Australia: News and Views

Its all about perception people! According to the Guardian Britian is has declared a “level 3 heatwave ” - its gonna hit 32C - make sure you stay inside people.  Sorry but hello world? Mild is how Perth weather forecasters describe low 30 temperatures. To get a description of hot in Australia - it has to be over 40C. To make the newspapers it has to be over 40C either a)in Tasmania or b) for more than a few days- 10 was Perth’s record last Christmas.

The crazy thing is that the overnight minimum temperatures are only 18C - your house shouldnt be getting that hot at those temperatures - assuming the Brits know to open up all the doors and windows and night and keep them closed during the day - duh! Also avoid wearing too many clothes - why do you think Aussie women don’t wear nylons! Shoes and socks are a pretty bad idea too!

My number one tip - and this works when the overnight temperature is 25C - is have a cold shower - and don’t dry off afterwards - walk around naked. Or shower in your clothes - its called evaporation and it definitly works!

On the same day that Farrah Fawcett is dead at 62 from cancer, Michael Jackson is also reported dead - at just 50. Reports are that Michael Jackson died of a heart attack at his Southern California home.

Though long known for his increasing weirdness - Jackson had been trying to get his career back on track. Whatever you think about his obessions and bizarre plastic surgery there is no denyng that Michael Jackson was a musical genius.  From a child star in the Jackson Five through to his famous moon walking Michael Jackson could sing and dance and compose with the best of them.

Over his career Michael Jackson has had 13 number one hits including

Black or White

The Way You Make Me Feel

Man in the Mirror

Thriller

The tradegy of Michael’s short life seemed to be his inability to deal with life in the spot light and his obvious problems with his own identity. Whatever at the end of the day his music will live on a lot longer than his weirdness - at least I hope so.

Initial reports had Michael Jackson in a coma but the county coroner in LA has now confirmed his death. He is survived by his three children who are no doubt on their way to California. The house is under guard by local police.

Though not unexpected its sad today to read that ex-Charlie Angels star Farrah Fawcett is dead too young at 62. Farrah had been battling anal cancer and died at Santa Monica hospital on the 25 June. Its a bit less of a shock of the news that Michael Jackson is dead at 50 from a heart attack.

Stunningly beautiful in her prime - Farrah Fawcett made long, blond-waved hair the trademark look of the 1970s when she starred in the original Charlies Angels TV series. Although she left the series after only one season and subsequently starred in more serious movies - it will be the image of her in a clinging catsuit which will be the image she is remembered for by an entire older generation.

Ryan O’Neal has been her great love and chief support since the cancer diagnosis in 2005. Although long time lovers Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett had never married, Ryan did however say on Larry King this week that Farrah had finally agreed to marry him. Whether there was a deathbed marriage is at the time of writing unclear.

It seems so unfair that someone who obviously took a lot of time and effort to live a healthy lifestyle and be fit and healthy should be dead so young. There is no guarantees in this life people - you just have to go for it and live every day as it might be your last - you just never know

Poor Queensland has been suffering even more flooding recently. Water damage is widespread in southern Queensland and northern NSW. Queensland must have the biggest flood cleanup bill of any state for a longtime. Finally the rains came to northern Queensland in January which saw towns such as Normanton isolated for weeks. Now that’s not disaster - its just the climate up there - its just that it hasn’t happened for a few years so the newsmedia were all over it.

And now Brisbane’s drought is officially over as the whole SE of the state got absolutely drenched with storms which have also created a fair bit of coastal erosion.  Quite a number of coastal mansions are under threat. Northern NSW is also pretty wet for this time of the year - and given that the storm was no respecter of state boundaries its pretty much can be said if you want fine weather - head north!

It seems with the economic crises comes a surge of people moving overseas or at least thinking about it. Countries such as Australia have always had a lot of immigration in good times. Western Australia and Queensland have suffered serious skills shortages with the boom in the mining industry - this has seen an influx of skilled and qualified overseas workers.

Now however the pattern of  migration is changing. Australian accountants and other finance professionals have often moved to London to gain work experience. But now that the big money has dried up in the world’s financial capitals it seems that many young professionals have decided that home is best and are starting to reverse the trend of young Australians moving overseas for work experience.

Ireland looks set to reverse its trend of the last 15 years of again becoming an exporter of people instead of one of the biggest targets for immirgration in Europe.  The reality is that for many people moving overseas is about chasing job opportunities- if those are harder to find than the same people will just as readily move themselves home. Moving overseas is no longer a one-way trip the same way it was a few generations ago And at least the airfares are cheap.

I don’t often get a good laugh from the local newspaper but the “NO” campaign against daylight saving in Western Australia gave me one today - the headline in the print edition is Resetting Clocks and Radios Upsets Daylight Saving Opponents !

Yes you read that right - its “inconvenient” to change your clocks forward one whole hour! Words fail me so I turn to Liberal MP Matt Birney who says “If the biggest problem for the No campaign is having to turn their clocks forward by one hour than we are all in trouble.” That’s possibly why the YES to daylight saving campaign may actually win this - you see all the young people in the state actually know how to change their digital clocks - cool eh!

But for those who are struggling with concept if you want to know how to reset  your clock lets do a step by step…

1. Is your clock digital or analogue (if its got hands its analogue).
2. If its analogue you pull out the little button on the side- the same one you wind it up with - and change the time.
3. If its digital you will need to go to time set or something similar function - change the time and then hit enter or confirm or end to go back to normal display mode.
4. Congratulations - you now know how to change the time - well done!

The other issues people have is confusion (no kidding), getting kids to go to bed (try developing some parental authority).  It causes more traffic accidents as well - I really don’t make this stuff up. Oh and they get more tired because of the dislocation of timezones on the body (try taking an international flights if you want to experience jetlag - anything less than 4 hours makes absolutely no difference at all!)

This blog is still promoting that West Australians Vote YES to daylight saving on the 16 May poll!

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A lot of people are confused about whether shops are going to be open this weekend given that the 25 April is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. The short answer of course is -that it depends.

In New Zealand shops cannot open until 1pm - most major shopping centres will be open Saturnday Afternoon. The same is probably the case in the eastern states of Australia: Tasmania, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. These states do not have Monday as a public holiday but do have deregulated shop trading hours so shops will close all day on Saturday 25 April but will be open if they normally are on Sunday.

Western Australia has stupid shop trading hours and it required an act  of parliament to allow shops to open on Monday 27 April. Not that could just open as a shop owner though - oh know you still had to apply! Regulation is alive and well in WA I can assure you. So in Perth and the rest of Western Australia shops are closed Saturday (ANZAC Day) and Sunday (because  WA has stupid laws ) but will be open Monday - yeah!

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Britian’s Got Talent show discovers talent in a middle aged woman  has thrown scottish lady singer Susan Boyle into the spot lightlast week, in the auditions, is now looking like the biggest overnight success story ever! Boyle (sorry I got her name wrong yesterday its Susan Boyle not Susan Doyle ), has now reportedly got an offer to appear on Oprah’s show In fact it appears from MSN’s photo that the transformation process has already started with a bit of a haircut and eyebrow shape - which I personally think is a shame.  Susan Doyle needs to remember that she doesn’t have to confirm to society’s stereotypes to be succesful - as she has just so ably proved by the 15million and counting you tube hits since last weekend.

I hope Susan Boyle can handle the sudden descent of 1/2 the world’s media to her doorstep, of her small flat in Blackburn, Lothian, Scotland. She needs needs a competent and ethical agent fast to manage all this for her.  It sounds like the devout Roman Catholic who is currently unemployed living in a Council flat in one of Scotland’s poorest areas may well be the good news story of the year.

I wonder if she will go on to win Britian’s Got Talent Show - the point is nearly moot now as no doubt Simon Cowell will be handing her a recording contract soon - hopefully he’ll keep an eye on her business affairs as well.

Last year’s winner Paul Potts had his first CD out not long after the broadcast of his audition piece of Nessum Dorma started off his singing career and lost him to the world of phone sales. Hopefully Susan Boyle will be able to achieve something similar

Sorry the headline had to be written. Australia’s Got Talent Season has just about finished - and I noticed - that as usual the average age of the finalists was probably well under 20 - some were under 10. So why does it look like that in episode one of Britain’s Got Talent that it is probably going to be won by a 47 year old Scottish lady called Susan Doyle ? In fact it really doesn’t matter whether she wins or not - with over 10 million views on youtube in less than a week, she will have a recording contract before the end of the show  I should think.

Check out the video here

Its real nice that kids get a break - but does that mean you are all washed up if you are a 47 unemployed Scottish woman who wants to make singing a career?  What if she actually looks 47 - if not older as she hasn’t plucked her eyebrows, had her hair professionally cut or spent a fortune on an outfit - she is even, gasp horror - a little over-weight. You could hear the laughter as she came on stage,  you could hear the disbelief in the judges voices as she told Simon Cowell that she wanted a career to equal that of Elaine Paige - the assumption was that she was delusional, and presumptions as she announced that she would sing I Dreamed  A Dream from Les Miserables:

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.

………

I had a dream my life would be
So different form this hell I’m living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

So this one is for all the 47-year old, not very pretty, women who society thinks have no value - go Susan Doyle- Britain’s amazingly talented singer!

The Australian Socceroos could be on their way to the Soccer World Cup in 2010 but they won’t know for weeks yet. The national soccer team is an oddity in Australia -an under-dog sports team. The Australian’s are used to winning at most sports they seriously compete in but soccer has a lot of competition against the big boys of AFL (Aussie rules) Rugby Union and Rugby League.

Soccer is having a bit of a come back though as AFL struggles with bad off-ground publicity around their players inability to behave around women, drugs and booze and rugby has a well deserved reputation for dangerous injuries which leave young men in wheelchairs. Soccer is seen by women as a more skilful and less violent option for their sons to play at school and this is starting to show at the national level.

The Socceroos won 2-0 to Uzbekistan recently but didn’t get an early qualification because Baharain defeated Qatar a few hours later. The Australian Socceroos will now have to wait weeks to see if they qualify for 2010