Dear family, friends and lost people looking for internet pornography,

Raphael has wassailed me with such an emcumbered lament - for I the bard of Brazil Fair has forsaken thee and refrained from sharing my stellar wit with those less fortunate, namely you mob! In other words - he told me to write something - anything - we need content Parker get me a shot of Spiderman! A.S.A.P.

And so I have written - in fact this should have gone in my blog but I as Raph has endevoured to reformulate the Segal site I decided to post this here - I call it my ode to procrastination or why we never seem to have time to finish things we start or in other words… I’ll tell you later. It is between a rant and a whinge with touches of pathos which should get me a good review on SBS if they still have those weird foreign movies on.

Once again it is good to be back but it is funny as I didn’t realise I had even gone away.

Beijos,

Damien in Brazil

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Well once again I am here with nothing to say and what is worse - a lot of it. Please fasten you seat belts and place all hand luggage in the overhead compartments - this is going to be a bumpy ride…

We dedicated bloggers wait for the perfect moment to write our scholarly tomes, with wit and worldly wile to instruct or better yet protect our fellow human beings yet it is a wait in vain. Ash we ponder the existence of life the washing machine starts banging against the wall, someone left the fridge open and it is filled with ice and the dog seems to have left a chocolate Mr. Whippy surprise on the living room carpet just as friends are arriving for dinner.

The observation that life is not how you live but rather how you have affected those around you seems unimportant next to the dog choking on a piece of my flip flop and finally passing out - followed by frantic calls to vet, the said vet rushing here on a Saturday night and the final result of Live dog 1 - flip flop 0 and a very relieved mother, father and vet and a dog oblivious to it all as the first thing it does after all the drams is attack the foam stuffing of the sofa.

The clarify of age as a way of gauging the rise and fall of society as a moral or even egalitarian community is a challenging one with observations of “When I was a lad we used to respect our elders” and “in my day men held doors open for women” as simple yet subtle examples of the failure of our education system and a damning of the Mtv generation as a whole pale into comparison with the fact the new computer suddenly stopped working because there was too much water in it (I know: Computer + Water = BAD), but how can one guard against excessive humidity when we are too concerned with simply not freezing to death in the sub zero temperatures (ok - not really sub-zero but it is cold) and now just when we wish to debate the merits of the disaster epic Cloverfield as the movie Godzilla should have been, we have to stop everything and fix the bloody shower as the wife is screaming with shampoo in her eyes as it is freezing and the dogs have decided to start barking in sympathy with the cruel and inhuman of it all or maybe it is just the noise from the neighbour next door coming back and banging his door which set them off and then I am torn between silencing the cacophony of barking dogs with a good old newspaper on the bum or saving the screaming missus from the cold blindness of no more tears shampoo. So what would you do? More on that later …

So we contemplate the cruelty of whining about how we are too commercialized and driven to consumer excess and never take the time anymore to stop and really smell the flowers (admit it, when WAS the last time???) and play the song Beautiful by Marillion endlessly for a week until the CD starts skipping and then decide it is time to get a new copy and so it begins whether or not to trade up to a DVD or go the whole hog and get and IPOD and then if you getting and IPOD why not and IPHONE or an ITOUCH as well and finally returning home with on IPOD and ITOUCH and a IPOD shuffle just to show off to the mates at work. And then one of them shows you his new Nokia N95 cell phone with GPS and then you start to feel like a fool for buying a stupid IPOD and start lusting after a Motorola V9 with expanded memory. Smell the flowers? Better yet I can show you video of them on my Sony Digital Camera with optical and digital zoom. Finally we stay up all night download shitloads of pirate MP3s in some kind of minor rebellion against all this consumerism forgetting the Radiohead CD was free in the first place and that we spent the best part of our next three salaries buying things we didn’t really need in the first place and add the icing to the cake by stealing the complete collection of Marillion albums downloaded on bit torrent and then we play Beautiful and think what a pretentious load of crap it is and forget the irony of it being a top selling single of its time. Maybe we should have listen to Luka and gone out a beaten up a few child abusers - would have a lot cheaper except we can’t as we have to drop everything and substitute a coworker who is out with the mysterious condition of “Women’s problems” and who know what the hell that is but the mere mention sends chills down many a man’s spine with horror images of strange tampon commercials and that Four Corners ABC special you saw as a kid about the Dalcon Shield and how many women died and stop being such a wuss about it - suck it up there boy, women are the weaker sex but then again they can stand 36 hours of labour without morphine and we cry like babies when our football teams lose.

So who is really taking advantage of whom in the great scheme of things and then, bugger! you just remembered you forgot to go to the supermarket and the little wife is going to string you up for forgetting her bloody chocolate bikkies and that crappy little fine herb cheese spread that costs more than imported caviar per gram - or is it millilitre for cheese spread - I mean, it is semi-solid but it is also semi-liquid. Well it is a moot point as you are going to get an earful anyway irrespective of the density and consistency of said cheese product and then you remember Life of Brian by Monty Python “Blessed are the cheesemakers” and think maybe they know something that we don’t. Smacks of conspiracy, if you ask me and don’t even mention Harold Holt!

And so it is, another month has passed and the blog lies abandoned like that old slip and slide that was ripped when you forgot to take your keys out of your pocket and did a crazy frog belly flop jumping slide and sliced the poor thing to bits and of course discovering the meaning of the word “groining” in the process. You know where it is on the web or in the garden shed next to the umpteen half-finished projects you started with your Dremel and gave up on for lack of time, talent, blood doners or fingers.

It is still there and then when everything is quiet, in the eye of the storm when the sky is still and you think that just maybe you are going to get a full 10 minutes of quality “ME” time to post a quirky epithet it happens! Quiet - Silence - and you slowly load up your Wordpress page, login and start thinking of a catchy title that is pithy but not a cliché and it hits you … Nirvana! The perfect blog title and you are really going to become a legend with this one and make it all the way to the Webby awards only to miss out to some cross dressing TRON/Peter Pan/ Chinese Lip synching duo.
You push enter and then life coming racing up to bit you on the bum again - it’s the missus screaming again the shower has gone cold and with her shampooey eyes she can’t see enough to turn off the taps and the dogs are barking in unity with their fallen comrade so recklessly lost to the cold ablution, so you close the blog page, get up and go turn off the shower all the while getting an earful for taking so bloody long and why couldn’t you have fixed it correctly the first time. The moment becomes an epiphany - you understand what to do - and then you realise you have soaked your arms and have to change your shirt and finally forgot all about your sudden a blinding moment of clarity - “Ah tomorrow I will do and update with that humerous picture of me in a lampshade at the office party, hoho very droll Mr. Segal, very droll indeed…” yet tomorrow never comes and our blog slowly dies from abandon and the war is lost.

So there is the reason for my lateness of updates, I hope that clears everything up, sorry can’t stay, the toilet has backed up and the validity of holding the moral high ground over China for human rights abuses seems just a bit less important in the context of the lost generations while the Olympic torch winds its sorry path around the globe as you have to decide whether it is worse to cough up $100 for a plumber of try and fish around down there in the soup of nightmares. What the hell, $100 isn’t so much really and you justify the cop out as a fear of contracting one of hundreds of nasty conditions from Typhoid to Beri Beri and even the Heebie Jeebies for having put your hand into all that crap with the knowledge that if you do it life will never be the same as the phrase will echo and haunt you - “I’ll never eat Kentucky Fried Chicken again!”.

But of course I digress, you should know the solution to the conundrum that I faced so bravely - do you stop the dogs barking or save the missus from the freezing shower first?

The answer my little snowflakes is simple: Spank the dogs and they will shut up immediately, the missus however won’t shut up for hours no matter what you do. Just grin and bear it - she’ll calm down … until she remembers you forgot the cheese spread. Oh crap!

A couple of weekends ago I married my friends Ben and Michaela. I was more nervous than the groom. I gave a short speech and then into the wedding. It was fantastic. I then MC’d the reception and sang with the band. Lydia also did the make-up so we are fast becoming the wedding one stop shop in Adelaide.Everyone loved the wedding and we partied into the night!

So now I ain’t a wedding virgin -I have cut my teeth finally as a real Reverend.

Raph

OK ..OK ..OK yes I know this has taken me a while but I do get to things eventually! All family members I will give you your passwords to contribute shortly. Hope you like it. There are a few things to go like the mp3 player for Damiens and my music. and maybe a video player for some fun too.

Raph

Born into this World on 3^rd June, 1907: Passed to God on 6^th April, 2007

Anne Segal, mother of Graham and Ian, passed away peacefully in the early evening of 6th April 2007 doing what she enjoyed: having a cup of tea and a natter with her friends at the Three Trees Retirement Home. One of the ladies having tea with Anne told me that at the time of Anne’s passing all appeared well and Anne was her normal cheerful self, contributing to the conversation. Suddenly however, she unexpectedly looked up towards heaven in mid-sentence, stood up and raised her arms as if embracing or welcoming God and then settled peacefully back in her chair. She died in that instant without pain, without suffering, without regret. We, her remaining family, are grateful to God for such a quick passing.

We know she had no regrets because she had told everyone who ever visited her that she did not wish to reach her 100th birthday. She passed away eight weeks prior to it. Anne, for the most part, enjoyed good health right to the end. She had had some serious bouts with illness in earlier times. But she had a strong will to live and a strong constitution, and was always able to pull through the difficult times. Continue reading “Vale: Anne Segal”

Born into this World on 3rd June, 1907: Passed to God on 6th April, 2007

In December 2001, the Prime Minister, The Hon John Howard MP announced the creation of a Centenary Medal to honour living persons who have made a contribution to Australian society or government, including those who have lived during the last hundred years. Anne Segal, our family Matriarch (God Bless Her) was nominated to receive a Centenary Medal ‘for services to the community, in particular for service to Lithgow Meals on Wheels’.

The whole Segal Clan say to Nanna: “Well Done, Nanna! You are an inspiration to the younger Segal’s and a great role model for the older Segal’s. We all send you our congratulations and best wishes with lots of love and we trust you will keep batting on for a few more years yet”.

Nanna will be 97 years young in June. She enjoys reasonably good health although, in her own words, she suffers with the usual aches and pains that all 96 year-olds seem to get from time to time.

I am pleased to announce the list of awardees for the Centenary Medal has been finalised and recipients will shortly receive their medals. Their names can be found on the website http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/. The Centenary Medal was created to recognise the achievements of a cross-section of the Australian community at the time of the centenary of federation and to prepare for the challenges of the new century by honouring persons who have contributed to Australian society or government. This is an important medal and it is desirable that contributions made during the centenary year especially by those who helped make it a memorable time in the life of the nation be recognised.
Continue reading “Nanna in the News! Another SSS (Segal Success Story)”

We are reaching the climax of the year 2002, and as it draws to a close I pause to reflect of the goings on in our country, the world as well as our own family. Lots of things have happened …

Solomon has grown so much this year it is hard to beleive that we were in the birthing room only 18months ago. He is a tall bub with lots of independence. He now can climb, say a few words, brush his own teeth with tooth paste put on his brush by himself, get himself in and out of his cot, unlock the doors, get a snack from the cupboard by himself, draw pictures (I will post some shortly), sing songs, dance, dial on the phone (He called 000 once this year). Throw a ball, chase dogs and birds, and only today taught himself to play the piano and climb a slippery dip, put a video on himself and press play, use the mouse properly on the computer, use the dvd player and go for a snooze when asked (although that is a little rare).

On a personal note I have felt quite uneasy about this world of ours that I have brought my son into. I sometime wonder if there will even be a future in this world. I hope so and with that we bring you our Christmas wishes.

Our Christmas wish is to bring peace to this world of ours that is in so much paranoia, terror  and turmoil. We wish all of those affected by the Bali bombing atrocity are comforted, if in a small way by the many strangers that have given so very generously of themselves. We wish all a very merry Chistmas and a happy new year in 2003 love Raphael, Lydia and Solomon.

Last evening, 2 April 2002, proud parents Khairon and Graham, and proud wife and daughter Julie and Sabella, attended the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to witness Rohan receive the Degree of Bachelor of Education from the Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology. Rohan had worked exceptionally hard with extreme dedication and focus over the past three years to achieve this milestone in his career.

The night was not without a major surprise. Let Rohan tell the story in his own (modest) way …

“I arrived at the QPAC about 5.45 pm. After milling about with the other graduates for a while, we were shepherded into the auditorium, where we took our places on the stage in designated seats. On each seat was a copy the Graduation Ceremony program which contained the list of graduates and the degrees they were to receive that night.

“I quickly checked to see that my name was there. Shock! Horror! My name was missing from the B. Ed list! Nearly Panic Stations! What to do!? I did what any self-respecting graduate would do (I’m a graduate now, remember - I can do anything!), I turned the page.

“AND THERE IT WAS (and I had absolutely no knowledge of this, because no-one from QUT gave me any forewarning). The entry in the Graduation Ceremony program read

AWARD OF
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION
(Adult & Workplace Education)
FIRST CLASS HONOURS
SEGAL, Rohan Khalid

I was very chuffed.”

So were we, Rohan, so were we. So speaking on behalf of the whole Segal Clan, Rohan, we are all thrilled with you and proud of you. We know the effort you put into this achievement. It’s not easy going back into an academic study environment after many years in the workforce and with a young family. You have every right to bask in the glory of this award, and we Segals all give you our heartiest congratulations and wish you well in what is now evolving as a whole new career.

It is with a feeling of deep sadness and loss that I have to advise of the unexpected passing away of  Ahmad Al’ Bakish bin Ismail, eldest son of Ismail Ibrahim and Bibi Bahnoon Mathloob Khan and younger brother to Khairon Segal. Ahmad had a stroke a month ago. Yesterday, 22 March 2002, he unfortunately suffered a fatal heart attack. He would have been 61 years today, 23rd of March.

Ahmad will always have a special place in the hearts of the Segal Family boys, Tariq, Rohan, Raphael and Damien. He befriended them as a true Uncle, ‘adopting’ them and treating them as though they were his own children. Damien in fact was asked to be ‘best man’ at the wedding of Ahmad’s eldest son, a traditional role in Malay society that honours the person asked.

Ahmad had a distinguished career in the Royal Malaysian Police Force, holding many senior operational positions. For example he was Deputy Commander in the Thailand/Malaysia Joint Field Force combating communist terrorists hiding in the jungle along the Thai – Malaysia border, and later became Deputy Police Commissioner for the State of Kedah. He was a practical ‘hands on’ man who lived life to the full. As his brother-in-law, I will remember him for his love of life, and his generous nature.

Ahmad is survived by his wives, Asiah and Asma, and his nine children and grandchildren.

The following article was published in the ‘Lithgow Mercury’ in November 2001:

What would you do if you suddenly became aware that your employer was an international con man who was not only wanted by Interpol for serious scams and rip-offs in at least three countries, but was also wanted for bigamy in those three countries? This was the dilemma that faced local Lithgow son Graham Segal when he was recruited by the con man to lead a small business survival team to turn around Malaysia’s largest heavy haulage transport company. The company had serious trading and financial problems and was facing closedown if urgent corporate surgery could not restore it to profitability. This is Graham’s story…

“I joined the company in mid-1991 when it was in dire straits. The company had suffered massive financial losses, in part due to inept management by the company directors and in part due to corrupt practices by some of the senior executives. The principal banker, representing creditors, had told the company directors that unless they could inject additional capital into the company, it would be closed down. The directors then made a frantic search for investment funds and discovered an englishman with apparently impeccable financial credentials who just happened to be seeking investment proposals.

You can guess what happened next. Continue reading “WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU DISCOVERED YOUR BOSS WAS AN INTERNATIONAL CON MAN?”

12   large red chillies, roughly chopped
2     tablespoons dried shrimp paste, (belacan paste)
150 ml (5 oz) water
4     tablespoons lime juice.

Blend the chillies and shrimp paste and water.
Season to taste with lime juice.

VARIATIONS.
Use the basic recipe, add two mashed hard boiled eggs or 1 ripe tomato or half an avocado.  Blend any one of them with the basic recipe and add a littlle sugar if the finished product is too sharp.