I was in Micky D's yesterday morning mainly because I'd run out of revs and found a coupon in the local newspaper. Whilst I was in there, I saw a kid of about 8 years with an iPod of their own. Being in Neutral Bay this didn't surprise me in the slightest but it made me think, "what sort of music does an 8 year old girl listen to?"
She'd be to young to understand the highly sexualised music that record companies want to jam down our ears these days and I very much doubt that she could relate to the mysogenist hip-hop and rap music that makes it's way to the top of the charts; nor do I suspect she'd be listening to Punk/Ska/Rock/Metal either. I remain mystified myself.
When I was 8 years old I was either listening to 60s Rock'n'Roll on vinyl (do kids these days even know what a record is?) or Ska which was on JJJ.
1. Place Young Children In The Bins Provided - City Rail
2. Poisoning The Pigeons In The Park - Tom Lehrer
3. 1994 The Big One - Radio 1
4. Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
5. Fall To Pieces - Avril Lavigne
April 07, 2006
April 06, 2006
Horse 524 - Form Fours
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Curriculum Writer
2. Warehouse Assisstant
3. Bank Teller
4. Sound Engineer
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Amelie
2. Breakfast At Tiffany's
3. The Italian Job
4. Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines
Four places I have lived:
1. Seven Hills
2. Toxteth
3. Godalming
4. Glenferrie
Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. English Premier League Football
2. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
3. Samurai Champloo
4. The Chaser's War On Everything
Four places I have been on Holiday:
1. Perth
2. Stanthorpe
3. Monza
4. Number One
Four of my favourite foods:
1. Lamb Vindaloo
2. Pecan Pie
3. Yorkie Bar
4. Kraft Cheese Spread
Four people I've seen today:
1. Ralph - My Boss
2. Neve - The lady at the record store
3. Rick - Our next door neighbour
4. Jodee - At the coffee shop
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. San Diego
2. Liverpool
3. Saitama
4. Port of Spain
Four things I'm wearing right now:
1. Blue Shorts
2. 2006 England Football Strip
3. Watch
4. Red Underdaks
Four cities I've been to:
1. Brisbane
2. York
3. Westminster
4. Tokyo
Four schools I've attended:
1. Meadowbank TAFE
2. UTS School of Business
3. School of the Air
4. Girraween High
Four stores I'd spend my last $50 at:
1. BP
2. Lord Adbul Latif's House of Curry Hell
3. Phantom Zone
4. HMV
Four of my favourite CDs:
1. Don't Believe The Truth - Oasis
2. Under My Skin - Avril Lavigne
3. More Specials - The Specials
4. Funky Dory - Rachel Stevens
1. Curriculum Writer
2. Warehouse Assisstant
3. Bank Teller
4. Sound Engineer
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Amelie
2. Breakfast At Tiffany's
3. The Italian Job
4. Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines
Four places I have lived:
1. Seven Hills
2. Toxteth
3. Godalming
4. Glenferrie
Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. English Premier League Football
2. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
3. Samurai Champloo
4. The Chaser's War On Everything
Four places I have been on Holiday:
1. Perth
2. Stanthorpe
3. Monza
4. Number One
Four of my favourite foods:
1. Lamb Vindaloo
2. Pecan Pie
3. Yorkie Bar
4. Kraft Cheese Spread
Four people I've seen today:
1. Ralph - My Boss
2. Neve - The lady at the record store
3. Rick - Our next door neighbour
4. Jodee - At the coffee shop
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. San Diego
2. Liverpool
3. Saitama
4. Port of Spain
Four things I'm wearing right now:
1. Blue Shorts
2. 2006 England Football Strip
3. Watch
4. Red Underdaks
Four cities I've been to:
1. Brisbane
2. York
3. Westminster
4. Tokyo
Four schools I've attended:
1. Meadowbank TAFE
2. UTS School of Business
3. School of the Air
4. Girraween High
Four stores I'd spend my last $50 at:
1. BP
2. Lord Adbul Latif's House of Curry Hell
3. Phantom Zone
4. HMV
Four of my favourite CDs:
1. Don't Believe The Truth - Oasis
2. Under My Skin - Avril Lavigne
3. More Specials - The Specials
4. Funky Dory - Rachel Stevens
April 05, 2006
Horse 523 - New Newness
Just between you and me and the gatepost and the whole world because this is on the net, I have thought for a long time that the prefix of "New" in a town's name is simply tacky and doesn't show any forethought. It's as if the people in the new place were bereft of imagination and couldn't come up with their own name at all. These then are just a few of the New names that aren't really New at all.
New Zealand - Our friends across the Tasman in their all-black shirts who like nothing better than to steal the Bledisloe and Melbourne Cups probably don't realise that Zeeland is actually one of the Netherlands.
Zeeland is a confabulation of a few islands and a bit bordering Belgium so perhaps when Abel Tasman sailed around he thought that naming them after something back home would be good... bit silly.
New South Wales - The south of Wales is a grey bleak part of the world covered in what seems like perpetual cloud and driving rain. The differences are stark as New South Wales is a sunny somewhat dry land with fluffy white clouds, surfing beaches and flat mountains.
Was James Cook taking the mick out of Wales when he named here? South Wales would have been a more appropriate place for a gaol than the penal colony at Port Jackson 18 years later.
New York - The Big Apple is famous for tall buildings, financial markets, massive crowding and big productions on stage. York the capital of Yorkshire is famous for... village cricket and slow people?
The white rose county is steeped in history with cathedrals and evidence of Vikings and Romans. The only Roman you're likely to find in New York is Roman Abramovich doing oil trading.
New Caledonia - This is a French territory that is names after something in the UK. Caledonia was the Latin name for Scotland The differences between Caledonia and New Caledonia are even more stark than between South Wales and New South Wales.
In New Caledonia, one might find one's self on a deck chair beside a swimming pool in the tropical sunshine sipping daquiris. In Caledonia, you might also find people in varying states of undress but rest assured the circumstances will be more daft. The French have this habit of kissing each other on the cheek as a form of greeting, but the only kiss you're likely to get in Caledonia is a Glaswegian one.
Maybe denoting something as "New" is a form of irony. Maybe that's what Mr Howard meant when he told us of a "New" Tax System with the GST.
New Zealand - Our friends across the Tasman in their all-black shirts who like nothing better than to steal the Bledisloe and Melbourne Cups probably don't realise that Zeeland is actually one of the Netherlands.
Zeeland is a confabulation of a few islands and a bit bordering Belgium so perhaps when Abel Tasman sailed around he thought that naming them after something back home would be good... bit silly.
New South Wales - The south of Wales is a grey bleak part of the world covered in what seems like perpetual cloud and driving rain. The differences are stark as New South Wales is a sunny somewhat dry land with fluffy white clouds, surfing beaches and flat mountains.
Was James Cook taking the mick out of Wales when he named here? South Wales would have been a more appropriate place for a gaol than the penal colony at Port Jackson 18 years later.
New York - The Big Apple is famous for tall buildings, financial markets, massive crowding and big productions on stage. York the capital of Yorkshire is famous for... village cricket and slow people?
The white rose county is steeped in history with cathedrals and evidence of Vikings and Romans. The only Roman you're likely to find in New York is Roman Abramovich doing oil trading.
New Caledonia - This is a French territory that is names after something in the UK. Caledonia was the Latin name for Scotland The differences between Caledonia and New Caledonia are even more stark than between South Wales and New South Wales.
In New Caledonia, one might find one's self on a deck chair beside a swimming pool in the tropical sunshine sipping daquiris. In Caledonia, you might also find people in varying states of undress but rest assured the circumstances will be more daft. The French have this habit of kissing each other on the cheek as a form of greeting, but the only kiss you're likely to get in Caledonia is a Glaswegian one.
Maybe denoting something as "New" is a form of irony. Maybe that's what Mr Howard meant when he told us of a "New" Tax System with the GST.
April 04, 2006
Horse 522 - In Distress?
The flags are flying at half-mast today because of the state funeral for artist Pro Hart in Broken Hill. Traditionally, flags are flown at half mast if someone has died or to indicate some other mourning such as the Tricoleur being flown at half mast from most public places whilst under Nazi occupation.
Not only is the flag on the council chamber at half mast, but it's also upside down. This is sometimes done to express a state of mutiny which in the grand scheme of things, isn't likely because technically Mosman would still be part of NSW ergo Australia, who's flag is upside down.
Flags are sometimes flown upside down for other reasons. If a crew abandons a ship in distress to save their life, the last thing to do (if they have time to do so) is to turn the flag upside down. This means that they give up any right on the vessel or cargo and anybody who manages to rescue the ship afterwards could keep it.
Some navies in the age of sail apparently inverted the ensign of an enemy ship after they captured it, although the normal procedure was to hoist their own ensign above the enemy ensign aboard the prize. On the other hand, it would obviously be useless to invert the French ensign as either a distress signal or as a sign of capture, while the fact that some others were inverted (Spain, Libya, Portugal) would only be visible at very close range. Not to mention that there are a few flags whose inversion would simply make them someone else's flag as in the case of Ireland.
Could it be that Mosman Municipal Council is in distress or is free to capture? I would very much like to be Town Mayor through minimal force, then maybe I could get a parking permit.
Not only is the flag on the council chamber at half mast, but it's also upside down. This is sometimes done to express a state of mutiny which in the grand scheme of things, isn't likely because technically Mosman would still be part of NSW ergo Australia, who's flag is upside down.
Flags are sometimes flown upside down for other reasons. If a crew abandons a ship in distress to save their life, the last thing to do (if they have time to do so) is to turn the flag upside down. This means that they give up any right on the vessel or cargo and anybody who manages to rescue the ship afterwards could keep it.
Some navies in the age of sail apparently inverted the ensign of an enemy ship after they captured it, although the normal procedure was to hoist their own ensign above the enemy ensign aboard the prize. On the other hand, it would obviously be useless to invert the French ensign as either a distress signal or as a sign of capture, while the fact that some others were inverted (Spain, Libya, Portugal) would only be visible at very close range. Not to mention that there are a few flags whose inversion would simply make them someone else's flag as in the case of Ireland.
Could it be that Mosman Municipal Council is in distress or is free to capture? I would very much like to be Town Mayor through minimal force, then maybe I could get a parking permit.
April 01, 2006
Phwoooaar!
There's a horrible farty smell in here and it's definately not coming from my bottom.
They must have got it on lay-by from the cat.
It's rank.
They must have got it on lay-by from the cat.
It's rank.
Horse 521 - They Have Changed
We've all see those ads of the blokes barbequing and then they zoom out to like a bunch of identical blokes barbequing and then they zoom out even further with music going and the blokes turn into dots of flavour on a Barbeque Shape.
They've got Pizza Shapes and Salsa Shapes and even Chilli Shapes but my contention is that Barbeque Shapes have changed.
I reckon if they did that advert again but this time made it true to life, and zoomed back in you'd find three blokes on the biscuit going "Sorry, they didn't employ enough of us. Johnny Howard and his IR reforms mean that we're too expensive now" The point is that they're just not full of flavour anymore.
When Maggi had it's Flavour-Flavour-Flavour Maggi-Maggi-Maggi noodles advert all those years ago, I wonder if they considered that to re-do the advert now and keep truth in advertising it should now read Flavour-Fl..whatever Maggi-Maggi-Maggi-Maggi? I bet not.
Even Iced Vo-Vo biscuits aren't as flavoursome as they used to be. I'm sure that once upon a time all of that iced bit went all the way to edges. Do you think I don't notice? Hello? The Iced Vo-Vo isn't worthy to be called Iced Vo now; in fact it's almost in danger of becoming so boring that it might turn into an Iced Volvo biscuit. Put a hat on those blokes, bung them in a 1976 244 Estate and tell them not to fall asleep while watching The Bill.
Food companies, don't think we don't notice. There used to be days when you'd look forward to sticking your fingers into the bottom of the back and getting all those bits that fell off but now, it as though they thought of that and they come pre-fallen off for you.
They've got Pizza Shapes and Salsa Shapes and even Chilli Shapes but my contention is that Barbeque Shapes have changed.
I reckon if they did that advert again but this time made it true to life, and zoomed back in you'd find three blokes on the biscuit going "Sorry, they didn't employ enough of us. Johnny Howard and his IR reforms mean that we're too expensive now" The point is that they're just not full of flavour anymore.
When Maggi had it's Flavour-Flavour-Flavour Maggi-Maggi-Maggi noodles advert all those years ago, I wonder if they considered that to re-do the advert now and keep truth in advertising it should now read Flavour-Fl..whatever Maggi-Maggi-Maggi-Maggi? I bet not.
Even Iced Vo-Vo biscuits aren't as flavoursome as they used to be. I'm sure that once upon a time all of that iced bit went all the way to edges. Do you think I don't notice? Hello? The Iced Vo-Vo isn't worthy to be called Iced Vo now; in fact it's almost in danger of becoming so boring that it might turn into an Iced Volvo biscuit. Put a hat on those blokes, bung them in a 1976 244 Estate and tell them not to fall asleep while watching The Bill.
Food companies, don't think we don't notice. There used to be days when you'd look forward to sticking your fingers into the bottom of the back and getting all those bits that fell off but now, it as though they thought of that and they come pre-fallen off for you.
March 31, 2006
Horse 520 - Forza Corsa
The ever-lovely Katja makes mention in her blog about catching a glimpse of the Chevy C2, and then falling in love with it. Also spying the Corsa also by Chevrolet and lamenting the fact that they simply do not appear on American roads.
Australian readers will recognise the Chevy C2 as the Holden Barina SB which was sold here between 1993 and 2001, whilst the Corsa as the Holden Barina XC between 2001 and 2005.
For the remainder of this, I'm going to refer to the Corsa under all its nameplates (Holden Barina, Chevrolet C2, Chevrolet Corsa, Vauxhall Corsa, Opel Corsa) as the Corsa because if I've learnt anything over the past 20 years about naming cars, badge engineering is downright confusing.
When the Vauxhall Chevette had grown too big after 10 years, Vauxhall needed a car to aim against Ford's replacement for the Escort, the Fiesta. So they basically entered an agreement which still exists to share development with Opel (also a GM company) for their entire range of cars. Opel already had a 1.4L car in the Corsa, so naturally Vauxhall took that and under the name of the Vauxhall Nova the car like it had in Germany become the choice of boy racers and more recently as the originals are reaching their life's end, becoming the favourite of chavs.
Holden had been using Suzuki's Swift for about 6 years, but when Suzuki faded in a banking crisis, Holden continued their Barina nameplate and threw it onto the Corsa. Since 1983 there have been only 3 models (funnily enough referred to as Corsa 1, Corsa 2 and Corsa 3) and they've pretty well much been a mainstay of GM's lineup as petrol prices and taxes have increased.
I drove a Corsa 3 in England in 2004 because there were no Kas in the hire car lot. So what did I find exactly? Well I found this photo for a start... er, read on ^_^
Like the Astra and the Vectra, the ergonomics are fantastic. Opel learnt something with their Rekord in the late 70s and have remained true to those dimensions ever since. People often critisise GM for producing boring cars, but when you keep in mind how easy they are to drive in traffic when most people are brain dead, this is a virtue not a minus.
Styling wise I always liked the fine treatment that Vauxhall gives their cars. Chevrolet and Holden always get the Opel inserts but Vauxhall always tries to incorporate their little flying V in chrome on the front. The 04 reg Corsa I had even had the incoming 2005 front bumper with the corner chin vents.
Inside the Corsa looks like any other Opel. The Blaupunkt radio is this great grey slab in the centre of the console with the display in orange LCD embedded into the front parcel shelf. This was the first time I'd ever seen digital radio in a car and to be honest, it looked practically identical to a regular AM/FM radio with RDS*. Noticeably the buttons were also boring and grey which if nothing shows German efficiency.
The 3 door Corsa unlike the Fiesta and even the 3 door Golf and Polo has fixed rear windows. On hot days in Australia this can be rather annoying as the people in the back swelter; but the 5 door has wind-down windows.
The Corsa is a fun little car to drive and is equal to the Fiesta in every regard. I probably would have bought one if the Ka wasn't so cute, because they've had 23 years to iron out the problems with Corsa and by now you could practically drive them for half a million miles save for cancer (rust) in the bodywork.
The Corsa is certainly worth at least 3 stars and possibly a hurrah.
Australian readers will recognise the Chevy C2 as the Holden Barina SB which was sold here between 1993 and 2001, whilst the Corsa as the Holden Barina XC between 2001 and 2005.
For the remainder of this, I'm going to refer to the Corsa under all its nameplates (Holden Barina, Chevrolet C2, Chevrolet Corsa, Vauxhall Corsa, Opel Corsa) as the Corsa because if I've learnt anything over the past 20 years about naming cars, badge engineering is downright confusing.
When the Vauxhall Chevette had grown too big after 10 years, Vauxhall needed a car to aim against Ford's replacement for the Escort, the Fiesta. So they basically entered an agreement which still exists to share development with Opel (also a GM company) for their entire range of cars. Opel already had a 1.4L car in the Corsa, so naturally Vauxhall took that and under the name of the Vauxhall Nova the car like it had in Germany become the choice of boy racers and more recently as the originals are reaching their life's end, becoming the favourite of chavs.
Holden had been using Suzuki's Swift for about 6 years, but when Suzuki faded in a banking crisis, Holden continued their Barina nameplate and threw it onto the Corsa. Since 1983 there have been only 3 models (funnily enough referred to as Corsa 1, Corsa 2 and Corsa 3) and they've pretty well much been a mainstay of GM's lineup as petrol prices and taxes have increased.
I drove a Corsa 3 in England in 2004 because there were no Kas in the hire car lot. So what did I find exactly? Well I found this photo for a start... er, read on ^_^
Like the Astra and the Vectra, the ergonomics are fantastic. Opel learnt something with their Rekord in the late 70s and have remained true to those dimensions ever since. People often critisise GM for producing boring cars, but when you keep in mind how easy they are to drive in traffic when most people are brain dead, this is a virtue not a minus.
Styling wise I always liked the fine treatment that Vauxhall gives their cars. Chevrolet and Holden always get the Opel inserts but Vauxhall always tries to incorporate their little flying V in chrome on the front. The 04 reg Corsa I had even had the incoming 2005 front bumper with the corner chin vents.
Inside the Corsa looks like any other Opel. The Blaupunkt radio is this great grey slab in the centre of the console with the display in orange LCD embedded into the front parcel shelf. This was the first time I'd ever seen digital radio in a car and to be honest, it looked practically identical to a regular AM/FM radio with RDS*. Noticeably the buttons were also boring and grey which if nothing shows German efficiency.
The 3 door Corsa unlike the Fiesta and even the 3 door Golf and Polo has fixed rear windows. On hot days in Australia this can be rather annoying as the people in the back swelter; but the 5 door has wind-down windows.
The Corsa is a fun little car to drive and is equal to the Fiesta in every regard. I probably would have bought one if the Ka wasn't so cute, because they've had 23 years to iron out the problems with Corsa and by now you could practically drive them for half a million miles save for cancer (rust) in the bodywork.
The Corsa is certainly worth at least 3 stars and possibly a hurrah.
March 30, 2006
Horse 519 - I Blame Both Parties
I direct you to your Sydney Morning Herald for today the 30th March 2006.
On page 6 of the newspaper, the Australian Government (ie the federal govt) has taken out a full page advert slagging off the NSW State Govt for not honouring the 1999 agreement on double taxation with respect to things like Stamp Duty.
On page 9 of the newspaper, the NSW State Government has taken out a full page advert slagging off the Australian Commonwealth Government for not dividing the GST revenue it's collected fairly bewteen the states. It accuses the Federal Govt of ripping off the people of NSW to the tune of A$3bn that never returns to NSW.
Elsewhere in the newspaper we are told the the OECD figures release mean that the people of Australia are the third most taxed nation on the planet. That is we pay more in income tax, consumption tax and other levies than everyone else in the world except Denmark and Norway.
Now I don't know about you but the fact that our Federal Highways are in disrepair, our trains, hospitals, public schools, police service (at both Federal and State) levels don't work points to gross mismanagement on the part of both the State and Federal Governments. Let me just point out here that we have a state Labor government and a federal Liberal government so basically this incompotence draws right across party lines.
Quite frankly two full page adverts taken out on the same day shows blatent disregard for the people who put the politicians there when a simple phone call should have sufficed.
Labor, Liberal, State, Federal - we're governed by excrement and at risk of pointing fingers at anyone lest I accidentally touch any of the crud, anyone who voted for any political party over the last 5 years I now hold directly responsible.
Australia - you actually VOTED for this scum - SUFFER!!
On page 6 of the newspaper, the Australian Government (ie the federal govt) has taken out a full page advert slagging off the NSW State Govt for not honouring the 1999 agreement on double taxation with respect to things like Stamp Duty.
On page 9 of the newspaper, the NSW State Government has taken out a full page advert slagging off the Australian Commonwealth Government for not dividing the GST revenue it's collected fairly bewteen the states. It accuses the Federal Govt of ripping off the people of NSW to the tune of A$3bn that never returns to NSW.
Elsewhere in the newspaper we are told the the OECD figures release mean that the people of Australia are the third most taxed nation on the planet. That is we pay more in income tax, consumption tax and other levies than everyone else in the world except Denmark and Norway.
Now I don't know about you but the fact that our Federal Highways are in disrepair, our trains, hospitals, public schools, police service (at both Federal and State) levels don't work points to gross mismanagement on the part of both the State and Federal Governments. Let me just point out here that we have a state Labor government and a federal Liberal government so basically this incompotence draws right across party lines.
Quite frankly two full page adverts taken out on the same day shows blatent disregard for the people who put the politicians there when a simple phone call should have sufficed.
Labor, Liberal, State, Federal - we're governed by excrement and at risk of pointing fingers at anyone lest I accidentally touch any of the crud, anyone who voted for any political party over the last 5 years I now hold directly responsible.
Australia - you actually VOTED for this scum - SUFFER!!
March 29, 2006
Horse 518 - Turnstile World
Some of my friends from back in high school are in town this week and it's amazing at the differences 8 years makes. Among which is the fact that they're married with a pair of 6 year old twin boys - what happened there?!
Anyway (and the point of this post) is that kids are amused by things that grown up wouldn't understand. People will go to a city to see the sights, and although a trip on the ferry across the harbour, going across the Harbour Bridge, seeing the Opera House, going to the zoo, are all fun things, you know what the kids were most amused by? The keycard to get into the hotel room.
Suddenly they had all this power that they've never had before. Watching the little light go from red to green meant that they had control over something. Then there was the little safe in the room that big people put their wallets and keys into when housekeeping come around. I guarantee that half the room must have ended up in that safe.
Then inside the hotel lobby there's a big revolving door. Whilst we were having coffee (that wasn't very good I must say) they were going around and around and around with the door for what must have been 20 minutes.
What about the travellators in a shopping centre? How fun are they? I must confess to just last week going down an up escalator at Martin Place Railway Station and I'm only 28 next birthday.
Maybe there should be a theme park called Turnstile World where kids can push buttons and ride escalators and go around doors all day long. Then again maybe not...
Anyway (and the point of this post) is that kids are amused by things that grown up wouldn't understand. People will go to a city to see the sights, and although a trip on the ferry across the harbour, going across the Harbour Bridge, seeing the Opera House, going to the zoo, are all fun things, you know what the kids were most amused by? The keycard to get into the hotel room.
Suddenly they had all this power that they've never had before. Watching the little light go from red to green meant that they had control over something. Then there was the little safe in the room that big people put their wallets and keys into when housekeeping come around. I guarantee that half the room must have ended up in that safe.
Then inside the hotel lobby there's a big revolving door. Whilst we were having coffee (that wasn't very good I must say) they were going around and around and around with the door for what must have been 20 minutes.
What about the travellators in a shopping centre? How fun are they? I must confess to just last week going down an up escalator at Martin Place Railway Station and I'm only 28 next birthday.
Maybe there should be a theme park called Turnstile World where kids can push buttons and ride escalators and go around doors all day long. Then again maybe not...
March 26, 2006
Horse 517 - Red vs Blue
When you stop and think about there really are lot of things in our lives in which red and blue are in competition. No doubt the folks in Liverpool this weekend aren't talking any more (for a couple of days), with the 203rd local derby of Liverpool and Everton. Liverpool won 3-1 this time, so the red half of the city will be joyous whilst the blue half will be in quiet grumpyness. You can even see it on the doors of the city. Rows and rows of terraced houses with either red or blue doors indicating which colour of the divide the household sits on.
In Adelaide over the weekend we had the running of the V8 Supercars. The two camps of Holden and Ford are none other than Team Red and the Blue Oval. The General's red army and the red barons vs Captain Invicible's blue falcons.
Even when a child is born there is a rivalry over colour. Girls get dressed in pink which is just another way of saying pastel red, whilst boys get blue.
When I was a kid there was a claymation telly program called The Red and The Blue. The Red was a big red blob of clay and The Blue was a little blue one. For some reason I think that they spoke Polish but I only know like one word in Polish which is Usta which isn't useful in conversation except that it's the word for lip.
Even lips can be described as red and blue. While a pair of red lips might be quite nice to look at on a lady, you'd feel sorry for the same lady with blue lips because this would mean that she'd be quite cold.
Speaking of that the hot and cold taps are usually denoted by a red and a blue marker to tell you which one is which.
In our own bodies there is both red and blue blood. Red blood is full of oxygen and useful while blue blood is drained and must be sent back to the lungs for replenishment. This makes me wonder about the phrase being blue blooded. I usuallly have connotations of the deep South whenever someone mentions this and of dames and mustachioed people like Yosemite Sam.
Red cordial sens kids hyper but I would ever give children blue something to drink because the only blue liquid I know of is kerosine and that's not yummy at all... actually, I might give it to nasty horrible kids.
In Adelaide over the weekend we had the running of the V8 Supercars. The two camps of Holden and Ford are none other than Team Red and the Blue Oval. The General's red army and the red barons vs Captain Invicible's blue falcons.
Even when a child is born there is a rivalry over colour. Girls get dressed in pink which is just another way of saying pastel red, whilst boys get blue.
When I was a kid there was a claymation telly program called The Red and The Blue. The Red was a big red blob of clay and The Blue was a little blue one. For some reason I think that they spoke Polish but I only know like one word in Polish which is Usta which isn't useful in conversation except that it's the word for lip.
Even lips can be described as red and blue. While a pair of red lips might be quite nice to look at on a lady, you'd feel sorry for the same lady with blue lips because this would mean that she'd be quite cold.
Speaking of that the hot and cold taps are usually denoted by a red and a blue marker to tell you which one is which.
In our own bodies there is both red and blue blood. Red blood is full of oxygen and useful while blue blood is drained and must be sent back to the lungs for replenishment. This makes me wonder about the phrase being blue blooded. I usuallly have connotations of the deep South whenever someone mentions this and of dames and mustachioed people like Yosemite Sam.
Red cordial sens kids hyper but I would ever give children blue something to drink because the only blue liquid I know of is kerosine and that's not yummy at all... actually, I might give it to nasty horrible kids.
March 24, 2006
iFive - 24th Mar
Sitting watch Wenty Uniting playing football last weekend, I was comparing stuff on the iPod with Tim Markham. His 30GB Video iPod had far less songs on it, and I seemed to have most of them covered. A thought struck me about a video iPod - the video function would be virtually useless in my life.
I use my iPod mainly whilst walking or driving in the car. While walking it sits in my back pocket, and when driving it's on the floor. In neither place would I have the ability to watch the screen. If I was watching a DVD, then I'd do so on the player at home with a proper television. I can see the benefit for travellers on the train but that's about it.
Also, the chap who's been through the desert on a horse with no name - what happens if he loses the horse? How does he call it back again? I wonder.
1. A Horse With No Name - America
2. A Song of Patriotic Predjudice - Flanders & Swann
3. It Won't Be Long - The Beatles
4. Keep It Gay - The Producers
5. Club Cyberia - Serial Experiments Lain
I use my iPod mainly whilst walking or driving in the car. While walking it sits in my back pocket, and when driving it's on the floor. In neither place would I have the ability to watch the screen. If I was watching a DVD, then I'd do so on the player at home with a proper television. I can see the benefit for travellers on the train but that's about it.
Also, the chap who's been through the desert on a horse with no name - what happens if he loses the horse? How does he call it back again? I wonder.
1. A Horse With No Name - America
2. A Song of Patriotic Predjudice - Flanders & Swann
3. It Won't Be Long - The Beatles
4. Keep It Gay - The Producers
5. Club Cyberia - Serial Experiments Lain
March 22, 2006
Horse 516 - Stuck In A Hole
Come with me on a thought exercise. I have something to say to a few people here - I intend to say it to all of them using allegory.
You're walking along a road when suddenly you fall down. In most circumstances it would be a simple case of picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and continuing the journey. Sure you might be a little bit dusty and dirty and it might even hurt a bit, but you're able to go on fairly well.
Now suppose you're walking along and trying to be careful where you're walking. Because you're looking down at your feet, you walk headlong into a lamppost. Again it hurts (quite a bit more than simply falling over) but no real damage is done except for the loss of pride and you're able to go on. Sure you might feel a bit silly for walking into the lamppost but if you want to get to your destination, you get nowhere by standing still.
In part three you're walking along the pavement in a fog. You can't see what lies ahead but you can hear your friends further up the street so you head towards them. Because it's so foggy you don't happen to see a big hole in the road from where they're installing some new stormwater pipes and you fall in. It's a big hole and you can't climb out.
Unlike the first two scenarios, you can't actually do anything for yourself to get out. If you get up, you'll still be at the bottom of the hole. The phrase "lift yourself up by your bootstraps" is by all accounts useless, since no-one by any effort can lift themselves from their bootstraps even one inch into the air let alone out of a 6ft hole.
No, the only way to get out of the hole is to call out to your friends. Even if they do hear you and find you in the hole, the only way that they'll ever get you out is to give them your hands and let them pull you out.
Whatever the case, the people who could help you out of the hole certainly won't help you unless you ask them AND reach your hands out to them. You could remain silent and not cause a disturbance but you'd still be in the hole and that's just stupid isn't it?
If you are in a hole, call out. It's not silly to ask for help but it is stupid to be stuck in a hole if other people could help you out.
Here ends the allegory.
Are you still stuck in the hole?
You're walking along a road when suddenly you fall down. In most circumstances it would be a simple case of picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and continuing the journey. Sure you might be a little bit dusty and dirty and it might even hurt a bit, but you're able to go on fairly well.
Now suppose you're walking along and trying to be careful where you're walking. Because you're looking down at your feet, you walk headlong into a lamppost. Again it hurts (quite a bit more than simply falling over) but no real damage is done except for the loss of pride and you're able to go on. Sure you might feel a bit silly for walking into the lamppost but if you want to get to your destination, you get nowhere by standing still.
In part three you're walking along the pavement in a fog. You can't see what lies ahead but you can hear your friends further up the street so you head towards them. Because it's so foggy you don't happen to see a big hole in the road from where they're installing some new stormwater pipes and you fall in. It's a big hole and you can't climb out.
Unlike the first two scenarios, you can't actually do anything for yourself to get out. If you get up, you'll still be at the bottom of the hole. The phrase "lift yourself up by your bootstraps" is by all accounts useless, since no-one by any effort can lift themselves from their bootstraps even one inch into the air let alone out of a 6ft hole.
No, the only way to get out of the hole is to call out to your friends. Even if they do hear you and find you in the hole, the only way that they'll ever get you out is to give them your hands and let them pull you out.
Whatever the case, the people who could help you out of the hole certainly won't help you unless you ask them AND reach your hands out to them. You could remain silent and not cause a disturbance but you'd still be in the hole and that's just stupid isn't it?
If you are in a hole, call out. It's not silly to ask for help but it is stupid to be stuck in a hole if other people could help you out.
Here ends the allegory.
Are you still stuck in the hole?
March 20, 2006
Horse 515 - Happy Peeps
I'm fiddling with proprietary settings on the scanner at work because it's pretty well similar to the one at home and I've decided that the best way to attack which settings work the best is purely on a hit-and-miss basis. I figure that part of the skill in using the medium is to be trained by the medium to a degree; painters will have at least a feel of how paint works on a canvas and sculptors can actually feel what works with their raw materials, so this by my mind is only fair.
When actually drawing things, I worked out that it might be best to step away from the brink to a degree. I could render things so that they look brilliant on paper, but then when it's time to scan them in, all I get is undefined dark patches. Sam and Fuzzy has a guide on their website and it's a reasonable discourse on both the advantages and limitations of a pure black/white system. I could of course draw the whole thing on a drawing tablet, but this would mean that I would need to buy one of them and although the results do look more polished, I don't think that they necessarily retain a sense of grit - I don't know, things on a drawing table just don't feel organic.
So then, these three doodles were more an exercise in not what I could add but what I could take away from a drawing. Could I convey coyness? How about being smug? What about just being generally happy? I think I achieved something by taking stuff away.
Also, there's an interesting habit that's crept in. I don't know why but of the last 60 or so scribbles I've made in my little notebook (made from the same 120gsm paper as a process diary), people are inheriting little antennae in their hair. I can't explain this, but something about it makes me feel a little bit more satisfied to see the odd errant hair lazily and defiantly standing proud for no reason.
Mind you to produce just these three, I've probably scribbled about 100 odd faces/hands/eyes.
Wastebin full of paper,
Clever rhymes, see you later.
March 17, 2006
Horse 514 - The Irish Question
If I look at Ireland and especially today, I'm reminded of a great vein of humour, culture and stupidity that runs through it. When Pope John Paul II died, it was the Irish who had Father Dougal Maguire running in bookmaker's charts at 1000-1 of being the next pope, which isn't too bad for a ficitional person who also didn't happen to believe in God. I'm also somewhat disappointed with the nation, who in 1910 had more missionarys than any other nation but just 6 years later while Europe was at war, neutral Ireland decended into civil war which still leaves a bloody mark on the doorposts and bullet holes in the stonemasonry today.
When I was a kid, you'd look in the atlas at a map of the world and wonder why there were several countries with the same name. WEST Germany and EAST Germany were separated by a dismal Iron Curtain that had descended after WW2. NORTH Korea and SOUTH Korea were separated by an equally vexing gap of no man's land because of the Korean War but over in Western Europe; far, far, far over Western Europe, there was something that made no sense.
Ireland, was and still is two countries. The Emerald Isle had this very orange bit on the top. Of the four big Counties of Ireland (being Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connacht) one was owned by the other "country" of the British Isles - The UK, but not entirely.
It's ironic as the Commonwealth Games are going on, that the only country that shares a border with the UK, isn't part of the Commonwealth so isn't represented at the games. It's also ironic that the UK which seemingly prides itself as a secular state should have a disagreement which often boils over into violence on a matter which has a least some basis in a dispute between Protestants and Catholics.
In 1620 when the Pilgrims left for the New World, they were escaping religious persecution. In 1658 with Cromwell, the English Civil War was fought as result of the same undertones. Even Guy Fawkes in 1605 had a dispute on the subject. Clearly 400 years have taught us nothing, the Irish Question is the same question all along. If you go to Scotland the rivalry is played out (also with violence) when Rangers and Celtic play each other. 400 years of Catholics and Protestants firing weapons at each other is just pointless.
It's a real disappointment to me that the land of green should be split. The Rugby, Hurling and Gaelic Football doesn't seem to have a problem so why should the nation? It does not make sense.
Personally I think that the island should be one country either under the administration of the UK (as Ireland) or as a republic (as Ireland). The idea that there should be a line is as preposterous as the latest Irish Inventions (waterproof teabags, fly-screens on submarines, fireproof matches, inflatable dartboards etc). In short, everyone should - put up, shut up and get on with each other. The Irish deserve their reputation for being stupid if all they want to do is blow each other up.
The spiritual serpants are still in Ireland. St Patrick may may driven them out, but they came back... and continue to bite.
The rottenest bits of these islands of ours,
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers,
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot,
You'll find hes a stinker as likely as not.
The Irishman, now, our contempt is beneath,
He sleeps in his boots and he lies in his teeth,
He blows up policemen (or so I have heard),
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third.
That is not to say that Ireland is all bad. I think of the work of Samuel Beckett and his most famous work Waiting for Godot which is surely one of the best written absurdist tragi-comedies of all time (if not the only absurdist tragi-comedy of all time).What about Eddie Irvine who was the self-proclaimed "second best driver in the world"? Sir Terry Wogan who took up British citizenship for one reason only - to claim the title of Sir. He's been sharing his half-baked view of the world with us on both BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 now since 1967 and every year gives us his unique commentary on the Eurovision song contest (which Ireland have won 7 times).
There's hope for Ireland as well. Their free education policies 20 years ago have now resulted in Ireland being the world's fourth biggest producer of new computer software.
And then there's the famous River Liffey. The river that flows into the Guinness factory but doesn't flow out again... hmm.
My most lasting memory was an advert at Dublin Airport:
Fly Aer Lingus and you'll never walk again.
When I was a kid, you'd look in the atlas at a map of the world and wonder why there were several countries with the same name. WEST Germany and EAST Germany were separated by a dismal Iron Curtain that had descended after WW2. NORTH Korea and SOUTH Korea were separated by an equally vexing gap of no man's land because of the Korean War but over in Western Europe; far, far, far over Western Europe, there was something that made no sense.
Ireland, was and still is two countries. The Emerald Isle had this very orange bit on the top. Of the four big Counties of Ireland (being Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connacht) one was owned by the other "country" of the British Isles - The UK, but not entirely.
It's ironic as the Commonwealth Games are going on, that the only country that shares a border with the UK, isn't part of the Commonwealth so isn't represented at the games. It's also ironic that the UK which seemingly prides itself as a secular state should have a disagreement which often boils over into violence on a matter which has a least some basis in a dispute between Protestants and Catholics.
In 1620 when the Pilgrims left for the New World, they were escaping religious persecution. In 1658 with Cromwell, the English Civil War was fought as result of the same undertones. Even Guy Fawkes in 1605 had a dispute on the subject. Clearly 400 years have taught us nothing, the Irish Question is the same question all along. If you go to Scotland the rivalry is played out (also with violence) when Rangers and Celtic play each other. 400 years of Catholics and Protestants firing weapons at each other is just pointless.
It's a real disappointment to me that the land of green should be split. The Rugby, Hurling and Gaelic Football doesn't seem to have a problem so why should the nation? It does not make sense.
Personally I think that the island should be one country either under the administration of the UK (as Ireland) or as a republic (as Ireland). The idea that there should be a line is as preposterous as the latest Irish Inventions (waterproof teabags, fly-screens on submarines, fireproof matches, inflatable dartboards etc). In short, everyone should - put up, shut up and get on with each other. The Irish deserve their reputation for being stupid if all they want to do is blow each other up.
The spiritual serpants are still in Ireland. St Patrick may may driven them out, but they came back... and continue to bite.
The rottenest bits of these islands of ours,
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers,
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot,
You'll find hes a stinker as likely as not.
The Irishman, now, our contempt is beneath,
He sleeps in his boots and he lies in his teeth,
He blows up policemen (or so I have heard),
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third.
That is not to say that Ireland is all bad. I think of the work of Samuel Beckett and his most famous work Waiting for Godot which is surely one of the best written absurdist tragi-comedies of all time (if not the only absurdist tragi-comedy of all time).What about Eddie Irvine who was the self-proclaimed "second best driver in the world"? Sir Terry Wogan who took up British citizenship for one reason only - to claim the title of Sir. He's been sharing his half-baked view of the world with us on both BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 now since 1967 and every year gives us his unique commentary on the Eurovision song contest (which Ireland have won 7 times).
There's hope for Ireland as well. Their free education policies 20 years ago have now resulted in Ireland being the world's fourth biggest producer of new computer software.
And then there's the famous River Liffey. The river that flows into the Guinness factory but doesn't flow out again... hmm.
My most lasting memory was an advert at Dublin Airport:
Fly Aer Lingus and you'll never walk again.
March 16, 2006
Horse 513 - Take Off To The Future
Last night Yarra Trams unveiled what it hopes will be the next major mode of transport in Melbourne. Traffic congestion and bizarre road rules with regards hook turns has meant that Melbourne will need to look to the skies in future.
Currently the aging W & P class trams are being fitted with wings but will continue to travel down existing routes. A Yarra Trams spokesman has said that these improvements are beneficial in other ways because it will now be possible to avoid collisions with cars and negate the need for special signals at roundabouts.
Trials at the moment have been unsuccessful however. This rogue tram was caught on camera not going to the MCG at Jolimont but actually landing in the MCG proper. There are also technical questions which need to be addressed such as what happens when a flying tram leaves the power supply. Are commuters going to be left up in the air waiting?
March 15, 2006
Horse 512 - 15 Minutes of Apology and Confusion
I thought that this would take less time than this, but I've run into other sorts of problems. My scanner doesn't seem to have an adequate greyscale function and second to that, the images I'm producing off of scans are monster files. I have literally hundreds of drawings and scribbles done just lying about the place in folders; my litte notebook is full of little sketches and other ideas of halfbakery, but still my computer has trouble processing them.
Estute people should be able to guess where in the world this is, and from where the photograph was originally taken. I actually kind of admire in the original ink and pencil how this looks all grubby and mucky. There are errors with this (one of them is quite obvious) but it's nice to go from a blank sheet of paper to this in less than 20 minutes.
I also need a domain and a webserver to host this, but those issues can be met as they arise.
March 14, 2006
Horse 511 - Republic of Australia
HRH Queen Elizabeth II is in the country at the moment and whenever she sets foot upon this land that was once a gaol, there is always an uneasy torrent of grumbling that suggests that we should have our own head of state. Whilst I can see the aspirations of such people and take note of them, I tend to wonder about the whole situation and look at other countries with presidents, and think to myself that the idea aint all it's cracked up to be.
The inventor of the Republic was France; this grew out of the tyranny associated with the Emporers like Napoleon which for all intents were identical in character to the line of kings they deposed. Currently the French President (Jacques Chirac) is directly elected and holds similar powers to the Queen. The President signs off on legislation and frequently exercises their powers of veto as they see fit. They also have the power to rule on constitutional matters and can refer matters to a referendum.
The problem is that the President is not exactly a respected position. Chirac is not necessarily held in high regard with the airs that should come with head of state and is often accused of being incompotent.
If we move to the USA, the president there actually appoints the executive of the nation. None of the executive are elected by the people, so it would appear that with the election of an American President, there is a lot of faith that the person elected will be faithful to the American people.
Like the French President, the President of the USA isn't necessarily afforded the official respect one usually purports to a head of state. In times where the president is a puppet for the people below them, the voters are often too aware of this. Mind you, in cases where this person proves to be an elder statesman, they are idolised in the nation's history.
The Queen on the other hand isn't elected at all. She has virtually no say in the way the nation runs (save for the ability to sign off on legislation which for reasons of proximity she doesn't most of the time) and can not appoint the executive, nor does she have the ability to change even an iota of the legislation.
So why do I think we should retain what would seem like an utterly usless position. Think about this, if in France and the USA the president is not necessarily held in overy high regard, then how does this reflect on the nation? Would the Australian people for instance wear having John Howard as the head of state? It's just not very glamourous is it?
The Queen might not do anything, but it's a matter of what she is rather than who. As a link to our past the retention of the monarchy actually shows something quite interesting. The USA was created with a war as was France (though they called it a revolution) but Australia was created with a piece of legislation. Not only that, within the British Commonwealth it was affored uniquely the staus of "Commonwealth" which meant that at inception, all laws passed within the borders would take precedent over those of Britain.
Something else which is almost forgotten is this: where does the word "Republic" come from? Latin is our help here... res publica or common thing. Res being a word for thing or abstract wealth, or if you wish a Commonwealth. Therefore we're a republic anyway, which in practice is most definately the case, so why bother changing anything?
The inventor of the Republic was France; this grew out of the tyranny associated with the Emporers like Napoleon which for all intents were identical in character to the line of kings they deposed. Currently the French President (Jacques Chirac) is directly elected and holds similar powers to the Queen. The President signs off on legislation and frequently exercises their powers of veto as they see fit. They also have the power to rule on constitutional matters and can refer matters to a referendum.
The problem is that the President is not exactly a respected position. Chirac is not necessarily held in high regard with the airs that should come with head of state and is often accused of being incompotent.
If we move to the USA, the president there actually appoints the executive of the nation. None of the executive are elected by the people, so it would appear that with the election of an American President, there is a lot of faith that the person elected will be faithful to the American people.
Like the French President, the President of the USA isn't necessarily afforded the official respect one usually purports to a head of state. In times where the president is a puppet for the people below them, the voters are often too aware of this. Mind you, in cases where this person proves to be an elder statesman, they are idolised in the nation's history.
The Queen on the other hand isn't elected at all. She has virtually no say in the way the nation runs (save for the ability to sign off on legislation which for reasons of proximity she doesn't most of the time) and can not appoint the executive, nor does she have the ability to change even an iota of the legislation.
So why do I think we should retain what would seem like an utterly usless position. Think about this, if in France and the USA the president is not necessarily held in overy high regard, then how does this reflect on the nation? Would the Australian people for instance wear having John Howard as the head of state? It's just not very glamourous is it?
The Queen might not do anything, but it's a matter of what she is rather than who. As a link to our past the retention of the monarchy actually shows something quite interesting. The USA was created with a war as was France (though they called it a revolution) but Australia was created with a piece of legislation. Not only that, within the British Commonwealth it was affored uniquely the staus of "Commonwealth" which meant that at inception, all laws passed within the borders would take precedent over those of Britain.
Something else which is almost forgotten is this: where does the word "Republic" come from? Latin is our help here... res publica or common thing. Res being a word for thing or abstract wealth, or if you wish a Commonwealth. Therefore we're a republic anyway, which in practice is most definately the case, so why bother changing anything?
March 13, 2006
Horse 510 - Time Is Running Out!!
It fills our past, present and our future; busy people complain that they have to little of it and many of our youth have far too much of it on their hands. There should be enough of it to last us forever but scientists revealed yesterday that by 2020 there could be a severe shortage.
Like oil, gas, ozone, our rainforests, our seas, and arable land, time is being wasted every single day like there's no tomorrow; yet the scary thing is that there may not be one. Unless we start saving it and quickly, we may none left for our children to use.
If you want to know what the time is, ask a policeman or so goes the saying. However, unless they happen to have a degree in cosmology or theoretical physics; maybe even a working knowledge of Leibniz and Neitsche, you're probably better off finding someone more qualified.
The very first people to record time were the Greeks. The Egyptians were the first to record time-and-a-half whilst building the pyramids.
Although a coffee table is useful for putting cups of coffee on, a timetable isn't for putting time on. It's usually a bit of paper pinned up at your local railway station upon which is printed a series of numbers which bear no resemblence to the arrival and departure of trains.
"My parents fought in WW2 so I could have the right to waste as much time as I want" - PM John Howard
Maybe the Sex Pistols were right when they sang "no future for you" in their 1977 song God Save the Queen. If we keep on wasting time like this, there will certainly be no future left for anyone.
Like oil, gas, ozone, our rainforests, our seas, and arable land, time is being wasted every single day like there's no tomorrow; yet the scary thing is that there may not be one. Unless we start saving it and quickly, we may none left for our children to use.
If you want to know what the time is, ask a policeman or so goes the saying. However, unless they happen to have a degree in cosmology or theoretical physics; maybe even a working knowledge of Leibniz and Neitsche, you're probably better off finding someone more qualified.
The very first people to record time were the Greeks. The Egyptians were the first to record time-and-a-half whilst building the pyramids.
Although a coffee table is useful for putting cups of coffee on, a timetable isn't for putting time on. It's usually a bit of paper pinned up at your local railway station upon which is printed a series of numbers which bear no resemblence to the arrival and departure of trains.
"My parents fought in WW2 so I could have the right to waste as much time as I want" - PM John Howard
Maybe the Sex Pistols were right when they sang "no future for you" in their 1977 song God Save the Queen. If we keep on wasting time like this, there will certainly be no future left for anyone.
March 10, 2006
iFive - 10th Mar
Most people have memories that go with a song that remains with them forever; certainly I walys make a habit of buying whatever single happens to be number one that week on a major trip because invariably it will have been played to death. What happens in the case of the iFive No.1 this week - is it possible to have a memory for something I was never around for?
Vera Lynn sung the original and the BBC would play Goodnight Children Everywhere sometimes as part of its nightly shutdown. Many kids had been moved out of London while the bombs were raining down and perhaps this was some reminder that somewhere, someone was very very worried indeed. The song itself is quite haunting almost bordering on sad; the chord structure is uneasy and I suspect represents the fear of the time very accurately indeed.
PS: The band name Sixpence None the Richer came from another quite well known book. A bit of research may surprise you... go on, it's fun.
1. Goodnight Children Everywhere - Sixpence None the Richer
2. Fancy Hearing Cake - Azumanga Daioh
3. The Hot Dog Man - Tripod
4. Mary-Anne - Tripod
5. Everything Goes Around - Atomic Kitten
Vera Lynn sung the original and the BBC would play Goodnight Children Everywhere sometimes as part of its nightly shutdown. Many kids had been moved out of London while the bombs were raining down and perhaps this was some reminder that somewhere, someone was very very worried indeed. The song itself is quite haunting almost bordering on sad; the chord structure is uneasy and I suspect represents the fear of the time very accurately indeed.
PS: The band name Sixpence None the Richer came from another quite well known book. A bit of research may surprise you... go on, it's fun.
1. Goodnight Children Everywhere - Sixpence None the Richer
2. Fancy Hearing Cake - Azumanga Daioh
3. The Hot Dog Man - Tripod
4. Mary-Anne - Tripod
5. Everything Goes Around - Atomic Kitten
March 08, 2006
Horse 509 - Star Wars II?
A question that often comes up in conversation is "Who would win in a fight?" This question applies in all sorts of fields: Ronald McDonald vs The Colonel, Blur vs Oasis, Tony Blair vs The Blair Witch Project and now...
R2D2 vs Daleks
Both are capable of extreme space travel, both are plucky adversaries and both are fairly hardy.
It is worth noting that one of the old tricks that used to work against Daleks, no longer applies. It was once said that to escape the Daleks, one simply needed to run up stairs. This was famously parodied in the latest series when Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) ran up some stairs and the Dalek used jets to hover. However assuming you have a Dalek without this ability, the benefit is negated anyway because R2D2 can not climb stairs either. So the venue for the battle is a flat surface.
R2D2 is esentially a dustbin with a projection unit and a universal lock reader. The Daleks are battle robots piloted by sentinent globs; equipped with laser cannons. R2D2 if it came up to you would make a Puruupuruu-twee-doot noise but the Daleks would yell EXTERMINATE and try to blow you to ions. Clearly Daleks are more menacing.I am reminded that C3PO and R2D2 once appeared on Sesame Street and R2D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant; clearly this is a weakness as the Daleks do not have love. Rose Tyler killed one when it experienced happiness. I'm not sure how this aspect would turn out.
A Dalek is taller and heavier, so in a one on one ram-raid, the Dalek would win. R2D2 frequently shut down and required repairs; I'm sure Davros would just send more Daleks. Collectively the Daleks conquered worlds, but R2D2 is merely a service droid.
In conclusion, a Dalek would beat R2D2 and for one other important reason... they killed Kennedy during their invasion of Earth in 1963 and overran London.
R2D2 vs Daleks
Both are capable of extreme space travel, both are plucky adversaries and both are fairly hardy.
It is worth noting that one of the old tricks that used to work against Daleks, no longer applies. It was once said that to escape the Daleks, one simply needed to run up stairs. This was famously parodied in the latest series when Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) ran up some stairs and the Dalek used jets to hover. However assuming you have a Dalek without this ability, the benefit is negated anyway because R2D2 can not climb stairs either. So the venue for the battle is a flat surface.
R2D2 is esentially a dustbin with a projection unit and a universal lock reader. The Daleks are battle robots piloted by sentinent globs; equipped with laser cannons. R2D2 if it came up to you would make a Puruupuruu-twee-doot noise but the Daleks would yell EXTERMINATE and try to blow you to ions. Clearly Daleks are more menacing.I am reminded that C3PO and R2D2 once appeared on Sesame Street and R2D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant; clearly this is a weakness as the Daleks do not have love. Rose Tyler killed one when it experienced happiness. I'm not sure how this aspect would turn out.
A Dalek is taller and heavier, so in a one on one ram-raid, the Dalek would win. R2D2 frequently shut down and required repairs; I'm sure Davros would just send more Daleks. Collectively the Daleks conquered worlds, but R2D2 is merely a service droid.
In conclusion, a Dalek would beat R2D2 and for one other important reason... they killed Kennedy during their invasion of Earth in 1963 and overran London.
March 07, 2006
Horse 508 - Star Wars
Episode IV
A NEW HOPE
It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy....
Think about it all. You have a giant Galactic Empire with presumably billions of citizens. Is it just me or does the whole concept seem just a little bit stupid. How do you sort out the issues of taxation? How do you collect it? As for the internet, that's tied up with the issue below.
How about making telephone calls? If electromagnetic radiation only moves at the speed of light, then your telephone call could take potentially hundreds of years to even get to the nearest star. The person you'd be speaking to would have probably died by then, not to mention that by the time you heard back you'd be dead as well. Also bear in mind that spaceships have warp drives, which means you could arrive several hundreds of years earlier yourself.
I wonder how your spaceship knows when it rematerialises in space, not to reappear in another spaceship. Wouldn't it have made more sense if you were going to blow up the Death Star to send a ship on auto pilot to just reappear in the middle with a bomb on board?
If you do happen to be moving a very close to the speed of light, assuming that KE=1/2MV² where V is very massive, the kinetic energy dissipated by a spaceship into something the size of a grain of sand would probably be enough to rip it to bits. How do you safeguard against micrometeorite that you can't see?
What is the blade of a Light-Sabre composed of? If Yoda is old and crippled, then why is he able to bounce around wielding his own Light-Sabre? Is he on Workers Comp?
Force equals a mass times an acceleration. How do you use "The Force" and how do you accelerate a mass in free space without outside interaction? Shouldn't they have all known that Anakin would be bad, because in the first film, everyone was a bunch of goody-two-shoes la-dee-daa gits and there were no bad people; therefore to bring "balance" there needed to be more bad people.
March 04, 2006
Horse 507 - Am I The Only One Who Gets This?
Is it anyone else who get this kind of callousness or is it just me?
Last night being Friday, I got back from work and was in the mood to do much, then I got this phone call:
"We're having a few people around for dinner on Saturday night. Do you think you could come around and bring some of your famous sushi rolls?"
Aha, I thought, something to do for tonight and for tommorrow night. So I've spent par of this morning tracking down some nori and some more sushi vinegar and spent part of the afternoon with my little wooden rollings mats turning out a few futomaki (big rolls) before cutting them up into little bite size bits.
I then drive about half an hour to my friends house and they were obviously in a flap because they were getting ready for when then people turned up, and Iwas told the following.
"Ah, it's good that you brought them here. Now I think you'll want to be leaving fairly soon as we have guests coming in about half an hour"
"Er?"
"No, you're not invited. It's a couples only thing, we've got about a dozen people coming and we wouldn't want you to feel left out."
At which point I was hurried out of the door and into the night.
Now maybe it's a case of misinterpreting something, but I've spent a couple of hours effort in getting the ingredients, preparation time, as well as the price of the good in the first place (salmon fillet doesn't come as cheap as chicken).
Forgive me if I'm more than just a little peeved here. Do I feel more left out for actually being left out?
I've decided to let this one go. I've got other things to do tonight... namely anything.
Last night being Friday, I got back from work and was in the mood to do much, then I got this phone call:
"We're having a few people around for dinner on Saturday night. Do you think you could come around and bring some of your famous sushi rolls?"
Aha, I thought, something to do for tonight and for tommorrow night. So I've spent par of this morning tracking down some nori and some more sushi vinegar and spent part of the afternoon with my little wooden rollings mats turning out a few futomaki (big rolls) before cutting them up into little bite size bits.
I then drive about half an hour to my friends house and they were obviously in a flap because they were getting ready for when then people turned up, and Iwas told the following.
"Ah, it's good that you brought them here. Now I think you'll want to be leaving fairly soon as we have guests coming in about half an hour"
"Er?"
"No, you're not invited. It's a couples only thing, we've got about a dozen people coming and we wouldn't want you to feel left out."
At which point I was hurried out of the door and into the night.
Now maybe it's a case of misinterpreting something, but I've spent a couple of hours effort in getting the ingredients, preparation time, as well as the price of the good in the first place (salmon fillet doesn't come as cheap as chicken).
Forgive me if I'm more than just a little peeved here. Do I feel more left out for actually being left out?
I've decided to let this one go. I've got other things to do tonight... namely anything.
March 02, 2006
iFive - 3rd Mar
I'm going to break the rules of iFive somewhat and mention just one song that I had on the iPod this week. I was able to pick up from my local record store during the week a copy of the 2005 Last Night at the Proms on BBC Records, of course being from that centre of the known and unknown musical world, the egg that is the Royal Albert Hall.
A testament to just how good a piece of music is, is to how loud you can turn it up. iTunes this week registered just 2 counts for the week. The point of the matter is that both of these tracks are 82 minutes long which in itself is pushing the boundaries of CD technology. Let the records show that the Fantasia on British Sea Songs was the very first song that I've ever had my amplifier set to 3 bars for. Henry Wood who organised the performances 112 years ago probably wasn't aware of the cultural heritage that he left behind... good luck the him. The Last Night is still the high water mark on the musical calendar for my money, and for me having the privilege of being able to stand within The Egg's walls whilst this was going on in 2003 was/is very special.
1. Fantasia on British Sea Songs - Henry Wood
A testament to just how good a piece of music is, is to how loud you can turn it up. iTunes this week registered just 2 counts for the week. The point of the matter is that both of these tracks are 82 minutes long which in itself is pushing the boundaries of CD technology. Let the records show that the Fantasia on British Sea Songs was the very first song that I've ever had my amplifier set to 3 bars for. Henry Wood who organised the performances 112 years ago probably wasn't aware of the cultural heritage that he left behind... good luck the him. The Last Night is still the high water mark on the musical calendar for my money, and for me having the privilege of being able to stand within The Egg's walls whilst this was going on in 2003 was/is very special.
1. Fantasia on British Sea Songs - Henry Wood
Horse 506 - The Best Job In The World
A bunch of us were talking about this tonight and I reckon that without a doubt, the best job in the world would have to be that of a nuclear bomb salesman. I mean think about it, you don't even have to prove that the bomb you're selling even works.
Oh our nuclear bomb is a right cracker, it's a bobby dazzler it is. That's it sitting out in the carpark. This is the bomb that even the roaches are afraid of.
The thing is that no nutter no more matter how ludicrously insane they are, isn't going to test it there and then to make sure it works are they? The thing could be filled with chocolate bon-bons, putty and sawdust for all it matters. The people in charge would buy it anyway, they're all CRAZY PEOPLE.
When I was a kid we were in the middle of the Cold War, Reagan and Gorbachev had these things pointed at each other. Even they had the common sense not to actually use them. What a field day the nuclear bomb salesmen must've had back then eh?
It would have been hillarious to have actually witnessed all of these "bombs" going off. If they'd been sold by bomb salesmen like me, the New York City would be covered in treacle whilst Moscow would have been up to its eyeballs in cans of Dr Pepper and cakes of Solvitol.
The problem these days is that genuine CRAZY PEOPLE are in charge of the bombs now. These people are prepared to actually use them for real. I think we should start filling nuclear devices with sandshoes and dolly mixtures as soon as possible.
Oh our nuclear bomb is a right cracker, it's a bobby dazzler it is. That's it sitting out in the carpark. This is the bomb that even the roaches are afraid of.
The thing is that no nutter no more matter how ludicrously insane they are, isn't going to test it there and then to make sure it works are they? The thing could be filled with chocolate bon-bons, putty and sawdust for all it matters. The people in charge would buy it anyway, they're all CRAZY PEOPLE.
When I was a kid we were in the middle of the Cold War, Reagan and Gorbachev had these things pointed at each other. Even they had the common sense not to actually use them. What a field day the nuclear bomb salesmen must've had back then eh?
It would have been hillarious to have actually witnessed all of these "bombs" going off. If they'd been sold by bomb salesmen like me, the New York City would be covered in treacle whilst Moscow would have been up to its eyeballs in cans of Dr Pepper and cakes of Solvitol.
The problem these days is that genuine CRAZY PEOPLE are in charge of the bombs now. These people are prepared to actually use them for real. I think we should start filling nuclear devices with sandshoes and dolly mixtures as soon as possible.
March 01, 2006
Horse 505 - What Are Words Worth?
"England and America are two countries separated by the same language."
Sir Walter Besant
It was the language of an Empire on which the sun never set. It's still the language which holds the nation of India together (the only other things that do that are the railways and cricket), it's the language which Napoleon cited as the "festering wound upon the world's tongue" and without, the works of Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Ogden Nash would have never existed.
Much is made of the great vowel shift in the accent of New Zealand, and of the 44 different dialects of the UK but little is written about how the seemingly obvious and quite startling differences between American English and British English actually came to be.
I start this discourse with the work of Dr Samuel Johnson and his "A Dictionary of the English Language" published in 1755. Various attempts had been made to codify the language before, some even giving lexicography and etemologies but Dr Johnson who had hated schoolmasters and generally was showing signs of turning into a curmudgeon, sought to provide usage notes to what he saw as a language which was both moving and dynamic. Unlike most modern lexicographers, Johnson introduced humour or prejudice into quite a number of his definitions. Among the best known is "Excise: a hateful tax levied upon commodities"
Over in the USA the language carried over by the pilgrims was already mutating. They found that many words were being imported from the native indians and from the French who were busily taking up bits of Canada.
The single greatest shift in American spelling was not by accident and was done as a conscious effort to show that the fledgling states had truly broken away from mother England. Noah Webster published his "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language" in 1783 with something in the order of 4500 different spellings to what was standard and acceptable in the UK. This accounted for about 10% of the book and by the time his dictionary was completed in 1833 the damage was already done. American English would forever cease to be the same.
Back in England scholars were looking to codify the language even futher so that it matched rigid rules for a Victorian prim and proper country. However, from 1858 until 1933 their task was not complete and when the "Oxford English Dictionary" became the standard repository for words, regionalisms still abounded.
The OED should in theory be the last word on everything in English. It does have tracts on American spelling but realises that American is a dialect. Australian English sits uncomfortably between American and British after influences since the end of WW2. There is the Macquarie Dictionary which is supposed to be the definitive guide to English in this country, but its authority is feeble in comparison to the OED which is exhaustive and now rounds out to 23 printed volumes in its 3rd edition (OED3).
I have a copy of OED3 on my desk and as such I like the UN, the ISO and the WTO consider it be the standard. I think I've inadvertantly taken up a chronic dislike of Noah Webster who attempted to bugger up the English language. Until such time as Newspeak takes over (see Orwel's "1984") and Oldspeak becomes crimethink, OED3 will continue to be my weapon of choice and as such "a good thing" (no apologies to Sellar and Yeatman).
Sir Walter Besant
It was the language of an Empire on which the sun never set. It's still the language which holds the nation of India together (the only other things that do that are the railways and cricket), it's the language which Napoleon cited as the "festering wound upon the world's tongue" and without, the works of Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Ogden Nash would have never existed.
Much is made of the great vowel shift in the accent of New Zealand, and of the 44 different dialects of the UK but little is written about how the seemingly obvious and quite startling differences between American English and British English actually came to be.
I start this discourse with the work of Dr Samuel Johnson and his "A Dictionary of the English Language" published in 1755. Various attempts had been made to codify the language before, some even giving lexicography and etemologies but Dr Johnson who had hated schoolmasters and generally was showing signs of turning into a curmudgeon, sought to provide usage notes to what he saw as a language which was both moving and dynamic. Unlike most modern lexicographers, Johnson introduced humour or prejudice into quite a number of his definitions. Among the best known is "Excise: a hateful tax levied upon commodities"
Over in the USA the language carried over by the pilgrims was already mutating. They found that many words were being imported from the native indians and from the French who were busily taking up bits of Canada.
The single greatest shift in American spelling was not by accident and was done as a conscious effort to show that the fledgling states had truly broken away from mother England. Noah Webster published his "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language" in 1783 with something in the order of 4500 different spellings to what was standard and acceptable in the UK. This accounted for about 10% of the book and by the time his dictionary was completed in 1833 the damage was already done. American English would forever cease to be the same.
Back in England scholars were looking to codify the language even futher so that it matched rigid rules for a Victorian prim and proper country. However, from 1858 until 1933 their task was not complete and when the "Oxford English Dictionary" became the standard repository for words, regionalisms still abounded.
The OED should in theory be the last word on everything in English. It does have tracts on American spelling but realises that American is a dialect. Australian English sits uncomfortably between American and British after influences since the end of WW2. There is the Macquarie Dictionary which is supposed to be the definitive guide to English in this country, but its authority is feeble in comparison to the OED which is exhaustive and now rounds out to 23 printed volumes in its 3rd edition (OED3).
I have a copy of OED3 on my desk and as such I like the UN, the ISO and the WTO consider it be the standard. I think I've inadvertantly taken up a chronic dislike of Noah Webster who attempted to bugger up the English language. Until such time as Newspeak takes over (see Orwel's "1984") and Oldspeak becomes crimethink, OED3 will continue to be my weapon of choice and as such "a good thing" (no apologies to Sellar and Yeatman).
February 28, 2006
Horse 504 - Radio Competition
Radio Triple M across the eastern state has come up with probably the most ridiculous radio competition of all time. Following the non-success of "Commonwealth Names", Peter Berner was asked to invent the new competition and he came up with that old favourite "What Number am I Thinking of?"
Contestants are asked to guess what number Pete is thinking of between 1-10... that's it. No skill required or anything. Still I find it almost hillarious that some people do not even grasp this concept. Here are some guesses from yesterday's show:
14
14? The last time I checked, 14 was not between 1 and 10. In fact it's what we in the know call outside the two or greater than 10.
7
7 is a fine guess, but it was wrong.
7
7 is a fine guess, but someone else already picked it. You see, the thing with picking a number is that it doesn't change. If someone guessed and it was wrong then, it's not suddenly going to become the right number now.
pi
Ok, strictly speaking that technically is between 1 and 10, but that's just being stupid now isn't it.
2
2? Guess what? You've won!
Now if you win a radio competition you win a prize. Triple M are giving away 100,000 Vietnamese Dong if you win "What Number am I Thinking of?". 100,000 D equates roughly to A$8.49. Now I don't know about you, but to go from the chance to go to the Commonwealth Games, or winning a week in a resort on Great Keppel Island to now having the chance to win $8.49 just seems a wee bit lame.
Still, it's better than a ticket in the meat tray on Nova.
Contestants are asked to guess what number Pete is thinking of between 1-10... that's it. No skill required or anything. Still I find it almost hillarious that some people do not even grasp this concept. Here are some guesses from yesterday's show:
14
14? The last time I checked, 14 was not between 1 and 10. In fact it's what we in the know call outside the two or greater than 10.
7
7 is a fine guess, but it was wrong.
7
7 is a fine guess, but someone else already picked it. You see, the thing with picking a number is that it doesn't change. If someone guessed and it was wrong then, it's not suddenly going to become the right number now.
pi
Ok, strictly speaking that technically is between 1 and 10, but that's just being stupid now isn't it.
2
2? Guess what? You've won!
Now if you win a radio competition you win a prize. Triple M are giving away 100,000 Vietnamese Dong if you win "What Number am I Thinking of?". 100,000 D equates roughly to A$8.49. Now I don't know about you, but to go from the chance to go to the Commonwealth Games, or winning a week in a resort on Great Keppel Island to now having the chance to win $8.49 just seems a wee bit lame.
Still, it's better than a ticket in the meat tray on Nova.
February 27, 2006
Horse 503 - My Dreams Were Squashed
I was walking down to the post office at lunch time in a series of alleyways with the iPod going in my ears providing a symphony to the world. Before me was an apple on the pavement.
I kicked the apple ahead of me. I dribbled the apple, both off the outside and inside of both feet. Suddenly I found I was running and weaving in between rubbish. Doing little tricks with the apple and commanding it between my feet like a puppet on a string.
Trees became defenders and walls became the crowd and the music in my ears became a 40,000 string crowd singing and hoping for one moment of glory. Chipping the apple... no football over a defender I brought it down and had just one moment to get that last shot off in the last minute of extra time in the Cup Final.
One step inside, jigging to left and pow! It curled upwards towards the top right corner in slow motion, but then a hulking goalkeeper got in the way and the shot was saved.
... and then I looked up and realised that an Isuzu 550 Truck had just squished my apple and there was no crowd, no Cup Final and no replay next week. Some dreams aren't meant to come true... and some only exist in back alleys up and down the land.
Next time I'm using an orange!
I kicked the apple ahead of me. I dribbled the apple, both off the outside and inside of both feet. Suddenly I found I was running and weaving in between rubbish. Doing little tricks with the apple and commanding it between my feet like a puppet on a string.
Trees became defenders and walls became the crowd and the music in my ears became a 40,000 string crowd singing and hoping for one moment of glory. Chipping the apple... no football over a defender I brought it down and had just one moment to get that last shot off in the last minute of extra time in the Cup Final.
One step inside, jigging to left and pow! It curled upwards towards the top right corner in slow motion, but then a hulking goalkeeper got in the way and the shot was saved.
... and then I looked up and realised that an Isuzu 550 Truck had just squished my apple and there was no crowd, no Cup Final and no replay next week. Some dreams aren't meant to come true... and some only exist in back alleys up and down the land.
Next time I'm using an orange!
Horse 502 - We Are Being Watched
It's rain of biblical proportions in Sydney tonight or to quote the late great James Hunt (1976 F1 World Champion), it's really filthy out there.
Anyway, I've left B's and driven into the night where rain is sheeting across the tarmac and I found this chap on Cornelia Rd with his hazard lights on, and he was standing next to his car crying.
This chap said his name was Akbar and he'd gotten a flat tyre after he'd swerved to miss a dog on the road, scuffed the kerb and burst it. The reason why he was crying was that it was his brother's car and he didn't know how to change a tyre.
So I've pulled over in the pouring rain and he told me his story, and I'm guessing that he was either in a state of shock or genuinely didn't know how to change the tyre, so I offered to do it for him.
He asked me how my day was and I told him how I'd been to church, he told me that he went to a mosque once a week so I assume that he was a practicing Muslim, but what was interesting was that he left me with a comment that's going to stay with me for a while:
"Australia is supposedly a Christian country, but only the people who tell you they are, are real Christians. They're the good people; everyone else is phony and liars."
And this was coming from a Muslim? Obviously I was changing his tyre for him and was totally saturated (so I guess that some degree of politeness was in order) but the point of the matter was that I seriously doubt if anyone else but a Christian would have bothered to help him. Now I'm not saying I'm brilliant or anything because I've only done what any decent person should have done (hey it's raining, and it's not nice to see people out in the yukkiness of a night like that) but it at least shows that people do watch and are noticing us.
And shouldn't we help people out anyway? I mean if I was stuck out in the rain on a night like tonight, I'm sure that I would think it nice if someone offered to help.
Anyway, I've left B's and driven into the night where rain is sheeting across the tarmac and I found this chap on Cornelia Rd with his hazard lights on, and he was standing next to his car crying.
This chap said his name was Akbar and he'd gotten a flat tyre after he'd swerved to miss a dog on the road, scuffed the kerb and burst it. The reason why he was crying was that it was his brother's car and he didn't know how to change a tyre.
So I've pulled over in the pouring rain and he told me his story, and I'm guessing that he was either in a state of shock or genuinely didn't know how to change the tyre, so I offered to do it for him.
He asked me how my day was and I told him how I'd been to church, he told me that he went to a mosque once a week so I assume that he was a practicing Muslim, but what was interesting was that he left me with a comment that's going to stay with me for a while:
"Australia is supposedly a Christian country, but only the people who tell you they are, are real Christians. They're the good people; everyone else is phony and liars."
And this was coming from a Muslim? Obviously I was changing his tyre for him and was totally saturated (so I guess that some degree of politeness was in order) but the point of the matter was that I seriously doubt if anyone else but a Christian would have bothered to help him. Now I'm not saying I'm brilliant or anything because I've only done what any decent person should have done (hey it's raining, and it's not nice to see people out in the yukkiness of a night like that) but it at least shows that people do watch and are noticing us.
And shouldn't we help people out anyway? I mean if I was stuck out in the rain on a night like tonight, I'm sure that I would think it nice if someone offered to help.
February 26, 2006
Horse 501 - Retro
When the film Grease came out in 1978 it was obvious that the period know as retro then was the 1950's. As we moved into the 1980's it was the 1960's with the idea of mods and Rock-N-Roll which found itself as the new retro, then in the 1990's we had a late surge of the 70's with films like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding where ths music of the 1970's suddenly found themselves as retro.
Now it's the post-punk period of Atari and Hypercolour T-Shirts that are coming back as retro. Triple M which founded itself on pub-rock in the 80's has had to keep it's line-up and puts this down to Barry the Chimp.
I lived through the 80's the first time around and as far as I'm concerned they weren't much chop musically. Why am I being forced to re-live them again? Why is stuff like Cindi Lauper again popular, why are there remixes of 80s songs suddenly becoming popular? Is this the reason why Madonna is still making records (she should had given up in the 80s)? Don't even talk to me about U2 - they were crap in the 80's, right through the 90's and have continued to produce quatsch and shash right up to the present day.
I will be looking forward to the 2010's when the late 90's becomes retro. This will be after a period when we'll again have to endure whinge rock from Kurt Cobain et al. But at least then we'll get the Spin Doctors and Ratcat back on the radio.
Now it's the post-punk period of Atari and Hypercolour T-Shirts that are coming back as retro. Triple M which founded itself on pub-rock in the 80's has had to keep it's line-up and puts this down to Barry the Chimp.
I lived through the 80's the first time around and as far as I'm concerned they weren't much chop musically. Why am I being forced to re-live them again? Why is stuff like Cindi Lauper again popular, why are there remixes of 80s songs suddenly becoming popular? Is this the reason why Madonna is still making records (she should had given up in the 80s)? Don't even talk to me about U2 - they were crap in the 80's, right through the 90's and have continued to produce quatsch and shash right up to the present day.
I will be looking forward to the 2010's when the late 90's becomes retro. This will be after a period when we'll again have to endure whinge rock from Kurt Cobain et al. But at least then we'll get the Spin Doctors and Ratcat back on the radio.
February 23, 2006
Horse 500 - It's Later Than You Think
I wasn't sure what I was going to write for my 500th post, in fact I hadn't even gone through the planning stage but this morning on page 13 of the Sydney Morning Herald (text below - no link provided as Fairfax requires subscription) I read something that fills me with utter horror; something so hideous that I simply have to write something about it.
First, something from The Guardian (UK) 24-10-2005:
The US Food and Drug Administration has given permission for humans to receive implantable electronic tags for computerised medical information. People may now join 1 million pets, many cattle herds and assorted wildlife that already carry implantable chips, but there are questions about the usefulness and security of such a system.
A small number of people have had the chips implanted on an experimental basis, but the FDA decision paves the way for widespread medical use, said Applied Digital Solutions, the company that makes VeriChips and received approval for its device.
Under the implant procedure a doctor administers a local anaesthetic to a patient, then uses a special injector to place the rice-sized ID capsule under the collarbone or into the triceps muscle on the arm. The injector can also remove the device.
The chip itself contains no patient information, just 256 characters of memory, a radio transceiver and a tiny antenna. A scanner checks the code and then pulls up patient data through the internet, displaying it on a computer screen. Records could be anything from simple warnings about drug allergies - analogous to a medical ID bracelet - to complete medical histories. The records could be updated like any other computer record on central networks, without touching the patient.
The FDA's approval, made public on Wednesday, was needed because the device gains access to medical records. Versions of the chip are already in use in people to provide identity codes that unlock doors at secure facilities, among other uses.
Nearly 200 people working in Mexico's Attorney-General's office have been implanted with chips that grant access to secure areas containing sensitive documents. Club hoppers in Barcelona, Spain, use the microchip much like a smart card to speed drink orders and payment.
A spokeswoman for the FDA, Kathleen Quinn, said the agency looked primarily at medical safety issues, such as the potential for infection and irritation at the site of the injection.
Critics say there are economic and privacy concerns. "I don't see how it can be effective until all emergency vehicles and centres have the readers," said Richard Smith, a privacy and internet security consultant based in Boston. In addition, the medical profession would have to agree to standards for the storage and access of computerised records, something doctors have resisted.
"There's a lot of infrastructure that needs to be put into place," Mr Smith said.
The second concern is that because the chip is small and limited in memory it has relatively little security. Applied Digital cracked the pet market by donating scanners to hundreds of animal shelters and veterinary clinics. In the 15 years since, it has sold 50,000 such scanners. Initially it plans to donate 200 scanners, which cost $US650 ($900), to US trauma centres.
The chip costs about $US50 for pets, and costs for humans should be $US150 to $200, a company spokesman said.
Scary isn't it?
The Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) 23-02-2006:
A COMPANY in the US called CityWatcher has implanted radio transmitters into the arms of two of its workers. The implants ensure that only they can enter the strongroom. Apparently it is "the first known case in which US workers have been tagged electronically as a way of identifying them".
The transmitters are tiny (about the size of a grain of rice), cheap ($200 and falling fast), safe and stable. Without being maintained or replaced, they can identify someone for many years. They are injected, with a local anaesthetic, into the upper arm. They require no power source, as they become active only when scanned. There are no technical barriers to their wider deployment.
The company that makes these "radio frequency identification tags", VeriChip, says they "combine access control with the location and protection of individuals". The chips can also be implanted in hospital patients, especially children and the mentally ill. When doctors want to know who they are and what their medical history is, they simply scan them in. This, apparently, is "an empowering option to affected individuals". For a while, a school in California toyed with the idea of implanting the chips in all its pupils.
A tag such as this has a maximum range of a few metres. But another implantable device emits a signal that allows someone to be found or tracked by satellite. The patent notice says it can be used to locate the victims of kidnapping or people lost in the wilderness. There are, in other words, plenty of legitimate uses for implanted chips. This is why they bother me. A technology whose widespread deployment, if attempted now, would be greeted with horror, will gradually become unremarkable. As this happens, its purpose will begin to creep.
At first the tags will be more widely used for workers with special security clearance. No one will be forced to wear one; no one will object.
Then hospitals - and a few in the US are already doing this - will start scanning their unconscious or incoherent patients to see whether they have a tag. Insurance companies might start to demand that vulnerable people are chipped.
The armed forces will discover that they are more useful than dog tags for identifying injured soldiers or for tracking troops who are lost or have been captured by the enemy. Prisons will soon come to the same conclusion. Then sweatshops in developing countries will begin to catch on. Already the overseers seek to control their workers to the second; determining when they clock on, when they visit the toilet, even the number of hand movements they perform. A chip makes all this easier. The workers will not be forced to have them, any more than they are forced to have sex with their bosses; but if they don't accept the conditions, they don't get the job.
After that, it surely won't be long before asylum seekers are confronted with a similar choice: you don't have to accept an implant, but if you refuse, you can't stay in the country.
I think it will probably stop there. But it will become an increasingly acceptable means of tracking and identifying people who could be a danger to themselves, or who could be at risk of sudden illness or disappearance, or who are otherwise hard for companies or governments to control.
As it is with all such intrusions on our privacy, it won't be easy to put your finger on exactly what's wrong with this technology. It won't really amount to a new form of control, as all the people who accept the implants will already be subject to monitoring or tracking of one kind or another. It will always be voluntary, at least to the extent that anything the state or our employers want us to do is voluntary. But there is something utterly revolting about it. It is another means by which the barriers between ourselves and the state, ourselves and the corporation, ourselves and the machine are broken down.
In that tiny capsule we find the paradox of 21st-century capitalism: a political system that celebrates choice, autonomy and individualism above all other virtues demands that choice, autonomy and individualism are perpetually suppressed.
You can probably guess where I'm going with this. If not can I remind you of something that was written circa 1940 years ago.
John, 17-05-0070:
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
- Revelation 13:16—18
Now for the crux, the rub and the point.
The technology currently exists to implant humans with microchips to control their actions. Not that it might happen but is currently occuring with full permission of Governments. What I have to say to both Christians and Non-Christians is slightly different, however, we should all be both scared and terrified.
Indulge me a minute on a subject of which my hatred burns; this is the M7. A motorway you ask? This motorway was built using public funds and transferred to a private consortium for its upkeep and maintenance. For this they charge a toll for the priveledge for using the road. This toll is administered and collected by electronic means by a small device called an e-Tag. There are no cash toll-booths on the road and if you do not have an e-Tag there is either a hideous fine, an increase in the toll of something that has to be arranged earlier.
This was my money as a taxpayer being used to build a road which I by virtue of the fact that I do not have an e-Tag am precluded from using. Of course you could argue that it's enitrely voluntary but of course the reality is that you are effectly banned from the road until you get an e-Tag.
What is to stop the same principle being applied to CityWatcher's microchips and details such as say... my bank account. Of course at first the system would be voluntary but inevitably it would be increasingly difficult to "buy or sell, save he that had the microchip"...? That's fantasy you say, think about this, EFTPOS was introduced to Australia in 1986. In just 20 years it's gone from being a pipedream to a fully workable system, all entirely voluntarily and as we go further we'll find it increasingly difficult to buy or sell stuff.
Perhaps I'm being a wee bit paranoid? How many people voluntarily took up plastic cards? How many people don't carry cash anymore? This is not the realms of the possible, this is almost in the realm of NOW.
Technology generally takes about 30 years to become completely normal. That school in California "toyed with the idea of implanting the chips in all its pupils." This is madness no?
Of course it wouldn't be used for anything evil now, would it? Think nuclear power - Nagasaki and Hiroshima levelled. Hydrogen cyanide - largely a bug spray, employed under the name of Zyklon B. Even Non-Christians must conceed that we're not only capable of being inhumane, we find new and novel ways to do it. If Christians don't conceed that we are inherantly evil then I'm afraid that you may wish to recheck your doctrine.
To think that this general form of technology wouldn't be used to control people by attacking their hip pockets is ludicrous. I also think it's funny how nearly 2000 years ago we were warned about this, how did John know? Especially whilst in exile on an island which to today is home to holiday makers.
WAKE UP PEOPLE, it's later than you think. WAKE UP!!
First, something from The Guardian (UK) 24-10-2005:
The US Food and Drug Administration has given permission for humans to receive implantable electronic tags for computerised medical information. People may now join 1 million pets, many cattle herds and assorted wildlife that already carry implantable chips, but there are questions about the usefulness and security of such a system.
A small number of people have had the chips implanted on an experimental basis, but the FDA decision paves the way for widespread medical use, said Applied Digital Solutions, the company that makes VeriChips and received approval for its device.
Under the implant procedure a doctor administers a local anaesthetic to a patient, then uses a special injector to place the rice-sized ID capsule under the collarbone or into the triceps muscle on the arm. The injector can also remove the device.
The chip itself contains no patient information, just 256 characters of memory, a radio transceiver and a tiny antenna. A scanner checks the code and then pulls up patient data through the internet, displaying it on a computer screen. Records could be anything from simple warnings about drug allergies - analogous to a medical ID bracelet - to complete medical histories. The records could be updated like any other computer record on central networks, without touching the patient.
The FDA's approval, made public on Wednesday, was needed because the device gains access to medical records. Versions of the chip are already in use in people to provide identity codes that unlock doors at secure facilities, among other uses.
Nearly 200 people working in Mexico's Attorney-General's office have been implanted with chips that grant access to secure areas containing sensitive documents. Club hoppers in Barcelona, Spain, use the microchip much like a smart card to speed drink orders and payment.
A spokeswoman for the FDA, Kathleen Quinn, said the agency looked primarily at medical safety issues, such as the potential for infection and irritation at the site of the injection.
Critics say there are economic and privacy concerns. "I don't see how it can be effective until all emergency vehicles and centres have the readers," said Richard Smith, a privacy and internet security consultant based in Boston. In addition, the medical profession would have to agree to standards for the storage and access of computerised records, something doctors have resisted.
"There's a lot of infrastructure that needs to be put into place," Mr Smith said.
The second concern is that because the chip is small and limited in memory it has relatively little security. Applied Digital cracked the pet market by donating scanners to hundreds of animal shelters and veterinary clinics. In the 15 years since, it has sold 50,000 such scanners. Initially it plans to donate 200 scanners, which cost $US650 ($900), to US trauma centres.
The chip costs about $US50 for pets, and costs for humans should be $US150 to $200, a company spokesman said.
Scary isn't it?
The Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) 23-02-2006:
A COMPANY in the US called CityWatcher has implanted radio transmitters into the arms of two of its workers. The implants ensure that only they can enter the strongroom. Apparently it is "the first known case in which US workers have been tagged electronically as a way of identifying them".
The transmitters are tiny (about the size of a grain of rice), cheap ($200 and falling fast), safe and stable. Without being maintained or replaced, they can identify someone for many years. They are injected, with a local anaesthetic, into the upper arm. They require no power source, as they become active only when scanned. There are no technical barriers to their wider deployment.
The company that makes these "radio frequency identification tags", VeriChip, says they "combine access control with the location and protection of individuals". The chips can also be implanted in hospital patients, especially children and the mentally ill. When doctors want to know who they are and what their medical history is, they simply scan them in. This, apparently, is "an empowering option to affected individuals". For a while, a school in California toyed with the idea of implanting the chips in all its pupils.
A tag such as this has a maximum range of a few metres. But another implantable device emits a signal that allows someone to be found or tracked by satellite. The patent notice says it can be used to locate the victims of kidnapping or people lost in the wilderness. There are, in other words, plenty of legitimate uses for implanted chips. This is why they bother me. A technology whose widespread deployment, if attempted now, would be greeted with horror, will gradually become unremarkable. As this happens, its purpose will begin to creep.
At first the tags will be more widely used for workers with special security clearance. No one will be forced to wear one; no one will object.
Then hospitals - and a few in the US are already doing this - will start scanning their unconscious or incoherent patients to see whether they have a tag. Insurance companies might start to demand that vulnerable people are chipped.
The armed forces will discover that they are more useful than dog tags for identifying injured soldiers or for tracking troops who are lost or have been captured by the enemy. Prisons will soon come to the same conclusion. Then sweatshops in developing countries will begin to catch on. Already the overseers seek to control their workers to the second; determining when they clock on, when they visit the toilet, even the number of hand movements they perform. A chip makes all this easier. The workers will not be forced to have them, any more than they are forced to have sex with their bosses; but if they don't accept the conditions, they don't get the job.
After that, it surely won't be long before asylum seekers are confronted with a similar choice: you don't have to accept an implant, but if you refuse, you can't stay in the country.
I think it will probably stop there. But it will become an increasingly acceptable means of tracking and identifying people who could be a danger to themselves, or who could be at risk of sudden illness or disappearance, or who are otherwise hard for companies or governments to control.
As it is with all such intrusions on our privacy, it won't be easy to put your finger on exactly what's wrong with this technology. It won't really amount to a new form of control, as all the people who accept the implants will already be subject to monitoring or tracking of one kind or another. It will always be voluntary, at least to the extent that anything the state or our employers want us to do is voluntary. But there is something utterly revolting about it. It is another means by which the barriers between ourselves and the state, ourselves and the corporation, ourselves and the machine are broken down.
In that tiny capsule we find the paradox of 21st-century capitalism: a political system that celebrates choice, autonomy and individualism above all other virtues demands that choice, autonomy and individualism are perpetually suppressed.
You can probably guess where I'm going with this. If not can I remind you of something that was written circa 1940 years ago.
John, 17-05-0070:
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
- Revelation 13:16—18
Now for the crux, the rub and the point.
The technology currently exists to implant humans with microchips to control their actions. Not that it might happen but is currently occuring with full permission of Governments. What I have to say to both Christians and Non-Christians is slightly different, however, we should all be both scared and terrified.
Indulge me a minute on a subject of which my hatred burns; this is the M7. A motorway you ask? This motorway was built using public funds and transferred to a private consortium for its upkeep and maintenance. For this they charge a toll for the priveledge for using the road. This toll is administered and collected by electronic means by a small device called an e-Tag. There are no cash toll-booths on the road and if you do not have an e-Tag there is either a hideous fine, an increase in the toll of something that has to be arranged earlier.
This was my money as a taxpayer being used to build a road which I by virtue of the fact that I do not have an e-Tag am precluded from using. Of course you could argue that it's enitrely voluntary but of course the reality is that you are effectly banned from the road until you get an e-Tag.
What is to stop the same principle being applied to CityWatcher's microchips and details such as say... my bank account. Of course at first the system would be voluntary but inevitably it would be increasingly difficult to "buy or sell, save he that had the microchip"...? That's fantasy you say, think about this, EFTPOS was introduced to Australia in 1986. In just 20 years it's gone from being a pipedream to a fully workable system, all entirely voluntarily and as we go further we'll find it increasingly difficult to buy or sell stuff.
Perhaps I'm being a wee bit paranoid? How many people voluntarily took up plastic cards? How many people don't carry cash anymore? This is not the realms of the possible, this is almost in the realm of NOW.
Technology generally takes about 30 years to become completely normal. That school in California "toyed with the idea of implanting the chips in all its pupils." This is madness no?
Of course it wouldn't be used for anything evil now, would it? Think nuclear power - Nagasaki and Hiroshima levelled. Hydrogen cyanide - largely a bug spray, employed under the name of Zyklon B. Even Non-Christians must conceed that we're not only capable of being inhumane, we find new and novel ways to do it. If Christians don't conceed that we are inherantly evil then I'm afraid that you may wish to recheck your doctrine.
To think that this general form of technology wouldn't be used to control people by attacking their hip pockets is ludicrous. I also think it's funny how nearly 2000 years ago we were warned about this, how did John know? Especially whilst in exile on an island which to today is home to holiday makers.
WAKE UP PEOPLE, it's later than you think. WAKE UP!!
February 22, 2006
Horse 499 - What's In Your Brain?
This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.
Anyone with a memory of the 1980s should have come across this advert somewhere, but little did they know that within their very own brain, it was likely that a parasite was already living.
Toxoplasma Gondii is a species of parasitic protozoa that lives in cats and other warm-blooded animals and can cause the disease toxoplasmosis in humans. Specifically it lives in the brain and slowly "feasts on the goo inside". Largely passed onto humans via eating meat, because its natural host is the common housecat, people who own cats are more likely to have it inside their own brain.
It is estimated that 50% of the world is infected, but this varies from country to country with 22% in the UK, 87% for France, 16% for the USA and 79% for Australia. This is really scary that half of the world have a parasite in their brain, and you know what, there's literally no known cure or way to fight this thing.
Toxoplasmae are hardy little bastards (I deliberately use this word for all implications) and have a livable temperature range of -5°C to to 65°C. Human body temperature is 37.4°C which is bang in the middle. They can hibernate for up to 12 years which is kind of scary and on top of all this, they're virtually resistant to all known chemicals.
In fact the only known cure is to remove the host... you can guess the implications of that. Worse is that it's assumed that they're at least a contributory factors in things like Alzheimer's and Schizophrenia.
So what can you do about it? Pretty well much nothing.
This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain being eaten alive... urk.
Anyone with a memory of the 1980s should have come across this advert somewhere, but little did they know that within their very own brain, it was likely that a parasite was already living.
Toxoplasma Gondii is a species of parasitic protozoa that lives in cats and other warm-blooded animals and can cause the disease toxoplasmosis in humans. Specifically it lives in the brain and slowly "feasts on the goo inside". Largely passed onto humans via eating meat, because its natural host is the common housecat, people who own cats are more likely to have it inside their own brain.
It is estimated that 50% of the world is infected, but this varies from country to country with 22% in the UK, 87% for France, 16% for the USA and 79% for Australia. This is really scary that half of the world have a parasite in their brain, and you know what, there's literally no known cure or way to fight this thing.
Toxoplasmae are hardy little bastards (I deliberately use this word for all implications) and have a livable temperature range of -5°C to to 65°C. Human body temperature is 37.4°C which is bang in the middle. They can hibernate for up to 12 years which is kind of scary and on top of all this, they're virtually resistant to all known chemicals.
In fact the only known cure is to remove the host... you can guess the implications of that. Worse is that it's assumed that they're at least a contributory factors in things like Alzheimer's and Schizophrenia.
So what can you do about it? Pretty well much nothing.
This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain being eaten alive... urk.
February 21, 2006
Horse 498 - No More Payphones
Don't say I didn't warn you but Telstra plans to remove 15% of all public payphones in an effort to "rationalise" its service. Telstra as a company states that public payphones are unprofitable. I have this to say to the people of Australia: It's your fault.
The people of Australia actually voted by means of a "mandate" for the full sale of Telstra. As a private corporation they're no longer answerable to the government or increasingly its shareholders, and you know what? There's not a damn thing anyone can do about it.
Personally I think that Telstra's plans to remove 5000 of its 32,000 public payphones is an example of things yet to come, and should be taken as an example of how Telstra will act in the future. If this degree of arrogance is occurring before the sale what can country people expect after the sale?
Australia - You deserve this, you voted for it, and yet again I'm ashamed of this country.
The people of Australia actually voted by means of a "mandate" for the full sale of Telstra. As a private corporation they're no longer answerable to the government or increasingly its shareholders, and you know what? There's not a damn thing anyone can do about it.
Personally I think that Telstra's plans to remove 5000 of its 32,000 public payphones is an example of things yet to come, and should be taken as an example of how Telstra will act in the future. If this degree of arrogance is occurring before the sale what can country people expect after the sale?
Australia - You deserve this, you voted for it, and yet again I'm ashamed of this country.
February 20, 2006
Horse 497 - Send Someone Else To Do It
I've just written a small note of encouragement to someone about getting up in front of a group of people and giving a devotional talk. I think that the most classic example of this was Mr Bullrush himself, Moses.
One of the most famous stories of the Old Testament was when God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush and told Moses in an audible voice what He wanted of him. What was Moses' reaction?
"O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Exodus 4:13
Even though God told Moses that He would be with him and would help him, Moses didn't want to do it. Now it is important that we put this in the proper perspective. Moses was saved by the Hand of God when he was a baby. God arranged for Moses to be raised and educated as a son of Pharaoh's daughter. This meant that Moses had all the benefits of the best education of the Egyptians, he understood the form of government Egypt was under. He knew how things worked. Now God was asking him to go back to Egypt and confront Pharaoh about the Israelites. Moses was the man who was best qualified to do this job.
Moses had a lot of reasons for asking God to send someone else, just look:
Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Exodus 4:10-12
God sent Aaron to help Moses. The truth in point is that throughout the rest of Exodus, Moses does most of the talking himself, despite his lack of eloquence and slowness of speech. Even though he probably got tongue tied, God used Moses anyway.
The point of all of this is that you don't need to be Master of the Press Club, God still uses schmoes and busboys as He sees fit.
One of the most famous stories of the Old Testament was when God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush and told Moses in an audible voice what He wanted of him. What was Moses' reaction?
"O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Exodus 4:13
Even though God told Moses that He would be with him and would help him, Moses didn't want to do it. Now it is important that we put this in the proper perspective. Moses was saved by the Hand of God when he was a baby. God arranged for Moses to be raised and educated as a son of Pharaoh's daughter. This meant that Moses had all the benefits of the best education of the Egyptians, he understood the form of government Egypt was under. He knew how things worked. Now God was asking him to go back to Egypt and confront Pharaoh about the Israelites. Moses was the man who was best qualified to do this job.
Moses had a lot of reasons for asking God to send someone else, just look:
Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Exodus 4:10-12
God sent Aaron to help Moses. The truth in point is that throughout the rest of Exodus, Moses does most of the talking himself, despite his lack of eloquence and slowness of speech. Even though he probably got tongue tied, God used Moses anyway.
The point of all of this is that you don't need to be Master of the Press Club, God still uses schmoes and busboys as He sees fit.
February 17, 2006
iFive - 17th Feb
Azumanga Daioh was a refreshingly different anime. There were 130 5-minute episodes or 26 25-minute compilations when shown on NHK. This meant that the jokes and episodes had to be pretty well self-contained within a small space of time, because of this the series never seems to drag on at all, often falling into the surreal.
The manga when serialised into the Japan Post was different in that instead of being a long running series, it more resembles a 4 panel gag strip like we see in Western daily papers. Thus, it too required to be written with the same snappy tempo, only branching into major stories at the beginning of a quarter or in between holidays for the colour supplement.
The theme song is equally baffling.
1. Friend or Foe - Tatu
2. Sora Mimi Keeki (Fancy Hearing Cake) - Azumanga Daioh
3. No Good Advice - Girls Aloud
4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
5. Merry-Go-Round - Emma Bunton
The manga when serialised into the Japan Post was different in that instead of being a long running series, it more resembles a 4 panel gag strip like we see in Western daily papers. Thus, it too required to be written with the same snappy tempo, only branching into major stories at the beginning of a quarter or in between holidays for the colour supplement.
The theme song is equally baffling.
1. Friend or Foe - Tatu
2. Sora Mimi Keeki (Fancy Hearing Cake) - Azumanga Daioh
3. No Good Advice - Girls Aloud
4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
5. Merry-Go-Round - Emma Bunton
February 16, 2006
Horse 496 - From The Trading Floor
Shock spread across the trading floor this morning when a major case of fraud was uncovered. Robbie Martin of class 2F promised to buy the class some jelly babies if they promised to be his friend; when it was discovered that all he could afford was some potato chips, he was nigelised and suspended from trading. He still has no friends.
The value of a Peanut Butter sandwich shot up by 4% today when the kid from 1P with brown hair opened his lunchbox and a stinky meat smell came out. Egg Salad remained trading slowly and a Honey sandwich firmed in late trading. Chicken is still trading steady compared to the Ham sandwich.
Technology stocks improved today as Metallic Tazos strengthened against Foils. It was reported that Football Cards are out trading Basketball Cards by ten to one and Cricket Cards are making a summer comeback. 3 Glen McGraths are going for 1 Ricky Ponting and a Michael Clarke.
Over at the Sports Desk, news went wild when it was announced what the rankings would be for handball. They will be: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Dunce, Double Dunce, Nigel and Double Nigel. Everything from Jack up will be safe and there will be no rules on Old Ace. First Ace will be decided by whose tennis ball it is.
Class 6B was saddened when it was announced that Renaye and Jordan are not going out anymore. Renaye said that "he pulled my hair and he smells worse than the bins" and Jordan said that "girls are stupid and I never liked her anyway". The school newspaper reports that this lasted 2 days.
Tommorrow:
What's going on behind the bike shed?
and
Chewing Gum: If it's under the desk, is it bad for you?
February 15, 2006
Horse 495 - Fin
Snoopy called 15th of Feb "Gloat Day" but the reason that I mention this date in history because it was 60 years ago today, that one of the most influential automobile prototypes rolled out of the designer's mind and onto the factory floor.
Before WW2 the automobile had made great advances. Unitary body construction meant that the wheel wings fused into the bodywork. Cars became more streamlined and headlamps melded back into the wings rather than being on stalks, they actually became the eyes of the vehicle. The radiator grille instead of being this massive grate out the front, sunk back into the front of the vehicle and acted more like the car's mouth.
By 1940 most cars were swept off at the back and looked like they were pushed forwards towards the A-Pillar, but something magical was being cooked up in the halls of GM, something that would spark a fire that would last 10 years and possibly the greatest era of car design.
In 1946 all over the world, car design had stagnated. The great Automotive companies were called up for wartime duty and were churning out war machines. Ford and GM were both making Sherman tanks, BMW was built jets for the Luftwaffe, Mercedes-Benz were also building Aero engines as were Mitsubishi, Rolls-Royce and even Packard. So in 1946 when servicemen were returning home, they found that the cars they could buy were virtually identical in styling to the cars of 1938.
Because Europe and Japan had been bombed, buying cars wasn't a first priority. The jump on new trends and styling came from the USA. In fact Bertone and Pininfarina had already setup design studios in California. Having said this, in America there were really only 3 camps: GM, Ford & Chrysler. Which car you bought depended on how rich you were and which camp you belonged to (I am a Ford person). Over at GM, the 1948 Cadillac had something which had never been seen before - the fin.
Look at it. Doesn't it look familiar? Well if it doesn't may I again remind you of that little incident called WW2? During that time, although the Spitfire saved Britain, it was the P-51 that earnt the moniker of "Cadillac of the Skies", but Cadillac took its inspiration from the P-38 Lightning with its twin booms and twin tails. These translated nicely to the back of their cars and soon aircraft influences were everywhere - Ford had single spinners and dual spinners in 1951 as did Studebaker.
The twin fins on the back of the '48 Eldorado seemed to almost shout out the fact that America had won the war. From a practical point of view, it allowed light clusters to be pushed out to the corners and still retain that swoopy tail end.
Fins would settle on all cars becoming more and more garish as they went. One only has to think of the '57 Chev Bel Air or the '59 Cadillac Eldorado to see where it all went. Ushered in with the sounds of Rock & Roll, the fin defined an era. By about 1960 it dawned on people that fins were condusive to rust easily, and so the boots of cars were up lifted and the fins were hinted at when cars squared up.
My request to modern car stylists is please give us cars that look like bits of automotive art again. Nobody waxes lyrical about the 1997 Camry do they? I've not seen people go doe-eyed for a 2005 Honda Accord and do you know why? After it's all said and done, people have to live with their cars. It's as much about making a statement as it is about getting from A to B via all points C. Let the stylists loose again, give us something to dream about.
February 14, 2006
February 13, 2006
Horse 494 - All Used Up
My little blue NIV has finally expired. The back cover finally fell off after a few years of services. This would probably be about the 6th or 7th I've run into the ground now.
I'm not one of these compulsive underliners (for I fear that the whole thing would be underlined before too long) but instead I insert A6 slips of paper with notes on. The problem lies in the fact that after about 3 weeks there's then like 41 extra bits of paper in there. If you keep on adding notes, and moving them and then removing then, eventually the spines of the bible get old and break at the joins. Usually my bibles fail because the covers tear off at the top or bottom.
It doesn't help much that there will usually be one riding shotgun either in my satchel that goes everywhere, one will sit in the car just in case and my big parallel NIV/KJV lives slowly turning into a cheeseburger of post-it notes and other slips on the bedside table.
Legendary bibles have failed because they get used as a hammer or a pillow (go B!) but above all they serve a far more useful purpose. The text contained within those covers is precious and valuable, and wait for it, you might actually learn something about the author... God himself!
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11
Considering that the text contained within these bound pages is both lengthy and complex, the only defense I've found to deal with the situations where I've not had mine at the time or, invariably where the pages will fail, is to learn it, hide it, and bury it. I take a leaf from Science Court here - Learn it, Use it, Wear it out.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. - Luke 6:45
I like to think of squirrels or the nutcracker who store great hoardes of nuts. Perhaps if I bury enough stuff, I can dig it up again and give away the treasure at a later date.
In the meantime, I'm still going to wear out these things... I guess they just don't build 'em like they used to.
Addenda: It also appears as though vandals have decided that the rear window of my Ka would be best served by shattering in into bits. They gave me a present of half a brick (how thoughtful) but it looks as though they were in so much of a rush to give it to me that they forgot to open the windows first.
I suspect that they may have been on a mission to liberate my iPod "Gipsy". Gipsy was well hidden away as I don't want her stolen; she wasn't going to do any wandering last night.
What really annoyed me was that my big parallel NIV/KJV was torn in half by the dirty vandals. That's just nasty.
I'm not one of these compulsive underliners (for I fear that the whole thing would be underlined before too long) but instead I insert A6 slips of paper with notes on. The problem lies in the fact that after about 3 weeks there's then like 41 extra bits of paper in there. If you keep on adding notes, and moving them and then removing then, eventually the spines of the bible get old and break at the joins. Usually my bibles fail because the covers tear off at the top or bottom.
It doesn't help much that there will usually be one riding shotgun either in my satchel that goes everywhere, one will sit in the car just in case and my big parallel NIV/KJV lives slowly turning into a cheeseburger of post-it notes and other slips on the bedside table.
Legendary bibles have failed because they get used as a hammer or a pillow (go B!) but above all they serve a far more useful purpose. The text contained within those covers is precious and valuable, and wait for it, you might actually learn something about the author... God himself!
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11
Considering that the text contained within these bound pages is both lengthy and complex, the only defense I've found to deal with the situations where I've not had mine at the time or, invariably where the pages will fail, is to learn it, hide it, and bury it. I take a leaf from Science Court here - Learn it, Use it, Wear it out.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. - Luke 6:45
I like to think of squirrels or the nutcracker who store great hoardes of nuts. Perhaps if I bury enough stuff, I can dig it up again and give away the treasure at a later date.
In the meantime, I'm still going to wear out these things... I guess they just don't build 'em like they used to.
Addenda: It also appears as though vandals have decided that the rear window of my Ka would be best served by shattering in into bits. They gave me a present of half a brick (how thoughtful) but it looks as though they were in so much of a rush to give it to me that they forgot to open the windows first.
I suspect that they may have been on a mission to liberate my iPod "Gipsy". Gipsy was well hidden away as I don't want her stolen; she wasn't going to do any wandering last night.
What really annoyed me was that my big parallel NIV/KJV was torn in half by the dirty vandals. That's just nasty.
February 12, 2006
Horse 493 - Making Sushi
Sushi is not raw fish as is sometimes misconstrued, but the basic recipe for sushi rice is dead simple.
6 cups rice (Japonica)
6 cups water
2/3 cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
Cooking rice requires just a little bit of thought. It's best to cover your rice in a saucepan or rice cooker with water and keep on boiling, whilst stirring it. The best test to check whether rice is ready is to bite a few grains. As its virtually impossible to overboil rice, the test is simple. Basically if there's still a hard core in the middle, then it's not done yet.
Next it's important to wash your rice. This is done to remove the outermost layer of starch, but also because we want to replace that starchy coast with a much more subtle flavour.
The last thing you want to do is to prepare your rice vinegar. The way to do this is on a low heat until all of the sugar and salt is dissolved. The two components are now ready to add together.
Do you remember in Year 7 Home Ec. what it meant by folding? It's simple, all one needs to do is fold your rice vinegar mixture through the rice. I've found by experience that its best to do this wih either a plastic spatula with holes in, or a wooden spoon. You want to do this quickly without smashing the rice to bits.
Once this is done, the whole lot is bunged in the fridge for use later. Even if you want it immediately, you'll still need about 3 hours in there.
That's about it. The rest of the process involves what you intend to make out of it, or how it's going to be prepared. Nori is resonably avaliable at most Asian groceries now. And Salmon cutlets retail for about $25/kg.
Word of note here: White fish doesn't work at all with sushi. The reason for this is that it needs to be cooked to able to eat it, and by that stage, it flakes. This is the main reason why salmon and tuna are the primary of the fish netto used in sushi, though equally beef and chicken can be used without any trouble at all.
There is a place in Balmain that does some really interesting takoyaki served on a bed of sushi. The subtlety of sushi with the satisfyingly greasy takoyaki are interesting in combination.
Anyone who's eaten the sushi I'vew made will attest that the recipe works really well. The fact is that I was taught by a sushi shop in Mosman after I asked the lady behind the counter for the recipe, and she not only gave me a recipe but a three hour lesson in making it.
Also, I read this episode of Divulge a couple of weeks before hand and made this post in response all the way back on the 28th of last month. Have I eaten real sushi? I can make it!
6 cups rice (Japonica)
6 cups water
2/3 cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
Cooking rice requires just a little bit of thought. It's best to cover your rice in a saucepan or rice cooker with water and keep on boiling, whilst stirring it. The best test to check whether rice is ready is to bite a few grains. As its virtually impossible to overboil rice, the test is simple. Basically if there's still a hard core in the middle, then it's not done yet.
Next it's important to wash your rice. This is done to remove the outermost layer of starch, but also because we want to replace that starchy coast with a much more subtle flavour.
The last thing you want to do is to prepare your rice vinegar. The way to do this is on a low heat until all of the sugar and salt is dissolved. The two components are now ready to add together.
Do you remember in Year 7 Home Ec. what it meant by folding? It's simple, all one needs to do is fold your rice vinegar mixture through the rice. I've found by experience that its best to do this wih either a plastic spatula with holes in, or a wooden spoon. You want to do this quickly without smashing the rice to bits.
Once this is done, the whole lot is bunged in the fridge for use later. Even if you want it immediately, you'll still need about 3 hours in there.
That's about it. The rest of the process involves what you intend to make out of it, or how it's going to be prepared. Nori is resonably avaliable at most Asian groceries now. And Salmon cutlets retail for about $25/kg.
Word of note here: White fish doesn't work at all with sushi. The reason for this is that it needs to be cooked to able to eat it, and by that stage, it flakes. This is the main reason why salmon and tuna are the primary of the fish netto used in sushi, though equally beef and chicken can be used without any trouble at all.
There is a place in Balmain that does some really interesting takoyaki served on a bed of sushi. The subtlety of sushi with the satisfyingly greasy takoyaki are interesting in combination.
Anyone who's eaten the sushi I'vew made will attest that the recipe works really well. The fact is that I was taught by a sushi shop in Mosman after I asked the lady behind the counter for the recipe, and she not only gave me a recipe but a three hour lesson in making it.
Also, I read this episode of Divulge a couple of weeks before hand and made this post in response all the way back on the 28th of last month. Have I eaten real sushi? I can make it!
February 10, 2006
iFive - 10th Feb
Following the ever lovely Katja's blog entry on the Volkswagen Golf, I played the addictive song Da Da Da a few times. Actually there's two versions of this called: "Da Da Da ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht aha aha aha" & "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha" - bit of a mouthful isn't it?
In 1982 Trio launched what would be known as the musical style of Neue Deutsche Fröhlichkeit, which means "New German Cheerfulness", though the industrial techno bands that would come from tne dismal side of the Iron Curtain weren't very cheerful at all.
1. My Big Mouth - Oasis
2. Bright Eyes - Simon & Garfunkel
3. The Hot Dog Man - Tripod
4. Da Da Da - Trio
5. I'll Be Back - The Beatles
In 1982 Trio launched what would be known as the musical style of Neue Deutsche Fröhlichkeit, which means "New German Cheerfulness", though the industrial techno bands that would come from tne dismal side of the Iron Curtain weren't very cheerful at all.
1. My Big Mouth - Oasis
2. Bright Eyes - Simon & Garfunkel
3. The Hot Dog Man - Tripod
4. Da Da Da - Trio
5. I'll Be Back - The Beatles
Horse 492 - Five Stones and a Slang
Have you ever seen that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Captain Picard is trapped on a deserted planet with an alien who only speaks in allegory? You know, "Shaka, when the walls fell" and such.
It's a well-known episode that comes up a great deal in discussions of literary and linguistic theory, or when nerds start developing their own language that makes no sense to others.
While I've talked about it in the first context before, I'm here to talk about the second. Over the years, my friends and I have developed a complex network of in-jokes, references and exclamations that are quickly approaching unintelligibility to the uneducated outsider. Here are some examples of things that are just on the border of making sense:
"This is a game of beans and HIGH ADVENTURE!"
"Schmick, goat, pudding, kebabs"
"Go build a table"
"I think you just stood in Winnie"
"Nice Chaminda"
And the gimme that most people actually WILL understand,
"They're just nonsense words, like rama-lama-ding-dong or 'give peace a chance'"
Because of my experience with my friends, I firmly believe that it is mankind's destiny to rape the English language further and further within small groups of nerdy friends, until finally, some time in the distant future, people living two houses from each other will find each other's slang incomprehensible, yet will understand "Louie Louie" perfectly.
Okay, maybe not that last part.
PS: Is pwnX0r3d a stronger version of pwn3d? I don't know about these things, the grammar for 1337 hasn't settled yet.
It's a well-known episode that comes up a great deal in discussions of literary and linguistic theory, or when nerds start developing their own language that makes no sense to others.
While I've talked about it in the first context before, I'm here to talk about the second. Over the years, my friends and I have developed a complex network of in-jokes, references and exclamations that are quickly approaching unintelligibility to the uneducated outsider. Here are some examples of things that are just on the border of making sense:
"This is a game of beans and HIGH ADVENTURE!"
"Schmick, goat, pudding, kebabs"
"Go build a table"
"I think you just stood in Winnie"
"Nice Chaminda"
And the gimme that most people actually WILL understand,
"They're just nonsense words, like rama-lama-ding-dong or 'give peace a chance'"
Because of my experience with my friends, I firmly believe that it is mankind's destiny to rape the English language further and further within small groups of nerdy friends, until finally, some time in the distant future, people living two houses from each other will find each other's slang incomprehensible, yet will understand "Louie Louie" perfectly.
Okay, maybe not that last part.
PS: Is pwnX0r3d a stronger version of pwn3d? I don't know about these things, the grammar for 1337 hasn't settled yet.
February 08, 2006
Horse 491 - The Rainbow Connection
Have you been half asleep?And have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
This sounds like it could be schizophrenia.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
Something to do with the Sirens of mythology perhaps?
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm s'posed to be.
It's possible that you could have tinitis, you should probably see a doctor.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.
I've found it, it's on the Northern, Circle, Picadilly, Victoria and Bakerloo lines. You can stop looking now. Please see below.
I've heard them calling my name.
This sounds like it could be schizophrenia.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
Something to do with the Sirens of mythology perhaps?
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm s'posed to be.
It's possible that you could have tinitis, you should probably see a doctor.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.
I've found it, it's on the Northern, Circle, Picadilly, Victoria and Bakerloo lines. You can stop looking now. Please see below.
February 07, 2006
Horse 490 - Addicted to Oil
In George W Bush's State of the Union address he said the following: "Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world,"
I thought about this a bit and realised that the cause of this might be inherent in the way that the USA does buisiness. A lot of the north-eastern states of the USA use heating oil in the winter, and industry has to account for a fair amount considering that the USA has the world's biggest GDP. One thing my sister mentioned when she went over there was that the cars were huge; this doesn't include SUV's which in the cities are a bind more than an advantage. So then, what's to be done about it?
I've been doing a spot of research at cars currently for sale in the USA. The smallest cars that I find at 1.6L. 97 Cubes! That's the smallest? What's going on here?
It would appear that there's a slew of cars hovering at around the 2.2L mark. The Ford Focus is on sale at Ford and it appears that the 1.8 variant isn't on sale and as for the Fiesta, that car doesn't even make the line up.
Over at GM the Aveo (read Daewoo Kalos, Holden Barina, and Chevrolet Kalos in Europe) they sell the 1.6L but not the 1.3, 1.1 or 899cc variants that are elsewhere in the world.
Toyota sell a 1.8L Corolla and the 1.5L Yaris will be added in 2007. Honda sell the Civic but not the Jazz and Hyundai have the Accent at 1.6L but the Getz is absent. Renault, Citroen and Peugeot also appear to be non-existant.
The "addiction to oil" as George W puts it is actually caused in part by the fact that Americans
a) don't buy smaller cars
b) can't buy smaller cars
c) have cheap gas prices, so the need simply isn't there
In crowded Europe a small cars are popular and plentiful. The price of petrol in California is on average $2.42/US gal.
The following is in US cents per litre:
USA - 63.929c
Aus - 86.065c
Can - 92.583c
UK - 155.241c
Ger - 158.020c
Fra - 140.076c
Spa - 118.501c
It would appear that cheap gas prices actually contribute to the fact that people will drive a bigger car. Australia has slightly more expensive prices than the USA and so there are a lot more smaller cars here.
The solution would probably shock most people, simply impose higher taxes. If people are taxed more for their petrol, then they'll more than likely demand smaller cars and use less of the stuff.
Another solution which I have come up with is fun - buy your cars in Mexico. Because people are on average poorer, the cars tend to be cheaper and more fuel efficient. If I ever live in the USA then for sure I'll be going to a Ford dealer in Tijuana and buying...
Well, it's the natural solution isn't it; it's so cuuuuute ^_^
I thought about this a bit and realised that the cause of this might be inherent in the way that the USA does buisiness. A lot of the north-eastern states of the USA use heating oil in the winter, and industry has to account for a fair amount considering that the USA has the world's biggest GDP. One thing my sister mentioned when she went over there was that the cars were huge; this doesn't include SUV's which in the cities are a bind more than an advantage. So then, what's to be done about it?
I've been doing a spot of research at cars currently for sale in the USA. The smallest cars that I find at 1.6L. 97 Cubes! That's the smallest? What's going on here?
It would appear that there's a slew of cars hovering at around the 2.2L mark. The Ford Focus is on sale at Ford and it appears that the 1.8 variant isn't on sale and as for the Fiesta, that car doesn't even make the line up.
Over at GM the Aveo (read Daewoo Kalos, Holden Barina, and Chevrolet Kalos in Europe) they sell the 1.6L but not the 1.3, 1.1 or 899cc variants that are elsewhere in the world.
Toyota sell a 1.8L Corolla and the 1.5L Yaris will be added in 2007. Honda sell the Civic but not the Jazz and Hyundai have the Accent at 1.6L but the Getz is absent. Renault, Citroen and Peugeot also appear to be non-existant.
The "addiction to oil" as George W puts it is actually caused in part by the fact that Americans
a) don't buy smaller cars
b) can't buy smaller cars
c) have cheap gas prices, so the need simply isn't there
In crowded Europe a small cars are popular and plentiful. The price of petrol in California is on average $2.42/US gal.
The following is in US cents per litre:
USA - 63.929c
Aus - 86.065c
Can - 92.583c
UK - 155.241c
Ger - 158.020c
Fra - 140.076c
Spa - 118.501c
It would appear that cheap gas prices actually contribute to the fact that people will drive a bigger car. Australia has slightly more expensive prices than the USA and so there are a lot more smaller cars here.
The solution would probably shock most people, simply impose higher taxes. If people are taxed more for their petrol, then they'll more than likely demand smaller cars and use less of the stuff.
Another solution which I have come up with is fun - buy your cars in Mexico. Because people are on average poorer, the cars tend to be cheaper and more fuel efficient. If I ever live in the USA then for sure I'll be going to a Ford dealer in Tijuana and buying...
Well, it's the natural solution isn't it; it's so cuuuuute ^_^
February 06, 2006
Horse 489 - What I Think of Hamas
Basically I think that Hamas as an organisation have no rights to exist. Logically they deny their own history. In order to prove this, first we need to know what they stand for as an organisation.
Hamas is an acrorym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or in English, Islamic Resistance Movement; it's also the Arabic word for "zeal". Hamas seeks to establish an Islamic theocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In pursuit of this end, Hamas affirms a right to engage in armed struggle.
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a co-founder of Hamas, reportedly stated that the movement's goal is "to remove Israel from the map". While during the 2006 election campaign Hamas dropped its call for the destruction of Israel from its manifesto but several Hamas candidates insist that the charter is still in force and often called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" in their campaign speeches. Their main assertion is that the land currently held by the state of Israel was stolen off them in 1948 and that it should return to the state before then.
What was that state?
The area of Palestine was invaded by the Romans and set up King Herod as a Jewish figurehead king in 19BC, with his death in 6BC or thereof the state was then under direct Roman rule. The city existed like this until 70AD when during riots it was razed.
When the Roman Empire snapped in half in 330 it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire and then when the Ottomans assumed control in 1453, it remained that way until the breakup of that empire until 1917 when the British took over under the Balfour Declaration.
In 1922 the area was again split into the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (which still exists) and Palestine which comprised both modern Israel and Palestine. This split was as a result of the Balfour Declaration and a set of plans were drawn up for a further constitution known as the Palestine Mandate.
Article 2 of the Palestine Mandate stated that the administration would "secure the establishment of the Jewish national home", while "safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine".
In addition, Article 25 of the mandate stated that all territory east of the Jordan was, in most part, at Britain's will, withheld from all provisions of the mandate.
In 1948 it was decided to repatriate Jewish peoples to their homeland after the terrible atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany. This was signed by the governors of Palestine who at the time consisted of 12 Arabic and 12 Jewish leaders.
Therefore the fact that Hamas in principle wishes to deny the existance of the state of Israel, actually by inference denounces that they should have the right to exist themselves. The conditions which created Israel actually gave rise to their own homeland which in 1922 was never invisaged.
There could be another reason - Palestinians hate the Jews and have elected terrorists as their government.
Hamas is an acrorym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or in English, Islamic Resistance Movement; it's also the Arabic word for "zeal". Hamas seeks to establish an Islamic theocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In pursuit of this end, Hamas affirms a right to engage in armed struggle.
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a co-founder of Hamas, reportedly stated that the movement's goal is "to remove Israel from the map". While during the 2006 election campaign Hamas dropped its call for the destruction of Israel from its manifesto but several Hamas candidates insist that the charter is still in force and often called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" in their campaign speeches. Their main assertion is that the land currently held by the state of Israel was stolen off them in 1948 and that it should return to the state before then.
What was that state?
The area of Palestine was invaded by the Romans and set up King Herod as a Jewish figurehead king in 19BC, with his death in 6BC or thereof the state was then under direct Roman rule. The city existed like this until 70AD when during riots it was razed.
When the Roman Empire snapped in half in 330 it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire and then when the Ottomans assumed control in 1453, it remained that way until the breakup of that empire until 1917 when the British took over under the Balfour Declaration.
In 1922 the area was again split into the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (which still exists) and Palestine which comprised both modern Israel and Palestine. This split was as a result of the Balfour Declaration and a set of plans were drawn up for a further constitution known as the Palestine Mandate.
Article 2 of the Palestine Mandate stated that the administration would "secure the establishment of the Jewish national home", while "safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine".
In addition, Article 25 of the mandate stated that all territory east of the Jordan was, in most part, at Britain's will, withheld from all provisions of the mandate.
In 1948 it was decided to repatriate Jewish peoples to their homeland after the terrible atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany. This was signed by the governors of Palestine who at the time consisted of 12 Arabic and 12 Jewish leaders.
Therefore the fact that Hamas in principle wishes to deny the existance of the state of Israel, actually by inference denounces that they should have the right to exist themselves. The conditions which created Israel actually gave rise to their own homeland which in 1922 was never invisaged.
There could be another reason - Palestinians hate the Jews and have elected terrorists as their government.
February 03, 2006
iFive - 3rd Feb
Sometimes the iPod throws up things for the week that make literally no sense at all. Why for instance did I hear the ad for Volkswagen 4 times this week? We got the same song as an ad for Sakata rice crackers, it would be interesting to find out what the original song was. Perhaps it's on a Happy Hardcore compilation or summat. Who knows?
1. Wannabe - Spice Girls
2. Booked Toilet Seat Passengers - City Rail Annoucement
3. He Wasn't - Avril Lavigne
4. The Hitler Rap - Mel Brooks
5. Da Da Da Volkswagen - Advert
1. Wannabe - Spice Girls
2. Booked Toilet Seat Passengers - City Rail Annoucement
3. He Wasn't - Avril Lavigne
4. The Hitler Rap - Mel Brooks
5. Da Da Da Volkswagen - Advert
February 02, 2006
Horse 488 - Media Watch (of me?)
I'm always interested to read some of the flotsam and jetsam that flows around the world wide web. It appears as though even this little cul-de-sac on the information superhighway has come to the attention of the "architect of The Daily Telegraph's P-plate campaign"
Just on 13 months ago, The Daily Telegraph ran a series of articles devoted to road safety among younger drivers. I'd searched the contents of the newspapers over the previous 14 days before I'd made my assessments and reached the conclusions which can be found in Horse 242.
Ricky Sutton who used to be the news editor of The Daily Telegraph and if I remember correctly The News of The World in the UK has made his reply and is also attached as a comment in Horse 242 (but only on 31st Jan 2005). Subsequent to this was a follow up in Horse 256. The final conclusion to this occured in Horse 262.
Mr Sutton has also made comments within Prawn's blog also on this subject. The Prawn was arguing the apparantly silliness of imposing a curfew on P-Plate drivers.
What I find somewhat strange about the whole affair is the The Telegraph itself would respond to critiscisms of the tone of its news reportage. I'd questioned the motives for their reporting and their push for sensationalism.
To wit:
But most troublesome of all for me, is your comment about our perceived lack of "objectivity in reporting".All the details in the reports are factual, yet you appear to be suggesting that a newspaper exists to be a record of history rather than being entitled to have an opinion.If a newspaper is not to have a view on a topic which is killing more young people in its region than cancer and drugs combined, then that paper should consign itself to history.It is the vanilla flavour of much of our so-called quality media's coverage that is leading readers - especially young ones - to desert them in droves.
- Ricky Sutton, ex Editor in Chief of the Daily Telegraph 31-01-06.
There's an interesting point to be made here. The Daily Telegraph is a Murdoch paper and has been critisised by people in much higher places of import than myself over its practices and slant in order to sell newspapers. Perhaps similar in character to The Sun in the UK which is also Murdoch owned, the Daily Telegraph will often fill its space below the masthead with something equally flash.
If my complaint was to do with a "lack of objectivity" and you counter that with the argument that suggests that it isn't the purpose of the newspaper, then my question is what then is the point of the newspaper? If it isn't to inform and entertain (a record of history - ie what's happened) then what is the point of the paper? If it is to espouse an opinion then surely I should be allowed my own opinion - which is the primary purpose of a blog is it not?
What finally convinced me was that The Telly dropped all coverage on the subject after the 30th of November and the final day of elligibility for the journalism awards. They could argue that it was no longer newsworthy but if the paper is not a record of history and intends to have a view on a topic, it fell silent on the matter incredibly quickly.
And why make a comment some 13 months later anyway?
Just on 13 months ago, The Daily Telegraph ran a series of articles devoted to road safety among younger drivers. I'd searched the contents of the newspapers over the previous 14 days before I'd made my assessments and reached the conclusions which can be found in Horse 242.
Ricky Sutton who used to be the news editor of The Daily Telegraph and if I remember correctly The News of The World in the UK has made his reply and is also attached as a comment in Horse 242 (but only on 31st Jan 2005). Subsequent to this was a follow up in Horse 256. The final conclusion to this occured in Horse 262.
Mr Sutton has also made comments within Prawn's blog also on this subject. The Prawn was arguing the apparantly silliness of imposing a curfew on P-Plate drivers.
What I find somewhat strange about the whole affair is the The Telegraph itself would respond to critiscisms of the tone of its news reportage. I'd questioned the motives for their reporting and their push for sensationalism.
To wit:
But most troublesome of all for me, is your comment about our perceived lack of "objectivity in reporting".All the details in the reports are factual, yet you appear to be suggesting that a newspaper exists to be a record of history rather than being entitled to have an opinion.If a newspaper is not to have a view on a topic which is killing more young people in its region than cancer and drugs combined, then that paper should consign itself to history.It is the vanilla flavour of much of our so-called quality media's coverage that is leading readers - especially young ones - to desert them in droves.
- Ricky Sutton, ex Editor in Chief of the Daily Telegraph 31-01-06.
There's an interesting point to be made here. The Daily Telegraph is a Murdoch paper and has been critisised by people in much higher places of import than myself over its practices and slant in order to sell newspapers. Perhaps similar in character to The Sun in the UK which is also Murdoch owned, the Daily Telegraph will often fill its space below the masthead with something equally flash.
If my complaint was to do with a "lack of objectivity" and you counter that with the argument that suggests that it isn't the purpose of the newspaper, then my question is what then is the point of the newspaper? If it isn't to inform and entertain (a record of history - ie what's happened) then what is the point of the paper? If it is to espouse an opinion then surely I should be allowed my own opinion - which is the primary purpose of a blog is it not?
What finally convinced me was that The Telly dropped all coverage on the subject after the 30th of November and the final day of elligibility for the journalism awards. They could argue that it was no longer newsworthy but if the paper is not a record of history and intends to have a view on a topic, it fell silent on the matter incredibly quickly.
And why make a comment some 13 months later anyway?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)