Arlington: The Rap

Thanks to my homies back in DC, I got wind of this little gem, which features the old 'hood where we used to live before we moved down under. Five seconds into the video, you can see our old apartment building in the background, and the Whole Foods (known back in the day as Whole Paycheck) was where we did our regular shopping.

Au revoir Connex

An era has ended in Melbourne, with the much-maligned public transport provider Connex failing in its bid to renew its contract to operate the city's rail services. The newly formed consortium, Metro Trains Melbourne, which is headed by a Hong Kong company, will take over rail operations, while a group led by the French firm Keolis Downer EDI will pick up tram services. Having wasted at least one lifetime waiting on Connex trains to arrive (despite the hefty price tag associated with the city's rail services), I can't be surprised about the demise of Connex. However, it remains to be seen if the new management can improve the current state of affairs, which is due in part to long-term underinvestment in infrastructure.

G' Day UK

Despite the constant stream of pale, consumptive, alcoholic backpackers from the UK washing up on Australia's shores, Australia's tourism machinery has launched a campaign to recruit even more:

"The banks of London's "dirty old river" Thames are being transformed into the golden sands of Bondi beach, to promote NSW."

It's not as Glamorous as it Looks

On Tuesday, 9 June I woke up at 4:45 in the Victorian regional town of Mildura (after completing four days of karate training). I proceeded to drive to the aiport and catch a flight back home to Melbourne. Once back in Melbourne, I took a taxi home, where I then jumped on a train to the office, where I picked up a car and drove to Tooradin. Once there, I spent an hour of so standing around in the cold, the wind and the rain trying to come up with clever things to say. The purpose of that long story is that it explains why I've got bags under my eyes in the following video:

Terrorism Has a New Name

At times, living in Australia is like having a direct window to the past. Case-in-point, a number of water suppliers around Australia are only now getting around to adding fluoride to drinking water. Back in 2007, I had a post on Queensland's coming-of-age with fluoride. Now, it's Geelong's turn. Barwon Water, which provides water to Geelong (70 km to Melbourne's west) is set to begin adding fluoride to the water supply this week. Enter the dreaded anti-fluoride terrorists. According to The Age:

"Anti-fluoride activists have also threatened to blow up Barwon Water's treatment plants as the authority begins on Monday adding fluoride to the water supply in Geelong, 70 kilometres southwest of Melbourne. The Department of Human Services (DHS) received a threatening letter in the mail last week. All three threats are being investigated by police. A government spokeswoman said Ms Neville, who is the member for Bellarine, returned home on Saturday night to find the bottle of water and a note on her front verandah. It read: 'We're going to kill you, bitch'."

As I've said many times before on this blog, you can't make this stuff up.

Mean Streets

Back in 2006, a had a brief post on the Australian underworld and a couple of its personalities that had recently found themselves 'wacked', as they say. Little did I realise at the time the full extent of Australia's fascination with its own little gangland wars (which weren't really wars so much as the occasional assassination). Since 2006, Australia has produced not one, but two television series (Underbelly and Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities)dramatising various periods of particularly tumultuous gang activity (which according to the television shows seemed to involve lots of people getting buried in shallow graves, cocaine, and group sex).

But the underworld isn't just a historical curiosity - a fact readily demonstrated this afternoon, when Desmond Moran was shot dead while existing his favourite deli after what was to be his last meal. The Moran family is no stranger to violence as Moran's brother as well as his two nephews also are all 'sleeping with the fishes' as they say.

And so the underworld continues to thrive, in its own small-scale Melbourne way.

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

Australia has an international reputation for hosting all sorts of danger in the outback or, occassionally, in its coastal waters. A little known fact, however, is that such danger apparently exists everywhere. Case-in-point: a poor unsuspecting man was bitten by a brown snake (one of the world's more venomous varieties) in downtown Melbourne in an alley behind a department store. You can't make this stuff up. . .

Another One Bites the Dust

Another landmark along Victoria's Great Ocean Road has undegone a bit of renovation, with a significant chunk of the Island Archway at Loch Ard Gorge falling into the waters below. This follows the demise of one of the 12 Apostles back in 2005 and the collapse of London Bridge back in 1994.

The Other Footy

After a few years on the back burner, soccer (aka football) is making its way back on the Australia agenda. First, Australia has officially qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after a 0-0 draw with Qatar last week. However, the Socceroos sill face a match against Japan here in Melbourne this week to see which team will claim the top spot in the group.

Meanwhile, Australia is hoping to punch above its weight on the international stage by launching a bid to host the 2018 World Cup. The Federal Government has contributed big bucks (by Australia standards) to the campaign, despite a general feeling that Australia will likely be the underdog in this race.