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August 31, 2006
Half Forwards...
A guy I went to school with committed suicide last week.
We were never what you'd call mates, but when you go to school with someone for six years you have quite a few shared experiences. He played on a flank next to me in the footy 3rds. We did house aths. His little brother is one of my little brother's best mates. I taught his other little brother at a school camp some years back. My mum knows his mum from when they were young and she had a maiden name. At the moment, all that comes to mind are cliches: they seemed just like a normal family with normal family stresses, tensions, and joys.
I can't comprehend what they are going through at the moment.
His death is set against a backdrop of a society in which young men, in alarming numbers, are killing themselves. Beyond Blue informs me that statistically, one male farmer does so every four days. Anecdotal statistics I have picked up in the last week or so suggest that men are taking this course of action in greater numbers than motor accidents are killing them. One of my very favourite teachers from school, as caring and intelligent and approachable a man as you could hope to meet, has had four former students take their own lives over the past ten years. That's from just one school.
The thought that the next person to do so might be someone even closer to me I find utterly terrifying. I feel like calling all my male friends and telling them that if they want to have a beer or something, I'm always here. My father did exactly that when he called me the other night to tell me what happened, and he has done it for twenty years, every time we have ever spoken about suicide: "Pete, if you ever think of doing something like that... Please, just talk to us".
I hear also that the overwhelming majority of male victims of suicide have some form of depression. This guy was one of those. Beyond Blue suggests that this is not uncommon. Is this something to do with the grin-and-bear-it culture boys are brought up in? I don't know. I suspect we are touching on issues far more complex than I can deal with here.
I just find it all very, very sad.
Posted by Peter at 06:18 PM | Comments (92)
August 25, 2006
Jet + Set = Me
I am going to Sydney today.
There, I will stay here, dine here, and attend these at a venue made famous in Bec's love poem to Lleyton.
I will not be taking interviews.
Posted by Peter at 01:57 PM | Comments (27)
August 20, 2006
Out of 5 #34
OutOf5 this week was "Come Rain Or Come Shine: Songs About The Weather". I went with The Supreme's version of Stevie Wonder's "Bad Weather". "Heatwave" would have also worked.Posted by Peter at 01:08 AM | Comments (2)
August 18, 2006
Satire My Arse
So The Chaser have got themselves another headline.
Honestly, what a rubbish prank. So they concocted a couple of names that sound like Al Qaeda and Terrorist and got Virgin to call them over the airport PA. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.
It doesn't prove anything, doesn't show anything, doesn't reveal anything, doesn't comment on anything. It's not clever, nor is it particularly original. Basically, it is as far from satire as it gets. The extent of the gag is coming up with the names. That's it. The only difference between this and a year nine joke is that these guys have the money to book the tickets and take it a bit further.
If it had have sparked a nationwide security alert, maybe, MAYBE, it would be worth something. I love a good laugh as much as the next person, but this does little but demonstrate that airlines etc aren't as stupid as The Chaser boys would like to think (or hope), and that Chas et al are a pack of media tarts.
Posted by Peter at 08:54 PM | Comments (11)
August 14, 2006
Keep Thumbs Intact
You may know about IsNot Magazine, a magazine printed on big pieces of paper and stuck up around town (Melbourne town, for overseas and interstate readers). It is run by, among others, Mel.
What you may not know (I didn't), is that these parties that they throw every so often are not just put on because the IsNot folks are fun-lovin' people in the Steve Rubell mould, taken to regular and wanton acts of uncontrollable bonhomie, but because they are the main means of funding the magazine.
So come along to Backstage (cnr Russell & Lt Collins Streets in Melbourne, upstairs) this Friday 18 August, and put $10 in the little jar (more if you're feeling particularly generous - though you might want to save a little for the Salvos at the G on Sunday for Melbourne v North). That will keep the wolf from the door for their next edition or so. And will placate the poster distribution people who want their money and I hear are shady and have Italian names (IF YOU GET MY DRIFT - I CAN SAY THAT BECAUSE I AM ONE MYSELF).
The theme is "Last Night At Holiday Camp". I don't know what the hell that means. Perhaps I am not cool enough. I assure you that most there will be somewhat cooler than me. As an added bonus for Law & Order fans (there is no shame, join us), DJ D'Onofrio will be playing (he has criminal intent). If that doesn't sell it, I don't know what will.
Posted by Peter at 07:01 PM | Comments (7)
August 10, 2006
Sticking It To The Man
It doesn't happen very often that one gets one over a major company just by complaining through their online complaints form. But to everyone out there who's ever lost music purchased from the iTunes Music Store, there may yet be hope. Check out my little war of words with Apple below the fold.
FROM: PETER
TO: APPLE
Authorisation and Digital Rights Management appears, to me, to constitute more of a licence to play music rather than actual ownership of the music. I can listen to a CD I have purchased on as many stereos as I like, for example. I truly OWN that music. iTMS music is not like this - Apple limits how I can use that music. Legally, it appears that Apple grants me a licence to listen to music I have paid for within certain parameters.
Why then, can I not redownload music (without paying twice) I have "purchased" if I lose the files? You know I have "purchased" it. And since I have only really purchased a licence, surely I retain that licence and you should provide me with the music to listen to. A comparison would be downloaded software for which I have purchased a
serial number. If I lose the software, I can download it again upon presenting my serial number - my licence persists regardless of how many times I have needed to download the software. I never actually OWN the actual data of the software - just a licence to use it.
It seems you want to have it both ways: limiting my use of the music (to your benefit) in a manner that would constitute a mere licence. But claiming that music is property I have purchased when it comes to replacing it - again, to your benefit.
So what is it? Property or a licence? If property, then DRM has no legal foundation. If a licence, then please let me know how I can replace my lost music.
FROM: APPLE
TO: PETER
Dear Peter,
Thank you for contacting the iTunes Music Store.
The sales and service policies for the iTunes Music Store are
available here.
Thank you for being an iTunes Music Store customer. We appreciate your
business.
Sincerely,
iTunes Store Customer Support
FROM: PETER
TO: APPLE
well, thankyou for fobbing me off so artfully.
i am well aware of the iTMS policies. I wouldn't be complaining about
them if I hadn't read them. My problem is that they appear to have been
created on shaky legal foundations.
anyone can publish a policy that says anything. that doesn't make it
legally sound.
perhaps someone could actually respond?
yours,
peter
FROM: APPLE
TO: PETER
Hi Peter,
I apologize, but I am not authorized to answer questions that border on legal issues. I can, however, assist you with your lost music.
I'm sorry to hear that you lost your iTunes Store purchases. I know how distressing that can be, so I'VE MADE ALL OF THE CONTENT YOU LOST AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD AGAIN, FREE OF CHARGE. Please understand that Apple does not offer protection against the loss of your purchases, so this is a one-time exception.
Again, I can do this for you only once, so you should back up your iTunes Library as soon as possible after you finish downloading, and make backups on a regular basis.
CONCLUSION
Let this be a lesson. Hassle, hassle, hassle. Or, a $30,000 HECS debt for a law degree pays itself off with the recouping of $30 worth of music.
Posted by Peter at 02:38 PM | Comments (14)
August 05, 2006
Not At All Cool
It's not very cool to not like Big Brother. It's very easy, in fact, to be made to feel like some humourless irony-free, pro-censorship friend-of-Helen-Coonan's if you speak out against it.
But I really, really don't like Big Brother. For mine, a show that imprisons people and controls their environment to put them under unspeakable pressure so that they reveal the very worst of their personalities to entertain us, well, just feels somehow wrong.
I know it's capable of producing lovely moments. By all reports the reunion of David and his boyfriend was very moving. And having lots of people cheering the gays is certainly a wonderful thing. But I don't think that's enough to make up for what we do to these people.
I know that Gretel is a very talented host. I have in the past admired the way she is in complete control of the post-eviction interviews. And to make that much on-air time even vaguely entertaining is quite an enormous achievement. Well done to her. Still not enough.
I know that many claim some sort of academic distance - "I enjoy this not as base entertainment but as sociological study" - as if this somehow removes them from the orbit of the loudly baying, furiously texting bogans that drive ratings up. As if academic appreciation means that they are no longer complicit in the uglier aspects of the show.
It does not.
And I know the housemates are usually stupid - I don't think that makes them fair game. It has a bit of the old roman gladiator thing about it: these folks were unfortunate enough to be born as slaves, so let's make them fight in a ring for our viewing pleasure. I can't help but wonder if entertainment based around the exploitation of the less fortunate (because they're stupid) doesn't somehow make us worse as a society. Because it's basically The Running Man with fewer wisecracks.
So I'll say it once, and I'll say it loud. I don't like Big Brother. I'm glad it's over for another year. I hope it doesn't come back.
Judge me if you must.
Posted by Peter at 09:59 PM | Comments (7)
Footballers
I have been warned by Too much sport that there is too much sport on this weblog. But it's happened again.Posted by Peter at 07:30 PM | Comments (2)
JP presents company
Just Pretending are presenting noir musical City of Angels this year. Audition if you're keen.Posted by Peter at 07:25 PM | Comments (7)
EST
I have recently become obsessed by "the Radiohead of jazz", the Esbjörn Svensson Trio. Scando jazz at its best.Posted by Peter at 07:23 PM | Comments (5)