Cockeyed Optimist

I won’t comment any more than to agree with our friend below!

See you all later!

I am not medically qualified and not a dietician, so I disclaim any authority for the contents of this post.

However, it seems to be a genuine warning from a reputable source, so I thought I would help to spread this information a little wider.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener found in diet soft drinks (sodas) and other processed drinks and foods, under several different brand names that you will recognize when you read the linked article.

Read this: Stay away from this stuff…!

And here is another reference.

Makes you think, doesn’t it!

Saturday September 1st was the first day of Spring here in Brisbane (and in the rest of Australia, too, I guess - don’t know about the whole of the Southern Hemisphere).

It didn’t come in with a bang, though; hardly a blip on the slow trend toward warmer days, no showers, nothing much at all, I suppose.

But I shall start putting sunblock on when I play tennis, and nag my son about this when he goes riding his BMX bike.

Bit of a pointless post, really, when all said and done. Sorry to waste your bandwidth!

Have a nice day, anyway.

Unless you live in Australia and/or watch Australia’s SBS tv network, this topic will be only of limited interest. But underlying the events of this case are some important principles and some questions that have far wider implications.

Mary Kostakidis has been, until recently, the main newsreader for SBS Television.

Background on Australian Television

So, what is SBS? It is a public broadcaster originally set up to serve the particular interests of the large proportion of Australians who have come here from other countries - especially, I should say, from countries whose native language is not English. Radio broadcasting started in 1978, followed by television in 1980.

Most of its programming is in English, but it makes a point of presenting news reports in other languages, and shows movies from European and Asian countries. When SBS television started up, in 1980, my wife and I would watch soaps from places like Slovenia and Argentina, which were a wonderful contrast to the hum-drum British and American series, with a few local Australian shows, that dominated tv.

And SBS was the only channel where you could regularly watch French, German, Italian, Mandarin or Hindi movies and series.

Before cable came we had four other channels: the ABC, which was and still remains a government funded channel with no advertising, plus three commercial channels. And SBS was also government supported, but after a few years, was allowed a limited amount of commercial advertising (but strictly between, not during, programs).

Here is an overview and officlal description of SBS.

And Mary Kostakidis has been, for almost 20 years, the most prominent newsreading personality, who not only appeals to the large community with a Greek background and culture, but to Australians of all ethnicities. There are also other newsreaders and presenters, from, for instance, Chinese-speaking countries, Thailand, India, South Africa, and from indigenous communities within Australia.

She has a well-deserved reputation for her engaging personality, and for her competence and professionalism; and in this latter, perhaps, lies the source of her recent disenchantment with SBS, which has now led to a possible parting of the ways.

Recent Changes

As I mentioned, SBS has always been allowed to advertise, but to a limited extent and only between programs, not during them. The 30-minute evening news bulletin has also provided a refreshing contrast with similar programs put out by the ABC and the commercial channels. Sometimes, it would almost appear that there was little overlap between them. If you wished to know about world events, and were less interested in local news and sports results, the SBS news was the one to watch.

Recently, however, among many changes of style brought about by management changes, the news broadcast was extended to an hour. Consequently, additional newsreaders were brought on board. And the strong impression has been created in many minds, including mine, that Mary has been gradually squeezed out. It is not for me to say who has been responsible for this, but it has been increasingly apparent.

So, a couple of days ago, Mary Kostakidis seemed to decide that enough was enough, and left. There have been conflicting reports in the press about all this; some say she will sue SBS for breach of contract, others say she is simply on sick leave. The elements could include her dislike of commercial breaks within programs, and it has also been claimed that she felt she was being overshadowed by newcomers to the news broadcasts.

I don’t know the ins and outs of this all - it is still working through stages.

All I know is that it will be a great pity if Mary feels she has to leave; I shall miss her if that happens, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

What do you think? Let us know, below.

I noticed, on the world weather reports on the tv this evening, that the maximum temperatures in Berlin (Germany) and Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) today were the same: 21 C. (This is about 68 F in the old units.)

This would not be remarkable except that it is mid-winter here in Brisbane, and high summer in Europe. Anyway, one little coincidence is not much to base an opinion on.

That’s all.

The press and tv have been making much in recent times of the need for everyone, including the elderly, to keep going if they want to keep going. Even the government (here in Australia, anyway; don’t know about elsewhere) has jumped on this bandwagon, though it’s possible to suspect that they might have ulterior motives.

The message amounts to this: when you retire, don’t relax too much. There is plenty of evidence, so it is claimed, that those who take on new work or activities, or develop new interests, stay healthier than those who retire to their holiday shack on the coast and fish (that is, do nothing).

I think I might qualify as a positive example. I left a full-time career at a university in 1995, when I was 62. After a few months accompanying my wife and son on a very enjoyable world trip (she was working, on an academic sabbatical), I returned home and looked for ways of occupying myself and bringing in some income to supplement my superannuation. I had a couple of false starts: trying multi-level marketing of dietary supplements (made one sale, to an ex-colleague); trying to sell a scholarship package, a very good one (ASG - we had our son enrolled since age 2, and it was very useful when he was at high school and when he started university a couple of years ago) - again no sales. I really don’t think I have the right personality for face-to-face or telephone selling.

Then I picked up a line that I had been doing very intermittently, since before I left the university: proof-reading and editing. I did a few private jobs, mainly editing books for people I knew at the university, until my contacts started to run out, and then I joined Yaro Starak’s BetterEdit, which turned out to be a very good decision, in several ways. Since then I have been editing student work, ranging from 1500 word essays to 70,000 word doctoral theses. The work is engaging, my clients are grateful, and it brings in some money. 

And, very recently, I have started blogging, with Yaro Starak as my mentor; we shall see …

So, as the experts recommend, I’m not doing nothing and I’ve got some highly-engaging interests; I also try to exercise regularly - I play tennis a couple of times a week, and I attempt to walk every day.

My dog Dylan is another example: he is over 12 years old, which is elderly for a dog, especially a big one (he is a German Shorthaired Pointer), and he has a very engaging hobby, which also makes him exercise - he hunts possums around the house, in a state of great excitement when he spots one. Unfortunately he has caught a couple, neither of which I managed to get to the vet in time, I’m sorry to say.