Death of Osama Bin Laden? Plenty of material there I guess but I feel I’ve missed the boat seeing it’s been a couple of weeks now. While I certainly understand the views of Geoffrey Robertson and his human rights advocate colleagues - that summarily executing him made us (the west) look a bit hypocritical - I also reckon a quick and clean exit from the world stage was necessary in this case. As the saying goes, live by the sword, die by the sword.

A court case would also have been a major propaganda tool for Al Qaeda and been a security issue fraught with all manner of danger. The geopolitical implications are far more interesting though, with Pakistan to explain how he was under their noses all that time and the US to work out how they deal with them into the future.

Gordon Nuttall defending himself in Parliament? Not exactly new or exciting watching a fallen politician blame everyone but himself for his predicament. He did argue his case well and with passion but he was never going to convince former Govt colleagues of his innocence and definitely not the LNP opponents sitting on the other side of the chamber. Too much political pain for either side to give him any understanding or pity.

Queensland Flood Inquiry? It continues to bubble along with daily reports of systems, procedures and manuals failing in the face of the disaster. Not surprising really given the days and months leading up to it were unprecedented and managed to combine into a ‘perfect storm’. Plenty of heart wrenching tales out of Toowoomba, Grantham and the Lockyer Valley as well which even now I can’t fully comprehend what it must have been like despite the blanket coverage.

Slow payments from the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal? Yes, The Curious Snail has certainly been running an agenda there of late. But it’s a case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t by my reckoning. Because if the Govt just handed out the money willy-nilly with no checks and balances then it’d cop flack for wasting the funds as well.

So either way, the Snail aims up and takes an easy shot. Have proper accountability to ensure the money isn’t mishandled and wasted; you get cries of too slow and too bureaucratic. Have little in terms of proper process and distribute the money quickly; you get cries of government waste and mismanagement. Ahh, The Curious Snail. Grand Protector of our Democracy and Eternal Saviour of the People (acute sarcasm there if it wasn’t obvious).

The AFL Sling Tackle debate? Oh yeah, now to the really big issues. Absolute frigging travesty that Jack Trengove got three weeks for making a tackle that will happen another 1000 times over the course of the season. In fact, there were four similar ones in the Adelaide-Gold Coast game just on Saturday, three of which were done by one GC player who did not get cited for any of them.

Apparently the most damning factor in the Trengove case was that Dangerfield was dangerously concussed as a result of the tackle. Yeah, so dangerously concussed that he was able to play in that game versus the Gold Coast and was best-on-ground with six goals. Blood still boiling from that decision.

Anyway, that’s a quick roundup to get me up-to-date on the worldly comings and goings of the last couple of weeks. Consider yourselves EDMed once again and I’ll try and get back on board with regular posts over the next week or so.

Til then,

EDM.

Kit Kat Time

Folks,

Just a quick message to say that posts will be a rare event over the next couple of weeks.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, life at home and with the family is going to be very busy over the period and I doubt I will get much time to ponder life’s mysteries and relate those ponderings to you via this blog. Rest assured, it’s nothing too serious. Just need to make the wife and son the priority for a bit.

It’s certainly not for wanting to post. Far from it. But the opportunities will be rare and I just wanted to let my followers know in advance of a probable upcoming dearth of posts for the next few weeks. You know, in case questions start being asked about my desire and commitment to this blog.

Anyway, I can ensure you that I will be back better than ever and with regularity in time. Just be patient.

See you on the otherside then.

EDM.