They turned off wikipedia!! I knew bad things would happen if badmouthed Rupert.. sorry

I just got back from a yoga class and was feeling pretty groovy until I got this email about the federal government’s plan to scrap limitations on media ownership in Australia. It totally messed with my chakras. Why this would even be considered after last year’s little maelstrom is beyond me, but it

Trust me

Read and sign this petition if you see fit. If you want to send a message to the man directly, in support or otherwise, leave a message on your voicemail..

Courtesy of avaaz.org

Free reign to control every last newspaper, TV and radio station in Australia — Rupert Murdoch’s fantasy could become a frightening reality unless we stand in his way right now.

A government review is recommending we eliminate ownership limits — exactly what Murdoch asked for. But we have two weeks to flood the review with objections to their plan during the public comment period before they finalise the report. Unless thousands of us speak out, the recommendations could go forward unchallenged.

Nobody — especially not Rupert Murdoch — should be allowed to own all of our media. Let’s wake up the review with our call — and prevent the Murdoch Mafia from growing even larger. Send your urgent message directly to the review by clicking below:

The End of the World!

Yep, you heard it first from me. From the dawn of history to the end of time, this is the year that will never end. We’re all going down together so forget about your mortgage and insurance policies and just party like it’s 1999!!

Whether the Earth is actually destroyed or just everyone on it, it’s probably a good time to sit and reflect on our achievements. Tell your friends and neighbours that you once scored a perfect round of holes in one at the Pyongyang Country Club. Whatever. Tell them you’ve never in your short, rotund life gone to the potty and that your Mussolini-esque son is some kind of genius. See what they say. It’s a good feeling to know that whatever hairbrain take on reality you choose to take, it’s all pretty inconsequential when the alien dinosaurs come to beset us with natural disasters and brimstone.

Take a moment to think about the concurrent development of divine philosophies whose most devout devotees still can’t seem to accept that we’re all more or less the same inside. Think of the poor souls who see only the differences between people, between genders, skin tones, passions and proclivities; pity them and then find someone to dance with. Think of the thin mixture of fact that streams through amid the noise and expectations and just see it for what it is – infotainment. Rupert’s joined Twitter but that doesn’t mean he’s got something worth selling.

2001 is behind us and we’re not living a space Odyssey, rather still wandering around downtown Dublin like Ulysses. Y2K came and went without missing a beat and guitars were back in vogue by the year’s end. Not much is going to happen that you don’t make happen yourself, so go ahead and do it, however long it takes and wherever it ends up.

2012 will be the year of many ends and, hopefully, of new beginnings too. That the end of the Mayan calendar coincides with the Year of the Dragon may be mere happenstance, but you don’t want to take that chance now, do you? Electric Firefly is trimming back the rosebush and picking off the aphids and encourages you to do the same. The future isn’t all retro, reruns and reality TV, at least not around here. The future remains to be seen and doesn’t care whether you’re watching or not. Don’t take it lying down, now go forth and conquer!

We’re a couple of weeks behind with this one however as they say, better late than never right?

Some of you may remember our post from last year about Yoink – a website and accompanying iPhone app that allows users to give away items that they no longer have any use for. It also allows users to connect and be recipients for items that are being given away. No money changes hands and the service is free to all.

A great idea i’m sure you’ll agree, however what makes Yoink even better is the ease of use / functionality of both the site and app. However rather than resting on their laurels and being satisfied with an already quite decent version 1.0, the Yoink team has worked with the guys over at Bonobo Labs and have released version 1.2 – huzzah! (more…)

It’s not very often that we at Electric Firefly share the same passion for whatever cause happens to be grabbing our attention. Simon’s always harping on about saving the environment or the plight of refugees whereas I tend to bore him with talk of internet filters and those black helicopters that are constantly hovering over my apartment and trying to read my mind.

However over the past couple of weeks we’ve both been following the WikiLeaks US Embassy Cable dumps (Cable viewer here) and the shockwaves from around the world as this once classified information was released to the public. I’m not even going to attempt to list everything that’s happened since the first cables were released on November 28th however if you need to be bought up to speed I suggest checking out The Guardian or The New York Times for a fairly comprehensive coverage. (more…)

Here at Electric Firefly we like to think of ourselves as fairly savvy and up to date when the topic of conversation turns to the Internet and Social Media.

We sporadically find the motivation to bang out a blog post; we regularly communicate with friends of the Electric Firefly Facebook page by posting links to industry related news and occasionally subjects that would fall under the heading of ‘left-of-field’ and  more often than not involves the inclusion of a cat and witty caption.

We’ve also listed our Rocks Markets stall as an official Foursquare Venue and who could forget the Electric Firefly twitter account that provides an excellent medium for me to provide insightful and valuable feedback to brands and organisations, including their employees and products. It should be noted that when I say ‘provide insightful and valuable feedback’, in actuality I in mean ‘rant and complain. (more…)

If you’re a resident of Adelaide, you might be interested in Studio Eco – a new retail space located in the sustainable precinct on Magill Road, Kensington Park.

Studio Eco began its life as a sustainable jewellery company known as Utopian Creations, producers of high-end jewellery made from recycled silver and gold with all aspects of their manufacturing process refined to be as eco-friendly as possible.

Following on from the success of their Utopian Creations, the guys have recently opened the Studio Eco gallery for the purpose of displaying their work and to allow customers to come in and design their jewellery with the inhouse designer. However the gallery has become home to other stunning eco-friendly art and design pieces including… yes you guessed it, lamps from yours truly, Electric Firefly.

So if you happen to find yourself in the Magill Road area and are on the hunt for environmentally friendly art, jewellery or high design homewares, be sure to drop in, take a look for yourself and let the guys know that Electric Firefly sent you.

Studio Eco
328 Magill Road
Kensington Park
South Australia, 5068
Phone: 08 83312272

Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 9am until 5pm
Saturday: 10am until 5pm
Sunday – Monday: Closed

It’s taken a while but we’re please to announce that Sensis, the company responsible for the annual dumping of (mostly) unused and unwanted phonebooks on doorsteps across Australia, have finally bowed to public pressure and launched a new website allowing the public to cancel phonebook deliveries for the following three years. (more…)