Saturday, June 03, 2000
Hey, whaddya know, it's official: the new Anakin Skywalker has been chosen. Son of the Force, father of Luke, Hayden Christensen gets to live all his childhood fantasies by wielding a lightsaber and using the Force. Cool!
Of slightly over the age to be a rabid Star Wars fanatic, I'm holding high, high hopes for the rest of the prequel trilogy. Despite the fluffiness of Episode 1 - or actually maybe because of it - I think the rest of the series will prod buttock. Come on, sibling Jedis. We know how dark and menacing it's going to be by the end of this three. About as dark and menacing as it was at the start of New Hope.
I can't wait.
2:07 PM - link to this -
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So the whole Napster/Metallica debacle. It's amazing the outpouring of vitriol this is inspiring. And all because Metallica wanted to protect their intellectual property.
Of course this isn't something they should be allowed to do. This is all much more important to us than it is to them. After all, it's only everything they've built their lives on. We LISTEN to the music. Who do they think they are?
Stupid things I've heard during this mud-slinging match:
1. "Metallica always supported bootlegs and now they're being fascist." The point of this all is that they're only interested in stopping trade in MP3s made from their recorded albums. Fans' own recordings from concerts and all that are not targets. Metallica doesn't want to stop them, just the illegal pirates of recorded, produced, released and copyrighted music.
2. "They're just doing it for the money. They're so fucking greedy!" Yes of course, because no one could possibly care about retaining control over something they've worked so hard to produce. And I'm sure Napster isn't making a profit at all.
3. "We made them rich and famous in the first place! They owe us!" Because James Hetfield stood over you with a knife and made you buy all those albums. And singles. And t-shirts. Or whatever. You gave Metallica (and their record label) your money of your own free will because you liked their music. At what point did Metallica become beholden to you? When did you become their dictator? What gives you the right to reduce them to your servants? No, because you still pay servants. Your slaves.
4. "They sold out when they got their hair cut. I could see this coming." I immediately see the connection between hair-dressing and 'selling out'. Morons. Metallica realised they were getting older and couldn't credibly pretend to be punk teens any longer. Perhaps it's time you realised the same. The only thing more pathetic than an aging hippie in denial is an aging punk-rocker in denial.
Basically, I fully and loudly support what Metallica has done. Napster is ripping off artists - all artists, not just Metallica. Metallica has the clout to make a stand and be taken notice of. By doing this, they are at least attempting to protect those artists who don't have the sort of income the Metallica boys do, and who are really suffering. And they're being victimised by stupid, selfish, whinging layabouts who can't be fucking bothered to obey the laws of their country.
9:47 AM - link to this -
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Friday, June 02, 2000
This flagrant abuse of funds should never have gone forth to embarrass the liberal party in its current state. I have heard reports that this shoddy HTML job ran the Victorian Liberal Party to the hefty sum of $100,000 (Australian).
What was that money spent on? Certainly not on HTML coding, which (according to the source) was done on Claris Home Page version 3.0 30 Day Trial. Not even a full, licensed version. There is no background colour, and the main page is lumped into unflattering design. Certainly not on the graphics. The navigational graphics are two tacky rotating .gifs whose only redeeming feature is an interesting font coloration. Scattered throughout the site are various pieces of freeware clip art probably available at Mediabuilder.
Amazing, isn't it, that a state political organisation of Australia can exhibit a monstrosity that would make even a 12 year old teen girl cringe.
5:19 PM - link to this -
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I have refined my view of Kittie. Previously having only heard "Brackish" (which is an excellent song title to begin with, but I have yet to determine how it relates to the lyrics of the song; such an activity may, of course, be facilitated by actually being able to decipher what those lyrics may be, but I digress) I had pegged this "girlie group of the psycho rock persuasion" as some sort of unhealthy product of a relationship between Veruca Salt, the Beastie Boys and Rammstein. "Spit" (song, not album) however, sounds like what you might get if the Great Kat had a dom/sub baby with Atari Teenage Riot.
Of course, this is entirely pointless in the long run.
12:52 PM - link to this -
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Yes, I am that most despicable of things - a not-quite goth. In years past I have avoided that label, fearing the scathing response it engenders. But now... well... fuck them all. I like to wear black, and make-up, and dance to Rammstein and Depeche Mode.
So many chic online goths despise all others. They declare themselves sickened by the "gother-than-thou" attitude of various others. Very little hypocrisy escapes me, and certainly not something so blatant. I was discussing this with friends (of the GAF variety) and we all have little respect for those who don't allow space for however others may wish to live.
So here's a gleeful two fingers to anyone who thinks I shouldn't be even mentioning the word "goth". And I recommend the following: alt.gothic.fashion.faq
9:38 AM - link to this -
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Thursday, June 01, 2000
Well, at least if I ever get across the world, I'll know where the toilets in central London are. I looked into the third exchange program of the year yesterday. I'm desperate to get out of the country. Not that there's anything wrong with Australia, in fact there are several things good about it, and I am far from being a whinging teen incapable of seeing past the verdant glow over the hill. There is so much out there, and so many people who care about me, and I want to revel in it all.
4:52 PM - link to this -
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My life as a fish was a short and iniquitous career. I was thrown out of the school for singing "Or would you rather be a human". Irony=my perpetual amusement, in every way, shape and form. GM seeks RP - PBeM not LARP. YKYRTM usenet when you are able to decipher acronyms within seconds. Anyone who just asked, "What's usenet?" will be taken outside and summarily executed.
10:24 AM - link to this -
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