i feel like a man with a ticket in tatts...

i'm one happy cookie this sunny friday arvo. obviously, being on the downward slide into a long weekend is good, but what's really put a bit of fizz in my step is that i've just bought a ticket to see weddings, parties, anything on march 28. yep, the weddo's are back together and doing a 10 year reunion tour. those who have known me for a while will know just how excited i'd be by this. i lost count of the number of times i saw the weddo's through the 90's but i never thought i'd see them again after they broke up in 1998. they are one of my favourite bands ever and i finally get to see them again. i'd better start saving up my 10 cent pieces now!

the eroding of freedom (or the slow road to ruin) pt 1

there's an old quote from a bloke called Lao Tzu about a journey of a thousand miles beginning with one step. along similar lines is the saying that one eats an elephant one bite at a time. it's equally true that the road to a state in which individual freedoms are a distant memory happens one piece of legislation at a time. for those with eyes to see, this past decade has been a frightening time for western society as we've seen our freedom constantly eroded. without wanting to go into many of the past excesses, this story caught my eye on the weekend.

under a new public health bill that is set to replace existing laws, people with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) will be able to be detained without charge and forcibly made to undergo treatment. this is a truly horrendous piece of legislation that is wide open to abuse and has the potential to ostracise those who need help the most. i'd hoped leper colonies had finished in biblical times but i guess not.

the link to the story is below. bear in mind that the article was in the Sunday Times; a paper not known for high journalistic standards or even-handed reporting... but still, it's food for thought.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23263652-2761,00.html

sorry day

never could i have imagined an apology of such feeling, sincerity and power. i have rarely felt as proud to be an australian as i did this morning during mr rudd's speech. i arrived at the office at 6.30am to make sure i'd be there in time to watch this historic moment and, in line with murphy's law, found that the tele didn't work and there was no-one else there to get it going for me. so, it was back to the computer to watch it live online. i managed to get the vision streaming from the abc website and sat back with a coffee to witness what i've been waiting many years to see. mr rudd's speech was wonderful and 11 years overdue. it dealt with the past in an appropriate and sympathetic manner and addressed the truth of what happened and the motives behind it.

to give dr nelson the benefit of the doubt, i felt his speech was ill-considered and showed a grave lack of judgement. naturally many will be far more harsh and less forgiving in their assessment. there's no doubt he was under pressure from the redneck elements in his party to justify what happened but all he did was illuminate and magnify the stain on the soul of the liberal party. i should have guessed his speech wouldn't be a pinacle of statesmanship from his visible unease when mr rudd proposed putting aside partisan politics and having the government and opposition join together to introduce sustainable, bilateral policies that will benefit our aboriginal countrymen.

what was completely predictable was the disgraceful behaviour of wilson tuckey in boycotting the apology. in doing so, he demonstrated perfectly just how out of touch he is with modern australia. also predictable, and incredibly sad, was the absence of john howard from parliament house. he was the only living former prime minister not to attend today and i believe history will not be kind to him for this display of petulance.

yes, there were some negatives, but they were merely asides to what was a moving and wonderful day.

an exciting time

it's all too easy to coast through occasions of historical importance. events creep up on us and we get jaded from the media saturation. the lead up to tomorrow's apology to the victims of the stolen generation is one of these events. it's been headline news for the past couple of weeks and the subject of redneck outrage on news forums since mr rudd announced pre-election that he would finally say sorry.

for me, this is an event to savour. a number of years ago i was a member of ANTAR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) and was involved in a Sorry Day event in freo. at the time there was a lot of optimism but the howard government did much to deflate that with their refusal to embrace reconciliation and to say sorry. today's welcome to parliament by a local indigenous elder is a significant move forward and tomorrow's apology is a significant step in redressing the wrongs of the past.

i'm sorry for what was done to our aboriginal brothers and sisters by our governments of the past. i'm sorry for the devastating ramifications of these actions and the results that are still being felt today. i'm sorry that it's still so hard for an aboriginal person to get a fair go in our modern australian society. i'm not personally responsible for the wrongs of the past... but i am sorry.

great lyrics

one of the big highlights of the BDO last weekend was billy bragg's performance and probably the highlight of that was when he sang 'there is power in a union'. it was spine-tingling to see the raised fists pumping the air and a sense of solidarity. i felt so inspired that i thought i'd post the lyrics here. unions have a bad name in WA due to a couple of unscrupulous leaders and a media that will take any opportunity to portray them in a bad light but, sadly, there is a very good reason for us to have them. until business leaders are prepared to fairly consider the rights and safety of their workers as a priority, the unions movement will always be needed.

There Is Power In A Union - Billy Bragg (1986)

There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hands of a worker
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is power in a Union

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands to trenches full of mud
War has always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realise
Brutality and unjust laws can not defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackies out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone
What a comfort to the widow, a light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters together we will stand
There is power in a Union.

nathan bracken

no one can deny that nathan bracken's a pretty talented bowler and his performance in today's game against sri lanka certainly backs that up BUT, fair dinkum, what on earth is going on with that hair? the bloke looks like a big girl's blouse. i reckon punter needs to have a quiet word in his ear and let him know how ridiculous he looks.. or, better still, have a couple of the bigger players hold him down and sort it out with a pair of scissors. what's the world coming to when front line aussie bowlers have girls' hair cuts? even dizzy's mullet was better than this!!

a very musical weekend

what a weekend!

friday night was the first police concert in perth.. and what a great show it was. unfortunately the support act was the decidedly tepid fergie who was as exciting as watching coke lose its fizz. but as dull as fergie was, the police were equal in brilliance. all the big songs were pulled out of the case and they were fantastic. my fave police song is 'wrapped around your finger' and their performance of it highlighted it's brooding menace and intelligent lyrics.

then after a rest on saturday came the big day out on sunday. i rolled up and bumped into hooky who led me over to where beava and pepe were watching gyroscope. i've not seen gyroscope for many years and they were fantastic. from here i headed off to see dizzee rascal. what an amazing performance! even though it was stinking hot he managed to extract so much energy from the crowd. he was one of my two main highlights of the day. following that was highlight number two - billy bragg. his performance was nothing short of inspirational. i have to admit that of late i've lacked the energy to constantly feel like i'm battling against the xenophobic idiots that seem to be everywhere but listening to billy speak for a couple of minutes put the fire back in my belly. he's a guy who is passionate about his beliefs and infuses that into his audience. on top of his brilliant tirades were his wonderful songs - the saturday boy, a new england, sexuality, greetings to the new brunette, there is power in a union and more. i came away feeling energised and inspired and wishing i'd bought a ticket to his solo show before it sold out.

the three reasons i bought a ticket to the big day out were dizzee rascal, billy bragg and, most of all, arcade fire. so far dizzee and billy had completely rocked me and arcade fire was next. well, arcade fire were a disappointment for me. i can't put my finger on it but i really didn't get off on their set. it did get better as it went on but i came away hoping they return to perth soon and do a smaller indoor gig as i reckon they'd be a lot better there. still, as a fat bloke once sang, two outta three ain't bad.

the rest of the night was good. silverchair followed arcade fire and were enjoyable although not as fired up as the many other times i've seen them. paul kelly was fantastic and obviously really enjoying himself and the final act of the night - the stems - were great. i particularly loved when they pulled out 'tears me in two'.

it was a big weekend and left me so knackered that i slept through my alarm on monday morning and didn't wake up until 9am.

goodbye gilly

i certainly didn't see gilly's retirement coming. like many people in perth, i didn't like gilly when he first arrived here. timmy zoehrer was our hometown hero and wasn't about to be replaced by a blow-in from nsw. well, that all changed pretty quickly once he got onto the field and let his gloves and bat do the talking. it also became apparent pretty quickly what sort of person he was and there was no way that you couldn't like him. he's now a fair dinkum west aussie hero and will always be remembered as such.

obviously his amazing talent will always be remembered but the thing that i reckon sets him apart from the rest of the cricket world is his deep-seated dedication to honesty and sportsmanship. he's the only international cricketer to have made a stand on 'walking' when he knows he's out even if the umpire may have missed a slight nick. cricket has always been known as a gentleman's game and gilly is the greatest gentleman of all.

goodbye gilly. i doubt we'll see the likes of you again.

killer sniffer dogs at the big day out

i've just heard on JJJ that a greens senator in the eastern states has said that police are putting the lives of young people at risk by using sniffer dogs at the big day out. now this naturally caused my ears to prick up as i'm heading to the perth BDO in a couple of weeks and i certainly don't want my life put at risk so i thought i should find out more. how exactly are they putting people at risk i wondered? are the normally placid sniffer dogs suddenly turning rabid and tearing people apart? are their fleas spreading a new bubonic plague? are they causing an outbreak of mad dog disease? well... just wait for this... this greens senator reckons they're putting people at risk because if there's sniffer dogs there then people may take all of their drugs in one hit rather than spacing them out during the day. WHAT??? now unless i've misunderstood her and she's actually of the belief that the dogs are planning on forcing pills down people's throats then i can't see how it's the dogs that are putting people at risk. surely it's their own actions in voluntarily taking illegal drugs that's putting their lives at risk.. or have i missed some crucial point here?

no country for old men

bree and i went to see the new coen brothers film, 'no country for old men', last night. wow.. it was a fantastic film. the cinematography was awesome, the acting was spot on and it was a cracking tale to boot. there were two guys sitting behind us who really didn't like it which i found stunning. but then again, i suppose they probably consider 'miss congeniality' to be high art. the fella playing the psycho bad guy was really good and portrayed a really brooding type of menace which i'm sure will stay with me for a long time. i sure would hate to get on the wrong side of a guy like that! if you like films that are chocka with atmosphere, intelligent dialogue and amazing scenery; make sure you see this!

the final word

a lot was said following the test in sydney and, as per usual, most of the vitriol was directed at the aussie team. i guess that's to be expected as people love to take pot-shots at successful teams. what i've found very interesting is the comparison of the behaviour of the indian team following their loss in sydney with the behaviour of the australian team following their loss in perth. one team lost with dignity, grace and a high degree of sportsmanship whilst the other lost with a shameful display of petulance and poor sportsmanship. one team captain congratulated the other team on their win whilst the other made excuses and offered recriminations. all teams lose games due to poor umpiring decisions: it's how they respond to that loss which defines them. those ill-informed idiots who accuse the australian side of poor sportsmanship would do well to step back, open both eyes, and simply look at the facts.

cricket

i had a great day yesterday at the cricket. the highlight for me was seeing a masterful innings from sachin tendulkar in what is likely to be his final test in perth. it was just a shame he was given out with a pretty poor decision as i'd have appreciated seeing him score a century. it was a really nice day of 37 degrees with a breeze all day to keep things cool. it was also pleasing that some of the spite (from both sides!!) that marred the second test was absent and the game was played in a really good spirit.

gram

i've been really enjoying gram parsons at the moment. i love the 'sweetheart of the rodeo' album he did with the byrds but the one that's been getting high rotation (if that's still the correct term..) on my ipod is his solo 'grievous angel' album. the highlight of the album is the cover he does of 'love hurts' with emmylou harris which i reckon is the definitive version of the song. emotion drips from every heatbreaking line and the song is brought to life. gram died of a drug overdose at age 26 but left behind a wonderful body of work. check out the youtube clip below but make sure you have some tissues handy.

only in america

an inmate in colorado is suing because he claims the prison holding him was too easy to break out of and was therefore responsible for the injuries he sustained when trying to escape. in any sensible place this would be laughed out of court but in the good ol' US of A you just never know...

link to the story here

racism is NEVER acceptable

it's been a really sad few days for cricket lovers with all the dramas that have flowed from the 2nd test in sydney. i do feel for the indian team as the standard of umpiring was absolutely dreadful and was most likely the key variable in their loss. this test had it all including a brilliant century from sachin tendulkar who is a marvel on the field and, from all accounts, a true gentleman off it. i admire gilly's stand on walking when one knows one's out but the truth is he's the only player in international cricket who does this. it seems a bit hypocritical to me for the indian team to complain that the aussies don't walk when their own players don't do it either.

but all the issues of umpires, whether players should walk or not, disputed catches etc are really just a red herring to try and take attention off the central issue of the current dispute which is what harbhajan singh called andrew symonds. the treatment symonds received from the crowds in india was disgraceful and, quite frankly, if such overt racism occurred in australia there would be an international outcry and sanctions from the ICC. just look at how murali reacted to calls of 'no ball' from aussie crowds which is tame compared to what symonds has had to endure in recent months.

the crucial principle which the ICC needs to uphold and reinforce is that racism is NEVER acceptable. it must be made clear that, no matter what is said or done, a racist response will always be punished, regardless of which country the offender is from.

2007 JJJ hottest 100

and again we get to that time of year when we vote for our favourite songs from the previous year. in the past two years my choices haven't done particularly well with 5 of my 10 last year and 4 the year before making the top 100. up until now i've been able to blame it on living overseas and having limited exposure to aussie music. well, i've been home for a few months now but my exposure to our aussie product this year still isn't great. nevertheless, below are the 10 songs i've voted for this year:

Arcade Fire - Intervention
Faker - This Heart Attack
Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
Howling Bells - Cities Burning Down
Kings Of Leon - On Call
The Panics - Don't Fight It
Silverchair - Straight Lines
Sparkadia - Animals
VHS Or Beta - Can't Believe A Single Word
Whitley - I Remember

i'll be interested to see how they go.

EDIT: equalling my effort last year, 5 of the songs i voted for made the hottest 100. they were 'straight lines' (#2), 'on call' (#3), 'this heart attack' (#5), 'don't fight it' (#10), and 'chelsea dagger' (#59). i just had a look back at my votes for the 2006 hottest 100 and noticed that i voted for 'chelsea dagger' last year as well so i don't know how that slipped into the eligible song list for 2007. it didn't make the hottest 100 last year so it was second time lucky

farewell 2007

well, 2007's been somewhat a year of contrasts for me. obviously parts of it have been pretty dreadful and have left a pretty deep imprint on my life but there have also been some pretty great parts too. the opportunity to live and work in poland was amazing and something i'll always look back on very fondly. i really love that part of the world and can't wait until i have the chance to travel back there again. it's also fantastic to be living back at home and able to enjoy the lifestyle that perth offers. it's also been the chance to rekindle old friendships that are very valuable to me.

so here's a fond farewell to the good times, a flip of the bird to the bad times and a hope that 2008 is the best year yet.

poignant images

i came across this website which has 33 images that have captured moments in time and contributed to change. it is very interesting to see the photos and click through to the accompanying wikipedia and youtube links which give further background.

click here to go to the site but be warned, some of the images are quite confronting

a new stadium

the new stadium looks like it's going ahead and i must say i don't see the point. there are still memberships available for freo and as far as i'm concerned, the weagles have been around for 20 years so if people are only just trying to join up now then they've got no right to whinge about having to join a waiting list. the fair dinkum supporters of both clubs are already members. as for soccer and rugby, well they don't even sell out the grounds they've got now so why they reckon they need to use a 60,000 seat stadium i've got no idea. i reckon there's far more important things to spend a billion bucks on so they should can the stadium idea and put the money to better use.

but if it must be built surely they can't be stupid enough to build it in east perth. it's gotta stay in subi!

music

i finally picked up my cds and records from sal yesterday and have unpacked them. i file my cds in order of release year and sorting them today yielded some interesting statistics. the year from which i have most cds is 1994, followed by 1991, 1993 and 1996. i have at least one album from each year since 1961 with the exception of 1973 and 1976. and there are a number of cds in my collection that i look at now and wonder what i was thinking. after all, why on earth would anyone buy albums by the spin doctors, sonia dada or extreme??? oh the shame...