ted the toff

Well I can't see too many happy sides to the outcome of the state election. It is particularly gruelling to me because I so dislike Ted Baillieu's face. I imagine that is not his fault, though it might be the cause of an evil personality, and he could probably grow a beard and cover it up. His planning philosophies are ghastly, unsurprisingly.

inspired

troy tate love is

I'm not saying this song speaks to me presently or anything, just that I've always loved it.

barry and charlie the soap opera

Charlie bit Barry's ear this morning and it was, in Mia's words, 'pissing out blood', so we had to take him to the emergency vet at Essendon Airport. He will need anaesthetic and a couple of stitches, estimated cost $500- $650.

When we got back from the vet's Charlie, who had been banished of course to the backyard, forced her way into the house and ran around panting, she also checked the shed and the back of the backyard.

It's my fault. I keep ascribing logical behaviour to her ('jealousy', 'regret'). I am sure she would tell this story quite differently.

(Later: all is serene, though the wound looks nasty but well-stitched. The problem is of course really that Barry gets all the attention and Charlie isn't as cute as she used to be. It'll be OK in the long run I'm sure).

success

Every time I see this

I think of this

just a minute

I have been enjoying Just a Minute since I was about 10. The ABC used to play new episodes, they don't anymore but now I can listen to it on Radio 4. I recommend you try. It's a hoot, though I am disturbed by Nicholas Parsons. Can this really be a man of 87? Should I be disturbed or just pleased for him and those around him? Sue Perkins, a person I have only ever experienced via her contribution to BBC radio quiz shows, gives a particularly funny summary of her career in this week's episode too.

When I go OS next year part of my dream during my r&r leave would be to attend a taping of Just a Minute in the UK and one of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me in Chicago. You sort of think these things would never happen but then you remember that you got to see Todd Rundgren in Bristol the last time you went to the UK and he was just starting his first tour in umpteen years... all kinds of things are possible (Buttons).

(Notice on the right I have a link to Dean from Wellington's Just a Minute site - it's also a hoot)

home pride

In Jacana, some people kind of let their gardens go,

and some totally overcompensate