The belly up dog rolls in recognition; celebrating the leash, revelling in submission.
In a democratic house, its institutions sing “we are free” until it doesn’t mean anything.
The belly up dog doesn’t need to be told he’s free to roam the lonely nights of cold.
Inspired by a couple of quotes:
we now live in an era when the slaves celebrate their slavery.
Nick Tosches
Democracy is a con game. It’s a word invented to placate people to make them accept a given institution. All institutions sing, ‘We are free.’ The minute you hear ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, watch out because in a truly free nation, no one has to tell you you’re free.
Announced outrageous and absurd It’s the freedom of the word Away from interpersonal affairs Nobody listens, nobody cares
There you go, it’s done, you’ve said it With the minimal thought you fed it No need to worry about splitting hairs Cos nobody listens, nobody cares
‘Death to the Arabs’, ‘death to the Jews’ The meaning is difficult to confuse If there’s one thing everyone shares Nobody listens, nobody cares
Welcome through the gates of the west Those that failed the intelligence test Say what you want, no need for prayers Cos nobody listens and nobody cares
Inspired by these words I found online somewhere (but forget where): In the West, we have the freedom to say anything we want, simply because nobody listens and nobody cares.
Look deep into the eyes Of the cat and dog freed from its cage There to be seen The root of all human happiness To chase around the beach, cuddle and engage
A little tired and gloomy, due to the weather and grey skies. Everything is fine, it just looks a little off. I have heavy eyes, perhaps from staying up too late last night.
Today I’m grateful for:
My umbrella, or more specifically for thinking of taking my umbrella with me from the car before my second class. It pissed down about twenty seconds later.
The best thing about today was:
Writing what felt like a pretty good poem in between my two classes today. I struggled for any inspiration earlier in the morning.
Something I learned today?
Julian Assange is finally free.
A lot of the grade 8 girls got a cervical cancer vaccine today and I only found out when I saw Palm crying and when I grabbed her shoulders to comfort her she started crying more!
Review your acts, Good and bad.
This evening I messaged Palm to see if her arm is ok now.
Armed with my umbrella I offered to share it with Ploy and Kaem as they were stuck in the canteen until I came along. We all still got pretty wet though!
I took this picture last week because Tangmo brought along a friend one morning. Very friendly but completely subservient to Tangmo. They love running, rolling and play fighting.
Really lazy this morning with nothing to do except check out and then go somewhere to hang out before going to the airport.
Amy returned about an hour after me last night and had been throwing up. I got her into the room and after a bit of sorting out, she slept.
Today I’m grateful for:
All the taxi drivers, train drivers and airport folks who got us from there to here. Home again. It’s a massive effort of societal coordination and a privilege we often don’t think about.
The best thing about today was:
I experienced a brief moment of bliss as I balanced the taste of lemon tart and bitter coffee at the Coffee Club at the airport. It was so expensive I made damn sure I savoured it.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
There was a lot of waiting around today. It’s a bit of a write-off. We weren’t inspired to venture anywhere. I used the time to catch up on reading some poems.
Something I learned today?
Manchester City won the English Premier League. I think it was for a record-breaking fourth time running.
I took this picture at the cafe yesterday because it’s an interesting little statue that caught my eye. No pictures today as it was mostly the insides of hotel rooms, taxis, trains, shopping malls and airports.
Pretty good though it was a struggle to get up as I had enjoyed a couple of drops of cannabutter last night that knocked me right out.
Today I’m grateful for:
Go Nuts chocolate bars. They are kinda like Snickers but cheaper as they are manufactured in Thailand (I guess). They are smaller than a Snickers bar so I usually end up eating two at a time but even then they are cheaper. I still like a little something sweet after a meal, kinda just finishes it off for me.
The best thing about today was:
Spending a couple of hours in my room listening to new music and finding new songs to try and play on guitar. I also enjoyed being in the garden watering all our plants.
Something I learned today?
I saw a message posted to our department messaging group that there is something going on in the morning tomorrow which maybe means a change to our classes. I’m hoping to arrive at school tomorrow to find out my class is cancelled! It’s no big deal if it’s not but a bonus if it is!
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I shampooed Tigger again just before lunch and he put up a little more of a fight this time but I managed to get it done without any scratches, thankfully.
As mentioned above, I watered the garden whilst Amy was enjoying watching a TV show and after that, I came in and fed the cats.
25 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I WISH I HAD KNOWN 10 YEARS AGO 1. Struggle Is Good. Never say “I can’t take it anymore.” Say “Bring it on!”
This has taken me a long while to realise and embrace, although looking back I can see that I did this often.
I have a capability to endure certain things that others might not. Conversely, I’m sure others are capable of enduring things I cannot. It is the attitude towards this struggle that I embrace more now so that I might look forward to the difficult tasks.
I tend to visualise and actualise the feeling of having completed something and being able to relax, satisfied that I had done something.
When I was a teenager, so long as it was something I was interested in, I could start big, wild projects that could occupy my time and mind. These things didn’t feel like a struggle. Without realizing it I soon discovered that it wasn’t always the satisfaction of finishing something that made me feel good but just the doing of it. Over time this meant that I could take on tasks that were less interesting to me because I would just enjoy the doing, the struggle of them.
When I ask my students to write out a few paragraphs of text I enjoy taking note of those who complain and those who just get on and do it. This reveals a lot about their attitude.
These days, having a space that I love to rest my head at night, I can rationalise all discomfort at uninteresting tasks knowing that when the sun goes down I have a place where I can relax and do the things that are interesting to me.
Whilst I would rarely say ‘Bring it on’ I am no longer afraid of the challenges that confront me.
I took this picture because this tree’s red flowers turn brown before splitting open and revealing their seeds. This is the first time I’ve actually noticed the seeds inside.
Pinned to the floor, mouth full of dirt Listening carefully for the next scream or roar Unable to feel hurt, waiting for a hand To pull back up to the new wonderland
No feeling in the toes, eyes red and wet Blood pulses slowly down the nose It’s not over yet, a forever-shifting sand Every day a vision of this wonderland
Darkness surrounds, night is as day Sharing space in these sacred grounds Desperate again to play, desperate again to stand Amongst the ruins of this wonderland
In and out of sleep, time for final dreams All the promises no one was able to keep Who knows what it means when it was all planned And the devils came to play in this wonderland
Sleepy but alive. As my body slowly revives from another rude awakening I’m sitting outside watching birds searching through the long grass for snacks or useful detritus for nest building, which I’m grateful to see they are taking full advantage of all our trees and safe nooks.
Today I’m grateful for:
Aing, Now and their two friends who helped look after our house and cats and best of all were very quiet and gentle so that us and our cats weren’t disturbed.
The best thing about today was:
Sushi buffet for dinner that I had saved up my hunger for, only eating a couple of pieces of bread around lunch time.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Having our house back to ourselves has set Amy off on a cleaning frenzy despite being tired and full after dinner and this leads to lots of ‘do this, get that, get this, do that’ to which I oblige and after a little while say ‘anything else?’ hoping that there isn’t!
What’s an opinion I held for a long time but changed?
When I was younger I ignorantly believed in freedom and anarchy. I say ignorantly in that I just didn’t know enough about it but I believed in the good of people in general, to help each other and make it work.
Age brings cynicism! I understand the appeal of less governance but ultimately I feel as if it is from the perspective of Western self-centredness and that leaves a lot of places for some to be left behind. Over time I’ve come to appreciate the ‘benevolent dictatorship’ of China, if I can call it that.
A well-governed country may not satisfy everyone when it comes to freedom but it seemed ironic to me when visiting that there was a feeling of more freedom in China than there wass in Australia (though I appreciate this was speaking as a guest).
Thailand is also way more relaxed in its rule of law, which has its upsides and downsides, of course. The government here is also not quite so benevolent to its people, or as well organised.
Governments that are corrupted are the scourge of the planet. It doesn’t matter what form the take. Corruption is the key.
There is no bad foot When putting forward The only way is back
Once it’s understood It’s no longer awkward To stumble along this track
Today I’m feeling:
It’s been a good day with lots of well-utilised free time in the morning, a quick hang-out with students, a class and home again to watch Guardians of the Galaxy 3 through the dodgy Thai websites.
My exercise in the morning definitely put me in the right frame of mind for the day.
Today I’m grateful for:
The aforementioned dodgy Thai websites for making current movies available for free. There’s a small chance that I would’ve watched this in a cinema but if Amy hadn’t mentioned it I probably wouldn’t have even known there was a third film in this franchise.
The best thing about today was:
Catching up on blog updates including an old diary entry from 1984 that a quick chat with Rupert helped remind me about.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
When I woke up this morning Cap followed me into the bathroom and as I sat on the toilet brushing my teeth he carefully got into the litter tray but left his butt hanging over the edge and so ended up pooping on the floor. I held my nose and cleaned up after him wondering how he is so stupid sometimes. He’s cute but stupid.
Also, I haven’t had time to play guitar for the past three days but know it is there waiting for the right time. I don’t feel like playing so much whilst Amy is around. I think she is going out tomorrow evening so I may get a chance then.
Something I learned today?
New Zealand has decided not to join the AUKUS defence alliance which is a bit of a snub to the USA and has folks predicting a soft CIA-manipulated coup there soon. I’d like to think that was unlikely but at the same time, I heard a great diatribe about the CIA-trained students in China that turned the peaceful demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which were initially just general grievances about economics, into the violent riots that saw rioters kill at least 300 unarmed PLA soldiers attempting to clear the square before tanks were ordered in. The more I hear and read about this event the more I’ve changed my opinion about what happened.
What am I looking forward to this week?
Bruno just contacted me about a ride at the weekend and if the weather isn’t good then just to grab coffee somewhere. Amy leaves on Friday and whilst I’m looking forward to my last seven weeks of relative freedom I’ll also miss her being around again. Despite our petty annoyances with each other, we have a lot of fun.
I’m looking forward to a bit of free time tomorrow morning too, to catch up on some reading and writing.
And as mentioned above I’m looking forward to playing more guitar.
No new pictures today so this one is from last week. Another angle of the dragon fruit plant flower, which still hasn’t turned into any fruit. I like the colours in this one and the light raindrops. The flowers end up looking soggy after a bit of rain as if they were made of paper.
1994ever 