Bob Hawke - Former Australian PM. Former Rhodes Scholar. Former record holder for the quickest skull of a yard of Ale.
This is why I love Australia.
The Punch: Let sport have its moment in the sun
Sporting achievements are attached to good news, which is why, in a world bereft of truly good news, we jump up and down and punch the sky and call for a day off. Sporting achievements on the scale of Cadel Evans’ performance don’t happen very often but when they do, let us have our moment in the sun.
The Punch: The KKK kicked Butts, then Butts kicked back
A great article by Paul Toohey on his encounter with Reverend Dr Thomas Lane Butts Jr, a retired pastor of the Uniting Methodist Church in Alabama. Rev Butts speaks of his encounters of racial division in Alabama.
Sometimes you can meet a person and feel blessed. I don’t mean touched by the hand of God. I just mean you feel renewed, restored and pretty sure there’s goodness in the world. And that, in itself, is a blessing.
“The critic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
— Oscar Wilde
(Source: quotefun)
Tragically, death remains the nation’s number one killer
I noticed something very strange the other day.
Waiting for a bus in the city, I suddenly realised I was surrounded by old people. Dozens of them, in fact – all smiling, chatting and reading papers.
As any normal person would, I freaked out, punched a random person in the face and helped a bunch of people in cargo pants flip a car.
I thought old people were a myth created by parents to scare misbehaving children, yet here they were, surrounding me.
German mayor invents park bench for teen etiquette
After residents of the southwestern city of Eppelheim complained teenagers always sat on the top of benches, rather than on the seat itself which they dirtied with their shoes, Mayor Dieter Moerlein came up with the idea of putting the seat on top. The first of Moerlein’s benches was installed last week and he is already fielding calls from interested cities in Germany, he told Reuters on Tuesday. “The reception has been overwhelming,” Moerlein said. “Whoever wants to build one, be my guest.” The mayor of 17 years calls them “no-interest” benches because teens have “no interest in following etiquette. They all sit on the new benches like sparrows on a branch,” he said. In a country reputed for its orderliness, putting your shoes on a public seat often earns a quick rebuke from passersby. In one extreme case, a 69-year-old pensioner wounded an 18-year-old man with a knife on Sunday after the teen would not take his feet off of a seat on a train. But in Eppelheim the bench has been a sufficient solution for all parties in a city best known for strudel and global food ingredient maker Rudolf Wild GmbH. “Kids are happy because there are no rules against sitting on the back of benches,” the mayor said. “Others are happy because they now have a clean place to sit.” (Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Paul Casciato) - Reuters
“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
— Nelson Mandela
(Source: brainyquote.com, via quotefun)
“Those who STAND for NOTHING
will FALL for ANYTHING”
— Alexander Hamilton
The Rich Man and the Fisherman
There was once a rich man strolling along a beach when he met a fisherman sitting on the shore. The fisherman had completed a day’s work and was relaxing as the sun was setting. His catch that day was modest.
The rich man on looking at the fish said to him, “if you fish for longer, you can catch more fish”.
The fisherman asked, “and why would I want to do that?” The rich man replied, “if you catch more fish you can make more money, and with more money you can buy a bigger net.”
The fisherman again asked “and why would I want to do that?” The rich man, bemused by the question said, “with a bigger net you can catch more fish and you can buy a bigger boat. With a bigger boat you can catch more fish and then earn more money.”
The fisherman paused and then asked the man, “what would I want to do with more money?” The rich man said, “with more money you can then retire and live comfortably doing what will make you happy.”
The fisherman looked back at the sunset, and said “but I do that now.”
Author: Unknown
