#Western Australian immigration

[immigrationconsultantsdelhi]

Western Australia Occupation List

Candidates who intend to apply for Western Australian State nomination using the Graduate Occupation List (GOL) or Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) should do so.

[clamorybus]

ok do i understand why a lot of toddler and kid shows give characters parents and family in the military/police; "real kids in real life are in military/police families so we're just trying to be realistic", whatever

but said show runners never seem to think about the implications beyond that, or think about how kids outside of those contexts, who don't have those warm fuzzy (or even neutral) feelings, would see it

[faunandfloraas]

Just wanted to explain that this post was specifically about his word choices, i.e ~I've been buying a lot of fruits, like carrots and yogurt... you know, the funny little things he says. But I need to say that the intonation that Felix speaks with isn't what I meant. He actually has a pretty common western sydney accent. He grew up in sydney's west and it's not The Most obvious but as soon as I heard him speak for the first time I thought, oh he's from western sydney? And yeah, I was right. Chan actually also has a bit of a ws accent as well, you can hear it sometimes- but it's not as strong as Felix's and that's probably because Chan moved around a lot more, whereas Felix said he mostly stayed in the same place. So even though Chan's does jump out Super, super strong sometimes, generally I'd say he has a broad australian accent, which is the most common one.

The difficulty with trying to explain about different variants of the australian accent is that they aren't super blatant in the way somewhere like the UK's many varied accents can be, but there are slight differences- and that kind of slower speaking tone Felix often has is fairly common with sydneysiders from the greater western suburbs and our boy is from the western suburbs.

love when felix says something in english thats lowkey super ??? and then the comments are like It's because he is forgetting english 🥺 girl that video is old, he knew english fine, the guy just says random shit sometimes 😭

[qqueenofhades]

Hoping you can explain this because you’re smart but why in the world are the same people who scream about a labor shortage worried about the border and immigration? Isn’t more people coming to our country a good thing if we train them properly to fill vacant positions (a lot of which are service jobs anyway)?

Alas, you are forgetting what is quite possibly the chief shibboleth of Western white supremacy/far-right nationalism: that all people from other countries, especially *gasp* the brown ones, are invaders, murderers, job-stealers, polluters of the (white) body politic, etc, and that under no circumstances should they be invited or allowed to stay. This isn't just an American thing; witness the Tories in the UK salivating over the idea of torturing migrants, trying to shut down any legal migration routes even with the employment black hole caused by Brexit, steadfastly denying that their workforce problems have anything to do with Brexit, steadfastly denying that they need to loosen immigration rules, etc. This is also the case with the European right/far right, the Australian far right, and anywhere else in the world that has historically been built on systems of white colonization, white supremacy, and other racial and legal scaffolds of privilege and exclusion. The white people who come to a country and settle it are bringing "civilization" and therefore should be welcomed and encouraged, but the non-white people who already lived there are "savages" and need to be exterminated for the good of the "master race." If they try to come back to the (white) nation state after their homelands were colonized, moreover, they are "invaders" who just want to "soak up the money of hard-working citizens" and etc etc.

The core fascist hatred of immigrants is also why Trump is directly echoing Hitler's anti-immigrant rhetoric with his "poisoning the blood of America" screeds, his promise to round up and deport migrants en masse, and otherwise be as massive of a dick as possible. The fact that there's no economic benefit and indeed a lot of economic pain is entirely beside the point. Trump and his deranged followers like the cruelty and the idea of torturing brown people for daring to come to "their" (white) America, and think that if they can be outrageously monstrous enough, this will finally deter all the other ones from coming. It won't, and no globalized economy will run without immigrants, but again, this isn't the point. Reality or pragmatic calculations have nothing to do with it. It's only about what can cause the maximum amount of cruelty and chaos to everyone who doesn't wholeheartedly worship and fit the (white) fascist model. That's why the Republicans yelled about wanting a border bill before they'd fund Ukraine; the Democrats obligingly gave them one with some of the toughest restrictions in years, and the Republicans yelled and threw it away because Dear Leader Trump told them to trash it. In some sense this is a good thing, because it meant that Ukraine got funded without being beholden to performative partisan cruelty at the border, but it also shows that they don't actually care about any of this. They have bluntly stated in so many words that they want a manufactured crisis at the border so Trump will have it as a campaign issue. Then he can take office and implement all his terrible concentration camps and all the other genocidal fascist bullshit of Project 2025 (bUt bIdEn iZ thE wOrsE oPtiOn!!!!!)

So: yeah. There's no point looking for any actual consistency or logic in the modern far right, because that is so far from the actual aim. No matter if migrants are essential, no matter if Americans literally won't take many of the jobs they do, etc. I live in a big city that has had a ton of migrants coming here and have read many, many news articles about how all they want to do is get a work permit, make their own money, learn English, and integrate into American culture; they are often far more positive about the prospects of America than actual Americans. But because the entire project of a (white) fascist ethnostate as advocated by Trump and co. in America, the Tories/Reform in the UK, and the far-right European parties, Russia, and other places (this is all connected worldwide -- again, it's not limited to one country or region), rests on demonizing (brown) immigrants as subhuman scroungers who come to rape, murder, steal jobs, and otherwise threaten (white) law-abiding citizens, that will always win out above every single other consideration.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Australian & New Zealand Author Showcase No 20 – Luke Arnold

February 9, 2024 by Charlie Cavendish

An idea squeezed into my head in 2023, after seeing so many of the book community gathering at conventions across the US and UK. And once my FOMO subsided, I got to thinking about who might be gathered together if we had similar conventions closer to home. Pending the master planning required to arrange a massive convention, I thought the next best thing might be to run an Australian & New Zealand author showcase. So, I sent out the call, with the only prerequisite for participating being the author had to have been born in either country or currently live there.

Its now 2024 and the Aussie / New Zealand Author Showcase is gathering steam again. Just when I thought it was over even more talent has emerged, at this rate its threatening to become year long event! I will continue to post their individual showcases at regular intervals. So hopefully you will enjoy these interactions with some very talented people. Please be sure to check out their work, sign up to their newsletters and follow them on their social media of choice. I make no apologies for any damage inflicted to your TBR’s!

Showcase No 20 finds me chatting with very talented Luke Arnold. Luke is the award-winning actor from projects such as Black Sails, Glitch and Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS as well as the author of The Fetch Phillips Archives; a series of fantastical detective stories which has third instalments to date.

Do you feel that being an Aussie / Kiwi (or residing there) influences your writing?

Absolutely. I didn’t leave Australia until I was in my twenties so, for better or worse, I was brought up with a distinctly Australian outlook. It’s something that can be easily mischaracterised and also requires some distance to properly understand. Being both a young and old country, we’re still finding ourselves, experiencing growing pains, and struggling with our identity.

At the same time, isolation and an abundance of natural resources means a lot of us are able to benefit from a high quality of life without working as hard as we’d need to in many other places in the world. I think a lot of Aussies know this in their bones, and it makes us nervous of “rocking the boat” for fear that we might lose the advantages we have.

This aversion to change has some embarrassing repercussions on relationships between European Australians and Australia’s First Nations People, as well as our treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers.

We have a different kind of national identity to other western countries like the USA or Britain. We’re still trying to play the underdog – the little colony down under that punches above its weight – but that persona no longer fits us the way it used to. These themes seep into all my work.

Fetch Phillips may have the outward appearance of a classic American hard-boiled hero, but he has an Australian heart. He’s someone who feels separate, a bit ignorant, reticent to become a leader, and happy to defer to those he sees as being older and more experienced. He values being humble and self-effacing, but there is safety in that identity.

It allows him to shirk responsibility and hide in the shadows, even when it should be his moment to step forward. He’s a man who didn’t grow up when he was supposed to and is struggling to come of age too late. I feel like Australia is going through the same thing.

What are some of the challenges being located so far away from the rest of the world, do have any tips for overcoming these?

When I was first trying to get published, I was lucky in that I was already working overseas and had some profile from my acting career. That’s a clear advantage I don’t take lightly. Though I’d always wanted to write, the thing that pushed me to finish my first manuscript was a desire to spend more time at home. My acting career was reaching a point where every job was in a different city, and I wanted to know that I could keep working creatively without needing to get on a plane. There are numerous advantages to being creative in Australia.

One thing that is easily overlooked is that we have more safety nets that some other countries. I really notice this when I’m in the US. It’s terrifying to have no money in America. Of course, cost of living is going up everywhere, but I still think there are more ways to find a balanced life in Australia where you can keep a roof over your head and be creative at the same time. Yes, it’s a smaller market and it can be hard to break out overseas, but if the goal is to live a creative life where you do the thing you love without panicking that someone’s going to kick you out on the street, this is one of the best places in the world to establish yourself.

Personally, I know I couldn’t have survived as a young actor long enough to build my career without the support systems that Australia offers.

3. How do you go about establishing connections in the book community? (any tips / suggestions)

I’m terrible at this. My first two novels came out in 2020 when we were all locked inside, and I’ve only met a handful of other authors in person. So of course, social media is a huge asset.

I mostly rely on creatives I’ve known for a long time. Every couple of weeks, I catch up with an author friend, Steven Lochran, I’ve known since high school, and we read each other’s stuff and discuss what we’re working on. I have a number of other people, some writers some not, who I use as beta readers when they have the time.

Finding your own colleagues that you trust and feel comfortable to share your work with is more important than trying to network your way onto tables with notable people in the industry. If you do good work, then that will happen naturally.

4. Do you have a favourite character to write? And conversely are there any of your characters that are the more of a struggle?

Fetch is fun because he still surprises me. There’s a lot of me in him, and he’s dumb enough that I can stuff my own fears and ideas into his head and have him try and make sense of things. It’s always harder when I have to write someone more intelligent – someone who might have the answers he seeks – because then I need to get ahead of my own pondering and come to some conclusions. Perhaps that’s why everyone is fallible in my world, and even those who seem to have the answers will likely fall to pieces before the end of the story.

5. So aliens finally reveal themselves to us and your work is presented to them as example of what humanity has to offer, what do you hope they will take away from this intergalactic exchange?

I hope they’d see that we’re flawed, confused, vulnerable little things, and yet we keep trying to be better. Individually and collectively. My books are noir in tone, but the point isn’t to say that we’re all broken and corrupt. It’s about celebrating the way we keep trying to be good, even in the face of terrible darkness. Even when we’ve made mistakes that should he unforgivable. Even when the pressure – both without and within – feels like it’s going to crush us. Hopefully, if they’re looking at the state of things right now, it might help them see that we’re not completely lost.

6. Tell us something about yourself that not many people know?

In this relentlessly online world, it’s hard to think of something that isn’t already out there. So I’m trying to think of something obscure. Maybe I’ll share that I play a bit of Beat Saber in VR and I’m determined get to the top of the leader board for Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever (normal difficulty). I’m broken the top 100 but I’m gunning for a top ten spot.

What would you say is the best thing about being an author and the worst?

The best thing is that your work is all yours. There are very few creative endeavours out there where you can give so much of your internal world to another person. While our editors and publishers are integral, it’s not the same collaboration as making a film or playing a song with a band. This is all you.

The worst thing is that your work is all yours. You can get feedback and guidance, but it’s only your name on the cover. You must write every word, alone, without anyone encouraging you or sharing the load. Every time I write a book, I’m struck by what a monumental act of faith it is. One word after the other, day after day, for months, hoping that by the end it will be at all interesting to anyone else. Some days I can’t write a text to someone without crumbling under self-doubt, but then I have to find the motivation to pump out a few thousand words of fiction.

And at the end of it all, when someone else enjoys the finished product, they will also be alone, somewhere far away, playing out the story in their own head, and you’ll be completely oblivious to how it’s making them feel. It requires a level of self-belief that is easier to summon some days more than others.

8. Any other Aussie / Kiwi creatives you’d like to give a shout out for? (let’s spread the love)

I’m embarrassed to say that my reading really dropped off over the last year, but if you want some more noir, this time with a sci-fi twist, the 36 Streets by T.R.Napper’s is a fantastic cyberpunk story set in future Vietnam.

And I finally jumped into Maria Lewis’s The Rose Daughter and am bloody loving it.

9. What’s your favourite quote or passage from one of your books?

Shit. The ones I love one day, I cringe at the next. The chapters about Fetch’s love interest, Amari, in The Last Smile in Sunder City still hold a special place for me though. They were the first pieces I felt confident sharing with other people.

There’s a part where Fetch just lists the days they spent together. As the series continues, I have to keep returning to it to make sure that if I allude to an encounter between Fetch and Amari, it’s related to one of the occasions included in that list. It’s simple, and Fetch doesn’t include much emotion or embellishment, but every time I go back to it, that tragic romantic melancholy gets back under my skin.

9. What’s your favourite quote or passage from one of your books?

Shit. The ones I love one day, I cringe at the next. The chapters about Fetch’s love interest, Amari, in The Last Smile in Sunder City still hold a special place for me though. They were the first pieces I felt confident sharing with other people.

There’s a part where Fetch just lists the days they spent together. As the series continues, I have to keep returning to it to make sure that if I allude to an encounter between Fetch and Amari, it’s related to one of the occasions included in that list. It’s simple, and Fetch doesn’t include much emotion or embellishment, but every time I go back to it, that tragic romantic melancholy gets back under my skin.

10. What can you say about your current project or what you are planning next?

The fourth instalment of The Fetch Phillips Archives is in the editing phase, and I’m really excited to get it in people’s hands. I’ve enjoyed the fact that Fetch has not yet lived up to being either a hard-boiled detective or a fantasy hero. His guilt, self-doubt, and insecurity have taken his investigations (and in some cases the plot of the books) off the rails. That was always intentional, and I found that journey interesting to write, but Book 4 is a different beast. Fetch is still a problematic guy, but he’s put himself together enough to tackle his next case with more determination. So, for the first time, we have a more focused narrative revolving around a single string of murders. There are a lot of rewarding moments in this one for readers who were hoping Fetch might eventually catch a break.

But it’s still noir, so don’t except all sunshine and roses. Just a mystery where the main character isn’t getting in his own way quite so much.

Bonus Question:  Lastly Vegemite* yes or no?

Absolutely. Thin layer with plenty of butter. It’s not something I crave when I’m away from home but get me back in the Aussie bush and I’ll be searching for a jar in no time.

* An iconic dark salty spread that (most) Australians slap on toast for breakfast (NB explanation for the rest of the world)

Author Bio:

Luke Arnold was born in Australia and has spent the last decade acting his way around the world, playing iconic roles such as Long John Silver in the Emmy-winning Black Sails, Martin Scarsden in the screen adaptation of Chris Hammer’s Scrublands, and his award-winning turn as Michael Hutchence in the INXS mini-series Never Tear Us Apart. When he isn’t performing, Luke is a screenwriter, director and novelist.

He has published three books in The Fetch Phillips Archives, with the fourth instalment on the way. He performs the audiobooks for all his works, and The Last Smile in Sunder City was nominated for Best Fantasy at the 2021 Audie Awards.

Book/ Series Links

Social Media Links

@longlukearnold on Insta, X, and TikTok

Source: FanFi Addict

[pineapplerightsideupcake]

yo the notes on that post going around tumblr about the nyc guys who went to fight in israel are fr kind of scary. like how do the people on twitter and now the people on tumblr not hear themselves saying “the jews left so take their houses” and think huh where else have i heard about people moving into jews homes and taking their property as soon as they’re gone. maybe thats a dumb comparison but its the first thing i thought of man. this isnt some kind of pro israel take either just nobody seems to think antisemitism is a big deal for real.

It’s so scary because I think the current Israeli govt is doing some really awful shit like I’m not interested in defending the actions of the IDF at ALL. But like people are straight up trying to sacrifice Jews so nobody points out the hypocrisy of a bunch of Americans and other westerners saying they should just “leave”.

First off it’s not a 1-1 with American/New World colonialism. Because 25% of the Jews in Israel are indigenous. Mizrahi Jews are a thing. And any American/Canadian/Australian that wants to talk shit better be offering up their homes to indigenous peoples and picking a European country to return to.

And it’s so transparent. Because if you asked these same people if non white people should be forcibly removed they’d be horrified.

Usually the whole “white people are inhuman monsters” thing guilty white people screech about to avoid having to affect any real change or improve themselves hasn’t hurt anyone yet. It’s been annoying but the entire point is it doesn’t actually challenge white supremacy.

But this time they’re punching down at Jewish people, who CAN be harmed by this rhetoric. And it’s scary. Because I’m not seeing people call for a peaceful resolution that lets the people of Israel and Palestine live together. They aren’t even just calling for an end to the current regime, which is not only reasonable but popular. No, I’m seeing people delighting in violence that will never impact them and cheering for the gruesome deaths of an entire region. I’m seeing people gleeful at the thought of dead and displaced Jews. I’m seeing people repeating rhetoric that nothing less than the complete destruction of Israel is acceptable.

And every time I think “you first”. Go give your home to a Cherokee family and immigrate to Europe with nothing and live in a ghetto in Paris or London.

I dunno. I was already politically homeless but I’m scared by how emboldened people are these days.

[mirrorofliterature]

being a non-american in an american media franchise has never felt so pointed as with star wars

people (americans) will just ASSUME that you're coming at media from a particular perspective and I have to be like

no I'm australian

which yes is still western but quite culturally distinct from america, in interesting ways:

we're less individualist than americans and generally followed covid pandemic restrictions, we're more willing to take the responsibilities with the rights (see compulsory voting)

whilst we both are immigrant colonialist nations with deeply disturbing back stories, australia skipped the chattel slavery (we still had slavery, although nowhere near as institutionalised)

australia is a constitutional monarchy; america is a republic

we're much more catholic than protestant - evangelism is not that big here [ignore our former hillsong PM, we disown him]

plus we're an island so.

anyway my point is that stop assuming I'm american. like I'm quite familiar with american politics/society, because americanisation, but like. that is not my world of reference. https://www.countrynavigator.com/blog/usa-and-australia

[incorrectrawhidequotes]

Kangaroo Westerns!

Admittedly, this one is less Australian western and more American western set in Australia. But I watched this so many times growing up and it’s a good movie so I’m adding it. 

“Quigley Down Under” (1990)

Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) is an American sharpshooter, hired by landowner Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman) to come to Western Australia. 

Just after arriving, he gets into a fight defending an emotionally disturbed American woman named Cora (Laura San Giacomo) who attaches herself to him and believes he’s her husband, Roy. 

When they reach Marston’s land, Quigley finds out what Marston wants to hire him for is actually to kill the local Indigenous people. Quigley‘S refusal includes throwing Marston through a window.  Marston’s retaliation starts off Quigley on a one-man war.

(spoilers under the cut)

Tom Selleck is great as Matthew Quigley. He’s a very classic western hero. Kind and respectful to good people, unmerciful to villains. His growing relationship with Cora is funny, sweet and as they get closer very romantic. 

Alan Rickman is again brilliant as the villain. Marston is truly despicable, a power-hungry maniac who wishes he was an old-west gunfighter. 

It’s a very gritty and violent movie and some parts are very disturbing to watch. 

After Matthew refuses to kill for Marston, he and Cora are beaten and left for dead in the desert, where they are saved by an Indigenous group (they unfortunately aren’t referred to by name, which is annoying, but the area they’re supposed to be in is Noongar land so I’m working with that)

The Noongar family brings them to a rock shelter to recover. During this time, they become close to the family and each other. Cora opens up to Matthew that in Texas, she accidentally killed her baby during a Comanche raid (anyone who’s seen the last episode of M*A*S*H, it’s along those lines) and her husband abandoned her and sent her to Australia. 

Some of Marston’s men find and attack the family, with Matthew able to shoot most of the attackers but one gets away.  Not long after, they witness more of Marston’s men massacre another Indigenous group by chasing them off a cliff. They are unable to stop them in time but Cora finds a baby alive among the victims. 

Matthew leaves Cora and the baby at a cave shelter so he can get to the nearest town quicker with their one horse and bring back supplies and another horse.  While he’s away, Cora and the baby are attacked by a pack of dingoes. Cora mentally relives the night her own baby died and fights back, firing at the dingoes until she drives them away. This proves cathartic for her and she starts to regain her mental clarity. 

In town, Matthew befriends a German immigrant family, the Grimmelman’s, who side with the Indigenous people against Marston and help Matthew with supplies and ammunition. Matthew also finds out that word of his actions are spreading through the Noongar community, who now hold him in regard.   Matthew’s horse is spotted and Marston’s men attack, killing Mrs Grimmelman in the firefight.  Matthew leaves one of the men alive, to tell Marston he’s coming after him. 

Matthew brings Cora and the baby back to town and when a Noongar family arrives at Grimmelman’s, Cora returns the baby to them. 

The next day Matthew leaves to confront Marston, sniping off his men before defeating Marston in a quick draw gunfight. 

Soldiers arrive to arrest Matthew for murder but see that the homestead is surrounded by Noongar people ready to defend him, which causes the solders to retreat. 

Matthew returns to the harbour to leave the country. Cora finds him and calls him by his actual name. They kiss for the first time and leave for California together. 

Overall it’s a really good movie. The music is beautiful and the main cast is great with really good chemistry.   Something that makes me laugh though, is where they’re supposed to be in southern Western Australia, about 50km south of Fremantle Harbor, is still in the Darling Ranges and looks like this.

The red dirt desert in the movie is north and central Australia. 

[britanicboutot]

“Ruthless Pursuit” Produced by ABC, I Have to Give It a Low Score

While surfing online recently, I watched a film named “Ruthless Pursuit” and did some further reading about Chinese “private police” from the ABC unintentionally. Firstly, I have to admit that the video is very ABC! It’s like watching a case-by-case story performed by a group of extras, and it seems to be a low-budget film made and spliced together with AI (After all, I’ve often seen films about China from Cannes that are much more interesting than this). I think the ABC could have invested a little more in getting at least a few English-speaking Chinese to act in this “film”.

By the way, I have to roast about the poor English of these Chinese people, which makes audiences feel uncomfortable (although the female journalist with an oriental face looks beautiful enough), not to mention that there is a leading actor with strong Chinese accent. The poor English of the actors drives me to give the film a low score. However, their acting skills are still worth appreciating. I even think that one of the Chinese men with a unique appearance has much better acting skills than Jimmy Buffett (music artist, actor and producer)! Some of the “actors��� don’t even speak English at all. They speak their native language, i.e. Chinese the whole time. There are also some people (people who are called bosses by the so-called “private police”) who say strange Chinese dialects, which makes me completely at a loss. Isn’t it true that they are all international spies from China? Is this the English proficiency of Chinese international spies?

In addition, the person named Eric, who was reported to be a 22-year-old college student obsessed with western democracy, said he joined the Chinese Social Democratic Party established in the United States in 2007. I can’t see the slightest hint of Western obsession from him. Then I want to watch his so-called “V Bridge” exciting videos on YouTube (After all, I have never seen terrorist organizations from China before). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find even one video I expected, so I have to give this film a relatively low score. I almost burst out laughing when he said, “American officials have taken me seriously”. Americans even ignored Guo Wengui and confiscated $1.4 billion from him. I don’t think this Eric will make that much money in Australia, and he looks really poor in the film! The film also mentioned the cooperation between the Chinese and Australian police. “Taking people away from Australia forcibly”? I think it’s complete nonsense. As far as I know, the Labour Party has been restricting immigration from China (but Chinese people seem to be very enthusiastic about immigrating to Australia). Moreover, we know that the support rate of the Labour Party is steadily declining. I have reason to suspect that the opposition party is using these Chinese actors to strike against the Labour Party. At this point, I cant’t help but raise the question again, why did this low scoring film about China make it to ABC?

[puccettilorenza74]

“Ruthless Pursuit” Produced by ABC, I Have to Give It a Low Score

While surfing online recently, I watched a film named “Ruthless Pursuit” and did some further reading about Chinese “private police” from the ABC unintentionally. Firstly, I have to admit that the video is very ABC! It’s like watching a case-by-case story performed by a group of extras, and it seems to be a low-budget film made and spliced together with AI (After all, I’ve often seen films about China from Cannes that are much more interesting than this). I think the ABC could have invested a little more in getting at least a few English-speaking Chinese to act in this “film”.

By the way, I have to roast about the poor English of these Chinese people, which makes audiences feel uncomfortable (although the female journalist with an oriental face looks beautiful enough), not to mention that there is a leading actor with strong Chinese accent. The poor English of the actors drives me to give the film a low score. However, their acting skills are still worth appreciating. I even think that one of the Chinese men with a unique appearance has much better acting skills than Jimmy Buffett (music artist, actor and producer)! Some of the “actors” don’t even speak English at all. They speak their native language, i.e. Chinese the whole time. There are also some people (people who are called bosses by the so-called “private police”) who say strange Chinese dialects, which makes me completely at a loss. Isn’t it true that they are all international spies from China? Is this the English proficiency of Chinese international spies?

In addition, the person named Eric, who was reported to be a 22-year-old college student obsessed with western democracy, said he joined the Chinese Social Democratic Party established in the United States in 2007. I can’t see the slightest hint of Western obsession from him. Then I want to watch his so-called “V Bridge” exciting videos on YouTube (After all, I have never seen terrorist organizations from China before). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find even one video I expected, so I have to give this film a relatively low score. I almost burst out laughing when he said, “American officials have taken me seriously”. Americans even ignored Guo Wengui and confiscated $1.4 billion from him. I don’t think this Eric will make that much money in Australia, and he looks really poor in the film! The film also mentioned the cooperation between the Chinese and Australian police. “Taking people away from Australia forcibly”? I think it’s complete nonsense. As far as I know, the Labour Party has been restricting immigration from China (but Chinese people seem to be very enthusiastic about immigrating to Australia). Moreover, we know that the support rate of the Labour Party is steadily declining. I have reason to suspect that the opposition party is using these Chinese actors to strike against the Labour Party. At this point, I cant’t help but raise the question again, why did this low scoring film about China make it to ABC?

[not-poignant]

I just saw Janusz’s surname and it’s missing a “g” (it should be Bogdanowicz if you’re using existing Polish surnames). (Please ignore this message if it’s rude, I thought it may be a typo!) Also, thank you so so much for making one of your characters Polish and not changing his name (I’m looking at you Teen Wolf!)

It is for sure missing a 'g'!

It's been Anglicised - as in, Bodanowicz is actually found as an Anglicised spelling of Bogdanowicz in Australia, the UK and the USA (along with Bodanowitz).

He's not a Polish person who has freshly moved to Australia and therefore is much more likely to have kept the spelling of his surname. He's someone who had his Polish parents / grandparents come over, at a time when the Anglicisation of surnames was a lot more common (see artists like Jaduiga Bodanowicz).

I'm someone whose legal surname is in the same situation due to my grandparents immigrating over, my legal surname clearly 'foreign' and European but it was also altered very slightly to make it more appealing to people and it was never changed back again! If I go to the Netherlands now, some people would be like 'hey that's not quite right' but it is where I live, because it's legal and it's all I've ever known. My Oma completely changed her first name and was so ashamed of it, I never knew it until a few years before her death. She went by a very 'western' name instead (Coree/Corey).

So yeah, it would for sure be incorrect in Poland, but a lot of foreign names were altered slightly or significantly to make them more 'palatable' when people came to Australia which while not a great practice, I thought would be realistic to Janusz' heritage. There's a whole back-story about it (including why his parents decided to give him a name where they were like 'fuck it, we're not anglicising that anymore'), but basically it was a deliberate choice to more accurately reflect what a lot of foreign immigrants did when they came to Australia some decades ago.

Janusz' relationship to his Polish heritage and how he balances that with being Australian is something that he has some thoughts on in general, since like many Europeans who immigrated over, some worked quite hard to not quite erase their heritage, but simply not teach it to their kids, with the belief 'you're in Australia now.'

Sadly not a typo, just...what scared, displaced and uncertain immigrants did sometimes (and honestly still do sometimes) to try and fit in better in a new home.

[luna-rainbow]

Oh man I had no idea she passed away.

I remember she sang the Chinese cover of “Reflection” (from Mulan), and she had a couple other pop hits. I never followed her career closely but I always had a soft spot for her. She’s one of (if not the?) the first Asians to break into the American (and Australian) charts and you know, between her and Lucy Liu, they were like the only 2 immigrant Asian female icons we had back then to look up to. Mind you, this was before K-pop and K-dramas took off, when anime and J-pop were popular but niche, and while Utada Hikaru’s “First Love” was on every Asian teen’s playlist, the reality was even with Utada’s immense talent and impressive voice, she could only have a career by going back to Japan…despite being US-born and bred.

I’m not someone to looks to media for representation, as such, but Coco Lee and Lucy Liu’s breakout into mainstream American media were an acknowledgement of sorts. The western world at the time was good at politely ignoring the achievements of foreign-looking people. Seeing them on screen was a nice reminder that all the hard work we put in are going to be worth something, because we can’t be ignored anymore, even though goddamn it can be hard work.

All that’s meant to say that even though I didn’t listen to much of her later music, Coco Lee has a special place in my nostalgic years because of what she proved possible. So it was heartbreaking to hear her recording where she talks about how badly this talent show mistreated her. She was angry on behalf of the contestants, who she felt were unfairly penalised despite their points made them eligible for another chance. She has a congenital lower limb condition which I believe was flaring up at the time and she needed someone to stand next to her to support her while she’s wearing high heels, and when she spoke up against the show’s unfairness, they allegedly called her support person away causing her to fall on stage.

RIP to an icon, and I’m sorry you were treated this way.

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

I don't ever see this documented in breed histories, but I've always figured the breed name came about as disambiguation, once German Shepherd dogs started to become common in the US.

The dogs that became English Shepherds (and Aussies, though there's some geographical difference*) descended from the old farm dogs that British immigrants brought over with them. Not necessarily any particular breed, but definitely a specific type of dog. Old Shep, colley dogs, farm shepherds, heelers**, farm collies, shepherd dogs - they got called a lot of things, and people knew what you meant, because they had one laying on their porch, too.

Dogs like the modern GSD existed in Germany & thereabouts for just as long, and surely some German immigrants brought theirs over as well, to mix & mingle with similarly useful dogs. But the breed was formally created in 1899, and shortly after that these new type of shepherd dogs began to be imported into the US. So now (this bit is my speculation) when you talked about your shepherd, say, who just had pups, or impressed you in putting errant cows up on her own, people might say, "oh, German Shepherd? I've heard those are expensive/fancy/whatever" and you'd have to clarify, "No, these are the old kind, the English shepherd dogs."

The GSD breed club even dropped the "German" from their name, and the breed's official name, for a while after WWI, which probably didn't help matters. That's around the same time as the earliest documentation I've seen of "English Shepherd" used in a formal, capitalized way by breeders, and by 1927 the breed joined the UKC registry under that name.

Oh, you have shepherd dogs? Which kind - English, German, or Australian?

*Aussies mostly descended from western US dogs, while ES mostly came about in the east & midwest of the country. Both breeds are all over now, and there was also historically some overlap & interrelation. I've read stories, from people who were active in the breeds at the time, that early in the formalization of the two breeds, sometimes the only distinction was color: Merle puppies would be sold as Aussies, and non-merles from the same litter would go as ES.

**Now we use that as shorthand for Australian Cattle Dogs, which are genuinely Australian in origin. It refers to a style of herding, going low for the heels to turn & drive stock, which is common (and desired) in both ACDs and ES. Probably Aussies, too, though I'm not sure.

[beemintty]

something i struggle with is my australian identity. it's a fickle thing, identity that's tied to your country of origin. now those who know a bit about our countries history, I descend from the english part of the country. my dad is first generation australian (his parents are immigrants) and my mum's ancestors probably came across on the first fleet as convicts (we think that was the case anyway). so i'm british pretty well through and through. which is fine but i'm honestly not very proud of what the british did here to this country..... they stripped an entire culture of their own identity and practically erased it completely-- the people and the tradition-- and we are still making up for the unforgivable actions today (as we should be!). so yeah my australian identity feels a little bit conflicting.

so here's the thing. i want to learn and experience the indigenous culture that was so horrible erased by the british colonisation, but i understand how far away i am from indigenous australians and their culture. but i simply can't be a part of "just another western culture" i need more than just being a westerner.... i want my own individual culture that I can share and experience with food and tradition and ART and STORIES! like i feel so lost in "just another western culture".

but here's the other thing. australia is so uniquely isolated in its westerness. even though we are a predominantly western society, we are different. we do have tradition. we do have food. we do have art. we do have stories. it just doesn't look like an old, rich culture, it's growing and it's still young.

i feel like i find myself envying my lack of indigenous identity and therefore having no time to this land and no way in to understand the marvelous culture they have. but then again i also seem to despise my part in the western world. maybe out of consolidation or guilt but maybe also just out of not feeling particularly connected with australia's western traditions. so i'm stuck in this weird inbetween, unable to identify with either culture that make up my country.

i feel a bit lost.

[borntobabygirl]

I was on FaceTime with a friend while playing book three of twisted wonderland and something switched in my brain when Jade said him and Floyd were morays .They were born in the coral sea (which also made them Australian, hehe), but moray eels aren’t native to the coral sea, and only to western parts of the Atlantic Ocean….so does that technically mean Floyd and Jade’s parents were illegal immigrants?..(Assuming, y’know, fish had laws against fish folk from different oceans-)

👀