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Some Posts of Particular Interest: DrJon's Discordian Posts Internet Cats: The Big Memecats List Ceiling Cat Redux: A Retrospective The Googly-eyed Garfield Gallery Web Comics on Livejournal Australia: The Confusing Country DrJon's Mighty Dick The Zombie Jesus Gallery The Eye Tree Gallery The DrJon Throttler

Welcome to the Head of DrJon's Blogtopus Empire!

gaijin_haijin

linkfrenzy

 
Sometimes your friends are your lifeline.

Coope, Boyes and Simpson--Lay Me Low
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Gx27jRbYo&feature=player_embedded

( Lyrics )

 
This is just an Odd Thing which I'll note here unflocked and uncut, for obvious reasons. I got a phone call yesterday afternoon from Centrelink. It was a very friendly, polite and nice lady from Centrelink, ringing to apologise about not getting back to me. There had been delays in processing queries.

She couldn't tell me anything about the actual query, as she just had my name and number, she said. But she was very friendly and polite, and very apologetic, and was hoping that whatever my query had been about, that it had been resolved.

Then she asked if there was anything I wanted checked. I was rather curious, so I said yes. She said (very politely, very kindly) that she'd need my DoB in order to process my query. For privacy reasons.

Hmm. I explained that although she was very kind and polite, I'd have to ring her back at a number I could verify before I'd be able to do that, because she could really be anyone on the phone. She explained that there wasn't really any number she could give me then for me to call back on, but was very polite about it, and we left it at that.

Although the odds are very good she was entirely legitimate (it makes sense that they'd have polite people doing this kind of work), and the call didn't even set my spidersenses off, I'm still glad I didn't tell her my DoB. It really could have been anyone on the phone, and a successful con-artist is successful because they don't set your spidersenses off.

Never trust a lack of spidersense reaction to support taking risks. Don't trust that the nice security guard who's always keeping an eye out for you won't assault or rape you if you find yourself in a vunerable position. Don't trust that the friendly neighbour who takes your rubbish bins out if you forgot them won't assault or abuse your child if you ask them to keep an eye on the little tyke for 30 minutes while you pop down the shops for ice-cream. Don't trust that the work colleague that you've had on your team for a while and who pulls their weight won't nick the credit card you left lying on your desk and spend up big on Pr0n Sites on the Internets.

Trust people you have a long and close relationship with. Trust the people you spend lots of time with. Trust people you've seen in their pygamas. Trust people whose flaws you know, and who know your flaws. Trust people whose close friends are your close friends. Trust people you have good reason to trust.

Don't trust people without good reason. Much of the time, you'll get away with trusting foolishly, but when you don't get away with it, you'll know it.

 
Movie Award Leftovers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QyqAglaojY
Spring Cleaning! We figured we'd upload a few of these rather than just delete them off our drives. Months back MTV asked us to make some shorts similar to our TV intros for the 2009 Movie Awards. We did a handful. They aired the Star Trek bit and a skit we made with The Lonely Island but passed on the rest.

 
But sounds very reminiscent...

The Dodos-- Winter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbnVaSi9pdI

( Lyrics )

 
I have two free Double Passes to give away for Paranormal Activity, from the lovely folks at thinktank communications.

Because I'm too lazy to write the copy myself, The movie centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The movie is presented in a documentary style, using footage from the camera set up by the couple to capture what is haunting them...¹

The tickets are to the Preview tonight at 6.15pm, at the Palace Barracks cinema in Petrie Tce. (Brisbane. In case you were wondering if it was at some other Petrie Tce in, for example, Bolivia.)

To win, be one of the first two people to leave a comment here telling me, in one word or less, or more, that you'd like the tickets. And then turn up.

Subscribe: RSS

( You asked for it.... okay, you begged me not to, but I'm ignoring you. La La La La La! Can't hear you! )

• The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
  Fascinating look at why bell curves are crap in the Real World, and how we're all doomed from the Attack of the Black Swans.
  
• Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Dark Ages
  I got it because I thought it would be Aristotly, but it turned out to be a good look at the history of the entanglement and interdependence of the Church and the Enlightenment.
  
• Mutiny, Terrorism, Riots and Murder: A History of Sedition in Australia and New Zealand
  Hee hee. Good overview of the real history of Australia
  
• Self-Made Man
  Excellent gender studies book

• How Islam Created the Modern World
  
• Voluntary Madness
  
• Something on the Al-Andalus period
  
• Superfreakonomics

 
Horrible Turn--trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSERdohIYrw


( The Whole Damned Hour-long Thing )

Love that first song. Not bad at all for an "amateur effort". Must watch the rest of it sometime.

 
This one is for Miss L, who needs something to boost her at the moment. This one worked for me when I got the door in my face. For a bit, anyway.

The Dresden Dolls--Good Day
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt2gc_the-dresden-dolls-good-day_music

( Lyricken )

 
Looks like more are on their way... These are for james72... ( We Cut because we Care )

 
The Ten Most Amazing Things From the New Lady Gaga Music Video

Lady Gaga--Bad Romance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACm9yECwSso (links via alostrael disinfo)

 
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

 
It was with great relief to many in the industry when the news came over the other day that the Australian regulatory regime for books would not be lifted. As I requoted on twitter, "If territorial book protection is good enough for the US and the UK, why is it wrong for Australia?"

The following just came through on a local SF list I'm on, and as it's an interesting perspective, I asked the writer, Chuck McKenzie, if I could reprint it here.

I'd like to add a (fairly long and involved) note to this - apologies to those with sort attention-spans. :)

As an actual employee of Dymocks (I manage a store), it's probably worth my mentioning that the so-called 'Coalition for Cheaper Books' was never, and is not now, *necessarily* backed by the Dymocks *franchisees* who actually own and run the individual stores. I can only speak for the dozen or so franchisees to whom I personally have spoken (or whose opinions have been passed on to me by other franchisees) regarding this issue, but the fact that *none* of those franchisees were enthusiastic about the campaign does suggest an overall trend.

There are two main reasons for this lack of enthusiasm. One is that, throughout this campaign, franchisees were given *exactly* the same information by Dymocks Head Office that was given to the media and the general public, usually in the form of memos and press releases. In other words, at no time that I've been made aware of were franchisees asked to comment upon, or contribute to, the setting up of this Coalistion, before or during the campaign. At no point, either, have they been made privy to the 'deeper motivations' - if any - behind the campaign. Yes, I know you only have my word on this, but there it is.

The second reason brings us back towards the issue that Rob has explored. There are currently many threats to, and problems within, the Australian bookselling industry (which includes everyone from authors, agents and editors, to printers, publishers, suppliers, booksellers and - yes - customers), the most obvious of which are posed by changing trends and technologies (plus the Global Financial Chicken, which has made this last year an absolute bastard for most booksellers). There are also problems that have been affecting the industry for ages, but which the aforementioned changes to T&T have only now begun to highlight. One of these problems is that - as mentioned by Rob, and a host of others over the past few months, from both sides of the fence - books *are* generally much more expensive in Australia than elsewhere (and there are reasons for this - some valid, others less so - such as market size, standard pricing of goods and services, etc); thus, if cheaper alternatives are offered to customers, booksellers, or anyone else involved in the industry, why the heck *wouldn't* they take advantage.

Here's the thing, though; lifting the PIR was touted as a means to solve this specific problem. Fair enough. Except that it almost certainly would not have worked. ( Moar... lots moar... we cut because we care )

Hope this has been of interest to someone.

Cheers,
Chuck

Dear Universe,

Haiku Poet and Desktopper/WebDevver still looking for work, desperately. Please send job.

Love and Rockets,
jon

 
The Axis of Awesome--The 4 Chord Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBVnMf2t7w (via maggiebloome)

 
To Nurgle and Jocko for yesterday, and to J of Clan B, for today. Congratulations on finishing your Year One. I hope your Year Two is even more exciting.

Also, Valé Tinhead Ned. 128 years. Such is life. So it goes.

 
Rathergood (feat. Richard Dawkins and Science)-- Science Is Interesting [NSFW]
http://www.rathergood.com/science


Also, Agamemnon (and Legolambnon)

 
Mumford and Sons--Little Lion Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E

( Lyrics )

Red and White Poppies,
For the men and the women and the children.

Remember.