Thursday, December 01, 2005

I Can Stop ANYTIME I choose

Well, well, looks like internet addiction is for real after all. The Register says "...as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction". Good thing I can give this up any time I want.

Blogrolling doesnt seem to be reliable. The list of bloggers on the right is supposed to ordered according to most recently updated. But is it? Sometimes, maybe.



Went to see Jose Gonzales play in Northcote. It was pretty good. I would have liked it better if he spoke to us a bit more though. Otherwise, it's almost like just listening to his CD, except you're standing with 300 other people and it's hot. One person fainted. Heat? Drugs? Who knows?

Also went to see this other piece of theatre called Prodigal Daughter. Had themes of paedophelia. A bit long, acting was pretty good but the subject matter was too heavy for me.

Plus I immediately ran out and got this excellent publication, Poster Magazine when I heard that this talented blogger worked on it. Go get your copy before they run out. Now! Go, I'll wait for you.

Was thinking of Christmas presents. I wonder what one would think of a domain name as a present. Godaddy has them for USD$9/year and that comes with 50Mb disk space. Pretty good deal. I was thinking of getting another one. Cant think of any good names. The current favourite is angstra.com, a telstrafication of my surname plus a bit of my general disposition thrown in. Silly idea? Better name? Please tell.

Am listening to this song by The Shins a lot. Musically, I suspect I may be going through my cowboy hoofty beat phase.

Also I cant help but wonder why they didnt track Van Nguyen instead and catch the next guy in the chain. Mules are so disposable. Drugs should be decriminalised and controlled. *sigh*. Life is so fleeting.
But I guess nothing is forever. In fact, some very important things lasts *only* 1 year. Should be longer. It is so sad.

Man, it is warm tonight.
Addendum.
Went to a concert recital and joined the orchestra for the after performance dinner. On seeing me enter the restaurant, one of the violinists said to her companion, "Yeah, that's him, the guy that was clapping." "Ummm.... no, you must be mistaken. It was probably someone who looked like me", said I, walking away quickly. I dont remember clapping out of turn and the people I knew didnt contradict me. I was too gutless then to confront her to clarify her accusations. Now I shall spend nights awake thinking of what she could have possibly meant.

29 comments:

Husky Nutmeg said...

See. This is why I love your posts. I'm exhausted from being up all night playing with photos for an 18th -now I have my coffee and half of a good conversation at least (thank you again) at a time of day that suits me - augh maybe I'm addicted (wringing hands). Do you think maybe that I'm just a pathetic coward who can't have a real conversation with a real person. God, maybe I do need help. I wonder if there's an online shrink...

I'm listening to the music, can't hear the words right now - competing with ABC for kids.

The GoDaddy link doesn't link by the way. Glad you mentioned it though - was trying to remember the name 0f the site only the other day.

Chai said...

hn : You like? Shucks... *unsuccessfully tries not to blush*. I guess the internet provides a buffer. You reply when you feel like it, u dont have to pretend or can pretend (to be clever, interesting, attractive, deep or whatever). Regd song, not sure if the words are all that meaningful but I like the beat/melody. BTW, I've got Jeremy Irons reading The Little Tin Soldier. Let me know if you'd like the mp3. And the godaddy link is fixed. I'd forgotten the "http://" prefix.

Husky Nutmeg said...

About the violinist - that happens to me sometimes and I wonder why I have given someone else so much power that what they've said has bothered me later.

Don't allow her the privalege of your energy, my friend. Mind, if you happened to pass her along Flinders Lane one day, it wouldn't hurt to mention to whoever you might be with (a stranger will do if you are alone),

'There's that violinist who was out of tune.'

Chai said...

hn: Am not upset with the violinist, more puzzled than anything.
s.o.n : I know, just that all the good names are taken.

ChickyBabe said...

Like you, I've come to the realisation that I can give up the internet any time I want. But it's a matter of wanting!

Husky Nutmeg said...

The BBC news article could easily apply to your first point. With both you have to question why you started.

Autumn Storm said...

hey Chai, how you doin'? :-)
Once again, I'm completely envious at the amount of things you manage to squeeze in - note to self: must find a reliable babysitter a.s.a.p.
I'm addicted and I'll freely admit it :-) moreover I have no intention of quitting, ever. ;)

Chai said...

cb: I thought all addicts say that... ie. I can stop _anytime_ I choose to. :-)

scarlett : Jose did do Kylie. He has it on his "Australian Tour EP". Let me know if u want an mp3 of this cover.

hn : It's not why I started which is important. It's how I control it, which is. But I do exaggerate for the amusement purposes.

as : I only get the kid 2 days a week, so have more time, I guess. Sorry to hear of your addiction. :-)

Steph said...

You should have said to her, "hey, at least i wasn't booing and throwing stuff at ya". I would have. Maybe that's just me. ;)

Chai said...

steph : I didnt think quickly enough. Oh time, in your flight, go back. Besides, she's an old ex-MSO (apparently) hag anyway. Wouldnt want to upset the elderly :-) It's bad luck.

sublime-ation said...

Cool Blogroll idea. I want it. How do I get it?

Chai said...

4 step process.

* Sign up at http://www.blogrolling.com

* Add your links, under 'Preferences', choose your sort order under 'Sorting your links'.

* Click on 'Get Code', cut and paste the javascript code. (there are instructions there).

* Login to your blogspot account. Under Change Settings->Template

Scroll close to the bottom of your template and paste the copied code somewhere there.

Save your template and republish.

That's it. Simplicity the key word! :-)

Hope this helped - Chai

sublime-ation said...

Thanks.
re: crazy artist, I agree with the commentors, the ones he made later on while insane were def. better than his early work, which was atrocious!

Chai said...

scar : Jose is very listenable. Speaking of covers, I just heard Heartbreak Hotel by Leonard Cohen. Frigging incredible.
sub : I think so too. Madness is mandatory I think :-)
The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad. --Salvador Dali

sublime-ation said...

True. And I love the Jose Kylie cover.

Husky Nutmeg said...

Salvadore Dali - there's another guy whose work was amazing. He grabbed perspective and took it somewhere else so that it's something new again. To me, he is a genius but somewhere someone will say there is the picture of insanity.

Anonymous said...

Godaddy are really good. Someone gave me a domain name as my birthday present last year, at first I thought it was really weird but then really grew to like the idea so I would definitely recommend that as a present

Drugs should be decriminalised and controlled.
Even heroin? No way. You can't control addictions like heroin, cocaine and the like. Decriminalising drugs would not help addicts at all, it would just make it easier for them to top up their addiction. And for me this is not one of those philosophical arguments, if the decision based upon stuff I have learned from having loved ones and friends addicted to all sorts of shite.

Chai said...

sub : It's not bad. Quite different to the Kylie cover.

hn : One day, I'd like to go to Figueres and visit the Dali museum there.

rachy : Hello. Regd heroin, ok, the guy is addicted.
Scenario 1. What we have now. Guy is desperate. Goes underground, crime etc....
Scenario 2. He can approach the authorities. They can provide some support.
Bottom line is legalising it may not help the addict kick the habit, but it removes the criminal element (both from the user and the distributor) from the equation. And I am in favour of that.

Anonymous said...

yes but I don't think addicts should get government subsidised/free heroin, aside from the fact it's all a matter of quality and amount as well... dealers will always find a way to work out how to provide better quality heroin than the government would offer, said addicts will go to where they can get the best quality... the unpredictability of heroin addiction is uncontrollable... rehabilitation should always be available, but decriminalisation never

Chai said...

rachy : I think it has to do with control. If you project your scenario, you have roughly what we have now. And I think it can be better overall, with better control. It's not as lucrative for the criminal element. If the clergy in Kings Cross condones safe injecting rooms etc... (which is a step towards decriminalisation), it cannot be all that bad.
But it's a moot point anyway, with the Addams family in government.

Husky Nutmeg said...

Alcohol can cause damage. It can be a little bit of damage or it can be devastating.

It's clear that control of alcohol usage reduces some of the danger but not all.

Little steps towards freeing up any attitude toward usage of any substance would need to be met with huge changes in the way we educate our society.

Anonymous said...

It's not as lucrative for the criminal element.

Drug dealers are scumbags who make money from human misery. There is no doubt in my mind that were heroin to become decriminalised they would change their tactics and find a way to make dealing lucrative again, like intensifying the quality or something. I just think that decriminalisation is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, it's not attacking the problem where the problem needs to be attacked.

Rehabilitation by all means, not decriminalisation

Anonymous said...

The Addams family?! That's funny as. Just the other day one of my friends sent me a song as a joke, do you remember MC Hammer's the Addams family groove? I think people should sing that instead of the national anthem at the opening of Parliament

Chai said...

hn : good example.

rachy : I guess we could circle each other all day (and night). But the problem will always be there. I am trying to minimise the harm. But it is a theory. Never know till one tries.

Anonymous said...

good point, it's just that after seeing enough people go through addictions that I don't believe decriminalisation would minimise harm, I think in the end it would actually have the opposite effect, we don't want heroin and other drug use becoming as widespread as alcohol or tobacco use... but I actually like being able to discuss this with someone who has an opposing view without ripping throats out, so thanks:-)

Chai said...

Not harm to the addicts... Harm to the community... I am predicting less crime, less deaths (O.D.s), u take (a big portion) the smugglers out of the equation. And decriminalising it doesnt mean legalising it. ie. you dont buy heroin over the counter, like tobacco... I'm talking like methadone here.

Chai said...

I suppose this topic can get quite emotional. Ripping throats was Plan B. :-)
Lets project this a bit... Visualise yourself as a drug dealer (that is if you need to), would you be worried if the Govt legalised this? And if so, it would be in your best interest to spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt to make sure it never happens. And I'm saying distribution would be very strict, like how methadone is being admistered now (or stricter). Bear in mind my opinions are malleable but it is this at this point in my life.

It's too hard to discuss this via a blog. It's like playing correspondence chess. Speaking of, there are 2 views on gameplay. One is you look at the board, and ask yourself, "What pieces can I move now?" and then move one of the available pieces. The other is "What do I want the board to look like in N moves from now?" and then move a piece that will bring it closer to what you visualised. Interpret this as you may.

Susanne said...

Oooh, I'm going to the Shins in January. Love'em.

Chai said...

Lucky cow.