My Favorite Movie

What a brilliant movie.

Yet again I have just watched it for the 7th or 8th time. It was originally released in 1994 and I first saw it in 1996.

The leading actors are Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman (no more needs to be said),

directed by Frank Darabont (The Green Mile)

and written by Stephen King (I think he's written a few books).

The film ranks 2nd to The Godfather in the top 250 movies of IMDb but with 20% more votes.

If you haven't seen it then watch it and if you have then watch it again.

The Shawshank Redemption!!!!

Free Hugs

Have you have seen this???

Get the original here.

Now check out what is behind it:

It started here and then here and then here and then here and I hope it goes on.

And if you think that it has not made an impression then Google It or check out the amount of views at Youtube (3,615,980 views in 4 weeks).

Just a nice story don't ya think? Gives you hope in humanity......

By the way, the music's not bad either from The Sick Puppies.

It's Good Friday!!!

Yep, it's Good Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what is good about it?

The war in Iraq?
The detainees in Guantanamo Bay?
The pigeons that shit on our balcony?
The beautiful beaches in whatever location you're in?
The stock exchange?

No!!!!

It's the beauty of waking up to a new day and enjoying it.

Somehow we are a little bit more sophisticated than ants. Although we are very similar in behaviour we are really only different by the amount of legs and brain capacity. We hunt, we gather, we improve our house, we worship our Queen (or the upper body because we have to), we explore, we ..................

That brings me to the next thought. Religion! What religion do ants have? I guess it's none. So where do they go when they die?

I think about this a lot. I was born a Catholic; baptised, etc, and went to church every Sunday until I was 15 or 16 (without choice). I've lived in Thailand where Buddhism is the In Thing. I've lived in Indonesia and Malaysia where Islam is the In Thing. I've lived in China where whatever the government says is the In Thing (basically just toe the party line). Now I'm in Brazil and I'm back to living amongst serious Christianity and serious crime.

Let's get it right!! Religion is for those that can't face reality and need a feeling of eternity. How can we all be right? Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and all the other factions.

For God's sake (whichever one you worship) just be a good person to your family, neighbour and person that you pass by on the street.

If you do that then you will go to that great promise from whatever you believe in (maybe).

I think that this Friday was as good as the last and it will probably be as good as the next. Maybe there is something in it because Friday is also the primary religious day of Islam.

So, enjoy this Friday as it was the best day of your life, be happy and help others to be happy!!





And then tomorrow do the same....................

Australian's In Exile

OK, now that I have your attention I am a part of the Australian diaspora. I mainly live in Brazil and here we don't have a great deal of Australian TV content as you can imagine, actually zero.So I want to share something that I discovered yesterday.

ABC (Asia Pacific) TV online and LIVE!!

I was in Indonesia a couple of months ago and was getting this service in my hotel room and it was great, live rugby and rugby league and the best of all Australian television from the comercial operators such as All Saints, Blue Healers and Water Rats. I also caught the Australian football (soccer) team qualify for the world cup with a win over Uruguay.

And for those that are not Australian but are diaspora of elsewhere then do yourself a favor and check out this link to online TV around the world.

Enjoy!!!

German viewers may find Strip News quite entertaining.

Edit:
28 March 2006.
Well, the ABC Aisa Pacific service came to a halt a couple ofweeks back. When it dissapeared from service I contacted them about it and found out that it was a third party illegal stream.
Unfortunately they do not intend to make an internet stream of the service.

Homosexuality

Hmmmmmm...................

Well...............................

Difficult...........................

Okay, firstly I will say that I am a happily married straight guy with absolutely no homosexual tendencies.

So, what about gays? Well, we usually don't want to know about them but when the subject arises or we see them we are generally very opinionated. We straights generally talk or think about homosexuality as being an un-natural thing. I've been wrestling with the rights and/or wrongs in my mind for a long time and I experienced something that I had seen many times before, but it just did not sink in, that firmed up my views.

I was sitting on the verandah one afternoon a few weeks ago at my parents place having a few beers with my father. He has a grand total of two fully grown chickens that lay an egg each almost every day. Every afternoon they come past the verandah to scatch around in the garden but on the way one of them, and always the same one, agressively tries to ride the other, just as if she was a rooster, and it is always the same one doing the "riding". She is gay!!!!!!! No, her little brain is telling her that she's a rooster.

Conclusion: That chicken has never read a news paper or seen a pornographic movie or even gone to an all girls boarding school in her life. So, for that chicken homosexuality is a very natural thing. Homosexuality can be normal for those that are homosexual without being influenced by others.

Gay marriage? Well, I'll have to think about that one just a bit longer.

Nuclear Power - The Future?

What the hell is the fossil fuel alternative?

I've been thinking about this for some time and I believe that Nuclear Power is the way to go but there are some serious issues. I believe that they are not so serious anymore.

I've been running this by a few friends lately and they agree.

What are the issues?

1. Another Chernobyl. Technology has come a long way since then and, lets face it, the old Russian technology and methodology was never really up to sratch. There are many sucessful power plants around the world.

2. Nuclear waste. That is just soooo easy to solve. Firstly realize that the amount of waste per year per power plant is just so small. I have read figures of one plant producing less than a shoe box of waste per year. Let's say we have 10 x 200 litre drums of waste per year in the world. Why can't we just put it put it all into a rocket and point it to the sun. It will simply burn out long before it gets anywhere near it's destination and dissipate at tiny concentration levels into the universe.

3. Terrorists. Sure the plants are a target but put them out of harms way. Bury them into the ground or a hillside. Bombs don't penetrate very deep at all if they just hit the surface of the ground. They really need something serious like a nuclear bomb to penetrate much more than 6 metres deep. If they have a nuclear bomb then why waste it on a nuclear power station, better to just go straight for down town New York.

Am I wrong? What am I missing? Please comment.

Below is an article from a recent "The Bulletin with Newsweek". It seems that Australia is getting keen on the idea also.

The Meaning Of "Switchroom"

We stumbled across something during my latest "experience" that I thought was worth sharing.

Where I come from the meaning of the word switchroom is the room where inside all switchgear is installed.

Here in Indonesia we have found a new meaning of this word. It can also mean where switchgear is installed outside the room.

Maybe it was the On/Off switch for the plant or something, we haven't worked that out yet!!!!

And..............here it is:

I know it's a bit small but that is a 3 phase circuit breaker on the OUTSIDE of the switchroom door. So click on it to see a larger image.

No. 265

We now have the 265th Pontiff!!



Is he a good choice?

Will he really help those that will be born into poverty?

Will he really help those that will contract AIDS in developing countries?

Will traditionalism be good for them?

I don't care what anyone believes, we weren't born to suffer!!

I really thought that one of the Latin American or African candidates were (are) the correct (progressive) choices.

Looks like it's more years of head-in-the-sand stuff....................

Past Time Of The Week

Pretty obvious isn't it.

Chimney spotting!! Rivetting stuff <:-))

Edit:
I'm a bit dissappointed that is was over so quickly!!

Currencies

All these countries that use the "dollar" need to think about the confusion they create and how much easier it could be. Here are some examples:
Australian dollar
New Zealand dollar
Hong Kong dollar
US dollar
Singapore dollar
Canadian dollar

I've got a mate working in Latvia at the moment and they have the Lat. Makes good sense!!! The currency name with a piece of significance to the country.

What about this:
Australian ozzy
New Zealand kiwi
Hong Kong honky
US yankee
Singapore sling
And Canada, well they can have the dollar

That'll be five ozzys twenty thanks.

Today one yankee equals one point three nine kiwi.

How much sling will I get for 100 euro? Just over two hundred and fifteen.

There we go, much better!!

Calle's Bet

I just got this link from a mate currently stationed in Thailand but a Swede. I was suprised to see that it is about another mate, a Cuban, Carlos (nickname Calle), who now lives in Sweden.

I'm suprised that this bet made an internet posting but I'm not suprised about the bet at all. The bet is NO sex for 40 days and 40 nights.

He's a "dude". Check him out!!

I don't think he'll make it!!!

Edit:
Well, nothing surprising. He lost the bet in less than half the time.
The link has dissappeared. Sorry.

Back On "The Road Map" Track?

The Arafat era is gone, welcome to the new!!

????????? Ceasefire ?????????

A very careful period we are entering now.

Who will falter first; the Israeli's or some crazy Palestinian faction.

The odds must be about 2:1 on Islamic militia.

Whoever does break it will be alienated by the rest of the world of "modern" thinkers.



Yasser Arafat was the image of a terrorist in his younger day. His more recent years were good and bad. He made a monumental f___up by supporting Sadam Hussain in his quest to take Kuwait. He made a big impact for his part in the Oslo Accords, hence a Nobel peace prize. But he still looked like the terrorist, guerilla militia that we know he once was. I don't think his army fatigues did much for his image appart from promote (or maybe help justify) militia activites within the Palestinian factions.



Mahmoud Abbas appears to come from an educational and later political background to become president although he was probably one of the brains behind some of the PLO nasty stuff such as the Munich massacre in 1972. At least he doesn't look like a terrorist and appears to have a cleaner image.



Ariel Sharon, well!! Interesting chap as he was one on the drivers behind the illegal Israeli occupation into the territories in the first place. Can he handle an about turn?

This time, for Gods sake (it doesn't matter in which one you believe), get it right guys.

By the way, where are Arafat millions?

Beirut Is Back

Too quiet for too long!!



This could be the start of a very ferocious election campaign for the next few months.

Was it Syria, was it Mafia, was it someone that "don't like Mondays".

My bet - Syria.

Keep out of it Bush!!

Habib celebrates long-awaited freedom

Okay, he's home. But what about the 3 years holed up in Guantanamo Bay? I'm not a supporter of evil but I'm certainly a supporter of justice. If he is allowed to come home after all this time without the US coming down on him then what did he do wrong?

What will be his compensation? Nothing, I guess.

What will be his freedom of mind? Nothing I guess.

And the Aussie government want to stop him from telling (selling) his story!!!!

If he was guilty then prosecute him, if not then give him his freedom of rights including his right to sell his story. I can't wait to hear it.

Below is a link to his home coming.

Habib celebrates long-awaited freedom