Australian Government – a brief overview

Australia Coat of Arms

I prepared this article to help my English language students learn about the three levels of government in Australia – Federal, State and Local.

The Parliament of Australia is officially known as the Federal Government or Commonwealth Parliament. 

Zoos and Wildlife Parks in Sydney

I have been meaning to compile a list of zoos and wildlife parks with my comments. I stumbled upon the Lists feature of Google Maps so I created a list with my comments. Unfortunately these places are closed because of the lockdown but they should reopen before the end of the year.

Go to my Zoos and Wildlife map of Sydney.

Orange and Poppy seed cake

Orange and Poppy seed cake

Universal Soldier (song)

Australian soldiers in World War I

ANZAC day is approaching (April 25) here in Australia and I am currently reading a memoir of an Australian soldier who went to Gallipoli and survived to tell the story of this failed military campaign.

I was thinking about popular anti-war songs and Universal Soldier (sung by Donovan) came to mind. I first heard this song in the late 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War.

Universal Soldier was written by a Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie but the song was popularised by Donovan. In this article I share the lyrics and a video of war images set to the music.

St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day is an Irish cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March every year. The date is the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,  and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.

My top 10 Comedy Movies

Comedy is a very personal thing. You probably have different ideas to me of what is funny. This post is a response to a discussion I had with a friend on our favourite comedy movies. I included two iconic Australian films (Crocodile Dundee and The Castle), British films by Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean), and American films by Robin Williams, Mel Brooks and Mike Myers.

The difference between Law and Anarchy

The Law

I started a self-study course on Australian Law so I will share my notes and writing here on my blog in the category of Law.

What is the difference between anarchy and the law?

The Top 12 albums of my 20’s

Previously I posted the list of the 10 most significant albums in the first 18 years of my life. Here is the next instalment of my musical exploration of albums discovered between the ages of 18 and 27. I chose 12 albums because it was too hard to restrict the list to 10 albums.

Australian stereotypes

The Australian male stereotype

What is a stereotype?

A stereotype is a fixed idea or image that many people have of a particular type of person or thing, but which is often not true in reality. Stereotypes are often wrong.  The danger of stereotyping is assuming  that everyone in that group conforms to the stereotype and can lead to prejudice.

For example, when you think of a business man, he is usually wearing a suit and tie, and carries a briefcase.   So when you meet a businessman like Steve Jobs wearing jeans and a black polo necked jumper you can say: He doesn’t conform to the usual stereotype of the businessman with a dark suit and briefcase.

There are stereotypes for different cultures, gender, ages, and race.

Countries I have visited in my life

Here is a Google map showing the places I have visited in my lifetime. You can explore the interactive map below.