Feared by all cyclists; Maggie

A buddhist teacher recently told me a story about a monk from Tibet who was visiting London. Walking through the city he would constantly stop and look up, or around, and say, “How kind!” and then keep walking.After a little while his amused (and probably impatient) minders pulled him up and said, “Ok, what is it that you’re looking at and why do you keep stopping?”

Buddhist monk says, “That light-post on the street – someone put that there so people can see at night, how kind!

And our monk goes on to exclaim how kind it was that someone had bothered to paste up a train timetable at the station so we knew what time a train would leave, how kind it was that someone put a letterbox in the street so we could just pop our mail in it, and so on.

Obviously our monk was from Tibet and this is a great anthropological experiment in practice. But the point is about the attitude or perspective we view the world from. Sure we pay rates so we goddamn expect the person who was paid to erect a lamp post in the street to do so.

But, it is also unquestionably kind, for someone out there to think about how that lamp post will stop us from tripping over when we’re walking home at night.

Today I web-surfed my way onto a page that is a great example of kindness by and for cyclists in Sydney.

Magpie Watch

How kind that cyclists are looking out for each other and pasting the locations of territorial Spring magpies onto a google map. And how very, very handy! Thankfully there’s only one dive bombing maggie in Bondi.

Miranda Otto in Boy Gets Girl

Five years ago I took myself off to the theatre to watch the worst fears of every modern girl who has ever dabbled with internet-dating.

Those fears were played out by Matthew Newton and Miranda Otto in Boy Gets Girl.

In hindsight I feel that Newton was a little too good in his role as a deluded, abusive stalker who becomes obsessed with a woman he has one blind date with.

As the story goes, in Rebecca Gilman’s thriller,  the female protagonist decides she doesn’t want to see him again.

But Newton’s character feels otherwise, and proceeds to do a little research to uncover where his date lives and works as well as her phone numbers.

His fixation  starts out with him sending unwelcome bunches of ‘her favourite’ flowers, and ends up with him leaving an insane number of threatening phone messages, lurking outside her apartment, and breaking in to ransack her house.

Why? Because he desperately wants to be near to her; yet quickly begins to turn and express anger towards her because his infatuation is unrequited.

Now, anyone who knows how to use google, yellow pages, Linked In, Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter – would find that exercise a piece of cake in 2010. Something that does not sit well with me.

Boy Gets Girl put me inside the mind of a stalker and showed me what I didn’t understand. The graduation of a person’s logic. The thinking that takes them from harmless first date material, to psychotic obsessiveness.

It showed me the ‘logic’ that a stalker applies, or, possibly the logic of a person with Borderline Personality Disorder .

Today Matthew Newton agreed to a two-year apprehended violence order which requires him not to stalk, intimidate or harass his former girlfriend Rachael Taylor…

… a little to close to the play for my liking.

Some may ask; surely it was just a lovers tiff? After all he wanted to marry the girl? She must have done something to provoke his jealousy, violence, passionate rage?

But the clear answer to that sort of speculation is no. And I can’t repeat it enough times. 

Like many women in an abusive situation, Otto’s character starts to question herself when her date first shows signs of being ‘strange’.

Matthew Newton

“Maybe Tony subscribes to the old-fashioned boy-gets-girl, boy-loses- girl, boy-gets-girl-back, school of thought”.

After all – that sounds like something inspired by a harmless evening with WSFM?

“I can’t live if living is without you… If you leave me – can I come to… Nothing compares to you…”

Maybe. But not exactly a healthy way of thinking.

I occasionally go to Buddhist class. In one particular session love  was defined.

Love, is simply a wish for someone to be happy. Respecting what makes them happy.

Love is not; attachment, expectation, infatuation.

Matthew Newton’s psychologist mentions his chronic depression time and time again in the media. Now I’m not a psychologist, but I suspect there may be more going on than plain old depression to inspire such abusive behaviour.

So Newton managed to play the part of an abusive stalker. But has he found the time to reflect on his own completely unacceptable behavior over the last ten years now?

In news reports today:

Ms Taylor alleged Newton had physically, verbally and mentally abused her during their eight month relationship

And then there was Brooke Satchwell in 2006…

Matthew Newton got off scot free for hitting former girlfriend Brooke Satchwell four years ago because the judge found that he was a “gentleman” who was unlikely to hit a woman again.

More disturbing to me, was the stupidity of the Otto family in real life when 19 year old Gracie Otto started dating Newton, 29; not long after he’d beaten up Satchwell. His new girlfriend’s mum said ”Matthew is the sweetest, nicest person in the world. He would never hurt a flea.”

Matt Newton & Gracie Otto

The Otto family embraced Newton and invited him to move into their family home with their (did I mention 19 year old) daughter, despite the charges laid against him.

On the other hand, I can only wonder if this is exactly why Gracie was spared the treatment his other girlfriends received?

Melbourne Bike Share by moonlight

A row of shiny (possibly too shiny, thus unused) blue steeds challenged my spontaneous desire to deposit some coin and go for a spin around the block at 11pm…

It’s obvious that Melbourne is far more cycle friendly than Sydney so I’m not surprised – but I am annoyed.

It’s the century-old  Sydney vs. Melbourne competition. I want MY city to have this to!

A friend of mine who works in a position to promote cycling in Sydney says the Melbourne scheme is a bit of a flop thus far.

One simple reason (maybe): who on earth is going to lug a bike helmet around all day because they might hop on and off a bike for an hour or two? (Especially when there is a tram station next to the bike station).

Does a helmet fit in my handbag? No. In my laptop bag? No. Does it look stylish or chic and complement my outfit / suit when I show up at a meeting? No. Do I want to leave the house carrying more crap than I actually need in the morning…? Maybe you do.

The company that set it up in June 2010 – Melbourne Bike Share; says there will be 50 bike stations and 600 bikes situated around the Melbourne CBD when the full plan is unrolled.

Maybe the costs will convince people to come over – daily subscription ($2.50 per day) or a weekly subscription ($8.00 per week). Now that is cheap.

And I won’t have to pump up or change my own bloody tyres, or oil the chain thingamy either.

Still, I can’t help but concede that I’m very attached to MY bike, not just any bike. It’s a statement about me.

Not my bike - but very pretty!

The Age reported on the bike-share in March 2009 and said that

“Almost one in five bicycles would be stolen or vandalised under a $5 million State Government public bike scheme for the city centre, documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws say”.

Well, this bike rack looked full – in spite of a number of pissy punters wandering around on a Thursday night, so I’m not sure those fears were actually realised.

Interesting that in Paris “more than half of the bikes in the Parisian scheme were either stolen or badly damaged in the first year”. Whoopsy…

I’d love to hear from Melbournites about what they think of it.

View from the hill

And I came away from it with an inflated sense of self-importance; after organising news for all five tv stations, and later standing atop the nations ‘hill’, looking down on the ‘villagers’ below.

People who work in glass houses really shouldn’t throw stones. And there’s an awful lot of glass on the inside of Parliament House.

Being sent to ‘work the press gallery’ at Parliament House is a daunting job the first time around. No one tells you much – or pays you any attention unless you demand it (with a smile of course).

Unless you’re blessed (as I was) to have a few buddies sketch a map of what wing and floor you need to head to – you can waste hours wandering around; drinking appalling coffee at Ozzies Cafe and wondering where the media people reside.

Here’s an example of the super unhelpful map of Parliament House provided on the government website.

So, here are my hints, in plain-speak, for those who want them:

• There are several entrances for Parliament House and they are not really within walking distance from each other. Go to the Main Entrance.
• When you enter keep in mind that all the House of Reps people are on the left. And all the Senate people are on the right.
• The Press Gallery is on the right, above the Senate people – in the far building.
• Organise someone to sign you in ‘unaccompanied’. Because they certainly won’t have time to follow you around while you’re pestering the media for your own cause.
• Walk on down the halls of the Press Gallery like you belong there. To my surprise – no one will question your presence, nor kick you out. But if you even think about nicking anything from the open and generally unstaffed media offices, I’m pretty sure either Security or a vodka bottle will strike you down instantly.
• The main TV stations have their own interview suites, with little studios inside them – but they usually opt for interviews outside in the courtyards.
• The print journos have stacks of yellowed, decaying paper everywhere. The taller the pile; the longer they’ve worked there, so don’t mess with the institutionalized ones like Laurie Oakes for instance!
• On that note – don’t bother adding your press release to the pile of paper in their pigeon holes. The pigeon holes are laughable, and may not have been emptied since 1984.
• The only way to get noticed is email beforehand, phone, and then show up with a smile. A polite and unexpectant smile.
• Obtain a list of all Journos that work in the Gallery. You’ll feel utterly lost and useless without one.
• Many Journos don’t rock up until 10am – so don’t bother holding a press conference before then. I don’t know what time they leave.
• Do not bother trying to strike up a conversation at 2pm when Question Time is happening. The staffers will be more focused on the television than a Labrador is to a bone.
• If you’re leaving the House and you want a taxi; go downstairs from the main entrance to the underground car park. For some godforsaken reason they’ve hidden the taxi stand in the dungeon where you haven’t a hope of spotting it from above.

I’m not sure what it cost to get 20 minutes of regimented pool-time, but I’m finding the whole thing hard to imagine from Sydney, where I just received my highest ever electricity bill  because my heater-love is out of control this wet, windy winter!

New-York-Dumpster-Pools c/ Reuters

What is it with events people cashing in on our love of the obscure?

Don’t get me wrong – I love these things, they’re fun. But are they worth the cost and the effort?

There is now a sizable patch of yellow lawn where an ice skating rink was plonked down beside Bondi Beach a few weeks ago.

Ice Skating in Bondi 2010

Hundreds came to skate under the stars and I must admit the novelty factor was huge when they added mulled wine and a faux ski hut into the equation.

But although things were pretty from the ice, the Bondi Winter Festival was an ugly eye sore from the outside.

The next picture shows just a glimpse of the fencing (and fake bushes) that surrounded the compound. Tarps and 6-foot-erect-a-fence were all that could be seen from the outside where the commoners sat watching the waves for several weeks.

Surely, there must be a way for these things to be set up without rumbling generators and huge fences spoiling their appeal from the outside? New York looks to have done a decent job with their little converted dumpster pools.

NOT a Max Brenner coffee

Oh dear, more reports that coffee prices are hitting 12-year highs on the international market.

Whenever the media talks up a price rise it’s bound to happen; because not only are bean prices actually high, but now that it’s been ‘announced’ the retailers feel super-justified about it doing it.

If you’re feeling cheap, you’ll find the coffee at Michel’s Patisserie apparently isn’t that bad though (compared to other chains like Maccas, Starbucks, The Coffee Club and Gloria Jeans), and is priced at $3.40 for an espresso. (Sydney Morning Herald).

On the subject of chain-pain… I recently tried to have coffee at Max Brenner on Oxford Street one Saturday morning.

I felt a lot like I was walking into a seedy club at the wrong time of day (i.e pre midday); with the dim lighting, awful Top 40 music poking my ‘only just woken up eardrums‘, half-asleep Gen Y staff, and utterly clueless patrons.

Not only was the atmosphere crap – but the coffee was too.

Be warned. Winter is not summer, a cat is not a dog, and chocolate venues do not deliver coffee.

What do I have in common with a South American coffee bean farmer? We both hate too much rain.

A little bit is fine; pitter patter on a tin roof. But both Sydney and Brazil have been pelted with a little too much wet stuff this year.

Apparently this is the reason that $4.50 has become the standard price of a coffee if you live in Perth. Bejusus!

Western Australia’s leading paper, The West, is reporting on this scandal today. Not very comprehensively in this story. Because the writer has not gone so far as to confirm the cause of the price hike in the last three years.

My personal guess; is simply cause they can. Perth is a now a rich mining town, and everything costs a bomb, including coffee.

A story in The West from several days ago makes the connection though, stating that

“…world coffee prices (have) hit at a 12-year high.

Poor harvests in Central America and Colombia this year because of heavy rain have affected supplies of Arabica coffee and pushed up the price.

One Australian supplier said the increase for the raw product would trigger increases of between 5 and 10 per cent in cafes and supermarkets.”

It may be stating the obvious, but it leads me to ask; why has the price of coffee in Sydney not risen to $4.50?

Sure it’s gone up a bit, but generally I’m forking out between $3 and $3.80 for my coffee in Sydney.

Another writer for The West suggests a different theory in his piece

“Employment costs are a factor – Melbourne baristas earn on average $10 an hour less”.

So the cost of Perth’s coffee is higher because their cafe staff are better paid than barista in Sydney Or Melbourne? Really? Forgive my cynicism. I’d like a a little bit of proof to support that claim.

The ABC’s Simon Lauder provides yet another take on the price of coffee in a radio interview from ABC AM this week.

Lauder says

“Rabobank senior analyst Wayne Gordon says the price of coffee beans has hit a 12 year high on the New York Futures Exchange.

The industry is absorbing the extra cost for now but consumers are being warned”.

In short, Lauder’s story is a little more credible, but also suggests that a bucket load of rain over South America has created the ‘butterfly effect‘ that will cause Aussie coffee prices to catapult.

Although the price of beans is through the grinder now, the good news is that wholesale coffee supply is expected to be better in 2011. So the financial pain for most coffee merchants may only be temporary while the cost of beans is higher than usual.

Boots, scarves and mittens were essential haute de couture with the temperature peaking at 10 degrees in the shade at Town Hall. The odd flower-in-the-hair, flash of red stocking, bow-tie and beret were not uncommon sights. And instead of car passengers screaming abuse we got plenty of friendly and multiple toots.

Dapper looking dudes and stylish ladies accessorised their bicycles with leather satchels and picnic blankets and united on a round trip of Sydney CBD, before winding up in Alexandria.

The pace was leisurely and the manner genteel. The weather held up and the traffic held off. All in all it was a jolly good morning!

More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sydney_tweed_ride_2010/

Thanks to The Punch for this great picture!

Well well, few would have predicted Rudd being rolled in his first term as PM. It’s not common. But now Australia also has it’s first female Prime Minister – as of an hour ago!

It appears it’s not just the Year of Women in Local Government, in 2010.

Living in Waverley  I now have woman holding the reins as my local Mayor, as Premier and as Prime Minister!

I do not claim to be a political hound – in fact I admit that although I like politics I cannot stand watching and listening to politicians drone on and on. And on.

But this is too exciting NOT to write about.

What I like about Gillard as PM, is that it means young women coming up through our schools and universities, might today think “Yep I can do anything I want to do”.

America has it’s first black PM. We have a woman.

I almost don’t even care how they go after being elected. I’m just pleased that they got there.

I’ve named 2010 as the year of the spill.

The big oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and now, the Labour leadership spill.

Tweeters can hashtag #spill or my fave #spillard today. There’s some gold on there. For example:

• BP public relations pleased that there is a major spill happening they are not responsible for.
• Wow!!! Now we have an unwed, childless, atheist PM. I’ve never felt so represented.
• Julia Gillard has deleted Kevin Rudd as a friend on facebook.

Inspired by the Tweed Ride I found some fabulously quirky blogs from girls who cycle.

Riding Pretty is from the States and into all things stylish.

Bikes and the City is Meli whose sub header is Bikes Boyz and Coffee. Meli, you’re swell, (and I borrowed your heels for my blog header)!

CopenhagenChic says girls are bringing back sexy according to their website

Momentum is a blogazine featuring a What to Wear slideshow.

Bike by the Sea is bicycle style from Santa Barbara.

More treasures to come.