You know 24 is back on when Jack Bauer can be released from a Chinese prison camp, after two year of torture and concentration-camp treatment, step off of a non-stop China to L.A. international flight, bite out a terrorist's jugular, un-cuff both of his hands while cuffed, then jack a car using only a paint can.

And he just managed to neutralise an armed guard with a tree-branch.

Then a pair of choppers blew up a residential home.

This is why we love 24.

Thomas.

After posting that last post, I went through and had a look at all the posts that were uncompleted drafts, and saw that some just couldn't be completed or the moment had passed and were no longer applicable. So, I've decided to make a post out of the un-postable.

Here's what I was writing when the third Ashes Test was happening, just after the first day or two when, notably, Monty had finally been included in the team:

Is there a spare seat! I've been knocked to the ground by an actual cricket match!

Who did England get in the past few days to teach them the ropes of this sport? Who? This certainly can't be the same team that got flogged at the GABBA and then slaughtered at the SACA. But, then again, it ain't. Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood are in, Ashley Giles and James Anderson are out, and what a difference it's been!

While Mahmood's impact on the match, so far, has been low-key, having a new bowler in the line-up, one ready to prove himself and show that he can compete with the big-boys (of which hardly any other English cricketer has shown thus far on the tour) will sprick up a team with his individual enthusiasm I think.

And then there is Monty. Already turning the game around. Why the selectors didn't put him in, as has already been said a million times, is ridiculous for whatever reasons. Talking about it can't change the fact England is two to zip in the series thus far.

Like I said, some things just can't be completed. That because the test is long gone and because England lost, horribly again, and while Monty had a part to play, Mahmood was a bit of a disappointment, and continues to be. Whether that's the selector's fault, his fault, or the team's, it's hard to judge.

Here's the start of a post I would have finished if: a) I had saved the picture of the graph that you get when you do the Political Compass test, and b) If I could be stuffed going and doing the test again to try and get the same result to get the picture of the graph again. Anyway, here goes:

So here is the worrying truth. Over to the right there can e found a link to something called the Political Compass. By now everyone would have heard of it; it's very popular among bloggers and people who are interested in politics (of country and themself).

Now I take it twice a year, and have done so for about three years now. There has been a worrying trend as I do this that my little red dot has been moving lower and lefter since I took the test towards the end of last year in comparison to when I took the test the three times prior.

To my shock, awe and horror ... well, I'll let the picture tell you.

Left! I've hit the left! What has happened? In the beginning of the year some can imagine my surprise when I found the dot four spaces to the right and on the horizontal. While still on the right of the centre, it was a dramatic difference to my original testings on it when I was at the extreme right (I was probably off the graph) and a couple of spaces from the utmost top. And for three tests it hovered around there.

Now look where I am!

That was a worrying period. Worrying enough that I haven't gone and done the test again to scare the bajeezers out of me again. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Another cricket post, and this one lasted for a couple of lines before I ran out of effort. I still think it would make for a good post, and certainly a talking point:

Is Kevin Pietersen the last great modern player?

Obviously batting, and cricket, is entering a new phase. This modern era doesn't exactly value technical finesse as much as it does 'flashy' play. Prime examples of that are Brett Lee, Fred Flintoff, Shoaib Akhtar, Adam Gilchrist (probably a rare example of holding abilities from both eras)

I was going on the basis that Pietersen is quite effective in his unorthodox, unique and non-textbook style, and anything further away from 'the textbook' would only begin to create bad batters.

This was the start of my post when the latest comments from everybody's favourite Sheik hit the waves:

The best thing about last straws is that no matter what their weight is, they break the camel's back. Whether it's light or heavy, the camel is fucked.

But my motto is if you're going down, you go down in a blaze of glory.

Just like this.

Seriously, this guy is so friggin' hilarious that I almost hope that there are no repercussions.

Then again, I think of all the poor people that this guy represents ... actually, no, they aren't poor people. Even though this guy represents a community of people who are already claiming persecution, racism etc., nothing is going to be done by the people he represents. Just like last time.

Now, don't put word's in my mouth. I'm certainly not saying that what Sheik Dropkick says is what all other Muslims believe, but with Joe Blow, out in the 'burbs, living his 'white' life, surrounded by other people living in exactly the same fashion, watching exactly the same news, reporting on exactly the same sources, something interesting happens.

See, supposedly (by Sheik 2x4's expectations), 'white' Australia and the media just needs to be given an inch and we'll take a mile. What does that mean? Apparently we're predisposed to hate Muslims.

That last post may come off as a little abrupt, but do note that I never finished, and never had a chance to explain my position or smooth over any abrasive parts.

So those are the drafts I'm talking about, and the drafts that will now remain drafts forever. I do have two movie and a politics posts that I can and will finish because they are already lengthy and a few lines from complete. Plus, I can motivate myself into finishing them because the topics are so good. So keep an eye out for them.

Thomas.

Ok, so lack of updates around here are coming to be more expected than updates. Apologies concerning this. I do have posts that are nearly ready to be posted, existing as drafts unpublished, however, after I get to a point in writing them, creative juices and self-motivation disappear as quickly as they came. I will, though, endeavor to get them up soon, even if it means I just end up posting what it is I had left as the draft.

But, at the moment, I have been occupied with one or two things. First, the recent influx of polls I'm seeing on blogs has inspired me to try my hand at them of my own. At least it will give those visitors something to do when they see, once again, no updates.

Second, the first poll it about something else I've seen a lot of. While I have, for a very long time, renounced the idea of creating a MySpace account for myself, after a few recent social functions, and being asked "Do you have a MySpace account?" to which I would reply "No, I have a blog." would would be followed by a collective groan of boredom, I think it might be time to bend to popular opinion once again.

Third, I've begun to upload videos to YouTube. Now, before you flock over, as I know you all will, to see if there is some sort of Thomas rant-esque video plaguing the Internet's tubes , I've only uploaded some videos of birds and a lizard that I've encountered. Soon I'll put up something of our pet bird, rather than wild, savage and crazed ones. After that, well, it could be followed by a video of an 18 Cup tournament, then who knows.

Fourth, and really the best thing I am working on at the moment, is an email/essay/flame-mail about a site called godhatesgoths.com I'm not about to link to the site, lest I give it even one piece of traffic through my site. However, suffice to say, it snagged my interest after being alerted to this site. I emailed another church/cult/persecution church not so long ago that I shall not link here lest my blog appear in a search for the site. Suffice to say, however, it was far worse and far more disgusting that the site I am currently examining.

I say I am writing an email/essay/flame-mail because that's exactly what this is going to turn out to be. It has the structure and style of a Sociology1002 essay, it's getting to them by email and, best of all, I was them to read it and get angry. I will be posting it here for all to read in it's glory, however, I do warn that you must really see the irony and satire in it before you think that I actually am calling your God a Nazi or a Goth. Because those are two conclusions I come to.

Fifth, and last, the blog will go on a hiatus between the 6th of February and the 3rd of March, plus any additional days it takes for me to recover from jet-lag. Yes, Thomas is going on a trip, and in an effort to not show off, I'll only list the countries I'm going to, rather than any real specifics: Singapore, U.K. Turkey, Poland, Italy, China. Suffice?

Thomas.

Here's something from my Year 12 days that might be of interest to English teachers and students alike. Our year, the graduating year of 2004, sucessfully argued that a game (for example, a P.C. game or a console game etc.) was not only a text type, but could be used in an assignment as a supplementary text. I think it could have been the crowning achievement for the Advanced Class there. While originally I was only along for the ride (the ride of debating with my favourite teacher), as of late, I have been wondering if this was a valid argument, and will we see more 'adstract' text types in the future? Perhaps.

But of special interest to someone, how long until we see blogs as a text type that are being studied and referenced in high school classrooms? I had to study a diary of someone, write three journals of my own and write 'opinion pieces'. Aren't some blogs one, if not all three, of these things? Sure, there exists the fabrication, 'seriousness', truthiness, reality and validity element to a blog, but without a doubt there are some serious blogs out there that certainly could be studied, thus ruining the experience of blogs for the next generation, just as English ruined the experience of movies for me.

Thomas.

Anyone who is currently watching the Australian decimation of the New Zealand cricket team is missing out on a cinematic gem! Right now, Channel Seven, Frank Sinatra is singing his way through the Peninsular War, fighting against that horrid Napoleon alongside silver-screen great Cary Grant.

No, seriously, not a joke. The Pride and the Passion is classic 50's film, classic Sinatra and a black mark on Grant's career. The same sort of thing a 22-run over is for Shane Bond is, which easily turned that match from a "We could do this" to "No fucking chance".

New Zealand: Australia's second foe.

Thomas.

So here's my take on time travel. I know, this comes from left field, but it's something I've thought about because it sends my mind into some drug-free psychedelic state, along with thinking what our Universe is in, what there would be if the Universe never existed, what happens in and through a Black Hole etc.

Ok, so in high school we were taught that there is a finite amount of matter in the Universe and that we can neither create or destroy, only re-appropriate the 'make-up' (i.e. from liquid to gas through heat, adding a proton to hydrogen atom to create a helium atom etc.). Granted, this was in high school, so they probably dumbed it down ... way down. But this makes sense to me: there is only so much in the Universe, a finite amount of whatever, which was created at the start, or was there at the start, with the Big Bang.

Now, at any given point in time, you are made up of matter, yes? In fact, while you exist within time, you must be made up of matter, otherwise you physically cease to exist. Now, let's say I went back a day - I think it would be safe to say that the matter that makes me up now is, for 90%+ of it, the same as what made me up a day ago. Sure, I've shed dead skin, had some hairs fall out, shaved etc., but the same carbon, calcium and other solids that make me a tangible item in the Universe are pretty much unchanged between 24 hours ago and now.

So, yeah, I've gone back a day in time: where is the matter that would make Future Thomas up? That's right, it's doing its job making Past Thomas up. So here's what could happen: all the matter that I (Future Thomas) need to make myself up with (because, remember that I've also gained matter, i.e. eating, drinking etc.) reappropriates itself to become me, the Future Thomas in the Past World, which, effectively kills Past Thomas, and could very well destabilise the atomic make-up of, say, the hamburger I ate last night. And with this change in atomic make-up, it could cause major problems - from an implosion of matter to something like a nuclear explosion.

I haven't had any successful scientific experiments to prove what the major problems could be, but suffice to say there would be problems if matter was just being reassigned to a new physical presence in a world that it shouldn't be in.

Ok, now onto the second problem - let's say that I did travel back in time and 'sucked' all the matter I needed to me to make Future Thomas exist in the Past World. That would kill past Thomas. Then if I died yesterday, Future Thomas would never have existed, and thus, never have travelled to the future to travel back in time, right? But it was the act of Future Thomas travelling back in time that killed Past Thomas, and thus caused Future Thomas to not even exist. It's a vicious loop, and not confusing when you think about it. So what would exactly happen? Well, it's a bit hard to say, but it might just be that someone could travel back in time, and from the split-second that the Future Person comes into existence in the Past World, no longer does Past or Future person exist. At all. They simply disappear into free-floating matter, moving about the Universe with no purpose.

Oh, but wait, that matter had a purpose over the next thousand years: whether it be ashes in an urn, a skeleton in a museum, bones in the ground, anything. So that matter, those particles to the atom, actually had a purpose that was deviated when the Past and Future person ceased to exist. So not only would those persons stop existing, but whatever those particles went on to create or become. Which changes the whole course of the future in a second, and, possibly, destroys reality and the delicate balance of the Universe.

So the message behind this post: celebrate Easter.

Thomas.

As my holiday fast approaches, I've been banking on my person trait of distracting myself with anything I can get my hands on from an impending important event. It happens during assignments, exams, beginning and end of semesters etc. that I find I can write many blog posts without putting much effort into the actual thinking and writing process.

But do you think I could think or write anything for the past few months? Nope.

And I've had a think about this for the past couple of days, being irate at myself for mot being able to churn out a substantial post for quite some time, and I've realised I'm certainly not helping myself in any way to think of a topic. In the (roughly) three months I've had off, I've read one book (American Hoax), am part way through another that really should have only taken three days to read (some religious hokey-crap), watched two seasons of Desperate Housewives, the third season of Arrested Development, played Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth (a P.C. game, which I find is too easy now) and ... that's it.

No, seriously, that's all I've done that has been noteworthy and memorable. Every other hour has been consumed by either mindless employment or sitting staring at one of the following:

• My desktop background;
• My MSN list, trying to figure out who I dislike the most;
• Staring at an empty Blogger posting window or;
• Listening to my music as I do one of the above.

And I've spent three months doing that! God, how the hell have I managed to do that? I have absolutely no idea. At one point in my life I'd have said such boredom would have pushed me over the edge into some sort of crazed state. Now it's just ... normal. Rather strange, I think.

Wait, I thought of some movies I watched. I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Now that's a movie that deserves more than a simple mentioning. I may return to it at a later date (who am I kidding, I probably won't), but what I'll say here is that it is the perfect, and I mean that, text for Extension 1 English for the Crime Fiction module. Perfect, except that it's rated MA. It's a classic send-up of the crime fiction genre. It's very funny, and very ... poignant. At least to a crime fiction fan.

I re-watched Gangs of New York, which wasn't as good as I remembered, though still quite good.

I also saw, for the second time, and the first time outside of a movie theatre, Troy. I learned much from this historical movie, primarily: Brad Pitt is a bad actor. A very bad actor.

I also saw, for the first time, All The President's Men, and while it suffers from the marks of the era it was made in, it still is something that should be shown, or spoken about, more often. Especially in this day and age. There are significant undertones in this film that I suspect would be very applicable in this day and age, what with C.I.A. wire-tapping, half-truths and secret agendas. Funnily enough, those three listed items both occurred in the movie and right now.

Girl, Interrupted turned out to be a very interesting movie in that it addresses issues of the same type, and in a very similar manner, raised by One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Obviously Cuckoo's Nest addresses some wider social issues under the guise of the personal struggle and journey of McMurphy, but, while looking at the personal plights of Randle and Susanna, that they are both misunderstood by the "norm" of society, while completely understood and, most importantly, accepted by the outcasts and the "misunderstood" (as deemed by the authority figures that are also in stark contrast and intentional opposition to the main characters) that they find themselves surrounded by within the institutes they arrive at, we see that problems (as perceived by the creators of both movies) have hardly been alleviated, with nearly twenty five years of (supposed) social evolution between Cuckoo's Nest and Interrupted.

I feel it worth mentioning about now a rare conversation I had with my father. Our favourite movies came up, and I said I had two different lists of favourite movies. Further in our talk, I was asked why I had two lists, and I said one was favourites and one was recognising the technical aspect of the film. I then made the remark that high school English had destroyed the full enjoyment of a movie for me. I had to explain why. The above few paragraphs probably explain why: I can't actually watch a movie these days without thinking about how Kiss Kiss Bang Bang would fit into the Crime Fiction module, or how Girl, Interrupted shares a surprisingly similar social critique as a movie made twenty five years before it.

Well, looks like I've managed to churn out a post longer than four lines, so I'm happy. I'll return to my comatose state of staring and nothingness now.

Thomas.

Looks as though Channel Ten has brought rights to The Late Show with David Letterman. Probably a show that's not the most popular of all possible purchases, though, they are showing it significantly earlier than Channel Nine ever did, which shows belief in it by the Ten administration, and after watching last night's episode, I happen to concur with this thought, and think it's a show that could pass for a 10:30 - 11:00 p.m. spot, with the right advertising of course.

The only problem with the show is, that, after all, it's the generic American talk-show, a genre that doesn't fill Australian T.V. at the present. And then, of course, the humour in the jokes emanates from American culture, which can at times be drastically different from ours. So with this in mind, unless there are more people like me who have their hands stuck to the keyboard and can actually get in touch with the American culture, and let's face it, a very small portion of the audience is like that, I shan't expect to see the show much earlier any time soon.

Thomas.

Langer retiring!

Although we won the Ashes back, we look to be losing a lot more.

Thomas.