>> ^probie:

What is it with Australia? Seriously. It's as if all the really nasty evolution took place in one small corner of the planet. Great Whites, tiny jellyfish that can kill you, mammals that produce poison, microscopic hypodermic needle plants...


As Dylan Moran said
"No-one should live there. It's a rock. On fire. And everything there is trying to kill you."

disclaimer: I lived in sydney for two years and nothing succeeded in killing me.

*nochannel

*downunder *comedy

At least according to Wiki. She lives in Sydney Australia.

How could you not know that?

>> ^ChaosEngine:

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:
Hah! But no, seriously.
@<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/lantern53" title="member since August 6th, 2010" class="profilelink">lantern53 knows.. that depriving servers of a living wage and forcing them to bust their asses for 5% gratuity on a $130 check.. you know, builds character.
Struggling in quasi-poverty for years of your life is what the American Dream is all about! duh.
That's why Mitt Romney is such a great American and needs to be President.
He knows what it's like.. to force people to struggle. For their own good.
p.s. - Everyone knows that raising the minimum wage is just another Socialist/Marxist scheme by Obama to disenfranchise the Job Creators in this country.
While I completely agree that people should be paid a living wage, I don't really have a problem with tipping. People should bust their asses in their job, especially if your job is customer facing. Customer service in the USA is so much better than almost anywhere else I've been, (it's particularly bad in NZ)


Just a meaningless anecdote (just find it funny that you mention it):

I went to Sydney once (15 years ago) and the very first day, I went to a place called the Juba Cafe. My friend and I were surprised to find porridge on the menu, because all I knew of porridge was from Oliver Twist or Little Orphan Annie. Our server, who's name was Anna, was really surprised to hear it, so she bought us porridge to convince us it was good. It was. Then, after we ate (before we tipped her) she invited us over to her apartment for some wine that night. When we got there, she had invited all her friends over to meet "her new Americans." They gave us wine, we talked for a long time about NZ (where she was from) and they rolled me the first "baseball bat" that I ever smoked, with the the little cardboard filter in it and everything. They also introduced me to Aphex Twin (the "Richard D. James Album") and we bonded over Ween, which I was surprised to hear they knew all about, even in 97'. So, after we were completely blitzed, Anna and her friends took us out to dinner, where we ate and drank and talked for hours and didn't pay a dime while these guys all treated us to a great first night in their city. I'm not even sure how we got home, but they sure didn't let anything bad happen to us.

The reason I mention it, is that I would say it was, easily, the best service I've ever had in my entire life, anywhere. We had to leave town the next day and I never saw or spoke to any of those guys again. I really wish I'd kept in contact with them because I owe them so much more than a night out. I still roll a fat bat and pop in the Aphex Twin on a pretty regular basis.

@renatojj http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkL1T-CZPfs

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/bodybuilder-aziz-zyzz-shavershian-killed-by-heart-defect/story-e6freuzi-1226112713390

Or just google bodybuilding damage. Because something looks healthy, does not mean that it is. This is why some of us are a little sceptical of linking bodybuilding with positive health.

Yeah, take that Will Smith and Oprah. God forbid you guys can become superstars and multi-millionaires. You have to "stay genuine", and never change, even if it means staying dirt poor or mediocre. Conforming to some vague notion of "blackness" is more important than personal achievement.

And fuck Obama too, and Ursula Burns, and any other black person with talent, drive and determination, who happens to have charisma and appeals to other races. And god forbid someone undergoes personal transformation and change to succeed, especially in a society where the chips are stacked against them on day 1. No, it's better to know one's place.

Yeah, Barack, Ursula, Will and Oprah, even though you guys are actually transforming what it means to be african american and black by kicking down barriers, so that black kids can feel they can do anything and be anyone, FUCK YOU.

Will, you should still be rapping about Philly with the other ol' skool rappers on tour on the c-circuit. Oprah, you should still be doing "who's the father!!" shows and competing with Jerry Springer and Maury. Ursula, wasn't middle management enough? And Barack my man, you did much more good as a community organizer.

C, your premise and line of thinking is ridiculous. Can you explain to me what role is acceptable for a black man? You castigate Will Smith for being weak then complain about Samuel Jackson and Denzel Washington? These guys aren't flava flav for gods sake.

Please forgive me for not seeing your sarcasm, if that's what this is. >> ^chingalera:

When it comes right down to it, who really gives a fuck why Will Smith back-slapped a reporter, or why the reporter decided to kiss him. All that really matters is that Will Smith, one of the whitest black men in America, will never get any revenue from me, as I plan to download the film from many of my friends around the world who won;t shed a tear when Hollywood dies.
He can join the other list of sell-out negroes in Hollywood who have taken the $Bait$ and become masters of a weak stereotypical representation of the African-American male.
There's the ultimate hero negro: Denzel Washington, Jim Brown, (AKA, The Victim of Society Negro
The Superhero Negro: Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne
The Historical Hero negro Cuba Gooding Jr., Denzel Washington, Will Smith
The Sidekick negro-Sam Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Don Cheadle
Cop/Psychologist/Social Worker Negro-Sydney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg
and then there's the , "Only African-American female to ever win an Academy Award for best actress getting ass-raped negress, Halle Berry
Fuck Will Smith, he's another total sell-out.

When it comes right down to it, who really gives a fuck why Will Smith back-slapped a reporter, or why the reporter decided to kiss him. All that really matters is that Will Smith, one of the whitest black men in America, will never get any revenue from me, as I plan to download the film from many of my friends around the world who won;t shed a tear when Hollywood dies.

He can join the other list of sell-out negroes in Hollywood who have taken the $Bait$ and become masters of a weak stereotypical representation of the African-American male.

There's the ultimate hero negro: Denzel Washington, Jim Brown, (AKA, The Victim of Society Negro
The Superhero Negro: Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne
The Historical Hero negro Cuba Gooding Jr., Denzel Washington, Will Smith
The Sidekick negro-Sam Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Don Cheadle
Cop/Psychologist/Social Worker Negro-Sydney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg

and then there's the , "Only African-American female to ever win an Academy Award for best actress getting ass-raped negress, Halle Berry

Fuck Will Smith, he's another total sell-out.

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
Hey there!

I hope that the truly bizarre welcome you got to the sift doesn't put you off, it's a great place for discussion.

I'm from way down south of Oz in Melbourne, but I've been to Byron Bay for a wedding, and it's a lovely place.


In reply to this comment by PlayhousePals:
HI there, thought I'd introduce myself. It's my first week anniversary sifting here ... I see you are from Australia. I had a chance to visit during a whirlwind tour back in 2001 [My friends were headlining the Byron Bay Blues Festival that year, so I got to tag along] ... didn't get to spend NEARLY enough time in your country, but was impressed with how beautiful it is and how GREAT the people we met are. I hope I can go back some day, it was absolutely one of the most memorable trips I've ever embarked on, HoyHoy


Thanks! It was a bizarre introduction to the site, but hey, who doesn't like a bit of drama [when it's warranted that is]. I really enjoy it here [now] =oD

The band played the Mercury Lounge in Melbourne and the Metro in Sydney before popping over the Auckland for a show at the St. James Theater. It went by so fast! I really wish we'd had longer than ten days down under. My favorite little town was Nimbin in NSW ... my kind of people!

>> ^rottenseed:

d'awww you're kinda new here! You'll get used to it...lunch is at 11:00 am Sydney time.
I've known about Zero Punctuation for a few years, but thanks for the warm and condescending welcome.

d'awww you're kinda new here! You'll get used to it...lunch is at 11:00 am Sydney time.>> ^renatojj:

Most of his jokes are lost on me because he speaks too fast.

This video makes Sydney look a lot more interesting than I remember it Maybe I should've taken more ferry rides to see the harbour?

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Also *downunder - this is Sydney.

They're an Australian band, and from Sydney I think.

They get a reasonable amount of coverage here.>> ^enoch:

nice song.never heard of these guys before.thanks man )

hmmm. true. could be another type. anyone know for sure? >> ^harlequinn:

>> ^maatc:
spidey is a mate from downunder

Are you sure it's a Sydney funnel web?
Sydney funnel webs are black (especially the legs), this spider is brown. I'm not saying you're wrong - I've only ever seen pictures. It just doesn't seem the same as pictures depict it.

>> ^maatc:

spidey is a mate from downunder


Are you sure it's a Sydney funnel web?

Sydney funnel webs are black (especially the legs), this spider is brown. I'm not saying you're wrong - I've only ever seen pictures. It just doesn't seem the same as pictures depict it.

>> ^ghark:

I just completed a first aid training certificate and the trainer advised that these are the only spiders that we actually consider deadly (which was a bit surprising). The other spiders like the red back etc are not really known to kill people. So now you know - if you die from any spider other than a funnel web your doin' it wrong!


Good on you doing a first aid course - not enough people do it.

The red back is still deadly, it's just a very rare occurrence. The last death was way back before the anti-venene was developed. Even then it was not common to die from it (but it was a possibility).

The Sydney funnel web on the other hand is shit your pants deadly in regards to their venom but still account for half of all spider related deaths in Australia (the other half are red back spider deaths). So it's just as rare an occurrence.

I'd be much more worried about eastern brown snake bites - which are super mega shit your pants deadly. And they are much more common.