Six Degrees of Separation

Towards the end of the movie (not the theory that involves Kevin Bacon), Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing acknowledge that there are two types of folk: those who enjoy the experience and those who like the anecdote. So while she was very involved and rewarded in what was taking palce he was somewhat removed working out how to best tell the story afterwards.

I'm definitely of the latter variety.

What about you?

Wrestling

Smackdown - Tour of Australia.

We get tickets through work through an international credit card provider that's not Mastercard, Amex or Diners. Not sure if the tickets reflect their views on Newcastle clients (send the Sydney folk to the rugby, Melbourne folk can go to the MCG box for AFL and Newcastle? Hmmmmm, wrestling? Perfect!)

I wrestle with my conscious and societal normsh but wrestling isn't real so it's ok. It's just make believe - thankfully most grown-ups know that (although there were many there the other night that are in for a big shock). But the kids don't know it. I even had to ask if the wrestling these days is less convincing than when I was a kid. Cos back then I had no idea it was fake (Killer Kowalski, Mario Milano etc - sure it was on a small B&W screen with dodgy camera work and I was 6 but I don't think I could comprehend the fact that it might be staged). And if somehow you could get away with the argument that it's only make believe - the punters there should be demanding their money back because it such rubbish - punches missing by at least six inches, the idea that a 200kg muscled animal can suddenly be incapacitated because another actor is holding his finger?

Just another example of keep 'em dumb and keep 'em happy. It seems to work with commercial tv

Rollings Stones Top 500 of All Time? Yeah right, more like Top Fogies of All Time!

Yup, that's it, I've had enough. No more am I going to try and believe that albums from the 60s and 70s are superior to those produced in the next three decades.

And you know why, cod the average age of a RS journo (and for the purposes of the Top 500) was 64.3 years old! Actually I made that up but I reckon it must be close

But accordingy to this right wing of an exclusive rock'n'roll nursing home, the breakdown of it's 500 across the decades is as follows:

1950s and earlier – 29 albums (5.8%)
1960s – 126 (25.2%) (with 7 of the top 10)
1970s – 183 (36.6%) (with 3 of the top 10)
1980s – 88 (17.6%)
1990s – 61 (12.2%)
2000s – 13 (2.6%)

So 67% of the best albums of all time - that's 388 - were made before I was 4!

I'm not denying that there was good music from my infancy and before. Arguably one of the great albums of all time, Pet Sounds, was released the year I was born (1966). I recently listened to it again, and tried really hard and just managed to achieve the suspended belief that I was hearing it for the first time and it is very very good. I reckon if it were released today it would still turn heads (or ears, or whatever). It's one for the ages...... ( but if you took away "God Only Knows"..........)

It appears there are those albums that are loved because it was a soundtrack to a special time in their lives, or those of signifiance because they "really changed the world, Man" (eg. Dylan goes electric) and then there are those that are sumply great examples of music.

I want to ask Kingsmill what he thinks are the greatest 500? And why? is he affected by life's current events when he reviews an album? Is he objective? Can he be objective? Can anyone be objective about music? and if they could would anyone like them or care about their views anyway.

For more anti-RS reading check this summary from Wikipedia


And if you can argue against it being fogey-est, can you argue that it isn't US-centric? Maybe it;s the same as their idea of World Series baseball - where are the Smiths, where is Radiohead, Sheessh!

Censorship

First Published June 08

I went to the Wrestling the other nite (more about that another time) and I'm watching acts of extreme violence not to mention the worst examples of all of the behaviours we try to teach our children to avoid (greed, rudeness, cheating, insults, etc)

I look around and a huge portion of the audience are kids. And some young ones too, like 4 and 5. Worse still, they are joining in with chanting of "You Still Suck!" and "You are a Pussy!"

And I wonder what sort of society sits back and allows that to happen but then freaks out when someone shows a photo capturing the truth, beauty and innocence of a child.

Blog Flog

Wow, this is so unexpected, I don't know what to say. I suppose I should just start by thanking a few people. Firstly to Kaaron, whether bound between two covers or between keyboard and cursor her writing always makes me think - here's her Blog

Dave "Seinfeld" for his blog about nothing - probably true after he's said all he needs to say through art, CD artrowork, band member, viseo director, and unpublished author (pending completion of his 12,000 page magnus opus).

Aaron and his Blog in support for ADHD and insomniac sufferers (sounds like a lead-in for a great fun site but it's actually a serious effort to help those afflicted with the dreaded combo - you still don't believe do you? Still waiting for the punch line or have already raced off to read something funny about Tyler Durden but nope - it's all factual and helpful).

Helen Razor - I hoped to join her but alas it appears I've arrived after the party has finished. So I turn to the closest thing to Razor's modern incarnation, Marieke Hardy (although I'm not sure I endorse her on-air persona as the thinking man's Jackie O) but alas she has up'ed stumps too! So my timing is as usual perfect, just in time to miss the trend.

They are no doubt off with the rest of the beautiful people forging the Next Big Thing

There are no doubt other Blogs I should refer too - something political (left wing of course), something more about about music (can't rely on Dave to have all the answers), chillies and beer - but with the other staples in life taken care of (books, music and faux-intelligentsia) that'll do