...Spring is Boing

G'day Petals,

Wombat Kinder 2 and I took a trip to the State Library in the city t'other day to see an exhibition of colonial artist William Strutt. 

"Black Thursday" and "Bushrangers on St.Kilda Rd" being amongst the visual descriptions of colonial Melbourne's life, manners and costumes he meticulously recorded.

State Library, Bunyip and St Joan.

Strutt's drawings are delightful and although their anecdotal detail is engaging, one of the Bushrangers being I believe, local lad Capt. Moonlight, the paintings are less memorable because of their histrionic Victorian sentiment.  We followed these with a wander through the building and its display of the history of printing with some very beautiful examples of Audubon and Gould illustrations as well as the more salacious covers of pulp fiction from the early 60's.

State Library Reading Room

Wombat Kinder2 is a keen dressmaker who wanted to peruse some vintage material so we trotted off to the Mitchell Building in Lonsdale St which has a startling Art Deco foyer only to find the material shop closed but after meeting up with Mrs Wombat we tried the Phillips Shirt Factory with more success. One of the last Australian firms to manufacture shirts, Phillips' has a huge amount of material and clothing for sale in a visually interesting but derelict workshop.

Phillips Shirts

I was surprised to see an industrial material cutter that was manufactured in Oz.... and found that they still are... how rare!

Time for a drink ... so we climbed through a very visually busy and quite disorienting series of floors to a rooftop bar in Hardware Lane. It was interesting to note that the "busyness" became more muted and spaced the higher we went so I think it would be correct to assume the artist started on the lower levels.

Things then took a bridal turn.

 

Triple Grooms with Fries

Leaving Hardware Lane I discovered three groomsmen who had temporarily escaped the focus of the photographers and were snacking before the reception at a fast food place.... then the vintage cars with sundry drivers and others of the wedding party all lined up having a smoke and.... Voila... the full frou-frou shebang at the old Post office!

The Princess Carriage, by-the-way is not from this bridal party, it's tourist transport. 

More important frou-frou happened this week with the return of Federal Parliament after a four month break and Truffles-in-a-Muddle's near death election result.

Ex Freedom Boy and IPA clone, Timmy Twat Wilson teared-up during his Maiden speech. Which will probably be the last time he will do anything in that place which seems genuine. Irrelevant but genuine, he avoided calling himself a hypocrite in supporting the wasteful $160,000,000.00 plebiscite and repeal of 18C so that the minority group he's a member of will be vilified and treated unequally for years more to come.

It's no wonder then when "intelligence" like this abounds at The-Coots-With-Queer-Ideas-From-a-Parallel-Universe that one of the IPA's past directors, Roger Neave has tipped a bucket on them and put on record his disgust at how far-right the organisation has become. In an interview for The Saturday Paper, Neave charts the demise of this once liberal group and says at article's end that, "...because of the surge of the right in the demonising of refugees/asylum seekers, of "children overboard" and (that) we imprison them...I want my pride back in being an Australian." 

Hmmm... too late methinks!

 

The Mitchell Building

Bestiality Bernardi has been gathering signatures of other feeble-minded fascists (when not asleep on the job) to repeal 18C and who, excited by their newfound solidarity are ignoring Truffles-in-a-Muddle's exhortations not to fragment what's looking like a terminal adventure for Ruling Rabble Mk2.

Ex IPA mediocrity, Wunderkind Paterson having been in parliament for fully five minutes and who probably wouldn't know truth if he fell over it, is one of the worst offenders in seeming not to realise that destabilising an already rickety rust-bucket like the S.S. Liarbril may have consequences beyond his instant gratification in seeking notoriety.

Phillips Shirts

Bestiality has also been having a fine time railing against the poor judgment of Sammy Halal Dastyari who had a Chinese business type (with links to Chinese Gov) pay for some trips and a couple of bills. In his muddled incoherent tirade, Bestiality really only exposed what a simple minded buffoon he appears to others and even to his some of his own side, to be. An intellectual pygmy would probably have made a better fist of it but at least Bestiality looked happy in his role of chief assailant; his Easter Island faux impassiveness occasionally breaking into smirking as he found pleasure in firing blanks at an embarrassed Dastyari.

Then on Day two Senator Jacquie Lambie rounded on Bestiality with this: "I think it is important to make this point around the debate about Australian political donations to the Chinese communist government. Liberal senator Cory Bernardi lecturing this parliament and displaying mock outrage regarding Labor senator Sam Dastyari and Chinese political donations is like an angry prostitute lecturing us about the benefits of celibacy.

And before I receive unfair criticism from the sex workers, I apologise to them profusely in comparing them to senator Bernardi. I know that is a really terrible low down thing to do because I can tell you prostitutes are far more honest, sincere, humane, compassionate and better bang for buck than senator Bernardi will ever be able to deliver."  

So there!

Silly Sammy Halal's proto-Liarbril  financial blunderings managed to divert attention from the ICAC findings in NSW where two Liarbril shonks will probably be referred to police for charging and Arfuh Da Spiv Sinodinas got a Scottish verdict from "not sufficient evidence," proving that early onset dementia, temporarily, is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Funky Art in bar  Hardware Lane

Horse-Shite Cormann vibble-vobbled with shonky figures as he and his innumerate treasurer Scummo Morrison attempted to bully Labor into supporting their 2014 budget. It's hard to know whether like Scummo's predecessor they too, think that cruel, anti-social, neo-liberal penny pinching is a sure way of getting to Washington and double dip at entitlements or either that "thinking" was never really part of this fiscal equation.

According to Rabid-the-Hun and Chwissie The Whyning-Perfect-Prat-of-a-Prefect, Pyne their  well regarded whistle-blower and "Lion-of-the-Union-Movement," Kathy Jackson, has finally been referred to court by police on 70 charges of being a very naughty and selfish gel with $1,400,000.00 of her Union's money.

Craig Thompson was not heard to respond and is probably certain not to ask for visiting rights in the future!

 

The Bride to Be, Hardware Lane.

I watched Parliament question-time on the first day back and it was interesting to note the body language and facial expressions on the Ruling Rabble minions behind the front bench. I think they of the Ruling Rabble Mk 2 know they're well and truly f****d!

An address for those interested....

Phillips Shirts 274 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Hoo-roo, Possums,

Shane

Joining the Dots on Dies Irae.

Shane in new bathroom

G'day Possums, remember the bathroom? 

Well it's now finished and functioning.

Some before and after pics

before..

After

After

It became a bit of a saga but I think it looks terrific. Much thanks go to local crew, Eureka Glass ( 1300 330 275)  for their extensive work and the fitting of the panels.

Eureka Glass

Eureka Glass 

 Will Cardinal Pell-Pot, The Graceless, apologise to those whose terrible plights he ignored?  No... he knows that that  admission means guilt and has admitted as much. His ambition, the corporate structures and his advancement in a medieval business are more important than ethics, morality and personal priestly integrity.

Henry 2nd is rolling in his grave with laughter that he couldn't fix a similar problem in the C12th.

"Pell shared a house with Ridsdale, Pell sat on a committee of priests who made decisions to move Ridsdale from parish to parish, Pell was vicar for education when Ridsdale was a school chaplain, and Pell accompanied Ridsdale to court when he was finally charged. Pell had more reasons than most to turn his mind to what Ridsdale was perpetrating."' Kristina Keneally on Cardinal George Pell's form for blaming everyone but himself.

Pell was also Rabid-the-Hun's spiritual advisor and confessor.

Deis Irae is coming for both!

Another of Abbott's brilliant appointments bites the dust: Michael Lawler, Kathy Jackson's partner has resigned his $400,000.00 p.a. position as workplace relations commissioner after not putting forward a defence of his nine months paid sick leave to support Jackson in the enquiry into trade union corruption where it seems that Jackson herself might be the only one with real "form."

Remember Rabid-the-Hun lauding Jackson as a beacon of quality in the union movement as she stitched up Craig Thompson over his misuse of $25,000.00 of union funds?

Well she's being investigated over allegedly rorting $1,250,000.00!

It has been widely reported that Rabid-the-Hun in another demonstration of "No sniping" has leaked a Defence "White Paper" to embarrass Truffles Turnbull. Apart from the "loose cannon" methodology, the ruling rabble again demonstrates its appallingly juvenile approach to leading a country and a completely arrogant disdain of service to the nation.

The Australian’s foreign editor Greg "Toady" Sheridan, the author of the report from Rupert "The Ugly American" Murdoch's propaganda sheet, and an Abbott loyalist from Rabid's wall thumping student days , said in a fiercely inappropriate defense that ­Abbott was not his source.... or Capt Catlic Andrews... it was a little birdie.... and it is perfectly OK for the Liarbrils to play around leaking secret documents for personal political purposes.

Even Nikki Savva, hardly a cheer-leader for the left has weighed in with a book co-authored with Laurie Oakes: "The Road to Ruin. How Abbott and Credlin destroyed a Government."  Detailing the complete dysfunction of the first two years of this rabble's rule, much is being made of the "intimacy" between the two and its subsequent alienation of minister and backbencher alike.

That "Bloody Idiot Credlin" opined when asked to resign her position that:  "He couldn't do the job without me," only further indicates the level of this alarmingly evil man's incompetence.  

More evidence of a  mongrel ruling rabble's behaviour which is as tawdry to each other as it is to the country should surprise no-one and further, that the rats are turning on each other on the sinking rust-bucket, SS Liarbril is not surprising either.

This is the IPA dream, a  Free Market and Free Enterprise in action....!

Then there was the farce of treasurer Mk2, "The Drone" Morrison working himself up in a lather over Labor's plan to reduce negative gearing on homes by referring to of a BIS Shrapnel study.

Oops... the report was commissioned BEFORE Labor released it's policy; was not specifically aimed at it; and was full of errors! More incompetence from this policy free, ruling rabble!

The Greens have decided to "do-a-Democrat" and support the ruling rabble with changes to the Senate voting system; a move which will effectively eliminate the minor parties and entrench the Liarbrils as having control of the Senate in perpetuity.

As that worked out so well for the Democrats after Meg Lees supported the Liarbrils bringing in the GST, where in a few years they were wiped out as an alternative party, it's difficult to fathom why the Greens are also hell bent on self-immolation. But it does mean we'll have to be more assiduous in how we cast our vote in the Senate this time around.

Hoo-roo petals,

Shane.

..and it's only January

Shane in the Sun

G’day Possums,

In another blow to the democratic process it has become known that both the recently resigned technology writer for the ABC, Nick Ross and “Lateline” presenter Emma Albirici were effectively gagged from criticizing Malcon Turdball-fop’s outdated, overtime and cobbled together NBN technology’s as a too expensive mess. 

Apparently anytime Turdball-Fop appeared on "QandA" critical questions both from the audience and online about the NBN have been vetted.

What's that you say about the "Left-Wing" bias at the ABC? And to see why Ross and Alberici were muzzled ......  http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2013/02/21/3695094.htm

The cost to the nation not just in monetary terms but of progress in health and education just to appease the wishes of “The Ugly American” Murdoch is another disgraceful indication that this ruling rabble are really just the puppets of vested interests. 

 It almost as disgraceful that Turdball-Fop has interests in 2 overseas companies who are rolling out systems similar the Labor plan he has dismantled.
This is the act of a Quisling.

Public education has been gutted of $600,000,000.00 and this innovation pretender is cutting alternative technologies back…but it’s a great time to be a millionaire!

Williamstown

Sussan “Flappy-Mouth” Ley Minister for Un-Health has decided that if you have cancer, diabetes, kidney problems or anything else, you will have to pay for any pathology tests you may require. In another demonstration of her unsuitability, (she is Sports Minister as well) as a human, “Flappy-Mouth” criticized Labor for instigating the investigation into the doping scandal at Essendon Football club which has resulted in 34 players being banned from playing for twelve months. Like many of the ruling rabble, ethics is not something she is familiar with.

Williamstown

Stench is bubbling to the surface with the TPP, too. It appears, as details slowly emerge, that “Reboxetine” Robb has dudded the nation; but then he is a Liarbril so what else do you expect?

There will be far fewer jobs than have been touted and it is expected that a 0.02% growth in the economy will result. Allied with Investor Trade Dispute Mechanisms the country will be stuffed.

Greendale Sky

Uncle Otto’s boy, Eric “Vichy” Abetz and Kevin “Medieval” Andrews are stirring the war pot to make themselves look brave and patriotic….but not relevant.

“Barnyard” Joyce has announced he’s ready for the leadership of the Notional’s. I’m not sure why he wants us all to return to an agrarian feudal system run by 457 visa workers on $2.00 per hour when Turdball-Fop is busy implementing Rabid-the-Hun’s IPA directives to replicate early C19th social, medical and industrial practices but many laughed at his ambition.... but not at the $1,300,000.00 he spent in "entitlements"!

Speaking of Rabid… he still thinks he’s go some clout and has offered Mr Peta “Bloody Idiot” Credlin  (Brian Loughnane) as a candidate for Ambassador to the Vatican… perhaps this is a way to hide him from the fallout that is bound to happen when thuggish ex campaign director Damien “Light-Fingers” Mantach hits court to defend himself from the allegation that he ripped-off the Liarbril Party in two states to the tune of nearly $2,000,000.00?

Mr Credlin would be able to keep another hiding there, Cardinal “The Graceless” Pell company or perhaps help him with his tours around the place as he is too unwell to return to Australia to face the RC in child abuse.

Sort of makes Thommo’s $6,000.00 fraud look trite!

Greendale Sky

And then we will have the pleasure of waiting to see how that Liarbril doyen of the Union movement, Kathy Jackson and her dubious B/F fare over the $2,500,000.00 she is alleged to have filched…..

And it’s only January!

Hoor-roo Petals,

Shane

...seeing a House of Cards

Shane with House of cards

G'day Possums,

A few more from France and some recent ballet stuff....

BTA, Tamra

BTA, Tamra

BTA, Rebecca

Tuilleries, Paris, Night

Vezelay Panorama

St Martin Canal, Paris.

The Weekly Wombat Droppings

This week on “The Chunder Channel 000, Liarbril”

6.00   Play-Skool for Pretend Pollies. This week Jimmy “Little-but-Loud” Paterson and Chrissie “Bunter” Berg vie for the “Scatology Prize” hosted by the well known charitable organization, “The Coots-With-Queer-Ideas-from-a-Parallel-Universe” (aka IPA). Similar in format and content to “Celebrity Blank-Minds” these neophytes brandish words at each other across various ABC forums in the vain hope of finding a cogent concept that will finally deliver them relevance in the real world of real adults and intellectuals. 

More Da-Da than Dali, this  was the vehicle  that elevated Timmy “Twat-Freedom-Man” Wilson  to notice and a $300,000.00 position of unqualified ignorance by having similarly language challenged friends in high places.

(PG, L, H)

6.30   The Carbon Free High-Jinks Hour. Hosted by our Second Biggest Miner, Clive “Titanic” Palmer with special guests. This week our favourite Big-Pup plays a double entendre back-flip by accepting climate change and having his guest, Al “Inconvenient Truth” Gore deny the existence of a Carbon Pricing scheme. Sashaying one step forward and two steps back Clive demonstrates his knack for being as good for political life as Popcorn is for nutrition.

(MA, V, L.)

7.30   From the Heart.  A feel-good program of mawkish mutual admiration.

This week Jason A Wilson pens a thank you note to Head Plonker from “The Coots-With-Queer-Ideas-from-a-Parallel-Universe” (aka, IPA), John Roskam.

In this reviewers mind, public recognition for amateur organizations similar to that which JR heads should occur more often to bring these shy cabals out to wider scrutiny and notice.  http://jasonawilson.tumblr.com/post/89901662170/thankyou-note-to-john-roskam

(PG, A, H, V.)

8.00 Rank Rats. Highly financed (Public Subscription) Saga of a Much Maligned Union Hero, Cathy Jackson explaining how her alleged $1.3 Million spending on three union credit cards with no expenditure details bears no comparison to Thommo’s  $10 grand whatsoever.

Produced by the Liarbril Party, The BCA, IPA and featuring a truly Dickensian cast

of dodgy lawyers, Ex-Union bag-men and other shady “colourful” characters. Funded by the mug taxpayer in place of investigating either Paedophile behaviour or shonky financial advice from a "what" Bank.

(M, R, A.)

10.00 Fiscal Follies.  How to make a simple analysis of the economically under-educated d. Disect ex-priest, “Rabbutt-the-Hun” and Joe “Cereal/Toyota-Killer” Hockey’s interpretation of “The Coots-With-Queer-Ideas-from-a-Parallel-Universe” (aka, IPA’s) Right-Wing-Free-Market-Thought Bubble of a Budget. A somewhat treasonous piece by one, John Kelly who will probably have fiscal retribution meted out to him.

 http://theaimn.com/ridiculous-debt-deficit-scam/

Also; something else to put the meat on the bones before the animal is devoured.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/these-two-budget-charts-show-how-much-money-joe-hockey-is-cutting-from-hospitals-and-schools-2014-5

PG, A, V.

10.15   Mayhem for Murdoch’s Minions.  Enthralling and long running UK Court-Room drama exposing and detailing the lives, tribulations and trials of amateur journalists’ Andy and Beccy who “Apprentice-like,” try to anticipate their Master’s (The Ugly American) every wish.

This week: “The Verdict.” The prosecution lawyer in “Mayhem” shows admirable restraint at the Beccy’s verdict. His quietly acerbic, "She was paid an awful lot to be very incompetent..." is a moment to watch.

If the Poms as punishment, transport her Down-Under, it can only be as payback for “Rabbutt-the-Hun” having Downer seek asylum in Britain, not because the “Australian” needs more receptionists.

(MA15+, N, S, V)

12.30   The Slippery Pete Affair.  Another long running political/bedroom-farce again sponsored by the “Liarbril Party” and again funded by the taxpayer.

Episode #69: “The Withdrawal.” James decides that it’s all, ”…. too, too much..” and elects not to perform in the High Court as he still “feels for Pete.”

This may not be the consummation of these proceedings as the roles and machinations of Chwissie “The Whyne-and-Perfect-Prat-of-a-Prefect” Pyne and Mal “Mongrel” Brough in this bedroom farce have not yet been fully explored.

(MA15+, N, S, V)

1.00  Late Prayers for Believable Hypocrites:  Homilies of a piquant IPA nature for those who think they believe. Hosted by The-New-Cashed-Up-Faith-Pushers and with the School Chaplain Chorus. Salvation Donations (Cash, Brown Paper Bag only) may be sent to, “A. Sinodinas, c/o Liarbril Party Room, Parliament House, Canberra, 2600.” 

1.05   Close.

Hoo-roo Petals,

Shane