Time to break camp.
The clock is ticking.
Tonight is the last night that I will sleep in my current apartment, a place I have lived in for nearly 4 years.
And looking back over that 4 years, a lot of things have happened… Read the rest of this entry »
There are times I hate being right… (aka Friends and Obligations Part 2)
I recently wrote about old friends and obligations…
I spoke about how, after a 2 year absence, one such friend contacted me with tales of fraud, violence and woe… and how my b*llsh*t detector started sounding very loud klaxon alarms and waving it’s arms around going “Danger! Danger!”.
Well, it turned out I was right. But worse was the reality of the situation and what may come of it… Read the rest of this entry »
How to put your foot in your mouth… Step 1.
Saw in the news today that the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been making some seriously screwed up comments about certain elements of the populace that apparently don’t exist.
He forgot to mention all the other things that don’t exist… a few of which he’s mentioned in the past.
Famine. Social Inequity. Oil. The Holocaust.
Now, before I get rolling on this, I want to clearly state for the record what my personal stance is on matters of the heart, history and sexuality… Read the rest of this entry »
In the company of strangers…
Weirdest thing happened tonight…
I went to the football tonight to watch my home team, Queensland Roar FC, play Sydney FC. Sadly, whilst the Roar dominated possession and massed huge pressure on the Sydney defence, they couldn’t manage to put the goals away.
Or as one of the fans in the crowd nearby said… couldn’t score in a brothel.
The game itself is not what I wanted to talk about, but the events both before and after and how it still freaks me out to be recognised and known by name by complete strangers, and how the things we do can be remembered even decades later. Read the rest of this entry »
Things you shouldn’t say in job interviews…
Well, I had my job interview today.
My manager at work had been really good in helping me prepare for it. I found out why after the interview, but I’ll get to that in a minute. My colleagues at work were also stunned for a variety of reasons… I was one of the first at work this morning when the norm is my arriving late and working back after most everyone else has left for the day. The second part is my wearing a shirt, tie and suit.
My manager saw me and proclaimed, “Here comes the defendant!”
One of the admin girls didn’t recognise me until I put my sunglasses on and moonwalked out the door on my way to the interview.
One of the technical guys glibly asked if it was for an interview or a funeral..
Which begs the question: how close to the mark was he? Read the rest of this entry »
Trent Reznor… beacon of sage wisdom. (aka Why the music industry needs to die)
I’m a HUGE Nine Inch Nails fan.
I own all the albums… even a few singles… more merchandise than for any other band I’m into… I’ve spent countless hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, on CD’s, DVD’s, t-shirts, posters, concert tickets… you name it.
So, when I saw this clip… I simply stood up, pointed at the screen and said “You LEGEND!!”
So… here beginneth my rant about the music industry…grab yourself a snack, cold drink and a comfy chair because this time, I’m cutting loose and taking no prisoners! Read the rest of this entry »
Land of the free?
Welcome to the New World Order…
Whilst in Australia, it seems that expressing an opinion lands you in court, getting sued a la Seppo-land… in the Home of the Brave, merely asking a question gets you manhandled, tasered and arrested.
Home of the Brave? Somehow, I don’t think the authors of those lyrics were thinking of the Sioux, Iroquois, Apache or any of the countless North American Indian tribes that were wiped out during white settlement of the Americas.
Land of the Free? Yeah, freedom for the elite few who pull the strings of everyone else. I think Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against The Machine said it best: Read the rest of this entry »
A moment of reflection (aka Crossroads)
Once, many moons ago, I was asked an apparently simple question : Who are you?
The answer I gave the person that asked rattled them in many ways, but not for reasons you can imagine I’d wager. No, the apparent simplicity of the question belies a depth of reflection required to properly answer it.
So, why do I mention it now? Simple…It’s been an interesting week, this past week… one where this time I need to ask it of myself. Read the rest of this entry »
What is the statute of limitations on your obligations to your friends?
I was originally planning on calling this post “Looking after No. 1 – When is the right time to be selfish”… but I’m not sure on that one.
An old school friend contacted me recently. Out of the blue, I received a text message on my phone from him, asking for some contact information and apologising for not having contacted me for the past several years. He also went on to say that he’s been out of touch since the past two years of his life has been hell.
Normally, any friend that comes knocking at my door asking for help is met with a ‘What do you need?’ and a ‘What can I do?’. If I’m ever to be damned for one thing, it’s my loyalty to my friends.
However, there are a few notable instances from the past where that loyalty and generosity has, to quote Hank Moody, been treated like a piece of prison ass.
This particular friend, is one such culprit. Read the rest of this entry »
Express an opinion… get a free court case.
It seems that it’s not only tyrannical governments and fundamentalist nut cases that want to suppress expression of opinions. This article in todays news is showing how online opinion can turn to real life headache.
Like many of us that tend to enjoy the ‘anonymity’ of the internet, we let our inner nature shine through with the things we say. The big bearded biker, decked out in leather, sitting astride a Harley can go onto a Britney Spears fansite and post how he loves singing along to whatever bubblegum pop ditty she’s released this month, safe in relative anonymity, should he choose to remain so.
Of course, there is no real anonymity online and with the right knowledge and tools, anyone can be identified given enough time. Read the rest of this entry »
