Alright kids,

This is probably the last you’ll all hear from me for a couple of weeks – I’m off tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn to Beechworth in the north of the state, to start work on the ten day Great Victorian Bike Ride. It starts on Saturday in Wangaratta and finishes Sunday week outside Whittlesea in Melbourne’s north. I’m working behind the bar that is set up at each campsite, which entails the obvious serving of booze along with the added challenge of packing up marquees, fridges and bar paraphernalia each morning, trucking it 70km down the road then setting it all up again before the cyclists arrive. I’m sure it’s going to be hard work but I’m promised it will be good fun, and the live entertainment that is being brought in sounds awesome – including The Custom Kings, who have been getting plenty of airplay on the J’s recently, as well as James Morrison (the legendary Aussie trumpet player, not the pommy bastard that’s barnstorming the charts right now) at a vineyard in Myrtleford. Anyway I may find some internet access during a rest day but I doubt I’ll be bothered – so sit tight and I’ll see you all in 10 days! Don’t cry too hard!

Pete

World leaders – take note. The way to win your people’s hearts is not through daily powerwalks in daggy tracksuits (Johnny Howard), being a prudish hippy (Helen Clark) or maintaining a purely sycophantic relationship with the United States (basically every leader that is not enjoying the wonders of totalitarian rule). The true way to spread joy and love throughout your particular constituencies is to listen to the people – no mean feat by any definition, but a task that Tony Blair is tackling head on with his new whiz-bang interweb petition machine. Basically any Briton – expat or otherwise – can petition the Prime Minister directly for whatever they desire. I expect that ol’ Tones will be reading all petitions personally, and discussing the merits of each and every request with his cabinet each week. I must admit that I have taken particular interest in one petition that I myself have signed, stating that:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stand on his head and juggle ice-cream.

A worthy cause surely. I can’t believe whoever thought that online petitioning would be a cool idea didn’t see this sort of stuff happening….

Pete

Having had a couple of weeks of break since uni exams finished I’m finding – perhaps unsuprisingly – that I’m reading for pleasure a lot more all of a sudden. I’ve always been an avid reader, but while there are university texts to read it becomes difficult not to sink into a pool of guilt while reading recreationally.

So, in the last 10 days or so I finally got through Ludlum’s ‘Bourne’ Trilogy (Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum – still haven’t seen any of the films though) as well as a particularly good scifi novel by Orson Scott Card named ‘Ender’s Game’ – a highly recommended read. I’ve also started on a biography of Captain Cook and an intriguing description of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, written by the Sherpa son of Tenzing Norgay, who was Edmund Hillary’s climbing companion and arguably the first person to summit the mountain.

Anyway, along with all that I’ve re-read the most recent Harry Potter book, having not gone through it since the weekend of its release in June last year. Along with the childlike glee that the book has provided, it prompted me to do a little bit of HP searching online, and I discovered much to my glee that the movie of the OoTP is to be released in mid July next year, AND the final book is also nearing completion, with rumours being flung around that a possible release date would be the 7th of the same month, making it 7/7/07.

I digress. I had a squizz at a couple of production stills from the OoTP, and lo and behold there is a photo of Luna Lovegood, the newcomer to the franchise. Ever since the book was released in 2003, the casting director in my head had always pictured a kind, good natured but odd looking, wirey dirty-blonde haired girl that was always a bit awkward to both look at and be around, but it seems as though whoever cast the role for the movie just picked a moderately attractive LIGHT blonde teenager. I must admit I was a little disappointed not to see the wizarding equivalent of massive orthodontic braces, oddly shapen pigtails or big glasses and these misgivings mean I’m now unsure how she’ll fit the role, but apparently all those involved with the film so far think she’s the bee’s knees, and a massive HP nerd to boot. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see next year… At least she’s got the raddish earings!

Pete

Even though it’s one of the most frustrating programs I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with, I’ve been a commited user of Apple’s iTunes software since the Windows version came out in late 2003. Last year when the Australian music store finally opened for business, I was quick to provide my details and open an account with them and to this day try and download the free single of the week whenever I can, HOWEVER I have never actually paid for music through the store.

Until this week. I noticed an acoustic EP being spruiked on the home page on Tuesday from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that included a cover of one of my favourite songs of all time – Sonic Youth’s ‘Diamond Sea’. If you haven’t heard the original before, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD buy Washing Machine, or at the very least check out the video on youtube. So anyway, although I may have made my first ever purchase solely for a Sonic Youth cover, it wasn’t the only jewel to be found on the album – three other tracks, all YYY originals are present in their acousticy goodness. Karen O’s vocals are understandably more restrained than on ‘Show Your Bones’ or especially ‘Fever To Tell’, and it becomes abundantly clear that she really can sing quite well, which actually brought shivers down my spine when I first heard it.

Anyway if you feel the urge and have iTunes on your computer, jump on in and grab the EP (AUS, US, UK). It’s only $2.99 AUD in the Aussie store (which is a steal), $3.96 USD for you yankies and £1.49 Sterling for the poms out there. As a bit of a sneak peak I’ve converted the acoustic version of the first single from the current album, ‘Gold Lion’. Your homework is to compare and contrast this acoustic track (click on grannytunes up the top of the page to stream) with the original and write 1500 words by tomorrow.

Pete

Pete

By rights, today should have been a shithouse day. I spent (or rather lost) far more money than I can afford to, ended up sunburnt, and feel terrible right now, with a pounding headache that is only partly to do with the day’s excessive alcohol consumption. But the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts, as my fantastic day of girls, horses and booze at Flemington will attest – even if it was a tad pricey.

Anyway, Clairebear – who I wasn’t aware was at the races – rang me as I was heading home at about 7pm, to abuse me for not seeing her in the 100,000 crowd and not coming out with them that evening. I almost changed my mind then and there, but right now I am so pleased I didn’t – it may only be 9pm but bed has never looked more inviting. I figure it would also be somewhat imprudent to turn up to my Responsible Service of Alcohol class tomorrow morning still pissed or worse, hungover.

Oh and as a final note before I head off, it’s a dangerous thing to have too much faith in Damien Oliver – just bet on the favourites and cut your losses.

Pete

So…. It’s the first Tuesday in November and I live in Melbourne. For the uninitiated, that means one thing – The Melbourne Cup. HOWEVER instead of taking the day off like the rest of the city, or even a few minutes at 3:00 to watch some horses run around in a circle like most of the country will do, I’m going to be stuck in another racecourse across the other side of town, sitting my final exam of the year. Damn the stupid Anatomy professors who like to see students toil through one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

That said I won’t be missing out on all that much – sitting exams needn’t stop one from having a flutter. So, in true vanilla, softcock fashion I’ve gone $5 eachway on both Irish favourite Yeats and Wankhead Dettori‘s ride Geordieland. Knowing my luck though I’ll lose it all, and probably fail the exam to boot.

Pete

First and foremost on the agenda, I got the sack from Bongo yesterday, less than two weeks into the job. Although it’s kind of a let down, I had it coming considering:

a) My boss and I disagreed at almost every turn during training; but more importantly;
b) I skipped a shift, on Saturday night no less.

In my defence I did for WEEKS try and get the shift swapped. I emailed co-workers multiple times and when that didn’t work gave the boss and manager 48 hours notice that there was no way I could possibly make the shift. Anyway I had entertained thoughts of leaving the job anyway, although I admit I had resolved to work for a least a few more weeks to make up some moolah. Anyway so here I am, cast back into the pit of unemployment. It feels good.

Secondly, and mainly for the amusement of Lé Tom in France – good ol’ Fevola got into a bit of a biff in an Irish tavern on Sunday night, eventuating in him getting the barman in a headlock, police being called and Fev being ejected from both the touring Australian team for the current International Rules series being played, and the country itself. Although he is our (being Carlton’s) best goalkicker and only real target up forward, the fact remains that he’s an idiot and a dickhead, so no pity shalleth be dispensed there.

Finally, I have a bone to pick with one Andrew Bolt. I realise his comments are rarely, if ever worth actually reading and the rag that his column is published in is often unfit for the title of ‘newspaper’ but if there’s one thing about ultra-conservative nutjobs that upsets me more than anything else it’s climate change scepticism. Unfortunately for my peace of mind this morning that was precisely the topic of Bolt’s column today, which I made the serious mistake of reading. Normally Bolt’s drivel – which ranges from thrillers like ‘The evil Muslim nextdoor’ to schmaltzy romance titles like ’10 Things I love about Howard’ and my personal favourite theme ‘Whatever was talked about on 3AW last week’ – is bad enough: a smattering of self-glorifying rhetoric punctuated by petty attacks on whoever has questioned him recently, all placed haphazardly through what used to be a poorly constructed argument.

I digress. Quite separate from my personal distaste for the man and his opinions, my big problem with today’s article is the potential damage that controversial, unresearched and fairly ignorant views such as his own could do if they were to become widespread. Bolt is not a climate change scientist, nor clearly has he immersed himself enough into the scientific argument surrounding global warming to be able to comment, far less throw around his personal views regarding the debate. However, due to his public profile he has decided to weigh in, and that is where my anger stems from. I’m not saying that we mustn’t question the Stern report – it appears to be fragile at best. I’m not saying that the world is going to boil, not saying that the Gulf stream will shut down and I’m not saying that we’re all going to die. BUT climate change appears to be a real threat to us at this present time, and even if it weren’t to eventuate into any real financial or ecological catastrophes as recent reports have suggested, why should that justify our relentless and completely unsustainable harvesting of the earth’s resources?

I’m not a Greens voter – hell I’m not even a lefty, but I do have a social conscience and it angers me everytime I see people trying to badmouth good and honest research that could save us as a species all sorts of strife, just because it doesn’t sit well with their 4WD’s and widescreen plasma displays. Maybe I should just stop reading the papers in the morning.

Pete