The Cassandra Complex

How many of you remember the infuriatingly catchy jingle from Cottees Cordial that used to, um, jingle at us when we were kids?

"My dad picks the fruit that goes to Cottees to make the cordial that I like best!"

I remember we used to sing an alternate version in primary school - dad picked his nose to send it to Snotties instead...

I hadn't given this ad any thought in years - not until I saw the new and improved version of the ad. Turns out they've changed the jingle, and I found the change very telling:

"My mum adds the fun and the flavour that make the cordial that I like best!"

I figured that maybe someone had sued Cottees - some poor fruit grower out there who resented the implication that good fruit had gone into Cottees' sugar drinks. So I did a google search, and it turns out I was half right:

Trade Practices - misleading and deceptive conduct - labelling and packaging requirements

Cadbury Schweppes was found to have breached section 52 of the Trade Practices Act (TPA) by inadequately conveying that two Cottees cordial products did not contain the extracts of real fruit depicted pictorially on the packaging.

It was held that the pictured fruit and 'go bananas' logo on the 'banana mango' product was misleading, as it was likely to convey to some consumers that the cordial contained extracts of the fruit. The use of the phrase 'flavoured cordial' in smaller type than 'banana mango', either alone or in conjunction with the artificial appearance of the product, was not sufficient to dispel the impression of real fruit, as the technical meaning of that term was not likely to be understood by members of the public generally. The pictured kiwi fruits were also held to have been capable of conveying to a significant body of reasonable consumers a representation that the product concerned contained extracts of the real fruit depicted. It was held that Cadbury Schweppes had not taken sufficient steps in its labelling to overcome the effect of the pictures of fruit.

Hehe!

I also love this line from the judgement: "It must be said that the mangoes depicted are not readily recognisable as such, because substantial parts of their skins are shown as an orange colour, with which I am unfamiliar as a colour associated with mangoes."

Who said that judges don't have a sense of humour? :P

I had my cat, Melody, put down today.

I'd had her for fifteen years. She was an impulse purchase on my mother's part, a couple of months before Christmas - her and I were looking at the kittens in the pet shop window and I suggested jokingly that she buy me a kitten for Christmas. To my shock, she did. This despite the fact that she is allergic to cats; it seems that she's not allergic to kittens, so she thought when she didn't react to Melody that that meant she would be ok with her.

Of course, it doesn't work that way, and when Melody got older mum started to react to her. So did I. Seems I inherited the allergies.

I can't remember why I called her Melody. But it suited her for the most part - a dainty, petite little thing. It didn't suit her personality so much though; when she miaowed it was really loud, and she figured out early on how to scratch glass or rattle screen doors to get a reaction.

Despite the fact I am allergic to cats, she used to sleep on the end of my bed. But once I bought my own place and moved out, my allergies got worse, and Melody decided that she preferred to be an outside cat - if I had her inside, she'd ignore the litter tray. Not pretty.

I think maybe she might have liked to continue sleeping on the end of my bed in winter, though. It gets cold at night in Canberra. And I think she might have liked more frequent scratches or cuddles ... on her terms of course. But if I did I'd suffer for it later. And she seemed happy enough outside.

Yesterday I went outside to emtpy the bin and I saw that she'd somehow managed to get her front left leg stuck through her collar. It was one of those ones with elastic so that if the cat catches it on something it stretches and they can get out. Instead, Melody seems to have tried to go through it rather than backing out of it.

When I took the collar off I saw the elastic had cut quite deeply into her skin under her leg. It smelled bad. She didn't seem to be in pain - she wasn't limping - but it didn't look good. I also noticed that despite the fact she was getting fed twice a day, she was awfully thin. That scared me almost as much as the cut, because it didn't make sense.

So I took her to the vet this morning. They said that with surgery and a long stay there (because I couldn't look after her inside while she was recovering, because of my allergies, she'd have had to board), it was treatable. But it seemed cruel to me to put her through all that, and then just chuck her back outside, into the cold. Where something else could happen to her, and because she's an outdoor cat, I might not notice for a day again, like this time.

So I decided to have her put down.

I feel rotten about it. I wish that things could've been different; that Melody could've continued to sleep on the end of my bed at night, and bask in the sun coming in the windows in winter (they face north and get good sun; ideal cat basking territory). I did try and get the allergies treated - weekly injections for a couple of years. It didn't help.

If there's a kitty heaven, I imagine it consists of a huge bed in a sunny window, lots of small animals to terrorise, and a bottomless bowl of cat food.

She'll love it there.

I used my new Wacom to do this:

Larger Image here.

It was MUCH easier to do his hair; I wouldn't have even attempted that with a mouse. Lots of fun! =D

Because Mikey did it in his blog and I am a sheep...

My earliest memory is ... watching my baby sister play in one of those bouncy things you hang from a door and being sad that I was too big to fit in it.

At school I ... was bullied relentlessly.

My first relationship was ... at university.

I don't like talking about ... the Camarilla, a club that I am in. I am burned out.

I wish I had never worn ... a particular hot pink set of pants and top that my mother loaned me. *shudder*

My mother always told me ... not to chew on plastic drinking straws. It didn't work, though.

I wish I had ... perfect vision.

I wish I hadn't ... applied for a position in the Camarilla.

My most humiliating moment was ... ... I can't narrow it down to just one.

My happiest moments were ... sitting on the beach down the coast. How could you not love that?

At home I cook ... a mean salad. Well, not exactly "cook"...

My last meal would be ... steak. Mmm.

My favourite gadget is ... my new Wacom tablet.

When I was a child I wanted to be ... a pop star.

The book that changed my life is ... ... there isn't one.

It's not fashionable but I love ... tabletop roleplaying with friends.

Perhaps I should have studied ... IT. I could be a rich contractor now.

What I don't find amusing is ... Seinfeld.

Friends say I'm ... a funny drunk.

If I wasn't me I'd like to be ... an inspired author.

At the moment I'm reading ... "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman. I started reading it but I am not a fan so far, strangely enough.

My favourite work of art is ... again, couldn't pick just one. I have a dA account so I am looking at new art every day.

I often wonder ... if I can go home and play World of Warcraft yet.

Today is my birthday. And not just any birthday, but my 30th. :(

I had a good weekend though, and guess what M. and my awesome friends got me? A Wacom tablet! Whee!! I am planning to spend the afternoon figuring out how to work it! Expect to see some half assed attempts coming soon!

I also got a new fridge. That was a present from the fine folks at Visa (who I have to pay back), because the old one wasn't working anymore. I couldn't really afford it, but it had to be done, I guess. Sigh.

Next two big purchases will be a new monitor, and a new digital camera. I went to a medieval wedding last weekend and I got some great photos, composition-wise, but because I had to have the camera on full zoom to get them, they are slightly pixelated. It made me really cranky, so I am going to have to just give in to the inevitable. M. is recommending a Canon digital SLR - it'll probably have to be second hand, though. Stupid fridge!

I was born on Easter Sunday. I remember hearing once when I was a kid that you can expect your birthday to recurr on the same day every seven years (presumably that's a purely seven-day-of-the-week guess "statistic").

By the time I was eight I was starting to wonder if my parents had gotten it wrong and I wasn't born on Easter Sunday, because it hadn't recurred. At that age I didn't understand the arcane method of determining when Easter falls (it's the Sunday following the first full moon after March 20th).

I found a website today that lists the dates of every Easter Sunday from 2000 to 2099.

It turns out I can next expect an Easter Sunday birthday for myself in the year 2049, and then in 2055 and 2060.

Woot!