Writing letters again

GOD DAMN IT!

I'm meant to be playing videogames, not writing to letters to clueless fucks about them.

After watching this YouTube video, I had to write a letter to YMA - people who, incidentally didn't hire me, because I confessed to liking videogames in my interview. Obviously it's an organisation that doesn't value truth and integrity...

Dear Sir or Madam

Recently on the ABCs Stateline program, your representative said "the interactive aspect of video games heightens the effect [of desensitisation of violence]"

Please show me ONE properly conducted, long term, scientifically proven, peer reveiwed report where the interactive nature of videogames has a greater effect of aggression in Children than any other media.

Apart from Craig Anderson's "research" (paid by the NIMF so about as "unbiased" and "scientific" as an report refuting climate change by a Mobil scientist - he's been discredited numerous times) every single search I have conducted reveals either a non-correlation, or even negative correlation. For example The BBFC discovered:

• gamers appear to forget they are playing games less readily than film goers forget they are watching a film because they have to participate in the game for it to proceed. They appear to non-games players to be engrossed in what they are doing, but, they are concentrating on making progress, and are unlikely to be emotionally involved;
• violence in games, in the sense of eliminating obstacles, is built into the structure of some games and is necessary to progress through the game. It contributes to the tension because gamers are not just shooting, they are vulnerable to being shot and most gamers are concentrating on their own survival rather than the damage they are inflicting on the characters in the game. While there is an appeal in being able to be violent without being vulnerable to the consequences which similar actions in real life would create, gamers are aware that they are playing a game and that it is not real life;

with the head of the BBFC saying "We were particularly interested to see that this research suggests that, far from having a potentially negative impact on the reaction of the player, the very fact that they have to interact with the game seems to keep them more firmly rooted in reality. People who do not play games raise concerns about their engrossing nature, assuming that players are also emotionally engrossed. This research suggests the opposite; a range of factors seems to make them less emotionally involving than film or television."

Dr. Cheryl Olson, author of the book Grand Theft Childhood says "The biggest fear of clinicians and the public alike—that violent video games turn ordinary children and adolescents into violent people in the real world—is not borne out by the data. Analyses of school shooting incidents from the US Secret Service⁵ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime⁶ do not support a link between violent games and real-world attacks".

So, I'd like to ask why your organisation keeps peddling this mis-truths about videogames to the media?

I'm not going to argue the media has no effect on people - it has even been found that scriptural violence sanctioned by God can increase aggression in people. But I wonder, does your organisation rail against people taking children to Church or exposing them to Christian music and film as much as they do against videogames??

I also wrote to Mick Atkinson for his stupid decision to not support a public consultion on videogames getting an R18+ rating, which he has since renegged on... flipflop out of office, Achyface!

Dear Mr Atkinson,

I would like to know why you have withdrawn your support for a discussion paper and public consultation process about the R18+ rating for videogames in Australia.

I understand your position on videogames and know quite a few people in the wider community share those views. I happen to think the evidence used to support your and similar views is circumstantial, and not backed up by proper scientific nor social research.

However, I know that no matter how well reasoned my arguments I will not change your view. But that is why we live in a democracy; we are allowed to have opposing views and are allowed to express them publicly, no matter how misinformed they may be.

However, the point of this letter is to understand why your support of the public consultation of this matter has suddenly been pulled, especially in light of the draft material you have received.

Can you please help me to understand why you think you are allowed to express and enforce your views on this matter, but feel that ordinary Australians should have no say whatsoever?

Labor's website reads: "we believe that a nation should be governed in the broader interests of all, not in the sectional interests of a few" and yet here you are, denying Australians a right to be involved in an important debate on censorship and ratings for reasons which are hitherto unfathomable.

It seems to go totally against the democratic processes of this country and moreover against the principles of the Labor party, and completely contradicts the notions of fairness and equality, the belief in "a fair go for all", the underpinnings of the Labor Party.

I look forward to your reply.

I'm also drafting a letter to Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communication, for his moronic decision to make isps filter internet traffic.

*sigh*

I recently heard the word "Kindargarchy", defined as:

a society increasingly dominated by the needs of children, or rather by the extraordinarily inflated needs we have come to attribute to them.

And it's so apt! I'm sick of these people screaming "won't someone think of the children!" when destroying our rights as human beings and the future of these children.

Because I AM thinking of the children.

I'm arguing for their right to be treated as adults and be able to speak, read, see and play what they like when they are older.

Yeah, well I'm a bad blogger, ok?

Yeah, I know I'm a bad blogger.

Because I don't blog about crap that doesn't matter, like feelings and shit, I don't really have much to say. And I could get worked up over a million things, but I can't be fucked any more. All the ranting and complaining about the world won't change it, so I don't bother to comment on it any more.

Even on forums and such where normally I'll be attacking this or defending that, I can't be bothered so much any more. It wastes time and drains my mind energy, or some shit.

If you really want to know what I've been saying about this or that, you can check up on me on the Gawker network, as I comment on their stories quite regularly... Also I'm still writing / reviewing for inthemix, xboxworld and now Time Out Sydney so read them too.

As to what's been happening - well, I got promoted for one - now I'm assistant producer. It's a lot different to QA Lead - I don't have to work late much. In fact, I don't play the game as much, either.

I had a DJ gig at Bimbo Deluxe the other week which went really well, and I'm hoping to get another soon.

I saw Stevie Wonder last week. It was absolutely amazing. Then I saw Roy Ayers, who was also very good.

And that's about it for this update...

Expect the next one in a few months :p

Been busy!

Yep, ok, so it's a long time between posts, but lets take stock of the situation...

My landlord's garden is dying because I haven't had time to water. My dishes from last weekend are in the sink. I haven't cooked my own dinner in a week, and any left over food is going off.

I've got 3 games to review, 6 CDs (mind you, 3 are singles) and I've only played one game and listened to the albums maybe twice each. Haven't even copied the singles to my ipod yet...

I paid for 3 months for Age of Conan and have played in once in the last month. I got Spore and have played it for maybe 2 hours.

I haven't been to a club in months, nor taken any pictures at any events.

AND

It's 7:30 on a Friday night and I'm still at work, waiting for a build... It takes about an hour to play through all the modes, once. And I'm working on one day of the weekend again.

Yes, I'm aware it's close to ZBR (zero bugs recorded) and that means it's crunchtime, but I've been working 12-14 hour days for the last 2 weeks now... still getting bugs!

And no doubt fuckhead reviewers and internet chat room cunts are going to diss our game because it introduces Avatars and tries to make the xbox more friendlier to a wider audience.

To all my friends in the Labor party...

To all my friends in the Labor party:

Lee Stevens, Mike Stevens, Nick Champion, Brigid Mahoney, Lee Odenwalder, Lisa Johnstone, Simon Lees, Brear Adams, Simon Flower, and others...

(Yes, I'm calling you all out!)

Please, please, please tell your fucked up leader Kevin Rudd to pull his stupid head out of his arse and stop acting like an opposition politician.

His antics over the green paper are the height of stupidity and foolishness.

He wants Australians to take Climate Change seriously, be willing to accept the pain it will bring, but when he releases what will be the most significant document of his career surrounding the most important issue of the decade, he goes and locks the Liberals and Greens out of the meeting, meaning they will have less time to respond.

How fucking childish, ignorant and selfish can someone be?

As you know, I don't have the greatest understanding of Australian Politics, but I thought that Krudd would have at least wanted to get the outcome of the paper through the Senate.

By locking the Greens and Liberals out of this very important decision making process, he's given them a reason to block the passage of the legislation through the Senate.

So, how is this being serious about Climate Change?

It's obvious Krudd has a half cocked plan that he knows won't get anywhere, so he's just decided to play politics to keep his newspoll results above 70%.

Can someone please inform him THE ELECTION IS OVER? And no one except politicians and journalists even care about those bullshit meters anyway!

He's acting exactly like John Howard, the person you all worked so damned hard to get out of power.

Krudd is not leading on these issues, he's being a politician playing the game, and it's simply not good enough.

I voted for Labor because I wanted change. I wanted a leader who would LEAD. Someone who would take the high road, and make hard decisions. Someone who would work with others to achieve the goals and objectives needed to steer Australia in the right direction, including other political parties.

And come on guys - I've grown up with you. I've talked and raved and ranted and marched and protested with you. I know who you are and what you believe in and what is important to you.

So why are you letting Krudd act like this? Don't you go to countless conferences and party room meetings and dinners and talkfests where these things are planned and discussed? Don't you point out how backwards this kind of mentality is?

Or is the Labor party so entrenched in 20th century thinking that it is as useless as the Liberal Party into leading Australia into the 21st Century?



and I won't even bother to tell you what I think about his pathetic, dickless stance on naked children in photography and art...

R18+ in videogames and why we will never see it.

A lot of people blame Michael Atkinson's stance on videogames, and he is the only AG who went against the popular vote, and claims that he will again.

But something else I discovered about the process of ratings.

Here is the Classifications and Community Standards report from 2007

This is compiled by Galaxy research to determine if people believe ratings are working and are fair.

Here you can see exactly how many people are polled to see if Australia's classifications are up to community Standards.

I'll spell it out to you - 1,516

1,516 people determine the position of the 7 Attorney Generals when it comes to things like what should be rated, how it should be rated, what kind of ratings should be included, and those 7 AGs then go and make laws based on these findings.

1,516.

There are over 21 MILLION people in Australia.

1,516 is not even 1% of the population!

And to top it all off, these bastards have the nerve to go and say it's only "a vocal minority" want an R18+ rating for games.

Last time I counted, 3,708 (the amount polled for the widely quoted statistic that 88% of people want and R18+ rating for games) was greater than 1,516.

In Sydney? Look for me in Time Out!

If anyone reading this is in Sydney, be sure to pick up Time Out magazine as I'm now writing game reviews for them.

My first review will be of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

More trouble for Myki?

It appears researchers in London have cracked the Tube's new ticketing system.

At the heart of [the] card is the Mifare chip, made by Philips spin-off NXP.

Designed in the 1990s before processors of that size could handle strong encryption, Mifare has suffered at least three published cracks, according to security experts who have urged TfL to upgrade the system. (link)

Given that Melbourne's Myki is probably a very similar technology, could that mean all the money they've already spent on Myki is a waste?

RIP George Carlin

RIP George Carlin

Very funny man and a great comedian

Here he is at his finest!

Portishead Interview!

For those who don't know, I managed to score an exclusive interview with Portishead.

I chatted to Adrian Utley about a range of things and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

No, unfortunately I didn't get to speak to Beth, she still doesn't speak to the media.

But you're welcome to read it on inthemix.com.au and I may even put the audio up online soon, which contains Adrian discussing Public Enemy and a whole lot more besides.

Science sucks!

The current trend of media reporting on science experiments as fact about the entire population is really starting to annoy me.

What I want to know is why 14,000 out of 21 Million people is an OK sample size to determine that Australia is a nation of fatties? (source)

Why 13 people out of 6 Billion is an OK sample size to see that brain patterns are different when playing games? (source)

Why 21 people out of 6 billion is an OK sample size to determine that marijuana shrinks brains? (source)

It's ridiculous! The sample sizes are so small that it makes the reports questionable, if not thoroughly erroneous.

It's like looking at the moon and determining all moons are like that. Yes, we used to think that when we could only see our moon, but now we've got the technology we look at more moons and find that a lot of what we used to think about moons is wrong.

When looking at humans, we've got every opportunity to look at millions more than we do now.

So why are we looking at a mere handful and saying "they're representative of the 6 billion of us here", and worse still, bringing in policies and laws to restrict those 6 billion based on not even 1% of that population?

CD reviews coming!

I've been doing a fair bit of CD reviewing for inthemix lately, so thought I may as well start updating my website with them.

I'll start with some of the newer ones, and hopefully will work backwards and get them all up by June.

If you visit FunkyJ.com and click on Music Reviews you can read all the 2008 reviews.

First Melbourne gig Thursday 15 May

I've got my first gig as a Melbourne DJ!

I'm part of Beat Off, with 11 other DJs all dropping 15 minute laid back sets of tunes!

It's being held at the Horse Bazaar, 397 Little Lonsdale St

Other DJs include, BLAXTER, Brain, Dboy, Funky J, Huge, Lephrenic, Myst, RK, SAME'O, Sea, Timmy G and Zero Hour.

It marks the return of Off Beat to a monthly format.

As it's a kind of funky competition , there are rules...

- we must play a 15 minute chill set
- we must include at least one mix, with no maximum
- we bring a team of two or three people for a scavenger hunt
- and we need to invite everybody we know to cheer us all along

DJ times will be drawn from a hat during a glitzy Draw Gala, complete with ring girls!


The flyer is fantastic!


So come for pizza, beer, warm vibes, and the enjoyment as you see how chill music and chaos can so terrifically go together.

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist

I've been going out to see bands and DJs for 20 years now, and, without sounding like a total fuckhead, I like to think I've pretty much heard and seen everything.

I've been to that many shows, seen so many awesome acts, and quite a few awful ones too, but honestly, I'm sick of the same old shit, week in, week out. I really feel old sometimes when I go out, especially in Melbourne because I don't know anybody, so I really am there just for the music.

And I've got to say, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist certainly wasn't what I was expecting, and if I was brutally honest I would have preferred to see brainfreeze, but that was pretty fucking good in my opinion.

I like to see and hear original stuff and that was some of the most entertaining and original music and mixing I've ever seen and heard.

The novelty of the music added to the novelty of mixing on 8 decks with all 45s was really special. I loved that they dropped Space Invaders by Player 1 and the Pacman theme. I loved the old 50s swing and rock and roll. I even loved the song they claimed was the worst song ever recorded. I had a smile on my face the entire time.

Yes, it was incredibly indulgent, but I loved the fact that they are masters of their craft and were willing to share their expansive and extensive collection with us.

Shocked and Ashamed

I normally don't write about personal things on this blog, but this has me so perplexed.

The other night I was really drunk, and someone gave me a shot of Chartreuse and I don't remember much after that, but I since discovered I sent my ex some very troubling sms's. I only vaguely remember sending them, but the content of them has me really ashamed at myself.

I abused her for my insecurities.

The thing is, I don't blame her for anything, and I don't feel that I have many insecurities, and I can't understand why I would send that.

It's certainly very out of character for the way I feel about life right at the moment.

I feel on top of the world. I love Melbourne, I'm making some great friends, I still have great friends back home, my job is wonderful and everyone there is glad I'm on the team and telling me I'm doing a really great job. The project is going fine and I can see multiple paths of direction I want to take my life.

My feelings for her have never been better since we broke up. She's getting engaged to a really cool guy, loving her life in the UK, doing well in her job, and I'm really happy she's happy.

I've never felt better about myself and my life. I've finally taken control of my life and my actions and feel the consequences of those actions are my own.

So why the hell did I abuse her in such a way, and so suddenly out of the blue?

I feel so ashamed. I really can't understand it.

I'm thinking maybe I wrote it as a joke or something, but that still doesn't make sense - how could she know it was a joke? Yes, the message was cut off - like I sent it accidentally, but that still doesn't excuse it.

It was stupid and idiotic, and I am at a loss to explain it.

It was so... schizophrenic of me.

I sent a message apologising, but I don't expect her to forgive me.

On the plus side, it's made me seriously consider giving up drinking for a while.

Health

Apparently hospitals are "over flowing" with people with preventable disease.

Alcohol, tobacco, drug and obesity cost Australia $56 billion and will cost some millions of lives by 2009.

"Health problems are not just about fixing hospitals, we actually have to fix some of the things that mean people end up in hospital."

"With prevention, clogged Hospitals will be freed up" were some of the quotes from the Health Minister.

RUBBISH!

Who the fuck is this government to tell me how to live?

And what exactly are hospitals for, if not to care for the sick - NO MATTER HOW THEY GOT SICK?

This is simply the Government trying to unload it's burden onto us, the hard working men and women of Australia who deserve a drink, a smoke or a joint.

All they want us to be is happy little worker bees, producing wealth for them and their corporation owning buddies.

"oh, don't be a drain on society, you've got to look after yourself".

Maybe if those pricks worked harder at making this society a better place for us ALL to live, maybe if they instead of opening up markets for banks to rape us, they made banks accountable to communities; instead of pouring billions into shoring up wasteful and unproductive industries like the Motor industry, they concentrated on infrastructure and maintaining control of public assets, we wouldn't feel the need to go home and drink, smoke or get high!

I'm sick of this bullshit nanny state mentality by all governments, left and right wing. I'm sick of these people thinking I need to be controlled, otherwise I'll go off the rails and do something "horrible".

We live in a society that has unprecedented life expectancy. People who are born with disabilities that would have killed them 100 years ago are living to 80 or 90 years old.

Why should it matter if someone wants to drink/smoke/drug themselves to death?

It's just nature's way to even out the population.

No one ever said we should prevent blind children from being able to live their lives the way they want, so why should I be any different because I've chosen to drink?

Supanova 08 pictures now on Ringo

Title says it all...

Supanova 08 pictures now up on Ringo.

Supanova 08

Well, Supanova hit Melbourne for the first time, and had a pretty interesting time.

I went briefly on Saturday to scope it out and look around, and was appalled to find out autographs from the stars started at $30! Fuck that.

But I did go to the Cosplay, and took a heap of pictures which you can find on facebook.

The detail of the costumes and the funny little skits these kids worked on for the costumes was awesome. Some went on for a little too long, and I'm not sure who won, but it's really great to see this kind of thing happening here as it does in the US and Japan.

* * * * *

On Sunday I was a volunteer at the Queensland Games/Krome Studios stall. We demoed Viva Pinata and had Ty The Tasmanian Tiger posters, as well as Ty himself!

Some things I noticed about working this stall:
- We should have had Ty on display as well as Viva Pinata. Ty is a very popular game - I had people asking when the next one was coming out, or if we are making it for PSP / PS3 / Xbox360, constantly.
- Actually, we should have been showing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Whenever the QG video showed the trailer for that, people stopped to watch it. We would have been bigger than the SingStar stall if we had.
- Kids recognise and associate with the Viva Pinata cartoon, whereas older teens and adults know the game, and it really causes confusion. Our game, Viva Pinata Party Animals is based on the cartoon series and aimed at kids, and is not a true sequel to the original Rare game.
- There's some really sad and lonely people out there and games and game characters really touch them (and I'm not just talking about Steve in the Ty suit...)
- There are a lot of yummy mummies at conventions (or maybe I'm just being less picky in my old age)


I also attended the talks by John Rhys Davies and Lou Ferrigno.

Lou's talk was good, although he has trouble hearing and with the accent so had to get someone to repeat every question and the intention of some questions sometimes went awry. It's interesting to hear that he is 57 and still works out, and has trained with Chuck Norris, and how no one hassles him out in bars. He's a sheriff now with the California police, which is sure to freak out some drugged out crim he busts I bet!

John's talk was very moral and philosophical. He began by telling us he's pissed off that the UK government is thinking of denying ancestry rights to Australians. As he said, there's only 20,000 aussies in the last 5 years who've emigrated and not many of them have used Ancestry to stay there. He then went on a big diatribe on how he thinks pornography is wrong, how his generation championed rights but not responsibilities, and how he thinks we abandon children at 16, amongst other things. It was very interesting and although I don't agree with every point he made, it was very enlightening hearing that sort of talk from a celebrity.

I really wanted to stay for Jewel Staite and David Harris's talks, but I was pretty over it by 3... geeks/nerds are nice and all, but they're a little bit full on when in large numbers, even for me and I'm a pretty major nerd.

Why? Why!? WHY!?!?!

Apple and Microsoft spent millions of dollars on developing FREE video editing software and it's pretty simple to use, so why is it that NOBODY edits videos on youtube?

Everybody just sits there and talks into a camera, "Big Brother" style. Is the world really full of so many morons?

Staring into a camera and talking for 5 minutes is NOT INTERESTING, no matter HOW WITTY YOU THINK YOU ARE.

I was browsing a few things, and being an atheist myself I saw one titled "the Amazing Atheist", and decided to watch.

After a minute or so of him yabbering on and procrastinating, I shut it off. If he's amazing, then I'm afraid us atheists are in a lot of trouble because he was pretty uninspiring.

Check this guy out here... And compare it to a preacher such as Tye Tribbett

Yeah, sure, Tribett is full of shit, but if I was some impressionable young kid looking for meaning in the world, I'd know who I'd prefer to listen to...

A week in Adelaide

I just spent 10 days in Adelaide.

Every single day was over 38 degrees... and I didn't get burnt once! YAY!

I went over for Womad, which was very hot, very dusty, but a lot of fun. Highlights included Mojo Web, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Billy Cobham, John Buttler Trio, Soul Jazz Sound System and Nickodemus.

I caught up with most of the people I wanted to catch up with, and spent most of the time either watching TV and drinking, or at the beach and drinking, or in the park and drinking.

There's no pictures because I forgot to take my bloody camera :(

RIP Gary Gygax

RIP Mr Gygax.

Without you I wouldn't have made the friends I have made or be the person I am today.

And I'd probably be worse at math too!



Gary Gygax - creator of Dungeons & Dragons dies

The rattling of dice across tabletops around the word falls silent today with the news that co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR, Gary Gygax, has passed away at the age of 69. The news came via the forums of Troll Lord Games, who publish Gygax's Lejendary Adventures and Castles & Crusades sourcebooks, delivered via his son Ernie Gygax. He died in his home, having been in failing health for some time, suffering several strokes and a near heart-attack. Gygax was an inspiration to the gaming industry, with his work directly or indirectly influencing entire genres - role-playing games and MMORPGs specifically. Gary Gygax may have passed on, but the legacy he leaves to gaming will live on forever. Rest in peace, Dungeon Master.

(from Kotaku)

Back online!

Thanks to hostonce's terrible customer service, my domain expired.

I was notified on Friday last week, and cut off on Saturday. I sent 2 emails and posted 3 help desk questions and got a response on Tuesday.

That's not good enough.

And now because I wanted my site and email back on ASAP I'm locked into another 6 months with them...

At least everything is functioning now.

Melbourne Big Day Out 08

This was the second Big Day Out I've attended in Melbourne; the first was back in 2001.

This time it was a Flemmington Racecourse, and I must admit I prefer the old Showgrounds (and moreover, Adelaide Showgrounds) because there's hardly any shade and no where nice to sit. The stages are miles apart, and you have to walk pretty far between them.

There were a few things different - they had a single entry to the 'D' - basically the area right at the front of the stage, and prevented people entering when it was full. This meant I didn't get anywhere close to the stage at any time. They had drink tickets, but this time they sold them in lots of 10 for $30, and drinks were 1 ticket for water, 2 for beer, and 3 for spirits, which works out really well when you think about it.

But I had a really fun time.


Got there for Muph & Plutonic and they were heaps good... ;)

Midnight Jugernauts were meh, and didn't excite me in the slightest, so I wandered around and heard a local Melbourne group called Mammal, who weren't too bad.

Dizzee Rascal got me bouncing, and performed lots of stuff from English & Mathematics. He closed with Stand Up Tall, which I love.

Hilltop hoods started with a couple of covers - "Just To Get By" and "It's All Good", then dropped into their usual set. They had a singer and the string quartet with them as well, but I was a bit disappointed they didn't do any of the songs they wrote about Adelaide - "City of Light", for example.


Grinspoon annoyed me because they didn't even say hello to the audience - not that I heard anyway, so I grabbed a beer and did a wander. Managed to catch a little of Billy Bragg and I'm such a little commie that I was singing along to it, knowing all the words.

After him I popped over to the Lillypad and caught some of Dexter's Gorilla Step, which is a lot of fun. Dexter DJs whilst drummers drum on logs, and dancers dance around like gorillas, but in hiphop / break dance battle style. It's really cool.


Tom Morello is a funny guy. His banter between songs really humanised him. He did an acoustic cover of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", changing the lyrics to be all about the evil that is George Bush. He then said "Not bad for a guy who's been digitised for Guitar Hero III" and proceeded to tell the crowd how crap he is at the game. He was quite folky, and I'm sure it would have put a lot of typical rage fans off, but I liked it. At the end he told everyone to go download his album, saying "we sold so many of that Rage Against the Machine record that it doesn't matter".


However, most of the day I felt like something was missing, and it wasn't until UNKLE Live came on that I realised what it was - straight up rock! Most of the acts I had seen were hiphop or folk, and when UNKLE came on and proceeded to rock I was really surprised and really happy. They reminded me a lot of Depeche Mode actually, and the lighting in the boiler room was top shit!

Krafty Kuts and Dynamite MC played after, and I gotta hand it to Krafty, he certainly knows how to rock the festival crowd. I wasn't really feeling it though, so wandered to the bar and chatted to some randoms (Melbourne is so friendly and so full of freaks it's awesome!) and then caught 5 minutes of Pegz, who was rocking his home crowd well.


I made my way over to the blue stage in preparation for RATM, so caught most of Bjork. I really enjoyed her set, although lots of people around me whinged like little bitches about her playing right before Rage. The video showed her horn section jumping around, and the freaky instruments she uses. One was this large round touchscreen that you put cups on, and the different cups have different sounds, and the closer they are the different frequencies they make. Really interesting and I want one! (I've since found out it is a ReacTable)

Then Rage Against The Machine came on, and if I was lamenting the lack of rock, they fixed it for me. Playing all their hits, they simply smashed it. Although I got to take issue with one thing - Zac had a rant about the system, as he is want to do. It's all well and good to rant about "the system" comrade, but "the system" is the thing that's got you in front of 50,000 people singing and earning millions instead of doing an honest day's work... But it's only a minor gripe and I love the commie bastards.

Things got a little out of control in the crowd too - there were people up on the roof of the bar tent, people on the scaffolding, people in trees, and security and cops couldn't do much, although I saw one security dude just laying into one of the crashers. Not good.


But all in all it was a pretty good Big Day Out, although I think I might head to Adelaide next year, for the simple fact that there are nice places to sit and see the action, unlike at Flemmington, because my legs and feet are fucking killing me right now!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I spent the evening sitting with Betty and Sezzy and Skreetch and Kilz on the Yarra watching the fireworks. It was cool, but they had a total ban on alcohol so being sober at midnight was a little odd.

New Years Day we went to Hot BBQ and it was pretty good. Saw a tiny bit of Q-Bert, the Stanton Warriors (who were rather poor), Gotye who was good, and De La Soul who were awesome.

I also went to see Blackalicious and People Under the Stairs last Thurs and Deekline & Wizard last Fri, both which were excellent nights! And tomorrow I'm off to see the Plump DJs, who I missed at the Hot BBQ.

It's good being back at work too - straight into a new project so goodbye Star Wars: The Force Unleashed PSP! It's going to turn out ok, but the PSP is such a shitty platform for gaming - it's heavy and uncomfortable after an hour, so holding it for 4-5 hours a day is just horrid.

Being in Melbourne just feels like one big holiday. I really wish I had done this earlier in my life, but then again I didn't have a job I enjoyed this much when I was younger, so I might have hated on everything (even more ;) and become emo or something...