Binnsy's Hovel

Damn. Three days between posts. Urgh. Probably won’t post again for a while either because I’ve got a Religion assignment to finish, and it is the last week of school for this year. Urgh.

Until next time…

It amused me to read that according to the selectors, Kasprowicz’s spell from the one-day team ‘is not related to his awful 22-run over against New Zealand’ on Sunday night. Yeah, righto then.

Also, check out this pic of Justin Langer during the Chairman’s XI game against Pakistan. Should we start called him Darth? Amusing.

Until next time…

NationStates is a lot of fun. It really is. Especially when you’re somewhat of a veteran. Now see, there are only 250 or so issues that can pop up every day, so it gets to the stage where you may have the same issue twice, maybe three times a week. But if you’re in a position of power, like UN Delegate, you can take control of other things, such as voting on UN proposals and representing your region in front of the world. I, as the UN Delegate for the region of Bolbynzia, have been taking several measures to improve the relationships between the nations and maintain our status as the peace-hating, warmongering region that our reputation states we are. As such, I yesterday proposed to the other Bolbynzian nations that our region be defined as solely socialist, aligning itself squarely with the tenets of the Communist Manifesto. I also voted for four different proposals that could arise at the next convention of the UN. Good fun.

Other than that I haven’t been doing much. I am home from school today with a combined indigestion/influenza whammy. Super stuff. But the cricket’s on later so then I’ll be set for the night.

Until next time…

And so life in the wide world continues. I am now counting down to the 17th of December, when I will finally be released from the bondage that is the transitional term between Year 11 and Year 12. I have a whole six weeks off, and intend to spend as little of it as possible actually doing anything. We will be going down to Inverloch for a while, I’ll be off with friends to the Grampians and we’ll be off to the cricket every now and again. Plus the usual stay-up-till-two-AM-then-sleep-in-till-eleven-AM routine. Love it.

Then on top of that I’ll have to write up a first draft for my Extension II story. Which should be interesting. At some stage I will post up here the idea for my story; should help my articulation of said idea. Which reminds me, I have to finish off my Proposal for Thursday afternoon. Fun fun. This blog has become decidedly introverted. I’ve said that before I think. Oh well. This may or may not last. Depends how I feel really.

If you’re looking to waste a bit of time, check out my ‘Best of Wikipedia‘ page. Always fun. These are just starters, then when you’ve finished just search the Wiki for some random thing that you’ve always wanted to know more about. They have a lot of stuff.

Until next time…

I’ve been following the Ukraine election saga pretty closely, despite the only blog-related writings taking the form of terrible musings and plays on the names of the candidates. I’ll try never to do that again. No guarantees, though.

All I see the so-called ‘Ukrainian Revolution’ as is a populist propaganda-fuelled fun fest. Admittedly it’s good to see a people rising up as one and getting their way (especially in Eastern Europe where that kind of thing is quite rare), however I read in one article that the nation is divided. What about the other half who actually wanted Mr Yanukovich to get in? I suppose people power prevailed. And people power in was. Talk about riding a wave. In the main article on the subject in today’s SMH, it said that a Ukraine band called ‘Sledge’, has had a number one hit with a song called We Are Many, We Shall Not Be Beaten. Not propaganda? Not politically-geared? No, never!

It did amuse me to read Mr. Yushchenko’s comments about his children. He said:

“My three little children run around the house all day, waving my party’s flags, singing this song. They have become true revolutionaries.”

Don’t let this guy in! He’s breeding a master race of revolutionaries! ARGH! No, I actually think that if this guy can rally so much support and patriotism in a group of people, he really does deserve to get the top job. Especially after what he’s been through.

Until next time…

It’s good to finally see the Kiwis win something. It reassures me that there is actually some element of competition in the sport of cricket these days. Kudos to the Kiwis for their tremendous effort. But allow me now just to share a few thoughts on yesterday’s one-dayer. Firstly to Michael Kasprowicz, you don’t bowl those kinds of deliveries in the last half a dozen overs. It just doesn’t happen. To play cricket at that level you need a certain level of stamina and coolness under pressure. To bowl across leg stump, especially when you’re a fast bowler (and the batsman lets it go through for four no balls), is unforgivable. Stick to working hard in the State and Test teams, Kasper, you’re not quite ready for the pressure of international limited overs games yet, mate. Kasprowicz pretty much sealed the game when he was belted for 22 runs in the third-last over. Get a seasoned all-round veteran like McGrath or Gillespie back in the team. McGrath if you want coolness under pressure, Gillespie if you want an intense character with skill and his own sense of class. Selectors, it’s up to you.

The three highlights of the game, in my opinion, took place in the final few overs of the game. The first was from the formidable Brett Lee. After a spell of about five overs, Lee starts limbering up again. He’s called in to bowl, and by this stage, Hamish Marshall and Chris Cairns are starting to form a nice mid-tail order partnership. Lee charges in, and on his first delivery the ball goes straight through Chris Cairns and takes out middle stump, sending the bails high into the air. Brilliant. The next highlight came a bit later on; perhaps in that same over, I’m not sure. Lee sent a firebolt down to one of the batsmen, only for the batsman to play it through his legs into the ground. They got a quick single, and at the other end Lee and the batsman exchanged smiles and Lee gave a pat on the back. It’s those moments that make me love the game. There is no bitterness. There is rivalry, sure, but it’s only in terms of the friendly competition. Great game. The third highlight has to be Hamish Marshall’s inventive shot over the top to long leg. Great stuff.

Bad luck, boys. But we’ll get ‘em on Wednesday.

Until next time…

Yet again I manage to leave a two-day gap between posts! Meh. Life is overwhelming, what can I say.

Lastnight I went out with some friends and family and saw We Will Rock You at Star City. I saw the show in Melbourne just over 12 months ago, and have to say that the Melbourne one was better. This had a lot to do with the fact that in lastnight’s performance, the lead character, Galileo Figaro, wasn’t played by Michael Falzon. I don’t know the name of the actor who played the part lastnight, but his vocal range and projection was probably standard, nothing more. He was outshone by the two female leads, Annie Crummer and Kate Hoolihan, whose sexiness and raw vocal talent was magnificent. That said, the show was absolutely awesome. The band was highly skilled at recreating that Queen sound, especially the guitar solos and the synth effects in some of the newer songs like ‘Those Were the Days’ and ‘No-One But You’. Kudos to Robert Grubb who played Pop brilliantly. Apart from Galileo and Brit, the cast remained unchanged. The story remained the same, though some of the jokes were updated to fit in to the area and the times. I give it 4.5/5.

In other news, very little has happened. I’ve been working pretty hard on the proposal for my Extension II piece, and my Religion assignment. Yesterday I scored a new airconditioner in my room, which is about fifty times quieter than the old one, and this one doesn’t shake the windows and walls.

Well, I best be off. I’ve been up for an hour or so, and still haven’t eaten, so food’s a big priority. After that, finishing off my Proposal, then probably Maths homework. Urgh. Maybe I better go back to bed.

Until next time…

“We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.”

I fly the Eureka flag today in commemmoration of the Eureka Stockade 150 years ago. In that single rebellion, the seeds were sown for the way of life that all Australians share today. I believe the creed above should stand for every person who considers themself ‘Australian’, regardless of race, colour, creed, religion or gender. We stand apart because of all these things, but we stand together as Australians. I love this country. I really do.

Yesterday I moved my computer from the computer room into my bedroom. A good move in many ways. First of all, my computer will be out of the hot computer room, and in front of the air conditioner. This is good not only for my computer but for me too! Secondly, I can consolidate all my homework, assignments, etc, because all my work can be done in the one room. Thirdly, I can stay up late and play online games. It’s win win win.

Yesterday I had my piano exam too, and I got an A with honours! And straight into Grade 2! The first piece I’m playing for second grade is the Star Wars theme… top stuff!

I went in to St Dominic’s College in Penrith today to attend a seminar on English Extension II. We heard from author Brian Caswell, as well as past Extension II candidates and HSC markers. All in all it was a very beneficial day and I took a lot away from it, and feel very motivated to keep going with my story.

I best be off for the moment. I haven’t posted much on current affairs and politics lately. Meh, it’s probably because I’ve had shitloads on. I haven’t opened a newspaper for about four days. This probably won’t change because of the Religion and Extension II assignments I have due. Oh well.

Until next time…

Imagine this if you can. You have a pounding headache. In the middle of trying to complete two assignments both due in less than a week, you decide to have a break and post a quick blog entry. You spend about a half hour typing up said entry, only to click post and find that the Internet has disconnected. Thanks to the wonder of refreshment, your Posting page reloads and all the text you just typed vanishes into the tempestuous vacuum of cyberspace. Your headache intensifies tenfold. Hence, from now on I intend to draft every post I make in Notepad.

In the post lastnight I wanted to say that as of December 1 it’s okay to celebrate Christmas. In my house December 1 is when all the decorations come out and the carols start to play and all is merry and bright. Now and only now am I in the Christmas spirit. No more bah humbug for Binnsy.

I had that Maths test today, and felt OK about it. Trust me, OK is good. OK is better than I’ve felt coming out of any Maths test in the past twelve months. ‘The Quadratic Function’ is probably one of the easier topics in 2 Unit HSC Mathematics. When I say easier, I mean less difficult to come to terms with. On the other hand, we have calculus, which is all round shit. No qualms about saying that whatsoever. I am going to be a journalist. Where the hell am I going to be differentiating a quadratic binomial from first principles? Huh? That’s right. Nowhere.

I have had quite a night – trying to build and upload the website for my stepdad’s Harley Davidson tour company. The building part went really well, and the results are sitting in a folder on my desktop. Unfortunately that’s as far as they got. The damned FTP server wouldn’t let me upload the stuff. Biatch. Ach. I’ll fix it tomorrow. It’s 11:45 and I’m stuffed.

Until next time…