30 October, 2008

Diet Coke is bad

I've just been analysing a few consumer items for a 'Green Day' I'm hosting at work. I've come to the conclusion that a can of Diet Coke from a vending machine is probably the worst thing you could buy (other than a uranium mine, perhaps).

Firstly, there are more environmentally-friendly beverage alternatives, so there isn't a true need to buy it.

Secondly, most of a can of Coke is actually marketing and packaging and energy consumed to get it to you.
- Aluminium for the can in particular has a high energy consumption.
- A vending machine uses a lot of energy to keep the product cool and the machine lit for marketing purposes.
- Fake sugar means you're keeping some chemical lab operating somewhere.
- It takes about three litres of water to make a litre of Coke.

Thirdly, the can, although recyclable, is not likely to be recycled if purchased at a vending machine due to the lack of recycling facilities in those types of locations (train stations etc).

And all you get is brown fizzy water that tastes gross.

Why do people drink that stuff?

Things I find funny

Entries are now being accepted for the 2009 Public Domain Awards, Australia's pre-eminent awards for the innovative use of concrete to enhance the urban landscape.

The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) Queensland is the peak professional body for people passionate about making a difference through public administration.

Alan Kohler: "Before the mid-30s, all cyclical economic downturns were called depressions, which is why the big one in 1930-33 was called the Great Depression: all the others were just common or garden variety depressions."

Please find attached Airport Doors' press release celebrating their 50th anniversary. As you'll see some of Australia's iconic doors have been created by them.

Jen Bishop: "Do all the comments about your hair annoy you?"
Donald Trump: "Not at all."

"As Haldeman-Julius readily found out, the public also liked titillation. Guy de Maupassant's The Tallow Ball sold three times better when entitled A French Prostitute's Sacrifice, and sales of Gautier's Fleece of Gold jumped from six thousand to fifty thousand when it was retitled The Quest for a Blonde Mistress."
- 'The Henry Ford of Literature' by Rolf Potts in The Believer magazine (Issue #56: September 08)

18 October, 2008

The Muppet Show Ep 38 (TV show)

Read a summary of this episode at Muppet Central.

When I want a little time out, I sit down and watch DVDs of The Muppet Show. I remember enjoying the show as a kid but I don't actually remember any of the shows so I've coerced these season DVDs out of my mum as Christmas gifts for the past couple of years (and I hear season 3 is out now, so that's Christmas 2008 sorted).

Although the jokes are often self-consciously corny, I like the show, the silliness and the oblique digs at conservatism.

But the reason this episode is super special is because it features Elton John, who was a big superstar at the time (and is still pretty newsworthy today) in a number of muppet-ational outfits. Often, the guests stars are well-known in the US, but I would struggle to name those I actually recognise apart from Julie Andrews and Bernadette Peters, both musical stars, and Peter Sellers.

While not my favourite artist, Elton ranks pretty highly on my list of musical favourites and this episode doesn't disappoint, with three big numbers: Crocodile Rock, Bennie and the Jets and Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road (which I usually attempt to sing at karaoke).



However, it isn't just Elton that makes the show appealing. The support skits are actually a lot funnier than previous shows, particularly the running gag with the Swedish chef and the chicken, which bleeds into the Pigs in Space sketch (when "two alien life forms" are detected on the ship) and continues backstage, front of stage and in Statler and Waldorf's box at the end of the show.

In the DVD version that I have, there is also a scene where Fozzie and Rowlf play English Country Garden on the piano. It is actually from a later episode in the season but cut into this episode for no apparent reason. However, it is one of the better Rowlf pieces (Rowlf is my favourite Muppet character) because it features Rowlf shouting "Modulate!" at Fozzie and ends with a huge glissando that takes both characters off the seat, the physical gag.



The other recurring theme that I like is the conservatism of Sam the Eagle, who always gets his comeuppance. In this episode, Kermit and Sam have a particularly funny exchange -
SAM: "I have seen some pretty weird guests on the show but this Elton John borders on the REVOLUTIONARY!"
KERMIT: "Sam, Elton John is a very important musician."
SAM: "Then why does he dress like a stolen car?"

Kermit then tells Sam that even classical musicians like Mozart were 'revolutionary' and wore high heels, stockings and a wig. After being shown a painting of Mozart wearing said outfit, Sam loses a bet and is forced to announce Elton's last song in flamboyant clothing. A win for the arts over conservatism!

This episode, for me, epitomises everything I like about the show: the guest spot, the characters, the jokes, the sly subversiveness and the music.

Episode rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10

LolDarth





From ROFLRazzi - most of them are crap but occasionally there's GOLD.

12 October, 2008

Facebook stole my life

I'm really annoyed because anyone who knows my sister will have seen pictures of my niece on her Facebook page. I haven't even seen a picture of my niece as I'VE NOT YET BEEN SENT A PHOTO DESPITE REQUESTS TO BOTH PARENTS AND BROTHER. And I'm not on Facebook.

09 October, 2008

Espanol

The best ad I've ever seen for language classes ever:

Long musing on short selling

I was surprised to find myself reading all about the role of ‘short selling’ in the global financial meltdown instead of heading out with my workmates to enjoy the lunchtime sunshine.

‘Short selling’ is basically this: I see an item at the shops. I say to you ‘hey, I just saw that thing you wanted at the shops—did you want me to get it for you next time I’m there?’ You say ‘sure, how much was it?’ I say, ‘$50’ and you hand over the cash.

So the next day I go to the shops, only they’re having a 20% off sale. I buy the item for you, but I have $10 spare. Should I keep the money or give it back to you? You were happy to pay $50 for the item, so it doesn’t matter to you whether you get the $10 change or not. But neither the item, nor the money you gave me, was actually mine, so I really shouldn’t have any claim to anything.

Short selling is making money from the fall in stock price with money that isn’t yours (excluding fees etc). It was also perfectly legal in Australia until last month. The part that people have a problem with is the deliberate preying on the fall in stock price. If I knew, for example, that the store was having a 20% off sale but still took $50 from you and pocketed $10, that would make my actions less ethical.

The up side of being a business journalist and learning all these things is now I think I actually understand the machinations of the enterprise that Milo Minderbinder sets up in Catch 22, which I’ve always skimmed over despite having read the novel several times. Milo buys eggs for six cents apiece and sells them for four cents and still makes a profit, and Yossarian wonders how. Milo, you capitalist bastard.

06 October, 2008

I heart TINA

THIS IS NOT ART...


The TINA Festival Club came furnished with pew-like seating and these delightful cardboard finishes. This year the club was located in the old rail holdings on the water side of Civic Station. It looks less dodgy than the PAN Building but it does seem to take the action away from the rest of the block, consisting of Civic Park, Watt Space Gallery, Octapod and Newcastle City Hall where a lot of the panels are.



Staple Manor where good zines go to be born.



Nobbys Head by night. The tripod was a good investment for night scenery like this. I have no idea why the sky turned out so red. The light was actually kind of yellow/orange.



Near Civic Station. I giggled for a while after I saw this. I just didn't realise you could get sheets of orange dot stickers the size of a tablecloths, nor did I realise those stickers could become a form of street art.