Happy Australia Day.

Australia Day is actually on the 26th. Right now it's the 24th, which means that in Australia it's the 25th so I have to post this now because if I wait until tomorrow, the day will be half over because they're six hours behind and a day ahead. Got it? Fantastic.

According to the Australian government, Australia Day is the day that Australians "come together as a nation and celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future."

Riiiiiight. Having heard about past Australia days, and even having been invited to a BBQ for Thursday (yeah, in Brisbane, and no, I can't go), I have a feeling that the best part about Australia Day can be summed up in what was one of the top ten image search results for Australia Day (and no, I'm not making this up):

That's right. Australia Day is about the same thing that Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, and every other goddamn Australian summer holiday is about: standing around outside, in your shorts, turning snags on the barbie. Yeah, America gets the same thing on Independence Day, but we have to go ruin it with an underlying principle of being freed from the bonds of the British, and the onerous debt of gratitude that we owe to soldiers past and present who have fought for blah blah blah.

The Aussies have it right. They have a holiday that simply celebrates being able to stand round, get drunk, burn meat, and listen to a full day of government sponsored, commercial free radio. It's a great lifestyle, one that has been cultivated over the last 200 or so years, one that has allowed these brave and noble people to nearly forget that 85% of their continent is uninhabitable. Good on ya.