Grammar is no longer taught as a discipline despite retaining an insignificant place in the curriculum. That is not to say that all teachers in majority of schools are not teaching grammar at all.  However, by and large, the place that grammar occupies has certainly been relegated to the back room.

These days, high school children are slack in using their tenses and plurals. The door is open for convenience albeit it cannot be considered creativity.

You could tell from the compromises markers of essays have to make, trying to gloss over bad language so long as the idea and content is there. 

Even so-called commendable and published works online contain ungrammatical and incomplete sentences that do not clearly convey information or the writer's intention. It really makes you wonder how bad the rest are. 

There's a general belief that pictures speak volumes in place of words. Photos may be useful to substantiate and highlight a point, but it is not an excuse to make up for lack of proficiency.

Vocabulary inventiveness is another new ball game. Words that are popularised by the social media and abbreviations which are coded,  are not found in the Oxford dictionary. OMG! 

Perhaps, the younger ones are more eloquent and street wise. Listen closely. Even in spoken language, the habit of using "like" is annoyingly American and juvenile. 

Worse, some believe it is just fine. We could have fun trying to do some guesswork and let things take its natural course. 

Don't get me wrong. The middle and older generation are not insisting that grammar be taught in the old-fashioned and boring way where the teacher is strict and sometimes inflexible, and even wielded a cane in one hand pacing around the classroom.  

Neither are seniors claiming that we have perfected and mastered grammar. At least we are given the tools and encouragement to have a go and aim high. A weak foundation will likely result in a structurally unsound building. Effort and time spent learning go to waste.    

Troubled Australians need help and need to help themselves

Australian professionals and aid workers are doing admirable work for the less fortunate overseas but are not given due assistance when local conditions threaten their personal safety. It is time they rethink the idealism of state protection and move to safer places before political situation deteriorates and make it untenable to live there or leave.

While domestic offices in the bureaucracy are typically bloated (until recent cost cutting and streamlining), foreign offices have always been short staff and stretched. When there was relative calm in the world, it was possible to get by. However, with the Middle East thrown into turmoil in recent years, and the increasing hostility towards Australians for its involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, DFAT resources are strained and unable to cope with quick reaction and protect Australians overseas from physical harm. It's not that Bob Carr is an ineffective Foreign Minister. Times have changed and government has to be well prepared for current and future challenges faced by Australians. There are many more Melinda Taylor out there who need Australia's help.

http://www.lowyinstitute.org/news-and-media/hot-topic/trouble-overseas-how-much-help-enough

The Iron Chef - Cabramatta : diverse and versatile

Famous for yum cha - dim sum offerings, the Iron Chef has done well with Sichuan (central China) hot and spicy cuisine during the special promotion. Kitchen and stage performers were specially flown in for the month long celebration of the moon festival. 

In the face of more competition with the opening of similar restaurants which offer seafood and Cantonese cuisine, it is no wonder that even the renowned Iron Chef must innovate and reinvent its image and expand its repertoire to capture more customers from a saturated market. 

Double cooked pork - 3/4 fried in oil, and returned to finish off with spicy sauce with garlic, shallot and leek

Two flavoured / dishes of coral trout :
(1) stir fried with snow peas in light sauce and ginger garlic chive toppings - above picture
(2) steam fish with soy and sesame sauce + shallot greens and coriander garnish

Kung-po (gong bao) meaning palace treasure is the basic and key foundation to spicy Sichuan cuisine.
Compared to most make belief and adulterated versions available in most restaurants in the city and suburbs of Australian towns (forget about the country), this is perhaps closest to the original and authentic. It is a bit short of chilli hot, overpowered by peppery taste. But still good.

Postscript: Our good first impression was cracked (not shattered) with subsequent visits during the busy weekend. The staff were grumpy and the kitchen could not cope, sending out food that is lukewarm and dishes that have not been properly cooked.