Happy Australia Day, wot?

[moonvoice]

Also, happy hottest 100 day, which is far more exciting, in many respects. What will end up being the top 10 best songs in Australia? ;)

If it's fucking Bernard Fanning, I WILL kill him this time.


10 Things I like about living in Australia:

1. The perfect fucking beaches. Okay, that might be more of a Western Australian thing, because we have those powdery white sands, the perfect blues, the amazing sunsets and all of that. Okay... you know, they're just perfect, not much to brag about, yes? ;)

2. We finally signed the Kyoto Protocol, which means that environmentally, we are no longer as backwards as the US. YAY!

3. The amazing proliferation of Asian cuisine, especially in Perth, due to our proximity to Asia in general. Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian etc. I love it ALLLLL. Living in Perth and being with extended family (on Mum's side) who regularly travelled to Southern and Northern Asia has meant that I've been raised more with authentic Asian flavours, than any other kind. It has permanently influenced my sense of cooking and culinary taste.

4. The wildlife. Where else in the world, can you go bushwalking and see a Western Brush Wallaby? NO WHERE!

5. Our ravens have white eyes. Look at my icon. That is not photoshopped. How cool are we?!?!

6. We are not a war-torn nation, we are not civilly destroying ourselves, we are not known for our terrorist attacks or for our ability to mug and destroy people's lives, we are not known for child prostitution rings. We do, sadly, have fourth world conditions, but our tourism campaigns hide those.

7. Nudies!

8. The Christmas here is warm. I used to hate this, but I love it now. You can go out at night time and lay on the grass somewhere, at a park. So many families go out to national parks and forests etc. with barbecues and love and sometimes their pets in order to celebrate warmth and love. It's right - I feel - to give gifts at a time when the sun is warming your back. Also, champagne breakfasts on the beach Chrissy morning aren't too bad either.

9. Uluru. ;) Which, as Bill Bryson said, 'profoundly felt like the centre of the whole world.' And he's been a lot of places.

10. Cleanliness. Clean air, clean water, clean beaches. We are a lucky lucky nation. I am so proud to be an Australian citizen. I have never thought of living anywhere else for the rest of my life, because my home is one of the world's greatest and cleanest tourist destinations, and because whenever I feel the urge, I can go sit on the pearly white sands and remember that this place beats in my blood.

Comments

[dynxsilverwolf.livejournal.com]

It's funny, I'm listening to an Australian band, The Church, right now.

Australia sounds pretty amazing. :D

[toeknuckles.livejournal.com]

actually, as beautiful as the WA beaches are, i live right near the whitest sand in the world here on the south coast in NSW. ;-)
but yeah, we DO have beautiful beaches, don't we? i never realised just how perfect until i saw the beaches in california. <8-| THEY LOOKED LIKE MUD FLATS!!!

[a-lil-spaz.livejournal.com]

I reckon Silverchair and Sneaky Sound System will do very well. Bernard won't get anything decent, but Powderfinger might do okay.

[amberfishy.livejournal.com]

You got a number one prediction?

I'm too cheap to drink Nudies, and they are too bloody small... unless I'm missing something!

I agree we live in a very beautiful country!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Nope, no predictions. I don't actually like a lot of the music on Triple J (or the radio in general), I'm waaaaaaaaay too elitist and fussy these days when it comes to music. :) Heh.

I like nudies, though only about 3 flavours out of... the many many that they've got. Mainly because it's 100%, and good quality fruit. I'd rather pay more for a small juice that's 100%, than one that has been watered down, or made from reconstituted fruit juices.

Also, you can buy larger ones at Fresh Provisions. :D

[sidheblessed.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with this.

[x-raeya-x.livejournal.com]

Australians all eat os-triches... No wait, that's not quite right... something about rejoicing, isn't it?

*giggles*

Okay seriously, I DO know the right words to the national anthem (I even used to know the second verse once upon a time in primary school when we sang it every week).

Ah beautiful sunny Australia Day...

[mirrorred-star.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

[paleo.livejournal.com]

What happens on Australia Day?

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Erm, fireworks, celebrations, parties, barbecues, generally thinking 'how cool it is to be Australian,' all of that. ;)

Also, mostly, it's the official day of settlement:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day

It's also the day that the Australian of the Year is announced. Citizenship ceremonies are also held today.

And of course, because I'm in Perth:

"The Perth Lotterywest Skyworks display is billed as the largest Australia Day celebration in the country, with more than a third of the city's population (around 500,000 estimated for the 2006 Skyworks) lining the river foreshore for the display."

My sister, Mum, brother and pretty much everyone I know is going down. And it's been that way since I was born. The roads will be *dead* tonight, because most people will be on the river foreshore, watching fireworks, listening to (mostly) local/national music, along with the rest of Perth.

Imagine a big beach/river barbecue with about 500k people and you get the idea.

[barelyshocking.livejournal.com]

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY! Your reasons for loving Australia (WA :D) are perfect. We're having a BBQ, and might walk down to the river to watch the skyshow later. I live super close (on Stirling Hwy, basically) so I'm looking forward to a chillaxed evening.

HOORAY! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY! SAUSAGES AND BREAD FTW!

[fevas.livejournal.com]

Yes, I also would have screamed if Fanning or Powderfinger had won. I was annoyed Silverchair lost by 13 votes. Nothing against Muse, but it would have been nice for an Aussie band to win!!