Tall, Dark and Handsome... With A Moustache

The recent spate of deliciously retrospective television viewing has been catnip to this 1970s child. For years I have been explaining to Gen Y and Gen Z lasses why I actually enjoy the eye candy during ‘Movember’ due to my love of the moustachioed man. These young gals, used to dating men who have laser removed any errant hairs off their body for fear of displaying a whiff of testosterone, shake their heads in bewilderment and wonder aloud at my peculiar attraction to this dated facial hair style. But I know why I love this look. Two words: Dennis Lillee.

Watching ‘Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War’ was an enjoyable trip down memory lane. My husband was intrigued that this non-sport-watching woman could name all the players in episode one. But I reminded him that those halcyon days of cricket were the soundtrack to my childhood. I remember playing with my Barbies in front of our tiny, boxy Panasonic television, as Dad cracked open a KB and urged Lillee and Chappell on - and I would have been taking in all that magnificent visual imagery by osmosis. I remember watching Lillee fly down the wicket, luscious locks lifted by the wind, sweat glistening on his luxuriant chest hair, sunlight glinting off his gold chains, and teeth flashing under his thick moustache. And I thought - that’s a man!

I could run down a list of similarly manly men that I still look at and think, “phoar”: Tom Selleck, Robert De Costello, Sean Connery, George Negus, Burt Reynolds (in his glory days – not now!!!).  All the same man - moustache, chest hair, glint in the eye, rugged. Think of them busting out of their tight 1970s shirts, seductively unbuttoned to the waist. Their jeans were tight around the waist, and flared out magnificently over their platform boots. Or they’d be wearing stubbies and double plugger thongs... actually, forget the stubbies (let’s all agree that was a bad look).

Could it be that my idea of manly perfection was set by those first images I saw on television as a child? They do say that we are sponges in those formative years.  Is the look of our day, the fashion from our formative years, the look that then forms our ideal of perfection? And if that’s the case, will my daughter in 2030 be lusting after men with Justin Beiber floppy hair, doe eyes, and spray tanned hairless chests? God help her. But God also help the women whose ideal was formed in the 30s at the picture shows: they’ve probably been searching in futility for Cary Grant lookalikes strolling the suburban malls of Australia.  I guess they are in the same boat as those eighties girls dreaming of Simon le Bon look-alikes in puffy pirate shirts and black eyeliner. Or Baby Boomers searching online dating sites for men with mop-top haircuts,  mod suits and Liverpudlian accents.

At least I have 30 days in Movember...                          

                                                                                                                                    

All By Myself.... ivillage Post

Here is the latest post on ivillage - check it out...

http://www.ivillage.com.au/could-be-seriously-good-your-soul/148812

Common Sense Means Increased Cents

We could talk at length about the topic of marketing kids clothing in a prematurely sexualised fashion but that's not the issue that piqued my interest today regarding the news that a Facebook user's criticism of Target's kids' clothing went viral (http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/storm-over-targets-trampy-fashion-sense-20120813-244xz.html) What interested me was the deathly slow response Target had in quelling the issue: more than 24 hours after the comment was posted. And in the social media world - that's like a lifetime. Target have now posted an email with an apology for any offense caused by their marketing and asked the individual who made the complaint to discuss offline her problem with the clothing products. This was after 44 000 'likes' on the comment spiralled the issue out of control and 2300 comments agreed whole heartedly with the concerned consumer...and this was after Target was hit with the sort of negative national press that I'm sure it would rather not receive.

Social media is fast. Social media is pithy. And social media users become bored with a story really quickly, especially if an issue is quelled quietly, and on the spot before a flame of interest can be ignited. If retailers are to use social media (and let's face it, they're all having a crack now), they need to employ staff who understand how to manage their online marketing, and empower those individuals to deal with matters professionally and efficiently. It doesn't take a genius to guess that if you have a Facebook page that invites commentary from the public, you are bound to have complaints come your way - did Target not have some sort of procedure in place for responding to any complaint immediately with a pat line composed by the marketing team? It's my bet that some poor sap running the website had to send the email up through the hierarchy to think about whether the issue was worth responding to - and then had to wait for the big wigs to give him/her the authority to send an apology email. But - alas, the horse had bolted and the news websites and tv programmes had already grabbed the story and run with it...

All it takes is a bit of common sense to deal with customer complaints, but like a churlish old woman, I rather fear that common sense is disappearing from this world. And like a churlish old woman I think it best not to delve into the argument that kids' clothing is becoming too sexualised... Toddlers and Tiaras anyone?

Project Updates!

Now for an update on how the projects are progressing.

Renovations: We've almost come to the end of painting the rendered exterior in the obligatory 'coastal' off white and grey. I must say that rendering really freshens the outdated red brick but as with all good things in life, came at an expense... needless to say, at the end of this stint of renovations we will be penniless. But luckily we can subsist on our own agricultural pursuits....

Gardening: We are now reaping the rewards of patiently tending to our veggie patch and have had TWO WHOLE MEALS from our harvest! A silverbeet, chorizo and cannelini bean dish and broccoli with our lamb and cous cous tonight. I can certainly attest to the silverbeet and broccoli being crisper than their store bought peers, and they were, of course cheaper as well! First stop - supplying our crisper, next stop - supplying Woolworths. Well, you have to dream big...

Running: Completed the Sutherland to Surf 11 km run in a much better time than expected! It was a miserable, drizzling morning so I stepped up the pace just so I could finish gthe damn thing and get indoors. Didn't stop the whole way and completed the run in one hour and seven minutes. There's fight in this old dog yet...

Baking: Have to confess that my recent baking attemtps were both from .... (look around and lower voice)... packet mixes. Shocking, I know. I tried to make pizza dough from a packet mix and while it was edible, it was a bit thick and gooey. Problem diagnosed there - I need to roll out the base a bit better, rather than trying to prise a globby mess off the kitchen counter and throwing it on the pizza stone. Then I tried a Donna Hay mix to make macarons. I didn't believe that you could put such an infamously hard-to-make sweet treat from a mix, and it turns out - you can't. Sorry Donna. Actually, they tasted pretty good but didn't rise as much as Zumbos (no surprises there). And I made them the size of frisbees. However, a frisbee sized flat macaron is still pretty good to eat, thus proving that the path to hell is lined with macarons.

Books: Finished reading Chris Cleave's 'Gold' and really found it hard to believe that it was the same author that wrote the brilliant 'The Other Hand'. Looked up a review online to see how it has been received by the critics. Came across one from The Guardian which, paraphrased, wondered 'Is this the same author who wrote....'. Maybe I should write reviews for the Guardian? The novel was fine for an airport style page turner to fill the hours, but hardly the standard of work expected from this author. Still, it was relevant at the moment while the Olympics are on. Speaking of which, back to the tv, someone's about to cry again over being only the second best at something in the world...