Life in the slow lane

Dope Jam

2005-01-11T09:49:00.000+11:00

here it is.....Bam !..and i say god damn..this is the dope jam. Gotta love Chuck D. Again it's been a long time between drinks, but hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing. This is my first post Tsunami blog, i'm finding it difficult to articulate my feelings and my words...i am deeply saddened by the event itself and the devestation it has visited on so many people and their lives. Events like this quickly put things into sharp focus for people...my cynical side is interested by the conspicious compassion and generosity shown by my fellow countrymen...again i see the double standards that are rapidly becoming the norm...some types of suffering are ok...bombs dropped on people in Iraq, Aids epedemic in Africa, cultural genocide in Tibet, third world poverty / child mortality etc etc...dont get me wrong, i'm certainly not undervaluing the need for substantial aid to the region..i'm questioning the ability of the masses to see primarily "natural" disasters as tragic and aidworthy, over situations that are no less devestating that result in ongoing suffering, poverty, deaths and environmental and cultural degredation - that are instigated by humanity....oh, thats right it's our guilty little secret....thats how we get our Oil our clothes our chocolate our diamonds and gold..we dont want to have to think about the people who maintain our western standards of living and our life as consumers now do we??

more shit

2004-12-30T01:07:00.000+11:00

hey..my audience of 1 or 2..i'm back to post more shit from my feeble brain. what can i say, i've survived the christmas onslaught..i've fed the masses..drank a lot..and become firmly entrenched in my desire to enact social change...it's late and i'm listening to the cure...somehow that's very appropriate. i'm sitting here holding back the tears for so many reasons......again many, many innocent people have perished and those who have survived are suffering terribly...western governments play poker with aid..doesn't seem to be a problem when paying for fucking wars does it! A couple of days and Australia's death sentence with the USFTA begins ..."Free Trade"... just watch our country capitulate to American corporate will...not to forget Gunns and their nice little attack on free speech and the environmental movement....certainly is the season to be jolly....i'm smiling. Just remember kiddies...... The time is coming for these people to face the wrath of the "proles"..to accept that 2 + 2 does really equal 4. Truth is absolute........

in sickness & health

2004-12-20T09:43:00.000+11:00

back in the land of the living after an extended period of sickness induced physical inactivity..as per usual there was an excess of cerebral activity..not particularly articulated or focussed, but evident nonetheless. It must be said that tearing a chest muscle from excessive coughing is not an easy thing to do, neither is it particularly pleasant..therefor much reading and writing were to be done, much paracetamol and coffee were to be ingested and much subservance to the autocratic Esther was to be obeyed. I must say, reading books on politics and watching thomas tank engine proved to be quite a surreal experience. much joy has been had listening to Esthers renditions of jingle bells, which basically sticks with the first line.... then something about a sleigh..HEY...an interesting somewhat avant guard interpretation..lol. just to add to my reading backlock i picked up 1984..not been in my grasp since school..why i dont know...i've been wandering around the house reciting passages...what a masterpiece....perhaps more relevant today than it has ever been. The frightening thing is that it is not so far removed from real life, obviously Tony Abbotts had a flick through it lately : )

The Bucket

2004-12-13T07:40:00.000+11:00

How quickly Monday morning rolls around. The weekend as always is Just a blip on the radar before i shamble sheepishly back into my office on Monday morning. My weekend (once the festivities of friday night had subsided) was very pleasant, stayed at home and dedicated my time to being dad. The hectic week often doesn't leave much time for Esther and me to just play or read a book, so it was fantastic just spending that time together - if only that could be the norm. I feel constantly torn between a miriad of competing demands, and at the end of the day none are more important than my family. However,in order to exist and function within a developed western society you have to tread a lot of water just to stay afloat. oh for the simple life..growing mungbeans in nimbin...As much as the sunday paper will tell you that you can have a big house, a new european car..the rest of the trainspotting intro..the reality is....consumerism and debt is slavery. Why not take a step back and reassess..what really makes you happy..consuming is like eating a chocolate bar..mmmmmmm the desire...that lovely shiny wrapping..oh the tasty inside..then a sugar rush..and it's all over...emptiness. probably a bit like sex too.. :) i could go on. My point is that too often we are conditioned to believe that true happiness and self worth come from possessions and status and the vain pursuit of these is often at the expense of relationships with other people and the development of the self. Maybe it's time to unplug yourself and think - As groucho marx quipped "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book".

quote for the day

2004-12-10T13:53:00.000+11:00

"One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds" - Mahatma Gandhi

nothingness

2004-12-10T08:28:00.000+11:00

ahhhhhh Friday at last..and the summer rain continues, not that i mind, it's fitting in perfectly with my sombre mood. I chose John Butler on the way to work today over the news..at least it was politics with rhythm. Maybe Latham should start presenting policies that way? get the labour party moving to the beat of just one drum?? Shit..i've just installed the different strokes theme in my head for the rest of the day..great. I sat at a corporate christmas do last night listening to people babble on about their self important managerial roles discussing all the important things in life like money, money, material gain oh, and more money. The set menu worked beautifully, not a vegetarian dish in sight..waitress then proceed to give me the work over.."what, you dont eat fish?",umm no,so on and so forth. It's amazing how challenging a simple "choice" can be for some people. I guess the same can be said of that simple choice at the ballot box, to break with convention and change social paradigms is a frightning prospect. I guess the theme of the day is to focus on nothingness, the inherent emptiness in conceptional reality..and the emptiness of the realities within that. When the relisation is made that everything is ephemeral and that one day, you and those around you will cease to exist can you learn to grasp at the truth. Only when you rid yourself of conceptional burden can you begin to be free. Buddhist theology is relevant on so many levels..but i guess my point is that when we as humans make a break from preconceptions, conditioning, status, religious dogma and corporate advertising...to think freely...
the barriers between people/groups/parties/movements/countries/religions/ will crumble and we can move forward.

what is happenning

2004-12-09T08:38:00.000+11:00

driving to work this morning and we finally begin to hear the goverments plans for "mutual obligation" with indigenous people..mmmm wash your kids twice a day, make them go to school and we'll give you a petrol bowser...WHAT!! remote communities having to tow the government line to recieve adequate infrastructure..if there so concerned about Aboriginal health issue - which they certainly ought to be- then lets put resources into adequate health and eduction facilities..not put conditional controls on funding for infrastructure and housing..i'd rather see my tax dollar go toward aboriginal health -people who have a 20 year gap in life expectancy than the rest of the population, than on things such the crocodile hunters $175,000 quarantine add, and election pork barrelling...glad to see that surplus is going to good use Mr Costello, perhaps you might like to reduce the foreign deficit too??
however, christmas drinks kick off this evening..the silly season is once again upon us. Will endevour to moderate on all fronts.

I dont like Wednesday's

2004-12-08T07:30:00.000+11:00

another rain soaked cloudy morning in downtown country vic, not atypical of course however by rights it should be summer by now. I'm not sure at my wisdom in beginning a blog. however, i've set a course in life where i'd like to reach/preach and engage a wider audience and perhaps this is one solution. counting down the day's to christmas and i really cant find a great deal to be excited about- bar my nearly 2 yo daughters glee at having a big tree with lots of falshing lights, baubles to pull off and scatter round the house and of course the day itself when she gets to open her presents and dutifully play with wrapping paper and cardboard boxes to the chagrin of her parents who have spent months buying gifts "we" think she'll love. I'd like to think she will have theses experiences with her children and grand children in a climate of social change and a shift to a new paradigm for humanity. Unfortunately i'm coming to terms with the full relisation that my responsability as a free thinking citizen, unfettered by media, corporate and government propaganda is to become directly active in enacting social change..going on the pretence that - no victory is too small...a few words of "wisdom" that may provoke some debate, dialogue and thought in cyberspace, for me is a start.