every day i cross this river twice. i cross this piece of my childhood, so integral in the life of sydney. the river that starts as a creek and becomes what i believe to be one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. I grew up by this river, in this river, on this river. playing in the mangroves and on the fairy's island down near the elephant cage at the end of my street. we'd leave in the morning and come home wet and dirty when our bellies said it was lunch time. as i got older there was sailing, rowing and canoeing on the river. surfing ferry waves in kayaks. floating in an upturned canoe, kissing in an upturned canoe because no-one else existed in the world at that time. sailing and constantly being terryfied of capsizing in the ferry channel. rowing to abbotsford alone in tom thumb, all the boys in arrowhead. beating the boys, proving that i was as good as them, and better. taking the row boats our for late night picnics. standing thigh deep in the most horrible sticky black mud at low tide, the only way to get out being to lie down. campfires on the beach. dead grass after a king tide. running and bombing off the end of the pier at tingira - completely against the rules, but so much fun. fetching soccer balls b4 they get too far.
i miss the times i've spent with this river. it is an old friend who will always be there for me. I would have as much trouble leaving it as i would leaving sydney.
everyday i cross this river twice, and my childhood lives on in my mind and i look forward to the next time i can get back in.
that is all.
20100218
20100214
girls night out
aka, a big weekend...
on thursday night. after i had taken my car on a date to the movies i dropped in at post choir drinks - which is always lovely. at least a dozen of us, sometimes closer to 20, invade a local cafe/bar and completely dominate the outdoor area! right there we planned for all 6 of the "cleavage club" (the younger group of women in the choir, most of us have ample cleavage...) to go see Valentines Day on friday. when planning this i had forgotten that i have guides on a friday now, but thankfully we went to a later session and so i only had to leave guides a little early.
anyhoo, got to the movie - no-one bought Libby a ticket, so we had to sneak her in.... there was a seat for her, and she did buy a ticket, just not the same movie... i won't review the movie except to say it is the same premise as Love Actually, but different enough to not beg too much comparison.
about halfway through the movie we could here water running. lots of it. when we had arrived it was hot and muggy and we knew a storm was coming. it was loud, but not so completely annoying that you couldn't still enjoy the movie. you could tell it was in the roof. after about 5 or 10 mins, the sound changed. all of a sudden the running water was inside... in three points the roof started leaking. it was running at about the pace you would turn on a tap to wash ur hands - really pouring in through the roof. we had a laugh, someone went to tell the people, but there was nothing they could do. when the movie finished we went to play in the huge puddles that had formed in the carpet.. we splashed and played like kids, and took photo's. Candy had her brollie so there are pics of us standing under the shower... it was so much fun, esp after a generally entertaining movie. if you go see it stay for the beginning of the credits - there are out takes - funny stuff.
saturday - slept a little late.. had rehearsal from 10-4, but it was so hot we ended up finishing early. lunch time conversation - a lot of laughs. and as so often happens we flick through a huge variety of topics, but come back and forth to sex about 15 times in an hour... then back home after that, with some of the girls, we had over an hour to get ready to go out for the night. they all had to straighten their hair... so girly for a bunch of lesbians...
dinner of pizza and wine, then on to karaoke. i haven't been a non designated driver for years... and the birthday girl wanted lots of songs sung for her b'day, so starting at dinner and going right through karaoke and on to Max Brenner for coffee after we sang the whole night. we had randoms stopping on the side of kings st in newtown to listen to us sing! none of it was classy, but it was all fun. it was a great saturday.
in a few hours i have to get ready to go out to a movie launch... About a yr ago the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir performed henry purcells "fairy queen". We were the first G&L choir to ever put on a full opera. it was documented and tonight that documentary is being launched. really looking forward to it - another night out with my choir friends, who i love so dearly.
that is all.
on thursday night. after i had taken my car on a date to the movies i dropped in at post choir drinks - which is always lovely. at least a dozen of us, sometimes closer to 20, invade a local cafe/bar and completely dominate the outdoor area! right there we planned for all 6 of the "cleavage club" (the younger group of women in the choir, most of us have ample cleavage...) to go see Valentines Day on friday. when planning this i had forgotten that i have guides on a friday now, but thankfully we went to a later session and so i only had to leave guides a little early.
anyhoo, got to the movie - no-one bought Libby a ticket, so we had to sneak her in.... there was a seat for her, and she did buy a ticket, just not the same movie... i won't review the movie except to say it is the same premise as Love Actually, but different enough to not beg too much comparison.
about halfway through the movie we could here water running. lots of it. when we had arrived it was hot and muggy and we knew a storm was coming. it was loud, but not so completely annoying that you couldn't still enjoy the movie. you could tell it was in the roof. after about 5 or 10 mins, the sound changed. all of a sudden the running water was inside... in three points the roof started leaking. it was running at about the pace you would turn on a tap to wash ur hands - really pouring in through the roof. we had a laugh, someone went to tell the people, but there was nothing they could do. when the movie finished we went to play in the huge puddles that had formed in the carpet.. we splashed and played like kids, and took photo's. Candy had her brollie so there are pics of us standing under the shower... it was so much fun, esp after a generally entertaining movie. if you go see it stay for the beginning of the credits - there are out takes - funny stuff.
saturday - slept a little late.. had rehearsal from 10-4, but it was so hot we ended up finishing early. lunch time conversation - a lot of laughs. and as so often happens we flick through a huge variety of topics, but come back and forth to sex about 15 times in an hour... then back home after that, with some of the girls, we had over an hour to get ready to go out for the night. they all had to straighten their hair... so girly for a bunch of lesbians...
dinner of pizza and wine, then on to karaoke. i haven't been a non designated driver for years... and the birthday girl wanted lots of songs sung for her b'day, so starting at dinner and going right through karaoke and on to Max Brenner for coffee after we sang the whole night. we had randoms stopping on the side of kings st in newtown to listen to us sing! none of it was classy, but it was all fun. it was a great saturday.
in a few hours i have to get ready to go out to a movie launch... About a yr ago the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir performed henry purcells "fairy queen". We were the first G&L choir to ever put on a full opera. it was documented and tonight that documentary is being launched. really looking forward to it - another night out with my choir friends, who i love so dearly.
that is all.
20100211
fault and human traits.
"When it comes to Terry's part of it, and Alima's, I'm sorry—and I'm ashamed. Of course I blame her somewhat. She wasn't as fine a psychologist as Ellador, and what's more, I think she had a far-descended atavistic trace of more marked femaleness, never apparent till Terry called it out. But when all is said, it doesn't excuse him. I hadn't realized to the full Terry's character—I couldn't, being a man." - Herland, Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman
I am reading Herland at the moment. It's a utopian society that for thousands of years has been entirley comprised of women. this section that i have copied here is basically about rape. it is never stated so harshly, and it was written in a time when marital rape didn't exist - or more accurately wasn't defined as a crime, or even an act. if you married a man you had given up ur right to say no... the implication given by the narrator is that Alima is as much to blame for the rape as Terry, because she is female, and also because she didn't or couldn't explain to terry well enough about the beliefs of her world that meant that sex wasn't for any purpose other than procreation, because that is the natural order of things in the animal kingdom. He is to be absolved of some of the blame because he is male and it is his nature and right as a MAN to "have" his wife.
i am simmering this right down to basic principals, read the book to get the whole story - it's not that long.
so it's her upbringing and culture and custom of her people for thousands of years to not have sex. it's his upbringing and culture and customs of his people for thousands of years that when you get married you own the woman and therefore she has no right, no thought, to say no to you in any matter.
therefore both are responsible for the act that took place, her for not submitting, him for not seeing her as different to the women of his world who had been rasied with the same ideals and beliefs as he had.
Me being me, a woman who was born in the late 20th Century, strong minded, strong willed, opinionated, i struggle with seeing how Alima can be at fault in this situation. Men don't rule the world, certainly not my world. it scares me that it was 1991 before the australian high court abolished a ruling that exempted any husband from being convicted of rape if his victim was his wife (though South Australia had partially abolished this as "early" 1975). i am not a complete innocent and totally blinkered in this world, but i struggle to see how a woman/victim can EVER be at fault for rape.
maybe this is another reason why we don't have as many children per family as we used to...
where do we draw the line though. where do we say, it's not ur fault, it's the way you were raised, it's not ur fault it's just part of ur nature and ur culture. if i was raised in a culture that existed entirley on communal food and then came to work in an office, would i be allowed to raid the fridge and eat whatever i wanted because it is how i was raised? if i was raised to believe that the elderly and terminally ill are a burden on society and therefore they must be left to nature to deal with (euthanasia through omission of care), would i be unaccountable under Australian law which still outlaws euthanasia? i think the answer most people would agree in both cases is i would still be at fault and accountable under whatever system of government there was.
just reconciling thought in my head..
that is all...
I am reading Herland at the moment. It's a utopian society that for thousands of years has been entirley comprised of women. this section that i have copied here is basically about rape. it is never stated so harshly, and it was written in a time when marital rape didn't exist - or more accurately wasn't defined as a crime, or even an act. if you married a man you had given up ur right to say no... the implication given by the narrator is that Alima is as much to blame for the rape as Terry, because she is female, and also because she didn't or couldn't explain to terry well enough about the beliefs of her world that meant that sex wasn't for any purpose other than procreation, because that is the natural order of things in the animal kingdom. He is to be absolved of some of the blame because he is male and it is his nature and right as a MAN to "have" his wife.
i am simmering this right down to basic principals, read the book to get the whole story - it's not that long.
so it's her upbringing and culture and custom of her people for thousands of years to not have sex. it's his upbringing and culture and customs of his people for thousands of years that when you get married you own the woman and therefore she has no right, no thought, to say no to you in any matter.
therefore both are responsible for the act that took place, her for not submitting, him for not seeing her as different to the women of his world who had been rasied with the same ideals and beliefs as he had.
Me being me, a woman who was born in the late 20th Century, strong minded, strong willed, opinionated, i struggle with seeing how Alima can be at fault in this situation. Men don't rule the world, certainly not my world. it scares me that it was 1991 before the australian high court abolished a ruling that exempted any husband from being convicted of rape if his victim was his wife (though South Australia had partially abolished this as "early" 1975). i am not a complete innocent and totally blinkered in this world, but i struggle to see how a woman/victim can EVER be at fault for rape.
maybe this is another reason why we don't have as many children per family as we used to...
where do we draw the line though. where do we say, it's not ur fault, it's the way you were raised, it's not ur fault it's just part of ur nature and ur culture. if i was raised in a culture that existed entirley on communal food and then came to work in an office, would i be allowed to raid the fridge and eat whatever i wanted because it is how i was raised? if i was raised to believe that the elderly and terminally ill are a burden on society and therefore they must be left to nature to deal with (euthanasia through omission of care), would i be unaccountable under Australian law which still outlaws euthanasia? i think the answer most people would agree in both cases is i would still be at fault and accountable under whatever system of government there was.
just reconciling thought in my head..
that is all...
20100206
i thought i had written this
i already thought i had written about this but i can't find it anywhere
i'm watching star wars. revenge of the sith. Anikan does it all for love. he turns to the dark side because he has a premonition that his wife is going to die. he is trying to save her, instead he ends up being the reason she dies.
how often do we all do something out of love, or for the best intention and it all goes wrong. they said it in Wicked too - no good deed goes unpunished, no act of charity goes unresented. was said in Xena too, frequently, by Ares.
i'm not sure i have a point, but it's just a thought that runs around my head every now and then, and makes me think.
"Was I really seeking good
Or just seeking attention?
Is that all good deeds are
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?"
that is all
i'm watching star wars. revenge of the sith. Anikan does it all for love. he turns to the dark side because he has a premonition that his wife is going to die. he is trying to save her, instead he ends up being the reason she dies.
how often do we all do something out of love, or for the best intention and it all goes wrong. they said it in Wicked too - no good deed goes unpunished, no act of charity goes unresented. was said in Xena too, frequently, by Ares.
i'm not sure i have a point, but it's just a thought that runs around my head every now and then, and makes me think.
"Was I really seeking good
Or just seeking attention?
Is that all good deeds are
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?"
that is all
20100205
20100204
gay marriage is wrong because...
i found this whilst wandering around the interwebz and wanted to share..
1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.
2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.
3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.
4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears’s 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
5. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn’t changed at all: women are property, Blacks can’t marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.
6. Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.
7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of the official state religion are always imposed on the entire country.
8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.
9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.
10. Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That’s why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven’t adapted to cars or longer lifespans.
12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a “separate but equal” institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians.
1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.
2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.
3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.
4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears’s 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
5. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn’t changed at all: women are property, Blacks can’t marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.
6. Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.
7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of the official state religion are always imposed on the entire country.
8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.
9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.
10. Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That’s why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven’t adapted to cars or longer lifespans.
12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a “separate but equal” institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians.
20100201
love and hate monday...
monday. the day we all love to hate. it makes sunday nights uncool just by association.
i was sitting on the loo thinking - coz that's where so many of us do our best thinking (and there is scientific reasoning behind this, to do with letting ur mind wander and being able to recognise that "ah hah!" moment...) about things i love and hate..
i love my new chucks - white, covered with tiny black stars.
i hate talking to people in public toilets.
i hate that self confidence, or a lack of it, can be so debilitating.
i hate that i missed out on saying good bye last night because of it.
i love that it was commented on.
i love that i was included in the "you don't need to rush off" group.
i hate the fact that she told me i "missed out" once before.
i love that i had an opportunity to miss...
i love anticipation
i hate anticipation
that is all
i was sitting on the loo thinking - coz that's where so many of us do our best thinking (and there is scientific reasoning behind this, to do with letting ur mind wander and being able to recognise that "ah hah!" moment...) about things i love and hate..
i love my new chucks - white, covered with tiny black stars.
i hate talking to people in public toilets.
i hate that self confidence, or a lack of it, can be so debilitating.
i hate that i missed out on saying good bye last night because of it.
i love that it was commented on.
i love that i was included in the "you don't need to rush off" group.
i hate the fact that she told me i "missed out" once before.
i love that i had an opportunity to miss...
i love anticipation
i hate anticipation
that is all
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