Yadda Yadda Yadda

I went to my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday night.
And it was absolutely fantastic!
I'm so glad it turned out so well. Because, I'm the one who organised it! And if it had gone bad then I'm sure people would have blamed me! But everyone seemed to have a great night and I've had a lot of positive feedback about how great the night was.
There were no weird dynamics, it was just people catching up with each other. I was so pleased. Everyone said they were so nervous, for a variety of reasons, but once we were there, all the old high school rubbish was such a non issue, and people just enjoyed themselves.
If you want to see photos from the night you can go here and check them out. There were too many to post, and frankly I'm lazy.

On Monday night Luke & I went to Readings in Carlton to hear Tony Martin do a reading of his new book A Nest of Occasionals. It was absolutely brilliant! Tony is not only very intelligent, but friendly and hilarious! His new book is a collection of stories that have happened to him over the years. He is a very gifted writer and the biggest nerd of all! In a good way of course. He also did a Q&A section at the end which was just wonderful. It was so good to be able to ask him heaps of questions we all wanted to know the answers to. Unfortunately he's been out of the media (largely) for the last 18 months or so (minus about 2 months) so there was lots to ask! Here are some photos from the event.

We also went dressed in capes! Well, bath-towels swirled around our necks anyway. It's a joke from the best radio show of all time, 'Get This' which Tony ran from 2006 - 2007, which he was axed for being too successful. Go figure. Anyway, one of the things they did was Capril. It's just a month where you wear a cape around for no other reason than it's Capril. So as a homage to Get This, we went caped! Got us some extra attention from Tony anyway :)



Hanging out with Tony Martin!


Luke hanging out with Tony.


Reading some of his book.


Reading some of his book.


Thanks for taking this awesome photo Luke...


More reading.


More reading.


Luke & I, capes donned!


He signed my book! The new one he just released.


He signed my other book! The first one of his I bought.

This is from an email about human trafficking and the chocolate industry. Good practical ways to do something and stand up for those with no voice!





The good news is that Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bar in Australia will be Fairtrade as of Easter 2010! This means that there will be a significant increase in the sales of Fairtrade cocoa produced by farmers in Ghana. Fairtrade cocoa sales will increase for existing Fairtrade farming groups as well as opening up opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.

Cadbury is the first mainstream chocolate company to announce that it will use Fairtrade certified cocoa for a main product line in Australia. Fairtrade certification sets standards by which the farmers growing the cocoa get a decent price for their produce and that exploited child labour is not involved.

Mars had previously announced that all of the cocoa it uses in its chocolate products will be certified as free of the involvement of trafficked people and slave-like labour by 2020 .

The bad news is by comparison to Cadbury and Mars companies such as Nestle have been unwilling to take adequate steps to address the exploitation of children on the cocoa farms and plantations.

Please write to Cadbury using the address below or through their on-line customer feedback at http://www.cadbury.com.au/Feedback.aspx:

Mark Callaghan
Managing Director Confectionary
Cadbury Schweppes Australia and New Zealand
PO Box 6134
St Kilda Road Central
Victoria 8008

Points to make in your letter or e-mail:
- Welcome the joint announcement of Cadbury and Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand that Cadbury Dairy Milk will achieve Fairtrade Certification in Australia by Easter 2010.
- Note that this will have the very positive outcome of significantly increasing sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana.
- Note that with this announcement Cadbury is leading action amongst the large chocolate manufacturers in Australia to address exploited child labour in the production of cocoa in West Africa.
- Request that Cadbury announce a timeline by which each of its product lines that contain cocoa will use only Fairtrade certified cocoa.

What you can do to turn the bad news into good news.

I left my copy of "Lolly Scramble" by Tony Martin on the plane a couple of weeks ago. Turns out someone stole it and I'm never getting it back. Sad face.

Go me! I have over 600 now!

Got a reply from my local MP about my letter I sent off (see last entry). Nice to have a personal reply, but it's not enough. I'm writing back. Here is my second letter:




Dear Ms. Macklin,

Thank you so much for writing back to me. I appreciate you taking the time. I understand that Labor is doing some good work in the area of fair trade and human rights. I applaud the government for taking measures to help see that all people have their basic rights met.

However, I don’t think the government is doing enough. We are a hugely resourced country, and therefore have the responsibility to help those less fortunate than ourselves. This goes for our own citizens as well as those overseas. I realise it’s not simply a matter of changing laws overnight to make this so. I know it is infinitely more complicated. There is personal responsibility involved as well as government intervention.

Your letter of reply did not address my main concern about trade issues. We still import countless products that ensure people are trapped in a cycle of poverty. This is equal to slavery. There is no excuse for this when we can redirect our resources to products that don’t abuse human rights. Once again I realise this is not a straight forward issue, but it is one that we need to address and act on! Complicated does not mean impossible.

Why do we continue to support multinational corporations that produce goods through ‘sweat shops’ and slave labour? Just because we aren’t the ones doing it, doesn’t remove our responsibility. We are responsible for the money we give to these corporations that encourages them to continue exploiting their workers. I wouldn’t wish those conditions on anyone and I am hugely concerned that as a country we endorse it through our actions.

We must do something about our endorsement of this behaviour. We must stand up for human rights and fair trade! We may not endorse the behaviour with our words, but our actions say otherwise. Something must be done!

Once again, Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope it will drive you to positive action.

Megan Orrin

This is something I have written. I would love it if everyone could either send their own version, or just cut and paste mine and put your name on the end. I think this is very important.

Go here to email the PM

I also sent it to Simon Crean the minister for trade.

Go here to email Simon Crean

However, we all know that a written letter is worth more than an email. I urge you to do both. It will take you all of 30 seconds.

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP

Prime Minister

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600




To The Honourable Kevin Rudd,

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen. In this time of increasing social awareness, specifically in the area of fair trade, I think it’s time that the Government stepped in and made some serious changes.

You are a representative of the people, and there had been a huge increase in the public interest of fair trade products. As a country we import countless products that exploit the poorest of the poor who are unable to advocate and stand up for themselves. This is unacceptable. The abolition of slavery was founded on these same principles. We wouldn’t dare endorse slavery in this country, so why do we support it through our trade practices? We freely import products that keep people in a cycle of poverty. This is unacceptable.

You may say I should choose to purchase things that are fair trade, but as a Government it is your responsibility to oversee our country’s conscience. We don’t allow people to have slaves if they so choose, so why do we allow people to buy products that effectively keep people in conditions that amount to slavery? Why is this part of our trade policy, supporting these conditions? There is nothing acceptable about this. There is no reason for companies to continue to exploit these workers other than greed and financial gain. People are always more important than money. Always.

This issue is particularly poignant for coffee and chocolate products. Even though things are starting to change, I still see it as the Government’s role to be involved.

Having said all this, I do realise it is a complicated issue. I know that there is no solution that will not be met with immense opposition. But did that stop those campaigning for the abolition of slavery? Should it stop us? I say no. And as the representative of the people, it is your role to ensure that our country is run with integrity, and that our trade practices are not something to be ashamed of.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope it will drive you to positive action.

Megan Orrin

CLICK ME!

Yes, I am talking about the sweet talking, blood sucking, piano playing vampire from Twilight, Edward.

I am not in love with him, which appears to make me stand out against millions of girls around the world. And this is a fact that concerns me.

Yes, he's hot. We get it. He's hot, and he's utterly and irreversibly in love with Bella. But is love enough? I say no. I have nothing against love, and passionate love at that, but when it becomes an excuse for inexcusable behaviour there is a problem. He is controlling beyond reason. He tells her what to do, where she can go, and who she can be friends with. And because she loves him, she lets him control her. He even kidnaps her a couple of times, forcing her to be where he thinks she ought to be. All under the guise of keeping her safe. I do not doubt the lovely motives, but does that really make it ok? I say absolutely not!

This perfect ideal of Edward sets up a whole generation of young girls to get in abusive, controlling relationships. If he loves me, it's ok. He controls me because he cares. Then it's a slippery slope, from control to abuse. I'm not saying all controlling guys end up abusing their girlfriends/wives, but it lends itself to going in that direction.

Yes Edward never hurts her physically, but does that make it ok? Not in my book. Not that I have a book... you get my point though.

Love is not an excuse for poor behaviour. Controlling relationships are not ok and should not be set up as an over-romanticised ideal. Bella constantly gets mad at Edward, then forgives him as soon as she sees him coz he's so hot and she loves him! That is not ok! Girls need to be taught to respect themselves and expect men to respect them too, not offer up excuses for why they are not being respected.

I may be a little late jumping on the internet bashing band wagon, but I find it's still a topic I feel passionate about.
Someone asked me what I thought about it the other night and I still fired up about this issue. So here I am, back on the blog, my little virtual soap box!

I'm talking about the Kyle & Jackie O 'radio stunt' that 'shocked a nation'.
Side note: I'm so sick of the terms 'radio stunt' and 'shock jock'. Let's just ban them now. And stunt is not a strong enough word for what they did.

Whose fault is it? It's everyone's.

The mum is a horrendously irresponsible parent who has obviously done her daughter immense damage over the years, and appears to be continuing to do so. Any parent who would know about a daughter's rape and then ask her about it on air shouldn't have kids. I feel so bad for that girl. She will need some serious help. I pray she gets it.

And Kyle & Jackie O? Who cares if they didn't know she was raped! They put a 14 year old girl on their live radio show and asked her about her sex life. What did they think was going to happen?! There is no scenario where that turns out well. The girl was always going to lose. They clearly care about their ratings more than that girl. They used and abused her for entertainment purposes. She did not want to be there and she is below the age of consent. They are pathetic, abusive and irresponsible public figures and I'm ashamed they are Australian 'personalities'.

And Austero management? They are to blame too. They gave the segment the go ahead and let it go to air. They are just as bad as Kyle & Jackie O. Speaking of Jackie O, why is she not coping the blame? Why is it being shifted over to Kyle? Now I'm no fan of Kyle's, but why is it just his fault? Why does he get all the headlines when his co-host is just as deplorable as he is?

As you can see I'm still angry about it. And for a good piece on the story by Media Watch, click on the link below.

Media Watch on Kyle & Jackie O

I don't like Taylor Swift, but this is very cool!

Well yesterday I started my final teaching placement. I'm teaching full time for the next 5 weeks, then 9 weeks of classes, then I'm officially a teacher. Scary thought? Lock up your children...
I promise not to scar them. Too much.

So far so good. My supervising teachers are all lovely and I think I'm going to really enjoy this placement. Can I get a yay? Ok, I'll give myself one. YAY!
I feel confident (but hopefully not cocky!) that I'm equipped to do a good job. And if not, there are people around to help me.
Like I said, so far so good. But it is only day 2... They haven't destroyed my soul yet.

In Due Season

So many giggles!

This is the best short film I've ever seen. Just incredible. You've got to see it!

Wow. Pan's Labyrinth. Sometimes there is no poetry and life just sucks. Brilliant film.

I've finally narrowed down my Top 10 for Triple J's Hottest 100. Here it is:

The beach boys - God only knows
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Glen Hansard - Falling Slowly
Crowded House - Better be home soon
Phil Colins - Against all odds
Elton John - Your song
The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later
George - Special Ones
Sting - Fields of Gold

A true loss to our collective psyche. RIP MJ. Regardless of his controversial life, he was a true musical genius. Another sad loss in Farrah Fawcett. A tragic battle finally lost. Both gave huge contributions to pop culture as we know it. Will leave a huge hole. Controversy and all.

Man in the mirror is my favourite Michael Jackson song. What's yours?