An Oldie But A Goodie

Q: What did the lawyer say to the economist?
A: What are *you* in for?

Weapons of Blog Destruction

via Kiseok's Blog

Truth in Blogging

I took the name for this post from a short film called "Truth In Advertising". This is a must see short film in which the characters (all Canadian actors, btw) are all advertising industry archetypes and out of whose mouth's come the bold faced truth of what they mean told in the sing song everyday tone of what they say. Click the link above. Watch it and weep as it applies equally well to just about every other soulless corporate situation comedy of your choosing.

I am going to look for some "Truth In Blogging" now. Sometimes, I feel like I ought to have this disclaimer up here: This blog is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely co-incidental. I want my blog to be more *on point* with the stuff that goes across my desk from In Box to Out Tray. It was the outcome of a little conversation* I had below with a friend, in case you're interested in the thought process that began with a little crise de coeur a while back, you can find it below the break.

Part of what I wanted to achieve with this blog is to be able to get into the practice of writing on regular basis and keeping people up-to-date with the latest in my life. I've had a measure of success on both counts. The problem is that the part that gets left out is the part I actually need to talk to people about. I'm still going to have look-at-me posts, what-the-fuck-was-that? posts and awash-in-a-sea-of-sentiment posts because, deep down, I remain the girl who put a pic of her undies on the internet.

If you are interested in interrogating me on the serious stuff, I would encourage you to do so. I cannot promise that I will be able to respond in the fullness you or I might like but lets see how we do. If you care to skim over them, I certainly don't mind either. Its not that we're under new management so much as we've gone from buffet to a la carte.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

publicineffctual: i feel bad because i should be researching and writing something quite else [than the blog]. but in truth, i should really be using the blog for that purpose.
publicineffctual: *revelation*
publicineffctual: i really should be writing my thesis online, i should be airing my ideas online. like john battelle
publicineffctual: i've known this for a while now, but i'm airing it to you.
publicineffctual: then its [blogging] really doing me some good
publicineffctual: its not just another way for me to prance around and go "look at me!". "wheeeeeeeeee!". which is what i normally do.
publicineffctual: *huffs and puffs* [from ranting]
publicineffctual: daily show is on, you gotta go?

.........

publicineffctual: i always worried that i would start to 'live up to' my blog. and i can turn that around and 'live up to my blog' but in a positive way...for it to spur and help me refine my thoughts.

.........

publicineffctual: thing is that the core people that i write for, they WANT to know what i am thinking and i shield them from it.
oblivia's friend: like Paul Rand once said about the logo he designed for ABC (the US network)
oblivia's friend: he was asked, "will your logo live up to the network?"
oblivia's friend: and he replied, "I'm more worried about the network living up to my logo!"
publicineffctual: heheheheh
publicineffctual: good fucking answer
publicineffctual: and the answer is: no
publicineffctual: you know what i should blog this!!!!
publicineffctual: you are helping me see the light!


* conversation edited in the interests of readability, privacy, brevity and relevance.

Victim of His Own Success

Text from the site, defectiveyeti.com (linked above):

Sorry

"defective yeti" and "Tricks of the Trade" got a lot of traffic this month after receiving mention on Metafilter, The Morning News, Kottke, Waxy, MSNBC, and a bunch of personal blogs and sites. I appreciate everyone who linked to them. Unfortunately, I have already exceeded my bandwidth usage limit for March and I simply don't have the funds to cover any additional expenditures right now. I long ago decided to forego any advertising on either site and I'm sticking to my guns, so I'm putting both out to pasture for a week.

defective yeti and Tricks of the Trade will return April 1st.

Cheers,
Matthew Baldwin

My Secret Shame I

Happy Birthday Crouchingturbo!

Today marks the day many years ago now that I decided I wasn't a baby anymore because my mom just had one - a new one. She is the reason why I knew how to change a diaper at age 5 - a skill that I have probably since lost. Have a wonderful day lil Sis!

This Dog's Life

"Come Hither"
Originally uploaded by Oblivia.

I should make note that I love dogs in the most appropriate way possible. This photo struck me for the cute and weird expression captured on this dog. Kind of like that photo of you lying on your stomach on a lambskin rug at the age of 9 months. Really. No, really really.

Music or Madeleine?

I can chew gum and walk no problem but I can't listen to music and think/write effectively at the same time. Rather, I can't listen to music with narrative - anything with a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. No can do when I'm trying to write. I think I have too much excess noise in my head as it stands so I can only listen to classical or ambient. I have always been this way and have tried to program myself otherwise because I am a natural multi-tasker. I have been known to drive, apply mascara and eat at the same time. And to answer the obvious question to arise out of that, "I'm still here, ain't i?"

I listen to iTunes radio sometimes for streaming ambient stations and was reminded of a piece of music I have wanted to hear for a long time. It brought on a whole madeleine moment that I'm about to share.

Remember KLF? You might remember them from such hits as "3AM Eternal", "What Time Is Love" and that song with Tammy Wynette singing the lyrics "...they're justfied and they're ancient/and they drive an ice-cream van" (at least, thats what I remember hearing so I'm sticking to it.) Like TISM below, they were also in it to fuck with the music industry. But they were also very accomplished in their own right and produced a gorgeous album simply called "Chill Out."

A decidedly spare three minute track warmed my heart because:
1. I did a lot of reading on pop music scholarship way back in the day where I read all about KLF.
2. It was one of the last mix tapes anyone gave me and it was just before departing for Montreal, 1996.
3. The poppy KLF shit I used to dance to at the Exchange Hotel on Oxford Street in Sydney when I first got this notion of a "night club". (Did they really serve orange/vodka made with FANTA as a mixer?) The entire place been renovated and changed up and the last time I went there, it was full of nothing but gay men wearing little more than undies, shoes, shaved chests and sweat.

In one fell swoop I was transported back to times, places and a mindsets where I was somehow more myself.

Happy Birthday Cow!

click link above for a little shot of "info-aesthetics" on this auspicious occasion

"Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me"

bunny
Originally uploaded by Oblivia.

Now that I have your attention...This is not so much a statement of fact (though I'm toying with the possibility that it might be empirically true) as much as the name of a new song by TISM - a band I was into in my later highschool years. TISM (This Is Serious Mum) are a kind of dada-esque project of a bunch of musicians from Melbourne. To summarise quickly, their project is to simply fuck with the industry itself. For instance, the album that brought them into the mainstream was a "techno" album in the mid-nineties that was hugely popular and self-consciously crappy. I mean, it was just an unlistenable mash of techno cliches.

No one really knows for certain who they are (supposedly) and when they performed, they used to wear all black attire including their balaclavas. Some say the band is made up of prominent musicians from prominent Australian indie bands. Some say they were all went to art school together. I'm content to keep the mystery alive really.

They conduct interviews in their performance gear and one interview with them from an alternative weekly that springs to mind was when they granted an interview to a journalist but only under the condition they blindfold him and take him to an undisclosed location for the interview...which turned out to be a meat locker.

I saw them perform live once around '92 and they were awesome. My favourite moment was when they got the whole crowd to wave their hands in the air in unison then started to yell things like, "Kill all Jews! Kill all Jews! Get a haircut! Get a haircut! Kill your mom! Kill your mom!"...and we all kept on smiling and waving....

A song of theirs that has been running through my head of late is, "I'm Interested in Apathy":

I know who killed Marilyn Monroe
I can prove Einstein's theory wrong
But that's not what motivates me
I'm interested in...apathy
A-pa-thy, A-pa-thy, A-pa-thy
A-pa-thy, A-pa-thy, A-pa-thy

Click on the link above to hear the lament of this gorgeous bunny.

"What's In My Bag?" you ask?

whatsinmybag?
Originally uploaded by Oblivia.

I know you didn't but this is a question a bunch of people on flickr are asking of themselves, dropping everything and taking an stock of what they choose to haul around with them everyday. Most of us are like are like snails with little microcosms of our homes on our backs. I came across this having just returned from the gym so it is skewed thus.

It reminds me of that time that Grant McCracken, an Anthropologist/fellow of my department/newlywed blogged about the anthropological uses of blogging. And to demonstrate what he meant, he blogged his fridge. That man makes me laugh.

The social scientist in me had to do this sincerely for the data collection possibilities (though not everyone does). The artist in me had to show that there IS order to my chaos. And the exhibitionist in me just wanted to put a pic of my panties on the internet. Click and the photo for a full accounting of "whatsinmybag."

Got My Hair Cut

What a tease!
Originally uploaded by Oblivia.

I got a hair cut for the first time since this post. I wanted a change. Sarah-Jane was trying to talk me out of getting a fringe but eventually, I asked her to do it. And even she was pleased with the results.

Yes, she's teasing my hair. nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!

Schadenfreude

If you speak another language, you know there are words in other languages that have no equal in english. A lot of those words enter the english languge for that very reason and I thinkSchaedenfreude is one of the very best. If it were a gift, I would want it for my birthday.

It roughly means "to take pleasure in another's misfortune". For a fine illustration of this curious emotion in action, click on the link above.

Cultural Flotsam

First boingboing, then modernpooch, then the world!!!! Mahahahhhahahhaha!!!

Blog for Rent/Lease

Only slightly used, nice pink colour for rent or lease. Very comfortable, scene of happy times but recently neglected. Flickr zeitgeist customisation included! Warm in winter, cool in summer. Owner in dire expressive straits.