Bah humbug...well not quite

'Twas the week after Christmas and all through my head not a bon bon was sounding, not even a sled...

Can I tell you why I really can't do Christmas anymore?

Firstly, I still love the meaning and spirit of the season. I think the idea of peace and goodwill to all is a profound and empowering one. I certainly believe it is appropriate and vital Christians remember the birth of Jesus. Sure it might jot be historically accurate to celebrate the 25th December as that day but no one seems to be able to offer an alternative with any certainty so I'm comfortable to acknowledge his birth on that day without feeling compelled to recognise it as the actual day. For heavens sake even the Queen's birthday holiday is not on her actual birthday so...

So what have I got against Christmas? No I'm not a Grinch, Scrooge or misery guts. It's just become too much and too removed from the meaning of the season for me to really want to be involved.

Here's the way I see it. We really now have a festival of presents, purchases, gluttony and guilt, tinged with or flavored by expectations, mostly realistic and nearly always painful. And to top it all off people who have no religion or faith based on the story of Jesus are clinging onto Christmas as though it is theirs to own and celebrate. Frankly the hypocrisy stuns me and then they'll even go off to a Carols service and sing away to God, the Angels and 'Oh Holy Night' - give me a break. And let's not start on taking a day off from work to commemorate the birth of the son of God! What's that about?

We consume huge amounts of food, because we have huge amounts of food served up to us and we waste huge amounts of food because we buy, grow, cook and/or put it in front of ourselves. What is it about Christmas that promotes gluttony and waste? Can I have the relevant passage in the Bible puhleassse?

Gifts become an obligation rather than a joy, with some even being 'equally apportioned' - if I give one kid $50 I have to give everyone $50. Frankly I have all I need, I don't need anymore gizmos, I'm not even sure I need the ones I have. My not smart phone does things I have no desire to use nor will my world fall apart if it I use none of it except the phone. In fact I would not be substantially affected if that stopped, there are phones at work, pay phones around and I have a landline. Oh and those payphones cost 40 or 50 cents a pop - don't think about the plan you are on and how much those 'free calls' you get actually cost. But hey that's probably too hard and we just can't be bothered anymore and it is all about 'now'. That must be why the phone or gizmo we buy today at some inflated price will be replaced within a year and we could buy the same model at a third of the price but n o we'll again be conned into paying full whack for our new one. 

What if I just say 'no more' to gifts, well look out for the guilt! How can I deprive friends or family from giving me a present? But am I certain the presents I get are heartfelt or given from a sense of obligation - because it's Christmas. I am grateful for the kindness of the gesture when I get a gift but why should anyone feel they have to give me something? This consumerism and festival of gift giving only really dove into madness since the second world war so it is not a 'tradition' by any means. I see ads on tele for a $500 barbecue or a $1200 TV system and I despair at the connection with Christmas apart from the gift giving. If I give a $10 gift card I immediately wonder if that is 'enough' and I wonder why...how is the price linked to the gesture? Is filling my cupboards with 'stuff' or being obliged to contribute to a Kris Kringle really adding to the sum of human experience and the goodwill to all?

No, not everything has to have a meaning and a purpose in life or always be for the betterment of humanity. BUT if one time ought - wouldn't it be Christmas?

So next year I and many others will again gorge at a table of excess, smile at people we really tire of really quickly, swap presents we really didn't 'need' to buy and stop to think about those who have a lot less and will continue to...and then it's off to bed children.

Random thoughtfuls

A few things to ponder:

• You are 15% more likely to die from gunshot wounds in America than any other country
• All States of the Union now allow concealed weapons to be carried
• Very few states have screening requirements for gun purchases
• No state has a waiting period for purchase of guns
• Licensing requirements (where they exist) are not standardised
• Hunting accounts for less than 6% of the population of the States
• Every day in America, guns claim 84 lives and wound nearly 200
• There is no constitutional right to buy submachine guns or silencers
• Australia has had NO mass killings since gun control laws were passed in the wake of the Port Arthur killings (1996)
• 'Guns don't kill, people do' is nonsensical. Guns sell in their hundreds of thousands, don't tell me it's so they'll just sit in a cupboard and look menacing - they are made to kill (and that would be the point Sherlock)!

This IS the day

Children shot and killed, others terrorised and cowed, a 20 year old man kills himself and it leaves us gasping with grief and incredulity.

I visited this subject all too recently after the murders in the Cinema showing 'The Dark Knight' so I will simply refer you back to there.

On Twitter I was called a 'slimy liberal' for a comment. Probably indicative of the difficulty for Americans to have a reasonable and mature discussion about the topic of gun control or just the level of debate social media is capable of.

I am hopeful that Obama with the shackles of first term Presidency off his hands might show the courage (although why it should take courage is a question onto itself) to say 'enough' and bring America into the 21st Century and ask why that great nation has to have most citizens armed when very few other countries survive without that 'need'. I do believe that Americans are wholly decent and moral people but the chink in the armour is this madness of owning a gun. And as I said in the other blog, no one else 'bearing arms' prevented this ghastly sadness happening in Newtown today. So what is the f**cking point? It is maddening and loony logic. And more and more it is becoming simply indecent.

Today has to be the day or at least the first of days.

And it has to be the last of the days, please dear God...I don't want to see another one of these moments of horror. It is NOT evil at work (that seems to me to be such a cop out), it is one sad person taking their moment in the limelight, acting out on some pathetic need whether as a result of mental illness or simple cruelty. And, you know what, it could NOT have happened in a society that had tight gun controls or believed in every citizens 'right to bear arms'.

I am so sorry for the families of these children,teachers and others who have died. To the classmates and surviving staff and parents of children spared, to the emergency teams and hospital staff, the journalists who cover the stories and to all of us left wondering why, our thoughts are with all of you...take a moment to reflect.

A Prank Goes Wrong

My thoughts have recently been with the family of Jacintha Saldanha the nurse who took her life after transferring the prank call from 2DayFM to the ward of Kate Middleton.

Up front I think the prank was a bit of larrikinism and I have no reason to believe there was any malice attached. It wasn't particularly well done nor was it really convincing. I do think the station management have tried to 'manage' the reaction rather than respond in a humane and decent manner. Unfortunately no matter what they do now they have lost the momentum and botched any hope of being seen in a decent light. The two presenters are two naughty adults who ought to have known better but who have been coached and spun so tightly they probably don't know which way to turn. Their inability to cogently answer some questions in their interviews this week was symptomatic of over engineering and protection from corporate nabobs.

That aside I have pondered why someone would kill themselves, not want to go on living over something as meaningless as the prank. Sure we can blame cultural differences (shame etc), we can speculate on what else was going on for Jacintha that led to her hanging herself or we can look at what might be happening to all of us. That's my concern.

I have felt for quite some time (and some of my previous blogs might reflect this so forgive my repetition) that more and more we are becoming less and less equipped to 'cope' and we have a propensity to attach ourselves to 'things'. We define ourselves by our relationships, by our jobs, our sexuality, iour salary, even by what we own or buy or for the love of Mike, wear. What is going on?

Somewhere along the way we have fallen into the idea that we no longer have worth for just the being we are, that joy doesn't come strongly enough in our individuality, that we always need to be approved of, be part of something, have 'followers' or 'friends' or only have value if we are acknowledged in the context of the general, the group, the ideal or the fashion of the day (clothing and trends). Heaven help us apparently if we are not of the favored demographic, race, religion (or non religious), don't have the latest gizmo (critically the latest), can speak the lingo of the moment or conform to the marketing industries current 'in' thing. This, I think, is what is bringing us down. How can we have a healthy self esteem if that is tagged to something that happens on a whim?

We need to take stock and remember that we are god-given beings who have the privilege of being here, now. Out of the millions upon millions of random (or specific) acts of nature, a whole heap of atoms conjoined at a particular, incredible time and we, each of us individually and as a population are here as a result. It could have been anyone else but it is US. That is amazing, that is one hugely profound idea.

We are NOT more or less worthwhile as a human because of who we choose to love, marry, cohabit with or feel hurt by. If a relationship ends it is often shitty but it ought not be a reason to end our lives, we are made to recover and the challenge - even the wonderful gift for us is to survive the pain and go on and prove we weren't destroyed by it. Reality check...it was just a relationship. Similarly if we lose the job we loved, or were bullied by some sad sick creature or physically attacked by a random nong...we are not the tragedy, we are human beings who can survive it all and go on to rub the universe's noses in the aching despair. We have to stop wanting to or choosing to be the event, the crisis, the emotion and stay being the person. It is hard and it requires re framing of our thinking but, it seems to me, we used to be able to do it. I believe we can again.

As a footnote, I have been a person who has sunk to despair and wanted to curl up in a ball and die. Indeed I have taken active steps to end my life once. I became what my thoughts told me, I was useless and unlovable and worthless. I did that to me, I chose to believe 'me'. So I know what those thoughts are like and I know it can be changed. We are who we are for lots of reasons and we can blame others and we can just stay stuck. Or we can change. Sometimes we don't have the power to change where our hurts or ideas came from but we always can choose where we go from today. We can still do it and we have to be okay about it because it makes us healthy and strong and it can stop us from ending the precious life we've been given.

Talk to your friends who hurt, hug your children and let them know they are precious, give the bullies no power - shrug them off, turn your fear of them into pity for them, love your job but be ok if it ends, nurture your relationship as much as those in it but if it ends, let it go and be okay about that.

I wish Jacintha could have gone on to know all this. And you know what? I wish I could have one day been in London and know that I could still walk past her, not even knowing it was her but that she was on her way home to her family and was feeling okay...about herself.

Be well and take care

Just one giant leap

The man who was named as the most famous man of the 20th Century died overnight. Neil Armstrong the first human to walk on the moon died from complications of heart surgery and another part of world history and my personal history went with him.

A man who had travelled the heavens has now been called back.

In July 1969  I was a gawky, buck toothed, skinny, short (I was in my 4'4" stage that I would stay in for a couple of years awaitng a growth spurt) 12 year old at Wangaratta Tech. In March of that year I had unsuccessfully attempted a form of acrobatics in which I would narrowly avoid being struck by a slightly speeding Falcon as I rode in front of it as I crossed the Hume Highway. Death beckoned as I flew through the air. If it hadn't been for some defensive driving and skilful navigation of a culvert I would have rolled under the car and been driven over the top of and no doubt died. Only back at school for a few weeks I was one of many kids gathered around a black and white tv in our classroom waiting for the Eagle to land on the Sea of Tranquility. Eventually it did but wait for the dismount was interminable and we were eventually sent home. My memory is that it was still an hour or two before we saw Neil walk down those stairs and set foot on the soil.

My memory of the timings is as hazy as some of the shots of the moment but the memory of the momentousness is strong. It is simply one of the great images in my brain and for god's sake I saw it!!!!

By all accounts Mr Armstrong was a humble bloke and frankly he had every right to be otherwise, this was a magnificent achievement and he deserved to be proud of his part in it. Imagine the first attempt of this feat damnedwell worked. He will evr be a hero to me and many others, to be way 'out there', one of two men in a tiny module dependent on the skills of people thousands of miles away in Houston, Parkes and Honeysuckle Creek. Talk about alone and a breath away from eternity - literally...astonishing.

This year one of the gret writers of our time Gore Vidal died, the best stand up comic Phyllis Diller died and now the leader of all astronauts and the caretaker of many young people's dreams has died.

Entering the sixth decade of my life the loss of my childhood 'familiars' becomes a norm. I feel each loss as a part of me goes with them. I know the sadness of our times is that too many young people are coming to know tragedy and sadness when they ought be only fighting the good fight to get through each day and experiencing the adventure. I hope they still have their heroes and role models. I'd like to think they are not just 'celebrities' but classmates, family and friends. Wherever or whoever they are I pray they are always positive ones. 

Neil Armstrong, you are my hero and you are simply amazing. Thank you for raising our eyes to the skies, our dreams to beyond where they were previoulsy and for having been most of all Neil Armstrong, the right man in the right job with the right stuff.

A Very Dark Night

I’m no expert in the US Constitution but the latest chatter about the second amendment has led me to do some thinking. Here is what the second amendment says: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”


The first bit of history is to note the amendment was ratified in 1791. At that time the States had no professional, trained army and so it fell to citizens to form the militia and of course they needed to be armed to carry out what would be an expectation of protection (‘...as necessary to the security of a free state’) . Today the United States has fully functioning armed forces which is armed and trained. This begs the question why the citizenry needs to be armed and why the second amendment in intent needs to exist. There is no obligation on any of the States to follow the amendment as it is not included in any other amendments which mandate a State follow it. It is questionable whether my right to own a gun has much to do with the security of a free state.

James Holmes in Colorado and his hideous, murderous assault could be seen as personifying what the NRA and its ilk support. He was exercising what they say is his unalienable right to bear arms. He was sure as hell bearing arms to the max. One might wonder why no one else in the cinema was bearing arms but one might in many ways be thankful they weren’t or at least chose to bear arms but not use them.

I am always at a loss to understand why Americans believe they need to bear arms, own guns, protect themselves with firearms etc while most other countries get by without it. I am further at a loss to understand why Americans see no correlation between their belief and the breathtaking number of gun related deaths/crimes/murders/assaults each year. 8775 murders in 2010 were caused by firearms – that’s 24 a day (Britain 600 for the same period or 1.6 a day, Australia 250 –one death every second day, 1% considered suicide).

NRA spokesman David Britt suggests “None of us in the free world would have what we have if it were not for guns. It’s about freedom, it's not about violence." He also suggests that gun control is a threat to liberty. Well when someone puts a bullet through my brains I’m just not sure where my freedom and liberty lies. When you feel your home is under threat and you need a gun to protect it when such a threat has not yet occurred I’m not convinced that is exercising freedom, aren’t you in some way entrapping yourself? If you are suspicious of your fellow humans to the extent that your country has more guns than citizens where is the liberty, isn’t liberty about thought and fairness and respect and acceptance as well? Being a slave to paranoia or prejudice or irrationality is not freedom, is not liberty, it is a form of incarceration of thought which is insidious and dangerous.

I am persuaded to the argument that government should serve the people rather than the people be subservient to government but I don’t believe that argument or philosophy is served well by a community of people who believes the first response, the best response is to shoot and kill. When the argument is reduced to ‘guns don’t kill, people do’ (ridiculous) or fascist sloganeering ‘out of my cold dead hand’ or even dick waving ‘The war is coming to the streets of America and if you are not keeping and bearing and practicing with your arms then you will be helpless and you will be the victim of evil.’ (Ted Nugent), it’s hard to take seriously but you still cringe.

By the way isn’t Mitt Romney a member of the NRA?

To Mr Holmes himself; he is being described as evil and I wonder if this is not an overused reflexive term. I can see what he did can validly be called an evil act but I’m not sure the person themselves can be called evil, what is the criteria? Repulsive because it repulses me, revolting because I am revolted by it, heinous because it is an atrocity and mystifying because we don’t know why. Evil has its own context and its own uniqueness. I suspect it makes us cope better if we use a darker term and assign a label more suggestive of something demonic or satanic than the act of a (possible, yet to be proved) disturbed young man. We have no doubt James Holmes committed this awful crime but we don’t know why. We can judge him and we can ponder as that seems appropriate. BUT unless and until we find that out the nature of the crime is very much up for debate.

Just sayin...

Sorry Fakebook, We Can't Be Friends Anymore

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” -Anais Nin

Friendship is a funny thing isn’t it? I value it strongly and sometimes find it hard to imagine my life without my true friends. Sadly, at the same time as I ponder on that thought someone comes along and surprises me in the worst possible way, let’s me down, causes me to feel hurt or just drops me cold and I am left to wonder ‘why’.

Why Facebook chose to use the word ‘friend’ instead of ‘follower’ or ‘hanger on’ ‘circle ‘or ‘another number to my list’ is not a great mystery. It’s a touchy feely term that is very human and generates an emotional response – therefore more likely to be attractive. Also it was used in College face-books so carried over to the online concept originally. My added theory is Mark Zuckerberg had very few friends at College so why not create an ‘ideal world’ and call them friends – a bit like our make believe friend as kids. However is a friend in this case just an audience? Is a Facebook friend just an extra notch on the board? Do we check our friendships on Facebook in the same way we do in ‘real life’ – would I want to be my friend? It’s even now considered a verb ‘to friend someone’ or ‘friend me’.

I despair at the diminution in value of this precious word and it is why I refer to this social medium as Fakebook.

Before you jump on me and say I’m out of the age group Fakebook is designed for anyway did you know a THIRD of Fakebook users are over 50? In the latest Census only 1% of gays said they were in a committed long term relationship and yet we are agitating for them to be ‘heard’ on the subject of marriage so...whatever! I was actually an early adopter of Facebook. I originally had a page in early 2005 after hearing a discussion about it on radio. It started to really take off globally around the same time. I’d get a friend request and I felt good (warning right there surely...I felt valued when I got a friend request? Was it a throwback to feeling part of the gang when I was chosen for a team at school?)

Back then Facebook was a conversational tool, an online forum where people could hang out together. It was cool and it had life but it was just a little, well ‘fake’. I even had a stalker!!!

It didn’t take long before our ‘friendship’ had run its course and I took my leave. The only thing I actually missed was the TV Trivia game which I was sensational at.

Fast forward to autumn 2012 and an idea about how Facebook could be applied to the workplace and to customers was brewing. I decided to renew my acquaintance with the community of 900 million users and do some personal and professional ‘research’.

I was welcomed back warmly and was surprised I was only bereft one ‘friend’ (and sadly one I would also call a ‘real’ friend). There were some snazzy new improvements (relative term) and some baffling changes. It all seemed a bit busy and cluttered but the timeline look was much ‘cleaner’. Were there that many ads before and do I really have to get all those ‘suggested friends’ every bloody time I log in? I don’t have a relationship status so why do I get singles ads? I don’t live in Canberra so why do I get ads for ‘Clicos Cafe and Bar' in Barton? Clearly a marketplace had grown around Fakebook in an alarming way. And if I want to switch those two components off? I’m sure I can but I’m just as sure it’s not simple to find out how.

Noam Chomsky, Naomi Wolf and Alvin Toffler have all talked (and many years ago) about the dangers of us all being commoditized and the essential spirit that makes us human being seen as secondary to what the marketplace can do ‘with’ us. If you want to know how much of a product you have become you only need to sign up to Facebook. You’ll ‘like’ a page and before you know it suddenly you are getting all sorts of ‘cute’ messages which really just cover the fact that they are advertising their latest sale, product of the month, event or platform and you are the spot that ‘houses’ that ad, you are the delivery mechanism for those who visit your page (and every time they do that the Facebook tracker identifies them as a potential mark), you are a DNA rich, oxygen breathing billboard. Well done you and of course you benefit from doing that for those corporations by how again? Talk about freeloading for profit.

In the five years that I have been absent I hoped the level of debate, conversation or contribution would have been raised above the banal, the pointless or the tedious. In fact it seemed worse than it had before (when arguably it could have been put down to users getting acquainted with the medium). And the language; is there no ‘filth filter’? I know one might expect adults to be able to show their language skills without the need to use the foulest of foul language but apparently all bets are off. Obviously I have no right to be offended or bored. Frankly when you drop the F bomb (or worse) all the time you lose the ability to add nuance when you are angry or outraged and it just becomes tiresome. Why does it have to be so ugly and nasty and freaking annoying?

I had made an assumption that Twitter had taken the place of the short ‘announcements’ such as ‘Catching up for coffee with the lovely Mary’ but apparently not because the majority of status updates are of that type. Frankly why would I care? Frankly why would you post that, is it to show how groovy and sociable you are? Is it to show how interesting you are? Wouldn’t the people you are with be the ones who are the most likely to care about what you are doing? Call me and tell me about it, why post it for the world to see (and privacy settings or not dear reader the world CAN see it). Is it a need to be included, to feel valued (oh that again), to be on show, to ‘announce’ everything? Surely not, that would be relevance deprivation syndrome wouldn’t it? It just smacks of neediness and ‘look at me’.

I’ve talked before about the security issues before but I have concluded most really don’t care and have a kind of ignorant bliss that ‘no one can see what I put on there apart from those I have given access to’...this despite evidence and anecdotes to refute that assumption (not to mention the mind boggling rise in internet based crime). It absolutely astounds me the sort of ‘free kicks’ given to hackers, internet trawlers and ‘phish-mongers’ who make a very healthy (albeit dishonest) living monitoring Facebook and the Internet to pounce on another sucker. Why not just throw your driver’s licence and credit card into the middle of the main street and let it happen? And don’t forget to include the message that you’re off to some occasion NOW so your home is available for plundering too. And the Smart phone interface now even tells the baddies how far from home you are which is handy if they're in a bit of a hurry - nice one.

There have been the good times; I have got to know some lovely people (many of whom I never knew but read about by drilling down through all the levels from a friend’s page – the furthest I got was 35 levels down from just one friend’s link), seen some beautiful sights (maybe even copied a few photos), had my spirits lifted (thanks to Celia’s New York and my gorgeous great nephew) and shared in celebrations.

The big problem Fakebook was I always wanted more and you always gave me less.

So it’s time for Fakebook and I to part our ways and move on. There is nothing for me to see there. I can’t keep up, I don’t want to be one of the ‘noticed’ and ‘on show’ (let alone strive to be ‘best in show’), I don’t want to feel ‘better’ because I thought of something to post and I don’t want to feel uncomfortable when I read something that’s just that little bit too personal (or inappropriate) about someone I actually don’t know all that well. I started to worry when I felt a little ‘less’ because I hadn’t updated my status for a day or two – a bit of an 'uh-oh' moment. Even worse was that sinking feeling when I posted something and I didn't get a 'like' (or a visit to my Blog - how could they)...I was almost beoming co-dependent with myself.

I just want to have conversations with people who matter in my life, people who sustain me, nourish me with their ideas and their love, sooth me with their voice, not to ‘act as a friend’ but be one. I’ll dine with them, I’ll talk to them (hopefully in person but a phone will do), I’ll be invited to their weddings, I’ll watch their children grow, we’ll swap books or jokes or (shock) opinions, I will be able to speak frankly and honestly and while they’ll not always agree they won’t judge and they’ll be there when I need them...

Not on line but on hand.

The Rocky Road to Ruin

The scenario is familiar. The first night you get a hurried phone call just as you’ve popped the veggies on. The questions are preceded by the promise that ‘this is not a marketing call and I’m not trying to sell you anything. I give them my age, ‘rough’ salary range whether I have a mortgage and what industry I work in. All pretty innocuous and an efficient goodbye with the teaser that I ‘might’ be contacted to hear about the latest Government tax arrangements. Oh well.

Two nights later the fish is coming along nicely under the grill just as the phone rings. Remember two nights ago you answered a few questions about your salary and the industry you worked for? Of course, I may not remember to buy milk on the way home but I do remember that call. Well guess what? I am one of a handful of people who has been ‘selected’ to attend a personalised session to discuss how to reduce my income tax.

Gulp

Crickets chirp

What do I think about that?

Well frankly I’m appalled. Why would I be interested in reducing my income tax? Well no-one wants to pay income tax apparently so they are sure I’d want to know ways to reduce mine.

Actually I don’t mind paying income tax, I think it’s my responsibility as a wage earner and citizen to contribute.

They aren’t suggesting I pay NO tax just reduce my income tax.

You know what; I’m actually philosophically opposed to the idea that everyone ‘should’ find ways to reduce their income tax. If they are paying what the government has determined is the correct rate then that’s as it ought to be. Imagine if everyone took the stance of paying less than they were supposed to. Aren’t government programs worked out on what they expect to reap from income tax by the amount we’re expected to pay?

Apparently no one else they have spoken to has had an objection, in fact quite the opposite. Well that’s the problem isn’t it? Won’t they be the ones who’ll complain when they are on an even longer waiting list to have an operation or have to travel great distances in dodgy public transport on crappy roads to take their kids to school because the local ones are full or closed? I want to receive a full pension when I retire but I won’t if the funds aren’t there and I want my medications to continue to be subsidised and not just mine but the ones that cancer sufferers need but would not be able to afford if they were a couple of thousand of dollars per pack.

Pretty soon he ran out of steam, told me he appreciated my concern and approach. Just before we parted company though he wondered if I might then rather have a chat with someone about investing in property to maximise my savings (not sure if I buy something how that increases my saving, however...)?

I suggested it was difficult to imagine I would have any business relationship with a company whose basic operating model was formulated on a philosophy I found offensive.

Now you might be better able to understand why reducing income tax would be a good thing but it really got up my nose. I think there is a lot of mismanagement in government BUT that is different to why we ought to feel that paying our fair share of tax is a good thing. I would rather not have any of my tax pay for military offence (I am okay with defence of our borders), I am not convinced of the need for funding for the arts and I would rather our money was spent processing refugees in Indonesia and Malaysia then flying them here than encouraging people to get on rickety boats risking their lives to get where they will end up anyway. BUT still no reasons for paying less than my fair share.

I’m not sure if this was all a scam, an unwise ‘sell’ or an opportunist grab for business from the greedy and irresponsible.

I am sure it annoyed me.

A Winter Solstice Meditation

Do you ever feel that you might be enjoying life more and more liking the world less and less? That’s where I am right now.


The rate of change and what the changes are bringing at first feel exciting but then become disappointing, empty and eventually overwhelming. Many of them are based on saving money or streamlining a process, replacing a product or finding a new way of doing things. Very few, it seems to me, advance humanity, increase compassion or improve the way we communicate with each other at a personal level. Indeed many changes (I’m resisting calling them advances) are about distancing us from each other and isolating us more.

Every night there is news of more jobs lost as businesses close. I despair for those scores of people who have given many years to a company, shown loyalty through tough times who suddenly find they have no job to go to the next day, no pay packet to look forward to and debts up to the eyeballs because they have bought the latest ‘must have’ technology or mortgaged their McMansion, borrowed to pay the kids school fees let alone the mandatory second or third car.

Decisions are taken from us in benign ways. I suspect in a couple of years we may no longer have a daily newspaper in Melbourne; there will certainly be a news service from Fairfax or News Limited but only on line and users will pay for that by subscription or pay as you go. I have a weekend ritual with newspapers and now that is taken from me. I choose not to access news articles on line except for specialty newspapers or overseas publications. I like the battle with the broadsheet, doing the crossword or the nine letter puzzle and I like picking up the paper a day or so later when I remember there was ‘that article’ I meant to read – much more civilised than putting the name of the article (which I won’t remember)into the search box and retrieving it. By the time I do all that I could probably be half way through reading the paper copy.

Social network is just a mystery to me. How anyone can seriously believe they are having any sort of meaningful ‘conversation’ on Facebook, Twitter, Yammer or the various incarnations is beyond me. Yes you are exchanging words but there is no evident, obvious meaning or nuance to separate the rubbish from the quality. Everyone seems to be plugging something or showing their language shortfalls (the F Bomb is dropped with no regard for offence or context – very mature), exposing their emotional state or latest triumph. There’s a real sense of ‘look at me’ and yet there are cries of ‘I want to be alone’...have we all gone just a little bit mad? I just yearn for a good old chat, doesn’t even need to be deep and meaningful.

TV is full of dross, the quality stuff lasts a minute before it is dropped. We have to be judged or commented upon in some way to be a success – well it’s some kind of ‘reality’ I suppose. And for the love of heaven they’re bringing back Big Brother. How soon we forget why that show was cancelled just a few short years ago, perhaps the programmers know we will fall for it all over again and how sad does that make us?

Obama came to power in America on a promise of Hope and offering an open palm to ‘enemies’. In the four years he has continued to clench his fist...Israel and Palestine are no closer to co-existence, Iran is being lined up for the next ‘invasion’, Syria is a mess, Iraq is ready to fall apart, Afghanistan has progressed very little.

Meanwhile in Australia Parliament is a disgrace. All sides have demonstrated a lack of maturity or care for the parliamentary process and ignored the message from the last election – we want better. Labour is more intent on retaining power than improving the lot of the people, the opposition is hell bent on getting an election at any cost but offers no alternative policies. And they think we won’t deliver another hung parliament or minority government?

No-one seems to know what they are doing; it is hard to have confidence in our business leaders, our politicians, our educators, even other drivers. Young people seem lost and alone, being exposed to cruel and unjust things that my generation could not have coped with. They are undoubtedly smarter but I suspect softer and more sensitive and not in a good way. Is this because of the isolation and distance that our ‘advances’ have created?

So I’ll find a nice park to go to and have nature surround me, the bird song and the air to nourish me. I’ll take a book with me – a real paper and binding one – I’ll have a soothing beverage and maybe a sandwich I’ve made myself from fresh ingredients. I’ll sit quietly in my own thoughts for an hour or two. I’ll absorb the life around me and within me.

And I’ll take a moment...

To wish...

To hope...

And life will go on and the world will continue to turn.

It’s called taking a Risk – or that’s how life works!

 It has recently become clear that many of us are willingly putting our lives in danger or exposing ourselves to harm in ways we have disregarded, ignored or just plain been ignorant of.

As a consequence your Government has issued a number of legislative changes to take effect immediately with the affect thereof protecting our citizens. It is in the words of a certain school principal ‘A safety Issue’.

The changes are:

• All beaches to be fenced off immediately. This will lessen likelihood of sunburn, sand rashes and allergic reactions to sea salt.
• Mobile phones banned. For many legitimate reasons such as zoning out can cause collisions, dropping of a mobile can result in the shattering causing a shard to fly up and make a one in 65 billion chance of lodging in someone else’s eye
• Tattslotto to be ceased. Winning first division could lead to coronary arrest from the elevated excitement level leaving the Tattersalls corporation and its agents liable to prosecution or action related to health outcomes
• Removal of concrete or asphalt from all schools. A shock finding shows that it is actually the connection sudden or otherwise with such surfaces which causes sprains, strains or broken bones.
• Abolition of the health industry. It is well known that illness thrives in a doctor’s surgery, hospital casualty ward and chemists. They are a huge risk to the health of all citizens
• Dissolution of parliament. The creation of laws, introduction of ‘levys’, and the mindless theatrics of all members of parliament can lead to frequent head spinning and loss of reason by their constituents.
• Supermarkets and stores selling food or any consumable item can only be accessed with prescriptions. Foodstuffs and beverages are known to be carcinogenic no matter what they contain, cause obesity even when 97% fat free (especially when that still means the 3% fat in that product is equivalent to five buckets of lard), rot your teeth, clog your arteries, dissolve your kidneys (whilst cleaning your coins) or empty your wallet inexplicably. Self serve checkouts which do not recognise your bag will be removed because...well they are just plain annoying.
• The cotton wool industry will become a protected industry under the ‘Mt Martha Act 2012’ administered by Gina Reinhart, Twiggy Forrester and Clive Palmer (because they can). This will ensure our young folk particularly but most others in general never have to take another risk, think for themselves, accept responsibility for their actions, consider the consequence of their choices, show courtesy or form a sentence in writing with any semblance of correct grammar or traditional spelling.
• The Privacy Act will be rescinded. This is widely understood as the ‘Facebook Amendment’ because clearly no one minds sharing all their personal information with the world, including people they would never cross the street to say hello to but will willingly call a ‘friend’ if it means outdoing someone else in the number of followers they have on the FBook page.

Anyone failing to follow any of the above will be sent by rickety boat to Utopia...a place Australia was once able to say it was...happy days 

The Affable Anachronism

 

Being in the same job for 60 years is an achievement in anyone’s books. The Queen justly deserves the praise and kudos she is receiving this weekend for being on the throne and doing what she would see as her duty for over half a century. No-one reading this in.2012 is likely to see another monarch repeat her feat in their lifetime. If she lives a few more years Prince Charles will be in his 70’s at least when he takes over and William is likely to be at least 50 when (if) he becomes King. It’s not beyond reason to imagine that in 30 years the UK will have moved away from needing a Monarchy as a part of its governing class and might use them merely as trade or diplomatic representatives if at all.

The Queen has always been in my life and memory. I remember mum had a scrapbook with pages from Women’s Weekly tracing those early years of the very beautiful Princess Elizabeth as she became Queen. I remember standing for the anthem and singing ‘God Save the Queen’, certainly at primary school at least, going to the ‘pictures’ we’d get a brief film of Her Majesty on a horse looking, well Regal as the anthem blasted through the tinny speakers – and EVERYONE stood up for it. I’d say I was a monarchist, because I had no reason to think otherwise.

Then one day…

I just stopped and thought ‘why this family’? A simple question, history on their side sure but that’s more luck than anything else in the last couple of centuries. Many other people and many other families could just as easily be chosen and I’m sure could do a great job. I don’t know why we need a monarchy or a Royal Family in the first place but they are conversations for another day.

For me the Queen has done an outstanding job. It can’t be easy, having to meet and have something to say to hundreds of people in a year, to be ever mindful of the eyes constantly on you, to be the ultimate in a decision making process – sure you follow advice but in the end the buck stops with you.  That could be a bit lonely. You might be surrounded by wealth and glitter, pomp and circumstance but so what? You don’t get to spend the wealth, someone else moves in when you die and someone else slots in the occasions for you. You’re left to be the one to ‘end’ a conversation, to get to as many people in a crowd as you can, you have to listen to awful singers, fawning speeches and ghastly politicians or other members  of other Royal Families. No Long Service Leave and for this ‘sovereign’ not much sick leave. I like the woman. I can forgive her not paying taxes until pressure was applied, I have a big problem knowing there were no blacks employed at Buckingham Palace until the 80s and I think she could give up some of her property but overall she is highly tolerable.

God Bless her and a big thank you for just being there Your Majesty. I have no time for the position you hold but you are deserving of respect for the way you do it. I think you have done such a wonderful job that maybe it should end with you…why risk the reputation by possibly letting someone make a hash of it?

Today also is the 20^th Anniversary of the Mabo decision. Eddie Mabo was a wonderful human being and a great Australian. It is sad he did not live to see the decision handed down but he always had faith it would be. He showed us all how to be better.

So one person who presides over an outdated and irrelevant hegemony and another who found a way and demanded the recognition of a logical and reasonable fundamental right. Thankfully only one of the former but I’d take a lot more of the latter…they would actually make it a better world.

A Great Film

We humans do dreadful things, Guantanamo, Rendition, Abu Ghraib, detention centres, 9/11, Syria, Rwanda, Sudan,the Biggest Loser...

What we adults do to kids is often particularly dreadful. We have seen it in this country with the transportation of kids from the UK in the post war years, child soldiers in the African continent and Sth America demonstrate this.

Marius Holst has made a terrific and disturbing movie based on real events in Norway called 'King of Devils Island'. Wayward boys are detained on a miserable island in a fjord off Oslo commanded over by 'the Governor', played chillingly by the marvelous Stellan Skarsgard and his gang of grotesques. We know he's on borrowed time the minute Erling (Benjamin Helstad) arrives on the island to do time for an unexplained murder. He sees the island is ripe for rebellion, it's only how and when. Soon enough (or maybe far too late for some) the fuse is lit and a set of events which divided Norway are set in train.

This is a fine film well told, beautifully shot (you will be reaching for your coat so chilling is the air, but you might also be fishing for your tissues in the same coat pocket) and oh so well acted. The baddies make your skin crawl and the characterizations by the 'boys' are so multi levelled they are a lesson to older, more experienced actors.

The story made my blood boil but the movie stunned me. Don't miss it!

Anzac Day - A Precious Day or a Day That's a Bit Precious?

Anzac Day has passed for another year. I heard a comment, without giving credit to the wrong person I think it was Victorian Governor Chernov, that said 'Anzac Day is a precious day', isn't that a wonderful statement?

It troubles me though that we spend a few hours in quiet dignity and contemplation observing this 'precious' day but then it's 'open the shops' or 'let's get to the movies' or whatever else we can find to do for 'fun'. We seem so incapable of simply taking one 24 hour period and stopping to contemplate, to honor to take in what it's all about.

As a pacifist I went through my years of being hostile and dismissive about Anzac Day.Then one day i heard the author Patsy Adam-Smith talking about why she wrote her book 'The Anzacs' and I realised how important it all was. It is a commemoration of the spirit of those people who did go and fight and kill and represent the rest of us but the doing of that reminds us of the futility of war and the need for peace. Heavens above Gallipoli was a failure, a loss if you will and we are great friends with the country we fought on those fields - what could be more of a testament to how ludicrous war is? Those wonderful words of Kamal Ataturk about the sons of Australian mothers being Turkey's sons also is further testament.

So let's honor those people, this day, honor all of us who remain and most of all honor peace by living peacefully for that one day of the year.

BE!

Religious holidays in a secular society - tradition maintained or just an excuse for maintaining the tradition of the long weekend ?

Whilst several cathedrals distant from being a Christian fundamentalist I am, happily, fundamentally Christian. I was brought up, and remain comfortably, a Catholic. It is the faith that I am most comfortable with and agree with its interpretation of the words and acts of Jesus and the Holy Trinity; I am though neither an absolute adherent nor follower of the rules, teachings and actions of the establishment or ‘church’. I find some of the dictates of the (mainly) men of the church often abhorrent and far too regularly ‘un Christian’, homosexuality, contraception (condoms, not so upset by views on the pill), celibacy, exclusion of women in the clergy particularly offend me.

I have huge respect for faiths outside the Christian community, mainly the Abrahamic ones but also Buddhism and Daoism. I even give kudos to Atheism, although misguided (and some like Richard Dawkins enormously amusing and tremendously frustrating in his sneering dismissiveness and snide personal attacks)I see ‘non belief’ as a very strong faith ironically. I often ponder on the staggering fact that there are 23 million Atheists in the United States (2008 figure) and possibly 10 times that amount worldwide – imagine what a different political system there would be in America if those ‘voices’ were heard? 

All of this is simply to give a bit of background on my credentials for today’s ‘Easter’ post and to eliminate the ‘oh he would say that wouldn’t he? He’s a Catholic/Christian so he’s biased…’criticism.

I wonder why we still think it is appropriate, even decent, to take a public holiday on religious, Christian festivals. We are kidding ourselves if we profess to be a country of observant religious and even more so if we cling on to believing we are a ‘Christian’ country. The Census figures record a small percentage claim to be religious and a smaller one where people declare themselves to be Christian. In light of this as well as our own daily experiences in workplaces and at social events where the subject of religion might be raised must seriously question how we can justify having a long break for Easter and two days off at Christmas. It is simply a farce and worse hypocrisy.

As I said I don’t mind at all if someone is an Atheist or agnostic or some other flavour of religion besides Christian. What I do mind is that a person can be sincere in their agnosticism or atheism but not sincere enough to say ‘I will not take a day off that celebrates the birth of a man I don’t recognize as the son of a god I don’t believe in let alone when he was crucified and supposedly arose from the dead before ascending into the sky to some superstitious concept of an afterlife or holy ever after’. Is it just easier to take the long weekend? What ever happened to conviction? Or is an atheist so used to not being committed to a faith or a belief system (as I say I really do see non belief as requiring a strong faith) that they can’t be fagged standing up for their ideals and say ‘no thanks’.

Alright so I sense the swingeing ‘well of course we’ll take the days off if they are there, it’s traditional and besides why should the bible bashers get time off and not me?’ Well how about because it is their beliefs and you are usually very vocal and dismissive about them?

I do have an alternative idea as a solution though because I am a staunch work/life balance advocate and believe these convenient breaks are very healthy.

I propose a week is added to our annual leave in exchange for Easter and Christmas public holidays cease to be mandated as holidays. People who identify themselves as Christians can nominate to have those days off still and would be granted them without question. For followers of other faiths would similarly be entitled to take their holy or observant days without question. Non religious are then free to take their extra days at other times in the year, perhaps just added to their annual leave break etc. This would also mean that shops and businesses would operate on the removed days but would not be able to oblige any employees to work on their nominated religious days provided they have ‘registered’ themselves as observant. There would be no silly regulations about someone having to be a church goer etc to identify as religious, it would be an honor system mostly, after all the only benefit to them is that they can have the religious holidays, everyone would be getting the same amount of days off, some would simply be taking holidays in recognition of their beliefs.

If businesses were to operate on these former public holidays (and remember all other public holidays would remain [although maybe Republicans might like to forgo the Queens Birthday holiday]), we could forgo penalty rates and loadings for working on those days. In the days of 24/7 businesses it must be time to consider being paid a loading simply because you choose to work outside 9-5 Mon-Fri to be, well, silly. Of course anyone working outside their own ‘normal’ hours should be compensated but not when it is you regular scheduled hours.

So there it is, time for some hard thinking and perhaps standing up for our beliefs…whatever they are. Some might say it’s the mark of a mature society!

On Prejudice, Perfect Parks, Historic Places, Pink Slime and Performance

Before this trip I had a fair amount of apprehension about going to mainland USA for the first time and New York in particular. The lure of the cheap airfare and the extremely favorable exchange rate were too much for me to resist. New York was on my bucket list but I had always managed to find an excuse or a better deal for Europe when I’d had the chance in the past. New York I assumed would be too fast, too crowded, too much and yet I really did went to go there. So the means were there and the excuses were not.

My first impression of New York after the interminably long flight from Melbourne was a bit dreck to be honest, the taxi drive in from JFK took me through some shady looking suburbs and empty streets that seemed to scream every horror I’d ever imagined and I just kept hoping I would not be in a hotel near this particular street or that particular warehouse etc. I had a very jolly taxi driver who had fled Russia with his family, a family that had eventually dispersed to other parts of the world, including, amazingly Melbourne. We hadn’t got very far when we detoured to a gas station for him to fill up. I guess an advantage of a fixed fare is that these detours don’t add any cost to the fare.

It is unsettling too to have to run the gamut of taxi touts at the airport and they are pretty good, all dressed in suits and very polite (and persistent). I am fond of a good gamut but perhaps not when jet lag is creeping up from the ankles, slowly inhabiting the rest of my body and being. Only a few minutes after taking a spot in the not too long (legitimate)taxi queue there was a bit of activity and a surge of energy as about a dozen besuited blokes took flight and headed for the car park. Apparently the airport cops had appeared and were rounding up some of the touts. Quite a comical sight actually.

My apprehension about New York melted as we crossed one of the bridges and there before me was the Manhattan skyline, spectacular, beautiful and warm…I remember feeling very cosy seeing it and I thought ‘this will be okay’.

I really battled jet lag for the first couple of days; I took the line ‘…the city that never sleeps’ a little too literally and fought the ability to sleep for two or three days. This might have contributed to the feeling I had for those days that everything was surreal, I was on a film set, so much was familiar but ‘distant’ somehow. I couldn’t quite get my head around what I was standing amongst, as if I was seeing a painting or a photo of everything rather than in being there before me. I took to touching walls and stepping harder on pavements, running my hands on leaves and breathing in the air just to connect myself to it all. So many images from film and TV, a strong reminder of how much American popular culture inhabits us, especially from TV and movies from the sixties I think.

I walked myself silly and by about day 12 I was starting to flag. I can fall prey to sudden and staggering fatigue, maybe the last remnant of the heart surgery but when it hits, boy it’s a showstopper. Nevertheless I would not have seen as much as I did if I hadn’t kept going. That’s not to say I didn’t take breaks here and there and ‘stop to smell the roses’. Walking a lot after all can be meditative and letting the sights one sees wash over one can be a nice brain space mover. The joy and excitement I slowly started to get infused me with energy and interest.

Whereas New York is relatively ‘modern’, not dripping in ancient or distant history (you aren’t going to be regularly looking at signs on buildings noting they were built in 1690 etc), Washington oozed it. I loved Washington and it was like a literal breath of fresh air compared to New York; wide clean streets, no skyscrapers as such – my hotel was one of the tallest buildings with 11 floors. Reminders of the Civil War and Lincoln, Washington and the original Old Glory were there, indeed up to Martin Luther King and now Obama. The iconic buildings are amazing, spectacular and you can feel the power. I was surprised the White House sits in a city street with no real swathe of land to act as a boundary. It is a somewhat harder city to get around given the blocks in Washington are more the distance we are used to whereas in New York they are really just the length of a building or two rather than an actual ‘block’ (maybe the term ‘apartment block’ was coined to reflect that).

The Newseum was my favorite spot in Washington, so interesting and needed. I could spend a full day in there and what a great resource for educators and people with an interest in ‘news’.

My least favorite thing in Washington was the homeless.  

There were many ‘a-ha’ moments in Washington also that reminded how far the country had grown in some ways race wise. I was having breakfast one morning and at the table next to me was a white man, probably a businessman, in a suit and sitting opposite him was a black woman. They were chatting away, all very natural and banal. I couldn’t help but think that was a simple, ordinary, nonthreatening interaction like that could not have happened in the 60’s or earlier. Similarly shopping at a supermarket or riding on the metro, being served in a shop, let alone using a urinal next to a black man…all impossible at one time. And you have to wonder why, how could something that had no rational or decent reason, made no sense and was fed by hate, could have proliferated in a country that was seen as the leader of civilized societies. What purity, what wisdom, what value the country denied by acting like this. How many great stories let alone fantastic human beings were lost because others thought it was ok to behave like that. It simply defies belief. That’s even before you consider the energy it all took, think of having to constantly be conscious of where you walked, shopped, what public transport, bathrooms you could use. You can’t do anything about it because you have done nothing more than been born a colour that someone else has determined is unequal to them. You have no choice and can’t change your colour (and why should that even be part of the equation – why wouldn’t it be ok to be born black), you haven’t committed a crime so you can’t influence the judgement being made about you. Impossible.

SoHo and Tribeca with their wonderful buildings, cast iron and timber, the cobbled streets and side alleys were my favorite part of New York. There was a palpable energy and some vibey spots I passed by. Also Sutton Place/Park area on the East side down near Queensboro Bridge plus further over with the Tudor City area also took my fancy.

I won’t ever forget the views from atop the magnificent Empire State Building and the reality thud of Ground Zero will take a long time to diminish in my memory. The Paley Center, the NBC tour and the immense Radio City Music Hall gave me a thrill.

Visiting Broadway was significant for a one time actor, Times Square, the busiest part of New York, was a sight but felt so safe, surprising when you think of it’s salubrious (recent) past. I can’t say my theatre visits fill me with revere or delight but they were fine. The concert at Carnegie hall however was sublime and I was definitely on a high from it for a day or two.  

The thing I miss is Central Park. A beautiful space with so many little pockets of magic and peace to sit amongst or stroll through. I want to just go and sit for a few hours there still. To think my previous readings of Central Park almost guaranteed being mugged at least once in there, the gentility of this gem could not have been more disabusing of that notion.

So I left New York pleased with my time there, not particularly pining to return or to extend my stay. I am thrilled and feel privileged to have gone there and seen what I saw, experienced what I did and to learn even more simply by being there. I have a new affection and gratitude for the Americans I encountered, such kindness and openness I have rarely experienced. This was a big surprise to me because, again, I had an impression that the Big Apple locals would be brash, impatient and frankly rude. The range of accents was amazing and that they were so varied…if I heard some of them being imitated on an Australian stage I would have poo-pooed their lack of authenticity (shame on me). I saw some spectacularly beautiful lookers and one or two whackos but by far I encountered gorgeous, warm, fun and generous people. Sometimes they didn’t understand me, occasionally they simply couldn’t help me but never, not once was I ‘invisible’, God bless Americans!!!!

So what, or where, next? I don’t have any pressing plans although the Northern Lights are on my bucket list for my 60^th birthday in five years. I don’t think I can travel on my own anymore, I am tired of making all the decisions, the little ones particularly…I want someone else to share the load and I want to have conversations along the way rather than throwing words out only on a blog (and not often getting a response!!!!). I wasn’t lonely too much but I was often aware of my alone-ness. I’m over lugging the wheel along and deciding on whether to grab a taxi or do the stairs at the subway on my own frankly.

So I would look at tours if I travel overseas again. Apart from London (which just feels like home),I would seek refuge in the fine people of Trafalgar, Cosmos, Insight etc. That was a big learning and a significant change in my thinking.  

Maybe the trip was as much about how I think on holidays as what I saw and experienced. I guess a good trip does that, challenges and sometimes changes out thinking. Whatever it means I hope I will always be interested and have my thinking challenged while ‘seeing’ what is before me, ‘hearing’ what I am told and leave me curious for more.

Happy trails.

And as for pink slime? Google it and enjoy your next burger.

That's a wrap - a Hollywood moment

To say the final night at the HoJo was restless would be an understatement. My room was right near the vending machine and people had the munchies throughout the night and oddly travelled in pairs when they needed sustenance. This meant a bot of a chat and never in whispered tones, a few giggles and the requisite fowl language RIGHT THROUGH THE FREAKING NIGHT. That and a group of young sounding folk checking in around 2 am and buzzing around finding their rooms, again not in whispered tones, kept me awake for most of the night.

Self serve Breakfast at 7.30 and check out for the shuttle bus to the airport, about ten minutes away. Check in was easy and the bags checked all the way through to Melbourne. Security and customs painless so I had a couple of hours up my sleeve before the flight. Cramped flight through to LA arriving early afternoon and earlier than planned. I have eight hours to kill and no bags to lug around. I decide to bite the bullet and see if I can get downtown and have a look and be back to the airport by about 6 (flight leaves at 10).

Sunny but a very cold wind as I wait for  Flyaway bus to Union Station, about a half hour wait then a 30 minute $7 ride into the station which is downtown LA. I then grab a $5 metro card and take the red line train into Hollywood and Highland which takes me to a shopping centre that sits right on Hollywood Boulevard. Lots of people around, I go up to the fourth floor of the shopping centre and get photos of the Hollywood sign and then down to see Grauman's Chinese and all those famous footprints in cement, the stars on the pavement, movie star impersonators having their photos taken, the Kodak theatre and things movie. It was a nice atmosphere and fun. I crossed over the road and looked through a couple of the souvenir shops but as soon as I stepped away from the block where all this was it felt very seedy and unsafe, interesting. I pretty quickly moved back to the crowds before eventually getting back on the train and to the airport. Nicely filled in a few hours and I actually made it to Hollywood!!

Arrived back at the airport and went through security, gawd I was over removing the belt and the shoes etc. Then moving around until time to hop on the plane. Was feeling that I might have the two seats to myself BUT my companion arrived virtually last passsenger on. poor bloke had long legs so he was in for an uncomfortable trip. Turned out too be a lovely guy who had been in the states for 36 hours and accepted an offer from a Louisianna University, gaining a scholarship and a four year contract to play gridiron as a punter for them. A terrific opportunity for him and so interesting to hear all the details from him and see how excited he was. He grew up in Rockhampton but has lived in Ballarat for a few years so a big change for him all round. His 'deal' dinner was with big wigs from the Uni, a local celebrity, Matt Flynn and the State Senator, not bad. Apart from chatting with him it was an interminably long flight but eventually, eventually we got to Sydney and a smooth changeover after two hours for the flight home and the two seats to myself. We arrived twenty minutes early which meant we had to wait for an Emirates flight to get out of our gate (drawing the anticipation out). It was great to step back onto Tulla and then home again.

I'll put together my thoughts about the trip and post them in a day or two. Thanks for being on the trip with me, I hope you've enjoyed it (and the photos).

New York 6

My regular anxiety about moving hotels etc woke with me this morning. Added or supporting it today was the fact it's St Patrick's Day and the major parade of the year is held on Fifth Avenue and the Spring like weather has brought record crowds in to watch the 251st parade. Would I and my luggage be able to get onto a subway train, would I be able to fit onto a bus from the subway station to get to the hotel, if I decide to get a taxi will it be ridiculously expensive or even likely to find one? Ah yes the niggly worries that beset this writer.

The weather cleared early and shaped up as a sunny and clear day, perfect parade weather, apparently last year it was freezing. It's a Saturday so the parade would have many more in the viewing audience than usual. Large swathes of downtown are closed off, there are some security concerns but there is a fun atmosphere as I check out of the hotel and walk the two blocks to the 6 line going uptown to 59th. Surprisingly there are already some pretty loud youngies around who may or may not be 'fueled' (what drunks on Paddy's Day?). It's a quick walk to 5th from the subway and I garner a perfect spot at the front near 61st. This was 10.30 so we had half an hour before the parade was due to start down in the 40's so we wouldn't see any action until around 11.15. A loud, large woman pushes her way to next to me about 10.55 and copped a fair bit of 'tude from the couple on the other side of her. It was pretty obnoxious of her because people had been securing their spots early and she just barged in. Really not something to get het up about, what goes around comes around and she will be taken care of for her selfishness.

We started to see the first of the parade not long after 11.15 and it was very lively and all round a happy event. There were the Irish, the politicians, veterans, police, schools, dance troupes and what all else. The mayor passed by within feet of me. I did feel the soldiers (marines) particularly looked solemn, sad and lost, maybe parades such as this were just not their thing. The cops on the other hand were loose and having fun with the whole thing. The bands were terrific, although one of the school bands had a little trouble with the concept of formation and lines despite having a big retinue of (presumably) teachers giving them guidance...funny.

After a couple of hours, frankly I'd had my fill of uniforms, shaved heads, brass bands, flags (oh those flags, mercy), whoop whooping, 'god bless you's' etc so I moved on. Now getting away was a bit of a challenge to say the least but I worked my way up to 60th near the Apple Store (which had seen a lot of activity with the launch of the new iPad)and eventually we were let across the Avenue and I popped into Central Park and a spot near the Pond. Of all the places I'll miss in New York I think Central Park is the one I'll really miss.

I sat there for a pleasant hour, watching thousands of people pass by, take a pew, climb so,me rocks and even one fall into the pond (lord there goes his chance of a long life, heaven knows what's in that water). I read some of my book, listened in on conversations (apparently Jamie's a gross out and may have screwed Leesha at the same time he was seeing Kim) and having a quiet perv on some of the sights passing by.

On such a perfect day I gathered my now returned anxieties and headed back to the subway to catch the train back to 33rd and to pick up my bags from the hotel. They couldn't get me a cab because the wait would be too long and unreliable so I decided to walk back to Penn Station and queue there for a taxi. As I hit the street there was a line of taxis cutting through East 31st and I took the chance of seeing if one might just happen to be free. The first six weren't but suddenly a woman gets out of the one in front of me and the driver says 'want a lift?' In I get and out we go to Jamaica to the Howard Johnson. Happily it turned out to be cheaper than the ride in on day one so good all around.

A large room in a pretty basic hotel and my first King Sized bed I've ever slept in.

Anxiety has passed, shaver has died and it's my last night on U.S.soil.

The Closing Scenes in New York

Back in New York and ready to wind down really after all the running around I did in Washington.

Weather held up in New York until Thursday when at last it started to cool down, I had in fact put the cooler on in the hotel room can you imagine? It was still sunny on Thursday but refreshingly cool. The first sign of anything other than sun came on Friday morning with fog shrouding some of the larger buildings and bridges and a few showers for good measure easing to  drizzle, a taste of London weather as if to tease me.

Another journey to the theatre, this time to see the musical ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ with Nick Jonas and Beau Bridges. The Jonas boy (is he Delta’s squeeze?) was very good acting wise although a bit limited with some of the brassier numbers. I found the dancers a bit restrained and not the sassiness and oomph we tend to see in Australian productions. Big set in a nice theatre, although I have to say the leg room was cramp making. Nice to chat briefly to an Aussie guy who was serving at the food bar. We laughed at the lack of 'lemon' drinks - they assume you want a lemonade rather than something like Solo or Lift. A fun show not stunning and certainly not worth the (obligatory)standing ovation - the show stopper number 'Brotherhood of Man' was terrific. I felt it was all style and pizazz with little substance in terms of stand out performances, except for the Miss Jones and mistress roles.

The three days back in New York were a lot of walking around, a few of the places I was planning to visit not really ideal for getting to, especially as I was starting to flag a bit and needed to take some of the activity down a peg. So I had planned to go to the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens but really it was too much of a hike to get to from my place. The other was the Lower East Side Tenement Museum which I really wanted to go to but it turns out to be a ‘living museum’ in that you are taken around the area with a guide and frankly I just wanted to move at my own pace and learn at my own speed rather than listen to someone.

Notwithstanding that I did go to the Museum of the City of New York which had a great video on the history of New York and an interesting exhibit about the different plans over the years for the Manhattan ‘Grid’, also a very insightful photographic display on New York Cops (it cracks me up to hear the news readers refer to ‘cops’ rather than the police).

Another interesting spot was the Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Radio, Television and Film. Named after the man who formed CBS, it is a resource centre for film, tv and radio archives and great for students of the media and people wanting to research it all. There was a film in the theatre on TV comedy which was great and then we had a 90 minute access to the library and could watch anything we wanted to in their catalogue.I watched an Edward R Murrow show with Marlon Brando and another with Marilyn Monroe and then a Barbra Walters interview with Barbra when she was living with Jon Peters. Great spot and I think if I lived in NY I’d be a regular visitor.

It was amazing to visit the 9/11 site and imagine what had gone before and what was to come. There are two stunning waterfall sculptures roughly aligning to the twin towers and have the names of the people lost on 9/11 in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania as well as those who died in the attack on the WTC in 1993. To see all those names and know there was a life behind each one is heartbreaking. I nearly lost it when I read one woman’s name with the addition ‘and her unborn child’. I do feel a bit of ‘theme park’ to it all as there is a lot of people running around but hey would I want everyone to be drear and sad if I had died there? Quite a distance from where you get your pass to visit the site and where the site actually is.

Popped into Liberty Church and park after the visit, service on but looked a lovely church. The graveyard had some very old headstones so quite interesting. It is thought provoking too see all the massive buildings and activity around where this horror happened and without diminishing the immensity of the death toll, it is nothing less than a-mazing that the damage wasn’t even greater.

Maintaining a bit of a 'Presidents theme' I went out to Grants Tomb, large and a good view of the Hudson and near the George Washington Uni which had some gorgeous buildings. Watched a bit of filming being done for a new ABC TV series, took over a lot of streets but everyone sort of goes on their merry way, buses and taxis ducking in and out so they must all be used to it. Fun to watch the streets being hosed down to look like rain had fallen.

Found my way to the famous Strand Bookshop near Union Square, just like a real bookshop should be, wooden shelves and timber floorboards, staff who know books and second hand books, old editions next to new ones. Needless to say I made a few purchases which I'm sure I'll regret when packing my bags.

Jackie O's apartment block on Fifth

Marilyn's apartment block on east 57th

Lex, not to mention Fifth, Greenwich and Downtown before ending up at Washington Square. What had me on the move? I was wanting to see the places where Streisand, Monroe, Garbo, Monty Clift

Washington Square is a nice park with a faux Arc De Triomph. Quite a lot of ‘street people’ but I think would be a happenin' place on a summer’s day because the University is right nearby. This was the park that featured in play/film 'Barefoot in the Park' which made stars of two actors Jane Fonda and Robert Redford (they kicked on didn't they?). Also some interesting architecture in the area and went past the house Mark Twain lived in for a time, cute.

Footsore and ready to just drop I returned to the hotel and started to think about the day ahead and my final hotel change before the looooong and dreaded flight home. I am looking forward to my own bed, and shower and food and a long sleep.   

My Washington Post (ah yes comedy gold)

Washington is a very spread out city with a population of around half a million. I didn't see any houses, apart from the couple of 'historical' sites, all apartments but certainly  no real skyscrapers which I have become accustomed to in NY. It has a real sense of freshness to the place even though it figures so prominently in American history, particularly of course around the civil war and the formation of the constitution and declaration of independence etc. That's all before you realise it's the home of the nation, the congress and the President 'live' here.

The 'majesty' of the Republic and the sometimes quaintness of history is all on display side by side with the homeless, people sleeping over the air grates, bus stop shelters or any corner they can find, their belongings moved around in shopping carts or big bags. How can the most influential Western country and the most powerful politician in the western world actually let that continue? The second person to speak to me, as I stepped out of the magnificent Union Station (the Yanks give good train station) was a man saying he was a veteran and wanted a few dollars to buy a meal. He wasn't the last to ask.

I really like Washington, it seems very liveable. The Metro works well and logically, it's cheap and, apart from one grump, the staff were all very helpful and pleasant. The stations are clean and not cramped and the trains comfortable and built to allow for tourists with cases. There was one incident on my first trip when a bloke went absolutely 'postal' at another bloke. Whilst unpleasant and aggressive it was actually laughable but looking around at other people in the carriage there was noticeable anxiety.

The Harrington Hotel was really lovely, I was on the top floor and apparently the hotel was a landmark - of which there are many in DC. A large room with a nice tiled bathroom with a bath!!! Two restaurants attached so breakfast was available in one of them. It did feel rather grand there and I was pleased to see the Australian flag was one of the ones on the poles outside...I imagine the flags displayed are determined by where guests are from at any particular time.

The hotel was situated in the Penn quarter downtown so I had the shopping area in one direction and all the monuments along Pennsylvania Avenue in the other. Very handy but didn't mean I didn't do a deal of walking. The weather was warm and the blooms were out (as was the population) which encouraged walking but I jumped on the Metro whenever I needed to get out a bit.

My overview of the capital came from a bus tour 'Taste of DC'; I was due to do it at 10.30 on the first full day but such a tour did not exist! So moved to 1.00 and it ended up being a private tour, no one else booked. The driver was a bit of fun and had a cliched African American accent and lots of 'mmhmm,  that's right' punctuating his sentences. A lot of places had been 'architected' by someone was amusing. Drop offs at the magnificent Capitol, the White House and the Martin Luther King memorial. Really enjoyed it and a bit of bonus because many streets were closed due to the marathon and St Pats parade which meant driving around quite a bit to find clear routes.

When the early tour didn't come off I went out to the Lincoln Memorial which was out near the George Washington University and a bit of a hike from the Metro, but I did pass the Watergate and the Lincoln Centre. Lincoln just as magnificent as it appears in movies and quite a thrill to see. On either side of the statue are the words of both his inaugural speeches so very impressive. From the steps of this monument Martin Luther King made his 'I have a dream' speech, something which planted in me a philosophy I have tried to live by. Imagine standing in the same spot as that speech was made? Good God almighty I am living some kind of dream.

The Smithsonian Institute is not one building but the collective name given to a number of galleries and museums throughout DC covering art, photography, natural history, American History, portraits and other 'sciences'. Smithson was a Brit who never set foot on American soil and who commanded that no one should have to pay to enter any of his buildings and thus you can see treasures such as the Hope Diamond, the original Star Spangled Banner and various Presidential artifacts for nix. The Castle is a lovely building and information centre with a gorgeous garden, including the 'moon garden. With Magnolias and paper bushes in bloom it was divine. I particularly liked the dresses of the First Ladies and the original flag.

The Willard Hotel typifies the history that flows out of Washington. It's often called the 'America's Hotel', Martin Luther King finished his I have a dream speech there, the Battle Hymn of the Republic was written and performed there, the National Press Club was formed there, Lincoln and family lived there prior to his inauguration and President Grant (who often retreated there for some peace) invented the term 'lobbyist' there.

A ten minute walk from the hotel along Pennsylvania Ave was Newseum a museum over six levels which opened in the last couple of years dedicated to the history of news gathering. It has stacks of old newspapers, areas devoted to correspondents and the way stories are filed and news spread through media.They also have all sorts of 'treasures' such as the Unabomber's cabin, the door from the Watergate that the burglars broke through, debris from the World Trade Center (particularly the TV antenna), a section of the Berlin Wall,Dillinger's gun and many more. They have a great 4D film and some interesting videos on different themes. I spent a couple of hours in this really fascinating place.

Another big tick(et) item in Washington for me was Arlington Cemetery. I had almost convinced myself not to go because the map suggested the cemetery was quite a distance from the Metro exit, it was a very warm day and I frankly was really flagging. In the end I thought well I can at least hop on the Metro and suss it out. A 15 minute ride out (well it is on another state - Virginia)and what do you know, the entrance to the National cemetery was only about a five minute walk.

Inside there is a bus that takes you around the cemetery stopping at 'highlights'. While I was very thankful for this I am not entirely comfortable about a bus with commentary and a load of tourists is really in keeping with one of the most solemn and sacred places in the nation. Nonetheless I was pleased that i didn't have to traverse some of the hills around and soon we stopped at the Kennedy grave site. On a small mound with an eternal flame, Jack, Jackie, infant Patrick and the stillborn unnamed daughter are buried together. A few metres away the graves of Bobby and Ted are marked with white wooden crosses (their request). The Kennedy assassinations (particularly Jack's) are a very strong part  of my childhood so again a significant milestone for me to be standing at this place.While my view of Kennedy has changed in time and with knowledge I still find the assassination and all that followed a very sad time.

Only one other President is buried at Arlington - Taft and he has a rather grand grave. Most President's are buried in their home towns. Also saw the grave of Audie Murphy and Arlington House, belonging to Robert E Lee's family but lost due to a rental payment dispute. The land then became 'free' and the government put it to good use. The house has a couple of chilling outbuildings - slave houses, a reminder of those dark days in Yankee history.

There are over 400,000 people interred in Arlington and about 25 are added each week. When one looks out and sees all those thousands of white stone markers each representing a serving officer who has died you can't help but be affected. For me I am bewildered that a President wouldn't go there look out and know, just know that war is so very wasteful and shameful when it makes life this dispensable. Too, too many lost souls, too too many fractured lives and families.

I think the few days in Washington was enough, I had tasted a lot and really loved it all but another day there and who knows? Mind you I have left a part of me there - Two shirts and a windcheater in fact. No big deal but of course they were handy to have and save on laundry. I wonder if the hotel will contact me?

I dragged the case back to Union Station to find my train delayed by 30 minutes. Once on board we were told Business Class had no air con. Given it had been travelling for three hours already and through temps in the high 20's you can imagine how uncomfortable it was and how well I took it all. There were other carriages which were cooler but no suggestion that the extra we'd paid to go Business was going to be refunded or that space might be found for us in other carriages.So, soggy and grumpy I arrived back in New York at 6 and walked to the hotel in 31st Street. I have to say it is the best of the hotels, like a European hotel with cage lift and all. I was concerned about being on the 'other side' of Central Park but it's right near Lexington and Park so perfectly pleasant...the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings are both within a short walk away.

Off topic slightly I wanted to mention a couple of tele shows I saw while in Washington; the first was the Oprah interview with Whitney Houston's family, compelling although a tad too long. The other was 'Game Change' the telemovie about Sarah Palin's run as Vice Presidential candidate(and scary likeness by Julieanne Moore)- compelling also for different reasons, it was very well made at times moving but also some genuine 'OH MY GOD' moments. We'll never know how much (little) truth there was in it but I enjoyed it.

The Popular Bonus Pics

 Metro

The mighty Potomac

looking to the Washington Monument

Martin Luther King Memorial

The balcony box at Booth Theater