Polly Morgan

The Basics

2008-08-24T18:34:00+10:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went to see The Basics at the Evelyn a couple of weeks ago.
They were awesome. They played really good retro pop/rock with catchy riffs and a great beat - and you've got to love a band that can cover the Clash and New Kids on the Block at the same show without anyone batting an eyelid. I enjoyed their original tracks so much I jumped onto iTunes when I got home and bought one of their albums which I have listened to over and over again (that's one of the dangers of iTunes - it's easy to impulse buy and completely blow your budget if you're not careful). Entry to the gig was only $8, which was an absolute bargain. The last time I went to the movies (at Chadstone Hoyts), it cost me $16.50, and I had nowhere near as much fun. One of the best things about the inner suburbs of Melbourne is that it's possible to see a live band and have a great night out without being completely broke at the end of it. Obviously, I'd prefer it if there was more places out my way that did really good original music, but I'm planning on making more time (and tackling the transport hassles of getting into the inner suburbs from the middle to outer south eastern suburbs) to go seem more live acts over the next few months.

Purity

2008-08-24T18:10:00+10:00

Although I feel like it has been all work and no play for me over the last several months, I have actually gone to an arts exhibition, and listen to a live band.
The exhibition was Jennie Rosenbaum's first solo exhibition, Purity.
The works on display were Jennie's series of Impasto Nudes. These high quality works have an amazing texture, and need to be viewed in person to be fully appreciated. I find it amazing how these works convey such beauty and elegance in a few strokes.
Jennie also has an excellent blog, where she discusses art, and her own work.

NT Election

2008-08-11T14:09:00+10:00

For those of you who are interested, there is some good coverage (and it's regularly updated) of the NT election results at The Poll Bludger. The mainstream media in Australia love to draw conclusions about federal politics from state and territory elections and are reading the swing against the ALP in the Territory as a backlash against the Rudd Government. It would be good to see some actual evidence for that theory, otherwise it just comes across as wishful thinking. It'll be amusing to see what the media coverage will actually be like when the ALP eventually loses an election.

Food for Thought

2008-07-31T22:32:00+10:00

My friend, Anita has started an excellent food blog, called Food for Thought. Check it out.

Long time no blog

2008-07-31T22:46:00+10:00

I really should blog more regularly. It has been a busy year, though, with the last few months being particularly hectic. I've got a new job (same company, and similar work with high performance compute clusters, but hopefully there will be more design work, rather than just day to day admin), but it's based at a different site, and I have a 15 minute stroll to work (when I'm not back at the old site). It also means I don't need to take PT to work, or drive my beaten up old car (which has nearly had it). I'm learning a lot more about SANs and NAS storage systems.

I probably need to take a holiday (rather than taking leave to work on election campaigns, although I'll probably help some people in their local government campaigns in November 2008) in the next couple of months. I'd like to laze around the house for a bit, and catch up on reading and DVDs, but I'd also like to travel a bit more. I've got a 2-3 year goal of going on an overseas trip. I have never left Australia, and would love to visit the UK, Finland, Germany, Greece, Rome and in particular, the US. I'd really love to visit New York.

Regarding politics, the last Democrats senators terms finished at the end of June. I was particularly sad that Lyn Allison - who I greatly admire, like and respect - didn't get elected. It has been a privilege to support her work as a Victorian senator over the last 10 years. I should blog a bit more about the party at some stage - it's tempting to blame it all on Meg Lees, but there were mistakes made on all sides over the last few years and I do think that what a lot of the commentary that I have seen has been missing is an analysis of why the party organisation failed to learn from the damage that was done in 1992 and 1993 (the Janet Powell split), and why it remained vulnerable to individual personality politics. No one individual, no matter how senior, should be able to wreck a properly functioning political party. There are lessons that need to be learned for whatever party the current Dems evolve into, as well as other minor parties who wish to avoid what happened to us. Anyway, that topic would be best left for another time (when I don't have a bad head cold).

Andrew Bartlett has continued with his blog, which is a terrific read, and it will be interesting to see if he feels less constrained on any topics, now that he is no longer a senator, although his blog has always struck me as being very direct, which is one of the reasons why it has always been worthwhile reading for anyone interested in Australian politics.

RIP Charlton Heston

2008-04-06T19:22:00+10:00

Charlton Heston was died, aged 84. I grew up watching Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes. They are all still amongst my favourite movies.

Sid Spindler

2008-03-02T22:16:00+10:00

Former Democrats Senator for Victoria, Sid Spindler passed away yesterday.
Andrew Bartlett has posted about Sid's death, and there are several articles available online.

Sid was a great humanitarian. The work he did on campaigning for an end to discrimination against GLBTI people as a senator inspired me to join the Dems (before I became a member my housemate showed me all the things he was doing on this issue in the senate, so I joined the Monash Uni democrats, and the subsequently, the main party).

His work in support of migrants and refugee was outstanding, and he was a powerful human rights advocate who achieved so much throughout his life. The Australian Democrats gained so much through his work in helping found the party, in helping to keep it going, and from his work in the senate. It was privilege to hear him speak on many occasions, and he also had superb political knowledge and campaigning skills.

Sid was one of the most persuasive speakers I have ever heard. My friend Daniel and I joked that he had Jedi Mind powers - he could walk into State Council and sway the room to his point of view in a couple of minutes. It could be very frustrating if you were on the wrong side of the debate. That said, though, 99.5% of the time he was spot on. He continued to work for human rights after he had retired from the senate, and his life is an inspiration for how much a single individual can do to help others.

Werewolf Bah Mitzvah (full version)

2008-02-16T11:52:00+10:00

This is why I love YouTube.

It's the full version of Werewolf Bah Mitzvah from 30 Rock.

Jill Singer on Benazir Bhutto

2007-12-31T11:35:00+10:00

Jill singer has written an excellent opinion piece on some of the simplistic commentary on Benazir Bhutto.

Doncaster Rail Line petition

2007-12-21T23:36:00+10:00

The Metropolitan Transport Forum (MTF) has set up a Doncaster Rail petition at their pt4me2 website.

Dr Peter Gibilisco

2007-11-17T15:52:00+10:00

There is a good article about Dr Peter Gibilsco, the number 2 for the Carers Alliance senate group in Victoria in The Age. The Democrats are very supportive of a better deal for carers, and we gave the Carers Alliance our second preferences on our senate group voting ticket in Victoria.

Vote 1 Lemoncrats

2007-11-17T11:12:00+10:00

Krispy Kreme are running a competition where you can vote for doughnuts representing political parties. Checkout the Democrats' equivalent, The Lemoncrats. LOL

Lyn Allison in the Epoch Times

2007-11-06T17:28:00+10:00

Lyn Allison has been featured in the Epoch Times.

Lyn to Win

2007-11-04T13:44:00+10:00

Daniel and I are now appearing in a Vic Democrats YouTube ad. Eek.

Social networking

2007-10-11T12:37:00+10:00

I've succumbed, and set up profiles on livejournal, myspace, facebook and youtube.

Make Poverty History

2007-09-26T15:21:00+10:00

Lyn Allison has posted another video on YouTube about why the Democrats support the Make Poverty History campaign.

Sun acquires lustre

2007-09-13T14:38:00+10:00

Sun is acquiring Cluster File Systems Inc, the company who owns Lustre, the parallel filesystem. It should be interesting to see how they integrate this into their product offerings (vendor support for a parallel file system is A Good Thing).
via Slashdot.

Lyn Allison blogs

2007-09-01T17:31:00+10:00

Australian Democrats Leader, and Senator for Victoria, Lyn Allison has started a blog. She also has a myspace profile. They're worth checking out.

Vote for Lyn blog

2007-08-13T15:42:00+10:00

Although I'm obviously biased, I really like this Lyn Allison website.
Lyn's ace - good stuff, guys.

Latest youtube vids from Lyn Allison and Andrew Bartlett

2007-05-17T00:03:00+10:00

It's in an election year, and I'll be regularly linking to Australian Democrats material on the internet. So here are another couple of YouTube videos:
Lyn Allison on The Right to Peace, and Andrew Bartlett's take on the Budget.