More Stuff....

Quantity vs. Quality, Exploiting, Rooting, and Buildings

1. Figured out that using my Facebook Page profile to comment on other Facebook Pages IS an effective way to get more "Likes" for my Facebook Page.  Since doing that, I think I've gotten about 9-10 new followers/fans....whatever you want to call it.

What I don't see is an increase in blog traffic.  I've questioned this before.  So many people seem very eager to get more and more followers.  We have 945 followers. Please ask your friends to join so we can get to 1000!  Yeah.  I could do that for you.  But is it really going to help?  Will you end up with more fans of your music;  more prayers for your sick grandma; more readers for your blog; more donations for your charity; more participants in your role-playing game?  

I have my doubts. Is there benefits to having a lot of Facebook Page fans outside of getting to have delusions that you're popular?

It could be a proportional thing.  If you have 50 Facebook Page fans, and two of those people actually read your updates and follow your links; then maybe if you had 500 Facebook Page Fans, 4-5 of those people would read your updates and follow your links. Or you could have a case where someone has 20 Facebook Page Fans and the majority of them are very interested and active on the page. Then you could have someone else with 10,000 fans, and most of them completely ignore the updates.

2. Read an article about Anzac Day. It made me sad because I think of families waiting at home, and then getting that horrible knock on the door. They have their hopes and dreams. Then it all falls to pieces.

I think it's beautiful, though, that Australia remembers these tragic losses with such wholeheartedness. We don't have that here. Our Memorial Day is about long weekends, pool openings, barbecues, and retail sales.   

3. Felt  disillusioned, because I decided to Google Anzac Day Sales just to prove to myself that Australians don't use the day to attract customers. Well, it seems I was wrong.  The good news, though, is I don't see a lot of websites using Anzac Day in their advertising tactics.    

I see much more sales when I google Memorial Day Sales.

4. Found editorial about Anzac Day advertising.  I shall go read that. The beginning was confusing to me.  It's about sports. But the last half is beautiful.  

Actually, I just reread it.  Now I get it.  Francis Leach talks about this big football game that's on Anzac Day.  They use advertising to try to get more spectators at the game.   And some people have gone as far as saying that the football game saved Anzac Day.  Leach says, No one owns Anzac Day; it lives in the memory of those who served. And the size of the crowd at a football match is irrelevant. The silence of a few gathered in solemn contemplation is just as profound as that of the tens of thousands who might do it at the MCG.

Leach has many great lines in this editorial.  I started to list them, but there were too many.  I can't do it justice.  I highly suggest reading it for yourself.  I think the basic idea, though, is don't exploit Anzac Day.   

How would our world change if we knew for sure there was life after death, and it was easy for our dearly-departed to talk to us via the Internet?   


The Dead are Online  a novel by Dina Roberts 

 

5. Thought about my Harry Potter Gerroa girls.  I decided the two sisters might represent my dark and light side.  The main character represents the goodness in me.  She tries to be nice to everyone and sees all strangers as potential friends.  She'll even be friendly to Death Eaters.  She loves her family and has full faith that they love her.  She loves food and doesn't fret about thinness or her appearance.  She's passionate about the world and keeps herself updated about current events.

The sister represents a lot of my negative qualities.  She's full of anger, jealousy, and sibling rivalry.  She's insecure about her family's love for her.  She lashes out at others so they can feel the pain that she feels.  She worries too much about her weight and appearance. Her low self-esteem makes her susceptible to unhealthy forms of flattery.

The good news is I have love for both characters and will treat them well.

Speaking of Harry Potter, Jack has suddenly wished to have his Harry Potter Halloween costume, and we have no idea where it is.  Hopefully, we'll find that. 

5. Found out that Australians have their equivalent of saying,  We root for this team. I read Facebook comments about the game on Anzac Day, and a Michelle said, I don't barrack for either team but tradition is tradition! Leave it as it is! Go Hawks!

I told Tim about root and fanny the other day.  He thought it was hilarious. I said if I was good at keeping a straight face, I'd have so much fun talking to a random Australian person and sprinkling those words frequently in our conversation.    

6. Wondered if there's any way I could use the word fanny besides fanny packs.  I guess I could say, I fell on my fanny.   


To be honest, I really don't say fanny or rooting on a regular basis. I usually say butt or ass....maybe tushie sometimes?  And because I'm not into sports, I don't often talk about rooting.   

7. Read article that says that the idea of an Australian republic has lost support from Australians.    It's lost support from me too.  Maybe that changed when we went to London.   It kind of rekindled my love for the UK.  I used to love the idea of Australia being free from the UK—loosening the ties to Mum.  But now I'm wishing Mother England would take America back.  I want to be part of the Commonwealth.    

 I still don't care much about the wedding, though.  It's nothing against the royal family. I think weddings are boring.  Also, they're fairly meaningless, because so many people end up divorced.   How can people watch it and think it's romantic when we know what ended up happening with Charles and Diana?  Plus, I don't think I can feel too excited about weddings until it's legalised for gay folks.   


8. Read article about an offensive Tweet.  Jim Wallace the head of the Australian Christian Lobby said the Anzac Soldiers didn't fight for Islam and gay marriage.  I'm sure Wallace is right....to a point.  Those topics weren't big in those days, and I doubt the soldiers were thinking, I'm risking my life for gay people and Muslims.  On the other hand, I'm doubting any soldier was thinking, I'm risking my life for my fellow Australians, but I include only certain TYPES of Australians when I say this.     


I just searched my blog for Jim Wallace, because I thought I wrote about him recently.  I did. I don't think this Jim Wallace and I would see eye to eye on many things.   


He apologized for his harsh words, but I think such apologies are pretty much meaningless.   


9. Looked at Jim Wallace's Twitter Page.  I don't see the offensive Tweet, so I'm guessing he removed it.  I'd like to see what it said exactly, so I could judge it for myself.  


10. Found an article that has the Tweet.  Wallace said, Just hope that as we remember Servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for - wasn't gay marriage and Islamic!

Okay.  Yeah.   I wouldn't want Australia to be an Islamic gay country..  I want it to be a country with brave friendly happy people—some gay, some straight, some Christian, some Muslim, some Jewish, some atheist, some witches, etc.

11. Decided that using Anzac Day to exploit your prejudice views is even worse than using it to promote your sale and/or business.   

12.Saw a photo of the Bishopscourt building on the Walking Melbourne site.  The building is unusual looking. It kind of looks like three entirely different buildings were stuck together.  It's very eclectic.  I like it.  

13. Saw a photo of the Labassa Mansion.  I think it would work well in a horror movie.  

14. Saw a photo of the Arlie Mansion.   I picture it as a haven for wealthy vampires and witches....probably the type that exist in a 1970's horror movie.  

15. Saw a photo of the Melbourne Town Hall. I love it. Hopefully we'll pass by it sometime.  

16. Saw a photo of the RMIT building.  I love this building too.  It's beautiful.

I wasn't sure what RMIT was, so I googled.  It's a university.    

Is it the one that has a clown degree?

Well, I can't find that, but I do see that they have a degree that's perfect for Jack.   Games Graphics Designs.   He's really into video games and wants to make his own.  Today he heard Nintendo was coming out with a new Wii.   He drew elaborate plans of what he thought it would/should be like.

17. Started to realize (after looking at many photos of buildings) that I like the Second Empire Style of architecture.

Lord Wiki says that Second Empire a French thing.  And he says the Addam's Family home was Second Empire.  That's cool.  

Ah.   Lord Wiki says Melbourne is full of Second Empire buildings.  These include the Princess Theatre, South Melbourne Town Hall, and the Royal Exhibition Building.

18. Learned that Flinders Street Station is Edwardian Baroque style.  I think I like that type of architecture too.  

19. Intrigued by Newman's College at the University of Melbourne. It's very strange, but fun. I think I might have actually seen it before.  Walter Burley Griffin was the architect.  He's that American who designed Canberra.   

I think the building would be a good home for a Harry Potter character.

20. Thought more about whether we should make the University of Melbourne one of our places to visit.   It will be fun to look at the architecture.  It could also inspire Jack to want to go to college one day.  I think he already wants that, but this might make him want it more.   Or it could scare him into never wanting to go to college.  If that happens, we'll hope he gets himself into a good apprenticeship type position.  

21. Talked to Tim about Wikileaks and admitted that although I support all this freedom of information, I don't usually understand the actual leaks.  Many of them go way over my head.   Although I usually just look at the headlines.  If I read the actual article/document, I might understand it.

22.  Looked at modern architecture on the Walking Melbourne site.  I don't like it. Although there's a few buildings I don't mind.   The Rialto Towers kind of reminds me of my 1980's childhood...maybe going downtown to visit my dad at work.  The building was built in the 1980's, so that's probably why it reminds me of the 1980's.  If I saw it was built in the 1990's, I'd probably imagine that it reminded me of the 1990's. 

23. Intrigued by the RMIT Building 8.   It's very interesting. It was built in 1993.  It kind of reminds me of the National Museum in Canberra; a bit wild like that.  

24. Decided maybe we'll go to the RMIT campus.  It's right near the Old Melbourne Gaol.  We can do both on the same day.  And again, it might give Jack college inspiration.—especially since that school has a video game type degree.  

25.  Learned from the Walking Melbourne Site that the Melbourne Museum's building is new.   It was built in 1999-2000.  I did not know that.  The museum itself isn't new.  Lord Wiki says it's been around since 1854.