Monthly Archive for November, 2002

There’s an astronomical event occuring in a few days time. A total eclipse of the sun. Boffins from all over the world are descending on Ceduna in South Australia, as this dusty little town lies in the path of the moon’s shadow.

The thing I want to get to the bottom of is this bullshit about looking at the eclipse. Sure, any nut knows that looking at the sun will root your eyes completely. But I heard on the radio this afternoon that when the sun is entirely obscured, the light emitted is a strong and as dangerous as the light of a full moon. I hardly think that electric-arc welding goggles are needed for that.

It seems that we are all so stupid that we need to be told when it is safe to look at the sun. Being told not to look at bright objects is as stupid as having a law for wearing seatbelts in cars or helmets on bikes. Stupid people get hurt or die. Bugger ‘em. It’s just another version of natural selection.

Who cares? Why am I writing this anyway? I’m rambling like a drunk lawn bowls player at a bingo meet. We all know that the world is ending at the moment of total eclipse. If if doesn’t happen this time I’m sure all will finish the next time the planets line up.

Someone has started a site where you can order pizza, soft drinks and doughnuts for Israeli soldiers while they’re on duty.

“As a result of the Arab terror campaign, there is now virtually no tourism to Israel. Your gifts of pizza help support many people here in Israel. The nine pizzerias we use are very grateful for the business that our project provides. As we are taught, the highest form of charity is giving people the opportunity to earn an honest living.”

1 pizza and a bottle of drink for AU$34 isn’t charity, it’s theft.
 

The Guardian has a story worth reading about McDonalds and how , for the first time, it is actually closing stores and retrenching staff.

It doesn’t surprise me really. I used to go there once every couple of weeks for a ‘meal of convenience’ on the way home from work or after a night out on the turps. Now a kebab/souvlaki, noodles or a cheap Vietnamese feed comes to mind when I want to eat on the run or not cook.

Even the majority of younger people I know (15-20 years old) don’t like the thought of eating a McDonalds meal. Maybe this is just an inner city (where I live and socialise) phenomenon, a symptom of too much variety in choice.

I know I’m getting a little older now and am watching what sort of food I put in my mouth, but seeing teenagers go for more spicy/homestyle takeaway food surprises me a bit. That’ll do for now. I just want to push the last post down the page. I swear never to post a copy of an email that’s probably been sent to half the population of planet Earth. It’s pretty pointless really and a waste of a few K of my 20MB hosting limit.

Christ almighty! I think that most people who have heard of Fred Nile would agree he is a nutbag. He has now proven it beyond all doubt. Nile stated that Muslim women shouldn’t be allowed to wear their traditional dress in public places. What’s next? Beards. Guns ‘n Roses t-shirts (worth a thought). Hipsters (hopefully). And what about nuns? They wear long flowing dresses and cover their heads. Lock ‘em up I say. Any woman who covers up her body for religious reasons is hiding something. Ahem. Yeah, right.

The scariest thing about this is that Fred Nile is a politician because lots of people voted for him (or his party).

Ten years ago Tony Collis (that’s me) was cutting edge. He knew of all the new bands, wore t-shirts with screwy slogans on them and talked about movies that nobody else had heard of. He went to nightclubs where all the people wore black. Clubs with funny names like MASS and WARD 2B, down alleyways in Brisbane City.

Now I have the same problem as this guy. Popular culture is wafting over my head like a fart on a windy day. I don’t even smell it, and that’s most likely because I’m not even bothering to take a wiff these days.

These days I’m more likely to be listening to RRR or PBS, watching foreign language films at boutique cinemas and reading crap that I find interesting on the web. Basically, indulging in individual activities. I’ve only seen 3 live bands for the whole year of 2002, which has to be some sort of record. That’s one thing that’ll have to change. I might have to get off my arse and go to see Andrew Bowie, blogger and rockstar, playing in his band WALKEN at the Empress next month.

Hopefully I will get out and see a few more bands soon. One lot I really have to see is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who are supporting The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on their Aussie tour.

I want my mojo back!

I had better go. If I cram anymore hyperlinks into this post your browser will explode.

Tim Blair.

I can handle his take on the world.

However, one thing I can’t handle is his apparent joy in promoting the lampooning of people who hold low-paid positions of employment.

Cleaners.

Tim Blair would be the first person to complain if there weren’t any cleaners to vacuum the floor next to his desk (next to Lachlan Murdoch’s office) to remove the spilt capuccino froth.

Poke fun at people who deserve it Mr. Blair. Stick to politics.