:: Punk Rocker 1991 ::

:: Saturday, September 20, 2003 ::

You spin me right round
Well, Cat at Agog! bounced “The Last Dragon”. She didn’t say a lot in the rejection, mainly that it failed to engage her. I guess this could either mean that there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s not her type of thing, or that the story is just boring as batshit.

I will admit that it’s not a typical story full of action and adventure, the pacing is gentle and the tension is minor. It’s more of a feeling piece. Lee Battersby has given me some tips for revising it so I might have another crack at it shortly.

Cat did say that she liked my non-fiction writing, and suggested a gonzo-esque piece might be more to her liking. I’m not convinced, mainly because:
1) I’d rather be a serious fiction writer;
2) Gonzo isn’t overly hard for me to write, and I prefer the challenge of attempting a more serious tone.

But, perhaps out of spite, perhaps out of the way my crazy head works, I’ve rewritten “The Last Dragon” as the gonzo-esque “Ron, Henry, Jake and the Dragon” and sent that back to Agog! I’ll keep you posted.

:: punkrocker1991 9:58 PM [+] ::
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oh, and by the way
When do you think the good old untied states will add the IRA to its list of terrorist organisations? Everyone else seems to be there.
:: punkrocker1991 6:54 AM [+] ::
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this is the 51st state of the u.s.a.
Stand proud and strong Australia! Again we join forces with our pan-Pacific allies the mighty untied states in going against world opinion. (Allies unless you mention free trade, that is, all talk and no action happening there I'm afraid.)

One hundred and thirty-three of the world's nations voted to demand that israel, that stalwart in the fight against freedom and the illegal occupier of palestine, not deport or threaten the safety of elected Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Four voted against, and no points for guessing that good old uncle sad and ishmael were two of them, the others being the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

And what did Australia do, in the face of the world? We abstained. Chickens. Cowards. Tools of the evil kiddy-fiddling uncle.

The only surprise is why we haven't just given 2 fingers to the world's doping body and let Shane Warne back into the test team? Oh yeah, that's right, we take our sport seriously. We'd hate to let the world down there.

(Sports fans, full results available here.)

:: punkrocker1991 6:53 AM [+] ::
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Fitzroy!
Saw the last half of the preliminary final tonight, where Brisbane stormed home in the last quarter against the odds to line up an appointment with Collingwood at the MCG next Saturday.

I'm backing the Brisbane Lions all the way to being the first team in 50 or so years to win three consecutive premierships and more importantly, to deny Collingwood in 2 consecutive grand finals. I think Brisbane are the team for the job.

If the pies win next Saturday I think I'd have to punch the nearest Collingwood supporter.
:: punkrocker1991 6:07 AM [+] ::
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Slim
An Australian legend is dead. I can't say I ever bought one of his albums, but just knowing that Slim Dusty was still around was something that made me glad. I can't think of anyone more deserving a state funeral.

Farewell, Slim.
:: punkrocker1991 6:03 AM [+] ::
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presented by the letter d
A health update. I'm now home after a day and a half of bed rest, being served hot meals and breakfast in bed, panadeine forte on tap, all the fun that hospital brings. Am now catching up on email and updating things.

Diverticulitis was the word I was looking for. Inflammation of weak spots in the colon, most likely caused by not enough fibre in the diet. Apparently having this puts me in the same boat as about half the western world, who are all not eating enough fibre and are likely to get this at some point. So it's back to high-fibre cereal, baked beans and lots of fresh veggies.

And, dear readers, unless you want a pethidine shot in your backside, I'd suggest you do the same.
:: punkrocker1991 11:07 PM [+] ::
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treatment bound
[written 18/09/03: 11.30 am: Narrogin Hospital]
Just when I thought I was getting on top of the cough, I now have another medical problem to deal with. As I look out the hospital window I'm trying to remember what the doctor thought is was, something that begins with "d" and ends in "itis". He told me exactly when he saw me at 7:30 am but I was full of Pethidine at the time.

But basically I've got some sort of inflammation of my colon.

I went to bed on Wednesday night with a bit of a cramp-like feeling, and woke up after a couple of hours sleep in more pain. A cup of peppermint tea provided about 5 minutes relief. Over the next 4 hours the pain steadily grew, and included dizziness, nausea and a fever.

At 5 am I called Tim and got him to take me to the hospital as it was getting well and truly beyond bearable. Now at 11:30 am I've been prodded. poked, pressured, pilled up, doped up, fed and bled. I'm not sure how long I'll be in here but at least I'm getting some rest.

It's a little scary really. The first time I've ever been admitted to hospital for an emergency condition (my other 2 stays have been planned operations). I've got the utmost faith and respect in the hospital staff but wish I had the same feeling about my body right now.
:: punkrocker1991 10:57 PM [+] ::
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when the bosses send their lackeys out to cheat us
I'd just like to send out my solidarity today to all the teachers and police officers striking. I know these measures aren't taken lightly, but given the pressure and the danger these people face in their daily work I feel they deserve better rights and a salary on par with the rest of Australia.

Put it this way, the most junior members of parliament receive a salary far greater than the highest paid beat police officer or school teacher, yet I can't remember the last time a politician was murdered in the line of duty in Western Australia. Police and teachers aren't professions like the army, where you can (and should) expect to be killed at work, they are positions that should be respected in the community. Yet every day they are abused and assulted in the workplace, expected to put up with it.

I have many friends who are teachers, and the things they put up with in their daily routine would have me reaching for the nearest Uzi. They bear the brunt of parents who produce litters of little shits and have no regard for education, parents who would rather just that someone else look after their little darlings. There are the other parents who would rather blame the teacher for their little spawn handing their work in late.

Give Police and Teachers more money! Give them more protection!

And if you don't know how to afford it, start with taxing the bejezus out of everyone who owns more than one house. Tax the big companies for every cent they sent offshore. Heck, Nationalise the casino. Tax lawyers who help big companies sue 12 year olds.

And look after the foundations of society.

Solidarity, comrades.
:: punkrocker1991 4:37 PM [+] ::
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counting the beat
On Monday night, in between coughs, I installed a counter on this blog. I figured that Grant had one, so they must be cool *grin*. I was a little curious as I've had feedback from 3 or 4 people about my blog.

Well, it turns out that I was underestimating my readership by about half, as the present counter is at 15! (2 or 3 or 4 of these are proably me accessing the site from different computers, but the rest are actual readers.) Cool. So hello and good morning!

:: punkrocker1991 4:26 PM [+] ::
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Totally Earthly, Dude
Okay, yesterday's big news may have been the return of Tang, but today's *B*L*I*S*S* is the return of Dr Who. The first episode, "An Unearthly Child", in full black and white. Oh yeah. It's the second time I've seen the episode, and I'd never realised the fantastic pacing before. The full episode only felt like 10 minutes, while the 10 minutes before 6 pm felt like a lifetime. I haven't felt this excited over teevee since, well since the last time Dr Who was on the box.

Too emotional to speak really, it was special. Thank you ABC. I may not be one of those people being surveyed for what I was watching, but I'll tell the world that I did not move from the couch from 6 to 6.30 pm tonight.

I guess that makes me a fan, right?
:: punkrocker1991 3:54 AM [+] ::
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Tang
The best news I've had for a while is that Tang, the wonder drink of astronauts and hyperactive children, is again available in WA. For years you couldn't buy this wonderful orange sugar and vitamin C powder west of Eucla, allegedly because the WA Health Department disapproved of it claiming to be a dietary supplement. Sure it has more vitamin C per pint than the daily requirement, but they apparently had a problem with it containing enough sugar to stun a horse.

I note the new packaging on the jars doesn't mention vitamin C anywhere. Still tastes good, I can feel my immune system rebounding already.
:: punkrocker1991 6:26 AM [+] ::
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sick of being sick
Casting a glance at Grant Watson's angriest blog we're both in the plague boat at the moment. Spent the weekend coughing after a week at work coughing. It's been taking me upwards of an hour to get to sleep at night and I think Liz is about ready to smother me with a pillow.

I think my mother has to wear some of the blame. I, like many others, had one of those childhoods where if I could walk then I was well enough to go to school. So the idea of taking a couple of days off to recover just wasn't an option. And as we move 20+ years into 2003, where three of the five people in the office are either injured or on leave (not counting myself) I find it very hard to take a day off. When I comprise 50% of the office staff it makes my role seem all the more essential.

Still, I'm going to have a very early night tonight and see if I can get an uninterrupted night's sleep. For the past couple of nights I've managed not to wake myself with coughing, but haven't been able to get more than 6 hours sleep. I wake and then can't get back to sleep. The rest of the previous week I've been waking upwards of 4 times a night through coughing.

And I'm over it. I just want to be healthy again. I haven't touched the Batavia story for a week and I want to get back there as soon as I can.
:: punkrocker1991 6:22 AM [+] ::
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