Who watches the watchers.

For the longest time I have tried to avoid as much daily news as possible. Apart from the depressing version of life that is presented to the masses on an hourly basis, I see a more hideous agenda at play; that of the media becoming our moral compass.

Some years ago I made a decision not to watch the television news, and I have been much happier since.
Basically I believe it's mostly bollocks. Any time I personally have been involved in some news story I have been dismayed over the inaccuracies of the reporting. I once even rewrote an article for a reporter to clear up some issues over technical accuracy - the editor changed it back saying the original draft made better copy. I challenge you - next time you listen to the news, look for reporter bias - and listen what they are trying to make YOU believe.

Sure, as humans we cant help but have opinions. The problem I see with most (if not all) media, is a lack of balance. So many journalists now seem to be pushing their own personal agendas along with their stories. This I wouldn't have a problem with if the reporter said "I believe..." or "I think..." . But they don't.
They always seem to speak opinion as fact - and often they are just plain wrong.

I wonder sometimes if we can actually have news without opinion. Perhaps not. Even so I would prefer a report that served up the facts, and an item that didn't attempt to make our minds up for us. Perhaps that type of reporting no longer exists, because what a TV or Radio station report now simply reflects the bias of their owners. At least FOX News in the USA is honest enough to not hide this behind this fact.
In the years ahead I cant help but wonder if people will simply choose to tune into the news bias "they" want to hear. Moral compass indeed.

A local example of an issue that has been fucking me off lately, is the Tony Veitch affair.
I refuse point blank to justify domestic violence in any shape or form, but the way the media have continued to report this incident has been atrocious.
Encouraging opinions from the public, when the all the facts are unknown is ,at best, trial by media. Interviewing social commentators, who are simply pushing their own platforms is ethically bankrupt. Just today - the New Zealand Herald reported further information from "a source that does not want to be named". This person or persons unknown revealed more inflammatory information to the public on this matter. There is no proof supplied stating this information is correct, the anonymity ensures there is no right of rebuttal.

Frankly it stinks to high heaven.

This is a matter for the Police to pursue privately after detailed discussions with both parties involved. Emotions may have paid a large part in the attack, but for justice to be done here the facts of the case must be investigated by those with a vested interest in the truth, not special interests or audience numbers.
One can but wonder how far this reporting will go on. I would hope that eventually someone would offer both parties the help they require to move on with their lives. Mr Veitch obviously has a long road ahead of him. What he has done is very wrong. I just wonder if the New Zealand public can get off their high horse long enough to offer their heartfelt assistance to those perpetuating, and being impacted by, domestic violence.

I do however, have some searching questions about Mr Veitch..

Do you believe you can find it in your heart to forgive?
Must someone be destroyed completely to be redeemed?
Can he ever make amends for what he has done?

I just hope your answers don't depend on what TV news you subscribe to.

Battlestar Zen

Leoben Conoy to Kara: What is the most basic article of faith? This is not all that we are. See, the difference between you and me is, I know what that means and you don't. I know that I'm more than this body, more than this consciousness. A part of me swims in the stream, but in truth, I'm standing o­n the shore. The current never takes me downstream.

Weekend wishes

I wish I could embed this, but I cant.

Breathe in right away,
Nothing seems to fill this place
I need this every time,
Take your lies - get off my case
Someday I will find a love
That flows through me like this
This will fall away,
this will fall away.

Some days it seems like it just isn't enough. For some it's more often - others less.

May your bad days be few and far between. :)

And now for something completely different

Damien Rice - Cannonball

Still a little bit of your song in my ear
Still a little bit of your words I long to hear
You step a little closer to me
So close that I can't see what's going on

Language !

Overheard in a packed lift today at work.

Her
"I see you haven't attacked that stubble on your face again today Glen"
(silence)

Him
"No Laura, but it's nice to see you've had a shave this morning"
(deafening silence)

I love a good comeback, especially when people on attack often use an awkward moment to point score. The guys was so obviously indifferent as he shuffled out of the lift; a winner in every possible way.


Years ago I would hate having to be polite when older relatives or parents friends would come out with the most inappropriate comments like;

"God you've put on weight"
"Haven't you got a girlfriend yet?"
"Goodness, where did all your hair go"?

Part of me just wanted to tell them to get fucked and die, but children brought up in the 60's and 70's were often seen and not heard.
Old habits die hard it seems.

Fuckers.

Never in one sitting

It's so ridiculously silly, but after watching ten years and 214 episodes of Stargate SG1 in a row over the last two months, now it has drawn to a close, I feel I have lost something important in my life.

Yep - I know it's just a TV show, but isn't it strange when we invest so much time with people,things or places, we cant help but miss them when they are no longer there. Some of us are wired differently I guess.

Although I'm not about to rush out and buy an authentic looking SG1 uniform and head off to the next Sci-Fi convention, through this all I honestly believe these feelings of loss to be a good thing. Nonsensical feelings for those we don't know, this empathy for something outside our own sphere of existence could, one day, be our one saving grace. How to nurture those feelings of interconnectedness with each other could one day ensure our survival as a species.
No?



This scene, although not typical of the series as a whole, is one of my favorites.

Eight is Enough

Anonymous said...

Ok...now a list of 20 things your really glad you did? i'm intrieged!

I've been putting this off - not sure how to write this down, but Anonymous deserves an answer.
There are many of the 20 things I have amended in the last twenty years, but there are eight I'm sure I'll be working on to the day I die.

So here goes....


I'm really proud of the friends that I've made. The quality of the people that stand with me in this life, that support my choices, and accept me as I am.

I'm happy that I've haven't broken, succumbed to the wills of others. Sure, it's life; you have to bend a little to fit, but if you bend too much you break. I'm true to myself; I'm more certain about myself now than I was once, and I haven't changed the core essence of who I've always been.

I'm happy with how I've treated others. Sure, everyone at some point has hurt another person, and I have let some people go, but I haven't strung people along. I've never manipulated situations to be with someone, or taken advantage of a situation to get what I personally want - regardless how much I've wanted it.
I've seen others lie, cheat, and manipulate their partners - and although in some cases the ends have justified the means (for them), they never will for me.

I'd like to think I'm loyal and honest. I'm not above telling a white lie to protect someone, but if someone asks me something straight up, I'm going to give them an answer. Even if they don't want to hear it. It's a double edged sword, but most people appreciate it.

I speak my mind. When I'm upset, or concerned I tackle issues, even if it seems stupid. More often than not, people are clear on how I view things I'm passionate about. I pick my battles, and I'm not short on stubbornness when push comes to shove.

I have faith in the goodness of others. I'm not naive to believe every one on this earth is good, but I look to a persons heart, and I'm not often fooled.

Most of the time I'm a very positive person. Although it may not always seem the case in what I write here, there is a balance to my life. Perhaps I should write about more positive stuff - but I just tend to live the happy stuff instead :)

I've always been an independent soul. I love people, but I can also be alone. So many people in this world fear that - but through independence I've come to know myself; my worth, and better yet I have continued to grow as I question myself. I treat my friends as individuals as well - partners, husbands or wives do not exist in my world; If I am your friend it is because of you, and you alone.

It's not about money.

After six years as a prisoner of Colombia's rebels, the former presidential candidate rushed on to the plane that brought her children from France and threw her arms around Lorenzo, 19, and Melanie, 22.

"They're my babies. They're my pride and my reason for living, my light, my moon, my stars," Betancourt said, holding their heads close as they planted kisses on her cheeks.

Betancourt emerged with a pallid complexion from years under the forest canopy, but she beamed as she stood arm-in-arm with her children.

"Nirvana, paradise - that must be very similar to what I feel at this moment," said Betancourt, 46. "It's like being born again."

From the New Zealand Herald.

Why Science Fiction is cool

Science Fiction is an existential metaphor that allows us to tell stories about the human condition. Issac Asimov once said; individual Science Fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of Science Fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all.
Scene from Stargate SG-1 - Episode 200

It's a stretch somedays

..and explaining the chasm between the extremes of your musical choices can be tricky :)
From

To

And finally


“Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy.” - Janet Long

No Pressure Folks!!!!

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Something Moody this way Comes

Some days you'd be better off staying in bed. Like today, perhaps?
By 11 am I'd already told one of my workmates to "Go get Fucked" (with meaning, I should add).
If you were to ask any of my close friends if this was typical behaviour, they would hopefully come to my defense with a resounding NO.
So much of what I write here is honest. I believe that to be aware of ones motivations, anger, frustration, is better than to bury it all and hope for the best.
So with all this introspection, it comes as a complete surprise that I should get upset for no definable reason; even more confused to think it may be a myriad of smaller vectors.
I haven't even scratched the surface.
Butterflies beating their wings in some far land reining down chaos on my day are infinitely more reassuring than simply feeling better after lunch; I'd hate to think all of this PMS'ing came down to just having low frakking blood sugar.

Some of this might be good

Hunter S Thompson on the feelings of optimism in the late 60's

There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .

[It never lasted - Thompson continued on...]

So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.

From Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

We are so sensitive!

In response to Writer Girls review of "The Butterfly and the Diving Bell".

I found the Dirty Dozen very emotional - and I've since discovered I'm not the only one!



Talk about sniffing in unison!

20:20 Vision

Twenty things I wish I did in the last twenty years

Saved 10% of my salary since 1986
Brought a house
Asked NFG to marry me
Believed in myself more
Embrace what i couldn't change about myself
Changed my job at least twice
Pushed myself
Accepted less crap from others
Expected more
Drunk less
Inhaled
Was less judgmental
More open minded
Felt the fear and did it anyway
Cut my losses more quickly
Made more mistakes
Bent or broke the rules
Lived the moment while I was in it
Damned the consequences
Make a difference


The concern is not so much how many I can still do, but how many I can actually make myself do in the time I have left here.

Chickenshit is a word - right?

Insider

Best heard live, this duet by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks is lovely, yet bittersweet.
I love the live version on the "Pack up the Plantation" CD. This clip's audio is a little too sterile, especially given the story being told.

You've got a dangerous background
And everything you've dreamed of
Yeah you're the Dark Angel
It don't show when you break up
And I'm the one who oughta know
I'm the one left in the dust
Yeah I'm the broken hearted fool
Who was never quite enough

Where the Day takes You

Haven't heard this for years.
Before the Commitments there was Phil Lynott.

The I's have it

I'm writing while listening to this clip.

I am thinking it's partially about infatuation.
I have learned that this is not necessarily a good thing.
I understand that some people may prefer a challenge to a sure thing.
and
I wonder if anything else is enough.

Haiku Moment #2

Just as the clock struck 4pm, the rain began to fall.
I was already at the rear exit door, ready to escape the office for the 10 meter walk to my car. After the first step, the drops fell harder; I should have turned back then; hindsight is 20:20 'though.
Six paces later the rain was setting up a suppression fire around the car park. People were diving for cover, as the torrents lashed down on their targets. Water ran like blood over the asphalt. Mother nature, her thirst unquenchable, unleashed hell: it started to hail.
On the mad dash to my car I came across two fallen comrades in the car park, fishing for a dropped set of keys under a storm water grate. Irony was at work here too. I moved on without regard - a man possessed; no time to save the lives of keys long lost to the will of nature; they were dead - they just didn't know it yet*.
A mere 10 seconds later I had made it to the safety of my car - I had survived another day.

I can cope with being wet: living in Dunedin most of my life has cured me of any potential Ombrophobic tendencies, but the one thing I cant stand is wet feet.
Thirty minutes later, squishing loudly (and sadly), I walked from my garage to the living room, I retired my shoes to the hot water cupboard for a few hours, knowing later that evening I had to go back to work.

People - I would like to try and convey some of the joy I experienced when I put those shoes back on later that evening. I'd like to, but I doubt I'd be able to do justice to the emotion. My only wish is that you too can one day experience this moment of nirvana - try it soon.

Perhaps on a cold winters morning, when the still bedroom air seems to assault you at every turn as you attempt to start a new day, grab those shoes from their warm resting spot. Warm shoes on one's feet can create a smile that takes some beating, even after the hell of a thunderstorm.

* No news on the keys yet - will keep you posted.

Rock of Ages

Question: Is it better to burn out that to fade away?

Pre Rick Allen's Accident

I've been thinking about Def Leppard a lot lately.
OK - You can stop laughing right now!

If you stop to think of the other music around the 80's, Def Leppards' music actually hasn't dated too horrifically, at least compared to the other dross we were inflicted with back then.
Those who led the charge with critical musical passion may have started with Bauhaus or Shakespeare's Sister, but quickly strayed to Michael Bolton, Milli Vanilli, and Wet Wet Wet whilst dating. Yes - Many fine men were lost, some perhaps, never recovered .... (not thinking of anyone in particular, ya understand?)
The 80's were indeed a troubled time musically - sure you could struggle through with The Stones or Led Zep on your turntable, but listening to Uriah Heap or Motorhead didn't get you laid. Come to think of it - it probably still doesn't.

While the local AM (Yes - AM!!!!) radio station pumped out such classics a Centerfold by the J. Geils Band, or Let's Hear it for the Boy by who the fuck cares (I still shudder with that memory) - finding a more rockier sound was harder than you'd first believe. You could go the New Romantic route, and face it, most of us did - but lets just forget that ever happened OK?

So - In the meantime a little album by Def Leppard called Hysteria sold shit-loads of Cassettes and CD's in New Zealand . I recall being in Wanaka over the Christmas it was released , playing Animal on a minuscule battery powered ghetto blaster in the back of my Capri, all this because CD players weren't really about then.

Years later I still listen to this album - maybe not the syrupy tracks like "Love Bites" or "Throw some Sugar on Me", but "Dogs of War" still rates highly, as do a few other tracks.

And lest we forget, back in the day, if a guy just happened to be a bit of a bogan, and he just wanted to show a sensitive side to his bogan girlfriend, (in the faint hope she's throw him a shag) there was always this track.




If you think I'm still taking the piss, take a listen to this. Just goes to show you, although we all get older, our talents still remain.