23 followers

396 daily readers

rank of 771

Tales From The Other Side - Alternative Culture to enlighten a mediocre mood

Alternative Culture and ideas, ready to be injected into your Reality.

[ December 2006 ] [ February 2007 ]

Tales From The Other Side - January 2007

Good Net Radio?

January 31st 2007 03:58

My girlfriend informs me that the Radio is better in England. Actually, she informs me that quite a bit is better in England. She is, after all, from England. Anyway, getting distracted…
The point is, that she does have a point. The radio in Australia is pretty dodge. The Austerio Network seems to have a vested interest in keeping all Australian radio as uniform as possible. Means you have access to four stations, they all sound the bloody same. And boring.
I recently went to the Woodford Folk festival, and the amount and quality of music there is unspeakably awesome. Upon my return, I’ve found that I’m living on JJJ alone. However, I have a thirst. A thirst for awesome music, that cannot, nay, will not be ignored. That even JJJ cannot quench.

Luckily I have this thing called the internet. And with it, I have access to any awesome old radio station that broadcasts via the internet.
However, I don’t really know where to look. That’s where you come in dear reader. Please – recommend me a fantastic place for good Net Radio, and free me from these Popshackles.

Why Don't I have People Like This on My Radio?

IMAGE

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Music

Email this Post to a Friend

Woodford Folk Festival

January 30th 2007 05:21

Sorry this one has been so long coming...

Somebody had stolen a plastic McDonalds sign and strapped it upside down to their tent, to appropriate it as a big W for Woodford.
This simple act spoke volumes about the Woodford Folk Festival experience. In the same way as the position of the M was physically opposite to the way it would have been in the store, the entire philosophy of Woodford was antithetic of McDonalds.

McDonalds is common, where Woodford is precious. McDonalds is insincere and plastic, where Woodford is oozing with authenticity and pure raw emotion.
There was one night, I remember more powerfully than any other. I sat outside the Internet Café, wearing my Pikachu beanie and huge googly eye glasses, deeply sleep deprived, waiting for a chance to get in and release some words bursting to escape me.
When I got in, this is what I wrote:

It was the concert, in the Chai tent. The people had let themselves into it, opened the vibe, let themselves feel it. Dancing, shouting. Sweat slick on exposed flesh. I allowed the question; if this carried on, if it extremified and heightened, would we turn into animals, into creatures? The answer, I allowed myself; hopefully yes.

It was later. She had brought out her drum, and the jamming started. The people were dancing and singing... I was there, a drum between my legs, beating away. It was true - the people had become animals - but not in any traditional sense of the concept - no pack of rats or monkeys or panthers was this, but Human animals, Human's as animals. Exposing their basest most primal natures. Emotion. Sexuality. Connection. Music. Above all music. Love. Joy. Passion. All base, primal urges to express, always held up, bound tight by what is appropriate, what is proper. It was night, the music was a vibration that shot through the skin. The smell of marijuana drifted gently past now and then. The dancers moved to their own tune, their own desires. Their own animal nature.

So that now; I can be calm. I can look at the more civilised, more entrepreneurial and developed aspects of humanity - The Courier Mail and New devices to destroy human life - and grin, and stare into them, as they slowly fade away from me, as they are drowned out by the sound of drums, beating away in a frenzy of pure energy that gave me more than could ever be put into words.

IMAGE

Vote

Comments (7)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Subcultures

Email this Post to a Friend

Raelians

January 29th 2007 01:16

Hah! You mock the Scientologists! Well, there’s a possie much stranger then that. They’re called the Raelians.
You’ve probably heard of them during the debate on human cloning. They’re the ones who claimed they’d made the first human clone, although that’s not particularly well verified, and would be, at this stage, an apparent lie.

Did the Raelians really create the first human clone?

So, perhaps the strangest thing about the Raelians, is despite their ability to meet all of the technical requirements of a cult, their pretty much exempt from all the negative secret dirty business other cults seem fond of. This could possibly be because unlike many other anally-retentive cults, the raelians are… well… relaxed. According to the Wikipedia article, they’ve been descried by an expert on cults, as one of the most open cults in existence.
Perhaps the reason so many people dig the Raelian movement is because they represent, at least sexually, the antithesis of most Western Religions. The Raelians consider their understanding of spirituality to regard the pursuit of pleasure, especially sexually as being of high importance. This can be seen in their practices of sensual meditation.
Were I to need to conclude, I’d really have to say that while a bit of the unusual side, the Raeliens seem like decent folk. And really – isn’t that the important thing?

IMAGE

Vote

Comments (7)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

Email this Post to a Friend

Clean water for poo

January 26th 2007 01:19

Let’s hit up some hardcore statistics here. The availability of clean drinking water in several countries;
• Azerbaijan (78%)
• Iraq (85%)
• Morocco (80%)
• Peru (80%)
• Syria (80%)
• Sudan (67%)
• Turkey (82%)
• Tunisia (80%)
• Venezuela (83%)
• Zimbabwe (83%) Results from Here

Water in Zimbabwe

What’s particularly shocking is that these are by no means the worst off countries, and around the world, there are countries where up to thirty percent of citizens have no access to safe drinking water. Now we, in western society have access to clean water. We drink it. We bathe in it. And perhaps most wastefully of all, we use it for human excrement. And, as we all know, in Queensland at least, we’re running out of it.
It’s not like there’s an alternative though, some might argue. What else are we supposed to do?
Well, there might be a few answers. Like reusing grey water. Like reducing time in the shower. But basically it comes down to one thing. Same solution to every other problem you’re likely to encounter. Learn enough to understand, and don’t be a moron. Simple.

IMAGE

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Politics

Email this Post to a Friend

Is it better for Jesus to heal lepers, or Hitler to say ‘thank you’?

January 24th 2007 23:53

I’ll always remember a particular Calvin and Hobbes strip, discussing conventional morality. Calvin is sitting down, pondering whether Santa rewards kids on how good they are as compared to their automatic disposition. I.e. if Calvin, an individual predisposed to naughtiness, is good five days a week, is that better than an individual predisposed to goodness being good four days a week?
This question could be asked just as easily in regards to religion. Does it mean the same for a man to give money to the poor, whether he’s predisposed to good, or to bad? Do our actions alone define us, or are they only relevant in comparison to our natural inclination?
Take it another step. Is this a concept that requires a place in the legal system? Should people be judged as to their relative inclination or circumstance, or is murder/theft/drug trafficking/rape as bad in any scenario?
Interesting questions. No straight answers. We don’t know how to find an empirical way to measure morality; however we do know, before the hammer hits the table, somebody has to make that judgement.

Can an individual compelled towards evil be held to a lesser standard?

Vote

Comments (5)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Miscalany

Email this Post to a Friend

Are Debates Effective at Communication

January 22nd 2007 23:53

"Yes, but you see, you're failing to take in the socio-economic ramifications of the project..."

Debating, most people who’ve done it will agree, is a whole world of awesome. However, are they an effective form of communication?
Well… yes. To an extent. They’re effective at presenting a view to an audience, and presenting complex issues. However, they have two possibilities, for going horribly wrong

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (14)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Miscalany

Email this Post to a Friend

Missing the point

January 19th 2007 01:03

One of the most depressing things about writing a blog is making a really good point, and then watching it go flying over peoples heads. Like my post on pro-anorexic websites being used as a place to request tips on getting skinny. Or another classic example of misunderstanding that comes from Adbusters Magazine, a deeply anti-consumerism publication. The story is of a woman who owned the magazine, having it placed on her desk. A colleague saw it and stared at the cover for ages, before pointing and saying ‘where can I buy those shoes?’
Perhaps one of the best examples is my near albino-white being payed out and called Boo Radly; after the similarly pale character from To Kill a Mockingbird... a book whose moral is based around the evils of discrimination. Sigh.
Really it all goes to show, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t stop him kicking the damn thing over and watching the dirt turn slowly to mud

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Miscalany

Email this Post to a Friend

Dead People Read Your Script 3: Raver

January 15th 2007 01:03

MATURE CONTENT

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Drugs

Email this Post to a Friend

Dead People Read Your Script 2: Jesus

January 12th 2007 01:10

Dead People Read Your Script 2: Jesus
Part two in a series suggested by Sophie Bell on This Post (number one in the series).
Well, what can I say about Jesus that hasn’t already been said? That he is opposed to abortion? Supportive of human rights? Supporter of Capitalism? Supporter of the Invasion of Iraq

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

Email this Post to a Friend

Harajuku Girls

January 10th 2007 04:15

One of the most incredible sights in Japan is that of the Harajuku girls. They’re pretty much just Japanese girls who get all funked up and wander around all day, eye sushi for the masses.
To be honest, there’s not a lot to be said, on a deeper level for Harajuku girls. They’re pretty much just there to be looked at. So: Here we go…

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (3)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Subcultures

Email this Post to a Friend

Skype

January 9th 2007 02:19

Skype

Tales From The Other Side is now live on air! 7.00 most nights, Brisbane Time, (9.00AM GMT) on Skype, you can listen to the most handsome face on radio, Brenton Clutterbuck, discussing alternative culture, views and ideas. Discussions will also occur with listeners.
You can follow the links to the Skypecast HERE. You do need to have Skype installed on your computer, but never fear – it’s free.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Internet

Email this Post to a Friend

Power of No

January 8th 2007 01:20

Sluggo

There’s a fantastic comic I came across on boingboing. It’s from the Comic ‘Nancy’ and features the character Sluggo just floating in midair, saying ‘no’ to the world.
The power of yes is a beautiful thing, but too much yes is destructive. Yes to fast food, yes to big houses, yes to longer hours, yes to more more more more more! But there comes a point where you have to stop and question. Is more better? Is this refusal to say no actually hurting my own happiness?
This concept has been at the forefront of the simple living movement, and has been embodied in events such as International Buy Nothing Day. The idea that no is a kind of yes. A yes to yourself. A yes to time with your family. In a way, a yes to saying no, is more of a yes to yes itself

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Miscalany

Email this Post to a Friend

The Swastika

January 5th 2007 01:20

Does this staircase actually have anything to do with Naz's?

I was going to Chinatown one day when I stopped and stared at a can of Vegetarian Soy Sauce. Not that the product itself seemed unusual… just the fact that on either side of the label, sat a little Swastika.
‘Wow’ I thought, ‘those Chinese Vegetarians are pretty scary.’ The thought, though, that Vegetarian Soy Sauce had any real link to Nazi ideology, was banished pretty quickly.
It occurred to me it wasn’t the first Swastika I’d found out of place. We have one in our home, Chinese (I think), pre WWII. I remember asking Mum about it, and her explaining it was a ‘peace symbol

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (6)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Pop Culture

Email this Post to a Friend

GoogleZon

January 3rd 2007 00:03

You’ve got to see this video. It’s a kind of future prediction of the fulfilment of the potential of the Internet, and it’s subsequent implosion.
The link is Here.
The video, I found quite frightening and confronting in it’s dystopian message of what could become of the Internet, a thoughtful parable of a basket of promising apples gone horribly sour.

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Brenton - Category: Internet

Email this Post to a Friend

May 2009

1 Posts

March 2009

1 Posts

January 2009

3 Posts