The Wire

Does anyone watch free-to-air television anymore?

Back in the day, growing up in New Zealand, I was a complete addict, and I'd watch anything and everything. Ten years living in France cured me of that. Here in Australia, with free-to-air effectively controlled by commercial multi-nationals, television is an extremely unpleasant experience, and these days I watch my motorsport and little else. Well, until recently that is.

Earlier this year while spending a weekend with ex-2000AD editor and DC Comics up-and-comer Andy Diggle, we got to talking about some of our favorite movies, and inevitably the topic of television came up. I think I'd just searched out a boxed set of The Sweeney (don't worry about it, ask your grandfather...) only to blanch a little at the 120 quid asking price. Maybe I was lamenting the state of current TV cop shows - OK, we've got The Sopranos, but even here I struggle to maintain an interest) but Andy suggested I check out the HBO series The Wire.

And its terrific. A month or so I picked up a cheap copy of season 2 and enjoyed it immensely. Now its season 1, and a recently bit-torrented season 3 awaits. OK, the workflow is slowing somewhat, but there should be more stuff like this around. Maybe there is.....

Digital Painting (Part 1)

I've decided I'm finally going to learn how to paint. Not the messy stuff in tubes and bottles, its time to go digital with this stuff.

I've got a cover to do - for something I probably shouldn't talk too much about at this stage. To hit the thing running, last week I picked up a decent sized Wacom tablet. I've used those little 4x5 Graphire things for years, but this baby is big - 6x11 - I can't even fit the thing on my bloody desk!

But the painting is coming along nicely, and if this thing works out I might be tempted to do more of this stuff. A better image will follow, when I get some idea if I'm allowed to post the whole thing here.

Bad Week in Oz

The death earlier this week of serial croc-chaser Steve Irwin had a certain inevitability about it, but the news that Oz motorsport icon Peter Brock was killed yesterday during a rally event in Western Australia has come as a real shock.

OK, its a risk of the job, but Peter Perfect was never one of those drivers who took unnecessary risks, and in a driving career spanning probably 40 years I can remember him ever having a serious accident. And so his death, while driving a replica of my all-time favorite car - a Shelby Daytona Coupe - comes as a real shock to this lifetime motorsport tragic.

The Daytona Coupe, raced with great success in '64 and '65 against the might of Ferrari back when motorsport really meant something, will forever symbolize the victory of big, loud American muscle over Euro finesse and guile. I've still got a model of it sitting next to my computer. Often copied, only six of the original cars were ever made. Ironically they were designed by someone called... Peter Brock (no relation).

Tough Times...

In a week that just seems to be going to hell in a handbasket, this really brightened up my day.

Check out a whole bunch more images here. Funny stuff.