How to Be Good (Without Really Trying)

Just borrowed "About a Boy" from the uni library. Went to check out the author, Nick Hornby (who wrote the brilliant novels "How to Be Good" and "High Fidelity"), at his official website, and came across a novel internet concept: the donate-for-free charity website.

Basically it's a way of harnessing the power of net advertising for good rather than evil. You click on a link that says, say, "Tsunami Appeal", and it takes you to a site with a bunch of ads and a thank you message. Each time this page gets a hit, the advertisers contribute to the appropriate charity.

The above link is to the best of these sites that I could find. As with anything on the internet, the problem is you can't really be that sure it's doing what it says it's doing, but it seems legit. There doesn't seem to be a really good Australian version of the concept - I guess it shouldn't really matter where the charities are based, but it does grate a bit to see a link that says "Fight AIDS!" which turns out to be solely focused on a couple of American states. Sure, they're acting local, but where AIDS is concerned I don't think Virginia is really the main game.

It would be really cool to do a slick portal for the really mainstream charities that are well known in Oz, so families could set it as their home page and click on the links each time they go on the net. If I had the time. And the skills. And Young Liberalish entrepreneurial drive. In short, if I was someone other than me.

"The most powerful political force in a democracy is apathy. Tap into it and nothing can stop you." Tim Ferguson, Left, Right and Centre

So Much 80's I Almost Slipped Through Space And Time

As Good As Being In Europe

I had such an awesomely rawsome long weekend I am just so happy and a little sad knowing I am going back to work tomorrow. Lets start this at the top.

At work on Friday I was considering maybe this was going to be the first quiet Friday night for a long long time. Then Benno came to the rescue with a plan to hit up Brunswick st and see Fizard at the Evelyn. Started at the Loft with the work crew then came home and got changed and fed. Headed back in with moshua and tim. Met liz and ben at Bar Open in Brunswick st. Had a random chat with this West Virginian who was backpacking and working in pubs sprooking some product. Sang the country road song and moved on

Went to bimbos for a chocolate pizza, it was awesome, who knew!

Then ben and all the others except liz and I went to the evelyn and saw fizard. I know they are an awesome band but I don’t like hip hop much so liz and I went over to Bar Called Barry’s on smith for 80’s night, fuck yeah. Met up with Sian from RMIT who I met on the trip in Germany. So liz, sian and I danced and drank it up like demons and got to see a 50 year old guy dancing like a dickhead, looking like a fuck. After a while the crew from the gig came and joined us and we danced and sang (oh my voice, my previous voice) till about 4 and then headed home.

Approx standard drink consumed for night : 18

Saturday was a surprisingly productive day given how much I drank. Woke up before midday on a Saturday which is nearly unheard of. Went and met Sian in the city for lunch and sat around with some nice food, cool drink, smoke or two, in the sun and had a chat.

Thought I was going out to Braith and Gooldys house warming party in Camberwell but it got to late to quickly so decided to have some pres at my house and round up a crew of all crews for THE STANDARDS!!!!.

With a crew of 14 we piled into Pony on little Collins to find that standards would be on a bit later and so were forced to stand around and drink more, haha. Caught up with Suzie and G Tounge from high school. And Katherine, Kristine, I can’t remember but they were in the year above us and in welch, moshua and my health class.

THE STANDARDS

I was always going to love the dickens out of this gig seeing as though they put it on for me cause I missed their other one. The new drummer is sick. The new songs are rocking. Josh, welch and I kept a decent little mosh going up the front with some random chick who was into it as well. They dedicated IS THERE AND ANSWER to me and we went sick. Brylee (girl I met in London) and her friend Pam came along and were pretty amused at our level of excitement.

From there on a crew of Josh, Matt, Brylee, Pam and I went reveling and screaming fall out boy lyrics through the streets (ok the fall out boy was mainly me) and onto RETRO which is an 80’s club up near Pugs in Lonsdale. Got our dance on there for far too long. Went for a random half hour walk back to Pam’s car and she gave us a lift home.

Approc Standard Drinks consumed : 16

Sunday would usually be a good day of rest and recovery with work on Monday but with work cast aside to honour our heroic boys and girls who keep out the reds and make sure we have the freedoms to make jokes about those damn reds it was going to be another big night. After having just seen 2 intense nights of 80’s I was ready for something different. Liz delivered on this front and suggest NEXT which is the new goo over on king street.

Liz, Darcy and I headed to that after some good pres of vodkabulls and moved between the punk / emo, retro and metal rooms. The metal room was intense and a little scary to say the least. I counted 65 ppl wearing black and 5 not, well 4 + me.

Highlights of the night were darcy getting totally sloshed by about 12 and having him on the dance floor for a massive skegger song where he was only being held up by random mosh keeping him upright, good stuff. Matty and Moshua came in after the GP was done with and partied with them for another hour or so. Hodaka drove us home and we managed to listen to Wagner and the German national anthem which is always good fun.

Approx Standard Drinks consumed : 18

Today was a quiet day, saw the dons beat pies which was good. Went and saw Welch’s flat over in oak park which is a little batchelor pad. Had a roast, played some lord of the rings on xbox (haven’t done that since last year) with josh. Got angry as a bastard with that game and came to type this.

Back to work tomorrow which sucks big monkey balls

Peace Out

PS. I am making EMO IN THE AUTUMN 2 at the moment which will be out very soon, promising to be the big hit of autumn until fall out boys newie comes out.

Kandid Katz interview

Returning triumphant from his brief stint in journalistic Siberia, Danny talks to Ms Fits, a Melbourne blogger who seems to have an uncanny knack for meeting famous people.

Man shot in the back

I told you! Pascoe Vale is NOT a western suburb of Melbourne! It is a northern suburb, just as this lovely little story about a man who got shot to death at the end of my street last night indicates.

I'm so glad I don't live in the west.

Ben

The moon ain't romantic, it's as intimidating as hell

Are these those bastards that stole victory away from Good Morning at the Tote on that fateful night? Look at those wholesome country smiles. Smug pricks.

In other music-related news, Daka is right: Tom Waits' "The Piano has been Drinking" is awesome! So is the whole album, in fact.

Pay Attention

Oh the passion, the passion of it all

I refer of course to the girl on girl beach make-out on the O.C. that I know we have ALL been waiting for and were finally delivered on tonight’s instalment of that grand old show about orange county.

SATURDAY…SOMETHING BIG..err..THE STANDARDS…COME OR DIE….

2nd Weekend In

So the weekend was good. Started off a bit CRAZY with not sending my timesheet to my recruitment place by 5pm so hopefully I actually get paid nest week.

Friday was quiet, saw some brews at the loft after work, raced home and back in again (not use to the wearing work attire on a Friday and not being organised). Found with disappointment that nic and kate had managed to be sucked back over to Icon even though we were already at the Loft. Drank some swill there and headed over to Holiaver for Dom’s (mate of gooldy’s) goodbye party as he goes to Europe morrow.

Had a msg from benno that he wanted to get PARALYTIC and then he dropped off the radar so assumed he did without us, later reports confirmed this.

Met up with Brylee who is a chick we met in London on our first day there and she was part of the awesome NYE party crew that we got MASHED UP with for new years and the weekend after.

Last night was an awesome night of alcohol and moshing / screaming. Started with some crew (josh, loz, ben and I) had some sgetti and then a new innovation of josh’s Ice Cream with……cordial……don’t know it till you try it. Caught up timbo on the train and we headed over to Stu’s for jacq’s birthday drinks. Discovered a new beer called PURE BLONDE that is tastier than Carlton or VB with the same alcohol content but is low fat. You can actually feel the fat melting away as you drink it.

After a raucous rendition of the Hockey Pockey performed at Hartwell station we made our way to Switch. Numerous beers consumed. Ben got punched by a girl up in the metal area and he and tim left. Loz hooked up with gooldy and so it was up to MOSHUA and I to tear it up on the dance floor. I managed to hurt my knee (usually an October occurrence) but danced on into the wee hours and it’s not too bad now.

Had a decent taxi driver who went home an awesomely commendable way and settled up for bed with a small portion of garlic bread and sobering water for supper.

Tonight hit up that ice cream shop next to Chartruese for some coffee and then watched some VIVA LA BAM at my place. Loving the BAM at the moment.

Now I have to go to bed and be ready to talk to people all day with barely a voice to speak with.

Should go to see THE EXTRA sometime this week. Tightarse Tuesday conflicts with OC so “WE’LL SEE!!!!”

FOCKER OUT!!!

Two in a row... is this allowed?

I'm starting to panic about my demographic. Unless I'm mistaken, I'm the target of a marketing campaign by Emily The Strange... a women's clothing company! It is fronted by a fictional character described on their website as -
"Anti-cool, a subculture of one, and a follower of no one but herself. She is the anti-hero for the Do It Yourself movement! Her favourite phrase is 'Get Lost', which is both an invitation to travel to unknown places and an instruction to 'take a hike!'"

I don't have an desire to buy any of their stuff - the name alone is enough to send a shiver down my spine - but everywhere I turn, there she is.

1) We did an Emily The Strange giveaway at work. There are 30 trucker hats that say "Public Emily" about two metres from my desk.
2) A girl submitted in her folio of writing, some stories she did in a niche Melbourne magazine. In that magazine? Ads for Miss Strange.
3) Lauren (hoping not to pick up at Switch last night) wore an Emily The Strange jacket...

...and finally, the one that has me really freaked out.

4) Last night at Switch Tim and I went upstairs to see what the band was like. It was a band called Alpha State, and they were actually pretty mad. The lead singer had a great voice. During the set they had a blow up toy on stage with a vaguely family face... It was bloody Cruel. She'd found me again. Investigating further online today I find that Alpha State were proudly presented by Emily The Cruel.

What's even scarier is that Miss Cruel - "13 years old and one bad kitty with long black hair with bangs, big white Mary Jane shoes, short black dress, black stocking, ever present four black cats" - bares a striking resemblance to that bitch Samara from The Ring. If this crazy woman appears on my television screen, I'm getting the fuck out.

Dude.

Bam!

Hello lovely jubly people.

I'm here at Scotto's. We're about to head over to Stu's and then on to Switch. I'm a bit scared. Last time I was at Switch I got scared and went home. I'll see how I go tonight.

Loz is tickling Josh at the moment. That's different.

Josh: "This is awful Lauren. What would the Vicar say?"

Scotto is putting on an episode of Viva La Bam. It has been downloaded off the INTERNET! Pirate alert! It is quite a set up here. The AFP would probably like to see it. Matty downloaded it in his room and transfered it across the network onto the XBOX. Now it is on the telly. Magic.

They're ironing hamburgers onto someone's clothes at the moment and someone else is installing a firepole. Now someone is brushing his teeth with beefpaste. How unusual.

Anyway... we're gunna go soon. Catch.

LIVEN UP CHAPS

No One Posts here anymore??

I am still seeing my blog from the foggy shores of Scotishness and think that was a good fortnight ago. Well anyway I will give it a shot and hope to encourage others.

So Lauren had her Blanket of Inappropriatness displayed on ROVE'S WHAT THE??? last night which was cool to see. Although it was good I think the "HOMO MILK" still got the best what there but good on Loz on for having a go.

I have settled back into AXA in a different role working less hard and getting more money so that is always a step in the right direction.

Caught up with Jess, Karl and Tommy from the study tour tonight at Cookie. Sian was the only one missing and even Drik and Michael the German students who have come over here stopped in and enjoyed a few brews.

Trying to get use to this having to go to bed at a decent time or feeling shit in the morning. I believe without a doubt that the adrenaline and excitment of travelling makes sleep almost irrelavent but going to work tired deffinately feels like death.

Well thursday night drinks for those you are WEEKENDLY CHALLANGED. I think I will conserve my strength for the weekends two big nights. Fri should be absolute randomness. Sat will be much of the same but a day after friday and hopefully ends up at Swtich.

Well that is all
Scott

Listening to - All American Rejects - The Cigarette Song