Monthly Archives: February 2005

Vale Hugh Slattery, 1915-2005

This morning, at about 0740, my maternal grandfather, Hugh Slattery, died. He was 90. The event Dad called me at around 0800, and told me, his voice shaking a little as the call ended. He’d died peacefully, Dad said, “just … Continue reading

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End government arts funding now!

So I proposed in my review of Japanese Story. Adam Ford commented: This is a joke, right? No, Adam, it’s no joke. Here’s why I’d like to see an immediate end to government arts funding: Taxation is a form of … Continue reading

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Japanese Story (review)

Sue Brooks (dir.) Japanese Story. 2003. 2/10 I was determined not to like this film, and so, unsurprisingly, I didn’t. On one level, this is a film about a woman’s being forced to face and accept the reality of death. … Continue reading

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Cross-media franchises

I had lunch yesterday with Harvey Lee, formerly of Blue Tongue Entertainment, an Australian videogame developer. Among the things we talked about were licensed videogames: apparently these are the only opportunities available to small, contracting developers. “Think about it… What … Continue reading

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The halo effect

Macworld UK - Oz Mac sales double – IDC Apparently sales of Apple computers are really taking off in Australia. Macworld UK quotes IT analyst Michael Sager saying “Apple seems to be finally benefiting from the iPod halo effect.” I … Continue reading

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Will trade labour for money

Why don’t you ever see a homeless person in a movie or on TV holding a sign that says that? Why do their signs always say something like “will strip for food”? I suppose it’s because those fictional characters neither … Continue reading

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Addendum to yesterday

Yesterday I wrote about the wrong way to relate to the powers of science: to scorn them as inauthentic. For the curious, I think Ray Kurzweil has the right idea on this matter, according to a report in Wired. Kurzweil … Continue reading

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Acquiescence is futile

I am going bald. Or at least, I was. Today I went to a doctor and got a prescription for finasteride, a drug that halts male pattern baldness (also known as androgenetic alopecia). Of course, it remains to be seen … Continue reading

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Upgrade to WordPress 1.5

If you notice that the site is a mess, it’s because I just upgraded to WordPress 1.5. I’m hoping to soon have things looking like they were before. Thanks to all the WordPress developers for making such mayhem possible.

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Nathan Barley

A little while ago Mel posted a link to an article, along with some of her own musings (scroll down and look for February 16) expressing distaste for the emotionally arid cleverness of McSweeney’s. Both this post and Christian’s (again, … Continue reading

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