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March 12th, 2009
10:00 pm - Moment of randomness
One of the police* outside has the theme from Get Smart as their ringtone.
Yes, I watched all of The Wire last year. And it was the best show I've seen this decade. So what?
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July 11th, 2008
11:48 am
This wonderfully snarky NY Times article (admittedly by someone whose opinions I haven't read before) is possibly the most intelligent commentary I've yet seen on Obama's supposed recent shift to the Right in recent weeks. The column could also serve as a useful guide to why Rudd (or any other leadership figure) don't appear to be the Whitlamesque/Kwisatz Haderach figure that half the luvvies seem to think they were advertised to be before an election, or alternatively a quick primer on the politics of pragmatism in general.
In personal news, I've been attending weddings (3 over the course of 2 months) and have been suffering from a chronic cough which has been restricting efforts at a social life significantly. And I have 2 characters on Suramar, but that's probably not good news.
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June 24th, 2008
09:40 pm - iTunes TV
Having now seen the stock on offer, it doesn't surprise me that my flist has barely noticed that iTunes now offers paid episode downloads. Nothing much of interest other than last year's seasons of Greys, Lost, South Park and Scrubs...with the occasional Australian Broadcasting Corporation oddity and slick-but-not-Underbelly Channel Nine production...
Where the frak are the legal downloads of Battlestar Galactica?
Why does it cost $2.99 AU to download one episode of Lost from the local store (with a crappier range) when the same product costs $1.99 US from the US store? Where the fuck is the ACCC?
I People have been waiting years for a legal option for watching stuff on their PC/Macs, and this is what they give us?
In other news, composing a Best Man speech for a wedding is a stress-free activity.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/angry.gif) annoyed
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June 20th, 2008
09:40 pm - Presidential Secret Service Callsigns
After a short lived "OMG, Adama's callsign is Hustler...no wait, Husker" discussion I got curious.
And then I found... What the article doesn't say is that McCain has settled on 'Phoenix'.
A choice which makes him and Hillary the Irina Derevko daughters from season 4 of Alias. Which hurts my brain almost as much as the idea that The Vampire Lestat and Evil Dead have musical adaptations, yet The Princess Bride doesn't.
I want to hear the chorus line of 'Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya' performed on stage.
Maybe with lightsabers.
Is it so much to ask?
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March 16th, 2008
11:37 pm - Busybusybusytired
I've been doing alot of driving around these last couple of days, and have managed to neglect my laundry...so as a result I'm currently in the middle of prowling around my laundry at midnight attempting to consrtuct an outfit for tomorrow's (mercifully short) day at work.
After a relatively disappointing showing as a guide to Perth for a nice Irish lady last Thursday night (I fail at getting out of apartment but succeed at showing movies ...Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary = sex) I decided to put in an effort over this weekend gone, leading to a visit to Whiteman Park and Adventure World (as well as a couple of hours nightclubbing and bar hopping). So I'm pretty well exhausted today, with an interest in following up in a big way tomorrow.
Studying for panels is fun :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/happy.gif) happy
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February 27th, 2008
05:28 am - Stress and anti-stress
So I've been ill these past couple of days, which involved 22 hours of sleep on Monday and my Night Elf Druid moving from level 12 to 16 yesterday afternoon. I've been enjoying WoW, but I really prefer EVE - the graphics are prettier, the gameplay less forgiving of player stupidity, the grind is easier and the forced player cooperation far more intriguing. That said, as far as escapism is concerned WoW has the benefit of playable mid-term PvE (I found it hard to get access to the interesting PvE missions in EVE without getting targeted by pirates).
Funnily enough, the first time I look at the Swancon draft programme was a few moments after waking up from a rare Wolf Creek-inspired nightmare (which I choose to interpret as my subconcious telling me I'm in danger of becoming dehydrated). I've been avoiding involvement this year due in part to slight work/life balance issues getting in the way of enjoying the con for the last two years - but mostly due to confidence in this year's committee. It's lookin' good ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) strangedave. The only area I'd try to strengthen would be the horror, yet I can't for the life of me think of any horror panel ideas...the genre remains to my mind the most difficult to program.
Unfortunately this was the first thing I heard when I woke up...and is not recommended for the faint-hearted.
Despite Wayne Swan's calls for wage restraint in the face of inflation, the CPSU GA4 campaign for higher public sector wages is a just and justified one. A Disabilities Services Commission at 80% strength at a time when the labour market needs services designed to get everyone into the workforce makes little economic sense, nor does a massive backlog of mining-related paperwork during a time of boom - both related to an inability to recruit. It could be argued that the productivity improvements that the government has been arguing should be linked to wages growth have already happened without the wages growth and are projected to continue as a result of rapid population growth and Public Service corporate process modernisation, and that the WA labour market (and economy) is a separate beast from the stagnant ones of the Eastern States...but to continue this rant I'd be showing a lack of commitment to Sparkle Motion work-life balance.
Getting more sleep now.
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November 21st, 2007
08:26 pm - Another update (yay for open bars subsidised by the taxpayer!)
After important bilateral talks in conference with grahame it has been determined that (as we are confirmed/current bachelors) greater fun will be had by all through the abandonment of the pursuit of an election party at my place in favour of the various parties being thrown by (well cashed-up) interest groups. In other words: as hard-workin' booth bunnies we'll be too tired from the fight against the few and the wankers to actually be able to spend time preparing to host...and will instead spend our time in the company of the brave and the amusing.
For those who can perceive the Golden Path who may be in a profit-taking mood I point to a place of potential interest.
So I recently had a performance development interview of some import - my manager currently serving in a position which could have direct influence over the pay packets of at least 80% of my fellow professionals within the public service...
The general message from above was that the federal Government (having prohibited certain pay equity cases from being pursued by federal IR legislation) would need to change in order for effective pay equity to be pursued across the profession. But that Stateside, one of my clients is currently investigating a means of abolishing the (incredibly gender-exploitative, old-fashioned) classification system which currently sees Librarian, Library Service Officer, Record Officer and Archivist wages suppressed below those of comparable professions.
In other developments: I'm more likely to do interesting work in the near future.
Yay performance development programs.
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November 5th, 2007
10:49 pm - V for Vaccination
Since my first year at uni (back in the days before Prince tunes about partying heavily became dated overnight) the fifth of November has been of some interest to me. Thanks to a historical education rich in the study of sectarian conflict in Europe I've now acquired the rather pompous habit of watching which people recite the traditional rhyme of Guy Fawkes and noting:
1. whether or not they remember to include the second verse;
and recently,
2. whether they assume they are only quoting the blurb for a certain recent high-quality Warner Brothers production.
I only bring this up because there might be something tasteless about repeating rhymes that were established as means of fanning a violent form of religious intolerance which aided in the systematic suppression of the rights of a section of the population within the United Kingdom*. And I like to hope I keep the kind of company that'd tell me if I was mindlessly repeating/quoting statements that say, have a bloody and recent history in the advocacy of lynching of [insert political/ethnic/social/sexual minority here] - especially conflicts that haven't yet been completely resolved in certain areas of the world.
And now that I've got the "have Arts degree, will wank" part of the post out of the way...
( New season preview for 24 )
( Pining for old-school RPGs )
I saw The Brave One and Resident Evil 3: Extinction recently (the closing of Hoyts in the city has hit my watching capacity pretty hard in recent weeks. The Brave One was your typical Neil Jordan movie with Jody Foster running around inside it - watchable, dark, if slightly reprehensible entertainment.
Naturally I have no such qualms talking about RE3:E...but I need to sleep so I think I'll have to get back to it some other time.
*There's probably a very radio-unfriendly punk rock/metal song that could be stitched together out of a selection of similar rhymes/anthems...and that very-much sounds like the beginnings of an album by Adjective Noun in a parallel universe...and I Think I Need To Get Some Sleep.
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October 21st, 2007
12:27 pm - Halloween, Berg's The Kingdom, and togas
I'd almost forgotten how USA-centric the internet medium can be, until I realised that I'm being intensively bombarded with Halloween-specific information in celebration of that holiday. At least it means I get to occasionally stumble-upon some interesting pieces on my favourite genre - like the recent ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) scans_daily Parasyte scan and the 31 Days of Zombie series of revenant-movie reviews. I suspect I'm going to need to add a horror costume to my wardrobe for semi-permanent rotation before the week is out...or acquire a level of interest in sewing that'd confuse most onlookers. I've still yet to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse, I'm considering a jaunt into Fremantle sometime this week to see it. That, and The Brave One are my viewing priorities until 30 Days of Night comes out next month.
I saw The Kingdom last weekend, as a film produced by the Miami Vice team I expected it to be stylish-but-vacant popcorn fair but seemed to end up with something of a mashup between Babel and Heat. The best part of the movie was the title sequence, it is available here.
mexicanjewlizrd's Symposium was fun. I met some interesting new people and got to wear a bit of cloth.
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October 17th, 2007
08:42 pm - (This inebriated update was fuelled by your tax dollars)
So I was being driven home from my Father's house(s) when my hayfever-swollen eyes began to feel heavy.
So I made the mistake of shutting them for ten seconds...wow, that stung like mouthwash.
So overjoyed by the existence of Telfast.
I'm wondering where this was throughout my bachelor of artshood...the answer: probably as far away from me as possible...and I think I was also taken at the time...
So now I'm a part of the great permanent public service workforce, undismissable save by summary dismissal (a process somewhat complicated by its rarity and the power of the Civil Service Union...or so I choose to believe).
Things are going well. Finally got curtains and a BBQ in the apartment. One of these featured enabled easy cooking/entertainment, one of these features prevent random members of the public from being able to see my gonads from the street...which parents supplied them which products probably be information to be lost in the sands of time.
Somehow I seem to have stumbled into a position on my building's strata council. I'd say the current and previous occupants were mad but - STRATA! Hopefully I'll maintain average level property appreciation until the time comes for the billionaire who owns the business next door down to buy us all out...
Still single, but happy...and addicted to ellipses...BUT HOW ELSE AM I MEANT TO TRAIL OFF IN TEXT?
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October 9th, 2007
09:33 pm - Hahahahaha!
My balcony is now FULLY OPERATIONAL!
The BBQ works :D
Current Mood: happy
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September 27th, 2007
10:47 pm - V. quick update
I've been busy attempting to create a new Routine for these days of relative calm. This has translated into lots of gym, watching of The Wire (a series which deserves the "Buffy" awarded to it by Salon.com above any other...BSG included), stressing at and about work, reading public domain fiction and generally treading water.
The wedding last weekend was good. The bride and groom make a gorgeous couple.
This "Choose Your Own Adventure" photoshop contest had me rolling in the aisles for a goodly part of the day. Then my DG sent out the general reminder of the annual performance reviews and the parameters...and I lost it again.
I'm getting older soon. Might have another gathering (possibly quieter/less kinetic than the last one, or not).
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August 31st, 2007
07:15 am
A mean, green Jack Bauer...I'd still watch it. *facepalms*
I haven't seen the Daily Show interview yet, but I'm inclining towards Barak Obama as my preferred Democratic candidate. Hillary doesn't seem to be working out (yay historical baggage!) and Edwards is unelectable thanks to Drudge's character assassination.
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August 30th, 2007
08:06 pm - LiveJournal auto-post
Saturday: was wonderful, got mobile (new), then eventually went to Dave's pool party (where I swam in a pool, got car bogged, avoided being vomited on by 5 drunken people by leaving early due to inherent piking nature).
Sunday: family dinner with my father's side of the CIA (they pay better than Unisfa) then met up with the sight of me all the time.
Busy, party-filled weekend ahead. Looking forward to it all.
OK, that was eerie.
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August 18th, 2007
July 18th, 2007
05:58 pm - Random recruitment, movement, Facebook
Anyone here need work?
Someone I know is looking for a legal secretary for their law firm, effective now.
The job's $50k per year and is located in West Perth.
No experience as a secretary necessary, training available on the job.
I'm moving house tomorrow.
*fanfare*
I'll be a little short of internet access, as the phone won't be installed for a little while yet. But it should be partially operational as a place of living by Saturday (despite a lack of dining table, kettle, BBQ).
I'm on Facebook *dies a little inside* - it hasn't been blocked at work so people needing to contact me can use that (write on the wall).
Of course, I won't be at work for the next couple of days...here's hoping for some lovely chumps with unsecured wireless near my unit.
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July 14th, 2007
08:02 pm - In the current vernacular.
Hai. I has a home.
It is being assembled at the moment, but it is looking to be awesome in its aspect.
[Current ETA for occupation: Saturday the 21st].
There shall be shows, many parties indeed FTW, once I has it together.
I also has a younger brother of notable handsomeness who has the unhygenic habit of ageing at regular intervals. The direct effect of my younger brother ageing to some arbitrary level that makes him able to drink in most counties in the USA has left me rather tipsy as a side effect.
Anyways, I be in mpfl's home, drinking his wine and worshiping the presence of the hosts and Susie for assisting in the purchase and assembly of a great quantity of my shelving.
I will now return to using The Queen's English. Apologies for this break in verbal consistency.
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July 7th, 2007
01:33 am - Update (blatant linkfarming)
I was watching this clip and wondering what's more disturbing: the lack of protective gear or proper bike lights or the furries in the background. (Watch it fullscreen). Burn Notice is hilarious and will probably be cancelled just in time for convention season to be over and people to be utterly fanatical about its 5 episode run.
EVE Online has an economist? I give them a couple of months before they bring out EVE-branded pocket protectors. *adores CCP*
It's been a mad week. Back from Terracon (which was fun) on the Sunday night, managed to work at about 80% efficiency for the rest of the week thanks to stupid one-off training events and summary weirdness to do with mortgages. I've seen Transformers twice at the cinema now, I'm planning on my next Big Dumb Action movie to be either *Black Book or possibly Live Free or Die Hard. Though I should probably go see Tales of Earthsea first.
[*Plot summary: Not a comedy about drunken Irish booksellers resisting the Nazi occupation of mainland Europe, directed by someone behind several noted classics of cinema ].
Currently wishing I had a ute or similar to transport multiple two metre-long IKEA parts in so I could be able to purchase and assemble the required shelving for the new place on the same day. But delivery is said to be relatively cheap, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle *crosses fingers*.
So much for ambitions to get to fitness class tomorrow morning. Damn midnight typing sessions.
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June 26th, 2007
11:51 pm - The red-ropes of the agora
First up (because people keep saying they missed it): here is a link to the homepage for the Western Australian Parliament-appointed consultation committee for Human Rights. There's a nifty little feedback form that contains a few little questions that the committee is considering (such as "What rights should be protected in a WA Human Rights Act?", and your comments are requested.
Naturally I expect people to spend more time this week reading about their fandoms or catching up with the latest news on Paris Hilton or wringing their hands over their inability to do anything about Howard's latest political stunt* than they could possibly devote to this kind of active citizenship...but then I've been called a cynical bastard in the past.
*Gee, you'd think there'd be some kinda way we can shore up human rights in the future to stop people being targeted on the basis of their race, sexuality, age, physical ability, geographical location or wealth level...
( The Guardian's 1000 films to to see before you die ) ( Jekyll and John from Cincinnati )
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May 12th, 2007
12:46 am - 28 Weeks Later [Spoiler free]
I'm on the record as not being a rabid fan of the collaborative work of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, in particular their technically-proficient-yet-derivative 28 Days Later which was essentially a scene-by-scene plundering of Romero's Dawn and Day of the Dead by a gifted director and writer with almost no originality or particularly innovative technique. Although I do appreciate Days as the first truly post-11/9/2001 horror movie, where the core of the story is that while some horrors can have an extremely devestating effect not everyone is likely to die, and that in such situations the truly unlucky may be those who actually survive [see also: the alleged "torture porn" subgenre of horror].
The basic plot: set during and after the eponymous time period following the devestation of chronicled in the first movie, England has been declared free of the infection and so a USA-led NATO force has begun the task of repopulating the island state with a community of UK refugees. Meanwhile, the first children to be resettled meet their sole surviving parent whose harrowing experiences on the mainland during the outbreak are shown in the first 10 minutes of the film (which is worth the price of admission - and must be experienced on a decent screen).
Idris Elba (of the UK TV Ultraviolet does a good job as a Brit playing what could once again have been a two-dimensional USA army hard-case (the similarities between the portrayal of the stock amoral USA military character in this and Sunshine speaks well to the influence of Boyle and Garland as executive producers). Rose Byrne, as the youngest chief military medical officer in the history of the US Army, channels Sigorney Weaver and Milla Jovovich in turn - at the rate her career is going she'll be an Kidman-class Oscar headliner inside of 5 years. Robert Caryle shows up, the rest of the scenery and characters fade away - as usual (unfortunately this has the effect of virtually drowning out Catherine McCormack's performance).
The effective frame-skipping technique that artificially sped up the movements of the infected has been retained, and the power chord tune from the original movie's wonderful "whoa, London's completely empty and I suspect there was some sort of disaster" scene is imitated throughout much of the action scenes. There's a near-perfect scene involving nightvision (to say more would be to spoil it), and a level of gore that by far surpasses that of Days and the recent Dawn remake.
Comparisons between the conduct of military characters in this movie and that of the US Army during the Vietnam and current conflict in Iraq are inevitable (and is my preferred reading of the text), as is the commentary regarding the timing of the release of the film just as Tony Blair and his USA-pandering illness are about to be expunged from the UK political landscape.
The film isn't quite perfect, though most of the plot and world-building choices are reasonably self-consistent (the USA wouldn't be about to let any other country get their hands on a sample of the Rage virus so such an involved role in reconstruction would be relatively feasible) and the ending seems like a quiet grab for a pension-funding franchise on the part of the Executive Directors, but I'm personally comfortable with the prospect of the UK film industry having a zombie horror movie franchise to rival Hollywood efforts. It's one of the five best zombie movies ever made (anyone wanting to dispute whether or not it can be considered a zombie-horror movie can contest it in the comments - don't bother if you haven't seen Return of the Living Dead).
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