Weekend Things, W27–17

You don’t have to like Chris Uhlmann or Elon Musk

Virginia Murdoch
Jul 10, 2017 · 2 min read
Melbourne has beaches! I just never ever visit them.

These almond biscuits are very good, you should make them.


The South Australian government has teamed up with Elon Musk to build a massive lithium-ion battery farm designed to help with the state’s energy supply problems, which caused widespread blackouts last summer. I have reservations about Elon Musk and the influence of Silicon Valley celebrity capitalists generally, but it’s great to see SA sticking it to the coal-obsessed Federal government.


Pitchfork just published an article about the famous Selmer Mark VI saxophone, which has been the horn of choice for most of the greats (Rollins, Ornette, Coltrane, Shorter) since the bebop era. I played a silver King, which had a beautiful big sound, but on a few occasions I played a friend’s Mark VI and the difference in its mechanic was marked. Everybody I knew wanted one, although it would obviously have made a negligible impact on our musical abilities.


Chris Uhlmann drew an internet audience outside Australia for his smackdown of Trump on Insiders over the weekend. Uhlmann, a conservative, is definitely my least favourite ABC regular, and has pretty shitty, paranoia-inflected views (“I hoped to remain indifferent to the inevitable change in marriage laws. But that will be impossible if those who cast themselves as oppressed seek to become oppres­sors…”); moreover, his criticism of Trump seemed to be “hey man, you’re wrecking US imperialism for everyone”. Or something? So, yeah, whatever.


It was Tuesday, two days before the talk, and people kept asking him about it with notes of worry in their voices. Pastor Mandy was saying she had a bad feeling. One of his friends told Ayaz that he should have police there. A colleague had mentioned that her husband had a bulletproof vest, and maybe Ayaz would like to borrow it.

After Donald Trump’s election, a Muslim doctor in a small midwestern town felt compelled to help his fellow Americans understand what Islam actually is.


Cool! Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea is on the rise.

Virginia Murdoch

Written by

Be careful; his bowtie is really a camera.

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