http://www.thewhimwham.com The surreal side of everyday life Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:19:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There's currently an excellent (and quite balanced) opinion piece by Adele Horin at the Sydney Morning Herald that is quite critical of Australia's funding of elite sports: But how much public money is a gold medal worth? In Beijing, each gold medal has cost Australia at least $50 million, says Kevin ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/23/the-value-of-gold/ Those wacky Chinese can't keep themselves from opening fire on Tibetan protesters, even while the eyes of the world are on them during this delightfully shambolic Olympic Games: Chinese troops fired on Tibetan protesters this week and 400 people have been killed since unrest erupted in March, the Dalai Lama was ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/22/peek-a-boo/ I had another crack at the Political Compass today. I hadn't taken the test in quite some time, so I was curious to see exactly where I fell within their 2D spectrum and if there was any change. Here's my result: Libertarian Left. No real change there. But let's be a bit ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/20/the-political-compass/ That's the topic for debate tonight. I'm going to give a clear, resounding "No"... with plenty of qualifications. Religion, as a series of unquestioned, unchanging beliefs, has consistently been used to justify and perpetuate evil throughout history. As an institution, it has often reflected the uglier side of the human race. But when ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/19/would-the-world-be-better-off-without-religion/ I'm going to try and catch the Eels game tonight, particularly because it's make-or-break time for them for this season. I lost interest in all this stuff for two reasons: the Eels' overall performance has been abysmal (and the Bulldogs' even worse), and study and other  annoyingly practical concerns have dominated my attention. But ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/18/eels-v-tigers/ Okay, it wasn't me, but I secretly wish it were: A MARAUDING gang of teenage gatecrashers got more than they bargained for when an angry householder used a whip to eject them from his 16-year-old son's party. Dion Driman pulled out a South African sjambok when more than 30 youths attempted to ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/17/dion-d-goes-all-indy-on-young-punks/ One of the down-sides of being known as a pretty serious Star Wars fan is how everyone expects you to be dying to see everything with the brand name on it. Even at age six I had zero interest in Caravan of Courage, and now, 23 years later, history seems ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/14/i-cant-wait-to-miss-this/ I finally managed to see The Dark Knight yesterday. I'll admit that I was pretty tired and didn't quite catch how everything fit together, so I'll wait for the DVD in order to fairly assess the film. My present opinion, however, is that, while I personally loved Batman Begins, The ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/14/the-dark-knight/ Tonight I was giving a techie walkthrough for a friend via MSN (a.k.a. "Windows Live Messeger") when I had the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Man, was I pissed off. So it was that much sweeter when I read that the BSOD itself had a cameo during the Olympic Opening ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/12/blue/ I don't watch much commercial, free-to-air TV these days---it just really doesn't interest me anymore---so I'm slightly out of the loop on some matters. Imagine my surprise, then, when last night I witnessed an ad for Red Rooster fish and chips. What the hell? Firstly, isn't the whole point of the fish-and-chip experience ... http://www.thewhimwham.com/2008/08/11/the-red-menace/