Apologies for the ungrammatical title.
It is merely derived from the most common 'greeting' offered by the impoverished shopkeepers of Goa, where I am holidaying at the moment, trying to finish a novel.
India is a beautiful country with a population problem. There are nice people everywhere here, but there are just too many damn people.
Imagine the most crowded place in the world...then add more people. That's India.
About 3 to 5 percent of the people here are making money hand over fist; they are buying holiday homes and new cars and decent clothing.
The rest are eeking a dirt-poor existence. I don't see it changing. The die is CASTE. It's a shame, but what can you do?
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Skyline Has Lessons For Us All
Today I watched a two-and-half star science-fiction/alien flick called - mundanely enough -Skyline. For such a plain title, there was plenty 'o action to be had, as well as an education.
I won't spoil the plot, nor will I critique the film, suffice to say that the movie has several salient lessons for human kind:
1. If you are going to escape aliens, you need a Porsche.
A couple of characters in this movie tried to flee Los Angeles in a Ferrari, and they got stomped. It just goes to show that even extra-terrestrials prefer the German product.
2. Nuclear weapons are good.
We should never, ever, ever ban nukes. In fact, we should build more of them. If killer aliens ever arrive, bullets just aren't going to slow them down, are they? Get real.
3. Sci-fi movie directors use a lot of blue filters and blue lights and blue things.
Because they can.
4. Love is good.
It is humanity's one saving grace. (No, I'm not being cynical. That last one is heartfelt.)
Alias: Frank Satyr
I won't spoil the plot, nor will I critique the film, suffice to say that the movie has several salient lessons for human kind:
1. If you are going to escape aliens, you need a Porsche.
A couple of characters in this movie tried to flee Los Angeles in a Ferrari, and they got stomped. It just goes to show that even extra-terrestrials prefer the German product.
2. Nuclear weapons are good.
We should never, ever, ever ban nukes. In fact, we should build more of them. If killer aliens ever arrive, bullets just aren't going to slow them down, are they? Get real.
3. Sci-fi movie directors use a lot of blue filters and blue lights and blue things.
Because they can.
4. Love is good.
It is humanity's one saving grace. (No, I'm not being cynical. That last one is heartfelt.)
Alias: Frank Satyr
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I Pod, therefore...
I stopped in at Dick Smith Electronics this morning to have a look at their stock of iPods. I know that I'm falling behind the curve in this department. I just haven't had the (perceived) need for one of these things, until now.
The reason behind the turning of this semi-Luddite? Travel.
Anthony Bourdain reckons that you shouldn't leave home without one. The wise and witty travelling chef says that an iPod will save you from unwanted noises in unpredictable ways and give you a soundtrack for your journey. I defer to Bourdain's knowledge because he seems to have travelled more extensively and seriously than anyone else I've seen or read about lately.
As for the 'Pods, I was mildly amused by the new basic Shuffle, which looks a bit like a squared twenty-cent piece with teeny buttons on it visible only to those possessing a Sherlock Holmes-standard magnifying glass. Plus they want $69 Aussie for it - piss off! If I paid more for that minuscule widget than a large bottle of sunscreen, I couldn't live with myself.
Looks as if it will be a Classic with a video screen for me, when I can bring myself to exchange GOOD currency for a faddy-but-useful talisman in Chinese-labour plastic.
The last piece (bite?) of Apple I stumped for was in 1997. (Cute notebook computer.) I never thought I'd buy an Apple again, because they demanded their own little tech universe and compatibility was perceived as an issue.
I was wrong.
Alias: Frank Satyr
The reason behind the turning of this semi-Luddite? Travel.
Anthony Bourdain reckons that you shouldn't leave home without one. The wise and witty travelling chef says that an iPod will save you from unwanted noises in unpredictable ways and give you a soundtrack for your journey. I defer to Bourdain's knowledge because he seems to have travelled more extensively and seriously than anyone else I've seen or read about lately.
As for the 'Pods, I was mildly amused by the new basic Shuffle, which looks a bit like a squared twenty-cent piece with teeny buttons on it visible only to those possessing a Sherlock Holmes-standard magnifying glass. Plus they want $69 Aussie for it - piss off! If I paid more for that minuscule widget than a large bottle of sunscreen, I couldn't live with myself.
Looks as if it will be a Classic with a video screen for me, when I can bring myself to exchange GOOD currency for a faddy-but-useful talisman in Chinese-labour plastic.
The last piece (bite?) of Apple I stumped for was in 1997. (Cute notebook computer.) I never thought I'd buy an Apple again, because they demanded their own little tech universe and compatibility was perceived as an issue.
I was wrong.
Alias: Frank Satyr
Friday, October 29, 2010
A Taxing Time
Well, well. I have just finished my tax return.
In this outpost of the globalised world that we know as OZTRAILYA, the deadline for tax returns is Oct. 31.
Today is Oct.30. Slight procrastination on my part.
Fortunately, the Australian Tax Office lets you submit your assessment online, so it was not so difficult to meet my obligations as a citizen. Furthermore, the government will (hopefully) be sending me a check for nearly five grand.
Maybe I should have done this little chore months ago...
Alias: Frank Satyr
In this outpost of the globalised world that we know as OZTRAILYA, the deadline for tax returns is Oct. 31.
Today is Oct.30. Slight procrastination on my part.
Fortunately, the Australian Tax Office lets you submit your assessment online, so it was not so difficult to meet my obligations as a citizen. Furthermore, the government will (hopefully) be sending me a check for nearly five grand.
Maybe I should have done this little chore months ago...
Alias: Frank Satyr
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Powderfinger Thinks Big
One of the best rock bands of all time, Powderfinger, is currently on a farewell tour. I won't devote too many words to just how much they rock; that is self-evident.
What's really impressed me, though, is their advertising. The 'Finger have had their name painted in a lovely, flowing font all over the side of a Jetstar Airbus, in letters ten feet high. Pretty snappy. Attention-grabbing. Modest.
Of course, Powderfinger are more than solvent, but they don't own the plane. It looks like it, though. Very rock and roll.
Perhaps we all should think a bit bigger, in line with that wise and well-worn aphorism about not playing small in the universe, the exact text of which I've forgotten.
So, get your name on a plane. Start with your uncle's Cessna and work your way up. It is the surest sign in this world that you've made it.
Alias: Frank Satyr
What's really impressed me, though, is their advertising. The 'Finger have had their name painted in a lovely, flowing font all over the side of a Jetstar Airbus, in letters ten feet high. Pretty snappy. Attention-grabbing. Modest.
Of course, Powderfinger are more than solvent, but they don't own the plane. It looks like it, though. Very rock and roll.
Perhaps we all should think a bit bigger, in line with that wise and well-worn aphorism about not playing small in the universe, the exact text of which I've forgotten.
So, get your name on a plane. Start with your uncle's Cessna and work your way up. It is the surest sign in this world that you've made it.
Alias: Frank Satyr
The Satyr Has Trouble Walking on Tiles
Welcome to this little outpost of OZTRAILYA, which will one day be gobbled into some sort of globalised Asian hybrid. Nevertheless, in the intervening moons, this Satyr will blow a few notes on his pan flute.
I boldy predict that by 2050, Australia will be Australia in name only. It's fate; I'm learning Chinese. I'm going with the flow.
Meanwhile, there are dollars to be earned, holes to be dug, dollars to be lost, lives to be lived, laughs to be had, other countries to visit and oil to enjoy while it's still in the sub-200s.
So, spin the turbines and punch those keyboards. The International Date Line has a thing for me.
Oh, and I really do want a Porsche. Cayman. Failing that, a bicycle capable of 260 km/h.
Alias: Frank Satyr.
I boldy predict that by 2050, Australia will be Australia in name only. It's fate; I'm learning Chinese. I'm going with the flow.
Meanwhile, there are dollars to be earned, holes to be dug, dollars to be lost, lives to be lived, laughs to be had, other countries to visit and oil to enjoy while it's still in the sub-200s.
So, spin the turbines and punch those keyboards. The International Date Line has a thing for me.
Oh, and I really do want a Porsche. Cayman. Failing that, a bicycle capable of 260 km/h.
Alias: Frank Satyr.
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