The Engineer also Muses

Muchas Grassy Ass Amigo!

Serenity

Posted by Janek on July 9, 2009

Fog.

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.

Nothing stirs. Nothing moves.

Silence.

Serenity.

Fog.

Posted in on literature, on me | Leave a Comment »

Palin Bailin’

Posted by Janek on July 5, 2009

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.

Some reasons why she might have quit…

Posted in on the US Election, on the government | 1 Comment »

MacGyver to the rescue!

Posted by Janek on July 4, 2009

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.

Posted in in pictures, on the interblahs | 2 Comments »

A not so cool thing

Posted by Janek on July 3, 2009

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:

Posted in on gay rights, on homophobia, on homosexuality, on the government | Leave a Comment »

A Few Cool Things

Posted by Janek on July 3, 2009

I read tonnes of things online every day, and here are some of my favourite videos (or links to videos) that I wanted to share:

Mrs Slocombe discusses her pussy

Web-Side Story

Those folks at CollegeHumor have put together this little ditty to the tunes from West-Side Story about, well, the internet: Link

Africa, complete with thunderstorm

Toto’s Africa is a well-known tune, and this group from Solvenia has put together a stunning performance.

Posted in on nothing in particular | Leave a Comment »

Addiction

Posted by Janek on July 1, 2009

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

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 :)

Posted in on me | Leave a Comment »

Indecision ‘09 – which songs?

Posted by Janek on June 28, 2009

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.

  1. Air – Sexy Boy
  2. Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (tunnels)
  3. Ben Folds Five – Best Imitation Of Myself
  4. Blur – Girls & Boys
  5. Bright Eyes – Lover I Don’t Have To Love
  6. Clash, The – Rock The Casbah
  7. Cure, The – Lovecats
  8. Dandy Warhols, The – Bohemian Like You
  9. Flaming Lips, The – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Part 1
  10. Franz Ferdinand – Michael
  11. Garbage – Cherry Lips
  12. Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains
  13. Interpol – Obstacle 1
  14. Interpol – Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
  15. John Lennon – Imagine
  16. Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now
  17. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
  18. k.d. lang – Hallelujah
  19. Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
  20. Kasabian – Empire
  21. Killers, The – Mr Brightside
  22. Kraftwerk – The Model
  23. Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow (feat. Nick Cave)
  24. Leonard Cohen – Bird On The Wire
  25. Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
  26. Martha Wainwright – Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
  27. Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
  28. Music, The – Getaway
  29. New Order – Blue Monday
  30. Nina Simone – Sinner Man
  31. Oasis – Dont Look Back In Anger
  32. Patrick Wolf – Tristan
  33. PJ Harvey – This Mess We’re In (feat. Thom Yorke)
  34. Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing (feat. David Bowie)
  35. Postal Service, The – We Will Become Silhouettes
  36. Pulp – Common People
  37. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
  38. Radiohead – How To Disappear Completely
  39. Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place
  40. Regina Spektor – Samson
  41. Sia – Breath Me
  42. Sigur Rós – Untitled 4
  43. Sinéad O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
  44. Sonic Youth – Superstar
  45. Strokes, The – Juicebox
  46. White Stripes, The – Jolene
  47. 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

  1. Air – Sexy Boy
  2. Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (tunnels)
  3. Bright Eyes – Lover I Don’t Have To Love
  4. Cure, The – Lovecats
  5. Franz Ferdinand – Michael
  6. Garbage – Cherry Lips
  7. Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now
  8. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
  9. Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
  10. New Order – Blue Monday
  11. Nina Simone – Sinner Man
  12. Pulp – Common People
  13. Radiohead – How To Disappear Completely
  14. Regina Spektor – Samson
  15. Sia – Breath Me
  16. 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.

Posted in on elections, on the theatre | 1 Comment »

Android Vs iPhone

Posted by Janek on June 26, 2009

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?

Posted in Polls, on me, on the daily grind | 2 Comments »

The Arguments

Posted by Janek on June 23, 2009

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

The Gay Marriage debate, as compiled from Facebook

Posted in on gay marriage, on homophobia, on homosexuality | Leave a Comment »

The Great Flag Debarkle

Posted by Janek on June 18, 2009

67

Flickr: The Gay Flag Makeover – A Studio 360 Design Challenge Pool.

Extreme Makeover: Gay Flag

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

Posted in in pictures, on homosexuality | 1 Comment »