Hah!

Latest on ICHC

Douche before you reach the glass ceiling.

Womens Day recently ran this ad from Summer's Eve Feminine Wash & Cleansing Cloths.

Their number one piece of advice on how to effectively ask for a raise at work?

Make sure you douche.

Offending the female workforce - you is doing it right.

via AdFreak

Awesomest coffee shop. Ever.

I have NEVER wanted to go to America more than RIGHT NOW.
Specifically, Chicago.
Even more specifically, 1462 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Why, I hear you say?
BECAUSE THERE IS A BACK TO THE FUTURE DELOREAN IN A COFFEE SHOP!
Buying plane ticket now.

Make Poverty History release free newspaper

Today, we saw hundreds of Make Poverty History volunteers come together to distribute 50,000 copies of a free newspaper to commuters to coincide with the commencement in Melbourne of the United Nations Department of Public Information conference on global health.

EMC (Every Minute Counts) is a tabloid style free newspaper aimed at making the issues surrounding poverty and development accessible to everyone. Whether your interest is in news, celebrities or the astrological form of the stars, there is something for everyone in EMC.

So far, we've distributed 30,000 copies of EMC across Melbourne at Southern Cross, Melbourne Central and Flagstaff railway stations and in Swanston, Bourke and Elizabeth Streets. Another 20,000 copies are being given out in major capital cities around Australia.

The Making Health Global UN conference in Melbourne is the last step towards the UN General Assembly meeting in September which will review progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and halving poverty by 2015. This is the first time that the UN has held a meeting in Australia and only the third time in 63 years the conference has been held away from New York City.

In 2000 the countries of the world, including Australia, agreed to eight MDGs that would cut extreme poverty in half. The goals included reducing hunger, providing primary level schooling for all children, cutting child and maternal mortality rates and providing people with clean water and sanitation. While some significant progress has been made on these goals they remain seriously off–track.

Check out the online version here, where you can also view the print version.

First published on Oxfam Blogs

Che Morrison print

Update on previous - same T-shirt is now actually available for purchase at RedBubble.

Yay! Thanks Clem for suggestion.

GOOD design a poster on the MDGs

GOOD Magazine have announced the winner of their latest project - to design a poster marking the progress the global community has made in reaching the Millennium Development Goals.

The winner is by Francesca Cianfarini of Leftloft, and talks about the progress the world has made in reducing the numbers of measles cases. There are more fantastic entries alongside this great work - you can see the top submissions here.

First published on Oxfam Blogs

Che Morrison

I done entered a design at Threadless. I call it 'Che Morrison'.

Please vote for it - I really want my own copy of this shirt.

Latest on ICHCB

You do not. Talk. About. Fight Club!

Star Trek: The Crazy Drug-taking Generation

OK, so I know I'm a total nerd here. But check out this memo uncovered by Letters of Note: an original casting memo about Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Wesley Snipes as Geordi La Forge?

Ouch.

Revenge of the cat

Well, that was quick. Less than a week since someone posted this horrible video of a passer-by middle-aged woman throwing a cat into a garbage bin...



and some genius has produced this video of a passer-by cat throwing a middle-aged woman into a garbage bin.



Genius, I tell you.

Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

Finally, there is a cure for those goddamn annoying happy people.

Make your Wish to End Poverty

As many of your will be aware, Oxfam Australia is a member of the Make Poverty History Coalition. Through this, we work alongside other organisations in the aid and development sector, working towards a world without poverty. Make Poverty History have just launched their latest campaign project, and we’re very excited to be able to point you to it.


Welcome to the Wishing Tree.

You can make your wish to end global poverty, and contribute to the largest anti-poverty movement in history. Add your wish to the Make Poverty History Wishing Tree, and ensure your political leaders hear your voice.

Right now, one in every six people around the world lives on less than $1 a day. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Add your wish towards an end to poverty, and the Wishing Tree will grow with each submission.

Think about the world you would like to see – what does it look like? What would you wish for on the road to ending global poverty?

You can also send your wish to your local Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister, urging them to hear your call and take action.
Also, share your wish via Facebook and Twitter to let all your friends know!

Together we can work towards a better world – a world where poverty is history!

First published on Oxfam Blogs

I has a funny

My latest submission to ICHC

Time Travel Kitteh!

I think I want this T-shirt.

I just wish I understood it a bit more.

Taiwan news WIN

I think this Taiwanese TV coverage of the Australian election is saying Senator Bob Brown king-hit Tony Abbott with a chair.

Awesome.

Why can't our own ABC be more like this?

Hah!

via FAIL Blog

Elephants rule.

OK, so we've got nine Greens Senators, the first Greens HoR member elected in a general election, the first Indigenous HoR MP and the first hung Federal Parliament in 70 years. Fantastic result for the Greens, and very VERY interesting times ahead as all involved figure out who will form government.

I don't think I'll enjoy anything as much as I did watching Penny Wong squirming in her chair on election night as she realised she would have to *wait for* talk to the Greens about legislation!

Overall it's been a pretty boring campaign - both the ALP and the Libs released very little in the way of interesting policy, the public seemed more interested in the hype and b*shit of the party heavyweights, and as usual, the media largely ignored the Greens' great initiatives.

The usual players popped their heads up - every environment and social justice group in the country released their scorecards (including the Make Poverty History one that I worked on), the unions produced a plethora of attack ads and the Libs/Nats/LNP played dirty in the last few days of the campaign (no surprises there).

But really, for me, the standout has to be the Climate Elephant. A brilliant campaign from the AYCC, and even though it didn't get as much attention as it should, it cut through in an otherwise disinterested campaign. I love the fun they had with this, but all the time pointing to a serious issue. Well done.

Election Day

Today, it will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'll be voting Green.

I can point you to several sources of info that will explain my reasoning.

But really it's quite simple.

They're not nasty.

If anyone can genuinely convince me that the other major political parties are actually there to do something decent, morally right, environmentally sound and generally nice for the people of Australia, I'd like to hear that argument.

In the meantime, I'm voting for the party and candidates that I've come to trust can run my country.

WANT!

I want this on a t-shirt. Stat.
Doc Brown's Driving School postcard - from Quoteskin

Jump rabbit! JUMP!

The interwebs comes up with the epic WTF goods yet again - Danish rabbit show-jumping.

via Clem Bastow

Simon's Cat goes Maru

Hooray! New Simon's Cat is out. And it is heavily influenced by Maru!

WANT!

Dr. E. Brown Enterprises t-shirt - coming soon to Last Exit to Nowhere

Freakonomics

Ooooh. The Freakonomics movie is coming out soon!

Blogger broked

Wow. Go Blogger.
Suddenly change me over to your new image upload system (which I'm shocked to discover is pushing me to use Picasa - shocked I tell you!).
Except it doesn't work.
I can't upload any images.
Fail.

UPDATE - It is only broked on my Mac. Dang.
UPDATE #2 - Now they've reverted back to the old editor. Get it together, Google.

World Humanitarian Day

In December 2008, the General Assembly determined that World Humanitarian Day should be marked on 19 August every year to:

“contribute to increasing public awareness about humanitarian work and the importance of international cooperation, and to commemorate all humanitarian and United Nations and associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause, and those who have lost their lives in the course of duty.”

World Humanitarian Day was designated in memory of those who died in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad in 2003, in which twenty-two people lost their lives, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, but also in memory of the many aid workers who have lost their lives in the humanitarian cause.

The day is also held to emphasize current humanitarian needs and challenges worldwide, such as threats to humanitarian aid workers by conflicting parties, challenges in reaching the people we try to assist, and the increasing complexity of the humanitarian environment due to food price shocks, global market turbulence, water shortages and climate change. Particular focus will be placed on the people on whose behalf we work.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee Principals agreed there would be three main areas of focus for this year’s commemoration of the day:

• To draw attention to humanitarian needs worldwide;
• To explain, in simple, visual terms what humanitarian aid work entails;
• To remember those who have lost their lives in humanitarian service.

The 2010 World Humanitarian Day project is a collaborative film shot in over 40 countries in under 9 weeks, on a shoestring budget - with the goal of showing the enormous diversity of places, faces and endeavors of humanitarian aid workers in 2010.

It was filmed by humanitarian staff and freelance filmmakers from around the globe (over 50 contributors in total) with all time donated. Produced by David Ohana/AVMU @ UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

First published on Oxfam Blogs

Sad Keanu on your Twitter

Hooray!
Instructions here

The Majestic Plastic Bag

This is great! Jeremy Irons narrates the mockumentary The Majestic Plastic Bag - documenting the life cycle of the humble plastic bag as it enters the wilderness and destroys the environment.

The Mandelbox

Oh Ghod. I stopped smoking dope so I could avoid this shit.

How to send something viral 101

Start with a basic, shareable concept, eg a standardised profile pic for Facebook.

At least one person will adapt this original, simple concept into something slightly different.

This will likely spark someone else to respond.

Chaos ensues.

There will be a brief attack campaign.

At some point, cats will be integrated.

As well as other interwebs memes.

Finally, the whole meme wraps up with the ultimate adaptation.



Within the space of a few hours, the meme is dead and soooo passé.

WANT!

Cylon baby suit. Must. Have.

Stay down, Tony!

Nothing better than a cheap nasty animated gif to cheer you up during an election campaign.

How to use an elevator without stopping

1. Hold close door button til doors close. Keep holding.
2. Select floor and do not let go of number and close door button til elevator moves.
3. This will allow you to go straight to that floor with out stops.

* This is used by police, so they can get to floors quicker.

* Works on every elevator.

via Geekologie

WANT!

I need this R2-D2 USB Hub.

It will go nicely alongside my TARDIS USB Hub.

Yes, I already own it.
I bought it at a Sci-Fi convention.
The same Sci-Fi convention in which Dave and I found Domo hats.
And sat next to Grebo in the Cantina.
We rule.

Chinese mass mobilisation

OK, now I understand the Coalition's panic about being invaded by teh immigrants. If China has time to waste breaking the world record for human dominoes, imagine what they could do if they decided to invade Western Australia, riding large red arrows!

EVERYONE PANIC!

Or at least get anxious!

WANT!

I quite like the idea of a holiday home, but also can't stand the idea of wastage usually associated with a complete house somewhere else that is only used for a few months each year.


It seems like such a waste of land, resources, space and comfort, and ends up making me think the whole exercise is just a first-world comfort, and a rather insultingly extravagant one at that. I have a lovely house in which my family lives. I don't need another one - just something small that can sleep and shelter us if we plan to get out of town for a few weeks.


Enter: Tammy & John's hand-built 16-square-metre shack on Gambier Island, British Columbia. All in all it cost them $7,000 to build, hacked together from a DIY shed set of plans.


I'd love this little shack somewhere like here, here or here.


via BB

WANT!

OK, I know there was a lot going on in Copenhagen at the end of last year, but why did no-one tell me about this awesome invention!?!? Want. Now.

If you think... vote Green

So, since ABC won't let the Greens re-screen the AWESOME Gruen Pitch ad created this week, I just thought I'd do what every other Greens member in the country is doing - spread it around.

Namibia's first female trawler captain

Slight, pretty, sharp-eyed, and quietly firm about things - Johanna Kwedhi is Namibia's first female trawler captain. She is a living example of the empowerment of women in Namibia.

Johanna captains the Kanus, one of the largest trawlers operating from Luderitz Harbour, an old port rebuilt for today's fishing boats. It's her responsibility not only to navigate a coastline infamous for shipwrecks, but to bring in a profitable catch.

And this is an industry not used to women being, literally, at the helm.

Johanna's story is part of the BBC's new five-part Life on the Edge series, which looks at what is happening in terms of progress on the Millennium Development Goals in countries across Africa.

First published on Oxfam Blogs

WANT!

I know I've already pointed out how awesome Adidas' new Star Wars range is, but this takes it to a new level.

The Wookiee Jacket.

Epic.
Truly epic.

Prop 8 e-card

Given the recent ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, and therefore, gay marriage is again legal in California, I wish I knew someone who lives in California - just so I could send them this card.

BTTF timelines infographic

Epic graphic representation of the multi-timelines from the Back to the Future movies from Sean Mort.

I've always been meaning to do my own one of these. Seems I might have some competition on my hands....

Maru in super slo-mo

OK this is officially the best cat video ever.

Design school 101

I paid attention in design school.

via GraphJam

Intervention with a soundtrack

OK, so we all know that Intervention is the best shauden frauder show on television. Ever.

Now, thanks to a suggestion from Zach Galifianakis, someone has popped a laugh track on top of an episode of Intervention, making it the funniest thing I've seen all week.

2010 online election (part II)

In the second of our posts on the digital election, we bring you some more interesting sites and systems utilising web-based technology to further the electoral experience.

Front and centre for us is the fantastic Vote Below The Line site, which enables visitors to load voting tickets from all the candidates in this election, then rearrange the order based on your own preference. In an election that could well be decided by a few key seats, it's welcoming to see websites such as this that encourage below the line voting.

Whilst the above mentioned site doesn't feature any information on how to decide your preferred order, there are a plethora of places for you to find more info. In a great example of collaborative information gathering, this Google Doc displays the various political parties' stance on key issues, providing one space to see quick comparisons across a range of key election topics.

Those clever folk behind OpenAustralia (a readable version of Parliament's Hansard) have produced ElectionLeaflets.org.au , which attempts to document and archive the various printed materials that surface during an election campaign. Don't forget that the National Library also archives political material, and has put their call out for copies to be sent to their archives. This also includes digital resources for the PANDORA archive.

YouTube, at the last election used mostly as a second thought for television ads, is getting a fair work-out already. With everything ranging from unions making fun of Liberals, Christians attacking Greens and lobby group GetUp! questioning Tony Abbott's past statements, we're sure to see more pop up in the coming weeks. Check out the video above for GetUp!'s inspiring enrol-to-vote video if you missed it.

Then, of course, there are the official advertising from the majors; Liberal, Greens and the ALP, as well as the minor parties The Australian Sex Party, Family First, The Australian Democrats and the National Party.

Finally, check out Laurel Papworth's great list of sites following the digital election, as well as Oxfam's own 3things election coverage for some more tips and interesting links on election issues. We'd also encourage you to let us know any other gems that pop up on the net during the campaign!

First published on Oxfam Blogs.

YouTube movie trailer

Screw The Social Network, I want to see The Website Video. Written and co-directed by Jeff Loveness, a Jimmy Kimmel Live intern.

Cats on wheels

My friend Mel is a goddamn genius!

I don't have a car, and so I have to walk to the vet with Graham in his cat carrier. I have been putting off his overdue immunisations and dental check-ups because I am weak as a kitten (fnar!) and have to stop every 50m or so to change arms on the cat carrier, and I feel absolutely destroyed by the time I get home. Graham is a greedy bastard and is not getting any lighter.

Enter the ALL TERRAIN CAT VEHICLE - a pram base attached to a cat carrier.

I particularly like how Graham is sitting proudly beside his new creation - he's the feline version of a bogan standing next to a fully sick dropped and loaded V8.

How much hipster can you fit in a Honda Jazz?

Hey! Honda have a sense of humour! Sure, they're just ripping off the awesomeness of Will It Blend? but still quite cool...

via LATFH

Best kids book ever