Shannon O’Neill

This Is Not Art is on in Newcastle this weekend. It’s my favourite Australian festival - if you’ve never been, you should check it out. I’ll be doing a couple of talks and a couple of performances.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a personality test here, but on Glen’s recommendation, I just did this one. And I got pretty much the same result as Glen too!

This is your selected tribe:
New Aquarians

Incidence in Population
Proportion of Canadian population: 5 per cent
Proportion of Gen Xers: 14 per cent

Other Demographics
Mostly mirror the general population

Fundamental Motivations
Social Justice and Experience-seeking

Key Values
Adaptability
Concern for the less fortunate
Concern for the environment
Respect for education
Contempt for traditional authorities
Hedonism

Words to Live By
There is no being, only becoming
Everything changed in Seattle
No justice, no peace

Icons
Singer Sarah McLachlan
Author Naomi Klein
Singer/activist Jello Biafra
Rap-metal group Rage Against the Machine
Author/activist John Zerzan
Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar
Dead Prez
Technology Orientation

Money Orientation
Making it: I’d never do work I didn’t believe in.
Spending it: When I must consume at all, I consume with conscience.
Saving it: I’m not saving much now, but when I do I’ll call the shots.
Stealing it: No, thanks.
Giving it away: Environmental and social causes.

I can live with that, although I’m not about to start calling myself a New Aquarian (anyway, I’m a Sagittarian, fwiw).

If you take the test(/quiz/survey/whatever) let us know your result!

================================================================
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA)
www.efa.org.au [Contact details at end of message]  Media Release: 17 February 2006  COMPUTER GAME BAN HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR CENSORSHIP REFORM  Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed concern over the banning of a computer game dealing with graffiti and called for reform of the Australian censorship regime to bring it into line with community expectations.  Under current censorship laws, the highest level rating that a computer game may receive is MA15+ (Mature Accompanied), whereas films may be classified R18+ (Restricted). This means that films deemed suitable only for adults can be legally sold in Australia, whilst computer games of a similar nature will be banned.  “The decision to ban the Marc Ecko’s Getting Up computer game highlights the need for censorship reform,” said EFA’s Executive Director Irene Graham.  “It seems ironic that a computer game that portrays a fictional tyrannical government that oppresses freedom of expression has itself been banned in what is said to be a free country.”  A media release by the Classification Review Board said that the game “promotes the crime of graffiti”. The Board said that one of the factors contributing to the game’s promotion of graffiti was the “interactive biographies of 56 real graffiti artists”. EFA has grave concerns about the presentation of real people’s biographies being used as a factor to justify censorship. “This gets right into issues of free speech,” said Graham. “We’re awaiting publication of the Board’s full reasons, but these comments are a worrying sign.”  EFA’s Chair, Matt Black, said that fears about links between computer games and graffiti may be misplaced.  “Research suggests that young people who graffiti experience underlying issues such as parental, family, behavioural and psychological problems,” said Mr Black, who is doing postgraduate criminology research at Queensland University of Technology. “If this is accurate, justifying censorship because of a fear of graffiti not only trivialises the issue, but it is ineffective. Banning this game will not reduce graffiti, nor will it address the underlying issues.”  Recent media reports have suggested that the game is still freely available on the Internet and the Classification Review Board’s Maureen Shelley has been quoted as suggesting that parents must take responsibility for what their children buy online. “That’s undoubtedly true,” said Graham. “But I think it misses the point. Adults in this country are being treated like children, partly because computer games are subject a differential classification scheme.”  EFA believes that the lack of an “R” rating for computer games demonstrates a disregard for the rights of adult consumers. A report commissioned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in 2002 found strong community support for an “R” classification for computer games and recommended its introduction. However, Australian governments have failed to implement the recommendation reportedly because the South Australian Government blocked a national proposal to introduce an R rating for computer games.  EFA again calls upon the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments to introduce restricted 18+ classifications for computer games in order to give effect to the principle enshrined in Australian classification law that ‘adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want’.  — Ends —  Below is: - Background information - Contact details for media  Background:  1. The Classification Review Board’s media release announcing the ban of Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: http://www.oflc.gov.au/resource.html?resource=748&filename=748.pdf  2. Ecko Unlimited, makers of the Marc Ecko’s Getting Up computer game: http://www.eckounltd.com/news.shtml  3. Report prepared for the Office of Film and Literature Classification ‘A Review of the Classification Guidelines for Films and Computer Games: Assessment of Public Submissions on the Discussion Paper and Draft Revised Guidelines’ prepared by Dr Jeffrey E Brand, Co-director, Bond University Centre for New Media Research and Education, 11 February 2002: http://www.oflc.gov.au/resource.html?resource=189&filename=189.pdf  4. Push for 18+ game rating fails, Caitlin Fitzsimmons, Australian IT, 12 November 2002 “COMPUTER games rated higher than MA15+ will remain banned after the South Australian Government blocked a national proposal to introduce an R18+ rating. …” http://web.archive.org/web/20021115103906/http://australianit.news.com.au/articl es/0,7204,5466570%5e15319%5e%5enbv%5e15306,00.html  5. Research and policy papers from the conference “Graffiti and disorder: local government, law enforcement and community responses”, hosted by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the Australian Local Government Association, 18-19 August 2003: http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2003-graffiti/  About EFA:  Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (”EFA”) is a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line rights and freedoms. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting on-line civil liberties.  Media Contacts:  Ms Irene Graham EFA Executive Director Phone: 0412 997 163 Email: ed at efa.org.au  Mr Matt Black EFA Chair Phone: 0421 022 052 Email: matt at efa.org.au  ————————————————————– Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc — http://www.efa.org.au/ URL of this release: http://www.efa.org.au/Publish/PR060217.html ————————————————————–  _______________________________________________ EFA members mailing list, a one-way list used by the EFA Board. To change your subscribed address, email: 

this is insane! excerpt:

The Classification Review Board yesterday refused to classify the game, Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, meaning it cannot be sold, demonstrated, hired or imported.

The decision was endorsed last night by the Federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, who had asked the board to review of the game’s MA15+ classification after local councils and state governments voiced concerns that the game would promote graffiti.

Australia is the only country in the world to ban the game.

100 things we didn’t know this time last year

AudioMulch 1.0rc1

Behringer B-Control Presets & Templates

Dungeons & Dragons

Increasingly Clear

Stuckism

Traveller (role-playing game)

The University and the Undercommons

X-Men

s0metim3s has given us her favourites of 2005. I wasn’t going to do this, but since I’m waiting for South Africa to be bowled out before I head out for the rest of the day…

Favourites of 2005

I’ve restricted this to things that were published/screened or events that happened in 2005.

Albums

50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
Kate Bush - Aerial
Coil - The Ape of Naples
Dressy Bessy - Electrified
Luke Haines - Luke Haines is Dead
Jackson & His Computer Band - Smash
Lady Sovereign - Vertically Challenged
Konono No. 1 - Congotronics
Metric - Live It Out
M.I.A. - Arular
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Puzahki - Daddy’s Little Skint
Rhythm & Sound - See Mi Ya
Sleater Kinney - The Woods
Smog - A River Ain’t Too Much to Love
Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Alatt Született

It was mainly pop/rock for me this year - I even bought a guitar (which I still can’t play)! The sort of experimental music that I’d usually obsess over, this year I’d generally listen to once or twice before moving on. See Utility Fog for all the postfolkrocktronica that I should’ve been listening to.

Blogs

Too many - see the blog roll. It has been a privilege to have participated in the blog phenomenon and to have met so many amazing people. Extra love to those who have commented at, or linked to this humble blog.

Films

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Howl’s Moving Castle
Me and You and Everyone We Know
The Proposition
Wolf Creek

I didn’t go to the cinema nearly enough this year.

Games

Dragonshard
X-Men Legends 2

Live Music

Ben Byrne & Clayton Thomas @ Disorientation
Dereb Desalegn @ What Is Music, Sydney
DJ Olive @ Liquid Architecture 6, Melbourne
DJ Z-Trip @ The Metro
Lieutenant Colonel Spastic Howitzer @ Electrofringe
Machina Aux Rock @ Liquid Architecture 6, Sydney
Peter Newman @ Electrofringe
The Residents @ The Metro
Smog @ The Metro
Social Interiors @ Liquid Architecture 6, Sydney
Thembi Soddell @ Liquid Architecture 6, Sydney
Wet Gate @ Liquid Architecture 6, Melbourne

I also played live more often this year than any other. Highlights included a solo performance at the National Gallery of Australia for Liquid Architecture 6, Canberra; a technically disastrous but well-received set with WUAL for Liquid Architecture 6, Melbourne; better WUAL performances at Disorientation and Electrofringe; duo performances with Rik Rue (at if you like improvised music…), John Jacobs (at e)scapes) and Ben Byrne (twice, at the NOW now, and a VJ performance at Science Fiction); a solo performance at The Night Air Audiotheque; a solo performance and a Time Being DJ performance at Disorientation; performances with the Splinter Orchestra at Liquid Architecture 6, Sydney and Science Fiction.

TV

Arrested Development
Dateline London
Deadwood
Green Wing
Late Night with Conan O’Brien
Lateline (ABC)
Nathan Barley
Nighty Night
Peep Show
Rome
Something in the Air
The Thick of It
Trailer Park Boys
We Can Be Heroes

Thank goodness for broadband.

What’s In / What’s Out

What’s out:

CDs
Censorship
Copyright
Free to air commercial TV
Newspapers (in print form)

What’s in:

TEH INTERNETS!

Disfiguring the ‘Means of Production’: Sound and Power in Late Capitalism

GamEnd and MamEnd

High-Definition Multimedia Interface

Humility and the Guest: Tarkovsky’s Critique of the Subject

Living Dangerously: Kierkegaardian Faith and Deleuzean Becoming

Oh Good

Overview of all HTML elements

Project Pterosaur

Reggaeton Flows Through Musical Genres

Zipf’s Law

YaCy

Q: What does speed do? I see my attack + defence go up but I don't hit more or get hit less.
A: Attack and Defence only affect chance to hit and chance to get hit in this game. The more points in speed, the more accurate and harder to be you will be with melee attacks.

Q: I have a lot of Speed but I'm not dodging any more!
A: when the word "DODGE!" Actually appears over your character, it's from a skill, not defence.

and drank too much coffee

who is much younger than I expected.