Why is it that Christians don't drink?

A street poster I saw yesterday advertising a beer festival. This raises a question I've never heard a decent answer to. I know a few fundamentalist Ned Flanders type of Christians, and none of them ever touch alcohol. I want to know what is so evil about alcohol. Yes I know it can cause many social problems etc, but why does someone who sees themself as a good Christian feel the need to think alcohol is un-Christian and a sin? Getting drunk and having an alcohol problem is one thing, but appreciating some fine wine or beer is a totally different thing. And even if you do get a little tipsy, is it such a bad thing? After all, beer was invented by monks, and Jesus himself made wine! I know my Greek Orthodox relies love to get into their Retsina from time to time, and they don't look like they'll be burning in hell for it.

I've just spent the week in bed with a super fast case of Bronchitis. Yuk. It was a great sunny week, with Australia Day yesterday being one of the traditional wild and fun days of the year. I normally have a crazy day with 500,000 other people on the South Perth foreshore, but this year I just walked around and had a few 'quiet ones' and then went to a friend's riverview apartment to watch the fireworks.

Arrgh! I was looking forward to yesterday for months, and I had to take it easy! MrG is not a happy camper. Well, at least I didn't die from coughing I suppose.. but it is true, you actually can get sick from air conditioning. I picked it up from the hefty air con at a hollywood theme party I went to last weekend, and the doctor said I had a soft version of what could have been Legionnaire's disease (aka pneumonia!). Speaking of that, I've got some cool pics of me dressed as a member of Team Zissou from the film The Life Aquatic, and of Jessica dressed as Leilu from the Fifth Element.

Here's a mobile phone pic of the menu of an ice cream van at the skyshow yesterday. Such innovative signage..

Summer in the Baltics

Now that I've been working for a while, I am starting to crave some creativity in my thoughts. All my efforts have been into learning how my area of work operates. Now i'm not so fresh in my position anymore, I have time to think about other things as well. The first thought that comes into my head (other than sex - I am a man after all!) is of travel plans for my next holiday. My itchy feet are really itchy, I haven't left the country for years now! I have some pics that I have scanned which I will put online soon, of the Narva River in Estonia in 2001. It was an amazing place, two medieval crusader castles on either side, with Estonia on one side and Russia on the next. I have some super 8 film that I made on that day, which I have digitised, I hope I can find a way to put it online. The colours of that day were amazing, lots of greens and blues - and angry looking border guards sussing me out with my crusty old camera. It was only afterwards I realised there were tensions with the two countries in that time, I must've looked like a spy running around filming everything, no wonder the border guards were giving me nasty stares! So, wisely I pointed my camera at the river banks, castles and people instead of the views of the town over on the Russian side. I found this little beach on the river where all the locals were having their annual swim, it was so warm and the grass was overgrown. It seemed like those romantic scenes in movies set in the olde days, with couples running around, having picnics and sneaking a pash in a secluded grove.
Aah yes, that was a good day.
Here's a map of Eesti. This one includes the contested territory with Russia. Narva is on the north eastern border.

I am pretty sure that I am not the only SpongeBob Squarepants fan out there, so to celebrate my super-coolness I've posted a pic of Mr Squarepants to inform all the uneducated SpongeBob heathens of what they are missing out on.






Last weekend I discovered the Hula Bula Bar in the City,
a mighty fine Hawaiian theme bar with all the funkiness of a kitsch tropical island, complete with jet-setting lounge music. 'twas a great night. Here's a fantastic pic of a mate of mine after a few drinks.. hehe, he'll probably kick my arse for putting this online!

Why RTRFM is the coolest radio station in the world, part 1

For all you cats in the know, last night from 11pm til 1 you would've heard Gav and myself spend 2 hours playing a set of tunes by the Orb (aka Dr Alex Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann), in celebration of the new release of Orb rarities. Before I knew it, the 2 hours were gone and we still had so much more to play! I guess I should announce that I'm going on radio beforehand, it would probably be the only way to get my friends to listen at that timeslot.

In a few weeks I am thinking of doing another Ambient Zone special, this time playing 2 hours of music from the prince of record labels: Merck Records. I am a total convert to the stuff that gets released from these guys and I felt a bit sniffy when it was announced that they will be closing down when they reach 100 releases. So, I will let the world know to tune in to my show when I organise it!

Here's the web site: www.m3rck.net . Write to them and tell them they shouldn't close down cos the world needs them! And here's a link to the coolest radio station: www.rtrfm.com.au

Political rant

Today I'm feeling political. It just annoys me so much to watch the government in Russia use its usual aggressive bully-boy tactics of international relations against Ukraine. I wish I had some time to get in depth here, but I'm at work and must be brief.

Russia (as a nation - don't call me an anti-Russian, I have plenty of Russian friends and I love much about their culture) clings heavily to the paranoia that the 'West' is commited to the destruction and dismantling of its sphere of influence. Putin has openly stated that the end of the Soviet Union was the 'greatest tragedy of the 20th century' and has blatantly whitewashed and denied the horrors inflicted upon former Soviet satellite states by the Soviet regime, making it clear that his long term plan is for a new Russian empire. His school-bully style tactics against the government in Ukraine are typical of his behaviour towards any ex-soviet country. The gas issue is complex, and Ukraine will eventually have to pay higer prices (and yes, they have not been angels in this issue either) but if Russia wants to regain its influence in the region they surely must realise that intimidation will only make their former colonial subjects run faster towards secure relations with Western nations.

Lets not forget that Russia still officially denies that they invaded Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and many other countries and annexed them, nor does it officially recognise the deportations and genocide inflicted upon their peoples. If the Putin government doesn't admit to this, what does it say about their future intentions for Russian foreign policy? ..no wonder the Baltic nations (and most of the European ex-communist states) are so keen to become members of the European community.

I'll have to continue this another time, there is so much involved in all this, and I wanted to finish my spiel on a positive note and not just whinge.. eek, i better get back to work.

Wow! Yesterday I met someone on the bus whom I hadn't seen for over a decade! Not only that, but I bumped into her again today, on a different bus, and then AGAIN at lunch today! I have decided that this means that we need to hang out again. Her name is Carolyn.

..It was way back in the early 90's, we were both angsty teens hanging out by the GPO (General Post Office - in the middle of the city) with all the city's black-clad teenie-goths. We were both kinda on the outside of the super-goth fashions, but had friends right in there so we spent many a spare hour hanging around there for no apparent reason, other than to socialise and be oh so cool. We got on well, but never to the point of phone number swapping and all that, so when we parted from that scene, we never saw each other again. How funny, she's now a sporto athlete type! Hehe, how things change! But I like it that way, if everyone stayed the same life would be pretty boring. We also worked out that we were both living in Dublin in 2001 at the same time as each other and we were both at the same (amazing and bestever) Sigur Ros concert in the same area at the same time! Talk about parallel lives!

Yesterday was finally a decent Perth summer's day. It was such a grand sunset so I walked the 5km home. According to the endless stream of statistics, December was the coldest December in Perth since 1922. As I have yet to get bored with my new novelty mobile phone camera, I enjoyed taking some photos along the way.

Albums that've been wearing out my cd player on constant rotation this week:

Tiki Obmar - High School Confidential
Adam Johnson - Chigliak
Ween - Shinola Vol. 1
David Bowie - Low
Japanese house/lounge mix discs

Happy New Year!

It's 2006! Yowser, the first half of the naughties gone already. Happy New Year and best wishes for a fantastico 2006 to everyone!

This year will be the year where Mr G gets his act together. By that I mean I am aiming to do what I say I am going to do. I had a horrible 2005 of making plans and then putting them off, being frustrated and generally not doing or getting anything that I want/need, and it's really slowed me down. I start a 2 year graduate program with the goverment on Monday and I'm actually pretty nervous about that sort of commitment with my work. It will be good, but I already have itchy feet, and I've only been there for 2 months!

Here is a photo from the Perth Cup from New Years Day. This pic was taken immediately after the big race when the crowd was at it's loudest and most energetic.