Some political housekeeping and then Christmas gifts for everyone!

Well it has certainly been a momentous two weeks for Australian politics, with Tony Abbot emerging triumphant as the new leader of the Liberal party. 
I have made no secret of my feelings toward the 'mad monk' and while I do not believe that he has what it takes to win the next election, Abbot has nonetheless emerged with guns blazing and an army of Liberal front benchers handpicked from the 1950's.

In this post - ETS political climate, Abbot is unapologetic about his 'oppose and attack' modus operandi, and he has openly dismissed a bipartisan approach to governing.  

From what I can gather so far, this has less to with the welfare of the Australian people and everything to do with the giant axe Abbot has to grind with Rudd and the Labour party in general.

But despite his right-wing, anti-everything agenda, Abbot is not afraid to speak his mind and that is where things starts to get tricky. 

People are drawn to a confident, charismatic leader; someone who is not afraid to take charge.  
Abbot has strength in his convictions and despite (or perhaps because of) the level of rhetoric and sheer nonsense that spews out of his mouth (he wants to ban abortion, IVF, stem cell research and no-fault divorce), the man has obvious cult leader potential. Lets face it, for all of his best intentions, Kevin Rudd lacks the fascination factor of someone like Tony Abbot and while that should not influence matters, unfortunately I think it does.

Here is what I think Labour should do to ensure a win in the next election:

1. Secure the female vote  
2. Secure the gay vote
3. Remind Australians that the earth is not flat  
4. Remind Australians that although 'Little House On The Prarie' was a really good TV show, it is not a model for running a country
5. Expose Abbot and his relics for what they really are: a bunch of God fearing, backward thinking, zealot freaks. 

Yes Christmas is almost here again and in keeping with the spirit of the season, I thought I would give you all a few of my favourite things. (Yes, I am aware that I am starting to sound a lot like Oprah).

• If you have not yet heard the music of Kate Miller-Heidke, then the Facebook Song is a great place to start. Otherwise known as 'Are you fucking kidding me?' the Facebook song is Kate's response to an evil ex- boyfriend adding her as a friend on Face Book. OMG it made me LOL.

• I found this amazing Lego Art by a guy called Nathan Sawaya at Oddity central and it totally blew me away. Some people are just too clever for their own damn boots. 

• Speaking of clever, check out the art of Japanese barcode design. 

• For 23 years, Rom Houben was trapped inside his own body. Following a near fatal car accident, doctors believed that Rom was in a vegetative state, but in actual fact he could hear everything that was taking place around him. You can read about this incredible story here at The Guardian.

• In honour of Sarah Palin's new book 'Going Rogue' Slate Magazine ran a write like Sarah Palin contest where writers were asked to submit sentences that captured Palin's unique style of writing. Golly gosh ya'll! 

• Detainee 063 is the shocking real, interrogation log of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner. The entries are being blogged and tweeted in real time, seven years after they took place. When you read the full account here at Time magazine, you get the impression that this log was never meant to leave Guantanamo Bay. 

•  I recently found this blog called Cake Wrecks and the caption says it all. When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. Cake Wrecks is a gallery of deformed, distasteful and bizarrely decorated birthday and wedding cakes. Make sure you take a look through all the categories, especially mithspellings.

• This is a must watch. The video 'Soldiers on Acid' is from 1963 and shows British soldiers under the influence of LSD.  This experiment was designed by western armies to study the effects of the drug as a means of chemical warfare. 

• We have all at one time or another, written or received a passive aggressive note. (Well haven't we?)  I once lived with a girl who left said notes all over the place for her housemates to find (nope... wait a minute... that was actually me). My all time favourite thing to come out of cyber space this week is this site called www.passiveaggressivenotes.com. There is even a space where you can submit your own notes... now that is good to know...

Blessings