still in the philippines

so i'm now into my second week in the philippines and still having a great time. i'm presently staying at sabang beach in puerto galera which is the diving capital of the country. today i started my advanced diver course and did three dives, including my first ever wreck dive. it was amazing swimming around three submerged wrecks with fish swimming all around me. the second dive i did today was what's known as a 'drift dive' as it was in an area of strong current so we allowed the current to take us along. it's a strange feeling as we have limited control over where we go and the rate at which we go but it's important to learn how to deal with these conditions. again, the views were spectacular and i took a lot of photos. i have more dives tomorrow so it'll be another fairly early night for me. i went out on a dive yesterday but had a lot of trouble equalising my ears which left them quite sore last night. fortunately i didn't have the same problems today. i have also had a pretty sore throat with tender, swollen glands for a couple of days but thankfully this isn't enough to prevent me from diving.

it's still raining most of the time but it's not at all cold so it's not really a problem. the main issue is that the cloud cover makes what we see underwater a lot more dull than it would otherwise be. it's not looking likely that the rain will clear up this week so i'll definitely have to come back another time when the weather is better.

only a few more days to go until it's back to the real world but until then i'll be making the most of my island paradise.

ask the leyland brothers

so, i've been in the philippines since monday evening and am enjoying the place. manila is totally mental in a very asian way. there's people and traffic everywhere and both are very noisy. i've never seen (or smelt) air pollution like this. breathing whilst walking down the street is an experience in itself and akin to standing in a busy indoor bus depot. still, one quickly gets used to it. the poverty is striking with homeless people having set up camp on most streets. in the evening food is cooked on makeshift fires using old tins as pots. in the evening, people scour through the mounds of rubbish on the bayfront that has been brought in by the tide in an attempt to find anything of worth. and, of course, there's a massive amount of begging. then there's the 'salesmen' on every street corner. the usual MO is to first offer a rolex watch for the 'cheapest price'. once that's been declined, out is whipped a box of viagra/cialis and then finally the offer of a 'nice lady'. i've mastered the art of making no eye contact and not breaking stride whilst offering a polite 'no thank you'. somehow all of these apparent negatives add together to make the place intriguing and, ultimately, a place i like.

i'm now experiencing a full on tropical downpour and am expecting the streets to have turned to rivers by the time it's over. of course, it hasn't cooled the place down any. for someone who struggles with humidity as much as i do, i reckon i've done pretty well. still, thank goodness for the air conditioned hotel rooms at night.

so, that's where i'm at. i'm here until sunday week so there's plenty more time to experience all the place has to offer.

There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hands of a worker
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is power in a Union

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands to trenches full of mud
War has always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realise
Brutality and unjust laws can not defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackies out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone
What a comfort to the widow, a light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters together we will stand
There is power in a Union.

i can't help but feel inspired when i hear billy belt this out...

western derby XXX

the final derby of the decade was played yesterday and resulted in another win to my boys. that takes the final tally for this decade to freo 11 vs weagles 9. the first of the decade was the worst flogging we've ever received from the yuppies up the road and was followed by the infamous demolition derby in which filthy phil read got the beating he deserved and we won by a point.

there were positives and negatives in the game yesterday. the clear positive was the continued good form of some of the first year players. i thought broughton, pearce, suban and hill were exceptional. also ballantyne's attack on the ball was very encouraging, especially after the rough treatment he received early in the game. mitch brown's cowardly attack on him whilst he was on the ground was particularly disgusting. van berlo and ruffles didn't have a lot of the ball but both kicked outstanding goals when it counted. of course pav and sandilands were their usual outstanding selves. the fact that there were nine first year players in the side makes the win particularly meritorious.

the clear negative was the injury to tim ruffles and i hope he gets through the rehab well and comes back strong next year. at least he's got palmer and haselby for support as both have been through the same ordeal.

the other huge negative was that this was one of the worst games of football i've even seen. the skill level of both sides was deplorable on a clear sunny day. it was incredible how many kicks went directly to an opposition player and how many handballs were intercepted or missed targets. i don't think it's too much to expect highly paid professional footballers to display a certain level of competence in their decision making and subsequent execution of that decision. i made a comment to the lady next to me that the skills coaches from both teams should be sacked which drew an angry glare from michael prior, who was standing on the other side of me. of course, he's the skills coach for freo and i initially felt bad about him having heard my comment. having reflected on it, i reckon he and the club need to hear more of this feedback from the members. i've stumped up my membership fees for 15 years now, even whilst living overseas, and that must buy me some right to express an opinion.

so, another decade of football is drawing to a close. we started the decade near the bottom of the ladder and are finishing it the same way. we've made the finals twice during this decade and finished bottom once (hopefully). there appears to be better times around the corner with a crop of exciting young players so i can only hope that this time it's not the false dawn we've seen in the past. regardless, i'll continue to pay my membership fees and support the club. it'd be great to see the team be successful onfield but that's certainly not a prerequisite for my support. i'll be dockerdave no matter what happens.

nirvana vs rick astley

ok... the greatest band of all time getting mashed with a poncey 80's one hit wonder should disgust me but somehow i find it rather brilliant. enjoy...

simply incredible

in a few days it will be the 40th anniversary of the first time a human set foot on the moon. as it happened a couple of years before i was born, i've grown up just taking this for granted without any real perspective of what an amazing feat it was but the reality is that this is simply one of the most incredible things mankind has ever achieved. to look at the moon from my balcony and try to understand that a few blokes flew up there, went for a drive and a wander around, and then flew back to earth is mind blowing. it's so amazing that there's still many nutters who argue that it never happened. it's hard to comprehend that we can achieve this amazing feat and yet can't achieve a world in which everyone has enough to eat and access to health care. anyway, i'm sure there will be a lot in the news over the next few days about the moon landing and i'll continue to sit in awe and admiration of the men who took the trip all those years ago.

RIP michael jackson

i suppose i should make some sort of comment about the death of MJ. i wasn't a big fan of jackson and certainly didn't like anything he released in the past 20 years but could still recognise his huge talent as a musician and performer and the massive influence he's had over the music world. his life had such a sad feel to it and he always seemed to be so alone. i guess being a household name from the time you're 5 years old is a pretty good way to ensure a normal life is impossible. hopefully he'll be remembered for the music he made rather than the other rubbish and lies that people made up about him.

the moving earth

i've just been watching a programme i taped off sbs called 'the moving earth'. it traces the astronomical discoveries by people such as copernicus, brahe, keppler, gallileo and newton and has really blown my mind. their findings of a heliocentric universe and how the forces of gravity and inertia dictate the planetary orbits are just accepted as common knowledge now but at the time of their discoveries were not only unknown, but considered heretical by the church. copernicus' book was added to the church's list of banned books and gallileo was put under house arrest.

how unbelievably intelligent were these men that they could have grown up in a world in which the earth was believed to be the centre of the universe and yet they were able to come up with the theories they did. to be able to observe what is occurring around oneself and understand that what is seen proves accepted knowledge wrong is stunning to me. for newton to start from a base of observing the fall of a cannon ball and an apple and from there develop a theory of gravity is incredible enough, but to then relate that to the gravitational pull on planets in their orbit is mind-blowing.

these men are inspirational and true heroes. many were attacked by the powers of the day for their discoveries and yet continued their work. they placed the advancement of science, knowledge and understanding above their own safety. bruno was burnt at the stake by the catholic church for his claim that the universe is infinite. it must have been incredible to have worked alongside people such as this.

JJJ hottest 100 of all time

it's been a while since JJJ did their last hottest 100 of all time. from memory i think we could only vote for one song at that time. my vote went to 'smells like teen spirit' and it came in at number one. needless to say i was a happy camper. it's come time again to vote for our favourite songs and this time we're able to vote for ten songs whilst nominating one of them as the best. obviously narrowing all of the songs ever written down to the ten best is impossible: i find it hard enough choosing a top ten for each year. still, i've done my best and i've no doubt there will be plenty of people who'll disagree with me:

The Church - Almost With You

Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours

The Hummingbirds - Blush

The Killers - Mr Brightside

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil

Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen

Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs' Tears

Showbag - Perish Union

i had to nominate one of the songs as my favourite so that went to 'smells like teen spirit'. i should also note that it was very hard cutting 'that joke isn't funny anymore' by the smiths out of the final ten so that was a very unlucky number eleven. we'll soon see how few of my choices make the final cut.

oops...

NEWS ARTICLE

obviously this poor old israeli woman hasn't been seeing muz for financial advice as she'd kept her life savings in her mattress. the ravages of inflation on her savings would've been bad enough but when her daughter thought she'd give her a nice surprise by buying her a new mattress and throwing the old one out things turned really ugly. it turned out that the woman had saved over a million dollars and had hidden it all in her mattress. it's now sitting in a landfill site somewhere with no one yet able to locate it. bugger!

the end of daylight saving time

sigh. i really like daylight saving and hoped it would get through this time. still, i'm happy to abide by the majority decision and won't be losing sleep over it. 

what really bugs me are the people on both sides of the debate who try and claim some sort of intellectual or cultural high ground based on their opinion. i know plenty of intelligent people who are opposed to DST and they all have valid reasons for opposing it. none of them are worried about their curtains fading, increased rates of motor vehicle accidents, confused cows or any of the other ridiculous 'arguments' frequently referred to by the 'yes' crowd. to my mind, it all came down to a personal choice - does having an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day suit my lifestyle? it does for me so i voted 'yes'. for the majority of west australians it appears it doesn't so they voted no. it has nothing to do with being backward or stupid.

so, yep, i'm disappointed but i'm quite happy to abide by the majority decision and i won't be wasting any time arguing or holding grudges. everyone's entitled to their opinion and i'm just thankful we live in a society in which we get to have our say.

freo vs hawthorn

well, i guess the run had to come to an end at some stage and although i'd been hopeful we'd win, i came away from the ground pleased with the boys' performance. given that we're rebuilding and playing a lot of younger players, i don't expect us to win every week (or even most weeks) but i do expect us to show a bit of ticker and put in a good effort. that's what they did on friday night. with a bit better accuracy in front of goal and a bit of consistency in the umpiring we could probably have won the match but there's no point worrying about what might have happened.

so, for me, there were some pretty big positives from the game.  the guts shown by the boys to fight the game out until the very end was encouraging. the form of duffield and tarrant was fantastic. i've been particularly impressed with the way duffield responded to being dropped earlier in the season. pav played a good match and continued his improved form after a poor start to the season. and then there's aaron sandilands! he's clearly the best ruckman in the country at the moment and still getting better. i feel lucky to be able to watch him play each week and his partnership with paul hasleby this season has been delightful. 

i've no doubt there will be plenty of pain this season but as long as the team continues to play hard, accountable footy i'll be happy.

bud tingwell r.i.p.

how sad it is to hear of the death of bud tingwell. the first time i remember seeing him was in the 'charlie the wonder dog' segment of 'the late show'. that such an esteemed actor would relish a trivial sketch show comedy role said a lot about him. along with most people, my fondest memory of bud was his role in 'the castle'. it remains one of my favourite movies and his character of 'lozza' was brilliantly played. 

bud seemed to be such an good bloke who was happy to laugh at himself and he'll be missed.

reflections on the derby

it may have been a game that didn't reach any great heights but a come from behind win when few people gave us a chance before the game was fantastic. i found it interesting that a lot of the dockers players who weren't playing in the game were sitting in the grandstand with the supporters. it's one of those nice touches that freo tend to do pretty well. i couldn't imagine the pretentious e-girls asking their players to sit with the ordinary folk in the outer. 

it ended up being a game of two halves (yes, i know that's a terrible cliche but it fits here). in the first half we played the style of footy we'd played in the first 4 rounds of the season ie. lots of misdirected handballs under pressure, delaying playing on until all options were covered, applying virtually no pressure on the opposition. and, of course, the result was the weagles dominated play. in the second half we played as we did last week against sydney ie. long direct play and intensity at the ball and the opposition ball carriers. and, of course, the result was we dominated play and outscored the e-girls by 6 goals after half time. it seems as though the key to freo at the moment is to keep it simple and play on with long direct play. hopefully harvs can keep the boys focused and the results will come.

as for the stars, i said before the game that if we won i'd expect hasleby to win the glendinning medal and he did. he's having an awesome season and is showing just how much we missed him last year. it's a tragedy that we won't get to see hase and palmer working together until next season. still, we have the joy of watching stephen hill this season as he just gets better every week. some of his play in the derby was simply stunning. he looks like being one of those rare players that is worth the ticket price alone. the other player who's been an absolute highlight so far this season is garrick ibbotson. he played some very good footy last year but so far this season has taken it to another level. 

i was pretty disheartened after the st kilda match but that's turned around. i still don't expect us to make the finals this year but as long as the boys keep putting in gutsy efforts as they have done in the past two matches i'll be happy. i'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

for pete's sake!!

when it comes to my footy teams i'm a very patient man. i have to be. but last night's effort against st kilda was nothing short of disgraceful. people can blame harvey all they like but the fact is if our players can't hit a target with a 10 metre handball we're not likely to win many games. i know we're in a rebuilding phase and i accept we're going to lose more than we win but i still expect some sort of competitive effort. the blokes who've now been around for 4 years or more need to be doing a lot more than they are instead of expecting the few really senior players to carry the side. for too long now blokes like mundy, johnson, murphy, thornton, gilmore, dodd, drum, schammer, duffield and peake have turned in inconsistent performances whilst relying on the older players to form the backbone. well, most of the older players have now left the club and it's up to these guys to become good, consistent footballers or face being delisted at the end of this season. 

still, in a season that has so far been very disappointing, one great positive has been the form of paul hasleby. it's great to see him back in fantastic form and has been one the highlights so far.

as far as claremont go, at least we've put in some good competitive performances apart from the game against east perth. again yesterday we played reasonably well against south freo but still lost. 

so, after round 4 of the afl season and round 5 of the wafl season neither of my teams have won a game. 2009 is shaping up as a long hard season for this little black duck.

beyond belief

along with most people, i'm stunned, angered and distressed that the animals who attacked matt butcher have got away with their thuggery. i can't begin to find the words to express the depth of contempt and disgust i feel for these spineless cowards. 

i just hope that when the angry mob sets onto them with baseball bats that the cops sit back and let them reap the result of their actions.

put them in gaol and then deport them

the trial of the cowards who attacked constable matt butcher started today. the scum on the right of the photo is the gutless wonder who attacked him with a headbutt from behind. he didn't even have the balls to attack him front on. the scum on the left is the one who threatened to kill a member of the public who caught the attack on his mobile phone. 

matt was a man doing his duty, trying to protect the public from these animals as, as a result, he's now permanently disabled. he's newly married and will never have a chance to live a normal life with his bride. he'll suffer for the rest of his life as a result of what was done to him.

words can't describe the contempt i have for these monsters. they are the lowest of the low. the only possible judgement that can come even close to justice is for them to be gaoled for a long time and then deported from australia on release. anything less will be a travesty.

big day out 2009

the moment i heard neil young was playing at the BDO my decision on whether or not to buy a ticket had been made. he's been at the top of my 'must see' list for a while now so there was no way i was going to miss him play. that decision was an inspired move as shakey played a set of sheer brilliance that blew everyone else off the stage. 

but first things first. i arrived at around 3.30 as i wanted to catch lupe fiasco in the boiler room at 4pm. i got up there with plenty of time to spare and his set started. to put it bluntly - he sucked!! i stayed for a couple of tracks and ended up leaving and going to lilyworld to escape his suckiness. 

next up was my morning jacket who were fantastic. the variety of songs was amazing and their presence was something to behold. also very welcome was the seabreeze! i didn't know a lot of their songs as i've only got one album but that wasn't a problem as they were so good. 

following them was old time fave red jezebel. i've not seen them in over 10 years but it was worth it as they were very good. i'd have loved to hear them play 'sail' or 'c is for cookie' but i think i was dreaming. still, they played some of their new classics and put on a really good show. 

arctic monkeys came on and sadly i had to get my spot for neil young so i wasn't able to watch them properly. nevertheless i could hear them perfectly and they were wonderful. i've heard mixed reviews but i had no problems with them. they played the hits and sounded fine to me.

but i was really there to see neil young. i really can't describe the joy he brought me. after all, he played 'hey hey my my' with his second song. when you also add others such as 'cinnamon girl', 'heart of gold', 'old man', 'cowgirl in the sand', 'cortez the killer', 'the needle and the damage done', 'everybody knows this is nowhere', 'rockin in the free world' and a wonderful cover of 'a day in the life' you end up with one of the greatest shows i've ever seen. it was worth every cent of the ticket price and more. his stunning brilliance was simply something that had to be seen to be believed. thanks shakey.. you rock!!

happy australia day?

this is the ugly face of nationalism that seems to me to be on the rise in australia. let no one confuse nationalism with patriotism. let no one confuse nationalism with a love for one's country. nationalism is nothing more than an excuse for cowards to bully and belittle those who are different. nationalism is what swept through germany in the 1930's and ultimately provided the conditions necessary for the holocaust in which millions of jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political dissidents and mentally disabled people were slaughtered.

i hate that the flag of my country and the constellation on it are being used as symbols of hate and bigotry. i hate that the slogan 'love it or leave' have come to mean that if you don't embrace xenophobia you don't have a place in our nation. i hate that others will look at us through the stained glass these reprehensible creatures have thrown up. 

the scum who have disgraced our national day through their mindless barbarism cannot be allowed to win. it's time to reclaim the symbols of our country as representations of the true meaning of what it is to be australian. to be australian is to be tolerant and to give everyone a fair go. it's to embrace people based on their character. it's to value the freedom to be oneself. driving a ute with an aussie flag on it doesn't make you more or less australian than the next person... and it sure as hell doesn't make you superior in any way. for many years i drove a holden panel van and you'd often hear ac/dc blaring from it as i drove by with the back up but that's not what made me a true blue aussie. nor is it my southern cross tattoo. it's my attitude and beliefs that have been shaped by this nation that make me fair dinkum. it's that i'll be mates with anyone from any racial background if they're decent people that makes me fair dinkum. it's that i love this country and desperately want it to reach the heights and glory it's capable of. it's that i despair that these narrow-minded xenophobes and trying to tear us down from within.

it's time for all fair dinkum aussies to stand up and be counted. it's time for us to repudiate hatred, bigotry and divisiveness. it's time to give the bigots the message that we don't support them. i've started by reclaiming the 'love it or leave' slogan. australia is a multicultural, tolerant society. LOVE IT OR LEAVE!

yes we can

well, it's only about half an hour now until barack obama is inaugurated as the new president of the usa and george bush jnr heads back to texas and provides a village somewhere with an idiot. i'm going to be very tired tomorrow but it's worth it to see a piece of history in the making. obama has an unbelievably difficult job ahead of him and i hope people give him the time and resources needed to do it. already he's gone a long way towards repairing america's destroyed international reputation. the future's looking brighter already.