Weird I know — and I’m not even touching the Middle East or Ukraine or Trials of Trump!
Sydney — let the videos do the talking
No link between this and Bondi …
Officially declared a terrorist incident. This morning’s press conference.
UPDATE: The Prime Minister has just spoken.
Bondi NOT a terrorist incident but rather a tragic outcome of mental illness. Sydney Opera House last night.
Response to the Sydney High Class of 1959 Reunion videos
There were a few nice comments on the Facebook SBHSOBU (Old Boys Union) page, and (for me) quite a few visits to the posts here.
April: posts visited individually to this morning 8.30 am
Footy tipping
The less said about last week the better!
But I have come back for more…
And The Kiwi has returned, having been unable for personal reasons to do a video last week. Tells us he tipped 6 correct though, the bastard!
Food
Rather pleased with the Sunday lunch I made for myself: Chicken Kyiv!
When I say “made for myself” I actually mean “bought two pre-prepared from Woolies!” But I had no idea what to do with them so I followed the cooking instructions here….
Add 1/3″ of oil to a large deep skillet and place over medium heat. Once the oil is hot (a bread crumb should sizzle when you add it to the pan), add chicken in a single layer and fry until golden brown (4 minutes per side). Season the fried chicken with a sprinkle of salt, garnish with fresh parsley, and squeeze lemon wedges over the top then serve.
Roman Albertovich Abalin (Russian: Роман Альбертович Абалин; born: January 24, 1998 [age 26]), better known online as NFKRZ. He left Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. He tells the story, which I have followed on this blog from before he left Russia, in a recent Instagram post.
…pics from late 2023 Tbilisi. I owe a lot to this city. I’m in Lisbon now but I wouldn’t be anywhere today if I wasn’t able to find refuge in Georgia after the war started, and if I hadn’t met all the great people of this city. I’ve spent 2 years in Tbilisi, living through the highs and lows. And despite these times of my life often being depressing, especially in 2022, this city always found a way to inspire and make me want to continue moving forward. It’s got an eclectic style and a vibe that’s like nothing else. Thanks Tbilisi, I will remember you fondly. Sakartvelos Gaumarjos! 🇬🇪
On a more recent selfie Roman received some vile comments that are total classics of social media stupidity and nastiness. “No comment or video about the atrocity in Moscow?” “No he’s paid directly from NATO for filming oppositional content against Russia. Even when it comes to 100+ people getting inhumanely slaughtered, he has no honor to post a message of support to his fellow citizens.”
In fact he did have a video and here it is.
Screenshot. On Facebook after watching the post I said: Roman the Russian responds…. This is honest and extremely convincing. Do not miss it! Note the use of a deep fake video on Russian TV when pinning it on Ukraine. Roman sees through the Putin line with total clarity.
Indeed he does.
Daniil Orain of 1420 fame
I have also now been following Daniil’s Russian vox pops for around two years.
That is last year. Artyom is on the right. Overnight Daniil has released a new livestream.
Timestamps: 0:00 – Start 1:36 – The reason why I decided to do this live stream 3:27 – Is it safe to do interviews? 4:43 – Are you not endangering people you are interviewing? 6:48 – Justify mobilization 9:22 – Condolences 9:46 – Roman NFKRZ 10:30 – 80% of people support Putin 11:28 – Over 1k of people are watching 12:02 – Mad people are winning 12:59 – Daniil, are you religious person? 16:44 – The screen is stretched 17:10 – How is health care in Russia? 19:30 – Other Russian YouTubers 20:00 – Informing 24:00 – Interrogated 27:30 – Is there hope for Russia? 29:20 – Do people talk about Navalny? 31:00 – Hope for Russia 33:00 – Focus on war-related issues 34:50 – Free elections 37:24 – Multi racial society 41:56 – Historic records of a certain point in time 43:22 – Russian souls 45:10 – How much have prices in Russia changed? 46:07 – Did you ever imagine things going this way? 48:00 – 2nd mobilization 50:56 – Georgia 52:40 – West and East Russia 54:43 – 24 years old girl from Crimea 58:49 – Challenged the narrative 1:00:38 – USA & Russia 1:01:00 – Where is Artyom?
Looking different — a screenshot from the new livestream. Artyom, who had collaborated in the 1420 project for a couple of years, often doing street interviews in regional Russia as well as Moscow, is, Daniil says, now working on his own projects in Moscow. 1420 was the number of the high school he and Artyom attended.
1:07:10 – Which city are you from? 1:08:53 – Comfort zone…
New to me: an interview from Headshot
This video captures the sentiments of residents in Khabarovsk, Russia, following Putin’s victory in the 2024 presidential elections. The survey delves into the diverse reactions among citizens, ranging from those expressing joy due to their vote for Putin to others harboring discontent and skepticism, anticipating negative changes under his continued leadership. Questions included reflections on the upcoming 2030 presidential elections, speculating on potential candidates and the prospects for significant changes over the six-year term extension for Putin. Opinions varied widely, with some attributing grievances to Putin’s handling of international affairs, particularly regarding the conflict with Ukraine, while others hailed him as Russia’s most effective statesman. Additionally, the survey explored societal attitudes towards the possibility of a female president in Russia, reflecting on broader perceptions of gender in political leadership.
I knew that I had encountered Khabarovsk before. It is in the Russian Far East close to the border with China, and a search came up with an old friend on this blog, Zack the Russian, and his friend Natasha back in 2021.
Natasha is now in Tbilisi, and Zack in the USA after two years in Tbilisi — he arrived there before Roman!
Then followed a spike on this blog post: The 1973 Wollongong earthquake. “The topic came up the other day on Facebook where I referred people to my 2010 post Australia not earthquake free. Of course the more famous one in recent decades is the Newcastle Earthquake of 1989. The post refers to both.”
I remember this one well, though the effects in Sydney were minor. My father had just died and I was in my mother’s room in her Glebe Point old people’s home, on the phone making funeral arrangements. “Shit! An earthquake!” I recall saying inadvertently to the person on the other end of the line as the room distinctly shook.
My father, mother and I were living in West Wollongong in 1973 when a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the early hours of the morning. Not only were we shaken but the noise was amazingly loud. The ceiling was damaged in one room at The Illawarra Grammar School where I was teaching at the time, the local radio station was off the air for several minutes, the lights went out at the Steelworks and in the coal mines – that would have been scary – and a large crack appeared in the front of the Department of Education building in Wollongong. One woman reported being thrown out of bed and afterwards laughed that this was a rather extreme way for her boss to make sure she got up early enough for work. At TIGS we joked that the quake was a “punishment” for the previous night’s rather pleasant wine tasting in the very room that was damaged; the Reverend Gentleman who founded the school was of evangelical persuasion and his portrait had fallen off the wall in presumed disapproval. The epicentre of that quake was out towards Picton/Appin. There is an active fault in that region.
There are several active faults in Australia, but we are far from the edges of tectonic plates so earthquakes such as those in the Pacific rim of fire are unknown here. Nonetheless a 2002 report [from the University of Melbourne] says “two separate geological studies have concluded that an area from Adelaide to south-east Victoria is seismically active and the next ‘big one’ could endanger lives and infrastructure.”
Five years ago in Christchurch
No, not the terrible earthquake there. That was in 2011.
No, Christchurch experienced a horror of another kind in March 2019.
Christchurch
Posted on by Neil
No words are adequate. Here is wonderful NZ Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern.
Wollongong reacted:
I wasn’t in town yesterday, but quite a crowd was — and I am proud of my city! Here is Wollongong yesterday:
And proud of my Friday lunch companion Chris T, who posted this on Facebook:
O.K. I’m not Robinson Crusoe here. I have spent the weekend watching the horror that is the A.B.C news and trying to come to terms with this atrocity. I have, like all of us been trying to come up with the answer to the obvious question, what can I do about it. The answer is always the same. Little or nothing. Not acceptable to me. I must do something. So I make this promise. I have Fridays off and usually do very little with them. From today I will spend my Fridays outside my local Mosque during Friday prayers. I’m not a hero and I assume that this action is entirely symbolic but my message is simple. If you want to go in there and kill Muslims you will have to kill at least one White Christian first. I invite you all to join me. I doubt that anybody will turn up with a gun but if they should perhaps they will think twice before killing people who look like them.
#Strongwomen. "I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful - for all of it." Kristin Armstrong
All abandoned: Chernobyl / Pripyat, Nara Dreamland, Anti-Zombie Fortress, Japanese Sex Museum - and many, many more! Plus: North Korea Special - 2 trips, 16 days / 14 nights! As seen on CNN...
Neil's Commonplace Book 