Prediction Changes vs. St. Kilda

[Butters Made Me Do It]

They apparently only ate at the hotel. Whatever bland, western, rubbish they ate sat in the fridges there for months. Amateurs. Eat what the locals eat, where lots of locals eat.

Yeah, bang on. I remember visiting Russia mid-90s as capitalism kicked in - the western(ish) food in the hotel was dodgy as, but the stuffed cabbage rolls from the corner shop with all the Mercs and BMWs parked out front were fantastic.

 

[Far Kern]

Yeah, bang on. I remember visiting Russia mid-90s as capitalism kicked in breakdown - the western(ish) food in the hotel was dodgy as, but the stuffed cabbage rolls from the corner shop with all the Mercs and BMWs parked out front were fantastic.

And sure, you always risk some bug you’ve never encountered before, but if it’s packed with locals it’s fresh.

And, you never know, interesting maybe...

 

[240volt]

Nice of Ken to send over some toasties to the St Kilda rooms.

 

[Far Kern]

Yeah, bang on. I remember visiting Russia mid-90s as capitalism kicked in - the western(ish) food in the hotel was dodgy as, but the stuffed cabbage rolls from the corner shop with all the Mercs and BMWs parked out front were fantastic.

And, Russia. How fascinating. I went through a Russian Literature phase when I was meant to be studying other stuff... If you ever felt the need to put down your thoughts somewhere I’d love to read them.

 

[Butters Made Me Do It]

And, Russia. How fascinating. I went through a Russian Literature phase when I was meant to be studying other stuff... If you ever felt the need to put down your thoughts somewhere I’d love to read them.

It definitely wasn't a Russian Literature type visit, probably more akin to the PAFC trip going on right now - lots of drinking and superficial tourism.

Being allowed as some bog standard Aussie oik had only just started being allowed (to the best of my recollection), so it wasn't well set up for visitors. The facade that capitalism creates of `this is all ok, everything is ok' hadn't settled in yet, and the idea of something like the customer always being right was not sitting well.

I got to watch a guy I knew have his first real introduction to capitalism vs ex-communism when he tried to haggle over a shitty t-shirt (I mean, really? They wanted like $3), and got told "If you don't like the price, I will give you this t-shirt for the one you're wearing" - his good quality Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, which probably would've fetched a bit on the local market compared to the see-through one with communist symbols he was asking about. So he turned down that trade and the ensuing argument got a bit hairy tbh, but we got out.

Shortly afterwards I got pickpocketed (bad luck buddy, I didn't have anything on me, as I was middle-class backpacker level povo at that time, but the worst part was that I noticed the kid doing it, and I had no idea what to do with that information, or of what would even be the safe or kind thing to do about it. Fortunately he had an idea of what to do and ran, leaving me with the feeling that identifying pickpockets feels like it breaks the social contract.

And straight up beggars, actively coming up to you for US dollars, safe to say most of our group hadn't seen that before (I had lived in Indonesia as a kid for a bit, so it wasn't so new). One girl on the trip talked to me about how its so sad, so naturally obnoxious 18 year old me, protected by having no cash, asked why she didn't give one of the kids the $100 US she had with her. "What do you need it for? We prepaid the whole trip. That $100 could be a few trinkets or drinks but its probably worth a lot to one of them". Blank expression, tick tick tick. Huh. By our standards it was probably a shitty thing for me to point out, but its one of those things you can be confronted with when you visit a place with in-your-face poverty. What an individual does with that lesson is harder to predict.

Tourist stuff: Gorky Park wasn't well maintained, just seemed like the parklands, Red Square was great, and the most impressive thing to me was the Moscow Metro - I read years later about how communism saw value in building impressive public facilities to share with your people and uplift community, where capitalism preferred impressive private facilities that isolated the few from the many and created luxury. Bang on. Also do a Google image search of the Metro, and then imagine any Australian public transport centre you've been to.

The Hermitage Museum had some interesting art (I wasn't as into it then as I am now, what a waste as I doubt I'll ever go again), but some of the palatial features of the building were amazing to see. Great masonry, lots of marble, lots of opulent touches of the pre-communist era. I imagine the contrast is a bit less visible now.

Visiting a former communist nation gets 5/5 stars from me, would recommend particularly for young people coming from white Australian privilege.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Why does SGray and Westhoff keep getting rewarded for goaless games when Frampton is the one dealing with double teams and umps not paying his marks?

 

[Palpatine_Power]

Food poisoning for the oppo, sides will be queuing up after this one

 

[Cam1870]

Food poisoning for the oppo, sides will be queuing up after this one

But theres a huge financial reward... always just over the horizon

 

[Far Kern]

It definitely wasn't a Russian Literature type visit, probably more akin to the PAFC trip going on right now - lots of drinking and superficial tourism.

Being allowed as some bog standard Aussie oik had only just started being allowed (to the best of my recollection), so it wasn't well set up for visitors. The facade that capitalism creates of `this is all ok, everything is ok' hadn't settled in yet, and the idea of something like the customer always being right was not sitting well.

I got to watch a guy I knew have his first real introduction to capitalism vs ex-communism when he tried to haggle over a shitty t-shirt (I mean, really? They wanted like $3), and got told "If you don't like the price, I will give you this t-shirt for the one you're wearing" - his good quality Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, which probably would've fetched a bit on the local market compared to the see-through one with communist symbols he was asking about. So he turned down that trade and the ensuing argument got a bit hairy tbh, but we got out.

Shortly afterwards I got pickpocketed (bad luck buddy, I didn't have anything on me, as I was middle-class backpacker level povo at that time, but the worst part was that I noticed the kid doing it, and I had no idea what to do with that information, or of what would even be the safe or kind thing to do about it. Fortunately he had an idea of what to do and ran, leaving me with the feeling that identifying pickpockets feels like it breaks the social contract.

And straight up beggars, actively coming up to you for US dollars, safe to say most of our group hadn't seen that before (I had lived in Indonesia as a kid for a bit, so it wasn't so new). One girl on the trip talked to me about how its so sad, so naturally obnoxious 18 year old me, protected by having no cash, asked why she didn't give one of the kids the $100 US she had with her. "What do you need it for? We prepaid the whole trip. That $100 could be a few trinkets or drinks but its probably worth a lot to one of them". Blank expression, tick tick tick. Huh. By our standards it was probably a shitty thing for me to point out, but its one of those things you can be confronted with when you visit a place with in-your-face poverty. What an individual does with that lesson is harder to predict.

Tourist stuff: Gorky Park wasn't well maintained, just seemed like the parklands, Red Square was great, and the most impressive thing to me was the Moscow Metro - I read years later about how communism saw value in building impressive public facilities to share with your people and uplift community, where capitalism preferred impressive private facilities that isolated the few from the many and created luxury. Bang on. Also do a Google image search of the Metro, and then imagine any Australian public transport centre you've been to.

The Hermitage Museum had some interesting art (I wasn't as into it then as I am now, what a waste as I doubt I'll ever go again), but some of the palatial features of the building were amazing to see. Great masonry, lots of marble, lots of opulent touches of the pre-communist era. I imagine the contrast is a bit less visible now.

Visiting a former communist nation gets 5/5 stars from me, would recommend particularly for young people coming from white Australian privilege.

Awesome. Thanks again. I don’t need to google the Metro or the Hermitage. I have a great love of Russian history. As you suggest it’s a pity that you didn’t have a deeper background at that point. My guess though, would be that the contrast might be greater now, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in that there is now a great divide between the super rich and those left behind.

I really understand the pickpocket story, I’ve been in exactly the same position in Melbourne...

And yes, if you are young and wish to travel, go somewhere very different, and figure out in advance how to handle beggars. You probably need to avoid anyone that’s trying something to start with. And it’s not just poor countries that you’ll encounter this.

 

[afl2004]

This is why rockliff was still taken over for.
He looks real happy doing this instead of getting himself 100% and enjoy the last few years of his kids innocence

 

[bomberclifford]

Hello Darkness, my old friend.

 

[Butters Made Me Do It]

My guess though, would be that the contrast might be greater now, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in that there is now a great divide between the super rich and those left behind.

Yeah but I imagine the segregation into those classifications is more enforced now - officials moving more visible/audible beggars away from privileged places so rich people don’t feel bad, like in the Western nations. That particular machine wasn’t well oiled in that strange moment.

And Russian history, most of what I’d learned in school was political rather than social, which is a shame as thats the part I find least interesting now.

What I learned from my Ukrainian grandfather was that you want to be as far away from Russia as you can. It wasn’t until the Crimea invasion that I started to appreciate that position.

 

[Far Kern]

Yeah but I imagine the segregation into those classifications is more enforced now - officials moving more visible/audible beggars away from privileged places so rich people don’t feel bad, like in the Western nations. That particular machine wasn’t well oiled in that strange moment.

And Russian history, most of what I’d learned in school was political rather than social, which is a shame as thats the part I find least interesting now.

What I learned from my Ukrainian grandfather was that you want to be as far away from Russia as you can. It wasn’t until the Crimea invasion that I started to appreciate that position.

Yes, I hadn’t really considered “that strange moment”, very apt; yes, social, it’s such an interesting place, and way of thinking; and, what can I say...

 

[OneGreatClub]

Food poisoning for the oppo, sides will be queuing up after this one

We only have. 3 more years in Shanghai and Saints are already locked in

 

[PatientMental]

Hello Darkness, my old friend.


View attachment 684535

Let's make the bloke who despises media do media.

Could we not have spp or rocky involved with media and let the boaks, hartletts and rozees do our media instead?

 

[PowerBaz]

I actually had two today by the pool to try and absorb the copious amount of Vodka and Tequila consumed last night, currently my head and body are separate entities

Tequila only arises after a few beers, a few wines, the suddenly you’re a whiskey expert, then it’s tequila or sambuca - deleted scenes, I’m never drinking again, three days later ‘tequila anyone’?

 

[PowerBaz]

Why does SGray and Westhoff keep getting rewarded for goaless games when Frampton is the one dealing with double teams and umps not paying his marks?

Because Ken makes his team up in the previous November at the coaches bbq whilst Donna hands out snags, he wasn’t in it then you see.... Ken is a one dimensional one trick pony.... ‘Dixon’ and nothing else.

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

And to think that a only day earlier we were ridiculing this genius move. I'm now convinced that the Coke Zero KPF™ game plan is a winner.

It's not genius if cheese and ham toasties are all you eat at home as well.

 

[crafty_bernardo]

[IMG='width:496px;']https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D79s8DFUwAAIOcy.jpg:large[/IMG]

There's a chance ...

 

[Killer Power]

[IMG='width:496px;']https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D79s8DFUwAAIOcy.jpg:large[/IMG]

There's a chance ...

What’s going on there?

 

[Capital Power]

Let's make the bloke who despises media do media.

Could we not have spp or rocky involved with media and let the boaks, hartletts and rozees do our media instead?

I thought the whole point of us giving out captains badges with the corn flakes was that media commitments could be shared around? So yeah, send the guys who have been dropped and/or injured because it'll make them feel so much more positive about missing out

 

[crafty_bernardo]

What’s going on there?

No idea unfortunately, hopefully someone can give the intel

 

[Power Girl]

[IMG='width:496px;']https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D79s8DFUwAAIOcy.jpg:large[/IMG]

There's a chance ...

No they will give Ryder a pair of crutches before they pick Billy.

Ken's M.O. is to play as many injured and underdone players as possible and then use it as an excuse.

 

[Killer Power]

No they will give Ryder a pair of crutches before they pick Billy.

Ken's M.O. is to play as many injured and underdone players as possible and then use it as an excuse.

Did Billy travel?

 

[crafty_bernardo]

No they will give Ryder a pair of crutches before they pick Billy.

Ken's M.O. is to play as many injured and underdone players as possible and then use it as an excuse.

Forgot about that.. was trying to find a reason to get at least the slightest excited for tomorrow's game. You killed it Power Girl!

Did Billy travel?

Yep he made it over, he's first emergency