Author: liligans

I have to agree with Baroness Susan Greenfield about the downside of the internet

liligans So you think you're cultured?, Society

While the internet has been a boon in many respects, I am concerned about some of its detrimental effects on the learning process.

When I first purchased a Kindle I was delighted with it. It is light. You can change the font. Downloading a book is not only fast but cheaper than the hard copy. You can carry your Kindle in a purse so that it is particularly handy for travel.

Similarly, a computer and an I-pad are convenient. You can look up anything in a second (if your connection works) and the world of information is at your finger tips. All this is true and I appreciate the benefits of the digital age.

However, and this is a big however, after reading books in E-form I find that my concentration is not as strong. I read the article on the screen and then flick around to something else and have to ask myself what was I reading?

I have read many books on my Kindle and when I study the menu I wonder what they were about. Now this does not happen with the printed word on a paper page. I have hundreds of books in my print library and can tell you immediately what the theme was and who the characters were in every one of them.

It’s as if what is on the digital screen is ephemeral, something to be read and discarded without being absorbed by the brain. I know that if I want to make a note of something I write it down on paper, because that makes it more credible to me.

So what I am referring to is not “information overload”, but rather the form in which the information is presented.

Now it’s very possible that I am having this reaction because my initial education was with books, pen and paper. Why, I can even do “proper” handwriting rather than printing. But I have been using a computer for thirty years, so I’ve been familiar with the internet for quite a while.

Baroness Susan Greenfield has been warning us about the effects of the digital age on the brain. The short attention span that is created by being able to surf the net willy nilly means that nothing much is read in detail.

We are used to the bite, the morsel, the nano-content of information and we are training our minds to flick from one thing to another without weighing the evidence, without questioning its importance and without sitting down away from the screen to reflect on what we have read.

One only has to observe the populace walking around everywhere, head down, thumbs hard at work, on I-phones. The obsession is very strange and rather scary. If they get all their information on the net and they are at it non-stop what will happen to their powers of reflection, comprehension and absorption?

This is what concerns Baroness Greenfield who spends her life promoting Neuroscience. She is certainly not against information and neither am I. In fact, I’m one of those types who checks information and spelling and trivia pedantically.

I have been an educator and I am very worried that the information and the books on E-readers are making us lightheaded. Not much is going in and staying in, and that is a pity because so much is going out into the ether.

We are inundated with the digital stuff and perhaps we are beginning to drown in it without a life jacket. It’s the medium, not the message!

Anders Breivik short sentence! It’s the Norwegian Laws which are insane.

liligans totally absurd

I only have one question for the Norwegians.

How many people do you have to murder before you get a life sentence in Norway?

Well, it seems as if the vilest of killers can only get 21 years in Norway. That is the law, apparently. Why? Who knows? But after that period the sentence can be extended by five years at a time.

What is wrong with a real life sentence…meaning ” for the rest of his life”?

Apparently, 77 dead is not enough for the Norwegian Laws

Thumbs up for Craftee Cottage in Oakleigh!

liligans So you think you're cultured?

Just when you’ve decided that retail shopping has no future you come across a pleasant surprise in Oakleigh, Melbourne.

It’s called Craftee Cottage and as the name will imply it’s for people who love knitting and crochet.

Needless to say there are several wool stores in Melbourne. Some are quite okay but nothing special. There is one, in fact, quite close to my home which is so unfriendly that I have decided it’s not worth going there because the owner acts as if she finds customers to be a nuisance.

I have to make it clear that I am not referring to the Wool Store in Malvern which is known as Wondoflex Yarn Craft Centre and is extremely welcoming and so I go there very often. In fact it was this Wool Store which directed me to Craftee Cottage when I was searching for a special ball of yarn.

I appreciated their kindness so much that I will definitely continue to visit the Wondoflex Centre in Malvern.

But nothing can compare with the extra service that I received at Craftee Cottage which is at least 10 kms from my home. The owner and the rest of the staff obviously love their work. They know about knitting and there is no hard sell.

The visit reminded me of how knitting and craft shops used to be before those huge haberdasheries came into being. I always dread going into them because there is hardly any service and the whole visit is a wander through aisles and then a long queue at the end if one actually finds something to buy.

Compare this with Craftee Cottage and you soon realise that good service will always beat the internet. Personal good service is what makes a shopper come back over and over again even though retail may be taking a beating.

I believe that there is a great advantage in being able to feel and see a product before buying it, especially in a craft situation. And if one can discus its merits and get expert advice then the visit to the craft shop is a happy experience.

It isn’t easy to choose a yarn over the internet. Colours just aren’t the same online in many cases. And there is always the problem of having chosen the wrong thing and not being able to return it easily. That can be a disincentive for online buyers.

Some products are quite suited to online shopping, but when it comes to a hobby or a pastime then the entire shopping experience has to be emotionally satisfying. Selecting yarns and needles should be a leisurely experience. After all, this is discretionary shopping rather than simply going to a supermarket to buy bread and milk.

Ambience plays a major role in this type of purchase. So if we get a great welcome and can take our time in the store then we will always choose the store which makes us glad we came.

In other words, it’s all about “the feel good factor.” And it is the genuine personal service which will make me go out of my way to find it at Craftee Cottage.

How satisfying it is to discover a breath of fresh air in a harsh retail environment that often fails to deliver!

“And if We all Lived Together” –movie review

liligans Films

I rarely want to walk out of a film theatre. It’s the former film and TV critic in me that obliges me to stay until the very end so that I can give an honest review of a film.

“And if we all lived together” really tested my resolve. This supposed French? comedy?… whatever, is a miserable and uninspiring, unentertaining and definitely not amusing depiction of aging from the point of view of “Oh My God, if I ever get like that please shoot me.”

The screenplay is badly written. There is no resolution. There are silly cliche stupidities about Viagra. There is one guy who has Alzheimer’s, one who is always vacuuming and another who has had a heart attack and who asks a young man to buy Viagra for him. Oh yes, he also pulls his pants down and shows his bottom in front of a video recorder. In other words, a barrel of laughs.

I found it hard to believe that Jane Fonda would accept a role in such a silly movie about old people. You know the ad she made for L’Oreal cosmetics? In it she says “Because she’s worth it?” Well, she ain’t.

And I can’t imagine why a great comedy actor such as Pierre Richard of “Les Fugitifs” fame would accept a role in such a pile of trash.

When you think about it, for whom was it made? Young people couldn’t care less about such a theme and older people expect either substance or entertainment or both if the film is really good.

“And if we all lived together” offers neither.

By now my message should be clear. This is not worth seeing. Avoid it at all costs.

Shame on Kerry Stokes! Shame on New Idea!

liligans Politics, What Pisses me off

I cannot imagine what got into the heads of the advertisers of “New Idea”. This publication is run by Kerry Stokes and Seven West Media. In an effort to boost sales of the magazine the executives have decided to stoop to disgusting depths with their latest TV commercial.

They have decided to pick on the Amish!

Can you imagine a less offensive group of Americans who don’t cause trouble, don’t get political or use violence? They don’t carry guns. They don’t blow themselves up in suicide attacks. They just want to be left alone to live their lives.

So what does the TV commercial for “New Idea” portray?

Well, it shows a young Amish woman reading “New Idea”, removing her modest cap and shaking her hair provocatively. Another scene shows a young Amish woman (under the spell of “New Idea”) lifting up her skirts and poking out her thigh the way that Angeline Jolie did on the red carpet.

All this is done in front of stunned Amish elders.

This commercial is in poor taste and extremely offensive to the Amish. My consolation is that the Amish will probably never see or hear about the “New Idea” commercial but I would like the rest of the U.S.A to be aware of the shameful mocking of some of their population.

Just as our Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, is prepared to offend the people of New Jersey for his own political gains, I think it is immoral to make fun of a peaceful religious sect like the Amish.

My question to Kerry Stokes and “New Idea” is would you cowardly guys have dared to portray a Muslim woman doing the same as the Amish woman? I think not. The Amish are easy pickings, aren’t they?

Higgs Boson…who cares? It’s the little things that count.

liligans What Pisses me off

So they’ve unearthed a subatomic particle. Wow! Good news for Professor Higgs who said “I told you so” when nobody believed him, but so far I’m unimpressed. I admit this is due to my general ignorance about its benefits but I don’t really care how the Earth was formed or what’s going to happen to it.

What I care about is the little things. Not the subatomic particles but little everyday things such as the annoying bags that supermarkets and greengrocers supply. You know the ones I mean. Those frustrating plastic things that are difficult to open when you want to buy some vegetables. You tear the damn things off the roll and then you fumble with every end trying to find which end opens.

Is it this end? Or is it the other end? You try and try squashing the bag in an attempt to fathom where the opening is. Then you wet your fingers because they’ve dried up. You utter some words that should only be expressed in the privacy of the Collider in Cern.

Anyone watching this display would be correct in thinking that you are struggling against the odds and the odds are winning. These ruddy bags will not open and so you try another one.

Fiddling, fumbling, muttering, you proceed to attack several of these bags and feel very inadequate. They make you feel bad and you say to yourself “Surely they could invent a better bag than this!” By “they” I mean those scientists such as Higgs who waste their energies looking for what makes the world go round instead of making it go round in a user-friendly manner.

Imagine a world where that stiff plastic packaging which cuts your fingers when you try to open it were replaced by something sensible and easier to open and yet perfectly secure. Is that so hard to do?

Imagine a world where you don’t have to fumble trying to open containers without the benefit of an engineering degree. I possess all kinds of tools which should help but don’t.

Imagine a world where you don’t have to curse those damn bags that supermarkets provide.

Imagine a world where those ring-pull tabs from Eastern Europe don’t break off just as you begin to open the can and you are left with a tab in your hand and sharp spikes ready to puncture you.

Well, guess what? I have recently discovered some greengrocery bags in Woolworths (Aussie supermarket chain) that are easy to open. They even have some instructions that read “Open this end”. How smart is that? I was so impressed that I took a couple of them home just to play with them and they work well. No fumbling needed. These bags are made in the U.S.A by a firm called Crown Poly and contain 30% recycled material. So they are good for the planet and save your sanity as well!

Imagine a world in which every supermarket offered these bags to customers.

Now that would be impressive!

Addicted to Aldi

liligans So you think you're cultured?, totally absurd

It was a pretty pathetic scene. The city of Melbourne was suffering from the coldest minimum temperature since the Neolithic Age.

A group of lost souls was pacing up and down outside Aldi at 8 am on Saturday, waiting for the store to open at 8.30.

We were among this bunch, watching the others surreptitiously, planning our onslaught so that we could reach the limited specials in time before they ran out

When I say “we” I’m exaggerating slightly. My husband thought the whole venture was ridiculous, but he accompanied me anyhow. So what I really mean is the “Royal We”, that is, yours truly, who was being sucked it by one of Aldi’s special offers.

Sleeveless puffer vests for ladies for only $12.99!

Who could resist that? Not I. So I dragged my husband along at the crack of dawn on Saturday to get my hands on one or more of these amazing vests.

I’m on Aldi’s mailing list, you see, and every week I receive an email with their upcoming special buys.

I used to think that I was above that sort of thing, but apparently, I’m not. I love getting the catalogue to see if I “need” anything in it.

Anyhow, there I was last Saturday, hovering behind a man in a wheelchair, working out a strategy for a quick and efficient entry.

Being the genius that I am I concluded that there was very little chance that the man in the wheelchair would be heading for the ladies puffer vests, so he was no threat to me.

The door opened and we all rushed in like a bunch of desperadoes. I headed for the centre aisle, picked up three vests in every size, then I took three more in another colour. My husband was holding my handbag so that I could try on one of each.

So far so good.

“So how does it look?” I asked the keeper of the handbag. There’s no mirror in Aldi, unfortunately.

“It’s looks okay,” he replied. “Do you really need these vests?” he asked.

Poor man, I muttered to myself as I mucked about with the vests. Sometimes I feel so sorry for him. He really hasn’t a clue about bargains. I mean these were only $12.99!

So I selected two of them. Pleased as punch, I was.

We went home with my treasure. I paraded in front of the mirror. “Don’t you think they’re a bit loose?” I asked my spouse. “Well, yes”, was the reply. I told you they were okay and they are okay. For the price”, he added.

The next day, Sunday, we returned to Aldi with the two vests and got a refund.

Wonder what’s on special next week? Pretty pathetic, eh…

Why Julian Assange is dangerous

liligans Politics, So you think you're cultured?, What Pisses me off

Yesterday, we commemorated the contribution made by Alan Turing. Born exactly a hundred years ago, Turing was a brilliant mathematician who headed the codebreaking unit in Britain during the Second World War.

It was he who was largely responsible for inventing the Enigma machine at Bletchley Park, the secret British centre for codebreaking. His team could decipher cryptic German messages and this information was used against the enemy itself.

Naturally, it was crucial that the Germans not find out about the Enigma machine and so the secret of Bletchley Park was kept until well after the War when the danger was over.

It was the secrecy around the Enigma Code which shortened the War.

Which brings me to Julian Assange and why he is dangerous. In my opinion, had amoral Assange been around during this war and had he learned about the Enigma machine, I am convinced that he would have blabbed it to the World and endangered the lives of many millions of Allies.

Le Chef- movie review

liligans Films, So you think you're cultured?

Funny thing about this film. I enjoyed it very much while I was watching it, but on thinking it over what struck me was how silly it all was.

So what did I enjoy? Well, 99% of the acting was excellent. Jean Reno is his usual consummate self as is the rest of the cast, apart from the villainous manager, Stanislaw, who is oh so evil!.

I particularly enjoyed the pomposity of chefs being satirised. It is only food, after all and chefs are not deities. Not really. So when the film makes fun of molecular cooking and those big white plates with microscopic portions on them, I feel validated for thinking that chefs have delusions of grandeur and that some cooks take themselves far too seriously.

The French are good at comedy, as are the Brits. They have finesse and they don’t go for stupid special effects etc, which bore me to tears.

So what I really enjoyed about Le Chef is that it made me laugh and nowadays I am desperate for a chuckle what with Greece and Syria and all that stuff.

On reflection, however, the film is very predictable. No surprises there and not much depth. I particularly winced at an embarrassing scene in a rival restaurant which would have been more appropriate for a Dumb and Dumber scenario.

So what? I ask myself. A bit of amusing froth is what I wanted and Le Chef is well worth it for that.

The Dictator- a movie for the politically savvy

liligans Films

I was bowled over by the movie, “The Dictator”. Sacha Baron Cohen’s ventures in the past were quite amusing but I did squirm occasionally at the crassness of his humour. In his latest production, however, Baron Cohen is very impressive. His script is tighter and the acting is much better, but, for me, the most impressive trait of “The Dictator” is its acerbic satire.

This film is strictly political and if you want to enjoy it to its full potential then you have to be au fait with current affairs. It is not a children’s movie, nor is it for teenagers who are more familiar with Justin Bieber, say.

The satire revolves around the latest Arab Spring’s toying with democracy and the downfall of a few regimes. Cohen is quite ruthless about dictatorship in general and Arab and Muslim dictatorships in particular. He attacks racial prejudice and stereotyping and even the U.S cops a bit of a beating.

The main target of his satire, however, is a dictator who reminds us just a tiny bit of the former and currently defunct Libyan ruler. Baron Cohen plays the part of the dictator as if he were born for this role.

He is refreshingly politically incorrect and I have to admit that I roared with laughter many, many times and even clapped out loud. Cohen says it like it is. No spin, no BS, just the truth as many of us see it.

It felt good to have one’s feelings validated. For those of you who like a bit of romance, well, there’s even a dose of that in “The Dictator” and it’s handled in the Frank Capra style of romantic comedies.

I would honestly describe “The Dictator” as sophisticated satire. If you like politics and you like biting satire with brains, then you should not miss this film.