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An all-encompassing thick soup of fog.
The clock chimes 3.30, but few hear it.
The city is peaceful, serene, empty;
and yet filled with sleeping minds and distant dreams.
The smoke from my cigarette twists whistfully into the night,
a car speeds by on another street,
the moment seems mine and yet shared, invasively.
A child-sized bench sits damp from dew,
5c placed carefully on the arm, its owner long forgotten, or recent?
It matters no more.
The fog continues to sit.
the pub’s lights cut through, and yet the building is hardly visible,
the drinkers long ago having poured into their beds,
only the shadows remain.
Dew drops fall from the tree gracefully:
plop, into the steaming tea.
So, everyone knows by now that Sarah Palin has decided to leave office. No one quite knows why. I don’t think SHE even knows why. Try listening to her resignation address, or her spokesperson’s interview with Anderson Cooper, and if you understand it, please tell me.
As an engineer, you need only two tools. WD-40 if it doesn’t move and it should, gaffa tape if it moves and it shouldn’t.
Anon.
I’d like to thank Wired.com for this wonderful, wonderful link. As an engineer, I’m often called on to fix things. This is not how they usually turn out. There, I Fixed It! is a blog with a certain degree of… MacGyver-ness to it. Here are some of my favourites. Go there. Now.
The whole business with DADT and rights of the Gays in America keeps dragging on, and Obama proves to not be fighting so hard. Here’s what was said by Alison Stewart and Keith Olbermann on the matter:
I’m not one who usually latches on to things relentlessly, but I’ve recently become addicted to True Blood and Nurse Jackie.
True Blood
Sookie and Bill in True Blood
After Six Feet Under (a favourite of mine) finished, creator Alan Ball moved on to the Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris, presenting this great, wonderful, brilliant show. With Vampires.
It’s very allegorical, with strong references between the freedom sort for by the Vampires as is seen in the struggle for rights of the queer community. It’s well done, which has reminded me of Buffy when she’s in full swing
But, most of all, it has the dishy Alexander Skarsard as Eric, Sheriff of “Area 5″, which appears to refer to the main setting, Louisiana. The disconnect from most usual settings, such as the New York/New England area, or on the West Coast around California way. It harks of what little I know about the “Bible Belt”, strong conservative Republican views of the area.
Nurse Jackie
This is a new show that I’ve just discovered about a pain relief-addicted nurse who has to deal with a child-like doctor, a gay male nurse best friend, and an affair that she’s carrying on with the head pharmacist. It’s from Rick Cleveland, who was a producer for Six Feet Under and West Wing (one of many). And it’s got Haaz Sleiman in it as the gay nurse.
What I love about Haaz particularly is that he is a really positive gay character with no obvious “flaws”. Lafayette in True Blood is also gay, but he is a drug dealer and has a poor website. It’s great to have prominent gay characters in both of these shows, though
I’ve been making my shortlist of songs for the Triple J’s Hottest 100 of all times, and I’m down to 47, which means there are still 37 to be removed. It’s so much fun! Even as I edit this list for publishing, I can see ones I want to remove. Oops, there goes one. Dang, there goes another. All the way down to… 16.
Air – Sexy Boy
Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (tunnels)
Ben Folds Five – Best Imitation Of Myself
Blur – Girls & Boys
Bright Eyes – Lover I Don’t Have To Love
Clash, The – Rock The Casbah
Cure, The – Lovecats
Dandy Warhols, The – Bohemian Like You
Flaming Lips, The – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Part 1
Franz Ferdinand – Michael
Garbage – Cherry Lips
Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains
Interpol – Obstacle 1
Interpol – Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
John Lennon – Imagine
Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
k.d. lang – Hallelujah
Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
Kasabian – Empire
Killers, The – Mr Brightside
Kraftwerk – The Model
Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow (feat. Nick Cave)
Leonard Cohen – Bird On The Wire
Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
Martha Wainwright – Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
Music, The – Getaway
New Order – Blue Monday
Nina Simone – Sinner Man
Oasis – Dont Look Back In Anger
Patrick Wolf – Tristan
PJ Harvey – This Mess We’re In (feat. Thom Yorke)
Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing (feat. David Bowie)
Postal Service, The – We Will Become Silhouettes
Pulp – Common People
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Radiohead – How To Disappear Completely
Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Regina Spektor – Samson
Sia – Breath Me
Sigur Rós – Untitled 4
Sinéad O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
Sonic Youth – Superstar
Strokes, The – Juicebox
White Stripes, The – Jolene
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
While I look at the list, I see how few Australian songs are on there. Is this a bad thing? Who knows.
Moving on through, I have another few to dispatch with… it’s the last few that always make it hard. Sigh. I liked that one. This one too. Sigh. Finally, the final 10
Air – Sexy Boy
Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (tunnels)
Bright Eyes – Lover I Don’t Have To Love
Cure, The – Lovecats
Franz Ferdinand – Michael
Garbage – Cherry Lips
Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
New Order – Blue Monday
Nina Simone – Sinner Man
Pulp – Common People
Radiohead – How To Disappear Completely
Regina Spektor – Samson
Sia – Breath Me
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
It’ll be interesting to see how it all turns out. The first two times that TripleJ did a countdown, Joy Division came first both times, though at the time it was only 10 or so years old.
So, I’m thinking of getting a new phone, and I’m tossing up between the iPhone and HTC Magic powered by Android. Most people seem to be suggesting iPhones, but they’re kinda common, and I hate being common. Someone compared Android to Zune. I already have an iPod, so I’m not looking for large storage devices. There are more apps for the iPhone though. Oh, I’m so confused. So, any comments?
So, the world goes around in circles sometimes, and this image will certainly do the rounds, but here it is nonetheless: The arguments for and against gay marriage.
Behold! (Click to embiggen)
The Gay Marriage debate, as compiled from Facebook
Someone, somewhere, decided to try and improve on the iconic rainbow flag. It’s like that task they give kids in primary school to redesign the Australian Flag.
I’m still shuddering.
Just as a side (key) point… there is a specific reason the flag is as it is, it is part of the movement, the identity, and the fact that we are all the same and yet different, a mixture of life. Why would we want a new flag?
This image here, by the way, is one of my favourites, especially for combining religion and the pride flag. I’ve used it on XT3