Signing in to say that:

1) The 10-10-5 result of Tasmania's state election is quite impressive in demonstrating the power of a preferential open-list system at work. Not only is the ratio pretty close to the overall primary vote, but a bunch of sitting Labor MPs were defeated by members of their own party. Seems fair to me.

2) The third gender, irregular plural forms, and too much conjugation is making German difficult to learn. Makes French seem like child's play.

3) I posted this on my Facebook already, but in my opinion, Green Zone is fail. I don't know why I didn't watch Hurt Locker instead.

Signing out.

What I've been watching

Some of my brief thoughts....

The Wolfman

This is mediocre in every aspect. The acting wasn't lacking but it's not going to win awards. The visual effects were sometimes good and at other times awful - lol @ costumes especially. The plot was done to the classic horror/thriller formula which fulfilled requirements but simply wasn't memorable. etc. etc.

District 9

Novel concept, decent graphics, brings up a bunch of touchy race-relation concepts but then fails to adequately address them in a really shallow storyline. It's a fun enough film but I'm not sure it's really satisfying. I also thought the whole humanoid insect thing was a bit weird and awkward because I wasn't sure if it was intended to be funny. I'd probably class this in the "watch for entertainment only" category.

Zodiac

As far as biopics can be riveting (see Milk), this is the exact opposite. A story that could've gone the thriller route instead gets driven into the ground by a plot that takes far too long to resolve. Skip this.

Shelter

Out of all the gay-themed movies I've watched, this one sticks out the most because it's a coming out story where the main conflict doesn't derive from coming out. I found the whole movie absolutely charming; the acting, the plot, the art, the music. Totally watchable even if you're not specifically looking for a gay film.

Were the World Mine

I've been watching some really great gay-themed films and this is another. It's not quite a musical but some of the pieces are great. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic, and this take on it is a whole lotta fun. Meaningless fun, but fun nonetheless. Loved it but probably intended for a queer-friendly audience ;)

My new made-up phrase

"Wikipedia journey"

It's where you keep clicking links in Wikipedia until you have no idea where you started from. I do this every night. I'd start off at midnight looking up something innocent like "NCIS", then next thing I know I find myself two hours later on a far more sinister page, like "dental floss".

...

Don't ask.

You can't always be happy...

I always like to make sure that I indulge in a daily dose of a "not happy" emotion. Sometimes I watch sad movies and cry, or I'll enter into a state of despair at the follies of humankind, or I'll rage big-time at my computer because some idiot can't tank.

It's all part and parcel of my plan really. You know how drug addicts need more and more drugs because the chemicals in the brain have less and less effect over time? I think emotions are a bit like that. If you're happy all the time, your senses become dulled to that emotion. Sounds crazy yeah?

I challenge you to think on it and maybe try it out. Be sad or angry or afraid sometime and you might just find that your happiness becomes so much more valuable. Or you don't have to believe, I really don't care. I'm still gonna yell at you from my car when you drive in front of me at 10 Ks below the speed limit, because it makes ME happy :)

Back in Business

Ok with me being busy moving house and having horribly inconsistent access to internet over the past few weeks, this blog has kinda failed. But you know what, one thing I realised is that it's also failing because I've kinda started not caring about it.

I always try and imitate things, like popular blogs that I read with well researched, rationalised opinions, when really, what's the point - I really don't think anyone's gonna stumble on this blog and assume that I have any expertise in anything (because I don't). So watch out! This is gonna get a whole lot more organic.