BONWAG: The Blog
formerly: the BONWAG Diaries
It's summertime in Japan:
(David: July 12, 2008 8:14 PM)
It's summertime in Japan: I think I'll have a nice cool drink of... Wait, what?
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Gentle reminder
(David: June 28, 2008 11:16 AM)
Do not want
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Blinding Science
(: June 25, 2008 11:05 PM)
 [Caption]
In related science news, good to see we're starting to figure out what glass is. Finally. Turns out that glass is indeed female, as the French suggests - it just can't make up it's mind whether it's a liquid or a solid. Or it gets stuck in traffic jams easily. Or both.
(re: Geek)
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Take The Next Turn, Hoff
(: June 21, 2008 5:44 PM)
Here's one gadget you won't get tired of - a GPS unit with the voice of KITT - the 'Knight Rider' car. I hope the engineer that thought of this one gets a raise.
However, I'm still holding out for a HAL9000 version. How cool would it be to try to take an unplanned side route and have it say 'I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave'. Or, indeed, any of these would be awesome. If anyone is listening, yes, you can steal my idea.
(re: Geek)
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Which of the 'Wicked's Was Worst?
(: June 19, 2008 12:49 AM)
I finished reading Gregory Maguire's 'Wicked - The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch Of The West' on Monday - and have finally digested it. I think it deserves a place in my personal Top 10 - despite the heartburn it gave me. There are two misconceptions I had going into this reading - mainly based on the fact I saw the musical version first, and that has coloured my view. Misconception One: This would be a children's read. Maguire does write children's books, the musical was family-friendly, and the book on which is it very loosely based - The Wizard Of Oz - is children's reading. I even bought the novel as a gift for the kids, seeing as they are such fans of the show. However, where the musical veered close to some adult concepts, the book tackles them head-on. Not recommended for children - Maguire's Oz is a grown-up world with sex and death and politics and killer bees. Misconception Two: The musical is based on the book. It isn't. In fact, I have a hard time placing much of the book's plot, and even the character's relationships, in their appropriate place in the musical version. The ending is very different. The relationships between the characters are very different. What remains between the book and the musical are the strong characters and some clever postmodern re-tooling of the Oz landscape - political, social, and, yes, spiritual. Without giving too much away, it's like re-working the Star Wars saga so Luke Skywalker turns out to be fathered by Obi-Wan and C-3PO becomes Darth Vader instead. Or something like that. Actually, nothing like that. No spoiler here. Move on. I use the Star Wars reference because I did enjoy the way Maguire plays around with the notion of 'evil' and shifts the landscape by giving it context and a back-story, like what George Lucas did with Anakin Skywalker. It's not black and white (nor green). Both versions (as well as Star Wars) do an admirable job of exploring the twists of fate or fortune - and the personal decisions - that determine whether someone ends up with 'good' or 'wicked' on their CV. It's likely that the movie that comes out (eventually) will be based on the musical version, rather than the book. It's difficult to decide which version of the truth I would like to see on the big screen. It is a fun book to read - not least to observe how the L Frank Baum story is interwoven with this one. For example, unlike the original, the witch has a name: Elphaba. It took a while to realise the source: L - F - B. Cute. And there is a monkey called Chistery. And talking Animals. And, thankfully, none of the Rowling Effect of inventing a new magic device every few pages to advance the plot. In fact, it's surprising to note how small a role magic and sorcery plays in the book. It is all advanced by strong characterisations, an intricately intelligent plot and masterful storytelling skills. The language is a little bloated in places, and the pacing suffers as a result. But it is a powerful story well told.
(re: Life)
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Caleb's New Book - Now On Shelves
(: June 16, 2008 5:24 PM)
We're pleased to announce Caleb's first book is available at at least one good online bookstore: lulu.com. We hope more will follow.
It's the first in a series that Caleb will be publishing, and we got our first actual, physical copy in the post today. It's all very professionally done, and I'm very impressed at the way Caleb put it all together himself.
I hope to score an exclusive interview soon.
(re: Life)
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Sets In The City
(: June 14, 2008 10:05 PM)
Good to see Allanah back on the dance floor with her new partner Anthony today: they won 2 third places in the 'Night Of Stars' Championship at Observation City.
Caleb and Kirsty ripped up the dancefloor with a sixth place, a fifth, a second, and four first places!
In related news, Ainslie got David onto the dance floor twice.
(re: Life, Life)
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The New Digs
(: June 10, 2008 6:51 AM)
First day of work in the new CA office in North Ryde. Ooo. Shiny.
(re: Travel)
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Wet Wet Jet
(: June 9, 2008 12:28 PM)
Only an hour's delay because a flight attendant was sick.
(re: Travel)
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Regarding The Alternative Candidate
(: June 1, 2008 10:07 PM)
You know, after listening to a few tracks from the newcomer to the 'David Cook' franchise, I'm not that upset about sharing the stage. He's not bad at all.
It is kinda sad that the 'David Cook - Singer' slot is taken on Wikipedia (twice over) so I guess I'm just going to be happy with 'Composer' or 'Maestro'. Or 'Overlord'.
By The Way - interesting to see that Wikipedia has an entry for 'Ambiguous Human Names'. Are you on there, too?
(re: Life)
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Oh. No.
(: May 22, 2008 9:55 PM)
No. No. No. No.
(re: Life)
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The Hurlstone 20 Year Reunion
(: May 19, 2008 10:00 PM)
Yep - it's happening!
We're working on the invitations and plans at the moment. If you'd like an invite, head over to facebook and get yourself onto the 'Hurlstone Agricultural High School Class of 1988' Group.
If you're an anti-Facebook bigot, send me an email and I'll make sure you're on the list.
Keep October 4 free. And head to Canterbury.
It should be a good night. I'm traveling from the other side of the country. If you're from the 'Class of 88', you should too.
Oh, and if you're a Sydneysider, check out the 'Circle of '88' dinners in the leadup to the big event.
(re: Hurlstone)
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LA Is Stuck On 'Default'
(: May 9, 2008 8:24 PM)
In the last several years or so, every Australian traveller flying to the US with Qantas (or a few other carriers) has been herded into an underground antechamber for 'arrival formalities'. Everyone - first class to cattle, rich and poor, lagged or no - has waited for US Border Control to get their act together and process the queue already.
And without fail, every time, the LED displays above each passport control officer have been stuck on their power-up settings. Presumably, someone installed these for a reason, like displaying 'Welcome to the US' or 'Visitors' or 'Have your passport ready'. You know, something useful.
But no, I have yet to see these LED signs say anything useful. And if you're trapped in a smallish waiting room, without magazines or television to distract your attention, and without a mobile phone signal, with a bunch of cranky people who have just stepped off a 14 hour flight at 7am, you need more.
But, on this last trip, as a public service, I transcribed these sage lessons for the benefits of the viewers at home.
Here is what I learned about the LED System at LA International Airport on April 21, 2008.
introducing a new
state of the art
electronic display
featuring
wireless remote
dazzling color
simple operation
up to 27 characters can be displayed one at a time
(bar|bar|bar) (slot machine demonstration)
welcome
no smoking
(wineglass - a car crashes into it and a stick figure flies through the windscreen. this is my favorite bit)
please don't drink and drive
create your own messages
(fireworks)
thank you
It says a lot about US culture, actually.
(re: Travel)
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When in Long Island...
(: May 4, 2008 3:42 AM)
You know what ingredient is NOT in a Long Island Iced Tea? Go on, guess.
(re: Travel)
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Bleachers Suck
(: May 3, 2008 9:17 AM)
The fans in the outfield incur the wrath of the entire Yankee Stadium for breaking the chain of a massive Mexican Wave. Boo!
(re: Travel)
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Traffic
(: April 29, 2008 6:54 AM)
It's all a LIE
(re: Travel)
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Dream time
(: April 28, 2008 11:53 PM)
We got the painted one! Hopefully I can get some sleep on the LA-NY leg
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LAX
(: April 28, 2008 10:50 PM)
Monday morning and the security ain't lax, hon
(re: Travel)
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Stock Footage
(: April 26, 2008 3:02 PM)
Look what the school holidays have come to.
----
David
(re: Life)
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UWA from the Air... in Google Earth
(: April 16, 2008 5:20 PM)
Someone really has too much time on their hands. The whole campus has been modeled in 3D. Brilliant job!
By the way, the new release of Google Earth is very nice indeed.
(re: Life)
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