This Sunday --> BBQ

During lunch Jose suggested to organize a bbq this Sunday next to the Lake. Who's keen on that?

...to be continued by Jose...

The Battle

Shopping with the communists - (Shaun bargaining in Beijing)

The effects of frontal lobotomy

This is a clip from Miss Teen USA 2007. Miss South Carolina answers the question "Why do you think one fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map?"

It's worth transcribing her answer word by word here:

"I personally believe that the US Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our Nation don’t have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and as Iraq everywhere like such as I believe they should our education over here in the US should help people in the US and help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we’ll be able to build up our future for."

Errr...

He's back

It opens tomorrow (Thursday) at Dendy. The 7 pm session is already sold out. Anyone interested?

Poll results: Aussie pride

Once again, the people have spoken. In our highly significant sample of 13 individuals who have voted about the Australian flag question, 5 (i.e. 0.00000025 % of the country's population) have determined that it should not change. I have already adviced Mr. Howard on the matter.

Salsa performance

There will be a salsa performance this Friday night at Karen's end of term party. What's so special about that?? Well the performance will contain Nano and Andrew. The boys have been busy fine tuning their routines and my very reliable source tells me it will be hot and it will be steamy.....
Check it out: this Friday from 7pm, Shakespeare Hall cnr Fawkner and Farrer Sts Braddon

Cook? Venga ya.

In the second half of the sixteenth century, Spanish expeditions coming from America were the protagonists in the Pacific of some voyages still unknown to the general public. These voyages can be numbered among the most remarkable in the whole history of maritime discovery. In 2006 was commemorated the fourth centenary of two of those voyages, the ones of Quirós and Torres in 1605-1606, and specifically, of three events that took place then: the naming of Australia; the first sighting of Australia by Spanish sailors, and the first European navigation through the Straits that bear the name of Torres. Olé.
An exhibition about this is now on in the National Museum.

No words

Who is from Tasmania?

Have a look to the picture and try to guess who is from Tasmania... some clues: The picture was taken in Canberra, in winter!!!

Bloody tough guys!

Would you change the flag of your country?

Looking at the votes so far, I see that many of you are keen on changing the Australian flag. My question is if you would do the same with yours. Personally, I wouldn't, even if the colors are not my favorites, or if the flag was generated in a non desirable political or govermental situation.

This weekly poll triggers some questions to me: what's based a nation identity? or in other words, what PATRIA (interesting translation in English: mother country) means? To answer the last one, I recommend you to listen a Ruben Blades' song called Patria.

It'll be in an English version soon...

Spanish version (the original):

Patria
by Ruben Blades

Hace algun tiempo
me preguntaba un chiquillo
por el significado
de la palabra patria
me soprendio con su pregunta
y con el alma en la garganta
le dije asi...
Flor de barrio, hermanito
Patria, son tantas cosas bellas
como aquel viejo arbol
que nos habla y renueva
como el relicario que guardas
despues de muerta la abuela
Patria son tantas cosas bellas
son las paredes de un barrio
de su esperanza morena
es lo que lleva en el alma
como aquel cuando se aleja
son los martires que gritan
bandera, bandera bandera bandera
No memorices lecciones
dictaduras o encierros
la patria no la defines
los que suprimen a un pueblo
la patria es un sentimiento
en la mirada de un viejo
son la entera primavera brisa de hermanita nueva
te contesto, hermanito, Patria son tantas cosas bellas.

This is the Argentinian flag (that was the flag that Juan had in his boat) and I took that picture in the summer 2005 (en el Rio de la Plata). Behind our flag, you can appreciate the city of Buenos Aires. Sorry, but I can think of change it mates!

Total Lunar Eclipse tomorrow

Hi there!!

Don't miss the total lunar eclipse scheduled for tomorrow evening. The best time for watching will be at 8.30 pm, when the moon will turn red.



Wondering what a lunar eclipse is or why the moon turns red rather than black?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_eclipse


Have a good week!!

JP

Featured music: Aterciopelados

Aterciopelados ("The Velvety ones") are the couple Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, from Bogotá, Colombia. They play a smooth sort of indie-rock with Caribbean and electronic influences... whatever. Check their official website for some other songs online or watch a nice clip here. Have a good week.

Yves ans Jose's happy hour is ON this evening

There will be a happy hour this evening. The hosts are Jose and Yves.

Jose and Yves are preparing a gourmet feast that, according to Judith, will include:

• Pan con tomate (Bread with tomato sauce)
• Gougeres au Fromage (French cheesy balls)
• Fromage de chèvres sur le pain grille (Baked Goats cheese on toast)

There will be the usual quality selection of beers and wines.

All welcome, Building 79 tearoom, 4:45 onwards.

The 'real' aussie flag

The Southern Cross flag is considered (by some) to be the real aussie flag because it was made/designed/conceived in Australia. Whether believed by an individual to be the real flag or not, if you ask Australian's "what is the real aussie" flag the majority will answer "Eureka!".

See <http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/eurekastockade/> for an important history lesson (as far as Australia's short history goes).

"The Eureka rebellion is considered by some historians to be the birthplace of Australian democracy. It is the only Australian example of armed rebellion leading to reform of unfair laws. The Southern Cross flag has been used as a symbol of protest by organisations and individuals at both ends of the political spectrum."

(Now i'm getting carried away..)
The Eureka Flag Style Guide: <http://www.ausflag.com.au/flags/images/eureka.pdf> .. in case you want to make your own.

Poll results: Holy Shaun

This is what our completely independent (?) and objective survey concluded:

63% a religious fanatic stuck in the closet
27% a metaphysical naturalist
9% a postmodernist

The people have spoken.

If I were fish...

I'd see your beauty faces like this:

Enjoy it and viva Nemo!!!

Another side-tickler

Two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch.
Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from re-possessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull from the stockyard in a far town so that they can breed their own stock. They only have $600 left.

Upon leaving, the brunette tells her sister, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home."

The brunette arrives at the stockyard, inspects the bull, and decides she wants to buy it. The man tells her that he will sell it for $599, no less.
After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news.

She walks into the telegraph office and says, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home."

The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help her, then adds, "It's just 99 cents a word."

Well, after paying for the bull, the brunette only has $1.00 left. She realizes that she'll only be able to send her sister one word.
After a few minutes of thinking, she nods and says, "I want you to send her the word 'comfortable'."

The operator shakes his head. "How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word 'comfortable'?"

The brunette explains. "My sister's blonde. The word's big. She'll read it very slowly ...com-for-da-bull."

A classic

TV Links - better than a remote control

This is the website we all dreamt of to make our procrastination reach stratospheric levels.
You can browse through hundreds of series, movies, documentaries (like the one featured here "The British UFO Files"), cartoons and music videos with complete impunity from your desk, and still pretend that you are being useful to society.
Enjoy. Thanks Matt for the link!

The thorium discrepancy

Source: Geoscience Australia and OECD

Apparently Australia does rank second in thorium reserves after all - second after the US, not second (?) after the US and India, as it was claimed by someone recently.