I am currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for work.
I called home last night and spoke to my wife. She asked me what was the weather like here?
I didn’t know … between going from the airconditioned hotel next to the airconditioned office and eating lunch and dinner in the airconditioned shopping mall also attached, I hadn’t been outside all day.
Says it all about business travel, I thought.
Never mind, will correct this with a weekend of touristy goodness.
If there was ever an Oscar that was a certainty, money in the bank if you bet on it, it was the best supporting actor award that Heath Ledger won today. I mean, he was very good in the part, and most likely would have won on his own merits, but dying between making the movie and the Academy Awards, turned him from a good chance to an absolute certainty.
I read that INXS singer JD Fortune has been sacked from the band, apparently due to his drug use.
Fortune won his place in the band in a TV contest. That says it all, I think.
INXS should have quit when Michael Hutchence died. Their continued attempts at existence beyond that point have been simply sad and pathetic.
Leading mobile phone manufacturers announced on Tuesday they had agreed to produce a standardised charger for the industry.
Hoo-bloody-ray …then we won’t have umpteen chargers sitting around the house/office but never being able to find the one that fits your phone.
The standard shape to be adopted by 17 manufacturers including Nokia, Motorola and Samsung is to be mini USB. The target is that the majority of mobile phones shipped by 2012 will support this new interface.
Lets also try for car kits for phones, power packs for laptops, and I’m sure there are lots of other things where standardisation would be most useful.
I’m off tomorrow for a few days work in Singapore. Yay for me, I’ll have a couple of days over the weekend to do some shopping and have a look around.
No, not in the way I bet you’re thinking!
Christine Newton-John, 41, pleaded guilty to reckless homicide for exercising her 73-year-old husband to death in an Ohio swimming pool by repeatedly refusing to let him leave the water. Surveillance video showed her pulling James Mason around the pool by his arms and legs, Middlefield police chief Joseph Stehlik said.
The police chief said he counted 43 times in which Newton-John prevented her husband from leaving the water. In the video, Mr Mason rested his head on the side of the pool several times while gasping for breath. He died of a heart attack following the extended swim session.
An officer who investigated previous complaints Mr Mason was being abused pursued the case because he suspected there was more to the death, Mr Stehlik said.
And there is a twist to this tale – read to the end of the story I linked to.
One of the regrettable, and I suppose, inevitable, truths about the Victorian bushfires, is that some of the fires were undoubtedly deliberately lit.
Now, one alleged arsonist has been arrested and charged by police. Brendan Sokaluk, 39, of Churchill, is alleged to have deliberately started the fire at Churchill in Victoria’s Gippsland region. This fire has killed 21 people and burnt out more than 30,000 hectares. The arson charge against him carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, with a related bushfire charge carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years.
A couple of things I find amusing about Sokaluk’s arrest and charging:
Of course, now the man is charged and named, we have the usual vigilante reaction with all sorts of threats being made against him. He was whisked out of Morwell on Friday as enraged locals pounded on the doors of the police van, has been brought to Melbourne for his own safety and to defuse the community backlash in Gippsland. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon had warned people not to threaten Mr Sokaluk, despite emotions running high after last week’s devastating bushfires. She said:
"Coming to court and protesting is not an appropriate thing to do,”
"Obviously, we will make sure this person is well protected.”
“We hope that we don’t have to deal with a gang of people who are angry and concerned about this arrest. We know people are.”
"We will make sure he is protected and can go before the justice system, as he should, and be dealt with through that process.”
Apparently his mother and brother have left their Gippsland home, fearing for their safety after Sokaluk’s name became public knowledge.
(sorry, couldn’t resist the image – is it possible to find a more representative picture of a feral redneck bogan from Morwell, or Moe, than this guy? He’s got the lot, mullet, flanno shirt, beanie and dirty tracky dacks)
Of course, someone who goes around lighting bushfires is bound to be some sort of nutcase, and details emerging about Sokaluk certainly suggest this. Among other things:
So, Brendan Sokaluk looks to be some sort of weirdo. Maybe the type who gets his jollies by lighting fires. But the people threatening him and his family need to calm down. His guilt still has to be established - this is what the criminal justice system is supposed to do, in good time. If he’s guilty I do hope he gets 40 years in jail (although I suspect that if guilty any sentences for different crimes will run concurrently and he might get 25 years). Personally, if guilty I’m all for dropping him out of a helicopter into the middle of the next available bushfire. But that doesn’t need to happen right now, and while his guilt is unproved.
When he was charged and remanded in custody last week, his lawyer stated he was in a very mentally fragile state. I’m sure his mental state will come out in his defence when he gets to court. I’d hope it doesn’t carry too much weight in the trial and sentencing (if guilty) … at the end of the day he exercised free choices to do what he is alleged to have done, and should bear full responsibility. I just don’t buy that someone could be driven by things completely outside their control to do evil things like he is claimed to have done. He would have had a certain level of control and discretion.
A week or so ago the Tough Guy challenge race was held in England. This race, over a tortuous 13km obstacle course, has been run since 1986. This year it attracted some 5,000 competitors. They run over the course, through manure, ice-cold water, sewer pipes and even more mud, as well as flames while dodging smoke bombs, barbed wire and electrical charges.
The course is so taxing that, to take part, runners are required to sign a disclaimer which reads: "It’s my own bloody fault for being here."
Do you reckon this is tough though?
In the light of the bushfires in Victoria comes an early contender for wanker of the year.
The Catch the Fire Ministries has tried to blame the bushfires disaster on laws decriminalising abortion in Victoria.
The evangelical church’s leader, Pastor Danny Nalliah, claimed he had a dream about raging fires on October 21 last year and that he woke with "a flash from the Spirit of God: that His conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb". Mr Nalliah referred to 2 Chronicles 7:14 to back his assertion.
Mr Nalliah said:
"The Bible is very clear, If you walk out of God’s protection and turn your back on Him, you are an open target for the devil to destroy."
and also:
"In my dream I saw fire everywhere with flames burning very high and uncontrollably. With this I woke up from my dream with the interpretation as the following words came to me in a flash from the Spirit of God: that His conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb."
As well as the fires, Mr Nalliah has previously said drought and the world financial crisis could be partly blamed on human sin.
As I said, wanker!
Its hard to imagine anything worse than losing friends and loved ones, not to mention everything you own, in a fire.
Certainly, Australia has been touched by tragedy in large proportions this weekend with the bushfires in Victoria.
At the time I’m writing this, 84 people have been killed, with the final toll expected to be more than 100. More than 700 homes have been destroyed. In terms of loss of life, it is said to be Australia’s worst bushfire disaster.
I’ve seen the pictures of the fires on the web, and on the TV. Its just totally devastating for those who have suffered loss in them. There have been places I have been and am familiar with, almost completely destroyed, like Kinglake and Marysville. Speaking of the latter, when I was listening to coverage of the fires on the radio last night reports were coming in that only one building had been left standing in the town – I saw the aerial video and photos this morning and that report, unfortunately, was pretty true.
I feel truly sorry for those who have lost friends and family. I’d hate to be in the shoes of those who literally have only the clothes they were wearing left – I can’t imagine how helpless and devastating the loss of just about everything in your life must be. I hope these people are able to get back on their feet and rebuild their lives – just where would you start if it were you? Appeals have been launched to assist the victims of the fires – in times like these Australians need to give generously – which we have done typically in the past when disaster has struck.
What is really disturbing about the fires is the suspicion that many have been deliberately lit. What sort of sicko gets off on doing this? It happens every summer. I’d be happy to see them taken up in one of the fire fighting helicopters and dropped into the middle of the fire.
And then we have people who go sightseeing in the areas affected by the fires. What are their thought processes? How could you be so insensitive as to gawk at the victims and their suffering, not to mention inconsiderate in getting in the way of the emergency services and others attempting to fight the still burning fires and to help those who have lost so much.
Finally the media. I know we thirst for news and constantly updated information when things like this happen, but I can’t help but feel the reporting of the number of dead is treated somewhat like a sporting event, like a league ladder, as the points are tallied up by the hour.
I’ve posted before about airlines charging obese people for 2 seats where they need them. Fair enough I reckon.
Our very own Jetstar here in Australia apparently does it. I have no real problems with that.
However, it sort of defeats the purpose of giving the fat person 2 seats when they allocate them either side of the aisle. This happened not once but twice to Samantha Scafe.
Jetstar = fail! (actually they have many failings, this is but one.)
Australian cricket had its major awards night this week, the Allan Border Medal. As with all these awards nights, we get to see our sportsmen all suited up and their wives/girlfriends – hopefully only one and not both per player – all frocked up. The talking point from this year’s awards was Mitchell Johnson’s girlfriend, Jessica Bratich. She wore a nice yellow, flowing number, designed by Ruth Tarvydas.
Unfortunately for Jessica, it turned out to be a bit of a windy night, as you can see in the picture at left. But she was sort of prepared for it.
“It’s a windy night isn’t it? I wasn’t counting on that, but I just love the dress and the way it draped,”
she said.
“I tried to blend it (with the underwear), but I can’t get away with much in this dress.”
She did cop a bit of criticism over her fashion choice though. A Channel 9 commentator slyly commented she “almost had a dress on”, while Melbourne fashion designer Jason Grech said the dress just didn’t cut it for a formal function.
“Very inappropriate for the red carpet, It would have suited someone on holidays at a resort, or something to be worn at a gentleman’s club.”
Not me however, I’m not bagging her out.
As well as being Mitchell Johnson’s girlfriend, she is also renowned for this.
She is a high level karate exponent, including having won a number of Australian championships, and competed successfully internationally.
I’m not going to criticise her choice of dress. Nor would I be cheating on her if I were Mitchell Johnson.
