waking the dead series 9 promo, bitches!

thanks to the lovely midknight productions i am now in possession of the only waking the dead series 9 footage on the internet. this will be the final series of the show(along with spooks), as the "wise" people of the bbc have decided to cut costs in favour of ANOTHER season of doctor who. but, there is still (probably) 8 episodes left. so sit back, watch boyd beat-up some potential criminals and try to work out why exactly every season there is a new young female detective.... they expire so quickly. hmmmm.

Waking The Dead Showcase 2011 from Damian Knight on Vimeo.

australia, who do you think you are?

over the past few weeks i have given a lot of thought to tomorrows national holiday. australia day, synonymous with bbqs, beers, fake/real flag tattoos and the wife beater. sad really, i have no real inclination for celebration. why? i mean, it's our nations day of celebrating uuuummmm yeah we commemorate the...., well that is to say, there is triple j's hottest 100 and yeah.... ok so i had no idea what the day was meant to be about and i assume not many others do either so i researched. the day is in an effort to pay tribute to the arrival of the first fleet in sydney cove in 1788, when the british hoisted the union jack and claimed the land under their sovereignty. wooooohhh!

this act is the reason why various aboriginal people declared the day, 'invasion day'. seems fair enough really but, my problem isn't with history so much as it is with the present. the day is seen as nothing more than a bank holiday in the sun and an excuse to get completely trashed and bitch about angus and julia stone's song 'jet plane' reaching the number 1 position of the hottest 100 (yest that's my ominous prediction btw). not that there is anything wrong with such past times, especially the last, but it does indicate how this country is missing something. a sense of national identity.

another criticism of the indifference that occurs on australia day is the fact that it falls during the school holidays. some teachers believe that due to this children are not as engaged as they are with other national holidays, like anzac day, and have no real concept of the importance of such an event. this lack of engagement in my mind has cemented the one dimensional hedonistic self image of australians. we like sport, having a laugh with a drink our hand and chilling on the beach. surely, there is more to us than that?

be it a result of our countrys short history, or our connection to britain and the united states, we haven't been given a chance to really branch out on our own. no civil wars or wars of independence, we haven't had the opportunity to grow as a nation by ourselves. not that wars are good things, but they do see change and a rallying of people behind a cause. we are still a member of the commonwealth because we seemingly can't be bothered or want to become independent knowing if we do, we can't win gold medals in sport at the commonwealth games. sad really.

getting back to my original gripe. australian tattoos have become a bogan trait. either through un-originality or a lack of understanding many aussies will proudly show off their 'patriotic' ink whilst subtly trying to say they have gone through pain for their noble homeland. now THAT pisses me off! mostly because i'm quite convinced that they have no idea what it means to be an australian. i know this, because i'm not even sure what it means anymore. but, having 'australia' or the apparently 'un-british' part of the flag (the southern cross) tattooed with abandon across your ass is about as offensive to me as burning the flag right in front of my eyes.

ok alright so, maybe it isn't all that bad, but it no longer posses the ideals it once encompassed. a symbol of perceived patriotism and egalitarianism was hijacked by racist thugs and well, the brand seems to have been irreparably damaged. blogger henry stones described the average southern cross tattoo holder in a smh article as possessing many traits, including: "you call rum and cokes 'rumbos' and you drink a minimum of two cartons a month"; "you have started a conversation regarding matty johns' innocence" and "you have a rat's tail".

perhaps a bit harsh, still it is concerning. this is how we show we care for our country? widespread apathy i fear will be the theme for tomorrow and whilst being wholly depressing is also scares the bejesus out of me. what's going to happen when the day comes we have to stand up for what we as a nation believe in, and can't think of a single thing worth fighting for?

back and begging for stuff.

so i'm back. feel bad for my extended hiatus, but it was essential. my last month has been hectic. full of assignments, exams, physie highs and lows with some work mixed in for good financial measure. all except the latter are over now for another year and i can't wait for 2011 to begin. EXCEPT for chistmas. it's pretty wrong that my first post back is grubbing for presents but as my sister is scared of shopping for my gifts i now present you with my updated list of summer/christmas must haves.... well things i must have.

i'm known now for my love of internet shopping and it really is a simple reason. i like stuff no one has or, maybe even didn't think they wanted until they saw it. 'hipster' is a disgusting word, but i really am one. combined with a huge dollop of geek for good measure. which is where i will begin.

battlestar galactic was and will always be my favourite show of all time. when it ended my sadness was cushioned by its sister show caprica. a few years ago bsg released 2000 limited edition cylon toasters. they sold out and to get one now you will be looking at a price tag upwards of $500. so, instead of maxing out mums credit card, you can now get cylon toast from a caprica toaster here. on sale for a measly $65.   

MODEKUNGEN are an amazing swedish brand. although, their site is entirely in their native tongue it is reasonably easy to navigate. this is their handvaska med nitar undertill bag.... no idea how to say that but has me going, oooh pretty. the brand suits my post-punk loving self but is still classic enough to be rocked with a cardie. will set you back 899 SEK or $132. another reason to shop online, our dollar rocks!

i'm a bit confused as to why i want these israeli desert boots. maybe i think they will make me look like ziva off ncis. meh for $70 it's well worth the consumer indulgence. palladium boots have some other rather less conventional shoes going on here and they are all very well priced considering how well made they are.




it just isn't summer without new swimmers and sunnies. this year black milk will supply the former and ray-ban the latter. the red galaxy one piece really does sell itself. just look at its amazing weirdness, and will set you back $85. quite reasonable, no? the black milk brand really is amazing, it's site is a print lovers dream. check out their other swimmers and leggings: R2D2, Astronauts and Skeletons.

ray-ban's have been on my christmas list for years and years, and i haven't really ever bothered to ask for a pair because they were simply too expensive. well the american dollar sucks and they aren't as out of your reach as you may think. a pair of wayfarer 2's will cost you $145, have a look at their many many colour options for two tone magnificence.


'think geek' really is nerd heaven. as someone who habitually loses book marks and even the book itself, this find could not have come at a better time. the book rest lamp is everything i have ever dreamt of and more. well, not really but it is very cool looking and more importantly nifty. combine this with a pac-man alarm clock, going to sleep and waking up will never be the same again.


now, please excuse my indie indulgence but i just must have these shirts, to turn into singlets.... well for mum to turn into singlets. kurt cobain and count duckula. bit of a questionable combo but still, these both make me squee with love in two very different ways. firstly, the daniel johnson shirt worn famously by kurt cobain is the personification of my disenfranchised teenage years. ooh the angst. and count duckula, well it's count duckula! possibly the best children's show EVER!

onto dvds and books. stocking stuffer essentials. let's pretend for a second that i have room in my apartment for anymore box sets and/or novels. hypothetically, it's not surprising that i need every season of waking the dead, peep show and jam and jerusalem. the english really do comedy and serial killers better than any other nation in the world. ebay is always worth a look for box sets, even after you consider postage, you can save a considerable amount of $$$. penguin classics are always a cheap and cheerful addition to any christmas morning. 'wind and the willows', 'madame bovary', 'journey to the centre of the earth', 'middlemarch', 'mrs. dalloway' and 'decline and fall' by evelyn waugh have been on my ebay watch list for the past month or so.

lastly, as i sit watching the first day of the ashes i'm reminded of the fact i have never EVER been to see live international cricket. for something that played such a big part of my childhood summers. so i'd love tickets to go watch the english FINALLY get what is coming to them. ticketek have some very good deals for families and even a concession price for us poor university students. a silver ticket as the SCG will cost you $90 for an adult (and $77 with concession).

well that's it. hope these sites give you some ideas for presents (not just for me, though keep me in mind) that might be a bit out of the box but fit someone you know and love.

click the linkage!

the arias are generally seen as a time when normal freethinking people with decent taste in music put aside 3 hours to mercilessly mock australia's most 'talented' douche bags. this year may be different however, if all goes to plan and my stormtroopers click on the shinny links, i will give you in a second, the best television of all time could come to fruition.

the lovely caitlin and declan are vying for the opportunity to grill our nations best and brightest musical leeches on the red carpet or the aria music awards. such questions may include:

cait gp

Q. you're on the red carpet and are trying to get the attention of the veronicas. how do you attract their attention and stand out from the crowd?
A. yell "i love you work".... they haven't heard that one in a while

OR

d wow

Q. keith urban has arrived on the red carpet. what is your first blog about him?

A. move over russel crowe and the 'ordinary fear of god'. it's new zealand's new favourite super musician.

it's what we have always wanted. so, make it a reality and vote for you new favourite journalists. declan here and caitlin here. if nothing else but to see their pretty faces on the telly. 

banned from wikipedia!

i have been banned from editing pages on wikipedia for some kind of slander infringement. seems fair, i probably deserved it. BUT the fact of it is, i have absolutely no idea what i did. i went back through my blog posts and facebook status' looking for what exactly i was doing that day that might have pushed me too far and caused me to lash out on wiki. NOTHING!

One piece short of a puzzle?

so now i have been forced to take out my abject rage on the encyclopaedia website. i'm not silly though, won't be getting my ip address banned again.... lets just say, that people at the university of wollongong probably won't be able to edit pages for about a month. i do have to admit, i did find out i had been banned when i intended to go on a page and call someone a slut. but, i didn't get the chance. i mean i did today, still not the point. i would like to call some idiot keyboardist verve-frontman-loving person whatever names i like, from the comfort of my own home.

the biggest problem is, i can't even find out what i initially did to get banned. my conduct is not up for negotiation. it's like living under a fascist regime, except online and it doesn't really matter. i have found a way around the issue and begun my 10 step plan to destroy wikipedia. at the very least, i may mildly irritate them. still, not sure where to start. pick a sweet spot and poke it with a hard stick seems apt. any suggestions? anyone you really dislike or maybe someone you do like that you wish for me to make up a whimsical lie about?

suggestions please! i need my archduke-franz-ferdinand-first-strike to really kick off the annoying.

mellowing in my old age....kind of. ok maybe not.

a few weekends ago i attended a lovely wedding. the best kind, with a bride and groom that you actually like and can stomach how much in love they are, without day-dreaming about taking a firearm to the crowded reception. not that i'm bitter. well, that's not entirely true. i am, but i wasn't that day. furthermore, i think the experience of actively enjoying a wedding, sans feeling the need to get completely trollied on free wine, has softened my view on god.

ok so let me explain. religious weddings usually make my very cynical atheist side come out. that day, i tried really hard not to mock or giggle. right, so i giggled a little bit.... still, in my active repression (of which i have years of catholic church-going practice) i found myself listening. i'm not saying i believe in god now. i haven't seen the light and i still think strong belief in god is a bit mad BUT maybe, just maybe, denying the existence of god is as moronic as believing in one.

as a result of this, i did what i have always done. go a reading. so i read-up a bit. philosophy is generally fun for me, saves me having to think up my own ideas, and i found a very interesting guy called robert g. ingersoll. an american political leader, don't worry he wasn't very 'good' at that, and orator during the 19th century. he gave a speech in 1896 entitled, 'why i am an agnostic'. it spoke to me, answered some questions i hadn't known to ask.

ingersoll wrote, "is there a supernatural power-an arbitrary mind-an enthroned god-a supreme will that sways the tides and currents of the world-to which all causes bow? i do not deny. i do not know-but i do not believe. i believe that the natural is supreme-that from the infinite chain no link can be lost or broken-that there us no supernatural power that can answer prayer- no power that worship can persuade or change-now power that cares for man.

i believe that with infinite arms nature embraces the all-that there is no inference-no chance-that behind every event are the necessary and countless causes, and that beyond every event will be and must be necessary and countless effects.

is there a god? i do not know. is man immortal? i do not know. one thing i do know, and that is, that neither hope, nor fear, belief, nor denial, change the fact. it is as it is, and it will be as it must be."

i like this on many levels but, to name just two. nature, science, evolution and humanity in my mind are all linked. to stop looking to the heavens for answers and instead look at each other i think is, not only powerful but, also sensible and practical if you want actual answers about life, the universe and everything. secondly, his ideas of prayer as essentially scripted hoping. this desire for certain things to happen if we hope/pray really really hard will make some blind bit of difference. good people that do good things for the right reason, is in my mind, far better use of their time on earth than spending hours and hours of their life in a draughty old church (where god lives) and recite barely remembered scripture like it was a song from childhood.

so this is me softened. hmmm maybe not in hind sight, but still i was genuinely happy for the bride and groom even if i do think they were brought together by a random series of events over thousands and thousands of years and not god. because if so, where is my knight in shinning armour? ok maybe a lot bitter.

congrats guys! hope you like the egg rings.

the commonwealth games, the olympics retarded half sister!

if you are a member of a post-english empire country you may know that the commonwealth games are on. its all very unexciting. not a sports fan myself, spent the nrl grand final asleep. still, there is one thing i have noticed that quite often occurs at events like this, and that is the shitness of most national anthems. australia's really is rubbish, but i am comforted by the fact that new zealands is worse.

although, there is one that is quite clearly worse and to add insult to injury they are pretty good at sports now. 'god save our gracious queen'? oh please, does she really need that much saving? she does live in a big house behind barb-wire fences with guys with guns standing in front of that. now, that is one fucking saved queen! why does she need 'her people' to stand on platforms and sing to her good health? maybe she should be put in peril, send her off to afghanistan in her pyjamas. THEN maybe then the british would have something to sing about.

so this isn't my joke, can't remember where i saw it. but, it stuck with me and today made me angry all over again. do not even get me started on the pointlessness of flags....