i saw this somewhere and i couldn't keep a straight face the whole time - this guy should be releasing a dvd or something!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
... nanowrimo 2.0 (for me, at least)
well, november begins tomorrow and so does my latest attempt to write a novel. i don't remember right this second where i found out about national novel writing month but ever since i've been planning and trying to come up with ideas that will take me over the 50,000-word mark by november 30. i guess we'll soon find out.
this year, if you're reading my blog, my challenge to you is to likewise take up the challenge. i know some of you who read this were creative writers in times past. if you can crank out 1700 words a day, you too can write a novel in november. the link is www.nanowrimo.org. last year i only managed a few thousand words - this year i plan to be a good deal more disciplined.
give it a try. if you manage 2,000 words a day you get to have a sabbath! and if this appeals but you don't think you can write a novel (and the theory behind nanowrimo is that everyone can write a novel - a good novel comes from the editing... maybe), try script frenzy - it's 152 days away (apparently) and requires 100 pages of script over the month of april. the script itself can be film, television, radio or graphic novel.
wish me luck - comments and text messages with script ideas are welcome and appreciated!
this year, if you're reading my blog, my challenge to you is to likewise take up the challenge. i know some of you who read this were creative writers in times past. if you can crank out 1700 words a day, you too can write a novel in november. the link is www.nanowrimo.org. last year i only managed a few thousand words - this year i plan to be a good deal more disciplined.
give it a try. if you manage 2,000 words a day you get to have a sabbath! and if this appeals but you don't think you can write a novel (and the theory behind nanowrimo is that everyone can write a novel - a good novel comes from the editing... maybe), try script frenzy - it's 152 days away (apparently) and requires 100 pages of script over the month of april. the script itself can be film, television, radio or graphic novel.
wish me luck - comments and text messages with script ideas are welcome and appreciated!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
... oops...
well, it's been a little while, alas. just a short note to let anyone who might possibly be reading this blog that today (october 13) is international suit-up day. suggestions for how you might participate in the day include:
- wear a suit to university
- wear a suit to work
- wear a suit to hospital
- wear a suit to school
- buy a suit
- drink in a suit
Thursday, August 05, 2010
... ready for boarding
alas, my plane is not. i'm waiting at the domestic terminal at tullamarine for my flight to sydney. i played raiden ii (classic vertical-scrolling airplane fighting game) and realised i'm very out of practice. actually, i rather hope i'm just out of practice - i'd hate to think that my hand-eye co-ordination is decaying so badly!
the gate lounges are very clean but a bit spartan. i don't think i've ever really noticed that before. after having spent several hours wandering (pleasantly) around san francisco airport, my expectations of what a good gate terminal should be like have risen - perhaps unrealistically. given melbourne is meant to be such an artistic and cultural mecca in australia, it seems a shame that there's no art displays to speak of around the departures terminal. when i was in s.f., there were a series of display plinths along the centre of the corridors showing crockery (i know, a little boring, but...) from different eras in post wwi american history. i found it really interesting, especially the accompanying stories of the designers and their lives.
later...
arrived in sydney ahead of time if that can be believed. we left melbourne ten minutes late and actually hit the tarmac here in el norte just a little ahead of schedule, around 10h35. refreshing. so i'm sitting here, enjoying a gloria jeans coffee and whiling away some time while i wait for my pay to be processed by my bank. i'll buy my new myzone multi2 ticket (which i've just learned has replaced the previous travelpass series of tickets.
i find it a little ironic that i've just left melbourne, in a state that has wasted something to the tune of $1.2 billion, and touched down in sydney, where the nsw government has implemented a ticketing system that looks and smells a whole lot like the metcard system that myki is meant to be replacing. not that i'm complaining - i think it's about time that the private bus companies in sydney were finally brought into line with the rest of the transport system's ticketing - i just hope that when the time comes for government to waste the public's money on the public transport system here in new south wales, they'll throw money away on improving rail infrastructure and not one a white elephant smartcard that is more difficult to use than the system it's meant to supersede.
still what would i know? i don't drive or have a mortgage or a credit card, so why would my opinion count for anything? (oooh... bitter much? just a little bit, maybe...)
the gate lounges are very clean but a bit spartan. i don't think i've ever really noticed that before. after having spent several hours wandering (pleasantly) around san francisco airport, my expectations of what a good gate terminal should be like have risen - perhaps unrealistically. given melbourne is meant to be such an artistic and cultural mecca in australia, it seems a shame that there's no art displays to speak of around the departures terminal. when i was in s.f., there were a series of display plinths along the centre of the corridors showing crockery (i know, a little boring, but...) from different eras in post wwi american history. i found it really interesting, especially the accompanying stories of the designers and their lives.
later...
arrived in sydney ahead of time if that can be believed. we left melbourne ten minutes late and actually hit the tarmac here in el norte just a little ahead of schedule, around 10h35. refreshing. so i'm sitting here, enjoying a gloria jeans coffee and whiling away some time while i wait for my pay to be processed by my bank. i'll buy my new myzone multi2 ticket (which i've just learned has replaced the previous travelpass series of tickets.
i find it a little ironic that i've just left melbourne, in a state that has wasted something to the tune of $1.2 billion, and touched down in sydney, where the nsw government has implemented a ticketing system that looks and smells a whole lot like the metcard system that myki is meant to be replacing. not that i'm complaining - i think it's about time that the private bus companies in sydney were finally brought into line with the rest of the transport system's ticketing - i just hope that when the time comes for government to waste the public's money on the public transport system here in new south wales, they'll throw money away on improving rail infrastructure and not one a white elephant smartcard that is more difficult to use than the system it's meant to supersede.
still what would i know? i don't drive or have a mortgage or a credit card, so why would my opinion count for anything? (oooh... bitter much? just a little bit, maybe...)
Monday, July 26, 2010
... not unhinged
having lunch and catching up on reading phd comics and in a strip about visiting comic-con for the first time jorge cham referenced another online comic called unshelved. i took some time to check it out and while it refers mainly to to the world of librarians, i think there are some gems in there for anyone who's worked in customer service. now that i've been working in a bookshop for a while, i'm enjoying rather a bit more of it than i would have before. delicious. you should check it out.
Friday, July 16, 2010
... visiting el norte
i have my flights booked - 09h15 melbourne to sydney on the 5th, 21h15 sydney to melbourne on the 8th. i even worked it out that i'll have clean work clothes for the monday and tuesday after i get home that i will have washed on the tuesday night before i leave! (bonuses to being a creature of habit...)
i'm looking forward to catching up with people in sydney while i'm there, as well as kicking back and relaxing a little. i'm especially looking forward to visiting mars hill cafe - it's been such a long time since i had my classic chicken quesadillas and dark horse coffee, i've almost forgotten what they taste like!
i'm looking forward to catching up with people in sydney while i'm there, as well as kicking back and relaxing a little. i'm especially looking forward to visiting mars hill cafe - it's been such a long time since i had my classic chicken quesadillas and dark horse coffee, i've almost forgotten what they taste like!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
... some musings on wisdom
i've been thinking about wisdom a little bit lately. here are some quotes on wisdom that have stuck in my head:
wisdom for a man’s self is, in many branches thereof, a depraved thing. it is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house, somewhat before it fall. it is the wisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made room for him. it is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears when they would devour. but that which is specially to be noted is, that those which (as cicero says of pompey) are sui amantes, sine rivali, are many times unfortunate. and whereas they have, all their times, sacrificed to themselves, they become in the end, themselves sacrifices to the inconstancy of fortune, whose wings they thought, by their self-wisdom, to have pinioned.- sir francis bacon, of wisdom fo a man’s self
in seeking wisdom then art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool.- rabbi ben azai (aze)
the moving finger writes; and, having writ,- omar khayyam, the rubáiyát
moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.
the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;- the Bible (esv), proverbs 1:7
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
the words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one shepherd. my son, beware of anything beyond these. of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.- the Bible (esv), ecclesiates 12:11-14
the end of the matter; all has been heard. fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. for God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Friday, July 09, 2010
... in recent news...
there's been a few things happening, so this is kind of a catch-up entry: there'll be more to follow of other musings and i may even finally start posting on my movie review blog. don't get too excited - i say may - we'll see what happens.
work continues well. i enjoy my job and work with good people and continue to be able to say that i have fallen on my feet and no mistake. i am reading quite a bit - i just finished john birmingham's new book, after america, and am currently working my way through a book slated for release in the coming months. i've not long since finished a couple of bill brysons - the lost continent and a walk in the woods - and i'm also reading all gone to look for america (peter millar), intercessory prayer (dutch sheets) and thriving youth ministry in smaller churches (rick chromey and stephanie caro). there's quite a bit on the go, as i indicated, but i'm enjoying the richness and variety available. my favourite book of the last twelve months remains the brain that changes itself by norman doidge, m.d. - it's a brilliant book, electrifying in its ability to inspire hope in the face of tragedy and the excitement of possibility in the face of the apathy of assumption.
my sister was married recently. it was a great day and i'm very glad for her. i'm sorry - i didn't take photos - i'm simply hoping to try to acquire some of the myriad photos taken by others i know who were in attendance. i'm a pretty poor photographer anyway. my sister looked beautiful; my new brother-in-law, mon beauf, seemed pretty pleased with himself and my mum seemed wonderfully content with the day. i'm glad. i'm hoping to visit sydney for a few days to see one of my sisters in Christ get married. (my weddings-and-funerals suit is really getting a workout...) if you're in sydney and would like to catch up, please give me a bell. i hope to be in sydney for three, maybe four nights. we'll see how we go.
i've been struggling with a cold this last couple of weeks but hopefully it's on its way out and i'll be back to my usual self in short order.
work continues well. i enjoy my job and work with good people and continue to be able to say that i have fallen on my feet and no mistake. i am reading quite a bit - i just finished john birmingham's new book, after america, and am currently working my way through a book slated for release in the coming months. i've not long since finished a couple of bill brysons - the lost continent and a walk in the woods - and i'm also reading all gone to look for america (peter millar), intercessory prayer (dutch sheets) and thriving youth ministry in smaller churches (rick chromey and stephanie caro). there's quite a bit on the go, as i indicated, but i'm enjoying the richness and variety available. my favourite book of the last twelve months remains the brain that changes itself by norman doidge, m.d. - it's a brilliant book, electrifying in its ability to inspire hope in the face of tragedy and the excitement of possibility in the face of the apathy of assumption.
my sister was married recently. it was a great day and i'm very glad for her. i'm sorry - i didn't take photos - i'm simply hoping to try to acquire some of the myriad photos taken by others i know who were in attendance. i'm a pretty poor photographer anyway. my sister looked beautiful; my new brother-in-law, mon beauf, seemed pretty pleased with himself and my mum seemed wonderfully content with the day. i'm glad. i'm hoping to visit sydney for a few days to see one of my sisters in Christ get married. (my weddings-and-funerals suit is really getting a workout...) if you're in sydney and would like to catch up, please give me a bell. i hope to be in sydney for three, maybe four nights. we'll see how we go.
i've been struggling with a cold this last couple of weeks but hopefully it's on its way out and i'll be back to my usual self in short order.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
... what the...?!
my yahoo id has vanished. i checked my email today fine, last time i checked was about 2-ish this afternoon at work and now it's as if i haven't had the same email address for, oh... i don't know... a very long time!!!
maybe i'll wake up in the morning and it will all be a dream.
maybe i'll wake up in the morning and it will all be a dream.
Monday, May 10, 2010
... i really like this
i was put onto this by a friend. personally, i think that the papyrus font has been seriously abused in the video clip and i'm sad to see such a versatile and robust font treated so badly. like ms comic sans before it, papyrus seems to be going through a bit of... well, it would be the font-equivalent of radio over-play, like with teardrops by womack & womack (in its heyday) or love is all around by wet wet wet. on the other hand, i do like the font used in the slideshow...
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
... tweet?
it's only a very short post but i had to pass on a retort i read as a comment on a vlog on youtube.
a canadian viewer commented:
"oh were you making fun of canada?
i couldn't hear you over my health-care benefits."
pithy but, as the vlogger commented in return, "i put this in 'cause it was a good call... that would hurt me if i were american... that would, uh, that would hurt..."
good thing it's an australian vlog.
a canadian viewer commented:
"oh were you making fun of canada?
i couldn't hear you over my health-care benefits."
pithy but, as the vlogger commented in return, "i put this in 'cause it was a good call... that would hurt me if i were american... that would, uh, that would hurt..."
good thing it's an australian vlog.
Friday, January 29, 2010
... this is so true!
i was going to simply past the url for this image into my post but it takes up way too much of the column-inches. i love piled higher and deeper and today's comic is no exception.
check it out.
check it out.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
... time marches on
well, nanowrimo was a fizzer as far as my writing is concerned but that's not entirely a bad thing - it got me thinking more about writing and what i want to do with it. one of my new year's resolutions is to write more, and write more frequently. we'll see how we go from there.
Christmas and new year's passed quick as a flash, it seemed. all through 2009 i was dumbfounded at how fast the year seemed to fly by and after a week into the new year, 2010 doesn't show much sign of being any different. i'm hoping to visit tasmania for a brief holiday this year, as well as doing some planning for a five-week trip to the united states in 2011. we'll see how we go from there.
i'm going to be updating my movie-viewing blog more frequently, too. we'll see how we go there. i've got to put my thoughts together after seeing avatar and sherlock holmes. i saw rocky horror on new year's eve and plan to do so again next nye - i'm told it's an annual event at the astor.
as an aside, i'm amazed by the international (read: some american responses) to the kfc advert featuring west indian cricket fans being quietened down by a bucket of kfc chicken. perhaps kfc might broaden their appeal by creating adverts featuring such colourful groups as: hip-hop fans; shire-dwellers; bogans; politicians...
yes, i'm a bit tired and cranky. please forgive me.
Christmas and new year's passed quick as a flash, it seemed. all through 2009 i was dumbfounded at how fast the year seemed to fly by and after a week into the new year, 2010 doesn't show much sign of being any different. i'm hoping to visit tasmania for a brief holiday this year, as well as doing some planning for a five-week trip to the united states in 2011. we'll see how we go from there.
i'm going to be updating my movie-viewing blog more frequently, too. we'll see how we go there. i've got to put my thoughts together after seeing avatar and sherlock holmes. i saw rocky horror on new year's eve and plan to do so again next nye - i'm told it's an annual event at the astor.
as an aside, i'm amazed by the international (read: some american responses) to the kfc advert featuring west indian cricket fans being quietened down by a bucket of kfc chicken. perhaps kfc might broaden their appeal by creating adverts featuring such colourful groups as: hip-hop fans; shire-dwellers; bogans; politicians...
yes, i'm a bit tired and cranky. please forgive me.
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