There is no subject line.

[active_apathy]

So, I spent most of the night occupied with drinking and with fireworkysplodeystuffs. Both were good. Especially the wine - and apparently they export Rouge Homme, so find it and buy it and drink it, for it is good.

Very good. Very good indeed. Mmm, tasty wine.



And now, because I told shaysdays I'd make it into a meme of sorts:

In this post, the floor is opened for international (and/or national) questioners to ask about how and why things are the way they are here. If there's things you want to know about Australia, ask and I'll do my best to answer it.

No questions will be found offensive, unless you're <em>really</em> trying for that. On the other hand, accuracy isn't guaranteed in any way, shape, or form - and I reserve the right to abandon it in favour of fun as and when I see fit.

Comments

[deepbluemermaid.livejournal.com]

I have a vested interest in asking this, as a New Zealander, but I am genuinely curious:

what do Australians think about New Zealand and New Zealanders, generally speaking? Does news from NZ make it into the papers, or are we only covered on the sports pages? Is there resentment of Kiwis coming over and bludging off the state/taking your jobs/stealing your women (delete those not applicable)?

[ladyphoenixia.livejournal.com]

As a NZer who lives in Australia, and has done for ten years, my basic impression is - Australians like to mock Kiwis, and of course there's sport rivalry, but when it comes down to it our two countries are united against the rest of the world... so sheep jokes are common, but I've never heard Australians genuinely resenting us, we're just a fact of life. I don't really read the news as much as I should, so I can't really answer that question, but NZ makes it in at least as often as any other country, probably more.

On the other hand, I live in one of the better areas of Sydney, so this may be different out west/other states/in the country.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

No, that's really about it. Unless it's different in WA, I suppose. Or Tasmania, but we don't talk about Tasmania.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

There's generally no resentment. I say generally, because I'm sure there's some idiot somewhere frothing at the mouth right. now. at New Zealanders coming here, but for the most part you're thought of in much the same way as the rare one-headed Tasmanians.

New Zealand is also known as a source of occasional awesome, which we either steal (Keith Urban), want to keep (Cal Wilson, Alan Brough), or would very much like to send back (Russell Crowe).

Some news from NZ does make it here, though I'm sure it's probably less than goes the other way. I can't tell you exactly how much, though, because I too follow the news less than I maybe should.

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

I'm sure there's some idiot somewhere frothing at the mouth right. now. at New Zealanders coming here

Several of them, all old men, all living in my town. They have special problems with anyone who is "obviously a New Zealander" (aka Maori) but the new minister is a Fijian via Sydney with his wife and six kids, so that will be interesting. I'm in dairy country, so there's quite a lot of Kiwis farming here, and their general reputation is that they're extremely thick. I suspect this is the fault of one particular family, though!

[shaysdays.livejournal.com]

Do Australians really think they're voting for the least crook amongst crooks, or is that a big exaggerations?

If England and American got in a war, and you had to side with the country you all liked better, which would you side with?

WTF are those hats with corks on them? Are they for real, or are they the head gear equivalent of drop bears?

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Mostly, though sometimes it's more a matter of voting out especially bad crooks (like last year, yay!) or voting for someone who's actually good.

One day, we may build on this to have a white hat party, a black hat party, and various shades of grey in between - like, say, when a black hat crosses the floor for a white hat vote. This will, of course, need hats that can quickly and easily change colour. None of the hats will have corks, except for Brendan Nelson's, and those corks will be weighted for when people swing them at his head.



Switzerland! Or we'll tell you both to collectively pull your heads in. Or we'll just drink our very, very good wines, and promise to share them with whoever wins.

Whichever way it goes, the good news is we have some oil, which means that America might invade instead of turning the whole country into a very big pile of pebbles and sand.



I've never actually seen one of those hats. Ever. Outside of TV and movies made by Americans, at least, which would be like us making a movie where we're invaded by loud, overbearing Americans festooned with concealed weapons, wearing hawaiian shirts, aaan' taawwkin' laaahke a southenaaah with a bowtaawwx-injected tongue.

Apparently, they're supposed to discourage flies with the corks flailing about in response to head movement. I'm sure they can test this if they ever find one - and someone willing to wear it. The Australian Salute, on the other hand, is completely real.

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

I've seen them!


...in novelty shops for tourists.

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

(I just heard about this so-called "Skyfire", and am amus-ed. It just sounds so "this is my boom stick!")

Having spent the day going to the Old Bus Depot Markets, Kingston, lazing around on the foreshore etc - Canberra: what's up with all the circles?

And is there possibly some kind of coup being planned by the lakeside peewees? We were surrounded by at least fifteen while sitting in the shade...

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

The town was designed by an architect, rather than a town planner. Anyone with a shred of common sense might note here that this was a Bad Idea.

And, I haven't heard of one - but maybe that's why that spider was so keen to dig in and fortify itself. Hmm.

[jassalol.livejournal.com]

Hi! Just stopping by to ask whether it's perhaps ok for me to use this icon that Dana says you made for her:



:D

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

You'll have to ask Dana, since it was made for her - so if she says you can, then everyone's happy. Except maybe Jack Bauer, because he doesn't have the Triforce or a fetching green tunic and liripipe. :)

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

Ah, but of course it's alright with me. Go ahead, Jassa. Use away!

[jassalol.livejournal.com]

Woooooo!

[ssha.livejournal.com]

BOOBIES!

[jassalol.livejournal.com]

...yes.

[ssha.livejournal.com]

BD

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the steampunk dalek?

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I have now! Also, eee! Cute!

[antrobus178.livejournal.com]

After having a nerdgasm over your icons I have recovered enough to ask, Is there a constant low-grade concern about poisonous/dangerous animals whenever you're outside of a large city (or even inside of a large city)? As an ignorant, fear-filled American (specifically, an American in a region with only two poisonous spiders, no poisonous snakes, and next to no large predators), it seems that your continent's natural defenses against humans would make your anxiety gland run a little hot.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Um, no. Not really, except with people who are squeamish about $killer_creature to begin with. In my experience, we as a nation just couldn't be bothered to be bothered about the lethal fauna.

About the only thing that might look like concern is a kind of low-grade awareness of how not to get killed. If you've got lots of spiders, for instance, you learn to check things like clothes and shoes before you put them on. Most people I know are well aware that snakes can't see you if you just stand very, very still - and you can scare others away by stomping lots.

The same goes for things other than the fauna - massive, raging bushfires, for example, are annual events that surprise no-one. Or, at least, no-one outside Canberra.

Even if all that fails, the novelty of having a country that will kill you just wears off really, really fast. We deal with this by making up new threats to scare the tourists.

[antrobus178.livejournal.com]

Ah, that explains it. I'm squeamish about everything.