Blog Hill

Coming Soon...

2007-12-23T00:42:00.000+11:00

The Adventures of Androdgo

2007-12-20T13:19:00.000+11:00

The Adventures of Androdgo is now on YouTube! Have a look. :)

Worthy of Any Famous Five Adventure

2007-11-27T16:41:00.000+11:00

An Ideal Seaside Summer Holiday

1. Sunny days

2. Sea birds

3. Rocks for swimming out to and climbing on and jumping off

4. Spectacular sun rises and sun sets

5. A light house

6. Swell crashing on to rugged rocks

7. Seal colony (sans sharks)

8. A blow hole

9. A shipwrecked galleon

10. Waves

11. A sunken galleon with treasure

12. Whales and other sea mammals

13. Clear, clean, blue-green water

14. Fishing vessels and jetty

15. Pacific gulls

16. Schools of fish

17. Seabirds feeding on shore

18. Penguins!!!

19. Rock pools

20. Sea shells

21. Great granite boulders for rock hopping on

22. Pine trees

23. Cute native mammals

24. Snorkeling spots

25. A secluded, quiet beach

26. Green grassy spot for kicking the footy

27. Ferny gully

28. Historic buildings, also for staying in

29. Fish and chips and ice cream

30. Al Fresco dining

31. Cute old church on hill with grave yard

32. Impending thunderstorm

33. Look-out

34. Bushland

35. Green rolling hills

36. White sand

37. Phosphorescent creatures in the water at night

38. Cliffs

39. Clear, blue sky

Oooo

2007-11-22T00:03:00.001+11:00

Oh, next time I'll talk about the other steaks on the plate and the veggies and the potatoes.

I've got to stop posting so much.

2007-11-21T15:58:00.000+11:00

So it's about time for my monthly post.

Not sure if anyone still reads what I write here given my habitual absence.

Despite that, I'm going to be topical and talk about the election, or politics/voting in general.

Before I go on...

In other news, I've been working on a short film for the Crossroads Inaugural Film Festival. Mums the word, but I can tell you that it is not

a porno
in a language other than English
shorter than 30 seconds
a home made music video for a Justin Timberlake song

That should give you some idea as to what it's about.

Back to politics.

First, the biggest steak on the plate: Environmentalism. Why are people concerned with the environment? People are concerned because 1) it is immediate and proximal 2) they like clean air to breath and notice when it's not and 3) they believe the predictions and reports about threats to their lifestyles and livelihood. These are mainstream folks, though.

Hippies, latte-sippers and some such have other or additional reasons for their environmental concern. These reasons aren't so easy to sum up, but they do revolve around the idea that the environment and/or its components are intrinsically valuable (not valuable for any utilitarian reason for example).

(Of course my analysis may be completely wrong the "average Joe" may well be an accidental deep ecologist. It's hard to know.)

Now that's out of the way, the real question is why should one be concerned about the environment. I'm not a deep ecologist*, I don't think the environment has value beyond it's use to humans.

It would be easy to misinterpret the above sentence as me supporting gross environmental exploitation, but that would be stupid. Don't load up "use" with connotations you feel it has.

If one's desire is to use the environment for the good of people, then it would be inconsistent with one's desires to use the environment irresponsibly. This is because there would then be no natural resource left to use for the Good.

This means that conservation of the environment is for the sake of humans, and this is why I think you need to be concerned about the environment.

What effect does this have on policy making? This means you start from humans and work outwards. Things like the proposed pulp-mill - the question to ask is "what effect will it have on the health of the people in the area"? (I've heard mixed reports, so I'm sitting on the fence. It has economic benefits, but it also has the potential to create air pollution. Who knows? Due to these epistemological problems I'm forced to be agnostic.)

Okay I realised that I have so much to say and so little reader's attention span...

So in dot points!

Industry is a bigger consumer of resources than the householder. We should put more pressure on industry to be environmentally responsible, and less on families who don't have the financial resources (except for rich yuppies driving their Toorak tractors) to be "environmentally friendly".
Humans need to use energy. To work is to be human, to work is to use energy. This is a good thing. Enterprise, technology, science, ideas, creativity, art, civilization and many of the other goods of humanity require energy. So we shouldn't be tight fisted about energy, we should instead "live it up", and actively seek ways to make renewable energy affordable.
This is controversial, but I don't think you can be both an environmentalist and in support of the eradication of poverty. There's no economic benefit in going to extreme measures to protect the "environment" ( I have to put it in inverted commas now since I've said the word so many times my brain is beginning to deconstruct the concept. It does that). It costs everyone, and doesn't feed back into the economy (except in the small profit from ecotourism). I guess I'm talking in particular the measures being made against climate change. Basically Global Warming is a big casino sucking money out of the economy, and it's not paying any tax.
The solution? Well, we probably need to do something to preserve the world for future generations. I mean, that's what it's all about isn't it? If you're not a deep ecologist, you're probably a conservationist because you want your great grandchildren to be able to breath, eat and not have to wear a 400+ sunscreen. I've been doing a bit of reading on the issue of future generations in Environmental Ethics by Robert Elliot. There's two arguments... actually, I think I'll write about this next post... it's quite long.
I'm not sure the Greens are the best people to handle environmental matters. They're deep ecologists at heart, so what part of the environment are they going to want to preserve? We can't guarantee that they'll want something best for humans; maybe something for the good of the ecosystem as whole, whatever that is. Also, they might be obsessed with preserving one part of the ecosystem (eg trees) at the expense of another. Being "Green" isn't monochromatic, there are many shades, and this is not a good thing. The Greens need to have an examined and philosophically coherent position from which to act before they can be good environmentalists.
Epistemological problems... I'll come back to this one. This post is way too long already. :D

*I think deep ecology and related positions are untenable. If you'd like me to explain why, I'm happy to do so in future posts.

Lego Beasts

2007-10-21T15:19:00.000+11:00

Here's some of the Lego creations as promised.

The dragon has a light. How cool is that?!

Sending out Props to Peeps I Respect...

2007-10-13T11:32:00.001+11:00

...and these people happen to be music artists.

I've been listening to:

Madonna's Erotica. "Cool" people underrate her.
Justin Timberlake's Futuresex/Lovesounds. Give him a few more years and hopefully he'll be up there with the Pop Greats.
Prince!!! 3121, which includes "Black Sweat". What more can I say?
Bjork's Post and Volta. I love that she is a weirdo. I identify with her. Both from a cold island of half a million people. Both Scandinavian. Both weird.
Cat Stevens
Billy Joel
Mika. Mika is girly, but he's a good singer. He could become a Freddy Mercury, but I wouldn't want to make too many uniformed, wild predictions.
Gwen Stefani, of course.
The Scissor Sisters, of course.
Others, but they're not really deserving of kudos or props.

Next post I'm going to post some photos of my Lego creations.

How To Drug Proof Your Kids

2007-10-07T14:52:00.000+11:00

Hello folks.

The last few days or weeks have been difficult.

It doesn't matter if others think we haven't shown mercy, I think in the eyes of God we did the right thing. I hope, and may God have mercy on us if we haven't. It was a hard decision, but our safety came out on top. We did show mercy, but our resources are finite and we simply were not prepared for what happened or equipped to cope with it.

Thank you to everyone who helped out my housemates and I during this difficult time. Praise be to God for keeping us safe, and I pray that He would have mercy on the man we won't see for a while.

I've learnt a thing or two about drugs, people, spiritual battles and how practical Christian living is difficult and complex.

You can't hide in a commune, but...

2007-09-16T22:48:00.001+10:00

Culture is the air we breath, so you need one of these:

Shameless Lego Drive

2007-09-14T11:42:00.000+10:00

I love Lego. I love following the instructions and watching as the bits and pieces come together and magically form a monkey or a digger or a monster. I also love just creating whatever out of the pieces available.

There's not a big range of Lego in Hobart. And I need Lego. So here's what I'm going to do. Have a Lego Drive. Post me one or two (or more if you're generous) bits of Lego in an envelope, and then I'll build an ongoing structure/creature of awesomeness from the pieces I receive, and take photos and post updates. How about it?

Thanks!

If you don't know my home address, just email me and I'll tell you. :)

Is the Internet Ephemera?

2007-09-13T20:11:00.000+10:00

In my spare time, I draw on Facebook's Graffiti application. It's pretty limited, there's no zooming or cut and pasting or any special effects. You draw with a mouse. So the challenge is to create something with the limited tools avaliable (different size brushes, varying opacities and a palate of colours).

So my graffiti doesn't get lost in the ether, I've decided to post some of my efforts.

But first, here's one Shelley did.

This one summarises my scrabble addiction.

The Sahara, but that could also be a dinosaur. You choose.

This is Alex and Shelley's cat Possum. This is accurate.

This is a scene from a little Surrealist comic I drew, based on the frustration I sometimes have of "where do I put my arms when I am trying to sleep??"

An elephant of surprise. Tracey gets credit for the phrase and alternate meaning.

I drew this one for the font-obsessed graphic designer Luke Nelson.

"I thought it was sparodoriphic, David!"

Another scene from that comic.

My favourite.

Cars cars cars

2007-09-05T20:35:00.000+10:00

Firstly, I just saw Jason whoop awesomeness to AwesomePlanet and back. Cos he is King of Awesomeness. Tough, manly, of few words, totally savvy and awesome and kicks it! So good. Bourne trumps Bond any day (even Daniel Craig's incarnation of Bond. Bond is kind of like Dr Who in that respect. There should be scenes where Sean Connery falls off something and then morphs into Roger Moore. By the way, James Bond was based on this guy:

!!!) Anyway, if you don't watch Bourne Ultimatum then.... you're silly.

So, I’m fixin’ to buy a car. At first I was “I don’t care what it looks like so long as it’s reliable, fuel efficient and has low kms”. Now I’m “I don’t care what it looks like so long as it’s reliable, fuel efficient and has low kms and doesn’t look or drive like a truck or isn’t boxy and grannie like James’ car.” I have to consider aesthetics and connotations. For example, while I want a small car, I do not want a Barina.

The kind of girl who drives a Barina I feel alienated from/by.

The kind of girl that drives a Barina has long straightened blonde hair, wears over sized sunnies, a knee length designer trechcoat and pointy toed stiletto knee high boots. She studied commerce/law or journalism, reads Danielle Steele novels and her favourite show is All Saints or Grey’s Anatomy. On the weekends, she hangs out with fashion victim boyfriend or gay best friend at the Quarry, before or after having drinks with her cloned girlfriends.

I do not want to drive a Barina.

Postscript Who knows, maybe you think I’m the kind of girl who would drive a Barina. This would be interesting because it would mean your perception of me would be vastly different to the perception I have of myself…

Bust'n MythBusters

2007-09-04T15:00:00.000+10:00

Does anyone read blogs any more? Or does FaceBook have monopoly on everyone's attention?

Now, MythBusters are popular and I must admit I enjoy watching the merry-spirited shenanigans, even if the presenters are a bit daggy. I also love the fact that they set out to test received "wisdom".

BUT

I have to say, they're sloppy scientists. And no, it's because I'm an uptight librarian/teacher type (I'm not) who doesn't like explosions. Explosions, fires that kind of thing - they're fun.

No, their science is actually sloppy. Last night they were debunking two myths. The first "myth" (the Fumanchu Team did this one) was that the Hindenburg disaster should be blamed on the reactive and flammable coating of the zeppelin (now there's a good scrabble word, if you're fortunate enough to get 2 "P"s), not the hydrogen inside. This "myth" is from recent research challenging conventional wisdom that it hydrogen that was the culprit.

Now to test the myth, they made 1/50th scale Hindenburgs: 1) coated in the explosive stuff but not filled with H 2) coated in the same stuff and filled with H and 3) not filled with H and coated in something extra explosive, just for fun.

However, in order to do good science, Team Fumanchu should have made no. 4 and filled it with Hydrogen and coated it with something else. If it didn't burn like the Hindenburg, then you could take the blame (partially) off the Hydrogen. If it did, then the myth would have been debunked.

This is fairly important, since they (you know, them) are considering zeppelins as a viable alternative to fuel guzzling airplanes. We wouldn't want them buy the New Research Myth and create a Hindenburg II.

It's sloppy science because it's not thorough, and the theory Team MythBusters run on just doesn't respect logic. We can't neglect the theoretical side of science, even if it's "just" TV.

Oh, and the Myth was busted.

The other team, Team Racial and Gender Inclusive (TRAGI) tested the myth that in order to escape a crocodile, you should run in a zigzag because crocs can't turn corners.

Now, I know the focus of the show is all on experiment and getting too caught up in the theory isn't fun for TV brains to absorb... but surely anyone can tell that you only need to do a thought experiment* to figure out that the Croc Myth is ridiculous.

Provided that Croc is not on your heels, but a few metres away, he's going to snap you on your first ZIG, since he's not going to be so daft as to follow your zigzag path. And a zigzag motion is going to take you less distance in the Y direction than just running away from Croc in a straight line, so Croc will cover more ground in his pursuit of you.

Myth Busted.

But no TRAGI had to travel all the way from SF to Florida (where crocs live) to test their theory. And the crocs weren't even interested in the bait (dead birds). You'd think they'd try different bait (sausages, gazelle chops, TRAGI). No. None of that.

Sacrificing good science for entertainment. And maybe it's good entertainment if I can get a post out of its stupidity.

* On the topic of thought experiments, I think you can use the concept to provide a good definition of determinism, which I often struggle to articulate.
Determinism: 1) Suppose you are omniscient (about the past, but not the future) and you perform a thought experiment X. You derive result A.
2) You perform experiment X in real life (supposing that X was exactly transferable between mind and real world), and you derive result B.
If you are shocked by this result, that A does not necessarily equal B, then you are a determinist. B must = A, in your world. If this result doesn't bother you, then you are probably not a determinist.
What do you think of this definition?

Shirley Henderson on Ovulation

2007-08-27T22:13:00.000+10:00

My good (older) friend, Shirley Henderson, who I met when she was looking for a place to live, has written this guest post. Shirley moved here to Hobart from WA after a painful break-up with her life-long partner Graeme. She's trying to rebuild her life, by walking new paths such as going to university. This is her story.

I haven't ovulated since my partner Graeme, left me for another woman (her name is Jolene but that's another story). This is most distressing. I miss the sharp pains. The sharp pains that call to me, "Shirley, you are a woman and everything is going to be alright". I long to feel that ache again because, when Graeme left me, he took my gender with him.

If you're not familiar with ovulation, allow me as an expert ovulator, to educate you. I won't go into too much detail because I like to believe that I'm a tactful lady. Unlike Jolene, the bitch. In short, I like to describe ovulation as "my cycle of femininity". I can remember feeling the first movements when I was 6 or 7, which I presume is the normal age for all women. It was at that time, I realised I was no longer a girl but a fully-fledged lady. One of the main ovulatory features is the development of a super-human sense of smell. Needless to say, I dearly miss the smell of Graeme's body odour and Brut, as I'd watch him complete his jigsaw puzzles. Sadly, despite the super sense of smell, I was blessed with, I didn't catch a whiff of my partner's pungent affair.

Generally speaking, men are not able to ovulate. It's an affliction that's been forced upon women from years of oppression and abuse by the rival gender. I've also heard that it originated from the bible; when Evelyn stole the apple from Noah, she was punished by God with a lifetime of ovulation. But I'm not a very religious person, just church with mum at Easter and Chrissie, so we won't go down that path.

A little known fact about ovulation is that it stops when a lady becomes pregnant. Now, I don't want to reveal my age but I haven't felt the signs of ovulation for quite some time. I'm quite sure that I'm not pregnant because I haven't enjoyed the sensual touch of a man for two to three years. Not since Graeme left. But it is my dream to wake up one morning, wipe the sleep from my eyes and vomit in to the bedpan. I haven't taken a pregnancy test because I don't want the disappointment of finding out that I am indeed, barren. That would be the end for me. From what I've hear, Jolene is quite fertile, with child number two on the way. I'm not a jealous lady but if I am honest, I envy Jolene's femininity, but I can't blame Graeme for picking a well-endowed, beautiful fully-functioning ovulatory woman over an old chook like me.

It might sound strange but I would dearly love to experience that calling from the overies again. I do try to fill in my days; adult education (I'm currently a mature age student), coffee with Adrienne at the Bellerive Quay, and of course that ill-fated life drawing class where no-one wanted to draw me. Not to mention my new computer and my recent dabbling into the "singles chat" scene. However, one of these activities are able to conceal the fact that I am not currently ovulating.

I would love some advice from all you women out there in the cyber web. What can I do to achieve ovulation again? Or to feel like a woman again?

Alternatively, If you have any questions about ovulation, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

Another Celebrity Blogger

2007-08-27T13:33:00.000+10:00

A Few More Hopefully Familiar Faces

2007-08-27T12:08:00.000+10:00

Some Peeps

2007-08-23T21:33:00.000+10:00

I did these caricatures of people I know in Bible Study last night. Most are from memory. See if you can guess who they all are (hint: all except no. 7 go to Crossroads Church). Bonus points if you can answer the Bible Study questions.

Power Colour

2007-08-20T22:11:00.001+10:00

Your Power Color Is Gold

At Your Highest:

You are engrossed in passions that mentally stimulate you.

At Your Lowest:

You seek thrills and neglect what's important in your life.

In Love:

You see dating as adventure and approach it with an open attitude.

How You're Attractive:

You passion for life makes others passionate about you.

Your Eternal Question:

"Am I Having Fun?"

What's Your Power Color?

Brain Colour

2007-08-20T22:09:00.001+10:00

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance.
You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver.
You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

No touchie, Kevie.

2007-08-20T21:02:00.001+10:00

The best way to wear your Kevin '07 T-shirt...

Kevin 07, stairway to heaven...

Italian Stallion...

2007-08-20T19:59:00.001+10:00

You Should Date An Italian!

You love for old fashioned romance, with an old fashioned guy
An Italian guy is the perfect candidate to be your prince charming
If your head doesn't spin enough, just down another espresso with him
Invest in a motorcycle helmet - and some carb blocker for all that pasta!

Which Foreign Guy Should You Date?

This Is Your Life

2007-08-20T19:53:00.001+10:00

The Movie Of Your Life Is Film Noir

So what if you're a little nihilistic at times?
Life with meaning is highly over-rated.

Your best movie matches: Sin City, L. A. Confidential, Blade Runner

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Gay childhood icon??

2007-08-19T12:51:00.000+10:00

You Are the Very Gay Peppermint Patty!

Softball is the huge tipoff here...
As well as a "best friend" who loves to call her "sir"

What Gay Childhood Icon Are You?

It'll only take a minute...

2007-08-19T12:47:00.001+10:00

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive.

Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men
You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Hey there Ma'am would you like to take a personality test?

2007-08-19T12:43:00.000+10:00

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant.
Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle.
You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs.

For you, comfort and calm are very important.
You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection.
You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

What's Brewing

2007-08-13T14:41:00.000+10:00

I'm been thinking about this for a long time but I haven't said much about it yet.

However, I think now is the time to write my manifesto:

McNaturalSelection & McEvolution: Problems with the Paradigm. Coming soon.

I think I've hyped that up a bit too much. I haven't even written it yet...

Courage

2007-08-13T14:13:00.000+10:00

"That was really brave of you, Shy", said my big brother Lukie,"to run out there and grab the animals near the end." Doing so scored me some bruises. It didn't feel brave, I was just doing what I had to do to win the game.

Crouching behind the inflatable barriers and hearing the paintballs rattle above us, just two choices occurred to me. I could 1) be a coward and huddle in safety firing a few shots and hoping others would run out and complete the mission and win the game for me. This feels like the most natural choice OR 2) shift my paradigm, change my mental state and do what seems completely unnatural and run out in the line of fire and onto enemy lines, because if I don't I can't expect anyone else to do so.

Then I realised that's all bravery is. No one is born brave. Bravery is just a choice you make. It's almost clinical, and devoid of emotion. "Just do it." Courage is not an emotion, it is found in action.

Not that I often do brave things. I hate the cowardice in me. That I'm always self-censoring. That I seek comfort like a cat.

Mikey did a kick-ace sermon last night. He talked us through the parable of the Good Samaratin. If we are followers of Christ we will choose to acts of mercy and give of ourselves. To see someone in need on a dangerous stretch of the road and go and help them, to take them to safety - that's brave.

Of course just to honour the value of bravery isn't the reason we should help someone in need. But if your excuse for not biting the bullet and showing mercy is that it feels unnatural or uncomfortable or out of your sphere of desire or whatever, then you don't have a very good reason for not showing compassion.

Would You Trust Me With Your Children?

2007-08-12T23:00:00.000+10:00

Have you seen the Hobart airport recently?

Well, now you have. It looks like a real airport now.

Here's a salad I made in Melbourne at my brothers' place. Baby spinach, cashews, feta, grape tomatoes, avocado and roasted pumpkin (plus chicken, if you wish). Add balsamic vinegar.

This is my cousin Phil (from England. Alex's little sister, for those who have met her) with said salad.

In Melbourne we played paintball. When a paintball hits you and doesn't splatter, it hurts like hell, and delivers these bruises:

I have a few more of these, but it would put us in a compromising situation if I showed you. Paintball "markers" (guns in PC) are classified as weapons, so we had to sign a waiver and were outfitted in starship trooper gear. I wouldn't want to wear it on a real battle field. Instead, a light weight Kevlar vest would do just fine. I don't know how the boys do it in fatigues.

I drew these for the Cornerpebbles to colour in. We did the story of the Garden of Eden.

"Where did evil come from?"

"I don't know the answer to that question."

Getting the theology right is tough and a huge responsibility, with fragile souls in our care. I need to pray for Cornerpebble more than I do.

Note the theology in the second drawing above. Adam looks on, failing to stop Eve from disobeying God, thus committing the first sin by not taking responsibility for his wife's actions.

People of Hobart: Man About Town...

2007-08-12T13:41:00.000+10:00

...of a very different kind.

This guy is omnipresent. Or maybe he's following me around.

Tell me if you've seen him. Pryderi thinks he looks a bit like Jeff Daniels, although I haven't drawn him to look like the Dumb and Dumber co-star.

I'm posting a lot tonight.

2007-08-07T00:36:00.001+10:00

I want to take an informal survey, which is ultimately about me, like this blog is.

Has anyone else who has studied philosophy and took it seriously, in particular when they were young and at university, found that it has made them apathetic? Or at least accentuated your tendencies to burn bridges more? I dunno, I just find I seem to care about stuff less than my friends do.

The apathy wasn't sudden, but came in Kuhn like stages, where I questioned the paradigms of conventional wisdom. And when I found that one wasn't necessarily true, more conventional wisdom unraveled. I guess it's because a philosophy course will usually take you through Cartesian skepticism, and when you're young and impressionable, you take this on as mode of thought. You find yourself thinking: "people think X is true of human nature/people's preferences/social convention/etc, but where's the proof for that? No one has provided a good argument for it? Not-X is equally possible, but people just accept X because it is popular opinion, and popular opinion is not good grounds for accepting anything." And since you find both X and not-X equally possible, you find yourself disbelieving both of them.

I guess I'm just explaining the practical manifestation of taking on philosophical skepticism. It's a also a defense mechanism. The less you care, the less you get hurt.

I'm actually at a point of apathy right now where I don't even flinch when the phone rings.

Well, they're my thoughts tonight. In the clarity of the morning light I'll probably recant, but for now...

A Lovely Old Bird

2007-08-06T23:45:00.001+10:00

Homebody

2007-08-06T23:39:00.001+10:00

I'm going to Melbs tomorrow. Whenever I'm about to go somewhere, I get cold feet, as if it's a huge hassle to go holidaying. And when I arrive, I feel uneasy for a few hours and pine to be home like a little kid. It's probably Freudian; have you noticed how babies cry when they're first in a new place?

Does anyone else experience this?

The Great Fight

2007-08-06T23:00:00.000+10:00

Girly Man: Hey Mark, wanna massage later? I'd feel really good about that.

Marky Mark: Go choke on herbal tea, you chickified excuse for a man. I am heterosexual!

Take Your Mumma Out All Night

2007-07-30T00:12:00.001+10:00

EmoKid

2007-07-29T23:41:00.000+10:00

Keep Your Daughters Locked Up

2007-07-29T22:58:00.000+10:00

This is not Santa, despite the red jacket.

More to Love

2007-07-29T15:54:00.001+10:00

The Streets Are Free For All Mankind 2

2007-07-21T13:39:00.000+10:00

More People Who Accost You In Public Places

The Streets Are Free For All Mankind

2007-07-21T01:38:00.001+10:00

People Who Accost You In Public Places

Which Ancient Language are You?

2007-07-18T10:37:00.001+10:00

Your Score: Hieroglyphics

You scored

You are Egyptian Hieroglyphics! Monumental, ornate and even in technicolour! Your users contributed virtually all ancient knowledge on inks, dyes and writing surfaces - to the point where the popular reed of Papyrus became the universal name for organic, manufactured writing surfaces in the western hemisphere for thousands of years. Proud, upstanding and dignified.

Link: The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

More Celebrity Lookalikes

2007-07-07T01:33:00.000+10:00

I know he's black, she's white. He's a man, she's a woman. He has facial hair, she doesn't.

But...

...don't you think Snoop Dog looks like Jamie Pressly?

Here are some of photos to prove my contention:

I think it's the shape of the face I think. Pressly, like the Dog, has a "snout".

Music

2007-07-07T01:17:00.001+10:00

Are you a CD player?

No, I'm not trying to be absurdist here. Are you the sort of person who buys a CD, listens to it a five dozen times over the next week and then doesn't listen to it again for a year?

I am. I've been getting into 80's music lately. Not sure how long that will last. I have A-Ha, Talking Heads, Europe, Go West and Vangelis to name a few.

I've also been overplaying Cat Stevens. Did Karaoke with Trace, Kate G and Cecily at good 'ol Monty's (on Macquarie St), and I really, really wanted to perform "The First Cut is the Deepest" because maybe that's how I feel (sniff). Alas, it wasn't on the list.

So I settled with "The Final Countdown", which I only know the chorus to. Actually, I just sung it so I could do the GOB dance. It was awesome. Angus, I wish you had been there.

Maybe there are more colours in Heaven.

2007-07-05T22:48:00.000+10:00

There needs to be more colours. Specifically, more bright colours. I'm colouring in one of my own pictures right now, and I'm looking at my texta box and thinking "this palette is limited. I've used that one, and that one, and that one doesn't contrast with that one, I need another one. Another one that doesn't yet exist in the visible light spectrum. Maybe it's the colour of microwaves. Or X-Rays." I would love to be able to see the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum. That would be soo cool.

See how these two colours "vibrate" when juxtaposed? I think there need to be more pairings like this. Neither purple/yellow or green/red (the other two secondary/primary contrasting pairs) vibrate with the same intensity. So there seems to be room in logical (?) space (or at least in my imagination) for more colours. Or at least I can describe these hypothetical colours, or at least give them a function. The function being to vibrate with same intensity of orange and blue, but not orange or blue. I don't know what these colours look like, but maybe we'll see them in Heaven.

Post Script

Other "yet to be seen colours" might be "hot green", "hot blue" and "hot brown". You add white to red to get pink, and you can have "hot pink". Well, you add white to green and you don't get a pastel, but a "hot green". You might need to add another imaginary colour to this green +white to get "hot green". And I don't mean "bright green". "Hot green" is different to "bright green".

Some Pictures

2007-07-03T20:46:00.000+10:00

I can't be bothered writing anything so I'm just going to post pictures.

Craft is Cool,

2007-06-30T19:58:00.000+10:00

you better believe it.

SuperFun Craft Program for Grown-Ups:

1. Giant decorated cookies to hang around your neck and eat throughout the day.

2. Make badges at that quirky little shop on Criterion St (and I don't mean Ultralux or Koorong).

3. Balloon animals with EmoGog.

4. Invent your own o-meter and manufacture using cotter pins.

More later when I remember them!

RAPTOR!!!

2007-06-30T14:23:00.000+10:00

BigLove

2007-06-30T14:21:00.001+10:00

Barb, Bill, Nikki and Margie

Becoming Geek

2007-06-28T14:45:00.000+10:00

Today I played WoW for the first time ever. My character is called Shyboo. She's a blood elf and a paladin. I'm only at level 2, and I've been running around (rather unco still) in pretty +1 elf world with its giant trees and elegant gazebos and cute little cats, and I've killed whyrms (sp?) and sabre cubs and lynxes. It's addictive fun. And the world is so luscious.

-----
All animals have 3 fundamental tasks:

1. To find food.
2. To avoid predators.
3. To reproduce.

Indeed, most animal adaptations are geared toward meeting these goals.

http://faculty.mccfl.edu/rizkf/OCE1001/OCEnotes/chap12.htm

Warhola at Work

2007-06-25T16:15:00.000+10:00

That Makes Sense

2007-06-19T14:24:00.000+10:00

In America, I had lots of conversations like this:

"So what do you say in Australia?"

"I'm going to the toilet."

"Oh. That makes sense."

---

"So what do you call it in Australia?"

"A footpath."

"Oh. That makes sense."

---

"What's the freezing point in Celsius then?"

"Zero.

"Oh. That makes sense."

The Kingdom of Post Apocolyptia

2007-06-14T14:06:00.000+10:00

It seems fairly easy to make your own micronation. The only cost is lunacy, it seems. Anyway, I've made my own. Check it out.

A Hypothesis

2007-06-13T21:32:00.000+10:00

I've got this hypothesis, that is yet untested. Contrary to popular belief, outgoing "extroverts" actually enjoy social interaction less than "introverts" or whatever you want to call them. Maybe because more is expected of socially confident people, and maybe their higher energy relational style costs them more? I don't know. I'm just putting this out there. What do others think?

Would Your Rather (1)...

2007-06-08T21:37:00.000+10:00

...be blown up like a balloon into an almost spherical shape bar your tiny arms, legs and head...

OR

almost two dimensionally flat like Flat-Stanley?

Now this doesn't beg the question.

2007-06-07T12:41:00.000+10:00

YES! YES! YES! I am so happy. A website after my own heart!

I think I've blogged about this before as one of "those things that get my goat". It's when people use the phrase "that begs the question" incorrectly. I thought it was just me who was bothered by this, but apparently there's enough people frustrated by the abuse of the phrase to have a website devoted to campaigning its correct usage.

Yay! I'm so glad there are other people on board.

Update: Even Dinosaur Comics are with me on this one. Yes, language does evolve, but we can (and should) be discriminating about the idea.

List !!

2007-06-07T10:54:00.000+10:00

Unlikely/Delicious Food Combinations

Carrot + Cheese
Walnut + Cheese
Avacado + Cheese
Spinach + Cheese
Clix Biscuits + Nutella
Light & Tangy Chips + Whip
Hot Chips + Ice cream

Advertise Your Ignorance

2007-06-06T21:16:00.000+10:00

If you're a bit of a grammar/English-usage Nazi, you might want to check out these two blogs. Good fun.

List!

2007-06-05T11:09:00.000+10:00

Substances that you can mould with your hands

Playdough
Salt Dough
Sand
Cold Nutella
Mud
White Bread
Blu-tak
Plastecine
Slightly Melted Candle Wax
Clay
Biscuit Dough
Gnache
Marzipan
Chewing Gum

Have an awesome!

Lust

2007-06-02T21:52:00.000+10:00

More colouring in.

If I leave the doors open, he can't see me dressing...

2007-06-01T22:47:00.001+10:00

French Remake of American Pie

2007-06-01T18:36:00.000+10:00

I'm just warning you, that this is incredibly rude but also incredibly funny. Only watch it if you're not easily offended.

...And Some Bad Fantasy Art.

2007-05-31T21:27:00.001+10:00

You can colour in this one too.

Untitled

2007-05-31T21:24:00.000+10:00

Colour it in if you like. Best one wins a prize.

In the Court of Pharoh

2007-05-30T21:22:00.000+10:00

I don't like telling other people my dreams, since you know, it's do as you would be done by, and other people's dreams bore me to tears. But I'm going to tell you last nights dream, because listening to me virtually is completely optional.

So anyway, I was in the sun-room of an old Hobart style house. There were lots of people including Eedy from Desperate Housewives (the evil blonde woman). The room was also full of cats of all different sizes and piles of bean bags. The kittens were scrambling between the bean bags and the people were jumping on the bean bags.

I yelled "Stop jumping, everybody! You'll crush the cats."

Then Eedy self-righteously made me get up from the bean bag I was sitting on, and lifted it up. There lay a mangled, half squashed, half alive little cat who looked a bit like Possum. I felt shame.

Later on, in another room, Eedy walked up to me carrying the dead, damaged and bloody cat by the tail.

"Don't bring that near me!" I said.

She ignored me and hit me on the collar bone with the carcass. I could feel the clamminess.

The Sky Has Claws

2007-05-26T17:18:00.001+10:00

Themed parties should be the artistic celebration of something awesome. One of those things awesome things worth glorifying through this art form is the Scissor Sisters.

Look at them. They're just asking for it aren't they?

However, they have only released two albums so far. It's important to use all aspects of a themed party to celebrate the theme, so of course only Scissor Sisters would be the soundtrack. This would mean the party would run for about an hour and half.

Which leads me to the idea of having mini-parties. Fewer guests, smaller locations, shorter running time. Could call it a "partette" or a "mini-party". You choose. Since there are only five Sisters, and you'd want to double up just once with costumes, you'd have a partette sized guest list; 9. Of course you'd want OTT, flamboyant, magical decorations. So don't stretch you valuable resources over a ballroom. Your bedroom will do (and if you're cool enough to love the Sisters, you'll have a funky bedroom anyway). So, how about it, a Scissor Sisters "Partette"? I think it sounds rather cute, don't you?

Other "small" things could be celebrated through a mini-party. They're not in my head right now, but maybe they're in yours? What do you suggest?

But back to the greatest band of the 00's. Or 000's even.

My favourite tracks are! (From the first album)

"Take Your Mama"
Their cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" (better than the original. I will fight you.)
Tits on the Radio
Return to Oz

(From the second album)

I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
She's My Man
Land of A Thousand Words
Everybody Wants The Same Thing

And my favourite track lyrically would have to be "Return to Oz". Go listen.

Misc.

2007-05-23T21:40:00.001+10:00

1. There was a show on midgets (actually, dwarfs) on ABC tonight; "Little People". Trying to show dwarfs as "normal". Ironically, they're still capitalizing on midgets-are-a-freakshow.

2.

Wish Upon A Pretzel

2007-05-22T22:37:00.001+10:00

So, my evil fairy godmother granted my wish. My wish was to be back-up vocals and lead choreographer for Europe's greatest glam-pop-disco group ever. Lead by one of the greatest songstresses of all time...

Pipi's Pretzel!

(By the way, doesn't that last one look like it was taken in a brothel?)

A Special Visit.

2007-05-21T22:25:00.000+10:00

There's been a blogging hiatus. That's because I entertained a visit from my evil fairy godmother.

She had something very important to tell me.

Stay tuned for the very important thing my evil fairy godmother told me.

A Doodle

2007-05-09T21:18:00.000+10:00

Each Year an Hour

2007-05-09T20:46:00.000+10:00

Yeah so anyway, it was my birthday on Monday. I recieved many lovely text messages, emails and facebook and myspace messages. Thank you everyone! A special thank you to Randy for the cake which he baked for me.

Then he ate it.

Oh, I turned 24. By 24, Pablo Picasso had an artistic career. Mary Shelly had finished Frankenstein and had started writing Valperga.

But enough of that. I don't even care. No one in my generation is going to be remembered anyway.

The Fewchah

2007-05-05T11:12:00.000+10:00

Happy in Colour

2007-05-05T10:25:00.000+10:00

Back in the Age of Nylon

2007-05-02T17:48:00.000+10:00

I bought Europe's The Final Countdown today, for $8.

Listening to it takes me to a special place:

80's World.

Sage words...

2007-04-30T21:44:00.000+10:00

...from Desperate Housewives:

"Honey, I wish there was some pill you could take to protect your heart."

If you don't think this is a good show, you haven't watched it. Properly.

HappyHappy

2007-04-28T21:46:00.000+10:00

Perhaps you were disturbed by the previous image. If so, then this is for you:

Pain

2007-04-28T21:11:00.000+10:00

A False Sense of Security

2007-04-28T21:08:00.000+10:00

Randomo

2007-04-26T20:53:00.000+10:00

Texta, on cardboard. Not actually that blurry.

I didn't do this, but I wish I had.

Seth and Emily. This would be funny with a caption, so why don't you make one up?

Down the Channel. Seth, the media man, documents Mum and Dad standing about and looking around.

Aww, this is cute.

Father and Son.

From the Dojo...

2007-04-25T12:47:00.000+10:00

The Dojo also specializes in magical weaponry, including the Glowing Orb of Power:

Sermon Illustration

2007-04-24T17:33:00.000+10:00

I'm not a preacher, but sermon illustrations always pop into my head. Then pop out. So I'll write them down. Free for all to use.

So, I went running-shoe shopping (an activity I dread). Unsure of my purchase, the sales assistant, Ollie, told me to take them home and wear them around the house. If I don't like them, I can return them, so long as they're resell-able. That is, I shouldn't wear them outside. But the only way for me to know for certain if they're the pair for me is to go for a run. Outside. But I can't do that. Therefore I have to make the decision on less information than I'd like (that is, just walking around the house), because I'm not allowed to soil the sneakers. If I do, then I have to keep them.

The analogy is probably pretty clear by now. It's a partial illustration of the Christian ethic of sex and marriage. When you're just going out with someone, neither of you will get a complete understanding of what the other is like. You might try living together, but if you do that, and break up, you're returning soiled goods. I'm sure you can see other parallels. I can't be bothered pointing them all out to you, and I'm sure you're clever enough to see them yourself.

Time's Arrow

2007-04-23T10:04:00.000+10:00

With a wet washer I smear on a field of mascara below my eyes and then retreat to the kitchen to regurgitate a small white tablet, perfectly intact. Some water comes up too, which I return to the tap. It's bedtime, but before I'm even under the doona, I feel the weight of sleepiness. I note the time, and then check my alarm clock to check if I'm right. I am. I make the decision to get up, but I don't. Instead, I immediately dream. I dream that the succession of events are reversed.

When I wake up it's dark and my doona has organised itself into a neat spread. I then pick up a book and faithfully read, not flick, from the very last sentence. I read a few chapters. The events are in the right order, unlike my dreams.

Over the next couple of days, I continue to read in this unorthodox fashion, until I give the book to the man at the library desk, who zaps it. Then I have to return the book to the shelf. I make this incantation: "Sima, Sima, Sima" while running my finger along the "A" section of Adult Fiction.

A few hours pass and I have the desire to reread Time's Arrow, but I don't act on this desire. Instead, a couple of weeks later, Emma Wilkins recommends the very book I wish to read (and have recently read). I feign ignorance, and the book is spoken of no more.

* * *

Anyway, I'm recommending Time's Arrow to you. A man wakes up at his death, and time runs in reverse. Nails appear from the rubbish bin and attach themselves to his fingers. The flames spit out letters. It's not just the gimmick of events told in the wrong order which carries this book. Martin Amis explores stuff (which I haven't got my head around yet) and other stuff (which if I told you would constitute spoiling).

Read it, if you already have. If you haven't, this has predestined the failure of my recommendation to you. ;)

A couple of caveats though; the book will disturb your mental health and there's a fair bit of sexual content.

Breakfast for Tea

2007-04-19T22:37:00.000+10:00

I made this the other night:

Gourmet Magazine version.

70's Cookbook version.

I can't cook scrambled eggs by the way. Can someone please teach me?

Now It's Your Turn

2007-04-19T21:23:00.000+10:00

My Own Little Post Not So Secret

2007-04-19T21:18:00.000+10:00

Some Cafe Postcards:

More Survivor: The Biggest Looser

2007-04-18T23:58:00.000+10:00

Fat Camp

2007-04-18T14:45:00.000+10:00

How about this an idea for a reality TV show fat camp?

The premise is the truth that weight loss is all about disturbing the kilojoule in kilojoule out equilibrium. So, if you want to loose weight, consume less kilojoules than you expend. Even better, have the kilojoules that you consume come at the cost of the kilojoules that you expend.

On fat camp, then, any food you eat, you must have exerted equal or greater energy in acquiring it. The Loosers will have to pick their berries a couple of kilometers away from camp, there'll spear fishing and maybe a few wild pigs will be set loose to catch. So the fatties have to chase and chase their lunch before they're allowed to eat it. Or maybe they have to climb a cliff face to an erie to collect empowering eggs or something. It would make great TV.

Horror

2007-04-18T10:07:00.000+10:00

I had this Exorcism of Emily Rose experience last night. These hag arms reached up through the mattress (like the dead reawakened, emerging from the grave) and yanked my shoulders back down suddenly, so that my whole body shook. Nightmare chiropractor.

Oh, I was sleeping. There wasn't really someone else's arms in the bed.

Bored Game

2007-04-17T18:32:00.000+10:00

Someone thought this would be a pretty exciting theme for a board game. Power supplies. Electricity grids. It's even more exciting to make a game about power grids than to say work for a power company. Here's what the board looks like.

Note the lack of gimmicky real lights and circuits. Real players have no need of that.

This is Emily (massaging), Jack and Ruth. Jack and his girlfriend Ruth are PowerGrid fans. They are medical students.

Hair Mousse

2007-04-14T17:06:00.000+10:00

So, it looks like I'm out of mousse...

...I shake the bottle...

...and there's a little mousse left.

It Contains An Element of Suprise

2007-04-14T16:38:00.000+10:00

Just going to the toilet.

No surprises here....

No, wait.

There is a small element of surprise.

Or should I say a small elephant of surprise?

Who Are You, O Man?

2007-04-13T12:30:00.000+10:00

I used to be threatened by Quantum Weirdness. It upset my deterministic worldview. My paradigm is a bit more flexible now, but I also see that Quantum Weirdness is humbling. It defies conventional, macro-scale laws and mathematics (which is very bizarre because people tend to think of things like mathematics and logic as etched into reality), and so shakes much of the understanding that we pride ourselves on.

Edit: Just a caveat, it annoys me +1 when people use Quantum Weirdness to justify their hippie-new-agey-otherwise-impossible-to-justify philosophy, because it defies logic. That misses the point. Logic "still works" on the macro scale; just because it's god-like status is questioned on the picto-scale doesn't mean that it can be used to justify illogicalness.

Life Imitates Art

2007-04-13T10:59:00.000+10:00

Philosophy Now is currently my favourite magazine. It's philosophical, accessible and funny (believe it or not). Anyway, in the "News" section they alerted us to legislation that scientists wish to change for doing research on chimeras. Currently, scientists are allowed to fertilize human eggs with cells from rabbits, cows and goats, but the embryos must be destroyed no later than the two cell stage. The biologists would like to extended that period of chimeric life to fourteen days, in which they could study and experiment with the embryo before destroying the human-animal hybrid. The embryonic stem cell could be used to grow organs for humans.

Of course this is controversial. This article mentions some of the ethical issues people are worried about. For those of us who think that a human embryo is a person, then it is possibly problematic to destroy human-animal hybrid embryos. Also, if the chimeras are allowed to develop into full grown beings, what rights and responsibilities do they have? Are we to treat them like fellow human beings? Do we treat them as though they are moral beings with moral responsibilities?

We may not ever have to ask these questions, because any legislation to allow chimera creation probably won't pass.

Am I just one sick puppy, or does that disappoint any one else? The idea of a chimera, a part-human, part-animal creature from the world of sci-fi, fascinates me. What would they look like? How would they behave? What would we think of them? Would they be persons?

A Draught

2007-04-12T11:57:00.000+10:00

I noticed some cold air coming into my bedroom. So I looked over at the door.

And saw what the problem was...

...what was coming into my room.

Gwyd and Emily

2007-04-12T11:46:00.000+10:00

Wanted: A Fat Person

2007-04-11T13:27:00.000+10:00

I'm just putting this out there. Here's what I need: A really really morbidly obese person to model for some life drawing. I'm sorry, I'm too poor to pay you in cash, but I can pay you in food, yummy food, as I imagine that's what you'd like. Contact me via email or in the comments section if this is you.

Edit: If you're not really really morbidly obese, but just somewhat obese, you'll do. Beggars can't be choosers.

Second Edit: If you're uncomfortable being naked, you can wear budgie-smugglers or a two-piece (if you're female).

Margate Stargate

2007-04-11T12:52:00.000+10:00

Xylophone Bird

2007-04-11T11:18:00.000+10:00

Knitted Lies

2007-04-05T20:48:00.000+10:00

Emma W. and I went on a excursion to the land beyond the borderlands today. We visited Moonah Arts Centre (yes, Moonah has an arts centre) and saw a knitting exhibition (part of Ten Days on the Island). It was supposed to be an exhibition entirely knitted, but no, false advertising. There were non-knitted items like shirts (surely the easiest thing to knit). But the most misleading thing about the exhibition was that many of the objects such as the fountain, wheelbarrow, human figures, stove and telephone, weren't actually made entirely of knitting. Instead, they were objects covered in knitting. How easy is that? Surely it requires much more skill to create something entirely from knitted wool? Shame on those grandmas.

Our Favourite Rockstar

2007-04-05T19:26:00.000+10:00

I saw Anthony Rochester play the other night. Good times.

Who You Value

2007-04-03T20:35:00.000+10:00

Would you agree that this is true: the people you value the most are not those who wowed you most with their wittiness, fun-ness, intelligence or glamour, but those who showed you kindness?

Mood

2007-04-03T19:52:00.000+10:00

I've been feeling really good lately. So good that I've not had the demi-urge to blog. Not manic good, just steady-eddie good, but the best I've felt in about 2 or so years. This is going to sound really wanky (but I'll say it anyway); I actually feel like my dreams are achievable, and if not, I don't really mind anyway.