So the Governor-General doesn't think voters should choose the President...

The Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, says a directly elected president would be a "risk" to political stability

Call me old-fashioned but I don't think the man holding the position that would be replaced in a hypothetical Australian Republic is really the one to be offering an opinion on this issue. I am absolutely for an Australian appointed Head of State. I don't particularly care if the position is called 'President' or 'Governor-General'. I don't really care if the position is parliament-appointed or directly-elected. I simply want the ultimate arbiter of Australian governance to be an Australian...and not a lackey of the Queen.

However, the Governor-General does make one point that I think is particularly important for Australians to consider before we rush head-long (again) into exploring the idea of a Republic:

"I think [our system] is taken for granted because it's worked so seamlessly and so effectively. Look at the seamless transition of power from Mr Howard to Mr Rudd and the lovely way it was done: the two families having a cup of coffee at the Lodge and handing over the keys … We have had 100 years of political stability and I don't think that's happened by accident. I think it's happened because checks and balances were put in place by our founding fathers, and citizens should understand what they are."

It would be stupid of us to ignore this point. We do take our political stability for granted. Is that worth giving up?

 

Technorati Tags: Governor-General,Michael Jeffery,Australia,Republic

Juvelen - Money Don't Talk

Now this is how to write the chorus of a pop song. There isn't a proper video for the song since it's (at this point) an album track and not a single. It's by far the strongest track so I hope it gets a full single release at some point.

The album is called 1 and is pretty darn good. I can see it being one of my favourites for the year. The only problem I have is the vocal style used for a couple of tracks. He does this high pitched delivery that is really...well, fucking annoying to be honest! I don't know what it's meant to convey...some sort of overly distressed emotional torment I suspect. But all it conveys to me is the overwhelming desire to skip to the next track. It's a shame because when he sings 'normally' he gets it so right...as 'Money Don't Talk' displays.

(Does anyone know who produced this track? It sounds quite Calvin Harris-y to me...)

Technorati Tags: Juvelen,1,Money Don't Talk,Calvin Harris

The Happening ***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Well, that's it for me - I won't be seeing M. Night Shyamalan's next film in a hurry. I'd been looking forward to The Happening ever since I first read about it. I'm a fan of Shyamalan's work. I even liked The Lady in the Water for God's sake! I actually managed to avoid reading any spoilers for The Happening so everything I knew about it came form the trailers...and the trailers only made me anticipate the film even more.

But as we all know an intriguing trailer does not a good film make...and The Happening is about as far from a 'good film' as it is possible to get. It's really, really...really bad. I can't even convey just how bad it is. Nothing in the film works. The plot is stupid. OK, fine - the plants start releasing toxins to kill off people. I can live with that...it might even be plausible for all I know. But what's with the wind blowing in a seemingly controlled manner? The wind chases down victims...how? Why? It's just a dumb idea. And the old woman? Seriously, what was the point?

And the acting. My God is it atrocious. Is that really the same Mark Wahlberg who has a freakin' Oscar nomination? He's scary-bad in this film. Zooey Deschanel (who is usually a joy to watch) looks like she hasn't got a clue what movie she's in. There are a couple of scenes where you can almost see her thinking...'WTF am I doing? Where am I? Who am I?'...she's terrible. T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E.

However! None of this is really the actors' faults. Alllll the blame has to lie with Shyamalan and his script. Marlon Brando couldn't deliver these lines with any sort of conviction. There's nothing natural about the dialogue...because it all sounds like dialogue. Which, Mr Shyamalan, it shouldn't.

This is a career-destroying film. Don't see it.

 

Technorati Tags: The Happening,M Night Shyamalan,Mark Wahlberg,Zooey Deschanel

Fantastic stop-motion animated graffiti art

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

This has been all over the place for a few weeks now but I couldn't resist posting it here. Every time I've seen it it just makes me smile and giggle. It's so whimsical and enthralling...while also being more than a bit creepy. I can't even imagine the amount of work that must have gone into pulling this off but it was worth it!

 

Technorati Tags: MUTO,BLU,graffiti,stop-motion,video,animation

Another proofreading cock up...

I finally decided to bite the bullet and shell out US$150 for the limited edition of Ian Cameron Esslemont's Return of the Crimson Guard from PS Publishing. I was a bit surprised to read on the book's order page that there had been what appears to be a monumentally poor proofreading of the title. Given the price of the book - and the otherwise good reputation of PS Publishing for producing quality short run books - it's astounding to me that this could happen. PS are compensating buyers by offering a free back list title...which is very nice of them but also a bit useless.

So what is the cause of poor proofreading? My guess would be (and I'm not talking specifically about this instance but in general) that proofreaders are rushed and given limited time to do their job and/or paid poorly so the work itself is devalued. However, judging from the posts at the fan forum linked above, it seems like a lot of blame goes back to Esslemont. Perhaps I'm wrong about the process but I assume that the text file supplied by the author is the basis of the proof...the MS Word (or whatever) doc is simply copied and pasted into some sort of typesetting software program. From what I can gather on that forum the proof reading errors seem to be misspellings of character names and poor grammar rather than 'typos'. Which begs the question: how bad was Esslemont's draft? Did he not even spell-check it himself? I suppose there are lot of points in the process where it can all go wrong but the fault is surely not just that of the proofreader.

See previous post: Poor proofreading really ticks me off

Technorati Tags: Ian Cameron Esslemont,Return of the Crimson Guard,PS Publishing,proof reading

TED - Technology, Entertainment, Design

TED is one of my favourite web sites. It's the online presence for the TED Conference that's held every year. As the web site says, 'the annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives.' And boy do they. Below are two of what I think are amongst the most interesting of those talks.

In this video brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor talks about the stroke she suffered and how she managed to study the effects as they were actually happening to her. What starts out as a fairly interesting talk about the biology of as stroke soon becomes something much more as she discusses the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of her experience. She's an amazing speaker and I defy anyone not to be moved by this talk.

 

In this video Joshua Klein discusses his research with crows. He's created experiments that show just how intelligent, and misunderstood, these birds are. It doesn't sound like a very interesting topic, does it? But he manages to really engage the viewer with his passion for his subject matter. He's not as out there as Jill Bolte Taylor but he also has a way of making you look at things differently.

 

So check out the web site for lots of other talks. I've found it pays off to click on links to the people and topics I don't think I'm going to be interested in. Inevitably it's fascinating and eye-opening. If you're going to stuff about wasting time on the net you might as well learn something while you're at it!

 

Technorati Tags: TED,Jill Bolte Taylor,stroke,brain research,Joshua Klein,crows

How NOT to reissue science fiction novels with new covers...

I was just having a bit of a browse around Amazon when I came across the new UK covers for Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy.  And I couldn't believe my eyes...

Could they be any more boring? I doubt it. They barely look like science fiction novels. And they're not a patch on the old covers...

The older covers told me everything I needed to know at the time I bought them. I can still remember seeing The Reality Dysfunction for the first time in the bookstore. I literally could not get out of there fast enough and get back home to start reading it. That cover just captivated me instantly. I don't think I even read the cover blurb to find out what it was about. I loved the cover so much (that small pic doesn't really do it justice) that I later spent a small fortune buying a first edition hardcover just so I could have it.

The new cover just doesn't elicit the same sort of response in me. I wouldn't even look twice at it on bookshop shelf. I'm sure there is a very good reason for reissuing these titles with new covers but why go with such an uninformative minimalist design? Science fiction books in general - and this series in particular - need whiz bang covers. The reissue artwork should have been done by someone like Stephan Martiniere but perhaps he is becoming too expensive and/or over-used. As it is they look like they were done by an in-house team on a budget...which is a shame.

 

Technorati Tags: Peter F Hamilton,Science Fiction,Covers,The Reality Dysfunction

Poor proofreading really ticks me off

I finished reading Kethani by Eric Brown last night. Not a bad little book (really a collection of short stories with newly added linking passages). But. Some errors, presumably as the result of poor proofreading, really annoyed me. The fact that the first example appears on page 1 is, I think, very sloppy:

What was in my head as I drove from the village and climbed the narrow lane onto the brow of the moors, from it seemed the entire world could be viewed?

There's a 'where' or 'which' missing in there I feel (although...I am now wondering if this isn't some obscure example of Old English grammar that is now obsolete...)

Another example appeared on page 12:

We watched a succession of fazed politicians attempt the reassure their citizens that everything was under control...

Everything except the proofreading it would seem. I know it's only a small problem in the grand scheme of things but errors like this really drive me bonkers...particularly when reading science fiction. A novel like Kethani requires suspension of disbelief; it requires the reader to really invest in the fiction presented. When a proofing error is encountered...BAM! The reader is whipped out of the world created by the author and that process of investing has to start all over again.

Perfect grammar is clearly not one of my strengths but I'm not a professional writer with all the expertise of a publishing house behind me. Someone at Solaris should have picked up on these mistakes before the book hit the shelves.

Technorati Tags: Kethani,Eric Brown,Science Fiction,SF

SMS Scam

So, there I was on watching Smugly Betty when my phone beeped its 'message beep'. Not wanting to miss a moment of Vanessa Williams I waited for an ad break before reading the message. Imagine my surprise when I read this:

"Welcome to CrushOMeter. Enter [code number] at funbox/com/aucrush. You will be sent 2msgs/wk at 6.60aud p/msg"

Needless to say, I hadn't signed up for any such service.  Then another similar message came through. I didn't really give it much thought at the time - just assumed it was an error.

It took me a couple of days to realise that there was potential for me to be charged for the service. So I rang my telco (begins with a 'T'...ends in an 'A'). The people I spoke to were very helpful and understanding. Apparently this is a scam that many people are being hit with. Basically, if these companies can get hold of your mobile number they can sign you up and you have to opt out...and it's completely legal!  The telco reps agreed it was a scam but there was nothing they could do about it except help me to block the service.

I've really got no idea how these people got my number. The only thing I can think of is that it was off some web form I've filled out at some point. I think I'll just supply a bogus number next time...

If you receive one of these messages, you should act immediately to put a stop to them. In most cases that simply means replying with 'STOP' but you should follow up with your telco and have the service blocked.

Review: Breath by Tim Winton

This is a review I had to write for part of a university assignment. It's not really written in my style but I thought I'd put up here anyway...

 

‘How strange it was to see men do something beautiful.’ So thinks the young Bruce Pike upon his first sight of men surfing in Tim Winton’s Breath. It’s a statement that could just as readily be made of Winton’s achievement with this new novel. There is a muscularity to Winton’s language that is softened by his remarkable ability to evoke place and feeling. Breath is a short novel that manages to pack more into its pages than most novels double or triple its length.

 

In the opening sequence we encounter an older Bruce in his capacity as an ambo called out to an apparent teen suicide by hanging. But Bruce knows something is not right with the mother’s story. It is clear to him that the scene has been sanitised. The older bruises on the boy’s neck tell Bruce (bruise…Bruce) another story. Winton’s economy of language and description in this scene is remarkable. The descriptions are like watching a room lit by strobe. Brief flashes illuminate different aspects that come together as a whole. Bruce’s unspoken perception about the boy’s real means of death creates a distinct sense of unease. There is something in Bruce’s past that is awakened by this death.

And it is to the past that Winton next takes us. Bruce is now ‘Pikelet’ and the setting is a lumber town on the West Australian coast. Pikelet and his mate Ivan Loon, always called Loonie, play dangerous games in the local river. They dive deep, holding their breath until their vision blurs and sparks, tricking passersby into thinking they have drowned. The exuberance with which the boys play this game is only matched by their desire for something more daring to play at. They become parent-defying surfers. A chance encounter with the mysterious older and Christ-like surfer, Sando, sets up the rest of the narrative.

 

Make no mistake; surfing is the central activity and theme of the novel. But this is not a ‘surfing’ book. Even if you have no interest in the sport it is hard not to be captivated by Winton’s wondrous descriptions of the surf and sea:

Ocean and air seemed hyper-oxygenated; everything fizzed and  spritzed as if long after the passage of previous waves there was  energy yet to be dissipated.

It is through Sando that Winton finds his best voice for describing the heady feeling of conquering a wave: ‘Like you’ve exploded and all the pieces of you are reassembling themselves. You’re new. Shimmering. Alive.’ Winton’s great strength has always been this ability to take you into his creations by pin-pointing detail that invokes your own memories. The description of Pikelet’s school bus journey is bound to be familiar to many:

 

The smells of vinyl and diesel and toothpaste, corrugated-iron shelters out by the highway, rain-soaked farmkids, the funk of wet wool and greasy scalps, the staccato rattle of the perspex emergency window.

The journey from school bus to ambulance for Pikelet is the journey that defines Breath. As a boy he encounters the wonders of the surf - of being so scared of the power of the ocean and his own power to master it - that he could shit himself. And he encounters the wonders of love and lust and sex in the form of Sando’s wife Eva. It is the memory of Eva’s bruises that the older Pikelet recalls. The journey from boy to man is not an easy one for Pikelet.

 

Winton skilfully manages these difficult themes. There is a generosity in the writing about Pikelet’s worshipping of Sando - and his young man’s desire to usurp him - that makes the story painful but beautiful.
Breath is about men and boys being men and boys. In an age where masculinity is perceived as in crisis it is refreshing to read such flawed, dangerous and likable male characters. Winton’s men are not afraid of admitting their fears. ‘Denying fear, well, that’s…unmanly,’ Sando ministers to Pikelet at one point. Breath is about ‘daring to try’ despite the fear. It is about men surfing beautifully and about the beauty in men that is just as much a part of them as each breath.

 

Technorati Tags: books,review,Tim Winton,Breath,Tim Winton Breath

Some of my favourite tracks at the moment...

These are the tracks that are currently copping a flogging on my iPod.

Liquido - Gameboy	Temposhark - Blame
Sam Sparro - Black & Gold	The Music - Strength in Numbers

Glorifying the low

 

This Sydney Morning Herald article says, 'The hit television show Underbelly has turned the gangsters it is based on into cult stars.' I wish someone could explain this sort of phenomenon to me. I just can't understand why anyone would think it was worth their time to glorify these people. It's the whole Paris-Hilton-lowest-common-denominator celebrity factor that I don't get.

I suspect that, for a lot of people, there is some kind of irony at work here but really that doesn't excuse it in my eyes. When you worship the low you're putting them on a pedestal - and that means you are putting them above you. Which really begs the question...

Image of Phoenix hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface

"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera acquired this image of Phoenix hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface. Shown here is a 10 kilometer (6 mile) diameter crater informally called "Heimdall," and an improved full-resolution image of the parachute and lander. Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) in front of the crater. "

It just blows my mind that we are able to see this kind of pic. It makes the Phoenix mission seem so much more 'real' despite how unreal it is. This is what we as a species are capable of if we put our minds to it. But no, we have to spend obscene amounts of money fighting wars. According to sci-fi author Charles Stross we could have colonised Mars for less than the cost of the war in Iraq. Obviously the 'we' in this case is the US. $3 Trillion dollars have been spent on the war. The Phoenix mission cost about 1% of that. Which would you rather spend money on?