Wildlife Wednesday - blue-arsed fly

We have a saying here in Australia, or my Dad does anyway, about a blue-arsed fly. When you're really busy, you're running around like a blue-arsed fly.

I looked it up online and you can read about the expression here. It's not just Dad's! :)

Anyway, a few weeks back we were having family photos done in a park. The kids were looking for cicada shells on the paperbark trees so I went to help them collect, and then I got all excited. I yelled for Dad and hubby with his phone. Surrounded by kids, and I yell, "My God, Dad, get over here. There's a blue-arsed fly."

Needless to say the mothers, my sisters, sighed with exasperation ... but Dad and Mr E came at my call. Dad as excited as me, and Mr E handing over his phone so I could get a photo.

I think it's a blowfly, also called a bluebottle. But according to my more extensive look at websites and books, it could also be the Snail Parasitic Blowfly - because of those white dots. It seems that they are indicative of that species (see here) - although I'm not sure it's right. If you look at this gorgeous shot on the Australian Museum site here, it doesn't look half as stunning.

So, yep, me and my good IDing! I'm calling it a blue-arsed fly :)

Sunday Story - Night Games

Night Games by Anna Krien.

This book - loved it!

I've had a few Phallic Friday posts where I've ranted about footy players and their stupid antics denigrating women, and thsi book is all about that.

It takes all my muddled up thought, all my ranting, all the feels I've ever had on the subject, and puts into a whole coherent book.

It's largely structured around a rape case involving AFL footballers, but it explores so much more. It looks at similar instances of rape of women in Rugby League (even if she mostly calls it rugby).

It then looks at the treatment of women, generally, in sport. It gives instances and anecdotes about the difficulties of being a female sports reporter and a club board member. It shows the fight women have had to be on equal footing with men, and not just slaving behind the scenes.

It sits on the fence, largely. I think this might be because Anna Krien is a journalist and wants to open up a discussion, not force her point of view at the world. This is responsible for most of the 1 and 2 star reviews I saw.

It's not a thick or heavy book. I read it quite quickly. I felt it synthesised so many thoughts that I had. It showed up the sporting world in a different light to how the media mostly portray it. And it showed a journalist who thought about the subject she was reporting on, not just wrote what she saw. Because she delved into the rape case, and thought about what wasn't being seen, said or investigated, she came up with a story that was so moving, I couldn't help but keep reading - and have undecided loyalties.

A fabulous read. I can't recommend it enough to women who like sport, but are confused by the behaviour of many men involved.

Phallic Friday - being a woman

Today's post is inspired by a peculiar article I read on the news.com.au website. You can read it here.

A male comedian wasn't having much luck on the dating app, Tinder, so he thought he might create a female profile and see if he could learn something.

From the small amount of detail in this article, I think he learned far more than he expected about the slime-balls some women have to put up with on social media.

He received over 400 messages - heaps of date requests, most given in a manner than horrified him. He thought some suggestions should be illegal. I read them and shrugged. They seemed kind of normal for the weird people who hound you on social media.

It's not easy being a woman. There's an expectation that you should always 'look your best' which to most people means make up, body-hugging clothes, and uncomfortable shoes. Yet, when you dress like that, and attract attention, you're said to be 'asking for it'. There's some fine line between looking your best and attracting attention that is impossible to find.

I'm useless at conforming and rarely go to any effort to 'look my best' and still I attract the weirdos who want to leave all sorts of ridiculous suggestions for me. Facebook is full of these types, and it's not even a dating service! I hate to think what Tinder would be like.

Being a woman isn't easy. As I think this poor guy discovered! Good for him for having a go and seeing what it was like from the other side.

Do you get harassed by strange men wanting to do odd things?

Wildlife Wednesday - Dolphins

There's something magical about dolphins. When we were in Cairns, I booked on a sailing vessel out to Green Island but no wind meant it was motored, but no matter. I was looking for a small group and that's what I got.

Coming home, we came across a pod of dolphins. And when I say came across, the Captain stopped the boat and waited for the dolphins to come and play.

The crew leaned over and called and yeehaaed and explained that these dolphins knew them and enjoyed riding the bow waves. I knew dolphins enjoyed riding bow waves...but I didn't know they came when called. These ones did (sort of like Flipper of you're that old!).

We were towing a dinghy out the back, and while everyone crowded around the front of the boat and oohed and ahhed over the amazing animals, out the back, quietly cruising on the bow wave of the dinghy were a couple more dolphins completely out of the limelight.

The ones who worked the crowd, worked hard. The rode the waves, drifted out for photos, came back in. They hung around for maybe 20 minutes. And not a soul on that boat wasn't captivated. You can see in the second picture that everyone is there, right on the edge, jammed up tight, just to watch these animals.

I wonder what makes them everyone's favourite? Is it that they seem to interact with people? Is it that they often travel in groups, which may be families? Is it that they have no capacity to bite us? Is it the popular media coverage they've always enjoyed?

Earlier in the day three white tip reef sharks circled the boat and I was pretty much the only person taking photos and being amazed by them. A dolphin and a shark don't look that different to make everyone love one and hate/fear the other. It's an interesting observation I made that day. It made me feel a bit sorry for the poor old shark.

Any ideas?