tolkien ’bout a revolution — still thinkin’ about lotr, & still not completely sure what to make of it… but i’m liking it more as it recedes into memory… although i think what i was trying to say the other day was something like while i was watching it i couldn’t stop mentally referring back to the book… which i realise is something of a non-statement, or, at least, a non-criticism… & maybe i was a bit rough on elrond… still, talk about epic, eh?

i mean… it could be that with all that mental referencing stuff what i’m really trying to say is that on some (nerdy, tolkien-fanboy) level i was sitting there going, “hey, they left out… & also… & they didn’t put in… &amp…” which, is also kinda dumb, given that the film’s already pushing three hours… (& you know, whoosh! go legolas!)

memories, like the something something something — bought 256Mb of RAM for speedpig yesterday… which should have given me around about 320Mb when it was all plugged in, but one of the DIMMs is invisible… can’t seem to get it to appear, so i’m (temporarily, i hope) stuck with 192Mb for the nonce… still, if the worst comes to the worst, that should tide me over until the end of next year, when i’m planning to retire speedpig in favour of the as yet unspecified megapig, which is gonna be, like, totally (auf deutsch) über dem oberen… or sopra il superiore, as they probably don’t say in italy…

wotchu tolkien ’bout? so… the fellowship of the ring… seen it. ummm… it was… okay… i mean, i kinda liked it, but it just felt kinda… flat? or something… lemme think… uh… okay, how about this? it was like having a giant, three hour set of animated illustrations to accompany the book, but not so much like having a three hour movie… uh, is that making any sense?

liked — the sheer scale of it… & (for the most part) the performances… & the visuals were, well, stunning…

not-liked-so-much — the elves (with the exception of legolas, whose quiver had me all a-quiver)… elrond was kinda like a forest elf (wooden), while it was just as well galadriel didn’t take the ring when she was offered it, because it would just suck for middle earth to be ruled by the lamest effect in the entire film…

not-liked-much-at-all — the overall sense of dumbing down i got from it… this might be just me, but, like, i kept thinking that if i didn’t know the books i’d be hard pressed to, not so much follow what was going on, but like, to find it in any way convincing… in a making sense of reactions, what-are-they-doing-now-&-why-are-they-doing-it kinda way…

still — i dunno… i can’t make my mind up about it… a bit, uh, disappointing? while at the same time somehow managing to be pretty good? i dunno… i’ll probably try to see it again in the next few days… & it has made me want to read the books again, & the silmarillion, & hang around in elf bars…

important news from japan concerning wrongheadedness

Dear Mr so-called “magic”dog,

I too wish to take you to task on your criticism of the Hottest 100. I
need only mention two words that makes a complete mockery of your lack of
enthusiasm for this worthy annual tradition.

Kid Rock

I think Mr Dog, that if you were indeed as you claim, a “magic” dog,
then your powers would have divined that Kid Rock is back. Kid Rock is lean,
fit and rich. Also please don’t even think about fucking with rhymes like
he has. If you don’t mind I would like to use your worthy page as a
platform for airing two theories which I have, and which are also mine.

Theory the 1st: Kid Rock is a lyrical poet with a master plan. Yes,
that’s right. I believe Kid Rock to be a “retooled” Vanilla Ice. Emphasis on the tool.

Theory the 2nd: Kid Rock has no Elvis in him.

Your criticisms are invited, IF YOU DARE. I think, however, your
silence will be resounding. Thank you for your time.

Winston (unwrapped)

gosh, where to start? dear mr winston, you go too far when you invoke the name of our saviour, V.Ice… for there can only ever be one lyrical poet with a master plan, as history, even at this early date, has shown… however, your misguidedness is redeemed by your second theory, which, in my humble opinion, is right on the money…

coogee rock city — wow, talk about your evening of extremes… friday afternoon’s storm lasted about ten minutes tops, so i made it to yoga without a drenching, & then i caught the 339 to keri’s place & we headed down the hill to the palace to catch the rifles…

$12 worth of ringing ears, please — one of the great things about the celibate rifles is this: just when you think they can’t play any faster or louder, they can. twin guitar attack! but oh, my ears! my beautiful, beautiful ears! we found a great spot next to the mixing desk, which just happened to be situated in front of the left speaker stack… (monday morning ear bulletin: still ringing…)

this little piggy went to homebush — jumped a train to the state sports centre on saturday night to see the razorbacks play adelaide… turned out (by accident, not intent) i’d chosen to see the pigs play their 100th game in the nbl… it was pretty scrappy, adelaide were never really in it after quarter time, & the last quarter was pretty much trash… adelaide benched most of their starters with eight or so minutes remaining by which time the pigs were twenty-odd points in front & going away… the pigs by 117 to 85…

pizzas at nielsen park — yesterday being exactly like an anniversary, keri & i grabbed pizza from the pig & olive on macleay street & drove out to nielsen park for a swim… swimming in the ocean (well, okay, the harbour) is just amazing at this time of the year…

they call me uncle ted / good morning how are you i’m uncle ted, / i’m interested in things / i’m not a real uncle but they call me uncle ted… & come july or august i will be a real uncle! my brother kevin & his wife karen are expecting their first child!

chrisT sets me, uh, straight on the hottest 100:

magicdog wrote:

> mebbe it’s the whole not having a party to go to anymore kinda thing?

Oh, yes! I suppose things were pretty marvellous in “the good old
days”. Four year old kiddies digging coal! Three year old kiddies… er,
digging coal as well as the four year old kiddies. I suppose you think
that was the limit, don’t you? Well, I’ve got news for you. I think
old people are really boring. And the only reason you don’t understand our
music is because you don’t like it!

> or mebbe it’s how lame the CDs are when they finally get around to
releasing them?

How can you say that when the Hottest 100 CD set No.8 had Queens Of The
Stoneage “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” (Disc 2 Track 10) which didn’t even make it into the Hottest 100 for 2000 (or any other year)?

Oh, now I see how.

Hi Keri.

ChrisT

tropfestering — gosh, my agent (well, okay, andrew) sent me a script for a tropfest entry… & one of the characters is called ted! it’s gonna be just like seinfeld! or mebbe the benny hill show… uh… but no, i love it! let’s do lunch! let’s dress up like elves & film it in new zealand!

portare il caffè per i robot di amore! lasciarli bere ed essere
massaggiati! — bring coffee for the robots of love! let them drink & be massaged!

we’ve set our xmas rock clocks — hey, cool, we’re heading down to the palace hotel in coogee tonight to catch the celibate rifles do one of their christmas shows… (argh! uh oh! scheduling conflict! gerling are playing their xmas show tonight at the annandale! rifles vs gerling… gerling vs rifles… uh… ummm… okay, rifles.)

another (tiresome?) ritual — somehow the jjj hottest 100 is losing its lustre… mebbe it’s the whole not having a party to go to anymore kinda thing? or mebbe it’s how lame the CDs are when they finally get around to releasing them? ah well, here’s my contribution… go-go-gerling for number one!

• the celibate rifles - i shoulda
• the eels - souljacker
• even - shining star
• gerling - dust me selecta
• gorillaz - 19-2000
• pj harvey/thom yorke - this mess we’re in
• the hive - thrill popper
• the hive - yes i bet you have
• kinobe - grass roots horizon
• life without buildings - ps exclusive
• not from there - frisco disco
• outkast - ms. jackson
• radiohead - knives out
• radiohead - packt like sardines…
• radiohead - pyramid song
• rage against the machine - renegades of funk
• regurgitator - fat cop
• regurgitator - superstraight
• something for kate - twenty years
• spiderbait - outta my head
• the strokes - hard to explain
• weezer - island in the sun

hmmm, i seem to have forgotten to vote for limp bizkit… i guess there’s always next year…

uh oh… thunder & lightning… i hope i can get to yoga without getting drowned…

love radiation machine — baby-baby-baby-baby-baby i fell from the sky… right into the middle of my new-found dynamism! hurrah! lucky i didn’t just land on my arse as usual…

The Sun shines in your sign and that means the next month you radiate love and attract it back. New ambitions start to come to the surface giving you a chance to use your new-found dynamism and esteem to the full. You have the capacity to be a high achiever so what better time to set goals via your New Year resolutions. It feels good to have a direction in life. This time around, your aims may be a little offbeat. That’s just fine. It’s about time you catered to your kooky side.

that sound you’re hearing is my kooky side gettin’ up to speed… or possibly more thunder…

horoscopophilia the first — woohoo! unexpected gift alert! & mmmm, emotional lift…

Out of the blue something happens to open up your eyes and fill your world with bliss. An unexpected gift could arrive; giving you a much needed emotional even spiritual lift. Your tendency to harbour feelings of self-pity can really undermine your enjoyment of Yuletide. Instead of revisiting every slight that you’ve experienced this year, count your blessings. You are luckier than you think.

horoscopophilia the second — bonus horoscope for the afternoon… sigh… which one to believe? the one? the other? both? initiating negative capability… ooh! tickly mind! stop it, you’re killing me!

A spark is lit when you meet someone who is really going to tickle your mind. Getting enough sleep will help you meet the daunting challenges that face you. Don’t feel pressured at all into attending every invitation going when you’re ready to drop from exhaustion. Instead, make a polite excuse, then slip away from the crowd. You must conserve your energy.

slackerville christmas mail warning — ummm… not a lot of activity on the sending things to people front just yet… i mean, i’ve made a list & all, but yeah, not much progress beyond that… although i’m planning to sort it all out tonight & send it all off tomorrow morning, so hopefully australia post can pull my sorry arse outta the fire…

railway square snob incident — uh, so i’m kinda tired & emotional yesterday afternoon (after a bout of xmas drinks with some of my ex-compatriots from UTS) & i’m kinda wandering to my bus stop through railway square with an armful of heavy shopping bags, & i hear someone shouting out something which might be, “ted! ted!” so i kinda stop & turn around & over on the other side of broadway outside the multinational hamburger concern there’s a tall, thin guy inna hat who’s kinda waving & shouting, possibly at me, but i don’t really recognise him ’cause my eyes are having trouble focusing, & i think, “tall thin guy inna hat? i don’t know any tall thin guys in hats”, &, well, i just turn around again & keep walking…

apology the first — which, i thought to myself a few minutes later, was kinda bizarre, & almost certainly really rude… so, if you’re a tall, thin guy inna hat & you actually know me & you’re kinda pissed ’cause you were trying to get my attention in railway square yesterday afternoon, & you thought you did but then i just turned around & snobbed you, i’m sorry i didn’t stop & try to figure out who you were… but yeah, kinda drunk, & heavy shopping, & an advanced case of sudden lameness…

apology the second — or, if you’re a tall, thin guy inna hat i know really well but whom i seem to have forgotten & you’re pissed because i seem to have developed a mental blank when it comes to being able to recall any tall, thin guys in hats, well, i’m sorry about that as well… does this mean you’re not going to send me a present?

hoooooooooweeee — totally caffeined up this morning… weird, cos, like, i ain’t found a new strain of ultra-caf or nuffin… (in fact, without exception, the coffee within easy walking distance of my desk is, well, brown… & mostly hot… & that’s about the most you can charitably say about it…)

sign o’ the times — part of my mood’s due to signing off on some documents that advance our acquisition of a decent database system for the office… still a long way to go, but the process is starting to gather momentum… sigh. nerd, database nerd. <grin>

parcelanimous — yikes. collected a huge box of christmas presents from my mum this morning… you should see how many packages are waiting for collection at the kings cross post office… (hint: lots.)

stormy weather — yay. got caught in a downpour yesterday afternoon on the way to redfern station… was absolutely sopping by the time i’d made it halfway across the campus, so by the time i got to the station i was kinda totally aquatic… & woah, cold! go the insane wind you can barely walk against…

non sequitur — monsyllabic exclamation! (ironic aside…) some banality or other dressed up as “news” from my “life”… (rambling digression in parentheses, & when i say rambling, well, tenuous pop culture reference…) <pseudo-html tag>

heh — i wish i’d sussed that out a couple of years back… would’ve saved me a heap of time…

two years old & counting — well, it’s still going… which, i guess, is more than you can say for the new economy…

(mostly) spared the retrospective — couldn’t afford even the cheapest of cheap special effects to denote some kind of flashback, so if you’re of a mind to look back in anger, or bemusement, or because you’ve played tetris all the way through one too many times, you know where the links to the archives are… (uh, over there, on the left… up a bit… left a bit… that’s it…)

non-web-based highlights — i was driving over to balmain to play basketball yesterday afternoon (ow, my aching legs) & i was thinking to myself i’ve had kind of a busy year… (bought a car, for instance…) & yeah, new relationship, new flat, new job, new suit, started riding my bike again, blah blah…

but the biggest news of all… we’re going to italy! keri applied for a six month residency in a writer’s studio in rome &, well, she got it! so she’ll be residing in rome from february to july next year… & i’ve found a 4 week window of opportunity among all the deadlines at work & it’s looking as though i’ll be able to go over & visit at the end of march… how cool is that? [answer: cool.]

can’t help myself, bad hobbits — andrew comes through with boxing day tickets to the lord of the rings premiere at crazy-like-a-fox studios, thereby neatly solving my lotr or monsters, inc dilemma… in the meantime, i’m still shaking my head at the explore-middle-earth-with-popular-brand-of-credit-card brochure that arrived in my mailbox late last week… sigh, one card to rule them all…

gigantic: a tale of two johns — an upcoming film about tmbg…

wet saturday — not so good for cycling… plenty good for a big cup of coffee & the newspaper… mmmm, newspaper… uh, i mean, coffee…

rob sends news of… MTRAN (warning: more than meets the eye.)

while kate suggests… the 20 year usenet archive at google…

then follows up with… geek word love…

wow, how good were tmbg? wow. like, good. no, really. they played for about two hours (with three quarters of an hour of the totally scrummy titanics before them…) despite what el davebot says, the titanics were great, so great that at times i was thinking that my beloved & much missed [sob!] custard was really only an extended rehearsal… their cover of magicdirt’s “ordinary boy” was [bang] just the way i like it…

he’s wearing earplugs & playing the drums — there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding… he’s wearing earplugs & playing the drums! wow. the giants were way up there, easily amongst the best things i’ve seen… highlights? gosh. uh… well, pretty much everything from when they walked on stage & started playing “james k. polk”… but, uh, if pressed i guess i could nominate… ummm… well, it was all good… & so it’s like, well, the tmbg songs i love, i loved, & the tmbg songs that i like, i also loved, & the handful i don’t all that much care for, well, even they were good… & like, funny…

partial set list (not in order): “James K. Polk”; “Bangs”; “You’re Not the Boss of Me”; “Drink!”; “Mink Car”; “Ana Ng”; “The Famous Polka”; “Doctor Worm”; “Robot Parade”; “Why Does the Sun Shine?”; “Birdhouse in Your Soul”; “Man, It’s So Loud in Here”; “Yeh Yeh”; “She’s An Angel”; “Particle Man”; “Cyclops Rock”; “She’s Actual Size”; “Lie Still, Little Bottle”; “G-L-O-ckenspiel” [may not be an actual song, but funny, very funny]; “Shoehorn With Teeth”; “New York City”; “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)”; “Fingertips”; “Dead”; “Twisting”; “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”, plus a few others i either didn’t recognise or can’t recall, & at least one cover version whose name i didn’t catch… all mixed up with dial-a-famous-drummer, & the bit where tmbg try to play along to the radio, & some other miscellaneous schtick…

so much fun i turned invisible — or perhaps i’m simply unlovely? allow me to quote from someone’s weblog…

Again, not the space they [might be giants] deserve… it was terrific, great, amazing, energising. The company was lovely (Dave, Simon, Linda) though I wish Anna could have made it.

ahem… right. well, as long as we know where we stand… <grin>

the truth about tmbg — well, it was kinda…

WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO! WOO! WOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOOOO-WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO!

any questions? here endeth the lesson.

they MIGHT be giants. woo.

today might be giants — looking forward to seeing tmbg tonight… almost guaranteed to be less depressing than murakami’s book about the tokyo sarin gas attack… in fact, one might almost be so bold as to claim guaranteed fun, but one has decided one won’t…

weasels ripped my email — argh. can’t get through to yahoo to check my mail… if you’ve sent me email in the last 24 hours, i’m not ignoring you & i’ll be in touch just as soon as, uh, well, soon…

bad debt, no biscuit — my head’s still spinning from all the things we learnt in our financial planning course on the weekend… it ran for two days & turned out to be really interesting & useful… i’m already planning a takeover bid for AOL-Time Warner, & then maybe one of the major banks… then, i think, i shall retire to Majorca…

homebaking & entering — in the midst of all that negative gearing, bad debt versus good debt (two debts enter, only one leaves!) & risk-return ratios, i did manage briefly to see jimbo & der simonster, who arrived late on friday night, disappeared into the depths of my beanbags, stared blearily at me early on saturday morning, & then again late on saturday night (when they arrived back from homebake somewhat footsore & just a little deafened) before disappearing once more into beanbag luxury prior to another early morning blearfest on sunday…

pawn-stars — by the time i made it home on sunday afternoon, they’d scarpered… fortunately my stuff’s so crappy they weren’t able to sell any of it while i was out…

this week — they might be giants on chewsday night… & a couple of Big Things happening at work…

non desidero il mondo, io appena desidero il vostro mezzo — i don’t want the world, i just want your half…

storm, rain, storm, storm, blah — hot today, & lotsa sun, though the weather claims we’re in for a wet weekend… which means der simonster & jimbo could be in for a muddy time at homebake…

not me — uh uh… i’m spending my weekend learning about personal financial management… i mean, sure, i could’ve gone for the music festival thing, but how much more exciting is two days of diversification & negative gearing? sigh… i’m sure i could be more lame, but it’s hard to see how…

underground — met keri for lunch in glebe, then we wandered down to gleebooks & i scored one of my missing murakamis…

clouds’re gutherin’ on oop — hey, kewl, gettin’ overcast…

knowledge management links

• www virtual library on knowledge management
• knowledge management forum
• knowledge management resource centre
• knowledge management research centre

that’s it — i’m off to yoga…