For flood and fire and famine

For gawd's sake, start laughing, this is serious.
Summer in Australia is more than simply a sunburned country. 
This summer, as in most summers, the weather has been extreme in different parts of the country. Devastating floods, hellish bushfires, drought, and even snowfalls. And the really hot weather is still to come.
But this isn't news. I am not trying to be a climate change denier, but Australia has had rough weather for millennia.
As a kid, I remember the country folk who suffered most from the unpredictability of the seasons were still able to have a laugh at their plight. One graphic artist who caught the moods of our country cousins around the 1950s was Emile Mercier.
The media needs to balance the doom and gloom of tragedies with a wry laugh. Its the only way to make sense of what is happeing
Especially on Australia Day

Aussie Mcdonald’s rebrand as ‘Macca’s’

At last, something goes our way.

It has been common for Aussie businesses to try to 'Americanise' the way of life down under. Buying our companies, changing our language.Now an American food chain has adopted an Australianism

McDonalds has become an overnight local hero, for recognising a difference between the locals and the their homeland

McDonalds will adopt the name locals have used for decades, changing their name to “Maccas”, even if it is a short term test run.

A common habit in Aussie speak is to change names. A girl named Sharon will be called “Shazza” by her mates. A boy named Barry is called “Bazza “ by his mates. Football is called “Footie”. Sandwiches are called “ Sangas”

“What better way to show Aussies how proud we are to be a part of the Australian community than by changing our store signs to the name the community has given us?” said a spokesman

According to Queensland journalist Paul Bleakley McDonald’s is regularly referred to by the nickname ‘Mickey D’s’ in the United States of America. Australia is the only nation in the world that uses the shortened form ‘Maccas’ in significant numbers. Market research undertaken by McDonald’s Australia states that 55% of Australians claim to regularly refer to the business by its colloquial name, provoking the decision to rebrand some of their restaurants over the summer period. 

Lovely weather for ducks

Artist Florentijn Hofman claims that he isn't high-brow or elitist when it comes to his urban sculptures - he wants to astonish audiences and give them a new perspective on public spaces. His sculptures are big, very big, and Rubber Duck is no exception.

The bright yellow inflatable is five storeys high and five storeys wide

Over summer his duck was moored at Darling Harbour, in the heart of Sydney, to give tourists something to photograph.

Really, the squeaky clean little duckie in the kids bath tub was more impressive.