call me un-astrayan

...you see a few years back i lived but a few hundred metres from the Cronulla riots. then, even worse than the actual day, was the aftermath. being painted with the same brush as those involved in that horrific day of vulgar hatred merely because i lived in the same suburb...well, red never was my colour.

Today the flags are worn by patriots in every imaginable pattern of chinese made paraphenalia, flags, togs, hats, boxer shorts, singlets, towels, paper plats & cups, beer coolers...for twist tops & tallies. I am a particular fan of the arab inspired rolled flag hat come turban, you know like you used to do as a kid with your beach towel...classy. even the cars proudly fly their red, white & blues (so sad to see the reindeer antlers put away). by far the most popular is the strayan flag cape. for the hero among us.

every police officer stationed in this area is on duty, plus we have a few (quite a few) from other stations. i guess you dont get rostered off for straya day round these parts. we dont call them riot squads here anymore, but those non descript police taragos line the back streets of cronulla just as tightly as the revellers swarm from the trains toward the sacred sight once again.

There is alot of mucho talk about patriotism on the street, not so much when the police drag the feral mouthed thrashing drunkards to the back of paddy wagons. i wonder if they're air conditioned. do police officers have to follow OH & S measures? its really hot here today.

Im glad im not the only person who doesnt see patriotism as such a positive thing. These guys say it far better than i do.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" Samuel Johnson

“If patriotism is "the last refuge of a scoundrel," it is not merely because evil deeds may be performed in the name of patriotism, but because patriotic fervor can obliterate moral distinctions altogether” Ralph B. Perry

"A man sometimes starts up a patriot, only by disseminating discontent, and propagating reports of secret influence, of dangerous counsels, of violated rights, and encroaching usurpation. This practice is no certain note of patriotism. To instigate the populace with rage beyond the provocation, is to suspend public happiness, if not to destroy it. He is no lover of his country, that unnecessarily disturbs its peace. Few errors and few faults of government, can justify an appeal to the rabble; who ought not to judge of what they cannot understand, and whose opinions are not propagated by reason, but caught by contagion." Samuel Johnson

“You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.” Malcolm X

"Patriotism is the willingness to kill & be killed for trivial reasons." Bertrand Russell

"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." Oscar Wilde

Please dont get me wrong, i love this land, & contray to poular belief i even love many of the people that call it home & most of those visitng. I simply cannot be a part of or support something that to me has birthed a generation of egotistical imbecils. I fail to see the joy in something that segregates & instills fear. Not everyone is so welcome in Cronulla today.




Ah Cronulla its so easy to forget that your name means 'place of the pink sea shells.' Its so hard to remember your beauty in the face of such ugliness.

And what on earth do i teach my teenage son on a day like today? His 14yo counterparts can mostly be found down 'the wall' today. hangin, boozin...its fuggen straya day after all mate.
Instead we have chosen to speak with him about what Australia means to us. It means hope, it means understanding, it means gratitude...that we should just so happen to be the lucky few to have been birthed in a nation as beautiful as this, a nation borrowed, a nation stolen.


We no longer live in Cronulla we moved a little further out, unable to stand the violent & thuggish energy that hovers just above its littered shores, yet the vile public performance i still see around me continues to remind me why i dont call myself strayan. I dont need to. Id rather call myself human.

Happy Colonisation Day Australia.

empowering waifs to give birth without screaming since 2009

Empowering waifs to give birth without screaming since 2009
aka: Birth Skills by Sarah Murdoch & Juju Sundin

Clearly i dont swing in the right circles, a few weeks ago a heavily pregnant friend of mine mentioned that she had read Birth Skills, Sarah Murdochs new book. Uuuum as in bonds Sarah? You mean no air brushing model Sarah? Save the world Sarah?...She can write?
[Sarah Murdoch nee: O'Hare is the wife of one of Australia wealthiest, most powerful media moguls.]
I have no idea what business Sarah Murdoch has writing a book on birth except she has had 3 kids...so what...so has half the world. Then its explained that the book is actually written by JuJu Sundin an obstetrician...oooh i see now...cha-ching.

"So this book is all about the tools and techniques I teach, and have been teaching over a thirty year period, and all about how the learner experiences those lessons. That’s where Sarah comes in. You will learn from me, and you will experience the class as though you are right next to Sarah on the floor." 

Ripper...always wanted Sarah involved in my pregnancy & birthing process. Don't know how ive managed to now.

Okay okay so im a tad skeptical..perhaps its because before ive even read the book (which i highly doubt i'll ever pick up) Juju Sundins very first paragraph on her website promoting the book leaves me with mixed feelings mainly on the side of highly dubious...my head both nods & shakes as i sense my own discomfort & concern with this snippet of direct & implied ideas women are still given about birthing today.

"So many of you are wanting to learn powerful and effective skills to help you through labour pain. So many of you want a clear, simple, yet informative manual for your partner who may be resistant to long detailed childbirth, parenting and breastfeeding books. It is sometimes difficult for these same partners to extract from these books the vital information and practical ideas to help you on the day. They need to know exactly what their role is during labour and exactly how to help you through your pain – and even if you have chosen a medically assisted birth, your partner still needs to know what to do for you at home, in the car, in the car park, getting you through the hospital entrance, in the lift, and during your initial monitoring. So many of you are in country areas and do not have access to these classes. This book is also for the busy working woman who doesn’t have a lot of time and is saying ‘just tell me what to do and how to do it – I want the short list and I want the detail and it has to make sense’." 

Look im not a conscientious enemy of Sarah Murdoch its more opportunity based (she is now giving me lots of opportunity with this book of hers...of JuJu's), until last week she's barely been a blip on my overtired, milky leaking, jeans & slipper wearing radar.

Im not really sure what my problem is, she has after all..publicly (loudly) refused airbrushing in her modelling photographs, is a patron (saint) for the Breast Cancer Foundation, is the face (arse) of Bonds, is a kindly ambassador of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute & a member of its development board (where she tries really hard to adopt more than the kiss & bandaid theory), has modelled for L'Oréal, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent and Estée Lauder, as well as frolicked on a few Sports Illustrated tits & togs calendars, adorned the covers of Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour, GQ & Harper's Bazaar to name a few, funnily enough she is also the International Ambassador of the Australian Ballet Company & is on the Australian Ballet Board of Directors...even though she was snubbed in her earlier years when she trained to be a ballerina...instead becoming a model (all a little Hitler-esque for my liking)...which brings me to my final point...i will give her credit where its due here...Sarah does host Australias Next Top Models & Binge Eaters whilst she also plays her pretty faced part in the governments National Advisory Group on Body Image.

Yup ok i am irked & maybe when i put the effort into thinking about it i can admit that i feel insulted & angered by her hypocrisy, her lack of reality & her lending her 'good name' to very worthy causes while also condoning & headlining encouragement to vulgar & ravaging businesses & organisations that imobilise, demoralise, victimise & indirectly take the lives of women through out this world.

Thank you Sarah Murdoch i cant wait to have you next to me on the floor as i practice my lamase breathing...your clothes horse, cash cow example & voice speaks nothing more to me than this...its not what you know its who you marry.

disempowering mummies

I get it i get it mister woolworths you dont have to drop the prices any further or build any more or any bigger displays...i concede. I will feed my kid formula & wrap his bum in plastic nappies & wash him & Johnson & Johnsons chemicals & in 15 years he'll be conditioned enough for you to hire, ok.

I recently popped into Woolworths & was flabberghasted at the 2 very large displays right at the front of the store of huggies, nestle formula & Johnson & Johnson no more tears. Oh for fuck sake!!!

This is not a comment directed at mums who are unable to breast feed. But i'll slot this in anyways so theres no misunderstanding.

There is huge a problem in our society when a grocery store is telling us this is what we need...must have for our babies. It seems like you have to be swinging from the hippy vines to find information on a lot of 'different' products, choices & options these days...worst still is that the things that are so natural for mums to do are now seen as 'alternative' or left of centre...what bollocks..co-sleeping, baby wearing (physical contact), breastfeeding, baby led solids, elimination communication (no/ less nappies)...whether we practice them or not these are techniques our species was built on for thousands & thousands of years until recently. Only in the western world has this changed in favour of more 'convenient' products & techniques.
We are being disabled as mummies right in front of our noses & no one says a thing. We are being disconnected from our babies when they need us the most & we dont even realise it. If your baby is crying, its not 'cos hes spoiled & is going to manipulate you, its becasue he has a need that his mummy should meet.
I personally believe that so many mummies feel guilty or inadequate as parents because they are no longer able to meet their babies natural needs & innately this must be known or felt by the parent aswell as the child. I feel corporations & society have taken a lot of our belief in our own ability away from us & have replaced it with their bells & whistles that require frills & pearls...our babies dont need bells & whistles & frills & pearls just get in the way...they need their mummies. They need us to hold them & to reassure them that we are always there, they need us to meet their needs not give them distractions & expensive solutions.

Writing this i realised why i was so pissed by the woolworths displays. As a mother I feel undermined. I do not feel supported by the world that i live in. Every where i go i feel existance telling me i can't.

I despise you Woolies & all you stand for.