McCain rolls the dice with Palin
September 6, 2008
Filed under Politics, World
Tags: 90210, Alaska, conservative, feminism, Geena Davis, John McCain, Levi, McCain, Palin, Politics, President, Republican, Rice, Sarah Palin, United States, Vice President
In a move of either political suicide or brilliance, McCain has presented the world with another kind of conservatism that we simply weren’t expecting.
There were plenty of safer conservative women that could have been picked – Rice for one – you don’t see her running around eating roadkill..
Sarah Palin has shaken things up, that’s not rocket science. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Pauline Hanson days.. an ordinary woman who ran a fish and chip shop and shook up the dreary political scene, along with giving voice to a few too many rednecks that had been under rocks for a good while.
Palin has been attacked from almost every angle.. why is it that women from the left feel so cheated when a conservative women crops up on the political scene?
Is it impossible to be a conservative feminist? I mean, this woman has a career, she has kids, she has a spunky husband (who is also a champion snow machine racer – whatever that is) that looks like he’ll chip in where necessary.. what more could one want?
While we’re at it – is it a pre-requisite that a feminist must be pro-choice?
My problem with Palin isn’t that she’s a ‘real’ enough feminist, or is too conservative, or eats roadkill for that matter. It really shouldn’t be a big deal that she was a former beauty-queen or that she has a teenage daughter that has a penchant for hockey-jocks with names that belong to the new series of 90210..
It’s really not a problem that she she doesn’t believe the climate change problems we’re now facing are related to man, or doesn’t particularly like polar bears and thinks they shouldn’t be on the endangered list.
The problem with her is that she has small-town values – which in a vacuum could be seen almost as endearing, especially if spoken with a southern twang (which is a bit far from Alaska.. but you can see where I’m going), and is quite appropriate in a small town.
However, the United States of America is not a small town.
After watching the pilot episode last night of Commander in Chief - I had a spooky premonition. John McCain is no spring puppy.. If Palin refused to resign and took the Presidency, (God forbid if something happened to McCain..) we are all doomed. And by all – I don’t just mean Americans (as I’m not one for readers that haven’t realised yet) – I mean the whole world.
She even looks similar to Geena Davis in the series – just without the botoxed lips..
Palin won’t break glass ceilings with her brand of feminism – she’ll shoot through it.
Memo Starbucks: next time try selling ice to Eskimos
August 2, 2008
Filed under Food/Drink
Tags: America, Australia, cafe culture, Canada, Coffee, company, globalisation, globalization, Hollywood, Japan, McDonalds, Melbourne, Starbucks, The Age, Turkey, United States
This article was featured in today’s The Age, it echoes a growing sentiment in Australia about American chain coffee retailers.
Written by Chris Berg from the Institute of Public Affairs.
GLOBALISATION has pulled millions of people in developing countries out of poverty. It has sent goods, services and people around the world, linking humanity into a vast network of communications and commerce that has ultimately benefited everyone
But, still. In the case of one American coffee giant, globalisation deserved to fail. Starbucks makes really bad coffee.
Starbucks is almost entirely pulling out of Australia — closing 61 of its 84 stores. In Melbourne, just five of the 16 stores are tipped to remain.
Sure, the company is closing stores across the world. But while the closure of 600 stores in the United States sounds like a big deal, it is trivial when you consider that there are nearly 12,000 Starbucks outlets in that country.
The demise of the coffee giant’s Australian ventures speaks volumes about the challenge of globalisation.
The lesson of Starbucks’ Down Under fiasco is simple. Globalisation is a bit overrated. It’s much harder than everybody seems to think.
So why has Starbucks worked in the US but largely failed in Australia? The secret of the company’s success in the American market wasn’t that it sold coffee. It sold coffee culture.
It is remarkable how alien quality coffee was to US consumers. As late as the 1980s, the National Coffee Association was producing advertisements just trying to convince people that coffee could keep them awake. And what small prestige the drink held in the US was occupied by the old “cup of joe” — cheap, stale and reheated sludge poured from a pot.
No wonder that when Starbucks came on the scene in the 1990s, Americans eagerly embraced it. Starbucks coffees may be weak, poorly made and overly reliant on syrups to mask their flavour, but they are certainly better than what had previously been available.
The other aspect of Starbucks’ appeal in the US has been its establishment of the cafe as a social hub. From a Melbourne perspective, the typical Starbucks may seem somewhat sterile and too over-eager to appear “comfortable”. But it is one of the peculiarities of the US that the idea that a cafe could be a social venue was quite new, at least outside the circles inhabited by the cultural elite. Comfy chairs and pleasant, if bland, music have been just as important a part of the Starbucks product as its coffee.
But when Starbucks came to Australia to bring coffee and the cafe culture to the masses, it found that we already had it. Particularly in Melbourne, we have better coffee and more relaxing cafes than anything that Starbucks brought with it.
Undeterred, the firm simply dumped what seemed to work in America into this country. When Starbucks opened an outlet in Lygon Street — a store that has since sat empty surrounded by bustling cafes — it became an amazing example of just how comprehensively a company could fail to understand its target market.
The inability of Starbucks to adjust its product to local conditions is illustrated even more clearly when we compare it to the international strategy of that other evil American behemoth — McDonald’s. Where Starbucks offers almost the same products around the world, McDonald’s varies its menu depending on local culture and local tastes. In India, they sell the McCurry Pan. In Japan, the “Ebi Filet-O” is available — a shrimp burger. In Turkey, McDonald’s offers kebabs. Some of these products may sound stupid — and Canada’s “McLobster” sounds filthy — but their existence shows that McDonald’s understands the importance of understanding its regional markets, and tries to understand the peculiarities of local culture.
The failure of Starbucks in Australia tells us a lot about globalisation too. It isn’t enough — as some anti-globalisation activists seem to assume — for an American company just to blanket a foreign market with a mediocre product.
Multinational corporations actually have to offer something better than the local alternatives if they want to succeed.
This is true as much for products such as films and television as it is for syrupy coffee and fast food. Clearly, Hollywood films are better than Australian films on some level.
Audiences flock not just to the high-cost blockbusters but also to independent American movies well before they consider seeing a local production. Hollywood knows that a movie has to be entertaining before it can be successful.
If Starbucks can teach us anything, it is that in the global marketplace, turning up to compete just isn’t enough. You have to be really good.
Chris Berg is a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs and editor of the IPA Review.
Apple tells me I need an i Phone.
Apple tells me yes. I need an i Phone to make my life complete.
Can Apple do no wrong?.. Or are their wrongs just less publicized? Swept under the digital rug perhaps.
With their cult following, it’s quite obvious that their simplicity is the key to their success.
I can’t remember where this came from, but someone once told me the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid.
I.e As simple as possible without being too simple. Or there’s always the pub test if all else fails.
People like the idea of a product that is more or less idiot proof. It looks good, it has a relatively high performance level and most importantly, is unbelievably easy to use. People like to know that they will easily be able to learn how to use the usually more ‘tricky’ functions on their phone. Not need to be a particularly tech savvy person to use the net function and so on.
I don’t know how often I would use the GPS (unless it’s incredibly fast and accurate.. I have been scarred. Read post below Re Navman), or how often I would use the internet, seeing that I have it both at work and at home.
However, for those times when I was out and about, or traveling, and I thought, geez, I really wish I had net access so I could quickly look up ‘x’ place etc.
Admittedly there are a few problems with it – the most glaringly obvious is that it doesn’t have MMS. But that aside.. it is up there with my VW Golf lust and the more I see them the more I want one.
Also a selling point for myself is that I have an Apple computer, so it would sync in nicely. Before the i Phone was released Apple put out a tip sheet on how to ‘prepare’ yourself for the i Phone. That is, by updating your contacts on your Apple, by adding entries to the Calendar, and by getting ringtones ready in iTunes and the GarageBand app. that I’m still too scared to use, although if I was just to open it, it’s probably idiot proof and as simple as blowing your nose.
To end my random observations that are simply an echo of the current media coverage out there:
Apple you’ve done it again.
Invading New Zealand
July 25, 2008
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: ABC, Australians, Gruen Transfer, invade, New Zealand, You Tube
A novel idea, no doubt that our Dept of Defence has toyed with for years..
The creative folks on ABC’s Gruen Transfer brought the idea to the masses in a tangible form.
Enjoy
Who do you dress for? Really.
July 24, 2008
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: accounting, Adidas, baptism, Chanel, church, client, Doc Martins, God, High heels, Jehovah Witness, legal, Nike, office, pastor, priest, shoes, sneakers
If you are a man, do you dress to impress other women, or do you want cred from your mates? Same goes for women – are you dressing up to impress men, or will the ladies better appreciate your $1200 Chanel bag?…
If you ask people this question directly, they will usually answer that they dress for themselves – after all, that is the only self-respecting, dignified answer to give right?
I don’t buy it, I don’t. There are only a few people I can think of that this would truly apply to.
I think we all dress for others. Otherwise, why would you change into trackpants and a comfortable hoodie the moment you get home from a day out or from the office? If you truly dressed for yourself, you would wear in public what you wear on the weekend when you know you’re not going to be seen in public for the day. Now this logic may seem harsh and uncompromising, however I am using it to illustrate that we take into account many factors in how we dress.
If we dressed for ourselves, then why do labels matter? Sure, you pay a price for quality. But quality can only take you so far, and then the $500 price tag starts to look a bit ridiculous. I often wonder at those fashion houses (think Gucci or Versace) – do they sit around a table and say ‘ok, this dress cost $100 in total to make, including materials and labour. Since we are a high-end fashion label, we will need to charge $2100 for it, so it keeps with the rest of the price range.’ – Ok I’m sure they don’t exactly spell it out like that each time. But you get the point.
Something I have been seeing a lot of lately as I drive to work through the city, is women wearing running shoes, such as Nike and Adidas sneakers to work with their suits and panty hose, with their 3-inch heels being carried in one of those enviro shopping bags.
At first I thought, 1. It just looks ugly. 2. It’s admitting self defeat – that the shoes are too difficult for you to wear, even to work. So it makes you look like you shouldn’t be wearing them at all.
However, upon thinking about it a bit more. I started to give these women a bit more credit. They are walking to work, looking a bit silly – but they don’t care. They would rather be more comfortable getting there than putting up with unnecessary pain.
Perhaps they are not wearing the sneakers to work purely for comfort, but perhaps their high heels cost a lot more than some Uni student’s cars are worth, and they don’t see the financial sense in wearing their aesthetic investment out on the pavements, or through rain, snow etc.
Although having said that, I would take a punt that at least 80% wear them for comfort. Fair enough. I don’t think I could do it, but I guess I must be vain enough to care what people think. I can admit that.
So back to others – does that mean these women are dressing for their work colleagues, or clients? That is fair enough, as the professional world, particularly when dealing with clients, demands competitiveness. Who after all would feel comfortable handing over a $4000 cheque for two days work to some legal firm with a lawyer who barely cares to dress themselves appropriately? The dollars are paying for the image as well. The image is that of quality, assuredness, confidence. No Danny Danuto grey suits swimming about.
My friend who works for an accounting firm told me that their boss told them that they have to wear their suit jacket on while they travel to work. Just in case a client sees them step out of their car at the petrol station or walk to the front door. Even in summer. Once they are in their offices and are not seeing clients, this rule no longer applies.
The other weekend I went nice and early, 8am to be exact, to the Farmers Market, which is hosted at the exhibition grounds. I was driving through the fog and being guided by a security team (which isn’t usual at the farmers market).. and I saw herds of families dressed as if they were going to church. In what appeared to be their best gear.. at 8am in the morning at what was essentially the show grounds. They were all heading to one building. The women had that religious sect type hair that is long, un-coloured and either braided or in a high pony tail with an old fashion scrunchie. They were wearing either long dresses or skirts that were to the ground. The men wearing suits.
I thought perhaps I stumbled across some mass-baptism ceremony or a cheaply located wedding.. bit at 8am?..
As I drove away from the farmers market (which I eventually found). I noticed at the corner near the intersection a massive electronic bill board. It read: “GIVING GODS WORD TO THE WORD: Jehovah Witness Convention Sat & Sun”.. It shouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
Which brings me back to the original question – do these women really want to dress like this? Who is telling them to do so? God? Their sisterhood? Their husband, pastor or priest? They seem to happily walk around in public dressed slightly old-fashioned.. so perhaps they are dressing for themselves? Is it what they feel comfortable with?
This is nothing new, nothing earth shattering. Just some simple truths.. If we are truly honest with ourselves – who is it we are dressing for? Our husband or wife? That cute guy who works down the hall from you? Your boss so you can get promoted?
For your friends, your colleagues? Or are there a few people out there who honestly dress for themselves and proudly wear the curious looks passers by will give you as you strut around in your 1990s doc martins that are still perfectly good?
Bless them. If nothing else, they make the rest of us look better. There I said it!
Top 10 of Spain
July 24, 2008
Filed under World
Tags: Antonio Banderas, Don Quixote, Enrique, ETA, Franco, Gonzalez, Ingelisias, nationalism, naval, Scottish, Spain, Spanish, top 10, Torquemada, Tour de France, World War II, Zapatero
Because I love lists so much, I’ve decided to do a top 10 of Spain. 10 Spanish people you should know about. Again, not necessarily the most famous/well known (sorry Antonio Banderas won’t make the cut for this very reason) – but you will thank me one day when you reach that high level in trivial pursuit.
1. Francisco Franco (1892–1975)
A general. from 1939 dictator and formal Head of State of Spain. Ok he’s a bit more obvious, however he has influenced Spanish society ever since he came to power. His rule was known for a focus on Spanish nationalism, imperial aspirations, centralism and traditional values.
2. Tomas de Torquemada (1420 -1498. ) was a fifteenth century Spanish Dominican, and an Inquisitor General. Famously described by the Spanish chronicler, Sebastian de Olmedo, as “the hammer of heretics, the light of Spain, the saviour of his country, the honour of his order”.
He is known for his zealous campaign against the crypto-Jews and crypto-Muslims of Spain. He was one of the chief supporters of the Alhambra Decree, which expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492.
3. Francisco Pizarro Gonzalez. (1471-1541) He was a Spanish conquistador, conquerer of the Inca Empire and founder of Lima, capital of Peru. He should not be confused with another Francisco Pizarro who joined Hernan Cortes to conquer the Aztecs.
4. Chabeli Ingelsias. 1971 – .
She’s a journalist based in Washington D.C. She is of mixed Filipino and Spanish ancestry. Chabeli is the daughter of famous Spanish singer Julio Inglesias and Filipino journalist Isabel Preysler. She is also sister of the better known pop star Enrique Iglesias.
Chabeli appeared in many local and international covers of gossip magazines since at a young age, as the press made the Iglesias family one of their favorite targets. After the kidnapping of her grandfather in 1985 her father decided to move her and her brothers to safety in Miami, United States where she lived in protective custody.
5. Fernando Villaamil (1845-1898. ) was a Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the designer of the first destroyer warship in history and for his heroic death in the naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba of the Spanish-American war, being the highest Spanish officer to suffer this fate in that event.
6. Enric Miralles Moya (1955 – 2000) was a Catalan architect. Miralles’ largest work, the new Scottish Parliament Building, was unfinished at the time of his death (completed in 2004).
7. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (1960 – )
Better known by his maternal surname Zapatero (literally “shoemaker,” in Spanish), is the Prime Minister of Spain. The party he leads, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), won one general election on March 14, 2004 and another on March 9, 2008. Actions of his first government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, a controversial negotiation with the armed separatist group ETA, the creation of Spanish Courts to deal with Violence against Women, legalizing same-sex marriages and a program of amnesty with illegal immigrants.
8. Garbo was the British codename of Juan Pujol García (1912-1988. ) , a double agent who played a key role in the success of Operation Fortitude, the deception operation intended to mislead the Germans about the timing and location of the invasion of Normandy towards the end of World War II. The false information Garcia supplied helped persuade German intelligence the main attack would come in the Pas de Calais, resulting in a decision to withhold troops from the area around the Normandy beachhead.
9. Óscar Pereiro Sio (1977 – ) is a professional bicyclist best known for winning the 2006 Tour de France after the original winner, Floyd Landis, was disqualified for failing a series of doping tests.
10. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was a novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, the first modern novel, is considered a founding classic of Western literature and regularly features among the best novels ever written.
Technology can only take us so far
Since having moved to a new city, I have increasingly become reliant on the Navman I’ve borrowed from the ol’ ye parents. Reliant is an understatement really.. addicted is a better word.
Shunning regular street directories – I simply find the street I need and away it takes me..
“Turn right in 450 metres..” “Take the first exist at the roundabout”..
For a good few weeks I considered it a god-send.. a true blessing for the gal from another state.
However, lately, I’ve been starting to question the choices the Navman takes.. I’ve been second-guessing it, wanting second opinions, testing it. I honestly don’t think I’m been taken on the most direct route.
I’ve questioned whether it was dropped on it’s little electronic head as a baby.. it’s just not the full quid this model I have.
Take an example. Travelling at relatively high speed on highway at night – Navman tells me to turn right.. about 5 metres after the exit.. geez Navman, thanks for the warning! It is starting to get lazy.. no longer giving me loads of notice “turn right in 550 metres.. turn right in 330 metres.. turn right in 215 metres” – ok I get it! But not any more apparently.
Another thing – it doesn’t recognise new development areas, which can be a problem when it thinks I’m in the middle of no where and keeps repeating “perform a U-turn”.. “perform a U-turn”.. “perform a U-turn” No Navman I won’t!! Because I know you are wrong and will only cost me time and fuel!!
Just like a drug.. it is no longer working as it used to. It is consistently disappointing me. I’m considering moving onto a more reliable hard copy street directory.
It seems that technology can only take us so far.
Campos Coffee Sydney – My God Shot found.
July 21, 2008
Filed under Food/Drink
Tags: Atomica, Barista, Brunswick Street, Campos, Coffee, Coffee Geek, Melbourne, Newtown, Sydney
This is a call for places like Atomica, Brunswick Street Melbourne to wake up and smell the coffee beans.
Campos is an ideal model to follow. After having read rave reviews about Campos on CoffeeGeek forums and the like, I decided it was time to make the voyage and see what all the fuss was about.
For some reason I pictured it would be this huge circular room, split level, with a high ceiling and massive windows, with the barista in the centre of it all.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised that it ended up being a cosy, Italian-style coffee bar that one could imagine the likes of Frank Sinatra sitting there, sipping a double short black, reading the newspaper in the late morning..
The baristas have the energy of a pro tennis player, with the precision of a marksman, and the passion of someone who is obsessed with their product. I think a good barista needs to have an obsessive quality in their personality, as they are constantly trying to achieve perfection with their shots of liquid gold.
From the moment I walked in I knew it was going to be a rewarding cup of coffee.. One good sign was the massive line at 11 O’clock in the morning.. A loyal customer pool is a good tell-tale sign of a decent place.
The place smelt delectably like freshly roasted and ground coffee… the smell is simply addictive.. There was a concentrated buzz around the coffee machine, with a few baristas co-ordinating somehow.
Being indecisive (and not wanting to miss out on anything on this one special trip) I ordered a short black (the only way I think to test if the barista/coffee is any good) and a latte, to see how they froth the milk (also a tell-tale sign).
I was very pleased with my latte that came complete with art in the form of a leaf on the top. My short black had nice and thick crema with a lovely golden colour.
Another test – if the short black can taste good with 1 1/2 sugars, it’s a good espresso shot. Normally I take 2 sugars.. often to cover the bad/burnt taste that is all too common in some cafes..
This officially was my ‘god shot’ – that elusive shot that the coffee-obsessed are constantly striving to find. The Holy grail of coffee experiences.. It was the best short black I’ve had outside of Rome.
www.camposcoffee.com
Just like Indiana Jones.. I decided I had to go back to my Holy Grail – I couldn’t let it rest.
On my next business trip to Sydney I purposely chose a hotel to stay at that would require me to go through Newtown to get to the airport.
I was not disappointed.
This time I decided to try their house specialty – the ice cold sparkling water with a ristretto shot on top. I must say I didn’t want to try this the first time I was there, just in case I was disappointed – thus trying the more conservative short black and latte.
The lovely barista delivered it to my table, and asked me if I had one of those before. I said no – so he said just shot it basically. The texture/taste sensation was something I hadn’t experienced before.
The cold on the bottom and the hot shot running over the top, both swirling together in my mouth, somewhat separately.. was most unusual and a bit exciting in a geeky coffee kind of way!
I must admit that I probably needed to add some sugar to it to appreciate it more (although the Barista advised me not to) – which probably means I’m not as hard core as the true coffee geeks.
I still have a long way to go!
But in the meantime, I will be making every effort to go to Campos on my next trip to Sydney, because it’s definitely worth the detour / reworking everything to fit it in!
Note to Atomica: You should lose the attitude and perhaps your coffee shop too will be filled with those that have travelled all the way across the city to taste your liquid gold, rather than for those that are too cool for school and barely notice your bad service.
Top 10 of China
June 9, 2008
Filed under World
Tags: China, Chinese, Forbes, Hu Jintao, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Memoirs of a Geisha, Olympic Games, Wen Jiabao
With the Olympics coming up and natural disasters keeping China on the front few pages of decent newspapers.. I thought it would be handy to share this nerdy little tidbit that I found on the BBC site.
This is deeply unscientific and probably quite arbitrary. This is a list of the 10 Chinese people you should know about – as opposed to the 10 most famous people from China.
In no special order:
1. Hu Jintao – politician. China’s president. Hu Jintao rules over more people – 1.3bn – than any single person has ever done in the history of the world. He’ll be in charge of China for another five years (he’s expected to be succeeded by another man you might want to remember – Xi Jinping).
2. Wen Jiabao – politician. China’s premier. Took the lead in the response to the recent earthquake. A very popular man in China and a fascinating figure. He worked with reformers in the 1980s – and survived the political purges after the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989.
3. Yao Ming – basketball player. Probably the most immediately recognisable Chinese person alive (mostly because he is 7ft 6in). Yao Ming plays basketball for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Expect him to play a major role in the Olympics (he may even be the athlete who lights the flame to mark the start of the games).
4. Liu Xiang – athlete. China’s great hope for this summer’s Olympic Games. The entire country expects him to do what he did in Athens 2004 – win the gold in the 110m hurdles. If he does, he can probably get the country renamed after him.
5. Yuan Longping – scientist. In the 1970s he developed a hybrid rice that has since had a huge effect on world food supplies. This super rice has a higher yield than normal rice – the extra yield has been able to feed tens of millions of people.
6. Yang Liwei – astronaut. In 2003, he became China’s first man into space. I’ve picked him not necessarily because he’s famous, but because he represents the kind of ambition that China has for its future.
7. Li Ning – sportsman and entrepreneur. He won three gold medals as a gymnast at the 1984 Olympics and then founded his own sportswear company. Wherever you go in China, you see people wearing clothes bearing the distinctive Li Ning signature.
8. Zhang Ziyi – actress. Star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. Fierce debates here as to whether she should have been picked over Gong Li.
9. Li Jiacheng – businessman. The richest Chinese person in the world (Forbes ranks him the 11th richest person in the world.) Thought to be worth more than $26bn, his business interests include banking, real estate, construction, plastics etc
10. Zhang Yimou – film director. Directed films such as Raise the Red Lantern, and House of Flying Daggers. One of the most influential figures in the world of Chinese cinema. For this reason he beats out more famous cinematic figures such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Self Pity
This is one of my favourite poems. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it.
Self Pity – DH Lawrence
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself
Lawrence was notoriously known for hating people who felt sorry for themselves. He loathed self pity and vowed to live his life fully until he was dead and not waste time.
This poem is a nice reminder to me. Not so much about death, but about not getting caught up in the little things.. about being strong and just getting on with life when bad things happen. Not to waste time feeling sorry for oneself.
