Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
It’s the last day of spring so it’s time for the final episode of the Edict‘s Spring Series. Our special guest is the marvellous Alex Lee, TV writer, actor, comedian, Dragon Friend, and creator of comedy on SBS TV’s The Feed.
Continue reading “The 9pm Dark Comedy Defamation Dungeon with Alex Lee”
The Late Winter Series 2021 of the Edict kicks off with self-described “investigative humorist” Dan Ilic, producer of the award-winning podcast A Rational Fear, and a man known for shows ranging from Hungry Beast to At Home Alone Together and much more.
Continue reading “The 9pm Loneliness of Alan Jones with Dan Ilic and not Ray Martin”
The air is filled with a swirl of rose petals and gold dust. The nation’s rivers and streams run with champagne. Malcolm Turnbull is Prime Minister of Australia.
Broadcaster Alan Jones rejects the process of choosing the PM for one of his own devising. And we hear one of Jones’ talkback callers explaining the real reason we should be worried about Turnbull.
In this podcast, there’s also talk of agility, estimations, Greek food, Pink Floyd, quinoa, wigs, and intense happiness.
Continue reading “The 9pm Malcolmgasm”
Australia’s treasurer Joe Hockey exudes love and understanding. We take the train to Cronulla to find out exactly what makes this southern Sydney suburb so great. And there are shellfish, damn fine shellfish.
Continue reading “The 9pm Shire”
Over at ABC’s The Drum opinion website, I’ve written a piece that argues the National Broadband Network won’t kill competition in the telco industry.
They did the headline, not me, but I do like it.
The article explains the structure of the telco industry before getting to the key points.
In most parts of Australia, the only CAN [customer access network] has been Telstra’s copper network. The NBN will replace that with NBN Co’s optical fibre CAN — at least for 93% of the population, roughly any location with a population of 1000 or more. In other words, the NBN replaces an ageing CAN that’s reaching the limits of its capacity technically, with a new one that provides vastly increased capacity for the future.
What doesn’t change is the fact that customers, both domestic and business, can still choose whichever retail telco offers the best deal for them. That is, there’s still the same capacity for competition between telcos. The only difference is that those retail telcos are provisioning their services via NBN Co fibre rather than Telstra copper.
[I give a few examples and then…]
[T]o claim that telco competition will end because of an “NBN monopoly” is as silly as claiming there’s no competition in the road transport industry because everyone has to use the same monopoly public-funded roads. Different freight companies use those same roads to deliver different styles of service at different prices, and competition seems healthy enough.
The Australian Communications Consumers Action Network just described it as the most factually accurate piece they’ve seen in weeks. That’s flattering but seems over the top. But I will say that I’m happy the article — particularly as this morning broadcast radio arsehole Alan Jones is claiming the exact opposite. And we know what he’s like with facts.
There’s also an article by Alan Kohler that analyses the Telstra-NBN deal from a financial perspective. Well worth a read.
For better or for worse, episode 3 of Stilgherrian Live Alpha is online over at Ustream. I did rant at the camera as threatened. I went for 45 minutes instead of 25 to 30 because I was looking at the wrong clock. I have destroyed my personal brand forever. Chat logs to be reviewed later.