Don't call me dude, as they say

So "dude" is, like, officially over.

I'll be closing down all communications while I find an alternative catch-word.

Go and read this sweet sweet piece on Slate.com, it is quite the deconstruction.

And also, I'm now paranoid about my lack of mad pop culture skillz.

Aren't we all?

Dee doo doo doo, de da da da

The things I would say, if a one way ticket to a Florentine villa with no need of further human contact was waiting:

“I’m not entirely sure how you get through the day with such a low level of compassion”

“You know, I think we’ve kind of overdone the “you think you need to lose weight” motif in this conversation”

“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here talking to some one you know. Frankly, that’s none of your business”

“I think the way you treat people is completely unacceptable”

“You have the most annoying laugh in the world. Which wouldn’t be such a problem if you didn’t also have the loudest laugh in the world”

“You owe me an apology. If I don’t speak to you for a while, it should be no surprise to you”

“I know – I’m disappointing in real life”

"I don't like you. And believe me, I've tried to like you, given your proximity to me. But essentially your attitude to women sucks, and your complete disregard for anyone's point of view other than your own is deeply offensive"

Every day I write the book...

At the risk of revealing way too much about myself, I have spent some of the last week compiling a list of books I would like to buy/read when I next get the chance.



‘Status Anxiety’ – Alain de Botton
‘Morality and Political Violence’ – C.A.J. Coady
‘Van Diemen’s Land’ – James Boyce
‘On Love’ – Alain de Botton
‘Counting for nothing: what men value and what women are worth’ – Marilyn Wareing
‘Discomfort Zone: A Personal History’ – Jonathan Franzen
‘True Stories’ – Inga Clendinnen
‘The Battle for Bennelong’ – Margot Saville
‘Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition and the Defeat of the Moors’ – James Reston
‘Strange Histories’ – Darren Oldridge
‘A life at work: the joy of discovering what you were born to do’ – Thomas Moore
‘State of Denial’ – Bob Woodward


Any pointers, suggestions, comments? Feel free to psycho-analyse.


PS Have been diverted by a research proposal. I promise there is serious post on sexualisation of children coming up. One of these days.

Brusha brusha brusha*

Does anyone else remember when toothpaste used to come in metal (possibly aluminium) tubes?

The end of the toothpaste was always accompanied by the quest to eke out the last bit without the metal cracking with fatigue.

But inevitably it would, and the toothpaste oozing out in tiny worms out the side.

And then you'd brush up the tiny worms and they'd get mixed up with flecks of white and red paint.

We may all now have Alzheimers. But at least our teeth are lovely.


Good times, the 80s. Good times.


* And yes, that's a Grease reference.

Two weeks leave, two weeks leave, two weeks leave it's only two weeks, goddammit

The Friday Random Goodtimes never stop.....

1. I’ve realised that I’ve stopped assuming that women I know who have kids have a partner. I don’t know when I stopped assuming this, but I have.

2. Maybe this isn’t news, maybe it is. But I’ve noticed recently how very judgemental our systems to protect children are. A friend told me last night that a friend of hers has been on a single mothers’ pension for some time. She manages to get through the system without much hassle, and has been told “It’s okay, you’re not one of them”. Her response was, “Well, actually, I am. One of them. You know, a single mother, drawing a pension. That would be me”. Apparently they’re more worried about people wearing tracksuit pants and/or smoking. For some reason this reminds me very much of the ‘We’re Ladies’ sequence from Little Britain.

3. Oooh. I overheard some one saying yesterday in response to the news that some one with five kids hadn’t received any payment from Centrelink in two weeks: “Oh for god’s sake love, get a job”. She then turned to her friend and observed that said woman was “earning more than she was – she’s got five kids” as if children were nothing more than a money-making opportunity and didn’t require any ongoing maintenance (y’know, like food and stuff).

4. Is anyone else constantly being told, exceedingly graciously, “You can blog about that if you want”. It seems I can’t have a conversation with Mr Fix lately without him magnanimously adding that loving offer to the end of it. I suppose in some senses this is gracious, because my tendency is to make sharp fun of him when given the opportunity.

5. I’m sure other people pored over Eurovision in rapt attention. I let Grizzlewick dance along to the first couple of entires as I had forgotten it displaced ‘Top Gear’ that night. I had to change channels when the Swedish entry came on. * shudder * I know it’s really groovy and peace-love-mung beans etc, and perhaps it’s the advent of the various Idol incarnations that has ruined it for me, but jeeze, they only need to add a slippery pole and couple of brightly coloured pontoons and this would be It’s A Knockout.

6. Carrot dip. It’s really quite something.

The 80/20 Rule

So apparently some people are surprised to learn that 80 per cent of submissions to the Victorian Law Reform Commission around abortion were from pro-lifers. I’m not.

Let’s put aside for a moment the fact that a straw poll of people I know, when asked, believe that abortion is already legal (it’s not people, so let’s fix it).

I’m pretty sure there would be only so many submissions like this that the VLRC could be bothered reading:


To my dearest VLRC (or 'the Commish', as I've playfully come to know you),

In answer to the question, "should abortion be decriminalised in Victoria?", I submit the following response:


“Of course, doofus! Women, their partners, their doctors and nurses shouldn’t go to jail for terminating a pregnancy!”


I hope you also enjoy the enclosed recording of some one smacking their forehead with the palm of their hand, and saying “sheeeeze!”.

Deepest glowing tidings for your health and happiness,

Gigglewick