December 2011
1 post
4 tags
Australian Exceptionalism →
So this is our economic reality - we are the wealthiest nation in the world with 75.5 per cent of our adult population making it into the global top 10 per cent, our economy has grown faster than nearly all others (certainly faster than all other developed countries), our household income growth has been one of the fastest in the world (including our poor having income growth larger than...
June 2011
1 post
4 tags
The Digital Newspaper comes of age - SMH for iPad...
For the last decade and a bit, print media has been fighting a losing battle with its arch-nemesis, the big bad internet. But last year it seemed as if their prayers had been answered! A saviour was born, come to revive their dying industry. The iPad was going to revolutionise print media, and whats better, consumers were going to pay for things again!
A year later, and it doesn’t really...
May 2011
1 post
Technopolitical Commentary
I’ve always found it difficult to describe this blog.
Now I don’t. My friend Liam (A Lions Share) coined the perfect word.
Technopolitical.
Thats what this is, a technopolitical commentary. That is all.
April 2011
15 posts
5 tags
Is the Australian Republic actually a big deal?
I’m not a monarchist, in the slightest. I don’t believe that any amount or form of sovereign power should be heriditary. That just goes against almost every democratic ideal. However, does the republic debate really matter?
Constitutionally, we don’t actually have a Head of State (the term doesn’t exist within Australian law), and there is some debate as to who exactly...
6 tags
The Chaser's letter to HRH Queen Elizabeth II
Dear Australian Head of State,
We would like to place ourselves at your mercy and request a stay of execution
for our television program, The Chaser’s Royal Wedding Commentary.
We, like Kate, are commoners, and were looking forward to celebrating her
wedding to your exalted grandson with a few affectionate observations.
To ensure that our coverage was respectful, we were...
4 tags
ABC forced to pull Chaser Royal Wedding off air →
Who’s up for a republic NOW?
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Eggs in the One Basket: The state of Australian...
Long title, I know. I do want to make it clear that I am not a journalist. I just enjoy reading and writing about news. With that in mind, I do think it important to look into the state of Australian media.
One of my favourite journalists, ABC Online’s chief political writer Annabel Crabb recently wrote an article about the state of long-form journalism.
Poor old long-form journalism....
4 tags
Apple's Location Tracking Nightmare
The media loves a juicy controversy. The media especially loves a juicy controversy involving Consumer Tech giant Apple. Today, one such controversy has dwarfed Apple’s amazing quarterly results, also announced today.
Charles Arthur from the Sydney Morning Herald writes:
Security researchers have discovered that Apple’s iPhone keeps track of where you go - and saves every detail to...
4 tags
RIP Lis Sladen
Sad news today. Long running Doctor Who companion Elisabeth Sladen, who played the character Sarah Jane Smith in both the classic run and the current modern run, as well as starring in her own spin-off, has died today at age 63.
Never meet your heroes’, wise people say. They weren’t thinking of Lis Sladen. - Stephen Moffat
I will always remember Lis Sladen from the Season 2 episode ‘School...
5 tags
Chocolate just isn't fair enough...
A few years ago I bought a box of Lindt chocolate for my then-girlfriend. She refused the gift, because it wasn’t Fairtrade certified. I felt hurt.
Now I feel hurt that there isn’t more fairtrade chocolate. ABC news had a report on the amount of Fairtrade Easter chocolate available.
Attitudes in the industry are changing slowly and this year confectionary giant Cadbury will sell a fair...
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Digital Publishing Woes
Exciting news from Margaret Simons at Crikey.com.au, Fairfax is readying new iPad apps for their newspapers. But why is there such apprehension?
One of the quickest reverses in media thinking has occurred over the past six months. Just last November, media executives from News Limited and Fairfax were proclaiming iPads as the saviours of the newspaper business model.
…
Well, nobody is...
Why I Love: The ABC
‘Why I Love’ is a series of articles on the things I love. If you have any suggestions, or any things that you love, let me know in my ask box, or submit your own article.
The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) should be everyone’s favourite aunty. She’s relevant to todays youth, willing to embrace technology and new media as well as being the best source of news in the country. I...
9 tags
Thoughts on ABC's Digital Citizens
The ABC Technology twitter feed just posted a preview of their new site aimed at internet novices. It’s called Digital Citizens and I think it’s a fantastic idea, and will be sharing the link with my mother for sure. The internet has been a major societal and cultural change, and making it easier to understand for people who (unlike my generation) didn’t grow up with it is a fantastic idea. Here...
Got a series of Articles coming up over the next...
It’s a run down of a few of my favourite things, and why they’re my favourite.
Stay tuned!
4 tags
Another talentless schmuck claims Facebook owes... →
Anyone smell movie sequel?
Nope?
Me neither.
8 tags
Coldplay, Kanye West and Regina Spektor (among... →
Is anyone else incredibly excited to see all of these Australian festivals becoming huge international events?
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The Eye of the Beholder
You know what? You are beautiful. You are stunning and you are gorgeous. What’s that? I’ve never seen you before? So what? How do I know you’re beautiful? I just do. Is this one of those sappy annoying inspirational “Everyone is Beautiful in their own way!” type blog posts? I sincerely hope it doesn’t turn out that way, but if it does, remember that every word in it is 100% true (at least, in my...
6 tags
❖ Review: Moment Bends, Architecture in Helsinki
I’ve decided to start doing some reviews of stuff I enjoy (and stuff I don’t). To start things off, I’m going to review Architecture in Helsinki’s new album, Moment Bends.
AIH’s last album, Places like This, was full of some awesomely catchy songs, and was a very high energy, intense pop record. In an interview on Triple J, the band said that Places Like This was...
March 2011
10 posts
15 tags
❖ Arrrrrr, 'tis a Pirate's life for me.
If you’re reading this, I think it’s fairly safe to assume that you’ve downloaded or consumed pirated content, be it music, movies, video games, books or software. I spoke a little about eBook piracy in my last post, and I promised to expand upon that in a post of its own, so, here it is. Before we start, I’ll just define a few words in the context of this article. When I say ‘Publisher’ I’m...
9 tags
❖ Bookworms don't chew through screens: Part II
I’ve decided that I want to write a novel. I have an idea in my head, about a near-future President of the United States who goes back in time to restore peace and balance to the world. 5 years ago, how would I have gone about writing and publishing “Time President”? Let me tell you.
I would have been able to write the book fairly easily (assuming I stayed focused and committed, but let’s assume I...
6 tags
❖ Bookworms don't chew through screens: Part I
This post is the first in a series about books in the digital era, this post will deal with the experience of reading, while later I’m going to discuss publishing and writing.
According to the OED, a Book is “a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.” It then further defines Book as having the special usage meaning of “a literary...
❖ Politicians without Politics
Imagine a world in which Politics was not a game, played to further the personal achievements of a select few, but instead a solemn and respected duty, which worked to benefit all Australians, not just those on the Front Bench. Imagine a world in which Politicians forgot about Politics. Almost two weeks ago, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the Emissions Trading Scheme Carbon Tax, to deal...
6 tags
So here's a rational, well-researched and informed... →
This writing gig is harder than I thought. They make it look so easy!
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❖ State of the Holy Union
Every year, the LGBT community looks upon Sydney for the annual Mardi Gras, one of the largest gay pride celebrations in the world. Every year there are numerous bigots angry at the flagrant displays of what they call unnatural love on the streets of their beloved city. Every year the calls for the Federal Government to allow gay marriage grow louder around early March. Every year the incumbent...
5 tags
The Battle for Balmain →
On the one hand, I’m upset with the Greens for even considering this man as a candidate, let alone giving him Balmain. There are a lot of incredibly shady things that he has alledgedly done, many of them not entirely ‘green’.
On the other hand, I don’t particularly care. What is done is done, and the SMH have no absolute proof that he was actually responsible for those...
4 tags
Question Time now a farcical procedure? →
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t one of the key conditions of Julia Gillard’s Coalition government that they would reform Question Time?
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❖ Mission Statement
My plan for this blog is for it to be a space in which I can write about those things most important to me. Hopefully what I say resonates with others, hopefully what I say is reasonable and makes sense. Feel free to call me out on the things I say, the only thing I find better than expressing my point of view is having a debate about someone else’s.
For now, the plan is for this blog to be...
5 tags
Welcome to Big Thoughts, Little Impact
Sitting down to dinner at Wagamama with my mother, we started talking about the internet. My mum told me about one of her favourite blogs, Mia Freedman’s Mamma Mia, and then said something that I had been thinking for a long time, but had never actually gone through with.
“You should write a blog!”
So here it is. You can expect discussions and articles on Australian Politics...