Here’s a variation on fan fiction: fan you tube. Warning: there’s obvious spoilers in there (if you want to look) , but for Aus. viewers, it’s further irrefutable proof that Russell T. Davies revival of Doctor Who is blindingly fugging brilliant. For example: Davies wrote the episode Gridlock, which included an entire culture trapped on the ‘motorway’ how English, women and cats getting married and having um, er, litters of kittens, a pair of married middle-aged lesbians, psychotropic drugs AND the Face of Boe. Whoah!
Not so subtle TdF link - if you’ve been up late you’d recognise the tune above as “The End Has a Start” by The Editors, as SBS used it in their equally blindingly fugging brilliant TdF wrap. NB: except for that nervous bit on Champs-Élysées where they lost the audio feed & the ancient memory of school girl french totally failed me.
You came on your own
That’s how you’ll leave
With hope in your hands
And air to breathe
It’s all getting too much with the tour, so refer to the righthand image for a pearler of an idea to make those troublesome feed zones slightly less risky. Pink bike baskets. A winner, huh? Bonus: the tifosi will absolutely love the surplus hello kittys getting piffed off onto the roadsides.
Big Jonny from DC(aka: two wheels, one dark lord) gets a little boshie and creatively works out his anger with doping cyclists.
How to humilate the princess bitch face cat in your life. yes you Cleo
And this. Possibly the most disturbing thing I’ve ever encountered on the internets. You’ll possibly require the services of a intensive counseling program if you choose to exercise free will and click on the link.
After publishing a fantastic ode to cycling earlier this week, The Age takes a downward turn and allows a footy hack writer to pull out the current anti TdF cliches. Similarly, can we look forward to indepth stockmarket analysis by Lawrence Money in Business Day? Actually, on the subject of Business Day, cast your eyes over this cracking read by one Elliot Fishman. Now returning to that Greg Baum piece:
Tour de Farce: Greg Baum
Have drug scandals irreparably damaged one of the world’s greatest sporting events? Greg Baum reports. Earlier this year, New York Times columnist George Vecsey likened bike racing to professional wrestling in terms of its credibility.
Clearly Baum has a pathetically limited knowledge of TdF history, and a objective response to his article has been posted on aus.bicycle. Say, what about the early decades, what with riders openly drinking & having a ciggie? Or the tragedy of Tom Simpson? The tour has always survived, including two world wars and it will survive and evolve past this latest transgression by a selfish bunch of idiots.
Regarding AFL, as a thoroughly disenchanted female fan I’m beyond disgusted at hearing the almost weekly despatches of boofhead antics. Oh they’re footy players, hahaha, pat on the back, minimise their crap behaviour by laughing it off in the meedya. Nah fcuk it, I’m taking my sporting allegiances (and money) elsewhere. Also The Age continues it’s downward trajectory towards tabloid by publishing this online poll about recent Hell Ride issues:
Hell Ride: Should the notorious Hell Ride be banned? Vote online.
To clumsily paraphrase James Balwin, if they come for us at night (or dusk) , they’ll be coming for them early on Saturday morning.
July 27, 2007 at 12:04 am · Filed under Now Seriously
With all this mess going on at the Tour, caused by a few cheating idiots, please don’t give up hope for our beautiful sport that is being tarnished (destroyed?) by a few.
This YouTube vid is only a relatively small example of what’s avaliable if you’re interested in learning more about how US authorities targeted activist groups in the 1960’s. WTF has this got to do with anything you say? Plenty. CointelPro may not officially exist anymore, but similar social processes have a tendency to thrive in social environments where there is a relative vacuum of informed discussion, unquestioning obedience to authority figures, flawed value systems and closed review processes.
For example, some corporate environments, NGO’s, community organisations can descend darkly into toxic work environments. Most of these organisations do operate within adequate guidelines, although some individuals, who could have the very best of intentions, can wind up horribly compromised, pressured by work commitments, bullying and peer groups into dysfunctional behaviours that would normally be subjected to valid criticism and disapproval.
There’s numerous analogies I could draw, just by observing recent issues in the Australian media. But on a macro level there’s more to examine. Put simply, if you’ve been privy to apparent exclusive insights about somebody or something that doesn’t sound right, why not discreetly turn the tables on whoever could be repeating distortions as fact? Bullshit conspiracies and rumour-mongering, via the use of media misreporting, reducing facts to the point of caricatures, shills and internet sock puppets can only gain acceptance where people are too lazy to utilise their critical facilities to sieve facts from manufactured fiction.
“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” - Winston Churchill
If you haven’t witnessed this 6min epic in the last 12 months you’ve probably been hiding in a deep dank hole. Wondrous stuff, huh? How many corny Spaghetti Western references can you spot? Actually I’m really starting to get into Muse, after all there nothing like a good bit of prog rock, highly wrought vocals, lyrics about conspiracies, space and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to float your boat. who were casually mentioned in the previous post.
There’s a fantastic link between Muse and The Greatest Instrumental Ever Recorded. George Bellamy, the rhythm guitarist in The Tornados, is the father of Muse’s lead singer, Matthew Bellamy. The Tornados had a massive hit in 1962 with The Greatest Instrumental Ever Recorded. That tune being the mighty TELSTAR. And may I casually suggest, the younger Bellamy does sound just a itsy-bitsy bit like one Russell Mael.
July 11, 2007 at 12:28 am · Filed under Now Seriously
Herald Sun: Chopper squad to notorious bike route
Melbourne’s notorious Hell Ride cycle route will come under increased scrutiny by a Victoria Police “eye in the sky”. From Saturday, a police helicopter will monitor the unofficial ride, which attracts hundreds of cyclists who race up to 40km through the city’s bayside suburbs, from Black Rock to Mount Eliza, at speeds of up to 60 km/h.
The additional Air Wing patrol follows an incident last August when one Hell Ride cyclist hit a pedestrian trying to cross at pedestrian lights on Beach Road, Mentone.
The tragedy that befell to James Gould was appalling, totally avoidable and should never never happen again. But utilising the Police Air Wing to keep control of a bunch of cyclists? Suppose what is really required; education, awareness and accountability is far too left of field to consider? No, it’s far too logical to seriously consider, lets instead take a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Oh FFS we’ve witnessed similar heavy handed and inappropriate tactics before, haven’t we?
MIM: Critical Mass: 150 Police to Ensure City Link Profits (24/11/04)
Police have erected cyclone fencing close to the tunnel to ensure that riders will be unable to enter and ‘disrupt’ traffic. Previously the police have tolerated critical mass rides through the tunnel, which according to The Age “in June last year reportedly cost Transurban $40,000 in lost revenue”. On this occasion the police have decided to mount a massive operation (potentially of greater cost) to ensure no frivolity or fun interrupts the Friday grind of traffic.
More importantly, police are threatening cyclists with potential 5 year jail terms for riding on what should be a public road in the interests of protecting Transurban’s profits. And whilst the Herald Sun would like to write the participants off as having a “pathological hatred of cars,” the point remains that riding on a public road is fine but as soon as you potentially threaten the profits of a large corporation your activity becomes unacceptable.
And then there was …
MIM: Critical Mass, scum journalism and the Victoria Police (26/2/05)
Herald Sun journalist, Andrew Bolt, and 3AW talk back radio host Neil Mitchell, and Melbourne police superintendant, Mick Williams, had done a wonderful job pushing for a ride on CityLink, except they failed to turn up with maps to hand out for their route.
Instead we saw several squad cars, the police horse squad, half a dozen highway patrol motorcycles, several constables on foot, the police helicopter, and even members of the special force squad (riot squad) in plain clothes all outside the State Library to meet and greet the cyclists on the organised coincidence of critical mass. The media were present as well, although I doubt any had the gumption to send a reporter on the whole ride.
Massive VicPOL operations and ensuing media hyperbole to control … wait for it … CYCLISTS.
People who ride BICYCLES. It’s hardly a social issue comparable to a vicious, random drive-by shooting or a senseless, callous hit and run incident, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the daily TAC Road toll update or the ongoing depression epidemic in Australian society.
Not the Hells Angels, not machete-welding St Albans gangs, not the selfish cockheads who hoon daily on the Western Ring Road Carpark, not some Monaro driving twat busting reds in the SE ‘burbs.
PEOPLE WHO RIDE BICYCLES.
I am quite capable of a intelligent, rational deconstruction of this reaction to the Hell Ride, of the previous reactions to Critical Mass. But I can’t be arsed, I’m beyond sick of this carping, knee-jerk rubbish.
Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with some people in Melbourne?
July 6, 2007 at 12:37 pm · Filed under Now Seriously
This is Matthew Cole. A friend of Maddys bought this picture along on a card they had made to remember him to the first Melbourne Ride of Silence in 2005.
In todays Age there are two pictures accompanying the story about Maddys death in a hit-run incident, of Bronwyn Dowton, his life partner and the man who’s actions took Maddy from her in January 2005.
“There is scarcely a moment that I am not without pain and grief as a result of this tragedy,” she said. “I know that I will feel this pain for the rest of my life.” Judge Stuart Campbell remanded Plumpton, 30, of Pascoe Vale South, in custody.
Due to be sentenced at a later date, Plumpton still enjoyed some freedom, said Ms Dowton. “Maddy is in a grave,” she said. “We don’t get to have the life we planned. To grow old together.”
It’s all getting too much with the tour, so refer to the righthand image for a pearler of an idea to make those troublesome feed zones slightly less risky. Pink bike baskets. A winner, huh? Bonus: the tifosi will absolutely love the surplus hello kittys getting piffed off onto the roadsides.
This is Matthew Cole. A friend of Maddys bought this picture along on a card they had made to remember him to the first 
