Month: February 2007

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Why The Greens won’t win Marrickville

By all rights, The Greens’ candidate for Marrickville in the forthcoming NSW state election should be a shoe-in. This is The Greens heartland, and Fiona Byrne is a local councillor and presumably knows her patch. Labor incumbent Carmel Tebbutt, the Princess of Marrickville (so-called because her husband Anthony Albanese, the Prince of Marrickville, is the Federal ALP member for the equivalent district, Grayndler) has to dissuade us from thoughts that the NSW ALP government is rotten to the core. And environmental issues are at the top of the agenda.

But it won’t happen. And here’s why…

Earlier tonight, my post-gym dinner-and-drinks led me to the Carlisle Castle Hotel. It was a quiet night, and my gym partner and I were almost alone in the front bar until Fiona Byrne and her entourage turned up after a candidates’ forum at the Newtown Community Centre.

Continue reading “Why The Greens won’t win Marrickville”

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Astronaut charged with attempted kidnapping

Police photo of astronaut Lisa Nowak

This astronaut didn’t have The Right Stuff, it seems. Or maybe she had too much of it. The photo at right is US Navy Captain Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew a shuttle mission to the International Space Station last July.

But on Monday she was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts, after she allegedly drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot.

The ABC story apparently finds it important to mention that “Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers so she wouldn’t have to stop to urinate, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.”

Thanks to Richard for spotting this one!

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Can’t talk? Don’t answer!

Of all the annoying things which happened yesterday, the most annoying was a disrupted telephone conversation. We’d just started an important (but not urgent) discussion when I was told, “Hang on, I can’t talk now.”

Well, if you can’t talk, why answer the phone?

With the topic left hanging, I’m sure we both felt uncomfortable for the rest of the day. But if the ringing phone had been ignored, we could have discussed it later — when we both had the time to treat it with clarity.

Why do people give a ringing telephone such priority — even more priority that what they’ve already committed to at that moment?

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“Business Ethics”: starting a journey

Somewhere in the last fortnight, I decided that my business Prussia.Net should operate ethically. Not that it’s unethical now, but rather that I should consciously work to improve its status as a “good citizen”.

But what does that actually mean in practice?

After all, Westpac makes a big deal of being the world’s most responsible bank, but that’s like saying you’re the world’s most polite gang rapist. “Responsible” or not, they’re still about being a parasite on everyone else’s business transactions.

So far, I’ve figured three things…

  • I should be happy that I’ve given my office manager the flexibility she needs to be a good mother and community participant. And I am.
  • I should see what I can learn from the St James Ethics Centre.
  • I should be happy that I refused to do work for Hillsong Church today — though a soft drink company’s fine, hey, they just sell addictive alkaloid drugs to children.

But I also figure it’s a lot more than just saying stuff, it’s actually about making a real difference. Wish me luck.

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“Discount anal videos”

That was the content of the very first email I received in 2007. Sure, it was spam, so the subject matter was kinda predictable. But there are some sentences that should never contain the word “discount”, and that’s one of them.

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Carriageworks: an industrial cathedral for contemporary arts

Better late than never: over the next week I’ll post material collected earlier this year — starting off with a visit to Sydney’s newest contemporary performance space, Carriageworks on 21 January.

Our link to the Eveleigh Railway Workshops is weird. ’Pong was arrested for taking photos there, though eventually the charges were dropped. But now toxic waste has been removed (so they say), and space which was once full of sweaty tradesmen rebuilding rollingstock is now full of arty types enjoying the acting and sipping wine.

I must admit, I was worried it was just a facade job…

Photo of Carriageworks facade

… but once inside you see what Director Sue Hunt describes as “an industrial cathedral”.

Photo of Carriageworks interior

As the sun shifts through the afternoon, swathes of light streaming through the skylights turn the interior into a giant sundial. These cameraphone snapshots don’t do it justice. I may post more soon, but for now see more at the Carriageworks website.