Failed Paradise » …ofthemonth http://www.failedparadise.com If you don't know what a Fiji is, you're in the right place... Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:45:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Youtube Video of the Month – Cannibals Incorporated http://www.failedparadise.com/2009/01/youtube-video-of-the-month-cannibals-incorporated/ http://www.failedparadise.com/2009/01/youtube-video-of-the-month-cannibals-incorporated/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:32:00 +0000 Wilson http://failedparadise.com/?p=164

Ah Fiji. Home to the king of rugby sevens, smiling locals, white, sandy beaches, and seasonal coups. It’s quick to get washed up in the hype that is living in today’s fast paced society, but one mustn’t forget one’s origins and what humble beginnings they had before Mcdonalds and company rolled in.

Sure you could visit the city library and catch up on your reading, but with today’s more visual-oriented society, who cares about stuffy old books and cramped up libraries when you can watch old videos of the Fiji of the past?
And what better to showcase Fiji’s past then this delightful video courtesy of James A. Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks: The Voice of the Globe called Fiji and Samoa: The Cannibal Isles. Since this video isn’t time stamped, I’ll take a wild guess and place the making of the video around the 1940s, when stern, near patriotic voice overs where the common practice. Why the time stamp?
If you’ve ever wanted to see and find out what Fiji was like ‘back in the day’, this video has it all layed out for you. See the ‘savages’ in their natural surroundings of houses built from grass and topped with thatched roofs. Witness the spectacle of the natives indulging in what is ‘their only form of amusement, the mekimeki’. Marvel at the ‘bushy haired members of the Fijian Band’ as they play ‘the white man’s music’ on instruments that are ‘no longer strange to them’.
And that’s not all! Samoa is included in this accurate doco, and doesn’t miss much in way of detail. With Samoa’s fales being described as ‘mere cirlces of pillars, roofed by cones of thatch’, Samoa is certainly the picture of simple living, with ‘no gods swift to anger and strong to punish’ to disturb the tempo of life. Cute.
I have to admit, I do miss the old days. Thank God the gods for technology.
PS: Still trying to figure out why only Fiji and Samoa were singled out as the ‘Cannibal Isles’, since other Pacific Islands indulged in the diet of the ‘long pig‘. Perhaps it was something to do with our appetites.
]]> http://www.failedparadise.com/2009/01/youtube-video-of-the-month-cannibals-incorporated/feed/ 1 Lulz Photo of the Month http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/10/lulz-photo-of-the-month/ http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/10/lulz-photo-of-the-month/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:52:00 +0000 Wilson http://failedparadise.com/?p=137
50 Brownie points for whoever can point out what’s wrong with this picture.
Hint: It has something to do with the previous post ;)
]]> http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/10/lulz-photo-of-the-month/feed/ 10 Watchmen Homage Image of the Month http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/09/watchmen-homage-image-of-the-month/ http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/09/watchmen-homage-image-of-the-month/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:13:00 +0000 Wilson http://failedparadise.com/?p=133 ]]>
Photo taken just down the road from Dudley High School in Toorak.
Horrible picture – I’ll be sure to take a better one next time round ><

“I hear always the admonishment of my friends:

“Bolt her in, constrain her!” But who will guard
the guardians? The wife plans ahead and begins with them!”
Every morning on my way to work, I walk past this particular signpost. When I glance up and see the smiley face on the sign, I can’t help but think of the smiley face from the renowned comic “The Watchmen” as well as the upcoming movie. Sure the similarities may be far fetched, but the imagery intrigues me nonetheless.
PS: Who will watch the watchmen? translated into fijian - o cei dau sarava na dau tina?
Why? For showoff’s sake.
PSS: Thanks to Freda for the Fijian translation :)

]]> http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/09/watchmen-homage-image-of-the-month/feed/ 0 Fail Picture of the Month http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/04/fail-picture-of-the-month/ http://www.failedparadise.com/2008/04/fail-picture-of-the-month/#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:25:00 +0000 Wilson http://failedparadise.com/?p=120
Photo courtesy of the ever resourceful sharky

I…don’t know where to begin :(

PS: I do believe this is the shortest post I’ve ever had the pleasure of posting.

Indeed.

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