it’s the very cool Portrait Building designed by ARM architects...

Adjust Seat. Flinders St, city.

i laughed

but i live in Australia….

Dingo Sanctuary. March 2011. photo by goiter.

at the Landover Baptist Internet Forum

The cute thing is that most of this doesn’t even make sense…

1. I have never encountered a law “actively promoting gay behaviour”. I mean, we have laws against the discrimination of homosexuals/transexuals on the basis of their sexuality (as well as women, athesists, single mothers etc) but that is not exactly “promoting gay behaviour”. It’s more “acceptance”.
2. Actually, according to UN data, Russia has the highest number of abortions per woman of child bearing age, not Australia, and China has 13 million abortions annually - which is larger than the population of Australia itself. And how does one define “accidental” sex? “Oops, my pants just came off and it just slipped in!” No. That’s rape. Unless both parties consented.
3. I don’t understand what your point is. Yes, we had a few daft explorers, but then again, when you’ve spent your life in Europe, I can imagine Australia would be a little shocking. And there was no confirmed reports of cannabalism.
4. 99% of Australian marriages do not end in divorce. I know plenty of couples who have been married for years and years and years and who have no intention of leaving each other until forcably parted - hell, just read the “In Black & White” colum of the Herald Sun and you’ll see plenty of notices of “60th wedding anniversay” etc. Also, as of 2005, there were 2.6 divorces for every 1000 people. That’s slightly less than 99%.
5. Yes, gay adoption is legal in most states, because as long as the parents are able to provide a safe, caring and nuturing enviroment free from abuse, then the sexuality of the parents is totally irrelevent. And to cite the Stolen Generations as an example of “stealing babies to give to gays!” is completely and utterly wrong. The Stolen Generations was an  attempt at cultural assimilation which is now seen as offensive and embarrassing by the majority of the population and has not occured since the 1970s. These are two entirely unrelated concepts.
6. Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy, and as such we recognise Queen Elizabeth as our current Monarch and Govenor General Quentin Bryce as her representative in Australia. We don’t annoint a King based on cricket. AND WE HAVE RISEN TO THE TOP OF THE CRICKET WORLD. And we are good at stuff, just not being crazily religious.
7. Prostitution is legal in Australia for the very good reason that it is better for the Government to be able to regulate this industry - with free health checks, to mean that sex industry workers have the same basic work standards as any other job- than to let it run unregulated and have all the problems that come with illegal prostitution, such as violence, forced work and disease.

What can I hear in the bush? Bird sounds from the Lyre bird

source: BBC wildlife

So, I thought of starting something new… I will start to blog about things that I do every now and then along with my random views on things I have noticed.

To put it simply, over the last three weeks I have sat in my university library for more time than I have been at the university this semester (during the non-examination periods). I’ve gotten through a fair bit of studying, and also realised how important it is to deactivate ones facebook account.

No, it isn’t that I’m a heavy facebook user (in fact, I prefer Tumblr over it any and everyday), it is probably the easiest method of keeping in touch with my friends who are in lots of different parts of the world now (You’re saying “That’s what they all say”, don’t lie to me). Saying I spend a couple of hours or so on it daily would really be a lie, but that is what these social networking sites tend to do to a person who loves to procrastinate a tad bit too much when the examination season comes along.

Anyway, being here at the University Of Queensland almost every single day over the last month has made me realise a couple of things.

This campus (in St. Lucia) is so elegant and perfect with its mix of historical and modern buildings, it is quite a shame that I never spent enough time here before. It is ideally built for somebody who wishes to spend a whole day there (unfortunately you’ve got to be quite prepared to spend the whole night, which I tend to do mostly).

The CityCat Ferry (which I use almost every other day) is probably the most enjoyable method of transport in Australia (Melbourne has the trams, but no one else gets lovely rides across the Brisbane River), this is new to me, considering the first time I sat on the ferry was after a whole semester and only a month and a half ago!

This is just a first off blog post about my tales, so I won’t really go in-depth (as I have to return to my examination preparation), but I will like to mention one thing before I end this.

I was initially planning on going to Melbourne, and everything worked out, however there was a certain catch. This reason itself led me to Brisbane and I would never go back and change things, because this place is the perfect mix of a urban and suburban culture. Along with that, it is a wonderful place to meet, greet and learn new things with and about new people!

If you thought this post was worth reading and actually enjoyed it, do let me know. It is you guys who convinced me and motivated me to continue posting my poetry/writing, and if it goes the same way with these, I’ll start doing this more often.

Zushan.

Serenity at Sunset, Fraser Island, Australia

it’s the very cool Portrait Building designed by ARM architects in Melbourne, Australia and scheduled to be completed by 2014.