We Will Not Be Silenced

Tuesday 12 February 2008

About Fuckin Time

"Took us away
Yeah took us away
Grabbed from our mother's breast
Said this is for the best
Took us away."
Archie Roach


Tomorrow, PM Rudd will officially say sorry to the Stolen Generation on behalf of the Australian Government and citizens. The Stolen Generation is one of the bleakest chapters in Australian history, and although a simple apology wont mend the years of hurt, devastation and psychological pain inflicted on the thousands of Aboriginal people who have been impacted by the actions of the past, it is a first step.

My hope is that Rudd follows up with actions - they really do speak louder than words.

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.



Songs played while writing this entry:
"Shine" Collective Soul
"Alchemy" Legal Mission
"Feeling So Real" Moby
"Bonzai Channel One" Thunderball
“Rush Hour” Christopher Lawrence

Thursday 7 February 2008

Whale Song

This is a Minke whale:





















This is the Japanese Whaling Ship Yshin Maru No. 2:


























This is not science:





You shoot a whale with a harpoon - it bleeds.


You shoot a whale with a gun - it dies.

Do something about it.



Songs played while writing this entry:
"Perception" Cass Vs Slide
"One Love" Pearl Jam
"Straight To The Point" Michel de Hey Vs Jeron Verhey
"No Good (Start The Dance)" The Prodigy
"Valley Of The Dolls" Mylo
"Time Out In Toronto" SS
"Shine" Collective Soul

Sunday 3 February 2008

Much Ado About Nothing

"And crawling on the planet's face
Some insects called the human race
Lost in time, and lost in space
And meaning"
Rocky Horror Picture Show
As predicted, I'm not posting much due to summer. For those who are interested, I've been going out a bit, working lots, exercising some and making the most of the sunshine when it graces Sydney with its presence.

What else has been going on around this small, fragile planet? Let's see....

Word of the month:
WaynKarey (
wāng'kərē)
noun
1. of, or pertaining to, repetitive damaging actions against women, friends, the police and yourself.

Brittney Spears has finally been declared a danger to others. That leaves Michael Jackson, Nicole Ritchie, Paris Hilton, Tom Cruise.....

Looks like Kevin 07 is going to make good on his promise to say 'sorry' - proving once and for all that the word can be part of the prime-ministerial vocabulary.

RIP Heath Ledger.

Stock markets are going up and down, up and down, up and down. Interest rates look like they're only going to go one way. No doubt the instances of sob stories about those nasty loan lenders repossessing people's houses because they can't afford the repayments under the conditions of contract to which they agreed to are also going to go up.

Corey proved that today's youth have no morals, no respect, take no responsibility and are more interested in a fast track to fame than they are in their family - and that the tabloid media is only happy to help.

Sri Lanka joined in on the war fad by beefing up their civil war efforts. Shame there's no oil in Sri Lanka.

Test cricket resorted to racism for publicity, while tennis turned to sex-appeal.

Australia's weather has decided to cash in on the "land of droughts and flooding rains" tag by delivering both in one hit.

Comment of the month:

"it's a free world"
official comment from the Sydney Roosters club when the media attempted to hype up a report of one of their players being caught smoking a cigarette at the beach on Australia Day.

Yep, just another month really....


Songs played while writing this entry:
"Cheap Wine" Cold Chisel
"Always" Lisa Shaw
"Does He Rent It Out" Cheap Knob Gags
"Amphetamine" Drax
"Single" Everything But The Girl
"Emenius Sleepus" Green Day
"Drumstick" NJoi
"Ariella" Black Acid
"Californication" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Seven Days And One Week" B.B.E

Thursday 10 January 2008

Happy Anniversary Baby


Well, my blog is now 1 year old (and a few days). During the past 12 months, I have received:

  • 2,919 visits
  • 3,943 pageviews
  • 105 comments
Not much in comparison to some other blogs, but then this is just my site for talking crap.

The most popular posts in the past 12 months (based on hits) are:
The most commonly used search terms that led people to my blog are:
The following blogs sent the most traffic my way:
And last but in no ways least, I have had the pleasure of meeting these great people:
Thanks to all my (ir)regular readers for dropping by, posting comments, keeping me motivated and posting their own incredible, inspirational and irrelevant posts.


Songs played while writing this entry:
"Human Behaviour" Bjork
"Get To The Back" Fantazia
"No Good (Start The Dance)" The Prodigy
"Times Like These" Foo Fighters
"Funky Sound" AK1200
"The Power Of Equality" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Cover You In Kisses" Vassy

Sunday 6 January 2008

Greatings & Gettings

First off - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to my (ir)regular readers. I hope you've all had great holidays, or at the very least got really drunk and laid. I'll be swinging by your blogs over the next week to catch up with the goings on in your worlds.

I've had a fairly busy but enjoyable December, which accounts for my lack of posts in the past month. As we had a family friend over from Canada this year, I headed home earlier than normal. Fortunately my work can be done anywhere (as long as there is electricity and broadband and mobile coverage of some description) so I didn't eat into my annual leave too much. It was great to catch up with many old friends and family, eat way too much good food, drink far too much alcohol and spend much too much on presents for the nieces and nephews. Naturally there were the expected holiday arguments, including one with my best friend of 15+ years which I don't think has been resolved. But the positives always outweigh the negatives over Christmas imo.

So what's in store for 2008? For me, I plan on a year of gettings:
- getting over
- getting on
- getting fit
- getting out

I've already started on the getting fit - today is my 3rd day of reduced smoking. I haven't quit all together but am gradually increasing the time between cigarettes - currently I'm at 5 hour intervals. Yesterday I only had 5 cigarettes where previously I would have smoked about 15 on a Saturday. There's no proven science behind my approach, just my own twisted logic. I finished a pack of smokes on Thursday night, then went for as long as I could (3 hrs) on Friday before giving in to my cravings and buying a new pack. Using this 3 hrs as my benchmark, I then waited 3.5 hrs for my next smoke, 4 hrs after that for the next and so on. Saturday started at 3.5 hrs and again increased by half an hour for each cigarette. Today started at 4 hrs, meaning I've only had 1 cigarette thus far today. My cravings are definitely reducing and I'm finding it easier to go for hours without a smoke (altho the 5 hrs last night was killing me after a few scotches!). I'm back to work tomorrow, so that may be a challenge given that many of my work colleagues are smokers - but that's where the other gettings kick in.

Getting over will be a psychological move to get over the shit that has held me back or plagued me during my life. Getting on will entail getting on with my life, personally and professionally. Getting out will literally be that - getting out and doing stuff, including the possibility of an overseas holiday. And I've got more planned for getting fit, building on the exercise routines I started late last year in a vain attempt to make myself the world's most desirable man.

Naturally, things may all go pear-shaped or I may just forget it over time, but the intention is there.


Songs played while writing this entry:
"The Horse" Marshall Jefferson
"Missing Link" Dinosaur Jnr & Del The Funky Homosapien
"Punisher" Underground Resistance
"Zebra" John Butler Trio
"No Rain" Blind Melon
"Beds Are Burning" Midnight Oil
"Der Klang Der Familie" 3 Phase
"Platina" Twilight
"One" U2
"Creep" Radiohead
"The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" Weezer

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