Moment to Moment

WA Blog Awards Night

Bret, proprieter of Not The West, has kindly organised a blog awards night for we, the many bloggers of Perth.

So, if you're in the area and you're a blogger, commenter or lurker, come along. I'll be there with bells on. Well, not bells, maybe just a scarf and some lippy.

See you at the Brass Monkey, 209 William Street Northbridge (upstairs) 7PM Aug 31.

The Sound Of A Thousand Bloggers Struggling To Say Something Sensible

My sympathy goes out to Mr. Brogden and his family, and I hope he makes a full recovery.

Hurricane Katrina

This is a huge disaster and my thoughts go out to everyone in that part of the world.

I couldn't let this story pass without noting it, however.

A few pushes later, Doucett's 6-pound, 8-ounce baby girl was born in the back of her aunt's car with the help of two paramedics and the police officer.

``If you had told me that I was going to have my baby while I was evacuating from a hurricane on the side of a road in a city I had never been to before, I would have told you that you were crazy," Doucett said late Sunday at Hattiesburg's Forrest General Hospital. ``I have waited for this day for so long. I just never imagined it would be a day like this.''

Doucett had planned to call the baby Ka'Niyah.

``But now I am not so sure,'' she smiled. ``I may have to go with Katrina.''

Islam And Banning The Headscarf

Tin Dunlop has more. So does Mark.

I insist, again, that it is possible to be against both the treatment of women under Islam in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and also in our country, without ripping the headscarves from the heads of teenage girls.

Tim's post is long, thoughtful and nuanced. If you haven't already read it, please do so.

Kate: The Movie

Ampersand Duck has passed on a meme and I love a good meme.

Who would I like to play me in a movie based on my life:

Scarlett Johanson, which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me in the real world.

Oh, come on, who would really play me in a movie based on my life:

Janeane Garofalo. But she'd have to gain a bit of weight. And I don't have any tattoos. And she'd have to stay blonde, but maybe not that blonde.

Update: Passing it on to Anna, and Mark, even though he's not a girl (is this a girl's only thing or can I send it to a bloke? Ahh, who cares?) and also to Anthony. Who is also not a girl.

Are We The Blogging A-List Yet?

7:30am. I check my blog because I live for comments.

7:35am. Anna has left a comment saying I am in the paper.

7:50am. Still checking the SMH website for a link to my blog.

8:00am. Come to realisation that I could always check my site stats. Yeah, that might do it.

8:01am. Look. It's Liam, Amanda (busted link, amateurs), Rowen, TV's Daily Flute and potty-mouthed Jess. And The Spin Starts Here, though they scare the shit out of me. Hi Caz and Hack et al, love your work! (If they turn their fiery gazes upon me I'm suing Fairfax for everything I can get.) How cool is this. I'm in the paper! Woohoo.

8:01am and ten seconds. F#%k.  That's not the name of my f#&king blog.

8:30am. Still thinking of a way to complain about this without coming off like a complete and utter dipshit.

8:40am. This is really depressing me now. I never thought f-list blog celebrity would be so bittersweet.

8:45am. Check my site stats again. 200 hits in the last 24 hours. Definitely can't whinge about this without coming across like a huge fool.

8:50am. The fear of coming across like a huge fool has never stopped me before. Here I go: you got my bloody name wrong! I'm crushed. Crushed. Okay, a tad irritated. It's not like you can't read the name, it's up there in big blue letters and it's even in the URL.

8:55am. Okay, I'm over it now. Let us never speak of this again.

We Take Oral Hygiene Very Seriously

We Take Oral Hygiene Very Seriously
Originally uploaded by deborah_kate.

Please note: no actual toothbrushes were harmed in the making of this photograph.

As For This...

Bronwyn Bishop calls for state schools to ban the headscarf.

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean, and why Bishop decided to make this statement, or why she made it now.

I get the feeling  it's one of those comments that politicians often make that, while having no real purpose, send a message to certain sectors of the Australian voting public. Don't worry, we're doing something about the threat of terrorism. We're cracking down on them. We'll force them to be like us, by whatever means necessary.  It's a token gesture that does nothing but give opinion writers (and bloggers) something to pontificate about.

I'm no fan of the headscarf but then, I'm not a Muslim woman. It's not important to me. Frankly, if I was a Muslim woman I probably wouldn't want to wear one either. But if it is important to a 15-year old Muslim girl to wear one, and provided it is her choice, what's the big deal?

My major concern is this: wouldn't a rule like this push some Muslim girls out of the state education system and possibly into Muslim schools? Wouldn't this have the effect of further segregating Muslims from mainstream Australia and further entrenching the sense of alienation some Muslims feel? Is this a chasm that needs widening?

When it comes to people "fitting in" to the "Australian way of life" (I use these terms reservedly and with an eye on all the contradictions, elisions and gaps in that particular set of ideas) some things are important and some things are not. We should not let 14 year old girls be sent off to other countries for arranged marriages.  Muslim women should not be treated like property or chattel, be beaten or killed as they often are in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Female genital mutilation should be stamped out across the world.

But the headscarf? The headscarf is an item of clothing.  It is not a stone thrown at a rape victim or a rusty knife hacking at a small girl's genitals.

The headscarf is not the icon of the battle for women's rights under Islam. And banning it in state schools does nothing to ensure Australia remains a safe, secular country. All it does is target a small group of Muslim teenage girls, and make them feel even less a part of Australian society.

The Sound Of A Thousand Hands Hitting A Thousand Foreheads

Broggo, Broggo, Broggo.

Some secret sources of mine, who know Mr. Brogden in both professional and social capacities, would probably say this sort of thing is not entirely out of character. Indeed, the words 'typical private school, rugby playing thug' and 'boorish' may or may not have been used by said secret sources to describe Mr. Brogden. No offense is intended to former private school students, rugby players, thugs or boors.*

*The author of this blog takes no responsibility for the opinions expressed by said sources.

UPDATE: He's resigned.

Rain and Sea, Black and White

Rain and Sea, Black and White
Originally uploaded by deborah_kate.