After recently becoming a father, millions of things have passed through my mind about all of the future complexities that I'm about to engage with. Will I be able to ensure her happiness, will she be smart, will she find love, will I be there for here when she needs me and can't tell me she does, how will I cope when she begins dating? I've pondered on all of these and many more questions, but I haven't really given much thought to them because the simple answer to each is to be my best and the rest will follow. No point worrying about what ifs and buts when it comes to the future - but there is one certainty about the future that I can't avoid.
To those who know me off line it should come as no surprise that I had a somewhat sordid youth where I pushed the boundaries of how much one can abuse their body and mind. It's one of those things where the older I get the more acutely aware I become of how much my addled youth has rendered my brain at times rather useless. My working memory is so poor that I am constantly having to, on my own, retrain and relearn everything required for me to perform at my best in tasks where academia are required. You may think this is a bit of hyperbole, but to illustrate my point further with my friends from university when we meet together and wander down memory lane and relive our more memorable moments, they need to recount the stories to me as though I weren't there because I simply have no memory of them ever occurring.
So now that I am the father of my greatest single achievement and the one thing I want to remember the most, I can't help but be reminded of the fact that when my daughter is old enough to ask about her early childhood I wont be able to tell her because I simply wont remember. I can of course document all of my thoughts and record everything on video and stills, but there is a distance and impersonality to that which will never feel sufficient or close enough. I don't want to have to read about how I felt in that moment, I want to be able to experience the memory of that moment through feeling it.
Up until this point in time I was happy to pass off all of the experiences that I've had as character building and gave me the ability to live many lives in the space of one misspent youth. That every mistake I made led me to be the man I am today, and that is a man I have worked and strived hard to become in the face of strong adversity. But now that all seems for naught.
I have some solace in the knowing that even though I wont remember her past, I will be the man she needs at every point in her future, and that I will perhaps love her more unconditionally as I won't be able to remember all of the negative parts of her youth - but I want to remember the poo, the way she squirms when she nestles her head under my beard like a beanie, the way she smiles to herself as she dreams about the things that babies dream about.
I'm afraid that the older I get, the worse it will become, and now I have regrets.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Sunday, September 7, 2014
A special day...
Today in Australia is Father's day, and it is a day to commemorate and memorialise the significant impact that our fathers and the act of being a father has on the lives of their children, their families and our own lives. My own father has for the most part been a model whose positive qualities I have feebly tried to replicate in my own life, but as is the redundancy and failing of all copies, after every generation the conviction, motivation and clarity of that vision fades. As with my own future children who will some day hopefully attempt to emulate the principles that I have based my moral compass on, I am sure that my own vision and hopes for them will somehow be diluted through the eyes of children and the passage of time.
There is however a short coming of this special day that no one tends to focus on though or is rarely considered. Fathers day on the whole fails to recognise, remember and offer compassion for those whose fathers were not positive role models, absent fathers, fathers who have passed, men who dream of being a father but for some reason cannot, or the fathers of children who are no longer with them for what ever reason - be it miscarriage, death, divorce, or difference of opinion. I suppose in my own way, I'm hoping to draw attention to the other side of the coin here and perhaps make those of us with fathers feel more grateful for the lives we were luckily born into, but also to reassure those who have no reason to commemorate a father, those who no longer have a father, or those fathers who no longer have children, that somewhere someone is thinking of them too.
It's easy enough for us all to get wrapped up in the emotion and celebration that occurs in our own lives. But when you raise your glasses to toast your fathers today, please spare a thought for those who the world may have forgot. If you think of them and it helps you to appreciate your situation more, then think of them for that reason. If you think of them only to become more aware that your special day with your father is not universal, then think of them for that reason.
But most of all think of them and feel for them. Because for so long no one has thought of them. Once a year on a day dedicated to all the fathers of the world, think of those children whose fathers deserve to be forgotten and don't deserve the right to be remembered, think of those whose fathers have disappeared from their lives, and think of those fathers whose children were so untimely ripped from their lives.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Hammer time...
If only I were talking about the beloved MC from our child hood, whose time was marked by skittish sideways crab dancing, criss-cross inverted star jumps and the mandatory nappy-pant. The only person whose designer dream to bring man-nappies to the world was realised, though to be sure, "you can't touch this" level of perfection.
No. In fact I'm writing to you today about another untouchable which has suddenly become all the more appealing due to my favourite Magistrate, the Honourable Julie Huber.
Magistrate Huber, who recently piqued my interest in her management of the Jodhi Meares sentencing has once again seen fit to make a mockery of a system which should by every right be fighting to make those in the gaze of celebrity stand accountable for their actions.
Ryan Corr escapes conviction after pleading guilty to possessing heroin
Now don't get me wrong. I have every sympathy for those who suffer from drug addiction or whose lives have led them to feel that drug abuse is a reasonable escape. Having had my most dear childhood friend suffer with addiction and consequently be taken from us due to heroin, I have nothing but pure empathy for those who are afflicted by the disease of addiction and hope that they are able to be supported in seeking help for their addiction. But that's not the issue at hand here.
My issue isn't entirely with the fact that he was found with heroin, as his desire to take drugs and his free will to prevent himself from being in that situation may not be in his control. I don't know his personal situation and can't comment on that fact.
My specific issue is with the sentencing of quasi celebrities and what appears to be a difference in the standards they are held to compared to the rest of the general population.
A higher standard...
Perhaps I'm being completely unreasonable in thinking that people of note should be held to a higher standard than the rest of "us". But as has been the case in recent years, professional footballers who have brought "the game" into disrepute for something as stupid and juvenile (but not criminal) as drinking their own urine have been relieved of their positions in their teams and shunned by the competition.
Whether they like it or not, the careers these people have chosen have given them a certain level of responsibility in the wider community. In the same way that young male and female teens look up to, admire, and model their own behaviour based on what they see professional footballers doing, I'm fairly certain that many younger impressionable young minds may look at Mr Corr's escape from what I would consider "justice" and think that a life of mediocre celebrity allows certain privileges - such as abuse of dangerous narcotics. The unfortunate side effect of this is that it also begins to celebritise the activities that people of note perform, rather than the abilities or craft they used to gain their notoriety in the first place. Meaning that the act of taking drugs, or specifically in this case heroin, becomes an act that people who are famous do and something that young impressionable minds look to, to model their own actions and behaviours on - "so to become famous I too should do heroin."
Is it any wonder that since the rise of the celebrity sex tape (Kim Kardashian) that there has been a rise in teens taping and photographing themselves and each other in the nude, sending them to friends, posting them online? Even worse and more dangerous when the person they are modelling themselves off is only famous for making a sex tape.
I could waste even more column length to this specific point. but fortunately Jack Gleeson of Game of Thrones fame sums up the crux of this problem incredibly thoroughly and articulately.
Magistrate Huber has once again lost an ideal opportunity for modelling to younger people who admire those like Mr Corr what the repercussions (e.g. rehab, community service, fines, gaol time, something, anything more than a slap on the wrist and kiss on the cheek!) of these actions are and what the accepted and tolerated forms of behaviour and conduct are in our society, and she has failed them most grievously by only reinforcing that if you only need to be moderately famous for this sort of crap to be fine.
Of course I'm not attempting to justify people being dragged over the coals for the sake of it either, because people in these situations still need our compassion and the love and the support of those around them - and simply throwing them up on the cross for all to see is just as bad as letting them go without any reprimand. But Magistrate Huber, in thinking she was being merciful was only being ignorant. She had an opportunity to be stern but compassionate. Showing a concern for both the person AND and acknowledgement of the harm of his actions.
Yes. Mr Corr pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic, and in some way I suppose this as him accepting responsibility for his actions (read: plea deal), but at the end of the day the protestations of his lawyer against any charges being laid against him only show the disingenuous nature of the guilty plea.
Hammer time.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you or someone you know is dealing with addiction or suffers from drug abuse, or you are looking to get further support or information relating to drug addiction or heroin substance abuse, I have put the following links below to further increase your own personal awareness to be there for those around you or seek the help you may need.
For further or more appropriate contacts in your area please look online or contact your local health professional for more information and pathways to assistance.
Police NSW - Heroin and the Law Fact Sheet
Lifeline - Substance Abuse & Addiction
Dept. of Health Hotline & Helpline Index
No. In fact I'm writing to you today about another untouchable which has suddenly become all the more appealing due to my favourite Magistrate, the Honourable Julie Huber.
Magistrate Huber, who recently piqued my interest in her management of the Jodhi Meares sentencing has once again seen fit to make a mockery of a system which should by every right be fighting to make those in the gaze of celebrity stand accountable for their actions.
Ryan Corr escapes conviction after pleading guilty to possessing heroin
Now don't get me wrong. I have every sympathy for those who suffer from drug addiction or whose lives have led them to feel that drug abuse is a reasonable escape. Having had my most dear childhood friend suffer with addiction and consequently be taken from us due to heroin, I have nothing but pure empathy for those who are afflicted by the disease of addiction and hope that they are able to be supported in seeking help for their addiction. But that's not the issue at hand here.
My issue isn't entirely with the fact that he was found with heroin, as his desire to take drugs and his free will to prevent himself from being in that situation may not be in his control. I don't know his personal situation and can't comment on that fact.
My specific issue is with the sentencing of quasi celebrities and what appears to be a difference in the standards they are held to compared to the rest of the general population.
"It is quite clear that you are a young man with a long, successful acting career and there is nothing to suggest that career won't continue," she said. - SMHWell, at least his law breaking and negative role-modelling won't be affect his career. Good call by the Magistrate there. Priorities are definitely well aligned...
A higher standard...
Perhaps I'm being completely unreasonable in thinking that people of note should be held to a higher standard than the rest of "us". But as has been the case in recent years, professional footballers who have brought "the game" into disrepute for something as stupid and juvenile (but not criminal) as drinking their own urine have been relieved of their positions in their teams and shunned by the competition.
Whether they like it or not, the careers these people have chosen have given them a certain level of responsibility in the wider community. In the same way that young male and female teens look up to, admire, and model their own behaviour based on what they see professional footballers doing, I'm fairly certain that many younger impressionable young minds may look at Mr Corr's escape from what I would consider "justice" and think that a life of mediocre celebrity allows certain privileges - such as abuse of dangerous narcotics. The unfortunate side effect of this is that it also begins to celebritise the activities that people of note perform, rather than the abilities or craft they used to gain their notoriety in the first place. Meaning that the act of taking drugs, or specifically in this case heroin, becomes an act that people who are famous do and something that young impressionable minds look to, to model their own actions and behaviours on - "so to become famous I too should do heroin."
Is it any wonder that since the rise of the celebrity sex tape (Kim Kardashian) that there has been a rise in teens taping and photographing themselves and each other in the nude, sending them to friends, posting them online? Even worse and more dangerous when the person they are modelling themselves off is only famous for making a sex tape.
I could waste even more column length to this specific point. but fortunately Jack Gleeson of Game of Thrones fame sums up the crux of this problem incredibly thoroughly and articulately.
Magistrate Huber has once again lost an ideal opportunity for modelling to younger people who admire those like Mr Corr what the repercussions (e.g. rehab, community service, fines, gaol time, something, anything more than a slap on the wrist and kiss on the cheek!) of these actions are and what the accepted and tolerated forms of behaviour and conduct are in our society, and she has failed them most grievously by only reinforcing that if you only need to be moderately famous for this sort of crap to be fine.
Of course I'm not attempting to justify people being dragged over the coals for the sake of it either, because people in these situations still need our compassion and the love and the support of those around them - and simply throwing them up on the cross for all to see is just as bad as letting them go without any reprimand. But Magistrate Huber, in thinking she was being merciful was only being ignorant. She had an opportunity to be stern but compassionate. Showing a concern for both the person AND and acknowledgement of the harm of his actions.
Yes. Mr Corr pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic, and in some way I suppose this as him accepting responsibility for his actions (read: plea deal), but at the end of the day the protestations of his lawyer against any charges being laid against him only show the disingenuous nature of the guilty plea.
His Lawyer Chris Murphey argued Corr's career would suffer if a conviction was recorded as he could be prohibited from entering other countries to work. - SMHThe only real lesson to take away from this is that if you admit your guilt, but don't accept responsibility for your actions or behaviour then you're probably on your way to stardom.
Hammer time.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you or someone you know is dealing with addiction or suffers from drug abuse, or you are looking to get further support or information relating to drug addiction or heroin substance abuse, I have put the following links below to further increase your own personal awareness to be there for those around you or seek the help you may need.
For further or more appropriate contacts in your area please look online or contact your local health professional for more information and pathways to assistance.
Police NSW - Heroin and the Law Fact Sheet
Lifeline - Substance Abuse & Addiction
Dept. of Health Hotline & Helpline Index
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Drink drive... All the cool kids are getting away with it...
Turns out that being mildly famous can pretty much get you off anything...
Fashion designer Jodhi Meares sentenced over drink driving crash
While the power of celebrity has always been ever present, it turns out that simply being a low list female celebrity with a great lawyer is enough to evade responsibility for your actions as well.
While I haven't really followed the case, learning about the bull-shit sentence that she received for a High Range alcohol related driving offence is bloody offensive to me. The fact that she was so drunk to roll her car AND blow almost 4 times the legal limit and get the absolute minimum fine is a joke! $1,100 fine and a 12 month suspension? Well, I suppose she'll looking for coins in the couch to pay for her driver for the next year...
Let me put it another way:
Now the first 2 offences I listed would only incur a 3 month suspension and the second would incur 4 months compared to the 12 month suspension that Jodhi Meares will have to face. The above offences are also all related to parking... You know, when you are either not in a car or the car isn't even moving. But furthermore I would also like to add that none of the offences that I have listed had the risk of KILLING ANYONE!!!
Now according to my own moral beliefs, standards and what I think to just be a logical progression of thought (and yes, this is solely my own opinion here and in no way law or common knowledge), if I were to shoot a gun in the air in a fit of exaltation, regardless of if I'm aware of it or not, I'm potentially about to commit manslaughter. So when a person gets behind the wheel of a car drunk, I think the same logic applies. Regardless of the time of day, in a heavily populated area it would be sheer luck that I don't hit someone with my bullet, just as it would be pure luck that Jodhi didn't actually kill someone. But the weapon of ignorance and stupidity that caused her to get behind the wheel of her car intoxicated should not remove the responsibility of the potential cause for harm from her actions and decisions. This unaccountability effectively reinforces the sentiment or belief that people with money/fame are better than YOU, and therefore should not be held to the same ideals or constraints as the normal public.
Lets have a quick look at the possible sentences to see what Ms Meares' status aided her in avoiding.
Wow... Just wow. The "Automatic" suspension for this offence is longer than the suspension the judge gave her. So if a "normal person" were unable to go to court with representation, it probably wouldn't be a question of how long you're suspended for, but if you should be going to gaol or not. Of course, poor Ms Meares has been hounded by the media in the aftermath of her lapse in judgement, but I suppose that's the consequence of being a complete knob jockey when it comes to good self governance when you're a person of moderate celebrity.
I suppose if she killed someone she might have actually been disciplined a little harder - you know, something along the lines of a good finger pointing from the judge or a light slap on the wrists instead of the blow job the judge tried to give her in her sentencing.
At least Magistrate Huber is setting a good example for all the young aspiring women out there...
Frankly, I think the responsible thing for the Magistrate to have done would be to make an example of Ms Meares. Someone has to show the generations that follow that people of all standings are held to the same strict standards, and that regardless of ones social status if you fuck up on an enormous level you will be held fully accountable in the eyes of the law.
Fashion designer Jodhi Meares sentenced over drink driving crash
While the power of celebrity has always been ever present, it turns out that simply being a low list female celebrity with a great lawyer is enough to evade responsibility for your actions as well.
While I haven't really followed the case, learning about the bull-shit sentence that she received for a High Range alcohol related driving offence is bloody offensive to me. The fact that she was so drunk to roll her car AND blow almost 4 times the legal limit and get the absolute minimum fine is a joke! $1,100 fine and a 12 month suspension? Well, I suppose she'll looking for coins in the couch to pay for her driver for the next year...
Let me put it another way:
- I could shove a paddle-pop stick into 2 parking meters and receive a fine only $60 less AND lose 14 demerit points.
- I could display a damaged parking ticket/receipt TWICE and be fined $1,038 and lose 14 demerit points.
- I could forget to remove my parents mobility parking card TWICE and be fined $1,246 and lose 16 demerit points.
Now the first 2 offences I listed would only incur a 3 month suspension and the second would incur 4 months compared to the 12 month suspension that Jodhi Meares will have to face. The above offences are also all related to parking... You know, when you are either not in a car or the car isn't even moving. But furthermore I would also like to add that none of the offences that I have listed had the risk of KILLING ANYONE!!!
Now according to my own moral beliefs, standards and what I think to just be a logical progression of thought (and yes, this is solely my own opinion here and in no way law or common knowledge), if I were to shoot a gun in the air in a fit of exaltation, regardless of if I'm aware of it or not, I'm potentially about to commit manslaughter. So when a person gets behind the wheel of a car drunk, I think the same logic applies. Regardless of the time of day, in a heavily populated area it would be sheer luck that I don't hit someone with my bullet, just as it would be pure luck that Jodhi didn't actually kill someone. But the weapon of ignorance and stupidity that caused her to get behind the wheel of her car intoxicated should not remove the responsibility of the potential cause for harm from her actions and decisions. This unaccountability effectively reinforces the sentiment or belief that people with money/fame are better than YOU, and therefore should not be held to the same ideals or constraints as the normal public.
Lets have a quick look at the possible sentences to see what Ms Meares' status aided her in avoiding.
| PCA offence | Penalties | First Offence | Second or subsequent offence |
High range PCA
(Blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or above)
OR
Refuse a breath analysis, hinder or obstruct taking of a blood sample, wilfully alter the concentration in the blood.
| Maximum court- imposed fine | $3,300 | $5,500 |
| Maximum gaol term | 18 months | 2 years | |
| Disqualification | |||
| -minimum | 12 months | 2 years | |
| -maximum | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| -automatic* | 3 years | 5 years | |
| Immediate licence suspension | Yes | Yes |
Wow... Just wow. The "Automatic" suspension for this offence is longer than the suspension the judge gave her. So if a "normal person" were unable to go to court with representation, it probably wouldn't be a question of how long you're suspended for, but if you should be going to gaol or not. Of course, poor Ms Meares has been hounded by the media in the aftermath of her lapse in judgement, but I suppose that's the consequence of being a complete knob jockey when it comes to good self governance when you're a person of moderate celebrity.
I suppose if she killed someone she might have actually been disciplined a little harder - you know, something along the lines of a good finger pointing from the judge or a light slap on the wrists instead of the blow job the judge tried to give her in her sentencing.
At least Magistrate Huber is setting a good example for all the young aspiring women out there...
If you work hard enough ladies, someday you too might be able to grasp just enough celebrity or status to get away with almost anything. So don't make good moral and social judgements regarding your lifestyle. As long as you can fake it - odds are you'll make it, and then you won't have to worry about what is right and wrong... Right and wrong are a little blurry after "4 1/2 drinks" anyway!
Frankly, I think the responsible thing for the Magistrate to have done would be to make an example of Ms Meares. Someone has to show the generations that follow that people of all standings are held to the same strict standards, and that regardless of ones social status if you fuck up on an enormous level you will be held fully accountable in the eyes of the law.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
A failed revolution...
In 2007 our then Prime Minister pushed forwards towards a new mission.
The Education Revolution.
What was the revolution supposed to deliver, and what was so different about the plan that "revolutionised" the classroom.
Well, probably the most immediately noticeable difference would be the school issued laptops. Students who regardless of how much their family income was were able to all interact in the class room using technology to enhance their learning by being interactive. Also potentially allowing students work to be of a higher quality simply due to the ability to copy data in a lesson in varied ways, increasing their resources for study and personal learning.
A bold idea, a brilliant scheme, executed so inadequately that the only impact it had was to thrust laptops into the hands of children while not giving enough teachers the resources needed to know how to properly integrate them into their lessons. Rather than having tools at the ready to create collaborative learning, teachers primary instruction was to use the laptops as electrified binary type writers. The monotonous nature of this interaction in the classroom of course leading to increased Facebook time, or watching of movies during lessons.
Not to mention the quality of the laptops and the software supposedly expected to run on it. I remember back in 2011 I was loaned a "net-book" by a school I was at during university. The software suite included Adobe Creative Suite, on a laptop with the processing power of a IBM 386/25 (from 1995, or at least it felt my old 386 was quicker)... In no way would I have ever have been able to set any tasks for students that required more processing power than a word document, let alone have a projector in the classroom so that I could teach, model and scaffold computer based learning for them. Needless to say my own four year old laptop ($700 in 2007) was far superior to the budget laptop in every way. But that's beside the point. If I, as a student teacher, were unable to develop lessons and use the loan laptop as a tool for my classroom, how on earth were the students supposed to be able to use them for any more than a lag ridden type writer?
Well... It's 2014 and it's fair to say that there have been children left behind for a long time now. The current scheme for keeping technology in schools is that of BYO device. Which perhaps in some schools would work very well, but it isn't really feasible at many schools, where for families to spend $300 on a Chromebook would be an impossible amount of money to outlay.
But still, seven years on and many class rooms don't have digital projectors. So I suppose the students having a laptop wouldn't really be of any more use now than it would have been seven years ago.
We've come full circle on the revolution. Children had laptops and all seemed to be going nicely. But now schools are at times thrust back to over head projectors, CRT televisions and work relying solely on photocopies and what is written on the board.
The revolution that was, feels like it never really happened. Everything I was made to be excited by at university - all the possibilities and the dreams that were built up by my lecturers in regards to implementing technology in the classroom seems like lies.
On the surface things appeared to change... for a while. But now I have a generation of kids slipping through my fingers, thinking that no one cares about them any more because the revolution they were promised has fallen by the wayside and lives only in memory, and all they have now is a broken promise on the back of the failed revolution.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
The news & you, or alternatively - How low can you go...
While reading one of the Australian mass news media publications I came across this article asking why we don't see enough penis on HBO or on TV in general. Usually I wouldn't be drawn to an article which interacts with such base levels of journalism, but the picture linked to the article was of Eric Northman, a character in a TV series I watch called True Blood, so I was obviously intrigued - and not at the prospect of seeing his penis.
The article in question being:
The interesting thing is that even the headline without realising addresses part of the reason why penises are absent from television and even movies. Using the word "dongs" reveals that the author isn't willing to interact or address the male genitalia in a way that is in any way less objectifying than men calling breasts "titties" or vaginas "cunts". This gender equality that they're seeking on screen is rather exploitation and objectification equality.
The flawed (in my opinion) premise of the article is the there aren't enough penises shown on TV. Complaining that in sex scenes we see breasts but no penises is demanding programmes to become pornographic, as it's not as though we're going to watch a TV series hoping to see some penetration (really - where else did you think this was going!?).
And while comparing a penis to a breast may seem like a valid comparison to some, women are able to sun bathe topless, while men stripping off their speedos at the beach would be punished by the law. Women can still breast feed in public while men aren't typically allowed to get a blow job in public, and while many people ask that a woman cover her breastfeeding with a blanket when in public (as some people are complete prudes) it's not as though throwing a baby blanket over a blowjob on the bus would make it any more acceptable - so it's not really apples with apples now is it?
I suppose the most important distinction between watching porn/TV with nudity and the acts done in public is that people chose to watch (or not to watch) TV/pornography while people who would otherwise shy away from lewd and intentionally provocative TV shows have no option but to be subjected to breastfeeding and public fellatio. A programme that is in contrast with your views or offensive to your sensitivities is easily avoided whereas breastfeeding (something which for the record I have no problem with and consider it to be perfectly natural) is in many ways unavoidable if done openly in public.
I appreciate that one is necessary and not a sexual act, and the other is a purely sexual act so even comparing and contrasting both in the public arena isn't really possible, but then I don't think that comparing a sensitive erogenous zone and (subjectively) attractive part of the female anatomy whose sole purpose is attraction and breast feeding isn't comparable in anatomy to the sexual and reproductive organs of a man's anatomy. Although I suppose the real point in this context is that 90% of the time where a man's penis would be shown in programmes like True Blood is either just before or straight after some form of sexual interlude. Programmers, directors and writers would then need to take special care to ensure that the penises were wearing condoms so that the programmes were not promoting unsafe sexual habits (in the same way that Hollywood has shied away from tobacco being smoked by "hero" characters so that smoking isn't promoted to younger generations).
And really, anyone who has seen either an erect penis in a condom , or a flaccid, spent post-coital penis still in its sheath knows that it's nothing worth looking at.
Personally, I don't care if we see penises on TV or not... I've seen plays live on stage where the protagonists exposed penis was less than 2 meters from my face, and watched shows like Starz's Spartacus where it's impossible to avoid a throng of penises in any one scene.
But I do resent the fact that some people are calling for more penises on screen and not also calling for more labia. Which being a part of the woman's sexual and closely linked to the reproductive genitalia is probably the better call for nudity equality when watching a programme. I am yet to see in popular programming a bevy of open legged women parading their vaginas for the cameras... Full frontal male nudity exposes far more of the male reproductive genitalia than a full frontal of a woman, only really exposing breasts and pubic region.
To be completely honest I'm ashamed of the calibre of writing in the article and that this is primarily considered "newsworthy", instead of being the topic of some single and bitter, sex in the city style 40-something's blog post. I'm offended that a "call for dong" has made it into one of Australia's leading media publications and at the same time saddened that I thought the SMH.com.au was capable of paying for a higher calibre of entertainment writing.
The realisation from the number of comments however illustrates exactly how profitable this style of writing and reporting can be. And that it is this type of writing that broadens their reader base and increases their market share, therefore bringing in more profit.
So I suppose the real issue I have is we the readers chose to read and interact with writing of this calibre on topics as base as these. What a shame.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
The fool...
He sat alone at the bar, waiting for his friend to arrive with a warm embrace and a wide smile. A sign, a symbol, a physicalisation of the bonds of lasting friendship that link the two men. Drinks would flow, smoke would bellow and stories of adventures and people would rumble amongst the chorals of roaring laughter.
But the Fool sat alone.
The Fool waited... Fumbling with the phone, flicking feebly through his "Favourite" contacts... Always pausing on that name. The one who he knew would come, of course, and while the Fool questioned if he should call he knew that he shouldn't have to, when he was near he would come. He thought of all the times he had opened his doors to the Adventurer, welcoming him in with no questions and no expectations... Now that he had returned surely he would come, call, knock, email or text to reach out that hand for that embrace. He hadn't while he was away, others had spoken with him, but not the Fool. But he wasn't away now, now he was home and would at the very least show some semblance of gratitude if not friendship, for the months spent in each others company while the Adventurer relied on the Fools hospitality.
But the Fool sat alone.
The fool would remain alone. Just like the last time, the time before that and probably every time in memory. The Fool was only a fool for thinking that something somewhere had changed, but the Fool was never a friend, never a comrade or confidant. Never someone who the Adventurer would actually lean on should he have a better option. Because the Fool was never the better option, never a better option for company, friendship, conversation. Only ever the last option - and not knowing that made him the Fool.
But the Fool sat alone.
The Fool waited... Fumbling with the phone, flicking feebly through his "Favourite" contacts... Always pausing on that name. The one who he knew would come, of course, and while the Fool questioned if he should call he knew that he shouldn't have to, when he was near he would come. He thought of all the times he had opened his doors to the Adventurer, welcoming him in with no questions and no expectations... Now that he had returned surely he would come, call, knock, email or text to reach out that hand for that embrace. He hadn't while he was away, others had spoken with him, but not the Fool. But he wasn't away now, now he was home and would at the very least show some semblance of gratitude if not friendship, for the months spent in each others company while the Adventurer relied on the Fools hospitality.
But the Fool sat alone.
The fool would remain alone. Just like the last time, the time before that and probably every time in memory. The Fool was only a fool for thinking that something somewhere had changed, but the Fool was never a friend, never a comrade or confidant. Never someone who the Adventurer would actually lean on should he have a better option. Because the Fool was never the better option, never a better option for company, friendship, conversation. Only ever the last option - and not knowing that made him the Fool.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Battle...
This pen fights me with every letter it reluctantly looses from its bitter point. As though it is upset with its entire purpose for being, not satisfied with the lot it was cast. My hand growing ever more weary as it forces me to wrangle, struggle and wrestle the life from it. Perhaps this pen knows of its fate. As though by some mystical force has been willed into life and is aware of what time it has left to live, in much the same way that I am reminded of the length of its utility made present by the length of colour, visible through the transparent tube that contains its thick and stagnant blue blood. So that this pen must be my enemy and I his, that he should take battle with my hand while I slowly bleed the life from him that I might give life to my page.
Could it be that this pen of mine has grown so cumbersome and lethargic through lack of use? After all, in this post-paper world that we are creating, where the keystroke or meme is mightier than the sword, a pen might be led to believe that this long and fortunate existence is indeed an inalienable right. In this way, could my pen be ignoring the long history of scrawled and scribbled stretches of paper that preceded this partial emancipation of penmanship? It is in its infancy, this apocalyptic post-pen world, and while black and white may still be struggling for true equality in society - black and white are undeniably united and bonded in equality and artistry when a passage of prose or verse is transcribed.
OH! Then what sweet irony it is then that this tale, first wrought in ink strangled from the repugnant and churlish vassal, should be transferred and in turn transmuted to binary that it might be shared. To never be read aloud or handed around as hand written letters on street corners. But copied from cursive to keystrokes for your appreciation. This pen will have found asylum and will happily lay at rest, still and motionless in the darkness of it's case. Its victory in repelling its purpose is certain for a moment, but while each and every letter of the draft is scrawled along the lines of my page, its agonising passion rages on till completion.
Unlike the average teen, blissfully unaware that each day spent is one closer to death, this pen from first letter to last will rail against my wrist till strain and fatigue cause me to surrender... if only for a moment... to hopefully, at last as if by chance or by the pen simply willing it to happen, that I should pick up a different pen. A less suspecting bedfellow, unknowing and unaware that I will waste its life away in unread words on an ink filled page.
THE PEND
Could it be that this pen of mine has grown so cumbersome and lethargic through lack of use? After all, in this post-paper world that we are creating, where the keystroke or meme is mightier than the sword, a pen might be led to believe that this long and fortunate existence is indeed an inalienable right. In this way, could my pen be ignoring the long history of scrawled and scribbled stretches of paper that preceded this partial emancipation of penmanship? It is in its infancy, this apocalyptic post-pen world, and while black and white may still be struggling for true equality in society - black and white are undeniably united and bonded in equality and artistry when a passage of prose or verse is transcribed.
OH! Then what sweet irony it is then that this tale, first wrought in ink strangled from the repugnant and churlish vassal, should be transferred and in turn transmuted to binary that it might be shared. To never be read aloud or handed around as hand written letters on street corners. But copied from cursive to keystrokes for your appreciation. This pen will have found asylum and will happily lay at rest, still and motionless in the darkness of it's case. Its victory in repelling its purpose is certain for a moment, but while each and every letter of the draft is scrawled along the lines of my page, its agonising passion rages on till completion.
Unlike the average teen, blissfully unaware that each day spent is one closer to death, this pen from first letter to last will rail against my wrist till strain and fatigue cause me to surrender... if only for a moment... to hopefully, at last as if by chance or by the pen simply willing it to happen, that I should pick up a different pen. A less suspecting bedfellow, unknowing and unaware that I will waste its life away in unread words on an ink filled page.
THE PEND
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