Well here I am "celebrating" the US holiday of Thanksgiving in Australia again. And again it's a non-Thanksgiving for me. An anti-turkey day. A turkey-bar, to misuse a math phrase for the negative.
You would never even know it except for an occasional mention of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the news and guys coming in saying that sports on FoxTel, the Comcast of Australia, is showing back-to-back football on an off day.
Yeah, the financial world may get pneumonia when the US sneezes. But when it comes to holidays and such? Eh. Not so much.
"I have no idea why I get messages from this guy telling he's going to be out of the office", a co-worker, Mobby, complained. "I mean, I have never sent this guy a message and he never sends me anything - except when he's going to be out of the office!"
Yes, we've all had something like this happen to us before. I tend to get them when people change e-mail addresses; then up pops an e-mail from someone who you last heard from when you still had all your hair exhorting you to "make sure you update your contact list with my new information!"
I don't know how to respond politely telling them they were never IN my contact list.
Wonder why people do this? Is it just to make it seem to the rest of the people on the distribution list that they are popular? That all these people you're seeing in the "To:" field care about their whereabouts or how to stay in contact with them?
Guess it's sorta like an e-mail version of the "Friends" feature on MySpace.
For all you out there that like to do this? Be a maverick: put your distribution in the BCC so no one would know about the others.
This Saturday marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. While that day was one of those so-called defining moments where people say they remember what they were doing, I was far FAR too young then.
What I do remember vividly is visiting my grandmother's house in the southern US as a child. Her living room was unremarkable as far most of that era, with one wall given over to photos and images she found important. I remember there were pictures of her many children, my aunties and uncles - most in military uniforms - smiling out at me through younger eyes; she and her by-then deceased husband in their best, if old-fashioned, clothes. But there were three pictures placed above them all: a photo of John F Kennedy, one of Martin Luther King Jr, and an image of Jesus.
Yes, I may have been too young, but I do remember.
A mate, Sam, and I went to see Quantum of Solace, the latest offering in the James Bond movies. Now I love James Bond movies and Daniel Craig in James Bond movies, however I must admit to being a bit disappointed. Not because it wasn't a great ride - it WAS a James Bond movie after all - but when director Marc Forster said he wanted to have an art house feel, I think he achieved that only if the art house was located in an earthquake zone. There was so much of that trendy shaky camera shots that in some sequences I kept wondering, "I'm still in my seat, right?" And sure it had twice as much action, but that's because there were 2 chase scenes and 2 heart-to-heart holdings by our hero. Let me put it this way, at one point Bond returns to the hotel and is handed a message on a piece of paper with one word on it, "RUN!" Let's hope that's what Barbara Broccoli does if the writing team that penned this movie heads her way again.
And while we're on the topic, Australia had it's premiere this week in Sydney and other selected venues to much fanfare as the great celluloid hope of the Australian film industry. Starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, this film has garnered such a loud jingoistic chorus by the critics you'd think it was "Waltzing Matilda" after the 10th shout at the corner pub. The thought of the movie by your average Aussie I've spoken too? Eh, not so much. The one good thing about it is that it's spawned a whole new Australian Tourism campaign "Come Walkabout", shepherded by doe-eyed aboriginal youngster Brandon Walter who played "Nullah" in the movie. Gone forever is the painful "So where the bloody hell are ya!" bleated by the vapid Lara Bingle. Gone is the screech of Bindy Irwin. Now the ads are sleek, cool, and stress how Australia is the antidote for the soul. All it needs is young Brandon to whisper, "Zoom! Zoom!" to be complete.
Your Farmer Ted sucks at social networking on the internet. To me, it's one of those "big things" that will go the way of others like Internet Relay Chat (anyone remember using IRC?). But not only has it been identified as one of the top 10 IT disruptive technologies but it seems like everyone I know says incredulously "YOU don't have a Facebook page?" with that look on their faces as if they smelled a faintly unsavory odor.
Well godammit I don't have any of 'em. Never will. Your Farmer is very leery about flapping his bonafides in the internet breeze for all to see. And that definitely goes for LinkedIn and the same for My Space.
I was speaking to a female acquaintance the other day about my reticence prompting her to comment, "Don't worry about it, go on and join one!" Sensing my confusion, she continued, "That way, when your old classmates link as friends you can have a look to see how bad they look as they've grow older." Finishing with,"Then, you can have a good laugh and just cut them off," and snapped her fingers.
Ya know, there is something that's always interested me about photographs. As a matter of fact, when it comes to artistic mediums it's probably my favorite. I especially like historical photography. While strictly speaking all photography by it's very nature is historic; but I mean professional slice of life pictures. What fascinates me is looking at the people subjects in these photographs - not the main point of the photo but rather the nameless people that are as integral a part of the shot as the main subject would be.
When I look at it I think "Who was that guy standing there in the snow handing up the messages to the engineer of that train? What was his name? He looks happy. What was his life like? Was he married? Did he have kids? What made him laugh? What were his dreams?"
I guess I can't answer that anymore than people reading this blog can realistically say about me. Perhaps, when it comes to the playing out of our lives, we're all just trying to not end up being remembered as Man in Crowd #3.
While in the US it's easy (and correct) to lay much at the feet of the ex-Fed Chairman, when you get right down to it, the whole subject of economic forecasting just seems to be akin to be a he-said/she-said/he-said of guessing. Especially since economies around the world are now globally tied together inextricably with so many variables in play no one can really tell anything.
As result, you'll always have one set of so-called experts that will predict things go up, another that says it stays the same, and another that it goes down. Of course, one of the three will be right each time; trumpeting their sageness over the others, conveniently forgetting that on the next issue (and likely the previous one) they're the ones grumbling at the fallacy of their bogus prognostications.
My view from the porch these days? I just look at the effects where I live and hold on tight.
Well here I am "celebrating" the US holiday of Thanksgiving in Australia again. And again it's a non-Thanksgiving for me. An anti-turkey day. A turkey-bar, to misuse a math phrase for the negative.
