…and then it’s just hilarious.
The Australian government descends further into farce. If this wasn’t for real it would be hilarious.
You have to check it out . It is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a fair while…and I read blogs!
But it makes me happy for another reason.
It reminds me that Howard pays far too much attention to redneck opinion gathered through Today Tonight, A Current Affair, talkback radio, etc. He, or his marketing guru, has decided that this sort of shit is representative of broad Australian opinion.
Maybe, to an extent, but in their carry on about so-called “Aussie Values” they forgot an important one – Australians don’t like to be told to suck eggs, and, unlike Americans, they don’t like to look like idiots.
And this test makes us look like idiots to the rest of the world. This is the sort of story that makes it to those weird and wonderful pages on the news sites, like the dog who can drive and the man who sues because he chopped his penis off with a chainsaw.
In particular question 15 pisses me off. Maybe it’s true, but it’s pretty backward looking, and it really is a trick question. Everyone I know answered “secularism” and the ones that got the right answer only did so because they realised the mindset behind the test.
I’m happy.
To the tune of the Everly Brother’s classic,
Bye Bye John
Bye bye viciousness
Hello hopefulness
Don’t fuck it up, Rudd, or I’ll cry-y
I want to see the back of that guy-y.
Friday 18 May 2007
Thursday 17 May 2007
Ba Baaaaaaaaa....
...this is the sound of Centrelink.
And I'm bored, so I've been surfing the news sites. Here's a couple I liked.
Indian Whisky – caught my eye, but it wasn’t what I thought. Turns out the “Indian Richard Branson” has just bought the company that makes, among many other things, Glayva liquer. Expect a rise in drunken telemarketers.
After hours chute for babies – A kid that was able to tell the nurses that his dad dropped him off was left in the after hours drop off chute at a Japanese hospital His dad will still get stung with the late fee as it was after 6.
Fully furnished – Someone buys a flat in Spain and finds a dead woman on the couch. Turns out the woman’s brother’s ex-girlfriend’s cousin’s friend had a one night stand with the wife of a guy whose brother once cleaned a toilet at an American naval base. NCIS has been called.
Why Europeans weren’t completely wiped out by the Black Death – turns out they all had herpes. Or something.
Seems it’s good for you. I still don’t want it.
That is all.
Chao.
And I'm bored, so I've been surfing the news sites. Here's a couple I liked.
Indian Whisky – caught my eye, but it wasn’t what I thought. Turns out the “Indian Richard Branson” has just bought the company that makes, among many other things, Glayva liquer. Expect a rise in drunken telemarketers.
After hours chute for babies – A kid that was able to tell the nurses that his dad dropped him off was left in the after hours drop off chute at a Japanese hospital His dad will still get stung with the late fee as it was after 6.
Fully furnished – Someone buys a flat in Spain and finds a dead woman on the couch. Turns out the woman’s brother’s ex-girlfriend’s cousin’s friend had a one night stand with the wife of a guy whose brother once cleaned a toilet at an American naval base. NCIS has been called.
Why Europeans weren’t completely wiped out by the Black Death – turns out they all had herpes. Or something.
Seems it’s good for you. I still don’t want it.
That is all.
Chao.
Wednesday 16 May 2007
If this isn’t making sense…
…it doesn’t make it lies.
For years I have just accepted the general Western line that the Dalai Lama and Tibet were pretty hard done by. To be honest, I had never given it much thought.
Recently, though, I read an article about the improvements in Tibetan health and socio-economic status since Chinese rule. Although it read as propaganda it got me thinking…but only a bit.
My first thought when I read the ‘Rudd snubs Dalai Lama’ headline this morning, was “that was a mistake”. After all, the DL is above reproach. Interest piqued, I had to look up Wiki, upon which I found ….criticism of the DL.
I may have been asleep, but this was all new to me.
The criticism wasn’t very detailed, so away I went with a small grain of salt…only to go to Blogocracy and discover a similar discussion.
A few googles later and I’ve discovered it’s not as rosy as I thought.
I’ve never actually thought Buddhism was all that, anyway, given my natural opposition to organised religion. As a kid, I remember reading about Oda Nobunaga’s massacre of the Buddhist monks on Mount Hiei in Japan after they did some uncool things – I figured it couldn’t be all made up.
Anyway, I’m not going to go into too much detail – go here and here for the opposing viewpoints.
I personally don’t have the information to know what is the truth, but I guess it lies somewhere in the middle.
I think that the Chinese have probably done some pretty nasty things during their time there, and perhaps continue to do so. Their record on human rights generally doesn’t exactly instil confidence.
However, the picture of Old Tibet as a less than idyllic country with a great deal of social and economic inequality certainly has the ring of truth about it.
Neither side is correct, I’ll warrant. The Russians may not have had that great a time under communism, and the current picture isn’t great either, but you can just bet they don’t want to go back to the oppressive aristocratic regime of the czars.
It all just reinforces the fact that everything needs to be questioned, even if it seems right.
For years I have just accepted the general Western line that the Dalai Lama and Tibet were pretty hard done by. To be honest, I had never given it much thought.
Recently, though, I read an article about the improvements in Tibetan health and socio-economic status since Chinese rule. Although it read as propaganda it got me thinking…but only a bit.
My first thought when I read the ‘Rudd snubs Dalai Lama’ headline this morning, was “that was a mistake”. After all, the DL is above reproach. Interest piqued, I had to look up Wiki, upon which I found ….criticism of the DL.
I may have been asleep, but this was all new to me.
The criticism wasn’t very detailed, so away I went with a small grain of salt…only to go to Blogocracy and discover a similar discussion.
A few googles later and I’ve discovered it’s not as rosy as I thought.
I’ve never actually thought Buddhism was all that, anyway, given my natural opposition to organised religion. As a kid, I remember reading about Oda Nobunaga’s massacre of the Buddhist monks on Mount Hiei in Japan after they did some uncool things – I figured it couldn’t be all made up.
Anyway, I’m not going to go into too much detail – go here and here for the opposing viewpoints.
I personally don’t have the information to know what is the truth, but I guess it lies somewhere in the middle.
I think that the Chinese have probably done some pretty nasty things during their time there, and perhaps continue to do so. Their record on human rights generally doesn’t exactly instil confidence.
However, the picture of Old Tibet as a less than idyllic country with a great deal of social and economic inequality certainly has the ring of truth about it.
Neither side is correct, I’ll warrant. The Russians may not have had that great a time under communism, and the current picture isn’t great either, but you can just bet they don’t want to go back to the oppressive aristocratic regime of the czars.
It all just reinforces the fact that everything needs to be questioned, even if it seems right.
Tuesday 15 May 2007
It'll soon shake your windows....
...and rattle your walls.
You know the rest.
And they are.
I'm just now watching Little Johnny get roasted by Kerry The Man...again.
He's running scared and I am going to make a bold prediction.
I hope I'm not wrong...but, fuck it.
In five years time everyone will look back on the Howard years and wonder where it all went wrong. Why did they lose the October 2007 election when the economy was going so well? Why weren't people scared anymore?
The generally accepted answer will be Workchoices.
The Libs let finally let their masters and servants ideology overtake their common sense. they were so determined to break the unions they lost sight of the main point - Unions are made up of workers, and workers vote.
All the rest was window dressing. It was not quite the socialist awakening of 2007, but it got the bastards out.
That's my call.
You know the rest.
And they are.
I'm just now watching Little Johnny get roasted by Kerry The Man...again.
He's running scared and I am going to make a bold prediction.
I hope I'm not wrong...but, fuck it.
In five years time everyone will look back on the Howard years and wonder where it all went wrong. Why did they lose the October 2007 election when the economy was going so well? Why weren't people scared anymore?
The generally accepted answer will be Workchoices.
The Libs let finally let their masters and servants ideology overtake their common sense. they were so determined to break the unions they lost sight of the main point - Unions are made up of workers, and workers vote.
All the rest was window dressing. It was not quite the socialist awakening of 2007, but it got the bastards out.
That's my call.
With four hundred children...
...and a crop in the fields.
At least, that's what I always thought it said.
Anyway, I've been a bit busy lately with an assignment on Aboriginal Economic Development, in particular the new land tenure arrangements. So if you want to know about it... go ask mangoman, coz I made most of it up.
And by busy, well, you know. It's not so much that I was actually engaged in the process, more that I couldn't justify writing something which wasn't uni related.
Mostly, I wrote nothing at all, but at least it wasn't off the track.
I have noticed that I have not yet posted a things that shit me list, and in the blog world, that seems to be a prerequisite. I believe that’s because negative people have more time to write and broadcast it to the world.
There are a few things that pop into my head instantly, but on further consideration just make me look like a wanker.
Like old people walking slow used to get to me, but I realise now that that’s my problem.
So I’ll just quickly list a couple of things about blogs that shit me.
Top of the list is people that remove the next blog button from their template. If I was a hacker, I’d paste nude photos of Bush and Thatcher on their page it annoys me so much.
People that get precious and wank on in their posts shit me. Now, I know that's what blogging is about, and I am guilty myself - and that's why I just stop reading them.
People that post lists of things merely because they’ve not blogged for a while and need to post something and can’t think of anything shit me too.
And that's about it. Can't think of anything else, really.
Most of what shits me about blogs is merely a result of my thinking the topics are stupid, or boring, and that again is likely my problem.
Politics wise, it's been a good week.
The budget came out, some people thought it would give the Libs a boost in the polls, I was only a little worried.
And, as it turns out in the latest Newspoll, it hasn't. Not in the slightest. (Incidentally, for a poll carried out by the Australian, it lasted about 10 seconds on their website - The Oz, biased? Noooo...)
But it's okay, say the Libs, wait until the actual Budget bribes hit the punters' bank accounts.
Which should be about the same time the record credit card bills and mortgage payments come out again.
I try not to get too hopeful, but it is hard not to.
On another note, I sometimes think Mother's Day is an exercise in commercialisation, but isn't this going a bit far? I think the kid read Musashi one too many times.
Salud!
At least, that's what I always thought it said.
Anyway, I've been a bit busy lately with an assignment on Aboriginal Economic Development, in particular the new land tenure arrangements. So if you want to know about it... go ask mangoman, coz I made most of it up.
And by busy, well, you know. It's not so much that I was actually engaged in the process, more that I couldn't justify writing something which wasn't uni related.
Mostly, I wrote nothing at all, but at least it wasn't off the track.
I have noticed that I have not yet posted a things that shit me list, and in the blog world, that seems to be a prerequisite. I believe that’s because negative people have more time to write and broadcast it to the world.
There are a few things that pop into my head instantly, but on further consideration just make me look like a wanker.
Like old people walking slow used to get to me, but I realise now that that’s my problem.
So I’ll just quickly list a couple of things about blogs that shit me.
Top of the list is people that remove the next blog button from their template. If I was a hacker, I’d paste nude photos of Bush and Thatcher on their page it annoys me so much.
People that get precious and wank on in their posts shit me. Now, I know that's what blogging is about, and I am guilty myself - and that's why I just stop reading them.
People that post lists of things merely because they’ve not blogged for a while and need to post something and can’t think of anything shit me too.
And that's about it. Can't think of anything else, really.
Most of what shits me about blogs is merely a result of my thinking the topics are stupid, or boring, and that again is likely my problem.
Politics wise, it's been a good week.
The budget came out, some people thought it would give the Libs a boost in the polls, I was only a little worried.
And, as it turns out in the latest Newspoll, it hasn't. Not in the slightest. (Incidentally, for a poll carried out by the Australian, it lasted about 10 seconds on their website - The Oz, biased? Noooo...)
But it's okay, say the Libs, wait until the actual Budget bribes hit the punters' bank accounts.
Which should be about the same time the record credit card bills and mortgage payments come out again.
I try not to get too hopeful, but it is hard not to.
On another note, I sometimes think Mother's Day is an exercise in commercialisation, but isn't this going a bit far? I think the kid read Musashi one too many times.
Salud!
Thursday 3 May 2007
Blues fallin' down...
...like hail.
I've noticed that I said I'd put some photo's of the blues fest up. Better late than never, I suppose.
First, a leaf. This was just near the food tents. I think that night we had some sort of excellent taco.
The ferris wheel at dusk.
The ferris wheel not at dusk.
Lots of punters at the Mojo stage before Paul Kelly.
I tried to get the full length rainbow that fell over the festival one evening, did the best I could with the photo stitching. Don't know if you can get it, but it looked pretty cool.
Eso es todo.
Adios.
Oh, mangoman has a blog now.
It's better than this.
I've noticed that I said I'd put some photo's of the blues fest up. Better late than never, I suppose.
First, a leaf. This was just near the food tents. I think that night we had some sort of excellent taco.
The ferris wheel at dusk.
The ferris wheel not at dusk.
Lots of punters at the Mojo stage before Paul Kelly.
I tried to get the full length rainbow that fell over the festival one evening, did the best I could with the photo stitching. Don't know if you can get it, but it looked pretty cool.
Eso es todo.
Adios.
Oh, mangoman has a blog now.
It's better than this.
Highway to the...
..Danger Zone.
Hola.
Sorry, loyal readers, I have been a bit quiet lately.
Excuses?
Well, lack of motivation, existence of an actual life, other things to do, etc.
So I thought I’d check in, only because I thought you should know about Fitch’s Paradox of Knowability.
Why? Well, firstly, it really is very interesting. But mainly it is a cautionary tale about the use of Wikipedia’s random article button.
I was surfing Wiki today when I came across the article about this. Basically, the paradox challenges the theory of knowability which proposes that all truths are knowable, or something.
Fitch’s Paradox sort of states that “if there is an unknown truth then that it is an unknown truth is itself unknowable.”
The example Wiki gives is the question “before Mt Everest was discovered what was the highest mountain in the world?” The answer is of course Mt Everest. Which then means common sense says we could have said, before Mt Everest was discovered, that an undiscovered mountain which will be called Mt Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
The paradox points out that accepting the statement as true means the statement cannot be true, as the word ‘undiscovered’ is paradoxical.
Or something.
I am fairly sure that in my attempt to simplify and understand this I have destroyed it, like a banana.
My point is after trying to understand it, my brain started to hurt, quite a bit.
Have a care when you press the random button.
Hola.
Sorry, loyal readers, I have been a bit quiet lately.
Excuses?
Well, lack of motivation, existence of an actual life, other things to do, etc.
So I thought I’d check in, only because I thought you should know about Fitch’s Paradox of Knowability.
Why? Well, firstly, it really is very interesting. But mainly it is a cautionary tale about the use of Wikipedia’s random article button.
I was surfing Wiki today when I came across the article about this. Basically, the paradox challenges the theory of knowability which proposes that all truths are knowable, or something.
Fitch’s Paradox sort of states that “if there is an unknown truth then that it is an unknown truth is itself unknowable.”
The example Wiki gives is the question “before Mt Everest was discovered what was the highest mountain in the world?” The answer is of course Mt Everest. Which then means common sense says we could have said, before Mt Everest was discovered, that an undiscovered mountain which will be called Mt Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
The paradox points out that accepting the statement as true means the statement cannot be true, as the word ‘undiscovered’ is paradoxical.
Or something.
I am fairly sure that in my attempt to simplify and understand this I have destroyed it, like a banana.
My point is after trying to understand it, my brain started to hurt, quite a bit.
Have a care when you press the random button.
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