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Acknowledgement and Justice Overdue

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

A report on an investigation into alleged war crimes carried out by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan was released yesterday (19 November 2020). The investigation found credible evidence that war crimes had been committed. The Chief of the Australian Defence Force noted the report’s findings that a warrior culture and toxic competitiveness contributed to the breakdown in military discipline (a transcript of his remarks was published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

In other words, the people involved and the people that enabled the crimes, were bullies (or complicit, or rendered powerless). Bullying has become entrenched in Australian society so we shouldn’t be surprised. The national infatuation with the ANZAC myth and our war legacy, has become a form of national narcissism which diminishes us all and fails our servicemen and women. Justice must be served for the victims of these alleged war crimes.

It seems trite to finish these comments with a music selection, but that’s why I’m here, so let’s get on with it.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Airborne

Bird poetry – Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) 

The Little Eagle is a small eagle about the size of a peregrine falcon. It has a wingspan of about 100cm. It is listed as vulnerable in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.

We saw this one soaring over the Australian National Botanic Gardens in late winter. My True Love and I managed to find a break in the trees to capture this photo (cropped within an inch of its life).

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Will A Little More Love Make It Right?

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Some men can’t take no for an answer, can they? It’s very boring. It’s not like they are god’s gift to women, nationhood, civilisation or the like. Such men need a parody of a song and we are just the people to sing it.

Sing it with me, ladies and gentlemen.

Stay safe, stay sane and stay out of trouble.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Three Hundred And Sixty-Five Degrees – That’s Hot!

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

I’m a bit stuck for words, so let’s get straight to the song. Such a versatile one. Perhaps I’ve already had this song? I can’t remember. Anyway, stay calm – although admittedly that’s a bit difficult when Rome burns.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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The Changing Seasons – October 2020

October in Canberra (Australia) – We scent a change. Spring is so poetic.

It has been six days since Canberra recorded an infection of Covid-19. Canberrans send their best wishes for the gentleman’s recovery. With only one active case in my small city, my attention has turned to living.

It has been a relatively wet and stormy month in the national capital – the wettest October in 44 years. On those days when the sun shone, I focused on my garden and on my mosaic projects. For these reasons, and due to magpie hazards, I have had little time for exploration, but it being spring, there are always flowers, and wouldn’t you know, not one rainy day photo in sight. Here’s October.

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Green For Canberra

Canberra news – Unlike this time last year when there was nary a blade of grass due to drought and high temperatures, Canberra (Australia) is green once more.

La Niña is sending rain our way and our total dam storage is 90.9 percent and increasing. The buzz of lawn mowers rivals that of the bees and swathes of grass and weeds get the chop between showers. Meanwhile, the results of the Canberra election have been finalised and here too, there is to be more green in the legislative assembly.

In other news, a recently retired federal minister who, as part of the federal leadership team, had a hand in the decision to pursue a gas-led recovery for Australia, is now promoting a green recovery. That may look good on his job application for the position of Secretary-General of the OECD. One might ask, “How emissions-intensive is your recovery? What’s your goal?”

Stay safe, everyone. Be kind and question.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Can An Election Bring Us Together?

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you. I think I need a really big ballad this week (cue violins).

Residents of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), also known as Canberra, voted in their local election last Saturday. It was a different election, a healing election.

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In Good Times And Bad

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

I admire those people for whom caring for the sick and broken comes instinctively. I can keep up the Florence Nightingale charade for about a week (slight exaggeration) but after that I need to have a Bex and a lie down. I find it especially stressful when the source of the problem is not immediately obvious or the patient cannot communicate how they are feeling. When my dog was indeterminately ill a couple of years ago, the vet suggested I could probably do with a Valium. I suspect his comment was his way of avoiding my endless questions and speculative scenarios. Why start at the start when you can jump to conclusions? I can be a real pain in the arse.

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October Coffee, Cake and Chat

Every month, Su from Zimmerbitch, hosts a virtual afternoon tea. and invites readers to go along for tea, bikkies and a chat. It’s very elegant …

I was having a moment today and feeling rather anti-social but it passed (no pun intended). Canberra (Australia) has not recorded a Covid infection for over 90 days now. It seems a miracle (not literally) to me that despite open borders and escalating community transmission in the greater Sydney region to our north, Canberra citizens appear to be returning to their pre-Covid lives without a care in the world. I went to brunch with a couple of friends recently and if the tables were any closer together we would be sitting on one another’s lap. I mentioned my concern to the waitress but apparently the seating arrangement was all legit. Go figure. At least one million people worldwide have died from Covid and we are going out for coffee. Being the martyr that I am, I sat there with my mask on and had nothing to eat or drink which rather defeats the purpose of coffee dates. Kudos to my long-suffering friends for putting up with me.

However, Su’s event is a virtual afternoon tea, so risk-free. I made a GF apple and ricotta cake to take along. The ricotta was about to expire and the apples were long past their best too. The texture is pudding-like, and perhaps under-cooked even though I baked it for much longer than the recipe required. Perhaps the chefs and the cooks out there can advise me whether I need to convert American measurements to metric measurements? Normally I don’t bother, but I dunno …. it might have helped in this case. Anyway, most importantly, it is delicious. Perhaps it is the sprinkling of brown sugar on the top that makes it so yummy. Next time I would probably use less oil and sugar.

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All My Trials – As I Was Saying

My little Finnish Spitz, Ama, was diagnosed with copper storage disease a couple of years ago. It has been a long and difficult journey to restore her to some semblance of health, with her blood test results again causing concern as little as four months ago. A new medication was our last hope and, hooray, so far, so good. Her latest test results have shown a dramatic improvement. We can see this in her sassy attitude. The ensuing ruckus is never-ending.

About a year into her treatment, I spoke to the vet about how Ama’s treatment was bankrupting us. The staff suggested I put her on YT (or something like that)! What the heck? Is that a thing? Does your dog go viral and then all of a sudden people want to buy merch? I suppose I could make some Ama “fan” T-shirts or I could make a fund-raising calendar of her cuteness. Is that how people monetise their pets? Anyway, needless to say, we are not doing that, even if she is ridiculously cute and loud. Yes, I am biased.

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