Mood
I don't know if it's just me, but I find it interesting how much impact my mood can have on my perspective, particularly in relation to things going on around me.
Strange how when I'm in a 'good mood', I find people and things beautiful, interesting and I feel much more relaxed. However, when I'm in a 'bad mood', things that I would ordinarily find endearingly human, now shit me to the point of anger and frustration. This applies particularly to little things.
Eg. dropping something, people talking in the library, people talking loudly in general, people walking slowly in front of me, bad driving (i could go on for hours here), general arrogance or inconsideration.
These are the sort of things I might ordinarily ignore when I'm in a 'good mood' but in a 'bad mood', I just want to kill and/or maim. During this exam period, I hope my moods are good... because there are so many idiotic, frustrating and inconsiderate people around... and I am probably one of them.
Encyclopedia on a Toothpick
I've recently finished reading "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami. The book was fantastic, as usual for a Murakami novel. I must admit, I was a little bit wary of it at first, because it played out as more of a fantasy than his previous novels, but I grew to absolutely love it. When I finish reading all his books (I think I have 4 more to read) then I will definitely read them all again.
I wanted to share one excerpt from the novel which particularly interested me. It's a theory that Murakami calls "Encyclopedia on a toothpick"
Basically, to store an infinite amount of data on a toothpick, assign a numerical value to each letter of the alphabet (00 for 'a', 01 for 'b' and so on) - you could even use their ASCII codes. Next string all the letters making up the encyclopedia together to form a very large number. You'll end up with something like this 0419041713081924...
Next turn this number into a fraction by pre-pending a 0. to it and make a mark on the toothpick at exactly this point of its length (where 0 is the start of the toothpick and 1 is its end). This mark contains all the information of the encoded encyclopedia in its position.
To read more discussion on this theory and whether or not it is scientifically possible, check out this page.
I'm now reading Bulgakov's "Black Snow", a witty part-autobiographical satire on the farcical nature of Russia's dramatic and literary society set in the 1930s...
Australian Political "Leaders" aka we are all doomed
I've read some interesting articles in The Age today, that have prompted yet another leadership-related alarm bell (so many, so many)
First this article: "A LIBERAL Party candidate for the state election has declared that Aborigines are congenitally drunk and violent, terror suspect David Hicks should be executed, and he has described an Indian-born doctor as a smelly dud."
This Gary Anderton guy, who is not only a total idiot but also the worst "politician" I have ever seen in my life. Sure the kid is 24 but seriously how stupid do you have to be to realise that if you aspire to politics you should be at least a little bit more careful with your words? Dear Lord!
His weblog not only included a veritable shitload of spelling errors (Michael Bachelard from The Age had to insert "sic" around 50 times) but countless instances of utter ignorance and prejudice. Amazing.
Apparently it has since been "sanitised" by the Liberal Party and Mr. Anderton is now billed as the "voice for the local community". How tremendously lucky the residents of the south-eastern State seat of Lyndhurst must be, as Mr. Anderton is running as the Liberal candidate for that seat. That's right people, this man could be a State MP.
This stunning cocktail of ignorance, prejudice and complete and utter incompetence make me scared. Very scared. Is this the quality of "leaders" we are producing? What a well-oiled machine our political and educational system must be. God help us all.
For further information on how poor Australia's "leadership" is, check out this opinion piece in the same paper. I must say, Martin Flanagan is absolutely on the ball when he writes about "a think tank that foresaw people becoming more selfish and less interested in politics; the idea was that politics is being submerged by consumer culture and the illusion of infinite choice." In the words of Gough Whitlam, "We don't debate the big issues any more".
I think Mr. Anderton might disagree. When asked by The Age about his views on multiculturalism, his response was: "I don't think the Liberal Party has released their policy yet" and when asked why he became politically active, he responded with "It's a really weird question because I don't know the answer to it". Awe-inspiring.
Of course he had previously given an insight into his thoughts on his now "sanitised" blog: "Let's be honest, Aboriginals and success do not necessarily go hand-in-hand … Aboriginals are 'ignorant, discriminatory and prejudicial individuals'."
According to The Age, 'Mr Anderton tells in an entry called "Anglo-Saxon Doctor Please" of going to the GP and being seen by "an Indian doctor, of all things, that absolutely stunk and obviously received a full fee degree. In other words, (he had) no idea."' Tremendous.
Literary Update...
I've read quite a few things since I last blogged about books so I figured it was time for an update. Here's what I've been reading:
Mikhail Bulgakov - Heart of a Dog
I introduced this book previously and it was a true Soviet classic. Short, funny, topical and extremely well written. Thoroughly enjoyed it and looking forward to reading more of his work.
Chuck Palahniuk - Diary
I used to read Palahniuk's books quite religiously, in fact I've read them all (Fight Club, Choke, Invisible Monsters, Survivor and Lullaby) and got quite disenfranchised by the end of it with his writing style. I just got sick of Palahniuk rehashing the same formulaic nihillistic view of American society punctuated with "ironic humour" to beat his readers over the head with his social commentary. I prefer something a little more subtle. Diary was no different, yes, it was an entertaining read and I did enjoy it but I still wonder why I bother with Mr. P sometimes. Although at least the narrative was a damn sight more interesting than Survivor, yeech.
Amaranta Wright - Ripped & Torn
This is a book about Amaranta's journey through Latin America on a job assignment for Levi's, interviewing young people and figuring out how best to market Levi's in the region. It turned it to much more for her as she slowly awakened to the terrible reality of Latin America's politics, social problems and exploitation at the hands of US Corporate Greed. A book that is heartfelt, often funny and always poignant. Thoroughly recommended to fans of Chavez, Lula and Naomi Klein.
Thomas Mann - Death in Venice & Other short stories
Mann has won the Nobel Prize for Literature and is a famous proponent of bourgeoise German writing. I find his writing style (at least in translation anyway) evocative and interesting... but a touch boring. I find it difficult to relate to the social settings he describes and am often frustrated by his attention to detail, particularly in short story form. Some of the stories have been interesting (an interesting parable of Life passing a man by on a bicycle despite his increasingly desperate angry retorts, an Italian-inspired clash of art & religion, a crippled man's suicide in the face of a beautiful woman's sucker punch...) and some more boring... still reading this one so we'll see how it goes.
In addition to these books, I've also seen Scorcese's Infernal Affairs remake, "The Departed" and Tim Robbins' on-stage version of Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four". I found the film to be absolutely fantastic, the acting was tremendous, the setting was perfectly set and the dialogue was absolutely on-point, a true back-to-form for Scorcese. However, the screenwriter should definitely be berated for the terrible, cliched, ending... yeech... why couldnt they keep the original HK ending! The play was also tremendous, I'd never read the book before but it has inspired me to go out and buy it!
Insha'Allah
This morning's tram driver was sure a cheery fellow. I've had tram drivers before that overzealously announce tramstops or say weird things over the mic but it doesnt happen that often.
Today's fellow commented on how nice the day was and took some measured relief in the fact that his shift was almost over and ours was his last trip for the day (at 2.30pm).
He did this in a sort of low throaty growly voice... which reminded me a lot of Hannibal Lecter... but it sent friendly giggles down the tram carriage. The girl opposite me and the guy down the aisle were both laughing openly an I couldn't help but smirk... sharing a laugh with strangers is one of the few pleasures in life...
The interesting thing is, the tram driver said "see you again, insha'Allah", the last bit meaning "God willing" in Arabic. I wondered, how the people of the tram reacted in their heads to the tram driver saying this (extremely common in the Muslim world) turn of phrase.
Would they:
- not understand what the hell it meant and ignore it
- take solace in their media-induced fears of Islam and think twice about smiling or laughing... perhaps even fear it as an ominous threat of terrorism from the crazy tram driver
- understand it but disregard it as a common turn of phrase for Islamic people and recognise the warm intent
- romanticise it with comparisons to Arabian nights
Well I know, though the latter is tempting (thanks to Westy's vivid depictions of Bahrain), opted for option 3. I wondered... what did the rest of the tram think.
Our stop was the last stop on the tram drivers route (because Melbourne University kind of is on most routes) and when he opened the cabin door he was all smiles. A few of the people waved to him as they got off the tram. But one can't help but wonder... among all the people in the tram, did there lurk a heart of darkness? a xenophobic glimmer of fear? a stab at the multicultural fabric of our society? and... if things go in the same direction as they are now (with the Government rhetoric and the media) will this glimmer turn into something more sinister...
I hope it doesnt, Insha'Allah.
Akermanis is a Dog
and he'll also be playing for the Bulldogs next year... coincidence? I think not.
Well, a sizeable portion of Melbourne is buzzing about this. I saw a sign outside a cafe that said "is Victoria big enough for Akermanis' mouth?" and that is a very good question. I, for one, am happy he isn't becoming a Bomber (as was rumoured for a long time)... yes we do need all the help we can get but I'm not sure if I could ever accept him... given how much of a dick he is.
"The God of Small Things" was fantastic. A truly beautifully written book but... so terribly tragic. The things that humans can do to each other in the name of what? Tradition? Caste? I could never hope to understand the complexities of India's caste system but there are some things that are just unspeakably horrific...
I also read Haruki Murakami's "Birthday Stories" which was an anthology he put together of short stories by some of his favourite authors, loosely around the theme of birthdays. Funnily enough I got it for my birthday (thanks Joyce!)... perhaps it was a clever marketing ploy by the publishers all along? Ah well. It was an interesting read and opened my mind to a few new authors.
I'm reading Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" now... a Soviet classic written in 1930 but banned and not published until 1987... it is the story of a man who befriends a stray dog and implants into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man... with some interesting results. The story is said to be a witty parable of the Russian Revolution (part of the reason for its ban).
I'm listening to Jose Gonzales at the moment... interesting mellow acoustic rock. Check out Jedi Mind Tricks people, they have a new album called "Servants In Heaven, Kings in Hell" and its fantastic.
A Spring Tuesday
Things I liked about today:
- interesting reading on the Argentinian military dictatorship and an interesting lecture to accompany it, even if I didn't understand it all (it was in Spanish)
- Heidi's sister's watercress soup... nice
- starting a new book... Arundhati Roy - "God of Small Things"... one of those books that everyone seems to have read. I am yet to pass judgement
- receiving a much better mark than expected for the presentation I did in Spanish about Buero Vallejo's play "El sueño de la razón"...
- catching up for coffee with Jo, Natsumi & Ned... even if it was brief
- seeing Heidi's smiling face upon walking into the office
- sleeping in... lots
- $3.50 chicken teriyaki 6" sub at Subway
- and the weather... i can feel Spring...
SPM was great, though rather than providing answers, it raised more questions... important questions...
Need to get back to work, gym & squash
