Once a jolly swagman camped by the Billabong
Under the shade of a Coolabah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
"Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?"
Down come a jumbuck to drink at the water hole
Up jumped a swagman and grabbed him in glee
And he sang as he stowed him away in his tucker bag
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Up roading the Squatter a riding his thoroughbred
Up rode the trooper - one, two, three
"Where's that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
But the swagman he up and jumped in the water hole
Drowning himself by the Coolabah tree,
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong,
"Who come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
--A.B. Paterson; from the closing scene of On the Beach
Headlines such as the one above are what it takes to get me to ration my news intake and make me turn to some vapid, light and fluffy entertainment. Something like, oh, world annihilation.
And here's what my alternate choice was: Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, defending hoodlums who attacked their gay pride march was quoted by Rex Wockner as saying, "Russia's morals are cleaner." News reports later said the hoodlums were allegedly paid in cash and McDonald's Happy Meals.
The link is in honor of Jamaica's 44th anniversary. The B of A building in downtown Miami is lit in the colors of the Jamaican flag for the occassion. Critical Miami has a great shot on their blog. Go to the header at top and click on April 27th for a link on Jamaica.
* Ultra-Orthodox protester Yishai Schissel, after Jerusalem police arrested him for stabbing three marchers.
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