Culture

I must be off the pace.....big time. The pursuit of 'happiness' isn't a pursuit anymore. In fact, 'I'm happy' seems to have taken over from 'Things are OK' as the default setting in all our lives.   Happiness is now a commodity in much the same way as a tub of low cholesterol margarine is and, if you don't have it, at least roll out the 'vibe' that you do.   Now, I'll freely admit that I'm probably sleeping with the enemy here by generating a f/b status update but at a time when social capital, by my reckoning, is at all time low levels, how come a 'happiness' Nirvana has been attained?   Think I'll ponder this in bed. Good night. Posted on f/b on 17 May 2016.

One of the many problems associated with the current Adam Goodes affair is that it forces us to take the proverbial ‘long and hard’ look at ourselves. Such introspection is both severe and unpleasant.   But first to the diagnosis. YES, what is happening to Adam Goodes is racism. Yeah, I know that there are other Indigenous players in the AFL who aren’t getting booed but so what? That doesn’t prove anything. To suggest this argument shows that racism isn’t a factor is infantile. Adam Goodes is getting booed because he is Aboriginal. What has led to this situation is unclear but, bottom line, his skin colour has crucially helped to accurately define the abuse.   I also wonder that if those other Indigenous AFL players were asked about racism, would they provide a tabula rasa response? I think not.   And then there’s the argument about non-Aboriginal sportsmen/ sportswomen getting booed on the nation’s various playing fields. I even heard last night about Wall...

‘People scorned him, even reviled him. Some feared him. Even when the ………… man proved himself to be what he claimed……….. as well as a black man who wouldn’t seek permission for his pride or submit to conventions of image and values, he was still too bold to be endured. He was an implicit threat. Some …..watched him just to see him knocked down, razed.’ M. Gilmore I note that Anthony Mundine is the subject for ‘Anh’s Brush With Fame’ this week and Gilmore’s words seem apt. Mundine certainly sends many punters crazy with his views and opinions on various current issues. I’ve often wondered why. I strongly disagree with Mundine regarding his thoughts on homosexuality and his initial reported reaction to the 9/11 atrocities could have been far better scripted. Mundine has a lot to say but is it all ‘ratbag’ stuff? Of course, his recent call for Aboriginal footballers to boycott standing for the national anthem in the NRL and AFL grand finals garnered considerable vitriol. After a...

I'm not shaking the death rattle in Pauline Hanson's direction following the WA elections last weekend. One Nation's relatively poor showing was as much a reflection of Sandgroper annoyance concerning its intimate tango with the Liberal Coalition as it was with anything One Nation did or failed to do. In fact, One Nation may have been a victim of crossfire between a tired government and the voters.   Pauline Hanson certainly wouldn't have improved her chances by being caught up in that ridiculous anti-vaccine controversy but, if the Trump phenomenon is any guide, reactionary nutters can say virtually anything these days and 'value-add' to their longer term prospects.  The move to the right continues nationally and Hanson, whilst not personally beating a trail through the political undergrowth with a machete, is most definitely symptomatic of it.   I believe that Hanson's virulence lies in the secret support that many people afford her. One Nat...

  THE CLASH OF THE TITANS        What a fuckin' outrage! The real 'witch' here (or is it 'housewife' WTF?) is Lisa Oldfield for calling out Victoria Rees. Apparently, Ms Rees asserts that punters from Sydney's west are 'bogans'. Well, guess what? Victoria's correct, demographically speaking.     I'm posting from busy Greystanes and, trust me, this is bogan central. Satellite bogan bunkers include Campbelltown, Penrith, Green Valley, Mt Druitt, Blacktown and there's even a honorary chapter located up north at Patonga.   Of course, I count myself as firmly in the clan but to the uninitiated, here's how to recognise a 'bogan' for tagging purposes. Could someone please cue Lisa Oldfield to now sit up and pay attention?  1. Bogans invariably live to the west of the Goats' Cheese Line that bisects Sydney. 2. 'De rigueur' apparel consists of capri pants (females) and 501s (males). 3. Bogans foll...

  YANK 'DATING' IN THE 1950s       I've always had a bit of an interest in America and especially America from the fifties and sixties period. Films, literature, music, the social milieu and the mass media of that time fascinate me still. I even took a few units on American politics way back at uni to satisfy these cravings.   On facebook, there are many sites that target this period of Americana and they're generally terrific for images, reviews of pertinent stuff and, sometimes, articles/ documents of interest etc etc.   But all of this is just meant as background to a posting from a site I've planted just below this enthralling text. The site is '1950s America' and it, too, provides me with useful info but the above-mentioned post is a real cracker. The image is related to 'Dating' but the punters' postings below it are far more gripping. 'Real' women (often referred to as goddesses or princesses), 'real...