The Null Device

2001/5/1

Rumour of the day: Post-ironic slacker pop star Beck joins the Church of Scientology. The question is: if this is true, is he doing it sincerely or ironically?

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A BBC piece about UNIX' one billionth second, and the elaborate parties the Penguinheads are planning to mark the occassion.

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International Smash Shit Up Day: Contradictory reports about the anti-capitalist rallies in Melbourne; a 3RRR announcer this morning, quoting International Socialist/M1 officials, has painted a picture of a sea of red flags, and about 10,000 people attending; meanwhile, the PM edition of the Herald-Scum (the local Murdoch) said it was an abject failure, with only 300 people attending and no protests outside the Nike store. (I walked past the Nike store; it was closed and boarded up, with a phalanx of police out the front, presumably to ensure that protesters don't graffiti the boards.) Meanwhile, the wheels of capitalism keep turning as the stock exchange trades as normal.

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That's right; Strider. (I'd have linked to mame.dk here, except that it's dead.) (Were you expecting Tetris perhaps?) Anyway, hope everyone has had a good Walpurgisnacht.

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The entrepreneurial spirit: In the UK, university students are turning to prostitution to pay for their studies, with 60% of the prostitutes in some parts of the country being hard-up university students, and brothels advertising for workers in student newspapers.

Sarah, a 20 year old from Edinburgh studying business studies, is typical. Forced by debt into prostitution, Sarah's services are advertised on the internet by the escort company she works for.

Business studies? I suppose one could argue, though, that working in prostitution to get through university could be useful career experience for the ruthless world of making a buck.

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Graham Scum's usually insightful take on the globalisation/M1/Nu Marxism thing.

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