A Guy Thing

Watched the A Guy Thing DVD last night. A bit of fun. Stars Julia Stiles, Selma Blair and Jason Lee. Recently got a DVD player so was able to watch the 'Special Features'. It's nice to see the alternate endings and hear why they Chris Koch discarded each one. Also saw some deleted scenes. Interesting to hear why they didn't make the cut.

Pages Online Issue 6: Allure now up

W: http://www.pagesonline.it.

Halt Magazine out

Halt Magazine out too. It's also free. This one could be issue 3. Not sure. Doesn't say. The magazine showcases young talent. Cover art: Nelson Nokeia.

W: http://www.haltmag.com.

Cyclic Defrost No. 7 out

Picked up a free copy of Cyclic Defrost No. 7 from So Music on King St. They still have copies there but it's on the right hand side, not the left side as you walk in where all the other freebie pickups are. There's also a CD in there of 'ambient work'.

Cover artwork is by Steven Scott (http://www.stevenscott.com.au).

Cyclic Defrost website: http://www.cyclicdefrost.com.

Dumbo feather, pass it on

This is a new magazine edited by Kate Bezar. She interviews people with the theme of 'inspiration'. Each interview runs for a number of pages which is cool as they go into a lot of depth. The interviews are a good read. The design looks pretty good. It's designed by Saatchi Design. The first issue features: Dean Manning (half of Leonardo's Bride, both Dean and Abby now have solo careers), Kirsty Sword Gusmao, Tim Pethick (Nudie fruit juice guy), Marnie Skillings, and Andrew Griffiths.

W: http://www.dumbofeather.com (website has a splash page only at the moment).

Insight 300 Seconds Film Making competition

Deadline for entries: August 1st 2004

"Appropriate subjects are left to your own discretion because the competition is all about you and your chosen lifestyle. Whether it be about surfing, skateboarding, stunt making, snowboarding, art, music, fashion, humour or even knitting, you film’s merit will be judged on delivery, style, content and originality.

By entering, you could have the chance to win:
1st Prize $10,000 cash - 2nd Prize $5,000 cash - 3rd Prize $2,500 cash
All prizes include added extras, including Insight clothing and surfboards.

Guidelines
· Each film must be no longer than 5 minutes.
· Insight 300 Seconds must be the first public screening for your film
(however it does not have to be made specifically for the event).
· 2 x copies of your film must be provided on DV (digital) format.
· A completed and signed entry form must accompany the entry.
Deadlines
All entries must be delivered to Insight HQ at 17/23 Bowden St Alexandria
NSW 2015 no later than August 1st 2004. The entry deadline is final and no
exceptions will be made for late entries.

Entries will not be accepted:
· If films are over the time limit of 5 minutes.
· If the entry form is not included or incomplete.
· The film arrives at Insight HQ after August 1st 2004.

Notification
All finalists will be notified by telephone prior to the event.
The top ten films will be showcased at a premier gala event on
September 2nd, 2004 in Sydney NSW.

If you require additional information on the event, please contact
Insight on +61 2 9310 2811 between 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday"

W: http://www.insight51.com.

Interviews with Google Answers Researchers

The Google Blogoscoped website has a list of interviews they've done with Google Answers Researchers. W: http://blog.outer-court.com/interviews.html.

A Contest to Outwit Google

This article in Wired online, talks about the SEO Challenge (Search Engine Optimisation) which is sponsored by DarkBlue, an Australian affiliate-marketing company, and SearchGuild.com. It challenges participants to use any search engine optimisation method to try and claim the number one spot on Google for an odd term. The term is "negritude ultramarine" which means "dark blue" in Latin. The first round has been won by Brandon Suit. Suit says that he used the backlinking strategy to help him get ranked Number One.

Entente cordiale

This article is a review of the Cordial Cafe in Newtown. They reviewed it as good food and good value. So posting/bookmarking it for future reference, next time I feel like a bit around the Sydney Uni area.

Shop G8/130 Carillon Avenue, Newtown.
Tel: 9557 7066. Open Daily 7am-7pm.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/01/1086037756731.html

You, Too, Can Be a Comics Whiz

This Wired article is about people using video-game character art or sprites as the characters in their web comics. This way, even if they can't draw, they can still produce a web comic. Some of these comics are hugely successful. The comic producers realise that they're infringing copyright but the companies haven't taken legal action as yet and some of the comics have a huge following.
W: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,63691,00.html?tw=wn_11culthead

Gary Jules' Mad World song

Was walking down King St yesterday. Went into the 'Hum' music store and heard the Mad World song. I'd heard it before vaguely but had no idea which artist had recorded it. Asked the guy behind the counter and he told me it was Gary Jules. You can get the song on the 'Donnie Darko' soundtrack or on Gary Jule's CD titled 'Trading Snakeoil for Wolf Tickets'. You can hear the 'Mad World' song at Gary's site at: http://www.garyjules.com.

Business Idea Grants 2004

The Yellow Pages® Business Ideas Grants 2004 is in it's 9th year. There are 3 categories: Best Idea Concept Stage, Best Idea Product Development Stage, and the Best Idea Business Development Stage. Each category winner will win a cash grant of $50k and more. Finalists also win prizes. Deadline for entries: 30 July 2004. For more info, go to: http://www.sensis.com.au/big/index.html

Young memoirs - talk at the State Library of NSW

"Exciting and adventurous lives can make for interesting reading, but how do these young authors find the time to live their lives, as well as write about them? Ben Kozel is one of Australia’s most gifted and intrepid travel writers (Three men in a raft and Five months in a leaky boat) and seems always to be asking himself, ‘where to next?’ Rachael Oakes-Ash is a radio broadcaster, sought-after television panelist and author, who doesn’t avoid the topics such as female competition (Anything she can do I can do better). Writer and comedian, John Larkin is the author of many books for adults as well as children including his childhood memoir, The pacifist’s guide to self-flagellation. Gaby Naher’s The truth about my fathers explores her relationship with both her beloved adoptive father in Australia and her biological father in Canada."

When: Thursday 10 June, 6 pm for 6.30 pm
Where: Dixson Room, Mitchell Wing, State Library of NSW, Macquarie St, Sydney
Cost: $16.50, $11
Bookings: Phone: (02) 9273 1770, Fax: (02) 9273 1248, Email: bookings@sl.nsw.gov.au

Rediscovering retro

If you want to get a hold of classic video games such as Frogger, Pacman, and more, you can now buy the following titles which consists a lot of the games in their respective catalogues: Midway Arcade Treasures (http://midway.com) Namco Arcade Classics and Atari Classics 10-in-1 (both from http://www.latestbuy.com.au).
Source: SMH article: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/02/1086058888087.html

Eyescream 04: Halloween Short Film Festival

"The EYESCREAM Halloween Short Film Festival invites Australian filmmakers to thrill, shock and entertain audiences with their scary short films. With a time limit of up to 8 minutes, make a creative short that falls within the darker genres of filmmaking including Horror/Schlock, Suspense, and/or Black Comedy.

Finalists will have their works shown in all their glory on the big screen in late October, 2004, as well as have the chance to go in the running for a huge prize pool."

Deadline: Monday 30 August, 2004.

Website: http://www.eyescream.info.

The site also has a section on how to create low budget special effects. This includes telling you how to make: Fake blood, Fake skin, Wounds, Slime, and Fake glass. All these recipes at:
http://www.escendi.com.au/eyescream/hints/index.html.

Enviro tips on the Greenpeace site

Greenpeace have put together a collection of tips to be more green in your daily living. Sections are: Daily living, Cleaning the house, In the garden, Controlling pests, Keep unwanted guests away without poisons, Building and renovating, At work, and Community action.
W: http://www.greenpeace.org.au/actnow/envirotips.html

Gov Info site about chemicals used in your home

The Aust Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage has put together this useful and comprehensive resource on chemicals. Categories of information are: Household Chemicals, Exposure & Safety, Chemicals by Name, Chemicals and Environment, Chemicals in Agriculture, Chemicals and Human Health, Regulators and Legislation, Main Organisations, International Portals, Chemical Databases, Business, Hobbies and Arts, and Education and Research.
W: http://www.deh.gov.au/chemicals-gateway.

Paid Content's Digital Media Jobs blog

"The Digital Media Jobs Blog features classified job ads, and links to other jobs related to digital media sector. These are business jobs, NOT journalism jobs..." So if you want to find out the job titles of the present and near future, then check out this blog. Job titles include: Mobile Media Producer, Online media buyer, Director, Worldwide Internet Enforcement ... The jobs pretty much all seem to be based in the States.

Maybe one day... soon, the companies will open the jobs up to people who live in far away places... after all the workers would only be a few clicks away.

W: http://www.paidcontent.org/jobs

Bloggers find ways to profit

Some bloggers are making money from their sites through placing ads on their sites. The article mentions services like Blogads and Google. The article mentions a few bloggers who are making money online this way including Glenn Reynolds, "a law professor who runs the libertarian blog Instapundit.com."

Link first sighted on The Blog herald (a blog from Western Australia).
W: http://www.blogherald.com

Gone wireless

Got a NetGear WGT624 wireless router and a WG511T 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card on the weekend and now I'm surfing the web wireless. Yay! Now I can blog from the dining table, the kitchen table, anywhere really :-).