Messy walls and broken minds

I’ve thought a lot about how to, or even whether to, write this post. On one hand I feel that I’m entitled to share it with you as it’s something that’s happened to me, but the reality is that I’m just an incidental bit player in someone else’s story. However, maybe I have just enough insight to walk the line and open your eyes to something we don’t see every day and certainly don’t go out of our way to confront; severe mental illness.

The Border Mail Loves Blogging

In an ironic twist, the Border Mail’s Saturday opinion writer who happily took a swipe at Border bloggers for being sensitive to criticism and lacking in ethics, has today scored a front page article with the inspiring story of a local blogger who is documenting his battle with cancer as he approaches his final days.

The blogger, as all three regular readers of this blog will know, is Greg Naylor who writes the King Valley Watchdog. Congratulations to Greg for having his story spread more widely. His honest, reflective posts about his feelings in this difficult time have been compelling reading.

I met Greg a few years ago when he offered me some old Macs, which I had requested on Freecycle. Greg wasn’t content just to share stuff that he had in his shed, he also insisted that we have a cuppa, and he was generously ambivalent to the usual manic behaviour of Buster Boy and the Troll Princess as they tore around in his home. I have no doubt that he’s an excellent grandfather, having seen the patience that he had with the children of a stranger, and it’s sad that his grandkids will be losing him so soon.

It was some time later that I discovered his blog and I’ve always been interested to see Greg’s ideas poured out with honesty and careful thought, the antithesis of my blog really. Greg’s decision to share his journey has given me, and I’m sure many other readers, an opportunity to reflect on some pretty big issues.

I’m not sure what all of Greg’s goals in life were, but from reading his blog I know that he is finishing without regret, however I do know that he has positively touched many people’s lives and I believe that for that he should be commended.

Speaking from both sides of your mouth

When a conservative politician tells you that they’re concerned about the underprivileged, or people adversely affected by the budget don’t believe them for a second.

CHARITY workers again face being stripped of their family tax payments after the Opposition blocked budget legislation containing changes to salary-sacrificing laws.

Given the choice between helping people or using the last week of their Senate majority to frustrate the government, it should surprise no-one that the Coalition went with the latter option.

Don’t believe a single word from these weasels when they claim to care about “ordinary Australians”, they don’t give a shit about anyone. They don’t give a fuck about social equality, they don’t care if pensioners freeze or if carers starve, they’d rather throw tantrums about being kicked out of office than do anything to ensure people’s welfare.

So next time you see a clip of Brendan ‘Emo Man’ Nelson pleading for the welfare of one section of the community or another, just remember that his colleagues would throw them all under a bus if they thought they could get away with it.

Update: Unsurprisingly, this story doesn’t appear to be getting a run at all on news.com.au or The Australian’s web site.

Famous

Back in 2001 I bought a black Peugeot 206 GTi, it was the first new car I’d ever owned and one which gave me a great deal of delight. Sadly, my little Pug, Wendy, didn’t make it far beyond her third birthday as I ploughed her into the back of a stationary Sigma while entering the freeway in Wodonga on my way home one night (Why was the Sigma sitting still in the merging lane of a freeway? We’ll never truly know).

I bring you this little piece of history because a few days ago Mrsdave pointed at a pile that had been accumulating items for some time and demanded that I sort it out. In that pile I found a business card from Bob Jane T-Marts with prices for tyres written on the back. The tyre size was the same one that Wendy took, so the card was about four years old, which is why I had a giggle when I turned the card over and saw the name written on it.

There’s a tyre salesman somewhere in Australia who’s copped a lot of shit from his mates this year.

RIP George Carlin

I don’t remember when I first heard George Carlin, but I do remember how amazing his anti-establishment rhetoric sounded. I think it sometimes takes someone like Carlin, who is willing to shock the hell out of us, to deliver the messages we need to hear. I wonder who will take his mantle and be willing to loudly proclaim their take of the truth, no matter how unpalatable it may be.

George Carlin spent his entire career pointing out the inconsistencies, lies and failings of those in power, I hope that his message is not lost and that we all try to remember to question those who manage our lives.

This clip contains plenty of offensive language, enjoy it.

I bought a Space Pen

In the mail today was a Space Pen that I bought on eBay. Seinfeld tragics will remember the drama caused by the pen, so I’m not planning on letting anyone else use it. Mrsdave thinks I’m losing my mind, I’m just glad she’s only just started to notice.

The Border Mail hates blogging #3

The Border Mail’s brilliantly uninformed Brad Worrall has used some valuable column inches to once again sledge the bloggers from this area, this week labelling us ‘cyber bullies’.

To be fair to Brad, he hasn’t specifically labelled King Valley Watchdog, Alpine Opinion, Albury Wodonga Online or I, because once again he hasn’t had the guts to actually name any of ’sensitive, very angry’ bloggers who ‘have unleashed a blog and email tirade’. Perhaps this type of ‘journalism’, where you make unsubstantiated claims about a group of people without specifically identifying any of them, is the type of thing that Brad learnt in ‘Journalism 101′.

I’m beginning to suspect that the bloggers Bradley is referring to are figments of his imagination. Brad Worrall needs to put up or shut up, name the blogs and bloggers that supposedly offend his journalistic sensibilities and give examples of the articles, or he should aplogise for making unqualified attacks on people expressing their opinions in an ethical and open manner.

Brad also needs to work a bit harder at developing opinions if the best he can come up with to fill his page is a fight with some imaginary people. Perhaps instead of a concocted war with the blogosphere, Brad could do a piece complaining about email spam to show how technologically astute he is.

The Border Mail hates blogging #2

A further thought came to me this morning regarding the Border Mail’s Brad Worrall and his distaste for blogging. The Border Mail is now owned by Fairfax who have tried, while mostly failing, to harness some of the cachet of the blogosphere in their own online offerings, so I thought I’d do a search of the Border Mail’s website to see if they too were part of the Fairfax blogging revolution.

I was astonished to find that the Border Mail does indeed host a blog section on their website, so I commend to you the Border Mail’s “Your Say” Blog.

Another example of the quality we have come to expect from the Border Mail.

The Tele does it again

That bastion of truth and proud defender of hard hitting investigative journalism, The Daily Telegraph, has once again shown why newspaper circulation is in decline throughout Australia. Today’s bold piece uncovers the Rudd Government’s Un-Australianess, with evidence that it used a stock photo on the cover of a housing affordability report which, shock horror, was not of an Australian family.

Games

This weekend Albury once again hosted the Australian Games Expo and I took the opportunity to go along with Mrsdave on Saturday and with Buster Boy on Sunday.

In short, it was a fantastic event. The range of games available goes so far beyond the mainstream stuff you expect to find on the shelf at a department store that it needs to be seen to be believed. The quality and the detail of these games is quite astounding, as well as the strategy required to play many of them. Best of all, the exhibitors were all incredibly helpful and all of the games were available to be played.

A lot of the games come from Europe, with the most prominent still being Settlers of Catan, along with its expansions and sequels. Mrsdave and I settled on one of the sequels, Elasund, as well as a card game called Munchkin, which looks like it will go exceptionally well with beer. For Buster Boy we found a racing car game called Monza, which I also think might find its way to the table once BB is safely asleep.

If the crowd there this weekend is any guide this won’t be the last Australian Games Expo in Albury, adding another compelling reason, along with Rutherglen’s Winery Walkabout, to visit this part of the world during the June long weekend. In the mean time, it’s worth looking for independent game stores to see how far board games have come since Trivial Pursuit was the hottest game for grown-ups.