the ubiquitous in the everyday

musings on 3 May 2010

I am finding myself much more observant and reflective than I am normally aware of. What I am noting are the small things, the everyday and also the seemingly ubiquitous which mean very little to non-Australians. For example, an article the Sydney mainstream press about a rugby league commentator caught my eye with some resonating content. The source of this resonance is very much located in my leaving Australia in a month, unsure when (or if) I will return.

music and my 'disaffected youth'

musings on 28 April 2010

A conversation I had recently spurred me to think back to the music that had an impact on my person. I recall the early 1990s as a key turning point. The conversation referred to having a dark side, and I have been pondering a tangent of that notion.

Like many ‘youth’ of that time and generation, I was impacted on by bands which emerged in the early 90s and lyrically reflected on not fitting in with constructed social stereotypes. Most people instantly think of Nirvana, and I cannot deny the influence.

neo-Marxist techno-utopianism and the population debate

musings on 7 April 2010

I would not say it is uncommon to find myself more than frustrated with opinions published in the mainstream press. A piece in today's Sydney Morning Herald by John Passant, whose blog En Passant has the byline ‘revolutionary reflection on this world of ours’ did get me riled a little. The limited writings of his I have glanced at speak of tired same-old card carrying socialist rantings that literally equate the working class with religious icons. For example, apparently working class men do not benefit from women’s oppression — what cave is he living in!

on making excuses

musings on 5 April 2010

I recently watched The People Speak (2009), and have once again reflected on the amazing and inspirational contribution of Howard Zinn (1922-2010). I was a little taken aback by how frail he seemed when on stage for the documentary. I guess the last footage of his I had seen was in the film based on his autobiography You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004). In The People Speak, he summed up what we can all do quite simply:

If we live now as we think human beings should live. In defiance of all that is bad around us, that in itself is a marvellous victory.

Name dropping, being too cool for school and relationality

musings on 29 December 2009

Over the last few years, a ‘trend’ has emerged amongst animal activists. It seems that to be considered a ‘real’ activist, the words one uses — even the names one drops — are more important than anything else. Visible are the emergences of aspects of a boys club, a clique, even a cliché in circles of people/activists. Irrespective of whether one acts (and it seems many talking the talk do not), it is how one can express themselves in these terms that is seemingly more important. Activist cred is based on the words used, not the actions and involvement in seeking outcomes for animals.

Copenhagen, climate change, anthropocentrism & cynicism

musings on 16 December 2009

The cynicism that has to a degree quashed most of the optimism I try to have has many roots. I have been looking for hope, a reason and a means to move beyond hope. This seems a perpetual task. Sometimes it is fruitful, often it is not (perhaps caught up in my recurrent cynicism. I do so good things, though these ‘good’ things often embody some of the same old shit that the ‘bad’ is predicated on.

RSS Feed