Back with a vengeance

Good news, everybody. I'm online, with a real Internet connection and not a telephone, which has been my sole means of Twitter and email for the last week aside from taking my laptop to cafés and pubs [*]. Thanks, Telstra and iiNet, for only taking a month to sort it out. I've also begun writing … Continue reading Back with a vengeance

Local media medium scepticism fail

From this week's Popbitch: "About your item last week on John Lennon's psychic mate, Joe Power, I interviewed Joe about four years ago for a London newspaper. We were doing a 'walkabout' at West India Quay and he was introducing me to the various spirits that popped up along the way. I had a photographer … Continue reading Local media medium scepticism fail

Consequences, or their absence

I originally posted this in the comments at Crooked Timber as an aside, but thought it deserved elevation of sorts: It’s worth remembering the very limited harm that was done by Tony Blair’s stupid and wrong decision to get involved in Iraq. The net result was that: a) a lot of people internationally thought the … Continue reading Consequences, or their absence

This blog may be of some use after all

Someone found the blog yesterday by Googling for "my right testicle is as big as a kiwi". I hope the story they read had the desired effect - but just to reiterate, if your right testicle is as big as a kiwi, then go see a goddamn doctor RIGHT NOW. Indeed, even if it's only … Continue reading This blog may be of some use after all

Advertising policy

When it comes to blog promotions, Diamond Geezer is a purist. I'm not. If anyone fancies sending me a bottle of Jameson's in exchange for a blogpost, it goes live the minute the grog arrives (and, using my Viral Drinks Marketing Analysis Skills, there is absolutely no way the grog being marketed in DG's post … Continue reading Advertising policy

The joule in the crown

An excellent piece from the generally excellent Metric Views on food energy content labelling. A calorie is a nonsense unit that means nothing; a joule is a real unit that makes sense. One of the things that I very much like about moving to Australia is that, for all its stereotyping as backward, the country … Continue reading The joule in the crown

Being shouted at is your goddamn job

I never shout at customer services people. Literally never. Occasionally I mute the phone and scream; on very rare occasions I excuse myself from the physical situation and scream; but I've never shouted at a customer services person of any kind and hope never to do so. In most cases, this is because they don't … Continue reading Being shouted at is your goddamn job