This will hurt me...

Evil magpie. Our front yard. East Derwent Highway, Geilston Bay. December 2011. Sunday Top Five again and today I venture somewhat into a self help territory: The Top Five Things That My Life Is Far Too Short For Me To Tolerate! People who bring me down . There are an awful lot of people in the world, so I don’t really understand people who waste their time with poisonous people. Relationships should be enjoyable, not painful. Find people who you get on with, who entertain you, not drag you down. A career that I hate . There are limits to this, as you have to keep paying the bills. Nevertheless, if the opportunity arises, I don’t see the point on settling on a job I’m not keen on. Keep looking, that’s what I’m doing! Unnecessary miscommunication . I can’t apologise for this one. I say what I mean and mean what you say. If we’re conversing, please speak clearly and frankly. Ask questions. Clarify things until you understand them. Life is too short for games. Unhealthy habits...

Some time ago I posted the shocking story of the natural world in all of its brutality. It should not take a Mensa-level EQ to recognise both the severity of the initial act and the trauma that inevitably, tragically echoes throughout the lives of all parties. Shockingly , there were people on this very blog who felt the incident a simple lark , a joke , and maybe even that one party was asking for it . Unfortunately this seems the way of modern life. The moral certainties provided by institutionalised religion, the rigid hierarchies inherent under a notion of the divine right of kings and feudal serfdom, the 'traditional' family and stark gender roles have all withered away leaving a hodge-podge of post-modern, post-materialist 'values' where anything goes but everybody reserves the right to be offended and offend in equal quantities. Thankfully, the Hobart City Council are a more enlightened bunch, and they've erected these statues to recognise the horror the o...

Aarat's enigmatic artiste and Tom Petty fan asked a reasonable question in the comments that I felt deserved an answer. She said, "what fainting goats?" To which I reply, "these fainting goats." [The group at 0:51 are my favourite.]

I was very disturbed by the tale from Antarctica that came across my desk this morning. The headline from the BBC says it all really: 'Sex pest' seal attacks penguin This seal refused to comment on the Antarctic incident All that I can say is that I sincerely hope that counselling has been offered to all parties, and that this obviously sick and confused seal is brought to justice.

I give thanks to the eagle-like gaze of true patriots like those at Obscene Desserts , whose alert eyes may well avert future catastrophes for humanity. I should really put them onto the case of the mysterious, yet somehow evil terrorgnome of Salta province ! Yet it is important that vigilant citizens do not get too distracted by the tiny menace of Tucumán teens (how about that for a sentence?). The new threat to society as we know it comes from a far greater evil: Nazi racoons! Yes, it appears that an army of militaristic mammals are on the march and threatening Europe in a manner not seen since World War Two. Even worse, these beasts appear to have been handpicked by evil Nazi genius (and sometime cross-dresser) 'Hungry' Hermann Göring! See everyone's favourite paper The Sun for more! I am almost too scared to contemplate the other evil revealed by all of this: the "Kitler" phenomenon. That is, cats that look like Hitler !