Adam Luke

Archive for the ‘Thoughts’ Category

The Day I Saw People I Didn't Know I'd Ever See Again

Well, this isn’t going well. No new blog entry in eleven days? Hmm.

So! I’m going to post an excerpt of something I posted on LiveJournal this morning. Hey, the LJ entry was almost 600 words, which is a lot more effort than I usually put in1, so I felt I should share. Plus it’s too hot to write two original posts in one day!

I went to a farewell party for R, a friend from high school who’s moving to Canberra to attend the ANU. Here, I saw about forty people from high school who I hadn’t seen since I left (over a year ago), including a bunch of squealing bitches I thought I’d got away from. But also, some cool people who I actually liked.

No-one from high school has really changed. Those who had no job then, don’t have one now, and those who didn’t even have their Learner’s Permit? Still don’t. It’s kind of disappointing — for me, people who actually bother with getting ~*Life Skills*~ are way attractive. People with no ambition, less so.

I’ve never really missed high school, nor the people there, despite the fact that the only people I interact with from it are those who I see at uni, or have seen once or twice at a birthday party or on the train (such as R, who works at Officeworks not too far from my uni). From what I can tell from invitation lists on Facebook, they haven’t really made many new friends either. I guess I’m different in that my group of friends seems to get recycled every few years. It’s an organic process, though — I’m not all “you guys are totally boring now. I’m making new friends” — it just happens, apart from a select few who stick around. I think for once in my life, I’m actually satisfied with all the friends I’ve made through uni, work, online endeavours, etc., though.


  1. I generally cap these blog entries at around 350 words, but my LJ entries are usually much shorter.

2010

You know your life is simple when the biggest challenge you face in everyday life is whether to say “twenty ten” or “two thousand and ten”.

2009: The Evaluation

I almost wasn’t going to make this post, but it appears that blogging about the new year is a standard that I, as a blogger, must conform to! So, in 2009, I did the following:

  • Entered the blogosphere! Technically, I re-entered it, but this is probably my most serious attempt at a public blog so far, and I don’t plan to quit in the foreseeable future, despite occasional thoughts of “ugh, why do I even do this; no-one wants to read it!”.
  • Started and finished my first year of university: In 2010 I will, of course, be continuing my B.A., with majors in psychology and anthropology. I chose psychology because the brain and biological basis of human behaviour are the most fascinating things, and anthropology because it gives insight into humans and society (but my main interest in it this year lied in the study of rituals and symbols, and their interpretation).
  • Conserved money: This year, quite a few friends have complained about their lack of money. My response: “But you have a job and work a lot; where does it all go?”. Apparently, they spend (waste) it on things they don’t even need. I’ve never been really materialistic like so many people are. It’s so much more satisfying to save than spend.
  • Had my wisdom teeth extracted: And I was very happy that it was not the horrible ordeal I expected it to be.
  • Decided to get fit: I never really did a follow-up post, but I am happy to report that I’ve been exercising more. In fact, one bike/walking path I walked on warrants a photo post which will be coming soon. Also, it appears that I have lost weight, which although was not my goal, is fine. I haven’t personally noticed much physical change, so this is based on other people’s observations.
  • Whinged about the Black Eyed Peas’s grammar.
  • Whinged about annoying people. Oh no, whinging is becoming a trend.
  • Got a new job: I like it and look forward to working, and have met some very excellent people, so no complaints!

2010: The Resolutions

In 2010, I want to do the following (AKA, New Year’s resolutions which will inevitably be broken in less than a week):

  • Blog more often: I started this blog in mid-July, and have published 30 entries since then; an average of one every five days1, which means I achieved my my goal of one a week. In 2010, I think it would be cool if I could continue to publish an entry once every five or six days. I’d also like to start using my LiveJournal more frequently, although I’m conflicted about whether I should move to Dreamwidth as so many people seem to be doing. It does seem a shame to leave something I’ve been with for over four years, but I guess I could cross-post, hmm.
  • Comment on other blogs more often: This is pretty much a trend among bloggers, I’ve noticed. It’s no secret that writing more comments = more hits for you, more comments in return, more friends made, more fame and glory. And it’s not even a chore,. Part of the reason I read other people’s blogs is because I’m nosy and like reading about other people’s trials and tribulations.
  • Increase my average grade at university: In semester two, 2009, I fell just one per cent short of a First Class Honours average. Increasing my average grade is quite an achievable goal.
  • Continue to work and save lots of money: I have one high-interest bank account simply for the purpose of saving, and do not touch the money in there at all. Money for spending is kept in a separate account. In 2010, I would like to deposit considerable sums of money into my savings account.
  • Take more photos for Flickr: In 2009, I only uploaded one set of photos. Shame, because I enjoy taking photos and sharing them.

  1. When I originally published this entry, my calculation resulted in an average of one post every eight days. My failure to do the simplest calculation ever, let me show you it. What’s worse, is that it took me a while to realise that 30 posts in 22 weeks could not possibly lead to an average of one post every eight days.

Bad Journalism

EDIT (02/12/09): A follow-up blog post on TV Tonight exhibiting further lack of research on the issue:  “Australia slapped again over FlashForward leak“. It’s an excellent example of journalists copying whatever has been published elsewhere, without checking any facts. Read after this blog entry.

Tonight, I shall be presenting you with an example of Bad Journalism!

This morning, I read an article from the Hollywood Reporter, titled “Thanksgiving-averse Aussies leak FlashForward“. It was quite an uninformed and insulting article. The writer, James Hibberd (naming and shaming for the win), is noted as being “a senior TV reporter and senior online editor of THR.com”. Hmmm. Anyway, onto why it was so bad.

ABC didn’t air the drama last week because of Thanksgiving. But wouldn’t you know it, Australians don’t care about our guilt-tinged empire-expanding holiday traditions and didn’t take a break.

Firstly, cry more? Hibberd appears to have some sort of vested interest in FlashForward succeeding in the American ratings. I doubt an episode being leaked online a few days before it airs there is going to dent the ratings much. Also, since the episode was aired in Australia, I’m pretty sure ABC would’ve allowed it to air, or else legal trouble would ensue.

(For the record, Aussies do have a Thanksgiving holiday…

What. Pretty sure there is no such thing as Thanksgiving here. A look at the comments of the article indicate that Hibberd was referring to some completely unofficial holiday (i.e., not a national holiday), that no-one here has even heard of. Someone called it “religious propaganda”.

Further, shouldn’t a serious journalist actually research, rather than Google “thanksgiving australia” and trust whatever the first result says? (Hint: yes). For the record, I also Googled it, and indeed, aforementioned pseudo-holiday’s website was the first result, what a surprise! And we know that’s the website Hibberd looked as, as he mentioned that Australia celebrates Thanksgiving in May, which is nice and clear in the header image of said website.

…but it’s in May and they don’t really do it right).

How insulting. Disregarding that we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, it is really offensive to tell another country/culture that that are celebrating their holidays wrong. I’m pretty sure Thanksgiving has historical origins, and I wonder whether the reason he thinks we’re not doing it right, is that he’s under the impression that we aren’t celebrating it for the same reasons he is. Pretty sure Australia isn’t America, and our national holidays are for own own reasons.

Admittedly, more that just one country celebrates Thanksgiving, and each for their own reasons, but well, there’s the research issue again. Someone wanting people to take them seriously should look at more than one source. Or maybe that’s just entertainment reporting for you?

Oh, and finally:

Whether the U.S.-Aussie “FlashForward” schedule being jolted out of sync will result in future episodes also being leaked isn’t known.

Just chill the hell out, seriously. It would’ve been extremely easy to find out that the episode that aired early here was the last aired for 2009, and FlashForward will evidently be aired behind the US again in 2010.