Staring At Blurry Dots Reveal Origins of Universe
No, you can't do this at home. Staring at any old ordinary blurry dots won't tell you anything about the Universe. However, scientists have been working on Ultra Deep Field images from Hubble and now have some idea of how the first act ended:

Astronomers billed their findings, released Thursday, as a possible glimpse of the "end of the opening act" of galaxy formation. The light from the young galaxies left them when the universe was just 5 percent of its present age, which is now approximately 13.7 billion years.

After the Big Bang, theorists say, the universe was hotter than the Sun. There were no stars, but rather a searing soup of hydrogen nuclei, and electrons that raced around on their own. As space expanded, the universe cooled, allowing the hydrogen nuclei to capture electrons, making what is called neutral hydrogen.

The universe was opaque, blocking the release of light like morning fog.

It's nice to know that the blur tells us it was a cosmic fog. I like that.
It's reassuring that perhaps the Universe was conceived in the mindof a stoned, drunk, hippy-like God. Or not at all.

- Art Neuro

Review: 'The Kids Are Alright'
There are documentaries, there are rockumentaries and there are mockumentaries; beyond that lies 'The Kids Are Alright'. Why this film now? First of all, you have to understand that DVDs have added another layer of merchandising to be exploited by any musical group, and then it becomes inevitable that this rock dinosaurean artifact should come out of the glaciers of film history and see the light of day as a double-disc showstopper. Why am I reviewing it now? Well, I was stupid enough to buy it; kicked myself for my craven materialism, sentimentality, nostalgia and slavish catalogue-chasing; only to be pleasantly surprised by what I saw. You could say it took me by surprise, so I am here to pass on that surprise.

So What's it About? - The Background
First, as with all things to do with The Who, is the history. Sometime in the 1970s, a documentarist by the name of Jeff Stein approached The Who to do a rock-documentary on them. They said yes, and gave him carte blanche access to anything and everything that was shot on film and TV. After four years of sorting through a mountain of mixed formats and reels, Stein emerged from the cutting room with the film that defines the bench mark of rockumentaries. The film premiered in 1979, shortly after the death of drummer Keith Moon. In fact, Keith Moon had seen the film, just before he died of an overdose, but also, the film features the very last time the Who played live with Keith Moon, in a raucous rendition of 'Won't Get Fooled Again'.
There are Beatle fans, there are Rolling Stones fans, Hendrix fans and Clapton fans, Pink Floyd fans and Led Zeppelin fans; each of them have their weird way of expressing their admiration for their musical heroes. The Who fans alone are warped in that they want The Who to themselves and yet they want the whole damn world to know that The Who are the greatest. This is a point made by Director Jeff Stein in the commentary track. I've never understood the origin of this impulse, but I admit I have it too. Don't ask me why. It's just a Who-thing. Stones fans are always trying to sell you the Stones as the greatest Rock'n'Roll band ever, passing this misinformation around like some tired joint at a party. The Who fans know a priori and empirically that the Stone fans are totally, hopelessly, irrevocably wrong. I mean, if the Stones were so good, how come it took them until the 1990's to release their Rock and Roll Circus movie? Wasn't it because it took them until 1996 to get over the fact that maybe,The Who really were a much more exciting, explosive rock act? - That's the kind of smug , superior partisan thinking The Who inspire in their fans.

What I Remember of the Film
I saw the film in 1982, shortly after the Valhalla cinema in Glebe was refurbished and opened for business as a revival cinema. (The first film I saw in the then refurbished Valhalla that year was Hammett; I saw it with the manager of the Alsorans and Mr. Conservative Weasel, but that is another story). It was a regular fixture at the Valhalla, as part of a double billing with Quadrophenia. There was a 'mod-revival' going on in Sydney at the time and so every time they played the Kids/Quadro double, scores of lambrettas with Union Jacks and mirrors would line up outside 'the Val' and these guys with Ray Bans on at night would fill the cinema. As the opening section rolled these retro-mods would yell out to the projection room "TURN UP THE VOLUME!!" It was that kind of movie experience.

The film I remember was jagged, edgy, proto-punk, energetic. I did see this film about 5 times at the Valhalla. Twice with a girl who just hated it. Once with another who loved it, thrice on my ownsome because nobody wanted to go to the Valhalla during a weeknight. It was one of those films that defined and concretised a corner of my existence. It was an important testament to rock music. It made me into Dewey Finn. Of course, after This is Spinal Tap, it became hard to watch Rock Stars on the screen talking instead of just performing. The rise of music-video-clips seemed to make concert footage seem really boring and tame.

After I found myself at Film School, I never returned to watch the film. I did get asked once in a class about documentary what I thought the best documentary was and I insisted this film was it; and got resoundingly laughed at by the other more 'knowing' folks. I have to confess it's been a very long time since I've sat down to watch this movie and a lot of my life has passed between the gates since the last time, so to speak.

Smashing guitars and drums featured heavily in my memory. I do recall the appeal was the very wanton destruction of good equipment. Keep in mind, Keith Moon's infamous 'Pictures of Lily' kit was a custom made Ludwig kit. Pete Townshend was smashing Gibsons, Fenders, Rickenbackers with equal nonchallance. Roger Daltrey would swing his microphone and strike unlikely poses. John Entwistle would just let his fingers do the talking. Really, there's not much to see so much as experience.

What's Great About It - Long Live Rock, I Need It Every Night
The DVD is all great. I don't think I've seen this film with this much clarity. Apart from the clarity, what comes across is the historic document aspect of the film. Much more than I imagined, the film has stood the test of time. In fact it is an even better testament to the power that was rock music in the 1960's and 1970's.

Playing music is a passion in all sense of the word. It's a burden, it's a pain, it's agony, it's also great. In this film, you see the passion that you never see anywhere else. It's great playing in a Rock'n'Roll band that just plain kicks butt. There is nothing like it, and if it was ever captured on a film comprehensively, this film is it. Passion, motivation, appetite, sacrifice, creation, destruction, archetypical surrender to the muse are all part of the discourse in the film and so it should be. There is nothing more boring than a rock musician trying to explain this; however, to see it bend these people out of shape (and they are not well people to start off with) makes this a truly historic document of a time and place.

It's all in this film: Pete Townshend wriggling his butt, jumping around, kicking air, swinging his arm, squeezing out feedback and searching for spiritual ecstasy only to be found in the music. Keith Moon flails about like no other drummer but he is visceral joy incarnate; he is a function of his appetite, and he has a large appetite for music. Roger Daltrey was never a natural showman, but as front man, he strikes some poses, that look like shamanic rituals, trying to channel the power of the universe into the song. John Entwistle just plays blindingly well, his posture inert, his expression an occasional smirk or a raised eye-brow. Then, Pete and Keith smash their equipment. It makes sense.

There was a time when Rock Music was it. It was transcendent; it was all encompassing; it contained the potential for all future music; it was alive and with us all. Particularly poignant is the set-closer 'Won't Get Fooled Again' that is played with reckless abandon - the last time the Who played with Keith Moon. Moon sports a headphone, gaffer-taped to his head in order to play in time to a backing tape of the ARP Synthesiser part. So you have the most undisciplined drummer the world has probably ever seen, playing in time to a machine - Enslaved, chained and bound. And yet, he finds something in the rigidness of the set-up that liberates true, joyous, music. You see it in his facial contortions and histrionics, you see it in the twirled sticks, the 15-tom rolls, the smashed cymbals, the clowning around, you see him pour something out that makes machine music into something organic and whole. The last gasp of the rock musician.

Then Keith died. Shit went down. People grew out of it. Rock music passed into history, and today people listen to machines generating all the sounds and think it is music. Think about that. There are kids who have listened to nothing but machines making music and think it's great. The film then, is a Rosetta stone for future rock archaeologists to understand what exactly the brouhaha was all about.

What's Bad About It - I Got Fooled Again
I've never had a problem with this film. When I think about it, it's one of the few films I would unflinchingly give 10/10. Even the DVD package is great. I know I'm getting ripped by the record company one more time for my sentimentality, allegiance and whatnot, but it's still great. It's a bit like being mugged and saying, "I didn't mind the bit where the mugger searched around my groin, that bit felt good" but what can I say? It's the nature of the capitalist beast. It nurtured rock, it killed rock.

Art + Politics = A Kick In The Nuts
I just want to bring up something tangential to all this, which is the footage they could not find of Woodstock. The Who were playing. In between songs, activist Abbie Hoffman got up to make a speech about the leader of the White Panthers getting busted for possession of two joints. Pete Townshend whacked Abbie Hoffman in the back of the head with his guitar, then kicked him off the stage into the pit several metres below. It's a historic moment for the 'counter culture'. In the film, Townshend justifies this moment on account of his state of mind on stage. He hated Woodstock, he hated the crowd, he hated the counter-culture, he hated all of it. In 1987, he re-canted and said that if it happened in 1987, he would stop the music and let Hoffman have his say. He even went on to say that he wanted to re-write the lyrics for 'Won't Get Fooled Again' because it was the dumbest song he ever wrote. This was all in the Rolling Stone 20th anniversary issue.

I remember reading it and thinking, "Pete' you're f*cking wrong." Abbie Hoffman's cheesy little politics did not survive that time and place. The White Panthers (who the hell were these people anyway?) didn't survive. The performance of The Who survives today as an important monument to the times far more than Hoffman's politics. Pete, you were right to kick Hoffman off the stage. In an arena for artistic expression, Art should always have precedence over mere, despicable Politics.
Thankfully Townshend never re-wrote the words to 'WGFA' either. There's something eternally profound about "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". If nothing else, it tells you why Peter Garrett is a far inferior artist and human being for even wanting to run for Parliament. Garrett wants to be the new boss. Oh heavens, spare us.

- Art Neuro

Addendum: I know I made a crack about the Stones in this but I have to report that Roger Daltrey denies the notion that the Stones were cagey about the The Who's performance; the Stones were cagey because of Brian Jones' state on that fateful day of filming.

The other interesting thing to come out of the Roger interview was how KeithMoon reacted to the screening of the film, 3 weeks before his demise. Roger describes it as being shocking for Keith who on the screen goes from an 18 year old lean, good looking kid to a rotund, unsavoury middle aged man. He says it must have been like falling off the cliff and seeing his life flash before his eyes (Which, in the end, it was). Keith, according to Roger came out quite shaken by the experience, and Roger says he recalls telling Keith that he shouldn't worry about it because Keith was the star of the film, and that he would help Keith get back into shape. Sort of an odd anecdote about the days leading up to Keith's death. Roger says "It almost shocked him back into sobriety". Yet, I got the strange feeling that perhaps seeing the film pushed Keith to more extremes rather than sobering him up, resulting in his overdose.

'Key Psycho' Update
As of today, the project has finished all photography. We did our scheduled second unit shots this morning from the crack of dawn and I can say with great confidence, she's now "all in the can". Picture post should finish shortly. Sound post should commence after that, but who knows what the world will bring tomorrow.

There were no space-related news this morning.

El Duque Finally Takes A Loss
What did we think this was? Fiction?
El Duque sort of slipped and let the Toronto Blue Jays grab a lead as the Yankees went down fighting, 5-4. Well, now his record stands at 8-1 and that's still nothing to sneeze at.

- Art Neuro

It's Fart-Gas Jim, But Not As We Know It
The ESA reports that methane in the Martian atmosphere and water vapor overlap. This in of itself doesn't mean much except that methane breaks down under UV light, so if there's methane now, there must be a fresh source for and ergo, there must be some kind of organic reaction going on, which suggests life.

New in-depth analysis of PFS data also confirms that methane is not uniform in the atmosphere, but concentrated in some areas. The PFS team observed that the areas of highest concentration of methane overlap with the areas where water
vapor and underground water ice are also concentrated. This spatial correlation between water vapor and methane seems to point to a common underground source.

Initial speculation has taken the underground ice layer into account. This could be explained by the 'ice table' concept, in which geothermal heat from below the surface makes water and other material move towards the surface. It would then freeze before getting there, due to the very low surface temperature (many tens of degrees Celsius below zero). Further investigations are needed to fully understand the correlation between the ice table and the presence and distribution of water vapour and methane in the atmosphere.

So, it's not life, it's not fart gas, it's just something that might be rising from the depths of the planet. But there are eternal optimists it might be life.

- Art Neuro

But Is it Safe?
There used to be a 'grip' who worked for the Australian Film Television & Radio School by the name of Tony Bosch. he was a truly charming, wonderful man with a down-to-earth blokiness that just totally pissed off the femo-nazis in the sad place. For those who don't know what a grip does, he/she delivers the complex mechanical structures that support the camera moves. Quite often, they will be the ones doing the most lifting and the most dangerous stuff on a film set apart from pyrotechnics and stunts.

Tony said, the most insulting thing for a professional grip to hear from a novice director or producer was the phrase, "But is it Safe?"
"Well of course it's safe. It's my job to make it safe!" he would thunder over the beers we would have at the end of the day in the sound department. Eventually, when the fridge in the sound department was shut down, he had it moved to the staging department so the tradition of end-of-working-day-beer-drinking could continue.
In that spirit, people are asking Zero Gravity about their Zero-G joy-ride, "But is it safe?"

Zero Gravity looked at several possible aircraft, including the Boeing 707, 727, 737, and 757, as well as the DC-9. They settled on the Boeing 727-200, which is used extensively as a cargo carrier. One reason for choosing this aircraft is its similarity in size to the KC-135, but with a large cargo door that allows for easy alteration of the interior. Other advantages were the availability of replacement parts and the fact that the plane's design allowed for a smooth parabola.

The Boeing 727 is certified to withstand between +2.5g and -1g. A parabolic flight aboard G-Force One goes from +1.8g to 0g, well within the tolerances of the Boeing 727.Still, the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) had to approve Amerijet International to operate such flights for the general public. That process, which included evaluations of subsystems and about 1,000 parabolas in test flights, took nearly two years.

“I think the main concern was with the aircraft frame,” said Paul Takemoto, an FAA spokesperson.

To determine the stresses that parabolic flight might impart on the frame, strain gauges were implanted in G-Force One's outer shell. This helped engineers construct an elaborate computer model to simulate the wear and tear multiple parabolic flights could induce. After viewing all the relevant data and documents, the FAA determined that no structural modifications to the 727 were necessary.

The thing is, they don't have Tony Bosch working for them, so I guess I'm a little worried after all.

- Art Neuro

Importance of Sex
Let's not kid ourselves. A Man has sused his wife for being denied sex for 5 days.

The middle-aged man from Seville -- the city of Don Juan and Carmen -- said her refusals amounted to "degrading treatment" and domestic abuse, a term used more often to describe wife-battering.

The judge shelved the case; clearly, he is the weak.

Importance of Beating the Sox
After Mariano Rivera blew that save 2 days ago, the Yankees have put together 2 blow out wins, 14-4 ands 11-1 against the Boston Red Sox, once agian showing why the Red Sox are the weak.
In the first game, Derek Lowe imploded and gave away the contest in the first inning and the Yankees never looked back. In the second game, a showdown of the Aces, Pedro Martinez oflded against the Yankees while Mike Mussina humbled the vaunted Red Sox offense. The Sox might be good at racking up excelent stats, but they certainly look to be weak in the head when the pressure is on.

The Yankees on the other hand extended their lead back out to 4.5 games. The New York Times has this article and this article on the two games. George Steinbrenner is yet to issue a statement but he had this to say:

"Our kids really fought," George Steinbrenner, the principal owner, said. "No, we didn't gain control of anything, but we played well. And we're fighters. We never give up, and that's the main thing with me."

And so the Universe rights itself.

- Art Neuro

Space Shuttle Schedule
The recent Hurricane Ivan sent schedules back at Kennedy Space Center, but the truth of the matter is, they are having problems solving the problem areas inherent in the Space Shuttle plan.

Task group officials said the biggest challenges ahead for NASA pertain to modifications to the space shuttle's external tank. NASA engineers have modified the tank to prevent the shedding of insulating foam during launch, but a complete analyses of the new tank will most likely not be completed until February 2005, Stafford said.

NASA is currently targeting March 2005 for its first return-to-flight mission STS-114 with the Discovery shuttle.

"The long pole in the tent right now is the tank," Stafford said. "The validation of these items on the tank are the major [challenges]."

Stafford and Covey did say that NASA officials are gaining ground in work to develop repair capabilities for astronauts should they discover damage to their spacecraft's heat resistant tiles of reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) panels in orbit. Foam damage to the RCC panels on Columbia's left wing during launch is believed to have led to its destruction upon reentry.

"What they will have is a very limited ability to repair RCC," Covey said of NASA's return to flight missions.

Uh, yeah, but we knew that they couldn't repair the RCC in orbit before we ever sent up the first one into orbit. In fact they don't even have the means to reduce the risk of the RCC getting damaged. In short, they've been throwing dice that it doesn't get damaged for all the launches they've made (and one time, they rolled a bad number and it blew up on reentry). This is nothing new, as it pertains to the structural problem of the shuttle project. Aiyah.

- Art Neuro

Bonds HIts HR no. 700
Yes, it's true, the man of the big bat in the Black and Orange uniform has spanked homerun number 700 and has now set himself up to go after Babe Ruth and then Hank Aaron. People said it was unlikely, but Bonds just keeps re-writing the record books. We live in amazing times if there was nothing but baseball smoke.

El Duque Update
El Duque is one lucky man. He started a game against the Red Sox and gave up a solo homerun in three innnings. he struck out 5 and walked 2. Then, it started to rain and so he was pulled after the rain delay, as is customary. The relievers took over and dragged the game into the ninth with a lead, and handing it over to Mariano Rivera who amazingly, blew the lead.
So El Duque is still without a loss this season.

- Art Neuro

September Is Trailer Promo for Jeter Time
October baseball's around the corner soon. The Red Sox are 4 games behind the Yankees, and are about to hit Yankee stadium for a 3 game series. The hottest hitter on the Yankees right now is team captain Derek Jeter. That's right. After starting the season in that awful, awful slump, he is hitting 25-for-60 (.417) in September which includes 8 doubles, 4 homers, 15RBIs, 21 runs, 8 walks.

Jeter said most of the games this month have been "close" to the intensity of postseason games, which is when he has proven to be at his best. He likes the stakes being high. "We're trying to win a division, so all these games are important," Jeter said.

Jeter has an 11-game hitting streak, has scored at least one run in 11 straight games and has a career-high 40 doubles. His average is up to .288, a far cry from .189 on May 25.He topped it off yesterday with the monstrous home run. He had trouble remembering any homers that traveled farther than that, though he said he hit a shot into the upper deck in rightfield at Yankee Stadium against Esteban Loaiza in 1999. "There haven't been many," Jeter said.

The Yankees believe there haven't been many players like Jeter.

Well, I don't think they exist in abundance in any sport either. Even the New York Times had to write this little piece:

Jeter was answering questions about the Yankees' weekend series with the
Boston Red Sox in the Bronx, not the finale of a sleepy series at Kauffman Stadium. But Jeter used the game as practice for his Mr. October routine. He is getting an early start on his heroics.

As the Calendar rolls around to October, the man steps it up a notch. We're used to this by now, aren't we? Of course all this is coming all too late to save my team in the Jack Kerouac Memorial League, but hey, I take the production as all good.

- Art Neuro

Meet Mr. Joe Hockey, MP, Minister for Small Businesses and Tourism
Mr. Martin Bedford of Bedford and Pearce Management organised an informal lobbying get together with the local member for North Sydney and the North Shore film making fraternity. For some accident of timing and meetings, I was invited by Martin and so was able to listen in and contribute to the din tonight.

The quick and short version of it was that Mr. Hockey was fronting up because there are over 300 small businesses of the Film Industry operating in his electorate, and maybe he ought to get to know their concerns. Mr. Hockey for his part was congenial and tried to explain the concerns the Coalition had with the arts industry in general. It was a lot more productive than I thought.
Mr. Hockey's position could be summarised as follows:
1) The film industry ought to be an industry.
2) To that end, the projects that get developed should be more commercial.
3) There's no point throwing more money at it sporadically, there needs to be structural change. - so he asked "Tell me where it should change."
4) Script development has been identified as a crucial area. So the government is trying to change funding to help develop more scripts.

Well, we had a few things we thought could change. In fact, in classic artneuro fashion, I got up and quizzed him about a few things and got some dialogue going. I pointed out how the FFC had essentially let the industry down. I asked how much money the Federal Government spent on the FFC. He said $150 million per year. I then rhetorically asked him if they ever turned a profit - In fact, how does the government feel about this colossal loss-making operation, year after year? Mr. Hockey responded it's really tough to justify to the electorate that their tax money is being spent this way. He wanted to know why. I pointed out that the bureaucracy was stifling. Others pointed out that there were whole loops of people who were fattening their backpockets while they sat in the FFC offices. The Red Tape; the stupid selection criteria; the miserable forms that never seem to end; the pigeon-holing; the inertness; the commercial insensitivity. The room came alive with those concerns.

There were some industry people present who argued the government spent too much money on sport and not enough on the arts, but Mr. Hockey pointed out that the sports funding budget was $120 million compared to the FFC. In fact, the entire combined arts industries got over $600 million per year; plus the money spent on the ABC and SBS. So obviously it's not as if the Federal Government was short on intent or will to support the cultural industries. It was a point many in the room found hard to take, but I could see the reasoning there. Give credit where it's due; the Federal Government of both the Coalition and Labor varieties have spent tonnes of money on the arts. What was there to show for the expenditure when the head of SPAA says the industry is stuffed. Mr. Hockey wanted to know how did that money get spent?

Mr. Hockey further pointed out that people in the Liberal Party feel very leery about the cultural industries because compared to other business sectors, the cultural industries alone choose to never acknowledge the efforts the Coalition Government make. And so over the years the Liberal Party has become even more distrustful of the cultural industries than when they started this run of terms of government. What did seem to make an impression on Mr. Hockey was the fact that the industry people present wanted to have an industry that was viable as an industry, as opposed to a sheltered workshop sucking out government money. "We don't want more funding; we want it organised so we can raise money to make the films we want to make." was the take-home message for the minister.

Yes. That brings us to the ATO... The other big issue that came up was indeed the Tax Department and their inconsistent rulings on 10BA tax concessions which have all but scared off investors. To Mr. Hockey's credit, he did say he wanted to come back and meet us again, next time with the Tax Department boss in tow to face our concerns in person. He said it stuck in his craw to hear of all the stories where people had lined up investments only to see them evaporate as the tax department made wanton rulings. He even said, who ever we wanted to talk to, he would try and bring them into this discussion.

After the general rhubarb session, I had a chance to discuss a few things with the minister, and I found him to be very receptive to the ideas being presented. Okay, so he's a politician; he might even not be a cabinet minister after the next federal election. However it seemed that he had decided to take on board the cause of the Film Industry because so many film companies operated in his electorate; and that's a nice, encouraging thing to see. The feeling was that we would all meet again and air our grievances and concerns and what-not, and he wanted to be part of an on-going process of starting a dialogue with the cultural industries on behalf of the Liberal Party.

I figure I'm going to continue attending these things if I can. LOL, if nothing else, being on first name basis with a Federal MP can't be too bad. - So suddenly yours truly is part of a lobbying group for the Film Industry, and a very vocal member at that. And you thought I was just some rank outsider crazy/crank when I was writing about why the Australian Film Industry was 'stuffed'. :)

- Art Neuro

George Lucas' Marketing Empire Strikes Back
The DVD of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy is getting released. The term 'original' is rather confusing because George Lucas is releasing the altered versions we saw for the 20th anniversary in the late '90s. With the new fangled special effects surreptitiously inserted all over the place. The truly original originals are now consigned to the dustbin of history as a kind of early draft. Many people object to the 'rewriting' of the Star Wars experience. My landlord for one entirely despises some of the editorial changes and supports the 'South Park' crew's horror at the alterations. Personally, I am rather more sympathetic to the film-maker's plight that motivated George Lucas to do what he did. A very telling comment is found in this article where he is interviewed:

AP: Why not release both the originals and special editions on DVD?

Lucas: The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on
VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be. I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.

Yeah, I understand that part of it all too well. I'd like to throw rocks at George Lucas for his sad-ass efforts at directing that still net him gazillions; even though 'Star Wars' was one of my earliest movie loves, I can't bring myself to forgive the guy for what his films have done to cinema. In fact, this is the problem I have with Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg: How come if they're so great, I only like their old shite? To quote a great phrase from Regurgitator, "I like your old stuff, better than your new stuff". Why is that?

I used to put it down to how I grew up and it wasn't so great in retrospect, but I tell ya 'Jaws' is still a kick-butt film, as is 'Raiders...' in a way that 'Minority report' is not; 'Star Wars' and 'Empire...' are still miles more exciting than 'the Phantom Menace' or 'Attack of the Clones'. I don't think it's me; it's them! All their pathetic attempts to grow up has revealed that they never had grown up themselves, and here we are sitting and waiting for the moment cinema re-appears as an artistic expression rather than a hostage to marketing departments. So let me be the first to throw rocks, George, for if nothing else but for cinema itself, you do deserve it from all of us. Aim for the head guys.

- Art Neuro

Can't Help Myself
Just to illustrate how NASA and the MIC are complicit, they have transferred the X-37 project to the Pentagon. Which I guess means we won't be seeing private enterprises working with scramject crafts in the near future. Instead you're more likelly to hear about it on the conspiracy-nut webpages about a new military craft in the next Gulf War or something.

Braukus said Scaled Composites would be involved in the X-37 approach and landing demonstrations next year, but could not say whether the Mojave-based company would be using the White Knight or some other aircraft. The B-52 aircraft that NASA normally uses for such drop tests would not be used, a decision made by the agency now in charge of the X-37 program, he said. "The cost analysis favored Scaled Composites," Braukus said.

Scaled Composites spokeswoman Kay LeFebvre would not confirm the company's involvement in the planned dropped tests and referred questions about the White Knight's role in the X-37 program to American Mojave Aerospace Ventures. That company, a Paul Allen and Burt Rutan partnership that owns SpaceShipOne and its carrier aircraft, recently announced that it would make its first official try for the
$10 million Ansari X-Prize Sept. 29.

So at least Scaled Composites are still involved, but it strikes one that this is just not right that scramjet technology should fade behind the curtain of military secrets.

We Can Get Together
The Germans are building an Icehouse down in Antarctica based on the ESA's space tech.

ESA's original designs for a SpaceHouse-based Neumayer III called for a tough outer shell of extremely lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), used in spacecraft solar arrays and antennas, as opposed to the traditional steel or aluminum.

Despite its spindly-leg appearance, the structure is designed to withstand earthquakes up to 7.5 on the Richter scale as well as howling wind gusts of 136 miles (220 kilometers) an hour. The size of a SpaceHouse can be scaleable, anywhere from 39 feet (12 meters) to 131 feet (40 meters) in diameter and up to five floors.

"The old, buried station was just a simple structure in terms of construction, a steel tube with no windows," said Gampe. "You may wonder what people would see outside in the Antarctic but, although it's bare and naked, looking outside can be comforting."

In addition to providing a glimpse of the outer world, SpaceHouse's smooth, aerodynamic exterior would also prevent snow from accumulating around the structure. The new station's vehicle garage, however, will most likely still be beneath the surface.

So it's interesting that the Europeans are working on such projects. Which brings me around to our pet rant around here, "Why can't Australia contribute to this sort of thing..."
It's the vision thing, isn't it?

Crazy - The Greatness of Barry, The Greatness of Randy
Barry Bonds is on target to join the 700 Homerun club, inhabited by only Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Sadaharu Oh of Japan is in the 800 Homerun club, but he didn't do it in the majors so he gets no respect here. It's all about respect, you see?

Milwaukee manager Ned Yost can't fathom why the public doesn't embrace Bonds. "Man, if you don't have respect for Barry Bonds by now, something's wrong somewhere," Yost said.

The same fans who boo pitchers for walking him, however, jeer Bonds at every ballpark other than his own.

"I just think if you're getting booed in every ballpark, you're doing something right," Yost said. "I remember Dale Earnhardt told me his goal, when he was real good, was as soon as that black car got pushed out on the racetrack that everybody in the
stadium would boo like crazy. Then he started struggling and everybody loved him. ... His goal was always to get his boos back because he knew he was really (ticking) people off by being dominant. I think booing in a visiting park is a great form of respect."

Damn it, the man is like a homerun hitting machine. Unyielding, unstoppable, and somehow unpopular. Go figure, but it must be racism, right? Or am I going too far in spelling it out,
R-A-C-I-S-M!!!!! - *Ugh*

And then there's Randy Johnson (a.k.a. the only good mullet-wearer) who is having one of the best seasons a lefty-hurler has had, on a team that is putting up the worst record this season. The link is to a freeibie out at baseball prospectus withe Derek Zumsteg writing, but here's something he's quoting that is interesting:

As Rany put it: "I dare say that Johnson, as much as Barry Bonds, is redefining
what a player can do in his 40s. There is not only no reason whatsoever to think
Johnson is slipping, there's reason to believe he's actually getting better. In particular, his control has improved markedly, much as Nolan Ryan's did at around the same age. The difference is that Johnson had better control to begin with, and now he's actually one of the best control pitchers in the league. Since the start of last season, Johnson has walked 68 batters in 329 2/3 innings, or 1.86 walks per nine."

Yes, that's dominance in a can; Dominance in a nutshell; Dominance in a easy-to-open package; Dominance as authentic and vintage as they come. Would you like some Dominance? Johnson is having the ninth best seaosn a pitcher has had since 1945. As Mr. Zumsteg says, it is indeed history in the making.

Today's Theme is...
Inadvertently, today's theme seems to have been Iva Davies and Icehouse. Don't ask me why. Maybe I'll post up a review of one of their albums soon. Guess I'll have to do a Rob Gordon and root around for it. :)

- Art Neuro

First Day at New Job
I'm back in the workforce, so now I'm only technically a part-time unemployed person. There's a lot I can say, but I will say this: Sometimes it's a mixed blessing that you don't get the directing gig you went looking for, because you might not have wanted to make those kinds of pictures.

I also have to say that maybe my time at Classroom Video wasn't such a bad thing, in spite of the crazy boss and unwarranted persecution from evil-bitch-cow-fart-brain executive producer RL. I'll have to cogiatte and mediate on that. Oh well, it's all too late anyhow.

For US$3000 , You Can Become Weightless
At least, you'll be able to experience that sensation thanks to Zero Gravity corporation. The FAA of the USA approved this venture and it is now news for the world (if you are that way inclined). We for one tend to poo-poo space tourism here, but we're noting it here all the same.

Diamandis said in a press statement that his firm has teamed up with Diet Rite "to provide Americans with the first opportunity to experience the fun and exhilarating feeling of weightlessness, an experience previously available only to astronauts."

The Zero-G Experience offers a full-day program led by a veteran astronaut. Each flyer -- the customer -- experiences Martian gravity (1/3 Earth's gravity, referred to as "g"), lunar gravity (1/6 g) and zero gravity, the sensation of floating freely with no pull from terra firma.

I know it's a bad pun, and some people do like thier puns, by why Diet Rite?
NASA refer to their own version of this experience as 'The Vomit Comet'. I can't imagine a better way to blow US$3000; go up in the air with a bunch of people with the wrong stuff, and watch them throw it up all over the place in the queasiness. Mmm'mm; cue the Katrina and the Waves smash hit with changed lyrics:

Now I'm floating in vomit, whoa-oh,

Now I'm floating in vomit, whoa-oh,

Now I'm floating in vomit, whoa-oh,

And don't it feel good, hey all right now,

And don't it feel good.

Goodness, I am cynical today.

- Art neuro

Finally, Something With Global Vision
Six months after we started this blog, finally we've come across something that involves a global, genome-based view of life on earth as part of space policy. Just so we don't lose it, I should be quoting the whole lot, but I'm too lazy. The gist of it is to set up a DNA library on the moon in case of Catastrophic events on planet Earth.

There are several known threats to life on Earth, and perhaps some that no one has yet imagined.

"Everybody tends to think of it in terms of a big dirty rock," Burrows said. Scientists estimate that a kilometer-sized boulder could cause planetary-wide devastation. There are hundreds of these large asteroids that astronomers are keeping an eye on. And a significant fraction of the estimated population of potentially deadly large asteroids -- those whose orbits cross in the vicinity of Earth's path around the Sun -- have yet to be found, other experts agree. Burrows said there are "rogues" – asteroids outside the plane of the solar system – that are harder to spot.

Besides the Armageddon that a large impact would unleash, there are nuclear wars and pandemic viruses to worry about. Foing, the European proponent of lunar living, believes there needs to be a self-sufficient colony on the Moon that can wait for the fallout of the disaster to subside.

"It would need to be able to survive independent of Earth for many years," he said.
Foing thinks that a biosphere on the Moon would be the primary function of a lunar base, and only then could a DNA library be worth contemplating. Burrows agreed: "You need to have people [on the Moon] to rescue Earth."

Why it has to be Luna and not Mars is something that escapes me. However in terms of timescales, setting something up on Luna maybe closer than Mars. Anyway, there are signs out there that people are thinking on the bigger picture. It's just a shame that you can't win elections on the back of these issues.

- Art Neuro

The Life of A Dog
A friend of mine forwarded this article about a filmmaker who got named in a book as being a fraud and a charlatan.

Would-be Australian filmmaker Danny DeMoreta will seek over $15 million in damages from the taxpayer-funded regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Powerful Hollywood players, including Star Wars and Indiana Jones producer Robert Watts could be called to testify. "In terms of the damages that we quantify and we claim, I have no doubt that this is the biggest defamation claim made in Australian history," Mr DeMoreta's solicitor, Barrie Goldsmith, said yesterday. The lawsuit stems from the book Scams & Swindlers, published by ASIC in 1998, which alleges Mr DeMoreta broke the law when raising money to make the movie.

I don't know this DeMoreta guy from a bar of soap. I will say this though, and it is that ASIC and its regulations make it nigh impossible to raise capital for any feature film projects. The problem is, if the Australian Film Industry is ever going to function as an industry, its' going to have to raise money from the markets somehow and ASIC ain't helping. The amount of money it has cost some of the people I know in the industry is mind-boggling; and they still haven't got their films up after 12-15 years. And they wonder why the industry is 'stuffed'. It's not that surprising something like this came up, but I can also predict that the courts will not rule in favour of Mr. DeMoreta because to do so would cost taxpayers too much money even if the people who run ASIC might have f*cked up on this big time. (By the way, I said might, not did!!!).

Life of a Doc
My mother has been ill with polymyocitis for a good 10 months now. The only thing that has worked for her treatment has been regular injections of immunoglobulin. The good doctor who organised that was a neurologist who has recently been appointed an Associate Professor at a major 'sandstone' university in Australia. Recently, the Federal Government decided that immunoglobulin does not work for polymyocitis patients. I don't know how this works, but the good doctor has continued dosing my mother with immunoglobulins because he believes that what works, works and you don't screw around with what is working. To be sure, my mother has regained a lot of strength, even in the last few months. I mention this not to knock the Federal Government, but to point out this doctor's virtue.

The good doctor (and those who know me understand it is no mean feat to get those two words together from me) was recently diagnosed with Liver cancer. He is withering away before my mother's eyes, and said that Friday was the last day he would see her for it was the last day he would be at his office. We are all a little stunned by this turn of events, and so we wish him all the best in his battle with the evil disease. Good luck, good doctor.

Life of a Bum
I've decided to sign on with a company in North Sydney that makes corporate videos. They've got me penciled in for 2 days a week for 10 weeks leading up to the silly season, being their business manager. Laugh if you like, but cashflow has a nice ring to it. :)
Consequently, I may be writing less in this space in the coming weeks.

- Art Neuro