I'm heading off to the Melbourne film festival today, and in form true to my nature I'm going about my task with the zeal of a faith healer: I'm going to see a record six films in a row!
A record for me, anyway...
I'm also intending to build my nerdish cred by taking a notebook and pen so that I can take notes on what I see.
I'll see if I can put together some sort of review when I get home tonight.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Sit Ubu sit!
I'm like a dog running back and forth, tail wagging after being tossed a bone, except the bone in my case is the slightest attention thrown my way by a girl.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Splendor in the grass
Splendor in the grass was a whirling, whooshing wonderful thing. The Doves in particular, aided considerably by some magic mushrooms that I purchased, created a sparkling bright liquid wave of sound that washed over me with a soothing caress. All sorts of thoughts spun into and out of the dark recesses of my mind as I stood in that tent, each one illuminating the black for a short period, each one a star in the nightscape of my mind.
The weather in Byron bay, as usual, did not disappoint: the temperature was that dreamy, neutral degree; the one to which human beings are optimally suited. And the girls! All sorts of wonderful, exotic girls. Fortunately, the food at the festival was far above the norm for music festivals - the norm being Dagwood dogs and dried up mystery bags (aka dim sim). I managed to find myself a tasty samosa accompanied by a creamy coriander sauce at one of the food stalls and walked away a very satisfied customer.
Har Mar Superstar, though very funny to observe, was not nearly as entertaining as I thought he might be. Queens of the stone age, Interpol, Cut Copy, Bloc Party and Sarah Blasko were the highlights. Having to spend my weekend away with ex-housemates, ex-housemates who come attached with the ‘ex’ for a very good reason, was the lowlight.
During the second afternoon of the festival I went and lay upon the beach, with the golden fire shining down on me, its rays penetrating more than my flesh, and with the even, relentless crashing of the distant waves I fell into the world beyond. As I lay there, half in this world and half in the next, I tried to focus on the timelessness of the ocean. Would that I could become one with the sea; would that I could crumble, fade and return to the sand that was spawned at the beginning of time. And the waves kept rolling. And the waves kept rolling. And the waves kept rolling. Sleep.
The weather in Byron bay, as usual, did not disappoint: the temperature was that dreamy, neutral degree; the one to which human beings are optimally suited. And the girls! All sorts of wonderful, exotic girls. Fortunately, the food at the festival was far above the norm for music festivals - the norm being Dagwood dogs and dried up mystery bags (aka dim sim). I managed to find myself a tasty samosa accompanied by a creamy coriander sauce at one of the food stalls and walked away a very satisfied customer.
Har Mar Superstar, though very funny to observe, was not nearly as entertaining as I thought he might be. Queens of the stone age, Interpol, Cut Copy, Bloc Party and Sarah Blasko were the highlights. Having to spend my weekend away with ex-housemates, ex-housemates who come attached with the ‘ex’ for a very good reason, was the lowlight.
During the second afternoon of the festival I went and lay upon the beach, with the golden fire shining down on me, its rays penetrating more than my flesh, and with the even, relentless crashing of the distant waves I fell into the world beyond. As I lay there, half in this world and half in the next, I tried to focus on the timelessness of the ocean. Would that I could become one with the sea; would that I could crumble, fade and return to the sand that was spawned at the beginning of time. And the waves kept rolling. And the waves kept rolling. And the waves kept rolling. Sleep.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
What if?
What if I did something awful at the start of this year? What if I committed an act so terrible, so despicable that I can't even bear the idea of writing it directly, in a diary that nobody I know reads? What if there are some things that a person cannot take back? What if I deserve every shitty thing that has happened to me, with interest?
What then?
What then?
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
I think I can
After taking an extra long four day weekend off, to go to the music festival Splendor in the grass (large post coming up on that topic when I have the time to devote to it), I've found myself taking another 2 'sick days' off on top of this. The reality is that after 6 years of working for 'The Corporation' I'm utterly burnt out and find it difficult to face going in there. I'm being made redundant in March and I need to force myself to at least show up during the interim.
I really don't want to, though.
I want to stay at home in bed and read books. I want to listen to music and go to movies. I want to read the paper and stay abreast of current events. In short, I want to be retired.
My application to Uni goes through in November and I think if I can just get through 'till then it'll provide me with the energy to survive at work until May. It will give me something to look forward to although, one would think that the $26,000.00 severance package would be enough incentive.
Maybe I need to take another 2 weeks leave? I have it up my sleeve - I should probably use it because it gets taxed at a ridiculous rate if I receive it as part of my payout.
Hmm... Things to think about.
I really don't want to, though.
I want to stay at home in bed and read books. I want to listen to music and go to movies. I want to read the paper and stay abreast of current events. In short, I want to be retired.
My application to Uni goes through in November and I think if I can just get through 'till then it'll provide me with the energy to survive at work until May. It will give me something to look forward to although, one would think that the $26,000.00 severance package would be enough incentive.
Maybe I need to take another 2 weeks leave? I have it up my sleeve - I should probably use it because it gets taxed at a ridiculous rate if I receive it as part of my payout.
Hmm... Things to think about.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Mum is coming home soon...
A government report today announced that Australia can expect significant climate change over the next 40 - 50 years. The same report also draws an indisputable link between greenhouse emissions, like those created by our harvesting of coal for electricity, and the destruction of our life giving ozone layer. By significant we are talking a 4 - 6 degree temperature rise; drought, flooding and rising seas; and the destruction of our natural habitats such as: the great barrier reef, many coastal beaches and some forests. I strongly suspect that this scenario may not take into account the exponential nature of natural events - I think that a collapse of biblical proportions is not far off…
My initial response to this report: 'durr, really?' Apply my most sarcastic Aussie drawl if reading the last sentence I just typed out loud.
Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, the federal government is focusing on how to manage the predicted change and not on reducing the source of that change. This is obviously because much of the Australian economy is based on the burning of fossil fuels and the export of oil. Are we ever going to learn? Preparing for disaster, as in the case of storms produced by our malfunctioning climate, is a simple, ridiculous and reactionary way of coping with what’s going to happen. Can we not see that it is our ‘patch up the problems, don’t find solutions’ way of dealing with things that has brought us to this stage in the first place?
War, famine and prejudice - I accept these things as a natural reality that every species must face in some form or another - I do not, however, accept the total obliteration of this gift of nature that the universe has bestowed upon us. Let the age of man come and go but let us not destroy the truly important things in the process.
When thinking about this issue it is hard not to get sidetracked on politics, but I have a simple format for environmental success that should be adopted by our leaders: think in the long term, not about the next election result.
We need to ratify the Kyoto protocol now. Right this minute. Not tomorrow or the next day. We need to bring massive pressure on to the American government to do likewise - unless they are forced to play ball the whole caper is lost. What are we doing instead? We are squabbling and squawking over free trade deals with China and the US. What use will money be, I ask you, if there is no habitable land to live in? There can be no more equivocations, no more excuses and no more finger pointing.
I guess there is a very dark positive in all this: if we don’t make the decision to truly learn to live in a symbiotic relationship with nature, nature will teach us (probably to the extent of the whole obliteration of our species) a very tough lesson indeed. We have been put on notice - we have been given a very friendly warning - but when ‘mother’ decides that we haven’t heeded her warning, and when she chooses to put things back the way that they are supposed to be, we will suffer a vengeance the likes of which will make any terrorist attack look like an episode of Sesame Street.
Jack Johnson puts it simply but eloquently as follows:
There's traffic in the sky
and it doesn't seem to be getting much better
there's kids playing games on the pavement drawing waves on the pavement
shadows of the planes on the pavement
its enough to make me cry
but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
maybe its a dream and if I scream it will burst at the seams
this whole place will fall to pieces
and then they'd say...
Well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones soon the water will be lost in the well
Puzzle pieces in the ground
but no one ever seems to be digging
instead they're looking up towards the heavens
with their eyes on the heavens
there are shadows on the way to the heavens
it's enough to make me cry
but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
The answers could be found
we could learn from digging down
but no one ever seems to be digging
instead they'll say...
Well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones soon the water will be lost in the well
Words of wisdom all around
but no one ever seems to listen
they're talking about their plans on paper
building up from the pavement
there are shadows from the scrapers on the pavement
it's enough to make me sigh but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
the words are still around
but the words are only sounds
and no one ever seems to listen
Instead they'll say
well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones
soon the water will be lost in the well
My initial response to this report: 'durr, really?' Apply my most sarcastic Aussie drawl if reading the last sentence I just typed out loud.
Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, the federal government is focusing on how to manage the predicted change and not on reducing the source of that change. This is obviously because much of the Australian economy is based on the burning of fossil fuels and the export of oil. Are we ever going to learn? Preparing for disaster, as in the case of storms produced by our malfunctioning climate, is a simple, ridiculous and reactionary way of coping with what’s going to happen. Can we not see that it is our ‘patch up the problems, don’t find solutions’ way of dealing with things that has brought us to this stage in the first place?
War, famine and prejudice - I accept these things as a natural reality that every species must face in some form or another - I do not, however, accept the total obliteration of this gift of nature that the universe has bestowed upon us. Let the age of man come and go but let us not destroy the truly important things in the process.
When thinking about this issue it is hard not to get sidetracked on politics, but I have a simple format for environmental success that should be adopted by our leaders: think in the long term, not about the next election result.
We need to ratify the Kyoto protocol now. Right this minute. Not tomorrow or the next day. We need to bring massive pressure on to the American government to do likewise - unless they are forced to play ball the whole caper is lost. What are we doing instead? We are squabbling and squawking over free trade deals with China and the US. What use will money be, I ask you, if there is no habitable land to live in? There can be no more equivocations, no more excuses and no more finger pointing.
I guess there is a very dark positive in all this: if we don’t make the decision to truly learn to live in a symbiotic relationship with nature, nature will teach us (probably to the extent of the whole obliteration of our species) a very tough lesson indeed. We have been put on notice - we have been given a very friendly warning - but when ‘mother’ decides that we haven’t heeded her warning, and when she chooses to put things back the way that they are supposed to be, we will suffer a vengeance the likes of which will make any terrorist attack look like an episode of Sesame Street.
Jack Johnson puts it simply but eloquently as follows:
There's traffic in the sky
and it doesn't seem to be getting much better
there's kids playing games on the pavement drawing waves on the pavement
shadows of the planes on the pavement
its enough to make me cry
but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
maybe its a dream and if I scream it will burst at the seams
this whole place will fall to pieces
and then they'd say...
Well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones soon the water will be lost in the well
Puzzle pieces in the ground
but no one ever seems to be digging
instead they're looking up towards the heavens
with their eyes on the heavens
there are shadows on the way to the heavens
it's enough to make me cry
but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
The answers could be found
we could learn from digging down
but no one ever seems to be digging
instead they'll say...
Well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones soon the water will be lost in the well
Words of wisdom all around
but no one ever seems to listen
they're talking about their plans on paper
building up from the pavement
there are shadows from the scrapers on the pavement
it's enough to make me sigh but that don't seem like it would make it feel better
the words are still around
but the words are only sounds
and no one ever seems to listen
Instead they'll say
well how could we have known?
I'll tell them it's not so hard to tell
if you keep on adding stones
soon the water will be lost in the well
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Silent, indeed
Last night saw me twiddling my thumbs at the HiFi bar whilst watching those amazing lips sing those amazing tunes… Those amazing lips belong to the lead singer of Bloc Party and those amazing tunes were courtesy of that same band. I know the whole Brit-Pop, art-rock thing has been done a million times; Bloc Party just seem to do it really well. I just can’t get over the lips on the singer - we are talking Angelina Jollie lips on a man! Anyway, back to the music: it was a fantastic set, the vital ingredients being:
The only drawback from the gig is that upon leaving the venue I noticed a ringing sound in my left ear. My left ear, incidentally, happened to be the ear that was right next to the blaring speakers. When I woke up this morning the ringing had disappeared - unfortunately, it has been replaced by a dull, soundless sensation. The last thing I need, compounded on top of my broken toe, is a damaged ear. I don’t want to be one of those old people that is constantly yelling “WHAT??? WHAT DID YOU SAY SONNY???” I prey that I’m only experiencing temporary deafness. I have promised my left ear that I shall wear plugs from now on (however unsightly they may look) if they hold their end of the bargain by allowing me to hear properly once again!
- Great Sound
- Great Songs (Ok, so I’m a little biased here as I loved the album)
- I found a great position to watch them from
- Good company
- A good support act (Cut copy: they are a sort of electro-pop outfit)
- Free soda water!
The only drawback from the gig is that upon leaving the venue I noticed a ringing sound in my left ear. My left ear, incidentally, happened to be the ear that was right next to the blaring speakers. When I woke up this morning the ringing had disappeared - unfortunately, it has been replaced by a dull, soundless sensation. The last thing I need, compounded on top of my broken toe, is a damaged ear. I don’t want to be one of those old people that is constantly yelling “WHAT??? WHAT DID YOU SAY SONNY???” I prey that I’m only experiencing temporary deafness. I have promised my left ear that I shall wear plugs from now on (however unsightly they may look) if they hold their end of the bargain by allowing me to hear properly once again!
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