Aussie Culture

Isn’t It Ironic…

3 Comments Posted on March 13, 2015June 1, 2015 by Snoskred

…that a website called news.com.au should contain so little actual news. Seriously? Your headline article is about a shopping fail? On a day when an Australian young person exploded themselves, killing 10 people in Iraq?

That news – and if you want to read about it, click here – does not even rate being in the top 4 stories listed on the site, instead, something about private detectives paid to have sex in order to bust illegal brothels, something about a pair of pants, and Maureen McCormick is evicted from a teevee show?

Well, the last one I am a little bit sad about because I did get sucked into watching the show and I loved watching Maureen on it, however this is the last week of the show so it isn’t that big a deal. It certainly is not headline news!

But it gets even worse. Check this out.

Picture: web grab. Source – Snoskred – Life In The Country.

Web grab? Credit News Corp Australia? What the heck is up with that? So, we all can now go to any web site we like and grab a screenshot and then give credit to ourselves for taking it? I bet if I did that to a news.com.au photographer image, there would be threats of a lawsuit or something..

If the person who took the image happens upon this post, contact me with your name and I’ll give you *proper* credit.

I have long been thinking that news.com.au has jumped the shark and that it contained little news, but this is the day when I finally am giving up. I’m stating to you, out loud, that I intend to stop going there, foreverz.

Pretty please to hold me accountable on this statement. If I ever post here about news.com.au again, or link to a story on their site, I want you to slap me down hard in the comments section. SRSLY!

I don’t know how many more dress stories I can take, what with that blue or white dress last week, and now this. The only time I want to see clothes as a headline on a NEWS website would be if someone was killed by their outfit. A fashion site is a different story, of course.

So where can you get actual news now? Which sites do you go to?

Probably the only site I can think of is abc.net.au but if you have a decent news source, let me know. :)

Annoyed Snoskred, Aussie Culture, Fail Whale, In The News, Media

Night Soil

3 Comments Posted on February 27, 2015June 2, 2015 by Snoskred

Would you fertilize your garden with human poop?

Neither would I. But in some countries, this is the done thing. They even have a name for it. They call it Night Soil. I first read about night soil a few months ago while reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Rice has to be fertilized repeatedly, which is another art. Traditionally, farmers used “night soil” (human manure) and a combination of burned compost, river mud, bean cake, and hemp and they had to be careful, because too much fertilizer, or the right amount applied at the wrong time, could be as bad as too little.

And unfortunately some of those countries are now importing foods into Australia, and we are eating these foods sometimes without being aware of it due to poor food labelling laws.. How many times have you seen something like “Packed in Australia using imported products” – imported from where?

They don’t tell us.

That picture above is from the label of my favourite salad dressing. Why do they need to import ingredients? Everything they use in this product is available right here in Australia.

How has this happened to this great country we live in? A country that grows almost everything and could supply almost everything we need without having to import one single item?

How is it, that I now cannot buy a tin of grown in Australia Champignons? I’ve tried all the supermarkets. There are no champignons grown here anymore, not that I can find.

Check the label, and you will see –

I grew up in a household where we always used champignons on our homemade pizza. I grew up eating champignons right out of the tin. I can tell you how they tasted when they were grown in Australia – like someone took a huge bunch of mushrooms and removed their essence, their flavour, and packed it into each and every champignon. I actually preferred them to fresh mushrooms.

These Chinese champignons taste like nothing. There is *no* flavour. You might as well eat the paper on the tin.

And now, several Australians have contracted hepatitis A from frozen berries.

Could this be due to night soil? Nobody knows as yet. But you better believe I’m not buying any more products which are grown overseas. Why would we allow products from countries you need to get vaccinations to visit?

And why on earth would we allow product labelling that does not tell us where the food originates from?

Go to your food pantry, right now.

And take a good look at the labels. Do you have any products which say Product of Australia? Or does everything originate from locations you personally would not travel to, let alone eat food from!

Angry Snoskred, Aussie Culture, food, potential disaster, shopping

Mesmerized

3 Comments Posted on February 20, 2015June 2, 2015 by Snoskred

I do not truck with these real housewives shows. Not into this kind of teevee at all..

That was, until Gina Liano arrived on the scene.

I find her eye makeup mesmerizing.

I have no idea what is going on half the time, or who the other people are, but if I flick past and catch Gina on screen, I am stuck like mud. I have to watch to see more of that eye make up.

The photos do it no justice. Even the youtube videos are nowhere near as good as on my tv screen. I think what it is, the thing that sucks me in, is that shade of green she uses. Seriously, watch the clip below, you can see her applying the eye makeup, plus, at the end the final shot gives you a bit of an idea of the intensity of this green eyeliner she is using.

The beyotching I have sat through, just to see more of this eye makeup. I truly cannot understand how she gets so much of that shade of green there. I’ve never even seen anything to compare to it, not even on a drag queen. And her outfits are pretty extraordinary as well.

Arena have been advertising the upcoming season pretty intensely with an ad set to one of my favourite songs, here is a short version of it –

which you can view in full here. Yes, the waving randoms on the escalator are deeply annoying, and so are the flight attendants, but all of this is richly rewarded with the synchronised walking in heels section – especially the new blonde clown on the end whose name, it appears, is GAMBLE. SRSLY! Plus, the other new chick is named Pettifleur.

The Real Housewives of Melbourne season 2 starts airing this coming Sunday at 8:30 on Arena.

Rather than be a snob about it, I’m just going to be honest with myself and admit that I like watching the eye makeup of Gina and the outfits and tune in.

Could Gina soon be Judge Gina? A pilot has been shot. And I have to tell you I would enjoy that kind of show a lot more that Real Housewives.

Aussie Culture, celebrities, Gossip, television shows

Here we go again..

5 Comments Posted on February 6, 2015June 2, 2015 by Snoskred

Please to explain how Bill Shorten is even an option on this poll, news.com.au. Bill Shorten is not a member of the Liberal Party and even if he were to get ALL THE VOTES there is no possible way he can become the leader of it! You might as well put Ronald McDonald on the form as well..

Look, there is zero doubt that Australia adores Malcolm Turnbull. The guy says what he thinks and it has cost him dearly at times, rather famously costing him the leadership back in 2009. He will always be known to Q&A viewers as That Guy Who Wore The Leather Jacket That Time.

The Australian Media are all in a tizzy, they love this kind of stuff *so* much. And it will run 24/7 until Tuesday, I’m certain.

Do the public love it? Having worked at the past few elections I have heard many comments from people who are forced to show up and vote, and the general theme is, I’d rather not have to vote for any of these idiots.

I had a few people tell me they’d prefer to “blow all those bastards up” which is a very Australian statement. Non-Australians might not understand how that can be an Australian statement, but this was a catchphrase here for many years thanks to The Kingswood Country. AKA – “Somebody/someone should blow [current object of annoyance] up!”

Some people advise they would prefer to urinate on them than vote for them. I’m deeply appreciative that these people are willing to express their apparent fondness for golden showers with a random like me handing out their voting papers, but the germophobe within me says, ew.

I also deeply enjoyed the drawings of genitalia on the ballot papers, though I did not understand why people drew such small penises on such a large canvas. Were these self portraits? Use the whole ballot, peoples, it is enormous. Have a look at the size of the largest ballot here – Australia’s Compulsory Voting System; Is It Good or Bad?.

In general people were vastly unhappy with all the uncertainty around Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party, so they are unlikely to be huge fans of these same issues in the Liberal Party.

With that said, the last federal election was a very clear middle finger to the Labor Party and I suspect the only reason the Liberals got in is due to the fact that they were not Labor. EG I’m voting for these people because they are not THOSE people. Nobody seemed to like Tony Abbott then, and nobody seems to like him now.

For what it is worth – there is an upcoming election in NSW and they are looking for staff if you live in NSW and you want to give it a try, click here for more. I’ve worked elections a few times and have enjoyed it enormously. :)

Aussie Culture, bitches, elections, politics, work

Rememberance Day

2 Comments Posted on November 11, 2014June 2, 2015 by Snoskred

In 1997, Governor-General Sir William Deane issued a proclamation formally declaring 11 November to be Remembrance Day, urging all Australians to observe one minute’s silence at 11 am on 11 November each year to remember those who died or suffered for Australia’s cause in all wars and armed conflicts.
We will remember them

Aussie Culture, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2014, things to remember

A Cup Of Tea

12 Comments Posted on November 3, 2014May 31, 2015 by Snoskred

Do you like a cup of tea?

Snoskred loves a cup of tea. Bizarrely, her favourite brew was invented by Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister and foreign minister of Australia. Dude can’t delegate work to others or run a country without getting backstabbed by his own political party, but boy can KRudd blend a tea. He won a competition back in 2011 for his tea blend..

Originally meant to be a limited edition for just 12 months, the Australian Afternoon Tea proved so popular that it is now a permanent member of the Twinings range.

I am not a fan of KRudd at all, but I love this tea blend, and I recently picked up 100 bags for an insanely low price which will last me quite some time.

When and why?

I do not drink tea daily. On a day that I drink it, I will usually brew a cup mid to late afternoon. Rainy or cold days are more likely to result in a cup of tea.

What else do you put in it?

I like honey in my tea as the sweetener. Something magical happens when you combine honey and tea.

For some teas like the Australian Afternoon Tea and various forms of black tea I will use a dash of cream if I have some, milk if not.

For teas that are more herbal in nature like the Madame Flavour range, Cinnamon and Orange, Lemon Ginger, green tea or fruit flavoured teas I will only add a touch of honey and no form of milk or cream.

Here are some of the teas in my tea cupboard –

Overseas readers – want to try the Australian Afternoon Tea?

Shoot me an email to snoskred {at} gmail {dot} com or contact me via the Contact Form with a postal address – don’t leave it in the comments for safety reasons – and I will send you a sealed Australian Afternoon Tea Twinings tea packet, from their range where you buy 10 foil sealed teabags in a box! Make sure to include your blog address if I don’t already read your blog, so I can add you to my feedreader.

Do you like a cup of tea?

Leave a comment to let me know -or write a post on your blog and link to this post. :)

About Snoskred, Aussie Culture, food, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2014

REPOST – An ode to Antony.

1 Comment Posted on August 8, 2013May 31, 2015 by Snoskred

It is election time again, and I rediscovered this post I wrote a while back. The blog now has the ability for people to leave comments, and Antony is doing a weekly campaign diary which is just as fascinating as his election night coverage..

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more brainy and more accurate:
Rough winds do shake the country,
And election night hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the studio light shines,
And often is his laptop power dimm’d;

Dinner is ready to go in the oven.
The cheesecake is in the fridge.
I await my evening of Antony.

Once every four years is not enough.
Who knows what the night will bring?

Whatever it is, Antony will
keep me informed
with his laptop and his pie charts and his
analyst ways.

And then, almost like a dream
he will be gone *sob*
and the election will
be over.

Then the waiting will begin again
another four years
or two or thereabouts, if you are lucky
and he covers your state election.

But wait! What light through yonder Internet breaks?
He has a blog..
Alas I cannot comment
and tell him how much I respect him. :(

Perhaps he will search
for his name
and find this post
one day.

Aussie Culture, elections, politics

Elections

Leave a comment Posted on August 4, 2013May 31, 2015 by Snoskred

We have a date, at last. September 7..

If you have never worked at an election, you should put your name up for consideration. The AEC will be assembling one of the largest casual work forces in Australia over the next month or so.

I have to tell you it is one of the most fascinating jobs I have ever had, and the money isn’t too bad either.

Anyone interested in applying for an election job – click here. :)

And anyone voting, if you are going to draw male private parts on your ballot rather than actually vote, if you want to impress us vote counters, USE THE WHOLE CANVAS. You have a piece of paper which is about a metre long. Do not draw the size of your own manhood, or the size of manhoods with which you are familiar. Your artwork tells us a fascinating story.

Last election I worked which was a state one, there was one industrious individual who drew a little tiny penis in every single box you were supposed to number. From memory that was something like 86 boxes. Sadly the only people who saw it was our little counting team. It is my feeling these should end up in an art gallery somewhere.

Aussie Culture, elections

Rainy Long Weekend

2 Comments Posted on October 7, 2009May 31, 2015 by Snoskred

Had this long weekend been sunny, the local waterway would probably have been filled with idiots who have no clue about whatever watersport they are taking part in.. Jetsking, boating, waterskiing, canoeing, kayaking, launching their boats without a clue of how to do it, a multitude of nitwits looking for their very own Darwin award..
pdl1
However, it was rainy, cloudy, and generally shyte weather. With the shark skin this does not bother us – as long as it isn’t too wavy we’re going. There was only one other boat out on the water and it was a very long way from us. Awesome!
boat
Can you see the boat in this photo above? We could only barely see it, and only occasionally hear it.
pdl3
These birds seen above were hanging out happily on the end of someones private jetty. As soon as we got near to them, they took off. I do not know why birds find our kayak so scary! :) Swans panic, ducks take flight, even pelicans seem to find it terrifying.
pdl2
It was a great day out, and we were glad we went – and super glad the weather was shyte. Not just because of a lack of people on the water but because our area truly needed the rain. We’ve had quite a dumping of water from the sky over the last week or so and it is much appreciated by the gardens. Things were beginning to look a bit brown around here which was quite scary with the bushfire season approaching.

Aussie Culture, kayak

I like my politics with a side of LOL..

Leave a comment Posted on August 29, 2008June 2, 2015 by Snoskred

I cannot remember how I found Wonkette during my internet travels but by God I am glad I did, my friends. ;) My friends, though I know it can’t be possible that it is actually written by my good friend Cugat, both Sephyroth and I are convinced that it is either him, someone doing an excellent impersonation of him or perhaps his secret twin brother.

There are not many people in the world capable of the kind of sugary sweet yet savory tasty all you can eat snark you will find at Wonkette, my friends. Read my favourite example from today.

My friends, I just watched Barack Obama’s speech given in front of a massive amount of people and I am tempted to cash in my passport and move to the US just so I can vote for him. Firstly, he was looking sharp, ya’all. He had on a killer suit and tie. Secondly, he had a lot of stuff to say that made sense. Thirdly his two little girls were wearing gorgeous pink dresses. It was all very pretty.

You can see the speech here as well as read the text. I liked it so much, my friends, I watched it twice. There was so much that was good about it, I am finding it hard to pick out any favourite line but I think it has to be this one –

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.

Amen to that, my friends.

My friends, next week is the Republican conference thingy, and this is why I am saying my friends so many times because I am 100% certain that “my friends” will be said a total of 260+ times just in John McCain’s speech alone. Of course, it is entirely possible that John “Don’t trust me when I give you my word because I will break it in less than 24 hours” McCain and friends might have to put their conference off due to a pesky hurricane.

And Cugat – if there is a newer more exciting blog, send me directions mmkay? KthxbaiQ!!

Not to worry my friends, the American political stuff will all be over. In two months or so. Hmm.. And in Aussie politics, Krudd goes crazy and puts forward yet another idea to make it look like he is doing something when in fact he is doing zip, except this time he is making demands on the threat of withholding funding. Oh joy! He’s worth every cent we’re paying him, isn’t he? I mean so far he orchestrated a large media stunt in order to say sorry for something he did not personally do, he has held a summit for the supposedly intelligent people to come and suggest ideas none of which will ever be implemented, he introduced an extremely useless website for 13 million dollars, and he’s been off on a lot of world trips including one to the Beijing Olympics.

Plus, one of the promises he has broken I sincerely hope remains broken. We do not need the government to pay for fibre to the node. We need the government to pay for fibre FROM the node. If they’re going to spend 5 billion on something why not make it something we can use.

My friends, I could go on about how useless Krudd is, but the people who think he is doing something good need to come to the logical “he is useless, all talk, no action” conclusion on their own. In their own time. When they’re ready.

In the meantime, that 13 million spent on grocery watch could have been used to help families struggling with high fuel costs, high grocery prices, high rents and the fact that real estate agents are treating some renters very badly – in some cases making dutch auctions to get the highest rent possible for properties. Oh, but none of those things are his fault, they are all the fault of the previous party. Of course.

And he can’t do anything about the high fuel prices, because the government *needs* every cent of federal tax they collect on fuel to spend on useless things like $13 million for websites that do bugger all, and that 5 billion for fibre to the node so if someone were at the node they could get their pr0n faster but if they are one house away from the node they can get their pr0n at the same speed they get it right now, because the internet speed will not get any faster with fibre to the node. But nobody seems to have explained this to Krudd yet.

Aussie Culture, politics, US Elections