Replying to
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social
Said no woman ever.
Remote
Looking for explanations…
@Susan60@aus.social
mastodon 4.7.2Lifelong learner, leftie, AuADHD, Bunurong country, Australia. She/her. Social justice, environment, climate change etc. Too old to pretend to be “woke”; it’s just the way I am. Won’t boost photos without alt txt (unless I forget!).
If you would like to follow me or be followed by me, tell the world something about yourself in your profile, including what country you’re in.
1272 Followers
1256 Following
50 Posts
Joined November 05, 2022
Replying to
@farah@beige.party
Because the idea that a woman should need a partner for financial support or status is offensive. Because the idea that a woman should have to choose between any of these is offensive. Because the idea that women should have to choose between great sex and kindness is depressing.
Some women need a partner to access financial security or a male partner to gain status because - patriarchy.
And how can sex be great if it doesn’t include kindness?
The fact is that this woman and her followers have nothing to offer. No expertise, no competence, no solutions. Yes, they make it easier for people to have a whinge, and offer scapegoats to blame, but then what?
This is what Trump did. He offered to hear people’s complaints, to justify their concerns, to allow them to blame & punish “others”, and little more.
He didn’t listen, and he failed on all of his promises because he lacked the skills, knowledge & capable personnel needed to deliver. He only knew how to inflame, not how to build.
#Auspol
#USPol
#Fascism
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/13/do-not-call-her-a-racist-anti-pauline-hanson-strategists-tell-campaigners-character-attacks-wont-work-in-victoria?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I haven’t read all of the album stories yet, but will. I was only 6 and not yet listening to radio. My dad loved his Tijuana Brass album, and Mum played The Executives Now album which included covers of the Mamas & the Papas. (Not sure what year this came out.) My brother had probably started collecting Beatles singles, using money earned by collecting beer bottles for the deposit refund.
All of this music was still around when I really started taking notice, & influencing the performers I would listen to in the 70s.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-26/what-happened-in-music-in-1966/107099044?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
Replying to
@treleanor@aus.social @sisterratched@social.vivaldi.net
Oh but his dad was handsome and mum was glamorous! I remember seeing pictures of them in women’s magazines.
(That term, “women’s magazines” really grates. Fluff, fashion & gossip. I’m sure that many women who worked on the were excellent journalists, and some articles were of a high quality, but do much fluff…)
Can we really return to the days where photogenic puppet rulers can be a thing?
George’s new toy. A bit of cane. He keeps chasing it against and dropping it into boxes.
A minute later and I think he’s lost it.
#Caturday
#CatsOfMastodon
#Fedicats
Replying to
@sisterratched@social.vivaldi.net @treleanor@aus.social
Afghanistan too. 😭 But forced regime change never works, turns out to be unsustainable. I wish I knew what the answer is.
Maybe remove men from seats of power. Partner thinks so, & when I pointed out that women aren’t perfect, he said they’d still be better than men. And maybe if terrible male role models were removed, women would also be better, because the pressure to be like men would be removed.
“Not all men” I know…
Replying to
@sisterratched@social.vivaldi.net @treleanor@aus.social
Oh that’s so sad. She was a regular on The Drum.
Replying to
@peterrenshaw@ioc.exchange
I am familiar with that song, but can’t say I know the band. 🧐
People who think or have been told that they might be ADHD, but are in denial…
Recognising that one is ADHD brings lots of positives. It seems to me that many who resist confronting this reality are harbouring ableism & stigma (even as they profess support for ADHDers) & failing to recognise that acknowledging themselves as an ADHDer brings so many benefits.
It means that you can stop berating yourself for “failures” and character “flaws”, and instead accept yourself (& others who are ADHD), but also investigate various strategies & hacks to help you manage the more irritating aspects of ADHD.
It means that you can start to recognise & celebrate the times when ADHD traits have been useful, or even brilliant!
Replying to
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social
That boomer dad is more stupid &/or lazy than any boomer I’ve ever known. Everyone I do know in my age group has worried enormously about their kids & grandkids regarding housing affordability & climate change.
Not saying there’s no selfish, ignorant boomers out there, just that they’re less common than stuff like this suggests.
It’s unfettered capitalism that is the problem, and the rich entitled pricks from every generation.
Replying to
@Sheep_Overboard@infosec.exchange @sisterratched@social.vivaldi.net
If we’re going to accept international students, I don’t think we can be too fussy about their politics, as long as they aren’t actually agents sent out to ignite conflict or commit acts of violence. I’m not a fan of blanket free speech, but I do support it up to a point.
Replying to
@emmadavidson@aus.social @SeaFury@aus.social
One of the not so good things about retirement is that it’s too easy to let yourself stay up too late.
Replying to
When I was teaching year 10 economics years ago, a colleague put together a unit on the chocolate industry & child/slave labour in Africa.
I bought some fair trade chocolate from the supermarket to share with my class in the introductory lesson. When I went to buy more the next year, the only fair trade chocolate on the shelf was a big name brand, but only their milk chocolate. The other varieties were not fair trade. And the small producers had been forced off the shelf.
And now most labels make some reference to fair trade policies, but apparently it’s largely a sham.
Today Oldest & I drove over to Barwon Park Mansion, a National Trust property on the other side of Geelong near Winchelsea. (The names “Geelong” & “Barwon” are place names from the local Wadawurrung people.)
It’s a bluestone mansion, decorated at the front by ornate ironwork. Finished in 1871, it’s one of few grand homes of that time anywhere to not have undergone any significant renovations. The first floor was in very poor repair when the National Trust took over the property, and the former owners had only been living downstairs for some time.
Replying to
@Old_IT_geek@techhub.social @MsDropbear42@blahaj.zone
Yes, but there are a lot of differences. For a start, voting is compulsory here. Secondly, while a lot of people here are frustrated with politicians, we’re not as individualistic, or quick to blame “others”, like whatever immigrant group the RWNJs have focussed on.
Neither of these things make us immune from electing a fascist government, state or federal. We did re-elect a horribly incompetent LNP government a few years back. And Tony is president of the Libs. But I do think it’s less likely.
#auspol
Roof cleaner on Chadstone Shopping Centre yesterday.
Replying to
@pathfinder@beige.party @chestas@aus.social @neurodiversity@a.gup.pe
It can certainly take a while for people to wake up to the fact or possibility that they might be ADHD, due largely to ignorance. I certainly always thought of it as being something demonstrated by “naughty” boys. I describe one of my cats as a year 10 boy with ADHD, which is a stereotypical idea.
But some also resist it because they might not consciously judge others who have ADHD &/or otherwise neurodivergent, but still see it as a negative, a character flaw. And yet beat themselves up constantly for silly errors etc made as a consequence of ADHD.
Or because they’re averse to labels. And I get that when labels are used to unfairly discriminate against or limit people.
But failing to acknowledge & strategise can be soooo problematic in relationships.
We went out for dinner with a friend last night, & the number of text messages exchanged to clarify, confirm, change & rearrange….🤯🤯🤯
Charcoal. Original photo taken on Kangaroo Island.
#Charcoal
Replying to
@MsDropbear42@blahaj.zone
It’s normal, even healthy, to have a change of government every once in a while, but the Vic Libs are an incompetent shitshow. I preferenced a teal candidate last election, in a liberal held electorate.
Been watching Silo on Apple. Will have to stop. It’s well done, but the suspense, nastiness, & claustrophobia are getting too much. Need something lighter & less stressful. Might watch a Die Hard…
When one of my Ukrainian English language students went away for a weekend, she spent several hours volunteering in a local food bank. We need more Australians like her.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/13/pauline-hanson-one-nation-australia-immigration-lanuage-ntwnfb?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Replying to
@IndyMediaAus@mastodon.social
Yes, it’s not about the money. Nobody goes into teaching to become wealthy, although decent pay makes it more likely that people will stay in the profession.
It’s the conditions (class sizes, lack of suitable support for special needs students, lack of backup in dealing with challenging students &/or their parents), and the work demands (admin including emails, insufficient time for marking including quality feedback, planning…) that grind teachers down to a mere husk of their formerly passionate selves. Large classes make student management the main focus of a lesson, rather than actual teaching and learning. They also result in larger amounts of correction.
And the fact that propping up private schools leaves public schools doing the heavy lifting with most of the more challenging students. (Those students can come from right across the social strata, but less well educated parents and families struggling with financial pressures are more likely to produce challenging students.)
We need to stop subsidising private education, and properly resource and support teachers to actually focus on teaching and learning.
Terrible photo, due to reflection, but each of the old school barber’s chairs is facing a mirror above an antique item, such as an old dressing table, a piano and a singer treadle sewing machine. The floor is black and white check “linoleum”. Taken in St Kilda.
Replying to
@MsDropbear42@infosec.space @emmadavidson@aus.social @SeaFury@aus.social
😁
In winter, the best of the day is often early when the sun is shining. The clouds often roll in by middayish and the best of the day is over.
I’m an 8am - 10 pm girl. (Girl is a bit wishful…) The odd early start for a special reason is okay, but I used to miss out on lots of REM sleep when I was working & had to be up at 6.30. And while I can lie in bed & read etc, I usually wake by about 7.30, & spending too much time reading in bed aggravates my back. And I can’t paint in bed…
People like this need to be found and held accountable. I am very wary of giving money to anything other than a mainstream charity (but am fussy then too), because of worries about scams like this.
It’s so wrong, because the people who genuinely need help aren’t getting it, & it causes distrust & suspicion of the people who need help most. But not of pretty white girls. Apologies to genuinely decent pretty white girls.
Replying to
@Old_IT_geek@techhub.social @MsDropbear42@blahaj.zone
I really can’t see ON doing well here. Maybe a win or 2 in the most red neck electorates, but swanning around with billionaires hasn’t done her any good.
Replying to
@ElisesWritings@wandering.shop
I think the @autistics@fedigroups.social might like a look.
Replying to
@graymattergrcltd@infosec.exchange @Pinchy63@ottawa.place
I retired slowly, over a period of about 2-3 years. My part time job dried up during Covid, another wanted to switch to full time after 6 months… I did a bit of tutoring last year, & then enrolled in a 5 week art class at the beginning of the year, after dabbling with colour pencils for a year or so. Just finished a watercolour class. And am now very, very focussed on my art…
Replying to
@crk5@aus.social
I loved this series, and have shared this clip umpteen times. Never tire of it.
Replying to
@robinince@mastodon.social
First they came for the trans people, then the neurodivergent…
Replying to
@theartlav@anarres.family @Natasha_Jay@tech.lgbt
It used to be thought that it was caused by artificial colours & flavourings and sugar highs. The first 2 are probably bad in lots of ways, & sugar highs are a thing, but it’s not ADHD.
It’s about pathologising natural neurodivergence at the same time as denying the worst aspects (yes, inconsistent), making it a matter of personal/parental responsibility, & reducing support by the state.
Replying to
@MsDropbear42@blahaj.zone
Some really are so nasty, which is why some of the better ones have resigned. I suspect Southwick is one of the nicer ones, but so uninspiring, and wretched policies (or none) in any case.
Replying to
@MsDropbear42@blahaj.zone
Jacinta had a tough gig. Inheriting the role, rather than winning it, made it harder to differentiate herself from Andrews. I’m a fan of the Big Build, infrastructure we’ve needed for decades especially re public transport, but Andrews could be arrogant. I think that helped during Covid lockdowns etc.
A few measures might’ve been overkill, but generally Victorians managed to more or less stave off the virus until vaccines arrived. And standing up to Libs’ calls to reduce measures was crucial. (I would’ve preferred sticking to a real “Covid normal” regime afterwards, rather than pretending the pandemic was over.)
But in other areas, he could be pig headed & defensive.
I think a full investigation into CFMEU & corruption is warranted, & could win Carroll support. And his connections to Bracks & Brumby won’t hurt him.
So many of the solid Libs are gone, such as O’Brien & Pesutto, the shysters still there if not victorious (Guy), and the newcomers clearly incompetent. Southwick is my local member, solid, “nice”, & very unconvincing…
It’s not just about their policies. The Libs are struggling, everywhere, with a lack of competence. The most competent amongst them were the moderates, and they keep pushing them out, leaving themselves with an incompetent right wing rump.
But Labor have got a “thing” about the Greens…
Replying to
@bub4don@mastodon.social @Tutanota@mastodon.social
Yes… are they hoping it will be as successful there as here?
Replying to
@Sheep_Overboard@infosec.exchange
St Kilda’s a real mix of very cool & down & out. But classy is not a word I’d use… Acland Street has gone too upmarket sadly, with high rentals meaning that quirky shops have largely given way to chain stores, but still not “classy”.
Replying to
@chozari@aus.social @andyjennings@aus.social
A very disturbed child I know of was supposed to read Elise Wiesel’s Night. I read it when one of my kid’s read it for school. Harrowing.
We can’t keep kids in cotton wool, but nor should we blithely immerse them in deeply challenging texts having little or no idea about their state of mental health and what’s going on in their own lives.
Replying to
@chozari@aus.social @andyjennings@aus.social
My own school years seemed to be full of novels about inappropriate relationships. The Go-between (child used as messenger in relationship between “lady” & gardener), The Mango Tree (teen boy seduced by teacher) & Sons & Lovers by DH Lawrence which killed my interest in fiction for a few years. Makes me wonder about the head of English in my high school..,
Replying to
@chozari@aus.social @andyjennings@aus.social
I asked my head of English why so many novels we study in school were so dark. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. He was a lovely fellow, but I’m not sure if he ever saw students as anything other than recipients/participants in education, as opposed to young, sensitive, impressionable people.
I was much happier when we started to do literature circles in year 7. (We had a new head of English by this time…) I’d select 6 novels & then the class would do a speed reading session (think speed dating), jotting down notes after each book and then ranking them. I (and other year 7 teachers) would then allocate kids to groups of 4-6 kids, trying to give each child their 1st or 2nd choice.
The books varied in their themes etc, and weren’t always lightweight, but it meant that a kid dealing with a particular issue in their own life didn’t have to be buried in it at school as well, and could choose something lighter if that’s what they needed. (I’d be monitoring this, chatting to kids about choices etc. Occasionally I’d refer a student if I thought they might need help with emotional issues or learning difficulties.)
Replying to
@andyjennings@aus.social
I’m not familiar with that one. Partner is right into fantasy & some sci-fi. There is some I like, but some is too dystopian and just plain sad.
When working in a primary school a few years back, some grade 6s were reading an Australian youth fiction novel set in a coastal city beset by rising sea levels. The rich had withdrawn inland, the poor left stranded.
It was so bleak, & I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really suitable for primary aged kids, regardless of their reading level. (I was working as a tutor, not a teacher, & not a party to such discussions.)