Thursday, July 31, 2014

Will Anderson out of touch on welfare reforms

Today comedian Will Anderson said that the Government's new rule of applying for 40 jobs in a month is ridiculous.  Given he is in media you can imagine the articles published on sites like News.com.au are bias and support him.  From the tone of the article they have no issue with people being on welfare and think that it's an entitlement.  

Well to quote my friend Joe Hockey, the age of entitlement is over.  Do you think my existing two jobs are my passion? Not at all.  Journalism is.  When I write it's out of the sheer love of it.  Because I'm inspired and care what's happening in the world.  I care about shaping opinions.

So for Will to say people should be picky.....he's one of the lucky ones.  The majority of people don't have that luxury. If for example I only went for jobs I wanted I'd be unemployed right now, probably for two years.  That's how long it was before I had a job I loved, which I only left because of upcoming redundancies.

Will implies you can't focus on what you love when you're working.  Yes you can.  It's all about time management.  It is because I'm so unfulfilled that I blog more and put more effort into journalism applications.  That dissatisfaction motivates me to push myself.  It's the same motivation that got me out of Auckland and back to Sydney on Christmas Eve last year.  And it's the same motivation that will get me my next writing job, even if I have to set up my own publication.

The point I'm making is Will Anderson got lucky and the majority of us have these things called bills to pay.  To do that we need jobs that don't thrill is until we get our dream jobs.  

Working 40 hours a week still leaves you 72 hours a week in which to follow your passion and 40 job applications a month is not even 2 a day on average.  It's not an unreasonable demand.

Will is out of touch.

Why you should take JUST ANY job as a stop gap

The Coalition has received a great deal of criticism since they released their budget in May which consisted of paid parental leave changes, scrapping of the carbon tax and getting tougher on the unemployed.

Recently more details of the policy have come to light.  Those on welfare will be required to apply for 40 jobs a month and relocate if necessary.

This is a policy I support heavily for a number of reasons and I don't think the Coalition's requests are demanding.  

Before I moved back to Sydney I applied for about 200 jobs, heard back from 5 or 6 and had that number of face to face interviews.  The wider you cast your net the greater the chance is you'll pick up a job.  Of course, it may not be a job you like or that you're even qualified for.  But when you have one job it's much easier to find another job and it gives you the money and time to be more picky.

Various discussions I've had with friends have resulted in a number of different views being held.  There are those who say you can't pack up and leave but FIFO workers do it and despite it taking a heavy toll on the mental health of some it actually works for the majority and why should taxpayers pay for you to be picky?

If you however lack the skills to find work then why not up skill?  If you're receiving a benefit you have the time to and you have no money to lose by studying and everything to gain.

Taking a job just for money can have it's other benefits too.  It can give you the money to fund what you're truly passionate about and eventually turn that into a career.  It's much easier to take a risk when you have a steady income than to throw it all away for something that may or may not work out.

And as the post circulating around Facebook says, you might as well fail at something you enjoy.  

Taking a job you hate does suck but it has it's financial rewards which can open up doors.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Why the GQ cover of Kylie Minogue is not stunning.

I am the first person to complain when an overweight person is shown in a magazine and being glorified.  I'm the first person to say I have no issue with skinny models and that size zero doesn't exist, that it's actually a size 4/6 rebranded as a 0 so that people feel better about their physical appearance. 

Tonight though, I came across an article on the New Zealand Herald website with the headline, "Kylie Bares All on 'Stunning GQ Cover".  I actually had to do a double take when I saw the image.  The image has been so badly Photoshopped (and don't get me wrong, I use Photoshop in one of my jobs, and I love the tool but I don't do more than I need to) with airbrushing that it looks nothing like Kylie.  How can an image of an airbrushed woman who doesn't even look like a real woman, let alone 46 be stunning?  Now don't get me wrong, there's a difference between choosing skinny, naturally tall and skinny models and photographing them as they are, and completely modifying someone who already looks good.  To be honest though, I've always thought Kylie looks a bit fake, love her music but don't like her, my favourite sister has always been Dannii from her Home and Away days in the late 80s.

A quick Google search took me to this picture, amongst hundreds of others of Kylie.

Now in this picture Kylie looks truly stunning.  Yes, she has a couple of wrinkles but she looks like a real human being.  If we search for an unedited image of her without make up, this is what comes up.
Kylie Minogue Without Makeup

Now, can someone please tell me what is wrong with this natural image of Kylie?  She doesn't have any make up and she still looks good.  Here's the thing, good looking people are always going to look good with or without make up.  And without excessive airbrushing like in the GQ image, which is actually awful.

Yes, of course men don't buy magazines for how real they are.  They buy them to live a fantasy and that is fair, but why bother with a fantasy that doesn't even exist?  Not even Kylie Minogue looks like the picture of Kylie Minogue in the cover photo.  Doesn't that show you that air brushing has actually gone too far?

Airbushing someone's face is different to showing obese models because everyone gets wrinkles and unless you take good care of your skin, nobody can avoid it.  Wrinkles are simply a part of being 46 and given the photos I've shown you, the first of which shows Kylie as she is at 46, she's doing bloody well.  Whether or not she has had Botox injections is her business and if that's how she wants to age, that's her choice.

Showing obese models however sends an unhealthy message that not looking after your weight and health is a good thing, and could lead to women further developing eating disorders.  Yes, even over eating is an eating disorder as is obesity a symptom of it.

The bottom line is that airbrushing has gone way too far when the photo of the woman on the cover of the magazine doesn't even reflect the person being photographed.

It's time we struck a balance between health, and beauty.  At present it seems it's one or the other, but the reality is, if you have a BMI of between 18 - 25 and eat 3-5 pieces of fruit and veges a day, the chances are you will be healthy.  It is also recommended that you exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, you can increase that for extra health benefits.

Below is the image of Kylie which looks nothing like the real person, Kylie Minogue.