Journoz ‘n’ tha Hood

It’s 1.46 am.  I’m posting this straight out of Word (thanks to Blogger’s new plugin for Microsoft Word) while working on my Broadcast Journalism radio package.  Yes, Helen Ester again.  I’ll podcast when it’s finished and polished as a 45 second package, as opposed to the current 15mins.  Must go and keep at it.  I still have to convert that interview to a print story by noon tomorrow as well…  

Kate’s also doing an all-nighter here, but she has a full day of prac tomorrow, followed by work from 5pm to 5.30am (not allowed to sleep until 10pm).  She’s allowed some power naps tonight.  I am not – and so –

to Hood Street, and BEYOND!

Helen Ester Interview

As described in the earlier post, this interview is with Helen Ester, and tenuously related to her paper submitted to the Democratic Audit of Australia at the Australian National University (ANU).

Limelight

I would have two podcasts up but ourmedia.org is playing silly buggers. One is of myself and Dan working the mic in the radio booth while others waited desperately to record their interviews. Harsh, I know.

The second is of my interview with Helen Ester of Central Queensland University on a short paper she submitted to the Democratic Audit of Australia.

But I can’t upload them right now, so will update when available.

Swim

It’s 4.15am.

The deckchairs have been rearranged but the Titanic is still going down. Meaning my desk has been cleaned off and reorganised, yet the sparkling promise known as my educational aspirations are no closer to being plucked from the cold, murky depths.

It’s time to swim.

Happiness – just say ‘Yes’

I wrote an extensive comment, so thought it worth posting here as well. I visited Margo Kingston’s Webdiary for the first time today and read the piece linked there titled Worldwide happiness – say yes, pass it on. My main objection was the statement that

We can create paradise on Earth.

And so what follows is the comment I left there…

Objection 2(a) - "Worldwide happiness is impossible now..."

"We can create paradise on Earth."

Call me a cynic - "Cynic!" - but WE most definitely can not create paradise on Earth.

Humans tend to selfishness. Yes, ask people what kind of world they want to live in and they'll say, "A happy one, bien sur!" Or, as I would suspect more likely, "One where 'I' am happy, of course!"

So if the consequence of yourself being happy was someone else being unhappy, would you take your happiness over theirs? I suspect so because, after all, you're aiming for happiness and it has to start somewhere!

I was reminded of a quote in reference to New Orleans that went something like this (my paraphrasing): "It takes a very long time, as well as a lot of organisation, planning and constant control to keep a society civilised, but only a few days for all that hard work to come crumbling down."

Why? Because all of us will ultimately be looking out for our own happiness first and foremost, particularly when we don't have the relative comforts and security enjoyed by the western world. Those comforts and security could in this age be more accurately attributed to anyone not impoverished, war-stricken or otherwise forsaken by those of us chasing happiness, whether western, eastern, northern or southern.

And so, Objection 2(a) states "Worldwide happiness is impossible now...". This objection is entirely accurate, the key word being 'worldwide'. Individual happiness is freely available for those prepared to take it, but worldwide happiness can not occur NOW. Which leads to Objection 2(b), "...or forever". This objection most definitely deserves refutation. Worldwide happiness is by no means impossible forever - but with this caveat - it will never succeed as a creation of humanity, because of human selfishness.

That all said, I didn't read your first article or the comments, or your replies to those comments, so apologies for coming in late. This is my first visit to Webdiary.

The author, Martin Gifford, had already written an earlier piece titled Let’s Create Worldwide Happiness, to which he has received 143 comments so far. Alright, it’s 6.30, and that means it’s time for the real news. See you later, and good luck to Tango in his SBS Cadetship application!

Drivecast

Quick link to this podcast on my way out. Recording a podcast while driving could be dangerous. (2:34, 1.2mb)

Punk kids!

I’m trying a few different podcast icons I made, so bear with me. You can click on either of these to access the same podcast (2:52, 1.4mb). Contents:

• My last day as a community coach (at one location), and
• why kids can maybe wait.

I’m getting married!!!

There’s Something About Kate

Sorry about the post title, it’s a poor attempt. This post, I have one picture, and one podcast. The podcast is 13 minutes (3mb) and generally consists of a stream of consciousness as I drove to university this morning. Is that what it’s called? Anyway, simply click on the podcast icon to hear it in your browser, or right-click and ‘Save as’ to download to your computer before listening.

Contents of podcast:

• Proposal (not a recording of it, just a bit about it),
• info about Kate and myself,
• a lot of unnecessary details in between.

Update: podcast link now fixed.

Hey, did you hear?

I’m getting married!!!

Celebrities are stupid

I went to Australia Zoo a while ago and took a lot of pictures. These are just a few, of some of the celebrities I saw there.

Of course the most important celebrity was the man himself, Steve Irwin, founder of Australia Zoo and the all-too-well-known “Crikey!”. This is why Kate calls it Crikey Land. Steve Irwin is stupid. He was almost eaten by a large crocodile that literally threw him into the air. Dance monkey boy!

Some of you may remember this man from such classics as Independence Day, CopyCat, and a forgotten jazz career. No, I lie, he was actually in Australia doing a concert tour. Yes, it’s Harry Connick Jr, and his daughter I assume, with the 9ft white python draped around her. Harry Connick Jr is stupid. He did a good job of ignoring me taking photos of him taking photos of stuff.

However, when it all comes down to the rub, celebrity impersonators are very much considered not stupid. Stand back ladies, this one’s engaged. This guy is not stupid.

Competition

This post is for Dan. The craziness that goes down in Introduction to Broadcast Journalism, here for you.

Nagin Interview and Transcript

I’ve thought about this several times, and had before this interview, but it just reminded me again. Reflecting on all these things – there are all these promises of so many thousands of National Guardsmen, ‘x’ amount from the Army, a ‘shoot to kill’ policy on looters, moving tens of thousands of people via bus from the Convention Centre or Superdome, telethons and concerts to raise money…

I keep thinking one thing, where are the food and water drops? People could maybe put up with the heat a bit longer, not be so desperate simply to survive, wait a while to be moved… if they had some food or water.

The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, let loose in this radio interview. He’s pissed off at everyone who’s promising action or assistance but isn’t delivering, and he says so in no uncertain terms. If the site goes down for exceeding bandwidth before you get a chance to hear it, first check here, otherwise I can host it so you can listen to it.

This is the Interview Transcript.

This is the mp3 file of the interview (3.3mb – 14min)

CNN also has a story now, I think on this same interview.

When asked what Nagin had said when he had a chance to speak to George Bush:

I basically told him we had an incredible, uh, crisis here and that his flying over in air force one does not do it justice and I have been all around this city and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we’re outmanned in just about every respect. You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people thousands of people that were stuck in attics man, old ladies, when you pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and there standing in there in water up to their freakin neck and they don’t have a clue what’s going on down here. they flew down here one time, two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras AP reporters, all kind of goddamned, excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.

[...]

Don’t tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They’re not here. It’s too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let’s fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.

Update: Okay, I’m not sure now if it was a radio or tv interview. The CNN link has a video you can watch (but I can’t on the mac).

Trouble for Bush

Salon.com | “No one can say they didn’t see it coming”

This article isn’t going to do any favours for Bush. The article drifts substantially about halfway through, but starts off with a stinging indictment of Bush’s complicity in the destruction of New Orleans.

I know, first thoughts are, “That’s taking conspiracy theories just a bit too far don’t you think?” Here’s the key line:

A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken.

Not only that, but apparently

Every two miles of wetland between the Crescent City and the Gulf reduces a surge by half a foot.

The article claims a policy to protect wetlands from developers was overturned in 2003. Subsequent assessments by the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corp of Engineers, that found that activity to be endangering New Orleans, were ridiculed by administration.

It’s all in the article, if you can just read that stuff and not let the rabid anti-Bush writing later on taint your view of what the article is about…

Quick

A brief podcast to tide you over.

Allister asked,

So this was completely out of the blue, what happened dude? You gotta fill us in. How’d you propose to her?

Filling you in on those details will have to happen later.

Podcast020905.mp3 – 1.5mb

The Ring

My dodgy-as camera wouldn’t focus, so here are the best two of the 20 or so pictures I tried to take. I took these photos before I asked Kate to marry me. Perhaps if I try again with the ring on her finger the camera will play nice ;-) [giddy laughter]

I’m getting married!!!

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