Quoth the Raven

The Great Ocean Road

This is the Twelve Apostles, part of the beauty of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. I was born in Melbourne and decided to move to Sydney after I got married. But as much as I absolutely adore Sydney, with every visit to Melbourne, I must return to the Great Ocean Road.

The Great Ocean Road is 160 miles (or 400 kms) of scenic coastline that seems to go on for eternity when you are driving along it. I think the most challenging part of the drive is trying not to look at the views while driving! That is a task in itself. If you are a surfer this is definitely the place to be, and to be seen. The main area between Torquay and Lorne is known as the Surfcoast. This area is made up of many beaches; Bells Beach, Jan Juc, 13th Beach, Breamlea, the list goes on.

Growing up I still recall my first experience along the Surf Coast. I must have been about 12 years old and my sister decided to let me go away with her for the weekend. She was 17 and was dating a surfer dude who had a really cool Sandman panel van. I thought it was all so fantastic, being young and getting to hang out with my older sister and her surfer friends.

We stopped at the beach and while laying out my beach towel, I heard a commotion down by the waters edge. Some guys and their girlfriends had just arrived and were getting ready for a swim. Sounds simple enough, except the girls were resisting? It wasn't long before I found out what all the resisting was about. The guys had stripped down to nothing and were playing jump frog! Yes I am not exagerating - jump frog start naked!

I guess you could say I was a little shocked? I then looked over to my sister to see her and her friends in fits of laughter. They knew from the beginning that this particular beach was a local nude beach but thought it would be funny to see my reaction.

I am sure I must have had frequent nightmares involving naked guys playing leap frog. And yes the memory remains......eww.

What classic pin-up are you?

After the previous post, which was somewhat serious, I thought I should lighten up and have some fun?

You're Lili St. Cyr!

What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Warning: Domestic Violence is a health hazard

Did you know:

• Nearly 1/3 of American women report being physically or sexually abused by an intimate sometime during their lives.
• 28% of all annual violence against women is perpetrated by intimates.
• 5% of all annual violence against men is perpetrated by intimates.
• Race is not indicative of who is at risk of domestic violence.
• Women ages 19-29 reported more violence by intimates than any other group.
• 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women.
• As many as 95% of domestic violence perpetrators are male.
• Domestic violence occurs within same-sex relationships with the same statistical frequency as heterosecual relationships.
• Much of female violence is committed in self-defense, and inflicts less injury.
• 70% of intimate homicide victims are female.
• 27% of domestic homicide victims are children.
• When children are killed, 90% are under age 10; 56% are under age 2.
• Immigrant women may suffer higher rates of battering than U.S. citizens because they may be from cultures which accept dometic violence or because they have less access to social services than U.S. citizens.
• Dometic violence has immediate and long term detrimental effects on children.
• Each year an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female caretakers.
• In homes where partner abuse occurs, children are 1,500 times more likely to be abused.
• 1 in 7 women will be sexually assaulted by her husband.

Unfortunately the statistics for Domestic Violence are on the increase.

It is up to those of us who have a voice; who are able to speak, to speak out against domestic violence. We will no longer remain silent.

Here are just some of the resources available online:

• The Mens Network Against Domestic Violence
• King County Domestic Violence Information
• Crisis Clinic

Statistical information supplied by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

What's in a Name?

Faith

The name Faith creates a very independent, practical, analytical nature with skillful business abilities. You desire freedom from restrictions and authority in order that you can pursue your own ambitions. Material and financial success are the focus of your interests, but sacrificing much for material ambition will result in a lack of harmony and balance in your personal life, particularly a lack of appreciation for social courtesies and things of a more inspirational nature. Since you often appear to be too unfeeling, factual, and calculating in your dealings with others, your personal happiness and fulfilment can suffer through difficulty in conveying your feminine qualities of love and affection. Health problems centre in the head affecting the eyes, ears, sinuses, or teeth. Also, tension could afflict the female generative organs.

Marie

Your name of Marie has created a practical, responsible, stable nature, and you desire to direct the efforts of others rather than to take order or ask permission. You have a determined, self-reliant, capable nature and resent any interference, although in your desire to help you are inclined to become involved in the lives and decisions of other people. You like to make your own decisions and to be the master of your domain. You feel a limitation in your own expression when it is necessary to reach another through tact and understanding. Although you are honest and fair, a directness in speech is a source of much consternation to you, and you often regret what you say. You also have a tendency to worry. It causes you to be too serious, and interferes with happiness and relaxation that comes with naturalness of expression. Health weaknesses centre in the head appearing as headaches, head colds, and eye, teeth, ear, or sinus problems.

I thought I should also check out the alias that I have been using on my blog, interesting?

Raven

Your name of Raven gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. In the home you assume your responsibilities capably, having the self-confidence to form your own opinions and make your own decisions. Others can rely on you; once you have given your word you will do your utmost to fulfil a responsibility. However, there is a tendency to be a little too independent in your thinking and it is difficult for you to accept the help of others when you should. Due to your strong sense of responsibility, you could experience worry and mental turmoil through assuming more responsibility than you should. Friction could arise through others feeling that you were interfering with their rights and privileges, even though you are only trying to help.

Look up your name and find out what it means and how it defines your personality! For this and many, many more quizzes go to Pressanykey.com

The Killing Fields

The video grab shows a marine pointing his rifle at a wounded insurgent in the Fallujah mosque just before gunfire is heard.
Photo: AP

A series of television pool images shot by US Network NBC shows a US Marine shooting dead a wounded and unarmed Iraqi in a Falluja mosque on November 13, 2004.
Photo: Reuters

Well it appears the Marines are doing a bang up job in Iraq, literally?

The latest news is that an American marine killed a wounded un-armed Iraqi. The Iragi was one of two wounded waiting to be escorted to another site.  So why the need to execute a person in cold blood. I understand that people put in certain situations will cause them to act in a manner that may not be normal under different, less stressful situations. So I would understand if the soldier was in a difficult situation and just started shooting.

But this article depicts a soldier shooting another human being just for the hell of it? People are quick to tell me that they are at war! War is brutal. I totally understand that no one wins in a war zone. It is inevitable that people will die and that soldiers will come home different, and may never recover from the horrors they have experienced. But what this photo depicts is a soldier violating human rights. Unless of course the photos are not telling the full story?? Time will tell.

You can read the the full article here.

Also, thanks to comments from Gerry you can read the actual story behind the photos by going to Kevin Sites blog. 

 

Suffocating in a Sea of Magazine

I admit that I have some elements of obsessive compulsive disorder in my personality. This is noticed as I start to pack the books lining my bookshelves. But I am a bibliophile (book collector), so it is understandable that I will have a huge collection of books......but that does not explain the numerous magazines that line my other bookshelves.

It is really ridiculous! My fads seem to change, as such, my magazine subscriptions change along with them. Well, lets just call them hobbies, and hobbies change, don't they?

Looking through my magazines, in the past 3 years I have subscribed to Vogue, Guitar World, Bass player, Shape, Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics, Muscle and Fitness Hers, Transworld Surf, Rollingstone, American Correctional Association and last but not least, Fine Books and Collections Magazine.

Gee, where does it end?

How can one person take in so much information? Well I needed to do something? Admittedly, I wasn't subscribing to all these magazines at the same time, but most of them are still on a shelf in my library. So at the moment the only magazines that I am subscribed to are:

* American Correctional Association
* Psychology Today - Not a bad magazine, not as in depth as I would like, which is why I subscribed to the next magazine.
* Psychotherapy Networker - Great magazine!
* Fine Books and Collections Magazine - a brilliant magazine full of information from others who are just as obsessed about books as myself.
* Bass Player Magazine - I am trying to learn the bass guitar so this magazine is a must have!
* Rollingstone Magazine - This is a current but I am contemplating cancelling my subscription. Some of the stuff is boring, but on the other hand it does have some great articles! How else would I learn about the inner workings of Angelina Jolie, or the President's attack on the wilderness, or anything else for that matter! Or read such wonderful quotes as: "Look, if somebody has done some wrong in our military, we'll take care of it. We got plenty of capability of dealing with justice" - actual George W. Bush quote. And this coming from the man who runs this country?! Maybe I will extend my subscription after all.

Who put the F in the FCC?

I started watching the series 'Dead Like Me' a few months ago after my brother-in-law heavily recommended it, but after moving into our new place we forgot to set the new Tivo to tape the season. Alas we were Dead Like Me free until last week. 

Well we stumbled onto the show last week, which happened to be the last episode for the season - good timing?? It is a great show, but while sitting there watching as the main characters are chatting in the local cafe. The main character yells at someone, and I look at my husband.

'Did she just use the 'F' word?

No, of course not, we are in America where the FCC, under the guise of being politically correct, control everything! We are in a country where the religious fanatics just won't shut up, and where parents prefer to control what the networks are showing, rather than govern what their children are watching. Give me a break! Why should I suffer when parents can send there children to bed at a reasonable time. Oh, thats right, how can they when every child has a television in their bedroom.

Now I must add that I don't even use the 'F' word but if it is used in context it can be totally hilarious. So after we got over the initial shock of hearing the f word on tv (you can tell we have been in this country too long when hearing it on tv can shock us), and got over saying 'did she really say that'? It was totally awesome. We felt liberated to be able to hear a full sentence without hearing those damn bleep, bleep, bleeps!!

Try watching the show Jackass on television. It is a total joke and ever so frustrating. I remember when the show just came out, I was hooked, but you couldn't hear one sentence without getting the all too common bleep. Here I am cracking up laughing at Chris Pontius as he runs around the street flashing his butt. Of course his butt is too obscene so it must be blanked out aswell. It is only a butt people! We won't even discuss the "Ozzy Osbourne' reality show!

Why are people in this country so anal? I must admit that not everyone is like that but at times it seems that way. Don't they realise that children hear more stuff at school? Or online? Do they think that by sheltering their children from everything they will grow up normal? Or is the FCC really standing up for adults? Nah, I am sure that the PTA have more to do with it, with all those bored mothers at home with nothing else to to but complain about television content.

Well the show was great thanks to networks such as Showtime who are not afraid to say, or in this case, show it like it is.

Thank you Showtime!

P.S For those who are sick of having your rights violated by the FCC sign the Stop the FCC petition

Oh what glory, Edward Gorey

For those faithful few who are aware of my attachment to the odd quiz or two (or 6). I could not resist the temptation to find out 'which Edward Gorey book I am?' This is most fabulous. I am certainly riding the gorey train all the way to the station. I love quizzes and I adore the wonderful work of Edward Gorey!

Have a gorey good time...

Dancing Cats and Neglected Murderesses - You are a
bit bitter in some ways about how life has
treated you, but you will do anything to change
it around...anything!

Which Edward Gorey Book Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Congratulations Faith

How quickly the time does fly? I failed to mention in earlier blogs that I finally sat my 5th and final exam for my GED a couple of months ago. I passed, of course, and am now the proud owner of a piece of paper that states that I have completed my GED. Yippee!

It is interesting that as much as I kept telling myself that it is only a piece of paper, and a group of exams that 18 year old students pass every year, it still represents an accomplishment in my life. It is a stepping stone to so much more.

Decisions, decisions, decisions? So many choices to make. Should I major in Psychology, Sociology or Criminal Justice? Should I begin my study at Shoreline C.C or go to Seattle C.C. and then move on to University of WA? Or should I just take the shorter route and do the Social & Human Services program at S.C.C.C and be qualified to work in 18 months.

Only time will tell....and preparation, and making some decisions, and now I am back to square one.

I still call Australia home

I have decided to randomly include bits and pieces of information about my homeland, Australia. It may be a great cafe, photos of a particular event in my life, or a newsworthy item that just may interest the blogging masses, or not.

Either way this is my story and I will tell it which ever way I please. But I invite you to come with me and see Australia through my eyes. Maybe you can take a little piece of the land downunder away with you?

Some topics that will be covered:

• Australian models/actors/friends
• Restaurants/cafes/arts
• The great outdoors
• Australian bands
• Hot news

Let the journey begin...