Is it the Tasmanian Government or is it Gunns Ltd? Is Kevin Rudd’s backdown on Labor’s forest policy really going to save jobs? Go and read Out of Control by Richard Flanagan in The Monthly, hosted on the Tasmanian Times site.
Archive for July, 2007
Jul
25
2007
Le Tour – why bother?
Double stage winner in this year’s Tour de France, Alexandre Vinokourov has tested positive for blood doping. At the same time there is a cloud over tour leader Michael Rasmussen for having missed tests prior to the tour.
The Vinokourov betrayal has been a blow to many people. He has betrayed the other riders, paricularly Evans and Kirchen who came second in his two stage wins, and all of the clean riders who suffer from the knock to the already damaged reputation of the tour. His team Astana has withdrawn from the tour and have been the subject of police investigation. They were already the subject of controversy last year but at this stage there are no accusations against the other Astana riders, so it is fair to say that they have been let down hugely by Vinokourov. They miss the chance to finish the race, and in particular it is a betrayal of Andreas Kloden, who has tested negative, and who damaged his own chances at a top position by dropping back to assist Vinokourov, even though Kloden was well ahead in the overall classification. I also remember another Astana rider (I thin it was Ivanov) on the big climb in Vinokourov’s second stage win who dropped back from the breakaway and gave everything to get Vinokourov up there, before struggling, exhausted, just to make it to the end. Furthermore the Astana team represents Kazakhstan so Vinokourov has betrayed his country.
Finally, it is a massive betrayal of the tour fans who watched what appeared to be a courageous comeback by Vinokourov after his accident. I have watched every stage of the tour from the beginning, and now with a few days to go I am almost ready to switch off. What is the point when every time you see a good performance you suspect cheating? Of course, given all the past controversy I’m not so naive as to have not considered the possibility of doping. To commit to watching this event you need to put aside doubts and watch with a (admittedly unreasonable) assumption that the riders are clean and that the testing regime will ensure that. When a big rider is caught out it weakens your suspension of disbelief, and there has to be a point where you just give it up. This time I’m going to hang in there this just to see Cadel Evans through to the finish. I’ll be watching the outcome of this latest scandal closely to decide whether I’ll watch the tour next time though.
More from Phil at Le Tour de Lounge.
UPDATE : Team Rabobank have withdrawn Rasmussen from the tour (and fired him from the team) for lying about his whereabouts when he missed a doping test. On top of that the whole Cofidis team has withdrawn after their rider Moreni tested positive. While the whole saga is terribly disappointing, at least it shows that they are prepared to turn the whole event on its head to rid the sport of drug cheats. Hopefully the mess that this year’s tour has become will give the event a future.
Jul
24
2007
[gigs]
JULY
- 26th – Spindickle at the Worlds End
- 27th – Spindickle at Sarah’s Cafe
- 28th – Satan’s Cheerleaders at FAD (on at midnight)
AUGUST
- 4th – The Shins at Thebarton Theatre.
- 6th – The Cure at the Entertainment Centre.
- 9th – Mountains in the Sky are playing with Gotye at the Gov.
- 9th – Pretty Boy Crossover at the Jade Monkey.
- 9th – Batrider, Birth Glow at the Prince Albert.
- 10th – No Through Road, Batrider, All Made of Rubies and Shooting at Unarmed Men at Urtext.
- 17th – Zulya and the Children of the Underground, The Trinity Sessions at the Church of the Trinity, Clarence Park. Adelaide cd launch.
- 21st – Bob Dylan at the Entertainment Centre.
- 25th – Little Ice Age EP Launch at the Wheatsheaf.
- 26th – Sea Thieves and the Yearlings at the Wheatsheaf. Early start (~4pm)
SEPTEMBER
- 8th – Paul Kelly at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
- 18th – Hoodoo Gurus, Radio Birdman and The Stems at the Gov.
- 23rd – Parklife Festival at Botanic Park featuring Adam Freeland (England), Ajax, Busy P (France), DJ Craze (USA), Derrick Carter (USA), Digitalism (Germany), DJ Delicious, Freq Nasty (NZ), Goose, Greenskeepers, Justice (France), K.I.M, Lyrics Born (USA), M.I.A., MSTRKRFT (Canada), Muscles, Riot in Belgium, Scratch Perverts, Shapeshifter (New Zealand), Stereo MCs (UK), The Herd, The Sounds, Yacht, Yelle
OCTOBER
- 10th – Leafcutter John perhaps? Hasn’t been confirmed yet.
- 19th – Grinderman at Thebarton Theatre.
- 10th – Bill Callahan at the Jade Monkey.
Other gig news- Battles are touring in September but Syd/Melb only.
On the Stereo
- Burial – s/t 2LP (Hyperdub)
- Various – Box of Dub 3LP (Soul Jazz)
- Various – Studio One Women 2LP (Soul Jazz)
- Various – New Thing! 3LP (Soul Jazz)
- El-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead cd (Def Jux)
- Dinosaur Jr – s/t cd (Shiny)
- Meat Puppets – II cd (Rykodisc)
- No Through Road – Too Much or Not Enough cd (Unstable Ape)
- Darren Hanlon – Hello Stranger cd (Candle)
- Darren Hanlon – Little Chills cd (Candle)
Jul
22
2007
It Could Happen to You
There is a timely reminder in the Age that the sort of treatment dished out to Dr Haneef is not just for non-citizens, go and read it here.
Via Public Opinion.
Jul
20
2007
Buttercup Metal Polish Tonight
Interesting gig tonight – here’s the info
This friday at downtown gallery (opp. grace emily hotel) on waymouth st. we’ll be presenting Buttercup Metal Polish from Switzerland. one half of the all-percussion duo Nicolas Field played adelaide last year in the noise duo The Same Girl, with Gilles Aubry on laptop. the duo was one of the best things we’ve seen for a long time, and Buttercup is set to go off. the reference points fo these guys are tricky to pin down. while there’s a free jazz/free improv thing going on, Field and Alexandre Babel, with just two un-mic’d drumkits, let fly with some impassioned playing that sounds alien at times, and is certainly unique even in the weirdest of free-music registers. check them out on myspace for a taste. truly captivating and unrelenting sounds. we guarantee yr jaws’ll drop at these guys. anybody who’s seen The Necks and Tony Buck in particular will get very excited by Field and Babel.
since Buttercup Metal Polish is gonna be drummy we thought we’d put some drummy locals on as supports.
Skeletons – post-punk quintet, young and exuberant, at times quite funky, elements of skronk and noise.
InterZone eXpress – dan and pat’s heavy psych/drone exchange with ryan manolakis on drums. mano has played with a bunch of bands and we reckon he’s one of the best drummers going.
mutual loathing – guitar and drums duo debut. two cranky buggers.
so once again:
Buttercup Metal Polish (SUI)
InterZone eXpress trio
Skeletons
mutual loathing
DJ simos playing totally out music
Downtown Gallery Waymouth St. City (opp. Grace Emily)
Friday July 20
Doors 8pm
$10
Jul
17
2007
Dr Haneef
I was going to write something about the Dr Haneef case, but Ken at Road to Surfdom has said everything I want to say plus more in an excellent post. Please go and read it.
More here.
Jul
11
2007
Festival of Ideas: Recommended Listening
Radio Adelaide have started broadcasting recordings of sessions from the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, and many are now available for download, all of the details are here.
I would like to make some recommendations based on session I attended, or have downloaded and listened to. I will update this as I listen to more of them, though I don’t expect to get through all of them, so don’t read anything into the absence of a session from my list. All broadcasts are on 101.5 FM in Adelaide. Also, all sessions are available on cd from Radio Adelaide. All downloads are in mp3 format.
Updated 12/7
- High and Dry: John Howard, Climate Change and the Selling of Australia’s future with Guy Pearse. A compelling account of the Howard government’s failure on the issue of climate change from a Liberal party insider. To be broadcast on Wednesday July 18 at 12 noon, or download it (17.0MB).
- Drought Proofing Australia: Heroic Fantasies and Sobering Realities with Peter Cullen. An account of Australia’s water situation from a top expert who is also an excellent speaker who tells it straight. Download it (15.9MB).
- The Joy MacLennan Oration – Beyond the Long Age of Forgetting with Simon Longstaff. I managed to completely overlook this one on the weekend so I’m glad it was available for download. Longstaff very eloquently pinpoints the substitution of institutional tradition for ethical thinking as a key problem in our society. Download it (16.6MB).
- Trading places with John Connell, John Buchanan, Tim Harcourt, Colleen Ryan. This one didn’t leap out at me, in fact I wasn’t entirely clear on what it would be about, but it turned out to be probably my favourite group session which I attended. The reason is that I felt that the speakers all has something different to contribute, but it all fit in well with the overall topic, which was essentially the future of trade. Download it (29.3MB).
- What to Eat: Personal Responsibility vs Social Responsibility with Marion Nestle. An excellent speaker on a topic which effects us all on a daily basis, giving the insight that comes with being at the forefront of the fight for good nutrition in the USA (listen for how she “hurt sugar’s feelings”). Very entertaining and informative. Download it. (15.8MB)
- Lifting the lid on whistle-blowing with Julian Morrow, Guy Pearse, Norman Swan, Marian Wilkinson, Paul Chadwick (PC). This one was full and I couldn’t get in but now I’ve had a chance to listen to it. A fascinating, and important topic with an impressive and diverse group of speakers … I probably should have realised that it would be popular. Download it. (31.8MB)
- Mumbo-Jumbo, Snake Oil and Other Delusions with Francis Wheen. I plan to soon write a post about some of the ideas in this one, which is an amusing summary of the main ideas of the speakers latest book about the resurgence of superstition at the expense of critical thinking. Download it. (16.6MB)
- Survival of the Fittest, Survival of the Richest or Survival of the Thinnest with Norman Swan. The ABC’s medical expert gives an interesting perspective on the factors affecting life expectancy. This has already been broadcast, so if you want to hear it you have to download it. (16.6MB)
- Troubling times: Dissent and democracy in Australia with Sarah Maddison. Details the approach of the Howard government to dealing with dissent and the implications for democracy. Recommended for anyone who’s views have been dismissed as those of a “Howard Hater”. To be broadcast on Sunday August 26 at 12 noon. Download it. (14.9MB)
Jul
08
2007
Some Ideas for the Festival of Ideas
In a session yesterday Tim Harcourt commented on how great it is that Adelaide people can simultaneously be big fans of sport, and big fans of ideas & the arts. I’ve been putting this to the test personally by seeing how well I can take in ideas at today’s sessions after staying up until 3am watching rugby and cycling, and whether having taken in these ideas I’ll still have the energy left to support some local artists (the Sea Thieves & The Silvermine Tapes) playing a gig at the Prince Albert (oops, that was the Grace Emily) later … oh,yes, and watching stage 1 of Le Tour afterwards.
I have taken my leave from the festival a little early, having absorbed just about all the ideas I can take for now, but perhaps foolishly, rather than getting some sleep before the evenings activities I’ve retired to Le Rayon Vert’s on site office to write a bit about the festival while it’s fresh in my mind. I’m not going to write about the content of the sessions at this point, maybe I will later, but for now you can check out the three “official” blogs – Blogocracy, Public Opinion and Pavlov’s Cat – for some thoughts on specific sessions (and sometimes I’ve had something to say in comments). Each one already has multiple posts on the festival and no doubt there will be more when they’re not too busy attending the festival to write about it. Also, Radio Adelaide are broadcasting all of the talks and are making them available for download. Details aren’t up yet at the time of writing, but when they are I may make some specific recommendations based on the sessions I attended. This is a wonderful service that they are providing, and if you make use of it then you should consider a subscription to help them out.
For now I have some ideas about the festival itself. I should preface all of this by making it clear that these are just minor gripes, and I consider the festival a great success. (more…)
I have also...