“The sacred Tote Hotel has hosted some of the hottest rock bands on the planet over the past 21 years, which will be crystallised in a two-week rock marathon to celebrate its anniversary from June 21. Tote managers are also making a public plea for memorabilia, because their memories are a bit fuzzy.” (Age)
Awwww. Not only does the Tote put on great bands, they let dogs in the beer garden during the day, and they used to have ‘Rock against Work’ barbeques. Along with the Punter’s Club, the Empress and the Corner Hotel, the Tote was one of the pubs I’ve been seeing bands at since I was in high school (ooh, rebel). I’ve just worked out that’s probably thirteen or fourteen years ago, which makes me officially old.
And this is cute in a ‘grrr, angry’ way.

http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/ is quite lovely.
“Oxfam is to launch a chain of fair trade coffee shops in what it says is a UK first.” (BBC) I’d go there.
And in other news: “Trillions of cicadas in the eastern US are waking from a 17-year slumber in what scientists expect to be the largest insect emergence on Earth.” (BBC) I actually miss the sound of cicadas, it reminds me of summers when I was a kid.

John Howard goes all Whitney. (The early years, not the later crack-whore years, sadly)
Just the other day, I found myself thinking, ‘Maybe John Howard isn’t as obsessed with the idealised 1950s family as I thought he was, I haven’t heard him say anything about it for a while’ (apart from the dire threat posed to it by loving homosexual relationships, of course). Silly me, he was just biding his time.
“Prime Minister John Howard today rejected suggestions tax cuts and extra money for struggling families in the Budget were bribes to win votes.
He said when the economy was strong the first thing the government wanted to do was help families because they were the future of the nation.
“It would be seen as a bribe if it was not sustainable, if it was something that clearly we could only afford this year and would have to claw back in future years”” (Age)
Can I quote you on that when you claw it back in future years, John?
“Mr Howard said the government wanted to give incentives to encourage hard work and effort”
and
“If you don’t have an economy that encourages hard work and effort, then you don’t grow.”
As long as you’re in power, John, and the Liberal party is presenting policies like yours, the Australian economy will be growing without me. How would my hard work be rewarded, if I was there?
I like this piece in the Australian (via buggery.org): Single and childless? You’re screwed
“Having finally recognised that the traditional family of working father and stay-at-home mother is going the way of the Sunday roast, it seems the Howard Government no longer cares what you do for a crust, as long as you leave time for a little unprotected copulation in between.”
“If you are a productive, independent, creative but childless Australian, the most you can expect from this budget is $42.21 a week in personal tax cuts. … But if you’re 14 and want to drop out of school and have a child, you can expect a cheque for $5000.”
Australian
To counter that, some feminist resources: genders.org and The F Word, because Howard makes me too mad to be articulate.

Random spam heading that sounds like a playground chant-meets-guitar band: “Small Small Little Dicky?? LoL psychopath thruster”
It’s possible that these guys got their qualifications via spam:
“It may not be quite Homer Simpson in the hot chair but some key US nuclear staff could be less qualified than they seem, a congressional report has found.
Investigators have established that 28 top federal employees including nuclear monitors possess bogus college degrees and the phenomenon may be much bigger.” (BBC)

After the longest, brokest month in recent years, I’ve finally been paid but after setting aside money for rent, bills and something towards paying off my credit card, I’m almost back to where I was yesterday. More cheap student meals for me, I guess.
It’s so depressing but I guess it’s not surprising: “An independent survey published today by the Museums Association reveals that museum and gallery staff earn significantly less than all equivalent professions – such as librarians, university lecturers, journalists – and many earn less in real terms than they did 15 years ago.” (Guardian)

“Monsanto drops plans for GM wheat
The world’s first genetically modified wheat is to be shelved because of consumer resistance.” (BBC)

Shamelessly, this is too cute not to post: Thor in the playground when I was in Melbourne. Sorry if you’re not a dog person.

Two photos from Leicester, while I remember. It was actually a lot nicer than the photos suggest, but I can’t resist.

(Ex-Prime Minister Malcolm) Fraser lambasts Howard government
“The federal government had no right to criticise other countries over human rights when its own record on children in detention and indigenous people was lacking, former prime minister Malcolm Fraser said today.” (Age)

Nifty Cook’s Thesaurus.