there is no God of Irony

Because if there was, Barnaby Joyce would have been struck down for saying this:

"They start with trying to remove the AWB and where they finish up is where their ultimate goal is - the removal of the single desk," Senator Joyce said.

He says it simply would not make sense to do away with the single desk.

"It's very peculiar when so many people want to get rid of what is one of the final and one of the best strategic advantages we have in marketing a product in one of the most corrupt markets in the world, which is the grain market," he said.

Yes. Damn that corrupt grain market. I mean, there's nothing that won't be done - including bribing a leader who was Worse Than Hitler and all that.

Disclaimer: I don't really have strong opinions about whether Australia should keep a single desk (that is, a monopoly exporter for wheat). I don't know the details well enough. I do feel, however, that AWB deserves a corporate death sentence, along with jail time for senior executives who are found to have been involved in this bribery scandal. Of course, there's a very real chance of people like Downer being called to testify under oath at any trials. I suspect AWB's wall of silence may crack if the people involved are facing imprisonment, which should be fun.

festival shows next week

Miss S. and I are planning on seeing these two shows at the Speigeltent next week. If you'd like to come to either, let me know and I will book you tickets with ours.

La Clique, Wednesday October 25, 9.15pm - $49.50 per head

Oh. My. God. fizit, drbunsen and I saw this show last year. It was sex on legs. So very, very good. And the suspension artist with the clawfoot bath is back again this year. There's a bunch of photos on the festival website, and an article in the age today about them, and here's a BBC review and a short clip on this website. To call this show "sexy" is to demonstrate the sheer paucity of the english language. It was something else again. We ended up sitting with a couple of women who admitted that they were feeling the urge to give up being lesbians for some of the men in the show. And the women were also amazingly stunning. The scary physical prowess, the athleticism, the humour, the whole package.

Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, Thursday October 26, 7pm - $30 per head.

A dark and bizarre gypsy caberet show. I've seen them a number of times so far, and have had an absolute ball each time. There's a review of last year's show here in the age. They're very talented musicians, and Mikelangelo is one of the most entertaining showmen I've seen on stage. Well, on stage, on the tables, in the audience, and anywhere else he can get to.
You can hear some of their music at their website. I recommend "A Formidable Marinade" as a great example of their style.

Anyway, I'm planning on booking tickets for both of these shows Thursday morning. If you'd like to come along to either, or both, leave a message here, or contact me through one of the usual mechanisms. And if you're someone who hasn't been to the Speigeltent yet, go! It's a fabulous wonderful venue. I only wish it would live in Melbourne permanently - but I'm greedy like that.

(no subject)

SAM: You must have had visions of sugarplums dancing in your head, little pal!
MAX: Oh, thank God! I thought it was a twitching, lemon-sized brain tumor.

Sam and Max. Sam and Max. Moooore Sam and Max!

Wah. Not available til November 1st in Australia. You better believe I'll be getting it.

where's john lithgow when you need him?

In today's edition of "Slow News Day", we have this piece from the LAT. I've added the image, because the LA Times inexplicably failed to add it.



The grainy high school dance video is lurid.

A teenage boy dances behind his winter-formal date, hands on her hips, thrusting his pelvis against her while she hitches up her satiny gown and bends at the waist. Another couple dance facing each other, their bodies enmeshed and their hips gyrating in a frenzy. A boy approaches a third couple, nearly sandwiching the girl between himself and her partner.

Teenagers call it "freaking," a style of dance made popular on MTV. Educators call it "simulated sex" that has no place at school dances. This clash between outraged adults and sexualized teens is being played out at homecoming dances, winter formals and proms across the nation, most recently at Aliso Niguel High School in Aliso Viejo.

After a jungle-themed dance in September, Principal Charles Salter canceled all future dances until students, parents and administrators craft a plan to stop freak dancing.

For months he'd implored parents to get their children to stop freaking, and even showed a video of the school dance to hundreds of parents at back-to-school night.

"The 'dancing' of our youngsters today is one step from events that should be occurring on wedding nights," he wrote in an e-mail to parents.

...