Nice guys

Seen it a million times before from the other side & always pitied the fool, yet here I am the skeleton in the closet, or better said the faithful stupid little gimp in the basement.  Yet still its true what they say, Nice guys finish last.....

Im goin back to being a sick bad bastard...  more fun that way....

Argy-bound

Well its lunchtime, I havent eaten breakfast (feeling guilty about all the chocolates, ice cream & pizza Ive eaten over the past couple days (a prequel to a 10th b'day celebration). Sluggishly Ive managed to pack half a suitcase over the past week knowing full well I will forget something, no matter how many time I rehearse the list in my head, or scrawl it on paper... just what exactly will I forget this time?
I do have a copy of District 9 for the long haul leg of the journey, but as usual no matter what I try, I just cant get the fuckin thing to work. In the process I have dowbnloaded new players etc which will inevitably infect my new laptop with the mother of all trogans, so its back to pints of beer and valiums to get me through I think. At least Im not doing thee dreaded Aerolineas Argentinas route via Auckland this time, where each & every time there are delays leaving you sitting around the aiport for an additional 8 hours or so (excluding when the plane gets struck by lightening leaving you abandoned there for 3 days without so much as even a message from the captain or cabin staff.) The airline provides no in flight entertainment so you literally just sit there for 2 days like herded cattle, so bored insanity eventually creeps its ugly head in. Thankfully Im doing the direct route from Sydney (after overnighting down there) and I am of the belief that there is actuial entertainment to be found on this airline, so if the laptop movies fail, and the beer & valium dont successfully knock me out, I can at least stare at a little Tv screen, in English for the whole way.

The last 2 visits to Argentia were at first weird, before I began to mould back into the old familiararities. I guess Im feeling the same this time round, kind of going through the motions, trying to minimize potential dramas and brasing myself for whatever emotional melodrama the Ex might put me through. I will of course, just like previous trips, try and balance out the emotional trauma, with some physical pain by going under the needle again. Call it masochism if you will, but with the right state of mind I found I can absorb the pain and enjoy the rush of endorphines at the same time, essentially distracting me from the much worse emotional stuff. Or I simply just punish myself worse than she could.. whatever way you wish to look at it. Either way, at the crazy cheap prices and the talents of one tattooist over there in particular, it almost seems crazy not ink up and justify the expense of the trip with a $3000 tatt for only $300....

Anyway I think Ive braced myself to long this time round, I hope I can relax and soak up some good times and connect with my baby girl...hopefully I can get them out of the stinking city down to the beach.. but as Ive learnt from years of experience, what the Ex says, and what she does are always two completely different things.. I do not want to lose my mind in fucking South America again... no thanks...

Anyway having said all that, there are still some elements i remember fondly.. such as the music and the dance... I filmed this movie from my bedroom window last time Iwas there. Its basically some gauchos rehearsing for a show.... I mixed a mates narco-tango over it which i thought really captured the Argentine vibe... check out Tangothic if you enjoy the unique fusion of Electronic music & tango..... saludos!

Star Wars retold !

I had planned to waffle off some heartfelt D & M's today, being my final day at work before I head back over to Buenos Aires Sunday. Everyone who asks me "Am I excited?" always seems disapointed by my "Nope," response. Seeing my daughter after a year apart is of course going to be emotional, but Ive found myself dwelling a lot on the new life I've built over the past year, and the inspiring people I've built around me, who I will ultimately be leaving behind.

Nevertheless I was stood up on a late night shopping spree last night so got blitzed and gave the new Lapdog a workout, starting on a new novel idea that has been orbiting my mind for some time. Therefore with Pint sized Aliens and spacepods on the brain I thought I would share this video instead. Pure genius... nuff said!

Seahorses Forever

OK, so it sdoesn't take a literary genius to post a random youtube video... but this tripped out Lizard off on some random gangsta-gekko-ghetto rant is a one off gem. Enjoy, but remember if you don't like the light house.. You Suck!

Hedfuk

Recently uploaded an old mix from my nomad drum'n'bass dayz.... this one is called Hedfuk! Recorded it in Buenos Aires in 2004 on a dodgy mixer...

Banksy vs Dubstep

About a year and a half ago I decided to teach myself how to use video editing software, so I could make and send dvds to my daughter in Argentina.  In a quest to get some feedback I posted a few of the completed products on youtube, and set up my channnel under the alias name of narcotect. Easily the most popular is Banksy vs Dubstep which to date has earned over 100,000 hits. 

Pretty simple really, I'd spent 3 months riding the buses and trains from Buenos Aires Centro to the Southern Outskirts Lomas De Zamora armed only with the 2nd dubstep studio mix by Gravious of Glasgow fame on my Ipod, checking out the graf on the derelict carriages and bridges along the way.  The two styles of modern day urban expressionism were a perfect accompaniment and after flicking through Banksy's 'Wall and Piece' I was sold on the idea of an art slideshow.  The book itself was awesome, but with an equally intelligent soundtrack and bassline behind it, it would enhance the urban emotion and environment around us today. 

So I cut the audio up a bit to squeeze it in under 10 mins and so it progressed in intensity more rapidly bringing forward the bass for the climax.  I then compiled Banksy' best (in my opinion) streetwork in a succession designed to progress with the tunes in topic, emotion and intensity.  I also wanted to pay tribute to his history and style progression from his early days stencilling rats around London and Bristol, to his more political tongue-in-cheek artwork ending with his assault on Gaza. I intentionally chose the street art as opposed to his 'finer' Gallery style art work, to complement the underground/street style of dubstep...

Im stoked of course by its popularity, but of course recognise its the genius of the two urban expressionsits that deserve the credit for its popularity. 

Who really discovered Australia?

All through my public school education my classmates and I understood our great country Australia was discovered by Captain Cook... and that was that. Not until I travelled abroad, and found myself pulling pints behind a bar at (the coincidentally named) The Pilgrim, did I realize I knew jack-shit. I rapidly became used to the term Antipodean, and learned all sorts of amazing things from the 'life experienced' regulars who drank there. Bemused by my lack of knowledge about the discovery and colonization of my homeland I decided to do some reading... this is what I discovered........
Australia was first colonized by Homo Sapiens at least 50 thousand years ago. During the last Ice age, the coldest period being about 20,000-22,000 years ago, there actually was an ice barrier across the southern part of the continent where the snowy mountains are located. Once the Ice thawed it was only then colonization of Tasmania and bass straight islands was possible. Aborigines that survived the Ice age managed to form a kind of primitive stone-age culture, but did not have access to seed bearing plants or animals suitable for domestication in order to build a civilization. While in the Asia's inhabitants were taking advantage of the natural resources there to graduate from hunter-gatherer societies to civilizations.
The Malays began their first invasion of Indonesia about 2000 BC, but never reached Australia. Then sometime afterwards in the first century AD the Indian Hindu-Buddhists began to colonize the Indonesian islands for its gold, spices and to spread the word of their religion. Before they were able to venture further south towards Australia Northern India was invaded by Muslims in the 15th century who had destroyed the Hindu states in Indonesia by the end of the 16th century.
The Chinese also began settling on the Indonesian islands by the 9th century, and by the 15th century were trading with Sumatra, Java, Timor and Macassar in the Celebes. Interestingly their interest in Sea Cucumbers (or Trepang) let them further south to the north coast of Australia, which they named "The land of the Trepang (or Marege)." A revolution in China in 1432 saw the end of Chinese exploration and discovery till the 19th century as fleets were disbandoned, and ship logs lost forever, essentially erasing the epic history of their conquests into the unknown. Muslim merchants from the west coast of India temporarily took over the trading routes after the Chinese vacated, until the Europeans rocked up at the beginning of the Sixteenth century.
The expansion of all 3 - Hindu, Chinese and Muslim came to a halt at the line between Indonesia and Australia, or as they saw it.. where civilization ended and primitive societies began. Inferior ships, ideas of the world and manmade stories and myths of 'giant holes in the sea' and the like from the Hindu, Chinese and Muslims deterred from sailing into unknown seas while the vastly superior European ships, navigational equipment, overwhelming confidence, material greed and religious zeal saw them scoff at these stories & superstitions. Hindu stories of Gold flourished and it was in search of this wealth that European first bumped into the north coast of Australia.
By 1520 the European had discovered 2 routes to the wealth of the Far East. The first was via the Southern tip of Africa (ie Cape Town) & up past India & Jakarta to the 'Spice Islands.' The second was across the Atlantic and down the east coast of South America through the straights of Magellan and across the northern route to the Philippines and the 'Spice Islands.' Those searching for the unknown Southland were driven north by heavy swells, winds and absence of islands, protecting the east Coast of Australia from discovery for more than 250 years after Magellan aboard the Vittoria first sailed into the Pacific.
From 1515 to 1607 the Catholics searched for the mythical islands of Gold to the South of Java, and the unknown Southland. The Portuguese sent many expeditions and boast that they first discovered Australia however there is no conclusive evidence to support their claims as they had not discovered any of the other neighboring islands in the process.
In the second half of the 16th century the Spanish also had a crack at discovering Oz dispatching expeditions from Peru. In 1606 'Torres' sailed through the straight that now bears his name but made no reference to seeing land from the south. By 1607 Muslims, Catholics and Protestants had all made it to the Northern gateway of Australia but no closer..
The first Dutch ship arrived in Jakarta in 1596. In 1606 Captain William Jansz aboard the Duyfken sailed east from Banda in search of the islands of Gold and reached the west coast of Cape York Peninsula at Cape Keer-Weer, and then returned reporting "There was no good to be done there." This was the first ever reported description by a European about Australia. Then in 1623 Dutch seaman again sailed into the Gulf of Carpenteria in search of gold, spices and souls for their Calvinist Jahova, but found instead a "land of exceedingly black barbarian savages.' In the mean time in 1616 Dirk Hartog while following new sailing directions from the Southern Tip of Africa to Java bumped into an island off the entrance to Shark bay on the West Coast of Australia, in fact between 1616 and 1640 many Dutch sailors had touched parts of the west coast of Australia. One in particular Peter Nuyts was blown so far off course he reached the islands of Peter & Paul at the eastern end of the Great Australian Bight. In 1642 the Dutch East India company decided to explore the remaining unknown territory in the South since they believed it would contain many fertile regions and was rich with mines of metals and other treasures. So they sent Abel Tasman off on 2 voyages, the first in 1642-3 where he discovered Tasmania and New Zealand which he named Van Diemans Land and Staten Landt respectively. The second in 1644 he charted the coast from Cape York to the Willems River in the center of the West Coast. By the end of Tasmans voyages the Dutch possessed charts of the Australian Coastline from Cape York west and south to the east end of the Great Australian Bight and the Southern part of Tasmania. They had hoped to hit on Gold & Silver mines to signal the honor of first discoverers, but had instead met with "naked beach-roving wretches, destitute of rice, excessively poor, and of a very malignant nature." The council in Batvia stating "He who makes it his business to find out what a land produces must walk over it" decided no profit was to be made in such a vast country so impatiently bailed on Australia in search other lands rich with mines..
Forty years later in 1688 English Vagabond William Dampier rocked up at Shark Bay also recoiling in horror noting "The land was dry, sandy, destitute of water, and there were no trees that bore fruit or berries." As for the inhabitants, they were "the miserablest people in the world, setting aside their human shape they differ but little from brutes." He wrote about his experiences in 'New Holland' which influenced literature on the primitive people of the South Seas until the myth of the 'Noble Savage' metamorphosed them into a people who had discovered the secrets of human happiness.

In 1768 Capt James Cook was instructed by English Admiralty to observe the transit of Venus at Tahiti and search for the unknown Southern Land. During the voyage he discovered the 'Noble Savage' at Tahiti, circumnavigated both islands of New Zealand and then by chance, chose to return to England via the East Coast of 'New Holland,' Java and the Southern Tip of Africa. The rest of course is history... Cook landed at Botany bay near Sydney in 1770, and 3 more times on the East Coast before taking possession of the country for George III under the name of New South Wales. The east coast he found was not the barren and miserable country others had described the west coast to be, and was certain grain, fruits, roots etc would flourish there, and was ideal for cattle and domesticated animals. He also wrote fondly about the Natives of New Holland, stating that although they may appear "the most wretched people upon the earth, they are far happier than Europeans & live in tranquility not disturbed by inequality, but provided with all the necessary's of life and that they have no superfluities."
In a bizarre twist Cook returned to London and was ridiculed and mocked for his enthusiasm about the 'Noble Savage,' and modestly reported to the Admiralty that he did not find the Great Southern Land and that perhaps it didn't exist. So in 1774 they sent him again with 2 ships were he underwent incredible hardships pretty much battling it out in the Icy Southern seas around Antarctica. Only then in 1776 when he returned to England did geographers finally recognize that despite the human effort by the Hindus, Chinese, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and men of enlightenment like Cook, the stories of islands of Gold were a lie.
3 years later in 1779 Sir Joseph Banks who travelled with Cook on the Endevour on the first voyage proposed a colony be founded at Botany Bay, and recommended it be a 'Thief Colony' as a solution of where to dump people sentenced to transportation from the British Isles (who were usually sold to the planters and workers in Southern North America until the revolt of the colonies in 1776.) 750 odd convicts embarked on the First Fleet for Botany bay, with a government designed to ensure law and order and subordination by terror, for men living in servitude rather than for free men. The protestant religion was also pumped down their necks by Reverend Richard Johnson who recognized its social usefulness in a convict society for it preached in favor of subordination against drunkenness, whoring and gambling. Behind the scenes of course, Military and Civil officers (from Catholic states originally) mocked their religion in private as a false mythology, while in public they supported it for its social utility.
In 1802 & 1803 Flinders did a full lap of Oz and demonstrated New South Wales was not separated from New Holland by sea. This however didn't stop the French trying the sly dog tactic, sneaking up late and start exploring the South Coast of Australia. In order to stop the French from building any settlements the British government sent an expedition of convicts, soldiers and settlers in 1803 to occupy Port Phillip, the settlement now known as Hobart.
The first convicts were described by Chaplain Johnson "to have indulged themselves in mere sloth and idleness, engaged in the most profane and unclean conversation, and committed abominations that would defile his pen to describe." This included "gambling and scenes of debauchery and dissipation by spendthrifts, rakes and giddy young men in pursuit of criminal pleasures. Profligate, loose and dissolute characters, who vitiated themselves and indulged in the daily practice of seducing others to intemperance, lewdness, debauchery, gambling and excess... strolling mistrels, ballad singers, showman, trumpeters and gypsies."
hahahaha.. now I understand why they (the pommy regulars at the Pilgrim) get so irate when we kick their asses at every sport they ever invented.......
Unbeknownst to many of us Aussies who idolize the European cultures of our ancestors, or the American cultures of the media that’s rammed down our necks everywhere we look, our country actually has a fascinating history and culture of it's own...... if only we would tear ourselves away from the god damn television to read about it!

Bib- A short History of Australia, by Manning Clarke

Last-say Loser

What is it about people who just have to have the last say?
After the final inexcusable display of self absorbed rudeness I told her 'That was the last time, I do not want anymore and I do not want to see you again.' Predictably she responded the next day by text "I can't believe you would speak to me like that, temper temper, don't ever contact me again...' or words to that effect essentially mirroring what I had already said.
Personally I find peoples ignorant inability to digest a message to try and counter-dump the dumper, through whatever personality malfunction they may have, comical. Admittedly I saw the signs a mile off, the $12,000 'confidence' boosters and the endless self justification of her shallow exploits leading up to the breakdown of her marriage. She proudly would declare that when she sensed he was cheating she cheated first, she 'won' because she got the house & dogs even though she would constantly moan about it... She would ask a question only to cut me off mid sentence to answer her own question... WTF? Only interested in one thing obviously ... herself! I guess every guy has at least once dated one of those deranged morsels of the human species at some time, who during the most intimate of moments would waffle on and on about her Ex, in some self centered delusion that guys are somehow impressed by it. One would presume a person with an iota of self respect would be too proud to let their insecurity commandeer their rationale thought, but ever so often we cross paths with a being who has the innate ability to mislead and deceive themselves to their own ignorant advantage. I suppose this is what gives birth to the alter ego (or schizophrenic drugfucked mind!)
In hindsight and the subsequent aftermath, my faith in that inexplicable force karma has been restored. No need to provide details... life is good (for some.)

Nowhere to Run

While concluding a tour of the village site yesterday I directed my visitors attention to the natural bushland adjacent the property that was scheduled for immediate demolition in order to make way for another concrete jungle of student beds. As per my spiel from previous tours I stated it would be a sad day to see it demolished, but with my ambassadorship of the company and responsibilities in mind I followed the heartfelt observation with "but hey that's development, have to keep up with demand," as if it was a justified compensation for the destruction of the delicate & irreplaceable ecosystem. Neighbours of yesteryear have frequently and fondly shared memories with me of when the land was frequented with breeding families of Roos & Koalas. We still catch a glimpse of the occasional whip snake or field mouse, and as my guest from the neighbouring parklands informed me, it is also home to a rare endangered frog we are supposed to be protecting.
Ironically the same University educating the masses about the delicate habitat of this rare endangered species actually owns the land and is behind the development plans. Sneakily it plans to carve out a section of the bushland that is conveniently out of sight and hence, out of mind of passing motorists and therefore sneaking under the radar of the general public. The land has already been cut into small segments like a jigsaw, leaving deadly crossings of roads for species seeking survival essentials like food, & mating partners for breeding. One by one developments have spread across its fragmented terrain like a flood while these poor resident species are backed into a corner. As if being forced to cross a 3 lane highway like a brutal 'reality-frogger' and scale a meter tall concrete divider isn't dicy enough for the nimblest of echidnas and wittiest of wombats, the last of safe-havens now cut off by housing developments on either side means they now literally have nowhere to run..... essentially bulldozed into oblivian.
So one begs the question why? Why would a uni that hypocritically preaches the importance of conserving our delicate ecosystems, bulldoze one in their own backyard? What drives the intellectual mind to turn its back on what it believes?

Politics of course!

Kevin Rudds Education revolution, among other things, is designed to double the Higher educated student numbers by 2020. This already has put immense pressure on the infrastracture of Australias universities who are now frantically trying to keep in line with legislation by carving out forests for new faculties, accommodation and carparks.

There is always a flipside to development isn't there?

Era of Slothdom

"The era of Slothdom is upon us"

So I've been sat here motionless at my desk the past 4 hours since the creation of this blog, finding it difficult to focus 100% on the ever-not-changing challenges of data entry, facilities and maintenance, as flashes of witty blurbs & phrases pierce my inner realm of concentration, yet now as 5 o'clock rolls past and shadows are cast over the village, a wall looms before me..... nothing but fatigue and a craving for slothdom.

The 9-5 rat race can definately stifle the creative mind..

If I was still in possession of my trusty IBM T41 (or is that 43?) lapdog Im sure a couple schooners of Dry could get the cogs back in motion, yet here I dwell alone in this windowless box within which I live a third of my daily existance, unable to chat on MSN, surf porn, or blast out some phat dubstep.... the IT hobbit in Sydney sees all, and one stray semi-nude portrait could spell the end of this looming career prospect. As if sitting here at 5:37pm on a spring evening still clad in workware, and stinking cheap $25 Target shoes isn't enough to stifle the creative genius, but the bouncing of oblong balls and grunts from resident neanderthals can still be detected outside.... hardly an artists haven of inspiration.....

'Fortunately however its payday, and good times can be bought!'
After the fortnighly ceremonial paying-off of my credit-card and the subtle sneaking under the rent-radar while my landlord is gettin all kinds of hedonistic naked 'desert-dodging' at Burning man this month, I have a massive $300 to burn over the coming 2 weeks. Late night shopping therapy calls, but one must resist the cluches of retail evil. As much as consumer culture ills me, I recognise I'm as hopeless a case as the zombified sheep I so despise, my latest addiction being the dreaded ebay tshirt. Thailands export industry has been making a killing from me the past year or so even though I know in a short seven weeks I'm going to have to Koomari-Bin the lot in order to relocate back overseas. Just another form of depraved mashochistic desires and short lived high's, albeit in a more subtle socially acceptable form....

which leads me to..... the tatt dilemma.

To be continued..............

So the Odyssey begins....

"I always was a late bloomer."

Seems 2009 is a late start to the world of blogging, but I never was one to refuse an invitation or challenge from a peer whom I admire, as it seems the most realistic method of learning what they know.

My initial thoughts however, as I write first, navigate second, is that it resembles the setting up of an internet dating profile, without the ultimate goal of finding love or getting laid. So what's the point then? Therapy?

I suppose those phrases and one liners that came to mind in a moment of hazy inspiration are now lost forever, now in the possession of some little lowlife thief who has probably sold my future best seller (cough) for a few hits of the ol' H.... oblivious to the human blood, sweat and tears that had been poured into its files.....

The blog now, seems to represent the diary that I never wrote, the 3 novels which never came to fruition, and a vessel through which I can share my thoughts, feelings and experiences with my closest of friends inconveniently scattered across the globe while I embark on this new adventure looming on the horizon......

Will be an interesting journey Im curious to see how will evolve....