absolutely awesome

until today, the largest margin in any match i'd attended was 169 points (claremont vs east perth at the waca in 1988) but that was smashed today. my tigers were absolutely ruthless in their 194 point demolition of peel at tigerland this arvo. peel were fortunate to be given a couple of charity goals by the umpires which kept the final margin below 200 points but that's fine. what makes the win even more remarkable is that our captain is out suspended at the moment and andrew browne isn't playing. also, when we beat peel by 110 points in round one wilkes kicked 5 goals and fyfe kicked four and neither played today. chad jones was brilliant and ended up with 10 goals despite regularly having the full back hanging off him. brabazon and schammer were unstoppable in the midfield along with foster and mitchell. it's also great watching ninyette play as he gets better each week. and it goes without saying that richo was in everything. what a great arvo at the footy!!

good luck johnno

well, the shock news of the night is that michael johnson was apparently caught by police on the weekend in possession of illegal drugs. my opinion on drugs is well known and it's certainly very disappointing to have one of our players being an offender. my belief is that johnno's well being has now got to be the priority. we saw through the early to middle period of the last decade the manner in which a certain other club was willing to put on-field success ahead of the health of their players. they were informed by police that players had been caught on wire tap discussing their drug use but none of the players were suspended or reprimanded by the club. this has to be the blueprint for how not to deal with drug abuse within the club. on the other hand is the example set by geelong with matthew stokes this season. he was suspended by the club but at the same time it was made clear he had their full support and they cared about what happened to him. i reckon, if the reports on johnno are accurate, that freo need to take a similar approach. he's a player who's very much loved by the club's supporters and all we want is to see him overcome whatever issues he has, to be happy and healthy in his private life, to be a good role model for aboriginal kids and to fulfil his potential as a footballer. personally, i wish him all the best and can't wait to see him better and successful.

ban the burka?

i've watched with interest the growing movement in parts of europe to ban the wearing of the burka and the comments by corey bernardi of the liberal party that he considers them to be 'unaustralian' (what does that actually mean?) and wants them banned in australia. tony abbott stated that he finds the burka 'confronting' and would prefer it wasn't widely worn. personally i have no more problem with a muslim wearing the burka than i do with a priest wearing the dog collar, a jew wearing the yarmulke or a buddhist wearing their robes. in fact, as one astute commentator pointed out, there are some much more offensive items of clothing regularly seen in australia. i certainly know which of the below pictures i find least confronting!!

such is life

i've only heard and read some excerpts from the interview ben cousins gave to fox sports recently but it's been very interesting. obviously the excerpts making headlines are to do with his infamous drug addiction. he tells of how he experienced considerable paranoia and felt that the afl was out to get him. obviously this wasn't the case and presumably he realises this now. he also spoke of how he wants to continue playing on with richmond next season and i hope he's able to do so. i've never been a fan of ben but i'm glad to see him overcome his problems and i really hope he's able to stay on top of his issues for the long haul. there's no doubt he was a very talented player and it's a shame he won't be remembered solely as such.

what really surprised me is that the interviewers were honest and brave enough to broach the subject of the common perception that the 2006 flag won by the weagles has been tainted by the revelation of significant drug use within the club during that season. unsurprisingly cousins is quick to state that he doesn't believe it is. well, i'm sorry ben but the reality you'll have to live with is there's a lot of unbiased people (ie. non weagle supporters) who will always see the 2006 flag as having been very tainted by the exploits of you and a number of your team mates and will continue to treat it with significant disrespect. i'm afraid that is one of the prices you'll have to pay.

gold!!

last night was the long awaited concert by spandau ballet at sandalford winery and it was one worth waiting for. the opening act was tears for fears who played all of their big hits including shout, everybody wants to rule the world, head over heels (my fave TFF song), mad world, pale shelter, woman in chains (my least fave TFF song) and sowing the seeds of love. they were pretty good without being spectacular.

but i wasn't there to see tears for fears... i was there to see one of my fave bands when i was growing up. only a couple of years ago the idea of the original five members playing together was pretty remote as tony hadley was still rightfully very bitter about his treatment at the hands of gary kemp but it seems they've patched up their differences and are good mates again. i'm sure the big bucks this tour is bringing in would've helped with that. regardless, i was very excited to finally have the chance to see the band play live. in a word, they were wonderful. they were as tight as though they'd been playing together for years and tony's voice is still golden. they played everything i wanted to hear and even a couple of great tracks off the 'parade' album. with a back catalogue including such great songs as round and round, true, gold, communication, lifeline, to cut a long story short, only when you leave, through the barricades and highly strung, we were guaranteed a show packed with familiar songs and all were played. they didn't have quite the same excitement factor as duran duran had when i saw them on their big comeback shows in london in 2004 but i still have no complaints. i reckon the venue probably detracted from the atmosphere as it's so big and having the hoi poloi sitting at the front of the stage is no way to have a gig with any sort of atmosphere as the people who know how to enjoy a concert are stuck up the back. i doubt they'll be back here any time soon so i'm really thankful for the opportunity to see one of the great bands of the early 80s

the real deal

what can i say about today's game against geelong? it was one of the most entertaining and enjoyable afl games i've been to for a long time. to beat the reigning premiers and remain undefeated three rounds into the season was almost unimaginable three weeks ago. i can't believe how rapidly the team has developed this season and the way the young players have stepped up and taken responsibility on the field. regardless of whether or not we make the finals this year, the future is looking very bright.

and of course my tigers defeated the mongrel lions at leederville oval today to also remain undefeated in the wafl. what a great start to the footy season!!

freo, way to go

holy cow.. what a start to the season. a couple of weeks ago the media was tipping us to lose the first four games and yet here we are, sitting second on the ladder and undefeated after two very good victories. the thing that's most exciting has been the contributions of the new blokes to the club. we all know how good sandilands, pav and haselby are but now they finally have a young group of players who can make the most of their abilities. barlow has been unbelievable in his first two games whilst silvagni has also played two outstanding games. the hyperactive aggression of ballantyne is fantastic to watch as he madly chases either the ball or any opposition player silly enough to pick it up. morabito has shown glimpses of what he's capable of and i'm looking forward to watching him develop.

so, all is happy down at dockerland ahead of a huge test this week against geelong. wouldn't it be amazing if we could knock off the reigning premiers? there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to.

the end of the bill

it's with great sadness that i read today that ITV have decided to axe 'the bill' which is one of my fave programmes. i've watched it for many years except for the period when it was going through it's worst soapie-style stage. it provided me with most of my knowledge of london life although i don't know if that was a good or bad thing. it was certainly a surprise when i moved there and found that people don't generally use words and phrases like 'guvna' or 'nasty little toerag' and that there wasn't actually a place called sun hill. i've thought the show's really improved recently with some good story lines but i guess when they cut down from two episodes per week to one i knew it wasn't going to last much longer. so thanks for entertaining me over the years. you'll be missed!

len fallon RIP

my grandpa died yesterday morning. it's been a long time coming but when it finally happens it's hard to comprehend. i guess my brain just isn't processing the information properly. i know the fact that he's gone but it doesn't seem real. i guess the funeral will help change that.

grandpa was a good bloke who lived a long and godly life. making it to 94 is a pretty good effort! he was very proud of his australian heritage and was well known for being able to recite poetry to suit any occasion. the advice he gave at my 21st on the type of women to seek out was certainly very interesting. his speech at my brother's wedding was also quite a classic. he worked as a mechanic and used his skills to keep our mini going for a lot longer than it should have. he was also quite the genius at using scraps of metal to manufacture parts for lawnmowers to keep them going.

but no one's perfect and grandpa was no exception. he was known for his explosive temper and there was many a time i saw him blow up at people without any real provocation. he was also one of the worst drivers i've ever been in a car with and quite scary at times.

so the last of my grandparents has now passed away. i'm sad.

ruby hunter RIP

i'm really sad this morning to hear of the death of ruby hunter. she and her partner, archie roach, did so much to bring a human face to the experiences of the stolen generation and help us understand a little bit of what they went through. for her to have been forcibly removed from her parents at the age of 8 and still go on to live such a full and productive life speaks of the amazing inner strength of the woman. also, to have met the love of her life at the age of 16 when homeless on the streets and to remain with him all her life speaks of her great loyalty. she was truly a remarkable australian and an inspiration and example to us all.

my thoughts are with archie roach and her family.

love it or leave - cya pauline

for all of her faults, you've gotta give credit to pauline hanson for having the integrity to truly embrace the 'love it or leave' mentality. so many people, usually meatheads, spout it as some sort of anti-immigration or anti-multiculturalism mantra directed at non-caucasian australians with the premise being if they don't love the meathead view of how australia should be they should leave. the funny thing is they chant it without really being prepared to leave the country themselves. the fact is, australia is a tolerant, multicultural society so either love it or leave... or in the words of the bumper sticker: FIFO (fit in or f**k off).

somewhere a village is missing an idiot...

lycra-clad loser

i almost had a prang with a cyclist on the way to work this morning. as i was turning right onto weaponess road at a roundabout, some dickhead on a pushbike decided that he didn't need to follow the rules of the road which demand that he give way to vehicles which have already entered the roundabout (usually coming from the right). instead he kept going as i was turning through the roundabout and then actually shouted at me when he was almost hit. i'm so over these lycra-clad losers. after a couple of years working on st georges tce i'd had more near misses as a pedestrian from these idiots hurtling along footpaths than i could count. they want drivers to treat them as equals on the road but they also want to be able to fly along footpaths. basically these arrogant prats want control of wherever they choose to ride and woe betide anyone who gets in their way.

what am i going to do about it? to be perfectly frank, absolutely nothing. apart from whining here that is.

laneway festival

i only got a ticket to today's laneway festival quite late but am so glad i did. first things first: northbridge is, without a doubt, THE worst venue for a festival i've ever been to. trying to get in and out of the main stage area is a nightmare. those unfortunate enough to be stuck at the back of the main crowd had views obstructed by the sound desk and the trees. also, the amount of sound carrying over from the other stages was dreadful. in theory, the northbridge cultural centre should be a fantastic place for a festival but in practice it's not. but that was the only negative for me. i came for the music and that was wonderful.

the first act we saw was whitely. i'm not a big fan and don't know much of his music but he was good. not good enough that i'd go out of my way to see him again but good enough that if he was on the bill of a concert i'd be happy to hear him.

one of the main draws for me was the fantastic voltaire twins. every time i see them i can imagine being in steve strange's blitz nightclub in london in the early 80s as they play such wonderful new romantic tinged electro-pop. their set was in the daylight which doesn't lend itself to their music but their stage presence is such that they're easily able to overcome this and draw the crowd in. as well as old faves, they played some new material which i presume will be on their debut album. the songs were strong and i'm certainly looking forward to the album.

next up was mumford and sons. as megan and i had stayed for the end of voltaire twins' set, we arrived at the main stage after m&s had started playing and got stuck up the back (see my earlier whinge about the difficulties of being stuck there). we hung around until they played 'little lion man' and then took off to see the middle east. they were good without being something to write home (or on a blog) about.

following the middle east, we headed over to watch sarah blasko. i'm not a fan of hers and this performance did nothing to change my mind. dull, boring, middle of the road dross for people who like whatever triple j tells them to is my opinion of her. megan enjoyed her though so i'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me.

the other act beside voltaire twins i was looking forward to was the xx and they didn't disappoint. i'm only a recent convert to this band but am totally sold on their debut album. their music is beautiful and powerful in its subtleness. what i hadn't expected was how good they'd be live. they managed to grab hold of me for the entirety of their set and even had me dancing (badly) at times. i'll definitely see them next time they come to perth.

the unexpected highlight of the show for me was florence and the machine. i quite like the songs i've heard of theirs and expected to enjoy their set but was amazed at how wonderful their live show is. florence's voice is a power to behold but when she combines it with antics such as crowd surfing and climbing the scaffolding, it's a formula for crowd ecstasy. i found the first couple of songs rather dull and was thinking that i'd not really enjoy the set but it just got better and better. the sight of the entire crowd bouncing in time was fantastic. the songs are good and she knows how to hold an audience in the palm of her hand. they were definitely the best act of the night in my not-so-humble opinion.

it was a very good festival and is only let down by the venue. i appreciate it was originally held as a festival in the laneways of melbourne (hence the name) but it's grown beyond that now. if they want to hold it in the northbridge cultural centre then they need to limit the numbers. if they want the large numbers then they need to hold it somewhere more appropriate. it seems silly to pretend it's some low-key underground festival when the number of punters doesn't bare this out.

this man is a moron

yep, this is the retard who thought it'd be a great idea to run onto the waca in the middle of a one day international and assault one of the pakistani players. really, you've got to wonder at what goes through the pea-brain of people like this. we all remember (well, the older ones amongst us do) what happened back in 1981 when some english idiots ran onto the waca and terry alderman ended up with a dislocated shoulder which wrecked the prime years of his career. there's simply no excuse for this type of behaviour. it's not funny or clever. it just betrays an astounding level of stupidity and a clear lack of appreciation for the sport. no true cricket lover would ever do something like this.

and what were his mates doing when this goose was hatching his ill-conceived plan? i'd imagine they were sitting there braying encouragement like the slow-witted donkeys they are. they'd be lucky to be able to scrape together a full brain between the lot of them.

in my not-so-humble opinion, the retard who ran onto the ground should be slapped with a huge fine and banned from all sporting events in WA for life. this would include football, soccer, basketball, cricket, rugby etc. we really can't have idiots like this spoiling it for everyone

a catch up

crikey.. i can't believe it's been over a month since i last posted an update. i didn't even wish everyone a merry christmas and happy new year. how rude!!

since i last posted, i finished my lengthy period of unemployment and started a payroll job at the go marine group which is going well. it's only a three month temp role but there's indications it should go permanent. i've always said that a job is only as good as the people you work with and i've been lucky in the past to have worked with some really great people who ended up becoming good friends. the crew i'm working with at go marine are also a very friendly, fun bunch and i can see that my time with the company is likely to be very enjoyable.

2009 was an interesting year. it started with a lot of promise as my contract with chevron continued. unfortunately a new payroll manager started at the beginning of january and took an immediate dislike to me. i'm still bewildered as to why but feedback i've received from other people has reassured me that she regularly has problems with people she works with. she never gave me negative feedback about the quality of my work so i can only assume it was something about my personality she didn't like. needless to say, when my contract with chevron finished in june i moved on, only to find there wasn't a lot of work for payroll officers. i ended up getting a short contract for five weeks and when that finished i choofed off to the philippines for a couple of weeks. i got home from there in mid september and had a couple of job offers but decided that neither were what i was wanted and that i'd hold out for something better. interestingly, it was around this time that chevron wanted me to come back. of course, i said no as i don't want to work with that payroll manager again. i must say that, immature as it may be, i got quite some satisfaction in saying no. early in the year i'd booked a two week trip to cambodia and as that got closer, it became pretty much impossible to get a job as no one wants a new employee who is going to take off soon after starting. still, it didn't take long after getting back home before my current job started.

and that brings me up to date. i've got no travel plans for this year but if some very cheap flights become available i may just head off. i still want to go to vietnam, laos and thailand and would also like to return to the philippines.

so, a belated happy new year to everyone and here's hoping 2010 is a good one.

i like soccer but...

the bust up between the AFL and FFA have had me quite bemused this week. i enjoy soccer and would love to see the world cup hosted in australia, but not if it comes at the expense of the football season. it's not often i agree with andrew demetriou but this time i reckon he's got it right. the FIFA rule that no other sporting competitions can be run at the same time as the world cup is arrogant and unreasonable. whether soccer supporters like it or not, football is the most popular sport in australia and the FFA need to negotiate with the AFL rather than attempt to dictate terms. demetriou's role is to protect the interests of football in general, and the AFL in particular, and if he didn't do so he'd be neglecting his duties. to blame demetriou for us potentially missing out on hosting the world cup is ludicrous. if we miss out on the opportunity to host the world cup because an agreement can't be reached with the AFL, the blame lies fairly and squarely on FIFA and their unforgivable arrogance.

latest hungry jack's ripoff

can you believe how shameless hungry jack's are in their chasing of profits? first they changed the default size of combo meals from medium to small. this doesn't particularly bother me as it's probably for the best that i eat less fries and the drinks usually have free refills. it's more the way they've tried to sneak it in quietly that i find rather dishonest. now at the innaloo branch (and quite likely others) they've taken this one step further. i was in there yesterday and noticed that when the person in line before me placed his order, the guy behind the checkout asked if he wanted it medium or large. of course, the bloke asked for medium and was charged the upgrade fee. there was no mention from the checkout guy that there was an extra charge for a medium meal and no mention of the option of having a small meal. when i ordered my whopper meal, he asked me the same question: "do you want medium or large?" (with the voice intonation dropping on 'large', thereby implying that these are the only two options). i replied by asking, "don't you do small sizes anymore?" to which he looked rather surprised and asked, "sorry?". i repeated the question and he confirmed that they do small meals so i placed the order for that.

i realise that the upgrade fee is only 55 cents but it's the principle of the matter. if they're going to ask which size you want, they should either offer all the choices or none; not just the choices that attract an extra charge. i would presume that most people, when asked if they want medium or large, would choose medium. using a simple, dishonest tactic, hungry jack's are now able to entice the majority of customers to pay for an upgrade without realising they're doing it which i reckon is pretty unethical.

cambodia pt5

this should be the final installment as i fly out tomorrow arvo but i just had to put down a couple of things that happened within a few minutes of each other today. i was sitting up at wat phnom watching the world go by when an american couple walked behind me. as usual there were kids asking for money but his response was anything but usual. the exchange went as follows:

kids: mister, give one dollar
american: you should study hard and become a successful executive... don't beg

bearing in mind the kids were no older than 5, i found his response very comical.

i then bought a can of sprite off a seller and put it down after drinking a bit. a monkey, seeing that i'd put the can down, walked up and took it. instinctively i reached out to get my can back and the monkey attacked me. it grabbed my arm and bit me on the hand and then ran off with the can before turning around and getting ready to attack again. another monkey saw what was going on and started running up the hill with teeth bared clearly ready to attack as well. fortunately a policeman came running and scared them off but i was a little bit shaken and will now have to see a doctor about getting rabies shots when i get home.

tonight i had a really good green curry from a small roadside restaurant. i picked it as it was full of locals which usually indicates good food. the excited shout of 'barang' from the staff when i asked for a table makes me think they probably don't get an awful lot of foreigners dining there. none of the staff spoke english and they did seem to see me as a bit of a novelty. again, the value is stunning. i had a huge green curry and a bowl of rice and a coke for the princely sum of around $2.50. dining out in overpriced perth will never be the same again.

cambodia pt4

sob.. it's getting close to hometime. yesterday was a fantastic day as a few of us took off on a yacht to go sailing to a couple of islands a fair way off the coast. it was a warm day and although the wind wasn't up, it was still a fantastic time. we got to the first island and went snorkelling. it was brilliant in the shallows as there were a lot of flourescent tropical fish that were happy swimming around my arms if i stayed still. unfortunately a sizeable crab wasn't so happy to see me and chased me away. after some lunch on the yacht we sailed off to another island with a snowy white beach of fine sand. the water was so warm and the weather so good that one couldn't help but be relaxed. we headed back from the second island and eventually got back to sihanoukville and dropped anchor as the sun went down. it was a beautiful sunset as we sat on deck drinking some ice cold beers and relaxing even more.

today was another day sitting on a deckchair and contemplating how life must be for rich people that aren't workaholics. being the stupid bloke i can be, i managed to get sunburnt on my last day on the beach which was the first time i've really been burnt since getting here. trust me to save it for the end of my trip. tomorrow morning i'll be taking the early bus back to phnom penh and then saturday i leave for perth. sigh.