Sunday 17 February 2008

Deliferate mistale

I try to resist fast food. But every now and then, something bad is good.

So, last evening, I popped into the KFC on Mulgrave Road, opposite the soon-to-vanish Queenslanders.

I couldn't help but snap this pic on the counter while I waited for my "meal" (why do they call it "fast food" if you have to wait?).

Looks like the store manager had to "apoligize" for any "inconveinence" as there's "no burgurs avalible".

I didn't think that this store is managed by Paul and Kathy Getting?

This of course reminded me of the furore about the poorly-conceived, designed and written Unity Party leaflets that were littered throughout Divisions 4 and 5's letterboxes a couple of weeks ago. Following CairnsBlog exposing the appalling flyers, let alone the trees they wasted in the process, Councillors Plath and Freebody immediately scribed letters (wasting more trees) to the Cairns Post, saying that spelling was not a prerequisite for being a Councillor.

It's unclear, but unlikely, they penned the letters themselves.

"The errors in my leaflet are a storm in a teacup," said Paul Freebody. "I'm not in Council for my spelling. I am in Council for more important issues like keeping us on track in the economic stakes. This is important stuff. Not a bloody spelling contest."

We don't negate those laudable reasons Paul, however have to strongly disagree. It's highly likely that anyone who has problems writing and spelling, the basics of communication, they probably have difficulty reading and understanding reports and papers. This is undoubtedly an important pre-requisite of being in a senior job like a city councillor.

I can't recall how many Council meetings I've sat through where someone hasn't yelled out and prompted Councillor Freebody to what page everyone was on - because he simply wasn't following the meeting.

Silvia Dumpmanis wrote in the Cairns Post letters: "What a shocker you are with your spelling and grammatical errors [Freebody]. They are disastrous fliers you are putting in letter boxes of Division 4, Paul Freebody, with all the grammatical and spelling errors (nine obvious errors). Cathy [sic] Plath’s campaign fliers are even worse with 17 errors. All these mistakes certainly do not reflect well."

Councillor Plath wrote back to the Post saying she was disappointed that the letter writer Dumpmanis did not raise the concerns with her first. "I accept we are in election mode and my opposition will jump on errors in my flyer. However, if one looks at the $5 million of works completed in my division, one would realise what is more important. I achieved this by not attacking others or being rude, but via hard work and commitment.”

Kathy you stated in your leaflet that 'you' funded the new path near the Earlville Shopping Centre. Actually we did. Our rates. What you mean't, I'm sure, is that you advocated for your residents. Congratulations.

The Weekend Post's Greg Punshon, said that if the "election was decided by the quality of the election leaflets, Cairns 1st would win hands-down."

At last Thursday's Planning and Destroying the Environment Committee meeting, Mayor Kevin, in an attempt at black humour, repeatedly reminded Councillor Freebody in front of his colleagues of his spelling woes, and his expence and to the great mirth of others. Kevin obviously found the whole incident very funny. “Someone help Paul find where we’re up to,” he said in reference to his election leaflet stuff up.

In other circles, many councillors and staff have heard the Mayor say about Councillor Plath: “Don’t worry, she’s just a number.”

For a group calling themselves the Unity team, they seem to have very little ‘unity’.

We simply found the whole debacle about sub-standard marketing material, very unbefitting of senior community members to be publishing official communication that wasn't checked before printing and distribution.

As a light distraction, here's a cute test about the mis-spelling of words, which I think most will find interesting. It's all about the phenomenal power of the human mind. Pay attention Paul and Kathy.

  • I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt.


All this talk reminds me about a funny introduction that appears inside the cover of Monty Python's Dr Fegg's Nasty Book of Knowledge, of which I'm a great fan. It states:

  • Deliferate Mistale: Bsoys and Girls! Somewwaht in this blok, thre is a deliferate mistale. It may be a pocture or a world or ever the pange gumbers could be wong. If you cal spot the deliferate mistale, write to the weditor, and you will delieve 24,000 by returb of nost.

And to think that there's a lot more election leaflets to come. God help us.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paul Peabody may have skipped his English lessons to concentrate on his maths. For a group who always take seriously the concerns of the ratepayers and involve them in all the council deliberations. (Black sarcastic humour),Cathy gets the same treatment when her constituents did not contact her first about her spelling. I seem to remember someone saying 2,000 years ago. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. I suppose translated that means. "You serve it up to me and I'll let you have it back.! Most times with interest!”. These days it is probably more apt to use the NY Cops motto. . “Let’s do unto others before they do it to you.”

Anonymous said...

Peabrain was on the news tonight trying to downplay the whole spelling issue, what a smarmy little (isn't Scunthorpe a lovely place) he is.

Anonymous said...

Paul you should ask the two school teachers that bought the car wash cafe to give you a lesson or two in spelling