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Friday, June 28, 2013

Kotki Dwa - The Wolf


 
 
Check out this song by UK band Kotki Dwa.

Weird name. Amazing beat drop.

Listen here

Journalist proceeds with stock standard leadership aspiration questions after failing to realise Rudd has been made PM

Well, things have moved very fast this week in politics. Sometimes as a journalist, it can be hard to keep up with the Labor Party. Australian journalist Brian Dunstan had managed to secure an interview with Kevin Rudd the morning after the leadership coup. It appears poor old Brian might have gone to bed early the night before and missed the whole leadership tilt. Here's the amazing transcript from Brian's interview with the newly elected PM the morning after.
 
Brian Dunstan: Mr Rudd, thank you for joining us on 2AHfm breakfast.

Rudd: Prime Minister Rudd, yes.

Brian Dunstan: Prime Minster Rudd?… ha, yeah. Mr Rudd, there have been rumours all this week that you’re going to run against Julia Gillard. Can you confirm here and now for us that Julia Gillard will lead Labor to the next election?

Rudd: Well… um. No, I don’t think that's going to happen now.

Brian Dunstan: Well, will you– … No?! Ha! You probably shouldn’t be telling me that Kevin!  Ok. Well, I’ll ask you this. Will you challenge the Prime Minister for leadership of the labor party before the election?

Rudd: Ah… yes. Brian, not sure if you heard what happened last night.

Brian Dunstan: What?

Rudd: Yeah, I sort of got made PM already.

Brian Dunstan: When?

Rudd: Last night. It was kind of a big deal. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it.

Brian Dunstan: Right… well, to be honest with you, that sort of fingerbangs this interview for me.

Rudd: ... I’m sorry about that.

Brian Dunstan: I had a bunch of questions written down here, which were essentially five different ways of asking you if you were going to challenge Julia Gillard? I was going to machine gun them at you, like a hard hitting journalist. It would have made me look really good! The senior  management guys here at 2AH would have loved it. But you’ve sort of buggered that now, haven’t you Kevin?

Rudd: It appears so. I'm sorry.

Brian Dunstan:  Yeah... well...  Look, maybe we should just go through the questions quickly anyway and then call it a day?

Rudd: Sure.

Brian Dunstan: Ok. Kevin let me ask you directly, do you want your old job back?
 
Rudd: Um-
 
Brian Dunstan: -I’ll just put ‘Yes’ to that one. Ok… Second question. Are there any circumstances under which you will return to the leadership of the Labor party?
 
Rudd: …Yes.
 
Brian Dunstan: Yep. 'Yes' for that one too. Are you destabilising Julia Gillard's Government by leaking information to the press?
 
Rudd: Well- 
 
Brian Dunstan: Let's say 'yes'… Although you failed to give me a heads up on this one, didn’t you Kev?!
 
Rudd: ...
 
Brian Dunstan: Ok, finally, do you still harbour any ill-feelings towards Julia Gillard for the way in which she deposed you as Prime Minister in 2010?
 
Rudd: None at all Brian. Julia Gillard is an exceptional-

Brian Dunstan: -yeah, don't. Just, don't do that... Alright that's it. Kevin Rudd thanks for your time…
 
Rudd: It's been a pleasure.
 
(Off air) Brian Dunstan: Well...  that went well.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Howard Sattler a Hero for Hairdressers Everywhere



There’s been a positive twist to comments made by Howard Sattler last week inferring that Prime Minister’s husband is gay because he is hairdresser, with hairdressers all over the country finally getting the courage to question their own sexuality. James Pender reports.

David Weeks has been cutting hair for thirty years. Up until he listened to Howard Sattler’s interview with the PM, he was happily married to his wife of 15 years, Jennifer. Together, they have two small children, Tom and Lucy. David describes how listening to Sattler’s interview changed his life.

"Howard really opened my eyes to how gay I am. I remember the exact moment Howard said, ‘He’s a hairdresser, he must be gay’ and I thought… you know what? Never was a bloody truer word spoken. Cutting someone’s hair, sweeping it up and putting it in the bin and then charging the person for that service is incredibly gay. In fact, there's nothing gayer. I’m just ashamed it’s taken me so long to realise."

David is just one of many Australians who this week has heeded Howard Sattler’s call to action. Sydney hairdresser Simon Denstal broke up with his boyfriend when he discovered that he was moonlighting as a builder.

"I always suspected he wasn’t really a hairdresser. He used to come home at night covered in dirt. Or you know, I’d find work gloves in the back of his car. So I finally confronted him. I said, ‘are you even a hairdresser or not?’ And he broke down. He said he loved me but that he just really enjoyed building."

And what did you do?

"WWHD. What would Howard do! I broke up with him on the spot."

While Sattler’s comments have been liberating for some, it hasn’t been good news for everyone. Melbourne man Brian Dunston’s love of hairdressing led him to break up with his wife of twenty-two years.
 
"When I heard Howard’s interview with the PM, I was in the salon at the time. As soon as the interview finished, I knew there was only one thing for it. I called up the missus, and told her, you know, that I was a hairdresser, and she said, ‘yeah I know that,’ and I said, ‘no, love, I mean... I’m a hairdresser. I like to cut hair and have sex with men.’"

And what did she say?

"She said, ‘No, that’s flawless logic. Thanks for letting me know.’ And she hung up."

And how did that make you feel?

"Sad obviously, because I love her a lot."

Brian says while he’s relieved to no longer be living a lie, being a hairdresser is not always easy.

"Yeah, sometimes I wish I wasn’t a hairdresser. I wish I could be, you know, maybe an accountant or something, just for the sake of the kids. But deep down, I know I’m a hairdresser. And Howard has really helped me to realise that dressing hair comes with certain responsibilities."

And what are they?

"Well, be gay."

Inspiring stuff. This is James Pender reporting for Jamison Inc

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Seeing your musical destination

I've decided that I like music that breaks into a bit of background conversation noise. This is a good example - from about 3:45 onwards.

Without getting too over-analytical (What? You james?! Over-analytical) it's like the musician puts himself in the destination of his music. ie - where will people be when they hear this? What will they be doing? How will they be feeling? And in so doing, the musician brings the destination of his/her music into the studio. It can make the music sounds so much more alive. What can I call it? Synthetic live listening? Musical time travel? Emotional projection?

Anyways. Check it.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Lucky Country



This week, the leader of our nation had to sit through media interviews about her 'small breasts', 'huge thighs' and 'red box'. She then had to answer repeated questioning about her 'gay hairdressing husband'. Meanwhile, the Defence Force discovered that its officers were demeaning women... Again.

A few weeks back, Adam Goodes had to explain to Australians why being called 'an ape' was hurtful. Eddie McGuire needed it explained twice. Some people still didn't see what the fuss was about.

Meanwhile, Beale, Warner and Gallen set the example for our next generation of young men by punching their way to sporting success.

And tonight on The Project, Steve Price said that we needed to stop talking about these side issues and get back to the issues people care about: border security and asylum seekers.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, Australia was found by the OECD to be the happiest nation on Earth.

Somehow, I don't feel like celebrating.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Paper Kites take a walk

Lub this song. Lub this video. A simple one shot. A horizontal lanscape. A vertical man. Paper Kites. Get behind me.