Jenny’s Journies

Tuesday, 30 October 2007 @ 8:14am.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series! See http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/10/29/world.series.ap/index.html for details.

Halloween is tomorrow, but it doesn’t feel like it at all. The Aussies in my neighborhood don’t seem to celebrate the holiday and I’ve heard that it hasn’t “caught on” here much. I miss the decorations and pumpkin carvings back in the U.S. I’m not sure where to even locate a pumpkin even if I wanted to purchase one. Perhaps that will be my next mission…

I have been watching scary movies in the lead up to Halloween, though. I’ve seen Stephen King’s “Desperation” and “Ride the Bullet.” I’ve also watched “Dead Silence” and “The Reaping,” which were both creepy. I’ve heard that the most recent “Saw” offering is quite popular in the States at the moment, but I could barely get through the first movie so I am not sure I can manage the rest of the sequels!

On Sunday, I went to the Werribee Open Range Zoo and had a really fun time. I’ll post pictures taken at the zoo later this week along with some others…

I highly recommend viewing “A Vision of Students Today,” which is available at YouTube. Check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o or do a keyword search on the general site. Michael Wesch created the video in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

Have a great, thought-provoking day!

Friday, 26 October 2007 @ 4:13pm.

I’ve recently joined a very cool new travel website called “Cosmotourist.” If you like to travel, plan on traveling soon, or just like to read interesting stories, check it out at http://www.cosmotourist.com/. It’s free to sign up and once you do register, you can read other travelers’ tips and see their fabulous photographs. It’s a fun site to navigate because you can search information by countries, regions, cities, popular tags, and photographs. It’s also interactive and you can converse with other travelers.

Happy trails!

Wednesday, 24 October 2007 @ 10:25pm.

I’ve struggled a little bit here and there with differences between American English and Australian English. It is usually not a big deal and sometimes it is fun to learn…though I must admit when there are several differences that pop up in one day I can get annoyed…

AMERICAN — AUSTRALIAN

French fries — Chips
Potato chips — Chips
How are you doing? — How you going?
Gas — Petrol
Police station — Cop shop
Mailman — Postman or postie
Friend — Mate
Well done or good job — Good on ya
Rugrat or small child — Ankle biter
Afternoon — Arvo
Takeout — Takeaway
Television — Telly
Flip-flops — Thongs
Ketchup — Tomato sauce
Gossip — Goss
Flashlight — Torch
Sweatshirt and sweatpants — Tracksuit
Whine or complain — Whinge
Trunk — Boot
Cash back — Cash out (when you get cash after using a credit/debit card at the store register)
very — bloody
breakfast — brekkie
chicken — chook

I did think the following joke was funny:
“As far as I’m concerned, a possum is just a rat with an Australian passport.” (Hamish & Andy radio show)

For more Aussie terms, check out: http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

Monday, 22 October 2007 @ 4:05pm.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Boston Red Sox!!!

The Red Sox toughed it out to advance to the World Series!!!!!!!!

Check it out at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/specials/playoffs/2007/10/21/alcs.game7.ap/index.html?cnn=yes.

Friday, 19 October 2007 @ 9:23am.

Check out a beautiful song by Aussie artist Xavier Rudd. It’s called “Messages” and the music video can be found on YouTube. First, click on http://www.youtube.com/ and then in the search engine at the top of the page, type “Xavier Rudd - Messages Music Video.” There is a very cool live version of the song, too: type in “Xavier Rudd - Studio 89″ in the search box. If you like what you hear, there are other short videos by him and of his live performances at various places around the world. Happy listening!

Wednesday, 17 October 2007 @ 10:41pm.

October is Filipino American History Month in the United States. Celebrations have taken place each year since 1988 when the Filipino American National Historical Society established the month. For an easy read about interesting Filipino American (a.k.a. Fil-Am) facts and figures, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_American.

As for matters in the Land of Oz, the federal elections have finally been called. Eligible voters will turn out on Saturday, 24 November 2007. Voting is compulsory for citizens aged 18 years or older. There are penalties if a person does not vote and does not have a valid reason for not voting. See this link for frequently asked questions and answers: http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Voting_Australia.htm Want to know the voter turnout percentages for Australia since 1901? Sure you do. Click on the following link: http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/Australian_Electoral_History/Voter_Turnout.htm I had to chuckle in a bit of disbelief, though, because within two clicks of a mouse on a computer you can find such data with ease. Not so for those of us who research politics in Indonesia…grrr…

In local Sunshine news…Headline: Magpie swooping season in full flight

“Look out - it’s magpie breeding season and there have been reports across Sunshine of the birds swooping… The Department of Human Services said magpies bred between August and October, causing them to become protective of their babies.”

(The Advocate, Fairfax Community Network, 25 September 2007, page 2)

Apparently at least one bird has drawn blood from a guy’s head!

Tuesday, 16 October 2007 @ 2:27pm.

October 12th was the fifth anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings. 202 people perished in Kuta at the Sari Club and Paddy’s Pub that day. 88 of the victims were Australian, so you can imagine some of the news coverage here in Australia. I wonder if there was much, if any, coverage in the United States?

One article can be found at this link from news.com.au: “Bali bomb mourners mark fifth anniversary”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were affected by the tragic event. The same goes for those hurt by the September 11th attacks. I watched an Oprah Show episode today and it was about the sixth anniversary of 9/11. It was sad to hear some of the stories, but hopeful in that the children seemed so strong, so determined to do good and be good in this life. What an example for us all.

Thursday, 11 October 2007 @ 1:14pm.

There is dance music playing on my computer now to get me pumped (see http://www.windowsmedia.com/Mediaguide/Radio for online radio stations). I hope to get back into the swing of things such as more frequent blog postings. I’ve been in a bit of a funk with regards to any kind of writing. Whether it was emails, blogging, the dissertation, or little stuff on Post-It Notes, I just couldn’t get into it. But as it is now spring and moving slowly, but surely into summer here in lovely Melbourne, I, too, will make a transition…a transition into productivity, especially into the Land of Words. As academics sometimes like to say (reluctantly?): Publish or Perish!

As promised, here are some happy snaps from my August trip as well as some recent ones from September:

This picture is of me and my sister at a pizza joint in Miami:

And the award for “Cutest Mommy in the World” goes to my mom (obviously!). Here we are taking a break while window shopping in Miami:

For my sister’s birthday, we took her to Rainforest Cafe. It’s an over-the-top kind of place with average food, but we still had a fun time:

This is the special memorial tree at Monmouth College (Monmouth, Illinois) for my grandmother and grandfather on my dad’s side. I am standing with the tree and my awesome aunt:

While checking out one of my uncle’s record collections, I noticed this cover. Um, did the movie “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007 comic book superhero film) commit plagiarism or copyright infringement here???

Here is another very cool auntie and uncle seeing me off at the train station:

Back in Michigan, my cat Prancer is doing very well. He had a health scare some months ago, but he is getting chubbier each day and is in good spirits. He is still a purring machine.

At the end of September, I went on a hike in the Dandenong Ranges. Here is a snap of some of the beautiful trees I saw:

Here I am while on the hike:

After the hike, I saw a parrot park. Visitors were feeding the birds mainly seeds, but a few were giving them junk food, so shame on those naughty folks.

Stay tuned for future random and sometimes purposeful postings.