Moral Entertainment For Mania of the Truth.

Moral Entertainment

1. Word.

Idol Smackdown

1. The Fro’ Ain’t Happy. He’s pissed off that the industry isn’t paying the Idol contestants seriously, despite having sold lots of records and all that. He’s especially pissed off at people thinking they haven’t worked hard:

“I’ve worked my butt off. For people to say I’ve just got a lucky break it’s very saddening,” Sebastian told S, during an intimate chat last week.

(SMH, Sebastian not idle on criticism, September 28, 2004)

2. Can’t blame him. First the scream hordes of the deaf thinking they’re the shit, then the endless rounds of auditions, the made-for-tv criticisms where you don’t know whether they think that or whether it’s just for the ratings, then the long rounds of publicity, then the show, the voting and the knowledge that if you fuck up, you’re fucking up in front of millions who then tell of your fuck up to a million more. That’s tough. Really tough. Again from the article:

“I mean, someone like Missy Higgins goes on Triple J’s Unearthed and then [later] kind of bags out Idol,” he said. “Where do you draw the line? What’s the proper way to enter the industry?

3. Another good point. How do you, as a solo singer, get enough publicity to attract the attention of the industry? Countless singers who genuinely have talent have tried and failed, and those who made it were just lucky, really. Had they not been there to take that chance, no doubt someone else would’ve.

4. I have a feeling that those who baulk at the Idol phenomena just doesn’t like that style of music. It’s the same as the Triple J wankers spewing on about how Delta sucks or how Pop is shit or this person or that person has no cred. It’s nothing to do with whether that person has or hasn’t got talent, but it’s always an argument over whether you like the music they produce. Anyone who has had any success in the music industry must have some talent — but to succeed in the music industry there’s a whole lot more to it than sheer musical talent. Take, for example, Kylie. Kylie Minogue is talented. Not just as a singer (there are many who sing better), not just as a dancer (ditto), but as a Businesswoman. She is Brand that sells music, not a musician that makes music. Maintaining a brand like Kylie takes talent, and likely more talent than all the cussing minority has in total.

5. At the end of the day whether you like or dislike the Idol contestants is immaterial. I don’t — I don’t like the way they’ve been rushed and marketed, and I don’t like the way the record companies push songs onto them to record for a few quick bucks, but most of all I don’t like the music. But I respect them for doing it, for putting up with the shit and the humiliation and the frustration and setbacks because they are pursuing a dream. If there is a group of people to hate it’s the record execs and TV producers that take advantage of them for good ratings. And for the record, Missy Higgins can’t sing, can’t play, and writes boring songs destined to be played forever in elevators around the world, wedged between Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. You suck.

Current Lust Object

Nikon D70

1. I have been thinking New Digital Camera for a few months now, but I’d only been thinking low key, strictly consumer level. I was sold on the 10x Optical Zoom consumer cameras, I like the lens and the video capabilities of of the new crop of that class of camera. But just the other day I was having a look at some photos on Dooce when I noticed something that I had previously missed — the background was blurry!

2. I really can’t believe that I hadn’t noticed before, but the majority of digital photos I’d taken with consumer level cameras looked like that from a cheap point-and-shoot film camera, since it’s really a cheap point-and-shoot digital camera. That never bothered me because that was exactly why I bought a digital in the first place. I never thought about why it looked that way. Until this photo. What I had been missing was any reasonable control over the depth of field, since all consumer digitals have almost infinite depth of field (due to the smallness of the sensors and the short focal lengths required to project an image onto it). Which means all your photos turn out looking very flat. And cheap point-and-shoot like. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realise.

3. So I’m gonna start saving for a Nikon D70. I’ve wanted a DSLR for a while now, but I’ve always put it off as Way Too Expensive. It’s still Way Too Expensive, but I also see a lot more value in it. Consumer cameras come and go, but a good quality SLR camera lasts as long as you’re prepared to look after it. While there is a question mark over the longevity of a digital compared to a film camera, I figure a good quality Nikon is bound to last longer than a consumer camera. If professionals can rely on these things day in day out I’m sure there isn’t anything I can do that’ll kill it. No, really.

4. Anyway, prices for DSLRs are bound to fall sooner or later, and I won’t be able to save enough to buy one until quite a bit later anyway, so all’s well. Eventually prices will fall to the amount I have saved, and Angels will Descend from Heaven and hand me my camera. I hear the road to hell is very pretty this time of year.

New computer goodness

1. New computer! Woot!

2. It’s been a while (4 years actually) since I’ve done any sort of serious upgrade to my PC, only two days ago I was still running a P3 700. Which kicks arse. Not sure how I’ve managed not to need anything newer or faster for so long, but I do have a habit of skipping processor generations — the first PC the wasn’t bought for me was a Pentium, next was a Pentium 3, and now I’ve just picked up an Athlon64 2800+, bypassing the early P4 and K7 chips. I like to think it’s because I am an intelligent buyer, but it’s probably because my PowerBook is my main computer.

3. Next up is the Video Card upgrade, but that’s not Totally Necessary, and now I’m casting around for any kickarse games I may have missed in the last year. There can’t be that many.

4. Speaking of games, Final Fantasy X is at a standstill. I’ve got to the point in the game I like to call Stupid Time, where you’ve hit a boss that can’t be beaten until you’re at a certain level with certain skills. So I have to devote the next however-many-hours of game time to the tedious task of leveling one’s characters. Some people might find this fun, but I ain’t one of them. So sits the PS2, gathering dust, until I can be bothered labouring my way through this leveling business. Cheating is becoming an attractive alternative….

Champaigne Political Links

1. Just one to kick the ball rolling. And here it is.

Here we go, here we go, here we go….

1. Right. I’ve managed to keep my mouth shut (in a metaphoric sense) about the election since it was announced. But I’ve had it, and you’ll be reading constant rants about the stupidity of the Australian Public, the stupidity of Politicians in General, and how much I hate that ratbag lying filthy motherfucker John Howard.

2. Today’s topic is tax relief. A few months ago Howard announced in the budget a bunch of boring (but important) bits, including a tax cut for people earning over $52,000. Today, Labor follow suit by announcing an $8 a week tax cut to people earning less than $52,000. Well bugger me! An extra 8 bucks a week! Fuck, that’s almost 3 beers! Fan-bloody-tastic.

3. Might I suggest, Mr Latham, if you really want to help those who don’t get paid terribly well, save your tax cut and spend it on services? I wouldn’t notice if I got taxed $8 more a week, but I’d bloody well notice if it costed me $8 less to catch public transport. Or $8 less to visit a doctor. What good is a measly 8 bucks a week now when if I need to be taken to hospital, I’ll have to wait 6hrs in an ambulance because there isn’t enough beds?

4. I couldn’t care less about 8 bucks a week. But I care very much about cheap and accessible health care. Don’t let Howard dictate your campaign, Mr Latham. Give the people want they want — the piece of mind that comes from knowing your Government is looking after you.

Nice guts

Under the skin of the iMac G5

1. While I’m not so keen about the outside, Apple engineers have done a cracker on the packaging. Have you ever seen the inside of any computer this pretty?

Off goes the shackle!

I'm in the black!

1. Paid. In full, with interest. I’ve had the loan for 4 1/2 years, and $17,000 or so later I’m done. Yay!

Just a couple of links, and then some

1. There’s speculation with the announcement of the iMac G5 that the PowerBook G5 is just around the corner. This is based purely on the fact that the iMac is only 2 inches thick. A tremendous achievement by Apple, yes, a precursor to sticking a G5 in a laptop, perhaps, but around the corner? Dream on. Might I remind everyone that at 2 inches, it’s still an inch too thick. And then they’d have to stick a battery in. And it only fits behind a 17in LCD, and then there’s the extra inch and a half of space under the screen. Imagine stuffing that into your backpack.

2. And what are the chances of Apple coming out with a G5 PowerBook in 17in only? Especially when Freescale (Motorola’s processor spinoff) announced dual core versions of the G4 chip that has the potential to rival the 1.6 G5 without the power consumption? Whoops, things are starting to look dire….

3. On a different note, an amusing tale of Geekdom discussing lurrrve, of the human to human kind. In what was supposed to be an innocent poll about one’s favourite form of Poker, a number or participants took a certain geek interest in admiring strip poker to mean that they need to tell the world that they are disrepectin’ their wives. Like this guy, who patently have no sense of humour, and needs to vent on Slashdot (of all fucking places) about how marital bliss is a-ok with him. Well good on ya mate, your wife may get more and more beautiful by the day, but you’ll still be a tool.

4. This guy, however, has the right idea. Strip DOA sounds like fun! Now if only I can get my girlfriend near the the Playstation in the first place….

5. And to wrap up, the Dooce, who has got the be the coolest mum (or mom) on earth, is now feeling better. Not long ago she had to institutionalise herself due to chronic insomnia, and whilst she doesn’t mention it exactly, it sounds a bit like post-natal depression (not that I’m at all qualified to say, but I don’t think anyone goes to the hospital for fun, hypochondriacs notwithstanding). Read about it here, here, and here. She totally kicks arse, and I wish her a speedy recovery, and more happy posts denigrating mormons. Hoo-ra!

New iMac

1. Right, I knew I wasn’t going to get what I want, but the new iMac leaves me wanting. It’s not as pretty as the old iMac, and at $2200 Au, I still can’t afford one (considering I can build a kickarse Athlon64 system with a legit copy of Windows XP for less than that. Not that I’d ever use pirated software, you understand….)