Thoughts are like fishes

I love Zelda

One highlight of my summer has been avoiding the hotter days by staying indoors and playing Twilight Princess on my Nintendo Gamecube. Yeah, I'm old school like that -- playing a game that's more than five years old on a superseded console.

This is the second Zelda quest I've undertaken. The first was Wind Waker, a charming cartoony game that I've since learned was a radical departure from the Zelda franchise but popular enough to spawn two sequels on the Nintendo DS Lite.

The Zelda games are a popular Nintendo property but seem to be little-known among non-gamers. Zelda does not have the same brand recognition as Mario or Donkey Kong and this is probably because she's something of a secondary character. You never actually play the character of Zelda, except in the game Super Smash Brothers Melee -- which is a great multi-player game where all of the Nintendo characters battle it out.

Twilight Princess has the familiar narrative that unfolds as the central character reaches the rite of passage where he is given the green hero outfit and undertakes a quest to save his kingdom. The character can be seen as a version of the green man, a symbol of rebirth or maybe eternal youth like Peter Pan.

There are little variations between the games of course, particularly in the equipment found along the way. The twilight in Twilight Princess seems a dated twist though, reminding me of The Matrix but maybe also the nothingness in Neverending Story or possibly the end of the world in this Madonna song.

A couple of things I've noticed in Twilight Princess have got me wondering about messages in the game, probably because as a former cultural studies student I seem to over-analyse everything.

Are there messages in the game? For example, often it's easy to avoid fighting all the monsters. Many times I've found it easiest to just run away and, usually, the monsters don't bother chasing. I like to think it's a lesson for players that confrontation can be avoided. This seems to be emphasised in that you don't get points for killing things. In fact, you don't get points at all. The key objective is to overcome various challenges along the way.

The other lesson that I like to think is in the game, is the way that you very quickly fill your purse and are unable to keep collecting the gems which are used as currency. This seems to me to be a message that making money isn't the goal, again reinforcing the view that you need to succeed at the objectives required to fulfill the quest. Money is means to achieve your goals, not a goal in itself.

This focus on achieving your goals rather than seeking confrontation and collecting money seem to me to be a good philosophy to impart and one of the reasons why I enjoy sharing Zelda with my kids.

Ned Kelly was a thug

This bit of advertising for some "Authentic Ned Kelly Collectables" fell out my local paper The Irrigator this week and I've since been talking about the crap written in it to anyone who'll listen. While the text has some entertaining 'weasel' words, like mention of the "gold-toned handle" and "wood-tone display"; the "art" deserves focus here.

These replica knives, presumably because they're not actually knives rather than based on one owned by Kelly, continue the mythologised view of Ned Kelly, rather than the view largely supported by historical record that he was thug from an early age who was charismatic enough to attract a gang to follow him.

The sympathetic view is that he was a victim of police harassment because he was poor, Catholic and of Irish descent and forced into a life of crime to avoid being set-up as a criminal and locked up for crimes he didn't commit.

Kelly became the most infamous of Australia's bush rangers in large part because the suit of armour he fashioned was too iconic to be supported by the life of the man within it. Sidney Nolan's series of Ned Kelly paintings do a beaut job of showing this as the visor in the helmet shows the background, demonstrating the armour as empty.

I understand the anti-authoritarianism appeal of Ned Kelly and have read that this is why the successful Australian film industry was dealt a blow when the popular bushranger movies were banned in the early 20th century. The 1906 film The Story of the Kelly Gang was the first feature-length film released anywhere in the world but only fragments of it remain today.

Anyway, back to the replica knives/art forms. It's not clear whether the representations on them include Kelly escaping conviction for highway robbery in 1870 because witnesses described him as "half-caste" when police thought this was due to him being unwashed. And there probably isn't enough space on the blades to show the 18 charges that were brought against Ned Kelly before he was declared an outlaw, half of which resulted in convictions.

History shows Ned Kelly was a thug and a murderer. Circumstances may have given him little choice but there is still little to celebrate in his life and it's unclear how he changed Australia forever.

Heh

Continuing the action figure theme, I like how this Robocop has been renamed as Robert.

Thanks

DJ Food action figure

Recently I got to hear the new DJ Food album at a mate's house and I was impressed. It's been more than a decade since the last one and I think it's an even stronger album. I might write more when I get a copy.

Anyway, while cleaning up a mess the other day, I discovered that I own a DJ Food action figure!

Club dark chocolate dessert

When I was younger I think one of the few dark chocolates at the supermarket was Club. These days there are many more dark chocolates of varying flavours and intensities, so it's interesting to see the Club brand has been extended into a mousse-style dessert.

Of the many varieties of chocolate desserts, I'm settling on this one as a favourite for the flavour. It's got more of the chocolate bite, the bitterness, and less of the sweetness.

The only room for improvement would be if it could impart the same viscosity as Chocolate Yogo, which has an incredible mouth-feel but a lousy sugary taste.

Urana's giant spider

Saw this giant spider outside Urana and reckon it's tops.

Stuck-up couple

Murrumbidgee River painting

Here's a painting of the Murrumbidgee River by Lynne McQuillan that I bought at the Leeton Visitor Information Centre, where they've established a gallery for local artists -- which is an excellent initiative.

I've lived near the Murrumbidgee for most of my life but I also like this painting because it reminds me of the photos I've taken of the River, like these ones of the flooded Murrumbidgee.

Some penises

Kinda weird how many dicks I've seen around Melbourne today.

Gay cardinals

My friend Jess drew attention to this Christmas decoration on her tree today. She likes this pair of male cardinals because of the suggestion that they're gay but I guess they could just be hanging out together. Very closely together, which is kinda gay.

My view of the revised MDBA Basin Plan

Designing with the broad pen

This great handwriting guide came my way and you can see from the scan below that my mum made one small addition.

I really like the book, both for the lessons it imparts but also the style in which it does it.

A highlight is the pages below outlining design elements.

Where's R2D2?

This morning I've hung a few pictures and prints around the house, including this one. One of the things I like best about this print isn't the colour or the arse, it's the background because since I was a child I've seen R2D2 in there.

I'm getting old

This is (about?) the 400th post on this blog. I'm not convinced of the figure because there are a few posts I've redacted for various reasons, like how pictures of my kids showed up when you searched for 'Vaginamite' in Google Images.

Anyway, on the topic of getting old, 2011 continued a worrying trend for me in the passing of a couple more of my relations. In 2010 I lost a cousin who had been like an older brother for me and last year I lost an uncle and my remaining grandparent.

It was weird because soon after grandma Royal died I received a box of toys for my kids in the mail from her, which included this Wizard of Oz puppet glove.

Cheese Supreme

I don't know why there are so many flavours of corn chip available because Dorito's Cheese Supreme is clearly the best. The blend of cheddar and onion with a hint of garlic and tomato is pretty hard to beat, although I would like to see more variety in the preparation of the corn chips.

They could probably try getting a fluffier finish but if they started adding seeds to the chip batter it could add a lot of interesting flavours and textures. Like a plain corn chip with cumin seeds could be good and I reckon poppy seeds or maybe mild pepper corns or maybe parsley flakes would work nicely with the aptly named Cheese Supreme.

The addition of seeds might also see corn chips overcome my biggest complaint about chips and that's how the flavour lasts such a short time. I have difficulty reconciling the high amount of energy in chips with the very brief amount of taste they provide.

White caviar and almond meal

Visiting the supermarket is great when you find interesting food marked down and the festive season usually has a heap of specials ahead of the holidays.

Chris makes great hummus but this dip has recently taken the role of my favourite of his products. The fish eggs are salty but the creaminess of the almond meal is really yummy and it's surprisingly filling. One the occasions when I make a meal of this appetiser it'll usually suffice with half a pack of crackers.

So warm and so cosy

Everyone needs a Muff :)

Bit of a worry

My month in unsolicited advertising material

Rosa Pascoe has a gallery/workshop in Leura and I think this creation of hers is brilliant.

Christmas card

Xmas freakout

Wishing you a happy festive season

Last Christmas by bassling

On the remote chance that you haven't heard my cover version of George Micheal's Last Christmas, here it is.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2012.

Waipukurau Park

Previously I posted a video of the bowing on a slippery slide and here's how it sounds in the track I produced from sounds recorded at Waipukurau Park.

You can see and hear more of my Leeton park remixes on my bassling blog.

Chemical Brothers movie?

There's a bit of speculation around the internet that this is the trailer for a film from The Chemical Brothers. This excites me a lot.

Arnott's Shapes

Maybe it's a coincidence but I've noticed Arnott's Shapes biscuits being sold at heavily reduced prices lately, down from around $2.70 to around $1.50, and also notice they're shrinking the weight of these products.

Slide and glide

Previously I've mentioned the Leeton park remix project I'm developing for the centenary of the town in 2012.

The short video above shows me playing a slippery slide with a bow, a technique first shown to me by Alan Lamb when we worked together as part of the 2006 Unsound Festival.

Bowing the slide sounds very much like bowing 'the wires' -- except for the length of the decaying note. The video linked in the preceding sentence reminds me that my partner Jo is much better at bowing than me.

Aside from adapting Alan's technique for a slippery slide, I've been experimenting with changing the pitch while playing by adjusting the tension on the line. The other source of variation in the sound comes from the friction of the bow, which can squeal like a harmonic.

Sons of Anarchy

I've been catching up on the TV show Sons of Anarchy recently and, while it pales next to the best stuff from HBO like Deadwood and The Wire, the show has given me a bit to think about.

The pitch for the show must've been something like Hamlet on a Harley, as the lead character Jackson Teller discovers a book written by his late father outlining his philosophies and where the motorcycle club he founded went wrong getting into gun-running and other criminal activity. Jackson's mother Gemma Teller has married Clay Morrow, the current president of the club called the Sons of Anarchy. This drama between the son and the father figure forms a backdrop while each season establishes new threats to the club (government departments, rival gangs, etc.) and each episode works in a few relationship dramas and fight scenes.

I suspect producers Art Linson and his son John were influenced by Hunter S Thompson's book on the Hells Angels, particularly since the elder Linson made his directorial debut with Where the Buffalo Roam, a 1980 comedy based loosely on Thompson's writings.

One thing that fascinates me about the show is its warped sense of morality. The setting is a little town called Charming and the Sons of Anarchy are portrayed as crusaders for justice, since their rivals are drug-running neo-Nazis and an Hispanic motorcycle gang. With such competition and their joie de vivre, the Sons look like liberals and often the show seems to vindicate their criminality because the gang are following their own moral code.

Anyway, I know I'm reading too far into this escapist entertainment but if I were at uni I'd be thinking about making it the subject of an essay.

Political comment?

Truss me

Parenting tip

Currently I'm reading a fascinating book called Influence by Robert B Cialdini, Ph.D that outlines the psychology behind many effective sales technique.

There's an interesting passage offering advice for parents on how to best ensure a child follows instruction that draws on research by Jonathan Freedman. This recommends that threats of punishment for not following orders are less effective than engaging the child in a process of assuming a sense of personal responsibility.

Suppose a couple wants to impress upon their daughter that lying is wrong. A strong, clear threat ("It's bad to lie, honey; so if I catch you at it, I'll cut your tongue out") might well be effective when the parents are present or when the girl thinks she can be discovered. But it will not achieve the larger goal of convincing her that she does not want to lie because she thinks it's wrong. To do that, a much subtler approach is required.

A reason must be given that is just strong enough to get her to be truthful most of the time but is not so strong that she sees it as the obvious reason for her truthfulness. It's a tricky business, because exactly what this barely sufficient reason will be changes from child to child.

For one little girl, a simple appeal may be enough ("It's bad to lie, honey; so I hope you won't do it"), for another child, it may be necessary to add a somewhat stronger reason ("...because if you do, I'll be disappointed in you"); for a third child, a mild form of warning me be required as well ("...and I'll probably have to do something I don't want to do").

Wise parents will know which kind of reason will work on their own children. The important thing is to use a reason that will initially produce the desired behaviour and will, at the same time, allow a child to take personal responsibility for that behaviour.

Thus, the less detectable outside pressure such a reason contains, the better. Selecting just the right reason is not an easy task for parents. But the effort should pay off. It is likely to mean the difference between short-lived compliance and long-term commitment.

India's got balls

Strange way to go

It's a bit morbid but I thought this was an unusual way for a sparrow to die.

Uh! Yeah!

Mad percussion, love it!

Leeton parks remix project

With the centenary of Leeton to be celebrated next year, I came up with an idea to remix parks around town for an album. I've also been making videos to better explain the concept.

This one shows the sounds I collected at Wandoo Playground and how they were arranged to create a track.

You can see all the parks so far at the Bassling blog.

Gendered cheese

This cheese reminded me of Germaine Greer, who wrote in The Female Eunuch that:

"…every girl whose upbringing is 'normal'. She is a female faggot."

While Greer writes provocatively and this has been criticised for being homophobic, I think you can see her point. This tells girls from an early age that an interest in robotics and technology is the realm of males.

Kraft must've done their market research and found that boys are impressed by the robots; while girls will eat cheese for coloured hair?

Good quote

H G Wells wrote in The History of Mr Polly:

"…When a man has once broken through the paper walls of everyday circumstances, those unsubstantial walls that hold so many of us securely prisoned from the cradle to the grave, he has made a discovery. If the world does not please you, you can change it. Determine to alter it at any price, and you can change it altogether."

This makes me think I did the right thing when I quit my job recently.

Wish I was an ant

Watched this ant dragging a spider carcass today and thought how amazing they are.

Aside from being able to lift things much greater than their own weight, I'm kind of envious that they have such a clear sense of purpose because I'm having a bit of an existential crisis at present.

Got pox

My kids are suffering chicken pox and it's been interesting how we've learned how their friends also had this infection recently after we got it.

Anyway, their suffering has been eased by adding half a cup of baking soda to their bath. It's cheaper than calamine lotion and a bit of soluble paracetamol has also helped.

Twatter

The new Twitter interface seems so much more buggy and bandwidth intensive than the previous one. Weirdness like having to log-out to post a tweet sometimes.

I've also noticed this weird bug when someone you follow favourites and retweets, it shows that I've favourited it. Hope they fix it up soon.

Did you know?

The Daily Telegraph seem to be amazed there are women lawyers in Indonesia, judging by this story on their website today.

Ride To Work Day next week

It's Ride To Work Day on Wednesday 12 October.

I ride to work most days and reckon it's a great way to start the day. It raises my pulse rate and clears my head.

Another amazing speech

It's been great revisiting this today, made all the more poignant with the news of Jobs' death.

Jobs' life really is the stuff of legend: the loss of his company and then the triumphant return. Amazing.

How dumb are Australians?

Hope it isn't true that around half the country don't understand that using a dryer will use electricity.

Over-accessorised Apple

One of the cables above doesn't fit any computer I own.

The most maddening thing about owning an Apple computer is navigating the accessories, particularly the display cables.

They've successfully challenged the concept of built-in obsolescence with an ever-changing port for an external display and then there's a myriad of options for different monitors.

It's a waste and a disgrace and I suspect it goes some way toward paying for their expensive retail stores.

Would you believe these cables won't connect?

Crazy carp

Had a visit out to Fivebough Swamp yesterday. Dunno what the carp were doing but it was fascinating to watch the flurry of their activity.

Nice gift

Some recent work from work

Um?

Experiencing Nirvana

Nevermind was the first CD I owned and was a birthday gift from my girlfriend at the time. I'd seen the film clip for Smells Like Teen Spirit on MTV and asked for the album when it came out that week. Like everyone else I was crazy about it.

I managed the meet Nirvana briefly during their Australian tour, which coincided with Nevermind charging up the charts. They caused a riot at the ANU Bar in Canberra with fans smashing in the windows to see the show. I was watching from outside the stage door and introduced myself to Dave and Kris, who gave me a plectrum. Kurt was in his own world, detached.

The anniversary of the album will see a remastered version of Nevermind released and it's great to see a record given the director's cut-style treatment as I've been hoping for this for a while now.

However, I'm less enthused by these comments from Charles Sturt University academic Catherine Strong.

“Kurt was a contradictory figure, on one hand he had the reputation of being really pure, of being only about the music,” Dr Strong said.

“But he also enabled Nirvana to be marketed to a mass audience, with his choice of producers, record labels and so on.

“Grunge had anti-commercial and anti-capitalist messages, yet those things ended up getting lost along the way.

“Grunge also had a strong message of equality, supporting gay rights and women’s rights, yet this political aspect isn’t discussed much these days.”

It's a mistake to attribute so much to Kurt Cobain IMO and the remastered version of the album is supposed to be closer to his vision for Nevermind than what was released.

And grunge was a very successful label commercially for a bunch of bands from Seattle and some were closer to metal than pop-punk but it made them easier to market if they were lumped in with Nirvana. Everyone was surprised at the success they found, I remember reading a Rolling Stone article on grunge and the Seattle scene that was published about a year ahead of Nevermind and the author predicted Mudhoney as the band most likely to find a 'mainstream' audience.

It's also a mistake to lump a bunch of issues like gay rights with grunge, given the diversity of the genre. I suggest these were part of a much larger dynamic in the early 1990s that included trends like 'lipstick lesbianism'.