Too much Obama

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=D5wfj9yIBxQ

remembrance day

There is a lot of talk in Australia this remembrance day about how Australians place too much importance on the Gallipoli campaign when thinking of World War One and tend to ignore the European campaign that was by far the biggest part of the war. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has caused quite a stir recently on this topic.

This article also has some interesting statistics about Australian troops in WWI:

• 50,000 served in Gallipoli while 250,000 served in Europe
• 8,700 died in Gallipoli while 46,000 dies in Europe
• The fought 8 battles in Gallipoli and 40 in Europe
• 9 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Australians in Gallipoli and 52 VCs were awarded in Europe
• The Gallipoli campaign lasted 8 months while the European campaign lasted two and a half years

And perhaps most importantly, Gallipoli was a military disaster while on the Western Front Australians fought under Australian command for the first time and achieved many victories (as much as anything that happened in the horrofic waste of life that was WWI can be called a victory). The AIF only constituted 10% of Allied forces but won 25% of enemy territory, prisoners of war, arms and ammunition. SO it's about time more Australians gave them their due for what they really achieved.

[youtube=http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=NOz08MNkwPI]

The quote at the end is from the most famous poem from World War One - "Dulce et Decorum Est"

Vicar with a potato in his bum

I'm not saying that religious orders specifically attract perverted people. I'm not saying that people who preach morality to others have a disturbing habit of indulging in extreme perversions of their own. But it's really noticeable when it's true.

[youtube=http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=WWkrSZ_Yfc8]

An old sketch comedy show in Australia was actually called the Naked Vicar Show - I'm sure they would have had a field day with this. This story has, unsurprisingly, been covered quite a bit in the media. I think my favourite is this collection of stories from The Guardian.

I really don't get people in this situation making up absurd lies - it's obvious what really happened. When you make up appalling lies it makes you untrustworthy as well as kinky.

Dedicated to the disgusting freak at work

As I look back on my history of around 850 blog posts and 750 YouTube videos, I notice a disturbing amount of them are concerned with toilets and/or poo. And I'm not about to stop.

[youtube=http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MMiScJRFSV0]

I Love America

There's an old saying in film making (useful in story telling generally) that goes "Show, don't tell". In short, this means show what's happening in your story rather than explaining it. Having a character actually perform an action is much more powerful than having a narrator describe an action. And this, in short, has been the most frustrating aspect of watching America during the Bush Presidency.
To see Bush over an over again saying one thing and then doing the opposite. To talk about finding those "responsible" for the 9/11 attacks and instead fabricating enemies that suited pre-determined political goals. To talk about making the economy strong when pretty much every action he took fucked things up (and by some miracle the chickens came home to roost BEFORE the election - for the last year or so I though he was going to manage to stave of the economic collapse he had engineered until he was out of office). To hear him talk mindless drivel about "freedoms" while turning America into a police state. A pathetically inefficient, overly-bureaucratic police state at that.
As an outsider it seemed like every fucking lie he peddled was being eagerly swallowed up by a wilfully ignorant populace. It was easy to think Americans had developed a taste for shit sandwiches and couldn't wait to wolf down the next serving. I joked about a year ago when the front running Democrats were a woman and a black man that the Democrats must want to lose. Apparently not :)
That whole American mythology of "anything is possible, anybody can become President" is suddenly a lot harder to disregard. It isn't as if the country (and the rest of the world who are so heavily affected by what happens in the U.S.) are about enter a magical fairyland but this is stunning on so many levels. Seriously Americans, how crazy are you? You can turn 180 degrees from the soul-crushing negativity of the Bush years to one of the most hopeful and inspiring politicians in the world just like that?
And the dude is BLACK! His dad was Muslim! Part of his schooling was in the world's most populous Muslim nation! Holy fuck, whatever pill you people are taking I'll have two!
I have been addressing this campaign quite regularly on YouTube and topic of race has always been part of it. More than one person has had a bit of a dig at me by asking if a black person would be elected leader in Australia. Short answer: no. Slightly longer answer: no fucking way! It's a slightly unfair comparison as we don't have a Presidential system and a Parliamentary system doesn't really allow for a breakout star to rise to Prime Minister in a short space of time. It's possible but far less likely.
But it isn't just that - Australia's indigenous population are by and large treated like shit. Pointing this out is a good way to make lots of non-indigenous Australians very defensive and angry, even people who are largely very reasonable and even progressive. They'll rush to point out welfare and lazy abos burning down their government provided houses and I have learned it's largely impossible to talk to people on the issue if they've made up their mind like that. Seriously, if you're going to go on about how the most downtrodden indigenous race in the world have it so good I see no value in engaging in any conversation.
So you showed the world America. Anything's possible. Hopefully the redemption of the Republican party (and maybe even the rise of third party candidates as a viable option) is also possible. I wonder how long it will take some powerbrokers in the GOP to see the sort of passion Ron Paul (for example) inspired and go "Hey, maybe this hateful shit we've been peddling has run its course - why don't we actually trying standing for something apart from hating people different to us?" With the majorities the Democrats look like having some strong, principled opposition will be vital. Like most political groups, the Democrats have an appalling track record for corruption and ineffectiveness when there's nobody to keep them honest.
Anyway, I'm visiting The US in two weeks (only the dirty, immoral socialist land of California) so I hope y'all are still partying when I get there!

Tube-vember: an angry odyssey

There are so many big things happening around YouTube in November that I'm officially re-naming it Tube-Vember. Shut up, that is not stupid.

[youtube=http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=OVF2DZsn_4Q]

Dates to remember:

MELBOURNE MINI-GATHERING - Saturday, November 15th at Federation Square from Noon. You don't have to be a video maker or "know someone" to come along. If you just want to meet a few people, say g'day and have a bit of fun feel free to come along!

YOUTUBE LIVE - Saturday November 22nd

SYDNEY AUS ONE GATHERING - Saturday November 29th.

Mr Angry's American Odyssey - I land at San Francisco on Thursday November 20th and I'll be in LA on Monday November 24th until Wednesday November 26th. If you're in/near those places at those time and you know something fun to do and/or you want to catch up - drop me a line.