quicko: brisvegas

I don't really know how it came about, but Sydneysiders at least have a funny habit of referring to Brisbane as "Brisvegas."  Having never been to either, I really can't comment on its validity ... or, as I suspect provides the humor (think:  "Target" pronounced pseudo-French), lack thereof.

quicko: word map!

Whoa, guys, this is seriously cool:  an Australian language word map.  (It so pays to be an English teacher!  Not financially, obviously ...)

It's not the most user-friendly map on the internet, but it's pretty exciting -- it's all about the different regional vocabulary uses in Australia.  You can search alphabetically or by region.  To give you the first example that caught my eye -- in the Sydney region (helpfully labeled #1 on the map), "American" refers to a special, 3-colored marble.  Not that I've ever actually heard that here, but there you go.  Seeing as my grandpa collects such marbles, I'm prepared to say it's highly accurate in etymology.

And Garry, if you're reading -- not one, not two, but three definitions of your very name!  Four if you count GaryWithOneR (but who does that?!).

photos: when there's smoke ...

Driving north of Manly on the weekend ... I think it was an intentional fire??

quicko: navigation by pubs

In a day where GPSs take us everywhere we want to go, and, failing them, there's Mapquest and Google Earth and, my Sydney favorite, 131500, there is one remarkably, shall we call it quaint?, aspect of navigation that still holds a very niche and irreplaceable spot in Australia:  the pub.

Take The Oaks for instance.  The Oaks is a big pub in Neutral Bay and is one of the landmarks of the city.  Not quite in the way the Opera House or even Town Hall is, but native Sydneysiders the city over -- from Palm Beach to the Shire -- know The Oaks.  If you're heading toward anywhere in its vicinity, it's an excellent place to begin, direction-wise.

Similarly, if you're out and about in the city and you know where you are, but you can't for the life of you work out where the bus you want will leave from, all you have to do is call a local friend.  Tell your friend which pub you can see and she'll quickly play pub bingo to get you across, down, over and there! using only pubs (and possibly their corollary, ATMs) as reference points.  Voila.

quicko: morning light

When I was back in America, I was struck by how late in the morning it was dark -- definitely still dark until 7:30 am.  While the time zones and latitude and daylight savings and such all obviously make a difference, I am pretty sure that it is generally darker later in the morning in America than in Sydney.  Which I think is why I actually prefer it to be dark in the morning -- early sunlight always feels like a slap in the face to me, and I much prefer for there to be an hour or so of darkness on my way to work before I have to deal with the day at hand.  It's what I grew up with, and much easier to reconcile, in my opinion.

quicko: i spy

I was so proud of myself when I discovered that the spot on this cow (Devondale Milk -- a typical brand here) is actually in the shape of Australia!  Even with Tasmania, how adorable!

quicko: bali

Bali is, apparently, the done thing in Australia.  That is, everyone goes to Bali.  It's the obligatory holiday destination (oh, the suffering!) that Australians frequent in roughly, I imagine, the way reasonably well-off American families frequent the Caribbean.

Opinions vary -- it's a torturous tourist trap filled with drunk Aussies to an idyllic honeymooners' seaside paradise -- but, I am thrilled to report, you will soon be able to get the definitive answer on the subject as I will be going there next year.  Not only is this tremendously exciting in the I'M-GOING-TO-BALI!!! sense, but also in the now-I'll-be-able-to-say-I've-been-to-Asia!!! sense and also in the practically-an-Australian-local now, as I'll have paid these long overdue holiday dues.

One more thing -- evidently the way you show off your escapade to Bali to two-fold:  a good tan (don't hold your breath for a tan, let alone a good one -- though I am going in the Australian winter, so perhaps I can make my friends slightly jealous) and intricately braided hair.  The hair thing I'm holding out for.  I'll have just finished being a bridesmaid, so have no particular beauty constraints to guide me.  I think I'm up for it, even if it does peg me as a tourist.  It's about time!

quicko: the ditch

What Australians call the minor little stream of liquid separating them from New Zealand.  Several of them also seem under the impression that New Zealand is something of an additional state, though relatively few know definitively what the capital of their "Eastern Islands" is.

link: midwest v. coast

One of my friends recently posted this on facebook -- I was drawn because the the graphic shows "Greetings from Ohio!" with a picture of Iowa's shape and a slogan for Idaho:  "The great potato state."  Upon closer inspection, "Iowa" has various Ohio cities such as Cleveland, Akron and Toledo, as well as Idaho's capital Boise and a couple actual Iowan cities (Davenport and Des Moines).  I thought it was great because it sums up most Australians' understandings of American geography perfectly:  "oh, yes, you're from Ohio?  I have a brother in Oregon, is that nearby?"  Utah, Iowa, Idaho and Ohio seem to particularly throw people, as does the idea that you can be in the Midwest and still be in the same time zone as New York, as does the idea that all the states in the Midwest aren't exactly near each other.  "Minnesota?" I'll be forced to discuss.  "Well, I, um, suppose it's not as far from Cincinnati as Kansas, but I might not quite call it 'my neck of the woods,' either."

Anyway, the article itself is interesting, too:  it's written by a Kiwi sharing her perspective on Americans' great "cultural divide." She's referring to the "liberal coasts" v. "conservative center" debate, though I'd be curious to hear if she gleaned anything about the "north" v. "south" debate as well.  Check it out!

http://jezebel.com/#!5792535/the-specious-midwest-v-coastal-elites-debate

quicko: state slogans

Like American states, Australian states also have state slogans.  Ahem:

New South Wales:  The First State*
Queensland:  The Sunshine State**
Victoria:  The Garden State***
South Australia:  The Festival State
Western Australia:  The Real Thing
The Northern Territory:  Outback Australia
Tasmania:  Apple Isle
The Australian Capital Territory:  The Nation's Capital

*American equivalent:  Delaware
**American equivalent:  Florida
***American equivalent:  New Jersey

quicko: where in the world is ...?

Carmen San Diego?  Er, I mean, Australia.  Turns out it's smack dab in the center!

(Apologies.  No idea why blogger thinks the earth should be vertical, but insistent it remains.)

quicko: roll me over the ocean

So, it turns out Australians aren't content to have four oceans.  No, no, it seems they must have five.  You'd think it was a fluke or an odd question thrown in to throw unsuspecting 

players off, but no.  All the Australians I was playing with corroborated the evidence and insisted there were five oceans.  Sigh.

quicko: the capital

It's an easy mistake to make, but one I'd prefer you not to, since you have a friend in Australia and all. The capital is Canberra. Not Sydney, not Melbourne. Canberra. Which is not to say that you should come visit it if you come, just that if you find yourself unexpectedly on Jeopardy, I'd hate for you to get it wrong.

quicko: tasmania

So, if you don't know, Tasmania is not cool.
Just thought I'd clear that up, because I used to think it was. That was before I learned that Tassie is the West Virginia of Australia.
Like there was a news story here not too long after I came, about a father and a daughter that had got married, or wanted to, or something like that. And they were from Tasmania, and nobody was surprised.

That's all I have to say on that, except there's no way I'm going to tell you what a map of Tassie is. You'll have to figure that one on your own.