A Portrait.

Need a hint?

"That movie looks awesome,"

"I can't wait to download a copy."

"Nintendo DS"

Where “DS” stands for “I'm driving, shut the hell up back there.”

The Little, Forgotten Things.

My wife's mother wasn't well. All turned out OK, but at the time a rapid heart rate and some chest pain were a source of alarm.

I dropped my wife off at the front entrance to the hospital and drove away to find parking. I had no intention of heading inside - a hospital isn't the best environment for a ten week old baby with a still-developing immune system, so I scouted a small patch of grass across the road. I parked the car, packed the baby (and accessories) into the pram) and headed for the grass.

On arriving I found a neatly manicure lawn spotted with topiared trees reminiscent of lollipops. A squat wall ran along one side of the lawn, so I trotted over, parked the pram, pulled out an irrelevant book, leaned up against the wall and started to read.

After a few minutes some of the sharper leaves growing out of the hedge on the far side of the wall had started to dig in, so I turned around to rearrange the furniture, as it were. A few broken leaves later and I was back to my book, mostly dismissing the line of small metal plates I had noticed on the wall.

Not completely, however.

I turned back to take a second look and saw "child, aged 3" neatly etched on the plate. The next one along said "child, aged 5", and the next, and the next, and so on. Dozens, all in a row. I looked across at the entrance to the lawn and saw the sign - "Destitute Children's Asylum Cemetery."

A neat patch of lawn, well kept, gravestones lined up like school desks, trees like lollipops near at hand.

Ignorance of the Commons.

"The common ancestor of religion and science is ignorance."

-- AC Grayling, All In The Mind, 3 April 2010

"What's 230 divided by 8?"

"I'll do it... On my phone... OK... where's the calculator app... OK... How do I... OK, got it ready."

"What was the question?"

I am officially an Australian independent film investor.

I have purchased one frame of the indie Aussie horror movie "The Tunnel". I downloaded it last night. It's really good.

Here's my frame:



While they do make "real" movies, they're also experimenting with different forms of distribution and funding. In this case, the movie was released on the net, and they are sourcing funding directly from the audience after the fact - through DVD sales, film frame sales, and so on. Quite insightful.

Now you all have to go watch it so I can make my dollar back.

Grammaculous, Redux.

The world is changing far too quickly for me to keep up. I barely cling to the edges of this buffeted life by holding those small, intrinsically known truths that serve as my rock.

And now the University of Oxford deigns to rip me of my mooring.

Damn you, Oxford.

Damn you.

The Future Has Arrived.

And it involves magically moving a puddle of ketchup.

I Want To Play This Game.

The Apple Store, by Playmobil.

"If something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes magical. Thankfully, for most people, that's a pretty low bar."

"The video is a cathartic opus that aims to express the despair caused by a soul-destroying job and the pain of a broken relationship."

You'll need headphones.



Courtesy Low Morale.

Drive-By Cute-ing:

I Am Quietly Judging You.

Bombing Out.

I have a new found respect for Governor Schwarzenegger. While I disagree with much of his politics, I admire the way in which he notes his opinion. Here's a veto note he passed to the legislature;

(Hint: check the first letter of each line.)

Sheer Audacity.

Did you know that a new method of music production was invented for the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth"?

It's based on a mathematical model that creates a regular beat designed to maximise emotional response.

They're calling it the Al-Gore-rhythm.

It's Amazing What You Can Pick Up At A 7-Eleven Nowadays.

Why I Do What I Do.

Business-Related Photo of the Day.

Carry on.

The Demise of the English Language.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/counterpoint/stories/2010/2881190.htm

A great listen.

I am, of course, in almost entire unagreementisation.

Aucity.

Ness.