Having just seen Terminator 4 at the Dendy Cinema in Civic, I feel compelled to review it.
The one word review: Brilliant.
The slightly more wordy review: An excruciatingly slow start which makes you wonder if there will ever be a plot, but the slow start really builds the post-apocalyptic atmosphere of confusion and pure survival extremely well, and leads in to a great middle, and brilliant end.
Best of all, it seems to completely skip the fact that there was a third Terminator movie (eg. T3’s story is entirely optional in the grand scheme of things, which is great because it was a shocker of a film).
Sequel likely. I give it five stars (he said, digging around for that star graphic)
US Talk Radio host Mark Levin has been nicknamed “The Great One”. I suppose I should, therefore, be honoured that a spammer by the name of “Mr. Robert” has seen fit to dub me “The Good One”, which might make me a contender to fill-in for Mark one day.
As much as I’m pleased to receive an email purportedly from Switzerland, with the greeting “Dear Good one!!!”, I just don’t think that I’ll ever see the promised 232 million US dollars. Actually, I probably have as much chance of seeing the money, as “Mr. Robert” has of getting my personal details.
There have been, like there’s a story today on the front page of the “Sunday Telegraph” and there’s been a number of them and almost all of these stories that we’ve gone away and checked out have been either inaccurate or not correct.
Yes, the stories are either inaccurate or not correct.
Meanwhile Mark also put on his psychologist hat during the interview, and came up with this pearler:
We’re going to create on the ground and the productivity gains that the country’s going to get.
I mean this is, to sort of question our intentions, [is] just – crazy
Mark, I have a job for you. There’s this bloke over in the US who talks to the media every day…sends them to sleep, uses the word “um” as every third word, and rarely has the faintest clue what’s going on. His name is Robert Gibbs, and he is the White House Press Secretary. I’d like you to take over his job. You make just as much sense, and with an attitude of “questioning our intentions is crazy”, you’d fit right in to the Obama White House.
This afternoon I visited Googong Dam, where the-powers-that-be are building a spillway. Photos to follow tomorrow (it gives me a good reason to get the photo gallery back online), but in the meantime I thought you might find this interesting.
For the drive to Googong Dam, plus the walking around the dam, as well as the drive back via Weston Creek (where a free coffee was waiting to be claimed) and my post office box in Dickson (empty…can you believe that neither Senator Kate Lundy, nor a nameless minion, has bothered replied to my letter?), I took the iPod with me and set it to shuffle. I was pleased with the results, and thought I would share with you, the playlist that it created.
Hagenaar & Albrecht – What Would We Do (Original Mix)
The Cuckoo’s Nest – Medibank Private (We’re gonna flog it off)
The DJs of Euro Trance – Suck My Tube Steak (Hell N’ Back Mix)
Flash Brothers – Stay (Edit)
Cat (Red Dwarf) – Tongue Tied (Funk mix)
Franz Ferdinand – Come On Home
Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
Sneaky Sound System – (Because of you people say I’m) Crazy
Janis Ian – Fly Too High
Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him
Kenny Loggins – The Heat Is On
Wham – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
Cletus T. Judd – Trailer Park Woman
The Vogues – Five O’Clock World
Tina Turner – Simply The Best
Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walking
U2 – Angel Of Harlem
Robbie Williams – A Man For All Seasons
Harvey Norman Ad Bed (Version 15FullVox)
The Doobie Brothers – Takin’ It To The Street
Cat (Red Dwarf) – Tongue Tied
The DJs of Euro Trance – M.I.A.
Howard Goodall – Red Dwarf (End Theme)
Alavi – Smells Like Rerox
Boyz Noize – Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
The Irish Rovers – Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
The Cuckoo’s Nest – He Cut The Hair of Armstrong (and swept it up with a broom)
The Potbelleez – Are You With Me (Hook ‘n’ Sling Mix)
? – Ghostbusters Theme (Techno Remix)
Jose Amnesia – Wouldn’t Change A Thing (feat. Jennifer Rene) [Retrobyte Clubmix Edit]
Bissen – Exhale (Edit)
Mike Foyle – Firefly (Original Mix)
Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster
Bond – Victory (Mike Batt Mix)
Slim Dusty – G’day G’day
Starshine – Feels Alright
Fats Waller – I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter
David Guetta – When Love Takes Over (feat. Kelly Rowland)
Boney M – Mary’s Boy Child
Various Artists (In The Mix) – The Trance Yearmix 2007 part one (which I skipped after a few minutes when it started playing a track which I had heard earlier on in the journey)
Dave Edmunds – Girls Talk
The DJs of Euro Trance (Trance Anthems) – Take It or Leave It
Most enjoyable, although I have to wonder if that list will surprise a few people.
I wrote a lengthy editorial about this subject last year, in which I spelt out the differences between the risk profiles of the various types of unauthorised drivers, after the Australian Federal Police (who police the Australian Capital Territory) went on a bizarre crusade…I couldn’t stand by and let them lump all unauthorised drivers in to the same category of “extremely dangerous”.
From the article in the first link:
A record number of cars have been impounded since new laws came into effect yesterday.
Under the laws, police have the authority to impound any car for 28 days if the driver does not have a valid licence.
So far, about 70 cars have been confiscated, including several company cars.
So, that’s the “crackdown” in a nutshell, but how does this prove that the Western Australian Police force agrees with my categories…?
Inspector Royal says not all unlicensed drivers face having their car confiscated.
“Unlicensed driver’s licence impounding will not affect people whose licence has expired,” he said.
“If you’ve never held a driver’s licence you won’t get your car impounded. If you’re driving contrary to driver’s licence conditions you won’t get your car impounded. If you are under fine suspension you won’t get you car impounded.
(emphasis mine)
Proof that my point last year about administrative suspensions not making drivers inherently dangerous was not just a 3am rant. The WA Police have agreed with my point, and I’m pleased to see it.
I’m not condoning driving when one is not legally allowed to do so, but it’s great to see that at least one Police force has seen the light, and noticed that focussing the harsher penalties on the people who have proven themselves to be dangerous is a smart use of Police resources, and a better way to manage the roads.
Because if, for some strange reason, they actually succeed in building it, you can be assured that it will be plagued with problems. This time around, it’s lighting which makes train drivers sick.
Chatswood Epping Rail link a blinking farce
By Rhys Haynes
The Daily Telegraph
THE problems facing the $2.3 billion Epping to Chatswood Rail Link – a train line $1 billion over budget that goes halfway to it original destination – continue to mount.
Yesterday I travelled along the line, staring out the window like any of the 10,000 passengers would do each day.
I tried to count the individual lights as we went along, and at one point I swayed sideways because I felt so giddy.
I was able to look away and take a few seconds to readjust my eyes because I was dizzy.
I can’t even imagine what it is like for a driver trying to concentrate on his or her job.
It would be like trying to drive a car while having your front seat passenger flicking a torch on and off in your face – for 8½ hours.
RailCorp played down the claims of ill drivers when approached by The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
But in the same breath one of the organisation’s most senior executives, Andy Byford, said he had immediately implemented a number of considerable shift restrictions and driver rules because he was taking “no risks”.
[..]
The link won’t be officially in place until October when the line is integrated into the rest of the network’s timetable.
That means the Rees Government has less than 100 days to sort out the problems before it gets truly embarrassing.
Right now these issues are buried deep underground in a small pocket of Sydney’s northwest.
Steep tracks, loud trains, problematic concrete sleepers and cracks in the ceiling are just the start of it.
[..]
The latest problem on the Epping to Chatswood line involving a strobe-lighting effect seems staggeringly obvious to anyone who has travelled in the tunnel.
Why did it take a driver in hospital to force RailCorp to investigate the problem?
That would be a good question Rhys, if it weren’t the New South Wales government in charge. Have you ever known the Carr/Iemma/Rees et al government to build a tunnel or other bit of transport infrastructure, be it for cars, trains, aeroplanes or ferries, and get it right?
I’m sick of the government’s war on cigarettes, alcohol and anything else which they deem to be bad for you. The reason I’m sick of their war on said items is that they don’t have the guts to outlaw the darn things…instead they take the “softly softly” wrap-you-up-in-expensive-cotton-wool approach of increasing the taxes on the items they don’t like, under the false guise of the extra revenue being spent on the health system.
The price of a pack of cigarettes could soon hit 20 dollars for a pack of 30 as the federal government considers tax hikes in bid to force up to one million Australians to kick the habit.
[..]
The landmark report, now being examined by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, urges the government to slash smoking rates over the next decade to nine per cent, reducing the number of people aged 14 and over who smoke daily from three million to two million.
Under the changes, some of which were canvassed in a discussion paper released late last year, cigarette packets would be generic and plain, with larger graphic health warnings taking up about 90 per cent of the front and 100 per cent of the back.
The plan has been strongly backed by anti-smoking organisations such as the Public Health Association, the Cancer Council and the National Heart Foundation, but has alarmed cigarette companies, which claim it could be unlawful.
I think the best summary of this nonsense was on ABC TV’s “Insiders” programme on Sunday morning which, sadly, the ABC can’t be bothered transcribing. The video is here for the rest of the week.
Basically, George Megalogenis from The Australian went on about how the extra revenue will be kept separate from the rest of the budget, and the government expect the price hikes to not produce extra revenue in the long term because of the larger number of people who will choose to quit smoking if the price is increased in this way, to which Andrew Bolt from the Herald Sun responded “You’re so trusting”.
Spot on Andrew. An increase in the cost of smoking like this may very well force a few more people to decide that smoking is no longer financially viable for them, but it’s just as likely that others will just choose to cut back on the amount they spend on other items. The number of times we have seen governments take money and promise to do certain things with said money (such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge toll), and instead throw said money in to general revenue…if you believe that an increase in tax revenue from cigarettes will go directly in to the health system, then you also believe that pigs will fly in to Parliament House and sing the praises of Kevin Rudd during question time (and no, that does not include jetsetting backbench MPs posing Dorothy Dixer questions).
To put this as simply as I can, if the government has the guts to outlaw cigarettes, then I will support them, because that might actually have the positive health effects that they would like us to believe a tax increase will have. I will not, however, support stupid, money-hungry tax increases dressed up as health benefits.
And I don’t even smoke! I just don’t think it’s fair for people who legally choose to smoke, to be forced to pay extra taxes for the privilege, when those taxes are taken under false pretences. Nor do I think it is fair for smokers to be, on the assumption that smoking taxes actually do go towards health initiatives, forced to pay the nation’s health bill when there are plenty of other reasons for people to need to health care.
But of course we know that the government won’t outlaw cigarettes, because they know that a large percentage of the nation’s voters happen to enjoy smoking, and would not take kindly to their government declaring them to be criminals. It’s surprising that those same voters are more willing to accept an artificial increase in the price of their indulgence.
This plan has nothing to do with health, and everything to do with politics, and the people who wrote the report for Nicola Roxon know it.
Another month (and a week) gone, so it must be time, once again, to check in on US President Barack Obama’s approval ratings, and it has to be said that June was not a great month for him, with the “strongly approve vs strongly disapprove” figures favouring the “strongly disapprove” for the first time ever, and for a number of days in the month.
Looking solely at the “strongly approve” vs “strongly disapprove” figure, known as the “Rasmussen Approval Index”, we see that it crossed the zero line many times. Data courtesy Rasmussen Reports, LLC
As usual, to put this in context, here are the graphs for all of 2009. Data courtesy Rasmussen Reports, LLC
It’s quite clear, looking at those graphs, that June continued what May paused: the gradual increase in disapproval with Barack Obama. It’s just a pity that the US system of government does not have an opposition leader, as I would love to be able to compare the figures with an opposition leader if they had one.
I am much of happy to be doing have of the newses for you that I am to be go on of the hodliday of soon time from of next week in for the two weeks of coming as nice Mr. Boss did do say that I should be go on the hodlidays for time of weeks from the work of graderns as he si is also to be do go away and does want me to be setting of the waterings and to be finish of by end of week.
Neighbour of next door Mrs. Lesley is has and does do say that she will be happy to be do of look after nice cat Slavcatchski for the weeks of away time and this is good as I am to be go away for holdiliday of the drivings of around the Australia and am doing think of driving to the souths where it is of colder and good of memory for of the Russia.
The speaking of Russia does do remind me of the newses that Mr. Obama of the president of the America is doing holdilday on of the Russia which is of good and interesting but is of place where is not of the populars like he is of the in the Americas and I am think thaty nice Mr. Vladimir will be do of say of this to Mr. Obama when he is in of the Russia. I have been do hear of the Russia newses on the tephlephone when have been do of call to Mother of Russia and I think it is much funny to be doing hear of different in reports of the visists in the newses of the Russia and the AUstraklua and also the of America.
I am do hope to be plan of writeings to you of from the holiday time and will be do perhaps offer some advicings of the gardenings to the good people of places where I am do visit.
Please be having the week of wonderful and lovely.
From Maritz
Ms. Maritzkrozlavsky Throrglasnishozly
And the feature song is Moskau, the unofficial theme song of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. I’m using the English language version of the song for the lyrics, although I do think the German version sounds better.
And yes, I am aware that Maritz posted this video here when she filled in for me last year. The song was already on my Musician(s) Of The Week waiting list at the time, so I wasn’t overly pleased about it, although I was amused when she had trouble embedding the video and ended up embedding it twice.
Here’s the song…the English language version to start with.
Moscow, queen of the Russian land,
Built like a rock to stand, proud and divine.
Moscow, your golden towers glow,
Even through ice and snow, sparkling they shine.
And every night, night, night, there is music,
Oh, every night, night, night, there is love.
And every night, night, night, there is laughter,
Here’s to you brother, hey, brother, ho!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, throw your glasses at the wall,
And good fortune to us all, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, join us for a kazachok,
We’ll go dancing round the clock, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, drinking Vodka all night long,
Keeps you happy, makes you strong, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, come and have a drink and then,
You will never leave again, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey!
Moscow, Moscow, take Natascha in your arms,
You’ll be captured by her charms, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, she will make you understand,
Russia is a wondrous land, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Moscow! Moscow!
And every night, night, night, there is music,
Oh, every night, night, night, there is love.
And every night, night, night, there is laughter,
Here’s to you brother, hey, brother, ho!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, throw your glasses at the wall,
And good fortune to us all, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, join us for a kazachok,
We’ll go dancing round the clock, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, drinking Vodka all night long,
Keeps you happy, makes you strong, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, hey!
Moscow, Moscow, come and have a drink and then,
You will never leave again, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey!
And the German version, complete with words I doubt that I’ll ever be able to pronounce, let alone spell.
It is believed male sailors on HMAS Success devised a competition based around how many female colleagues they could sleep with.
Allegedly, men in the service put dollar amounts on the heads of different women and accrued points based on how many female colleagues they slept with.
Larger amounts were offered if the sailors could sleep with a female officer or a lesbian and sailors challenged each other to have sex in various locations, including on top of a pool table.
It is believed the sailors in question detailed their bets in a book known as “the ledger”.
Following complaints from female personnel, the damning book was discovered while the navy vessel was visiting Singapore in May.
The captain ordered the sailors to immediately return home to Australia after they were formally interviewed.
The Defence Department has now launched an internal inquiry into the matter.
“The matter concerning sailors who were returned to Australia from HMAS Success in May 2009 remains under investigation, so the veracity of any allegations has yet to be confirmed,” Defence said in a statement yesterday.
Cue the predictable shrieking from the usual corners…spokeswoman for the usual corners, Melinda Tankard-Reist from Women’s Forum Australia:
When you consider that women constitute 40 per cent of the Navy, they have a right to feel safe in their place of work and not to be treated as potential notches on a sailor’s belt. Obviously things have gone backwards, I thought the defence forces had moved on from this sort of pack-animal behaviour.
This is a serious sexual incident. It requires the strongest level of disciplinary action and censure possible. I don’t believe these men should be able to serve at sea anymore because they’re not reliable, they can’t be trusted, they don’t respect women and these are not the kind of men that we need defending us.
Oh come off it Melinda. There’s this amazing word called “no”. I’m not seeing any allegation that the male sailors forced female sailors to take part in their little competition, which means that if they said “no”, and the male sailors backed off, then there is nothing wrong with what has happened here. And realistically, if the allegations were about rape, that would be the headline, not “Navy Sex Scandal”.
Some people (and this includes you Melinda) seem to forget that military personnel are not “on duty” simply because they happen to be on-board a military asset. They, just like other humans, have rest breaks and downtime. As long as the alleged behaviour occurred during their downtime, in their “de-facto civilian” time, there is no real issue here.
I will cover all bases though by saying that, if it is found that the males who are alleged to have been involved were forcing females to take part, then they should be dealt with swiftly and severely, however I am seeing absolutely no reporting of any such allegations at this time, and therefore, as far as I’m concerned, this is no different to the behaviour exhibited by many (but not all) civilian males at the many and varied nightspots around the country.
As long as the word “no” is respected, what we end up with here is two consenting adults. It is not the role of the state to interfere under such circumstances.
We have a new benchmark ladies and gentlemen. No longer do you have to wait for my football or horse racing tips in order to work out who will not win, you can now safely assume that if I go offline on purpose, somebody of some importance will resign.
Last time it was Peter Costello, this time it’s Channel Nine newsreader Mark Ferguson, and Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shocked the political word Friday afternoon by announcing that she will step down at the end of the month and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell — a move that throws into doubt her political future and a potential run for president in 2012.
Palin, last year’s Republican vice presidential nominee, made the surprise announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.
“I never believed that I nor anyone else needs a title to do this, to make a difference,” she said. “I’m determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it’s not so comfortable.”
One factor she cited was the media and political attacks on her, and she suggested that her reason for quitting abruptly was to allow the state to move forward under Parnell without distraction, calling this the “right path for Alaska.”
“For my state and for my family to progress … I will not seek re-election as governor,” she said, voicing confidence that her successor would “continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success.”
Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month, Palin said.
I think the person to sum up Mrs. Palin’s resignation in the best manner is Eddie Burke, political commentator and broadcaster with radio KBYR in Alaska, who was interviewed yesterday by the excellent Mark Simone, filling in for Sean Hannity on Sean’s national radio show (convoluted, I know, but stick with me):
The Governor is sick and tired of the peppering of ethics complaints that has cost the citizens of the Alaska upwards of a million dollars. These liberals up here have just peppered her constantly. She can’t go to a snow machine race with her husband’s jacket on without getting an ethics complaint.
That said, I have been amused by the interestingly partisan reporting of the story. CBS News’ 1am EDT radio newscast, for example, was very amusing, declaring that Palin “couldn’t hit the nail on the head” in her press conference, implying that she didn’t make any sense.
I, for one, hope that this isn’t the end of Sarah’s political career. She has a lot to offer her country and I dare say that, if she does run on the Presidential ticket in 2012, it will be nice to have her doing so whilst not drawing a paycheck for a job (such as Governor) which she would struggle to do satisfactorily whilst in campaign mode. I think she may have learnt that lesson during the 2008 campaign where she was run off her feet doing both jobs. Perhaps Obama had it right in that regard…just ignore the job of Senator while campaigning.
Stepping away from the serious for a moment, when I first heard the story without the full details, and I heard Sarah saying that she would continue to “make a difference” for her country and that she “doesn’t need a title to do that” (paraphrased), my first thought was that she may be about to start a promising media career. Rush Limbaugh is on leave next week, and it would be great fun having Sarah Palin fill in for him. Alas, the details of the date of her resignation, July 26, dispel that fun theory.
Back to the serious, and I highly doubt that this is the last that we will see of Sarah Palin. In fact, I think that she has just placed herself in a better position to prepare for a run for President in 2012, and with Obama’s approval rating currently sitting on 53% according to the daily Rasmussen Tracking Poll, and the grassroots conservative movement gaining an awful lot of traction, 2012 could very well be the best time in many years for a strong conservative candidate to lead the Republican party to victory, and that would really need to start with next year’s mid-term elections.
I get the distinct impression that this is just the beginning for Sarah Palin, and that KXNT’s Casey Hendrickson was thoroughly correct when he mentioned that he was:
[..] watching the libs spring into disorganized action trying to figure out what Palin’s next move is. They are so transparently scared
.
Whatever Sarah’s next move is, I’m sure she will do very well, as will her country as a result.
I’m going offline for 24 hours now (update: OK, now that the Mark Ferguson story is out of the way, I’ll disappear for 24 hours). I am available for urgent contact only, on my mobile. In my absence, enjoy some video.
Nine newsreader Mark Ferguson has quit Channel Nine, and will be defecting to Channel Seven to read weekend news.
Ferguson had been in contract negotiations with Nine over the past few weeks, but has decided not to stay on at the station.
The move comes as little surprise to many, after Ferguson was punted from his weekday 6pm newsreading slot to the weekend, to make way for 60 Minutes journalist Peter Overton.
The axing reportedly left Ferguson furious.
For Nine, the shift didn’t prove to be a smart tactic – the one time news leader experienced a sharp decline in the ratings.
Ferguson had been presented as the face of Nine’s new This Afternoon news program, which debuted only this week.
His departure leaves Andrew Daddo and Katrina Blowers as the remaining hosts.
[..]
Ferguson’s shift to Seven raises questions about the future of [Seven’s] current newsreading line-up.
Rumours have been rife for some time that veteran reader Ian Ross is on the verge of retirement, with the popular Chris Bath set to take his place.
This would leave weekends for Ferguson.
Neither Nine nor Seven is commenting officially at this stage, although LIVENEWS.com.au sources have confirmed that the move is occuring.
Apologies for the quality of the text…it looks like somebody at livenews forgot to use a spellchecker.
I’m surprised that Mark would jump ship less than a week in to being “the news guy” on Nine’s new afternoon show, but to the same extent, he has every right to be annoyed with them. He was doing pretty well in the 6pm slot, was dumped on a whim, and has been shuffled between weekends, the Today show and weekday afternoons since. His body clock must be confused by now, and if Seven are promising to treat him better, then more power to him and them.
Mark is, in my opinion, the best television newsreader in the state. I wish him (not that I think he needs it) the best of luck at Channel Seven.
Why should this person be the “Jerk of the Week”?
Getting Casey’s name wrong on Channel 3 news.
Your Name (Optional)
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
KXNT’s Casey Hendrickson was interviewed by Channel 3 news about funding for the Springs Preserve park. They called him “Casey Hendrix”.
The great thing about the internet is that I’m able to see this for myself on the Channel 3 news website. It’s the video titled “Addressing operating costs for Springs Preserve” under the “Featured Videos” heading.
Update: Casey has forgiven Gerard because “Gerard is awesome”. End Update
There have been, like there’s a story today on the front page of the “Sunday Telegraph” and there’s been a number of them and almost all of these stories that we’ve gone away and checked out have been either inaccurate or not correct.
