Good Stuff. Investment Advice. Paris.

I went and saw my lovely little niece on Saturday, and had cuddles. It was a very beautiful experience, and great to see my sister taking it all in her stride, and baby boobin' like a champion. I feel that what I write on the blog cannot really do justice to it, so I will leave it at this. I am a very proud Auntie and show the pics to anyone who will look and squee.

I won my first research grant in my own name. This is also a great and somewhat scary thing. It makes me feel good about my choice to continue my research.

But Paris.

Oh Paris.

I feel as horrified about this as everybody else, and empathise as much as anybody who has not been in the situation can.

I won't be praying for Paris though, because (pardon my French) it won't do shit.

I found it really hard to know what to do. I don't really think I can express my feelings about it on social media, as it will come out all wrong.

I remember, back in 2003, being against the invasion of Iraq. I had little understanding of the religious and sectarian divides (still don't), but I didn't think that Saddam had any weapons of mass destruction, and that it was all about oil, and that it would come back to bite us. I was also deeply uncomfortable with the prospect of collateral damage in the form of the death and brutalisation of innocent civilians.

12 years later, the innocent civilians continue to be brutalised and displaced, or have died. There was a power vacuum that led to the development of a fundamentalist Islam organisation based in multiple sites, with multiple heads. An organisation that will be very difficult to defeat, at least without significant collateral damage, and more civilians who are brutalised. They will see bombs from the West, and they will be angry. I don't see how it can end peacefully.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The invasion of Iraq, and the propping up of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and many other military incursions have shown us this. I don't know what it is that we do, but think it needs to be different to continued aggression.

So I went and got Financial Advice today. What does that have to do with Paris and Wars? Why the 180? Bear with me.

I went and got a free advice session from a planner in my superannuation fund. It was very helpful.

At the end, I was asking about where the funds were invested. I asked about Tobacco. The adviser told me that a Melbourne Oncologist kicked up a stink when she found out that the super fund of most doctors invested in tobacco. The fund did the modelling and found that it was better to pull out of tobacco company investment.

The adviser added, quite matter of factly "but we do fund Arms Dealers". He told me about a socially responsible investment stream that has comparable return to the default investment strategy.

I had a think about this going home on the bus. (I have discovered the bus from near my house into the city and I love it).

Arms Dealers? Like Nic Cage on "Lord of War" arms dealers? I could only think of one - Lockheed Martin, in the US. I Googled Arms Manufacturing Firms, and got a big list on Wikipedia.

Clearly, war, or "defence" is a big, big business, and this had not ever occurred to me. It's big money for a handful of the rich and powerful. It's not in their interest for there to be peace. I shudder to think of the part they play in the decision making process regarding whether to start military attacks against countries, such as we have seen with France retaliating against Syria.

I am aware that many companies do things that we find objectionable. But at the end of the day, people make the choice to smoke, or drink cola, and if they are lucky, they get the super profitable drug.

The civilians of the nations that are bombed get no choice in it. They are then provided arms to go and bomb and kill and maim in kind.

I really don't want any part of it.

Generally speaking the world doesn't really care what I have to say. But the powers that be do care, very much, about my money. In world terms, I have a lot of it. I won't be investing in these companies.

Hopefully others will consider the same; it will achieve more than what a red white and blue status picture ever will.

Things I'm thinking about at the moment...

There are lots of things I am thinking about at the moment. They change with the day, but here are some recurring thoughts. Some serious, some more fluffy and light.

I am thinking of the poor families of the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines flight that vanished off the face of the earth.

I am thinking of all of the times I got on planes to travel here and there. The trust I put in the pilot, my fellow passengers. That I didn't get too annoyed about the safety and security measures, because they were there to protect us. The times where I didn't even think about the risk of a crash.

Mostly the civil aviation authorities are one step ahead of major disasters. The carry-on luggage rules become ever-more strict.

In the past, I have made big journeys just after big disasters - a couple of months after 11/9/2011. Four weeks after the London bombings in 2005. I am going to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday on an MH flight.

These things are terrible, and (hopefully) make us take stock of how lucky we are. We hug our loved ones goodbye just that little more fervently.

We also remember that we must continue to live how we want to.

I am thinking about Scott Ludlam's speech to an empty senate chamber. Good thing it has gone viral. How eloquent it seems in comparison to the man who runs our country. How frustrating it is that good ideas and the ability to verbalise and sell them shrink in the public consciousness next to pandering to people's less honourable instincts.

I am thinking about child marriage in Iraq. How girls as young as nine are able to be married off, overseen by clerics.

I am thinking about how, when you chop off one head, the one that grows in its place may also be problematic.

I am thinking about a difficult and unpleasant encounter I had at work on Friday. Did I try my very best? I think so. Would I handle it differently in future? Probably yes. Not because that would necessarily be the right thing to do, it's just so I am less likely to have this sort of thing happen again. Unfortunately, we have to protect ourselves.

But that is all a bit heavy, is it not?

There was a lot of buzz about the Oscars frocks. I liked Cate's frock. Lupita's has grown on me. Kate Hudson's was smart too. The rest were very meh.

The more important question that I pondered was "which Hollywood actor would I do?".

I have to say that Leonardo Di Caprio does nothing for me. Too baby faced.
Brad Pitt, ditto.

Matthew McConaughey - hmmmm, maybe.

There are three I luff.

Kevin Spacey.
James Spader (nowadays, not when he was young)
Daniel Craig.

You all probably think I am mad.

I love them because they are, at least on screen, very confident. They are quirky and clever. They have a bit of menace about them. None of them are classically good looking.

It just shows you the difference between attractiveness and good looks.

Speaking of Kevin Spacey,  HOW GOOD IS THE SHOW "HOUSE OF CARDS"?!?!?!
That Frank and Claire are diabolical. They manipulate with sociopathic disregard for the wants or needs of others. Others, such as Russo, just go to water in their presence. I can't stop thinking about that scene where Russo goes to Frank's house with the aim of beating him up, Claire kindly invites him in, then Frank humiliates him, almost goading him into self-harm

It is compelling watching, particularly with such brilliant actors.

I also have recently had an MRI of my spine. I have had longstanding back issues. The scan revealed only old problems, which was a relief.

I have seen physios and sports doctors about the problem, and done lots of Pilates. None of which have given very durable relief.

So I went to see an osteopath. I have to say I was quite impressed, how he looked at my body in its entirety, and gave me a sensible explanation for why I was getting pain, and what I could do about it. I am relieved to say that it's not all in my head, rather a series of weaknesses/tightnesses in certain places which add up to give pain.

Also, my fella and I are looking into getting a dog. I miss my little Candydog. I will let you know how that goes.


What is on your mind at the moment?
Which Hollywood star would you do?
Do you see any body therapists? Do you swear by acupuncture, or go for Reiki?