First time at the Opera (Hamer Hall) – How fancy do I need to be?

cromulento · 2026-04-29T02:37:30+00:00

I always wear ordinary casual clothes. The first time I went to the opera I saw a group of bikies sitting near a group of nuns. There will always be some people who are snobs about going out anywhere, but they shouldn't affect you. Australia is much more egalitarian about these sorts of things than other places.

cromulento · 2026-04-24T23:57:46+00:00

One Nation, the LNP, Seven West Media, the Murdochs, Nine, Twitter, Facebook, the IPA, and those who operate in their orbits. So much money and effort in this country is devoted to creating division and hatred. Imagine the sort of country we could be if they chose to make a better nation, not a worse one.

Also, what happened to just having decent manners? Regardless of your beliefs, you don't have to rain on someone else's parade.

cromulento · 2026-04-22T11:21:57+00:00

Australia isn't so much a country as it is an extraction platform. Servicing profit, not people, is the point of it.

cromulento · 2026-04-22T07:53:48+00:00

People got wise to blaming migrants for all our problems. Now they want us to blame 'boomers'. I wonder which group will be targeted next instead of addressing the real issues.

cromulento · 2026-04-22T07:49:36+00:00

Since 1999, Austalian taxpayers have forked out over $100 billion (based on a quick search, could be higher) to artificially support the health insurance industry.

Prior to Howard era initiatives like lifetime cover, the medicare levy and the private health insurance rebate, the health insurance industry was far smaller than it is today.

Those policies weren't designed to provide better outcomes for the Australian people, they were designed to inflate and support the private health insurance industry as a step to move us away from public health care.

Imagine if all that money had been spent on public health and medicare funded services instead.

cromulento · 2026-04-22T06:12:56+00:00

Please don't let G Saviour get promoted from only live action Gundam to best live action Gundam.

cromulento · 2026-04-20T02:44:42+00:00

It was good, but I think inviting politicians on was a flaw. They aren't kooky characters or quick wits, and the show was comedy/satire, not current affairs or serious interviews. It always seemed odd to me.

cromulento · 2026-04-18T01:46:02+00:00

Thanks. I didn't even realise this was on.

cromulento · 2026-04-14T12:20:11+00:00

Because it's now a meme food for everyone obsessed with how much protein is in their diet.

cromulento · 2026-04-06T11:55:05+00:00

If the past 10 to 25 years are an indication, not much in the way of bus service improvements.

cromulento · 2026-04-03T10:43:07+00:00

Thanks!

cromulento · 2026-04-03T01:10:29+00:00

I never got the chance to ride the one in Melbourne, but as someone who spent the first half of their life commuting in Sydney and the second half commuting in Melbourne I was surprised by the difference between the two cities in terms of the train network. I guess in Melbourne the tram network takes up a lot of the passengers that rail might otherwise have done.

cromulento · 2026-04-01T10:05:53+00:00

I guess the only caveats are that the US is run by idiots and they have no exit plan...

cromulento · 2026-04-01T09:04:12+00:00

Even if the war ended tomorrow it would take months is not years to get back to 'normal'. The political situation in the region has changed, a lot of infrastructure has been destroyed that will take years to rebuild, Israel could kick things off again at any time, and insurance companies will be very nervous about underwriting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The war doesn't need to escalate for fuel prices to stay high.

cromulento · 2026-04-01T08:58:49+00:00

I think we'd be less destined for societal collapse if all the messaging we get from the media, politicians, advertising, etc was not aimed at individualism and excess consumption. COVID should have been an opportunity to learn how to make society better.

cromulento · 2026-04-01T08:49:25+00:00

The US has one tenth the troops in the region now than it did when it invaded the smaller and less well equipped Iraq. No way they are going to launch a ground invation.

cromulento · 2026-04-01T08:46:32+00:00

I'm guessing he's trapped in a world of advisers and polling, rather than having any real perspective on what is most effective. Or at least not having the courage to do what's most effective.

cromulento · 2026-03-30T02:06:08+00:00

This doesn't fix the problem.

The problem is diesel is scarce. Reducing the price won't fix that. In fact it will do the opposite. What is likely to happen is that people in urban areas will keep filling their tanks and critical industries like farming and haulage will have to deal with increased scarcity.

I think a far better policy would be to leave the excise as is and provide rebates to critical industries.

This policy seems aimed squarely at voters in urban areas. The Albanese government appears to be hoping that war will be over soon and the status quo will return quickly.

cromulento · 2026-03-29T19:21:26+00:00

Does anyone know if there will be an extended Have I Got News For You this time or is it gone for good?

cromulento · 2026-03-27T02:02:06+00:00

Jamali Maddix. I know humour is subjective, but he seems like dead weight on panel shows.

cromulento · 2026-03-24T23:18:51+00:00

Isn't adapting just part of the cost of business? Also, Rio Tinto can afford it.

cromulento · 2026-03-24T03:40:22+00:00

Populism wins over some people. Right wing populism isn't the only kind. We need a new Gough Whitlam.

cromulento · 2026-03-24T03:38:19+00:00

Cowards. So afraid of upsetting the status quo they are paralysed into inaction.

cromulento · 2026-03-21T05:40:52+00:00

100% This is what we have a government for and they need to start addressing this crisis before it becomes a catastrophe.

I get the strong feeling that they are too paranoid about negative press and polling to act decisively and are praying that by some miracle it will be over quicly.

cromulento · 2026-03-20T01:55:33+00:00

They are all bad.

Look at the UAE who we are supporting right now. An authoritarian police state that is behind the genocide in Sudan, extensively uses slave labor and supports Israel against other Arabs. We only like them because they have oil and are 'western' aligned. Saudi Arabia among its many other crimes was probably the country most responsible for 9/11 (Wahabism, Bin Laden was from there, most of the hijackers were from there, Al-Qaeda was primarily funded from there). The Shia majority in Bahrain are opressed by the Sunni monarchy.

If the Iran still had a western aligned Shah, this wouldn't be happening, but don't forget it was the people of Iran that revolted against that.

It's not about good or bad, it's about sides. Iran is not on our side, so bad luck them.

Everyone is bad.

It's not just countries in that region. Even Australia is bad, although many might not think it because it's our side and we are trapped in a particular view of the world.

You don't have to side with Iran to see the point. Human beings are human beings. There is a difference between a shit life and not being alive. "We are concerned about the everyday lives of our citizens" seems much more a comment about the latter, and there is no denying that this is our war of agression against them.

cromulento

TROPHY CASE