tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76668002024-03-24T18:09:59.611+11:00DUCKPONDA micro world of emergent clarity with much confusion and furious paddling beneath the surface.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3931125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-23014785145956032932018-10-01T21:12:00.000+10:002018-10-01T21:12:01.023+10:00My Experience of Medical Misdiagnosis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After a week, I was released from hospital on Friday. I was not expecting to be admitted. I had gone to St George Hospital to get a second opinion, after I had been categorically diagnosed as having cirrhosis (hardening of the liver)by doctors at Wollongong Hospital.
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The presenting symptom was a phenomena called ascites, in which "fuids build up in the abdominal (peritoneal) cavity". On taking fuid tablets, I had swelling in my legs. I declined eating, had trouble taking drugs - one of which with recommended dosages led to high potassium - and, in retrospect, I couls not taste anything. My response was to try to overcome the problem and push through - probably not recommended as the best course.
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I would not have sought a second opinion, had members of my family insisted on it. I accepted the diagnosis, without question. It turns out that I was very wrong and they were very right. Furthermore, I was told that there was nothing that could be done.
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I was fortunate that the physician I went to see was an excellent doctor. She actually had me lie down and exam me. She noted the variale pulse im my neck and among other things examined the palams of my hands. The result of the exaination was admission to St George Public Hospital.
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Almost immediately, the next day, a tube was placed inside my abdomin, and I had a green albumin drip, while the ascites fluid was drained. I had to sign consent forms for this procedure. After about two hours or more, I had lost 7.7 litres of fluid and lost 6 kilograms in weight. Since then I have recovered two kilos. The consequence of losing that fluid was that I could eat freely again.
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Other medical procedures are pretty amazaing. In particular, the liver biopsy in which samples are extracted by means of a wire passing through the veins in the neck, as occurred in my case. For this procedure, I was on the operating table with anaesthics, and was aware of everything that was said. In terms of pain it was bearable. I later told the other patients in my ward it was a near death experience. I may be wrong about this, but it may be necessary to go to a major metropolitian hospital to have this procedure. I was totally in the hands of the surgeon and the medical team.
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The other biopsy, for which the results are not known to me, required drawing clear fluid (I was surprised by this)from my bone marrow. This procedure was carried out in the ward, by a doctor under the supervision her professor who was assessing her. There was a bit of pain, but like what I had imagined.
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I had other procedures, including a Trump cognitive test. It turns out I am not a stable genius. I have to keep away from the horses. I had a brain scan. It turns there is nothing there carrying with explanatory power. I also had a full skeletal survey.
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At this point the diagnosis is incomplete.
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Given my "near death experience", the underestimated song written by Rodney Crowell and sung by Emmylou Harris, Higher Mountains, might be appropriate:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-30901000647962516642018-09-04T22:23:00.000+10:002018-09-06T15:41:00.175+10:00The End of the Line<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Climate Change may well be the end of the line. Who knew that the collapse of civilized vlaues, particularly those related to epistemology, would be the precursor of the collapse of life as we know it on Earth?<br />
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Much like Galileo's interaction with the doctors of the Church, the Federal Government, once called a coalition of Liberal and Country parties, have cast science aside. Apparently they will not look at evidence. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/19/science/how-the-church-aided-heretical-astronomy.html">Interestingly, it proposed that churchs were in effect astromical observatories</a>. For reasons of stupid expediency - and I wonder about that innocence, which otherwise would be clear criminal negligence - any attempt to frame a national energy policy with emissions reduction and water policy is to be confounded with venial distractions. Withdrwing fossil fuels and their pollution is naturally not easy matter for fossil fuel corporations to swallow - and it seems they have decisive political influence.<br />
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It is depressing to reflect on the political process, in which policy is at best secondary. I suggest it necessary to address the Constition, in particular democratizing the referenda process. Why do marginal senators, with tirvial persaon supprt just an influence? Oh that is the nexus. In turn that is why Federal Divisions are progressively incrasing in size, so that they effectively begin too large for a single member. Of course, multi-member elections would introduce a whole new ball game and end marginal seat campaigning. Of course, the electorate do not have the wit to understand any of this, so that political donations to political parties -perhaps from fossil fuel companies - go unaccounted for.<br />
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My hypothesis is that external, unaccountable funding is the death of political parties, who cease to democratic political actors, but the charatans of special interests. The Demos have sharper perceptions about these matters than their bettors are prepared to credit. Why not then become a bitch and bully storefront? Propaganda will be both salve and lead to succuess in meaningless elections. Elections destined to be a contrived fraca of division, rather than constructive policy with common cause.<br />
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All of us must die, to quote the cliche and a truth that is not fake news.Some of us are given a prognosis. That is we get time to prepare. Of course, we may die in the meantime - just to stuff up the timeline and the strategic horizon. Now this has happened to me, I think this is a tremendous advantage - tough luck about the mental deterioation that accompanies the final exit. I would prefer to consscious to the end. Who knows whether it will be a journey of discovery or simply a carcass of irrelevant, inert mortal remains destined for pollution, that sidestepped the worst ramifications of climate change, not to mention the trails of the nursing home.<br />
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One thing that I have learnt to my surprise is that our moral obligations to others extends beyond our lifespan. This is brought home to me when I discuss what is happening at school with my seven year old neighbour. He teaches me about jump strategies and discusses <a href="http://examples.yourdictionary.com/5-examples-of-onomatopoeia.html">onomatopoeia</a>. I did not ask Herbie to spell it because I couldn't. He assures me that wow! is not in the category. What kind of world does he live in?<br />
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One of my most important duties is to take the bow wows out. Fortunately, we have been blessed with rain, which perversely keeps to the coast, and which gives an excuse not to go. The other thing was I fell over. My feet got caught in vines. I hurt my chest - more cause for whingeing, self-oncern, and depression about the political game. Anyway, you don't always get to look up at the sky, and it was unplanned. The dogs do take notice and do comprehend what is going on, despite appearances. I wonder how to prepare Hannah for my absence, if I predecease her.
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Here is the video:
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And the Travelling Wilburys - interesting role played by George Harrison:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-80201588549329024952018-08-20T00:49:00.001+10:002018-08-20T00:49:26.228+10:00Dog Blog: Around While We Can.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I keep on meeting Buddha. I wish he would get off my case. His appearance is more metaphysical than physical. I went to see the doctor at the hospital - he was not Buddha - he matter of factly said, I do not expect you to be alive in five years. That is what he expects with a person with my condition to live. I have organized for a second opinion, but I would be surprised if the diagnosis was radically changed.
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My life has been all about self, and that turns out - as the Buddha is a constant reminder - is not a good way to live. I need to get the life expectancy forecast more defined. I have to engage in contingency planning for others, who will be directly affected by my passing on, either to oblivion, or somewhere more interesting.
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While, I did not expect to hear this news, neigher was I shocked by it. I heard that some neighbours were discussing the problem of entering a nursing home. I believe I might be able to avoid that problem. The thing that distressed me most was my GP's failure to recognize the need for contingency planning, particularly at the terminal stage when it is to be expected that severe mental deterioration will set in.
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Whereas I might be going to hell, it is quite clear that, without a radical change, that is where the world is heading. One of the most telling indicators is the suggestion that night time temperatures are increasing and reaching record levels. We forget that Climate Change is a moral problem and transcends our desire to have electricity when we wish for it. Similarly, the problems with water will not go away.
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When that set of human beings have finished the job of destroying the ecosystem, they might have their Buddha moment, and reflect on what was wrecked, wasted and pillaged.
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If the fires in NSW continue as they have begun over the fire season, my circumstances may be very different than what I expect them to be. We all supposed to have a fire plan, by which we identify our most important possessions and decide whether to stay or leave. The car will be a bit crowded if we have take Dexter and Hannah - but we could not leave them.
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I wonder what the animals think. Recently, a gathering of scientist signed <a href="http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/08/scientists-sign-declaration-that.html">The</a>
<a href="http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/08/scientists-sign-declaration-that.html">Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness.</a>
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What has also been found is very interesting. It has been shown consciousness can emerge in those animals that are very much unlike humans, including those that evolved along different evolutionary tracks, namely birds and some encephalopods. The group of scientists have stated, “The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states. Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors.”</blockquote>
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I have not got any music for the Dog Blog. On this day, I actually went out and took the long way:
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Some of the time on our walks is spent waiting. Muford and Sons had the song:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-2468980056132131982018-08-10T23:20:00.001+10:002018-08-10T23:25:52.933+10:00The heart of the Matter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am guessing on the basis of the references that the writer may well be Michael Nagler, but nevertheless the quote is from the Metta Center for Nonviolence - <a href="https://www.gandhidaily.org/">Daily Metta</a>.
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“Teaming up”–Daily Metta
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“If it is [our] privilege to be independent, it is equally [our] duty to be interdependent.”
-–Gandhi (Young India, April 25 1929)</blockquote>
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A friend recently offered an approach to peacebuilding and nonviolent resistance that I thought fascinating: working together in teams of two. The idea is ancient, he said, thinking about the Jewish fathers who would study in the sacred Torah in pairs as one example. In many ways, he believes, the effectiveness of “teams of two” is hardwired into our brains as an alliance of power. Think of it as having an exercise buddy–people know that exercise can be more effective when we have someone else to go with us. And we also know that when we are alone in a large group, we don’t always tend to feel we fully belong or that we can fully express ourselves. Just one other person, however, changes the whole dynamic.
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For years at Metta Center we have been talking about Gandhi’s “charkha,” the spinning wheel, and how everyone in the Indian Freedom Struggle spun and wove, so what would be the “charkha” of today? One hypothesis is that we are vying not for our basic needs anymore; rather, we are struggling to raise the human image at its core. Raise the human image. What would happen if everyone who committed themselves to nonviolence began their work by finding a buddy and practised raising the image of the human being through that person, and slowly, purposefully began to spread it outward through there? The image of the all contained in the one, and the one in the all.
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When we go at nonviolence alone, we can find ourselves in very murky waters rather quickly, i.e. I was just nice to him and he still treated me like that. A partner for the work would be able very quickly to offer you empathy, understanding and conversation about nonviolence working at a deeper level. Not another group, just one other person who is committed to our well-being and us to theirs in an agreed-upon context, whether it be resisting nuclear weapons or deepening our commitment to daily meditation. And we can have multiple teams of two for the various issues we work on. No one person has to be our everything for everything we care about and dream about! It’s revolutionary…
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My friend had a point: whatever we do, peace work should not be something we try doing alone. It can be physically, emotionally and at times spiritually challenging, and we can only do this work responsibly with other people. Gandhi would say that such an interdependent approach is our duty.
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Experiment in Non-violence
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Invite a friend to join you as a team of two for a study of Daily Metta, or to address a big issue about which you feel passionate.</blockquote>
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Violence, in any form does not do us any good in either the short or long term. Ahimsa (Sanskrit "nonviolence") is difficult. I had not realized that it was impossible to achieve as an individual, such are my ingrained cultural presumptions.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-11104506446692698952018-08-07T23:55:00.001+10:002018-08-07T23:55:23.598+10:00"The Road We Are Travelling"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I can claim no originality here, since this post is an extended quote from Chris Hedges. The problem is to understand President Trump.
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Despite allegations of Russian interference - and why would not there be given the situation on the Ukraine border - the real issues arise from the American electoral system, including simple plurality and voter suppression, and not excluding the Electoral College, which if the allegations are correct was subject to very clever manipulation through Facebook and Cambridge Analytica that turned 77,000 key votes. It is interesting to reflect that 27.2% of recorded voters voted for Trump and 28.5% for Clinton, which probably means that about 43% of potential voters failed to cast a ballot.
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So that is the surface of the problem. What is really going on? Chris Hedges is pausible in suggesting an answer:
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<blockquote>Once democratic institutions are hollowed out, a process begun before the election of Trump, despotism is inevitable. The press is shackled. Corruption and theft take place on a massive scale. The rights and needs of citizens are irrelevant. Dissent is criminalized. Militarized police monitor, seize and detain Americans without probable cause. The rituals of democracy become farce. This is the road we are traveling. It is a road that leads to internal collapse and tyranny, and we are very far down it.
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The elites’ moral and intellectual vacuum produced Trump. They too are con artists. They are slicker than he at selling the lies and more adept at disguising their greed through absurd ideologies such as neoliberalism and globalization, but they belong to the same criminal class and share many of the pathologies that characterize Trump. The grotesque visage of Trump is the true face of politicians such as George W. Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Clintons and Obama, unlike Bush and Trump, are self-aware and therefore cynical, but all lack a moral compass. As Michael Wolff writes in “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” the president has “no scruples.” He lives “outside the rules” and is “contemptuous of them.” And this makes him identical to those he has replaced, not different. “A close Trump friend who was also a good Bill Clinton friend found them eerily similar—except that Clinton had a respectable front and Trump did not,” Wolff writes.
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Trump, backed by the most retrograde elements of corporate capitalism, including Robert and Rebekah Mercer, Sheldon Adelson and Carl Icahn, is the fool who prances at the front of our death march. As natural resources become scarce and the wealth of the empire evaporates, a shackled population will be forced to work harder for less. State revenues will be squandered in grandiose projects and futile wars in an attempt to return the empire to a mythical golden age. The decision to slash corporate tax rates for the rich while increasing an already bloated military budget by $54 billion is typical of decayed civilizations. Empires expand beyond their capacity to sustain themselves and then go bankrupt. The Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Khmer, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires all imploded in a similar fashion. The lessons of history are clear. But the illiterate charlatans who seize power in the dying days of empire know nothing of history. They are driven by a primal and inchoate lust for wealth, one that is never satisfied no matter how many billions they possess.
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The elites in dying cultures turn everything into a commodity. Human beings are commodities. The natural world is a commodity. Government and democratic institutions are commodities. All are mined and wrecked for profit. Nothing has an intrinsic value. Nothing is sacred. The relentless and suicidal drive to accumulate greater and greater wealth by destroying the systems that sustain life is idolatry. It ignores the biblical injunction that idols always begin by demanding human sacrifice and end by demanding self-sacrifice. The elites are not only building our funeral pyre, they are building their own.
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The elites, lacking a vision beyond satiating their own greed, revel in the intoxicating power to destroy. They confuse destruction with creation. They are agents of what Sigmund Freud calls the death instinct. They find in acts of national self-immolation a godlike power. They denigrate empathy, intellectual curiosity, artistic expression and the common good, virtues that sustain life. They celebrate a hyper-individualism embodied in celebrity, wealth, hedonism, manipulation and the ability to dominate others. They know nothing of the past. They do not think about the future. Those around them are temporarily useful to their aims and must be flattered and rewarded but in the end are ruthlessly cast aside. There is no human connection. This emotional numbness lies at the core of Trump’s personality.
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“[Stephen] Bannon described Trump as a simple machine,” Wolff writes. “The On switch was full of flattery, the Off switch full of calumny. The flattery was dripping, slavish, cast in ultimate superlatives, and entirely disconnected from reality: so-and-so was the best, the most incredible, the ne plus ultra, the eternal. The calumny was angry, bitter, resentful, ever a casting out and closing of the iron door.”
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The elites in a dying culture confuse what the economist Karl Polanyi calls “real” and “fictitious” commodities. A commodity is a product manufactured for sale. The ecosystem, labor and money, therefore, are not commodities. Once these fictitious commodities are treated as real ones for exploitation and manipulation, Polanyi writes, human society devours itself. Workers become dehumanized cogs. Currency and trade are manipulated by speculators, wreaking havoc with the economy and leading to financial collapse. The natural world is turned into a toxic wasteland. The elites, as the society breaks down, retreat into protected enclaves where they have access to security and services denied to the wider population. They last longer than those outside their gates, but the tsunami of destruction they orchestrate does not spare them.
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As long as Trump serves the interests of the elites he will remain president. If, for some reason, he is unable to serve these interests he will disappear. Wolff notes in the book that after his election there was “a surprising and sudden business and Wall Street affinity for Trump.” He went on: “An antiregulatory White House and the promise of tax reform outweighed the prospect of disruptive tweeting and other forms of Trump chaos; besides, the market had not stopped climbing since November 9, the day after the election.”</blockquote>
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The worst thing to do is look at what is happening in the US and believe that it is not possible, that same forces are not in play. This analysis does not specifically mention media. Traditional media concentration is a characteristic of the Australian political landscape, and is increasing. Paradoxically, despite the many problems of social media, it may be a saving factor. We have the same elite behavior, exemplified by the criminal neglience with regard to climate change. We have the same inertia regarding Constitutional Change, although the founders left the referendum mechanism, which might be significantly improved. The recent election on Super Saturday were evidence of profound democratic failure rather than democratic realization. Let us not forget, while it may be elected by the very democratic proportional representation system, is not by that reason a democratic body representing the plurality of the voters of Australia. Still, at least in NSW, there is hope on the Local Government level.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-43281568071632484632018-02-20T03:26:00.001+11:002018-02-20T03:26:37.061+11:00MLK: Six Principles of Nonviolence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Martin Luther King's(MLK) six principles of nonviolence:
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1. Nonviolence is not a method for cowards; it does resist. If one uses this method because one is afraid or merely lacks the instruments of violence, that person is not truly nonviolent.
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2. Nonviolence does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his or her friendship and understanding.
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3. The nonviolent attack is directed at forces of evil rather than against persons who happen to be doing the evil. It is the evil that the nonviolent resister seeks to defeat, not the persons perpetrating the evil.
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4. Nonviolent resistance is a willingness to accept suffering without striking back. Suffering, the nonviolent resister realizes, has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities.
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5. Nonviolent resistance avoids not only external physical violence but also internal violence of the spirit.
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6. Nonviolent resistance is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice. Consequently, the believer in nonviolence has deep faith in the future.
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(Source: Campaign Nonviolence)
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Martin Luther King is a far more radical thinker than he is usually given credit.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-82242970663049258372018-02-11T23:52:00.003+11:002018-02-11T23:52:57.884+11:00January - February 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The days are fleeting past. Dexter and Hannah get to go for their walk on most days.
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There were a host of events in late January. Invasion Day came and went, as it does, leaving it unresolved, lingering historical legacies - dispossession and colonialism. It is deeply ironic that the foundation of British, and thus Western Culture and Civiliation and it accompanying crimes in this distant and remote place was founded as a prison. Nothing new, of course. The annual folk festival, which might have been a celebration of nonviolence, or at least Eric Bogle among others turned up. Doubtless, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda was given a spin. Masculinity, animal violence and wretched commentary was on offer with the Bikes and Bulls show.
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Invasion Day serves the useful purpose to remind us that history matters, and it matters to each of us. We cannot escape it, so since we cannot escape it we might do humble best to understand the framing of the modern world,with all the memory and forgetting.
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There might be a scientific basis that walking among the trees might be a good thing to do. Dexter and Hannah are more grounded, but it seems that their may be <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-02-05/nature-park-forest-immune-system-inflammation-mental-health/9387714">some benefits for humans</a> to get out of atificialy constructed places.
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The usual and unusual set of photos of the daily rounds were collected:
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(And if you notice, I got a little ahead of myself, it is because I cannot keep up)
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To honour the Folk Festival, an American singer singing an Australian song composed by an Irishman may be interesting:
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PS: Thank you to TheNaturalCompanion for reminding me of the importance of taking water for the dogs out on our walks. There has been little rain recently, and the creeks has not been running. Dexter and Hannah appreciated the water.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-14666812684927119992018-01-22T02:36:00.000+11:002018-01-22T02:36:00.075+11:00On The Turning Away<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The dog blog has become much more straightforward. I have taken the course of least resistance, now that U discover I can put almost all the photos I have taken and it it not too long. Furthermore, the photos are a self indulgence.
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This week compared to last week the volume of the decibel capcophony of the cicadas <a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5162421/fact-or-fiction-the-illawarra-cicada-season-is-noisier-this-year/">has fallen dramatically</a>. The birds could be heard so much more easily.
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It was a bird week. Dexter discovered the Dollar bird, which was sitting on a log. It was still there when we came back. I don't know anything about handling birds, other than not to pick it up directly. I put it in my hat and brought it home. Then it was taken to the vets. Apparently, they x-rayed it and was not able to fly because of critical damage to its wing muslces. So they gave it a last feed and drink, and put it down.
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The name is of some interest - the species is probably known by a different name in SE Asia. <a href="http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=655">Graeme Chapman </a>observes that the name goes back to 18th Century when the Spanish Dollar was legal tender in early NSW. The alternative name is the Broad-billed Roller.
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If I am to permit Dexter and Hannah their tangential diversions - part of their immersion in their environments, with some human advantage - then I might be permitted such a digression. The American president was reported to question the reason to have nuclear weapons if they cannot be used. Several dead former leaders such as Saddam Hussien and Gaddafi might well if possible have a ready answer. Their countries might not now be destroyed with the destruction extending beyond their borders.
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The more generic question is how did person assume the office of President of the US with a minority of the votes cast ? If we ignore the fact that 58% of the potential electors cast a ballot or dissauded by a sense of fulility inherent in the simple plurality of selecting one or another candidate, or for other more devious causes. <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-reason-for-the-electoral-college/">Joe Miller observes</a>:
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As Alexander Hamilton writes in “The Federalist Papers,” the Constitution is designed to ensure “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” The point of the Electoral College is to preserve “the sense of the people,” while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen “by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.”</blockquote>
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It seems that while the Electoral College does not now work, and is perhaps questionable as whether it ever worked for the common good. As has been suggested, had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_A._Wallace">Henry Wallace</a> become President in 1948, the world might now be very different. As we approach Invasion Day, we might pause to reflect on the framing, or the bubble of social, economic existence. There may well be a case that the pre-eminence of our social formation is such that our individual characteristics. Granted this migh not explain geniuses, or for that matter stable geniuses - or for that matter horses.
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Dexter and Hannah go out and find what otherwise might be missed. In a sense this unnamed video might be well merited:
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On the Turning Away was a song from Pink Floyd's 1987 albun, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason":
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-79458291998150200692018-01-18T03:25:00.000+11:002018-01-18T03:25:02.198+11:002018: How are You?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There has been a lapse of two months. The photos overwelm me. There is just too many of them. This video I am posting was created through Microsoft. It is far from a consciousness effort, but hopefully to those few who may be interested, it may have some value.
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It is hard to believe that we are over half way through January. Much of the photos are strikingly the same, from day to day. So a randomized approach is probably a good idea.The thing is I seemed to have lost many photos for most of November and December.
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Before Christmas I saw a bird with which I was unfamiliar. I thought perhaps Christmas dinner had got away. I came upon <a href="http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Alectura-lathami">a Brush-turkey</a>, a native bird.As Wikipedia points out:
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Despite its name and their superficial similarities, the bird is not closely related to American turkeys, nor to the Australian bustard, which is also known as the bush turkey. Its closest relatives are the wattled brushturkey, Waigeo brushturkey and malleefowl."</blockquote>
The other observatin concenrs the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-19/loudest-cicada-sydney-australia-summer-insects-sounds/9268656">Cicadas</a>. They seemed to have quitened down now. I could not hear anything else.
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I hate to hear news that bushfires are more likely. Daily weather is difficult enought to pick. One moment there is clear blue sky without clouds and thirty minutes later it was raining, fortunately not heavily and looking up the sky was overcast. In this instance the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast was correct. Who would have realized that we have experienced the hottest winter on record in Australia, which is large area, within which there are doubtless variations. Up until anyone can credibly disproved, the public good and public policy must address it
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Here is the video with my apologies:
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The "How are you" is inspired by this Steve Goodman song, sung by Arlo Guthie. Anyone who has been on a long train trip can, I believe, relate to the lyrics - although they are specific to the trip between Chicago and New Orleans:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-19165530459729805802017-11-06T21:46:00.000+11:002017-11-06T21:46:05.230+11:00Once More October is Over<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As November gets underway, looking back at October and the months before, it is hard to remember how dry it was. Now we have teeming rain, hail, thunder and lightning and the grass is green.<br />
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Historically October was memorable. It marked respectively the 500 th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg, first in Latin and then in German. Quite a shift presuming that the reading groups leaders could read German. How did that happen? Martin by that time translated the New Testament from Greek to German. Now that is quite a feat. Then it seems Martin's main contention related to the sale of indulgences by the clergy. How did indulgences, and for that matter the society at large, become monetarized? And then there was printing that made a difference since the Church could not monopolize it. Nor it seems could retain its monopoly over civil authorities.<br />
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Who know why the East, was insulated from the disruptive influence of the circulation of American gold? So the emergence an triumph of the Bolsheviks seemes to be an unintended consequence of the First World, the short term fix that extended beyond the conception of its originators.<br />
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Dexter and Hannah have no mind for historical context. Their expectation is to go out, if not everyday at least on most days. It must have been the hand of fate that for the past week this was not done. Dogs have a strong social intent. I was not aware enough. I thought I was okay. By falling on my thigh. I has caused internal bleeding with swelling but without external bleeding. I had to then take it easy. This I think was more than an excuse: it was the best course to take.<br />
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Still, we did get some photos during the month. To make it easier I based them on the day of my injury. The accompliment is Kevin McLead, "Drankin Song":<br />
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Since Pink Floyd was voted down, and because the issue is current, I have opted for Shaking the Tree. How time have changed - Malcolm sounds measured and reasonable:<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-58556481313992026862017-10-01T22:53:00.001+11:002017-10-01T23:01:54.296+11:00Final Days of September<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have forgotten when we last had rain. It seems there were record falls in March. July, August and September, at least to my recollection, have been without rain. And that means we might expect bush fires, and we should have a plan to meet that contingency.
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While it can always be said, but nonetheless it true that things are worst for others. <a href="http://paidcontent.smh.com.au/world-vision/east-africa/article/kenya-plunged-crisis/?sr_source=lift_facebook">As Ruth Callaghan reports for World Vision</a>, Kenya (and other East African countries) are experiencing drought due to climate change. The effects on the people are harrowing and of course largely unreported:
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A farmer stands among all that remains of his 40 cattle: scattered bones in the dust. A mother, toddler in tow, walks 10 kilometres to collect water, only to queue for two hours behind thirsty, desperate others. Weak with hunger, she fears the return journey may defeat her.
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For another season, rain has ignored the people’s pleas and prayers and stayed away. Kenya is dry. Deadly dry.
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In the last two years, a food crisis in this East African country has become an emergency, declared officially by the president last February. Back then there were already 2.5 million people in Kenya in need of urgent food assistance. In the six months since, reports Lawrence Kiguro, World Vision’s Associate Director of Livelihoods and Resilience in Kenya, that number has skyrocketed to 3,356,300. Among those close to starvation are 700,000 children under five years old.
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“The situation has been deteriorating drastically,” says Kiguro. “When there is no food, everything comes to a standstill. Without food you can’t even do the simplest things. People’s health fails, they can’t work; children aren’t able to attend school.”
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Climate Change is unlikely to miss the "the lucky country", but rather denial and bad management will not only make things worse for us, but as well for all who share the planet's troposphere.
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As Dexter, Hannah and myself take our mostly daily stroll we might observe how the dynamics of the atmosphere are inter-related to processes of life around us, including in its symbiotic net ourselves. As a culture we might have lost our way by investing in power over nature, rather than respecting it as the source of our well being.
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The dryness is very evident, which might be observed in this limited selection of photos of the final days of September. The background music is deliberately upbeat - Sioux Falls by Silent Partner:
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I am given to whinge about American cultural influence. Something happens there and the response down in the South West Pacific, among the English speakers at least, is almost immediate. Such is the impact of global communication networks. However, the human story is always compelling and is captured by Rhiannon Gidden's song Julie based on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/rhiannon-giddens-performs-song-inspired-slave-narratives/">a memoir of a slave from the time of the Civil War</a>:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-32930246126413577452017-09-05T22:12:00.000+10:002017-09-05T22:12:43.577+10:00Days of August<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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August, was to me, one of the coldest that I have ever experienced. Overall,<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-01/australia-winter-2017-was-hot-dry-and-a-record/8862856"> the Bureau of Meteorology reports</a>:
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<blockquote>The 2017 winter was the hottest since 1910 when national records began, according to Bureau of Meteorology figures released today.
The average maximum daily temperature recorded across all Australian recording locations for June, July and August 2017 was 23.7C.
That is a whopping 1.9C degrees above the baseline 1961 to 1990 average of 21.8C and smashes the previous record of 23.4C set in 2009.</blockquote>
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However, the BOM, did report that "nights were still cold" and "NSW had its coldest average winter nights since 1997."
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The result in part of these circumstances, combined with my failure to protect myself against the cold was that I got the flu. I have never experienced being as sick in my life. It was very disconcerting. I was so congested it was as if someone was talking. I called an ambulance at night. They did something clever. They firstly had me interviewed by a nurse and then a doctor, who then referred me to my local medical practice the next morning. I duly went along, picked up the antibiotics and bought a small bottle of beer - a no no. When you a running a temperature, often you are not thinking as clearly as you might.
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Hannah is now not asking me when I am going to be taking them out each day. She and Dexter have gotten over the disappointment of no going out. I don't think that I would have been strong enough to take them. One of the precipitating problems is that I exposed my back to cold air.
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So they are both grounded. All we have are photo memories, which as Huma Huma observe are like clouds:
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"When walking through life, many of us are guided by our dreams." Dexter and Hannah have a sense appreciation and I have a sense of obligation to them - which for the moment I am not discharging. The clarity of Joanne Shenandoh's singing is striking:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-24090691768272873452017-08-03T03:06:00.000+10:002017-08-03T03:15:51.686+10:00Last Days of July<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was walking a few kilometers per day. I thought I was going OK. Dexter and Hannah express disappointment if I do not take them out. Then I was undermined what I thought at the time would be a critical injury. I seemed to tear my knee and the muscles. I had difficulty getting out of a chair. The remedy, after going to the doctor was, simple and almost immediately effective. The application of anti-inflammatory gel worked almost immediately.
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Subjective opinions do not work with climate. As was the case last year, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-01/australia-records-hottest-july-on-record-bom-says/8762560">July was the hottest on record</a>. I thought it was the coldest July, I could remember. Now that winter is mostly over, we will have to start thinking about summer and the prospect for bushfires. Not only has the grass not been cut, by the responsible State Government agency - probably to save money and they have a lot of property to maintain - but I noticed a cigarette butt. I can upset about people littering the environment.
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I notice that Tom Despatch relates the facts of Earth Overshoot Day, quoting <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/02/earth-overshoot-day-day-using-unsustainable-amount-earths-resources/">Patrick Scott in The Daily Telegraph</a>:
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"Today marks Earth Overshoot Day - the day by which the human race will have used more of Earth's natural resources than the planet can renew in the whole year. Put simply, we use more ecological resources and services than nature can regenerate and this puts the Earth on an unsustainable trajectory.
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"Through overfishing, overharvesting forests, and emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than forests can sequester, humans are demanding more from the earth than it can produce.
"Every natural resource that we use from this day - 2 August - onwards is in effect unsustainable in the long term. Over the course of a year we use 170 per cent of the world's natural output.
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"Earth Overshoot Day comes far earlier in the year than it did a decade ago when we used just 144 per cent of the Earth's biocapacity. However, this is still double the 78 per cent that was used in 1963.
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<!--more-->"Currently, carbon emissions make up 60 per cent of humanity’s Ecological Footprint. If carbon emissions were cut in half, the date of Earth Overshoot Day would be pushed back by 89 days, or about three months..."</blockquote>
A polical system that cannot fully and appropriately address and act on an existential crisis is both dysfunctional and corrupt. Why are we so disccnnected from reality?
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Never mind the geographic dislocation, the music by Silent Partner is Tucson. Whether we realize it not, we all are stepping towards our final curtain. Dexter and Hannah seem to enjoying their time:
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The explanation for the death of Dr G is a story worth pursuing. Here he sings Bapa:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-41093942927763399252017-07-11T22:47:00.001+10:002017-07-11T23:38:06.612+10:00Walking for Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are two separate realms of concern and at times failure of intuition, especially in relation to dogs and to human beings. There seems to be agreement that walking is good for dogs and for humans.
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A general view is: "<a href="http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/19/walking-your-dog-how-to-do-it-well-and-why-its-so-important.aspx">dogs need to walk for exercise and mental stimulation</a>". The human interaction can be both positive and negative, from the dog's world perception -real to dogs if sometimes not appreciated by humans. Dogs often do not have the iniative in these matters, particularly in urban and suburban settings. It is said they get bored with the sensory stimulation provided by the backyard.
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There is much more to be said about dogs and exercise, as there is with humans. The benefits of walking seem surprising at first sight:
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<p style="padding-left:30px;">Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">Unlike some other forms of exercise, walking is free and doesn’t require any special equipment or training. Physical activity does not have to be vigorous or done for long periods in order to improve your health. A 2007 study of inactive women found that even a low level of exercise – around 75 minutes per week – improved their fitness levels significantly, when compared to a non-exercising group.</p>
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<p style="padding-left:30px;">Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of day and can be performed at your own pace. You can get out and walk without worrying about the risks associated with some more vigorous forms of exercise. Walking is also a great form of physical activity for people who are overweight, elderly, or who haven’t exercised in a long time.</p>
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Dexter, Hannah and myself are now habituated to "strolling through", as suggested by music of Silent Partner:
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I gave up on Dire Straits and the "Walk of Life" I have used this song before. I like it because it raises the question, Where is home? Slum landlors, and their ilk associated with the Trump Administration, do not give a stuff about people and their homes.I suggest that the answer in the general sense is our planet Earth. The Walkabouts (great name) perform "Feel Like Going Home":
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PS: I think we very much need a 100 year strategic plan for Earth, in which people can participate by developing strategic plans for theirs homes and local communities. If "<a href="http://D:\Australia's dry June is a sign of what's to come.html">Australia's dry June is sign of what is to come</a>", why is there so little urgency and coherence in doing something about it?
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-37837287615520699442017-07-03T02:18:00.001+10:002017-07-03T09:18:26.998+10:00Goodbye June<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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June is gone for this year. Next year she is due to return. The Earth keeps turning, which is gives us the opportunity, at least as a species, to look ahead and consider the record of the past.
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Dexter and Hannah, as dogs concentrate on the present. Their heads are closer to the ground and there is much along the way to arouse their interest and to inspect the smells along the way. They give a premonition of what may be ahead. The ability to be in the presence is often sited as ideal for human beings. What is good for individuals may not be good for collectives.
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The social individual is functional, whereas the individualized social person is dysfunctional. Take the example of nonviolence which sometimes appears to be effective, to work. For the moment leave aside the question of whether it works when it appears not to work. There is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe">the story of Father Kolbe</a> who takes the place of a man bewailing the fate of his wife and children and is duly killed. The effect of his self sacrifice on the Auschwitiz Concentration Camp is enormous.
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Notice though in this alternative example from Bangkok, that nonviolence works but in a deeper sense it does not work:
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Everything works out great, considering what might have happened, but his circumstances remain unchanged. There needs to be a political strategy to address <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence">structural violence</a>. Mohandes Karamchand <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi">Gandhi</a> was aware of this issue he wrote of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha">satyagraha</a> (as a part prescription) to oppose the increase in violence and "constructive program" to address the underlying issues.
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Dexter's and Hannah's daily routine is necessarily constrained. Every so often, if not every day, they get to go for a walk in the bush. As has been noted it is along the same path - the easiest option. Of course it is a bit dark and cool at this time of the year. So here is the record of what is past, with the accompanying music by Alberto Ortolani, "Venti di passione":
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How did Iris Dement become such a radical? She is probably expressing the consciousness of the time. A recent song: We Won't Keep Quiet:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-29769418717149342922017-06-26T01:27:00.000+10:002017-06-26T01:27:02.031+10:00Kicking the Earth - another weekly dog blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I know what it is like to kick the earth, or at least a piece of wood. I thought my toe would never recover. I looked around, of course, for someone to blame and there were two dogs pulling on the lead. I bit my tongue in the metaphoric sense, and kept walking.
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The reference of the title is to the lyrics in the song by Redgum, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Was_Only_Nineteen">"I was only 19"</a>:
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<blockquote>Frankie kicked a mine, the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me he was going home in June."</blockquote>
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This lyric has poignancy for me because I can remember that day in Perth. Vietnam was the furtherest concern from my thoughts and concerns.
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That is the way it is for young soldiers now as ever. We are not aware of the anxiety they experience in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. And the populations experiencing these conflicts do not get a mention - except perhaps as refugees. In those cases we put up the barriers at the borders, forgetting that one of the strongest evocation of nationalism is the violence perpertrated in other peoples' countries. Perhaps the creation of the other, the dehumanization that makes violence possible is more honest that what passes for love of what is constructed as our own kind.
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And yet the argument would be made that violence is the necessary condition for peace. It is as if nation states are concieved in violence, and that it would be a contraction to employ and sponsor nonviolence.
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As far as I know Dexter and Hannah are not concerned about this subject. It is peaceful enough for them to go out safely. And they seem to get something out of their walks - which probably is not conveyed by photos. I have used Silent Partner's "Chances" again:
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And for an evocation of times past, Redgum's reporting on experience of the Vietnam War:
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Postscript:
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I would be remiss if I did not mention the Winter Soltice, which slips by almost with note. And self-respecting pagan would find this to be a signifigant moment. Just goes to show how our forebears looked south seared themselves away from their social context. Any attendant grief associated seems to be unrecorded.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-41798113310963105532017-06-17T01:35:00.006+10:002017-06-17T20:40:17.430+10:00Dog Blog: Moments Gone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Life is transient and apparently effervescent. As humans, like other animals, we well designed for life's practicalities. Dexter and Hannah do not worry about such things. They just live their lives.
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It is easy just to quote from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_in_the_Wind">Wikipedia</a>:
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The title of the song is a Bible reference, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes:[4]
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“ I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded:
Everything he has accomplished is futile — like chasing the wind![5]
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”
"Dust in the Wind" was one of Kansas's first acoustic tracks; its slow melancholy melody and philosophical lyrics differ from their other hits such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Point of Know Return". A meditation on mortality and the inevitability of death, the lyrical theme bears a striking resemblance to the well-known biblical passage Genesis 3:19 ("...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."), as well as to the famous opening lines of the Japanese war epic The Tale of the Heike ("...the mighty fall at last, and they are as dust before the wind.") and from a book of Native American poetry, which includes the line "for all we are is dust in the wind."[3]</blockquote>
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Is this true? If the world was blown up by nuclear war, or destroyed by climate change, most people would be as dust in the wind, and those who survived such catastrophes may well have a marginalized existence, if that remained possible. By such acts of incomprehension, violence and stupidity, we take out most forms of life.
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Dexter and Hannah went out. We have the photos as records. You Tube is a means to an end. Epic Radio ( not Music) was motivated enough last week to make a one word comment: "Dope" - just to be personal and constructive. Now I have looked at the episodic radio (music) I can understand where that comes from. I find Dexter and Hannah's videos challenging. The accompanying music this week by Silent Partner is "Desert Sky":
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Here is Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" with lyrics:
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Actually it is not true that the Earth and Sky last forever. I take spirit to be related to the processes of breathing. Our spiritually has to be informed has to be informed by scientific understanding of the processes around us through time extrapolated forward. Perhaps, the problem may be wider in that as in my case, we are not sufficiently scietifically aware.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-87571331690917095132017-06-10T02:49:00.001+10:002017-06-10T02:49:29.625+10:00June Resumption<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Both Dexter and Hannah are as right as the rain now falling, but for April and May the photo record of their jaunts (or walks) have not been realized, although photos were taken. The fact is there are too many photos.
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The walks are an important part of their routine. Hopefully walking may be working for me. I am less agile now than I used to be. Their benefit as exercise are questionable. However, they do represent a time of silence. There is always a possibility that we could meet other people, and sometimes dogs, which can be quite sudden when there is restricted line of vision.
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The other aspect is that we have become disconnected from nature. We don't identify ourselves as part of the natural world, its systems and its processes. Our symbiotic relationship with the plants and trees as breathing creatures is part of a larger set of relationships, including the ocean and the wind. Part of the problem with dealing with climate change is the abstraction and disconnection that has been created by the industrial and post-industrial world, while the science that alerts us to the potential catastrophe for our global society is a product of the same world. A modest walk through the bush to satisfy the dogs might be part of the antidote needed.
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Here is the video, which I have assemble somewhat haphazardly. The music is "Travel Light" by Audionautix:
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I do not have to clap my hands or slap my tighs, I can hear the rain failling and it sounds similiar. <a href="https://angelcitychorale.org/about/thechoir/">Angel City Chorale</a> perform Toto's Africa:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-79039594833511395702017-04-01T03:45:00.000+11:002017-04-01T03:49:58.473+11:00Slow March<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As the BBC noted "It's been a week of flooding in Peru, a heatwave in India and rain hitting South-East Asia." And in Australia there has been Cyclone Debbie <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/cyclone-debbie-flooding-causes-havoc-in-northern-nsw,-seq/8406240">and its consequences</a>.
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Of course, there has been some contention by those you claim that Climate Change is not a fact that such storms are not related. The discussion, mostly considered just seem pointless. My understanding is that such storms are likely to be less frequent but more intense. It is always the combination of events in these instances that does the damage.
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We had rain day after day. Amazingly the sun returned for the last two days. Dexter and Hannah went out on four days since last week. As usual there were some photos. The music is by Chris Zabriskie, somewhat in the tenor of the climate related theme, is "The Importance of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan". <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Kaleetan">This is the name of a Puget Sound ferry</a>, which in Chinook means "arrow":
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Jethro Tull's, and Ian Anderson's words, "Slow Marching Band was surprisingly relevant:"Would you join a slow marching band?"<br />
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"Would you join a slow marching band?<br />
And take pleasure in your leaving<br />
as the ferry sails and tears are dried<br />
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Could you get behind a slow marching band?<br />
And join together in the passing<br />
of all we shared through yesterdays<br />
in sorrows neverlasting.</div>
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Take a hand and take a bow.<br />
You played for me; that's all for now,<br />
oh, and never mind the words:<br />
just hum along and keep on going.</div>
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Walk on slowly don't look behind you.<br />
Don't say goodbye, love. I won't remind you."</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-85610041909895776262017-03-26T01:12:00.000+11:002017-03-26T01:37:42.136+11:00Continuing Rain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The rain keeps falling. As they say it is weather for ducks,and because the creek was flooding we took a walk up to the dam.We had a storm on Wednesday, but with luck and the information that is now readily to hand, we got home before it occurred.
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/mar/22/global-warming-is-increasing-rainfall-rates">"Global Warming is Increasing Rainfall Rates"</a> was the heading for John Abraham's article in The Guardian. He reminded me, at least:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"One weather phenomenon that directly affects humans is the pattern, amount, and intensity of rainfall and the availability of water. Water is essential wherever humans live, for agriculture, drinking, industry, etc. Too little water and drought increases risk of wild fires and can debilitate societies. Too much water and flooding can occur, washing away infrastructure and lives.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">It’s a well-known scientific principle that warmer air holds more water vapor. In fact, the amount of moisture that can be held in air grows very rapidly as temperatures increase. So, it’s expected that in general, air will get moister as the Earth warms – provided there is a moisture source. This may cause more intense rainfalls and snow events, which lead to increased risk of flooding."</p>
We have less to complain about when the flooding in California, and more particularly in Peru is considered. Both of these conditions may reflect the onset of the El Nino weather conditions.<a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">The Bureau of Meteorology suggests</a>:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"El Niño is often, but not always, associated with below average winter–spring rainfall over eastern Australia and warmer than average winter–spring maximum temperatures over the southern half of Australia."</p>
I will be watching the radar map to see what is going on day to day. One other report I was completely unaware of is the UV reading. On cloudy days I then to expect the UV to be low, which is not always the case.
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On the days Dexter and Hannah went out, as usual too many photos were taken. The music by Kevin McLeod is called, "Meditation Impromptu 01". A major reason for selecting it is that is the same duration as the video of photos:
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Waylon Jennings does pretty well with Ned Kelly, a song in which the photos with the video add to the story:
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_-Ix8SErJq8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-10089922682128285782017-03-19T00:25:00.006+11:002017-03-19T00:27:40.369+11:00Rain, Rain and More Rain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Let's talk about the weather. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/rainfall-records-loom-as-sydney-endures-19-wet-days-in-the-last-22-days-20170317-gv0zye.html">There have been just three days</a> so far this month without rain.And if this pattern continues, as expected, a record will be broken.
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The question arises as to the relationship, if any, to overall global climate change.<a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4538309/weather-systems-combine-to-deliver-intense-rainfall/?cs=300"> So what has caused the rain:</a>
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Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said the extreme weather was the result of a lingering coastal trough combining with a strong cold front that crossed southern parts of NSW late afternoon.</div>
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“We had some fairly strong onshore [wind] flows and a high level of moisture, so that meant we had some rather heavy showers with some thunderstorms,” she said.</div>
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Earlier forecasts had predicted storms, but didn’t suggest the intense nature of the rainfall. The bureau wasn’t caught off-guard, she said, adding a severe thunderstorm warning was issued.</div>
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“In this kind of situation, we know that there is a lot of moisture throughout the atmosphere and that all we need is a really strong trigger to trigger those thunderstorms,” she said.</div>
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While the amount of moisture in the atmosphere is a clue, it is not clear to me how atmospheric pressure systems are related to climate.
Regardless, Dexter and Hannah were able to get out. For the past two days this was not true. If you get wet that would too bad I suppose. It is great weather for leeches. I tend to worry about thunderstorms, and have been in the past foolish enough to get caught in them. I am pleased to see that others have noted that the plasma inside lightning is great
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Nonetheless, the fact that it proved only to be rain is not a reason not to take the opportunity to whinge. In these cases some upbeat music is required. Silent Partner performs "Secrets, Secrets":
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And there is a necessary concern, especially coming down the embankment, with the wet ground, I might be "Slip, Sliding Away" by Paul Simon:</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-68051317284931735202017-03-12T01:57:00.001+11:002017-03-12T02:12:58.927+11:00Summer has Gone?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The world keeps on turning. That part of the system is pretty constant. Natural systems almost invite variation, and that would be equally true for embedded sub-systems whether they are human or canine bodies for instance. Still if there were usual variation in the in the rotation of the Earth or its axis, such a change would not escape instant attention.
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Different dates are given for the beginning of Autumn. <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/nsw/sydney.shtml">The Bureau of Meteorology</a> reported for Sydney:
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"Summer 2016-17 was the warmest on record for Sydney, with persistent warmth throughout the season and few cold spells. Records were broken for numbers of hot days and nights across the city, with many stations experiencing their warmest February day on record on the 10th and 11th. Rainfall was close to average, with a dry start to the summer followed by some heavy rain and thunderstorms during February."</div>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt">Scott Pruitt,</a> the newly installed Administrator of the (US) Environmental Protection Agency. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/18/epa-nominee-scott-pruitt-confirmation-hearing/96679106/">When asked by Bernie Sanders</a>:
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". . . Pruitt would not say that human activity is the primary cause of climate change.</div>
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NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that 2016 was the hottest year in recorded history, and said human activity is to blame.</div>
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Pruitt would not say that human activity is the primary cause of climate change.</div>
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"Science tells us the climate is changing and human activity in some matter impacts that change," Pruitt said. "The ability to measure and pursue the degree and the extent of that impact and what to do about it are subject to continuing debate and dialogue."</div>
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NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that 2016 was the hottest year in recorded history, and said human activity is to blame."</div>
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Such beliefs are not without consequences. Mr Pruitt does not seem to have gleaned any understanding of science is conducted and how scientific truth is pursued and adjudicated. If global warming theory was not incontrovertible, one would imagine that some major research would have by now called it into question.
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Dexter, Hannah and me went out and followed what could be discovered about the world. We were using different approached. Whatever else the photos were evidence, contrary to what has been claimed that that "the grass a'int green' and the "the sky a'int blue". We visited Sampson and noticed a Black Cockatoo. <span style="background-color: white; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15px;">Parting Glass is performed by Audionautix:</span><br />
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Perhaps Mr Pruitt may want to twist and shout - self awareness is too much. The Travelling Wilburys had the song:
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Honest admission. There have been times when I have found myself inside out, as Dexter and Hannah can attest.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-7215603259618243132017-03-04T23:15:00.001+11:002017-03-04T23:15:41.182+11:00" . . . and Watermelon Wine".<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With the backlog of days, the photos build up. Eventually, I have got around to doing something about them.<a name='more'></a>
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The criticism I get is that the photos are all the same. To that, I would say the details change. For most of January and February there was no flow of water at the crossing at the creek . <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/nsw/summary.shtml">The Bureau of Meteorology </a> confirmed the suspicion that the January and February were exceptionally hot and dry. This included on some occasions 30 degree Celsius around midnight. The ran seems to have held off until the end of February and it has now come down in bucket loads.
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This has meant that the dogs are not going out, and when they do, I am avoiding coming down the embankment and walking around the street. With there new harnesses, which are I believe both stronger and cooler, I have more confidence in taking that option, I may be advised to avoid the embankment for the time being.
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<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-02/canine-trainer-says-off-leash-dog-parks-like-mosh-pit-for-dogs/8315050">Dog areas are not all they are cracked up to be. </a>I don't know how Dexter and Hannah would go down the beach. I don't give Hannah as much free time off the lease as I should. i cannot know who might come along.
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Here are the photos. I was able to include Sampson, the horse, who expects an apple, even two apples. It is quite a task to bundle all the photos, and I chose Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" because it would cover the distance and was least intrusive.
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<a href="https://www.clawhammersupply.com/blogs/moonshine-still-blog/14183961-how-to-make-watermelon-moonshine-step-by-step-with-pictures">Why Watermelon Wine?</a> Firstly, because it is mentioned in the song by Tom T Hall and then because that was the colour of the sky in early February. He also mentions old dogs, and Dexter may now fit into that category. Are 65 yo people now considered old? And he mentions children who have not yet learnt to hate. "Old Dogs, and Children and Watermelon Wine" wrote and sung by Tom T Hall:
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vVA1hbF-pz4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-79412573100843534542017-02-13T00:02:00.000+11:002017-02-13T00:05:05.475+11:00Not Yet the End<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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At some point at the road of an individual's life unfurls, there is the realization that the planning horizon has closed in. That may be a very selfish moment, or the culmination of long term selfishness. Other people may inherit a world that will sustain their lives and fulfil their humanity, but that beggars belief and probability given dominant political and economic agendas.
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Anyway, Dexter and Hannah give no indication that they are concerned about mortality seeing their sole role as being fully in the present. Dogs seem to take death in their measure. Dexter and Hannah are happy to get out. Even so, it has been very hot recently, and one of the advantages of the photos is that I have occasion to observe their reactions. I am now carrying water with me in a shopping bag. Some people put out water for native animals. While there has not been a continuous flow of water at the crossing there is still water in the creek.
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So we took some photos and put them in video form. The music is "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnop%C3%A9dies">Gymnopedia </a>N0 3" by Wahneta Meixsell. I called the clip, "Not Yet at an End":
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The song that I had in mind was "End of the Line" by the Travelling Whilbury's:
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Today, and I do not know much about funerals, I will be going to Ernie's ceremony. He passed away last Tuesday. He was within weeks of his hundredth birthday.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7666800.post-9002135240737561762017-01-31T00:16:00.000+11:002017-01-31T00:16:44.583+11:00INVASION DAY 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The days race along. Last week it was so-called Australia Day on 26 January. New Year was but a few weeks previously. Still the dogs go out most days.
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<a name='more'></a>The thing about Invasion Day, as it is constituted, is that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/27/helen-johnson-warm-ties-ica-anti-colonial-australia?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+AUS+v1+-+AUS+morning+mail+callout&utm_term=210823&subid=5538032&CMP=ema_632">gives rise to reflection</a>. How could people be so dismissively dispossessed and subject to mass murder? There is a pathology at work apparently without a name. It has it precedents in the similar cruelty meted out to other indigenous peoples, and I would suggest the dispossession of the commons.
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Here are a few photos along the way that Dexter and Hannah seem not to mind transversing, nor stopping intermittently to investigate perhaps others who may have passed on the way. The background music (from a limited selection) is "Sicilian Breezes" by Tophor Mohr and Alex Shena:
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In passing it may be noted that President Trump as promised is following through on his intention to build a wall to block the invasion from Mexico. This wall would be much longer if <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Cession">the borders before 1848</a> were in effect. Now Woody Guthie had a machine he claimed killed fascists. The plane crash at Los Gatos was on 28 January 1948. The song, Deportees is a memory all of us can share:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0