"A shoot-out is better than a massacre!"

The gun control debate in the United States is flabbergasting - how 20 children and 6 adults can be gunned down and people come out in support of the weapon used, AND they call for more of them to be introduced to the society they are destroying is a question I can't answer.

So I'm not going to get up on my soapbox and pass judgement,  I'm going to be fair to both sides and let them present their own arguments in an old-fashioned shootout. So hock your tobacco into your spitoon, throw your peanut shells on the floor, tie your horse up out the front of the saloon, and sit back and watch how arguments between gentlemen should be settled.

Pro gun lobbiests (PG) will be using a rapid fire assault rifle with a laser sight, telescopic scope and high capacity magazine clip, while pro reformists (PR) will be using a small pistol. They will both now take ten paces, turn, and fire:

(PR) "Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying - too many children."

(PG) "A shoot-out is better than a massacre!"

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(PG) "Those who deny me the freedom to carry a firearm with which to protect my family and myself, are as complicit and guilty as the perpetrator should we be harmed or murdered by an act of violence."

(PR) "We (US Democratic Party) can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements--like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole--so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few."

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(PR) “I (Joe Biden) also have never seen the nation’s conscience so shaken by what happened (in Newtown)”

(PG) "Sooner or later we all must die. Warriors choose to do so on their feet, standing between their enemies and those they hold dear. With a weapon in their hands. Cowards choose to do so on their bellies. Unarmed."

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(PG) "I'd much rather go to my grave never needing my gun, than go there wishing I had it."

(PR) "We (US Democratic Party) understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious"

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(PR) "I (Barack Obama) believe in (the) 2nd Amendment, but not war weapons on streets."

(PG) "guns don't kill people, people kill people."

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The last quote is completely neutral but is strong enough to end this murky debate, so after reading it, you can make your own decision on which side of the fence you sit.

US 2nd Ammendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." (1791)
*All views expressed in this blog are my own personal views and not those of the ABC

jì yì, qiān líng dīng zhōng yuè guāng

If there was any doubt the world was shrinking that the internet,  Skype, Viber, Facebook, You Tube, Instagram or Twitter hasn't answered, then a Broadway musical being performed in Mandarin in Beijing puts the case to rest.

Cats, the hit Broadway musical opened in China late last year to sell out audiences. Based on T.S Elliot's "Old Possum's book of practical cats", the venture brings the magic of New York to the east, but it has managed to give the show a distictly asian flavor.

The Chinese version, which will tour Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan and Chongqing is not a carbon copy of the western version, the obvious local touch is the language. The line in the ballad Memories goes from "Memory...All alone in the moonlight" to "jì yì...qiān líng dīng zhōng yuè guāng"

As well as language, the theatre culture of China has stayed local. When one audience member wanted to make a phone call, something clearly forbidden by a pre-performance announcement, he was thoughtful enough to speak only while the characters sang, so the music very nearly covered up the sound of his voice and didn't disturb the people around him quite so much.

It was tempting when writing a blog about Cats to sign off by using a cheesy pun, like the show being "purr-fect", or hoping the performers don't get furrballs, but I couldn't think of a good one so I'm going to be a pussy and not use one

How to quit smoking by Charlie Rose Howarth

My Dad has been trying to get my mum to give up smoking since they got married a billion years ago, and my brothers and sister have been trying for 35 years, but the most pressing case was just put forward by my 6 year old niece, Charlie Rose Howarth. While we were walking down to the beach she told me

"Smoking's not good for Grandee."

I asked her if she had told Grandee that, and she said:

"Yeh I told her, but Grandee doesn't listen to me. I listen to her, but she doesn't listen to me. "

Sometimes grandparents should listen to their grandchildren.

Celebrating the small things

"The Collecter of Bedford Street", Larry Selman, who raised over $300 000 for various charities $1 or $2 at a time has died of heart failure. He was 70 years old.

Selman's devotion to giving back to society led to a documentary being filmed about his life which was nominated for an Oscar. The filmmakers had plenty of material to work with - Selman used to give the keys to his Greenwhich Village apartment to local homeless people so they could get off the streets of New York. He also used to raise money for charity by approaching people on the streets of "The Village" one at a time asking for donations of $1 or $2.

His generosity almost got him into trouble when fellow tennants of his apartment block tried to have him evicted when they found there building inundated with homeless New Yorkers. Selman was used to things mot going his way though, so he was never evicted. Things weren't going Selman's way from the day he was born, he weighed only 3 pounds and wasn't expected to survive, then at 16 one of his high school teachers explained to him that he would probably never graduate because he was "mentally retarded."  When his uncle, who had supported him after the death of both of his parents died, he considered suicide. And his troubles didn't end there, he was diagnosed with diabetes and even his cat got diabetes.

Larry Selman was knocked down a long way and often, but he kept on getting back up, dusting himself off and getting on with it.

A life well lived.

 

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an African word that means "we are people through other people," and it is fitting that an African word should sum up what Australia day means.

To celebrate our national day, the stories of a number of current and future Australian citizens have been brought together in a book to be released today, "Joyful Strains," and hearing the story of one of the contributers, Malla Nunn on News24 this morning made me break out in goose bumps of national pride. When she moved to Perth with her her family in the 1970's, it was nothing more than an overgrown country town, but coming from the tiny African country of Swaziland, she thought Perth "might as well have been Manhattan"

When the family touched down in their new home country, her father told them "we came to be Australian, not South African," and as an Australian citizen, Malla is now a published author and an award winning film maker.

In a country that offers opportunities to anyone who is willing to try, "Ubuntu" is the perfect word to describe what it means to be Australian. We are people through other people, and no matter where you have come from, in the words of Malla Nunn's father: we all came here to be Australian.

The best way to learn is to make mistakes

25/1/13

This isn't an official blog - it's an apology for posting a draft of my "meaning in suffering" blog instead of the final version. I accidentally deleted the final version and posted the draft instead of vice versa.

To make it up to you I'll share a funny story my Mum just told me:

A husband and wife went on a ski trip months after the wife had given birth. Given her mammaries were full of milk they were getting sore bouncing up and down the slopes. Her husband, being a caring, noble kind of bloke, took her behind a shed at lunch time and drained the milk with his mouth. Love isn't dead

Meaning in suffering

25/1/13

The suffering in Syria continues to escalate and put pressure on it's people, but in a conflict that doesn't seem to have any point, a meaning has been found.

In a report to be published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, it was found that "higher levels of worry, stress, and anxiety were linked to higher meaningfulness but lower happiness."

According to the report, a happy person is one who has "more pleasant than unpleasant emotional states," so happiness has likely been a rare emotion since trouble began in Syria. The U.N estimates that 2.5 million people have been displaced within the country, 612 000 have fled, and 60 000 have been killed in a 22 month civil war where the country's leader, Bashar al-Assad allegedly has troops bombing hospitals and doctors. It's a conflict that makes you shake your head and ask "what kind of life can these poor people live?" Thankfully the authors of the report believe that a lack of happiness is no barrier to achievement:

"Although these individuals may be relatively unhappy, several signs suggest they could make positive contributions to society."

There seems to be too much senseless violence in the world over the last decade, but just because there is less happiness isn't necessarily a bad thing:

"happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desires are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided."

So when happiness decreases, rest assured that meaning in your life is increasing.

As the suffering in Syria increases, the happiness of it's people decreases, but all hope is not lost; with increased suffering, comes increased meaning.

In a report to be published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, it states that happiness and meaning in life are not essential for the existence of the other, in fact the report says that "higher levels of worry, stress, and anxiety were linked to higher meaningfulness but lower happiness."

Over the course of the 22 month Syrian civil war, the United Nations estimates 2.5 million people inside the country have been displaced, over 612 000 have fled, and more than 60,000 have been  killed. Jordan has just called for emergency international aid as they are struggling to care for the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who are fleeing the country as their leader, Bashar Al-Assad's forces drop bombs on hospitals and doctors, so there are few other battles in the world today that seem to have less point.

Pointless suffering has been an all to common feature in international affairs over the last decade, but as we shake our heads and ask "what's the point?," this report helps us to find the answer.

"happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desires are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided."

When we struggle, it's hard to find the point of our misfortune, but where happiness wanes, meaning endures.

Antarctic adventure

23/1/13

6 men have set off in a 6.9 metre whaling boat to cross the Southern Ocean to South Georgia, where they'll get out and try and cross from one side to the other on foot, all because a girl asked them to.

They will be dodging waves, rocks and ice in their raft using shipping equipment from 1914 and will be wearing clothes from the same era. Expedition leader Tim Jervis admits this adventure isn't everyone's cup of tea.

"Sailing 800 nautical miles in a wooden lifeboat, then traversing unpredictable glaciers on one of the driest, windiest and coldest places on earth may not be a palatable prospect to some"

The expedition sounds more like a dare than a well thought out plan, but there were logical reasons behind the illogical sounding venture. The girl that asked them to do it was Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of explorer Ernest Shackleton, who became a hero when he saved his entire crew after their ship was crushed in pack ice near Antarctica. When Tim Jervis accepted Alexandra’s proposal, he enlisted a crew of British and Australian adventurers to join him on Shackleton Epic, an authentic recreation of Ernest Shackleton’s historic survival story. 

Shackleton is famous for his leadership, his thirst for adventure, and his view that "difficulties are just things to overcome," and the crew of Shackleton epic share similar traits. Under the leadership of Tim Jervis, himself having made a film about his recreation of Sir Douglas Mawson’s 1912 trek across Antarctica, leads a team boasting the former cold weather expert for the HMS Endurance, the UK’s Antarctic patrol vessel, an offshore sailor with 100,000+ miles and seven world records, a member of the Lynx Helicopter Force in the Royal Navy, a high altitude mountaineer and Arctic explorer and a marine environmental scientist.

The team have the qualifications and experience, they have the emergency support, they are prepared, and they have plenty of bullion flavored lard, nougat and caster oil to eat, but as they set off on a boat that’s not big enough to sleep all 6 people, dressed in 1914 style clothes, the only thing left to do, is to ask:

why the hell are they doing this?

Jervis’ answer is quite admirable in this cosy, convenient world where challenges are rare:

"I’m able to access a more resourceful side of myself that is difficult to locate in ordinary, day to day life."

Shackleton Epic expect their voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia to take 16 days. Follow their progress at http://shackletonepic.com/

Introduction

Being an autocue operator for ABC Australia's 24 hour news channel, I have a lot of time alone with my thoughts. I sit in a studio with the presenter and 3 robotic cameras, so I thought I would do something useful with my time.

I had hoped to be in front of the camera reporting, not sitting behind it scrolling autocue, but after having a stroke when I was 25, I realised that we have no way of predicting when, where or to what extent adversity will strike - bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people - all anyone can do is keep moving forward.

 So this blog will help me to keep moving forward.