March 24th, 2007 Comments Off
I’m neither lost or lonely, but I meet a lot of people who I think are.
Solitude
by Anna Akhmatova
So many stones have been thrown at me,
That I’m not frightened of them anymore,
And the pit has become a solid tower,
Tall among tall towers.
I thank the builders,
May care and sadness pass them by.
From here I’ll see the sunrise earlier,
Here the sun’s last ray rejoices.
And into the windows of my room
The northern breezes often fly.
And from my hand a dove eats grains of wheat…
As for my unfinished page,
The Muse’s tawny hand, divinely calm
And delicate, will finish it.
March 17th, 2007 Comments Off
Norwegians have a saying — ‘away is good, but home is best’.
November 29th, 2006 Comments Off
Last night I went to see the Al Gore documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Which highlight’s Gore’s persuasive argument that global warming is the biggest challenge facing our global civilisation.
This morning I woke to one newspaper article reporting that our NSW State Government is getting ready to appeal against the recent landmark ruling that it must consider the greenhouse impacts of burning coal to make electricity.
And, another article about a New Zealand-led scientific drilling team in Antarctica that has recently recovered three million years of climate history. Their conclusion — the Ross Ice Shelf, a raft of ice the size of France, may collapse as quickly as Larsen B did in 2002, triggering a dramatic rise in sea level.
The Larsen Ice Shelf which is on the Antarctic Peninsula had been stable for 10 thousand years or so but in 2002 proved that when these things decide to go, they go extremely quickly. A total of about 3,250 km2 of shelf area disappeared in a 35-day period. The Larsen Ice Shelf is now about 40 percent of the size of its previous stable minimum. You can view the speed and the extent of the Larsen B break up at the British Antarctic Survey. Link
The scientific consensus is clear: global warming is real, it’s happening now and it is the result of our use of oil and other fossil fuels. There is a lot you and I can do. Learn more here!
The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty on climate change, assigning mandatory targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to signatory nations. It has been signed and ratified by upward of 160 countries.
The USA and Australia continue to be the only countries that refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
April 25th, 2006 Comments Off
ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The name ANZAC, stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
The Ode
The Ode, which is taken from Laurence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen was probably recited at every ANZAC Day dawn ceremony across Australia today.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Last Post
The bugle call The Last Post is used by many countries as an accompaniment to a soldier’s farewell. You can download a wav file of The Last Post and read more about ANZAC Day here | Link.
I also found an outline of a simple Anzac Day Ceremony along with various ANZAC related mp3′s which you can also download here | Link.
April 11th, 2006 Comments Off
A study, published by the Australian Childhood Foundation yesterday found that Australians rank child abuse 13th on a list of community issues. The study called for a $50 million national public awareness campaign.
I do not condone child abuse for one moment — but fellas, 50 million dollars!!!!
If you were really concerned for the welfare of children on this planet then maybe you’d be calling on our government to spend an additional fifty mill on food, or drinking water, or medicine or education, or a vaccination program or anything other than giving it to the advertising industry.
April 4th, 2006 Comments Off
This poem says to me that the only time we have is now. What has gone, has gone and the future is nothing more than a thought, an idea. Nothing is real except for this moment — this now.
Barry Long (1926 – December 6, 2003) was an Australian spiritual teacher and writer.
Hope you enjoy…
Now
by Barry Long
In the beginning is the word
Now
The word is made flesh
Now
You are born
Now
You are
Now
You die
Now
Yesterday was not or it would be
Now
See this and you are immortal
Now.
March 27th, 2006 Comments Off
Dan Ilic, produced a parody video of the ‘Where The Bloody Hell Are You’ advertising campaign used by Australian Tourism. He inserted alternative images of Australian life and changed the strapline to ‘Where The F*#king Hell Are You’.
You can watch his video at YouTube | Link
Well not any more. YouTube says: This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.
