For those of you who don't know, Dinosaur Comics has exactly the same art every strip, with only the dialogue changing. It's a bit pretentious sometimes, but I do love this strip.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Why I love Dinosaur Comics
For those of you who don't know, Dinosaur Comics has exactly the same art every strip, with only the dialogue changing. It's a bit pretentious sometimes, but I do love this strip.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Flash Fiction: "Zeke"
They always said smoking would kill Zeke. They were right. Zeke and I were the only two guys at the office who did smoke, but Zeke, boy Zeke was hooked. 3 packs a day, rain or shine. He was the politest guy possible about it. Only smoked on his breaks, had this little alcove out around back. Kept him sheltered from the wind and sleet. I’d join him out there for my one or two a day, but Zeke was a machine. Every day, break times and lunch, he’d rush out there like a madman, and suck down as many as he could. Breaks were the worst. He had 10 minutes to get as much smoking done as possible before getting back. It was like watching a vacuum cleaner. Light and suck. His lips like a seal around the filter. I swear to God I once saw him go through an entire smoke in one long drag. Then, as fast as you could blink, another was in his mouth, and he was dragging it as hard as he could. It could be raining, snowing, or the end of times and the sky turned red. But as soon as it was break, he’d be out there sucking down the cancer sticks with all the might of his lungs. And so, like any other day, afternoon break came round, and he was off. He didn’t come back. We all figured he might have nipped round the corner to pick up another packet, but after half an hour something seemed wrong. The coroner found an almost complete cigarette lodged in his throat. I quit the next day.
On newspapers in America
So, it appears no paper wants to run a piece unless it has "a local angle". Everything else is just grabbed off the wire.
That's some fine reporting there, America.
It's odd being here, watching the collapse of traditional media.
Newspapers are continually downsizing, and relying more on freelancers, when not copying and pasting Reuters/AP. The popular image of a buzzing newsroom is exactly that. We're standing here watching sudden massive decentralisation of news reporting. Cellphone cameras are rapidly encroaching on traditional photojournalism. The Internet seems to have caught most of news corporations completely unaware, even though people have been warning them for years (see here for a reason why. Admittedly that's for music, but the mindset is identical).
On the other hand, writing on the Internet is massively precarious in its own right. It's full of hucksters and con artists, startup companies destined to go bust. Dozens of sites looking for authors, and paying in "experience". Great, maybe I'll level up, and gain +3 to typing or something.
There's a scene in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan in which Spider and his filthy assistants are going to do some digging for a story. He talks about how, when people say research, they mean reading through old press releases. God, I swear, every time I re-read Transmet I'm more and more convinced Warren Ellis is actually from the future and knows exactly what's fucking happening.
Part of me doesn't want to embrace the future (for all the fun it looks to be). Part of me thinks there would be nothing better than being in a newsroom, keyboards rapidly clacking, bad coffee everywhere, deadlines looming, and an editor shouting "I need pictures! Pictures of Spider-man!" Interviews, research, investigative journalism. That sort of thing.
Instead, we've now been gifted with print media that's so rapidly losing money that it runs stories about pop stars because it costs almost no money and requires no real writing. Why pay a staff member to research and write on real news, when you can bung together an article about someone's latest meltdown in 20 minutes and call it a day?
And where the hell are you meant to write on the Internet? Most sites have the credibility of a flyer handed out on street corners by the one eyed guy with no hair. Political extremes, rampant misogyny, 9/11 conspiracy nuts. They're all there. The only places actually worth getting your name attached to are harder to get into than a Nun's panties, or else are have a traditional print side anyway.
Hell, it's impossible to get a position at even a crappy local paper.
I wonder about other countries. New Zealand has the same problem that it has in many fields, too many grads for too few jobs. I really can't imagine there being enough journalism positions to satisfy the yearly graduate output from excellent student rags and crappy journalism 'techs. Hell, how hard fought over are the internships at the Listener?
Anybody know what it's like in the rest of the world? Australia/Canada/UK? Because they're totally the only ones that count.
That's some fine reporting there, America.
It's odd being here, watching the collapse of traditional media.
Newspapers are continually downsizing, and relying more on freelancers, when not copying and pasting Reuters/AP. The popular image of a buzzing newsroom is exactly that. We're standing here watching sudden massive decentralisation of news reporting. Cellphone cameras are rapidly encroaching on traditional photojournalism. The Internet seems to have caught most of news corporations completely unaware, even though people have been warning them for years (see here for a reason why. Admittedly that's for music, but the mindset is identical).
On the other hand, writing on the Internet is massively precarious in its own right. It's full of hucksters and con artists, startup companies destined to go bust. Dozens of sites looking for authors, and paying in "experience". Great, maybe I'll level up, and gain +3 to typing or something.
There's a scene in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan in which Spider and his filthy assistants are going to do some digging for a story. He talks about how, when people say research, they mean reading through old press releases. God, I swear, every time I re-read Transmet I'm more and more convinced Warren Ellis is actually from the future and knows exactly what's fucking happening.
Part of me doesn't want to embrace the future (for all the fun it looks to be). Part of me thinks there would be nothing better than being in a newsroom, keyboards rapidly clacking, bad coffee everywhere, deadlines looming, and an editor shouting "I need pictures! Pictures of Spider-man!" Interviews, research, investigative journalism. That sort of thing.
Instead, we've now been gifted with print media that's so rapidly losing money that it runs stories about pop stars because it costs almost no money and requires no real writing. Why pay a staff member to research and write on real news, when you can bung together an article about someone's latest meltdown in 20 minutes and call it a day?
And where the hell are you meant to write on the Internet? Most sites have the credibility of a flyer handed out on street corners by the one eyed guy with no hair. Political extremes, rampant misogyny, 9/11 conspiracy nuts. They're all there. The only places actually worth getting your name attached to are harder to get into than a Nun's panties, or else are have a traditional print side anyway.
Hell, it's impossible to get a position at even a crappy local paper.
I wonder about other countries. New Zealand has the same problem that it has in many fields, too many grads for too few jobs. I really can't imagine there being enough journalism positions to satisfy the yearly graduate output from excellent student rags and crappy journalism 'techs. Hell, how hard fought over are the internships at the Listener?
Anybody know what it's like in the rest of the world? Australia/Canada/UK? Because they're totally the only ones that count.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend photodump
It's Memorial Day weekend, the sun is shining, the neighbours are loud and obnoxious, and I decided to take some pictures around where I live. Enjoy
Friday, May 16, 2008
Right wing bashing television
As loathe as I am just to post links to videos from elsewhere, but these two videos gave my heart a warm glow of rage and satisfaction. Thank you Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews
Firstly Keith, long but worth it, especially to see him almost drop the f-bomb at the end. Keith has that wonderful ability to channel rage in such an utterly visceral way that it delights me. Most of the time his show is fairly mediocre, especially when he tries to be funny, but when he's angry, it's magnificent.
Link 1
YouTube mirror in two parts:
Chris Matthews tearing apart a conservative radio host. A bit shouty, but interesting to see the lack of historical perspective here.
A question of appeasement?
Firstly Keith, long but worth it, especially to see him almost drop the f-bomb at the end. Keith has that wonderful ability to channel rage in such an utterly visceral way that it delights me. Most of the time his show is fairly mediocre, especially when he tries to be funny, but when he's angry, it's magnificent.
Link 1
YouTube mirror in two parts:
Chris Matthews tearing apart a conservative radio host. A bit shouty, but interesting to see the lack of historical perspective here.
A question of appeasement?
Sunday, May 11, 2008
More cooking fun!
Tonight's cooking semi-disaster:
Roasted red wine lamb chops with anchovy and plum tomato stuffed capsicum!
This is based of a recipe given to me by Alex P. Thanks!
Firstly, a lamb rack that's been marinading overnight in red wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add some more salt, pepper and rosemary to the toast, then place in the oven at 430°F/220°C for 20 min per side.
While that's cooking, I'm making the stuffed capsicum. Firstly, three plum tomatoes. The advantage of plum tomatoes is they're less juicy, so have less of a tendency to devolve into mush. Chopped finely.
Three anchovies, so delicious! Coarsely chopped.
Mix it all up with a bit of salt and pepper. I've been using kosher salt, because it's apparently fantastic for cooking. What the hell, might as well!
And a bit of olive oil. Balsamic vinegar would be nice, but I don't have any.
Stuffed into a yellow capsicum, and sprinkled with a touch more salt.
Simmering down the marinade into a sauce.
The final product! Red wine marinaded lamb rack with plum tomato and anchovy stuffed yellow capsicum and a red wine rosemary sauce!
Served with a nice glass of red.
Verdict: Over salted, but okay. Next time will definitely use less salt in the whole process, and probably roast the lamb a little bit shorter as well. I do like it rare. A meat thermometer would be handy too.
Roasted red wine lamb chops with anchovy and plum tomato stuffed capsicum!
This is based of a recipe given to me by Alex P. Thanks!
Firstly, a lamb rack that's been marinading overnight in red wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add some more salt, pepper and rosemary to the toast, then place in the oven at 430°F/220°C for 20 min per side.
While that's cooking, I'm making the stuffed capsicum. Firstly, three plum tomatoes. The advantage of plum tomatoes is they're less juicy, so have less of a tendency to devolve into mush. Chopped finely.
Three anchovies, so delicious! Coarsely chopped.
Mix it all up with a bit of salt and pepper. I've been using kosher salt, because it's apparently fantastic for cooking. What the hell, might as well!
And a bit of olive oil. Balsamic vinegar would be nice, but I don't have any.
Stuffed into a yellow capsicum, and sprinkled with a touch more salt.
Simmering down the marinade into a sauce.
The final product! Red wine marinaded lamb rack with plum tomato and anchovy stuffed yellow capsicum and a red wine rosemary sauce!
Served with a nice glass of red.Verdict: Over salted, but okay. Next time will definitely use less salt in the whole process, and probably roast the lamb a little bit shorter as well. I do like it rare. A meat thermometer would be handy too.
Friday, May 9, 2008
The MacGuyver 'Smore
I had a hankering for 'smores this evening, but no Hershey's chocolate bars, nor any Graham crackers, nor even a source of fire. What was I to do? A sensible person would have popped down the corner store to do it. Instead, I did what any real manly man does.
I MacGuyvered it.
Using only objects laying around my kitchen I threw together my MacGuyver 'Smores.
First, chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch last weekend, so they're perfect. Well, not quite perfect. Turns out I grabbed the 1/2c instead of 1/4c while I was measuring part of the recipe, so they had twice as much sugar they were meant to. Slightly odd texture because of that, but still good.
Next up, in the place of the traditional Hershey's, I sprinkled a layer of chocolate chips, also a remainder from making the cookies.
Marshmallow+fork+gas burner=not quite properly done marshmallows.
Kinda weird that you can't see the flame from the burner in the picture, though.
Woops, it's on fire!
Chargrilled on the outside, raw in the middle!
On the base.
Sandwiched and good to go!
Verdict? Eh, okay I suppose. Couple of problems. Firstly, the combined chocolate of the chocolate chip cookies AND the chocolate chips overpowered the marshmallow way too much. You could barely taste the gooey squishiness, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a 'smore. If I repeat the experiment, I'll probably cut out the layer of chips. Secondly, roasting a marshmallow over a gas grill doesn't really work very well at all. The temperature is too high, so it automatically catches on fire, burning the outside and leaving the inside overly firm. Not ideal by any means, but you work with what you have.
I MacGuyvered it.
Using only objects laying around my kitchen I threw together my MacGuyver 'Smores.
First, chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch last weekend, so they're perfect. Well, not quite perfect. Turns out I grabbed the 1/2c instead of 1/4c while I was measuring part of the recipe, so they had twice as much sugar they were meant to. Slightly odd texture because of that, but still good.
Next up, in the place of the traditional Hershey's, I sprinkled a layer of chocolate chips, also a remainder from making the cookies.
Marshmallow+fork+gas burner=not quite properly done marshmallows. Kinda weird that you can't see the flame from the burner in the picture, though.
Woops, it's on fire!
Chargrilled on the outside, raw in the middle!
On the base.
Sandwiched and good to go!Verdict? Eh, okay I suppose. Couple of problems. Firstly, the combined chocolate of the chocolate chip cookies AND the chocolate chips overpowered the marshmallow way too much. You could barely taste the gooey squishiness, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a 'smore. If I repeat the experiment, I'll probably cut out the layer of chips. Secondly, roasting a marshmallow over a gas grill doesn't really work very well at all. The temperature is too high, so it automatically catches on fire, burning the outside and leaving the inside overly firm. Not ideal by any means, but you work with what you have.
The American Service Industry
For some reason, I always pictured America as a service based industry. A place where diner waitresses would call you strange nicknames while pouring your coffee, and the overly helpful nature of the general population would spill forth into the realms of service.
Alas, I appear to have been dreadfully mistaken.
Now, on three completely different occasions, I have been absolutely astonished by the horrendous levels of service I've encountered. Not just that people were unhelpful, or didn't know the information, but they willfully just didn't give a crap about the customer, and would dick you around for no particular reason.
I've dealt with hospital bills that came from three different departments in said hospital, all of which were for different amounts, even though they were for the same services.
I spent hours going between radioshacks looking for a very common object, a Firewire cable. These things are industry standard, yet most people hadn't even heard of them. Radioshacks are small places, they don't have that much gear. If you can't even be bothered to know what stock you have, that's shocking. Because most of them had Firewire cables, just the wrong sort for me. I was also trying to buy an audiorecorder. When asking about the difference between two models, the only response offered by the sales assistant was "I don't know."
And finally, I've just spent two days wrestling with the RMV trying to get a local form of ID so I don't need my Passport to go out to a pub. Why they insist on seeing my social security card, I have no idea. It's a 21+ card, why do you need my social security number. One lady didn't want to accept my NZ drivers license as a second photo ID because they don't accept ID "in other languages." Oh sweet Buddha. I saw a girl leaving in tears from their waiting room today. I wonder why, but I am in no way shocked.
I never thought I'd meet an organisation to make StudyLink seem like a bastion of helpfulness and intelligence. In the last month I've been to at least three.
The wonders of the petty bureaucrat. They will never cease.
Alas, I appear to have been dreadfully mistaken.
Now, on three completely different occasions, I have been absolutely astonished by the horrendous levels of service I've encountered. Not just that people were unhelpful, or didn't know the information, but they willfully just didn't give a crap about the customer, and would dick you around for no particular reason.
I've dealt with hospital bills that came from three different departments in said hospital, all of which were for different amounts, even though they were for the same services.
I spent hours going between radioshacks looking for a very common object, a Firewire cable. These things are industry standard, yet most people hadn't even heard of them. Radioshacks are small places, they don't have that much gear. If you can't even be bothered to know what stock you have, that's shocking. Because most of them had Firewire cables, just the wrong sort for me. I was also trying to buy an audiorecorder. When asking about the difference between two models, the only response offered by the sales assistant was "I don't know."
And finally, I've just spent two days wrestling with the RMV trying to get a local form of ID so I don't need my Passport to go out to a pub. Why they insist on seeing my social security card, I have no idea. It's a 21+ card, why do you need my social security number. One lady didn't want to accept my NZ drivers license as a second photo ID because they don't accept ID "in other languages." Oh sweet Buddha. I saw a girl leaving in tears from their waiting room today. I wonder why, but I am in no way shocked.
I never thought I'd meet an organisation to make StudyLink seem like a bastion of helpfulness and intelligence. In the last month I've been to at least three.
The wonders of the petty bureaucrat. They will never cease.
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