What they didn't tell you in 2007

Being New Year's Eve, the paper today has been full of "2007's Greatest and Biggest" - the things that made headlines in the past year. I found an interesting article on 2007's most underreported stories, though, that covered some of the things we didn't hear, but perhaps should have. Here is a selection from Medecins sans Frontieres' Top 10 list for 2007:

1. Somalia ... again.
The information age has given us a short attention span for human tragedy. A one-off tsunami that comes complete with dramatic images? We're transfixed. A 15-year-long humanitarian crisis that leaves hundreds of thousands of people homeless, waterless, foodless? Doesn't sell newspapers, so we don't talk about it much.

2. Zimbabwe ... again.
When our cricketers boycott a visit, we're interested. When 3,000 people a week die of AIDS-related illness, we're not all that keen to know. Another of Mugabe's grand achievements: the near collapse of a once decent health system.

3. A mega-killer disease outbreak
Our media loves to put the spotlight on the Meningococcal "outbreaks" that occur each year, when one or two people succumb to the disease. Nobody bats an eyelid at the 2 000 000 (that's 2 MILLION) people who die each year from tuberculosis. We're still using a dodgy test from the 1800s that only detects half of the incidences. Never mind. Tuberculosis is slowly developing drug resistance, so it's only a matter of time before it reaches the non-third-world population again. Perhaps then we'll put some money into research and development...

4. Shock! Miracle food can cure malnutrition!
I know the dilemma. Back in 1985, images of large-eyed and malnourished children staring at the camera drew a huge compassionate response, but now we're a little desensitised to the whole thing. But it is a little-known fact that a nutrient-rich alternative is potentially available to stave off malnutrition. Food that doesn't need refrigeration and can be delivered to hungry children who need it. Imagine if the front page headlines told us there was the potential to feed the hungry? ... Nah, you're right. The cocaine-using footballer is a much better seller...

5. Sri Lanka ... again.
See number 1. Except this time, the conflict between the Tamil tigers and Government forces has been going on for 25 years, not 15. Sorry, the media's not interested. Britney's 16 year old sister just got knocked up!!!

6. Democratic Republic of Congo ... again.
Once again it seems that conflict in African provinces doesn't make for good headlines. Never mind that Hutu rebels from the Rwandan conflict appear to have crossed the border to fight. Never mind that MSF have treated approximately 7400 rape victims at one hospital over 18 months. It's a long way away. Almost as far from us as Poor Anna Nicole Smith in the Caribbean...

7. Entire population of Sydney flees their homes! Well... not really...
Imagine the fuss that would be made if that really happened. Similar numbers have apparently had to leave their homes in Colombia as a result of the war over cartel control. But then, it's a long way away, so we don't talk about it much.

...I won't reproduce the entire list here. Go and visit the site. All 10 of the issues need to be read more than the fluff we've been fed this year.

Just wanted to say...

Merry Christmas, everyone! :)




I hope you have a joyous day.

Getting Crafty at Christmas

I'm always a fan of homemade Christmas goodies. Problem is, I'm not a particularly spectacular chef. So when a delicious and incredibly simple recipe falls into my lap, I'm all for it.

This recipe doesn't appear in a recipe book, as far as I know. I found it on, of all places, Colin Buchanan's King of Christmas DVD (see post below for link). It's so simple you can make it with your kids, but it tastes delicious, and if you don't let the cat out of the bag, people will generally think you've spent a great deal of time making them.

Mini Christmas Puddings

Ingredients
800g Dark Fruit Cake
375g Dark Chocolate Melts
250g White Chocolate Melts
Glace Cherries, to garnish

• - In a large mixing bowl, crumble the fruit cake into fine pieces
• - In Microwave, melt dark chocolate on medium heat until smooth
• - Pour melted dark chocolate over crumbled fruit cake and mix until fully combined.
• - Place a sheet of baking paper on a cookie tray.
  
• - Using a teaspoon, measure out small handfuls of mixture and roll into balls. Place balls on prepared cookie tray. When all mixture is measured out, place tray into fridge to set.
• - Chop glace cherries into very small pieces.
  
• - Melt white chocolate in microwave on medium heat.
• - Take cookie tray out of the fridge, and use a teaspoon to drizzle melted white chocolate over the mini puddings. Place two or three small cherry pieces on top of white chocolate before it sets.
• - Return puddings to the fridge to set.

For my christmas presents this year, I bought a set of pastel icecream bowls and filled them with the mini puds (see photo above). Wrapped in a sheet of clear cellophane and tied with a raffia ribbon, they really look lovely.

On Influence and growing...

My son's last afternoon of preschool was yesterday. He had a special Christmas party, and came home with an armful of goodies. Primary among them was a little cup of oats mixed with glitter. According to the helpful little label, it is

"Magical Reindeer Food: sprinkle this on your front lawn and it will direct Rudolph straight to your house!"

Now this caused some concern. At dinnertime, we asked our son what he'd been told about the reindeer food.

"You need to put the food out for the reindeer to eat!" was his response.
"Why do you need to put the food out?"
"So the reindeer will eat it."
"Which reindeer are we talking about?"
"The reindeer that eat the reindeer food"
"There aren't any reindeer in Australia"
"Yes there are. They eat the special reindeer food."

Glad we cleared that one up.

Christmas Ideas for Kids #3

Colin Buchanan is a favourite for kids, and over the years his children's music has become a mainstay of many a children's church program. His recent (well, 2006) King of Christmas album continues the tradition, and is available in CD and DVD (PAL) form.

For those of you who are tired of the "old favourites", this album is a welcome addition. Colin's musical style appears to be growing broader, so there are a variety of songs to appeal to all ages. There's a lot of humour too, some of which is definitely aimed at the parents (not rude, just grown-up). Amongst it all is an obvious desire to place Jesus firmly at the centre of the Christmas celebration.

The DVD adds some extra spice, too. There are funny parodies galore, from CSI to the local news and even to rapper music videos. There are also evidences of his day job at Playhouse Disney (and formerly ABC Playschool) - he takes us through a great recipe for mini chocolate Christmas Puddings that the kids can make (I've shamelessly borrowed it for my home-made Christmas gifts this year). His rendition of Go tell it to Australia is a particular favourite ("No Bells!").

Colin obviously has a fantastic sense of humour, and it permeates his work. If you're tired of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, go out and get this one now.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged for the first time, so dutifully* here are my answers to this Christmas meme:

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, but gift bags to hold the collections of presents for each family (lots of cousins, now)
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. As it takes up so much storage space, we feel obligated to use it each year. I'd like to do a real one someday...
3. When do you put up your tree? Around the 1st of December. Begins the season of Advent.
4. When do you take the tree down? Around New Years' day. We had been waiting until Epiphany, but that is close to Boo's birthday, and it's easier to take it down early (the artificial pine needles would pop the party balloons).
5. Do you like eggnog? No. Just ... no.
6. Favourite gift received as a child? I still remember the Barbie campervan I received from my grandparents, so I guess that must have been a favourite.
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Only on the kids' advent calendars. I've been trying to find a non-kitschy version for a while, now. I refuse to buy the blue-veiled Mary ones.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Grandmother-in-law. A combination of Type 2 diabetes, blindness and eczema makes it very difficult to find anything nice.
9. Easiest person to buy for? The kids. Toys are currently easy to get. One day they'll just want iPods for Christmas, at which point we'll be encouraging them to get a job.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Walnut-covered Christmas cake. (Walnuts = screaming death for me. Well, almost.)
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, complete with gloss-over yearly letter (eek! I'm running late!)
12. Favorite Christmas movie? They're all mostly fluffy holiday fare, so I usually forget them rather quickly.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Around late June, early July. It's a brief period of birthday-free time that coincides with the end of financial year sales, so it suits the budget. We have a very heavy end-of-year time with lots of family birthdays.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I think I once passed on a nice skincare set that I had no use for.
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Mini chocolate Christmas puddings (shamelessly stolen from Colin's Christmas DVD!). Dad does a great roast dinner for Christmas lunch (I miss them), complete with a choice of lamb,turkey or ham. We eat rather well then...
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Coloured low-voltage LED sparkly things. They are only switched on every couple of nights - I'm rather forgetful.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Lots. Colin Buchanan's King of Christmas CD has some new favourites. Of the older hymns, I prefer the Coventry Carol, Gabriel's message, or O Holy Night.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay in town for church services, travel to husband's family for lunch, then down to Sydney on Boxing Day. Last year we did the whole lot in a single day, which I wouldn't recommend.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I refuse to on the grounds that it's a schmaltzy Bing Crosby song.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. It worries me that people have started calling the angel "the Christmas Fairy".
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas day is flat out, so we usually let the kids open one present the night before, and the rest in the morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Santa. Nicholas would be absolutely livid to think that his charitable work has been bastardised to such a selfish and greedy extent.
23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? We do the advent calendar each year, so the kids put on a new sticker each day as the day gets nearer. When I was a kid we had a corny tradition of putting biscuits and milk for Santa, and a carrot out for the reindeer. I don't think we'll be continuing that one!
24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? The spraypainted gold gumnut with fake berries.
25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? We have a blue/silver/mauve themed tree, which I liked when we first bought it. However, we've started a tradition of the kids getting one new decoration each year, so it's transforming into a more homey, happy tree. I think I prefer the sentimental value.
26. What does Christmas mean to you? A time to thank God that he sent Jesus to us in human form. Being a mother now, that process is mindboggling.

If you've had fun reading this list and would like to give it a go, consider yourself tagged.

* Who am I kidding? I have a blog, so obviously I'm happy to talk about myself... :)

Mind-boggling lunacy, or is it just too late at night?

Here's something I am struggling to understand: the current plans for a Desalination plant in Sydney. My problems are as follows:

1. In an era of concern over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, why did the government choose to build a very expensive and very high greenhouse gas emitter?

2. Why is Sydney Water leaving a $2 billion installation cost out of its expense calculations?

3. Why are they going to run it even when dams are 70-80% full, when as the article above mentions 58% will do the city for 6 years?

4. Why build it when most Sydneysiders don't want it anyway???

I can't help thinking that Bob Carr did some dodgy dealings before he did a runner, and locked the state into an expensive contract of some sort. But then, I am writing late at night, so I might just be a little delirious. If you have any insight on this matter, please enlighten me.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all

Last week, we dealt with our first experience of the pestilence: headlice. Never, never, never, never, never want to deal with that again, but probably will have to once they go to school. *sigh*

Anyway, I was surfing around at thinkgeek.com - a great website to find funny and geeky presents for the nerd in your life - and I came across this:

Yup. They've made them into a plush toy. Just so your kids can get a different view of the little vermin.

Also comes in salmonella, bubonic plague, syphillis, or the common cold (among others).

I think I'd prefer the brain cell. It's cuter.

Must be getting old...

OK, I just have to get this out, and then I'll be fine.

Something that is currently bugging me is the spread of SMS "txt" to everyday life. It really annoys me. I have absolutely no problem with abbreviated text on the small phone of a mobile. After all, you pay for a lack of brevity, so you don't want to be typing full words all the time. However, it reeeeeeeeeeally gets me when I'm travelling through Facebook groups, or looking at web pages and suddenly I'm assaulted by something like:

"hi evry1! hope u all r gr8 wats happening."

The Panda is not amused...

One of those days...

It's my regular solo Thursday, and I thought I was doing well tonight. At first, anyway. There were no frazzled nerves, and the kids managed to finish their dinner in under an hour (though they missed out on dessert due to a bit of silliness). As a reward, I let them play for a little while as I cleaned up in the kitchen and finished off the vacuuming. All the while, I was thinking how nice the night was for a change.

How wrong I was.

In the minute I was absent vacuuming our bedroom, my daughter had found a bottle of sunscreen, opened it, and proceeded to "help mummy with the cleaning". She cleaned nice little white patches onto our brown leather lounge, our dark blue fabric lounge, the carpet, her brother's wardrobe door, the coffee table, a couple of dining chairs, and other equally lovely places. Meanwhile, my son, in his "short" trip to the toilet, had proceeded to attempt to flush an entire roll of toilet paper - including cardboard inner tube - down the toilet.

Well, at least (most of) the carpet was clean...

Can't Help Myself... Bad Habits...

Once again I am reminded of my role in developing my children's habits.

In the past week or so, my son has become particularly bad at interrupting us. All the time. In every discussion.

When I try and ask him to put away his toys, or get ready for dinner, or some such thing, he will break into my sentence with a condescending voice to impart some sort of information. Often what he says has absolutely nothing to do with what I am trying to ask of him. Just random observations about life, the universe and everything. It has been very frustrating.

Then I realised why he was doing it. It wasn't that he was being intentionally rude. It was just that he thought normal conversations took that course. He imitates me.

*blush*

I'm now trying to be a better listener.