Five words that bug me

Cheers Alice

So I was dying my hair black yesterday, between sessions of cutting myself... um, no I wasn't, I was drinking beer and a friend pointed me towards the Urban Dictionary definition for Emo.

There are as of this moment 1,180 definitions for the term, bloody kids these days, I don't know.... however I quite like this one:

The most over-defined word on urban dictionary!

bob: omfg! have you seen how many definitions there are for emo on urban dictionary?
joe: no how many???
bob: like over 800!
joe: holy shit lets add another one just
for the heck of it!
bob: ok!!
*types*

*shakes head and wanders off mumbling*

Day Two in the forest

Well its been a week and there is some serious bud action going down, though its not apparent in the photo, cause I'm using my phone and its crap and I'm no Ansel Adams.

I wouldn't be surprised if we have some leaf development by next weekend.... crikey!

Yes my life really is this exciting and yes I don't know how I cope either...

*shakes head and wanders off mumbling*

Wiki vandalism

Wiki vandalism is generally defined as editing a wiki in a way that is intentionally disruptive or destructive. There are four generally acknowledged types of vandalism: deletion of legitimate information, insertion of nonsense or irrelevant content, addition of unwanted commercial links (spam), and policy violations specific to that wiki.

I use Wikipedia a lot, its an amazing online resource and constant source of enlightenment and information. thus I am not a supporter nor subscriber to the concept of mucking with wiki pages for the sake of it - theres been some well documented infractions of the spirit of wikipedia by some notable types over the past few years - US politicians being one that springs to mind. This is inexcusable and could compromise this marvelous resource.

Then theres the simply stupid and juvinaile antics that again I don't condone nor encourage but... one such entry that is now deleted, for obvious reasons, I came across on a UK Music Forum posted by the authors. It had me in stitches and still does on re-reading, a example of drunken foolishness and English humour and again whilst I can't condone such actions, I'm not going to deny myself a bloody good laugh.

The entry, below, concerns a DJ called Seb Fontaine:

"Born to a semi-professional DJ mother, Fontaine grew up in West London and became aware of club culture at a young age. He began DJing professionally in the late '80s after dropping out of college and he never looked back.

His first notable residency was in 1989 at the Fridge in Brixton followed by another residency at the Wag; he spun mainly rare groove at both clubs though also dabbled with hip-hop and ragga. More residencies followed -- Subterania, Glitterati, and more -- though it was Fontaine's stay at Malibu Stacey alongside Craig Richards that established his reputation as an up-and-coming DJ. At Malibu, he began spinning deeper, darker, and harder tracks; the kind of tracks that would become his trademark.

In 1998, Fontaine got his big break, a bi-weekly residency at Cream. Soon after, his residency became a weekly affair, and within a year he was spinning in Ibiza, where Cream hosted parties at Amnesia. During this late-'90s run, Fontaine's career progressed quickly. He not only took on more impressive and more frequent gigs, but also began his series of Prototype albums for Global Underground and his show for Radio 1.

He quit his residency at Cream in late 2002 to focus more on touring but recently returned to London to being a new monthly called "Type". A mix for Thrive records presented by Perfecto was released in July of 2003. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

The biography above illustrates the well know story of international dj Seb Fontaine, what it fails to disclose however is the accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing that have been brought against Seb Fontaine or "Mad Dog El Fonty" as he is known in the Balkans.

In April 1992 as the Bosnian conflict exploded into life, the presence of a chirpy West London lad who liked to eat the hearts of his enemies as he listened to FSOL began to run rampant in the streets of Sarajevo.

Supported by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, it is rumoured that in early 1994 Mad Dog El Fonty organised the Malibu Stacey Death squads who operated throughout the conflict Monday to Thursday between gigs. Seb's allegedly incredible capacity to wipe out entire villages by late thursday night then return promptly to london for his latest gig inspired several copycat dj's events at this time, indeed his apparent professional attitude to genocide inspired "Hanging Judge Jules" well documented excursion to Rwanda in late 1994.

Fontaine's bloodlust was only stopped when his chief henchman Jeremy Healy severely miscalculated international opinion by partcipating in the srebrenica massacre, unwisely believing that the international community would allow a rwanda style genocide being committed against white europeans.

Upon the signing of the Dayton accord it is rumoured Mad Dog El Fonty returned to London on a full time basis. There are unsubstantiated reports he has used his substantial disposable income to fund the conflicts in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo."

Revenge

The Crocodile Hunter was a tiny step up from the animal antics of the Jackass crew, so why are people worshipping this mans unfortunate but very predictable death?













I don't get it, but then that doesn't surprise me as I am so not the target market for Mr Irwins work - I prefer my animal viewing to have some merit, not just cheap thrills.

Now following the death of Mr Irwin, it seems there are some who have taken matters into their own hands, at least ten stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on the beaches of Queensland in the wake of Irwin's death, prompting some speculation that the killings were done as revenge by fans of Irwin.

Two stingrays were found near Brisbane, while eight were found elsewhere. The tails of the stingrays had been cut off.

Wayne Sumpton of the state fisheries department said that fishermen who inadvertently capture stingrays sometimes cut off their tails to avoid being stung, but that the practice was "uncommon". Michael Hornby, the executive director of Irwin's conservation group Wildlife Warriors, said he was concerned the rays were being hunted and killed in retaliation for the TV star's death. He said killing stingrays was "not what Steve was about." (taken from wikipedia)

No, better to poke the Stingrays with a stick and taunt them for some cheap reality TV programme.... perhaps

Call me a hater, a cynic, whatever but I really don't get or buy into the personality cult that is/was Steve Irwin. I don't quite see what this man contributed to anything outside of the world of cheap TV shows aimed at the desensitised masses.

For more on the man and his detractors check his wikipedia page. Which has now been locked due to wikivandalism.

Down this way and I guess its no different in most countries where his various TV shows played, we're being subjected to Irwin overload, lots of repeat screenings of his shows, his movie, 20/20 and other shows of their ilk doing stories on the man and his life etc. A great earner for his estate no doubt.

Some months ago I read this piece on Australia zoo by The Opinionated Diner, crikey its a good and funny read.... Especially to anyone who has been a tourist in Australia. Since the death of Mr Irwin the Diner has done a update, which sums up many of my thoughts quite nicely, so best ya check that too.

Meanwhile more Stingrays are going to pay for Mr Irwins death with their lives... One has to wonder, if these people killing the rays lived somewhere else would they be packing the family car or themselves with explosives....

If these revenge killings continue, will the animal kingdom enact a revenge on us humans?

I don't understand, maybe that's the point

In a few years time New Zealand is due to host the Rugby World Cup and over the past week or so I've heard various figures used in conjunction with said cup that I just don't understand or more to the point believe.

That the final will be watched by 3 billion people
That the Rugby World Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world

I am not even close to what one would call a rugby supporter but hell even the most obsessive of them surely can't believe some of the crap our politicians and sporting heads are starting to spout.

Now we're being subjected to a discussion about the various merits of building a brand new stadium to house the final (we need a stadium that can seat 60,000) or revamping Eden Park - the current stadium/park used for such games.

The cost is of course a major hurdle and issue concerning both options and the ever present problem of who will pay - private enterprise, Auckland rate payers, NZ tax payers or most likely a combination of all three.

I care a lot about how Auckland is developed, being a resident of the city an all that, as such I hope that a solution can be found that actually enhances Auckland, rather than my greatest fear that we waste a shitload of cash on something that will only be used and useful for this one event.

There are now stories concerning the prospect of a brand new stadium on our much under utilised waterfront, this has a lot of merit and if done in a well thought out manner Auckland could have not just the stadium but a wonderful parklike area on our waterfront, with all the transport facilities, businesses and most importantly from my perspective green spaces that a well thought out and planned development of this nature and size could embody. But and there is always a but, at what cost.

We already have a bunch of under utilised sports stadiums in the city, do we need another?

Would we be better off ignoring Eden Park and instead revamping or adding to the established North Shore stadium or Mt Smart one? I think so, as why potentially ruin our waterfront for a stadium - hell there's already one almost built there (woefully too small for much though).

I'd gladly say yep lets do the waterfront option if I had any faith in the council, govt and rugby administrators being able to agree and come up with one plan that they wouldn't botch horribly leaving the city with an eyesore, which is more likely the case, for we simply don't have the oodles of dollars available to ensure a good result.

As is often said down here, rugby was the winner on the day.... Wouldn't it be nice if for once Aucklanders (New Zealanders) were















For the life of me I have no idea why I made this post..... I think perhaps I have lost my mind

Banksy targets Disneyland

The figure appeared in Disneyland over the weekend

A life-size replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee has been placed in Disneyland by guerrilla artist" Banksy. The hooded figure was placed inside the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the California theme park last weekend.

It is understood to have remained in place for 90 minutes before the ride was closed down and the figure removed.

A spokeswoman for Banksy said the stunt was intended to highlight the plight of terror suspects at the controversial detention centre in Cuba.

Banksy is notorious for his secretive and subversive stunts - such as sneaking doctored versions of classic paintings into major art galleries.

full story


















He has previously added Guantanamo inmates to paintings, such as the one below.
















Its been a busy time for Banksy :)