ED'S NOTE

Wow, what a couple of uneventful weeks. No takeovers by national corporations for us this month. Nope, we remain fiercely - and involuntarily - independent. As such, we get to enjoy all the things that come with being independent, like...um...like being the only one of your near-30-year-old friends who still live at home with their parents, like earning less than an entry-level Woolworths employee while working harder than a one-armed fluffer (or is that supposed to be bricklayer? I'm not sure). Anyway, jealousy aside, congratulations must go to Time Off for becoming part of the Street Press Australia team. Time Off has been producing an excellent magazine, which I enjoy reading every week, consistently for decades and deserve all the good fortune they receive. I still think the only reason Tsunami was overlooked was because Gazza's monthly column got axed at the start of '08 - that guy was funny as!

Unfortunately we haven't moved office either. We're still stuck at the scene of last year's infamous 'Toilet Wars'. For those who missed that riveting chapter in Tsunami's history, basically a feud erupted between the smokers and non-smokers after the non-smokers complained about the flumes of smoke that would billow from the shared toilet whenever a select few smokers took a dump. And then there was the Neanderthal of the night who must have thought our toilet building was on fire and decided to put the blaze out with the closest water source available, which just happened to be his dick. So, yeah, independence rules!

On an even sadder note, Tsunami lost one of its valuable team members a couple of weeks back when Duncan McKimm (aka The Professor) understandably left his advertising rep role to chase overseas music festivals and Scandinavian hotties. Duncan certainly lived up to his initial claims by spreading his 'McMagic' all over Tsunami during his 12 month stint. Duncan was way more than an ad rep, he became a good friend who played an integral role in Tsunami's new-look design, interviewed bands, reviewed gigs and CDs, and pumped out the e-newsletter every week. He would also go to painstaking lengths to sell an ad, like spending hours on the phone listening to one particular client while he talked about his various sexual exploits, his love of QLD woman and porn, over and over again. Duncan also dealt with some particularly confronting emails, one of which will remain the best in-house joke ever! If he returns with his liver in-tact, Duncan plans on going back to Uni to do his Masters in Business Economics, and will hopefully continue to help us out with the website and other odd jobs. Good luck buddy, thanks for everything and we'll see ya soon. I'd better get back to work before I get an ass-whuppin' (by the homeboys loitering outside the office)...

LETTERS TO THE ED

Cringe Worthy
I'm an ex-Queensland musician now residing in Melbourne. I was in Brisbane for the Easter holidays recently and picked up a copy of Tsunami, where I read 'Nate's Spray' on the cultural cringe. I have to say that I totally agree with Nate's sentiment. I have nothing against the Brisbane venues as such - places like The Zoo and The Tivoli rival anything Melbourne has to offer - it seems the problem lies with the punters more than anything. Take a band like Múm, for example. Here is an internationally acclaimed group that plays to packed venues the world over, yet barely enough people to half fill The Zoo bothered to show up and watch this fantastic act. This would never happen in Melbourne. It seems the stifling impact of the Bjelke-Peterson era is still being felt. It's as if there is now a flow-on culture that sees Queenslanders preferring to sit on the couch and watch the footy or spend $200 out on the town instead of supporting live music. The Victorian street presses are, as Nate correctly pointed out, twice as big as the Queensland street press. But that is mainly because they are full of advertisements, and a greater public demand for music + more gigs to meet this demand = more advertising. More gigs means more venues, more support slots and more opportunities for local bands to be heard. Sure, the increasing number of festivals eat up a lot of our discretionary income, but surely there must be some extra money being saved from all that illegal downloading that could be spent on seeing more live gigs? Are there not more music fans hiding out there in Queensland? The only way Queensland's music scene is going to improve is through its people - that means you - getting off their lazy bums and helping make it happen. Until then, see you next holidays - I'm off to 'the place to be'.

Ex-Patrick
(Richmond)

Unattractive Politics
I just finished reading the March issue of Tsunami and, in particular, the three pages profiling the local mayoral and councillor candidates. The piece got me thinking about some big issues: firstly, is there anyone out there who doesn't want to fix a bike path? And secondly, that must be a record for the most rough-heads in a row. Seriously, I've seen some crook noggins in my time but that bunch take the cake. Why are Queensland politicians so god-damn weird looking?

Trevor 'I don't ride a bike anyway' McGrath
(Redcliffe)

Ill-defined
Can someone please tell me why men think it is funny to degrade women? Tsunami should be ashamed for publishing 'The International Council of Man Laws'. Just because the email was circulating via spam doesn't mean you should print it. By spreading this distasteful nonsense you are in effect condoning the mistreatment of women. I for one do not think "coming home late after a night out with the guys smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife square on the ass and saying, 'You're next fatty" is ballsy at all. In fact, I think this type of behaviour should have stayed back in the dark ages where it belongs. Shame on you Tsunami.

Ellen Foster
(Coolangatta)