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It is a new phenomena for me this xmas holiday lark, and I love it! I used to work xmas all th..."
Haha! We'd like to see photos of the results Emily;)
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Santa’s Aussie Run
When Christmas time comes around, ev’ry body knows
that Santa leav..."
Love it Dave:)
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I put aside my Christmas shopping excursion the other day and instea..."
Well done Dean...every little bit will help, even though nothing will bring those little angels back...
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Awesome Emily!
Michael wrote: "No fair Emily. The only day i get of over the Christmas period is is Christmas day."
Sucks big time Michael:(
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It's very unfair. It is rather definitionally in the nature of employers, however, that they f..."
The worst part is, those places that have to be open 24/7 all year round, have to have SOMEONE working! It's very unfortunate, especially if you're the one chosen, but hopefully they're nice enough to rotate years....
Brenda wrote: "Mark wrote: "Michael wrote: "No fair Emily. The only day i get of over the Christmas period is is Christmas day."It's very unfair. It is rather definitionally in the nature of employers, however..."
In the US, we have a sandwich franchise called, "Chick-fil-A," that generally treats its employees much better than, say, MacDonald's, and REFUSES ever to be open on Sunday, because the founder is very religious and does not believe that *any* employee should have to work on the Sabbath. That's the plus side. But recently, that same founder made some awful, ignorant homophobic remarks about disapproving of same-sex marriage, because he's a literalist, and takes all the nonsense in Leviticus seriously, which makes you wonder whether he would also refuse to touch a football or eat shellfish. He's a very old man, but his destructive remarks (and contributions to some right-wing organizations) sort of undid all the positive impressions (non-fundamentalist) people had had of his decency as an employer, and created massive demonstrations and a boycott. So even when you try to find *one* corporation that behaves decently, this happens. It's very discouraging. (Of course, you know I'm on the left, so I take it for granted that any two people who love each other and want to make a commitment should have full equality, but I'm afraid that still isn't the universal attitude in the States, though I think it's more than 50%.)
I'll have some before & after photos for you tomorrow Brenda :)
Well I have the whole Christmas time off, come back for 3 days in the new year then have another week off, aaaannnndddd!!!..only 6 months & I stop working because I have to, then, only work because I want too...(-:
Glad everyone likes the poem, I wrote it for my grandkids, but so many like it I included it in my book...(-:
Glad everyone likes the poem, I wrote it for my grandkids, but so many like it I included it in my book...(-:
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Yay!! Can't wait Emily:)
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Oooh sounds great Dave:) You won't know yourself when you retire...good on you. Have a wonderful Christmas with Bev and the family:)
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It's very unfair. It is rather definitionally in the nature of emp..."
That's a shame Mark, that he spoiled his good reputation with comments like that...obviously he should have retired before now!
Hi everyone, just out of curiosity... Why does Brenda have "Frosty the Snowman!" And Michael have "Lost my jingle bells!" after their names? It's something I've wondered for ages (and I noticed that they change all the time too) :-)
Well, the world hasn't ended. Not down here in Tassie anyway. Everyone else still about? :)
Michael wrote: "Because we are moderators we get the chance to set our own custom titles Amber. :)"Oh, cool :-)
Canberra still exists BTW... I'm sure plenty of people wish it didn't, but I for one am glad!
Amber wrote: "Canberra still exists BTW... I'm sure plenty of people wish it didn't, but I for one am glad!"
Made me spit my ice tea all over my computer! best sentence ever haha!
I am still currently living.
would have been pissed indeed if the world had ended before I got to swim back on gold coast beaches!
seriously can not wait to get to the beach tomorrow!
Made me spit my ice tea all over my computer! best sentence ever haha!
I am still currently living.
would have been pissed indeed if the world had ended before I got to swim back on gold coast beaches!
seriously can not wait to get to the beach tomorrow!
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Made me spit my ice tea all over my computer! best sentence ever haha!
I am still curr..."
Haha!! Visual pictures;P We still have till midnight guys....O_O!!!
Safe trip Mel:)
If it's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.. lol. REM song has some truth to it.. :-D
Update from Adelaide, South Australia Its 7:05
The kangaroos have set fire to the city.
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Its 7:05
The kangaroos have set fire to the city."
Haha!! Apparently we're supposed to 'end' at 10.11pm...I think;) I have a bit over an hour...lol
I have had no internet since about midday... maybe it is the end.
Michael wrote: "Apparently it's already begun in Sydney. lol.http://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net..."
Thanks for sharing Michael. That's hilarious!!!
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http://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net..."
Hahahaha!! Oh my goodness, love it!!
You know, I'd been hoping for an eschatological escape-hatch, but there are only 3.5 hours left until midnight in this (quasi-Mayan) time zone. I really feel put upon by all these unmet promises of doom. :(
Surprise surprise! we're all still here.
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I'm very glad we're all still here!!!
YAY we are here.. :-P Ever had one of those songs that reminded you of a place and time? A time when you thought the time would never end.. It takes you back.. Makes you think of an instant that was good..
I'm very glad that you're all still here, too, Brenda! If, on the other hand, just my apartment had disappeared into another galaxy, I might have been pleased to get out of Texas (and possibly enjoy better internet service). :) Prophets of doom who fail to deliver ought really to be subject to some sort of penalty clause, though, for falsehood in advertising. Of course, that might be hard to levy against Ancient Mayans.
Still 53 minutes to go in Texas, by the way. :)
Past midnight in the Lone Star State. Texas is still here. Yay?
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Yes!! Yay!!
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Oh Michael...that's no good:( It's been very hot here too...going to be worse tomorrow!
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I hope your temps stay that way...very pleasant:)
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I had quite simply forgotten about the world's end until a neighbour commented that it hadn't happened :) That shows you the level of interest I often have for the world around me.Wishing everyone here a wonderful, safe and happy Christmas and New Year :)
Tracey wrote: "I had quite simply forgotten about the world's end until a neighbour commented that it hadn't happened :) That shows you the level of interest I often have for the world around me.Wishing everyo..."
I'd been somewhat disappointed, but I think the Apocalypse was hyped strictly to cash in on market fluctuations. What's Mayan is Euros... after all.
Sorry to put a damper on Christmas but I keep thinking about these parents & family.
I make no appologies to my American friends but I hope you understand....(-:
No Longer Will They.......
No longer will they walk the hallowed halls of Columbine,
instead they are now honoured by a small remembrance shrine.
So many teenage lives were taken on that fateful day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
No longer will they walk the grassy grounds of Redlake High,
their tragic end still haunts us as the years keep passing by.
So many young lives lost there on that awful spring school day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
No longer will they laugh out loud in rooms at Sandy Hook,
mere babes were taken from us, now they’ll never read a book.
So many children died, were murdered on that shocking day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
The NRA still stands by an amendment that’s so old,
to stop the daily killings they won’t listen or be told.
They’ve bought the politicians and they’ve bought the senate seats,
but will they buy the public with their lies and their deceit.
So many young lives gone all for the need to own a gun,
so many parents, now without a Daughter or a Son.
Free all your frightened children of the guns throughout the land,
When will you stop the killing, when will you speak and make a stand?
I hope this is a wake up call for all Americans,
remove that old amendment, you’re not fighting Indians.
And work at gun control so that the killing may just cease
then, finally you might just have the time to live in peace.
David J Delaney
24/12/2012 ©
I make no appologies to my American friends but I hope you understand....(-:
No Longer Will They.......
No longer will they walk the hallowed halls of Columbine,
instead they are now honoured by a small remembrance shrine.
So many teenage lives were taken on that fateful day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
No longer will they walk the grassy grounds of Redlake High,
their tragic end still haunts us as the years keep passing by.
So many young lives lost there on that awful spring school day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
No longer will they laugh out loud in rooms at Sandy Hook,
mere babes were taken from us, now they’ll never read a book.
So many children died, were murdered on that shocking day,
when will you stop the killing, ban the guns and show the way.
The NRA still stands by an amendment that’s so old,
to stop the daily killings they won’t listen or be told.
They’ve bought the politicians and they’ve bought the senate seats,
but will they buy the public with their lies and their deceit.
So many young lives gone all for the need to own a gun,
so many parents, now without a Daughter or a Son.
Free all your frightened children of the guns throughout the land,
When will you stop the killing, when will you speak and make a stand?
I hope this is a wake up call for all Americans,
remove that old amendment, you’re not fighting Indians.
And work at gun control so that the killing may just cease
then, finally you might just have the time to live in peace.
David J Delaney
24/12/2012 ©
David wrote: "Sorry to put a damper on Christmas but I keep thinking about these parents & family.I make no appologies to my American friends but I hope you understand....(-:
You don't need to apologize to *me* (or wake me up). The truth is, those of us in this country who *aren't* deranged, thanatophile lunatics, orgiastically embracing instruments of death and welcoming the infliction of death on others (and that's *probably* the majority)... have. No. Power. The organization in this country that promotes the right of individuals to own military-grade weaponry is fundamentally a protection racket, and it operates hand-in-glove with the Republican Party, which, though immemorially evil, has now been hijacked by a band of outright Randian psychopaths who regard John Boehner as a treasonous liberal. They are holding the country hostage to many demands, all of which involve the infliction of suffering and death on incalculable numbers of people, and sacralizing the 2nd Amendment to prohibit sane limitations on the ownership of instruments of murder is among the least of these. (Their policies affecting the poor, the middle class, seniors, minorities, and the availability of healthcare are, frankly -- and I won't mince words -- actuarially genocidal. They're going to kill *millions*.) AND they plan to drive the world economy over the cliff. Again. So go ahead and vituperate complacent and complicit Americans all you like. But it isn't most of us. We're just powerless and without recourse. We did our best: against all odds, we reelected Obama. But there are more powerful forces in play, here.
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That idiot who has said...the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun! is completely off the planet! Of all the moronic statements...that takes the cake!!!
David -I hope it was clear that I'm immensely outraged and frustrated -- but NOT with you. You're expressing distress in the medium over which you have a superlative command -- poetry -- and I'm writing diatribes addressing a broader spectrum of horrors (because I'm closer to the epicenter of the problem). In fact, I'm at ground zero. But I doubt there's a hair's breadth of difference between our political opinions, here, and I'm happy for anyone in the world to inveigh against the policies that have led to the murder of 27 people, mostly children, in Newtown. Regrettably, what gets ignored in this country is that the totality of the right-wing agenda poses an existential threat to *tens of millions* of lives. If you'd like to write a poem encouraging the bringing of charges at the Hague against the Tea Party (for seeking to tank the world economy), then you'd have my absolute endorsement. Not that it would do any good, but it would make me feel better.
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I hope it was clear that I'm immensely outraged and frustrated -- but NOT with you. You're expressing distress in the medium over which you have a superlative command -- poetry -- and I'm..."
I am sure that the majority of US citizens are outraged as well...as you said Mark But it isn't most of us. We're just powerless and without recourse. It's incredibly sad that the Gun Lobby PTB are so immensely stupid!!!
Brenda wrote: "Mark wrote: "David -I hope it was clear that I'm immensely outraged and frustrated -- but NOT with you. You're expressing distress in the medium over which you have a superlative command -- poet..."
Thanks, Brenda. To be honest, the awful part is that I don't think they're stupid. They're highly rational and strategically effective about pursuing (totally evil) objectives. The goals seem, of course, stupid to everyone in the world with a brain and a soul, but if your sole concern is to enrich gun manufacturers and further encourage the spread of a culture of violence and gun-worship, then these actions and statements make perfect sense. Consistently, Republican politicians who have defied the NRA in the least particular, have been "taken down." I won't go on, but my country has sunk into effective right-wing extremism. The extremists are the minority, but they have almost all the chips in the game.
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I hope it was clear that I'm immensely outraged and frustrated -- but NOT with you. You're expressing distress in the medium over which you have a superlative ..."
I wonder if their thinking would change if one of their loved ones was killed by a gun toting madman!!!
Brenda wrote: "Mark wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Mark wrote: "David -I hope it was clear that I'm immensely outraged and frustrated -- but NOT with you. You're expressing distress in the medium over which you have a.
...
wonder if their thinking would change if one of their loved ones was killed by a gun toting madman!!!
To be honest, I actually don't think so. They're manifest sociopaths, clinically incapable of empathy or love, so I think they'd just lament that their deceased family members had not been adequately armed (with tactical nukes, possibly). And that absolutely everyone in the vicinity of the tragedy had not also been forced to carry some sort of WMD.
They're part of a movement that uses extremist women to front for horrifically misogynistic policies, extremist minorities to advocate for policies intended to harm minorities, and extremist Latinos to advocate for the deportation of Hispanics. The sort of mindset involved has no empathy for tribe or family.
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Brenda wrote: "Well I'm extremely glad their mentality isn't here in Oz...they're most definitely not welcome!!"They *will* try to infiltrate and implement the same policies, you know, since they represent also the interests of multinational corporations. Of course, it's harder in a country where ignorance and addiction to Fox news aren't quite so rampant. Please *do* keep them out!
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It is a new phenomena for me this xmas holiday lark, and I love it! I used to work xmas all the time when I was still in hospitality, I didn't mind so much then because the pay was really good but now I'd much rather just kick back :)
I have several bags of poo and a box of flowers waiting for me out front, so I am off to make my garden beautiful...