October 2007

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A Meditation at 11,700 metres, 719km/h

26 October 2007 in Personal by Stilgherrian | 7 comments

I’m currently sitting in seat 30A of Virgin Blue’s 737-800 airliner, registrated as VH-VOK but nicknamed “Smoochy Maroochy”, sipping a moderately acceptable cabernet merlot which arrived in a little plastic bottle.

I’d chosen this seat for two reasons. Statistically this is the safest seat in the aircraft. But more importantly, it’s the first time I’ve crossed the Nullarbor, and I wanted a clear view of the desert uninterrupted by wings.

My plans have been thwarted. But I have been given an unexpected treat.

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Portraits of photographers in the Puritan church

26 October 2007 in Photography, Religion, Sydney by Stilgherrian | 1 comment

Photograph of Trinn Suwannapha in Paddington Uniting Church

Last night ’Pong (pictured) and I went to the opening of In Your Face, an exhibition of photographs of photographers taken by other photographers showing until 4 November at Paddington Uniting Church.

This photo is not one of them, and ’Pong wasn’t one of the photographers. I just reckon this was a curious painting to hang in a church, and ’Pong liked it. So I took a photo with my pimple-cam.

Paddington Uniting Church intrigued me. Their motto is “Faith Inclusiveness Justice Creativity”, and out the front there’s a sign explaining their “progressive” mission.

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No wonder I’ve been feeling stir crazy lately. Or is it cabin fever? I just grabbed my travel bag to pack for my weekend in Perth, and saw that the previous airline tag was dated August 2006. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been out of Sydney! Eek.

26 October 2007 by Stilgherrian | No comments

Shirtless? Can’t buy a shirt, sorry

23 October 2007 in Human Nature, Marketing by Stilgherrian | 2 comments

Photograph from Improv Everywhere invasion of Abercrombie and Fitch

You’d think that Abercrombie and Fitch, who use imagery of the shirtless male throughout their marketing, would appreciate a few more shirtless men, right? Apparently not.

New York-based Improv Everywhere, who cause “scenes of chaos and joy in public places”, placed 115 shirtless men in A&F’s store on 5th Avenue.

After about 15 minutes… security employees started approaching all of our men and asking them to either put a shirt on or leave. They informed us that the model was a paid employee and his state of undress didn’t justify ours. So despite the fact that the store constantly bombards you with the image of the shirtless male, Abercrombie still maintains a “No Shirts; No Service” policy. Some agents protested that they were trying to buy a shirt, but the staff countered with the not-so-logical, “If you put on a shirt then you can buy a shirt”…

Two agents were actually stopped while in the process of checking out! They were waiting in line for 10 minutes to buy some $45 shirts, only to be grabbed at the register. One of them was in the process of handing over his credit card as he was nabbed and informed he wasn’t allowed to make a purchase!

There’s plenty of photos and videos, some of which are quite, erm, scenic if you’re so inclined.

Australia, apparently, is the only western nation which doesn’t have an R18+ classification for video games. Which means Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back is banned ‘cos it’s too violent for MA15+. Personally I don’t care one way or another about these shoot-em-ups, but some consistency would be nice. Thanks to Peter Black for the pointer.

23 October 2007 by Stilgherrian | 2 comments

NetAlert filter is crap, as expected

22 October 2007 in Internet, Politics by Stilgherrian | 1 comment

The government’s claim they can “protect the kiddies from teh Internet” with a magic filter is bound to be crap, because every review of said filters has revealed flaws. Many, many flaws. But perhaps this time things are different because, y’know, technology advances?

No.

Peter Bowditch downloaded Integard, one of the filters us taxpayers are paying for through the government’s NetAlert program, and was unimpressed.

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Hello Kitty, you’re dead, and other surprise products

19 October 2007 in Defence by Stilgherrian | 5 comments

Photograph of Hello Kitty-branded AK-47

Ah yes, what every post-modern terrorist needs: a Hello Kitty brand AK-47. A steal at just US$1072.95! Thanks for the pointer, Boing Boing.

I think it even beats the bacon chocolate bar! “Crisp, buttery, compulsively irresistible bacon and milk chocolate combination has long been a favourite of mine,” says the creator. Gluten-free, apparently, so it’s healthy, OK? Thanks again, Boing Boing.

[Update 16 January 2008: This page is still getting several hundred visitors a month. I'm curious. How did you get to this page? What brought you here? And while you're here, do feel free to look around and maybe even post a few comments.]

Exploding the “economic manager” myth

19 October 2007 in Politics by Stilgherrian | 2 comments

If “economic management” is a key factor in the election campaign, then I’m hoping someone manages to finally explode this myth that the Howard government is a good economic manager.

Yes, unemployment is low. Yes, interest rates have been low. Yes, there’s been a mining boom. But after (supposedly) 11 boom years under the Truthful Rodent, what have we got to show for it apart from huge credit card balances and a series of “emergencies”? What have we actually built for the future, as opposed to aspired to do?

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Political advertising “blackout” loophole. Or not.

19 October 2007 in Internet, Politics by Stilgherrian | No comments

There’s a “blackout” on political advertising in electronic media the last three days before an election — but not on the Internet. Is this a loophole which needs closing? Or is the blackout a pointless relic from the past?

The rules on electoral advertising include this blackout…

…to ‘provide a “cooling off period” for electors to consider their stance on the issues without the influences of electronic media advertising’. This provision had been in place for about 50 years before being deemed unnecessary in 1991 when a complete election advertising ban was imposed. However, it was re-enacted in 1992 after a High Court decision declared the complete ban invalid. The ‘blackout’ can also be seen to prevent parties making claims late in election campaigns that cannot be scrutinised before election day.

But political parties will be able to continue broadcast-style advertising over the Web.

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Is this a new kind of spam? MP3 spam! An email I received overnight had no content apart from an MP3 audio file — which was a voice-synthesized announcement of whatever it was they were selling.

19 October 2007 by Stilgherrian | No comments

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