Croweaters are not all bigots

Will debunking 'kick a vic' have heretics of this sacred phrase put in stocks in Rundle Mall and pelted with Frog Cakes before a dunking in the Victoria Square Fountain filled with mushy green pea soup and upturned pies? Having performed in Adelaide comedy venues over the past four years want to know something funny. Not once have I heard a South Australian comedian use interstate rivalry in getting or keeping the laughs going from a live audience.

By the Piping Shrike could it be, this is Not funny! Except within the walls of sporting clubs. Much like the humor from the era it originated from it is passe' in the 21st Century. Look at the terrific examples of South Australian sporting clubs management and operational success on the National stage. Adelaide City 'soccer' club, Adelaide 36'ers Basketball club, netball, baseball and rugby league teams have had the same platform in their niche sports and failed. Not to forget the huge crowds the interstate rivalry of the Pura Cup attracts to Adelaide Oval during the cricket season.


Bloody hell, Media Mike the state premier was even ranting on about beating the vics when announcing getting the destroyer contract. What the hell do these public comments have to do with economic growth? Or is the next game of AFL football so important that it needs to be given an indirect reference. No wonder 'The Australian' in a recent article on various state attitudes in Australia printed, "South Australians, they just wake up grumpy."


Tourism spending down by $128 million and 800,000 less visitors last year since 2004. That's a lot of money and people missing and as winter comes around with it is the news that the successful Secrets campaign has been replaced with SA - A Brilliant Blend. The Tourism Task Force is blaming the falling number of visitors on the lack money being spent on promotion. I don't think the State has enough money to counter the falling numbers without a significant change in the generic attitude the State presents of the way it views those who live outside it's borders.


No matter how many advertisements 'The Brilliant Blend' campaign releases promoting the niche image of South Australian people, the lifestyle, produce, landscapes and wine, being reminiscent of Tuscany in Europe are delivered.


All this positive effort and expense is going to be countered by the smothering portrayal of the South Australian experience through the medium of sporting coverage and it's associated "kick a vic" attitude. Something that harkens back to the middle of the last century, when by distance alone Adelaide was isolated and self sufficient for employment, entertainment and sport. When radio and newspaper coverage was nowhere near as widespread and raucous for attention as it is today with the addition of television into the mix. Nor as prevalent. As a form of state identity and pride is fine if it is confined within the precincts of sporting enclaves. But not the front page of daily newspapers, is football now the driving force for the state identity. Football is sure as hell is 'only a game' and not an economic cornerstone of the economy and has stuff all potential for growth.


In coming months the State media will be smothered with this attitude and it's off shoots, from the garden of sporting pride that has also brought the melodic, witty and tuneful stalwart, we all love, Ozzie! Ozzzie! Ozzie! - Oi, Oi, Oi! The 'kick a vic' is presented as funny, humorous and an aside to counter put downs of the State sporting ability in the last century, during interstate contests which were annual events, not weekly. What if we changed the word 'vic' to 'tourist' in every media article and commentary how long do you think the overuse of this representation
of the SA public attitude would go on for?


To know that people are in SA with the ability, authority and intelligence to correct this. Yet don't because it is a good fall back when feeling lazy and just need a no brainer for a filler commentary or column piece is why all the money spent is wasted as lip service to promoting SA as a great place to visit because of the free exposure the other representation has will always outweigh it on volume and audience share inter and intra state. Other nations, communities, cities and states has made the effort and changed stereotypical attitudes which has been detrimental to growth and economic progress. Why can't South Australia?


Or am I wrong? And in fact South Australians are in paroxyms of laughter and trying to hold their innards in whenever they hear another witty interstate jibe.


Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Mining Jobs available, an introduction from experience

Brilliant, Adserv have put a link to Mining jobs available, on my blog. I think it is fair as I have worked in mines to give a little info on the job for readers and include a few pics to show what it looks like underground. Firstly, I hope you like to travel. Crews I have worked with have been everywhere from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Africa, Sth America and Europe. If appearance and dress sense are crucial to your ego this is not the job for you. There is lots of dirt on you, around you, and in you. Claustrophobia, is a definite disadvantage. A liking for making big bangs, is bound to be satisfied. Drinking is not mandatory, many miners I worked with were teetotallers. Being able to read or have a hobby is crucial, you are generally in the middle of -

nowhere and in between working, sleeping and eating there is not much to do. Golf is a good hobby. Ivan, yeah he was even a Russian took up golf after seeing it on television. I think I recall him telling us about his experience at an actual Golf Club after he took up his hobby. Ivan played a very special game of golf. The Ancient Rules of Ivan Golf will never be followed by anyone els and when Ivan found out that the other version of golf had rules he did not make up he never played on a course again. Why bother he had his own, with a few unique aspects, No greens, holes or tee blocks. 'Ivan Golf', entailed getting your sticks, an esky full of beer and ice, teeing up a ball and just hitting it into the nearest open space. Being in the middle of nowhere this was easy. Then the players just followed the balls direction and hit them around until the beer ran out.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff.

Dead Sea Scrolls revealed Libraries are for lost stuff

Lost stuff gets found all the time and at last I have figured out the point of libraries. It was so obvious all along, now I have proof. Wednesday night I had recordings done in Brisbane to be sent to Mt Gambier via the ABC. The soundtrack was stored in their TARDIS. Yes that is what it is called, which should set off the alarm bells straight away. At the moment the work I need is somewhere between Gallifrey, Dr Who's home planet and Earth or possibly being held captive by Daleks. In simple terms it is lost. But is it lost? I know exactly where it is and so does everyone else involved, it's in the TARDIS. But no-one can find it. Which brings me to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Judas Was A Good Fella gospel, chucking in Pharoah Tut., the Titanic and any Memo's on the Australian Wheat Board. None of these things were ever lost. People knew where they were all the time, they just forgot to pass on the details.

None of this of course applies to LOST SOCK's this is a totally different area of expertise. Billion's of hours of research into discovering Lost Sock's is being spent. Under the guise of research into the Bermuda Triangle, UFO sightings and Greenhouse gases. I personally think it could all be fixed very quickly and at the same time solve the obesity problem. As a nation we should all stop what we are doing and go look for the missing socks. Starting at the coastline of Australia we all join hands and start walking towards the centre. Scouring every nook and cranny for the Lost Socks. When we all meet in the centre of the country, jump into the air in unison and use the moment to see if the 'Chaos Theory' does work.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Why not cull the Corrella's

The divide between rural and urban attitudes is being highlighted following MP Graham Gunn's comments on culling Corrella's which are a problem to the farmers in his electorate. Just a note 'Farmers' are the people who provide the food you have to have, to supermarkets, butchers, bakers etc. In the same interview Gunn also said he was involved in the restraining or evicting of an animal right's protestor at a rodeo as well. I'm not sure of the total details I wasn't there. Socially in rural communities people know people and even if not by name do acknowledge their existence, the anonominity of urban life does not apply. Urban dwellers your environment socially, economically and media wise is totally different.

It is a far more practical lifestyle and what beasties you can only see in a zoo we can see roaming free. 'Country' people are not rednecks, it is a generalisation and can be funny. We are a minority of the population in South Australia but that does not mean our opinions, knowledge and ideas are wrong. We tend to respect our neighbour's because we are not disassociated by social or media stereotyping. What is an important issue in Adelaide is often totally irrelevant to the country, ie the tramline down King William Street, traffic problems at Footy Park and interest groups promoting and commenting on their issue of choice. The latter is usually an opportunity of association to an item such as the Corrella Cull.

I was fine with it all listening to radio comment and reading about it until I heard the comment saying that it's a typical redneck idea. Emotion should never come into a valid discussion. Raise it or encourage it and a wrath you never imagined can be dumped on you. Why do you think words such as N---GER; W-G; S---TIC have been removed or tempered in public use. Redneck is a non specific word that is lumped on people by where they live. It is about intelligence levels, sexual behaviour with relatives and gourmet dining on roadkill. Bloody hilarious at times, in fact. Never use it in intelligent debate on legitimate subjects. Showing your ignorance, bigotry and lack of ability to communicate sensibly and rationally.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff