Monsters, CCNA, Work, Gaming, Politics

[tcpip]

Monsters 1: Lordi wins Eurovision. Surprised to see many people on my flist making a big deal of this. Let's face it, their lyrics suck and musically they're as competent as KISS or Twisted Sister (i.e., not at all). Basically, they're a crap band in glam monster outfits.

Monsters 2: A gaggle of g*ths wander through Melbourne dressed up as zombies. I find myself wondering what's the point? Sure we love to frock up and apply makeup in new and interesting ways, but I could only think that said participants are competing with Malaysian beggars (I actually saw I guy like this in Indonesia).

Monsters 3: Dracorex hogwartsia, "The Dragon King of Hogwarts", has been discovered. Hat-tip to ozraptor4 with whom caseopaya and I are going to the Melbourne zoo tonight for a presentation by a wild animals vet graduate from Murdoch Uni.

CCNA: (Re)sat my semester 2 theory exam on Tueday. Despite feeling like death warmed up I finished with 30 minutes to spare. Instead of doing the sensible thing and checking some of my answers I submitted. Shouldn't have worried; 91.3%; pleased with that result.

Work: I have a lot of it at the moment. Was given at the start of the week a sixty page website to finish by today. No, I haven't been doing much else.

Gaming: Three new faces at GURPS Australian Noir last Sunday; we're going to have to break up into two groups and a two week cycle. Thinking GURPS, retro AD&D, Using HARP, MERP or Rolemaster for Thieves World (artbroken's ears prick up) and possibly Call of Cthulhu. Would be great if someone would run a SF game; like Paranoia or Cyberpunk.

Politics: Back to the medieval fiefdoms as Montenegro declares independence. Want to reduce teenage pregnancies and STDs? Provide sex education and treat them like the adults they are. Duh. Will someone please pay for the externalities? Global warming may exceed predictions - as in six degrees hotter.

Comments

[gothsuck.livejournal.com]

I am with you on the Lordi bull. And when did winning Eurovision ever mean you have musical talent? Yet again the masses jump on the television bandwagon.

Very interesting article on Global warming & sex. No hope in this country for either.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I am with you on the Lordi bull.

Thank God I'm not alone. For a moment then I even pondered the possibility that there was some inside joke that I wasn't privvy on. They really are not that good.

The "Swedish model" stands in antithesis to the "father-daughter purity balls" which have become popular... in America. Sensible commentary here.

[gothsuck.livejournal.com]

Yeah I wondered the same - have peoples ears been completely shot from too much metal? And crap metal at that? Ah well I know its a bullshit talent show but the way I was reading it from f-list was that Lordi are GOOD & worthy of fans. BUT if taken with a grain of salt yes I understand the amusement of them winning Eurovision - though I must admit I did not watch it as the cringe factor is a bit too much for me.


As for the article - why am I not surprised.

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

Eurovision isn't about the talent, st least not for most of the people I know who love it. We watch Eurovision precisely because it is total cheese with pop on top.

Lordi winning is kind of cool because it shows that the cheese factor can win out over the pop idol factor. Which is what makes it worth setting aside those 3 or 4 hours in a year to drink some [beverage of choice] and eat some [food of choice] with [preferred company].

Hell, as shown on SBS, the voice-over guy spends the entire show *taking the piss out of it*. The whole excercise is tongue firmly planted in cheek (unless you're in the crowd actually at the event who seemed to take it seriously. Of course, they might have just been playing it straight :)

My advice is treat Eurovision just like you treat a terrible B-grade movie and other people's passion for it will make a lot more sense.

[usekh.livejournal.com]

Thats half the point. Eurovision is a giant joke to most of us. And even funnier is when a glam rock/monster band win over the usual awfull half naked blonde women and guys with mullets.

And honestly, whilst Lordi certainly aren't great or even musicaly all that good, they are fun.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I actually find the few Lordi songs i've heard quite pleasing to the ear.

That could be because they're noticeably reminiscent of the catchy bits of other songs, but everything sounds like something else to me anyway.

(Plus, i'd rather hear someone doing a half decent Zodiac Mindwarp trip than endure yet another bunch of fauxhawks trying to sound like the Stooges any day).

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

Provide sex education and treat them like the adults they are. Duh.

Yeah, I've been hearing of research and anecdotal evidence confirm that since I can remember. Yey the puritan set still have both fingers in their ears.
I don't expect a change in the situation any time this century.

Global warming may exceed predictions - as in six degrees hotter.

Funny how the global warming issue is back just when the push towards nuclear power is also back.
Six degrees hotter? Makes my "move to the Canadian Rockies" plan all the more urgent. Whould that put the average summer temp in equatorial regions over 50 degrees Celcius? *boggle*

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been hearing of research and anecdotal evidence confirm that since I can remember.

It's is annoying to say the least; there is also a rather tragic and cruel oppression of youth involved as well. Cruel, insofar that it is putting deliberate ignorance against nature. Tragic because, as the study shows, ignorance leads (naturally!) to pregnancy and STDs.

It's seriously fucked up and not in a good way.

Funny how the global warming issue is back just when the push towards nuclear power is also back.

Of course, as the enviromental groups point out there's plenty of greenhouse gases produced in the productive process of nuclear energy. Those power plants don't come free.

[baralier.livejournal.com]

A recent article on the "sex positive" image in Germany.

As for Lordi winning Eurovision I think most of you are missing the point: it's not that it makes Lordi a *good* band by any stretch of the imagination, it's that something other than a sexy lead singer or some milksop "white suit" band won - the things that traditionally give you first place in Eurovision.

Of course it's possible that some people not on my flist have been going over the top about Lordi's musical prowess but i haven't seen anything on mine. I think it more likely that people are happy that the winner was not yet another Eastern European version of N'Sync.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

I like how the images have been "made office safe ofr our american readers".

Yeah, I guess the entire Lordi thing doesn't really much sense to me.

Or maybe my workload this week has truncuated my sense of humour...

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh, I should mention BLOODY GOOD ARTICLE.

Dammit we need something like this in Australia. Now all I need to do is find someone with a PhD in such matters; or an MD.

[artbroken.livejournal.com]

A simple sense of fun is a wonderful thing. It lets you enjoy dressing up or cheering for silly bands, just as it lets you enjoy roleplaying or naming a serious scientific discovery in honour of a children's book.

And yes, sometimes that requires some effort. Effort isn't the same thing as work. Effort can be fun in and of itself.

Good luck with the TW game; sorry there hasn't been enough interest as yet to get any of my games off the ground. Such is life.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the TW game; sorry there hasn't been enough interest as yet to get any of my games off the ground. Such is life.

Well, you could run it with our bunch of miscreants y'know :-p

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

Wow, just think, with better education we could halt the country's long march towards total moronification. Wouldn't that be nice.

Hahahah..

Regards to Monsters:
1. Eurovision, who cares?
2. I agree. Who cares?
3. Whoever decided this is a tool.

That is all.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

RE 3) Quite possibly so, hopefully it will be renamed to something more sensible (and not 'Smaug' either). Nevertheless can you imagine being a medieval peasant and dragging that out a quarry?

Hell, I'd be damn scared.

[evil-genius.livejournal.com]

"Regards to Monsters:
1. Eurovision, who cares?"

Over 100 million people watched the final. So apparenly 1/5 of the population of Europe cared at least a little.

But as an American(just a guess). You probably shouldn't care much, if at all.

Lordi

[paula-angela.livejournal.com]

Oh, is that what they were called?

As one of the people who noted the Eurovision win in my LJ, I never suggested they were any good. I didn't hear enough to their song to make comment musically, I just noted that their staging and complete lack of choreography sucked.

The costumes were fun. And in a very big way, Eurovision has always been about the costumes. What made this year's winners noteworthy was the shift from the short skirts and boobies of previous years, to something quite the opposite!

Re: Lordi

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

So it's a bad fashion show with bad music.

And people spend valuable time on this?

Sex and teenagers

[tabouli.livejournal.com]

I wrote about this some time ago in my own LJ, and yep, thoroughly agree. However, I've since learned that the teenage pregnancy rate in Australia is in the top 5 of developed countries or something similar, which surprised me. I thought that the more down to earth pragmatic attitudes of Australia (complete with condom machines, ads in public toilets, etc.) would have reduced it, but evidently not.

Re: Sex and teenagers

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I remember this thread; and the comments its attracted.

Australians may be pragmatic, but they're also wowsers - and anti-intellectual. So if you're a teenager and know something factual about sex, there's something disconcertingly nerdy about you.

The heat must be getting to you. vittulinen mies.

[evil-genius.livejournal.com]

"Monsters 1: Lordi wins Eurovision. Surprised to see many people on my flist making a big deal of this. Let's face it, their lyrics suck and musically they're as competent as KISS or Twisted Sister (i.e., not at all). Basically, they're a crap band in glam monster outfits."

Normally I am beyond impressed with the content of your posts on live journal. Both here in your private journal and elsewhere. But I'm going to have to call you on this one. As you seen to have your head wedged firmly up your ass.

You have made the mistake of assuming that since this band isn't for you, it must not be for anyone. It looks like you made the same mistake regarding Kiss and Twisted Sister aswell. So you don't like Glam rock in general. Does that mean no one else should?

Your claim that KISS and Twisted sister suck, should tell everyone just how good your taste is(n't). Rolling Stone magazine seems to disagree with you on Kiss's musical abilities. Placing their album 'Alive' a 159th place on the list of top 500 albums of all time. Ahead of such artists as: Radiohead, Prince, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Aerosmith, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, R.E.M, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Beastie Boys, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Pixies, Erik B. and Rakim, Queen, Black Sabbath, and The Grateful Dead.

The essence of the issue is: What makes (music) a band "good"?

I think all will agree the answer to such a question is HIGHLY subjective. I personally think Lordi's lyrics rock(pun intended). But in an intentionally campy and over the top fashion. I find the fact they make so many puns in a foreign language very impressive to be honest. Lordi is totally a joke. Tomi(Mr. Lordi) doesn't take himself seriously at all(unlike GWAR). The whole thing is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. That being said, they are hugely successful at pulling this joke off. Perhaps more pertinant to my point, I would be willing to bet you have only heard/seen that single song/video. Am I right? Passing judgement on any band after such a small bit of exposure seems more than a bit premature.

The fact you don't get it/like it is a shame. But for you to say they suck is out of line.

"Surprised to see many people on my flist making a big deal of this."
Because you don't know the background store. A huge portion of Finnish national identity is constructed around an intense inferiority complex. Aftering being either Sweden's or Russia's bitch for the past 1200 years, several catastrophic famines and civil wars, and the whole war reparations thing with Russia post WWII. Finns are a bit beat down in the national ego department. A lose in any international competition, even something as utterly ridiculous as the Eurovision contest, hurts every Finn that hears about it. Conversely a win in any international contest effects Finns deeply. For over 30 years the Eurovision song contest has meant national embarrassments for Finland. Years of not only not winning but in many cases of getting 0 points(a true disgrace). Have meant most Finns cringe just thinking about Euro vision. So to send a band that almost everyone assumed was a guaranteed 0 to the contest. But then to place first, with a new record score, and best Russia by one of the largest margins in eurovision history. It's just huge here.

Finland isn't Australia or America. It's not some huge country with a massive population. Where all kinds of interesting things happen all of the time. Finland is 1/23 the size of Australia, with only 1/ 4 the population. We don't do big military operations around our region. At the 2004 Athens games Australia got 49 medals(17G,16S,16B). Finland got 2(silvers). The only times Finland usually wins international competitions is when tax rates or economic competitiveness start getting compared. Then we take home the dubious honour of having the highest aggregate tax burden of any country on the planet. Which basically no one cares to even thing about.


So you see, to a Finn, winning this competition is a very big deal.

Re: The heat must be getting to you. vittulinen mies.

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

So you see, to a Finn, winning this competition is a very big deal.

That's not a very convincing argument. Sorta like your parents telling you to eat your vegetables because children are starving in Africa. Eurovision the crude grain meal to a starving infant Finland. It does say something about Finland, it doesn't say anything about Eurovision.

Re: The heat must be getting to you. vittulinen mies.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Aesthetically, I will acknowledge from the outset, to be a "high art" advocate in the same mould as the Frankfurt School (Adorno, Horkheimer and Marcuse in particular). I do think there are ways and means of evaluating the arts in a manner which does not result in mere subjectivity.

As I have expressed elsewhere, if the arts were dependent on the votes of the masses, then we'd have professors of literature specialising in Hagar The Horrible rather the Poetic and Prose Edda; culture would be whatever the culture industry produced, and The Kalevala would be replaced by a Eurodisney production of a title more consumable for a Anglo-American audience.

Aesthetic analysis can be applied to music; the conceptual construction of time using tones (vertical harmonies, horizontal melodies) and silence for a psychoacoustic effect. In contemporary (that is, 20th century onwards) music is often accompanied by lyrical content in which poetic analysis can be applied.

I have listened and viewed several Lordi songs and, heaven help me, read through more than a dozen of their lyrics. As has been pointed out to me there are moments where lyrically they reach a Spinal Tap moment, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Psychoacoustically, they seem (and this is subjective, as the sense are subjective) to lack the sort of passion, emotion and especially originality that I have found in other bands in their genre (I am thinking specifically of Ne Plus Ultra and the amazing narrative depth in Elend).

As for Finland, apart from your good self, noone has made a mention of the importance of Finland per se winning Eurovision. Most seem to have been attracted to the outfits - which I don't think is a good basis to judge the competence of musical skill or lyrical content. Perhaps, as it has been suggested in this thread, that Eurovision is a competition in bad taste.

[omnot.livejournal.com]

"A gaggle of g*ths wander through Melbourne dressed up as zombies. "

Erm. We're not all g (astersik) ths. At least, nobody has called me as a goth before, least of all me. Maybe I am and just never knew. Hmmm.

Oh, - the point? Fun. It now comes in different flavours! :-D

(Sorry for necro-commenting, but given the topic, it seems kind of apt.)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Maybe I am and just never knew. Hmmm.

Real g*ths don't admit it ;-)

Oh, - the point? Fun. It now comes in different flavours! :-D

What is the point of such fun when there are people whose physical condition resembles the makeup? Unless it's mockery.