Aw Myki you're so fine!

Okay okay let me confess a couple misnomers.

In the first place, Myki - Melbourne's new-tangled state-of-the-art, you-beaut, straight-to-the-pool-room ticketing system for public transport.. well, it's not all that fine.

As you get on or into your chosen mode of public transportation, despite what the signs say, you HOLD not touch, your card, to the bright yellow box and wait for the 'bip!' to let you know you've paid. If you're quick, you'll see your remaining balance on the teeny screen.

Whatever you do, don't hold it there again because the machine is quite liable to just charge you again. I know I know, Public Transport Victoria (PTV) say this doesn't happen, but after I managed to burn through over $20 from two zone 1 travels, well, you can imagine how dubious I am about the electronic charging system.

 

Also, in relation to the fine-ness or thereabouts of the Myki.. according to my post title, based on the original track sung by Toni Basil, she sings about a boy called Micky. Like Mikki. Like Mickie. Not Mikey - like Mike with a drawn out eeeee, which is what the tickets are called.

Not sure why. And to be truthful, at the moment I'm not all that interested in finding out! But if any of you, dear readers, would like to find out and give me the summary dot point, that would be totally ace!

In fact, while you're at it, perhaps you could let me know how Myki charges fares of its unsuspecting customers. I find myself burning through wads of cash to keep up with keeping the Princess Myki. It has made me consider expending the considerable wealth I've put into Myki, on a luxury European car to carry the Princess around in because I think it would cost me less!

It seems that every time I touch on, I am charged for my last fare. It also seems that, as the ads say there's no need to touch off, that when I do touch on, my Myki assumes that I've been travelling since the last time it touched.

See all the happy PTV customers!? You can see how maintaining the Princess Myki is costly!

It's strange, pampering and pandering to Princess Myki. I always hoped I'd be the one darling Princess in any given relationship. Instead, it seems I'm the schmuck!!



Love It Here!

Melbourne in the autumn is the best time of year!

In addition, the worlds funniest people descend on the CBD for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival!

If you haven't already been, there are SO many acts, there's something for everyone! It's worth remembering the big name acts come with a bigger ticket price. But why not check out the Aussie acts, just as funny but they make for a cheap nite out! And you can see more acts for your money!

The Athaneum offer $5 comedy nites with 4-5 decently hilarious comedians strutting their stuff on stage. Best part is, you can have dinner and/or a few drinks while watching the acts because the stage is in a big ol' bar with Hogwarts style tables running in rows across the room.

Don't forget the little venues out of the CBD in those funky inner city suburbs like Brunswick and Richmond which are already cool for an easy nite out but now, with comedy acts on top!

In fact, I was at a FREE comedy night in Richmond last week. They staged 6 comedy acts per nite and as it was being hosted at a pub, there was pub grub and booze available at very pub (reasonable) prices.

And you know another thing.. it was miserable and raining all day Monday and into the nite. That was a good nite for keeping warm in flanny PJs on the couch. But, being Melbourne, the next day was sunny, surprisingly warm and the balmy climate extended into the late evening meaning it was perfectly suited to be out and about, catching a few laughs and having a few drinks.

Oh Melbourne, is there nothing you can't do!

Palm Oil? No!

This blog entry contains graphic images. Please consider before viewing.

I know it's depressing but I have to speak up about this. I really love animals. And children. And the occasional elderly person. They all have value, are inspiring and amazing living being and are vulnerable.

Being the Cancerian gal that I am, I have a tendency toward taking things under my wing - usually the down and out, downtrodden underdogs of society. I'm not even just talking about individuals. My chosen football team are perpetually trying to win and I do tend to support the awkward, dorky and perserverant, the ones you want to give a 'Good Try' sticker!

But jokes aside, this whole palm oil thing just has to stop.

I see photos of orang-utans and they break my heart. They don't even have to be living in the forests of Borneo. But to know that their gentle souls and very existence is being threatened by nothing more than greed absolutely sickens me!!

The images here are graphic and unpleasant but they tell the wider world the truth of just how cheap palm oil is. How a population can call itself human and allow this to happen is disgusting. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I'm embarrassed to be categorised in the same species as the people who have done this to defenceless peaceful beings. And it outrages me that it continues to happen, like there is nothing we can do to stop it.



orang-utan buried during deforestation clearing



orang-utan badly beaten by villagers for eating precious$$$ palm seeds -
note his arms over his head, attempting to protect himself

If we treated our pets this badly, we'd be up on criminal charges. And yet, these living beings can suffer horribly and the perpetrators get away with it. No doubt because the perpetrators have money and money equals power. And that is the abject stupidity of it. When all is said and done, these peaceful beings were murdered for money, nothing more, nothing less.

So how do we stop it? Deforestation of palm trees has been occurring for longer than I'd like to admit, before the cameras of the world shined a lens on their inhumane and murderous work. And still, the governments that govern these countries do nothing to prevent these obscene murders from occurring. Legislation can skim through parliaments quickly when there's money greasing those notes. Sadly for the orang-utans, the grease is on the wrong money.

Personally, I'm voting with my feet. Today's grocery shop was the first time I went into a market informed on how to identify palm oil or potential palm oil in products. And you need to inform yourself because producers are a sneaky bunch and seem reluctant to state when they do use palm oil.

Be especially astute with regard to products containing vegetable oil. If the label states vegetable oil and then goes on to state the amount of saturated fat you can count on that vegetable oil being either palm kernel oil, palm oil or coconut oil. This is a way of potentially identifying if a product has palm oil in it as other vegetable oils are not saturated.

And I have to say, if you shop this way, not only is it good for the orang-utans for the world to demand less product containing their only food source. But it is also good because much of my purchases today were fresh produce with hardly anything fatty or unhealthy! No more chocolate or Doritos for me.

According to the WWF:
"If your shopping basket includes packaged products like bread, biscuits, chocolate, chips, sandwich spreads, instant noodles, shower cream and shampoo, then it’s likely you are buying palm oil.

Palm oil and its derivatives are present in half of all packaged foods on our shelves. This is because it is stable at room temperature and has a longer shelf life than butter or other vegetable oils.

Palm oil is used as a shortening to make biscuits and breads. It is also used for deep fat frying. Palm oil derivatives can be used in cosmetics because they make products like shampoo creamier."

Some manufacturers have started using palm oil for sustainable sources which are better for the environment in terms of deforestation, greenhouse gas emission and habitat destruction. You can find out more information about these companies and their work at:

 

Cosmetics absolutely MUST state if they are using palm oil, so if you find  Elaeis oleifera or Elaeis guineensis amongst the ingredients, you may like to reconsider where you're putting your money.



More information:
http://www.palmoilaction.org.au/shopping-guide.html
http://www.orangutan.org.au/index.htm
http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/saving_the_natural_world/forests/palm_oil/

The Overview Effect

So I'd found a new website called Listverse. Okay, it's probably not a new site per se, but it was new to me! And joy of joys, it's completely categorised everything into list form! How awesome is that!?

 

Some of the lists are a tad inane - Top 10 Pregnant Celebrities - I mean, everyone knows Kim Kardashian is big enough to fill the entire top 10. And before you think I meant physically, I mean EGO people! She has the biggest unjustifiably enormous ego for reasons I still cannot fathom.

Almost as big as her pregnant Orca girth!! Aaaaaah hahahaha..

 

 

Meow!! Hiss!

(Or should that have been a whale song?)

 

So anyways.. some of the lists are a little cerebral hors d'vours, feeding the mind with something a little delicious and tantalising amongst the candy-filled junk!

 

Lists like:

• 10 Insane Cases of Genetic Engineering (glow in the dark cats anybody?)
• Tips for Surviving a Bear Encounter (not a huge necessity in Melbourne CBD.. but I digress)
• 10 Reasons the War on Drugs is Killing You (not sure, yet to see the list, but I am intruigued!)
• 10 Sensory Marketing Tricks Companies Use on You (grr companies! you clever bastards!)

Then 10 More Fascinating Scientific and Psychological Effects. Amongst the Allee Effect; the Bruce Effect and the Leidenfrost Effect, there was the Overview Effect. I don't know why, somehow I just found it the most fascinating and inspiring effect of all!

The website stated that the Overview Effect has to be the least common psychological effect as only 534 people have ever experienced the conditions that lead to it. Discouraging huh!

 

The Overview Effect happens when astronauts in orbit or on the surface of the moon first see the Earth in its entirety. Amazing!! 

Many report feeling a deep sense of scale and perspective and this is what is called the Overview Effect. The effect can be deeply moving, confusing, inspiring, and emotionally challenging, as a view of the entire Earth changes one’s perspective in a profound way. Astronauts have returned home with a renewed sense of the way we’re all connected, of the relative meaninglessness of cultural boundaries, and a desire to take care of the Earth’s environment.

Strangely, these are the same feelings related by people who experience Near Death Experiences. I guess the sense of something bigger, the feeling of our own insignificance, does something to the way we see ourselves or our world, in time and space. It creates a new perspective on life; it seems to lead to a renewed lifestyle; a different approach to life and a reprioritisation as to what is important.

Which is why I hope that I get to experience the Overview Effect before I die. And I think it would only be a good thing for all our world leaders, at the very least, have the opportunity to get out there and experience the same thing.

Can you imagine how different our world would be if our leaders actually cared about our sweet fragile earth!? I'm going to write Richard Branson right now. He's just avant garde enough to understand what I'm on about. He's also funding a space ship.

What do you think? Too crazy? Check it out for yourself:
http://listverse.com/2013/04/14/10-more-fascinating-scientific-and-psychological-effects/
 

Into the autumnal swing!

I love autumn!

Crisp mornings, warm sunny days, cool evenings.. Everything feels different.. Less intense than summer heat or winter cold.. Autumn has something about it, a lovely easiness that allows you to move comfortably. Autumn is the jeans-n-white-cotton-tshirt of all the seasons..

I do love summer weather.. Love the heat and perspiration.. Love the need for less clothes more sunscreen.. In summer I feel like a lover let go, abandon my body to the sun, clad in bikini and lying upon a beach, it's no wonder I feel sacrificial..

And spring, nope, the dead grip of winter still has a hold on spring.

Today as I strolled the south bank, along the Yarra, everywhere the relieved faces of workers beginning to shed the working week and step into the weekend.

Seeing these faces cast my mind back to my own years of working the salt mine, er, office job. The haze of projectpapetdeadlinemeetingmeetingmeetingbriefingphonecallsministerialspapermeeting.. I quite literally remember being tired and rundown for 8 years. Falling sick at the slightest change in breeze. Scheduling in frantic stressful time to stop and smell the roses, taking a run at the figurative rosé garden and inhaling so deeply to fully take it all in, aphids and all.

 

But today, my first autumn as a free range human, strolling the promenade, enjoying the buskers and the sunshine, once again put into perspective for me, just how extraordinarily lucky I am to be living the life I have.

Life is rosy!

Tuesday!

I said it like 'TuuuuuesDAY!. Like all accusing like I mean it!

On Tuesday I ate a choc chip cookie and a lamington for breakfast.
On Tuesday I got cramps and FML..
On Tuesday my cat got himself stuck in the printer as my business name registration was printing..

And on Tuesday, I bent over to pick up a comb from the bathroom floor and massively bum-butted the narrow edge of the bathroom door. Like, square on, so it didn't swing shut or open, it just totally held its ground while my arse cheeks went 'bloooaaaaahhhhhh' in all their shuddering glory, against it.

Instead of storming off to bed with my hair undone, I sucked it in, glamourised my hair straight n shiny, shoved on a kickass pair of high heeled boots and as soon as the naprogesic kicks in, I'll be struttin' the streets of Melbourne.

Cos on Tuesday, I'm going to have Pancake Parlour pancakes for lunch!!

Yummmmmm :)