There are ways to get yourself in trouble and ways that might help you get back out, writes Michael Blucher.

So now we have another piece of inspired PC brilliance being foisted upon us. The scrapping of the term ābreast feedingā, in preference for the more gender inclusive āchest feedingā.
I would have thought the term ābreastā, as potentially offensive and āpigeon holingā as it might be, would have been safe, given that it is where the milk (aka āthe foodā) is produced and stored. Apparently not.
As this latest PC missile came spearing into our lives recently, I could only think of one thing.
Grasshoppers.
A little tangential, I know, but my attention was dragged there by a social media post, just a short scroll away.
A mate who runs a property out in Western Queensland has been belted by them. Having battled his way through drought for the past decade, he and his young wife have finally seen a bit of rain over summer. Theyāve grown a bit of grass, but now most of itās been decimated by a plague of locusts. He reckons theyāre destined to lose somewhere between 30 and 50 per cent of their annual income, depending on what falls out of the sky in the coming months.
As a couple whoāve only recently entered the realm of parenthood, I thought about asking them for their view on the breast feeding/chest feeding conundrum. What speaks more precisely to them?
Upon reflection,Ā I might leave it a little while.Ā Perhaps until next spring.
And in the meantime, we could take the āchest-feedingā protagonists out to their cattle property, to have a look at the damage the locusts have done.
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A special piece of duplicity from TV land recently.
A contracted talent, letās call him āAā, suddenly finds himself on the outer with the head honcho, from here on to be known as āCā.Ā Ā A is on a very good monthly retainer ā thatās not the issue ā heās just baffled why his comedic talents are rarely being utilised on air.
He tries to organise a meeting with C. PA to C: āHeās not available. When do you think he might be available?Ā Ā PA: āI donāt knowā. Follow up phone call. No response. Text. No response.Ā Ā Email. No response. Another phone call. PA ā āHeās not in his office.ā This goes on for a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, A receives an approach from a radio show. Are you available to do a weekly segment with D?
āYes ā Iād love to, but Iām not sure I can, being contracted and all. Iāll check and let you know ASAP.ā
Back to the boss, via text: āC, Iāve been approached to do a radio segment with D. Is that OK? After all, it seems I have plenty of spare time these daysā¦ā (quizzical face emoji)
No response.
Follow up email. Nothing.
He needs an answer. Out of desperation, he approaches Cās trusty offsider, B. āHereās my dilemma,ā A explains. āWhat do you think I should do?ā
B ā āGreat opportunity. Youāve got to take it. Leave it with me. Iāll sort it out with C.ā
A ā āPhew. At last some clarity. Thanks a lot.ā
He does the segment with D. It goes well. Gets off the air, his phone is lit up like a Christmas tree.
He listens to the voice message from C.
āWho do you think you are, you eff-ing lying cheating piece of sh*t. You canāt do thatā¦.youāve breachedĀ Ā your contract. Youāre finished with us ⦠blah blah blah ā¦ā
WTF?Ā Ā Heās gob-smacked,Ā Ā given both the extended silence from C, and theĀ precautionary steps heād taken to clear the āguest appearanceā with B.
He rings B. āMate ā Iāve just copped it from C. You said it would be OK. What gives?
B: āI donāt know what youāre talking about. Youāre going to have to fight that one on your own.ā
Click.
So there you have it.
Anybody for a career in television?
Letās just hope the karma bus is doing blockies, and has enough gas in the tank to bowl over a couple of well deserving cowards.
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Bush ingenuity, manifested in an early morning exchange between two hard heads after a monster night on the ran-tan in Western Queensland.
āHey Bill, you got a dog?ā
āYeah. Why?ā
āWhere is it?ā
āTied up round the side of the house. Why?ā
āCan you let it off?ā
āYeah. Why?ā
āBecause I need to find my glasses.ā
āWhat have your glasses got to do with my dog?ā
āIf your dog can find my vomit, Iāll find my glasses.ā
Easy. Huge night, but still very lucid in thought.
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Rugby fans will be well pleased with the start their beloved Reds made in the opening round of Super Rugby last week.
Despite the 600 per cent humidity, and the inevitable āfirst-game-itisā the home side looked slick ā their attack was fluid, and their defence, spirited and well organised.
At this very early stage, just one real question remains: who and what did they beat?
Two former RugbyĀ internationals I spoke to during the week predicted the āTahs wouldnāt win a game during the Australian home and away season.
And that prediction wasnāt made flippantly or arrogantly, it was made ruefully.
Historically, both the Reds and the Waratahs need to be strong, in order for the Wallabies to be strong.
Weāll get another reading on the Reds progress when they take on the Melbourne Rebels at Suncorp tonight.
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