Wellington by The Muttonbirds
I wish I was in Wellington - the weather's not so good.
The wind it cuts right through you and it rains more than it should.
But I'd be there tomorrow, if I only could,
Oh, I wish I was in Wellington.
I wish I was in Wellington - the bureaucracy,
The suits and the briefcases along Lampton Quay.
The Harbour City Capital, the lights beside the sea,
Oh, I wish I was in Wellington.
It just isn't practical, with you down in the capital,
And me at the other end of the island.
The problem is the gap between us on the map,
And there's no easy way to reconcile it.
I wish I was in Wellington, the cafes and the bars.
The music and the theatre, and the old Cable Car,
And you can walk everywhere, 'cause nowhere's very far,
Oh I wish I was in Wellington.
Oh I wish...
I wish I was in Wellington, the wind it cuts right through,
I wish I was in Wellington, there's so much more to do,
I wish I was in Wellington, and you wish I was too,
Oh I wish I was in Wellington, 'cause then I'd be with you.
Oh I wish I was in Wellington, 'cause then I'd be with you.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
No Shit Sherlock
News today that Osama bin Laden thought that Iraq was a good spot to build an Al-Qaeda sub-branch. President Bush noted this in a speech he gave to a Coast Guard Academy, and that Al-Qaeda was the number one threat to Iraq and the United States. Of course, bin Laden apparently only started sniffing around the place in 2005, two years after the United States invaded.
And for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis either being ethnically cleansed, terrorised by bombs and sectarian militias, and generally wishing Saddam was back in charge, I am sure it is a great relief to them to think that the mainland United States is also terrorised by what is going on in their country.
Now, for your listening pleasure, the top five stupidity hits of Operation Iraqi Freedom -
5. With us, or against us. This little ditty can be taken either for Iraq or the wider war on terror, but the basic meaning was that the United States, in the form of the White House Administration, was the sole arbiter of what was fashionable in the world. After their respective non and nein over the Iraq war however, I don't see the Marines ready to invade Paris or Berlin.
4. Stuff happens. Ah, Donald Rumsfeld, how we miss ye. Taken together with his now more senior colleague, Condi Rice at State, Robert Gates almost sounds like a realist. The stuff happens jibe was said the few days after US troops had gotten to Baghdad, the Saddam government was collapsing and/or on the run, and a lot of stuff was being looted. Too bad stuff far worse than 'just' looting has kept on happening ever since.
3. Mission accomplished. Well, major combat operations are over, apparently, in May 2003. At that stage 140 American troops had been killed. Now the total is confirmed at 3425, not counting the coalition, foreign contractor or Iraqi casualties. Less Mission Accomplished than let's play out my Top Gun fantasy of landing on an aircraft carrier - boy it must be cool to be president some days.
2. Freedom on the march. Wasn't one of the various reasons given to the public for this war, that it would get rid of an evil dictator and usher in democracy to the Arab Middle East? Yes, that still has a snowball's chance in hell of happening. The Sunnis don't like not being in power any more, the Shias don't want to give any of their democratic power up, the Kurds just want to break away from the rest of the country, but Turkey will never let them. It is seriously fucked up.
1. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Wow. Like the phrase WorkChoices in Australia, you hardly ever hear this from officials nowadays. Fifteen minutes from deploying missiles that could at least hit Western Europe, was the British claim. I think it was discovered that the Brits 'sexed up' that intelligence dossier, and the weapons expert who leaked that information was hounded over the whole thing and commited suicide.
Even though there was a similar episode in Washington about uranium to Iraq from Africa, and the Vice Presidential Chief of Staff got convicted of perjury, at least no one topped themselves over it - yet. Lucky the White House doesn't play basketball, their interpretation of slam dunk is obviously way off.
And poor Colin Powell - rock star looks, for a military man, successful war in 1991, lends a bit of liberal credibility to the neo-cons in the Bush Administration, both before and after 9/11, and even gives the US military a credible doctrine - massive force for a clear and present danger - and what does Rummy go and do? Downsizes all wars, at least from the American side. And gets Powell to make the, in hindsight, most cringeworthy speech made at the United Nations since the Soviets tried to bluster over missiles in Cuba.
Okay, so I haven't actually seen many UN speeches, but that one out of the movie Thirteen Days looked pretty incompetent from the Russian side LOL. And then it turns out that Saddam was so fearful of being caught out with chemical weapons that he had flushed his last bottle of bleach down the Baghdadi sewers.
Not even going to go into the whole Saddam had a hand in 9/11, diverting resources from a somewhat successful campaign in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Iran and Turkey keeping their eyes on the prize as the West thinks of backing out, the jihadists being given a new cause to hate America and the rest of us in the West. Yep, it's pretty well fucked up.
Would four years of sanctions on Iraq with Saddam still in charge have been worse than this?
And for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis either being ethnically cleansed, terrorised by bombs and sectarian militias, and generally wishing Saddam was back in charge, I am sure it is a great relief to them to think that the mainland United States is also terrorised by what is going on in their country.
Now, for your listening pleasure, the top five stupidity hits of Operation Iraqi Freedom -
5. With us, or against us. This little ditty can be taken either for Iraq or the wider war on terror, but the basic meaning was that the United States, in the form of the White House Administration, was the sole arbiter of what was fashionable in the world. After their respective non and nein over the Iraq war however, I don't see the Marines ready to invade Paris or Berlin.
4. Stuff happens. Ah, Donald Rumsfeld, how we miss ye. Taken together with his now more senior colleague, Condi Rice at State, Robert Gates almost sounds like a realist. The stuff happens jibe was said the few days after US troops had gotten to Baghdad, the Saddam government was collapsing and/or on the run, and a lot of stuff was being looted. Too bad stuff far worse than 'just' looting has kept on happening ever since.
3. Mission accomplished. Well, major combat operations are over, apparently, in May 2003. At that stage 140 American troops had been killed. Now the total is confirmed at 3425, not counting the coalition, foreign contractor or Iraqi casualties. Less Mission Accomplished than let's play out my Top Gun fantasy of landing on an aircraft carrier - boy it must be cool to be president some days.
2. Freedom on the march. Wasn't one of the various reasons given to the public for this war, that it would get rid of an evil dictator and usher in democracy to the Arab Middle East? Yes, that still has a snowball's chance in hell of happening. The Sunnis don't like not being in power any more, the Shias don't want to give any of their democratic power up, the Kurds just want to break away from the rest of the country, but Turkey will never let them. It is seriously fucked up.
1. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Wow. Like the phrase WorkChoices in Australia, you hardly ever hear this from officials nowadays. Fifteen minutes from deploying missiles that could at least hit Western Europe, was the British claim. I think it was discovered that the Brits 'sexed up' that intelligence dossier, and the weapons expert who leaked that information was hounded over the whole thing and commited suicide.
Even though there was a similar episode in Washington about uranium to Iraq from Africa, and the Vice Presidential Chief of Staff got convicted of perjury, at least no one topped themselves over it - yet. Lucky the White House doesn't play basketball, their interpretation of slam dunk is obviously way off.
And poor Colin Powell - rock star looks, for a military man, successful war in 1991, lends a bit of liberal credibility to the neo-cons in the Bush Administration, both before and after 9/11, and even gives the US military a credible doctrine - massive force for a clear and present danger - and what does Rummy go and do? Downsizes all wars, at least from the American side. And gets Powell to make the, in hindsight, most cringeworthy speech made at the United Nations since the Soviets tried to bluster over missiles in Cuba.
Okay, so I haven't actually seen many UN speeches, but that one out of the movie Thirteen Days looked pretty incompetent from the Russian side LOL. And then it turns out that Saddam was so fearful of being caught out with chemical weapons that he had flushed his last bottle of bleach down the Baghdadi sewers.
Not even going to go into the whole Saddam had a hand in 9/11, diverting resources from a somewhat successful campaign in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Iran and Turkey keeping their eyes on the prize as the West thinks of backing out, the jihadists being given a new cause to hate America and the rest of us in the West. Yep, it's pretty well fucked up.
Would four years of sanctions on Iraq with Saddam still in charge have been worse than this?
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Dude, Where's My Game?
OMG, I was, like, totally taken back to, like, my teenage years last weekend just gone. So, like, you know how I got my totally bitchin XBox 360 for my birthday a month ago - Microsoft totally rock and they are totally not evil anymore, my rad homies - well, I got another game for it last weekend. Totally wow, I got this geek central Dungeons and Dragons role playing game, but it's for the 360 man, it has to be cool.
Anyhows, the guy behind the counter was rapping about what games he had played, asked which games I had played, I was giving him all the down low goss - but then he asked about Gears of War, and I, like, said I hadn't played it yet? He was totally like DUDE you GOTTA play it. I was like pfft yeah whatever man, but really I was thinking OMG, totally pwned.
My first DUDE moment in I don't know how long. Made me feel all geeky fourteen to seventeen years old or something, back when the height of my social circle was the half step in and full step out of Games Workshopping. Freaks and Geeks I think the term was, at least for that TV show.
And hence the attempt in the first two paragraphs to go all teen speak on yo ass. Although I am sure it would be a lot more SMS speak than I attempted above - it has like been over a decade since I myself was at the optimum DUDE age.
Anyhows, the guy behind the counter was rapping about what games he had played, asked which games I had played, I was giving him all the down low goss - but then he asked about Gears of War, and I, like, said I hadn't played it yet? He was totally like DUDE you GOTTA play it. I was like pfft yeah whatever man, but really I was thinking OMG, totally pwned.
My first DUDE moment in I don't know how long. Made me feel all geeky fourteen to seventeen years old or something, back when the height of my social circle was the half step in and full step out of Games Workshopping. Freaks and Geeks I think the term was, at least for that TV show.
And hence the attempt in the first two paragraphs to go all teen speak on yo ass. Although I am sure it would be a lot more SMS speak than I attempted above - it has like been over a decade since I myself was at the optimum DUDE age.
Monday, May 7, 2007
I Have Epilepsy
Fuck. The E word. I have been avoiding it for the better part of my life, but used it when I was talking to the new boss about the thing last Friday afternoon. It has always been a 'thing' I have with seizures, rather than Epilepsy. 'That Seizure Thing', as well as sounding like a possible sitcom or romcom title, also makes it sound much less permanent than it actually is.
I had worked myself up over a couple of days to actually say something to the boss about it, and when I did she said she already knew, and there was even a dedicated pillow in one of the cupboards if/when it ever fucking happens at work again. Not that it will, being 110% committed to medication - this time around, forevermore, as I roll my eyes. God I hate long term medication, but better that than the chance of flipping out again in front of the workmates.
For so long I have downplayed the whole issue. 1986, when I was ten, that once off thing. 2002, at work - mortifying, off to the hospital, but again, just one of those things, and yes, I would love to stay around for more tests, but I have to head to Canada to restart a life. Well, we all know where that led...
2003, three of them in three months - surely that is just down to stress, no, we won't go to hospital because I'm just a visitor and until a work permit comes through I can't claim the fabled generous Canadian health care thing. Of course, I wait until the work permit comes through to find myself in Splitsville, ready to head back to the Antipodes.
By this stage, yes, there is a problem, but no, it can't be fixed. I look back on the past, well, 1999 in Sydney when I thought my drink could be spiked, well, I just flaked then, could have been a seizure instead - fuckit, I was having such a weirdly enjoyable night at the time. 2001, it may not have been an adverse reaction to the ant spray that made me flake out again. Hindsight, always twenty twenty.
2004, I had another one about two months after coming back from the wreckage of Ottawa. Lingering stress, can't get Medicare without evidence of a job and life in Australia, and they aren't that keen on people here less than six months anyways. I get carted off to hospital, see a GP, but meh, the pills are too expensive, I don't have a job, have a thousand other worries at the time - surprise surprise, I again bail on any thought of treatment.
And then the two at work last year - February and November. Especially the latter one put me right on my rump, and finally able to get myself together to attempt to sort myself out. Seeing a real psychologist for the possible anxiety, seeing a real neurologist and getting real meds advice. Even sticking to it, fingers crossed.
But still, even to my friends, I still refer to it as a seizure thing. Saying what I said to my boss may render a big change, or it may just be more cloak and daggers with myself, I may revert back to 'but it's just a thing' Paul again soon.
The 'Epilepsy' word is just so fraught with negativity in my mind, sitting right down there with D for Depression. Whereas the word Seizure can be laughed at or chased off with a couple of beers or something.
Seizure to Epilepsy in my mind is closely related to my coping mechanism for Self Deprecation to Depression. Which as regular readers may know, is a right royal fuck up in my thinking, but it helps me to cope.
I was in with the psychologist last week, the sixth appointment by the way, and probably because of the head cold I was thinking, why the hell am I here. Started off mega slowly but because of my low expectations, I really opened up I think. But how to effect real change in my real circumstances, rather than whinging about stuff, I don't think I have gotten there yet.
Well, this strayed a bit from the core subject, but sometimes things do that to you.
More later.
I had worked myself up over a couple of days to actually say something to the boss about it, and when I did she said she already knew, and there was even a dedicated pillow in one of the cupboards if/when it ever fucking happens at work again. Not that it will, being 110% committed to medication - this time around, forevermore, as I roll my eyes. God I hate long term medication, but better that than the chance of flipping out again in front of the workmates.
For so long I have downplayed the whole issue. 1986, when I was ten, that once off thing. 2002, at work - mortifying, off to the hospital, but again, just one of those things, and yes, I would love to stay around for more tests, but I have to head to Canada to restart a life. Well, we all know where that led...
2003, three of them in three months - surely that is just down to stress, no, we won't go to hospital because I'm just a visitor and until a work permit comes through I can't claim the fabled generous Canadian health care thing. Of course, I wait until the work permit comes through to find myself in Splitsville, ready to head back to the Antipodes.
By this stage, yes, there is a problem, but no, it can't be fixed. I look back on the past, well, 1999 in Sydney when I thought my drink could be spiked, well, I just flaked then, could have been a seizure instead - fuckit, I was having such a weirdly enjoyable night at the time. 2001, it may not have been an adverse reaction to the ant spray that made me flake out again. Hindsight, always twenty twenty.
2004, I had another one about two months after coming back from the wreckage of Ottawa. Lingering stress, can't get Medicare without evidence of a job and life in Australia, and they aren't that keen on people here less than six months anyways. I get carted off to hospital, see a GP, but meh, the pills are too expensive, I don't have a job, have a thousand other worries at the time - surprise surprise, I again bail on any thought of treatment.
And then the two at work last year - February and November. Especially the latter one put me right on my rump, and finally able to get myself together to attempt to sort myself out. Seeing a real psychologist for the possible anxiety, seeing a real neurologist and getting real meds advice. Even sticking to it, fingers crossed.
But still, even to my friends, I still refer to it as a seizure thing. Saying what I said to my boss may render a big change, or it may just be more cloak and daggers with myself, I may revert back to 'but it's just a thing' Paul again soon.
The 'Epilepsy' word is just so fraught with negativity in my mind, sitting right down there with D for Depression. Whereas the word Seizure can be laughed at or chased off with a couple of beers or something.
Seizure to Epilepsy in my mind is closely related to my coping mechanism for Self Deprecation to Depression. Which as regular readers may know, is a right royal fuck up in my thinking, but it helps me to cope.
I was in with the psychologist last week, the sixth appointment by the way, and probably because of the head cold I was thinking, why the hell am I here. Started off mega slowly but because of my low expectations, I really opened up I think. But how to effect real change in my real circumstances, rather than whinging about stuff, I don't think I have gotten there yet.
Well, this strayed a bit from the core subject, but sometimes things do that to you.
More later.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Exhausting Tired
Well, I have been meaning to get around to writing something up about the rest of my time the fly hi and bye trip to New Zealand for that funeral, but wouldn't you know it, somewhere during last week my energy levels got so depleted that I allowed a stonking great head cold to walk on in.
Whether it was the flying out Monday for a funeral Tuesday to fly back Wednesday that did it, or the couldn't sleep Wednesday leading to trying to find some energy though dead tired at work Thursday, to finally broken through to sniffles Friday, something did it. And it developed from sniffles to a sore throat to a cough seemingly deep in the lungs. Very yucky. Didn't do much of anything at all on the weekend, apart from Saturday trying to rest it out, and Sunday trying to sweat it out - Brisbane, this time of year, with jeans and sweaters on.
Haven't had a day off sick though, which is a positive. Monday before work, I went to the pharmacists to ask what they would advise, and got some Robitussum or however you spell it. Seems to have worked the trick well enough, the feeling of sickness left my lungs and got to my sinuses again, but is almost all gone now, fingers crossed.
Just rewatched some video from when I visited my grandfather last, and am so glad I had the presence of mind to use my digital camera for the video. Wish I had had more memory cards now - my eldest uncle on that side got about an hour straight of Grandad talking about the old days, and the longer it went on the less self conscious Grandad got, whereas my vids are cutting in and out after two or three minutes apiece for the most part. Was trying to get a variety of situations in my case, and if I had taken any more video than I did, I am sure he, Grandad, would have felt ten different types of awkward - he was like that around cameras.
It was tough watching those videos. Especially when Grandad was speaking directly to me. But am so glad I got them, especially when he looks at the camera with a smile or laughs or something like that. There is one as well where for two minutes both him and my grandmother are quiet, he is sleeping while she is reading the newspaper - the only sound Animal Planet or something on television. For the grandparental home, that was a quiet moment.
I will write about the rest of last week's trip in the next couple of days, I promise.
Whether it was the flying out Monday for a funeral Tuesday to fly back Wednesday that did it, or the couldn't sleep Wednesday leading to trying to find some energy though dead tired at work Thursday, to finally broken through to sniffles Friday, something did it. And it developed from sniffles to a sore throat to a cough seemingly deep in the lungs. Very yucky. Didn't do much of anything at all on the weekend, apart from Saturday trying to rest it out, and Sunday trying to sweat it out - Brisbane, this time of year, with jeans and sweaters on.
Haven't had a day off sick though, which is a positive. Monday before work, I went to the pharmacists to ask what they would advise, and got some Robitussum or however you spell it. Seems to have worked the trick well enough, the feeling of sickness left my lungs and got to my sinuses again, but is almost all gone now, fingers crossed.
Just rewatched some video from when I visited my grandfather last, and am so glad I had the presence of mind to use my digital camera for the video. Wish I had had more memory cards now - my eldest uncle on that side got about an hour straight of Grandad talking about the old days, and the longer it went on the less self conscious Grandad got, whereas my vids are cutting in and out after two or three minutes apiece for the most part. Was trying to get a variety of situations in my case, and if I had taken any more video than I did, I am sure he, Grandad, would have felt ten different types of awkward - he was like that around cameras.
It was tough watching those videos. Especially when Grandad was speaking directly to me. But am so glad I got them, especially when he looks at the camera with a smile or laughs or something like that. There is one as well where for two minutes both him and my grandmother are quiet, he is sleeping while she is reading the newspaper - the only sound Animal Planet or something on television. For the grandparental home, that was a quiet moment.
I will write about the rest of last week's trip in the next couple of days, I promise.
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