Short memories...

What is it with these various sporting bodies (you know who you are) trying to stop the building of a world class sports stadium in Perth?? Do you people have short memories?? I often refer to the recommendations of Charles Landry from his Perth visit ONLY A FEW MONTHS AGO (and again just a couple of weeks ago) and we need some change, something to put us on a larger scale....and already ideas are being rejected??? Really, such a great start.

The Tourism Council of WA supports the idea of a stadium in Perth, so please support them and voice your opinion!

Surely we can provide something bigger and better than the WACA or Subi Oval?????

Matt's blog for foodies....

I've stumbled across a food blog by a guy called Matt which details some of the best places in Perth to eat drink....very useful!

Click here for the link

Driving in Perth......

By now we've all read and heard about how much longer it's taking Perth drivers to get into and out of the city in the mornings and at evenings.

I know the city is busier, the urban sprawl has played a part in this congestion, and that everyone complains about the city's public transport systems.

But, there is one thing that most media and commentators have forgotten to mention in all this: Perth drivers are generally hopeless 90% of the time when it comes to congestion on the roads.

I've driven in both Sydney and Melbourne - extremely busy roads at the best of times. One thing drivers have in common in those cities is that they are generally courteous - drivers who GIVE WAY to other drivers simply because everyone is experiencing the same nightmare on the road so there's no loss by allowing another driver into your lane. Perth drivers are notorious for never giving way to other drivers which causes the driver in the left hand lane who is trying to make his way to the right to hold up untold amounts of traffic simply because the right lane driver won't let him in.

Remove this selfishness from the roads and things may speed up just a bit.

Help Princess Margaret Hospital

As we all know, the staff and volunteers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) do incredible work for the children of WA.

I've come across some research they are undertaking for interpreting lung function tests, and PMH are looking for healthy volunteers between the ages of 5-18 to take part in tests that don't use needles or cause discomfort.

Click here for more information.

Ben is back?

So, the media have announced in quite a big way that Ben Cousins is clean and back on the field. Good news for him I suppose. But, more importantly now for Ben is the need to resurrect his career as an ALWAYS "clean" player. Both he and his PR people have a big job ahead of them to restore his "icon" status amongst fans and followers of the AFL.

Whether he likes it or not, Ben Cousins is a role model for many young football followers and, with this in mind, his family, friends, the team, and the WCE PR "handlers" were most likely aware of his drug problems well before they became public - they should have done all they could to avoid this becoming public (maybe they did, but such is the downside of addiction - only the addict can face their problems once their life has fallen apart).

What's most "offensive" to the public in all of this is that his addiction was always referred to as a "problem" that he was trying to overcome, inspiring sympathy in fans and the general public. As everyone knows, cocaine is a ridiculous drug that makes people talk non-stop rubbish and behave in the most egotistical of ways - as Robin Williams once said "cocaine is God's way of saying you have too much money."

Hopefully Ben can now rebuild his career, and the lesson he has learned can remind other AFL footballers of their duty to fans and the opportunities they have in their careers come once in a lifetime, and that second chances are rare.

Only time will tell if Ben can truly resurrect his career as an icon of AFL football.

Woodside - please don't let Shell take you over!

Business is business, and everyone (especially shareholders) is swayed by money. When I read about the possible takeover of Woodside by Shell in Monday's West Australian my first thought was, well, that's just business and takeovers happen all the time.

BUT, then I thought about it some more and now have THIS to say - with all the exciting activity currently happening in Perth and in WA generally, Woodside is one of those independent firms that draws attention to our state by who it is, what it does, and ESPECIALLY by the fact that it's Australian-owned AND independent.

Having Woodside remain within this structure increases our own profile - it's yet another Australian "asset" and, for this reason, it attracts more attention to our state....so please Woodside (on my knees), stay an independent!

New Music

OK, this blog is devoted to Perth, but I've discovered an Icelandic band that will surely make their way to Perth in as big a way as those other Icelandic musical heroes of ours (ie. Sigur Ros and Bjork).

Their name is Amiina - go to www.myspace.com/amiina to hear four of their tracks.

Very soothing and relaxing stuff.

The Hottest People in Perth

For those of you yet to join social network Facebook, what is taking you so long???? Millions of people worldwide have joined (mostly 16-35 year olds), it's a worldwide phenomenon, and simpler and less "noisy" than MySpace (the fact that Rupert Murdoch owns MySpace and Facebook is still independent could be why it's maintained the "cool" factor).

Anyway, my point here is that there's a group on Facebook called "The hottest people in Perth" with 716 members (this number increases daily), so sign up, and say something that makes Perth more interesting than it already is!

FORM....taking action

Just as an add-on to my blog entry below about Charles Landry, if you get the chance, visit the FORM website - this is a not-for-profit organisation in Perth with a focus on creative Perth - lots of people TALK about wanting Perth to be better and more interesting - the people at FORM are actually DOING something, so support them and take a look at their website to see what they've got planned.

A quick question.....

So, people of Perth......

You may remember a few months ago Charles Landry caused a huge fuss when he came to Perth, did what he did, made his comments and recommendations, upset a lot of people.

For those of you who got to thinking about what he said, can I just ask a quick question:

What are we doing about it???

Just because I can.....

For no other reason than simply "because I can", I just wanted to say that Eoin Cameron is a class act. I've met him many times (I don't work for the ABC, by the way) and he is not only an excellent on-air presenter, but a great (and gracious) person.

If your head hurts when you wake up in the morning, listen to Eoin.

Keep going Eoin.

Early mornings, weekdays, ABC 720

A plea to The Sunday Times......

Am I gonna say it, or are you gonna say it?

The Sunday Times is embarrassing us.

The Sunday Times, why is it that whenever I open up your pages, I feel like an advertising target - your editorial suffers at the hands of too much advertising? Am I the only person who feels like this??????

Why do I get the feeling Rupert Murdoch owns it just so he can feel like he has a presence in all of Australia?

Please, let me feel justified in spending money on you each week by giving me newsworthy articles to read, rather than just pictures of fridges that are for sale, or how much broccoli is per kilo this week at Action!

Some favourite places in Perth.....

OK, so I don't accept any advertising on this blog (well, not yet anyway), but I thought I'd open up the floor for readers to let me know their favourite places in Perth, to do whatever it is they like doing.

For me, what I love the most.....

* Coffee early on weekday mornings with my best friend at Soto (Mt Lawley)

* Sat morning breakfast with the same best friend at either The Globe or Diva (Mt Lawley).

* Movies at Luna (Leederville) - always quality product.

* Ten Pin Bowling with my nephews on Fitzgerald Street (forgot the name)

* Facials/peels at North Perth Beauty on Charles Street...but only if Anita does them (there's no better beautician in Perth)

* Yoga at 8 Limbs in Leederville - Monica, Gregor and Carmela (and the whole team) are the best yoga teachers I've ever had anywhere in the world

* Club sandwich at Cafe 130 (Leederville) for lunch

* Walking from Scarborough Beach to City Beach very early in the morning and watching the rowers

* Walking around the Swan River (the "bridges" walk) listening to my iPod

* Rollerblading or bike riding along the river path in front of Burswood Casino

The West Australian - laziness?

I've grown up reading The West Australian - I think it's a good paper. When it comes to reporting on Perth's local news, it does a fine job. It is nowhere near as bad as The Sunday Times.

BUT, doesn't The West need some competition, just to lift its game a bit? My main issue with The West is also the same issue I have with West Australians (the people) - The West "says", and West Australians simply "listen" - what The West says, absolutely goes. It's rare that the people of WA will deviate or question what is written in The West. The lack of another daily paper means there's no other opinion published.

Not sure what you think, but the reporting in The West has the same feel as the running of Perth by its Mayor - it's all there to keep West Australians happy. It provides what we want to read. Nothing too hard. Nothing too major. Nothing out of the ordinary. Aimed totally at the average family - 2 kids, 2 cars, a father who handles the DIY, barbeques on weekends, footy watching on Saturdays. Same old same old. Not everyone in Perth fits this mould.

Where are the controversial columnists? Where are the journalists who can offer a different point of view? The newspaper needs to try something new every once in a while. Actually, that said, Paul Murray does a fine job.

The West feels more like the local news of a small city.

Change just a bit please!

Surprise us.

Take a chance.