Musings...

It has been give or take 11 months since I last made a post on this blog of mine. I really do not remember how many followers I had when I began invisible to all and sundry in the blogging world, and it matters not. Life is not about followers and in many respects it was not about blogposts either.

I have thought about blogging a number of times in the intervening period between the then and the now. It was not writer's block, it was not a lack of material, it was not even an ever-increasing workload at work, rather it was more about focusing on those things closer to home and trying to stay on top of things at home and at work.

Life is an interesting ride and one that I have thought greatly about over recent months. It is about perspective and losing perspective. I find that I lose perspective a lot more now than I did in the past. I guess there are arguments to be made for an against the relativity of perspective, but for me I find that I question a lot more why I do what I do and whether I am really happy doing what I do where I am doing it. Perhaps it is not a loss of perspective but a realisation that there is more than one way to go about achieving the outcome one so desperately desires.

This is not a particularly happy post, in fact it is way too dark and morbid for the first post back but, it is what it is, what is on my mind.

I have read a lot lately about bullying and cyber bullying, particularly the trauma that our youngsters suffer at the hands of others. However, it is not only children that suffer, there are plenty of adults that suffer too. I have found myself wondering what it must be like to be at the mercy of these monsters, some who hide behind the cloak of anonymity on the internet.

Yet, some bullies are much more overt than they ever are covert as there is no fear of repercussions. The whispers as one walks down the street in a small town, the rocking of one's roof, the constant rattling of windows, the scratching of cars, the throwing of rubbish into a backyard, throwing rocks at pets, and then the name up in lights on the internet. All these things no doubt culminate in high levels of stress and thoughts of escape from the constant barrage of hate and vitriol designed to wound to the core.

It is a hardy soul that can resist for an extended period of constant psychological, physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the hands of the bullies.

There are plenty of things to read on what is a tragic and disturbing trend of people, particularly young people, opting for the ultimate "out" of suicide as a means of ending their misery. This is a worldwide tale of tragedy that knows no borders or boundaries. It is also one that is not new, Megan Meier found herself in the tragic position of seeing no other alternative than to take the ultimate action to thwart the bullies. The beauty of the internet is that it makes the world a smaller place and allows us to learn of things more quickly and to communicate more freely. However, it also allows crazed stalkers and bullies the ability to harass and harangue one no matter where you move. The recent suicide of Amanda Todd is testament to this.

I always thought that suicide was a coward's way out. When times are good it is easy to get caught up in this self-belief that you are invincible and that no matter how hard it gets that you will always be a little bit stronger than the bullies who target you. However, I am much older and wiser now; I no longer believe that it is the coward's way. To the contrary, I feel that many, if not all, of those who take that ultimate and forever final step have thought long and hard about the decision they are making and make. The reality is more likely one that says the pain that I leave behind for my loved ones will never be as bad as the pain that I must endure every single day and that will cease when I cease to be.

This is the real tragedy. Victims, whether they be younger or older, reach a point where they feel not only worthless but they also reach a place where they feel they are doing more harm than good by staying, enduring, and fighting each and every day. It is at this point victims make a judgment call that the pain they are ending is far greater than any pain that they can ever possibly leave behind.

I just cannot understand the mindset of a bully, particularly a bully who drives others to self-harm.

Raden Pandji Chandra Pratomo Samiadji Massaid - R.I.P.

Adjie Massaid as he was known passed away this morning. May he rest in peace, and may those that he has left behind find some peace too.

Massaid was an actor who converted his fame into one of public service. He became a politician and was in his second term as a parliamentarian from the Partai Demokrat (Democrat Party).

He was a young man at just 43 years of age to be leaving us by way of a heart attack. Nevertheless, my condolences go out to his family, particularly his wife, Angelina Sondakh and his three children.

May his legacy be one that convinces others of the value of public service in its many forms.

Facebook, Cafe World, and Addiction...

This is a truly sad story. A mother, Shannon Johnson, in Colorado has admitted to police that she was busy playing Cafe World on Facebook, checking out her news feed, and sharing a few online videos while her one-year-old son was drowning in the bath.

According to Johnson's confession, her son was in the bath for a total of ten minutes, and she checked on him once. Then, when she did not hear any sounds coming from the bathroom she thought she better check again. When she did, she found her son with his face submerged. After that the confession to police gets a little weird. When the police asked her why she would leave her one-year-old in the bath by himself, she reportedly said she:

"didn't want him to be known as a mama's boy."

On a personal level, I find it hard to comprehend. Perhaps I am over-protective or something, but there is no way that Will, even at two-years-old, stays in the bath by himself while I go off to check my email or make a cup of tea or whatever.

Then again, maybe this story says something about the "dangers" of a technology addiction, in this case to Facebook and Cafe World. Just like any other addiction, it has a way of messing with one's priorities and skewing the understanding of what is important.

When one thinks of internet game addictions you normally think of children spending hours or days non-stop on games like "World of Warcraft" (or whatever it is that is popular now). However, it would seem that it is not only children that suffer from this.

In South Korea a couple was found guilty of starving their baby to death. What was truly bizarre in that case was that the couple were raising a virtual child in a video game and doing a reasonable job at it.

I wonder if this is going to become an increasing more acute and severe problem in the future? And, assuming that it is, I wonder how governments are going to deal with internet addiction? Legislation? Counselling?

The mind boggles.

RIP Pete Postlethwaite...

Pete Postlethwaite died this past Sunday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 64. He will be missed! Not only by his surviving family, but by all of those who were fortunate enough to witness his tremendous talents as an actor on screen.

I will always remember his portrayal of Guiseppe Conlon in the film In The Name of the Father. He was nominated for an Oscar for that role, as were his co-stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson. However, he was not only known for that role. He did a lot of work with Steven Spielberg. Postlethwaite so impressed Spielberg that Spielberg described Postelthwaite as "probably the best actor in the world".

Aside from his acting skills, Postlethwaite was a political activist off-screen. He was committed to the climate change cause and threatened to give back an OBE he had been awarded when the British government approved a coal-fired power station in Kent.

Pete Postlethwaite may you rest in peace.

Customer Service with a Smile: The Jetstar Way...

So, your baby has just died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome / SIDS while you were on a group holiday booked through Jetstar. You booked with Jetstar to maximise the benefits of cheap flights and accommodation package deals. You are looking at changing your flights in order to deal with the tragedy within the relative safety of your own home with family and friends. Unfortunately, you find out that changing your flights and leaving your holiday on the Gold Coast early is certain to be problematic. You call Jetstar to organise the changing of flight details only to be told you will have to prove that your baby is dead or you will be slugged with AUD 600 in additional fees and charges.

Jetstar demands that these fees be paid upfront before you fly. According to Jetstar, they are going to contact the family and they are to be fully reimbursed. However, that really is not the customer service point is it? Seriously, how many people do you know who are going to call an airline or front up at the ticket counter and try and claim that they need to change their flights because one of their children has died of SIDS if it did not happen? I appreciate there are people out there that might, but they are in the minority, aren't they?

Jetstar has argued along the lines of "We deeply sympathise with our passengers in such situations and seek to be as flexible and accommodating as possible." Yeah, right! It is all about the dollars and cents. There is no compassion or sympathy exhibited by Jetstar in this instance. And, the above statement might make them feel better about themselves, but it shouldn't. Neither should this justification be considered valid as representative of sympathising with passengers suffering tragedy in their families "If documentation is unable to be provided at the time, change fees and fare difference applies — however, the amount is fully reimbursed once the documentation is provided."

Jetstar really should be ashamed of themselves in regards to the way this family was treated.

I am not going to fly Jetstar on principle. My principles are that people are more important than bottom line dollars and cents. The simple reality here is that these were extraordinary circumstances and cutting this family some slack in their moment of grief was not going to send Jetstar bankrupt. If they do not care enough for the people that pay their salaries, then I do not see any reason for me to support an organisation like that.

Thus endeth today's rant and rail.

Mouth-To-Mouth & CPR on a Dog...

How much do you love your dog?

Jessica Yeo loves her dog. Bella, an Australian Bulldog, had swallowed a bee. Bella had stopped breathing and her heart had also stopped. Yeo is an opera singer, a soprano, and undoubtedly has a pretty big set of lungs in her. She was going to need them when giving her dog the kiss of life.

According to Yeo, "Her gums turned white, her tongue turned blue, her eyes rolled back in her head and she stopped breathing and then her heart stopped". The first attempt was CPR performed by Yeo's partner. This did not work. Fortunately for Bella, Yeo was not going to be deterred. Bella was bailed into the car and the family headed to the nearest vet for assistance. All the way to the vet Yeo continued to give mouth-to-mouth to Bella.

Yeo's persistence paid off and Bella started to respond to the additional oxygen being blown into her system. On arrival at the vet, Bella was treated and after two hours was sent home.

All of the dogs we have ever owned have been like family, and we would have done anything and everything to save them if that was required.

I guess the question is "would you give your pet mouth-to-mouth in order to save it?"

A Bucket List...

There is nothing like hearing the diagnosis from your doctor, terminal! I am sure there are plenty of things that run through one's mind in the immediate aftermath of knowing that the time frame remaining on your life is definitely much shorter than you had been figuring on. So, what to do with the time one has left?

Dave Ismay was diagnosed with terminal cirrhosis of the liver. The terminal part was three months to live.

Ismay is well-known around Britain as a comedian and because of his work at the Aston Villa Football Club. But, at 64 Ismay realised there were a stack of things that he had not done that he really would like to take a stab at before pulling up stumps and going to the big football club in the sky.

Remembering the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, Ismay decided to make a "bucket list" and list all the things he needed to get done. These included buying a Mercedes and taking a trip to Australia.

Nevertheless, in between planning his demise and passage to the eternal life of the ever-after, Ismay began to wonder about how a non-drinker manages to get cirrhosis of the liver, particularly the terminal kind. Ismay's research began to suggest that even he, a one-time 60-cigarette per day smoker, was not a likely candidate for cirrhosis.

Probably the most interesting part of this story is that Ismay kicked his smoking habit with the aid of hypnosis. According to Ismay he made a trip to Florida from his home in the UK and sort an intervention of the hypnotic kind to rid him of his smoking habit. He did that when he was 40-years-old. He is now a sprightly 64-years-old.

Despite his concerns about the diagnosis, it was eight weeks before the doctors called to say "good news, you are not terminal with cirrhosis of the liver!" Ismay had a much more manageable condition known as haemochromatosis. Haemochromatosis is essentially iron overload. The body absorbs too much iron out of your dietary intake and overloads your system.

Haemochromatosis is generally not fatal. But, it does involve one parting with lots of blood in order to strip the body of the excess iron.

Well, now that Ismay knows that his death is not imminent, is he going to continue with his bucket list?

Heath Ledger, "Whacked"...

I have heard some bizarre things, but Heath Ledger being "whacked" by some sort of Hollywood Hit Gang is way up there. Thanks to Mr Randy Quaid for letting us all know that at least eight actors have been victim to this gang of 'whackers'. Aside from Ledger, the whacker gang has also had success with Chris Penn and David Carradine.

Randy Quaid and his other half, Evi, have fled from justice in the USA to the 'safer' confines of Canada. According to Randy, he is being pursued by the whackers. Presumably this means he is next in line to be whacked.

The legal troubles and the stories surrounding the Quaids just keep getting weirder all the time. The Quaids legal problems include squatting and burglary among others. The fact that they need to flee to Canada in order to avoid being whacked is icing on the weirdness cake.

Maurice Gibb Watching TV From Beyond The Grave...The Bee Gees Live!

It pays to do your research, particularly if you do not want to look really foolish (in this case some might argue, stoopid). So, let's face it, there is not a whole lot one can do to cover up asking a twin about his dead brother, particularly when the dead twin has been dead for 7 years or so.

The interview by Stephen Dixon with Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees fame was covering some ground about an [alleged] affair that Maurice Gibb had with British actress Barbara Windsor of EastEnders fame.

The news of the alleged affair has only recently broken as a result of an interview given by Windsor recently. So, Dixon thinking he might get a scoop on the competition decided that it was worth quizzing Robin about whether his brother would be watching the story unfold on the TV.

Robin was a particularly good sport and, without breaking step, informed the poorly informed host that Maurice had in fact passed in 2003. Dixon in full cover up mode tried to pass this off as an honest mistake created by confusion as to just how many Gibb brothers there were. Ah, not that hard, there were four Gibb brothers and three of them were in the Bee Gees.

The beauty or treachery of live TV.

Is It Safe For Australians to Travel to Bali?

If you have read the latest travel advice from the Australian Government available at Smart Traveller, then you would be having serious considerations about wanting to travel to Indonesia, and more specifically Bali.

According to the advice, rabies is a real threat to Australian travellers. Also, a violent feud between rival taxi companies has also escalated to a point where the Australian authorities consider there to be real risks to Australian holiday makers on the island of Bali. These two issues are additions to the standard fare about the ever-present threat of terrorism and natural disasters.

So, the question is: "Should Australians travel to Indonesia, and particularly Bali, in light of the travel advice?" Yes. If you want to go to Bali then you should not be deterred by the issuance of this travel advisory. Travel, like any other human activity, comes with risks and rewards. The simple equation you have is as a traveller is to balance those risks and rewards and make an informed decision on whether to go or not.

Travel to Indonesia is really about being aware of your own personal safety and surrounds. If you are a little bit more conscious of not placing yourself in dangerous situations then you are unlikely to be harmed. The chances of one being killed in a terrorist attack are small. If you are worried about dying, then have a look at statistics for what kills people while they travel and my guess is that you will find rabies and violent taxi feuds rank pretty low on the scale of misadventure. It is not being argued that it is impossible, but it is being argued that the risks are negligible if you use your brains.

That is the rant for today.

Remembrance Day...

The shall not grow old,
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We shall remember them.

-- The Ode.

Keith Floyd -- Rest In Peace...

Keith Floyd has died of a suspected heart attack. He was 65.

I sort of grew up in a cooking sense with Floyd and at one stage would not have minded being as famous as he was. Famous for my cooking that is.

"Food is life, life is food. If you don't like my approach you are welcome to go to McDonalds."

May he cook up a storm wherever it is that dead chefs go (and rest in peace of course).

Patrick Swayze -- Rest In Peace...

He might be remembered as much for the movies that did not do well as for the two films that made him a household name, Dirty Dancing and Ghost. However, I actually remember him in the North and South televisions mini-series. This is probably because I read the books by John Jakes.

Patrick Wayne Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Monday. He was 57.

May he rest in peace.

The Campaign Posters -- Offensive?

Saddam Hussein

Joseph Stalin

Adolf Hitler

These are the campaign posters (to-date) for the AIDS Is A Mass Murderer campaign being run in Germany. However, thanks to the Internet this campaign is probably going to take on a life of its own. Hopefully, bloggers and others can contribute to this campaign going a little bit viral (pun intended) to ensure that it reaches the maximum number of people.

The controversy aside, as to whether it increases the stigma on those living with HIV / AIDS, the fact that the campaign holds the potential to get people talking about the virus and our increasing complacency with respect to risk-taking behaviours, then the campaign is in my mind worthwhile.

I also remain to be convinced that the advertisements are suggesting that those people living with HIV / AIDS are mass murderers. To the contrary, I think the advertisements are saying that this killer lives among us, and 'this killer' is the virus.

That is just me though.

But on a slightly different note. Is there anything to be read into why Hitler and Hussein get brunettes and Stalin gets a blonde?

Antelope vs. Cheetah & Hyena -- Antelope Wins!

This is an amazing video. It can be found over at Live Leak.

A Tribute to Edward Kennedy...

May those that remain carry Edward Kennedy's dreams and vision forward.

Edward Moore Kennedy -- R.I.P

Edward Kennedy lost his year-long battle with cancer on Tuesday evening.

Kennedy was one of the most influential senators in US history. He will be sorely missed by not only those that loved him, but also by the Democratic party. He was an avid campaigner on issues of social justice, fairness, and opportunity.

His personal philosophy is seen in the following statement:

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on. The cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

You can view his Senate record here. You can read the Kennedy family statement here. And, you can read the news as relayed by The Washington Post here.

May the man now rest in peace.

Indonesia's Most Wanted Malaysian -- Part III

Most of the recent reports are suggesting that the of the men killed in yesterday's raids against Noordin M Top and his associates have not, as initially reported, resulted in the death of Top. This might be a big dampener for Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, who has reportedly already called Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), to inquire about Top and congratulate his Indonesian counterpart on killing Top.

Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, has been a little more realistic in stating that it is still too early to tell whether any of those killed is Top. So, rather than speculate, he is going to wait and see. Although, what is clear is that the Australian government is appreciative of the efforts of Indonesia and the fight against terror.

Top is responsible for a large number of deaths, and the deaths of almost 100 Australians, in a series of bombings starting with the first Bali bombings of 2002.

I would not be sad if Top was killed yesterday. I would also not be sad if he was killed at some point in the future during a similar raid. If the man is guilty of the crimes that he has alleged to have committed, then there is no reason that I can conceive of to be sad. However, this lack of sadness must not be construed as condoning his killing.

To the contrary, my preference would be to see the man caught, interrogated, and then tried for his crimes. It is clear what a guilty verdict would mean in this case, particularly when one considers the sentences that were handed down to foot soldiers like Amrozi, Mukhlas, and Samudra.

Confirmation, one way or the other, will happen over the next week or so.

Postscript...
Then again, maybe not a week or so. Counter-terrorism forces are anonymously confirming that the fingerprints of the dead terrorist do not match those of Noordin M Top.

This is not good. The longer this man evades capture and succeeds in killing innocent people his status among his followers only increases as does the likelihood that his following among those vulnerable to his influence will also increase.

Michael Jackson -- A Music and Cultural Icon

There is little doubt, at least in my mind, that Michael Jackson was a musical genius. His eccentricities must not detract from this genius. There might always be question marks about some of his personal decisions and the manner in which he lived his life, but talent is talent and that deserves to be recognized.

I attach a video of the Michael Jackson singing one of his signature songs, The Man in the Mirror. If there was any need to see why there has been such an outpouring of grief the world over, then this is it. Just sitting back and watching the behaviour and reactions of the fans that attended his concerts sometimes beggars belief.

I liked the music. It was something that I grew up with and something that will be part of me forever. I think we all have songs that we claim ownership over in the sense that this one particular song coincides with a defining or important moment in making us who we are or pushes us in a particular direction, something that touches our innermost soul and being.

The Man in the Mirror is a song that does this for me.

Enjoy.

Michael Jackson RIP

This is a story of talent, triumph, tragedy, and potential.

The death of Michael Jackson at 50 is tragic. It brings to end an unbelievable music career. The man was not without his detractors and not without controversy. However, he has created a legacy that will endure long after his untimely death.

May you find a peace in death that you never seemed to truly find in life.

Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009) Rest in Peace.