Newport Panoramic

Power Tools and Crutches

I admit it, ankle surgery has prevented me from posting anything for nearly a month. Well maybe not but it certainly sounds like a great excuse and to be truthful recuperating on my back has not been conducive to spending time in front of the screen. It's amazing the way a sprained ankle spirals out of control and before you know it the power tools are out and you're sucking on some anaesthetic. Amazingly I have made it this long without ever having to visit a hospital (babies excepted) let alone be a patient myself. To be truthful the time in hospital wasn't too unpleasant however the days immediately after sucked! Another week on crutches although I am back at work and visiting the favourite coffee shop. Life only ever returns to normal when the beach is once again prominent, and it's easy to realise how much I've taken the family time on the beach for granted.

Winter in Hawaii

Unseasonal Weather

The East Coast of the US has been hit by blizzards and subzero temperatures for the last couple of weeks. The winter here in Hawaii has been somewhat milder although it did get down to 22°C last night! We haven't had to bother with any winter clothing (I'm not sure if I even own a pair of long trousers). Nevertheless Isabel got a taste of winter fun with a snow day in Hawaii! Trying to find some winter gloves in Hawaii is as difficult as it sounds. I'm not sure where they found the snow but the kids had a great time in the hour and a half that it took to melt.

The Political Landscape

I have watched with great interest events within the Australian Labor Party from afar. The demise of Mark Latham although not unexpected has been quite entertaining, or so I have thought. Of course I have been relegated to following events via the Internet and the occasional clip that I have watched on broadband. The one thing that has struck me is how civil the Australian press is in comparison to the US. The Liberal versus Labor story is relatively staid although I was interested to note the emergence of commentary like Margo Kingston's during the last election.

It was awesome to sit on the sidelines here in the US during a presidential election year. The Conservatives versus the Liberals is in comparison a more thoroughly entertaining show. I may be strange but there is a lot of entertainment value listening to some of the Conservative commentators on the radio. They make Australian commentators such as Stan Zemanek, Ron Casey or Derryn Hinch appear like choir boys. No subject is taboo and as long as it involves bashing the Democrats then it is open season. All of society's ills, world disasters and the moral unraveling of society can be sheeted home to John Kerry (and now that he has lost the election Senator Kennedy has resumed his position as the Conservative's favourite whipping post). I haven't found any Liberal commentators that are as cutting or as entertaining, but then again my car radio only receives a single radio station.

I hope my view of American politics hasn't been coloured by my choice of car!

The proof is in the ....

Americanization of the Kids

For the fourth time in as many days someone has mentioned that Isabel has a very strong American accent. Well, what do you expect? To be truthful being over here I hadn't noticed any difference and have to listen really closely to even get a hint of the accent. To me it is not so much the accent but the use of specific words which is really noticeable; mom, jelly etc

Liam on the other hand does not appear so afflicted. He still retains a semblance of his Australian twang, although he too has started to adopt popular American idiom. I find it interesting and have refrained from interjecting until I heard "y'all" (I think he meant to say "you all"). I may let him use "y'all" when we visit N'orleans in the summer or if we meet Oprah in Chicago but until then a simple "Mate" will do.