Erupting into movement.

Holy crap.

Sometimes...

• Sometimes giving up the comfy chair means your back is straighter.
• `I can be assertive, if you'd like me too....'
• `Equality is not in regarding different things similarly, equality is in regarding different things differently.' - Still Life with Woodpecker
• Here are is one of a list of really, really good ideas for job applications. Good for a laugh out loud, good for the soul. Ties in with the accusation recently that I'm `what's gotta change with the Engineering department's culture', regarding positive discrimination. Whatta riot.
  
• A description of 60 seconds in the life of commuters was that `I laughed so hard coffee came out of my nose'. Keep some tissues handy.
• Jefferson Airplane is my new love. Well, one of.
  

These days.

Sometimes I wonder whether ironic events are a sign of God, but often enough they're provided by a lexicographer with a wicked sense of humour. For example, note the Oxford English Dictionary's`word of the day', on a day when Hillary didn't quite make it across the line. (Click on the picture below if it's hard to see..)


For all of our librarian friends out there, an in-joke for you:
" I Y 020.5 ".

And while you're at it, give Roy a quick lookie.

"Now with GPS!"

Some random ideas to boost the mind

So I'm the 3rd person on tonight, and so to prepare me mentally for my presentation this evening I've found some interesting things to read and watch.

Firstly, someone get this Nobel-dude an O.J. Second, in 1957 spaghetti DID grow on trees. And finally, if you're going to drive in N.Y.C, this may not be the best car for it.

So.

I wish I had more time to say the things I really want to say.

Favourite quotes

• "If this were a shampoo offered with your first shower after sleeping rough for two months in Nouakchott, you’d opt to keep the lice." - Luca Turin on the fragrance `Creed’s Love in White'.
• "In a few days, you'll be `right to reign'.'' - Stuart Wilson on sickness
  

Things of interest I've noticed this week:

1. Salman Rushdie broke up with Padma Lakshmi.
2. Kubrick was as bad as Hitchcock.
3. The pope is not down with Muslims, Jews, academic freedom or ``The Vagina Monologues.”
4. I'm actually surprised at the above three statements.
   

He kinds looks like Robert De Niro

"Who's your Daddy, eh?"

I like a man with pizazz.

Church-hopping

Well, I've been church hopping these last few weeks. Checking out the various pieces of majestic, religious construction that exist around Canberra. Sometimes I pop in to see what's going on. I enjoy it, it's like a form of meditation. Simultaneously I often find it amusing to listen to the sermons. I always chuck in a few bucks for the entertainment.

Today I visited the celebrated St. Johns cathedral in Reid, on the corner of Anzac Parade and Constitution Avenue.

It's one of the oldest churches in Canberra, with the first stone laid in 1841 (this is old for Australia), which is crazy considering Canberra was kick-started around 1908. Above is a picture of it covered in snow in 1926.

It's a beautiful old building with gorgeous trees smothering the pathways around the grounds. There's also a fascinating graveyard on the grounds, if you're one who likes to read headstones.

So, this evening when I got back from the pool, I put on my sneakers and scarf, grabbed my MP3 player and paced over to the church. It must be said at this point that Reid is a most wonderful suburb to walk around in Canberra, especially during autumn.

Striding up to the church I see a rector (priest? minister? pastor? bishop? father? meh?) standing outside, pacing around and looking as nervous as I felt. So I walked up and said `Have I missed the show?' and he says `No, starts at 6. I'm Paul.' I walked in, accepted the instruction manuals, and sat down up the back. And I see about 5 people sitting in pews up the front. It's tall, relatively long, but so skinny, only about 15 people could sit across it. Below is a picture of it from 1939.


An old man encouraged me to sit up the front to `feel more cosy' so I sidled up and found a pew of my own. They had cute little embroidered pillows for when you're feeling naughty and need to kneel. The stained windows were about average.

The main man Paul gets up front and walks us through the last vestiges of the Easter shenanigans. He read out Psalm 23, which made me want to stand up and say `yeah, mutherfuckers!' and pull a gun. Then he reads from some sheets of paper, a passage that I can imagine was downloaded from the Anglican-Priest-Quickie-Sermon website. It explained the shepherding imagery in the modern context. I felt acutely uncomfortable when they started talking about ".... I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber." I thought they were talking about me. Metaphorically, of course.

Next when he asks us to stand and sing a hymn, I noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. Perhaps next time I'm going to jump and yell `Hell yeah! Let's do it!'

So I practice some singing for my next (first) rock gig. I notice a cute girl in the row behind me, and I get to shake her hand and say `Piece, bewitch you'. The old man also said that to me. Creepy. I get some aerobic exercise from the standing and sitting. I notice that a plaque on the wall about a couple that lived till their 90s; she was a year older than him. Gnarly. I notice they're serving wine in this establishment, and I'm coming back next week.

At the end of it, I follow the cute girl out. Turns out she's a backpacker looking for work. I'm going back next week. Paul tells me that Kevin Rudd is a regular. I'm DEFINITELY coming back next week. Paul also tells me he's born in Rockhampton, raised in Melbourne, and took his 15 year old nephew ballooning last weekend. I laugh, leave, stroll back home, wading through the leaves on the pavement, smoking a cigarette.

Lies

She wasn't even real.

A quick update

I'm working on this thesis thing. It's kinda tricky. But here is a quick video of David Lynch reviewing the iPhone. Enjoy.

Salute the `gong!

Today happened to be a great day. You see, I'm down in the `gong (Wollongong) at the moment, soaking up the occasional ray when I can catch it, in between 12 hours of back-to-back science lectures and physics seminars. It's quite a nice international conference, the lunches have been outstanding. A barrel full of oysters and prawns every day, along with prawn salads, fresh crabs and octopus. I never got a chance to touch the Barra or steak or pork. Incredible.

And today I sat down with Mr. M (he wants privacy, go figure) for lunch, and Alain Aspect and Bill Phillips sat down at our table with us (Bill got the Nobel prize in 97). There were a couple of other important scientist, and we all discussed what is meant by a "slow" train in France, England, American and Australia. Then I went for a swim. Awesome.

I must say, I have had THE BEST calimari that I've ever had in my entire life down here in the Gong. Outstanding. I'm going back for more tonight. Yum.