Author: Stilgherrian

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Post 801: Kill the Hallucinating Goldfish

This is blog post number 801. It’s time for something special. Time for an extended essay encapsulating several trains of thought which I’ve been following for some time.

We are the 801,
We are the central shaft
And thus throughout two years
We’ve crossed the ocean in our little craft (Row! Row! Row!)
Now we’re on the telephone,
Making final arrangements (Ding! Ding!)
We are the 801, we are the central shaft

Cover from Brian Eno album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

So sang Brian Eno in the song The True Wheel from his 1974 album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).

Eno says he wrote the lyrics while visiting New York:

I went to stay with this girl called Randi and fell asleep after taking some mescaline and had this dream where this group of girls were singing to this group of sailors who had just come into port. And they were singing ‘We are The 801 / We are the Central Shaft’ — and I woke up absolutely jubilant because this was the first bit of lyric I’d written in this new style.

Yes, apparently in the 1970s a musician wrote a song while under the influence of hallucinogens. Who’d have thought.

Society generally frowns upon people who make important decisions while under the influence. (By an odd coincidence, Hugh MacLeod posted some vaguely-related thoughts only yesterday, in dying young is overrated, revisited.) However the more I look, the more I worry that we’re governed as if our societies were hallucinating. And even worse, it’s as if they’ve forgotten how to remember the lessons of the past.

I’m worried that we’re governed by Hallucinating Goldfish.

Continue reading “Post 801: Kill the Hallucinating Goldfish”

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New Bush coins: gallons to replace dollars

Screenshot from New Bush Coins video

Now that President Bush has declared martial law, it will be illegal to own precious metals after January 2008. Here’s a sneak peek at the new money.

“The 1-gallon coin, or the ‘Condy’, honours Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose solution to Middle East conflict is summarised on the reverse: Piping Persia for Peace.”

Yes, this is American political satire at its very, very best.

Also worth watching is the promo for the CD set Lapdogs of the Corporate Press and news that Britney Spears has been cast as the Virgin Mary.

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Google and DoubleClick to merge

The $3.1 billion merger between Google (“the Internet’s largest search profiling company”) and DoubleClick (“the Internet’s largest targeted advertising company”) will go ahead “without conditions”. The US Federal Trade Commission says the merger is “unlikely to lessen competition”. Not quite the creation of the Googlezon as predicted in the short film Epic 2014, but there’s still time… Hat tip to EPIC Alert (no relation) via Roger Clarke.

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It’s worth eating at Kelly’s on King now

Photograph of an emptied pasta bowl, with fork and a sprig of parsley

Yesterday’s experimental lunch at Kelly’s on King, the Irish theme pub at 285 King Street, Newtown, was a success.

Previously, Kelly’s got their food from Cafe C next door. Recent renovations added their own kitchen, so I figured it was worth a try.

“I’d better start thinking like a backpacker then,” snarked the Snarky Platypus. And yes, like most pretend-Irish pubs, late at night Kelly’s is full of loud, drunken arseholes. Avoid. But during the day it’s quiet, perfect for a cleansing ale and watching the world. A newspaper and conversation pub, if you like.

We had a perfectly adequate chicken penne (pictured) and a “Portuguese” chicken with rocket, sun-dried tomatoes and a few well-made potato wedges — the latter a not-too-fattening serving size. Great presentation.

The wine list is minimal — only four whites, for example. An Irish pub is about beer and whiskey. However with two decent sauvignon blancs that’s acceptable.

The Platypus and I have added Kelly’s on King to our regular rotation.