Quote Of The Day

"I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that."

-Lauren Bacall

Odd Spot - The Age

German police called to a weekend traffic incident found Jedi master Yoda from Star Wars at the wheel, much the worse for wear after Halloween celebrations. The green-costumed driver had his license confiscated. "In this case, the force was not with him," police said.

*As published on the front page of The Age newspaper  02/11/11

Quote Of The Day

"Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity."

-Henry van Dyke

Odd Spot - The Age

A cash machine in East London is offering its services in standard English or Cockney. The ATM, in Leytonstone, asks if you want Sausage and Mash (cash) in denominations including Lady Godiva (£5) Speckled Hen (£10) Horn of plenty (£20) or a nifty (£50).


*As published on the front page of The Age newspaper 31/10/11

Quote Of The Day

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden where the flowers are dead."

- Oscar Wilde

Odd Spot -The Age

A semi- trailer carrying about 25 million bees over-turned on an American interstate highway, freeing the insects. Authorities closed part of the Utah highway for several hours after the crash. They warned drivers in the area keep their windows closed.

*As published on the front page of The Age newspaper 26/10/11

Drinks, Camera, Action

Pubs, clubs and bars oh my, beware, police are now filming your staff and your clientele on their serving and consumption of alcohol.

The Sunday Age reported that the Victorian police have a new task force in town, Razon, and their sole goal is to persecute establishments thats are voiding their liquor license, the number one rule being not to serve a person already intoxicated. The task force secretly film patrons with cameras concealed within their clothes, filming their drinking. With the video evidence and other information and proof gathered, the established is shone the footage and asked to please explain. The police claim they are only doing this to establishments that have received several  warnings of infringement.

Anyone who has gone to a pub and club would know they don't gauge the alertness of the customer but ask what they want and hand it over. Especially in a club where the lighting is poor and the bar is swarmed with thirsty patrons, the drinks are just poured and passed. How do you gauge how much someone has drunk if their friends are buying the drinks for them?

However the task force's methods have got Liberty Victoria and the Victorian Law Reform Commission all in a spin. The people filmed in the footage can be used as evidence and could be considered an invasion of privacy. Liberty Victoria chairman Spencer Zifcak said, "The problem here is that they're targeting large numbers of innocent drinkers in a way that clearly invades their privacy and places their identity and whereabouts on film that can be used in legal proceedings."

I worked in hospitality for many years and in those years, worked behind a bar and turned people away, but I also probably served people that were drunk but didn't show the typical characteristics of a "drunk" person. Ask yourself, how would you define a drunk person? Loud? Obnoxious? Spinning shit? This could be someone sober, or do you need physical proof? Stumbling, knocking chairs over, falling asleep against a wall or aggression and violence? The definition of drunkenness is open to interpretation and the police have acknowledged this.

So, next time your out and about, smile, because your drunken acts may be appearing in a court room near you.

Thoughts? Do you think this is a fair and just way to persecute? Is it an invasion of privacy?

Quote Of The Day

"What you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful."

- Slide, Goo Goo Dolls

Quote Of The Day

"An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and who manages to avoid them."

- Werner Heisenberg

Quote Of The Day

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

-Oscar Wilde

Let's Talk About Breast....Cancer That Is

Their are many words in the English language that conjure strong emotions, but none so much as the word cancer. Six letters, used in any other word or order wouldn't bring as much fear as this word does. We hear about it all the time, no doubt know people who have had it or still have it. It is, unfortunately, a part of our lives, and weather it is technology informing and picking up on it earlier or life style reasons, cancer is the gate crasher to many of our parties.

So what is cancer?

We hear about it all the time, but do you know what it actually is? Cancer is a disease of the bodies cells. The cells grow and multiply in a controlled manner but if their is a glitch in this process, a mistake in the genetic blueprint, cancerous cells are produced. So, in other words, cancer cells are mutant cells in our bodies.

Breast Cancer: The following is information on breast cancer from the Pink Ribbon Day website

As cancerous cells can arise from almost any type of tissue cell, cancer actually refers to about 100 different diseases. Breast cancer starts in the ducts or lobules of the breast. Cells lining the ducts or lobules can grow out of control and develop into cancer. Some breast cancers are found when they are still confined to the ducts or lobules of the breast. This is called pre-invasive breast cancer. The most common types are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS).

Most breast cancers are found when they are invasive. This means the cancer has spread outside the ducts or lobules of the breast into surrounding tissue. There are several types of invasive breast cancer:

• Early breast cancer: contained in the breast but may have spread to one or more lymph nodes in the armpit.
• Locally advanced breast cancer: may have spread to places near the breast, such as the chest (including the skin, muscles or bones of the chest), but the cancer isn’t found in other areas of the body.
• Metastatic breast cancer: the cancer cells spread from the breast to other areas of the body, such as the bones, liver or the lungs. It may also be called advanced breast cancer.

Facts:

By the age of 85, 1 in 9 Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 1 in 730 for men. That's right, men can get breast cancer too

It is estimated that 12 700 Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. 2500 of these will lose their battle

As a woman you should be aware of your breasts and constantly monitor them. Look for any changes, lumps or bumps, puckering, weeping, anything that has changed. The best time to check your breasts, is the same time every month, so after your period.

Pink Ribbon Day is October 24th. To find out more information or how you can take part, please click on the above link. 

Quote Of The Day

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."

-Muhammad Ali

Odd Spot - The Age

For a small fee, two Alabama game wardens will turn cremated remains into ammunition the deceased's loved ones can fire. Warden Thad Holmes said it sounded strange to those not comfortable around guns, "but for those who are, it's not weird at all."

*As published on the front page of The Age newspaper 05/10/11

2011 - Anything Goes?

This post is prompted by several things. For a while now I have hung onto an email about ads that don't work anymore, mainly because they are extremely sexist by todays standards and just plain lies (think Mad Men when they were thinking of a print ad with doctors recommending their favourite brand of cigarettes) but because of this they are now very amusing.

I thought I would combine this post as it seemed quite fitting. For awhile now I have questioned where this country and the world in general is going. We now can communicate with each other and someone on the other side of the world within seconds, yet our social skills are waning. Children no longer write cursive and are losing the ability to write something with meaning longer then 140 characters long.

Excepting an invite has changed: yes or no is no longer your only option, maybe is an answer too (while you wait for something better that may come along) poking someone is a form of hello and the only mail you receive in the mail nowadays is bills and jury duty notices.

We no longer can do the same things we did when we were younger because now we may offend people.  Christmas trees and nativity scenes are a thing of the past. The Easter Bunny will kill you. You can't run onto the MCG anymore after a game without the risk of a $7000 (and growing) fine. Casual dress days with restrictions. The amount of food you can't eat whilst pregnant. Text messaging instead of calling. Working mothers condemned. Stay at home mothers condemned. Speeding up when someone is trying to over take, because how dare someone overtake you? Australians now have a sense of entitlement and a "you can't do that to me attitude".

So, I ask you, are we in the age of anything goes?

Australia still has a backwards view of the world and is predominately still very sexist like these ads. I have encountered this through work and life in general and I'm sure many men have too. I'm a woman so what would I know about cars and football? I shouldn't swear and drink because it unlady like. We live in a country that in 2004 changed the law so the definition of marriage was specifically outlined as between a man and a woman, deliberately excluding the possibility of same-sex marriage. Still feel like you're in 2011?

I am of an age where those around me are getting married and the same question is always asked; are you changing or keeping your surname? This notion only a few decades ago would never have been conceived, but in 2011 is quite a common question. Then why when this subject came up again recently, was I  frowned upon when I said I would keep my name despite the fact my partner wanted me to change it? It was this lack of regard for my partners wishes that made me the devil incarnate! My head spun with the time travel back to the time of these ads. Sure, I care what my partner thinks, but at the end of the day, it is my decision.

Despite the fact that women have never had as much freedom as we do now, are we still bound to societies rules and regulations? Does anything go or are we moving backwards? Has our new found freedom gone to our heads and damned us? Do we have so many choices now we don't know what's right anymore and have lost all morals?

Soapbox open for inspection.

Explained Absence

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed a rapid decline in postings of late. I have in the past been rather spasmodic with my posts, but 2011 was to be the year of my blog! Alas, my body had other ideas.

After several tests, a hospital visit and more tests and fasting, the doctors are no closer to explaining what is wrong with me, so I have been trying to give my body (and mind) a break. Some time away by the ocean helped immensely but then the medication I'm on helps too! I work full time so by the end of the day I can barely drive home let alone construct sentences.

I am feeling better then I was though, and hope to be full steam ahead again shortly, so please, in the meantime become a follower and you will be notified of any new posts.

Till my next rant....