Saturday, February 15, 2020

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy . . .


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Man on horse charged with using mobile phone:

Source:
Daily Mail
11 February 2020

A man in country Tambaroora (it’s near Hill End) was observed by the local constabulary to be using his mobile phone whilst riding a horse, a still common form of transport for some in the area.  But the citizens of Tanbaroora can sleep safe in their beds at night knowing that the gendarmes are ever vigilant in apprehending lawbreakers and arresting miscreants.  He was brought before the magistrate in the Local Court at Mudgee and charged with using the phone whilst driving.  It turns out that under the road rules, a horse is a vehicle.  He pleaded guilty and was given a 3 month conditional release order with no conviction, the magistrate classing it as “trivial in the extreme” and noting that the horse was not fitted with a hands=free device.
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Piers exposed:

Source:
News.com
12 February 2020

Wild storms in Sydney have caused many beaches in Sydney to be eroded, in one location, Coogee, revealing two of the pylons from the Coogee Pleasure Pier, which remain buried under the sand at Coogee Beach after demolition in 1934.  The beachside attraction Had been constructed in 1928, modelled on British seaside pavilions.  The pier had a shark net, a 1400-seat theatre, a ballroom for 600, and a 400-seat restaurant.  Over the years, the massive crowds that loved the Coogee Pleasure Pier slowly started to diminish, and storms caused damage to the structure. It was eventually demolished during 1933-34.

The piers exposed

Coogee Pier, 1928
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Death of malls:

Source:
Daily Mail
12 February 2020

The Australian retail scene is in the doldrums, as witnessed by the succession of closures of once-dominant retail brands.  Our increasing infatuation with online shopping, and very tight spending patterns due to giant mortgages and climbing bills means fewer and fewer of us are making the trek to local shops.  The main victim of this pincer movement is the shopping mall.  Once a community hub where the big fashion and homewares brands sat profitably beside the supermarket and department store chains, the failing malls now struggle to survive, with a diminishing customer base and an air of irreversible decline.

Northcote Plaza, Melbourne

The victims of Australia’s retail apocalypse:
2016: Dick Smith, Masters hardware, Payless Shoes
2017: Topshop Australia
2018: Avon, Espirit, Toys 'R' Us, Max Brenner, Roger David
2019: Ed Harry, Diana Ferrari, Napoleon Perdis, Ziera, Bardot, Harris Scarfe
2020: Jeanswest, Collete Hayman, EB Games, Co-op bookstore
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More about the Inner West Council logo:

Source:
Daily Mail
12 February 2020

From the article:

Sydney's Inner West Council has been slammed by ratepayers for wasting money on a new logo that cost $90,000. The local council unveiled the new animated logo that appears in the top left corner of their website on February 3 after 18 months of design work. People from 28 suburbs forked out for the logo as the Inner West Council is made up of five large wards; Ashfield, Balmain, Leichhardt, Marrickville and Stanmore.

The new logo

But Inner West residents have not taken kindly to the expensive new logo on Facebook, with many saying the money would have been better spent elsewhere.

The local council unveiled the new $90,000 logo that appears in the top left corner of their website on February 3 after 18 months of designing

'What a complete waste of time and money. Hideous, and hard to read,' one person wrote.  Another resident wrote: 'Improve services to the community, i.e. street and footpath cleaning, then I'll be impressed.' 'How bad must the rejected have been? Lol,' another person said.

The logo itself has letters that pop up one by one when the Inner West Council website loads up.

Some reader comments in respect of the above article:

3 councils merged and not half a brain between them. Sack the lot and keep there entitlements to pay for this was of time and money.

I wonder whose mate scored the $90k to design that POS logo? A skoolkid could have come up with anything way better than that.

Wastage !!!!

The reason it took 18 months was the council had to wait for the designer to finish pre-school. This is just the tip of the massive iceberg.

Back pockets spring to mind....!!!!
  
Sloppy reporting, Daily Mail. How about you provide a link to the entire branding package so people can have some context for how the $90K was spent? It's not just a logo, but an extensive suite of branding assets, which go a long way to communicate the vibrancy and creativity of the Inner West.

Time for Australia to be rid of councils. They're a waste of time and money. Anything the council does can be done cheaper, and faster, by the State Govts.

I can't stop laughing. This is so ridiculous it seriously couldn't be worth $90 grand. Did Van Gogh sketch it up to be worth that much?

It's a council, not a business. They should concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing, and generally failing at, rather than waste money like this.

It's the most 90s thing I've seen since the year 2000
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NME Music awards:

Source:
News.com’
14 February 2020

The above article is about some English rapper misbehaving at the NME Awards, being the New Musical Express Awards.  The awards began as the NME Poll Winners Concert and associated awards ceremony in 1953.  The item of interest for me was the pic which accompanied Taylor Swift’s award for Best Solo Act in the World:



Seriously, would you want that award on your trophy shelf.
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You think your day sucked . . .

Source:
Daily Mail
14 February 2020

An elephant keeper faced the unpleasant task of extracting 50lbs of dung from a constipated jumbo's bottom in Thailand.  The 60-year-old elephant, Boon Peng, was suffering abdominal pains and struggling to walk at his enclosure in Chiang Mai. Vets arrived and found Boon Peng was constipated, partly because he had been eating fresh grass that was not part of his diet. The animal's keeper, Kiettisak Kaweakn, donned a pair of full-length plastic gloves to reach inside the elephant's rectum and scoop out the vast chunks of excrement.

In the interests of decorum, I am not posting the video or pics, view them by clicking on the above link.



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