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Carltonblue

Listed below are comments made by Carltonblue between Tuesday, 20th January 2009 and Friday, 28th August 2009.

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After the Ashes 01:50am on 28 Aug 2009 I think there is plenty of over-analysis of the Ashes and the Australia- England rivalry.
It is a rivalry because these were the first test nations in cricket and because the series of played over five matches means that some extraordinary cricket needs to be played to get a result.
But I think most people watching are more interested in how the game is played then whether the 'colonials' were put back in their place or the mother country was 'told to have a wash'.
All the hype in the media is exactly that, hype aimed at selling newspapers and attracting viewers to late-night television.
John Coates comments were the same - trying to give Australia's olympic effort a focus publicly as it battles to get air between Usain Bolt and other true Olympic stars. Coates is in charge of a massive government-funded industry that many in Australia are now questioning whether it is worth it.
It costs tens of thousands for each gold medal and many believe it is a waste that could be better spent fixing real problems in the community. (by the way, I'm not against government funding of sport, so long that it is targeted at younger people to ensure there is an overall health benefit. Olympic medals should be a byproduct, not the overall aim of sport funding).
A night after the Oval test, channel nine were reporting it as 'our ashes disaster'
what rot, it's a cricket series that, yes is played seriously (for sheep stations, in the Australian vernacular, and has called into question form and tactics of Ricky Ponting, but also of England.
I think, though, the result was the best for cricket (yes, start laughing now. The Australian team took celebrating to a new low against India two years ago. Now having the cricket world catching up to it means the team has to relearn what the spirit of the game is and what constitutes celebrating and what celebrates rubbing it in.
I think once again England showed how it is done. Winning the Ashes is a big thing. But they never lost sight of the fact that it is a game and there were two sides out there.
I look forward to summer next when England comes out here. It should be enthralling.
The true Aussie sporting spirit 04:32am on 10 Aug 2009 Hi Nick, on the commentary - the ABC usually hasn't sent a broadcast team to England for The Ashes, instead adding a commentator to the BBC coverage, so guys like Henry Blofeld and Jonathan Agnew have been regulars on late-night radio ever four years. Aggers usually joins the ABC coverage here.
It's actually quite interesting listening. Oh, and with digital radio (everybody has it now, don't they???) the cricket is relegated to ABC grandstand radio while the usual winter rugby and AFL matches are broadcast in Sydney and Melbourne.
As for television, only Kerry Packer could afford to send Ritchie and the boys to the old dart to cover the games and it gave Australian viewers one of the most memorable Ian Chappell late night swearing stuff-ups. Remember, he couldn't hear anything through his earphones. Since then, channel nine has gone off the winter game. But the Sky broadcast on SBS was enlightening, with the commentary of the England performance from some former greats on the standard of the home team's efforts at Headingly.
But it was part-time viewing on Friday night given that Carlton was giving Geelong at touch-up at the MCG. Thank goodness for remotes!
Meaasuring the threat 01:48am on 06 Aug 2009 You've got to be kidding me, Totallybaffled! The Australian reported the terror plot at the same time that the raids were happening! In fact the police have all but admitted the timing of the raids were brought forward to suit the imminent publication of the terror plot! If you saw it on the BBC website first, you must not be looking hard enough on Australian news sources. In melbourne both papers ran the plot as news leads the next day. I don't know what happened in the west.
But then again you think that international and national stories should always be leads on local papers, not things that might be happening in people's own streets. I don't understand .... it's obviously what you think is important to you.
Waking up to Ashes lag 06:52am on 13 Jul 2009 I thought it was an intriguing match. Yes, the physio was a bit much but then so was the complaint after the game ... take the moral high ground and just get on with it. England does not have a monopoly of playing outside the spirit of the game, do they Ricky?
Anyway the biggest revelation for me was not from Sophia Gardens but from the SBS studio in Sydney. I think Stuart MacGill will grow into a fantastic host and it is so refreshing to hear the dulcet tones of Greg 'Mo' Matthews with some insightful commentary thousands of miles from the ground (Whoa, he got stuck into Strauss for wearing his glasses over his England badge on his cap while the Aussies wore them on the back of the head, that's leadership I suppose). Channel nine should take heed for summer, we need more guys like Mo on the tele, it's great viewing and his excitement in those all-too-brief breaks back at the host studio helps you keep awake a little bit more. The Sky broadcast is very good though, especially David Lloyd, Ian Botham, David Gower and Nassar Hussein as the third man!
C for cricket - or celebrity? 05:49am on 07 Jul 2009 What a great pre-Ashes dig at the Aussies. But it contains a lot of truth. Cricket, like most professional sport in Australia these days has succumbed to the celebrity circuit, where sportsmen use their significant media stature to promote their own lines of clothing, restaurants, pubs or other business ventures but then demand their right to privacy if the media asks any other questions off topic.
A lot of Poms would like to read this with delight and so would many Aussies who believe the cricketers are reading all to much of their own publicity. In the Border years, WAGs were not allowed on tour (an ongoing tradition from when teams toured by ship), but it is a bit unfair to say they can't go now, considering players are almost permanently on tour.
But Nick, your blog also highlights how money has corrupted this game. The reason WAGs and fashion spreads are getting more attention is that they sell papers, sponsorship and (apparently) gets bums on seats at stadiums. Money is the same reason that the sub-contintent dominates cricket's administration today in a way I at least think is to the detriment of the sport's best attribute, its traditions!
I know this will open a hornet's nest but I hark back to the last Indian tour of Australia and the Harbijan Singh incident. I'm sorry but Cricket Australia left Andrew Symonds out to dry over that incident and sowed the seeds for his eventual downfall when the didn't back their man. It wasn't lack of evidence that killed that case, it was lack of spine when threatened by all-powerful and financial India.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to plenty of metrosexuals feigning aggression on the field at Cardiff and hope SBS's coverage is as good as it covers the soccer!
The revitalisation of Anzac Day 06:07am on 26 Apr 2009 I'm an Australian of continental European descent - both parents were born overseas (mum in Germany, dad in Hungary - both on the other side of both world wars). My grandfather was in the German army and fought and survived the Russian front and being a prisoner of war when his entire battalion died (in battle or of starvation). So Anzac Day should have little relevance to me. But it couldn't be further from the truth. It's not about glorification of war, it's about remembering heroism, of sacrifice for others in all wars. In fact out of Gallipoli, Australian kids have more knowledge of Simpson and his Donkey than Albert Jacka - who won three Victoria Crosses and survived the war!
And the resurgence in popularity could also be driven by the fact the next generation of Anzacs are beginning to disappear - WW2. And that the stigma surrounding Vietnam is reducing.
On turning our backs from Britain, sure keating did use his Irish heritage and the fall of Singapore to push his republic agenda, but other events in WW2 also helped create a natural shift away from the UK. The invading Japanese pushing into PNG, then an Australian protectorate and Australia's decision to recall its AIF troops, and ignore Churchill's bluff, to bolster its own defence are the start of that.
But to suggest that Australia downplays British losses is ludicrous. Britain, with a larger population and army, of course lost more men. Although Australia's losses in WW1 were the worst per capita of population in the war. A generation of men lost in a young country is why the Anzac legend has grown as such. it's not militarism, it's acknowledgement of sacrifice and service.
Hunting the fire-starters 02:24am on 05 Feb 2009 The "casual" discarding on a lit cigarette on its own warrants a charge of littering at the least but given the potential consequnces of not using the ash tray provided in your car to butt out, if a bushfire occurs as a result of a smoker's inability to contain his filthy habit to his own vehicle then perhaps more severe consequences are warranted.
At the very least, how about a personal apology (that's in person, not in writing) to people who lose their homes, belonings, stock or even family members to the resulting fire would help casual smokers understand the consequences of their casual actions! And perhaps after that pay for the millions of dollars in costs and damages to put out the blaze.
Hunting the fire-starters 05:12am on 03 Feb 2009 "At least the labor government hasn't put children in jail" needs a reply.
Um, it was the previous LABOR government that introduced mandatory detention.
Howard just ramped it up to stay in power.
And the last time I looked, this Labor Government has gone back on its promise to close a new detention centre on Christmas Island ...
Those living in glass houses ...
But NomadsR Us you have a good point in your earlier post about being responsible for your own property.
Fire brigades have told property owners in parts of outer-eastern melbourne that they won't go into their street in the case of a bushfire unless they remove many of the street trees that create a unique bushland setting. I think the rule in this case is that firefighters should not put themselves at unnecessary risk if residents don't make their neighbourhood or property safe for themselves.
And the CFA is constantly reminding property holders, whether on acreage or a simple house block, to have a bushfire plan to determine whether to stay or run and how to defend their property if they stay!
The same goes for the high-tension power lines in Victoria. The last couple of major bushfires in the state's east have cut power to most of the state.
I think there needs to be a larger firebreak around these powerlines to minimise the risk!
PS, Victoria Police today announced a $100,000 bounty for the firebugs. Apparently one relit fires that burnt houses at Boolara.
Hunting the fire-starters 00:29am on 03 Feb 2009 Yes, deliberately lit means ignited by action of an arsonist (in the case of the fires in Victoria at present) and also by the careless action of people - ie throwing a cigarette but out the window of a moving car (not a natural act as earlier suggested), or driving your low-riding Porsche through a paddock on a total fire ban day as happened near Geelong last week. Even ignoring total fire ban warnings and using naked flames (like in a barbecue) or metal impact tools like angle grinders or lawn mowers can spark a fire. But they are all deliberate acts and in Australia - all stupid because people are constantly warned about the threats that start fires.
Australian of the Year 02:23am on 20 Jan 2009 Larrikin a myth? You've got to be joking. Go around to any workplace lunchroom and you'll here Aussie larrikins at work (or play).
The myth is that we're all bronzed and surf. But many are still larrikins - that is they like a joke, whether practical, pulling on one's leg or having a go at someone in a laughing manner when they get something wrong.

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