Is this our blog where Andrew posts a lot or Andrew's blog where we post a little?

I'm going for longest blog-topic yet. Let's see how long this lasts...

Anyway, onto more news-like things. Made it over to Melbourne safely, though where we can fit all my stuff into Imogen's little studio apartment I don't know. But after only being in Melbourne a mere 3 or 4 days, Imogen and I have headed over to here, sunny (and bloody windy) Hobart.

For those not in the know yet, we're digitising (i.e. taking digital photos of) lots and lots of old Convict records. Given that Tasmania was the penal colony for the penal colony, there are lots. Not come across any with any of our surnames yet, but I'll keep an eye out. Today was our first day, and only 3 or 4 pages into my first book, I came across a record which ended abruptly with the inscription 'Died - Drowned in the Derwent River'. It was odd to think that this is probably the last known record of this man's life, and here I am, photographing it 150-odd years in the future.

The other hassle is accommodation - we were booked into what seemed like a nice enough backpackers... but after one night's sleep we're changing. I mean, I'm all for frugal living when needed, but the smell! The cramped room! And also the fact that our bedroom door is literally next to the top of the stairs from the lower levels, which translates into 'CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP' all night long from drunk europeans and asians.

Otherwise, Hobart is pretty, if small. The big shopping Mall here is nothing (about a block long), though we did walk past the oldest pub in Australia last night (est. 1807). Also, Jet were apparently playing last night, not that we went to see them. Violent Femmes and Sarah Blasko are playing over the next week or two, so we may see them instead.

Until the next exciting chapter....

A pertinent summary

Hail, cyber visitors. Have decided to write a quick entry, since hope dwindles that we will see a post from George today.

The national Young Liberals conference is in full swing at the moment, and a few Government ministers have stopped in for a rant. Downer is channelling a 2003-esque Bush to explain why the terrorists win if we ever, ever, leave Iraq. Ruddock is being his usual scary self. But I think the most concise, bone chilling summary of 10 years of the Libs was delivered by Tony Abbot:

"This Government's decisions to overturn the Northern Territory's euthanasia law, ban gay marriage, stop the ACT heroin trial, provide additional financial support for one-income families, and try to reduce abortion numbers through pregnancy support counselling show that the tide of secular humanism was not as irreversible as [was previously] thought."

Yep. Reversing humanist policies is what it's all about. I for one look forward to briefly passing through the heady, laissez-faire renaissance era as we regress to the social values of the middle ages. We can look forward to less sex and more burnings at the stake (especially now that Australia has access to a ready supply of infidels) but on the plus side the handouts for single-income families will be a comfort.

We should consider ourselves lucky

Due to a distinct lack of anything to do (which i have been suffering since finishing uni) I have taken up surfing the net with greater frequency. In that time I have laughed, I have cried (well no not really) and most importantly I have been entertained.

However I now turn to a very serious matter and as was alluded to in the title of this blog 'we should consider ourselves lucky', after all we could be Mozart. In an effort to make Mozart's plight widely known I would like to draw your attention to this link. Mozart we feel for you.

Catchya
Alice

Australia Day

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And then I found out Augie March had taken the top sport in the Triple J Hottest 100:




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A Revelation

Brown Jesus is a Buddhist! My colleague came to this startling (and possibly heretical) conclusion at lunch and upon reflection I am forced to agree.


I wore our Lord to work today and over a pint said colleague asked if I could furnish everyone with a description of His nature. 'With gladness,' said I. 'Brown Jesus hails from San Francisco, and he advocates having a happy, chilled out time and not harshing anyone else's buzz. He is generally accepting of other people's viewpoints, and tends to sulk every time there is a holy war.'

'Aha!' cried my colleague, as if he had sprung from a Roald Dahl short story. 'Brown Jesus sounds like he is a Buddhist!'

At the time, all I could do was reluctantly concur. After more thought, I'd respond that tolerance was Brown Jesus' thing first, and the Buddhists infringed his patent.

Odds & Ends

I've noticed that a large proportion of blog posts seem to exist purely to point people in the direction of other blogs or web pages. One sometimes wonders whether there is any actual content on the 'net at all. Still, I like to think I am pro-recycling, and I don't see why recycling other people's thoughts should be any different. Thus I present a few diversions for your enjoyment/edutainment.

An interesting blog
Ever been in a taxi and had a conversation with a taxi driver? I have. We talked about the prevalence and location of brothels in Adelaide. Apparently, on a per capita basis, Adelaide has an extraordinary number of them. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that taxi drivers seem to be interesting people, and now one of them blogs about the trials and tribulations of being a cabbie in Sydney. Thus: Cablog. A good read for a slow afternoon at work.

What happens when a leftie takes power in Europe
The BBC has released a nifty little flash game that allows you assume the presidency of Europe over the coming century. Your goal is to lower greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the worst effects of climate change, all while maintaining a healthy public approval rating. You can play the game here (just click 'open' below the picture). This was my result:



If you're too lazy to click on the image, I basically ran Europe's economy into the ground to produce a paradise for hippies and dole bludgers. For this I was very highly regarded by the populace. I also managed to land people on Mars. If you play the game, I would be very interested to see/hear about your results.

Heavy, man
Finally, I'd strongly recommend a visit to Australians All. It's a site set up by a group of prominent Australians who argue for a less... shit approach to foreign relations and multiculturalism than has been taken by the current government. Alas, there are no funky animations or humorous top 100 lists, but there are excellent, thought-provoking arguments about subjects ranging from the plight of David Hicks to immigration policy.

If you want somewhere to start, try this article. It's by Malcolm Fraser, a former Australian PM (but you guys knew that already, right? right??). He compares the current climate vis-a-vis the Muslim situation to anti-Japanese WWII propaganda, and quotes Robert Menzies to show the futility (among other adjectives) of this approach.

Swing Dancing part 2

As a continuation of yesterday's post I feel it necessary to inform everyone that apparently Adelaide has the most vibrant Swing Dancing scene in the whole of Australia. Unfortunatley there is a Swing Dance competition being held at Lismore as we speak so the vibrancy was somewhat lessened last night.

An yet much fun was had at 'The Banque' on O'Connell street where a surprisingly good jazz band and lots of alcohol provided an excellent atmosphere. Shame about the lack of nicely proportioned men to fetch and carry though.

Catchya

Alice

Someone other than Andrew

Seeing as Andy appears to be the only one blogging with any sort of regularity I thought I'd submit a post to break up the monotony.

Two things shall be presented in this blog. 1st I would like to announce that tonight I shall be going Swing Dancing. This is clearly out of the ordinary and I'm quite intrigued as to where in Adelaide on a Tuesday night one can go Swing Dancing in a venue that holds a bar and is also frequented by nicely proportioned young men to act as partners, buy drinks and in general fetch and carry. I put these queries to you faithful bloggers.

Second having recently been sent this link and enjoyed at least half and hour of enjoyment from it I thought it was my civic duty to share with you. http://www.homehardware.com.au/index.cfm?pageID=160 Hope you all enjoy. People who dislike cats or just like spraying hoses randomly should get a kick out of it.

Catchya
Alice

I've got a brand new camera baby (and the interior colour may or may not be red)

So those of you who already know this probably know this already, but I bought a camera this weekend. It's a Canon 400D and it's my purchase of the week. It takes awesome photos but it has to be treated like a lady. If you fiddle with its knobs too much it loses focus.

Speaking of out of focus, check these out!

You can get a bigger version of the photos by clicking on them. Our George is a photogenic bastard, isn't he?

Before I sign off, I'd like to share something that happened to me last night. I was at a party, and there was a pretty girl sitting on my lap. Everyone in the immediate surrounds had had a bit to drink and there was much merriment. All was right with the world. Then, suddenly, unbidden, came a flash of memory that chilled the very marrow of my bones.

It was a recollection of one of Sandman's soliloquys, delivered on Good News Week almost a decade ago. In it, he recounted a similar experience where, 'at the end of year TAFE party, Gail, a mature age student, sat on my lap.' He goes on to recount an agonising forty minutes of numbness, tingling, and severe bladder pain until:

When she stood up and said 'let's go, swarthy,' I couldn't move. My legs were completely numb. All I could do was drop off the chair and wet myself. I suspect Gail was after someone who was better under pressure than me.

It's funny the tricks that our minds can play, isn't it? Why did my brain call that obscure piece of memory to mind? Luckily, the lovely lady on my lap was not a mature age TAFE student named Gail, and when eventually she stood up, I managed to retain control over my bladder.

For the rest of the night my calves were sore, though.

Musical events that I'm excited about

I'm glad that I waited 'till after lunch to write about the Blues and Roots Festival (5-9 April), because in the mean time they've released the second round of artist anouncements! Among others, I am excited about seeing Paul Kelly live for the first time. Paul is the slightly less famous uncle of Dan. Other people I'm hanging out to see are Ben Kweller, Rodrigo y Grabriella (again!!), Gomez, John Butler Trio, Eric Burden and the Animals, etc etc.

I have a five day ticket, so if other people want to come up for five days, or three days, or some other number of days, you should organise it soon. Apparently 5 and 3 day tickets are almost sold out. Get it sorted, people! If youse guys are interested, we can probably sort some accomodation out in Byron itself, so we can walk to Red Devil Park. Those with me last year may recall driving back to Lismore through floods, bone tired and jangly from all the speed balls, shouting at each other about Aboriginal cave drawings. Not as fun as it sounds.

I'd also like to mention that I'll almost certainly be in Sydney on June 20th. Why? Well, it may not be everyone's cup o' tea, but the PLAY! concert (sic annoying capitalisation) will be at the Sydney Opera House on that night. Yep, orchestrated video game music. This kind of thing very rarely comes to Australia, so I don't want to miss it. Scoff if you must, but if you seek understanding one could do worse than reading this article (nice web design skillz, too).

If anyone has thoughts, or wants to journey with me to these events, let me know.

PS: I've posted, Alice has posted, Julian's posted. Congrats! What about Kate, George and Jono? Pop that cherry!