Jenny’s Journies

Friday, 30 November 2007 @ 12:17pm.

If you plan on traveling and you’re on a budget, plus not too afraid of strangers, head to the following sites: http://www.couchsurfing.com, http://www.place2stay.net, and http://www.hospitalityclub.org. This brings networking and travel to a different level, no?

Australia recently held its elections. Most folks turned out to vote (it’s mandatory) last Saturday, including my partner. I accompanied him to a local primary school that day to see what things were like.

Folks were friendly and things were pretty efficient. One lady looked up my partner’s name in a registered list, marked him off, gave him one ballot that was quite large and one small one. The voting procedures were relatively simple, either mark one party or rank order individual candidates from parties. My hunch is that many people just choose the one party since the ranking involves ranking every single person on the ballot and that would take quite a bit of time and knowledge. There wasn’t much of any kind of security or long lines or people at the front persuading you to vote one way or the other. There was even a table offering snacks and drinks. Very interesting overall in the sense of a lack of stress, conflict, or challenges. For someone who studies political participation like me, the “simplicity” of it all almost baffled me.

On Sunday, we went to the Brimbank Festival. We had a fun time listening to and watching the different cultural performances on a stage, checking out various educational booths, and trying a carnival ride called the “Scorpion.” I felt so sick on and after the ride, but it was worth it!

Funny musicians:

The Scorpion:

Here I am after a turn on the Scorpion carnival ride:

Monday, 26 November 2007 @ 8:50pm.

Here are a few things I recently learned…

(1) How to Clean:

Laptops –

“The tips for cleaning flat-panel sets also apply to laptop screens, while a damp cloth can be used on the shell and touchpad. Use compressed air to dust off the keyboard, ports and fans — but first stick a toothpick in any fans so they won’t be damaged by overspinning. Your user’s guide should show how to detach the keyboard so you can use the can of compressed air on the internal components. If your keys are gunky and the user’s guide indicates that they are removable, use swabs and undiluted isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue.”

Cell phones –

“A soft cloth dampened with a 60/40 mixture of water and alcohol is the ideal way to wipe off your phone and kill bacteria. If the keys are somewhat unresponsive (and you don’t mind potentially voiding your warranty), follow instructions in the manual to pop the front and rear panels off your phone, and remove the battery and keypad. Use a swab dampened with undiluted alcohol to gently clean the circuit board beneath the keypad, and the power/data connector on the side or bottom of the phone.”

The aforementioned information came from MSN at http://men.msn.com/articlepm.aspx?cp-documentid=5602444&GT1=10618 .

(2) If you live in Australia and happen to see a trolley (i.e., shopping cart) someplace that it shouldn’t be, click on http://trolleytracker.com.au/ to report the information or call them at 1-800-641-497. You could win money for reporting a lost trolley, not to mention feeling good about cleaning up your local neighborhoods.

(3) Ebay is great. Okay, I probably already knew this, but I have reconfirmed it. One difficulty, though, is if you have an American account, but try to do stuff in a different country such as Australia. There should be more options for personal account settings so buyers and sellers don’t get confused.

(4) Christmas sweets are a bit different here than in the U.S. For example, I have seen a lot more fruit cakes, mince tarts, and Christmas puddings on sale. I have not seen any pumpkin pies, which was quite a bummer for Thanksgiving by the way.

(5) I still like the feel of grass underneath my bare feet. Liked it as a kid, and still do as an adult.

Thursday, 22 November 2007 @ 7:18pm.

Well, it’s not quite Thanksgiving in the U.S. yet, but “Happy Thanksgiving” anyway! I hope everyone has something and someone to be thankful for in their lives. I certainly miss folks back home, especially since there is a notable absence of Thanksgiving holiday stuff here in the Land of Oz, but I take comfort in the fact that they are all in my thoughts and prayers and therefore with me in my heart.

So something I’ve been thankful for is my “mixedness” and others of mixed descent. Some great folks at my university sent the following suggestions via email one day. These resources may be of interest to mixed people and those interested about bi- and multi-racial people’s experiences:

Books:

* “Caucasia” by Danzy Senna
* “Mixed: My Life in Black and White” by Angela Nissel
* “Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self” by Rebecca Walker
* “Passing” and “Quicksand” by Nella Larsen
* “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” by James Weldon Johnson
* “The Color of Water” by James McBride
* “Dreams of My Father” by Barack Obama
* “Life on the Color Line” by Gregory Howard Williams
* Books by Elizabeth Atkins Bowman

Websites:

* http://www.mixedfolks.com/books.htm
* http://www.anomalythefilm.com/resources.php?type=pubs
* http://mixedraceshirts.com/
* http://www.multiracialapparel.com/
* http://www.mixedchix.com (don’t spell it like “chicks,” otherwise you’ll be taken to porn sites)

It sure is a colorful world, isn’t it?

Wednesday, 21 November 2007 @ 2:09pm.

Everyone should totally see the following video at YouTube. It’s FANTASTIC!!!

Here’s the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kfPTGTGLA3E

If the link doesn’t work, search for the video called “Go around twice if you’re happy.” Vincent Fichard and Matthew Jones wrote and directed the video in Dubai of October 2007.

Friday, 09 November 2007 @ 1:48pm.

HAPPY DIWALI!!! I hope the festival of light is a special one for you all. Many folks, including myself, attended a Diwali celebration a little early (last month). Here are a couple of photos from that event, which was held at Federation Square in downtown Melbourne:

Lots of people from the Indian community came out for music, dancing, food, fireworks, and fun:

There were cool fireworks over the Yarra River:

On a different note, but similar to my last posting on social change, here’s some more food for thought and everyday tips to make a difference:

According to Reader’s Digest and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s book “An Inconvenient Truth,” the average automobile puts out a pound of carbon dioxide for every mile of travel. Reducing car travel by just 20 miles a week would save almost 1,000 pounds of the greenhouse gas each year. Where possible, share rides, take public transportation, bike, or walk to your destination. In a related matter, the average meal travels over 1,200 miles by truck, ship, or plane, thereby producing thousands of pounds of carbon emissions. We can do something by shopping more locally at farmers’ markets and food co-ops. One’s home could also be more eco-friendly, not to mention save dollars in your pocket. Homes can be poorly insulated or inefficient in other ways. Check out http://www.energyguide.com for more information. Then there are those billions of plastic shopping bags, which take centuries to decompose and cause us to use up 12 million barrels of oil just to make them. The easiest way to deal with this problem is to use tote bags. I love that this is popular in Melbourne. Reusable cloth and canvas bags are inexpensive, convenient, and washable. In some stores here such as Aldi, customers must bring their own bags or buy them at the store.

Wednesday, 07 November 2007 @ 3:00pm.

I have been thinking about social change a lot lately (probably because of my research topics in Indonesia) and recent mass media reports have got me thinking even more about how individuals can make a difference, both big and small. Take today, for example. The United States Humane Society just released information about their undercover investigation into puppy mills in Virginia. It’s a very sad problem, but one that average folks can do something about. The Humane Society’s main advice is to avoid purchasing puppies from pet stores (even if you have altruistic intentions, the purchase just continues the bad cycle), refrain from buying puppies online, and certainly don’t get a pet from an actual puppy mill. There are literally millions of great animals available through adoption. You would be saving a life, adding a special pet to your household, and making a dent in the awful puppy mill business.

Another way to make a difference is by going vegetarian or being a part-time vegetarian. Some call the latter “flexitarian.” Check out a fabulous blog called “Vegetarian Wednesday” by a father-daughter team who are generally meat-eaters, but wanted to make a difference for animals, the environment, and their health in general. The website address is http://vegetarian-wednesday.blogspot.com/. According to the Humane Society website, “Every hour in the United States, one million animals are killed for our dinner plates. If each one of us cut back on meat by only 10 percent, about one billion animals would be spared a lifetime of suffering each year.” What a difference! (By the way, “Go Blue!” The dad who started the aforementioned blog is a University of Michigan medical student.)

For other ways to make a difference, check out the links I compiled at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jepley/ycmadl.html. I would like to especially highlight the Probini Foundation. Probini helps children in need, particularly orphans, in India and Bangladesh. The Chair and Co-Founder of Probini is Dr. Sachi G. Dastidar, who is a Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York, Old Westbury, and the other Co-Founder is Dr. Shefali S. Dastidar, who is a planner for the City of New York. They happen to be the parents of a college friend of mine. They are good people doing their part in this world. Helping Probini and its fantastic projects is as easy as a PayPal donation online or sending a check or money order - any amounts are helpful!

Finally, if you are click-happy and on your computer quite a bit, head to The Hunger Site, where one click is the equivalent of a cup of food. Clicking is free and there are related sites that focus on helping child health, literacy, rainforests, animal rescue, and breast cancer.

Tuesday, 06 November 2007 @ 6:05pm.

Unfortunately, I am really under the weather. I have had a cold for the past couple of days, but am hopefully on the upswing now. As I stayed in all day under covers and with a box of tissues handy, I cozied up with books and later television. I had the pleasure of watching the Melbourne Cup with all its excitement, racing, fashion, and celebrations. It’s a holiday and most people don’t have to work today if you can believe it. Who would have thought a day at the race tracks would mean a public holiday? It really is “The race that stops a nation.” A beautiful, spunky horse named “Efficient” won this afternoon, with “Purple Moon” running second and “Mahler” took third place. More information about the Melbourne Cup may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cup. You can get current news and photographs about the various races, winners, and fashionistas at http://www.theage.com.au/.

Monday, 05 November 2007 @ 12:12am.

I’m not sure why I’m up so late, but I am. I thought I would post some pictures from my trip last week to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. I saw some lions, but no tigers or bears. There were plenty of other cool animals to see, though. Enjoy the following wildlife pictures!

All aboard! Here is the safari bus while I wait in line:

While on the bus, I saw different animals on the range such as this hungry camel:

There was a beautiful giraffe that came close to the safari bus:

The zebras were pretty cool, too:

There are walks around the zoo as well, and here is a picture of one of the signs directing us to one of the residents:

And here she is:

I was glad to see this hippo because I only saw the nostrils of the big male while riding on the safari bus. Apparently, he wasn’t being that social for visitors and chose to stay under water.

Behind some thick glass, I saw several amazing lions who were lounging around for the day:

Here I am all smiles: