Tag Archives: Alan Attwood

bitter and negative

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I got really pissed off this afternoon when the RBA cut the official Australian interest rate by a full 1 percent. It means that K and I won’t be able to save as fast anymore because our savings won’t compound as much, which is really annoying.

After work it was still bothering me when I decided that I should stop worrying about it at all, and I should stop being so negative. I’m really passionate about housing (un)affordability, but I think lately I’ve been coming across bitter and negative, especially towards some speculative property investors who I work with.

So I decided to do something nice, but lo-fi, tonight, to take my mind off it. We went to Kangaroo Point cliffs with a picnic and sat and watched the river and the city. We listened to Radiohead’s OK Computer which I, remarkably, had lost over the years.

At home we then watched YouTube film clips of heaps of the songs we remember from growing up. My favourite was ‘She don’t use Jelly‘ by The Flaming Lips.

In bed I started to read my Big Issue from yesterday. Straight away I saw a Hearsay quote I loved:

“You can’t keep money around for ever. It’s like saving sex for your old age.” ~ Warren Buffett

Then I read Editor Alan Attwood report that The Big Issue street sales are suffering because of the current economical climate:

“The general economic malaise has made it harder than ever to sell magazines on the street.” ~ Alan Attwood Editor, TBI 314

I couldn’t sleep. I decided to get up and re-read Instructions for Life. I then thought about writing this blog post.

But maybe dropping interest rates today wasn’t such a bad thing. It might finally free up some cash for people to actually buy a copy of The Big Issue off Greg, or one of the other street vendors. Or maybe they’ll just use the freed cash to buy some more shit for their MacMansions, or worse, to feed those hungry hungry pokies. But I’m just being bitter and negative again, aren’t I?

the big glossy issue

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I look forward to every second Monday because it means I get to buy a new edition of The Big Issue off my street vendor Greg. I’ve been reading it for a while now so I was surprised on Monday when I opened it up and immediately realised that something was different; it was glossy, like a new iMac.

The Big Issue 310

The Big Issue 310

I was a big fan of the old matte print. It was easy to read and didn’t have the same print feel as a lot of the other magazines available in Australia which are typically high gloss, possibly designed that way to attract the attention of consumers when sitting for sale on newsagents stands. Most vendors I see selling TBI use a glossy clear plastic sleeve anyway, so why the need for gloss?

I looked through the magazine trying to find some mention of this new print style but I couldn’t seem to find anything. I could only find that the paper is still 20% recycled. The only place I could find any mention of the new printing style was three quarters through Editor Alan Attwood’s vendor’s introduction speech in Melbourne on YouTube. Thankfully he says they’re making some changes to the printing style and that it may not be permanent and could change again soon.

I just hope that the new glossy paper is not radioactive.