Who's Generation?

Ok, so I may be behind the pack on this one, but I only saw this on Spicks and Specks tonight. Presenting The Zimmers cover of My Generation:



I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by elderly people. My mum used to work in a nursing home and I often called in on my way home after school for one reason or another. Despite the smells (a mixture of urine, antiseptic, flowers, medicine, food and feces) and the sometimes off-putting behaviours of the residents, I always found the people in the nursing home to be a great source of entertainment and comfort. My family also attended a number of churches, most of which had a largely aging congregation. I gained a good number of surrogate grandparents from the churches, all of whom took a great interest in the events of my life and offered an abundance of knowledge and experience.

While it is important to focus on the well-being of future generations, we must not neglect those who have seen the world change. Kudos to the Zimmers and the BBC for reminding us all that the elderly are part of this changing world and have as much a part to play as anyone.


Songs played while writing this entry:
"Deeper" Barabas & Od1
"Impact" Sound Enforcer
"Dune Buggy" Presidents Of The United States Of America
"Morphist" Drone
"Have A Drink On Me" AC/DC

Suffer the Children

"Suffer the children, the sins of the fathers
Poison the seeds and you poison the harvest"
Directions In Groove

My sis-in-law is due to give birth any minute now and last night I watched Children of Men. Probably not the best choice of movies for an uncle-to-be as it paints a very bleak picture of the future drawing on references from the current state of global affairs. However it does end on a note of hope. If you haven't seen it, watch it.

For my yet-to-be-born niece or nephew, I have the following hopes:

• society will stop being distracted by the unimportant.
• the culture of greed that is perpetuated by governments and corporations will diminish.
• individuals will stop judging others based on appearance, race, gender, sexual-preference and stereotype.
• technological development will become focused on fixing the errors of the past and the betterment of the future.
• decisions will be made with a world-view rather than being based on the betterment of any one particular community or country.
• sustainable resources will be openly available and shared.
• assistance will be offered unconditionally to those who need it.

I like to think that, whoever you are, where-ever you may be and whatever your circumstances, you would want the same for the children in your life.

Songs played while writing this entry:

"No Good (Start The Dance)" The Prodigy

"Face It" Sven Vath

"Mutant Was In Love" Taho

"Zebra" John Butler Trio

"Twilight" Canyon

"Naked In The Rain" Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Angel Particles" Hallyciongen

The Power and The Passion - Rambalations 3

Ok, so now we're all one big happy family right? We're all sitting here, talking to each other with no boundaries. We share our strengths and weaknesses, our hopes and fears, our joys and our sorrows, our pasts and futures. Relationships develop that normally wouldn't due to the tyranny of distance. Discrimination is reduced as no longer are we judging on physical appearance, rather we seek out those whose words we relate to - regardless of race, colour, ability or age. Enter the age of the shared experience.

So why the fuck are there still allied troops in the Middle East??

Why the hell are people trying, and succeeding, to explode car-bombs in the UK??

How come the media is still shoving sexist, racist, invasive, and mostly meaningless tripe down our throats??

For fuck's sake, get over it - the rest of us have.

George, give it up man. You tried to take control of the Middle East and it didn't work, so get your troops out of there and start negotiating some peace - but clean up your fuckin mess first. Fundamentalists of all religious types, chill the fuck out. You love your god/deity/idol/whatever - good for you, pretty much everyone can respect that, so go worship in your way and respect others' rights to worship in theirs. Media, grow up. People can now freely pick and choose content from a vast variety of resources and providers, so start offering up the good shit or become irrelevant.

There's still aways to go and people to wake up, but the shift has started. Find the commonalities, start and engage in conversations, form communities and voice opinions. Use the internet as a starting point for discussions that can lead to real and interactive meetings in the physical space, and use the internet again to allow people outside the physical space to participate. Funky shit huh?

This is why I work in internet. It can be frustrating and at times I may claim to hate it, but it is an area that I am passionate about and that's why I keep turning up to work.... that and the money, which is why it's called a 'job'. Fortunately for me, I work with a group of people who have the same passion for the internet, its uses and the potential it has (albeit in differing applications of its potential;). I have found that those who share this passion also share the same open acceptance of one another, warts and all. I work within this group of amazing people sharing the same focus - to build, develop, distribute and improve this medium to achieve its many potentials. And yes, some of that involves revenue potential, which is why my 'job' is paid for by a 'business'. However, the potentials I keep focus on are the vast and rapid dissemination of information, development of online cultures and the use of the internet as an educational tool.

Anyways, it's Sunday, time for my weekly reality check at Post Secret.



Songs played while writing this entry:
"My Planet" Simply Jeff
"W.M.A" Pearl Jam
"Ebeneezer Goode" The Shamen
"Been Caught Stealing" Jane's Addiction
"Blood" Pearl Jam
"Special Ones" George
"Fatman" The Shamen
"Closer to France" Cap Project
"Magic Shop" Stef, Pako & Frederick
"Surf Wax America" Weezer
"Zebra" John Butler Trio

Flight Path

It's another cold, wet, wintry night in Sydney. I stand out on my balcony, rugged up against the cold, having a smoke. My view is of the roof-tops, trees and clouds. Off in the distance, to my right, I see the lights of a plane through the clouds. As I have an un-obscured view from my balcony, I can track planes coming into land for a good minute or so. I watch as the plane slowly makes it descent, the lights becoming clearer as the plane drops beneath the clouds and tracks its path along the harbour towards Sydney airport. Although I am not directly under the flight path, I can hear the sounds of the engines as the pilot both fights against the winds and slows the engines down for landing.

This is a scenario I see on a daily basis, played out in the skies above Sydney. And each time I wait for the plane to explode. It hasn't happened so far.

I find myself watching the flight of planes a great deal since 9/11. It has in no way deterred me from flying - in fact, I've flown more since I've been living in Sydney than I have ever before in my life. Never have I had these thoughts while on a plane, only when I can see one in the air. I have no fear of flying at all. But for some reason, I see every plane in the sky as a potential disaster waiting to happen.

Is it a result of witnessing tragedy, or am I just morbid?

Songs played while writing this entry:
"Tilt" Seduction of Orpheus
"Yesterday" Guns N Roses
"Marrakech" Madley
"Say It Aint So" Weezer
"Mars Needs Women" Miranda
"Boll Weeevil" Presidents of the United States of America

Potpurri

Seems that there is a lot going on at the moment in my little ol' life - so much so that it's hard to focus on just one thing long enough to pull together enough focus to create an opinion worthy of blogging. So for now I present short musings:

• I hate winter. A number of my friends profess to prefer the cold weather over the heat of summer, spouting that it's easier to get warmer by adding clothing than it is to cool down. I disagree totally. I would much rather be wearing only a pair of boardies and a tee-shirt than to be covered from head to toe in multiple layers of thick winter clothing. Not only am I cold, but I feel like the Michelin Man.
  
  
• The Pasha Bulka has finally set sail off Nobby's Beach after being stuck there for 23 Days. Fortunately, there have been no signs of oil spills as yet. Unfortunately, the government is now talking of charging the owners for the salvage effort to remove the potential environmental disaster from our coast line. Oh bureaucracy.... I only hope the owners have nouse to counter-sue the Australian government for not signing the Kyoto agreement, hence contributing to global warming which attributed to the storm that swept the ship ashore in the first place.
  
  
• I signed up to Second Life and, after spending an hour creating a avatar I liked, now have a character that has no idea of where to go. It's really like my first life! Any suggestions appreciated. If you run into Rogue Pennell, feel free to say hi ;)
  
  
• An Indian-born doctor suspected of involvement in the London car-bomb has been arrested in Australia. Truly he is the definition of displaced.
  
  
• I have an interview for the new job on Thursday. Considering I put very little thought into applying for the position, I plan on putting little effort into preparing for the interview. I applied based on fate and will follow the philosophy that, if I'm meant to do this, I'll get it.

Songs played while writing this entry:
"Get To The Back" Fantazia
"Indifference" Pearl Jam
"Magic Shop" Stef, Pako & Frederick
"Land of Zod" Plantastik
"Elevation" U2
"Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" Pearl Jam
"Judgement Night" Biohazard & Onyx