taste & discretion

There are two ways you can go.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:53:44 +1000

There are two ways you can go.

It’s a crushing feeling when you find out that the path you have always wanted to walk down is...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:18:00 +1000

It’s a crushing feeling when you find out that the path you have always wanted to walk down is a little harder than you expected. Not only that, but when the path is so cold and desolate that the passion, which once burned ever so bright, is flickering.
The goal is there. However the process is arduous, lonely and tough to reconcile with a life filled with shared experiences, intense relationships and vast interests.
I know what I have to do. Whether I have what it takes is yet to be seen.
I did not think it was going to be like this and I’m not sure whether I want the reincarnation.

Coffee & Cases.: Was thinking about the law school culture of perfectionism and subsequent stress when I found this.

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:55:41 +1000

Coffee & Cases.: Was thinking about the law school culture of perfectionism and subsequent stress when I found this. :

coffeeandcases:

Professional support without love will often seem empty. Lawyers have to learn to be kind to themselves. To love themselves; and I am not referring to conceit. To find enjoyment and peace in their lives. Not be overly critical after a less than glorious day in the office or in court. Law schools…

Milk-snatcher Thatcher Died of a stroke Tories always wanted Marg to be a bloke Her middle name was...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:59:37 +1000

Milk-snatcher Thatcher
Died of a stroke
Tories always wanted
Marg to be a bloke
Her middle name was Hilda
She hated Argentina
And the workers yelled
‘I hope it’s not a joke!’

just an all round set up.

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:38:45 +1100

just an all round set up.

Two Essendon fans after a big win

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:34:53 +1100

footyflog:

"I don’t have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who’d be mad at me for saying that."

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:50:27 +1100

“I don’t have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who’d be mad at me for saying that.”

- Mitch Hedberg (via nevver)

"Italy has changed in the last three decades from a country of emigration to one of immigration and..."

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:48:30 +1100

“Italy has changed in the last three decades from a country of emigration to one of immigration and asylum. Its reaction has been chaotic and confused, and sometimes downright cruel. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in Italy’s response to boat migration.”

- Judith Suderland, HRW

Read more here.
(via humanrightswatch)

nevver: New Yorker

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:39:27 +1100

nevver:

New Yorker

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Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:37:16 +1100

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Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:59:46 +1100

humansofnewyork: “If people don’t start paying closer...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:45:29 +1100

humansofnewyork:

“If people don’t start paying closer attention, we’re going to be living in a corporate fascist state in no time. We’re paying $3.50 for a cup of coffee. You know how much a POUND of coffee beans costs? $3.50. But nobody knows that. Cause nobody’s paying attention.”

"I would like to give you some free, perhaps even gratuitous, advice about the great State of..."

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:32:00 +1100

“

I would like to give you some free, perhaps even gratuitous, advice about the great State of Victoria, and in particular Melbourne.

Firstly, when in Melbourne, always wear black. It is reputedly our uniform. If your Honour wants to travel around incognito it would be wise to dress accordingly.

Second, watch out for trams. They will not watch out for you. They always have right of way, and do not ever think about passing one on the right.

Third, hook turns. Do not attempt them. If you want to go west we suggest that instead you head east and take a generally anti-clockwise course of ever increasing circuits until you arrive. That way you will never need to turn right or attempt a hook turn. They are an acquired skill, one most people struggle with unless they are born locally. It is a bit like driving in Canberra where, given the strange road system, you generally head north when you plan on travelling south.

Fourth, your teams. There is, of course, only one league in Victoria and that is the AFL, and unfortunately your Honour has picked the wrong teams. Do not advertise your support for either the Dockers or the Eagles when visiting Victoria, and you might be wise to consider adopting another local team. Can I commend to you the mighty Hawks?

Fifth, feel free to talk about the weather. Do it often. It is our consuming passion, alongside sport, at which we excel as spectators.

Sixth, mind your colloquialisms. Terms such as “Carlton identity” and “industrial mediator” have a particular local resonance that you might do well to note. Chris Judd may be a Carlton player but he might sue if you refer to him as a Carlton identity. My learned colleagues at the Bar might do likewise if you refer to any of their number as an industrial mediator.

Finally, coffee. We take it very seriously here. For many, baristas rate ahead of barristers in our pecking order. You will know when you have made it as a local when you walk into a café near court and they instantly produce, without even checking your preference, your coffee of choice.

”

- Mr A. Burke, President, Law Institute of Victoria, Ceremonial - French CJ - Welcome Melbourne [2008] HCATrans 394 (2 December 2008)

Photo

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:20:22 +1100

"Nothing works here, and we are a top 1% university. Imagine being in the bottom 1%, you probably..."

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:22:56 +1100

“Nothing works here, and we are a top 1% university. Imagine being in the bottom 1%, you probably have to pedal for electricity.”

- Submitted by elmread (via thingsmypretentiousfriendssay)

newyorker: In this week’s issue, Kelefa Sanneh explains how...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:20:00 +1100

newyorker:

In this week’s issue, Kelefa Sanneh explains how Mark Reynier, a third-generation wine dealer from London, decided to buy Bruichladdich, an almost defunct whisky distillery on the Scottish island of Islay, and ended up changing the Scotch industry.

When Reynier bought the distillery, in 2000, he had a problem: the standard minimum age for fine Scottish whisky is ten years; their new spirits would need time to mature.

Bruichladdich’s ten-year problem was partly a marketing problem: malt drinkers have come to view age as a proxy for quality, and the industry has played along, using age statements to justify high prices. In Reynier’s view, this constrains distillers and misleads consumers.

Reynier and Jim McEwan, the company’s master distiller, launched a young, non-aged whisky called Bruichladdich Rocks; Laddie Classic, a mid-priced introductory Scotch; and Black Art, a mysterious and expensive multi-vintage release, as well as other new lines. McEwan tells Sanneh:

People said, ‘Ah, Bruichladdich are doing so many diﬀerent things.’ Yeah, well, we had to! If we didn’t, we’d have been sitting there starving—the company would never, ever have got oﬀ the ground…

newyorker: This week’s Anniversary-issue cover, “Brooklyn’s...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:13:00 +1100

newyorker:

This week’s Anniversary-issue cover, “Brooklyn’s Eustace,” is by Simon Greiner, a thirty-one-year-old reader originally from Sydney, Australia, who submitted it through our 2013 Eustace Tilley Contest. Here, Greiner, who now lives in Brooklyn with his wife, talks about the inspiration for his cover, plus see a slideshow of all of the 2013 Eustace Tilley finalists: http://nyr.kr/VyjBCX

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Sat, 02 Feb 2013 12:53:33 +1100

LieStrong: Armstrong Lied to Me

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:07:00 +1100

One of the reasons I tell people why I consume so much sport is it’s purity. Unlike many of my other interests, sport at it’s essence, is unscripted. Politics is perhaps a little too contrived a little too often. For example, a politician can answer not one question without a scriptwriter lurking in the background. The surplus issue, a very unnecessary one, is an example. Politicians in the present day are trying to satisfy an end game (power) and thus this pantomime plays out to an increasingly disaffected population.
On the other hand, there’s no real tangible concept of sport. It is an audience watching who is strongest, fastest, and hardest in a particular endeavour. It is what it is. There is no real endgame, other than a winner and physical fitness for the participants and entertainment for the audience. To try and find a deeper MEANING to sport would be a fruitless endeavour.
And against the throws of unscripted human behaviour, real human emotion is exposed. Joy. Sadness. Relief. Anger. Even comedy.
It is a true manifestation of the human condition. The athletes suffer for their gains and in a non-athletic context so do we. It is our story playing out before us. It’s a beautiful thing to immerse yourself in this and we have no choice but to believe in the stories before us. They’re ours as well.
To keep this purity, sporting organisations banned athletes from enhancing themselves artificially. If athletes were given full licence to take substances to enhance their performance we would not be celebrating achievements that is the product of this suffering. The athletes are transformed into something that is not essentially us. They become advanced to a point outside the realm of athletic normality.
The emotion is then conceptualised. When we watch an athlete under such conditions, our sense of connection is lost and story no longer becomes ours. And without real emotional investment, sport is an extremely hollow endeavour, used as a means to entertain and achieve fitness. Nothing else and nothing more. That isn’t what gets me. And that’s why cheating is wrong.
And this is where the Lance Armstrong saga angers me the most. As a child I watched Lance late at night. I read “It’s Not About the Bike” with awe. I ignored my dad’s constant barbs about him being a blatant user of illegal substances. I believed he was clean because he personified what I was taught; real adversity can (not will) be overcome with determination. I marvelled at his performances. How foolish was I.
My initial reaction to USADA’s reasoned decision was one of complete and utter anger. Lance Armstrong lied to ME. I grew up with him in my mind as a legend and a champion. He was nothing now but a cheat and a particularly determined one at that.
This is the biggest sports story of our lives. He not only broke the rules of his sport, but also defrauded people out of millions of dollars, some of which he kept. He sued people who were telling the truth. He looked down the camera at us on the stage at the Champs-Élysées in 2005 and condemned those who don’t believe in miracles. Who didn’t believe in him.
Lance Armstrong should never be forgiven for what he did. You can raise awareness for a disease without acting like a sociopathic criminal in your chosen endeavour.
The only solace I can take out of this story is that he was caught. After damaging the sport to a newer degree, the truth was eventually revealed. It reinforced my belief in the endeavour of sport, because truth is a very human reality. The search for it gives people a meaning; again an attribute of the human condition.
His appearance on Oprah removed the façade that was Armstrong. For a period I laughed at him. Never had the brash Texan looked so fallible. He lied to us in the interview and he’s continuing to lie to himself. In the words of Mike Wilbon, “he’s a pig”.
The only people that should now be felt sorry for are the people who now don’t question and don’t probe absolutely everything. Before any emotional investment can be made, be rational. That way no one gets hurt.

foreignaffairsmagazine: The Future of the Arab Spring On the...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:32:22 +1100

foreignaffairsmagazine:

The Future of the Arab Spring

On the two-year anniversary of the Arab Spring protesters are taking to the streets again in Egypt. The debate about its successes and shortcomings persists. A look at both sides in our new issue.

The Mirage of the Arab Spring

The Promise of the Arab Spring