I was just re-watching The Godfather, and noticed an uncanny resemblance between Corleone hitman Luca Brasi (requiescat in pesci) and a certain Federal treasurer.


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True, in the past 48 hours, fantasy artists Patrick Woodroffe and H. R. Giger died, and bullshit artists Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey didn't presented us with an abominable budget that might have inspired Edvard Munch or Francisco Goya... okay, maybe that wasn't a particularly inspiring introduction. I'll try again ( Read more... )

On a day when the federal attorney-general defended bigotry as a right (though we don't actually have a Bill of Rights), hot on the heels of the far-right abominable Tony Abbott announcing that there will be no investigation of a murder committed in the Manus Island concentration camp, it would have been easy to fail to notice this story from the ( Read more... )

It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world. - Oscar Wilde

America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland. - Tennesee Williams ( Read more... )

If you've been following recent events in Washington and Wisconsin and feeling as though you've been watching a movie version of Poe's 'The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether', this may be just what you need to make you feel better. Author Elizabeth Moon has been writing a brilliant series of essays, titled The Right Questions, on how the ( Read more... )

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Day 05 - A show you hate

While there are innumerable TV shows (and even more ads) I have absolutely no interest in watching, I don't hate most of them. A show that purports to be no more than entertainment can be condoned if it entertains some people and harms none. I reserve my hatred for those shows that claim to inform, but misinform or ( Read more... )

Summing up December: four submissions, one acceptance, six rejections, no publications.

And from Time, a farewell to what they've called the worst decade in US history since WWII. It seems horrifically apt that it's ended with Blackwater ops apparently getting away with murder.

As my Australian readers will probably be aware, the Australian Government's Productivity Commission has recommended that Parallel Importation Restrictions be abolished in three years time. The Australian Society of Authors (of which I'm a member) and Australian Publishing Association both lobbied against this, and continue to do so, as have ( Read more... )

From the SMH (yes, I double-checked to make sure it wasn't The Onion): the NSW government has introduced draconian new laws, making it illegal to annoy or inconvenience Catholics during World Youth Day. Offences such as "undertaking a Chaser-style stunt, handing out condoms at protests" or wearing a slogan T-shirt, attract a $5500 fine - which, as ( Read more... )