TV, movies, music, that kind of thing
CDs recently turned 30 years old. I first got a CD player in 1988, when they fell below $200 for the first time. It was a CDC brand player (made by Teac), for which I trekked out to KMart at Box Hill. It worked for fifteen years, until 2003 — though its replacement didn’t last ... [More]
I’d forgotten this. A version of The Police’s stalker song Every Breath You Take — with new lyrics written by the Spitting Image team and sung by Sting. (Don’t be put off by Youtube’s preview frame — it’s not just a credits roll.) There is some good stuff loosely in this genre these days, but ... [More]
Just after I moved to my current address, I noted that some of the local kids went Trick Or Treating for Halloween. It’s been the same in subsequent years, and I fully expect the same next week. I’ve decided that while I’m not into cultural imperialism and the adaption of American traditions to Australia, this ... [More]
Among the presents I got for my birthday was a JB Hifi gift card. This always presents a challenge: what bargains can I pick up? Browsing around the store one day, I found the two Harry Potter movies we don’t already have — the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2 — on Blu-ray, for $14.98, ... [More]
This topic came up on social media and in real life recently: do you still buy CDs, and why? I do. I buy some stuff on iTunes and Bigpond Music (which sells MP3s), and buy some stuff (particularly older material) on CD. Why? Because I prefer the softer, warmer, fuller sound of CDs to the ... [More]
Because I’m interested in politics, I make it my practice to follow various politicians on Twitter, whether I agree with them or not, including all the local ones I can find. My local federal MP Andrew Robb would have to have the single most relentlessly negative Twitter feed of any of them. Here’s all his ... [More]
With thanks to my super-cake-baker sister Susannah. If (gasp) you don’t get it, well, you’d better watch this.
Did I post this already? I don’t think I did. Hopefully not. Why are Twitter messages 140 characters? Because they were designed to fit into the 160 characters of a text message, with some characters filled up with header information and so on. So why are text messages 160 characters? Because they fit into 140 ... [More]
Can you combine street art, classic video games and a Melbourne street map? Yes! CDH Art: “Using the familiar street art motif of retro gaming, I created a walking guide-map to Melbourne’s street art.”
Fifty years ago the people waiting on this bench might have been smoking — now they’re all fiddling with their phones. It’s long been thought that mobile phones might be replacing cigarettes: Teenagers may be getting healthier because mobile phones are replacing cigarettes as a symbol of rebellion and fashion. Clive Bates, Ash director, suggested ... [More]
Yowzers. It’s been 7 years since I bought the house. And it’s been four years since I bought the car. At the time I bought the car, the dealer I bought it from had just paid the rego, so it’s due every August. This year it’s $696.50. Obviously because I bought the car in August, ... [More]
I’m not normally one who really watches the Olympics, but I really enjoyed the opening ceremony of the London games. Not the athletes parade of course; apart from the quite inspiring presence of some of the really troubled countries like Sudan and Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, I’m sorry, but I find it a real yawnfest. ... [More]