Maybe I’m easily amused but I really liked this one!
Rules:
* Take the closest book from you
* Open to the page number 56
* Look at the 5th sentence
* Write down this sentence as your status
* Comment on your status and copy these instruction in a comment
* Don’t look for the book you prefer or the coolest but the closest book
Mine is:
Marius’ imperious habit of awarding citizenship to whole cohorts of Italian allies as a reward for exceptional valour was gratefully remembered.
That’s from Tom Holland’s Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic. It’s a great book - I’ve been watching the second series of HBO/BBC’s Rome and thought it was an apt choice to start rereading last night, so it was right next to me on the couch.
Well it’s been a fortnight so it must be time again to condemn. Here’s a 30th open condemnation thread. What’s getting up your goat this week so far? Which evil political, cultural, social, musical, religious and other phenomena need condemnation? (Or loud denunciation?)
You can condemn anything you like except Hope Waits. Well, actually, maybe you can’t condemn Tom Waits either.
I’ve just discovered a new artist - Melody Gardot, an American jazz singer. For anyone interested in music and disability, her story is really interesting.
Film studios to become ‘police, judge, executioner’: Australia’s third largest ISP is being sued by several film studios and the Seven Network for enabling copyright infringement by failing to prevent its users from downloading pirated movies and TV shows.
iiNet, and the industry body, the Internet Industry Association, say ISPs should not be required to take action against any customers until they have been found guilty of an offence by the courts.
ISPs argue that, like Australia Post with letters, they are just providing a service and should not be forced to become copyright police.
Conversely, the TV and movie industry want ISPs to disconnect people it has identified as repeat infringers. There would be no involvement from police or the courts and the industry would simply provide the IP addresses of users they believe to be illegal downloaders.
“To shift the burden of proof and require that ISPs terminate access to users upon mere allegations of infringement would be incredibly harmful to individual internet users in Australia,” the online users lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia said.
“Every citizen has a right of due process under the law and, when faced with having their internet service terminated, every citizen has the right to ask that the case against them be proven first.”
I think it was klaus k who once suggested on this blog that we should completely eschew the word “postmodernism”, so vacuous and meaningless has it become. That seems a proposal worth reviving when you read an astonishing take on the ABC’s decision to reallocate resources away from specialist Radio National programs, particularly the Religion Report.
The questions facing mankind are, essentially, the same as they have always been: the age-old questions about what is good, true and beautiful. How do we identify those characteristics in our own and others’ behaviour? How do we achieve them in our lives?
Inevitably, we will never answer them validly if - confusing the medium with the message, to put it in Marshall McLuhan’s discredited formula - we confuse the garments for the person, the cover for the book.
Apparently, the ABC’s remit is to pose (or answer?) eternal questions, and any management decision about Radio National demonstrates “relativism” and that “they hate religion”.
I’m actually not a huge fan of Stephen Crittenden’s, but there can be no doubt that discussing programming decisions in this fashion is, well, just demented. Continue reading ‘Let’s ban postmodernism!’
Almost a year after the former Dear Leader lost the election and his seat of Bennelong, the ABC is “heavily promoting” (something of an understatement) The Howard Years. Will we never be quit of this man? Personally, I intend to watch Good News Week. I’m sure this historical record will mainly be emblematic of the deep sense of self-satisfaction the various interviewees have, and their propensity to knife each other - all the froth and bubble that went on beneath the iron grip that Howard had on all of them. Does anyone care all that much now that it’s history? You tell me.
Meanwhile, the man himself is running out of places to hide. The US no longer offers such a congenial political climate for John Howard, although there’s still Fox News for him to appear on.
Well it’s November so it must be time again to condemn. Here’s a 29th open condemnation thread. What’s getting up your goat this week so far? Which evil political, cultural, social, musical, religious and other phenomena need condemnation? (Or loud denunciation?)
You can condemn anything you like except Patti Labell. Though you can condemn Moby if you like.
Can this be right? Could the 1995 movie Clueless be partly at fault for the worldwide dissemination of “like” as an adverb, a quotative, a hedge and as a discourse particle in colloquial speech?
I’m not really one for breakfast television, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who’s seen the new ABC2 Breakfast show, which debuts today. It will also be streamed online. With Virginia Trioli as one of the hosts (the other is Barrie Cassidy, filling in for Peter Lloyd - who’s got some legal problems), I’m not hopeful that it will provide much of an alternative to the rest of the press gallery trivial horse race agenda of the day coverage. It’s not a very hopeful time generally for the ABC’s public affairs reportage and analysis, with the Radio National cutbacks and journos such as Fran Kelly, Chris Uhlmann and Michael Brissenden constantly reciting opposition talking points and doing their world weary cynicism thing. Print has always prided itself on setting the tv agenda and the ABC’s political reporters seem to take their cues from whatever the current News Limited line is. With Fairfax descending further into celebrity drivel and Eastern suburbs navel gazing, it’s a huge pity when the scarce resources of the national broadcaster go to waste in hunting somewhere at the back of the trivial and insipid press gallery pack.
The documentary Man on Wire does nothing to dispel the notion that creativity is often accompanied by more than a little “madness”. However, while Philippe Petit, the man who walked between the since departed World Trade Centre (WTC) on a high wire on 7 August 1974, comes across as rather dotty and excitable while relating the story of his deed, he displayed an extraordinary level of concentration and calm while engaging in his art. Petit did allow his “sphinx-like” countenance to break during his 45-minute stint between the Twin Towers when he spotted some police officers standing at the top of one of the Towers waiting to arrest him (Petit smiled). Man on Wire is an entertaining, thrilling and sometimes funny look at a man who chose to infilitrate and “conquer” the WTC partly for the purposes of creating something beautiful. The image of Petit lying on the tightrope while holding his balancing bar isn’t just stunning, it has spiritual connotations. Also reminiscing about Petit’s notorious adventure is a band of accomplices, including a pot-smoking musician, a relaxed Australian and a romantic partner who was in no position to pursue her own dreams whilst in a relationship with such a focussed man. Some of these people stayed with Petit until the deed was done and others (unsuprisingly) decamped earlier on. Alas, the soundtrack to the film is occasionally intrusive, with Michael Nyman seemingly recycling some of the pieces he composed for The Piano. Nevertheless, Man on Wire is an inspiring film that manages to touch the soul.
One of the longest bows I’ve seen drawn about the effects of the global financial crisis is this obituary (and not in elegiac style) for the 80s. And Gen X. Apparently because of Robert Zemeckis. And therefore Gordon Gekko.
I think I’m missing something here (though not surprised by the fact that whenever generationalism rears its head, the originary dissing of Gen X is reinscribed each time). Maybe it’s because the experience of the 80s was very different in Australia (and the UK) than in America, and this even similar cultural themes and texts and musical forms were read through distinctive lenses.
I feel so sorry for Generation X. They grew up without a unifying enemy. They grew up constantly criticized as a do-nothing care-nothing generation. They started the Internet boom but would eventually lose out to the young upstarts from the next generation, the Googles and Facebooks of the world. They truly are The Lost Generation, sandwiched between the crisis of Nixon and the crisis of today. Now, my generation is the second-born prodigal son, the boy-king who snatched the crown of influence directly from his parents, bypassing the first-born’s rule entirely. We are fighting the War on Terror. We are innovators in tech and energy and media.
Since we don’t live by politix alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
I’m thinking of heading to the Powerhouse this afternoon to see Rachael Brady play @ Live Spark, where she’s launching her new album, somewhere sunshine:
….drawing on the best of folk, roots, blues & jazz influences: billie holiday meets jack johnson meets joni mitchell meets rickie lee jones - soul buoying, intelligent, acoustic quasi pop with equal parts grunt and delicacy…..
I saw her live a few years ago @ the Troubadour - always neat to support a Brisbane muso who combines a bit of a political theme with excellent tunes. Will post some photos later if I take any good ones! Now that I’ve got the heavy lifting on the phd thesis out of the way, and semester’s wrapping up, I’m really looking forward to getting out to some more gigs, so today might be a good time to start!
Well it’s been a fortnight so it must be time again to condemn. Here’s a 28th open condemnation thread. What’s getting up your goat this week so far? Which evil political, cultural, social, musical, religious and other phenomena need condemnation? (Or loud denunciation?)
You can condemn anything you like except Kaki King. Though you can condemn me for not knowing about her til I saw Spicks & Specks this week.
Larvatus Prodeo is an Australian group blog which discusses politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
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