The century old figs of Alexandria Park gave up a few branches today, in the massive wind storm

Top Tip: Don't sit on a park bench in wind trying to read a book, hoping the wind will go away soon. I think I already knew that.

Spam Tweets Target Labor, Greens - Federal Election 2013 - Day 9

By Darryl Mason

Who's responsible for the below Twitter spam attacks on Labor and The Greens? Almost impossible to find out. Do they impact? Do they change peoples' minds on how they're going to vote? Highly doubtful, but there they are.

The only way anyone is going to come across spam tweets from accounts with no followers is in Twitter search, it's pissing into the void, basically.

Tony Abbott's Smelly Wisdom - Federal Election 2013 - Day 9

For someone who once vowed that he would do anything to become prime minister, 'except take it up the arse', a very interesting gaffe from opposition leader Tony Abbott.



If you talk long enough, you're going to get things messed up, eventually.

But you have to wonder sometimes if politicians ever gaffe on purpose, knowing it will dominate news coverage, be a hit on YouTube and probably not do all that much harm at all, except for making you look more human.

UPDATE: Has Tony Abbott been watching a few Dirty Harry movies recently? Easy for this kind of thing to bleed over, right Harry Callahan? See 2:30:



UPDATE: Or maybe Tony Abbott's been watching Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket? See 0:36:



More soon

What Goes On At Pine Gap? One Extraordinary Theory

The American military controlled base at Pine Gap is about to leap back into the news, as Autralia's role in helping co-ordinate drone attacks that have killed more than 3500 people in Pakistan comes under legal scrutiny.

Not surprisingly, there's very little public information about Pine Gap, or what goes on there. This gap in factual knowledge has led to some extraordinary, bizarre theories. Here's one of the wildest, from the late 1970s.

The Wrong Kind Of Master Debate - Federal Election 2013

By Darryl Mason

Prime minister Kevin Rudd faced off against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in the first debate of the Federal Election 2013 campaign.

Australia could barely disguise a stifled yawn.


Very little fresh policy detail, outside of PM Rudd's promise to deliver legislation to recognise marriage equality legislation into Parliament within 100 days of being re-elected, and 'the worm' scrolling across the bottom of the screen either said Rudd Is Shit, if you were watching Channel 7, or Rudd Rocks if you were watching Channel 9. The polarisation between audiences for two TV commercial channels seettmed absurd.

Channel 7's online debate vote gave Abbott an extraordinary 18 point win.

But hold on, Channel 9 debate voters gave Rudd an 18 point win.

Ugh.

How boring was the debate? The only glint of Story! resulted from Rudd checking his notes, in apparent violation of debate rules, though the moderator failed to pull him up on this. Incredibly, Rudd Reads From Notes During Debate is now an international headline.

Here's the most important thing. Word clouds, lovely words clouds via Ben Harris-Roxas. Red is Abbott, Blue is Rudd.

THE FIRST DEBATE - FULL TRANSCRIPT

AUSTRALIA'S TWITTER RESPONSE IN DETAIL

DEBATE OPENING STATEMENTS 

The Great Twitter Myth: Working Class People Don't Tweet - Federal Election Day 7

By Darryl Mason

The Liberal Party of Australia Facebook page smells a social media conspiracy.

 If the Liberal Party has got this wrong - raising suspicion of naughty social media pranking or sabotage by Labor - they will look like idiots who don't know how social media works.

The Mystery Followers panic spreads to Twitter:

The Herald Sun is onto it: 

News Corp Australia has scrutinised a sample of last 100 recent accounts to "follow" Mr Abbott. Ninety-nine are questionable - having either tweeted no more than once, tweeted in at least three languages, tweeted non-sentences, are based in foreign countries, or have no more than a single follower.

One possible, and more likely, explanation than Labor Party activists buying fake followers for Tony Abbott (why exactly?) is Abbott's Twitter account is now a highly placed Recommended Follow for those opening new Twitter accounts in Australia, and internationally. Being a recommended follow immediately sees your following ranks swelled by fake, spam accounts that auto-follow those recommended by Twitter.

Whatever the truth behind it, social media will be well and truly thrust into the Federal Election 2013 spotlight next week, where, presumably, many old and threatened mainstream media figures will try to hose down how much of an influence social media will have on election outcomes.


Meanwhile, the Australian sounds more threatened than ever by social media, Twitter in particular, and has to resort to quoting a Boomer generation Liberal Party advisor, who doesn't even use Twitter, to fill out its 'Real Australians Don't Tweet' agenda. Embarrassing :

To deliver another term of government, Mr Rudd needs to connect with voters in marginal working-class seats such as Lindsay and Greenway in western Sydney and Forde and Longman on Brisbane's southern and northern outskirts. These are traditional Labor-voting electorates now out in the wilderness but critical to ALP success.
Mr Rudd must reach out to undecided voters in these seats and bring them back into the Labor fold. Social media seems an unlikely strategy to achieve this.

The question is, will Mr Rudd's 1.3 million followers on Twitter help him win over voters against Tony Abbott's 151,875 followers?

Grahame Morris, federal director of Barton Deakin Government Relations and a former Liberal Party adviser and campaigner, thinks not.

"The campaign team that focuses its efforts on winning the twitterverse will wake up the day after polling very disappointed," Mr Morris said.

"They will have missed the target and the target is undecided and uncommitted voters who are most certainly not rushing to their iPhones over their Coco Pops to see what Kevin Rudd is tweeting, or anyone else for that matter."

Mr Morris thinks it will be the next election or the one after that will ultimately be determined through social-media campaigns.

There you have it. The Australian extensively quotes someone who thinks social media won't impact on federal elections until 2016...or 2019!

But the unions also have no idea:

Australian Services Union NSW secretary Sally McManus is on secondment to the ACTU to run its digital campaigns.

"Facebook is where normal people are; Twitter is for the talking classes."

"When I walk into a room full of our members, predominantly working-class people, and ask who is on Facebook, most hands go up and now the exception is people who aren't," she said.

"Working-class people are on Facebook, but not Twitter."

So the ACTU is pouring all its resources and efforts into Facebook at the exact same time a massive flight out of Facebook to Twitter by Australians is taking place?

The ignorance is blistering.

UPDATE: This is an image the Liberal Party of Autralia posted after Tony Abbott somehow managed to get one of the biggest, fastest surges in Facebook followers in Australian social media history:
 

So the Liberal Party of Australia are now looking dodgy, dishonest and manipulative on both Twitter and Facebook.

Quite an accomplishment.

Julian Assange Helped Police Fight Child Porn And Catch Paedophiles

Has Julian Assange ever talked publicly about this important work? The media sure never mentions. He should be proud. He may have ultimately saved children's lives.

From The Age :

It has been revealed in a Melbourne court that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange once helped Victoria Police in two investigations into child pornography.

He provided expert technical advice and support to assist in the prosecution of people suspected of involvement in pornography offences on the internet.

The Saturday Age can now report this after a judge yesterday revoked a suppression order she imposed last month, partly out of concern for Assange's safety.

Judge Jeanette Morrish last month suppressed a portion of a transcript of Assange's court appearance in 1996 when he admitted computer hacking offences.

The paragraph included his lawyer stating that in 1993 Assange had ''provided assistance to police authorities'' but he could not elaborate.

A week ago, when The Saturday Age appeared before Judge Morrish to apply for the order to be lifted, Assange's Melbourne lawyer, Grace Morgan, said he did not consent to or oppose its revocation.

Ms Morgan, of Robert Stary Lawyers, passed a handwritten note to the judge that elaborated on Assange's ''assistance''. Judge Morrish then said the contents of the redacted paragraph, if unexplained, ''are apt to be utterly misleading and dangerous because they convey the impression that Mr Assange is an informer and he's not''.

''In 1993, when Mr Assange was in his early 20s, he provided assistance to investigators from the Victoria Police child exploitation unit.
''My client assisted in relation to two investigations. His role was limited to providing technical advice and support [and] to assist in the prosecution of persons suspected of publishing and distributing child pornography on the internet.

''Mr Assange's participation was concluded in the mid-90s. He is not aware of the ultimate outcomes of the operations, but understands that his technical expertise was of value to the investigations.

''Mr Assange received no personal benefit from this contribution and was pleased to be in a position to assist.''

MURDOCH MEDIA TO ASSANGE: FUCK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE GREAT STORIES

ASSANGE: THIS IS SERIOUS, MUM

WHEN TRUTH TELLERS ARE TREATED AS TERRORISTS 

ASSANGE SUPPORTERS RALLY IN SYDNEY (PHOTOS)

Murdoch Flogs Nazi-Themed Merch

Sydney's Daily Telegraph reached peak Godwin's Law last week when editor Paul Whittaker dressed  prime minister Kevin Rudd in Nazi regalia on the front page. Such a hoot, they're now selling prints of Rudd dressed as a Nazi for only $70.

Wonder what Hogan's Heroes copyright owners Bing Crosby Productions think about all this?

The above invitation to buy prints of Australian public servants dressed up as Nazis by an American-owned media company originally appeared with this story from Adeaide Now.


RUPERT MURDOCH HAILS THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS: "IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT"

NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA CEO QUITS AFTER 'NAZI PM' FRONT PAGE

HOW RUPERT MURDOCH CONNED BRITISH MPS BY PLAYING CONFUSED OLD MAN

WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE MURDOCH NEWS MINES

This Is What It Sounds Like, When A Blog Dies

A few weeks ago, Andrew Bolt let slip on his blog, a preview of future Bolt Blog plans:

"I don’t want to waste your time. I apologise, but all media outlets are now under severe pressure, and we cannot keep offering what’s essentially a free service. Should you have better suggestions, feel free to let the paper know."

Andrew Bolt deleted the above a few hours after posting it.

Bolt was the first of the Murdoch stable to hit his readers up for subscriptions and paywall ladders, and it was a complete disaster. Nobody wanted to pay to read online. Nobody.

Now, quite the opposite to executive-stacked newspapers and TV news room, small independent media in Australia is actually doing OK. It's the ones that have to kick up a few million a year to The Boss and all his executive buddies that are in the deepest shit.

Small, lean, fast digital news rooms (no office, no execs, no physical product) are the future, of course, it just took the likes of Murdoch, and Bolt, a lot longer than digital natives to understand.

Am I Prime Minister Yet? Federal Election 2013 Day 5

 Not yet, Tony. Not yet.

UPDATE: Already labelled as 'The Photo Of The Election Campaign', photographer Alex Ellinghausen captures Tony Abbott as he would like to be seen by the Australian public, on his bike with his crotch pouring light. Probably.

Photo by Alex Ellinhausen for Fairfax.


Source

Campaign Gets Ruddy Bloody - After months of unemployment and general beardiness, The Chaser team pick up some top shaving tips from prime minister Kevin Rudd as they begin work on their election specials.

News Corp Australia CEO Kim Williams Quits After Daily Telegraph 'Nazi PM' Front Page - Federal Election Day 5

Less than two years after taking over Rupert Murdoch''s Australian News Corp operations, CEO Kim Williams is stepping down. Remarkably, not of Murdoch's 130 plus Australian newspapers scored this scoop.

We'll return to this dramatic news, and look back at Williams gormless attempts to demonise Australian bloggers and independent media, but here's Kim Williams e-mail to staff (somehow, Murdoch papers even got scooped on this):

Dear Colleagues

I attach the media statement about my departure from News Corp which will be effective from this weekend.

An action like this is always taken with a heavy heart and a mixed bag of feelings and reflections on a wide range of experiences with News Corp across almost 20 years. It is certainly not a decision made lightly, or without an awareness of the impact decisions like this inevitably have on many close colleagues, clients and diverse bodies within the media community.

I started with News Corp back in 1995 and have worked with the company ever since in three roles – as CEO at FOX Studios Australia, CEO of FOXTEL and as CEO at News Corp Australia. Each role has offered a diversity of challenges and wonderful opportunities. I have enjoyed the responsibility and have been honoured to work with many extraordinarily talented people.

Whilst the leadership roles and the issues encountered have at times been frankly really confronting, it has been a source of perpetual renewal and reinforcement to have worked with so many terrific colleagues both here and internationally.  It is the people that one remembers the most.   I will be forever grateful to those who have been so helpful and constructively supportive in the many matters we have mutually confronted. There have been many good wins matched with some memorable awful problems and opponents!  It has all been the stuff of a rich and varied professional life that I would never have had without the benefit of the trust reposed in me by many great colleagues at News Corp.

I wish Rupert Murdoch, Robert Thomson, their new management team in the new News Corp and all my international colleagues nothing but the best continued success with the product and commercial rewards that their efforts so richly deserve. I am genuinely in awe at the range and depth of talent in the company here and in the international arena and have great confidence in the future and all that it holds for the new enterprise.

Finally, I thank all my Australian colleagues for their support, understanding and commitment to the company, its products and customers over a long time. There are far too many people to single any one out – you all know who you are and what we have shared together!

With my warmest and best wishes to you all in continuing to meet the challenges of change to achieve a great future individually and corporately.

Kim Williams

More Here

Daily Telegraph Depicts PM Rudd As Nazi - Day 4 Of Federal Election Campaign

Rupert Murdoch's The Daily Telegraph couldn't wait even a week into the election campaign before they depicted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a Nazi, online and in print.

And front page of the newspaper, of course.

Does aanyone under 40 even know what TV show the Daily Telegraph's editor Paul Whittaker is referencing there?

You have to feel sorry for the good journalists still left at the Daily Telegraph who have nothing to do with the front page. How is this in any way a good thing for a newspaper industry on its knees? What more reason do you need to give for people to give up on the morning paper habit than garbage like this?

Source

"OK, That's Enough" - Gruesomely Hypnotic Interview Disaster - Federal Election 2013

One of the best political candidate interviews you'll see this election. Very revealing, and entertaining, for all sorts of reasons.

1)  It's uncut, raw, footage of a political candidate unable to answer the most basic questions without sounding like a fucking robot.

2) Watch the young woman trying to maintain a poker face as the interview completely falls apart on the Six Point Plan, at 3:15

3) The old bloke who rocks up at 4:10

4) The journalist, pissed at being interrupted as he tries to get anything useful from the candidate, after five long minutes, at 5:44

5) The Big Finish, candidate left repeating "we support families" mantra when asked slightly difficult question about his a key financial policy, at 6:10.

Let's see more raw footage like this from the election campaign. It exposes the gulf between a candidate being able to mouth soundbites from a cheat sheet just the right length for the evening news, and the real abilities, intelligence and competency of the candidate.

Media Madness Of Federal Election 2013 Begins

Rupert Murdoch's Daily Telegraph demands readers do what they say, and officially, foolishly, declare their hand. On Day One:

The afternoon edition, as seen kicking around Twitter:

Original Sapphires Call For 'Racist' DVD Boycott

The original members of the singing group The Sapphires has called for a boycott of the US release of the Australian-produced movie on DVD.

The point of contention is pretty obvious. First, some of the Australian artwork, then the US 'blue' version.

Australian release: 

And the US release above.

From here:

'What has upset us is that the DVD cover appears to miss that point [of the film] entirely,'' she said. ''It's disrespectful to the very talented young Aboriginal actors in the film, and it's disrespectful to us as a group.

''But in particular, it's disrespectful to women of colour everywhere who have stood up against this sort of thing all their lives.'' she said.

 UPDATE: Even talk of a boycott was enough. From Billboard:

The American distributor of the Australian film "The Sapphires" is apologizing for the DVD cover, which some have called sexist and racist, and says it is considering new cover art for future shipments.

Anchor Bay Entertainment said in a statement Monday that it "regrets any unintentional upset" caused by the DVD, which will be on U.S. store shelves Tuesday.

The rest of the story is here

There has been some interesting, and positive, fallout from this casual backlining of the true stars of the movie. And The Sapphires DVD release has scored some major attention now in the US media, excerpts of the movie are being shown on the news, and the positive result will give the movie's release a massive boost. It's a great story, a decent movie, full of great young Australian stars and now more people than ever know about it.

1973: Rolling Stones Confronted By Australian Media Over Rumored Drug Smuggling

Mick Jagger responds:

"If you want to follow up in TV journalism what rubbish they dish out in the press, you're pretty low."

That's standard operating procedure with most TV news these days.

Also, Mick Jagger: "Australia wants to be a part of South-East Asia, which is very admirable, I thought, after years of isolation. But the only way I can see that happening is if more South East Asian come home, because it's very difficult to be part of South East Asia when you don't understand that mentality."

Rock Photos - The Angels With Dave Gleeson

A selection of photos of The Angels recording at Alberts Studio, and in rehearsals, during 2012.

All photos By Darryl Mason

(from left) The Angels' bassist Chris Bailey, and guitarists Rick and John Brewster

The Angels' Dave Gleeson and Rick Brewster

The Angels' Dave Gleeson

Rick Brewster gets...

....a great idea

Signing stuff

The Angels' bassist Chris Bailey

Rock Photos - Suze DeMarchi From The Baby Animals

Suze DeMarchi from The Baby Animals is one of the more interesting Australian musicians to photograh, lots of emotion and energy onstage and an absolutely wicked sense of humour offstage.

Photos from 2012 of The Baby Animals onstage and backstage at their shows for The Annandale Hotel, Sydney, and A Day On The Green.

All photos by Darryl Mason.

A train station on the Richmond (NSW) line at sunset:

 

Frenzal Rhomb's Jay Walley Survives Brain Worm

In his words:

Valentines Day Brain Surgery. Sounds like a Ramones song. They gave me general anesthetic and cut a 10cm rectangle at the back left of my skull, took out the offending alien and put the skull piece back. It was over in about three hours.
Two hours later I was in intensive care when the head of the neuro team came in and said
“Good news, looks like it was some kind of infection ”
Holy shit, the relief I felt was overwhelming, not just for me but for my family as well. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in three weeks.
No cancer! Or as Gordy put it “Happy Valentines Day you tumourless fuck.”
So what the hell was it? How did I get an infection in my brain?
I was tested for all sorts of things over a couple of days until finally they got some results back from the lab. Here’s an approximation of the conversation.
“Have you been to Central America in the last few years?” Asked the good doctor from the infectious diseases department.
“Sure”
“We think it could be a parasite”
” Again!? Is this somehow related to Pico the botfly larva I picked up in the same region?”
“No, this is specifically neurocysticercosis, basically the egg from a pig tapeworm”
“A what tapeworm?”
” A pig ”
“A pig?!? I’m fucking vegetarian! How did I get the egg from a fucking pig worm in my brain?!?”

Read the rest here

A Christmas Story Starring A Fucking Big Spider

By Darryl Mason

3 days ago a Huntsman spider as big as as Homer-sized donut ran in the back door. I saw it run in. I saw it from the end of the yard. I ran for the back door, but it was too late. It was already turning a corner in the hall, and disappearing under furniture.

It was Christmas, who's got time for a war with a spider that big? That would be a mission. You're in and out, too much to do. We tried as hard as possible to ignore each other's presence, particulary after midnight. When it ran across the roof, it did it in a way that seemed to say, "Ahh, sorry, I need to be over there, so...I'll make it quick."

You can get used to that. No big deal. Spider got to do what a spider got to do.

What was unnerving was its habit of suddenly running at me when I went to open the back door. It happened four times. It's not there, suddenly it's there, clearly running at you as fast as it can. Fck that for a joke.

I didn't shriek, not once, as it ran at me ad I leapt out of its way, so I have matured somewhat since my 20s. But after the 3rd time, I thought about going out a window rather than going near the back door again.

The fourth encounter was just then, in the last minutes of Christmas Day 2012. I had to take rubbish out. No, not this time. I wasn't going to pushed around by some spider, even if it could cover half your face if it decided to stretch itself over your nose and eyes while you're sleeping.

It was time for me to stand my ground.

Or get something to smash the living shit out of it with.

No, spiders can spin webs, I can't, spiders might not be smarter than humans, but they're forward thinkers, and that's intelligence. Intelligent enough anyway. We could deal with this like reasonable beings.

Hand on the door, and out it came again. Fck me, was it even bigger than yesterday?

ohhhshhhhit

In that single second the Huntstman took to close the distance between where it had been hiding behind the base of a cupboard and where I stood, I was sure I could actually hear its legs clicking on the tiles. It ran across my bare foot, paused, and then stopped at the door. I didn't scream, but I didn't breathe either, so...

The Huntsman didn't run up the screen door, it just stopped there at the bottom, like it was waiting. Waiting for me to open the door....

Oh.

It was waiting. That's why it ran at me when I went to the back door. It didn't want to be inside, it wanted to get the hell out.

I opened the door, and the spider ran out. Off into the night. I noted what I can only describe as an impatient haughtiness to its departure. Like it had things to do and places to be, and I had screwed up its plans.

Like I had wasted its time.

And as it disappeared into midnight shadows of the garden and...it was the wind, of course, the wind and the Christmas beer, spiders don't cuss out humans, impossible, but I heard something, something like :

"You asshole. You made me miss Christmas."

Sydney Crane Collapse Aftermath

A crane caught fire this morning in Sydney and collapsed across an apparently very solid University of Technology building. No one killed or injured, but a whole load of traffic chaos. How are they getting to get this wreck down? We'll find out in the next few days....

Photos by Darryl Mason

Baby Animals Finish Recording New Album

Here's sme of my photos from the last day of recordings for the new 2013 album from The Baby Animals. Photos are of guitarist Dave Leslie and singer Suze DeMarchi.

The Screaming Jets Paul Woseen Plays Front Row Sessions

 


































Back in late 1990, early 1991, Paul Woseen's acoustic guitar and remarkable voice could be heard booming from The Screaming Jets HQ in Rushcutters Bay. Clement Street was a bit of an echo, and wind, chamber in a quiet neighbourhood, the music carried, but no-one ever complained about Paul playing.

Paul would play songs that would soon become Screaming Jets classics, Helping Hand, Think or Best Of You, all through a weekday afternoon. Even in its early, and extended, acoustic version, Helping Hand pulled passersby to a halt. Some of the most important songs from Tear Of Thought were written over that summer of 90-91. I've been waiting 20 years to hear Paul sing these songs again, just him and his guitar.

Paul Woseen will be performing acoustic versions of his songs from The Screaming Jets albums All For One and Tear Of Thought on Wed and Thurs night, November 21 and 22, upstairs at The Hive Bar, Erskineville, for the Front Row Sessions. Not to be missed.

Book tickets here at Front Row Sessions

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RuddRooRage

Finally, some news worth blogging about :

Irate ratepayer Kevin Rudd brought a dead wallaby into this week’s council meeting, leaving blood stains on the floor.

Mr Rudd, who addressed the meeting about a modification to a development application, was halfway through his speech when he went to the door and took a large hessian bag from a person waiting outside.

He threw the bag into the middle of the room and then lifted the dead wallaby from the bag by its tail.

I'm sure bearing the name Kevin Rudd had no role to play in this man's iratedness.

The nuclear bombs begin exploding in Australia exploding at 3:00:

Ruddney Rude Vs NWA

,

Screaming Jets Grounded

The Screaming Jets could have announced a 'Last Shows Ever!' tour, like so many other Australian bands have done, and sold out shows in every state, made a decent amount of money.

But the band knows a 'Last Shows Ever!' tour would be bullshit. Like Powderfinger, the Jets will perform together again, but they weren't interested in lying to their fans. Of course there will be more live shows from the Screaming Jets. They'll play together again, they know it, and their fans should know it. But when? That we don't know.

Here's a clip from the last show (for the time being) by The Screaming Jets, at Summernats 2012. Keep the sound low, it's distorted as hell, but the stage perspective is interesting. At 10,000 plus, it's one of the biggest audiences the Jets have ever played to :



A few pics from the gig:











More To Come...