Category Archives: current affairs

dream and your dream may come true … or not

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Two headlines on the same page of the Herald. Both about following your dreams and the juxtaposition and the contrast is to me at least startling.

Capturing prime position with five related coverage stories and pictures of crowds cheering on Sydney Harbour is the return of Jessica Watson, the nearly 17 year old yachtswoman from Brisbane who has become the youngest person to sail around the globe. The PM, the state Premier and the leader of the Opposition all had quotes in the paper about her achievement.

Jessica herself had this to say according to Herald:

‘I’m going to disagree with the Prime Minister. I don’t consider myself a hero. I’m an ordinary girl who believed in her dream,” she said. ”You don’t have to be someone special, or anyone special to achieve something amazing. You’ve just got to have a dream, believe in it and work hard.”

Nice sentiments and true but the next major headline is of a girl who was murdered after following her dream job — which turned out to be a hoax. It was offered to her by a guy that posed on Facebook as a wildlife worker (her field). There was no fan fare, no VIP comments, no column inches by noted columnists. It contains this from the victim’s brother:

”Nona said if she didn’t go she would lose her job and this job was her dream. So she just went and that was the last time we saw her.

and this warning from police

Detective Inspector Oxford said he did not like social networking sites such as Facebook. ”You are dealing with people you don’t know,” he said

I’m not taking anything away from Jessica. The contrast seems striking to me. Both girls stories about following your dreams. Both girls stories appearing next to each other (at time of posting) on the front page of one of the major broadsheet online with such different degrees of hype. And which one do you think had more hits on it at time of posting? The murdered teen story.

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This real iron chef will make you pay

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This really is a brave move. But as I washed close to half a cup of cooked rice out of last night’s saucepan just now I could see where she was coming from.

Like with everything I think it really is the little things that add up.

Reminds me of a book my brother gave me for Christmas one year, How Good Are You? by Julian Lee.

More shame, I think I started to read it, felt too guilty, gave up, packed it and are now not sure which box it is in. It was a good read the stuff I read.

I like the the approach but I’m not sure how some of it works as a business plan. For example;

When Ichikawa feels ”negative”, she sends customers around the corner to her former husband’s eatery, Matsuri, because she believes she transmits her negativity to the food.

Still she did make it on to the front page of the Herald (current at posting), so business will boom.

I’m pleased to know that Masterchef Australia donates all the leftovers to OzHarvest

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values added

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Interesting take on “assisted suicide” as a care prevention option.

This couple were apparently in good health but precisely because they were in good health now was the time of their choosing;

“Mr and Mrs Milner’s daughter Chrissy said her parents had been in good health but did not want to get to a stage where they would be too ill to care for themselves. She said they felt they had to pre-empt any possible serious deterioration in their health.”

And this from the letter signed by both Mr and Mrs Milner;

“I have made many visits to friends and relatives in care homes. They cannot wash, dress, feed or toilet themselves. They cannot get out of the chair or walk. This can go on for a long time – years.

Long before we reach this stage of degeneration the quality of life for us would be unacceptable, cruel and inhumane.”

This is probably the main area of public commentary and thought where I come over as, dare I suggest, my most conservative. My biggest issue is the Milners objection to living a less than perfect life.The danger seems to be in leaving people with the impression that unless everything is just the way it always was, or the way you want it  life is “not good enough” to live. That may or may not be appropriate for the Milners’ or the late Christopher Reeves who made similar comments following his injury. But as  someone who occasionally needs help with all the things that letter listed, I’d like to think I contribute and have added value even at those times my health was at a low point and I needed to adapt.

Advocates of this position have told me that it isn’t personal: that they make no judgement about those of us who choose to live and hopefully contribute in spite of our challenges. They often heroise us; collectively for living.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they couldn’t live with my disability…. And there have been times when I thought they were right.

Each person will make their own decisions about end of life. I have no issue with the decision they have taken. I take issue with the publicity they sought by seeking to have the letter published.

He said his first letter was published 60 years ago and asked that this, his last letter, would also be published.

My quams are about the social responsibility of turning your choice into a headline and the impact that has on the rest of us

At the point that you write to the newspaper, or post to a blog claiming that you want to get out while you’re ahead  you add to the debate and the value of choice that you advocate is compromised. You are in a position to place value and the associated judgment on all life, not just your own. On the recent paraplegic who is trying to piece it together on his way to physiotherapy; on the teenager whose parents have just divorced for whom just the way it was seems a long way away. Either of these folks could be flicking through the paper and read your assertions about maintaining control and “the good life”

Inclusion of the rest of us who just get on with it also gets much harder. The fact is none of us know what we will be capable of till we are there. To publisize a decision like this either way makes it harder for the rest of us to make our own choices.

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The Michael Jackson thing

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Despite the fact that I am of the right generation, Michael Jackson’s music never really grabbed me. I knew and liked one or two of the more popular songs, though, at the risk of sounding like an old woman as a teenager most of his music was too fast for me. Although, once reviewed, his music, generally had very nice and meaningful lyrics.

As a result, most of my exposure to him throughout my life has been through the media and regarding his huge fan base, his somewhat strange behaviour when walking around, reports about Neverland, and of course the various controversies involving children including his own.

I wouldn’t say that I was tied to the television when his passing was announced but I have been interested, not so much in the controversy surrounding his death, but more in observing the reaction to his passing and the various critiques of his life and work. The public display of affection has been fascinating, both in  very tangible ways and online;  the intermediate, and the slow burning.

This video   sums up quite nicely quite a few of my views on this whole phenomena. With thanks  to Rebecca’s pocket.

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Update on media behaving badly

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As a follow up from yesterday’s post comes this outlining some of the fall out from “Dancing with the Stars”; including comment from Gerrard and his wife, Heather.

It includes some advice from Gerrard for the judges:

“I know I make a lot of mistakes as a dancer, and I’m happy for Todd and the judges to give me low scores – but offer me and those I’m trying to inspire some hope and guidance as well,” he said.

The article also reveals:

Gosens approached the three judges, Helen Richey, Mark Wilson and McKenney, after the show.

Oh to be a fly on the wall in that discussion.

To be fair, I must point out that the article also links to this article by a Tory Maquire which defends McKenney pointing out again that as we all have recognised, Gerrard can’t really dance. She goes on:

Since when have prime time reality television/light entertainment programs been about self-improvement and and passion?

There are such programs of course. Surely no-one would propose that a program such as MasterChef isn’t designed to improve interest in cooking (all those masterclasses and recipies on the website) or The Biggest Loser franchise with all sorts of fitness videos from the trainers and The Biggest Loser Club and food.

So he can’t dance in your opinion. Most can’t.

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A blocked view

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This is the first time I’ve heard of disability used as a reason to retain a million dollar view.

The disability community  and developers have an uneasy relationship at the best of times usually around useability and function rather than location per se. It is interseting that according to this piece:

At the request of the developer, the Minister for Planning, Kristina Keneally, has declared the two proposed towers a project of state significance and it will be the Department of Planning, not North Sydney Council, that will decide if they proceed.

The developers decision may not yield the result they seek.Ms Keneally is a former Minister for Disability Services,and a good one at that. So if she hears this argument in particular it might make a difference. Perhaps.

Of course Ms Moser and Niko are not the only ones complaining about the proposed towers which will block many highly prized, and priced views. It’s interesting that once again the media feels the need to lead with the ‘disabled” person as the easiest human interest angle and that folks with disability seem quite willing to fill this role more often than not.

As someone who has also had media coverage about her in the past as the human interest story I’m not saying it is automatically a bad thing. Just that it runs the risk of becoming the fall back position and doesn’t always serve to do a lot more than catch people somewhere between the hero, victim, or joker triangle, which leaves me at least wincing and wondering about equity and dignity. Sympathy is not always useful nor sought.

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The winner is … talent and, oh, a woman – TV & Radio – Entertainment

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The winner is … talent and, oh, a woman – TV & Radio – Entertainment.

This article discussing the gender issues within the recent MasterChef Australia series is interesting. Don’t get me wrong here. I mean interesting in a good way.

Within the course of the last week of the show, as the women began to dominate in numbers and skill I was waiting for the usual gender related discussion — however minor. In recent series of other reality shows when a woman has won (after a man has won previous series), a mention of the gender of the winner has often been inevitable, however subtle and noble the intent. There was none of that, until the above from the host pointing out this very phenomena. I’m impressed, particularly if you look at the industry that Julie is now entering, which despite the female home cook trend is a male dominant industry at the professional level.

Could it be? Are we moving beyong the gender question in media just for the sake of it?

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Great great great great Aunt Ida?

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Are there skeletons in your closet too?

By the way I mean no disrespect to the religious amongst us. The anthropology of it fascinates me.

Maybe there is some of the family history buff in me?

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true confessions

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Ok. Are you ready? At the risk of making a fool of myself ….. I am hooked on The Biggest Loser. I know what those of you that have known me in real life will think. I am after all the girl that didn’t own a television for 5 years. I used to gloat about it too.

What’s worse is I can’t really even say that I actually *get* that much out of it. Many times more frustration than enjoyment even.

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We are shrinking and maybe not just the economy

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It seems official. Australia has just experienced its first quarter of negative growth in 8 years with a drop of half a percent in the GDP.  We are spending less after the aparent boom of the past 17 years. As Peter Hatcher as pointed out this must be exceedingly frustruteding for the Government.

For Rudd Labor, taking power just as a 17-year boom turns to bust is profoundly frustrating

The timing is bad. Just as I suspect the Obama administration inherited problems originating from a careless Bush era, I fear much the same was always bound to happen to this Government. Recessions do not develop overnight and while they have been in power for 18 months now, i think the responsibility needs to be shared.

Australia lost some of its soul in the last 5 or so years. Continue reading →

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