Suggested gift, Dominick Dunne’s – Too Much Money.

By JANET MASLIN
Published: December 13, 2009

Excerpt:
When Dominick Dunne died on Aug. 26, an online guest book was set up so well wishers could leave condolence messages for his family. The site assured visitors “that the tears of millions of loyal readers were dried by a sudden wind.” The gust was said to be caused by “the collective sigh of rich and famous bullies on multiple continents” because Mr. Dunne’s nonpareil society-crime reporting and his glaringly fact-based fiction would bedevil them no longer. Not so fast, globe-trotting bullies. Mr. Dunne left behind one last, stinging roman à clef. And he most assuredly used it to settle scores.

“Too Much Money” pits his autobiographical character, Gus Bailey, against the New York nouveau riche types of its title. And it keeps Gus constantly aghast at their gall. It commemorates Mr. Dunne’s favorite obsessions — crime, wealth, status, backbiting and power — into a story with a distinctly valedictory flavor, to the point where some of it unfolds at New York’s most elite funeral home. And it includes a line that can serve as Mr. Dunne’s own epitaph, delivered by Gus as a slap to the book’s most moneyed and graceless social climber. She has just made a donation large enough to get her name plastered onto New York’s most important library. Reminding her that libraries exist not just as sites for cocktail parties but as places to house books, Gus tells her: “I don’t have to buy my way in.”

More from the New York Times article

Still Settling the Score, Even Beyond the Grave

Oppose proposed new Victorian laws. Write to politicians today before new law is passed. #Youthlaw needs your help!

On Tuesday 8th December the Upper House of Victorian Parliament will debate and vote on proposed new laws that give invasive powers for police which will impact on the everyday life of tens of thousands of Victorians.  On 26 November (2009) the Government and the Opposition members in the  Lower House of Parliament passed the proposed laws despite acknowledging they breach fundamental human rights.

Youthlaw seeks your urgent support to oppose this proposed law and request voting be deferred until  politicians properly investigate and consult with community rather than rush it through Parliament.

The proposed ‘Summary Offences and Weapons Control Amendment’ Bill introduces new ‘move on powers’ for police that enable them to order any one to move away from public spaces even if they haven’t committed any crime. Interstate experience indicates these laws will target young people in particular.

The Bill also allows the police to conduct random searches including strip searches of children under 18 in certain circumstances. Similar proposed legislation in WA has been sent off for investigation by an upper house Committee due to the public uproar about the impact of these invasive powers on the community.

If you don’t want laws that have proven to be ineffective, unfairly target young people and create unnecessary conflict between community groups and police then please send an email such as the one below, to the Government by Tuesday 8th December 2009.

SUGGESTED EMAIL MESSAGE
I AM WRITING TO URGE YOU TO OPPOSE THE ‘SUMMARY OFFENCES AND WEAPONS CONTROL AMENDMENT ACT’ BILL OR AT LEAST DEFER PASSING THE BILL UNTIL THERE HAS BEEN A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS SUCH A LAW. THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD PARTICULARLY ENABLE CONSULTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE, HOMELESS PEOPLE AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE EFFECTED BY THESE LAWS.

Please email to:

john.brumby@parliament.vic.gov.au
Premier, Leader of the government, ALP
ted.baillieu@parliament.vic.gov.au
Leader of the Opposition, Liberal party
rob.hulls@parliament.vic.gov.au
Attorney General, ALP
bob.cameron@parliament.vic.gov.au
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, ALP
peter.ryan@parliament.vic.gov.au
Leader of the National party
sue.pennicuik@parliament.vic.gov.au
Greens, Australian Whip

Please forward to all your friends and networks.
Please email me if you are interested in further information about this issue.
Tiffany Overall
Youthlaw

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki face 10 years in prison for defending #whales, you can do something to help.

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are two Japanese activists who have found compelling evidence of corruption within the Japanese whaling program last year. Instead of investigating the whaling industry, Japanese authorities responded by arresting Junichi and Toru. They have been denied their liberty for over 6 months, awaiting trial later this year.

Show solidarity with Junichi and Toru – ask the Japanese Government to free the Tokyo Two and put whaling on trial instead.

SIGN THE PETITION

Australian Government must demand Japan recall its whaling fleet immediately

The Japanese whaling fleet left port in Innoshima (Nov 19, 2009) en route to Antarctica with over 1000 whales in its sight. It will take the whaling fleet about three weeks to reach the Southern Ocean beneath Australia.

When they get there, the Government of Japan’s annual ‘research’ expedition to Antarctic waters plans to kill up to 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 of our beloved humpback whales.

“Japan’s so-called scientific whaling is nothing less than commercial whaling in disguise. You don’t need to kill whales to study them,” said Darren Kindleysides, Director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

This is the fifth whaling season for the Japanese Government’s controversial and confrontational ‘scientific whaling’ program known as ‘JARPA II’ and the 22nd consecutive year Japan has hunted whales under the guise of scientific research. In that time, Japan’s whalers have killed more than 9000 whales in the Southern Ocean.

“Hunting hundreds of whales and calling it research breaks international law and defies the global ban on whaling brought in by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. How many more whaling seasons must be endured, how many more whales must die under this charade?” Kindleysides said.

This whaling season, the whalers are planning to kill 50 humpback whales - this would break a four decade ban on hunting humpbacks and has ramifications for Australia’s thriving whale watching industry.

“The whalers have our beloved humpbacks in their sights - the same whales that migrate to Australia during winter, the same whales that support our multi-million dollar whale watching industries on our east and west coasts.”

Research [1] has shown that whale watching is worth approximately $300million dollars a year in Australia, with humpbacks the backbone of our whale watching industries in many locations.  Japan withdrew plans to kill humpbacks in 2007 and 2008 following international outcry and pressure from countries like Australia, but their self-appointed quota of 50 humpbacks in the 2009 season still stands.

With the recent change of Government in Japan, there are suggestions the Japanese Government is reviewing the funding for the annual whaling expeditions, a hugely subsidised and controversial hunt that has stained Japan’s standing on the international stage.

“The Australian Government must demand Japan recall its whaling fleet immediately. It is time to tell the new Japanese Government to put their unlawful whaling program on ice. If diplomacy cannot prevent another season of whale slaughter in the Southern Ocean the Rudd Government must deliver on its election promise to pursue legal action against Japan before international courts and tribunals to end whaling once and for all,” concluded Kindleysides.

[1] Research undertaken by the International Fund for Animal Welfare evaluating the economic value of whale and dolphin watching in Australia.

Media Contact:
Darren Kindleysides (AMCS Director): +61 (07) 3393 5811 or 0422 396 077

www.marineconservation.org.au

isnort, i cannot believe its not cocaine

Forget the Virtual Pint – it’s piss. What YOU need is an unlimited supply of ‘Class A’ Virtual Narcotics.

Be the envy of the in-crowd. Get ejected from nightclubs. Shock and amaze your so-called friends. Get oral sex from Z-list celebrities.

Introducing The iSnort – an ultra-edgy simulated iPhone / iPod Touch application.

Go on.. give it a toot… it’s virtually addictive. Download The iSnort v0.1 now for £5 – all future versions and updates are included in this one-off subscription.

TxtNinja

Keen to have your email address, domain name, or IM content made virtually invisible from spambots? Then *tah-daah* TxtNinja is the nifty tool for you. TxtNinja is a service that allows for various levels of user-controlled “anonymity” via image conversion [a bit like having your own networked invisibility cloak]:

“TxtNinja is the perfect tool for anyone. And by anyone, we very damn well mean anyone. There is no hard and fast rule as to how you should use TxtNinja; you’re free to use it in any and every way you can think of [including]:

1. Masking your email: If you need to give out your email over the internet and use simple plain text, spam bots or email harvesters will pick up your email and your inbox will be home to thousands of spam messages. The simplest way would be to use TxtNinja, where your email address will be known to humans and will go undetected by bots.
2. Displaying non-Latin characters: Some languages such as Japanese and Greek contain characters that may not be recognised or allowed by websites and forums. Now, TxtNinja supports input from many other languages so you have a quick workaround!
3. Sale of domains and websites: Forum users (such as those of DigitalPoint Forums) make use of TxtNinja to sell their domains and websites on the forum. Their reasons for doing so vary, but most do that to keep their sales thread from appearing in search engine results.”

Primitive: A New Multi-Platform Media Artwork

Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new multi-platform media artwork Primitive was commissioned by FACT in partnership with Haus der Kunst, Munich and Animate Projects, London. The work is a combination of:

• a multiple- screen video installation
• a music video
• a short film for cinema
• an online film
• an artist’s book.

“This will be the first solo exhibition in the UK by the Thai artist, which forms part of the AND Festival, Primitive is set in Nabua in the Renu Nakhon district of Thailand, which suffered violent clashes between communist communities and the Thai military in the 1960s. Communist suspects were brutally tortured during attacks and those who managed to escape fled to the jungle where they disappeared forever. Nabua’s story undeniably has echoes with the current political turmoil in Thailand, as freedom of expression is still restricted and Thai security forces continue to engage in extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, with new cases of ‘enforced disappearances’ emerging during 2008.”

Read more about Primitive at FACT.

Increase the penalty for animal cruelty sign the ongoing petition

This petition has been created to show that Australians support harsher penalties towards scum that hurt and/or torture defenseless and innocent animals, like Buckley (picture above) (VIC) and Peanut (QLD).

The current maximum penalty for animal cruelty in Australia is a pathetic 12 months jail, or a fine. The maximum penalty that has been handed out is 4 months. This matter needs to be taken more seriously, and the penalties need to be increased.

Harming a defenceless animal is like hurting a child, neither can defend themselves.

Please do your part – sign this petition and invite others to do the same.

Sign the Petition

A Dinner to Die For interactive evening of murder mystery and mayhem

Lord Quinten Daventry invites you for an interactive evening of murder mystery and mayhem all served up with a delicious 3 course dinner.

We’re not talking molecular gastronomy here, but rather a wickedly funny Murder Mystery Dinner. Bare Elements Productions, based in Melbourne, present their new dinner dates.

Become part of the show whilst watching the show – set in 1928 you are invited to be a guest of Lord Quinten Daventry at his birthday bash. The rumour going around social circles is that he will announce his engagement to Miss Fanny Farquar.

It’s Agatha Christie in spirit – all cut glass accents, strings of pearls, flapper dresses, army outfits, dinner jackets and monocles – with lashings of sexual innuendo and double entendres.

When: 29 Aug, 7 Nov, 5 Dec, 12 Dec and 19  Dec, 2009.
Website:http://www.adinnertodiefor.com

“I would pay thoosands and thoosands of poonds to see this show”

“Murder! Mayhem! Merriment! and Mirth! A marvellous cast and excellent entertainment. We had a ball, fun & laughter all night long! Definitely recommended – get right into the characters and transport yourself to another era.”

“Just brilliant. I’ve never had a more entertaining dinner!”

“Absolutely brilliant, the acting was at a high level, exceeded my expectations”

“The whole experience was like being in an enjoyable time warp.Encore…”

Protest slaughter of dolphins in Japan

Just saw a very compelling documentary about dolphin slaughter at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The movie called The Cove is utterly disturbing and you may well want to grimace, turn away or just shut your eyes while the footage of horrific scenes take place. But for how much longer can we turn away from the crimes we perpetuate against animals!?

Thank goodness people care and it’s kudos to the film makers who risked their lives to capture this untold story of how the tiny coastal village of Taiji, Japan is at the epicenter of this dreadful crime.

The website won’t give the plot away and it’s something that the director wants you all to take your friends to see! Who knew! But sometimes it’s not such a bad thing to make money to further influence a cause and get the word out.  I’ve personally learnt that you don’t have enough time to be complacent about the things you believe in, and I am trying to have some conviction and stop in my own complicity of killing animals.

See what you can do to help the campaign to raise awareness of The Oceanic Protection society and help spread the word.

http://thecovemovie.com/