Get down with yo' M.P., yeah you know me

It has been reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, among others, that Singaporean politicians were showing how "phat" and "fly" they were by donning hip-hop gear. We have obtained photos of similar events in Australia.

It's now Parliamentary procedure policy for our MPs to wear their hats sideways.

The Great Internet Dating Experiments, Pt 1- The conclusion.

I'll leave you with some of the more strange responses I've received from ilovedicktator's profile. It really is worrisome.

"Hi, I just luv ur photo.It reminds me of the movie stars from 1940's." That's right, boy, it's Eva Braun. "You scare me a bit.I like that." So he bats off to that kid from The Exorcist. The truth comes out. "I am an extremely handsome bachelor,mid 40's'no ties." And yet, he claims to be 33 on his website. What a man of integrity. (Not that I can talk.)

From paul200: "Guess what the 200mm stands for!" I don't know. The distance of the restraining order issued against him by the NSW Supreme Court on behalf of several of the women on here, divided by 1000?

There's also: "Haha! Gotta say that I totally luv ur profile. Goes well with the sexy gal in the pic ;-) Can’t help but get the sense that ur a wild soul. ( or of course the profile’s bogus?-no not a chance )." What the fuck?! So close but yet so far! "Luv 2 hear a girl label herself as ultra right wing!" Pauline Hanson, watch out. He's been taking an especial interest in your appearance on "Dancing With The Stars". Whilst that is funny, this is actually disturbing. "And yes, I am someone that understands that a lady dropping a line to say hullo, may mean just that, Hullo. Or even that it's time to crush some pi*sy lil' peice o sh*t on tha damn map!" Watch out, Tonga.

The hilarious "Hi I am antelligent,fun-lving teacher who loves to teach,learn and be assertive." The ironies present in this one sentence could fill up a blog post. Poor kids he's teaching.

"Yeah, at the moment I dont mind a bit of swinging... looking forward to getting together with you soon.." Awesome. Me neither. Let's hook up.

"Hi!Id like to hook up with you and push ypur boundries baby.." Just like Hitler pushed Germany's boundaries into Austria. Then the Sudetenland. Then Poland. Et cetera.

"would my hard 10inch match ur discreet affair?" That speaks for itself.

And it looks like a certain well-known historical figure has found someone he's fond of.

"Hi there,I just LOVED your profile,It shows the kind of heart a warrior needs to conquer a country or two!The only thing i am lacking right now is the means... it's not easy building a decent sized arsenal from one man's salary.
What do you think would make a great despot?I would definitely require the services of an enigmatic lieutenant, that could make hearts rece and tremble in awe...I would love to hear from you."

Write me, c/o A. Hitler, Reichstag, Berlin, 1933.

Conclusion from the experiment. A vast number of Australian men are either unobservant or uncaring of partner requests like "finding genocide sexy". This really does bode ill for our democracy.

I'm not sure what future research directions this project should take. I'd rather point out people's stupidity rather than deliberately fool them into thinking I'm a wonderful woman (well, ilovedicktators did want sex, but on the other hand she, well, loves dictators). Any suggestions as to how to approach this would be welcome. Particularly with the existence of such websites as countrywesternsingles.com.

Watching the News, Learning Nothing

I’ve been watching the media with unusual diligence this past week or so. National Nine News, Today Tonight, Dr. Phil, AM, Today - I’ve been watching it all, in addition to the usual reputable stuff. Why am I wasting my time with all this junk? Well, first off I have no job at the moment, so succumbing to the attractions of midday TV as been all too sweet and easy. But there is also a reason for this unprecedented consumption of news rubbish – my university course has recommended that I do it.

To gain a better understanding of the media around us, my lecturers have encouraged us journalism students to view all Australian media, not just the usual pinko stuff like SBS and ABC. This is because commercial organisations are the main information provider for the masses. Also, they are rich as hell – and will pay more in employment. So I might as well get used to their lax morals now if I want to make in the industry.

Anyway, the whole experience has been eye-opener for me (even for someone who grew up reading The Advertiser), and I thought I’d give you some highlights of my media watching over the last few days:

- Channel 7 News ran a story tonight regarding a 12-year-old girl who had been approached by a paedophile as she walked to school. Instead of the usual, ambiguous camera-shots of faceless school yards and children’s backpacks, Channel 7 made the appalling decision to conduct an interview with the girl, in front of her own school. She was crying, extremely upset, mentioned how the man was ‘touching himself’, and then the journalist began grilling her on how it ‘made her feel’ and ‘why it upset you’. The unprofessionalism and insensitivity of the journalist was sickening – the poor girl is only 12. Her face was blotched, but they left her real voice, and her school uniform was clearly visible. I couldn’t believe it. You’re not supposed to interview victims of sexual assault when they are minors!

- Also on Channel 7, they decided to run full 60 second story (the longest piece on their program) on the question of how their football commentators were ‘shaping up’ for the new footy season. Of course, both the commentators in question worked for Channel 7, and, unsurprisingly, they were ‘shaping up very well’.

- A commentator on Channel 9’s Today program referred to Mark Latham, and then Kevin Rudd, as “that other guy who ran before this current guy”. Deep political analysis right there.

- I discovered that Amanda Vanstone, our former Immigration Minister, and all-round Aussie super girl, hosts her own cooking segment on AM. The morning that I tuned in she was cooking Chinese Pork, and displaying the pleasantry and softly spoken manner for she is renowned (with quotes like: “If that’s too much chilly for you, then just bloody add less alright?”). Is this her new career move?

- I found out today that the Herald Sun makes hundreds of thousands of dollars every Valentine’s Day from personal advertisements. It’s not just Hallmark after all…

- Dr. Phil spent at least 2 minutes yesterday grilling a guest on her sexual affairs before marriage. Turns out she’d given oral sex, and had premarital vaginal sex 10 days before the ceremony. Dr. Phil went on, “See that’s your problem. You went to the alter in lust – you had nothing in common but sex.” Thanks Dr.Phil. This couple has endured 8 years of bad, unloving matrimony, and that’s his ‘professional’ diagnosis. They should have waited. Then, assumedly, it would be ok.

- I could go on forever, believe me, but I’ll conclude with by far the biggest commercial news headlines of the past few days, in descending order: 1) Britney Spear’s lack of hair. 2) Who fathered Anna Nicole’s daughter? 3) John Howard thinks Kevin Rudd is “full of himself”. Is he?

The two things I’ve learned from this exercise is that the commercial media industry is scary, and, more importantly, I really gotta get out more.

The Great Internet Dating Experiment, Pt. 1 - Responses

Sydney has plenty of horny men who lack both inhibition and scruples, it seems. A number of men (about eleven or so) have responded to my phoney profile so far. To update those who can't be bothered scrolling down the page slightly, I made a profile for a dictator-worshipping Sydneysider that was clearly ridiculous. However, there are a number of men who can't work out the "clear" and "ridiculous".

Responses have included:

"This is by far the most unique profile I have read lol. There was another however she was Ulatra left wing..so I doubt you 2 would get along lol. [Au contraire, Hitler and Stalin had the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. -Ed.] Interesting to see how broad your interests are..Miltary history to shopping with the girls.." Ok, so at least he's noticed something's amiss. But nevertheless..."Look if your interested in chatting or meeting up"...he then proceeds to give me his name and email.

"love to meet up soon.i love erotica,skinnydipping,also love gviing [sic] massages to [sic]." Who doesn't love erotica? Maybe I should just meet up and see if he does a good man-sage.

"Love the photo. a vegeterian diet is being good to you." Thanks!

Now come the actual morons. E.g., bangem1000. I've footnoted it for analysis. "hi im a hot [1] brazillian/indian brown skinned male how loves sex [2] il do al the karma sutra mooves [3] on u 4 days haha holla back 4 a photo or my number".

1. And modest.
2. Who the fuck can't spell "who"?!?!?!!
3. "Mooves"? Maybe he's a graduate of Bovine University.

Having a look at his profile, he informs any interested ladies that "i like hanging out at my beach house and hot sex that goes on for days". Oh, so the '1000' in 'bangem1000' refers to the number of hours in one of his sexual escapades. Dare I holla back? I'm not sure, 'ilovedicktators' ain't no hollaback girl.

There's the gent with the charming name of cltplzr. Now why is a man who chooses that as his dating name single? It's such an informative name - "wow," the girls he writes to must think, "if I contact him via his MySpace site which he handily informed me exists, he'll please my clitoris. What am I waiting for?"

The last response I'll mention:
"well i not 2 sure if genocide is sexy but sometimes i get a laugh out of it does that count". I agree, 'Schindler's List' was a feel-good comedies. This whole Darfur thing is hilarious! LOL! Dead Africans, ROFL!

PS thanks to all those who liked the first post and to blogmaster Lachy!
PPS On the subject of morons, I heard this on Triple M this evening. Presumably it was a 'guess the connection between the songs' contest.

Announcer: We've had Down Under, Kashmir by Led Zeppelin and Great Southern Land.
Caller: Do all the songs start with 'D'?
Announcer: Kashmir starts with 'K' and Great Southern Land starts with 'G'.

Just remember, this guy, and all the wankers who wrote back to a tyrant-worshipping hornbag, all help to choose your elected leaders. Good Lord.

The Great Online Dating Experiment, Part 1: A Regular Dating Site and a Stupid Profile

Here's the deal. We have a new potential blogsmith. After a recent domination of the raw comedy scene in Adelaide, I present to you, Plevs. He isn't an official UpShake member yet, the comments will decide the issue. So, avid readers, is he a Ricky Gervais or a Chris Farley?
~LeBlogMac

Internet dating – a lot of people are against it, I don’t know why. Perhaps they think you start batting off to Microsoft Excel and then move on to looking for women. At least you don’t need to wear a condom when Internet dating. You just use anti-virus software. I’ve been meeting ladies from the Internet, on and off, for about two years now – with varying levels of success.

When your only competition is an obnoxious paperclip, online dating should be easy.

Saturday 17 December 2006: PASH!

Problem: this is part of the conversation.

Me: I like cheese.

Her: Wogs like cheese.

After a bit more pashing later on, I went home, took a few bites out of my Camembert (I am 1/4 Italian), had a wet dream about some Mozzarella, and have never seen her since.

Thursday 15 February 2007: PASH!

Problem: she’s not really my type. Besides, I think she was just upset that she didn't get any roses the day before (Valentine's Day).

Two pashes out of meeting twenty girls. That’s a 10% success rate. Some online girls are lovely and I still keep in contact with them. Some are doofuses and are best left to other men.

Not everyone is unsuccessful with dating and computers.

Why am I having so little success on these dating sites? Are they been frightened away by men who show them pictures of their penises before bothering to say hello? Well, I’ve decided to find out how stupid these men are. I’ve made a profile, ilovedicktators, on the free Internet dating site (which also does not seem to vet profiles before they are posted – although they do vet photos) www.singleswhoclick.com.au . Incidentally, I did meet one girl from this site, she was okay, although again, not really my type. Friendly, at least.

With the opening line of “Power corrupts. And makes me horny. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. And makes me absolutely horny”, I’m wondering how many men I can attract.

Will people be so stupid as to write to this? For added effect, I’ve also decided to post a photo of Eva Braun, which unfortunately hasn’t been approved on the site yet.

I’ll keep you posted with who writes to me.

~Plevs

Exerpts from Freakonomics

I picked up a good read the other day and seeing as there hasn't been much activity this month I thought I'd share some of it with the shake.

'Freakonomics' is written by a NY Times Magazine journalist and an Economist and essentially looks at examples of 'cool' microeconomic case studies. So they take a topic like, 'Why do drug dealers still live with their moms', and use data and eco principles to explain it.

A common amusement to me is the naming of children. 'Parents' who pick a name they like but then give it some supposed pizzazz (by choice or accident) with a bit of misspelling. Think Konna, Destinee, Ashly, Britany and so on. These guys got data allowing them to link a child's name with their mother's years of education. Here's a list of the top 8 'Jasmines' in ascending order of Maternal Education. (Data taken from every child born in California after 1961)

1. Jazmine (11.94 years)
2. Jazmyne (12.08)
3. Jazzmin (12.14)
4. Jazzmine (12.16)
5. Jasmyne (12.18)
6. Jasmina (12.50)
7. Jazmyn (12.77)
8. Jasmine (12.88)

I know it is an obvious and expected conclusion, but it is just good to see it as clearly as that with actual evidence.

If you were curious about the drug dealer case- They were able to get the financial books of a gang and analyse the breakdown of payments throughout the system. The reason that they still live at home is purely financial. Despite risking their lives, (25% of the actual dealers on the street will die due to 'work') standard henchmen (who make up the majority of the group) will earn just $3.30 an hour. If they make it to be the player in their local area then they can make around $100,000 a year (that's tax-free of course...) but such players are hesitant to divide this among the henchmen. As the leader of the gang in question J.T. said so eloquently, "You got all these niggers below you who want your job, you dig? So you know, you try to take care of them, but you know, you also have to show them you the boss. You gotta get yours first, or else you ain't no leader. If you start taking losses, they see you as weak and shit."

So what's the moral to this disjointed book suggestion? Ummm, don't get into drug dealing, get an education. You'll only end up with two girls named Jazmyne and Jazmine, and a massive debt.

If you want to read more, here's a version of the book in PDF form.

New Culture in Prospect

So I just moved from Southern Adelaide to Northern Adelaide. For those not in the know, the further North you go, the more industrial things tend to get. The term 'bogan' also gains relevance in direct proportion to the distance North from the city. In the few weeks I've been on the other side of the tracks I have noticed many cultural differences. Some are similar to Cam's experiences in the hospitality study entries he wrote a while back. Speaking of which, saw a lovely shop today called 'Maternity Girl'. Cam, what do you think of that one? The one stop shop for any fat pregnant teen? I thought so.

Anyway, another difference comes in the post once a week. I used to get the 'Eastern Courier' Messenger Newspaper. It had stories about the councillors of Unley deciding not to drink red wine during meetings in order to keep a clear head while making big decisions. Now I get the 'Standard' Messenger. A dull name for a dull paper. Its leading story this week was about cracking down on hoon drivers in Prospect.


It also has a section each week titled 'Key Questions'. I've spliced the more amusing ones from 2 weeks together.

They apparently asked some people 13 different (and useless) questions but then only print the same questions' answers (just 3). I don't know why they bother asking "Would you horse ride or bungee jump and why?" if they aren't going to publish it. I'll just put it down to Rupert Murdoch storing it for evil purposes like every other lefty pinko would.

Highlights:

• Renae Maher wins biggest bogan. Her fave food and drink is listed as "Everything". She drives a "V8 VS" (apparently she didn't just want to say 'Commodore'). Finally, she thinks her best friend would compliment her on "My Breasts".
• Dustin Guthberg's favourite drink to down with his Reef and Beef is "Anything over 4.5%".
• Paul Chivelle thinks his best friend would compliment him on the fact that he "Laughs at his own jokes".
• Finally, just look at Courtney Purnell. Doesn't he have a smile that could light up a room? OK, perhaps a toilet.