Rights/Responsibilities

In a pre-coffee haze on Saturday morning I heard a politician say (in relation to the current IVF debate) that the RIGHT to have children was the most important right that we had in this country.

Most important?

Does this mean that as a society we have gotten so blasé about things like freedom of religion, speech, the rights to shelter, food, education, healthcare, a fair justice system, the right to vote, live in safety etc that we can now bicker over this?

I’m not saying that the right for people to chose whether to bear and raise children isn’t important. I’m just questioning whether it is the MOST important, and I doubt we have actually got to a stage where those other things have ceased to be an issue and we are certain that they will never be taken away from us.

And in all this talk of rights, where is the mention of responsibility?

Ahhh Mother's Day

I'm celebrating Mother's Day a week early this year. So tomorrow morning I get to sleep in (again) D is reading this as I write and is currently violently disagreeing that I get to sleep in on MOTHER'S DAY. He's also making rude suggestions about what he should get on Father's Day. He gets to sleep in on Father's Day, obviously.

D has just said that Charlie is going to make my breakfast tomorrow morning as well. Mmmm, could be interesting. Fortunately chances are he'll eat most of it himself.

So for Mother's Day I bought myself a new pair of shoes. Mother's Day rocks.

I'm celebrating a week early this year because loveable D is not going to be here next weekend. That's right, he's spending Mother's Day with Matt and harry. So, since he has deserted me on one of the most important days of the year, I am passing my Mother's Day rights onto harry. So harry, Dave will be bringing you a cup of tea in bed on Sunday morning next week. You have a whole week to think up other things he could do, but he only has half a day because he's having lunch with his Mum. If he fails to do anything reasonable asked of him you are to cry, tell him he doesn't love you, remind him that you went through childbirth for him (since you are proxy me), and anything else that you deem effective.

All suggestions for things Dave could do on Mother's Day gladly accepted.

You may notice that it doesn't look as swish as it could here in this For Battle! loungeroom... bear with us while we redecorate ...

What would suit? Retro? Space age? The three days into festival look?

Also, we need links! What do you want to see linked at the side here?

Also in the future will be better commenty thang, and gravatars.

Suck it up

I watched the final of the Amazing Race last night. More in hope that the ditzy pair wouldn't win a million dollars than because I wanted anyone in particular to win. Either of the couples who came in first and second would have been fine by me.

What I did notice however, was how everyone from the beginning of the series had to turn up at the end to witness someone else winning. How much would that suck. Even worse, second and third place getters have to congratulate the people who have just pipped you for 1 million big ones, while you get squat. Diddly squat. You have to stand up there and say crap like - you guys were so amazing! We didn't think we could beat you (turns out we couldn't huh) and stuff like that. How much would you want to say - you undeserving maggots! You just got lucky in Cambodia when you got a taxi driver who knew where he was going, and you only got to his cab because you pushed us out of the way. I'm going to make your life a misery until you give up the million dollars to make me go away. Or something like that. Sour grapes anyone?

I'll just make myself comfy

Destructomeg has kindly invited me to crap on to my heart's content on her blog. So I will.

Saw Mr Creepy again today. If I knew how to do links I'd do one to crazybrave so you can see what I wrote about Mr Creepy yesterday. He pretended not to be the freaking creeping accept Jesus or die weirdo that he is, but I've got him sussed.

Other things I wish I'd said to Mr Creepy (when he invited me to come to god)
Only if you come to Satan with me. He's bigger and scarier and it will be better if there are two of us.

Sorry, despite being a geography teacher (true) I'm crap at geography (also true), how far is that, I only have an hour for lunch.

I don't go places with weird bearded men who acost me in the middle of Todd Mall.

I'm a Mormon (not true).

Why is it that the really good lines come to you much much later?

Yah totally

"Regarding #1, #2, #3 and #4, buy a stockpile of the vaccine and get a bulk discount. Next global crisis?"Yah.And the whole point about it mutating rapidly.....Oh, dear what'ye know? Captain Smug just killed everyone again with his shortsighted policies based solely on money. That would be you missing the point again and again and again. And that's not nothing: that's something!


Hey, bad news for us is that flu normally targets the old and the very young, but the Spanish Flu disproportionately targeted fit young men. Not that I'm accusing you of being fit or anything, but how crap is that? I have relied on being young and invincible until now and then some freaking bird/pig goes and shows a big flaw in the plan!
"Great band - heard them on JJJ."They went conmmercial too quick and didn't release stuff as free MP3 downloads on their website. We're going to paint the walls with their blood.

Part 2 of the destruction of Fyodor.

"We don’t expect the government to subsidise beer or Nepalese cuisine, so whycinema?"# Cinema is cultural. I'd expect the Nepalese government to ensure that there is always a school of Nepalese Cuisine in existence. The Nepalese are a good example of a culture being overrun deliberately. The difference between forced migration of Han chinese into Nepal and US culture squeezing Aussie culture out is not much. The effects are the same. The motivations are just a sinister.

"There’s nothing wrong with being elitist and bourgeois. There issomething wrong with being elitist, bourgeois and socialist."
# Ahh, but what about being an elitist, bourgeois, nationalist?!(What's wrong with being E, B and socialist anyway?)

"I don’t care what peasants want to watch,"
# Well I do because they are MY peasants! How do you turn peasants into something better? Education. I am suggestink zer Kultural Education, mein herr.

"as long as I don’t have to pay for crap that bureaucrats think will be good forthem."
# This is a specious argument. The commercial networks make their revenue from ads. The cost of ads is passed onto the consumers. Either you pay for government funded stations by taxes or you pay for the commercial stuff when you buy the product. Either way it is you who ends up paying. You end up paying for stuff that someone whose concern is for profit chooses for you.

"Nah. You mean much good stuff that you like - but nobody else does - getsburied."
# There's plenty of stuff that I don't like, yet feel a warm glow over knowing it exists. If other specialists can get their niche then it means I get mine. Quid pro quo and all that.

"However, if enough people are like you, there is a market."
# Not if they never actually see the market. Most stuff never gets to the market. The drek is far too over represented. Face it: the movie studios and commercial networks are not about the free market: they are financially incredibly conservative. The established market never delivers the next 'best thing'.

"and some bold capitalist movie executive player *coughs*at Universal Studios put his balls on the line *coughs* and greenlighted themovie. "
# No. Some guy actually did his freaking job, you mean!
But that just proves my point. He put his balls on the line to get something good out, ergo the current market doesn't support this sort of quality. It rewards non-quality.

TripleJ has done more for Australian music than all the other stations combined. Sure, the local community stations play their part, but in terms of bringing the goodies to the masses the only station that does it is JJJ. Where is the commercial equivalent? There isn't. Despite the fact that JJJ repeatedly promotes bands who can then stand by themselves in the market. This is the model I'm talking about: a state funded program that introduces quality to the market. The 'Unearthed' program has been astoundingly successful. This is not because mindless beaurocrats are running it but dedicated people who actually care.ABC television would also be a great example. How come the ABC consistently has good quality australian comedy, yet the commercial networks fail again and again? Because the commercial networks aren't interested in quality. if it doesn't work in two weeks, it's dead - and even then they are using an established formula with the same people: nothing new! Australian drama too.
Yes, I am worried that we have very little new Australian culture. We need to turn away from that mythical past of dusty bushrangers and Anzacs, and look forward. There is no reason why Australia shouldn't be the number one producer of all forms of research and technology. We need to change our culture to being this bastion of all things good rather thanhaving all our best and brightest decamp to overseas. The first step in this is remaking our artistic culture because that is how the vast bulk of people relate. Australian stories for Australian people to make the Australian future.The pay off in [horribly unfair :-)] govenrment funded comes in 20 years time when we are the world pioneer of alternative energy technology.The studios and networks have no grand vision. That is why we can't rely on them.

If 14 year old girls want to listen to shithouse RnB then at least let them listen to Australian RnB.