| (no subject) |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|03:14 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  wistful | ] |
It's days like this I miss being a carnie. I'm looking out the window at the blue sky, and wishing I was in the dry inland outback where the warm breezes blow eucalyptus oil through the air and the car throws up red dust in your wake. No air-con, no airfreshener, just an open window and rock and roll on the radio, on the way to the next gig. Sleeping under the stars in a swag, up at dawn and brown from working outside all day.
So, anyone reckon that there’s a book in a girl quitting her job and deciding to travel all around and inland Australia on a motor bike?
*paws at window and pines*
Where would you rather be today? |
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| No births, one death, one marriage |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|12:11 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | The Juan Maclean - Happy House | ] |
One week ago was apparently the worst time to attempt to patch the lawn with seed. After some nice rains and the hope of some more in the future, good old Melbourne decides it's heatwave time. Freak heatwave time. Fuck you, Melbourne.
There was plenty on this weekend and we wanted to go to it all, but the main event was a wedding, where we all had a top time. Plenty of photo evidence on facebook... I stuck to beer the entire time, but Hil sampled the whites and some champers, resulting in a party-hard attitude by the end of the reception and a sink into near leglessness during the car ride home.
I also have some idea of what the ladies go through, because I wore some fairly new dress shoes on the day, did quite a bit of walking to and fro, and now have massive blisters on the heels and even a little blood blister on a toe. Yeowch.
A very good friend's cat got hit by a car on Sunday - the driver never stopped, someone else had to call her, and she was, as expected, beside herself. Really feel for her because the kitty was only about a year old, he was found on the streets, lost by some irresponsible cat owners. When she went to get him chipped she discovered he already was, and there were some heart-wrenching moments where these idiots deliberated about reclaiming him. He was a bit of a roamer. The Salvos shop on Chapel st actually found him in the back of their place, after he'd wandered up the street and ducked into their receiving area. I think everyone who knew the little tiger will miss him. |
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| It passed |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|12:06 am] |
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33748707/ns/politics-health_care_reform/
Sadly, not a kidney stone (though it seems similar). I'm talking healthcare "reform."
Key points-
You can now be sent to jail for living.
2010 cannot come soon enough
It still has to go to the senate
Democrats are reforming America's economy so quickly, and almost without thought, that we may end up in a very different America. I guess President Obama really did want to change this country, on a profound level.
People are still losing jobs. |
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| Fort Hood |
[Nov. 7th, 2009|01:24 am] |
Any thoughts on these terrible events from the community?
I extend sympathies to those harmed by this scum. |
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| Ah, to be a geek |
[Nov. 7th, 2009|11:44 am] |
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So Will is playing with some of my Monsterpocalypse models and occasionally cheering. I think Ultra Willthulu is the winner in either case. |
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| First pagan put in office |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|03:15 am] |
x-posted from my LJ
My conservatives will be happy to know that Dan Halloran was voted into city council in Queens, NYC. The first open pagan to get into any office, and a conservative Republican to boot. :) He is part of the nice Theodish group I met last fall. If I look through Google, the liberal news was very quick to focus on the possibilities of him being racist, since some white supremacists are attracted to Norse paganism. I suppose if he was a liberal Wiccan, they would have sang a different tune.
On the other side of the spectrum, the GOP were the tolerant bunch and former Governor Pataki happily endorsed him.
When I met his group last year, being a mixed race person, I was worried about them possibly being white supremacists, especially traveling to a part of Queens I'd never been to by myself. But Dan's group were quite hospitable and hilarious, and assured me that there are very few racists in Theodish or Asatru. While these religions are considered "ancestral," anyone who feels strongly drawn to it are accepted.
ETA: Sources:
http://ny1.com/8-queens-news-content/108326/whitestone-residents-question-co
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/10/grand_ol_pagan.php
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/11/battle_in_baysi.php
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/11/halloran_wins_r.php
http://thepoliticalpagan.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-defense-of-dan-halloran.html
normannii.org/ |
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| Why this liberal democrat voted Republican in New Jersey |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|06:06 pm] |
http://tinyurl.com/ycsyqyf
The last thing this liberal member of the media elite -- as perceived by many of our readers -- ever expected to do was vote for a Republican like Chris Christie for governor and reject incumbent Jon Corzine (pictured). But in my home state of New Jersey, the Democrats are more often part of the problem rather than the solution. My disgust with the party of my registration is a long time coming. Why should Republicans be the only ones to dislike high taxes, corruption and fiscal mismanagement? |
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| Scientifical newsatron |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|12:03 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Fuck Buttons - Olympians | ] |
Ah, GM foods. Argh help evil science will kill us all! Well I must say Monsanto certainly brought everything into disrepute with their insistence that farmers must purchase new seeds every year, completely ignoring the traditional farming paradigm. To expect that kind of idiocy to fly really is hopeful. You can justify the reasoning - in that the company must have poured millions in to the Round-Up ready crops and would never really see a return on that investment, but still - what a massive fuck you to farming.
That's pretty much my biggest objection to GM crops - the greed. I don't have a problem with ingestion - after all, GM crops have been around for more than a decade, they are an increasing percentage of the world's crop area, and no-one has died or sickened from eating them. I mused that I would certainly be happy drinking beer with GM hops or barley if, say, they'd been modified to be drought-resistant. Considering how much water actually goes into making beer.
So it appears the evil empire may finally be turning slightly altruistic - whether this is a carefully calculated PR ploy or a push for world health, it doesn't really matter, because their latest Soy Bean product has just been cleared as safe to eat by the FDA.
The Soy is enriched with omega 3, which appears to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by up to 26 per cent, and of sudden cardiac death by 45 per cent... in fact lack of omega 3 in diet has been calculated to be the sixth leading cause of preventable deaths in the US. Not only that, but omega 3 enriched soy means that there could be less reliance on fish stocks for this kind of oil.
YAY for GM Foods! I wonder how Greenpeace would reconcile this kind of development. A type of GM food that saves lives and reduces overfishing. Dilemma!
Also, the ever wonderful New Scientist has a good rundown on Swine Flu myths - it appears everyone in Victoria is somewhat blase about it, as everyone we know who had it, lived through it. It still kills - and kills healthy kids and strong youths. There's a good part on vaccinations. Anti-vax people do not appear to understand risk assessment - that the risk of dying or complications from Swine Flu (or any other disease that can be vaccinated against) far outweigh the relatively minor risk of any death or complications from a vaccine. Then they go and get in their car. Where the risks are immense compared to any possible reaction to a vaccine. |
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| "Clash of the Titans" remake |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|10:30 pm] |
Recently, they've been filming a new version of "Clash of the Titans".
Gone is the virtuosic stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen, replaced by CGI (he's unhappy there's no stop-mo in the remake of "his" film) that appears to be in the style of "300". I'm puzzled by Hollywood's fascination with remaking classic films / TV shows, usually making a hash of it in the process.
Looking on the bright side, they're rumoured to have kept the story mostly the same.
And the cast ain't half bad. The film stars Liam Neesona Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Gemma Arterton as Io, and Sam Worthington as the heroic Perseus.
Directed by Louis Leterrier, who did the latest "Incredible Hulk" film and "Transporter 2".
( Movie promo posters and a still from the film ) |
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| Election night thread |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|11:14 pm] |
Anyone seeing this election as a referendum on Obama?
I don't see that as the case at all in NY-23. Slightly in VA, and partially in NJ.
But...in no way can it be spun positively for Dems. |
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| Meanwhile at the seat of the Empire |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|11:13 am] |
SCENE: INTERIOR, FACEBOOK OFFICES, HALLWAY
MUSIC: IMPERIAL MARCH
ENTER MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK FOUNDER. CAMERA FOLLOWS MARK INTO BOARDROOM
ASSORTED FLUNKIES RISE. MARK TAKES SEAT AT HEAD OF TABLE
Mark: Alright flunkies, what's on the agenda today?
Flunky1: Well sir, we have a number of activist groups reaching their critical 1-million mark.
Mark: Really? (steeples fingers)
Flunky2: Yes esteemed leader, the most pressing is the '1 million strong for a dislike button'!
Mark: ONE MILLION! Really. This is troubling. What's our userbase now?
Flunky3: (shuffling papers) Three hundred million most revered founder!
Mark: Well. Point three percent. Certainly a notable amount. Ah well, fuck 'em.
Flunky1: But sir, what if they leave the site?
Mark: Yes our revenue may suffer - how much do they pay for this service currently?
Flunky2: Nothing sire.
Mark: Ah... one million times nothing is.... anyone?
ALL FLUNKIES: Nothing!
Mark: ha ha ha ha ha ha fuck 'em. Also, change the layout again. Meeting dismissed. Anyone wants me, I'll be in the cocaine pool. |
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| Vale Buddha 1995-2009 |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|02:03 pm] |
After a few weeks of trying to knock back his lymphoma, and watching him get thinner and thinner, jamming pills down his throat and trying to hand-feed our poor sick little guy, we put him to sleep yesterday.
I pretty much went to pieces. He didn't like anyone except us, and held a passing regard for those who fed him. He was the kind of cat that would demand you make a lap for him immediately, then hoover up your love rays for at least two tv shows and woe betide if you decided on a shorter stay.
Buddhacat, we loved you. |
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| On Kind regards and correct writing - RANT |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|11:41 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | rant | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  enraged | ] |
Crossposted from my writing blog at sadhbh.blogspot.com
KR, he says.
Right there at the end of the email he sent looking to introduce his PR firm. Just before his name. KR.
I have no idea what it means.
Keith Richards? Keep Right? Keep Rocking?
And then it dawns on me. “KR” is short for Kind Regards. This man, this abomination of a PR man who is looking to make a good first impression on me and my firm, not ONLY uses the most fatuous and over-gentrified closing since “Yours most humbly affectionate” bit the dust in the sixteenth century but he can’t even be arsed to write it all.
Kind regards is foul enough. Victorian and stilted in its vagueness and yet capable of starting an arms race of affection. Someone signs “Kind regards”, and then someone has to beat them with “KindEST regards” and the whole thing gets totally out of control with “My most kind regards” and “Yours with the kindest of regards” and “Prostrating my most humble self on your bidet to offer the very kindest of my kind regards”.
Or the person who tries to play the strong silent type and writes merely “Regards” with no indication of how kind they are.
And exactly how kind are the regards? Would you donate your house to me, or just a few bucks for a coffee? Do they have no monetary element redeemable? Are we talking pouring your cup of tea on me if I was on fire, or saying “I hope the burns get better soon” as I am carted screaming in agony into the ambulance?
Kind regards. Could you vague that up for me a bit?
For added Victorian style – because nothing says polite like a group of people who used to encase their privates in metal to prevent “self abuse” – you can for no apparent reason capitalise everything. “Kind Regards.” It’s especially good if you wrongly put a capital R on regards but forget to put a capital on your own damned name.
Or just dispense with the piddling matters of letter altogether and go with “KR”. How informal! How, well, how little like you even care slightly about the opinion of your reader.
In fact, why not just close your email with “Yeah, whatever”? I’m sorry, we’re being modern now - that mean disregarding the most basic of niceties and ease of reading – let’s use “YW”. Nothing says “can’t be arsed” like not bothering to finish your words.
Or not. Look, I have had it up to here with clever buggers from PR and marketing telling the world that correct grammar and capitalisation are “dated”, that we should be mixing it up with txtspk outside of texts. The first purpose of writing something is not to be funky, but to be readable. You are writing so other people can understand what you have said.
Ignore PR twatboy in the corner desperately trying to justify his consultancy fee by spewing turdery and write correctly. Have the courage to make it look like your company is smart enough to master basic communication. Capitalise correctly. Use punctuation. Go fecking crazy; care about your customers’ reading experience. Or prepare to have people take one look at your garbage and conclude you are morons who can’t be trusted with a keyboard, let alone a PR budget.
My response?
TL;DR*
Too Long; Didn’t Read |
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| Italians Must Sit In The Back |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|04:24 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
Hello, conservative sports fans. Now that the administration recognizes what pushovers you are, be prepared to see your dignity suffer with more outrageous acts of discrimination.
Granted, this is from the more gossipy Page Six of the New York Post, but no one's countered the charge yet:
Rudy Giuliani was bumped out of his fa vorite Yankee Stadium seats on the first night of the World Series by Michelle Obama. The former mayor -- who complained during the ALCS when he and wife Judith didn't get the primo seats to the right of the Yankee dugout -- was positioned behind the photographers' box for Wednesday's game. A source told Page Six, "The White House didn't want Giuliani to be sitting with Michelle. She was assigned the seats near the dugout and he was moved." But be cause of the rain, the first lady didn't even take the seats and they remained empty and roped off for the whole game. Give a mouse a cookie, and don't be surprised when you're surrendering a straw for a glass of milk. I call this Operation Castrati ( Not long, but cut anyway )
I mean, the mild mannered Sunday morning political show on ABC is so profane to casually call you a teabagger now. Our justice being eye-for-eye, let's castrate them. ^_~
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| End the Myths on Asylum Seekers |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|07:30 pm] |
I don't often re-post stuff from GetUp here because I assume most of my friends are intelligent/educated enough to be aware of the issues (or are already subscribed to GetUp)...but this recent mess over boat-people makes it necessary to try that bit harder to get the message out far and wide.
As I see it, K-Rudd is doing a J.Ho -- having a go at refugees for political gain.
It's disgusting to take such a cheap shot when people's lives are at stake and in light of our international human rights obligations.
It might be a bit much for a show of compassion from the (not-so-)Liberal Party, and I'm sick of the way the ALP are borrowing their worst policies...but let's at least attempt to have some truth in the debate over asylum-seekers and boat-people.
GetUp's page on the issue: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/EndMandatoryDetention&id=818
The GetUp fact-sheet is quite informative and well researched. Debunk the myths: https://www.getup.org.au/files/campaigns/asylum_myths_factsheet.pdf |
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