Einstein On The Beat

Einstein On The Beat, originally uploaded by glennpeters.

From picture generator site, Hetemeel.

Happy Birthday To Johnny Cash And Me

Just come home from one of them big and crazy rock'n'roll nights.

I've been 33 for six and a half hours and gee, don't those lyrics to Sunday Morning Coming Down make a lotta sense.

Now to burn these clothes....

Australia: Bloody Hell

By all reports, hell's not real nice. So not real nice, some of the more religiousy, irony blind types out there (Americans, zealots, pigeon fanciers...etc) get nervous at the mention of it.

Then why would you mention hell's existence in a fricken tourism ad?

Why don't we go with...

Australia. Come look at our animals.

and its stunning campaign mate...

Australia. Come look at our scenery.

Because really, that's the only message an Aussie tourist campaign's going to say in my lifetime.

Cat Nip Anyone?

If you feel the need to watch wacky Japanese TV footage of women breastfeeding their pussy cats (and who doesn't?), check out the Japanese Cat Feeder video.

Don't blame me. Blame Boing Boing for this.

Pat Novak For Hire: Genius

She was as sad as a tap dancer in moccasins.

He was making more noise than a venetian blind in a typhoon.

She was dead. As dead as a nightclub in philadelphia.

When she spoke, it was like.... put another log on the fire.

When she walked in it would give you a warm feeling, like a melted cheese sandwich.

Calm down before you wind up in a boy's choir.

Pat Novak For Hire was a radio crime show which ran from 1946 to 1947, starring Jack Webb, the ex-cop who created and starred in Dragnet and wrote James Ellroy's fave true crime book, The Badge.

You can listen to episodes on Mystery Play Radio, one of the 'Talk/Spoken Word' radio stations which pop up when you click the radio thingy on iTunes.

Or you can download episodes and read dozens more quotes from the awesome Pat Novak For Hire: Guns and Similies fansite.

Tom Waits School Yearbook Sold On Ebay

It sold for US$288.24.

No, I didn't bid on it.

Anyones A Deerhoof, Baby?

One of my fave power-pop bands, The Anyones (who were known as The Everyones in the US when they toured there with Jet and Sloan awhile ago) are recording a new album. And yesterday I was lucky enough to spend some time in the studio to watch them do some recording stuff.

I heard two or three songs continuously for the few hours I was there. That's the thing about recording music. It's not like you see on TV. You know, Mick and Keef walk in, sit down scratch their arse and nonchalantly squeeze out a classic. What you get is like some sort of aural water torture. A few guys sitting around a mixing desk listening to, and politely arguing over some little piano bit (on repeat and repeat and repeat), for what seems and usually turns out to become, hours.

Last night was no different.

But I liked the repeated piano bit.

And polite music argument always fascinates me.

Also I saw the frickin', unbelievably brilliant US free-rock (like free-jazz but rock, get it?) band, Deerhoof play in a North Melbourne warehouse this afternoon.

What a band.

Socks totally rocked off.

Sit On It

Alex Papps fan and crafty comment giver to this very site, Ramona has started her own nifty movie/TV blog thingy called Couchville.

And I like it.

Here's a bit of what she reckons about Joaquin Phoenix in that Johnny Cash flick.

But at the centre of all of it is Joaquin and a performance so vulnerable and raw and brilliant it made me weak at the knees. It's so exciting to watch a film when you suspect it is the performance an actor will be remembered for - the best they will ever give us

Think of Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
Think of Edward Norton in Fight Club
Think of Guy Pierce in Memento
Think of Johnny Depp in Dead Man
Think of Christian Bale in American Psycho
you get the idea.

River Phoenix never came close.

Oh dear. I've mentioned River Phoenix. Wonder if that freak's gonna start emailing me again.

Could You Work At An Emergency Call Centre?

I heard the most incredible radio documentary yesterday. In 000 Ambulance you get to listen in on phone calls coming into Victoria's 000 (Australians call 000, not 911) emergency call centres.

These calls are harrowing.

A man calls from his backyard after poking his eye OUT of the socket with a shovel.

A husband calls in his wife's stroke.

Heroin users resuscitate an overdosed mate.

Onlookers help out a victim of a baseball bat attack.

But this Radio Eye documentary isn't voyeurism. We hear from some of the emergency call takers and find out how they cope with these calls.

How would you deal with a SIDS call?

I couldn't.

Here's a link to the podcast of this hour of stunning radio.