I’m writing this Blogger blog post offline using my recently installed Windows Live Writer software. This is one of the very few Microsoft products to receive almost unanimously positive reviews based on what I have read on the web.

Besides Blogger, Live Writer also works with other blog clients including LiveJournal, Windows Live Spaces, Typepad and WordPress.

As well as the ability to write offline (very useful when travelling or in a house without wireless Internet), Live Writer also has WYSIWYG editing, image insertion, inline spell-checking and many other useful features.

A major highlight of Ronnie Taheny’s February 2008 Governor Hindmarsh concert was the world premiere of A Darcy Before I Die. Named after Pride and Prejudice character Fitzwilliam Darcy, the spoken-word poem is about a lifelong search for the perfect man. Ronnie’s performance that night had the audience in stitches and can now be seen by all on YouTube:

The above photo I took is of an old deli and can recycling depot on Sturt Road, Brighton, Adelaide.

In the Turkish language “deli” means ‘mad, insane, crazy, lunatic’; “can” translates as ‘soul, life. person’ and “depo” is ‘depot’.

The streets of Turkey’s cities and towns would have gone wild last night after Turkey beat Croatia on 3-1 penalties in the Euro 2008 semi final. The score was 0-0 at the end of normal time and then 1-1 after extra time. In another dramatic escape, Turkey equalised with the last kick of extra time, a few moments after the Croats celebrated what they thought was their winning goal. In an amazing statistic, Turkey has only lead their opponents for a total of 9 minutes this tournament.

The following Reuters article headline (“Christmas comes early for rescued Turkey“) is amusing for a largely Muslim country:

Over at Ankara Football Oz Kanka has posted photos of locals celebrating Turkey’s group win against the Czech Republic. He’ll probably upload photos from the Croatia festivities later today.

I was living in Mersin during the 2002 World Cup and the streets were chaotic after Turkey beat Senegal with a golden goal in the quarter final. People drove around with flags waving, horns tooting and general disdain for laws (hey, that’s no different to normal :). In the city centre locals rocked random cars up and down, testing the suspension. A genuine feeling of happiness and joy permeated the streets, something rarely felt society-wide in the aftermath of Turkey’s early 2001 economic collapse.

Absolutely no work (or other non-TV-watching activities) was done anywhere in Turkey during the 2002 World Cup semi final versus Brazil and I’m sure the same will be the case with this upcoming semi final versus Germany. Go Turkey!

I found the above news article from today’s Daily Shopper newspaper about Turkish singer Bulent Ersoy notable for two reasons:

1) The story is another example of Turkey’s immaturity and slow development as a democratic nation. Turkey will never reach its huge potential until a) she gives greater value to freedom of speech and b) her military’s political powers are curtailed.

2) The article does not mention or focus on the fact that Bulent is a transsexual and instead sticks the relevant facts (something odd for a tabloid paper).

The BBC has more on the story.

I’m in Sydney for AIESEC’s 60th Anniversary Cocktail Event, to have a short holiday and see friends. The cocktail event last night was fun and I caught up with some fellow AIESEC alumni I hadn’t seen for years. At least 7 of us who attended the December 2000 WANC (Western Australian National Conference) in Perth were there: Dan, Josh, Lil, Brea, Trent, Brett and myself. Afterwards we went to the Slip-Inn and then Cargo.

I’m staying in Dave’s pad in Pyrmont, next to Darling Harbour. Coincidentally, it is also very close to the Hotel Ibis, where I stayed in 1998 for U2’s Popmart tour concert, the last time I was overnight in Sydney.

The weather is beautiful and I should get off this computer and hit the town…

The 2008 persimmon season is peaking in South Australia. The above Riverland-grown fruit were purchased at the brilliant Sunday morning Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers Market. I first fell in love with persimmons in Turkey where they are known as ‘cennet meyvesi’ (‘heaven fruit).

Whereas persimmons sold in Turkey are largely astringent and sold very ripe, soft and squishy, I’ve only seen hard, non-astringent fruit in Australia.

Although hard non-astringent fruit are delicious to eat, I prefer softer persimmons and have a basket full ripening in the dining room.

Yesterday I saw the inside of an IKEA store for the first time. IKEA Adelaide is located next to the Airport on Sir Donald Bradman Drive (the old Burbridge Road), Richmond. Not bad for someone who’s visited 19 IKEA countries 🙂

My main reason to visit IKEA was to take the niece and nephew to a free Mother’s Day children’s promotion. Afterwards, the kids showed me around the shop-they knew every corner and attraction. I didn’t have much time or peace for a proper look but enough to grab a 5-pack of coat hangers for $1.50.

After checking out we ate a $1.00 hotdog at the IKEA cafe. The pink artificial sausage in a lifeless white bun was almost worth the money and I swear it suited vegetarians (not containing any meat).

From my short visit I could see how IKEA keeps its overheads low:
– Utilising the space from the shop floor to the roof to store excess stock
– Minimal input required to transform pallets from container storage to shop-floor readiness
– Not allowing shopping trolleys in the car park
– Only opening one huge IKEA market in a city instead of several smaller outlets

After observing so much ugly nationalism in different parts of the world I enjoyed the pleasant nationalism on display at IKEA. The products contained Scandinavian names and there was a Swedish food section. I write “nationalism” because there is no real reason for a global brand like IKEA to promote these things (besides creating an image) and it struck me being odd for such a place to promote Swedish food.

I’m sure I will return to IKEA sooner than the 30 years the first visit has taken, particularly if I need to furnish a house in the future.