The silly season. Who am I to buck the trend?

Here Down Under we call the Xmas/New Year festive period the silly season [1]. (However in other countries the silly season spans the few summer months when politics and sports are quiescent and so frivolous news stories emerge.) The Aussie silly season’s silliness must be infectious: on 24/25 December my Canadian cyberfriend Chrows25 put up two chuckleworthy blog posts [2, 3]. (The former, I must admit, tickled my fancy so much that I chuckled out loud – which is something I don’t often do.) So who am I to buck the trend? Though 7 December’s well before our silly season, conventional news was clearly waning. Because that day the Age published an article titled ‘Wits and giggles: Australia's silliest business names’ [4]. It appealed to me. Some people sure are innovative when it comes to naming their businesses. Though I’ve never had to name a business, I can understand their logic. It’s a pretty tough market out there. So all other things being equal, a catchy name could be a competitive advantage in terms of new and repeat customers. There seems little downside, anyway. My fave among all the silly names in the Age article? The photograph (top left) is a dead set giveaway. Ho hum.

It's time to stow your throne, Bernie.

My cyberfriend Chrows25 has been writing of her long-term tendency to transpose letters or syllables [1]. I think, but aren’t sure, they’re spoonerisms [2] and not malapropisms [3]. Anyway they brought to mind the conversion of the saying ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’ [4] into ‘People who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones’[5]. And thus in turn F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone [6]. Last 8 November in Brazil British F1 driver Jenson Button was confronted by a gang of machine-gun toting would-be thieves or kidnappers. Ecclestone commented sagely ‘I think they look for victims who are not too bright’ [7]. Then, ironically, in early December in London 80-year-old Ecclestone and his 31-year-old Brazilian girlfriend were mugged by four men who stole jewellery worth over A$300,000 after repeatedly punching and kicking him [8, 9]. Button sagely remained silent. Me? First, I reckon that self-evidently an 80-year-old man with a 31-year-old girlfriend can’t be too bright. Second, I hope the assault knocked some sense into him – because he definitely needs more of it. Third, if he wants to live in a glass house he shouldn’t throw stones. And fourth, if he wants to throw stones he shouldn’t live in a glass house. In other words, he should stop making foolish comments aimed at seeking publicity. And if that means retiring from public life, then so be it. The F1 king should stow his throne.

Bravo, Stevo

I have some Canadian friends: there’s Mark, Maya, Marina and Mateus (who’ve visited me in Mole Creek [1]), Dieter (Maya’s father, who’s currently here [2]) and my cyberfriends Chrows25 [3] and Wordsmith [4] (whom I’m yet to meet in person). I wonder if they know that last Monday and Tuesday in the Canadian Parliamentary Buildings in Ottawa, their country hosted the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism’s [5] second annual conference [6]. I don’t know what they think of their current prime minister Stephen Harper [7], but I reckon the speech he gave to the conference [8, 9] was honest and honourable. He said that ‘when Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack, is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand’. He added that though Israel is not beyond fair criticism, Canada must oppose demonisation, double standards and de-legitimisation ‘Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israel mob tell us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are in the longer term a threat to all of us’. He added that Canada did not secure a UN Security Council seat [10] due to its failure to ‘go along with this anti-Israel rhetoric’. How brave of Canada to put principle above self-interest. Bravo, Mr Harper. And bravo Canada. I salute you.

Take it and shove it

As I’ve written, I’ve been at least partly self-employed for the past 23 years [1]. I’ve nothing but admiration for anyone who thrives as an employee. It takes a special person to do that. And in that regard, I’m not special. But I’m special in another way: I love country music. (Sorry, Chrows25, I know you don’t.) One of my favourite country songs is the 1977 classic: ‘Take This Job and Shove It’ [2]. Written by David Allan Coe [3, 4], its most famous singer’s Johnny Paycheck [5, 6]. I’m sure its success is because many an employee would love to say, or even better yell, its title at their employer. Most don’t. And many continue to do menial work under terrible conditions without a peep. Not so Steven Slater (pictured), the JetBlue flight attendant who recently had a spectacular meltdown, cursed a passenger on the tannoy, and then left his plane, and likely his career, with a dramatic exit down an emergency slide [7]. Way to go, Steve. You showed ’em. This Age article documents Steve’s JetBlue episode, and also how air travel’s changed from a romantic adventure to a soul-destroying nightmare [8]. I agree [9]. And I’m sure it’s a nightmare for airline staff as well as passengers. Most do nothing about it. Which makes Steve’s defiant gesture even more epic. Messrs Coe and Paycheck would be proud of you, Steve. I am. And I’ll bet it won’t be long before you collect your next paycheck. Hopefully via self-employment.

A film clip with sound's worth a million words

Some months ago, a blogger named Chrows25 aka Leather Woman [1] alighted on Farmdoc’s Blog. Turns out she clicked on the ‘Next Blog’ at the top left of the Blogger homepage, and the ‘Next Blog’ was mine. Since then we’ve been followers of each other’s blogs. I’ve learnt lots about Chris Burrows – her non-blog name – including that she and her husband Sel live in Winnipeg in an old house they’re fixing up, they share it with lots of pets, they’re keen gardeners, and they’re extremely active in their local community. I’ve also learnt that Chris was born in the UK, and she has scleroderma [2] – hence her ‘Leather Woman’ epithet. As Farmdoc’s Blog readers will know, she comments regularly on my posts. And as Chrows25 readers will know, I comment regularly on hers. So we’re cyberfriends. It’s nice that the internet allows, and indeed facilitates, people who live on different continents to connect with each other, and to share experiences and thoughts. Of course Chris and I’ve not met. Last Tuesday she emailed me this link to some Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news footage she and Sel feature in [3]. It’s about the Powerline – a citizens’ crime fighting initiative that Chris and Sel run (or at least coordinate). The footage content’s interesting. But even better, it showed me Chris and Sel in moving image; and it let me hear their voices. If a picture’s worth a thousand words [4], a film clip with sound must be worth a million.

This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. my Canadian cyberfriend Chrows25 [1a] sent me a link to a site showing the size of the Gulf oil spill [1b]. Scary. Very scary.

2. with superb timing, the Rocky Mountain Institute launched Reinventing Fire – its plan for a secure and climate-safe energy system [2a]. Watch the video here [2b].

3. further to item 3 in last week’s compendium, Yahoo stopped using its iPhone weather app to make a political statement [3]. Good on you for sticking to your knitting, Yahoo.

4. planetgreen wrote of a Wafu – a Sydney Japanese restaurant offering a 30% discount to customers who eat all the food they order [4a]. Wafu has other interesting policies too [4b].

5. in central Australia a 17 km bike path was opened; and it’s made entirely of discarded printer cartridges [5]. How wonderful.

6. Grammar Girl explained the whys and wherefores of ellipses [6]. Well…okay then.

7. Jono remembered the Anzacs [7]. No comment can do it justice.

8. Daylesford Organics closed its farmgate shop until the Spring [8]. What a spectacular opening season it was, guys.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

Eyjafjallajökull and Gaia

I’m sure that you, dear Farmodc’s Blog reader/follower, being the world-wise omniscient person you are, can pronounce Eyjafjallajökull – the name of the volcano in Iceland that’s dominated the news lately [1, 2]. But if I’m wrong and you can’t, click here [3]. So now you know. Me? I can’t even decide if it’s phonetic. Whatever. This volcano’s eruptions have produced the most amazing photographs [4, 5]; also inevitable and not very good jokes [6, 7]. But not counting its local effect on the Icelanders – who’ve really copped it recently because the GFC decimated their economy – its main effect’s been on air travel to and from Europe. It’s all explained in this article [8], including why planes don’t fly around the ash cloud. (Answer: it’s much longer and it’d expend their fuel tank capacity.) At least, starting yesterday, the planes are flying again. Currently the extent of the impact on the world economy’s unclear (but as per stock market indices it’s not major). My cyberfriend Chrows25 [9] thinks this eruption’s the revenge of Gaia [10] – because Homo sapiens (what a misnomer) continues to wreck the superlatively beautiful and wondrous biosphere that Gaia created. I think Chrows25 may have a point. Because not only are the eruption and ash cloud magnificently awesome, but the ash will increase global dimming [11] – which is a homeostatic mechanism that counteracts the greenhouse effect and thus global warming [12]. Thanks again, Gaia.