An open thread where you can, at your weekend leisure, discuss anything you like.
Life, Culture and Politics from BrisVegas
Larvatus Prodeo was an Australian group blog which discussed politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
1st!
2nd? 5th? 18th? I don’t know.
I’m grumpy because I have just wasted several hours of my valuable time thanks to that stupid beat-up story in The Bulletin about Veterans’ Affarts Minister Billson being death-threatted by a cartoon and scared by ex-Diggers grumbling about political treachery in their emails. Look out! there’s crude art-work hiding behind those bushes and it might bite you on the bum! Punch-A-Pollie Club? Wonder if they give a discount for group membership? And is membership restricted to injured war vaterans or can anyone join? How can we get an exemption for Senator Andrew Bartlett? (then again, maybe he would like to join too).
The worrying thing is that this farce could be part of a rather nasty flip-flop by the Howard government that has been emerging over the last several days …..
the link didn’t go through; trying again
http://ungrateful-troublemaker.blogspot.com/2006/10/why-howard-will-ditch-war-veterans.html
(Admin: link fixed)
damn! change “wull” to “will” . Goodnight.
Introducing the city of Curitiba in Brazil. If there is a Green mecca, and proof that Green style policies really do work, this place is it. http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/fellows/brazil1203/master-plan.html
ps. does anyone know of a cure for insomnia?
Alcoholism?
steve m:
Thanks for that link about Curitiba.
Didn’t we have similar things in our town planning until councils and state governments caved-in to the greed of the White Shoe Brigade, crooks and polluters from the early ‘Sixties onwards?
Recommended listening or reading transcript: Rudd and Abbot on Sat Nov 4 ABC Life Matters. Very interesting discussion about where each draws the line of religion and the state.
Abbot believes in private charity and public sexual morality
Rudd believes in public charity and private sexual morality.
and both are evidence that religion has always impeded the potential of humanity
Yes, and as far as I understood Rudd’s remark about “the sanctity of human life”, when Geraldine Doogue asked him about abortion and stem cell research, they both prefer witch doctoring to science.
Abbott’s comment about how everyone is sinful made me smile.
I await Tony Abbott’s next thinkpiece in Quadrant: The sins of John Howard.
test
Seems to work.
Well it bloody wasn’t last night. All I got was some half-arsed comment about cowboys and posts that vanished into the ether.
There was a problem with the host’s clock.
Believe it or not!
It’s saturday fatwa time again folks! Unfortunately it’s come to my attention a lot of you have been eying off pictures of your many dogs, wives and similar outlandish collectables. Perhaps you’ve been listening to shaky sheiks or shoofti muftis again, when as we all know the Imam knows best.
http://islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=1796
Obs, you’re weird, dude.
Those, who like myself, were gutted when Wolfmother turned out to be such Jazz Rock disappointments might like to catch Japanese rock band Guitar Wolf when they come around on their tour. They are the real deal, right down to their studded ROCK N ROLL belts for their leather pants, handy markings on the back the neck to show where the appropriate barre chords are, and plug in and play amp set-up.
They’ve been around for about two decades now, managed to record the loudest album evah and feature in their own movie Wild Zero
While being obviously being very American Rock and Roll inspired they’ve integrated it with a uniquely Japanese identity – lead singer Seiji rides a Kawasaki ZII 750 (seen in Mad Max) and they’ve never had the desire to switch from the Katakana English of Jettoh Genarei-shonu and LOCK and LOLL.
Last night’s Perth gig was appropriately shambolic, stage jumpers got a kick in the arse from the bassist and there was high comedy when the lead guitarist tried to in vain explain to the ‘guest guitarist’ from the audience that he should jump in the air for ‘rock’, walking on the audience, the windmill, backwards guitar playing, and SWEAT. The only regret was the small gig space meant there wasn’t much of an area for their music to fill.
Sure it’s all make believe but it just makes me that much sadder when I think the face of Australian music is Bernard Fanning.
A few pics I took of the gig are here. And isn’t it great how you can take cameras into concerts these days (in my day etc.)
Where was the gig?
The Amplifier Bar.
Nice spot, just a wee bit pokey for the gig space.
Hey Spicedude, did you see Mach Pelican with ‘em?
Yeah I did. They were pretty good in a late 90′s punk kinda way. Would make for fun festival starters.
Anthony: I wasn’t ignoring you yesterday. I got your message, but I couldn’t respond (longish story). As it happens, I was not in town anyway — I was at the movies, where I ran into the lovely Ms & Mr Kate and watched an awesome fillum.
What if a good religious grounding is the only thing separating many people from purely relying on animalistic instinct?
How would you define a good religious grounding?
I’ve often read the claim that studies consistently show that atheists are the least likely people in the population to be convicted for committing crimes of violence.
I must sadly admit that I don’t know where these purported studies are published, if indeed they are, but assuming they exist and are methodologically sound, what does that datum mean for your question?
Robert, it must be an LP meet-up day today – I ran into Liam during a brief break in herding 12-year-old girls around a shopping mall (a take-my-friends-to-the-movies birthday party for the tigling).
Liam and I share a weakness for de-stressing in crowded malls by heading for the pet shop to check out the kittens.
The baby animals shop is the only part I like about going inside shopping centres.
The kittens were white/tortoiseshell, and cream burmese. And frisky.
Kittens. Always with the kittens.
Acksually I’m pretty keen on the various varieties of black and tan puppies myself, especially the ones that also have spots.
However, puppies romp, not frisk.
“Liam and I share a weakness for de-stressing in crowded malls by heading for the pet shop to check out the kittens.”
Oh, I love doing this too – especially the puppies. However, I get so sad about leaving them there and not being able to take them all home that I wonder if it was worth it.
It seems there’s a Lutheran version of C.L.
Check it out:
http://mildcolonialboy.wordpress.com/
I’m sorry tigtog. I was born this way.
Robert. No no that’s fine, more last minute planning, just hope you weren’t speeding when you ran into Kate and Mr Kate.
Stuart, if you’re sugeesting that religion is the only thing between us and a massive outbreak of buttock sniffing, seasonal migration, and log dam building then thank God.
Steve M, I’ve had insomnia for over 40 years. My circadian rhythms got stuffed doing all-night sessions to finish assignments at uni.
There are lots of techniques. One of the easiest is to just breathe steadily, relax, and listen to the sound of your own breathing. Resist the temptation to think about anything at all. And don’t worry about not sleeping. Just lying there and resting is 75% as good.
Another is to close your eyes then flick your eyes in sequence between three positions – down, straight ahead, up, straight-ahead, down…
Another is to go and see a hypnotherapist who might give you a visualisation and silent talking sequence that puts you off to sleep.
Don’t take a nap on Saturday afternoons as it will stuff up your patterns.
Then there’s all that stuff about sleep hygiene, being regular in sleeping and waking up times, not being over-stimulated in the bedroom etc! (They mean no TV set.)
Yeah, and hot milk, vitamins and herbs etc. No coffee after 4pm and maybe none at all. Alcohol may put you off initially but down the track it acts as a stimulant, I’m told.
Having said all that, it all works a bit for me, but not really. I’ve found a way, but I’m not giving it out on the internets.
It’s got to be fixed. So see your doctor or the local relaxation or transcendental meditation centre. They have sleep laboratories and stuff. There’ll be plenty of people to help and take your money.
Good luck!
I was arrested last night for failing to obey a move-on order. I am seeking legal advice from anyone willing to offer it. The details and description of the situation are on my blog: http://yobbo.wordpress.com/
Hey Yobbo, How does feel to be a victim of your own naivety?
Yobbo breaking rocks that id loved to see.
It’s probably the Labour governments fault he he he.
Well, it is actually, if they introduced these idiotic laws, which anyone concerned with civil liberties should oppose. My sympathies are wholly with Yobbo on this one.
Mark,give me a little credit here please,It’s a joke joyce.
However I can’t believe the Police didn’t give him fair warning.The Police in Northbridge have no sense of humour, and if you see what they put up with ,well !!
Saddam Hussein to be hanged: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1781557.htm
Ok, Phill.
But he was drinking at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow. He deserved to be arrested.
LE
You can’t stop proliferation as the cat is out of the bag. The only thin g we can do is buy into missile defense and at some stage think about getting a few nukes ourlseves.
Ugly, but’s that’s about it fo the next 50 very ugly years or so.
What do you teach buy the way.
by the way…. yuk
Actually JC, I dont have terribly great concerns about civil nuclear technology, and cooperating with neighbours (well, to clarify, I do have concerns, but they are more environmental / regulatory; rather than strategic/ defence oriented).
Im more concerned about the Papua situation. Mainly because it aligns us with TNI hardcases, rather than the the reformers (which actually include the President), and that wont help human rights there.
Im in a non-teaching role at present; so young minds are largely safe from my pernicious influence for now.
I’m teaching young international students Entrepreneurship and Risk Management over summer btw. Won’t be a very leftie-influenced course I hasten to add! Can’t say I ever ran across too many leftie courses when I was doing my postgrad Business and Commerce degrees myself…
I’m sorry but I haven’t followed the NG stuff. I keep hearing that they are angry at us for some reason but that’s about it.
Good to hear Mark.
You’re really a very energetic guy by the sounds of things.
Yep, he’s an energetic boy! Not sure where he finds the time to blog!