Tasteless reporting of Disasters by the Media

Disaster Porn - What is it?

Disaster porn a new noun is defined by the Urban Dictionary as … “When the media puts horrific or tragic images on a 24 hour loop, constantly driving them into your head, and then refers to the events portrayed as an ‘unspeakable tragedy’ - despite the fact that they have four different talking heads analyzing it 24 hours a day.”  

Often disaster porn is used to generate financial support.  For example, it was a term associated with 9/11, where every mention of the "terrorist outrage" was followed by an infomercial for NYPD t-shirts and American flag bumper stickers (source Urban Dictionary). 

Another example from 9/11 was commentator Giraldo Rivera  saying:

"This is just horrible. I can't even bear to look."  

This while he rewound the disaster porn tape of the World Trade Center collapsing for the many times that day.  A movie with lots of destruction, explosions and disasters may also qualify as disaster porn, for example: Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, or 2012.

Do we need it?

Recently in our own country and nearby there has been a veritable festival of disaster porn emanating from the 24/7 news reporting cycle. Have we not been shocked enough at the floods in Queensland, the mining disaster in New Zealand, Cyclone Yasi  again in Queensland, the Victorian flooding and now again in NZ with the earthquake in Christchurch? Do we really need the doyens of Australian media (NOT) – the ubiquitous weather presenters, the bald finance reports, the you may recall me from 10 year old sitcom presenters  - turning up at the site of peoples misery and pestering them even more to actually know what is going on or is it just some peoples quest for ratings and profits that makes its so? 

Here’s a letter from the Sydney Morning Herald that gets it right  . . .

I am not surprised to hear the stars of Channel Nine and Channel Seven have descended on Christchurch in search of disaster porn. Grant Denyer is no longer welcome on my TV screen after I caught him during cyclone Yasi lollygagging at the wreckage of a little house, turning someone's pride and joy into a mere prop in his Festival of Me. For pity's sake, turn these oafs off. Don't watch their channels and let the advertisers decide.  (Chris Stafford, Ryde)

If you have agreed with this then also read this from the blog called Thevine which ends with the following good suggestion:

One rule long-held by media producers is, “emotions stay with audiences long after facts are forgotten”. Or, “Noah is a better story than flood control”.

Forgive me for diving into the depths of cynicism but it is a rule pushed by advertisers. The moment the collective audience sees Mrs Jones breakdown on air and cry on the shoulder of a reporter who poked and prodded her sensibility is pure gold for the interests selling tissues when the scene cuts to an ad.

Ultimately though, it is audiences and readers who hold the power to stop unethical or tasteless reporting. Turn the TV or radio off, or don’t buy the paper, and see how quickly the question “why?” is asked. If it turns out that people were sick of the predictable, tasteless attempts at sincerity, then things would change.

Bogans on a Train

In the 2006 Hollywood movie Snakes on a Plane (not one of cinemas proudest moments) an FBI agent played by Samuel L Jackson (who now probably regrets the role) takes on a plane full of deadly poisonous snakes, deliberately released to kill a witness being flown from Honolulu to Los Angeles to testify against a mob boss. Sam's best line in the flick is "I have had it with these F@$#ing snakes on this plane". Well Sam this week has been my week for commuting with Bogans who in their natural state can be almost most as frightening and difficult to deal with as venomous reptiles.

Example of a Bogan - People travel inside the train stupid

Bogan encounters of the First Kind - bad but understandable behavior
First there was the cranky old guy who got on at Redfern and immediately started abusing everyone in sight - "you c_t you f_k bastards!" he yelled "Me hip's sore" etc. At first my mate and I thought he was drunk as did most of the other passengers. Then he started doing the old line "I died for you 25 times at Gallipoli", no doubt some twisted logic indicating that if he ranted long enough he'd intimidate a chair out of someone. Still no-one stood up and most of the women were as anyone could see scared of him. At this point he decided to focus his full attention on my mate and I - regaling us with a menu of "f" and "c" phrases fit to make your ears bleed. He moved over to my mate and and pulled out his gold pensioner concession card to prove he was old and entitled to special treatment; namely, a seat. At the point where he started to moan about hip surgery I got up and gave him my seat though there were many younger who should have done so. I let him have my seat just to shut him up and be done with his abuse. But also I felt a little sorry for him and could at least understand his rudeness. So this was Bogan one for the week and probably the better of my two encounters for there was no explaining the next lot.

Bogan encounters of the Second Kind - bad intolerable behavior
The second Bogan encounter was a group of four young people and their children who got on at Parramatta and managed to live up to every stereotype of bad behavior and dysfunction by the time they got off the train at Mount Druitt. Liberally they had rough words to hurl at Chinese guy basically for being Chinese, then they turned their attention to an African women and her child for reasons known only to themselves. Finally when they realised that no-one on the train was finding them funny and were mostly wishing they'd shut up they started hurling their insults at large. I did not get involved this time because they were truly frightening people and all I could really do is sit there and feel sorry for their kids who may sadly grow up to follow their example.


Out of both events I was left to wonder what becomes of those wonderful train police who are everywhere when it comes to checking tickets and writing fines and nowhere to be seen when they are needed to put people straight in terms of behavior and following rules like those to do with vacating seats for "older" or "disabled passengers".

Humor of the Tech Support kind

Below is a litany of tech support humor recently acquired which because it is not made up is even more funny and worth a read:


Tech Support: What kind of computer do you have?
Customer: A white one.
______________________________________

Customer: Hi, this is Celine.  I can't get my DVD out !!!
Tech Support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure it's really stuck.
Tech Support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute, I hadn't inserted it yet.  It's still on my desk . . . sorry.  Thank you.
_________________________________________
.
Tech Support: Click on the 'MY COMPUTER' icon on the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
_______________________________________
.
Tech Support: Hello.  How may I help you?
Male Customer:  Hi . . . I can't print.
Tech Support: Would you click on 'START' for me and . . ..
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me.  I'm not Billi Gates!!!
Tech Support: Thank you Mister Abbott
________________________________________

Customer: Good afternoon, this is Martha.  I can't print.  Every time I try, it says . . .. 'CAN'T FIND
PRINTER'.  I even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still
says it can't find it!!!
____________________________________________
.
Customer: I have problems printing in red.
Tech Support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah . . . . . . . . . . thank you.
___________________________________________
.
Tech Support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear that my boyfriend bought for me at the 7-11 store.
___________________________________________

Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech Support: Are you sure your keyboard is plugged into the computer?
Customer: No.  I can't get behind the computer.
Tech Support: Pick up your keyboard and take ten steps backwards.
Customer: Okay.
Tech Support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes.
Tech Support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in.  Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here.  Wait a moment please. . . . . . .  Ah, that one does work.
Thanks.
______________________________________________

Tech Support: Your password is the small letter 'a' as in apple, a capital letter 'V' as in Victor, and the number '7'.
Customer: Is that '7' in capital letters?
____________________________________________
.
Customer: I can't get on the Internet.
Tech Support: Are you absolutely sure you used the correct password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure.  I saw my co-worker do it.
Tech Support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five dots.
_________________________________________

Tech Support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech Support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry . . . Internet Explorer.
_________________________________________
.
Customer: I have a huge problem! My friend has placed a screen saver on my computer . . . but, every time I move my mouse, it disappears.
_______________________________________
.
Tech Support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first email.
Tech Support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the little circle around it.
______________________________________
.
A woman customer called the Canon help desk because she had a problem with her printer.
Tech Support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point.  The man sitting next to me is by
a window, and his printer is working fine!
_____________________________________
.
And to finish of the list ...

Tech Support: Okay Bob, press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now, type the letter 'P' to bring up the Program Manager.
Customer: I don't have a 'P'.
Tech Support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean ?
Tech Support: 'P' . . . on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I AM NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!!
_______________________________________

Turtles Breath through their Bums

You know after 400 years
even the smell of methane can feel normal

I recently discovered from a video clip posted by a friend on Facebook that some turtles have the amazing ability to breath through their bums.

Wow!

What a talent and a curse at the same time.

Old and proud of it!

Imagine a life of having to inhale your own smell so as to be able to survive! Not only that but then realize that some turtles are amongst the longest living oldest creatures on the planet. Some living up to 400 years plus.

Four hundred years of breathing methane like air - probably explains the facial features of turtles and why they look like wrinkly old men without hair.

The next thing I have to do is investigate how politicians breathe. Pretty sure there's a bit of annal snorting going on there as well.

Perhaps there is a connection between long life and breathing through your ass. Scary as know I'm thinking of a couple of politicians who could live forever.

Whats in a Band Name: Quite a bit Perhaps

This line of thought  was kicked into gear by the band name Three Dog Night which suddenly appeared on my iGoogle page in the Useless Knowledge Box with the comment that the name came from an old Eskimo Concept of a night so cold you had to bed down with three husky dogs to keep warm. Try to verify this I came upon a website that claimed Three Dog Night was - "Inspired by an Australian Aboriginal custom of sleeping with a dog for warmth on a cold night - a three dog night would be very cold, plus the band had 3 lead singers." - perhaps but the band was American and I think the Eskimo line of reporting appears more accurate.


A few others that may amuse are:

AC/DC - (1)  It is said that one of the band member saw it on an appliance and thought it had something to do with power. (It does mean "alternating current / direct current".)  The band used it not realizing it was also slang for a bisexual- the band claims NOT to be bisexual.  
(2)  In the vogue of other anti-everything bands it stands for Against Christ/Devil's Children.


THE BEATLES - (1) original member Stuart Sutcliffe came up with THE BEETLES , as a play on Buddy Holly's group THE CRICKETS who they loved. They were using the name THE QUARRYMEN and sometimes THE SILVER BEETLES - later it became THE BEATLES emphasizing the BEAT aspect of music (and poetry?). (2)  Lennon lists the influence of the film "The Wild One", which featured a motorcycle gang called the Beetles (unconfirmed). John Lennon is generally credited with combining Beetles and Beat to come up with THE BEATLES spelling. Lennon was also fond of saying he had a vision as a child of a flaming pie in the sky that said "You are Beatles with an "A"


THE BEE GEES - the 60's soft-rockers now best known for disco. "Saturday Night Fever" - some say the BG comes from "Brothers Gibb" since they were brothers named Gibb... however an article on the group suggests that they used the names of 2 friends that helped them get started: Bill Goode and a DJ named Bill Gates... I'll go with the first version.


LED ZEPPELIN - Jimmy Page was drinking with Moon and Entwhistle, who were bitching about their band mates Daltrey and Townshend. They joked about the two of them starting a band with Jimmy, and one of them said "Yeah, that will go over like a lead balloon". When Jimmy formed his own band, he remembered this and thought "Lead Zeppelin" would be good, both from that conversation and the heavy/light contradiction similar to the band named IRON BUTTERFLY. They decided to drop the "a" so Americans wouldn't mispronounce it.


Source ROCK BANDS - Name Origins

See how many Band names you can find in the picture 

If you want to see the answers go to image link on Flickr.


Some of the name stories are quite interesting if a little hard to verify.

Australia Day Hot hot hot

GeoTagged, [S33.75260, W150.74905]

Today the great national day came with one of the hottest days this summer. I tried hard to do the BBQ, snags and flags thing but could only manage a few hours. To get out of the heat the wife and I headed for the club for a few cool hours of refuge. The club too soon got busy as people arrived for the Australia Day Raffles so we soon headed back to the BBQ.

Generally Australia Day has ended up being a good day off. The usual debates about the Republic, changing the flag and removing the English monarchy were had but I do not see these things happening or changing in the near future. It will take quite a few more years of inducting new citizens who definitely do not look Anglo, European or even white for change to happen. The call for relevance and a departure from anachronism and it's symbols will outnumber the closed minds that keep us looking foolish. I welcome the day - a true Australia Day.

Australia Day: Too Patriotic

Read a blog on the ABC Drum website today which echoes many thoughts I myself have had about the countries national day and how dangerously patriotic the whole thing has become. 


Following is a quote from the post by Michael Brull which shows perhaps what is meant by too patriotic:

"When I was in Surfer’s Paradise last year around Australia Day, I saw stores selling t-shirts saying things like those who don’t love Australia should leave it. I saw several Australians with blonde hair and tans wearing these shirts. I’m sure there are right-thinking Australians who would emphatically agree with the sentiment."


I do not think we should scrap the concept of a national day but I do agree it should take a more positive and inclusive tone. Australia is so much more than its Anglo Heritage and this is what should be reflected in our national day. It should also be a round a truly national event like federation (the day on which Australia actually existed for the first time).


Brull also quotes Tolstoy as follows and it is an illuminating quote though some may call you an anarchist if you take it seriously.

"The feeling of patriotism is an unnatural, irrational, and harmful feeling, and a cause of a great part of the ills from which mankind is suffering, and ... this feeling... should not be cultivated, as is now being done, but should, on the contrary, be suppressed and eradicated by all means available to rational men...

Patriotism as a feeling is bad and harmful, and as a doctrine is stupid. For it is clear that if each people and each State considers itself the best of peoples and States, they all live in a gross and harmful delusion."
from Patriotism and Government by Leo Tolstoy


In any event as the day draws near its probably good to have a good think about why we have a day off and perhaps not get to upset if not everybody is having a BBQ and waving flags, or posturing about what a great country this is - actions make thing great.