Superthread LXXIII: Honouring He Who Shall Not Be Named

[muzby]

He's also from Canberra. Untrustworthy, should have gone into politics.

Question time would rate well though...

oh hell yes.. i have to agree with this... at times i think i missed my calling as a barrister, given my love of debating, posturing and dismembering someone else's argument...

that being said, if i was in politics, i reckon i would have smuggled in a remote control helicopter, found a reason to be addressed by the speaker where i had to reply, write down my reply on a piece of paper, and then fly that helicopter up with the answer..

but then again, i am also the guy who wrote a question to the guy sitting at the next desk to me in an office, but had it sent in one of those yellow envelopes via the internal mail, down 5 stories in the building to the mail room, who then delivered it to the guy..

the look on his face was pretty funny, he got all excited that someone had send him something, but only to find it was a hand written note from me, asking if he could email me a file..

he honestly thought i was bonkers...

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

careful..

i once started work at a place where someone from my previous workplace used to work before he came over..

anyway, when meeting my first few people at the new company, when they heard where i had came from, everyone was asking if i knew the guy, if we were mates etc..

seemed like he was pretty well known there..

so i just started dropping this guy's name into discussions pretty early on..

until i discovered the reason he had left there in the first place..

they had a conference, he was sharing a room with someone senior in the business, got really drunk and mistook this guy's shoes for the toilet...

CLM if ever there was one..


not saying drew did that, of course..


but... not saying he didn't, either...

Lucky for me, there is only one McCain rep that EVERYONE knows in the trade (hell, she knew Unilever approached me before I told anybody). That for me worked a bit to my advantage I reckon since people know she doesn't bullshit for anyone and would have put in a word for me.

On the flipside, did you piss in anyone's shoe Drew?

 

[Misanthrope]

You're always going to get bad press from us overseas. People pick the shit out because its newsworthy; we have the most abominable PM, are breaking international laws (refugees etc) and are pretty racist. That gets headlines.

But the country is still a good play to live, as you say above. We won't break the small country mentality every. Its part of our DNA. We simply need to learn our place and remember small countries need to hold their tongue more.

Bear in mind that I lived in Australia from August until the end of May, so it's not like I've been getting my press internationally in that time. If anything, being there made it worse because I was inundated with Abbott's Tomf**kery at every turn.

I disagree that we need to hold our tongues. Small countries can and have been great throughout history. Our problem is that our politics are small-minded and we play so perfectly into that 'small, colonial backwoods' tag that our English overlords instilled in us.

If you ever get a chance to read it, there's a fascinating book by Nick Bryant called The Rise and Fall of Australia. It's written by somebody with a great deal of love for Australia, but a great deal of sadness at what it has become (particularly politically). Well worth a look.

The Nordics?

I've not been to any of them yet, although only Norway has us beat on the HDI. In general, they do tend to have it right. Some of them even offer free schooling to non-citizens!

 

[muzby]

mis, it seems like you are feeling a little disillusioned.. let me help you get back on track..

just take yourself to a public place, follow these steps and you'll be fine..

step 1. breathe deeply.

step 2. say the word "aussie"

step 3. repeat it another two times.

step 4. say the word "oi"

step 5. repeat that word another two times.

step 6. repeat steps 2-5 again, then jump to step 7.

step 7. say the word "aussie"

step 8. say the word "oi"

step 9. repeat steps 7 & 8 again, then repeat steps 2-5 again.

step 10. start again, this time a little louder than the previous time.


continue this until you can't shout any more, and you'll be surprised how much better you feel.

 

[Abz]

you got too much time on your hands

 

[muzby]

you got too much time on your hands

i wish..

ever since i started amway, i haven't got a moment to scratch myself..

 

[Drew-Sta]

Coffee highs; the best kind of highs. The best part of a day, even...

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

You just gave me an idea.

TO THE COFFEE PLACE!

 

[Red Bear]

I've been having my plunger coffee at home lately with cream, rather than milk. Pretty good.

 

[adamkungl]

Politicians don't represent me. I don't feel guilt for the f**ked state of our politics and they don't effect my day to day, so I'm perfectly happy living here.

Could be better in some ways but it sure could be a lot worse.

 

[Red Bear]

Yeah. I really do love Australia, but then I also love when I get tor travel around areas that aren't Australia.

There's a point that being out of the country can give you a bit more objectivity over your views of your home country, gives a different reference point.

I think I could easily live in some other areas, but there's something about this place which is quite unique, given our bush and our wildlife and such, which I love. Being overseas once where there had been a plantation of eucalypts, that smell takes you home straight away.

 

[Twizzle]

Might have to ditch my Ashley Madison account

 

[adamkungl]

Yeah. I really do love Australia, but then I also love when I get tor travel around areas that aren't Australia.

There's a point that being out of the country can give you a bit more objectivity over your views of your home country, gives a different reference point.

I think I could easily live in some other areas, but there's something about this place which is quite unique, given our bush and our wildlife and such, which I love. Being overseas once where there had been a plantation of eucalypts, that smell takes you home straight away.

For sure.

Some people though (and I don't mean Mis here just to be clear) come back from travel with a sense of superiority and bitch about everything that isn't as good as the 2 months they spend overseas with no responsibilities.

The opposite problem is merkins who go on a holiday and loudly proclaim how much better everything is back home when they don't get their way.

But mostly what I don't understand is why people feel guilty or ashamed because some dickhead they didn't vote for happens to run the country poorly for 3 years. These same people tend to be anti-nationalism, frown upon people with a strong sense of national pride, but are happy to jump all aboard the shame train when something negative happens. Baffling.

 

[whall15]

I am anti-nationalism and anti-national pride and yet I've never left the country.

 

[DB]

For sure.

Some people though (and I don't mean Mis here just to be clear) come back from travel with a sense of superiority and bitch about everything that isn't as good as the 2 months they spend overseas with no responsibilities.

The opposite problem is merkins who go on a holiday and loudly proclaim how much better everything is back home when they don't get their way.

But mostly what I don't understand is why people feel guilty or ashamed because some dickhead they didn't vote for happens to run the country poorly for 3 years. These same people tend to be anti-nationalism, frown upon people with a strong sense of national pride, but are happy to jump all aboard the shame train when something negative happens. Baffling.

I have a mate who went to Tommorowland, and now won't do Aussie Festivals, as they don't match up.

 

[adamkungl]

tbh Aussie festivals really don't match up haha

I'd do immoral things to have a metal festival anywhere near the Euro ones. But we get daylight in winter so f**k them

 

[Bazal]

I am anti-nationalism and anti-national pride and yet I've never left the country.

Are you also against having pride in your home? Your place of work? Jingoism is rubbish but so is the opposite attitude tbh. Each is just as nonsensical as the other

 

[Skinner]

I am not an Aussie, but by heck I have a huge pride in this country. It's strange, but both Australia and New Zealand are home to me. I have lived in both for roughly equal amounts of time, off and on, so I feel comfortable saying this.

 

[Skinner]

...

 

[muzby]

I am not an Aussie, but by heck I have a huge pride in this country. It's strange, but both Australia and New Zealand are home to me. I have lived in both for roughly equal amounts of time, off and on, so I feel comfortable saying this.