This Australian Life

That time of the year...

2011-12-26T19:02:00.002+11:00

At this time of the year there is no escape. We get a bitreflective.

We distract ourselves with shopping, gifts, Christmas tree,Secret Santa, parties.

We keep our mind busy thinking about what clothes to wear,what food to cook/eat, what to pack for the upcoming trip.

However, when the Christmas songs start playing and the Christmaslights go bright, our mind goes away. It goes to our childhood memories, to ourroots and, of course, to those that were part of all that. Those that are sofar away...

We remember this is the fifth end of the year in a rowliving on the other side of the world. We get homesick, no doubt.

We balance the whole year, what went wrong, what went right;the unexpected, the long waited, the learning, the good and the bad, the tearsand the laughs.

This is that time when we catch ourselves balancing ourwhole life. The steps we’ve taken, how we got where we are; the obstacles, thevictories. And we consider our plans, our motivations, what keep us here.

There is a gap. People that are not by ourside, like pieces missing on a puzzle. But we soon find them right inside, close to our heart. They’ve been thereall along.

In the end, we look around and we feel happy. Somehow thingsmake sense.

We never know what tomorrow brings. But, right now, we are where we’resupposed to be. And, for now, that’s enough.

I wish to you on this end of the year that, after balancing your 2011, you feel wholesome and invigorated to go for it in 2012. Above all, I wish you to look around and feel blessed with everything you already have.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

(top photo by greenplasticamy)

NYE Last Minute

2011-12-16T23:41:00.003+11:00

Can you believe we are only 15 days away from New Year's Eve? Are you all planned out? No?! Don't worry! Wherever you are in Australia, there's still time to plan yourself to do something.

Sydney has the most famous Australia's NYE with its Harbour Bridge as the queen of the night.

If nothing else, you can have fun just going to see the fireworks on the Harbour Bridge. It's free and there are some spots where you do not need to get so early, The Rocks for example.

Be aware, though, that you won't be allowed to drink at many places around the city on this NYE:

New Year's booze ban - Sydney Harbour dries up to welcome in 2012 - The Daily Telegraph

To get all the official info about the New Year's Eve in Sydney, visit: http://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/

Traditional NYE parties in Sydney:

The Star (former Star City Casino)

Opera House

Party Cruise Options

NYE pub parties in Sydney:

Barzine List

PartyStar Directory

One of my favourite events website, WeekendNotes, has made a list of Free New Years Eve Ideas in Sydney. Check it out!

New Year's festivals are quite popular all around Australia. Some happen on the new year's eve, some happen on the first day of the year, and some start before NYE and finishes after the first day of the year!

The most popular ones are:

Harbour Bridge Fireworks from The Harbour Party at Luna Park last year (photo taken by my husband). That was a nice party, which I definitely recommend if you're staying in Sydney! ;)

Expat Women: Confessions (book review)

2011-12-07T13:38:00.001+11:00

I have a confession to make: I was ashamed to speak English when I left Brazil six years ago to study in US. I never thought I'd get this fluent! I was also afraid to make mistakes speaking Spanish when I went to Argentina for work some time ago. I have another confession to make: I am always in doubt if I should repatriate. And I feel guilty sometimes for not being there for my family. I feel I'm missing so much!

Now, I know what you're thinking: that's not a confession at all, that's just something many of us expats have gone through. Exactly! It may not look like a confession but, how many times are we that honest? How many times do we talk about our fears and disappointments? And how hard is it to admit that things are not going as planned or that we're struggling to cope?

Modern women are increasingly conditioned to act like we are superwomen, even to ourselves. When we leave our country we normally hear people saying how wonderful their life abroad is. What no one says though is that there will be many let downs. There will be times when you feel frustrated, angry, sad.

However, the important thing here is to know that you are not alone. The experiences will vary to everyone, but everyone will have ups and downs. Positive results will depend mostly on how you deal and see those moments.

Well, now I have another confession to make: I have been depriving you from a great tip... I've read an excellent book for expat women seven months ago and I swear I had the intention to tell you about it, but you know… didn't happen.

So here I am to tell you about this great book called Expat Women: Confessions - 50 Answers to Your Real-Life Questions about Living Abroad.

This is a book that will help you at any time of your expatriate adventure. It aims to help long time expats, newcomers and even expats to be. It will be your experienced expat friend, providing good advise for those moments you feel lost. As Robin Pascoe, author of four books about expatriation, wrote on the book foreword: "It will be your friend, that gives you guidance, tips that you may or may not like but that are true."

Don't worry though, this friendship does not need to end when you finish your reading. You can keep receiving expert advises from the very popular Confessions section of the ExpatWomen.com website. Every month there is a new question answered, and you can even send your own.

Expat Women: Confessions is divided into six comprehensive chapters: Settling In, Career and Money, Raising Children, Relationships, Mixed Emotions and Repatriation. This a nice designed ebook with easy to read font and well organised chapters. The only let down for me was the lack of hyperlinks, which would definitely be a plus.

The authors Andrea Martins and Victoria Hepworth are experienced expats themselves and have helped many expats before. Some time ago, Andrea was actually so kind to tweet about a certain profile I was looking to finish a magazine piece I was writing. Many thanks for that, Andrea! They certainly have the wisdom and empathy necessary to the subject.

Andrea is an Australian who has relocated many times. She's lived in Indonesia, Mexico and Malaysia. She is the founder of the ExpatWomen.com website. Andrea realised that not all expats handle the same way this experience when she met April, a happy 25yo girl, who ended up confessing she wasn't coping well with the assignment in New Mexico and was even taking medication. Victoria is a New Zealander, who have also lived and worked in many different countries, such as: Japan, China, Russia, Sweden and India. She is a psychologist specialised in cross-culture issues and trailing spouses. She is also the founder of Lifeline Shanghai.

If you are an expat mom, grandmother, spouse, girlfriend, employee, entrepreneur, married, single, divorced, alcoholic, cheater, betrayed, pessimist, optimist, crazy, sad, happy, retared… Then this book is for you. Reading about other expat issues and the valuable tips to surpass it, will be your starting point to turn whatever problems you have around.

I am sure you will find at least one advise that fits perfectly into your current situation, but the chances are that you will find many.

Download your copy here!

I am back...

2011-12-03T07:30:00.001+11:00

After 3 weeks on holiday, 1 week sick at home and 1 whole week back at work, I'm now back to my beloved blog. Just to let you know, I had restricted access to the Internet while traveling. And I had no willing whatsoever to use it while I was sick. So just now I'm slowly returning to my virtual life.

I have started already to reply all the emails you've sent to me and I'm also analysing all the partnership/sponsorship proposals received, so I'll get back to you all as soon as possible.

I am sorry for the disappearance, but you know that it happens here on this blog sometimes right? Oh, and before I forget, I wrote a Bio for this blog (the About Me link up there ;). It was about time hey! Please read there to know some of my excuses for not posting so often :/

I did return with my mind full of stories and new ideas though, including for a new design (I know you want it!). I just hope I can find the time to bring it all to light.

Once more, thanks for your patience and please keep coming back, you won't regret! :p

Upcoming International Gigs in Australia – Still in 2011!

2011-10-24T21:32:00.001+11:00

Stevie Wonder

October 26 at Lyric Theatre Pyrmont, Sydney NSW

Price: $255.00 - $455.00

Tickets here!

Kings of Leon

November 4 & 5 at Acer Arena, Sydney NSW

November 8 at Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD

November 9 at Convention Centre, Gold Coast QLD

November 11 at Entertainment Centre, Adelaide SA

November 13, 14 & 16 at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC

November 19 at NIB Stadium, Perth WA

Prices: $101.50 - $169.00

Tickets here & here!

Janet Jackson

November 5, 6 & 8 at Opera House, Sydney NSW

Prices: $119.90 - $299.90

Tickets here!

Vanilla Ice

November 9 at Manhattan Hotel, Ringwood VIC

November 10 at New Albury Hotel, Albury NSW

November 11 at Shopping Town Hotel, Doncaster VIC

November 12 at Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights VIC

November 13 at Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast QLD

Price: $58.95

Tickets here!

Good Charlotte

November 10 at The Forum Theatre, Melbourne VIC

November 11 at Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney NSW

November 12 at Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD

Prices: $33.40 - $43.60

Tickets here & here!

Katchafire

November 18 at Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney NSW

Price: $41.60

Tickets here!

Jason Mraz

November 19 & 20 at Opera House, Sydney NSW

Prices: $69.00 - $89.00

Tickets here!

Elton John

November 26 & 27 at Lyric Theatre Star City, Sydney NSW

November 30 at Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD

December 3 & 4 at Hope Estate, Hunter Valley NSW

December 6 & 7 at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC

December 9 at Coopers Amphitheatre, Adelaide SA

December 11 at Burswood Dome, Perth WA

Prices: $ 119.00 - $405.00

Tickets here & here!

Foo Fighters

November 28 at NIB Stadium, Perth WA

December 2 at AAMI Park, Melbourne VIC

December 5 at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide SA

December 8 at Football Stadium, Sydney NSW

December 10 at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast QLD

Prices: $106.00 - $131.80

Tickets here & here!

The Misfits

November 30 at Capital Theatre, Perth WA

December 1 at Manning Bar, Sydney NSW

December 2 at HiFi, Brisbane QLD

December 3 at HiFi, Melbourne VIC

December 4 at Fowlers, Adelaide SA

Prices: $63.10 - $64.50

Tickets here!

Eminem

December 1 at Etihad Stadium, Docklands VIC

December 2 at Football Stadium, Sydney NSW

Prices: $150.00 - $299.90

Tickets here & here!

Sade

December 2 at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC

December 3 at Leconfield Wines, McLaren Vale SA

December 6 at Kings Park & Botanic Gardens, Perth WA

December 9 at Entertainment Centre, Sydney NSW

December 10 at Hope Estate, Hunter Valley NSW

December 14 at Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD

December 17 at Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley VIC

Prices: $109.90 - $398.00

Tickets here!

By the time you read this post, some of the gigs above may have been sold out already. But remember you can always try to find tickets on Gumtree and eBay.

Nancy Wake (1912-2011)

2011-08-12T20:13:00.001+10:00

The White Mouse With a Lion's Heart

I've never heard about this woman until this week. Like many other heroes in our history, she was almost forgotten until her death; and she'll probably be dissipated from people's memory pretty soon.

Well, not from mine. Her story really inspired me.

We have a few similarities: same middle name (Augusta), same occupation (journalist) and same outlook on life. Henri Tardivat, a longtime resistance buddy, once described Ms Wake as "the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts".

Nancy was everything I admire on a woman: she was smart, intelligent and well educated; she was a journalist that believed she could change the world (and she indeed changed it); she was independent (on a time that women had not even half of the rights we have today); she was happily married (but love didn’t prevent her from fighting for what she believed); she was brave, determined and passionate.

She once said, "I hate wars and violence, but if they come I don't see why we women should just wave our men a proud goodbye and then knit them balaclavas." Her biography says “she was a pioneering feminist that spoke loudly with words and backed them up with actions.” I couldn’t agree more!

The Go Get It

Born in Wellington (NZ), she was the youngest of six children. When two years old, she moved to Sydney (AU) with her family. Her father soon returned to New Zealand and never came back, leaving her mother Ella Wake to raise the children by herself.

At 16, she started working as a nurse. Soon she went to New York (US) and then to London (UK), where studied journalism. She worked for an American newspaper as a correspondent from Paris.

The Journalist

One of her first assignments as a journalist was an interview with Adolph Hitler. She decided to do something against the Nazis after witnessing the impact of the regime first hand.

She witnessed horrible scenes in Vienna that were carried for her whole life, "The stormtroopers had tied the Jewish people up to massive wheels. They were rolling the wheels along, and the stormtroopers were whipping the Jews. I stood there and thought, 'I don't know what I'll do about it, but if I can do anything one day, I'll do it.' And I always had that picture in my mind, all through the war."

The Warrior

France was occupied by the Nazis in 1940. That’s when she and her French husband, the wealthy industrialist Henri Fiocca, became active in the resistance movement.

After receiving espionage training from the British, Ms Wake helped saving thousands of Allied lives by setting up escape routes and sabotaging German installations. She became one of the most-wanted in the Gestapo’s list. But she was a clever and sneaky one, and they were never able to get their hands on her. That’s when they came with the nickname she’s known till today: “White Mouse”.

The Survivor

She was such a survivor. She lost her beloved husband to the Gestapo; he was captured and tortured before his execution. Nevertheless, she kept strong, she kept going. She married again, in 1957, an English ex-RAF fighter pilot, John Forward.

They came to Australia in early 60s and retired in 1985, same year she published her autobiography, entitled The White Mouse. The book became a best seller, and it has been reprinted many times.

She was then by herself again when her second husband died in Port Macquarie in 1997. Once more, she kept her head held high, and went back to London. Ms Wake peacefully died last Sunday, August 7, at the Kingston Hospital.

The Awarded

It took a while, especially in Australia, for her to be recognised. Ms Wake was however awarded France’s highest decoration, the George Medal for bravery, Companion of the Order of Australia, Badge in Gold, the US Medal of Freedom, the Defence and the War Medal, and more.

Her incredible life was chronicled in three books. Australia author Peter FitzSimons has written the comprehensive book called Nancy Wake, A Biography of Our Greatest War Heroine. Her story will now be feature in a movie by Australian director Bruce Beresford, who’s already casting it. Some actresses quoted to play her role are: Emily Browning, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and Rachael Taylor. Guess the title of this production expected for the second half of 2012? The White Mouse, of course.

Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbancos

2011-08-10T21:46:00.001+10:00

It is colourful. It is funny. It is dramatic. It is entertaining. It is delightful. It is amazing.

After 12 years, the Saltimbancos are back in town. One of Cirque du Soleil's oldest shows is packed with 50 great artists, great lights, great music, great costumes and great movements.

I've never been to any Cirque du Soleil before, so I can't really compare. Some people think it's the best, some don't. I can just say that it fulfilled my expectations.

My favourite part was the pole acrobatics. Their costumes exposed to the mixture of colourful lights gives us the impression that they don't have skin, that we can see their bare muscles. It reminded me that Robbie Williams' video where he ends up dancing as a skeleton; the song is Rock DJ.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the video below. Wait until the part when you can see "his" naked muscles. It's really cool.

I also have to mention the duo trapeze with the twin girls, the guy on the bike and the guy juggling with eight (!) balls. And, of course, the playground number; probably the one with more people on the stage at the same time (it can get distractive so make sure to keep an eye on the swing, where all the action actually happens).

The troupe will be in Sydney until August 14th. Then they finish the Australian season in Woollongong (Aug 17 to 21). You can still find tickets. Prices vary from 69 to 149 dollars. I got great seats on Category 1 for $109. If you wanna go better than that, there are the front house seats, or Premium as they call, at $149. The Category 2 ($89.00) seats aren't bad as well.

I wouldn't suggest the $69.00 seats as they are a bit far away and it's important to see some actors expression at some points to find it really funny, for example, the talented Eddie, the clown (photo below). But by all means, even if you can only get the cheapest seats, go for it ‘cause it's still worth it.

Soundwave Revolution Cancelled

2011-08-09T23:18:00.001+10:00

The rumours have been around, but now it is confirmed: the most waited festival of this semester (for me at least…) is not going to happen. :(

Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah confirmed the rumours on Nova 969 FM: “The situation is that we were scheduled to make a second announcement on the 1st August, which had our festival co-headliner on that announcement. Their circumstances changed at the last minute and they had to pull out (rumour says it was Limp Bizkit). And unfortunately we don't have enough time to replace them. And we didn't really want to go ahead with an incomplete line-up."

Rumours:

The rumours started this morning when Stix Zadinia, drummer for L.A. band Steel Panther (also scheduled to play on the festival), posted the following on his twitter account:

"Soundwave revolution is cancelled. I am bummed."
"Just got word from our management that the whole festival is cancelled. I hope I'm wrong but I was told it's official. Anyone hear same?"
"Maybe we'll still come out and rock anyway! I'm hoping it can get worked out. We wanna rock u guys in Ozn"
"Ok everyone. I'm just reporting what I was told. U don't have 2 believe me. Better yet, don't believe me and wait for an "official" anncmnt"
"Ok. Let's start over f**kers. Don't panic. Let's all pretend I didn't hear from our manager that swr is officially cancelled. U good now?"

Refunds:

According to the official announcement, “tickets purchased online will be refunded automatically as soon as it can be processed. If you purchased from an outlet, refunds will be available next week from point of purchase.”

The message on the website homepage tries to give us some hope:

“Many of the festival bands will still be coming to Australia in that time period and team up to bring you some very special shows. These will include multi band / mini festival line-ups in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We will be announcing these events in the next 7 days.”

So, do you think your favourite band will be coming? Which of the announced bands would you like to still come for a solo concert?

Kate wins MasterChef 2011

2011-08-08T20:24:00.001+10:00

Kate is the winner of MasterChef Australia Season 3. I won’t say much about last night's finale mainly because Kate wasn’t my choice… ehehehe. Just kidding. I do think Michael is a better and more creative cook, but Kate did a very good work throughout the competition and also deserved it.

The thing is that if you really like it, you’ve watched it yesterday, right? If you missed it, you can still watch it on the official website. If you don’t want to watch, only want to read about it, there are plenty articles around. I’ve selected some good ones:

MasterChef recap: the finale – smh.com.au

Kate Bracks wins MasterChef, fans upset at Channel 10 for split finale – news.com.au

Mother knows best as Kate wins MasterChef – thewest.com.au

MasterChef victory is sweet for Orange – ninemsn.com.au

Not so tasty MasterChef ratings – abc.net.au

MasterChef Australia viewers left fuming – tvnz.co.nz

There is another case scenario, you might have started watching it but now are not in the country anymore, therefore you cannot access the official website. For those ones (I have two very good friends in this category :), I found this You Tube channel where you can find almost all MasterChef Australia episodes. You can also find MasterChef US and UK, and many other culinary programs: http://www.youtube.com/user/addictedchef

So instead of writing yesterday news, I’m going to share some MasterChef facts:

MasterChef is original from UK (it ran from 1990 to 2001, then came back in 2005 already in the current format);
Australia is the second country to air MasterChef – the first edition in 2009 had Julie Goodwin as the winner, in 2010 Adam Liaw got the title;
US MasterChef successfully debuted last year with Gordon Ramsay as the host, the second season is already showing and the third is on the way;
The culinary competition format has been sold to 15 countries, including Belgium, France, Iceland, India, Israel, Portugal, Ukraine and the Netherlands;
MasterChef Australia finale was the highest-rating show of yesterday’s night with a peak of 2.334 million viewers, the figures however were lower than last year’s finale when 3.962 million people watched Adam win the title.

Well, that’s all folks. MasterChef is over and I can finally have my evenings back. But I’ll definitely miss it.

See you next year George, Gary, Matt Preston and Matt Moran.

By the way, applications for MasterChef 2012 are already open. Be quick, it closes on September 16. Click here!

Top news of the week – Lady Gaga in Sydney, Carbon Tax, State of Origin, Miss Australia, Wild Weather, Anti-Harvey Norman campaign and more

2011-07-12T18:48:00.001+10:00

The top news of the week that got our attention here down under:

Anti-Harvey Norman campaign
14yo boy kill mother of three in Melbourne
Severe weather around Australia
Australia loses one more soldier in Afghanistan
NSW has some of the toughest burqa laws
Woman’s remains found 8 years after death
Queensland wins State of Origin… Again
South African-born crowned Miss Australia
Australian carbon tax divide opinions
Lady Gaga arrives in Sydney

Activist campaign is unfair: Harvey Norman

July 4, 2011

Furniture giant Harvey Norman has hit back at environmental activists who claim it is contributing to the destruction of native forests, saying the retailers does its best to source timber from sustainable sources.

The GetUp! Ad Against Harvey Norman

Boy aged 14 charged after stabbing death

July 4, 2011

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with killing a mother of three who chased him and his friends after they threw eggs at her house following a “very minor dispute”.

Overnight storms just a taste of winds to come

July 5, 2011

Gale-force winds gusting close to 130km/h rocked parts of Victoria over night, but weather bureau warns of the wintry blast is yet to hit.

Australia loses 28th soldier in Afghanistan

July 5, 2011

A decorated Australian soldier on his fifth deployment to Afghanistan has been killed in a firefight with insurgents in which another digger was seriously wounded.

New South Wales police allowed to demand removal of burkas

July 5, 2011

The New South Wales government has rushed through legislation allowing police to force the removal of head coverings to identify suspected criminals.

Natalie Wood’s bones found in Sydney flat eight years after death

July 6, 2011

Natalie Wood, the elderly woman who died alone in her Sydney home had no family apart from her late brother’s wife who finally alerted police yesterday.

Blues go down in flames, Queensland in blaze of glory

July 7, 2011

Everyone got what they deserved at Suncorp Stadium last night. Darren Lockyer got the farewell from State of Origin that he was meant to get, as one of the greatest players to grace this level of football.

Communications student crowned Miss Australia

July 8, 2011

She’s blonde, beautiful and heading to Brazil to represent the nation in the Miss Universe pageant.

What the papers say about carbon tax

July 11, 2011

The government’s clean energy plan contains some costly compromises, but retains its integrity by respecting fiscal discipline, acknowledging that adjustment must be gradual and recognising that the market should eventually set the carbon price, The Australian says in its editorial today.

Lady Gaga takes Sydney by storm on national tour

July 12, 2011

The singer drew more than a thousand fans to Oxford Street last night after announcing unscheduled gigs at two gay venues, Nevermind and ARQ, via Twitter.

News of the Week – Death of Australian Idol judge, Drink x Work, Underbelly’s King of Cross, PM Low Popularity, Lawyers x Police and more

2011-07-03T21:29:00.001+10:00

News Made in Australia - The top news of the week that got our attention down under:

New Australian site added to Unesco’s List
Australian Prime Minister lowest popularity ever
Brazil and Australia against each other in soccer
Left behind on the Great Barrier Reef
Underbelly King of Cross leaving prison
More lawyers and less police in NSW
Australians drinking before work
Judge of Australian Idol found dead

Australia’s Ningaloo coast added to Unesco’s World Heritage List

June 24, 2011

The Ningaloo coast in Australia, a vast complex of reefs, caves, streams and shallow waters, and the Kenya lake system in the great rift valley in Africa, an area of outstanding beauty and home of 13 threatened bird species, are the latest sites to be added to the World Heritage List at the Unesco meeting this week in Paris.

Julia Gillard slumps below Tony Abbott in new poll

June 28, 2011

Miss Gillard is struggling to pass an increasingly unpopular carbon tax and has had to fend off speculation about a comeback by Kevin Rudd, whom she ousted as Labor party leader last year. Her satisfaction ratings are down to 28 per cent – and she now trails the Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, as preferred leader. She now rates as one of her country’s least popular modern leaders.

Australia gives Brazil a scare

June 29, 2011

Underdog Australia gave its all, but in the end, that wasn’t enough to hold off the mighty Brazilians. Rosana’s goal in the 54th minute gave Brazil a 1-0 win in Moenchengladbach, Germany, in front of 27,258 spectators.

Tourist left behind on Great Barrier Reef snorkelling trip

June 29, 2011

A CAIRNS reef operator has sacked an employee responsible for a bungled headcount that resulted in a tourist being left behind on a snorkelling trip.

Life after prison looms for King of the Cross

June 29, 2011

The years have taken a toll on Bill Bayeh. It was difficult to believe that the greying, gaunt-faced man staring out from the audio-visual room at Silverwater Prison yesterday was the same one who once treated the streets of Kings Cross as his personal domain.

Explosion of lawyers, but police force declines

June 29, 2011

The booming legal industry has created far more lawyers than cops while police numbers have been sliding backwards per head of the population, new figures reveal.

Study: 1 in 20 Australians drink while at work

July 01, 2011

A national survey has found that more than one in twenty Australian workers report using alcohol while at work or just before work, and more than one in fifty report taking drugs during or just before work. These findings, published online today in the journal Addiction, have implications for workplace safety.

Australian Idol judge Jay Dee Springbett found dead at his home

July 01, 2011

The 36-year-old Sony music executive, who shot to fame when he took over Kyle Sandilands’ spot on the talent show, was found unconscious in his serviced apartment in eastern Sydney late yesterday after paramedics responded to reports of a cardiac arrest.

The Everyday Heroes

2011-06-04T22:41:00.001+10:00

I believe the world would be a much better place if everyone of us did our part helping whoever we can whenever we can whatever we can. Unfortunately, we normally don't. The excuses are infinite: too busy, too tired, too many bills, not enough money, not our business...

Fortunately, though, some people in this world do their part, and even ours. That's the case of Michael Brosowski, a 37-year-old Australian whose non-profit foundation has helped Vietnamese street children turn their lives around.

Michael moved from Australia to Vietnam in 2002 to teach English at the national university. He was soon touched by the outstanding number of kids living on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. In Vietnam, as in many third world countries, people, especially kids, move from the countryside to the big cities hoping to find a better life. The outcome almost always isn’t good: many end up living on the streets, performing odd jobs and even getting involved with drugs and crime.

Seeing that reality, Brosowski decided he had to do something about it. "I grew up in poverty. I often used to think to myself, 'I could do something good with my life if only someone would come and give me that chance.' And then I was here in Hanoi ... and I realized now I'm the guy. I'm the guy who can help these kids and give them a chance," said the teacher in an article by CNN.

The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation was created in 2004. Since then, according to the CNN article, "it has helped more than 350 Vietnamese youngsters get off the streets and into school and safe shelter -- and has provided more than 2,500 children with education, health, housing, career and legal assistance."

That's a nice inspirational story brought to my attention by Liz Belanger from CNN Heroes. Thank you, Liz. I hope we will all learn from this great example.

The CNN Heroes is an initiative from CNN to praise people who's done something outstanding, like Michael. The Heroes are chosen by readers, anyone can indicate someone. So if you know someone that's an everyday hero, go to CNN website and indicate them.

Let’s all praise the good souls in this world.

“We are all the same, holding hands or not”

2011-06-02T23:12:00.001+10:00

Last week, on my regular bus ride to work in the morning, happened something that I (thankfully) haven't witnessed for a while.

I was sitting at the back. Bus was crowded. Schoolies, labours, workers in general. Some people talking, some people studying, some people sleeping. As usual, a variety of colours, sizes, accents. This multiculturalism that makes this land so beautifully interesting.

And then there's this well dressed Indian appearance guy, around 30 years old, that came to the back of the bus where there's an available seat. And then there's this blond lady, approximately 40 years old, Aussie accent, who didn’t allow him to sit beside her. He asked why. She said seat was taken. He asked by whom. She said someone would be sitting there. He insisted. She said no. He asked again why. She repeated someone else would sit in there.

Finally someone was dropping off the bus and offered him the seat. At first I thought she was really just keeping the seat for a friend, which isn't already the right thing to do in a crowded bus. And, of course, she didn't have to be so rude in her tone. But then, a little later, a blond teenager schoolie guy saw the empty seat and came to its direction. And guess what? She allowed him to sit. And no, they did not know each other.

What happened just there was a racism scene. Nobody said anything, not even the victim, but we were all (or at least most of us, I want to believe) disgusted.

Firstly I want to say that it does not happen only in Australia. There is a story going around on internet saying that a white Brazilian lady refused to take a seat at an airplane in Brazil next to a black Brazilian guy. I am not sure if that’s true, but by what I’ve seen (and just described to you), I guess that’s possible. Because that’s the way some people are, and it doesn’t matter their background.

That got me thinking… Why do we humans have this need to feel better than others? It might not be on those racist proportions, but imperatively, we all THINK we are better than someone else... It may be because of the place we were born, the people we know, the job we have, the clothes we dress, the school we have studied, the car we drive etc. The list goes on and on.

I am not saying we shouldn't be proud of who we are and what we've achieved. I am just saying that it does not make us better or worse than anyone else. When we criticize someone, even the smallest things, it means we think we are better. We wouldn't say anything about anyone if only we realised we are far from perfection.

But exactly because we are far from perfection, we tend to judge everyone around us. We tend to think we know stuff. We tend to think we are (always) right. We tend to forget we are faulty. A beautiful Brazilian song, composed by Geraldo Vandre during the dictatorship period in Brazil, has a verse that says: "we are all the same, holding hands or not". That's it, very wise words.

Well, but when we are almost starting to lose hope in our race, we see this guy, this Australian volunteer who’s doing an amazing job with street kids in Vietnam. And then you find hope on the human specie again. I'll write an entire post about him tomorrow, because THIS is something worthy to write about.

Soundwave Revolution

2011-05-19T21:45:00.001+10:00

Soundwave is just around the corner. Tickets will be on sale in less than a week. No I am not crazy or lost in time. Soundwave 2011 has successfully happened in February this year. It was amazing as always. But I think we were such good guys that the organisers decided we deserved another one, still this year. STILL THIS YEAR!!!

Best news? Well, actually, the real best news are the great bands already announced: Dashboard Confessional, Face to Face, Bad Religion, Yellowcard, Panic! At The Disco, The Used, Sum 41, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Hole, Funeral For a Friend and many, many more!

Check the full line up!

The same cities that hosted the Soundwave 2011 will be hosting the Soundwave Revolution. We just don’t know the venues yet. I’m hoping it’ll be in St Peters, like the old days! Or it could be at Olympic Park even. But, please, not the far away Eastern Creek.

Dates can already be marked on your calendar:

Brisbane, 24th September 2011
Sydney, 25th September 2011
Melbourne, 30th September 2011
Adelaide, 1st October 2011
Perth, 3rd October 2011

Ticket price is $154 + booking fees.

Early birds tickets will be on sale on the following dates:

Tuesday 24 May 9am, Brisbane AEST
Wednesday 25 May 9am, Sydney AEST
Thursday 26 May 9am, Melbourne AEST
Friday 27 May 9am, Adelaide (CST) and Perth (WST)

*To buy tickets on the above dates, you have to be a festival member, which is as easy as signing up to their mailing list.

Find more info about tickets.

28 Days at Manly Fishos Farewell

2011-04-19T00:16:00.001+10:00

Very few things would get me out of home on a cold rainy Friday night after a busy day at work.

Well, Manly Fishos’ farewell featuring the very cool band from Melbourne, 28 Days, with tickets priced at $25.00, is definitely one of them.

The band was on stage pretty much on the scheduled time, about 11pm. Good start! Unfortunately, it did not have a good end. In the middle of the gig the left speakers stopped working, and then, the microphone got busted as well.

You can see in the video below the exact moment when the sound got bad. :(

The show lasted for one hour only. But it was an hour of enjoyment. Great songs were played, and the small but very excited crowd went nuts. For such small concert, fans have done a good job on their mosh pit!

My favourite bits:

Manly Fishos

Manly Fishos has been around for over 100 years, according to its website. In the last two decades it has been recognized as a venue that supports new local bands.

Now we say goodbye to the North Manly venue where it’s been located since the early 1960s, and where so many good bands have already performed, such as INXS, Wolf Mother, Hoodoo Gurus, British India, You Am I, Mental As Anything, The Fumes, Eskimo Joe etc.

Manly Fishos, as many other clubs in NSW, had been struggling for a while. “I think we have lost a lot more money than we could have by going down the path we have,” said Fishos Manager, Angus Rimmer, on an article by The Daily Telegraph back in 2009.

Last year, the premises were sold to Stella Maris College for $5 million and, about a month ago, The Manly Daily brought the news: “Manly Fishos will be reborn in the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall opposite Manly Oval.”

Let’s wait and see! :)

Borders stores closing down in Australia

2011-04-08T23:42:00.001+10:00

Sixteen stores will be closed. Nine will remain open. The closing stores are: Chatswood, Hornsby, Kotara, Macarthur Square, Macquarie Centre, Parramatta, Tuggerah, Garden City, Camberwell, Doncaster, Geelong, Highpoint, South Yarra, South Wharf, Adelaide and Brisbane (the biggest shame! A great store located right in the heart of CBD on the corner of Albert and Elizabeth streets; surely one of the best I’ve visited here in Australia).

I love new technology as well as I love books. It was then natural to quickly adopt iPad and, consequently, eBooks. I do like paper books a lot (oh, the smell of a new book!), it's just that's easier to carry around many books in a single tablet; not to mention the convenience of buying a new book or magazine anywhere at any time.

Convenience is one of the reasons why so many people are adhering to this new trend. And it’s changing our reality… already! No news here. We’ve seen it all before. Since the Industrial Revolution things are changing, or evolving you could say, faster and faster. At the same time that people are being replaced by machines and professions are being extinguished, new professions are arising and new medicines and treatments are being developed leading to the cure of many diseases.

Nothing is completely good nor completely bad in this world, right? Surveys point that we are living longer. But are we living better?

Well, back to the books, of course I’ve thought about the future of newsstands and bookstores before, but it's hard to testify it's already happening. They tried to adapt. Bookstores turned into huge stores that sells CDs, DVDs, games, electronics in general, stationery and, of course, books. But none of that was enough.

Similar thing is happening with video stores. After changing all its stock from VHS to DVD less than two decades ago, now they try to survive selling not only DVDs, but also sweets, pop corn, ice cream, soft drink. Still we see video stores closing all the time. Where I live here in Sydney, in four years, I saw Blockbuster go from a huge corner store to a medium store, then to a very small store until it finally closed down last year.

So what I'm thinking is, will we stop socialising at all at a point? We can do practically everything without seeing or speaking to people. We don’t even have to move. By the way, have you watched Wall-E? Please do. It’s cute and makes you think…

Well, back again to the point… Sometimes I am very optimistic about the future that new technologies are bringing to us; sometimes not quite. Maybe we will realise this social gap in our lives and will join more activities in group, such as reading discussions at the library maybe... Ooops, will there be a library?! Probably libraries will be like museums. They will keep these old dusty books and our great-grandchildren will be amazed on how we used to read.

For now, there’s one thing I know: I'll miss having a coffee and a muffin at the Borders store while reading a brand-new-nice-smell-paper book. At least they’ll keep the Westfield Bondi store… Until when?

Organic Food Markets

2011-04-06T22:22:00.001+10:00

You know those weekends the sun shines and you feel very energetic? And you work, and you get things done, and you go to the gym and you get to eat at new places? And you also watch some friends playing soccer? And you have some beers? And you're invited over for a Mexican dinner at a lovely couple friends' house? And after you've done all that, you still have the whole Sunday ahead?

Exactly! That’s how my last weekend was like. And on Sunday, Sydney blessed me with its best weather... A sunny and chill day. I love Autumn, it’s my favourite season in the year, in any country!

So in this beautiful Sunday morning we finally went to the Organic Food Market we’ve wanted to go for a while, in Frenchs Forest. What I found was a very nice environment, very nice people and very nice food.

For breakfast, I had a large mocha and a bagel with goat cheese. Hubby went with his weekend basics: bacon and egg roll and chocolate milkshake. As you can see, there're options for everyone. You can also choose the delicious spinach and ricotta pide, or a organic passionfruit flavoured yogurt with berries and muesli, or any of the wide range of breads and pies.

I came back home with bags filled of fresh limes, goat cheese, cranberry granola, lemon meringue pie etc. It's the best place to find the freshest products, including fish and all kinds of meat, at a reasonable price.

Oh, and there are also second hand books stalls! Needless to say I’ve spent some time there, as you may remember my post about second hand books. I really suggest you to visit a market close to your place. Go early, have breakfast there, try food samples, walk around, talk to the nice people. It'll be an amazing start to your day, believe me!

Find more information about the markets here: http://www.organicfoodmarkets.com.au/

Bondi Openair Cinema 2011

2011-02-25T20:54:00.001+11:00

Want to check some feature films, especially the ones indicated to the Oscar, but don’t want to miss this nice end of Summer inside a closed dark room? I have the perfect solution for you: Bondi Openair Cinema.

Many cool movies are already gone, like the one I watched on the second day of the event, “The Tourist”. Even though the guy next to me said to his girlfriend the end was predictable (which is not quite… well, maybe) or the fact that Angelina Jolie did not convince with her British accent, still the action movie is a good fun.

I always wanted to go to the Bondi Openair Cinema, since my first year here, but never did. This year I was offered a good discount for being a member of Moshtix, and paying only half of the price there was really no excuse. The night was perfect with many stars in the sky and a nice warm breeze. I had a different-big-German ‘hut-dog’ (with cabbage!), which I liked very much; also had free ice cream! Then I comfortably watched the movie with my head resting on my husband’s chest.

We couldn’t get the bean bag though; I suggest you to go early to get it. It’s only $4 and it goes fast. The chairs at the front are easier to find at a later time, maybe because they cost $8. You can always take your own stuff as well. Some people seemed very comfy with their own blanket and pillows.

The Bondi Openair Cinema happens every weekend at the Bondi Pavilion from 6:30pm. The next movies (still available, because some are already sold out, like “Black Swan”) are: “Top Gun”, “Jaws”, “Little Fockers”, “Blue Valentine” and, due to popular demand, they opened a new date for “The King Speech” - this is going to be the last night, on March 6th.

Tickets start at $20.90 (concession is $17.80). You can also buy packages that can include the hut-dog I’ve just talked about, lemonade, chairs, sparkling etc. Check all the prices here.

Oh, did I mention the live bands? Yeah, there’s also that! Go for it! ;)

Extreme climate conditions in Australia

2011-02-17T22:32:00.001+11:00

The whole world is suffering the global warming / climate change effects. In Australia it isn’t different.

2011 has barely begun and we have already seen:

Floods in Queensland

Cyclone in QLD

Heatwave and Bushfire in New South Wales

Floods in Victoria

Bushfires in Western Australia

***Videos from You Tube Network TEN

If anyone was not convinced yet about the need to change our habits, our lifestyle, our way to treat the Planet Earth, this year started leaving less to doubt about.

Heat me baby one more time…

Two weeks ago, Sydney had its longest heatwave since records began 152 years ago. On February 5, the city had its hottest Saturday night ever, and I mean that word hot literally! At midnight the temperature was still 34C.

Temperatures will go up again this weekend… top of 31C. Oh, but don’t get too excited, according to the forecast, it will be raining…

A plan against domestic violence in Australia

2011-02-16T21:22:00.001+11:00

One in three Australian women has experienced physical violence at some point in her life since the age of 15. ONE IN THREE! That’s almost half of the Australian female population. And it doesn’t stop there… One in five Australian women has experienced sexual violence.

Well, finally the Australian government decided to effectively do something about it and launched yesterday the first national plan with strategies to reduce violence against women.

It will focus on prevention by increasing gender equality and providing educational programs in schools to build respectful relationships amongst youngsters.

It came as no surprise that the main villain in this story is the alcohol and other drugs (I have witnessed that myself), which is another big issue in this country. Being intertwined one thing to another, the resolution becomes even more difficult.

However, the government couldn’t close its eyes anymore. Especially when domestic violence and sexual assault costs the nation $A13.6 billion each year, according to a study commissioned by the Australian Government in 2009.

Australia Day 2011

2011-01-26T10:50:00.001+11:00

So today is Australia Day. The official national day of Australia. The day Australians celebrate, drink, dance, attend to parties around the country.

It’s been said today is going to be the hottest Australia Day in 31 years. Sydney will be marking maximum of 33 degrees on the beaches. In the west it could reach 40 degrees!

The warm weather should be one more excuse to drink plenty of cold beer. Police are aware of that and they will be on the streets to prevent those troubles we’ve seen in previous years: Cronulla Riot in 2005 and Manly Attacks in 2009.

An excerpt from Manly Daily newspaper’s editorial yesterday: “… as we saw two years ago, our national day of celebration is susceptible to being hijacked by young troublemakers.

“You know the types: aggro boofheads who think wrapping themselves in the flag and getting the Southern Cross inked on their torso identifies them as “real” Australians.

“In truth, this minority would be flat out telling you the difference between Cook and Phillip.”

A video that’s going viral on You Tube and has been dividing opinions: some think it’s funny, some think it’s offensive. I think it’s plenty Aussie. They have a peculiar humour, which I normally think it’s funny.

And now a video of the famous American who brought to Australia her 300 ultimate spectators from US, and was absolutely enchanted with this country:

In 2011, let’s hope Australia Day is remembered for what Australia really means: tolerance, friendship, hope, joy.

Happy Australia Day everybody! :)

Overuse of stun gun by police?

2010-10-09T14:37:00.001+11:00

A man died in Sydney after being tasered in the chest by police last week. Now the current discussion on the news is wether police overuse stun guns.

Here’s a video of a clearly misuse (to say the least) of stun guns by police. Just purely cruel!

As someone has commented on the You Tube page of the video, this is a really bad month for Australian police: shot and killed one of their own, accused of the death of a celebrating St George Illawarra fan, tazered a guy at the top of a staircase and made him fall down the stairs, involvement in racism email scandal against Indians… and now the release of this video from 2008 in a Perth detention facility.

I recommend this great article by Emily Howie at The Sydney Morning Herald about the subject.

5 tips for outlet shopping

2010-09-30T11:03:00.001+10:00

Last weekend was filled with outlets in the Northern Beaches area: Volcom, One Tea Spoon, Chilli and Lost were some of them. It was also Surfection Market Day in their Balgowlah store.

Needless to say it’s a great opportunity to spend more than you can or should, and end up with a lot of clothes that won’t fit or you just don’t really like.

I’ve managed to go to all these outlets, which were all very tempting, and to buy only what I really needed (or wanted badly). In any case, I’ve spent less than 50 bucks in 4 beautiful (and useful) items!

The reason why I’m able to hold myself it’s not only because I actually can’t spend much right now, or because I’ve been to so many outlets that it’s not new for me anymore, it’s mostly because I’ve applied some rules to myself before entering the temple of temptation.

They are:

1- Only buy if you really need it, or it’s a specially unique product, or of course, you deeply fall in love with it. But by all means, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheap. Give it a thought: where/how/when will you be using it?

2- When you find something you like, hold on to this. Only put it back if you’re sure you won’t take it. Be aware that as soon as you turn around someone else will grab what you just let go.

3- Go in the first hours of the first day when there is a variety of sizes, colours etc. Then, if you have the chance, go again in the last hours of the last day to get the best bargains.

4- Pay attention to stains or scratches, or any kind of damage in the piece, you probably won’t be able to change it later. If you’re sure you can fix it or you don’t mind, at least try to get a discount.

5- Go with comfortable but tight clothes so you can try the clothes on without going to the change room, which will be crowded or absent.

Do you have your own ‘tricks’ to go shopping, outlet or not? Please feel free to share on the comments!

Book Fair in Warriewood

2010-08-30T19:42:00.001+10:00

I went this weekend to the 4th Lifeline Northern Beaches Book Fair in Warriewood. I always wanted to go but haven’t got the chance yet. This Saturday I finally made it and loved it!

I spent almost three hours inside the room digging into every pile from every section of the fair. Finally left the place when it was about to close at 5 pm happily carrying 17 very special pre-loved titles. Wanna know how much did I spend? Only 28 bucks!!

I was lucky because while I was in there they did a 15-minute promotion on what you’d pay only 10 dollars for all the books you could fit in a bag they were handing out. That made all my books cost less than 2 dollars each!

Normally, most books cost between 1 and 10 dollars, and they’re all in very good conditions! Moreover the fair is simple but extremely organised and the staff’s so friendly! If you missed this one, you’ll have a new opportunity as the new dates are already set. So make sure to visit what will probably be the last one this year! And tell me what you thought, and of course, which titles you bought. ;)

Next dates:

Friday 26th November – 5pm to 9pm

Saturday 27th November – 9am to 5pm

Sunday 28th November – 9am to 2pm

The titles I’ve bought! :D

I was raised in a house with a huge library with hundreds of varied titles. My dad has always bought me many books, and I myself have already added to our library back home. Now I’m starting to build my mini-library here in my Aussie place… I am happy to say that I’ve just filled the last available shelf in my bookshelf!

When I leave, I’ll probably do a book-garage-sale… You luckies! ;p

Going blank to protest

2010-08-20T22:58:00.001+10:00

Tomorrow, for the second time, I’ll be seeing a federal election in this country. The difference for me is huge. Back then I didn’t know much about politics here, the parties and the candidates.

Now that I know I regret knowing it. I do not vote here but I feel terribly sorry for those who will. The two main options Australians will have this Saturday are sad, to say the least.

“I am sickened by both main parties and obviously do not fit into their target demographic of the dumbed-down, self-interested and uninformed,” said David Houston from North Parramatta at the ‘Opinion’ session of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper last Wednesday, 18 August 2010.

“Am I the only person who cheered when Mark Latham suggested going blank?”, was the way he started his published letter on the newspaper.

Mr Houston was referring to the journalist (former Labor leader) who’s been urging other Australians to join him in what he’s calling “the ultimate protest vote”.

“When it comes to good ideas to Australia’s future, Gillard and Abbott have given the voters a blank piece of paper. I say let’s give them a blank piece of paper in return,” he said, according to a report by News Mail.

I am not sure if that’s the way to go as it wouldn’t change the candidates, it would just show them population’s dissatisfaction, but after that, people would have to vote again, and eventually pick someone.

A poll at smh.com.au showed that most people do not agree with Mr Latham, as you can see below:

Poll: What do you think of Mark Latham's call to lodge a blank vote?

33% - Fair enough, it's been an uninspiring campaign from all sides.

67% - Disgraceful, it's a desertion of a right many people don't have.

Total votes: 32033.

Poll closed 18 Aug, 2010

Here’s a video that well explains this whole Mark Latham’s scenario:

My advice for tomorrow is simple: go ahead. Think carefully. Take a deep breath. And try to choose the least bad option.

And then… pray.

Animal crazy planet: kangaroo on wedding and mice on waves

2010-08-17T13:51:00.001+10:00

Animals are cute and smart and we love them! Take a look at what these beloved ones did:

(Photo: Daily Mail)

The kangaroo Zoe, who was adopted by Gilly Richardson and John Hughes after Victoria’s bushfires last year, played the bridesmaid role at the couple’s wedding in May this year. The only problem was that, of course, in this case the bridesmaid got much more attention than the bride herself.

(Photo: Mark Clifford / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)

Shane Wilmott, a boat builder from the Gold Coast, has taught four eight-month-old mice (Rocket, Peanut, Skidmark and Banzai) to surf. They’ve got special mini-surf boards shaped by Wilmott himself.

Read the full story and watch a video here: Surfing mice - Australian trains rodent troupe (Telegraph.co.uk)

Australia’s population growth

2010-08-16T17:10:00.001+10:00

The growth of Australia’s population’s being debated for a while now. Asylum seekers coming on boats are constantly discussed on the news as well as migration.

Recently this debate was peppered by Dick Smith’s documentary The Population Puzzle, which was broadcasted at ABC last week followed by an interesting debate at Q&A.

This is all really interesting to watch, especially with Australian elections coming soon (Saturday, 21 August). Even if you do not vote, it’s always good to know about the politics where you’re living.

You can watch the documentary and the debate, then give your opinion here or on the program Facebook / Twitter pages.

Soundwave 2011… OMG!

2010-08-11T17:34:00.002+10:00

Aaaaaaaahhh! I’ve just got my eyes on the line-up of next year’s Soundwave Festival! Can’t stop smiling, now that I’ve screamed so much that I don’t even have voice anymore. Lucky you I have my fingers to type in these great news!
Here are some of my most expected ones: Stone Sour (STONE SOUR, STONE SOUR, STONE SOUR!!!!!!!), Queens of the Stone Age, Anberlin (I can’t get enough of it!), New Found Glory (same: never enough!), Pennywise, Sum 41, Less Than Jake, MXPX, Social Distortion, 36 Crazyfists…
But there are many, many more! For those who like metal music it’s going to be a blast, with the giants like Iron Maiden, Slayer, Slash…
As always, more bands should be announced soon. Let’s just hope none of the ones already listed get cancelled.
The best Australian festival (in my humble opinion, of course) happens in Sydney on Sunday, 27th February.
A good habit to adopt from now on is to check every now and then the event’s website which is constantly updated with news, photos and even exclusive videos with the bands.
Go there right now to check the dates on your place: http://www.soundwavefestival.com/

Kylie Minogue presents… the weather!

2010-07-07T13:14:00.002+10:00

Kylie Minogue, the most famous Australian singer, is 42-year-old and has done almost everything in her artistic career. Now besides singing, acting, dancing, modelling, launching a perfume, helping the arms, she can put up on her resume a new activity… weather girl! She presented the forecast for her hometown, Melbourne, on a British morning program, GMTV.

Kylie Minogue is currently promoting Aphrodite, the eleventh studio album of her career.

Better off playing rugby

2010-06-28T23:30:00.000+10:00

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Now it’s official: Australia and New Zealand are better off playing rugby. Not only they both didn’t succeed to the Round of 16 at FIFA’s World Cup but also Socceroos and All Whites were the most ‘violent’ teams in the first phase of the tournament, each committing an average of 20 infractions per match. Australia’s committed 62 fouls in three matches, with New Zealand right behind with 61.

In FIFA’s official website you can check these and many other fast facts, records, analysis and statistics. Here I’ve compared Socceroos and All Whites’ performances on the 2010 Soccer World Cup: take a look!

Enjoy the best of Sydney in 36 hours

2010-06-28T12:09:00.002+10:00

Wanna know how to enjoy the best of Sydney in only one weekend?
Take a look at this guide by Celia McGee published at The New York Times.
Of course there’s much more to see, and I do think the best way to explore a new city is finding out the things that goes with your own personality.
However if you don’t have the time (or simply are lazy enough) to dig into hundreds of guides’ pages, go for it! You’ll see the essential to be seen by an average tourist.
Click here to read the article.

The first female Prime Minister in Australia’s history

2010-06-24T15:51:00.001+10:00

How much can be changed in only 24 hours?! Yesterday we went to bed having no idea that today we would welcome a new Prime Minister. And that she would be SHE! Who would guess that Kevin Rudd would be out and Julia Gillard would step in so suddenly?

I have a lot of (especially female) friends that are pretty happy about this change. In fact, it’s kind of cool to have a female Prime Minister being myself woman and knowing that not long ago our grandma couldn’t even vote. Like it was super cool to watch the election of a black president in the United States.

So why I am not especially excited about it (unlike the US scenario)? Is that because Australian people didn’t get the chance to be involved in this process at all? Or because I don’t think she can change much of what was happening before?

Why is Kevin Rudd being cut out in the first place? He has undeniably made many mistakes. But seems like what has really knocked him down amongst his colleagues in politics was his controlling style of leadership. Was it personal then? That is nothing to do with us, or our planet, or our taxes, or any other important issues for the population?

Another thing that gets me a bit concerned is the fact that just months ago Julia Gillard was this very loyal deputy of Kevin Rudd, listening attentively to everything and agreeing with most of it. Moreover the starting point of all this was Kevin Rudd’s decision to delay his plan to tackling climate change until after the next election; decision widely supported by Julia Gillard.

Julia Gillard getting rid of Kevin Rudd in the most propitious time after scoffing for months media suggestions that she would move against him doesn’t make her the most trustworthy person either but as someone who really loves this country I’ll just hope for the best.

Let’s wait and see... Nothing else can be done for now, apparently.

Australian goalkeeper = German roots

2010-06-17T01:42:00.001+10:00

Did you know that Mark Schwarzer, the Australian goalkeeper, has a German background? He was born in Sydney but his parents are from Germany. He has also played in two German clubs, Dynamo Dresden and Kaiserslautern, after leaving his home country to try his luck in Europe.

By the way, I recommend the best report on the match Australia vs Germany I’ve seen until now, it’s on The New York Times website, session Goal Blog. Very interactive, nice info graphics, lots of information and more! Take a look!

Jokes made in South Africa

2010-06-16T01:16:00.001+10:00

The defeat of Australia in its debut at the World Cup is generating a series of jokes. Better laugh than cry, han?

***

Australia was the first team to get to South Africa. Some are saying that’s because they knew they’d be the first ones to leave too.

Was that the reason why Socceroos players were like tourists in Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday before the game? Germany players however didn’t get the same spirit, they just walked around and talked a bit.

***

Did the Aussies think they were playing rugby sometimes during the match against Germany, or what? Germans suffered hard fouls from the Socceroos team, who got three yellow cards and one red.

Many Australian men say soccer is for girls because of its lack of friction in the game. Why on earth do they think that grappling with other men is manly?

***

Ryan Nelsen, captain of All Whites - New Zealand team, the one that has just played against Slovakia and managed a tie, showed some unexpected sympathy for Socceroos, but as a true Kiwi, it quickly wore off: “I have a lot of friends on the Australian team so it hurts a bit, but then the Kiwi in you always comes out, so I shed some crocodile tears.”

***

Around 20,000 people watched Australia vs Germany at Sydney Fan Fest. It was damn cold and the crowd started dissipating after Germany’s third goal.

From a brave fan in the chilly conditions at Darling Harbour who stayed until the end of the match: “New Zealand is still to come. We can claim them, like we always do if they do something good.”

At least the Aussies keep its sense of humour! And that’s what I like the most about them!

Quickies of Australia in the World Cup

2010-06-15T15:31:00.001+10:00

Quickie #1 – FIFA has opened an exception on its regulation and allowed Australia to replace its third goalkeeper, Brad Jones, who had a son diagnosed with leukaemia and left the group to accompany the start of the treatment. The surrogate is Eugene Galekovic.

(Google images)

Quickie #2 – John Travolta is American with Italian background, but his support in this World Cup goes to Australia. The star actor landed on South Africa last week wearing a Socceroos scarf to wish luck to the team. The Aussie players thanked him with a gift given by skipper Lucas Neill”: a Socceroos shirt with “Travolta 10” printed on the back. Travolta, who is the ambassador of Australian airline Qantas, flew his own Boeing 707 to South Africa.

(photo by Robert Cianflone – Getty Images)

Quickie #3 – This one I couldn’t leave out, after all, I am Brazilian! Did you know that Cacau, the owner of the fourth goal against Australia is Brazilian (born in the same city as me) naturalised German? Yeap, the first ‘Brazilian’ goal was made even before Brazil got to play on the tournament. :)

(Google images)

Quickie #4 – Bad news: The dream to host the 2018 World Cup is dead for Australians, as administrators followed Japan and also pulled-out the bid. The decision was taken after powerful man Mohammed bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, said he was backing a European country instead. Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president, also declared his preference for Europe before.

Good news: The dream to host the 2022 World Cup is still on for Australians, and the chances are greater now that the focus is only on that date. After Africa, Oceania now is the only continent that has never had a World Cup.

(Google images)

Quickie #5 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) delegation, including its chief Frank Lowy, received the affection from people of a tiny village in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg, where they’ve donated 9000 lap desks worth over AUD160,000 to the Mohlakano primary school. According to Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis, the Australian people had donated AUD280 million from their own pockets to African nations.

(Google images)

Quickie #6 – Did anyone else got goosebumps when the Australian anthem was loudly sang by what seemed to be whole Moses Mabhida stadium? More than 40,000 Australian fans bought tickets for that match.

(Google images)

Quickie #7 – If Socceroos haven’t done a beautiful job at the beginning of South Africa’s World Cup, the same can’t be said about Australian fans, who have been beautifully supporting the team.

(photos by Alexandre Alliatti – Globoesporte.com)

Around 2,000 fans walked together to Australia’s World Cup opener. They call themselves Fanatics, whose name says everything you need to know about them, and they support the bid for 2022 World Cup.

Socceroos opening nightmare?

2010-06-14T13:11:00.001+10:00

Australian media are describing as '”embarrassing”, “demoralising” and “disgraceful” the Socceroos 4-0 loss to Germany. Hey people, just a second! It wasn’t that bad! Ok it is the biggest score until now and it could actually be worse, say 5 or even 6-0. And it is going to be even tougher from now on without Tim Cahill, who got the red card and is suspended.

The Socceroos started quite well having the first chance of the match intervened by Germany skipper Phillip Lahm. But when they were hit with the first goal of Germany by Lukas Podolski, then it all started to sink. But they still managed to create chances on a few occasions. They could have even scored at least once had a penalty for handball by Per Mertsacker been awarded.

We gotta remember however that Germany is a really great team with an amazing history. It is in fact one of the teams with the greatest chances to win this World Cup. Australia on the other hand has a pretty young life in the World Cup history, but they’ve been growing better and better.

As soon as we got to know the Group D, we knew the Socceroos would have trouble in the 2010 World Cup. It’s not that the Australian team is too bad, but the others are really good.

I just hope this game is useful to learn, not to discourage the enthusiastic fans who have been supporting so well the team in South Africa. It is good to see the Australians liking more and more soccer. But the treatment media is giving towards them in their first loss won’t help at all. Let’s just remember that in a game you can lose or win, and to win one has to lose.

Sydney FIFA Fan Fest

2010-06-05T07:12:00.002+10:00

Sydney has been chosen as one of only seven cities in the world to host the International FIFA Fan Fest event. The other cities chosen to host a similar event are: Rome, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, London, Mexico City and Berlin as well as all nine host cities in South Africa.
“Australia’s performance in the last World Cup proved we are a talented football loving nation – and that Sydney is without doubt its capital,” said the Chairman of Football Federation Australia (FFA), Frank Lowy, in an announcement.
In fact Australia has done well at 2006 Germany World Cup compared to its previous participations at the tournament. However that may not be the main reason why Sydney was especially invited by FIFA to be venue for the fan parks with outdoor screening areas.
Australia is bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Australian Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman is the ambassador and the campaign claims with a promotional video that a World Cup in Australia would be a “No Worries World Cup.”
If a “No Worries World Cup” is enough to beat the other candidates is hard to say, especially being them such strong ones, some of them even uniting forces, such as Spain and Portugal or Belgium and Netherlands. But the biggest competitor for 2018 is probably England which has been promising “a guaranteed low-risk, high-income option.”
Besides Sepp Blatter, president of world governing body for football FIFA, said he preferred a European candidate after South Africa this year and Brazil in 2014. It caused Japan withdrawing from 2018 to focus on securing 2022. Australia however has already announced via FFA Chief Executive Officer Ben Buckley that it won’t withdraw from the race to host the 2018 World Cup.
All those countries chosen by FIFA to host a Fan Fest this year, except for Australia, has already hosted a World Cup, some of them even twice: Italy (1934 and 1990), France (1938 and 1998), Brazil (1950 and 2014), England (1966), Mexico (1970 and 1986) and Germany (2006).
The FFA does not want to raise expectations too high but they can only interpret it as a positive sign for the 2018 and 2022 bids. Another positive sign is that, after African continent hosting a World Cup this year, Oceania will be the only continent that hasn’t hosted the tournament.
FIFA selected the cities to be venue of the Fan Fest based on several factors: the popularity and passion for football in each country; the popularity of cities as tourist destinations; their experience in hosting major international sporting events; their demographic background and cosmopolitan populations; and the number of citizens they have from traditional football markets.
According to Flavia Fontes, Sydney Fan Fest Senior Project Officer, “FIFA also selected cities based on their demographic background so, for example, even if Australia is knocked out, Sydney has a multicultural population that will still see people gathering to support the nations of their background.”
If Sydney does a good work hosting the International FIFA Fan Fest then it will be halfway in the race to win the bidding for 2018 World Cup because the fact that Sydney was chosen as a venue shows that FIFA wants to see if Australia really have what it takes to host a World Cup.
Having that responsibility is forcing Sydney to work hard to provide an unforgettable experience to the expected 1 million spectators to attend the event. “Sydney will lead the world in this football extravaganza,” Premier Kristina Keneally said.
That extravaganza nonetheless is starting to worry Sydney taxpayers as Sydney Morning Herald newspaper revealed that a $7 million bill would be paid by city’s residents. Even though FIFA shares the cost of basic infrastructure such as the floating screens, the state government still have to cover the cost of policing the 30,000 people expected to converge daily on the sites to drink and watch football matches all night. The government is trying to minimise the cost through sponsorship and remaining on-screen advertising which has to be approved by FIFA so it doesn’t conflict with its own sponsors and advertisers.
Four giant screens will broadcast live all 64 matches of the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Three floating stages will be set up at Cockle Bay and one in Tumbalong Park. The live games are always at 9:30pm, midnight or 4:30am, and it’ll be replayed during the day.
The main attractions at the event include: interactive family activities, kids football workshop run by FFA, freestyle football displays, live concerts, competitions, variety of multicultural cuisine available on-site and official sponsor promotions and activities.
“The site will offer something for everyone - from passionate football fans to families looking to share in the multicultural atmosphere and interactive fun centred on the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said Flavia Fontes.
Sydney International FIFA Fan Fest is running from 11 June to 11 July and entry is free.

Another baby fell off a train platform

2010-05-29T05:55:00.001+10:00

I couldn’t believe when I saw the news that another Australian baby fell on a train track in Melbourne. You probably remember when a similar case happened in October last year. Thank God it was another baby survivor!

As if this were not a sufficiently startling news, I’ve just read some very concerning figures in Sydney. According to the Daily Telegraph, “one child a day fell off a Sydney train platform.”

“Internal RailCorp safety logs revealed that 68 people fell on to the tracks or between the train and the platform from March 18 to April 18 this year.

Distressingly, 32 were children.”

Unbelievable!

Australia’s more competitive

2010-05-21T09:01:00.001+10:00

Did you know that Australia is the 5th most competitive country in the world? At least according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, considered “the world’s most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how a nation’s environment creates and sustains the competitiveness of enterprises.

IMD, a company based in Switzerland which has been publishing this study since 1989, compared 58 industrialised and emerging economies on the basis of 327 criteria divided into four groups: Economy Performance, Government Efficiency, Business Efficiency and Infrastructure.

Australia is more competitive than last year jumping from 7th to 5th place; New Zealand however dropped from 15th to 20th this year. The United States which was being ranked first lately dropped to third giving place to Singapore; Hong Kong kept its second place from last year’s rank. The biggest surprise was Taiwan that came from 23rd to 8th place on the rank.

Here are the ten most competitive countries in 2010:

1- Singapore

2- Hong Kong

3- USA

4- Switzerland

5- Australia

6- Sweden

7- Canada

8- Taiwan

9- Norway

10- Malaysia

You can check all the 58 positions at IMD’s website clicking here.

New list of occupations in demand

2010-05-20T17:14:00.001+10:00

The new list of occupations for immigration has been released and, as promised by Immigration Minister Chris Evans earlier this year, the list is much smaller, dropping from 400 to only 181 occupations.

Popular occupations between immigrants, such as cooking and hairdressing are out. Doctors, nurses and engineers are still needed, and probably will be for a while. According to the Immigration Department in its new guidelines, “the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) will be reviewed annually, but is expected to remain stable for some time.”

Australia’s been passing through a discussion about its population growth, which is set to grow 65 percent by 2050, totalling nearly 36 million people. Australia currently has 22 million people.

A Global Post article written by Marina Kamenev, which I really recommend, stated that “the year leading up to June 2009 saw a record population growth of 2.1 percent, the bulk of it coming from immigration.”

Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world, with a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres, while its population is ranked as the 55th highest in the world. Those figures could give you margin to think the country has space for more inhabitants, however it may be arguable once you know that only 6 percent of the country is considered productive and therefore 80 percent of its residents live on the coast.

In fact this is not an easy subject, everybody has a different opinion and in the middle of all of this is the upcoming federal election. The candidates have to show their position about it and they’ll certainly upset one or another, that’s probably the reason why SOL took longer to be released that it was said to.

Anyway, if your occupation is not on the list you still have some options:

- Do a new course on one of the careers on the list (taking the risk of it being cut out as well anytime in the future);

- Get a sponsor. The Graduate Skilled Visa (485) is still available (see conditions here), which gives you the chance to work full time in Australia after completing your studies here. Once you have that visa you can try to find a job to show your talent and impress your employer so they want to sponsor you;

- Finally, you can always marry an Aussie guy or girl… (just kidding on that one, unless you’re really in love, please!)

Check out the new occupations list below:

133111 Construction project manager
133112 Project builder
133211 Engineering manager
134111 Child Care centre manager
134211 Medical administrator
134212 Nursing clinical director
134213 Primary health organisation manager
134214 Welfare centre manager
221111 Accountant (general)
221112 Management accountant
221113 Taxation accountant
221213 External auditor
221214 Internal auditor
224111 Actuary
224511 Land economist
224512 Valuer
231212 Ship's engineer
231213 Ship's master
231214 Ship's officer
232111 Architect
232112 Landscape architect
232211 Cartographer
232212 Surveyor
232611 Urban and regional planner
233111 Chemical engineer
233112 Materials engineer
233211 Civil engineer
233212 Geotechnical engineer
233213 Quantity surveyor
233214 Structural engineer
233215 Transport engineer
233311 Electrical engineer
233411 Electronics engineer
233511 Industrial engineer
233512 Mechanical engineer
233513 Production or plant engineer
233611 Mining engineer (excluding petroleum)
233612 Petroleum engineer
233911 Aeronautical engineer
233912 Agricultural engineer
233913 Biomedical engineer
233914 Engineering technologist
233915 Environmental engineer
233916 Naval architect
234111 Agricultural consultant
234112 Agricultural scientist
234113 Forester
234211 Chemist
234611 Medical laboratory scientist
234711 Veterinarian
241111 Early childhood (pre-primary school) teacher
241411 Secondary school teacher
241511 Special needs teacher
241512 Teacher of the hearing impaired
241513 Teacher of the sight impaired
241599 Special education teachers nec
251211 Medical diagnostic radiographer
251212 Medical radiation therapist
251213 Nuclear medicine technologist
251214 Sonographer
251411 Optometrist
251412 Orthoptist
252111 Chiropractor
252112 Osteopath
252311 Dental specialist
252312 Dentist
252411 Occupational therapist
252511 Physiotherapist
252611 Podiatrist
252711 Audiologist
252712 Speech pathologist
253111 General medical practitioner
253211 Anaesthetist
253311 Specialist physician
253312 Cardiologist
253313 Clinical haematologist
253314 Clinical oncologist
253315 Endocrinologist
253316 Gastroenterologist
253317 Intensive care specialist
253318 Neurologist
253321 Paediatrician
253322 Renal medicine specialist
253323 Rheumatologist
253324 Thoracic medicine specialist
253399 Internal medicine specialist nec
253411 Psychiatrist
253511 Surgeon (general)
253512 Cardiothoracic surgeon
253513 Neurosurgeon
253514 Orthopaedic surgeon
253515 Otorhinolaryngologist
253516 Paediatric surgeon
253517 Plastic and reconstructive surgeon
253518 Urologist
253521 Vascular surgeon
253911 Dermatologist
253912 Emergency medicine specialist
253913 Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
253914 Ophthalmologist
253915 Pathologist
253916 Radiologist
253999 Medical practitioners nec
254111 Midwife
254411 Nurse Practitioner
254412 Registered nurse (aged care)
254413 Registered nurse (Child and Family Health)
254414 Registered nurse (community health)
254415 Registered nurse (critical care and emergency)
254416 Registered nurse (development disability)
254417 Registered nurse (disability and rehabilitation)
254418 Registered nurse (medical)
254421 Registered nurse (medical practice)
254422 Registered nurse (mental health)
254423 Registered nurse (perioperative)
254424 Registered nurse (surgical)
254499 Registered nurse
261111 ICT business analyst
261112 Systems analyst
261311 Analyst programmer
261312 Developer programmer
261313 Software engineer
263311 Telecommunications engineer
263312 Telecommunications network engineer
272311 Clinical psychologist
272312 Educational psychologist
272313 Organisational psychologist
272314 Psychotherapist
272399 Psychologists nec
272511 Social worker
312211 Civil engineer draftsperson
312212 Civil engineer technician
312311 Electrical engineer draftperson
312312 Electrical engineer technician
313211 Radiocommunications technician
313212 Telecommunications field engineer
313213 Telecommunications network planner
313214 Telecommunications technical officer or technologist
321111 Automotive electrician
321211 Motor mechanic (general)
321212 Diesel motor mechanic
321213 Motorcycle mechanic
321214 Small engine mechanic
322211 Sheetmetal trades worker
322311 Metal Fabricator
322312 Pressure Welder
322313 Welder (first class)
323111 Aircraft maintenance engineer (avionics)
323112 Aircraft maintenance engineer (mechanical)
323113 Aircraft maintenance engineer (structures)
323313 Locksmith
324111 Panelbeater
324311 Vehicle painter
331111 Bricklayer
331112 Stonemason
331211 Carpenter and Joiner
331212 Carpenter
331213 Joiner
332211 Painting trades workers
333111 Glazier
333211 Fibrous plasterer
333212 Solid plasterer
333411 Wall and floor tiler
334111 Plumber (general)
334112 Airconditioning and mechanical services plumber
334113 Drainer
334114 Gasfitter
334115 Roof plumber
341111 Electrician (general)
341112 Electrician (special class)
341113 Lift mechanic
342111 Airconditioning and refrigeration mechanic
342211 Electrical linesworker
342212 Technical cable jointer
342313 Electronic equipment trades worker
342314 Electronic instrument trades worker (general)
342315 Electronic instrument trades worker (special class)
411211 Dental Hygienist
411212 Dental Prosthetist
411213 Dental technician
411214 Dental therapist

To keep up to date with immigration news, visit the department’s website:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/whats-new.htm#o

Sydney Festivals

2010-04-14T23:48:00.001+10:00

One of the reasons why I love living in Sydney is the amazing cultural calendar full of entertaining options, especially the festivals! Ah, the festivals...

Passed summer and its very cool music festivals, now it’s time for food, wine, books, films, comedy and balanced life.

Take a look at some of Sydney’s most anticipated festivals in 2010:

Sydney Comedy Festival – 19 April to 9 May

Twenty days to laugh as much as you can, up for the challenge? If you are, it’s time to check the program and choose some of many shows available. There will be Australian, American, English and Canadian comedians to choose from. And also many venues: Enmore, Metro, Factory, Parade, Sydney Opera House. Prices are between 25 and 50 dollars.

http://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/index.php

Sydney Writers’ Festival – May 15 to 23

More than 300 events are divided into five categories, according to Sydney’s icons: Harbour (poetry and fiction), Bridge (connections across borders through translation), fireworks (ideas, issues and debates), Stars (celebrities and bestsellers) and Rocks (Science and Technology, the Environment, the Economy, History, Philosophy). There will be free and ticketed events happening everywhere in the city. On their website you can search events by location, cost, topic, writer etc.

http://www.swf.org.au/

MindBodySpirit Festival – May 13 to 16 and November 4 to 7

What about a whole weekend enhancing your physical and mental wellbeing? Like the idea? So don’t miss this one. The festival will take place at Sydney Exhibition & Convention Centre from 10 am to 7 pm daily. You’ll find more than 200 exhibitors, enjoy free seminars and performances. According to the website, you can also “try yoga, find the latest herbal supplements, have a psychic reading, receive a massage or food detox. Buy crystals, jewellery and unique gifts. Enlist the services of a life coach, spiritual teacher or healer.” Adults pay 16 dollars and children under 14 have entry free.

http://www.mbsfestival.com.au/index.htm

Sydney Film Festival – June 2 to 14

Prepare to watch the best new films from all around the world in only twelve days! You can watch brand new features from over forty countries, short films, Australian films, documentaries and archive titles. And to make the most out of the films, you can attend any of the wide range of free panel talks, debates and forums. The whole program is to be announced on Friday 7 May, but some of the films you can already wait for are: Fire Me Up (France-Germany-UK), Freak Me Out (Australia), Love Me (China), Make Me Laugh (USA), Push me to the Edge (France), Take me on a Journey (Canada-Ireland), Sounds on Screen (Canada) and Creative Drive (USA). The FlexiPass, which allows you to purchase a group of tickets in advance (10, 20 or 30), is already available; single tickets will start selling from 7 May. Events will be hosted by: State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays and Art Gallery of NSW.

http://www.sydneyfilmfestival.org/default.aspx

Sydney International Food Festival – October 2 to 22

Not much confirmed yet but that’s not even necessary for us to know that one of the most anticipated festivals in the city will be delicious! The Sydney International Food Festival is always a hit with great attractions and guests. This year they’ll repeat the successful Barbecue Madness launch day, World Chef Showcase and Night Noodle Markets. It will also have dinners, tours and classes; the community and regional festivals will be back as well. You can sign up for Foodie News (email to foodienews@smh.com.au) to keep up to date until the big event.

http://www.siff.com.au/Home

Did you know that Australia’s the third most optimistic country about its economy in 2010?

2010-04-11T23:43:00.001+10:00

According to the 2010 Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), 79% of privately held businesses in Australia are more optimistic about the domestic economy compared to the 11% of 2009 (the year of the global financial crisis).

According to the data released in January this year, Western Australia is the most optimistic state: 90% have declared they are positive about 2010. New South Wales and Queensland were the states that recorded the most dramatic increases in optimism.

The top five optimistic countries are: Chile (85%), India (84%), Australia (79%), Vietnam (72%) and Brazil (71%).

The data was collected in the end of 2009 from more than 7,400 business owners from 36 different economies.

What do you think? Are those expectations being met?

Full report here.

Kelly Slater wins Bells 2010

2010-04-10T16:08:00.001+10:00

(photo by Steve Robertson/ASP)

Kelly Slater. The man. The monster on waves. The unique talent combined with the untiring effort. The 38-year-old surfer already nine-time World Champion and with great chances of turning into the only tenth world champion in surf history.

This man has just won his fourth title at Bells Beach, and at this time, against all the odds. He has broken a bone in his right foot while free-surfing earlier this week. “I don’t care if my foot falls off, I’m surfing,” the professional surfer said on interview.

Bad news for the aussie Mick Fanning that passed his good mate and current world rankings leader Taj Burrow in the semis but couldn’t beat the icon in the finals. Fanning’s best waves were 7.13 and 4.83; Kelly got two good waves, one right after another, respectively 8.93 and 8.10 points.

Slater has dedicated his win to the Wathaurong people, and Indigenous Australian tribe living in the area near Geelong. "I'm really excited because I remembered that before the contest I promised myself that if I won I would give the trophy to the Wathaurong," he said. "I didn't remember that until I was out in the water and right when I did [remember], those waves came”, the winner said in an interview to The Daily Telegraph.

Final - Kelly Slater vs. Mick Fanning:

iPad is coming to Australia… Are you excited?

2010-04-09T07:00:00.000+10:00

It has sold 300,000 units just on the first day of sales in US. iPad will be available in Australia in the end of this month but many people couldn’t wait any longer and have already bought their unit on eBay, as you can see in this report from SMH.

The prices in American dollars range from $US604 to $US739. Today on eBay you could find 45 auctions for iPad and other 465 for accessories and apps.

Did you know that 2009 was the second warmest year in Australia’s history?

2010-04-08T21:43:00.001+10:00

Victoria, South Australia and NSW recorded their warmest July-December periods on record, since high-quality records began in 1910. The warmest year ever was 2005. According to data collected by the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia, each decade since 1940s has been warmer than the preceding one. Globally, 2009 was the 5^th warmest year in history.

Source: Annual Australian Climate Statement 2009

The latest on Australia’s wild life

2010-04-06T21:08:00.006+10:00

Wild life is a permanent section on this blog exactly because this country is… what else can I say... wild??
Whatever you’re thinking, I’m talking about animals. Many of them are deadly. And many of them are found in unusual places. Yes, I know, not a good combination. Not at all.
Anyways, here it goes the latest news (when I say latest I actually mean news from 2010) about the amazing Australian wild life:

Snake in the air-conditioning
March 27^th
What would you think if your air-conditioning started making some funny noises? Is it broken? Is it old? Or has it turned into a house of snake? For the residents of a home in Cairns, the last option was the right one. They called the wildlife specialist Corey Wild to remove the reptile and the tree snake was released in bushland nearby.

Corey Wild right after removing the snake from the air-conditioning (Photo by Cairns Post)
Full story: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/03/24/101701_local-news.html

Dog catches a deadly snake
January 18^th

This cute Labrador is Bronson. He lives with his owners Deborah and Peter Allen at a farmhouse in Yarragon, close to Melbourne. That thing in his mouth is a deadly copperhead snake. Because Bronson is a good dog, he often brings back objects he finds, like Peter’s phone once. But at this time, the owners were terrified. The snake was still moving when they saw it. They ordered Bronson to remain still and then drop the reptile in a bag. The 11-year-dog was taken to the veterinarian to be treated and was fine after all.
Full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1244221/Labradors-bite-worse-bark-bringing-home-deadly-snake.html
(Photo by Deborah Allen)
Australian heart-shaped strawberries
January 20^th

Seduberries. That’s how the first heart-shaped strawberries commercially produced in Australia were called. It was invented for Valentine’s Day by Josh Engwerda, 22, a student at Melbourne University. He got the inspiration from Japan’s cube-shaped watermelons and dedicated it to his girlfriend. “As well as creating the novel shape as the berries grow and ripen, the plastic cases provide protection from pest damage,” he says.

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/heart-shaped-strawberries-ripe-for-launch/story-e6frflri-1225821666838
The ugliest fish in the world is facing extinction
January 26^th
This ugly fish, or to be polite as the Daily Telegraph, this “miserable looking” fish is threatened of extinction due to over-fishing in its area. The Blobfish (or scientifically speaking, the Psychrolutes marcidus) live at depths of 800 metres off the south eastern coast of Australia. According to the Scientific American, “the species has a very limited habitat, and can’t survive elsewhere.”

The Blobfish can grow up to 12 inches. Cute, han?
(Photo by CATERS)
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/7077472/Blobfish-worlds-most-miserable-looking-marine-animal-facing-exinction.html (Telegraph)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=an-ugly-truth-the-future-is-dim-for-2010-02-01 (Scientific American)
Girl finds deadly octopus while playing with seashells
January 15^th

(Photo published by The Daily Telegraph)
After a nice day at the beach collecting seashells, Holly Smith, 6, finally get home for a nice bath. She takes with her the shells she has collected from Point Lonsdale beach, in Victoria. As she cleans one of the shells, the big surprise: a blue-ringed octopus, one of the world’s most venomous creatures. The little girl didn’t get hurt and the octopus died due to being out of the salt water.

(Photo by The Marine Discovery Centre, Queenscliff, Victoria)
Full story: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/girl-finds-deadly-sea-creature-in-bath/story-e6freuzr-1225818374042
Green frog eats a brown tree snake
January 2nd

(Photo by Ian Hamilton)
A frog eating a snake? Yes, that’s right! Hard to believe but there it goes the picture taken by Ian Hamilton in his retirement village garden in Mackay, North Queensland, to prove it. “There were three other frogs watching as well,” he’s said to The Cairns Post.
Full story: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/01/01/85765_local-news.html

Earth Hour

2010-03-31T07:00:00.000+11:00

Did you turn off the lights on Saturday night for the Earth Hour initiative? Well, the ANZ Stadium didn’t!

While many houses, businesses and even big companies such as Google, Coca Cola, Hilton, Mc Donalds, Canon, HSBC and Ikea switched off their lights, the ANZ Stadium switched them all on for the Swans game.

The game started at 7pm and finished almost 10! That means it was on all over the earth hour time, which was from 8:30 to 9:30pm. Now tell me, couldn’t they have done it a little bit earlier? Would that hurt to be part of a project initiated by its own country?

Sydney was the first city to adopt the Earth Hour initiative back in 2007, when 2.2 million people remained in the dark for 60 minutes to raise awareness about the excessive consumption of electricity and pollution by carbon dioxide.

This year,125 countries participated, more than 4,000 cities! The Golden Gate Bridge in US, Eiffel Tower in Paris, Christ Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Great Pyramids of Giza, the world’s highest tower Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Forbidden City of China in Beijing: they were all part of it! In Sydney, the iconic monuments Opera House and Harbour Bridge were also on the dark during the Earth Hour.

I know many people disagree with the initiative and I know that just one hour in one day won’t help that much, but it’s always interesting to see how united people can get for the right purposes. It’s just a symbolic thing of course, but at least it is something! If we can’t turn off our lights to be part of a movement for even one hour, what about the real daily environmental savings we should already be doing and we will probably have to in the future?

Just to remind, this Earth Hour comes only three months after the Copenhagen’s failure, where our representatives weren’t able to set a short (until 2020) or a long (until 2050) term targets to reach the goal of limiting to two degrees the average rise in temperatures.

So what do you do to help the Planet Earth?

Here’s a video to exercise our conscience (it’s long but it’s worthy):

Main Australian newspapers

2010-03-30T21:22:00.001+11:00

Yeah I know, it’s been almost two months (again!) since my last post, that one when I’ve said I’d be back to blog… But you know life, it’s crazy and busy and crazy and busy and… crazy!

Anyway, here I am with improvements in the blog. Now you can find link to all the main Australian newspapers right here, I mean right there on the right hand side. See it? No? Scroll down and you’ll find it!

I always wanted to have access to all the newspapers at one place. So I hope it’ll be useful for you too.

See you next time!

Back to Blog

2010-02-05T18:52:00.001+11:00

Almost two months have passed since my last post. What a shame! I missed it so much! But I had to take a time off to put things in order. You know, make the resolutions for 2009 happen before the end of the year and then start making the right decisions for 2010.

Now here I am once again. Many things were accomplished and many plans are set. Meanwhile I’ve been doing what I’ve always done, enjoying this Australian life. I’ve got plenty to write about, and I promise I’ll try to make it more often here.

Finding a job in Sydney

By the way, I am writing for the Expat Arrivals website. You can read my first contribution on the link bellow:

http://www.expatarrivals.com/australia/sydney/finding-a-job-in-sydney

If you just arrived in Sydney and are looking for a job, you can find some good tips to start with there.

A lesson learnt from an 84-year-old violin player

2009-12-09T23:50:00.001+11:00

It’s unbelievable how we can put obstacles ahead of us, isn’t it?

I have decided that, after more than 15 years, I wanted to start playing the keyboard again. I’ve even bought a brand new one here in Australia. I was all excited about that but when I actually tried to play it, what wasn’t my surprise that I just couldn’t. Besides two or three very easy songs, I couldn’t play at all. I couldn’t follow the scores and notations, and couldn’t even remember how to read the sheet music properly.

I had to start from the very beginning, learning basic stuff. And I found it so hard. I remember how easy it was to play when I was 5 years old. Back then it was so easily natural that I thought it was actually kind of boring (one of the reasons I’ve stopped as soon as I could, I guess).

So from the top of my meagre twenty-something I’ve decided that I might be just too old to get back to this music stuff.

Reading a story today, on The Sydney Morning Herald, about the scientist who became an academic violin player at 84, made me rethinks. At some point of the interview he says: “I’m pretty fit; it didn’t seem to be unusual,” when asked about starting the degree in his 80s.

After constructing an antique violin, transforming it into a modern version and analysing the changing sound, John McLennan has joined an elite club of octogenarians who have gained a PhD. You can read the full story here: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/12/09/1260034276982.html

But getting back to my earlier point, what I mean is that I was almost giving up a nice hobby because I thought I was too old for that. And how many times we’ve given up something we really like because WE THOUGHT we’re too old, too busy, too tired, too unfit, too far, too whatever.

You know what? I’ve just learnt a precious lesson from Mr McLennan and all his octogenarian colleagues: It’s never too late to do whatever we wanna do. Period.

Britney’s controversial passage in Australia

2009-12-04T22:59:00.001+11:00

Britney Spears has left Australia after a month touring in the main cities of the country. She’s taken with her the 225 crew members of her Circus Tour, her boyfriend, her children, an Aussie flagged pillow and the critics over her lip-synching presentations.

The Australian media made a big deal of something that isn’t new at all. Britney Spears has always lip-synched, or nobody has never known that?

Then there was the news about the $1500 VIP Love Seats. The Daily Telegraph reported: “So who would pay up to $1500 to watch Britney Spears mime to her latest – and greatest – hits? More Australians than you might think.”

I know one of these people who bought the so polemic tickets. She isn’t Australian; she’s actually a 21-year old Brazilian who’s been a Britney Spears fan for 11 years. Camila Gomes, who’s been studying here in Australia for almost a year, was very excited when she found out Britney Spears was bringing her Circus Tour down under.

When Britney went to Brazil to perform at the Rock in Rio, in 2001, she was only 12 years old, and wasn’t allowed to go. This time, she wouldn’t miss the chance again. As soon as the tickets were on sale she bought it. But the VIP Love Seats, the ones super close to Britney, just went on sale after the early birds. She didn’t think twice: bought the special ones (actually it was a gift from her father), and then sold the other ones.

She said she didn’t care about the lip-synching, what she really wanted was to see her lifetime idol live. Wish that came true on November 19, Thursday, the penultimate Circus concert in Sydney.

I thought it would be cool to have here the point of view of a big fan of the singer opposed to the media news that we can read everywhere.

Next is a review of Britney Spears’ Circus in Sydney by a big fan:

“I arrived at the Acer Arena at about 4:00pm and there was a lot of people there already waiting for the gates to open. Many of the fans were wearing clothes like Britney Spears and/or T-shirts printed with photos of her or phrases of her songs (including me). Everybody had the Tour Book .

At the entrance there were some stands selling Britney official products, there was also an information stand. I went there to ask which queue I should get with my tickets VIPs Love Seats. There I saw Felicia Culotta (Britney Spears’ long time assistant). I asked if she was really she, and she was really nice! I took a picture with her and asked her to tell Britney I loved her, of course! And I showed her my tattoo in tribute to Britney, she liked it. Then she asked my name and where I was from, and said she would certainly give the message to Britney.

The gates were opened at 7:00pm and the DJ Havana Brown started to play at 8:00pm. At that time the arena was still half empty, that might be the reason why people didn’t get too excited with her presentation. When Britney went up to the stage at 9:00pm, I looked behind me and I couldn’t see even one seat available. The arena was absolutely crowded!

I was so close to the stage that I could see her getting into the ‘spaceship’ while Perez Hilton was being showed on the big screen, which I couldn’t hardly see so close I was. I saw Britney high fiving the other dancers backstage, looked like she was saying “good luck” to everybody. I think she has a good relationship with her crew and they seem to have a lot of fun together on stage during the show.

I am 21 years old and I’ve been Britney Spears’ fan since I was 10, so of course I cried a lot when I saw her for the first time. She was stunningly beautiful, her face is exactly the same as we see on TV and pictures, however she’s skinner than I thought she was. Her interaction with the public was the same as she always does on her concerts, and the lip-synched all the songs. By the way, she lip-synchs the songs like she does in her video clips, always showing the tongue. Super cute!

I confess I expected more of the concert because I was waiting that she would do something different at some point, like a new performance or singing live, but it was exactly the same as I’ve seen on the Internet before. On the other hand, because I knew it would be like this I wasn’t disappointed at all; in fact I really loved the show! I thought Radar and Get Naked were a bit more rock’n’roll than the other performances I’ve seen on internet, I mean, with more participation of the band on the chorus.

I was so dazed during the show that I always had this sensation that her microphone was on and she was speaking... For the same reason I had the clearly feeling she was looking and smiling to me sometimes.

In Toxic she wore a pink hat and her hair tied, but in 5 seconds she took it all off. It was funny because her hair was too tied and she had to push hard to lose it, making a bit of a mess in her hair.

At the end of Baby One More Time, I looked behind me again and many people were standing applauding, screaming Britney’s name, dancing and hitting their feet on the floor. So if any Australian media say that many people left early or didn’t like the show, they’ll be lying.

At the end of the concert, not sure if she was tired or whatever, but she didn’t seem too excited. She just went to the four corners of the stage to greet the audience forcing a smile and then she ran away from the stage for good. But then it reminded me how the Australian media treated her and if she was upset with something, she had all the right to be.

In my way home, I turned the radio on to find out a station that was doing a kind of ‘after party’ of Britney’s concert, playing only Britney’s songs for more than an hour right after the show’s finished. And people who went to the show that night were calling there to euphorically say what they thought of it, everybody said only good things. And I was glad to go back home listening to If U Seek Amy remembering Britney’s faces.”

Camila Gomes – www.fotolog.com/britonemoretime

Camila and Britney’s assistant, Felicia Culotta.

To illustrate this post I’ve used some of the hundreds photos Camila took at the Acer Arena on November 19, Thursday.

To see more photos you can visit her fotolog: /britonemoretime

Australian Idol 2009 finale

2009-11-23T16:31:00.001+11:00

Stan Walker is the winner of the seventh edition of the Australian Idol, that finished yesterday with the usual big party, fireworks and special guests at the Opera House, in Sydney. Stan Walker wins a recording contract with Sony and also a $200,000 artist’s development fund to invest in his career.

Watch the first time Stan Walker performed his first single, Black Box, to be released soon:

Australian Idol winners of all times:

2003 – Guy Sebastian

2004 – Casey Donovan

2005 – Kate DeAraugo

2006 – Damien Leith

2007 – Natalie Gauci

2008 – Wes Carr

2009 – Stan Walker

Australia’s Best Photojournalists of the Year

2009-11-22T18:17:00.001+11:00

The Nikon-Walkley Press Photography Awards selects the best photo entries of photographers who have submitted their work to the Australian press in a 12-month period. The 2009 finalists of the 9 categories (News Photography, Daily life/Feature photography, Sport, Photographic essay, Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year, Spot News, General News, Community & regional photography and Portrait photography) were already chosen.

Here are 10 out of more than 50 amazing photos. Check them all in The Walkley Foundation website or in the News.com.au website. They’re really worth to see!

by Jason South

by Craig Greenhill

by Renee Nowytarger

by Phil Hillyard

by Alex Coppel

by Andrew Brownbill

by Rob Maccoll

by Stephen Dupont

by Kate Geraghty

by Mark Dadswell

Money For Jam

2009-11-19T20:57:00.001+11:00

Money For Jam is a weekly TV program on Channel Nine that shows cases of people who succeed in business and how you can as well, it also teaches how to invest well your money, it gives tips on good ways to save your money and it also gives the spectator some ideas to earn some extra cash.

Watching Money For Jam you might get inspired by the successful cases, and/or confident to start a new business, and/or frustrated because someone has had that same idea you have already had but never gave it a chance, and/or hopeful that with the tips you can finally save some money for future projects, and/or excited to use some ideas for extra cash, and/or a lot of other feelings.

In summary, I recommend it because I like TV shows that make me think and are useful in some way.

23 ideas to earn extra cash

The most expensive time of the year is coming up. The time when you want to buy gifts to others and yourself, travel, beautifully decorate your house, buy lots of food, go to parties, etc. Whatever the reason is, somehow Christmas and New Years Eve is when we find more excuses to spend a lot of money. So here I’m living you guys with some ideas to earn some extra cash this Summer, by Money For Jam:

1- If you like kids, consider babysitting or setting up family day care;

2- If you like animals, consider walking dogs, pet sitting or pet grooming;

3- If you don’t mind housework, take in ironing jobs or become a cleaner;

4- If you have a special skill or are a good teacher, consider tutoring;

5- If you don’t have a green thumb, do some gardening for others or grow fruit and vegetables to sell;

6- If you’re a keen photographer, hire yourself out for weddings and baptisms or find out if you can submit photos to stock photography agencies;

7- If you can sew, consider making and selling kids’ clothes or quilts;

8- If you enjoy walking, deliver pamphlets;

9- If you love to exercise, get a personal training qualification and become a personal trainer;

10- If you like people, look for casual job in retail or as bartender or a waitress;

11- If you love baking, make cookies or cakes once a week and sell them at your workplace or school;

12- If you speak another language, consider tutoring or becoming a translator;

13- If you are into personal grooming, sign up for a beautician course and do waxing, manicures and pedicures from home;

14- If you are a good writer, try to pick up some freelance work at local magazines or newspapers;

15- If you like genealogy, advertise your services as a family history researcher;

16- If you are competitive, enter competitions in newspapers and magazines, particularly if there are cash prizes;

17- If you are a good salesperson, join a direct-selling company;

18- If you are a good cook, offer to cater events;

19- If you have a face for TV, become a TV extra;

20- If you’re good at typing, look for data entry work you can do from home;

21- If you are good at DIY jobs around the home then hire yourself out as a handyman;

22- If you don’t mind moving around you can earn extra cash from housesitting;

23- If you know how to make jewellery, make some to sell at work, at school, on the markets or online.

According to the tips of Money For Jam, the better way to make extra cash is turning a hobby into a profitable activity. That way,even if you don’t get a lot of money, still you’ll have had fun and got expertise in a field that you enjoy.

Another 10 Best Aussie Beer Ads

2009-11-17T18:18:00.001+11:00

Here is the second video with the best Aussie advertisings for beer companies. This compilation was made by the same person that did the other one (on this post here). The first video was posted two year ago and have impressive 622,993 views so far. One year later (or 11 months ago), the second video was launched; it has had already 72,741 views.

Dalai Lama Tour 2009 in Australia

2009-11-12T08:40:00.000+11:00

SYDNEY:

Teachings – Awakening the Mind

Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd December (Sydney Entertainment Centre)

Morning sessions: 9:30am – 11:30am

Afternoon sessions: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Tickets: $175.00 to $525.00

Public Talk – Our Future, who is responsible?

Thursday 3rd December, 2:00pm to 4:00pm (Sydney Entertainment Centre)

Tickets: $25.00 to $100.00

HOBART: Public Talk – Our Earth, who is responsible?

Tuesday 8th December, 2:00pm to 4:00pm (Derwent Entertainment Centre)

Tickets: $25.00 to $70.00

MELBOURNE: Public Talk – World Peace, who is responsible?

Thursday 10th December, 2:00 to 4:00pm (Melbourne Convention Centre)

Tickets: $35.00 to $125.00

More information about tickets and other Dalai Lama’s events in Australia, check the official website: www.dalailamainaustralia.org

Dalai Lama in Australia

2009-11-12T08:20:00.000+11:00

The 14th Dalai Lama is coming to Australia again. From 1st to 10th December, he’ll be touring the whole country, and also New Zealand, to spread his wise words about life, peace, humanity, happiness, global responsibilities etc.

This year, as last year, you have to pay to watch him. Tickets are already on sale and the prices in Sydney ranges from 25 to 100 dollars. But it wasn’t always like this. On June 15th 2007, he did a free speech in Domain Park, Sydney, on which I was fortunate to go. Anybody could go, actually, as it was an open event in the middle of the park. But I think many people didn’t show up because of the heavy rain. It was crowded but it’d be much more wasn’t for the weather, I guess.

My husband and I lived close by at that time, so there we went with our umbrella to the muddy park, and there we waited under the insistent rain. But the most unbelievable thing happened that morning. As soon as Dalai Lama stepped on the stage, the rain, that was poring for two whole days uninterruptedly, suddenly stopped. Confusingly everybody started to realise it wasn’t raining anymore, and soon all the umbrellas slowly were being closed.

For the whole hour while Dalai Lama was speaking on stage, not even a single raindrop fell from the sky, as a matter of fact, the sun even threatened to appear sometimes. I will never forget that morning. You could feel the good vibrations around everywhere in that park. We were with our clothes wet, with our shoes covered with mud, standing for more than an hour. And everybody seemed so calm, so concentrated, so touched by Dalai Lama’s funny, sagacious, honest words.

And then, as soon as he stepped out of the stage, like magic, it started raining again, and in a minute all the umbrellas were up.

New Year’s Eve Parties in Sydney

2009-11-11T14:26:00.001+11:00

If you will spend your New Year’s Eve in Sydney, here are some nice parties to enjoy.

Shore Thing

Bondi Park, Bondi Beach

December 31st - 8:30pm to 3:00am

Attractions: Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, Roger Sanchez

Price: $137.00

Harbour Party

Luna Park

December 31st – 7:00pm

Attractions: Pendulum, Ian Carey Project, JD Samson, Grafton Primary, Lost Valentinos, Bass Kleph, Ajax, Hoops (Anna Lunoe, Nina Las Vegas and Bad Ezzy)

Price: $165.40 - $449.00

Summanights

Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour

December 31st – 9:00pm to 7:00am

Attractions: Sharam (Deep Dish), Eddie Halliwell, Mark Knight, Tom Novy, Nic Fanciulli, Josh Wink, The Shapeshifters, Sebastian Leger, Don Diablo, Menno de Jong, Evil Nine

Price: $99.00 - $249.00

NYE On The Harbour 2009

Cargo Bar, Darling Harbour

December 31st – 7:00pm

Attractions: Muscles, Ladyhawke, The Bang Gang Dee Jays (Ajax, Dangerous Dan, Jaime Doom, Gus Da Hoodrat), Beni, Graz, Anna Lunoe, Adam Bozzetto, Trent Backus, Super C

Price: $80.00 - $150.00

Screamfest Australia

Enmore Theatre

2-Day Heavy Metal Festival

December 31st – Doors open 5:00pm

January 1st – Doors open 12:00pm

Attractions: Cynic (USA), Dark Funeral (Sweden), Destroyer 666 Aust/EU), Destruction (Germany), Edguy (Germany), Ensiferum (Finland), Rotting Christ (Greece), Sonata Arctica (Finland), Spawn of Possession (Sweden); Black Majesty (VIC), Darker Half (NSW), Defamer (QLD), Eyefear (VIC), Eye Of The Enemy (VIC), Killrazer (NSW), Synperium (NSW), Universum (SA), Vanishing Point, Virgin Black (SA)

Prices: $120.00 - $189.50

Full Moon Party

Space Nightclub

December 31st – 6:00pm to 6:00am

Attractions: COG, Ash Phoenix, The Kidney Thieves, Breaking Orbit, A Broken Silence; DJs Bzurk, Snowflake, Absynth and Lexx

Price: $38.50

New Years Eve at The Brewery

Queens Wharf Brewery

December 31st – 6:00pm

Attractions: The Living End, Children Collide, Dead Letter Circus, Benjalu

Price: $71.00

Peats Ridge Festival

Glenworth Valley

4-Day Festival

December 29th – January 1st

Some of the attractions: Lamb, Sarah Blasko, The Panics, Blue King Brown, Liam Finn, Bertie Blackman, Jeff Lang, Lost Valentinos, Jack Ladder, Passenger, The Jezabels, Seekae, Fergus Brown, The Medics, Kira Puru, Seagull, The Animators, Mei Lai Swan, Steve Poltz, FisherKing, Saving Grace, Dead Letter Chorus, Sarah Humphreys, The WooHoo Revenue, Dee Sea Arcade, Castanets, Darth Vegas, The Nomad, Shamik, Semper Fi, Telepathe, Ripperton etc.

Price: $120.00 - $325.00

Melbourne Cup Day... Another Australian thing

2009-11-05T09:18:00.002+11:00

Every year, on the first Tuesday of November, at around 3pm the whole country stops to watch the most prestigious horse race in Australia. The first race in Flamington Racecourse in Melbourne was held in 1861. On this day, people crowd TABs to bet money in their favourite horse and dress up, men wearing nice suits and women nice dresses and hats, to watch race together in a bar, Carnival party, at someone’s house, or even at work, preferentially with lots of beers.

Interestingly enough, I am always working on this day. And I remember well my first Melbourne Cup experience. I was working as office assistant at the Hornsby TAFE, and on my way there I noticed people were more tidy than usual (or Australian women have always worn fancy hats and I have never realised?).

First question when I got to the office: “Which horse do you think is gonna win?” I wanted to say I don’t have a clue, but before I had time, second question: “Do you want to go around in all the classes asking if the teachers and students want to bet in a horse? That would be fun, wouldn’t it?” I wanted to say: not really... But again, before my attempt to speak, a paper was thrown in my hands and I was trying to figure out which horse I would bet.

After analysing carefully all the names for a few seconds, I picked up the nicest one (name, not horse, of course). And off I went, almost the whole morning, from class to class collecting the bets. Very embarrassing the whole process of interrupting a teacher to ask about bets for Melbourne Cup but, to my surprise, they were more than happy to participate. Many of them betted in more than one horse. Amazed I watched them talking with each other about the horses and their history before betting.

In the end, Efficient was the most efficient one. The lady from the canteen, the only one who betted on it, was happy to win alone the total prize. For me, two patterns started that day: I always work on the Melbourne Cup Day and I always choose the last horse to arrive. In the end of the day, it was fun to know a little bit more about the Australian culture; this is another of those Australian things that I don’t really understand but still admire.

Oh, by the way, guess which horse was my bet this year? You’re right! Warringah... the last one.

Jennifer Hawkins with her hat, the trophy and the winner.

Sydney loses ‘Best Gay Destination’ to Rio de Janeiro

2009-11-03T09:13:00.001+11:00

Sydney was one of the destinations disputing to be the Best Global Destination for Gays but it lost the first place to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The other nominees were: Barcelona, Buenos Aires, London and Montreal. The cities participating were accessed by its gay friendliness, good hotels, restaurants, clubs, prices etc.

The TripOut Gay Travel Award promoted by Logo, MTV Channel designed to LGBT public, happened yesterday in Boston, USA. You can read more about it and see the winners of other categories, such as: Best Breakout Destination, Best Gay Bar in the World, Sexiest Place on Earth etc, in their website (click here).

TAFE Fashion Design Institute - End of the Year Exhibition 2009

2009-11-02T12:00:00.001+11:00

If you live in Sydney and like to be informed about the fashion trends, you shouldn’t miss this one. The 2009 graduates at the TAFE Fashion Design Institute will showcase their individual collections to the public. The event will have the presence of the famous designers Akira Isogawa and Alex Perryalso, both graduated in TAFE. The graduates will do their best to impress the very special guests: designer Carl Kapp, editor of Ragtrader, Assia Benmedjdoub and Sunday Telegraph fashion editor, Elle Halliwell.

Where? CarriageWorks, 245 Wilson St, Redfern.

When? November 3, 4 and 5.

What time? From 7:30pm to 10:00pm each night.

How much? Event is free.

Why? Your chance to check Australian new talents work before they are let loose into the Australian fashion industry.

Some photos of last year’s parade.

850 new species found in Australia

2009-11-02T11:22:00.006+11:00

These previously unknown species were found in subterranean water, caves and micro-caverns in the Australian Outback.

Cape Range Blind Fish is the name given to this new blind fish specie, however, most of the new species found don’t have a name yet.

A very primitive group of crustaceans, previously only found at the northern hemisphere.

A shrimp-like crustacean known as an amphipod is another of the 850 new species found underground in the Australian Outback.

A pseudoscorpion from the troglofauna in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (almost a Greek language for me!)

A predaceous diving beetle from the stygofauna of the Yilgarn region of Western Australia (the most disgusting one, in my opinion!)

A new woodlice species whose distribution is restricted to mound springs in South Africa (is it phosphorescent?)
Pictures credit: Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity, University of Adelaide.
Source: LiveScience (click to read the full story)

Travis Pastrana jumps a helicopter in Sydney

2009-10-28T22:49:00.001+11:00

Sydney had an illustrious visitor today:Travis Pastrana, most know for his courage, or according to some, insanity.

Travis Pastrana has already a lengendary resume: world free style champion at age 14, five-time US amateur motocross champion, two-time Canadian amateur motocross champion, youngest rider ever to represent the United States at the Motocross des Nations in France, 125cc pro national outdoor champion, 125cc East Supercross Series champion, and most successful competitor in the history of X Games freestyle motocross.

Well, today in Sydney, he has added a new accomplishment in his career: perform a backflip over a hovering 40-metre helicopter.

Watch the videos below and see it with your own eyes!

10 Best Aussie Beer Ads

2009-10-28T11:06:00.002+11:00

In the whole world the best commercials are always the ones for beers and cars brands. In Australia isn’t different. Here is the Top 10 I found on You Tube:

Ads in Australia

In the beginning I was surprised with the Advertising quality here… in a bad way, I must say. Brazil is one of the best in creative ads and I was disappointed with Australia.

But with the time, and always paying attention in this kind of stuff, I started to find some very good ones. However, there is a big problem with the Aussie ads in my opinion, which is the fact that many of them they don’t give enough attention to the brand itself.

We see huge outdoors with beautiful images or interesting phrases but the name of the brand very small that you can hardly read, especially if your driving. And drivers should be the number one target for outdoors campaigns in highways, right?

Even on TV, sometimes you find a commercial very funny but you can’t remember what was the brand being advertised. For example, right now I’m trying to remember what was the product of that very funny commercial where a mother rolls on the supermarket floor to prevent her son from start whining. Do you know which I’m talking about? If you do, please let me know! I am trying to collect my favourite ones to post here, in this Aussie Ads new section of the blog. So what do you think of the beer ads above?

Aussie men are the seventh best lovers in the world

2009-10-25T18:31:00.001+11:00

It’s unbelievable how they invent all kind of surveys around. I’ve just found out this one that points Australian men as the seventh lovers in the world. The best lovers are: Spanish, Brazilians, Italians and French, while the worst are: Germans, English, Swedes, Dutch and Americans. The research was conducted by OnePoll.com and 15,000 women from all over the world were interviewed.

Now, I do agree Brazilians are the best (as I’m actually married to one of them :) but is my opinion countable if I haven’t slept with all those nationalities? And have those 15,000 interviewed women slept with at least one guy from each of those nationalities cited above? I don’t think so. And that’d be the only way to fairly conduct a survey like this, in my opinion.

Australia at the top of marijuana consumption list

2009-10-19T10:47:00.000+11:00

Did you know that Australia is the second world’s highest consumer of marijuana? US is the country with the highest rate of cannabis use; and New Zealand is the third of the list.

That’s according to a research conducted by Wayne Hall from the University of Queensland’s school of population health and Louisa Dagenhardt of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.

The study also reviewed marijuana’s effects finding many possible adverse ones, such as: anxiety, panic reactions, psychotic symptoms, slow in reaction time and information processing, risk of schizophrenia and more, as they describe in their report:

"The most probable adverse effects include a dependence syndrome, increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, and adverse effects of regular use on adolescent psychosocial development and mental health."

According to United Nations data, in 2006 there were 166 million cannabis consumers between 15 and 64 years old in the world, which represents 3.9% of the world’s population in this age group.

Baby is hit by a train… and survives!

2009-10-17T22:04:00.001+11:00

A baby was hit by a train at a Melbourne train station this week. The incident happened in a split second when the mother got distracted. The six-month-old boy survived suffering just a scratch.

Watch the unbelievable video:

Miranda Kerr too skinny?

2009-10-16T09:25:00.001+11:00

Shocking new photos of Australia’s model Miranda Kerr show she has dropped some weight. The photoshoot was this week at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney for Grazia magazine.

Miranda Kerr has always been famous for her slim but curvaceous figure, what make her in demand for lingerie brands and swimwear shoots for men and sports magazines. Victoria Secret and Maybelline’s former model, she’s today the world’s tenth highest earning model.

It’s been said that this dramatic weightloss comes from her ambition to make a transition from commercial modelling to the catwalk world.

There has always been a controversy about the fashion world and recently it was relighted after famous designer Karl Lagerfeld has said that fashion world is all about ‘dreams and illusions’ and “no one wants to see curvy real women on the ramp.”

Ralph Lauren controversy

Also Ralph Lauren has recently released an incredibly digitally retouched ad photo, but it was soon taken off market after being largely criticized. The model of the photo however has been fired, according to the company statement “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract.”

Filipa Hamilton, the retouched model, is 23 years old and has been working with Ralph Lauren since she was 15. She said on an interview that she was fired because she was ‘too large’ for them. “They said I couldn’t fit in their clothes any more.”

Seriously now, how many women in the world can be that skinny healthily? And pleeease, does anyone really think a barebone is beautiful? Jennifer Lopez is beautiful! Beyonce is beautiful! A skeleton isn’t beautiful! It’s about time for brands and designers to realise that most of the women who will buy their stuff are not that skinny.

What about the ever increasing number of eating disorder, especially in teenage girls? This is a serious and dangerous problem in our society today which is closely linked to these surreal fashion expectations. Please fashion people, it’s about time to have some responsibility!

Let’s just accept the way we are. Nothing’s wrong on being curvy or skinny, as long as it’s the healthiest you.

The digitally retouched Filipa Hamilton.

The real Filipa Hamilton. Is this gorgeous woman fat? Really? Man, that’s just insane!

2009 World Master Games in Sydney

2009-10-15T08:31:00.002+11:00

Sydney is hosting the seventh edition of the World Masters Games, which is held every four years. The veteran Olympics attracts double the number of athletes than the official Olympics. This year it brought together 28,000 athletes from 95 countries.

The first edition of the World Masters Games was realised in Toronto, Canada, in 1985. This is the third time Australia hosts the event. Brisbane hosted it in 1994 and Melbourne in 2002.

Most of the games are happening at the Sydney Olympic Park, but you can check the locations of each sport in their official website. The event runs until 18^th October.

Ruth Firth, World Master Games’ oldest athlete

The oldest person at the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney is Ruth Firth, a 101-year-old Australian woman. She’s been competing for the last 26 years, since she was 74; she trains five days a week, regularly lifting weights. And she not only did win gold, she also has broken a world shot put record. What an inspiring person!

Hey Hey It’s Saturday with Jackson’s Jive

2009-10-13T16:43:00.001+11:00

So is Australia racist? I’ve asked this question before here, but it’s on again after the controversial Jackson’s Jive, a presentation on the Australian TV Show Hey Hey It’s Saturday last week.

Watch the videos and take your own conclusions.

The View about the episode:

Hey Hey It’s Saturday:

A response in You Tube:

And, to finish this post, a video clip of the target of the joke (the lyrics say everything):

Earthdance 2009

2009-10-12T11:04:00.001+11:00

Earthdance, one of my favourite festivals, sadly didn’t happen this year in Sydney.

In 2009 (September 25-27), the Global Festival for Peace happened simultaneously in 60 countries (over 300 locations). In Australia, the cities were: Melbourne, Perth, Gosford, Byron Bay, Gippsland and Darwin. Some Sydneysiders went to Gosford, the closest one for us, 75km from Sydney, or 1 hour and a half driving.

Yeah, but not in Sydney. Sad, very sad. The organisation says the reason for a break this year in Sydney is “due to significant financial losses suffered last year when authorities shut down Prince Alfred Park three hours early owing to capacity and crowd safety issues.”

Indeed last year was nothing compared to the year before in Prince Alfred Park. The site in 2008 was right behind the Central Station, in the middle of the city, what doesn’t really fit with a festival of that nature, that aim to be roots and peaceful. Also there were just a few bars, (what I couldn’t understand at the time but I can now... 3 hours is not really enough time to build a whole festival structure) and the queues were huge, a minimum of 1 hour to get a drink!

In my case, I got there at about 1:30pm, stayed on the queue to get a drink until 3:00pm, and then at 4:00pm the festival was finished!

They’re already planning Earthdance 2010 in Sydney, but because they feel that the message as a music festival for peace has been undermined in recent years, they have some questions on which they ask people’s opinions: “Should the event continue in the city or opt for a bush camping experience? Should it be ticketed or free?”

In my opinion, if it’s to be a free event, it shouldn’t be in the city. But if it’s in the city, it shouldn’t be a free event. Last year, it was too crowded, with some people that didn’t even know what that was about. For many of the people there, it was just a party for free.

Read the full Sydney Earthdance 2009 Press Release.

New dates for The Used Tour in Australia

2009-10-08T09:48:00.001+11:00

The American punk rock band The Used has postponed to March next year its Australian Tour that’d happen next month.

Their official statement says: “Due to circumstances beyond their control, the band has found themselves in a position of having to stay close to their home base for the latter part of this year".

The venues remain the same and all tickets bought for the November shows are valid for the rescheduled dates in March 2010. Refunds are available at the point of purchase for those unable to make the new dates.

Wednesday 18 Nov NOW Thursday 18 March, 2010
The Tivoli, Brisbane, All Ages

Friday 20 Nov NOW Tuesday 16 March, 2010
The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, SOLD OUT!

Sunday 22 Nov NOW Sunday 14 March, 2010
The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, U18

Tuesday 24 Nov NOW Friday 12 March, 2010
UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney, All Ages

Source: Triple J

Brazilian wins Beachley Classic 2009

2009-10-07T22:26:00.001+11:00

Brazilian surfer Silvana Lima won the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic 2009, the third of seven stops of ASP Women’s World Tour, on Sunday (4) in Dee Why, Sydney’s Northern Beach. She also won the second stop in Bells Beach in April this year, what made her much more confident.

I interviewed her for a Brazilian website I was writing for (ORadical.com.br) and she said that despite of more four contests left this year and a lot of work to be done yet, she’s definitely looking at the title now. She’s still second in the world ranking, but closer to the first place Stephanie Gilmore.

Last two years she went on to the final but lost it. This year everything was different, including the beach itself. The other years it usually happened in Manly, this year Dee Why hosted the event for the first time and accordingly to Silvana, that also helped. “The waves here today were like in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro where I’m used to surf. They’re the kind of waves that if you know how to pick the right ones you’ll get most of it and get a high score,” she said.

And she really did most of it. In the final round she surfed the highest scored wave (8.83) and guaranteed her victory under inflamed applauses. The Brazilian community was there to give support and make the party complete.

Really nice Sunday when even the rain that kept falling the whole weekend generously gave us a break. Silvana Lima is a kind person, talking to everybody, all smiles, even before she has actually won it. Now I am cheering even more for her. Not just because she’s Brazilian but because she’s a really nice person and a hard worker as well.

The final:

Silvana Lima in her highest scored wave

Stephanie Gilmore was in great form as well

The contest in Dee Why for the first time:

Faces of the winner:

Concentrating

After winning semifinal

Autographing a Brazilian flag

Brazilians cheering up for Silvana in Dee Why Beach:

Podium:

Oakley Earth Challenge

2009-10-03T21:24:00.001+10:00

Due to lack of good waves yesterday at Dee Why Beach, the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic was put on hold for the second consecutive day. But some of the best female surfers in the world surfed anyway in a fun event called Oakley Earth Challenge, where two teams of five were formed: Australia (blue singlet) VS The World (white singlets). The Aussies won in the last minutes of the 40 minute challenge. But most of all, they had fun in a relaxed day.

Teams:

Blue - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 25, Tyler Wright, 15, Layne Beachley 37, and Rebecca Woods (AUS), 25

White – Bruna Schmitz (BRA), 19, Coco Ho (HAW), 18, Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, Paige Hareb (NZL), 19, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22

Paige Hareb (NZL) on a left and on a right

Coco Ho (HAW)

Sofia Mulanovich (PER)

Bruna Schmitz (BRA)

Audience moment

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)

Aussie team won the challenge

San Remo vs. Nestle – same logo?

2009-10-02T12:13:00.001+10:00

Walking on the supermarket other day I caught a glimpse of a familiar product, a Nestle chocolate powder great for making cakes and stuff. But when I got closer it wasn’t chocolate, it was actually pasta and not even Nestle pasta.

Why had I misunderstood that? I’ll show you in the pictures below:

Aren’t they very similar?

Researching I’ve found out that it’s actually a painting of Alessandro Sani, an Italian artist born in Florence in the second half of the 19th century. Nestle Brazil’s been using it since 1957 when they bought the product from another chocolate factory, the Gardano. But before that, Gardano was already using the painting since about 1921; it was chosen by one the owners as it was his favourite painting. Nestle had actually thought about changing the logo but gave up after a survey has showed people actually recognised the chocolate by that painting, so they just changed a bit as you can see the on the picture. Nestle Brazil Customer Service had replied my email enquiry telling pretty much the same story I’ve already investigated.

The original painting of Alessandro Sani:

In San Remo website there is nothing about the painting from Alessandro Sani. It’s saying that the central feature of the packaging was the two “San Remo Brothers” in the kitchen cooking pasta, but the leaflet from 1950s show a different drawing from the current one. Nowhere is actually saying when the friars started to be used in the packaging. Trade Marketing Manager of San Remo, Mak Chee-Wah, has replied to my enquiry e-mail as follows: “the San Remo logo was inspired by a print on the wall of a customer’s home in the early 1950s when Aldo Crotti (the son of founder Luigi Crotti) was delivering pasta to her. The symbol of the two brothers cooking pasta in the kitchen is the mark of San Remo quality.”

The doubt on which brand started using Alessandro Sani painting first remains, but Nestle Brazil seems to know better its history by the answers to my e-mails. Anyway, I just did all this research because it isn’t the first time I have the feeling that something I see here in Australia seems a copy from something I’ve seeing before. I’ve got some other examples that after investigated I’ll bring to light as well. It might be just a coincidence (at least in this case of these big brands), but sometimes I ask myself if isn’t it easier just copy things than create it, especially when you think that you’re so far that nobody will realise it.

Well, whoever has done that, on this internet generation, that’s definitely not a good idea anymore. So think twice before copying something. Be creative!

Walk to Work Day

2009-10-01T15:50:00.001+10:00

Tomorrow is the day to leave the car in the garage and the public transport ticket in the wallet. It has arrived the day when you will move those poor sedentary legs a bit.

Walk to Work Day is an annual national event to promote regular walking and physical activity as well as a greener environment. Lots of advertisings everywhere are trying to incentive people to leave their car at home and go walking to work tomorrow, as a symbol of the beginning of a more active life.

Besides having a better physical, mental and social health, walking (or cycling if you work far from home) instead of driving also helps to reduce traffic and consequently global warming.

For more information go to Walk to Work website.

Hopefully I’ll see a lot of people walking tomorrow and, most importantly, not many cars on the street. You can do it, Australia! :)

Beachley Classic called off due to lack of waves

2009-10-01T08:55:00.001+10:00

The Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic 2009 has been called off today due to lack of waves in Dee Why Beach, Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where the event has started yesterday. The contest goes until Monday, October 5, which is Labour Day holiday in Australia. That makes plenty time remaining in the event waiting period, so surfers and officials have decided to wait for the swell to increase. At 7am tomorrow conditions will be reassessed with potential start at 8am.

Official teaser of the event:

Growing number of older people taking cosmetic procedures

2009-09-30T09:22:00.002+10:00

About 13 per cent of Australia’s population – some 2.8 million people – is aged 65 years old or older; Australians have the second longest life expectancy in the world at 81.4 years, right behind Japan. A research released last year by the Department of Health and Ageing of Australia also appoints that by mid-century most Australians can expect to live to their mid-to-late-80s.

However people are living longer and better while keeping themselves active and healthy, the aging process still continues changing their appearance. That might be the reason why many people over 50 years old are looking for cosmetic procedures, such as Botox, facelift, dermal fillers etc.

Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and a member of both the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Dr Richard Barnett has found an increase number of older people taking plastic surgery in recent years.

Most of his older patients have facial surgery, particularly facelifts. “Cosmetic surgery is about restoring balance and these patients typically feel that their appearance does not balance with how they feel about themselves. They look in the mirror and think ‘that is not how I feel’. A successful facelift allows them to look in the mirror and think ‘that is how I feel now’,” says surgeon Dr Barnett.

As the advanced age increases the risks for any surgery, it is important to check each patient’s condition, all their medical background, including any heart or lung trouble, blood pressure, allergies or medication being taken. Depending on the case and on patient’s goals, a non-surgical procedure which is less expensive and involves less adverse reactions could be indicated.

Dr Mariusz Gajewski, specialised in Cosmetic Medicine, has had an 84-year-old client that was looking for a face lifter, but by using Botox injections (a non-surgical cosmetic procedure) she’s achieved her goals. “She was full of energy, feeling healthy with not many medical issues looking for a way to minimise aged related signs on her face. Using Botox to smooth up movement lines and dermal filler to pop up her cheek bones, she looked a lot better. She didn’t look 20 but she looked great for her age.”

Dr Gajewski says 25 per cent of his clients are over 50 years old, most of them are women but there is a substantial part of men as well; the oldest male client he’s looked after was in his 70s. “A lot of men look for Botox procedures because it’s not something that requires huge amount of time investment; you don’t have to spend hours in front of the mirror, daily or weekly, scrubbing things on and scrubbing things off,” he explains.

Young people tend not to treat cosmetic procedures as a big deal, they don’t mind talking about it with family and friends; for them, that’s just one more way to take care of their appearance, such as going to the gym or having an expensive haircut. Older people, on the other hand, prefer to treat it as a private matter, remaining the procedure as a secret most of the time.

All the surgeons agree that is important to check the patient physical possibilities of surgical procedures and how they relate to surgical results, but the mental health of the patient is equally important. “I wouldn’t feel ethically right to operate someone or do a procedure in someone who is doing it while they’re clinically depressed,” says Dr Mariusz. “It’s possible to find out depression and other mental related issues exploring carefully patient’s medical history.”

A surgeon should be always prepared to let the patients know of the realistic results and all the adverse reactions they could possibly experience, they could even refuse the treatment if the expectations are incongruous with what is expected to be the outcome. Dr Mariusz Gajewski says that attitude could be taken every time a patient who’s been treated expects to have a little bit more and the doctor doesn’t think it’s of any benefit for the patient. “I’d probably say that’s not worthwhile of doing any further and that’d only increase the chance of adverse reactions without much benefit from it anymore.”

Cosmetic Procedures Statistics

Australia hasn’t got any actual statistics of cosmetic surgeries in the country, although the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is working towards the development of collection tools to gather data on plastic surgery. For now, the most comprehensive picture of Australian cosmetic surgery scenario is dated from 1999, on a report of the NSW Committee of Inquiry into Cosmetic Surgery, which found 50,000 cosmetic surgical procedures, such as liposuction and breast augmentation, were performed that year. There were also a further 260,000 non-surgical procedures, such as Botox injections.

A survey commissioned as part of the inquiry found that Mosman was Sydney's surgery capital, followed by North Sydney and Vaucluse. The patients, or "consumers", of these procedures were almost all women, a third were aged 45-39, a third aged 35 to 44, 23 per cent aged 25 to 34 and 7.5 per cent aged between 15 and 24. Almost half were repeated customers and 4 per cent had undergone cosmetic surgery more than 10 times.

In the United States, nearly 11.7 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in 2007, according to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS); an increase of 457 per cent since 1997, when they first started collecting this data.

In the UK, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), there were 34,187 operations on men and women in 2008, up 5 per cent on the 32,453 in 2007, which is more than triple the 2003 figure, when 10,700 plastic surgery operations were carried out.

(This is my first article as part of the Freelance Journalism course I’m taking with the Morris Journalism Academy. I’d like to thank Dr Mariusz Gajewski and Dr Richard Barnett who kindly took their time to grant me the interview.)

The Apprentice Australia

2009-09-29T16:00:00.000+10:00

I was so excited to see the Australian version of The Apprentice, which I used to watch in US with Donald Trump and in Brazil with Roberto Justus as the bosses, but here... Well, it was a bit of a disappointment.

It started yesterday with 12 contestants from all over Australia aged between 19 and 54 years old who will be competing for a $200,000 a year job with one of Australia’s most successful businessmen, Mark Bouris.

For the first challenge they were separated into two teams of six, men against women, or Pinnacle versus Eventus, the name chosen to represent the groups. And then they had to choose the manager of that project.

The task was to deliver a premier landscape service to big businesses as well as to residencies. Most of the contestants didn’t have a clue about gardening, no experience at all, which is fine, as long as you know how to find competent people to get that job done in the shortest time possible and within the budget, right? Wrong, in Australia, at least.

Apparently to be a successful business person here you should get your hands dirty even if you don’t have a clue of what you’re doing, even if you won’t deliver what’s expected of a landscape service, even if you have to underrate the job. They had to do the gardening themselves, when they could have had specialised people to help them out. Of course they didn’t deliver a good service and in some cases didn’t deliver any service, as a matter of fact.

I missed the strategies and thinking and problem solving of the American and Brazilian versions. Next episode they’ll have to use their creativity to create a campaign to sell cereals for kids. Let’s see, maybe it was just a bad start.

The Apprentice goes on air every Monday for 90 minutes starting at 9:30pm. Watch, take your own conclusions and tell me what you think. By the way, if you’re not in Australia you can still watch it online on Channel 9 website.

Beachley Classic 2009 in Dee Why

2009-09-29T09:20:00.001+10:00

For the first time in its four-year history, the Beachley Classic, that normally takes place in Manly, this year will be relocated to Dee Why. The change from the beachbreaks of Manly to the nearby pointbreaks of Dee Why came with the new sponsor Commonwealth Bank.

The Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic 2009 holds a US$100,000 prize as well as a 10 percent increase in ASP ratings points, making it the most lucrative of the seven stops on the top tour this year.

Seven-time world surfing champion Layne Beachley, who organises the event and who actually got the deal with the bank, has proven she is as good in business as she is surfing or even dancing (she’s participated of this year’s edition of Dancing With The Star).

The surfing contest will be happening in conjunction with a big festival promoted by the Warringah Chamber of Commerce and local businesses bringing to the public six full days of varied fun starting tomorrow.

When? September 30 to October 5, 2009

Where? Dee Why Point, Northern Beaches, Sydney

Why? A complete festival where you will see the world’s best female surfers in action and also performances from Dancing With The Stars, live bands, samplings from some of Sydney’s best restaurants and wineries and much more.

More information at:

http://www.beachleyclassic.com/

Lisa Mitchell in Mona Vale

2009-09-28T08:49:00.004+10:00

I must confess there were basically three reasons for going to Lisa Mitchell's concert last Saturday night, and none of them were related to her music; were they:

- Taking place on a venue that I like and it’s close to home
- On a Saturday night without nothing else to do
- Very cheap price (17 dollars only!)

I do like her music though, at least the only one that I actually knew, Coin Laundry. But I was a bit curious about this 19-year old girl, who was born in Canterbury, England, but grew up in Albury, Australia.

She was a contestant on the Australian Idol fourth edition, in 2006, when at the age of only 16, she finished in sixth place the TV show. According to the Central magazine, “it’s often the case with Australian Idol, the ones with their own sense of musical style and reluctance to change in spite of the judges’ persistence, are the ones who end up making it big.”

And she’s really making it big. Her debut album Wonder was a Top 10 launch in Australia. She was one of only two Australian acts playing in the prestigious Glastonbury Festival, in Britain. Here in Australia she is in the middle of a big tour that includes more than 20 gigs around the country.

Saturday’s concert in Mona Vale Hotel was unexpectedly crowded with a diverse public of men and women from almost all ages between 18 and 50! I was surprised as I didn’t expect that many people, especially boys.

Mona Vale Hotel is an interesting place where the artists have to pass through the crowd to get to the stage, there is no other passage. Because of that, Lisa Mitchell had to pass right in front of my eyes and I’ve gotta tell ya, she’s damn beautiful!

But her concert proved she isn’t just a beautiful face, and a soft beautiful voice. She is also a very talented young musician who writes her own songs and plays guitar and piano live on the stage.

Between each song she gave us cute anecdotes about her songwriting motivations, and there was a time when she politely complaint about the flash of the cameras saying: "I see white little birds after each flash."

Before singing the most waited Coin Laundry, she said she’s been attacked every night she performs in Australia, struck with a dollar coins to be precise. “I thought it was so cute in the beginning but then one night it kinda hit me pretty hard and I was pretty embarrassed. I should have written ‘do you have a five-dollar in the song…”

In Mona Vale nobody threw any coins on the stage, not even while she was singing “do you have a dollar, do you have a dollar for me?” But a guy did hand her out a dollar coin saying “that’s for you, beauty” before the concert has even started, when she was passing through us on to the stage, to what she replied with a very sweet smile.

My favourite songs, besides Coin Laundry, were Stevie and Neopolitan Dreams, with she latter the finished the show with everybody on the stage as you can see in the picture above. In the end I am glad I made it to the concert where I had lots of fun and got to know better a very talented young Aussie artist.

(photos by Ico Silva)

Discrimination is not ok

2009-09-27T01:03:00.001+10:00

After a day of work, last Wednesday I went to Steyne Hotel, in Manly (Sydney’s Northern Beach), for a friend’s farewell meeting. For my surprise they didn’t let me in because they didn’t accept my Brazilian driver licence, which they’ve always accepted before. I didn’t argue because you know, rules are rules, they have all the rights to change their own rules at any time, and I accept that. But then I saw they accepting other nationalities driver licences and that’s when I was explained that ONLY the Brazilian licence is not accepted anymore.

What?!? Since when discrimination is ok? If they decide they’ll accept only Australian IDs and passports from now on, that’s totally fine. But if they don’t accept JUST the Brazilian ones... something is wrong in there. Discrimination is crime, and a business should know that!

I’ve been told that the reason is a fight between Brazilians happened last week on a fundraise party. Party that a friend of mine was hurt on her way out of the bathroom when a drunk Aussie threw a sign inside the party and it hit her on the face. He was angry because he wanted to get in upstairs where the closed fundraise party was taking place. I wasn’t there, to be very honest I don’t go often to clubs in here as soon as I’ve realised that (not all) but many people here just go out to drink so much that they start doing stupid things.

Well, fact is, the fight between Brazilians might have really happened, but the Brazilians aren’t the only ones to do stupid things. Not all Brazilians are jerks as well as not all Aussies or Frenchs or Koreans or whatever. People can’t be labelled by their nationality. That is absolutely unacceptable.

I’d suggest a boycott: no Brazilians go to Steyne Hotel anymore. Manly is full of Brazilians and a big part of Steyne’s customers are from Brazil. They get good money from Brazilians, otherwise they wouldn’t have done so many Brazilian parties, always crowded, in there. If just for one Saturday no Brazilians go to Steyne I’m sure something would be done about it.

Stand up for your rights. A world without rules would be a world of chaos, but a world with rules just for some is a world of injustice.

Back to normal

2009-09-25T11:21:00.002+10:00

After a day locked inside the house, sending stories to Brazil (IG Minha Noticia and Terra Vc Reporter) and even giving an interview to a newspaper in Canada (National Post), now life has got back to normal. The sky is blue, the days are warm and the nights are a bit could, as it normally is on Spring time.

The dust storm keeps its journey up to Queensland though as you can read in the news.

Thanks to all your comments and visits to the blog!

Dee Why Beach, Sydney

Sydney Dust Day

2009-09-23T08:10:00.006+10:00

My eyes open slowly and the room is all red, bright red. What is it? The room has never been in that colour before. Am I dreaming? Has my husband changed the lights? Is it morning yet?

6:00 am. I am really awake now. And the room is really red. This beautiful colour in which I’ve never seen my room before.

Open the window and to my surprise the whole world outside is also red. What’s happening? Huge bushfire? End of the world? The sky just decided for once to change its usual morning colour from blue to red? Just for a change, you know.

Windy. Red. Not exactly pleasant to breath. Feel discomfort in my throat. Close the window. Different beautiful red sky. But better to watch it from inside.

Turn TV on immediately. Sydney dust storm. First time ever. Ferries not working. Airport's shut down. Flights being diverted to Brisbane or Melbourne. Don’t exercise. Don’t go outside if you suffer from asthma. It should be better in an hour. It’ll get worse.

They don’t have a clue. Nobody really has. Explanations pop up from everywhere. Apparently it usually happens in Victoria and in the country side. But first time ever in Sydney.

Fact is, when something like this happens, you feel small. See, one day you can wake up and the sun won’t be there. Or the night will never come. Whatever. What I mean is that nature is changing, we’re forcing it to. And nobody really knows what will be of our future.

Just one certainty. As long as we all need oxygen... we are all the same.

That’s the view from my apartment on a normal morning.

That’s the view today.

Blue sky on a regular sunny day.

Red sky on a never happened before storm dust day.

In this photo using flash you can actually see the dust.

That’s a video of Sydney in the morning today:

What would you do if you found $100,000?

2009-09-21T10:53:00.000+10:00

Imagine you’re fishing but instead of a fish you catch a bag with $100,000 cash inside. Would you hand it out to the police?

Well, that’s what two teenage brothers from northern NSW did this weekend. They found $100,000 cash in a bag on the Tuntable Creek, near marijuana neverland Nimbin.

What all that money was for, especially been found close to Nimbin, is an intriguing mystery. But police said that if nobody claims the money, the family can make an application to the courts to keep it.