The spirit of Christmas

This year I am focusing of the real meaning of Christmas. You know before it became commercialised. I am going back to before it was all about money and marketing. Back before it was hijacked by Christianity and even back to before it was a pagan ritual. I'm going all the way back to when it was just another day of the year. No lead up celebrations, no movie marathons, no cheesy TV specials, no annoying holiday music, no over eating, no fake kindness, no being nice only once a year, no fat men in big red suits, no plum pudding....oh wait a minute. I think Christmas should get rid of everything but the desserts. I can do with out trees being tarted up, I can do without the presents, I can do without the Maria Carey Christmas album and I can do without the thought of freaky little elves crawling around the north pole. So in all I have nothing to say on the matter. HAPPY STAND UP BIG DAY!!!!

a little man with a little brain

I read last Friday that John Howard is still refusing to remove Australian troops from Iraq. This is despite the fact that the majority of Australians want it. And despite the fact that now the majority of Americans want it. And even despite the fact that the Iraq study group is now recommending it. It is obvious that Johnny 'mandate' Howard is not taking into account the wishes of the Australian citizens and is instead sitting down, patiently waiting to see what George Bush will do. He is a pathetic little man with no brain or spine. He hopelessly follows the Americans where ever they go, obediently doing as they ask. You can be sure that the majority of Americans don't know or even care that Australia has joined their war in Iraq. All John Howard has done in supporting this war is to endanger Australia and waste millions of dollars. I suspected this before moving here but America is a piss poor role model for any country to try and emulate. It is time Australia had a long hard look at itself and started making decisions based on our values and ideals. Security my arse. Iraq is a mess and its best we extricate ourselves from it as soon as possible.

jumped the gun a little

Well I might have been somewhat hasty in claiming autumn was over. The leaves had fallen but the temperature hadn't dropped. Well now it has. This last weekend saw the start of some really cold weather. Ana and myself drove up to Chicago so Ana could take the Japanese language Proficiency test. We stayed with our friends up there and spent the weekend playing tourist. Now this was the coldest weather I have ever been in. It was around 13 degrees Fahrenheit which for the rest of the world who have moved on to the metric system is around -11 degrees Celsius. Now the most annoying thing about some of the winter days here is that you look outside and it is sunny with blue skies and you think 'Oh what a nice day!' Then you walk outside and its like someone comes out of nowhere and slaps you so hard you don't know what day of the week it is. Now at least it wasn't windy, apparently wind chill can drop an already cold temperature to testicle imploding temperatures. We did have fun though. We went to a nice Japanese restaurant and a great Korean BBQ restaurant that really reminded us of Japan. After we got back from Chicago the weather here got cold too. It's a little disconcerting when the weather man refers to arctic fronts in his weather report. Well have fun people and keep warm.

the end of Autumn

Well people Autumn has come and gone it seems. I have to say that for the short time it was here is was interesting and beautiful. Coming from good ol'Oz I never really got to experience the changing of the leaves and I must say it is pretty. All the more because of the short lived nature of it all. I first got to see large tracts of trees changing colour in Japan and was really impressed. Coming to Indy I got that chance again. As you drive about you see here and there fine specimens of bright red, orange and yellow trees that almost glow they are that brilliant with colour. That's the upside. The downside is dry weather and the knowledge that it's only going to get colder.

Autumn is the time of year for a couple of holidays, very American holidays I haven't really experienced before. I had my first Halloween and I must say I quite enjoyed it. I had a few pre-conceived notions from It's a great pumpkin Charlie Brown and was delighted to see a lot of them come true. Most of them came true except for the great pumpkin rising out of the pumpkin patch. You can rightly assume from that last sentence that I did go to a pumpkin patch. Ana, her parents and myself drove just out of town to a farm and along with a number of people wandered out into the patch and chose our pumpkins to carve. Don't worry we paid for the privilege, in fact the farmer must turn a pretty profit for growing an extra large variety of inedible pumpkin. After buying our pumpkins we went back to Ana's mums place and carved them. I'll post pictures on my photo-site.

After carving your pumpkin, which can take a little time, you stick a candle in it and leave it on the porch to rot; hoping no one will smash it. As you probably well know another tradition of Halloween is Trick or Treating. Now I unfortunately was unable to be at home for Trick or Treat so I missed the ten year old that came to our door and when asked what he was dressed as replied "A pimp!" Our neighbourhood has a lot of dumb. There are dumb shits, dumb arses, dumb bums...you get the idea.

I think one of the reasons I liked Halloween was that it's unlike most holidays. It's commercial but you don't buy expensive toys, you buy cheap, nasty chocolate to give to kids. It's not religious so you don't have all the happy clappers out there trying to make you feel guilty for some dead guys birthday, or the day he laid an egg or something. And it's not taken that seriously so there's no real obligations to anyone or anything.

Now the next holiday coming up is Thanksgiving. This is the day Americans celebrate what they are thankful for. I'm assuming they're thankful that the Native Americans had no resistance to smallpox, had no potent weapons of any kind and were somewhat trusting of new comers.

Sorry if this is coming over a little cynical but I been reading what would be best described as hippy, new age, vegan propaganda. Now I have to admit to having hugged a few trees in my time but I'm no fanatic. the thing is I have been reading a book that has pissed me off and scared me a little. Go to Ana's blog she has explained it a little and is of the same opinion as me. Have fun and I'll tell you all about Thanksgiving next week. Remember hold your head above water and hold your water in public. PEE FREE, PEE FREE.

first of many...

Like I stated in my little welcome part of the reason I started this was to spout off about things that annoy, interest and perplex me. The issue most recently that has caught my attention is the big to-do about Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali. The Mufti that compared women without head dress to uncovered meat. I didn't see a whole lot about this, only what I could read online. I don't know if anyone has mentioned what I'm about to but I sure hope so.

Now I fully understand how people have been so upset. This comparison offends me also. It is degrading to women and dangerous to promote these rather backward chauvinistic views. I though am also offend as a male. This statement says a lot about Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali's opinion of Islamic men and men as a whole.

If we break down what he says it's just plain ridiculous. Women are referred to as meat. From this I can only deduce that women are there to be devoured and nothing more. And what of the cats in the example. This can only be men. I think it's interesting that an animal that survives by instinct and has a limited ability to learn is used to represent men.

Now I'll be the first to admit that men are animals. We are responsible for much of what is wrong with the world, but I hold out hope that we can be better. It is obviously the view of Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali is that men can't get any better, and he is using religion to legitimise their ignorance and arrogance. Blowing a whole lot of wind up their arses at the same time.

I don't think this comparison is meant to really comment on men, but I think it says a lot more about men than we would like to admit. Islamic men who buy into this kind of rhetoric are obvious non-thinkers, because if you look at it its offensive. It implies men are incapable of change. That we can't be expected to control ourselves. Some men may want this justification of their desires. They may want the responsibility to lay elsewhere. They may want to be animals.

I like to think that we all have the ability to better ourselves. That we can be more than just mere animals. The decision is ours to make.

hello and welcome!

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog. I know that blog has become a dirty word, just like bum before it, but they are so much easier. I know they are just as impersonal as mass e-mails but at least you don't have them clogging up your in-box. This also gives me the opportunity to spout crap about whatever subject I like. I'm going to be just like all those other self important wankers, forcing their uneducated opinions on the world. So sit back and get ready for me to vent what's been annoying me lately, as well as the fun stuff I've been doing. Feel free to comment, but keep the language clean ya dickheads. I'm talking to you Fitzy. Have fun, be good, and STAND UP BIG!