Michael Atkinson falls on his own sword and resigns from the front bench
March 21, 2010
Many weeks ago on a Geek Actually Podcast episode I said that we needed patience and sooner or later Michael Atkinson, the South Australian Attorney-General, would either be voted out or give up the fight. I was ridiculed by the chat room, they said that he was in a safe seat and he would be around forever. I tried to counter this with the Prime Minister John Howard example from 2007. John Howard was in one of the safest Liberal Party seats in the country, not only did he lose the election but he was so unpopular at the time, he also lost his seat in parliament.
Ha! The South Australian State Elections just took place and Michael Atkinson, although not voted out, has resigned from the front bench. Patience is a virtue my friends. He claims that the new Government has a majority of one and he didn’t want his controversial ideals to make waves for the re-elected Labour Government. This is probably the most reasonable and responsible act I have ever seen him make. Michael Atkinson will remain in Parliament, but he will stay on the back bench.
Now that Mr. Atkinson is no longer that states Attorney-General we might actually get an intelligent debate on the R18+ rating for games issue.
Goodbye Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, you will not be missed.
To read more read this article on AdelaideNOW
Google is leaving China in April
March 20, 2010
Well, we have been covering this for a few weeks on Geek Actually Tech and now it would seem that it is official, Google is leaving China. On last weeks show we reported that Google was about 99.9% sure it was going to leave china and now the Chinese media has made an announcement that Google will be packing up shop and leaving in April. The China Business News says Google is going through with it’s threats and will be out of China on April 10th. At this time Google has yet to confirm this.
Google has been threatening to withdraw from China over censorship issues and the cyber attacks earlier this year.
At this time, Google has continued filtering search results on google.cn to comply with Chinese censorship demands but Google has threatened to stop filtering.
Also on the podcast we talked about companies in China that have voiced concern about Google leaving and wanted possible compensation for lost income if the giant left. Google confirmed that it had received a letter supposedly from a group of 27 Chinese agencies claiming that they wanted to open talks with Google over compensation. However, several of the agencies have told the Associated Foreign Press they knew nothing of the letter. This has raised doubts over the authenticity of the letter and Google is now reviewing the letter.
As to the future of Google products (like the Nexus 1 phone) in China. All the stories so far about this have been about Google.cn, there doesn’t seem to be an answer about other Google products yet. My guess is if they pull out of China, it will be a complete pull out.
Spot on Parody – Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer
March 13, 2010
Here is the mock movie trailer we discussed on the latest episode (ep 75) of The Geek Actually Podcast. It is an absolutely spot on parody and sums up the predictability of earnest movie trailers. Listen to the episode to hear our thoughts on this gem.
This Week on The Geek Actually Podcast – Hollie McKay Pays Us a Visit
March 10, 2010
Hollie McKay - FoxNews.com
This week on The Geek Actually Podcast (episode 75) David McVay and Josh Philpott are joined in studio by special guests Mirren Lee (actress/dialect coach/writer/ex-actor’s agent) and Hollie McKay (entertainment reporter for foxnews.com).
This week we examine a little entertainment news and review Tim Burton’s new film “Alice in Wonderland”.
This week’s episode is going out an hour later to accommodate Hollie’s schedule, so if you do want to come watch live and join the chat room, got to http://geekactually.com/live at 1pm Saturday (13th of March) Australian Eastern Time. Why not ask us a question for the show: voice mail line 02 8011 3167
If you would like to know more about Hollie, her website is holliemckay.com or why not check out her work on foxnews.com or watch this video:
Michael Atkinson – Are you Friggin’ Kidding?!?!?
March 9, 2010
Okay, I know South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson doesn’t like video games and is the main opposition to the introduction of an R18+ rating for games, even though evidence would say that the people of Australia want this rating (you are still an elected representative of the people aren’t you Mr. Atkinson?). But this article on news.com.au says that he donated thousands of dollars (I really hope they were not public funds Mr. Atkinson) to a group that says that video games are a more serious threat than lung cancer. Get real.
To quote the news.com.au story:
A GROUP that says video games and violence are like smoking and lung cancer has received tens of thousands of dollars in funding from politician and outspoken R18+ game critic Michael Atkinson.
An expert from the Australian Council on Children and the Media this week told a TV news program the link between violent games and youth violence was stronger than tobacco and cancer.
“It’s much greater than the effect of smoking on lung cancer,” psychologist Dr Wayne Warburton said.
A ‘much great effect than the effect of smoking on lung cancer’. Wow, I am speechless. Actually I am not. Michael Atkinson, shame on you. You have now poured a reported $33,000 in donations into a group called ‘Know Before You Go’, a service that offers parents advice on films even after the films have been rated. as an example, the film ‘Charlotte’s Web’ was rated G and deemed suitable for all audiences. Know Before You Go says the film should not be watched by under eights alone as it has disturbing scenes. This in of itself not a bad thing. The ratings on films are often vague and this will help a parent know if there is anything in particular to watch out for.
I do worry when you dig a little deeper and find out that Know Before You Go is project of The Australian Council on Children and the Media which is a non-profit organisation that also trades under the name ‘Young Media Australia’, a group that has received funding from the Federal Government in the past. The Council’s purpose is to advise parents and members of the government on the harmful effects of media on young children. This is starting to sound dangerously Orwellean to me, but it gets better.
The Council has another project going called ‘Choosing Fright-Free Fight-Free Viewing: An Intervention for Parents of Under Sevens’ (I kid you not) which actually warned parents about the show Bananas in Pyjamas because it contained slapstick comedy and that could be dangerous. Stop laughing, I’m being serious here. Let me let their own booklet explain, ‘Slapstick comedy can make them think that things don’t actually hurt when in real life they do.’ I said stop laughing, this is serious stuff. And a fine example of your tax dollars at work. Cue my usual call at this point, where the hell are the parents to to explain this to their kids. It is not a council or the government’s responsibility to raise and explain right and wrong behaviour to your kids. If you are incapable of telling your kids that hitting each other might hurt someone then you shouldn’t have had kids.
These people are being funded by the Federal Government and private donations from people like Michael Atkinson. It also seems that the original comment on video games (you know, the one about lung cancer that started this whole rant) seems to originated from the Australian Christian Lobby. Now what a surprise (note sarcasm here)!
Okay, at this point I am going to say to Michael Atkinson, John Howard, George W. Bush, Kevin Rudd, Stephen Conroy, Tony Abbott and any other politician out there who this applies too, there must be a separation of church and state. We pretend that there is but there is not.
The entire population is not Christian so stop shoving your theological crap down our throats. I am a good person, I try not to cause harm to others, I raise my child with a strong ideal of right and wrong and good manners, I am faithful to my wife. I am courteous to others and I don’t drink and I don’t cause fights. In fact I am a very gentle person who doesn’t believe that violence solves anything. However I am not Christian and I do play violent video games. I love a good hard R horror movie once in a while and I watch hardcore porn. I don’t want my internet filtered, not because I support child porn, but because I believe in freedom of speech and I like my internet fast. I support the R18+ rating on games, not because I want to show my 10 year old the RC games, but because I want to play the games that the government has blocked in the past and I don’t want my 10 year old son to be able to buy them. I support gay marriage because everyone deserves to be happy and no Christian has ever been able to answer one fundamental question, how does the union of two men or two women affect my heterosexual marriage? This is a question that has only one answer, it doesn’t.
In Australia we have mandatory scripture classes in public school. For one hour every week the children are segregated into their little groups and told about their various gods. My son goes with the non-scripture kids and watches a movie or plays a game or reads a book. For one hour each week we have unqualified people (that’s right, they are volunteers from the community, not qualified teachers) come into the school to teach our children about something that is suppose to be taught at home. This is a secular public school (remember the church and state thing) funded by tax payer dollars and once a week we get all the kids to look at each other and point out that they are different. You don’t think there is a problem with this? My son came out of non-scripture and a Catholic boy looked at him, saw that he came out of non-scripture and said “you’re going to hell because you don’t believe in god”. I believe that that is more harmful to a 10 year old than Bananas in Pyjamas. Scripture is a personal and family belief system. You go to church to learn about your god and practice at home, keep it out of the public school system. If you want scripture taught to your child, send them to a private religious school.
At this point I have lost many Christian readers and listeners to my podcast, and quite frankly I don’t care. But for those that are still around, I don’t care what your belief in god is, just keep it to yourself and don’t try to force your ideals or faith on me or society, we are not buying today thank you.
Let’s put the Christian moral hammer down now and approach the debates of the Internet Censorship Filter, The introduction of an R18+ rating for games and the re-introduction of the X18+ rating for movies with a logical and theological free mind. I think we might get more achieved if you keep your god out of it or we might have to bring up a few of your little mistakes like The Inquisition or those pesky Crusades.
I have my asbestos underwear on, let the flaming begin.
Lego: Force Unleashed – Best Lego Star Wars Film Online
March 7, 2010
One Morning, I found in my subscription box a new film from a really good animator online, so i had a look and it blew me away it was so good. The animation was perfect, the light sabre fight was brilliant and the special effects were all done in photoshop and it still looked amazing.
Take a look for yourself:
Help Support an R18+ Rating for Games – Here’s How
March 2, 2010
Our friends over at PALGN are running a campaign (in conjunction with Game – the gaming retail stores) to help usher in an R18+ rating for games. If you have been living under a rock and don’t know what this is all about, click here or here to learn more.
Many retailers and sites are helping to bring awareness to this issue but I particularly like the PALGN/Game approach. Instead of abusing the government or trying to convince people that gamers are mostly adults (true, but it is a hard sell to change perceptions) they are using the logic that some games (like movies) are not for children and we need to protect the children by bringing in an appropriate rating. To quote their site, everyoneplays.org.au:
“Some games are played by everyone, but some are only meant for those over 18.
Australia does not have an R18+ PC and video game classification. An R18+ classification will allow adults the freedom of choice to play games with mature content; and help ensure that mature themed games are not rated MA15+ under any circumstances.The Video Games Industry and the general public support an R18+ classificaiton rating.
We need to ensure that support for an R18+ classification remains top-of-mind for Censorship Ministers around the country.
Protect children from mature themed games.
Together – we can fix it.”
The discussion paper on this topic that is currently before the government has now been closed (as of February 28th 2010) to the public, however this issue still has a long way to go and if stop being vocal on this issue, you will be forgotten and swept under the mat.
We here at Geek Actually wholly support the R18+ rating for games and we encourage you to visit the PALGN page http://palgn.com.au/16060/palgn-everyoneplays-and-game-join-forces/ and the http://www.everyoneplays.org.au/ page for more information on how you can help and have your voice heard.
You will also be hearing about this program and issue across all of the Geek Actually podcasts over the next couple of weeks.
One last note: If we are going to successfully bring in this rating, we need to keep cool, logical minds. Rational argument is what will win. Getting loud and obnoxious or calling out abusive and threatening things to the government or Michael Atkinson does not help the cause and really only solidifies their misconceptions about gamers. We need this rating to bring us in line with the rest of the western world.
Go to a Game store and enter your opinion their by clicking the picture below.
Thank You Movie Fan House
February 19, 2010
Just a quick thank you to Charlie and Brad at The Movie Fan House podcast for having us on their show this week. It was a great deal of fun helping them review The Wolfman. You can listen to the episode and read their wonderful site at moviefanhouse.com or subscribe to them on iTunes.
Australia Needs an R18+ Rating for Games Now – You Need To Get Involved
February 5, 2010
We here at Geek Actually rant on about censorship issues constantly, one of these issues is the lack of an R18+ rating for games in Australia. The lack of this rating is leading to many games being refused classification (or banned in other terminology) so it is a serious censorship issue. Well, our friends over at Game Pron (hi, Jessica) have put up a wonderful post all about the discussion paper that was released recently and what they are doing. We have discussed the discussion paper before on the podcast and on this blog, Game Pron has even more information. Go to their page by clicking here now.
We Need Your Help
January 19, 2010
Hi, just a quick beg to get me through the day. We are trying to improve our video shows and we need help from you, the viewers. We need a couple pieces of equipment, they’re not expensive but funds are tight. If you guys and girls (our beloved listeners and viewers) could help us out with a few bucks it would really help. Any size donation is welcome, even a couple of bucks each would help us out. We need to raise $190 minimum to purchase the equipment. Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.
To make a donation, click here or the ‘Support Us’ link above.
