Week Ending 2nd December, 2001 Page 3 2 1
Blogging on World AIDS Day posted 2 Dec 2001
You've probably noticed that there's a new graphic up in the top right hand corner of the page. Click on it and it will take you to a list of the weblogs that have responded to LinkAndThink.org's call to commemorate World AIDS Day with postings that relate to HIV/AIDS. So far there are over 860 participants, with postings that range from informative articles and comprehensive lists of HIV/AIDS links to the personal stories of people whose lives have been irrevocably affected by the disease. (Which, when you factor in the impact it's had on how we view sex, is pretty much everyone of us - even if we've never been infected or lost someone close to us to AIDS.) So I urge you all to join in by visiting these sites.
A Virus Knows No Morals posted 1 Dec 2001
To commemorate World AIDS Day, here's a brief survey of films about AIDS... Interestingly enough, the darkest and most savage of these is also one of the earliest - A Virus Knows No Morals - which came out in 1985. In it, nurses on the night shift roll dice to see which AIDS patient will die next, a dying AIDS victim stabs a harassing reporter with a contaminated syringe, the government opens a quarantine called Hell Gay Land, and gay terrorists kidnap the Minister of Health... The New York Times called it 'Brave and Vicious - Armed Camp!' and that's enough to get it on my Christmas list!
Forget Hollywood or Bollywood... Here Comes LEGOWOOD ! posted 30 Nov 2001
It looks like Lego have finally cottoned on to the star potential of those little plastic people they produce. On the company's official site, there is now a Lego film studio and film school. You can even buy a Steven Spielberg-endorsed moviemaker Lego set that comes complete with editting software and a PC movie camera that 'has LEGO studs on the outside housing to give it the LEGO look and feel'. (Thanks to Anthony for tracking this down. While you're at the site, check out the hilarious Lego version of the Camelot song from Monty Python And The Holy Grail.)
Walk Through New York Without Being Watched... posted 30 Nov 2001
In happier times when irony flourished, NYC's activist community produced one of the wittiest protests against public surveillance ever - the Surveillance Camera Players, who wandered the streets doing impromptu performances of Ubu Roi or 1984 or The Raven for any one of the multitude of CCTV cameras that saturate the city... But at a time when the spectre of race-based internment looms and you can become a terrorist suspect just by having an anti-Dubya poster, the issue of surveillance isn't funny anymore... As a telling sign of the mood in America right now, an online service has just been set up that shows you how to get from A to B in NYC without being watched and - surprise! surprise! - it's not easy to do..
Angry About Howard's Refugee Policy? Then Help Make A TV Ad posted 29 Nov 2001
Forget those endless email petitions, here's a much better way of getting across the message that not all of us agree with Howard's shameful treatment of refugees to a wider audience - a prime-time television commercial. That's what a group of concerned Australians are attempting to get up and running right now, but they need $30,000 to get the TVC finished and aired. If you'd like to help (they're after donations of $50 per person) or you just want more info, you can contact either Eva Sallis at eva.sallis@adelaide.edu.au or Mariana Hardwick at marianahardwick@bigpond.com.
Prehistoric Monster Movies posted 29 Nov 2001
They didn't have horror movies 10,000 years ago, but they still had werewolves, vampires and cat people... A study of ancient rock art sites around the world has revealed that the one thing they all share are depictions of "therianthropes" - human-animal hybrids. And, supposedly, our ancestors would get completely bent on the available psychotropics then venture into the caves where these images were painted and watch them dance across the walls... That's right, folks, the creature feature is the oldest universal form of human art!
Best Post-Coital Line Ever - "When Did The House Fall Down?" posted 29 Nov 2001
In a recent US episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy and Spike beat one another up, bonk one another senselessly, and manage to completely demolish the house. Salon.com's Stephanie Zacharek watches in awe then rushes off to pen this interesting one-pager about sex and aggression.
Slow Moving Camels And Caring Blanket Tuck-Ins posted 29 Nov 2001
Lifted from the pages of Roger Ebert's Video Companion, this amusing glossary of movie cliches includes everything from Ali McGraw's disease - the sufferer grows more beautiful as death approaches - to X-Ray Driver - the strange phenomenon whereby the hero crashes his car or truck through the window or wall of a building at the precise time and place to allow him to rescue a victim or kill the bad guys.
Once Again, Oz TV Content Is Under Threat posted 29 Nov 2001
Once again, the ABA is reviewing its rules regarding Australian content on commercial TV and as always, the moguls will be pushing to have any obligations dropped so they are free to saturate us with cheap US swill. OK, local product may not be much better sometimes but at least the current rules help guarantee that we have Australian content on Australian TV. In you want to get involved, there's a forum at 9:30 am on Dec 11 at the State Library. Go to the ABA website for more info about the review.
Could Ian Thorpe Be The Next Molly Meldrum? posted 29 Nov 2001
Among the production notices in Filmnet's latest newletter was one that really caught my eye. Apparently, Ian Thorpe is to be the host of a TV special about the Rumba Festival - the teen-pop version of the Big Day Out... Are we seeing the genesis of the next Molly Meldrum? (Yes, Anthony, I know the original is still going strong, but he has to be pensioned off sooner or later and, as you can see from the pic, Thorpie has access to a silly hat so he's more than qualified to fill the big man's shoes.)
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