I think this is wrong. If anything, the internet only increases the incidents of running into morons. The anonymity the Internet offers makes morons even more intolerable because they have less inhibitions about what they say and many more places to say it without censure.

Also, the article seems to assume that finding groups of people that like the same things you like automatically eliminates idiots. It most certainly does not, and anyone with any Internet experience at all will be able to tell you this firsthand.

And, okay, to be fair, I should probably also stop calling them idiots. I should probably refer to them as people who give you the shits, idiots or otherwise. You are going to run into these people on the Internet. I guarantee it. Just because you share an interest doesn’t mean you’re actually going to like them. I know there are people online in communites I’m a part of who annoy the crap out of me. But that’s part of life. You have to deal with idiots and people who annoy you.

Actually, the trigger for this rant wasn’t the article, it was witnessing the horror of some published work in a rant about the poor state of the English language. That got me ranting about morons. XD

Classes start again tomorrow. The only thing I am dreading is having to deal with people with lower literacy levels than me. These are invariably school leavers, and it makes me cry for the standard of education we’re giving our kids. These kids are our future. What kind of future are we going to have when we have all this wealth and opportunity and they can’t read or write very well? What kind of future is that?

Call me old-fashioned, but I firmly believe in a decent education. You should be able to use the English language in a good manner, be able to express yourself well and not freak out when told to read something. Seriously, if you are at university and it takes you a whole day to read a 14 page short story, I dread to think how you are going to cope with the rest of your tertiary studies with such a reading ability. Especially if you’re a science student.

I really hate this lazy attitude to English, especially online. That it doesn’t matter because it’s the Internet, as if using proper English spelling and grammar is opional unless it’s for some sort of formal occasion. I think this is a dangerous thing to have because it teaches bad habits. It teaches poor communication skills. Is that really what we want to encourage in our children? Have we been reduced to seeing Gen Y as some sort of slave labour, there to work with a basic education and nothing more? I think we’re short-changing them and not tapping into their true potential, and society will be worse off because of it. They are the ones that will be teaching their children. Surely we should care about the knowledge they pass on and how they raise their kids. If we can’t get it right, what hope have they got?

I don’t know why I’m writing this here. I suppose just for something to say. Haven’t written much the past few days. Even my inspiration is tired. I might do some reading tomorrow, or that editing I keep putting off. Maybe refresh my Age of Myth skillz. I don’t know how I got so bad at it. I need to rehash my cheats memory. Pandoras Box and Wrath of the Gods will only get me so far… XD

No idea if I’m doing anything for Wep Ronpet though. At least, I have no plans for something big, not when it’ll just be me. Might spend some time in shrine though. And destroy a snake cake or similar. We’ll see. Brain is kinda dead right now, so any thoughts about New Year are very much  ‘oh gods why aren’t you here yet?’

There are too many things I have thoughts on, but not enough to make any sort of coherent post about. Writing is going okay, though, in spite of what I said above. Writing is just not as prolific. Then again, after writing 5k in a weekend, I tend to need a rest and let my inspration recharge. Perhaps I should do that editing tomorrow.

I don’t know, when I look back at my life, so much of it has been shaped by the presence of music. As much as I like my quiet time, I think I would go spare without music.

At the moment, triple j are counting down their Hottest 100 Of All Time (which I dutifully voted in). And, you know what? Save from Jeff Buckley, Kings of Leon, and Coldplay, I actually don’t mind most of what’s been chosen. I’m rather enjoying it, actually. Probably would’ve voted for some of them, if I’d thought of them at the time.

(As an aside, sure, I’m not a Michael Jackson fan, but I will admit to being somewhat partial to Thriller and Bad, and Thriller got in, so awesome. )
I suppose part of it is because triple j and rage have been part of my life for nearly a decade, and the kind of music they play has morphed and inspired the sort of music I like. They’ve shaped my music taste in a way nothing else has. A lot of these songs I remember from rage guest programmers. Others I remember from my teen years.

A list like this is always going to be subjective, people will always disagree, because music taste is a very personal thing. I think what it reflects most is the triple j audience themselves. And sure, just cos I like a lot of old music, I don’t necessarily think age makes a song better or more brilliant than a younger one. Not all old rock was brilliant. There was plenty of shit then, just as there’s plenty of shit now, and I think this will always be the case while the music industry still mostly cares about making money than decent quality music.

And while it might be noble to say the whole illegal music downloading shit is Gen Y being radical and hardcore and sticking it to the man, I don’t think that’s even a thought Gen Y considers when ripping songs off youtube, downloading leaked albums and discographies and other things. I think, at the heart of it, for a generation weaned on the internet, that they merely like getting shit for free, like every other human being on the planet, and if any technology is capable of feeding their habit, it’s the internet.

I’m one of those people who’s not really Gen X or Y. My parents were babyboomers, barely, so technically I’m Gen X, but I also share a lot of characteristics with Gen Y, and I’ve grown up a digital native. I would also challenge the notion that all of Gen Y are computer/internet savvy. I don’t think this is a fair generalisation. Those who are interested in computers and the net enough will be computer literate digital natives. Merely being born in that generation doesn’t mean you’re an instant digital native; you have to actually interact with the technology, grow up with it and use it for that to happen.

But I digress. (An expedition to wiki informs me I’m part of the MTV generation. In spite of never watching MTV evar. XD Then again, depending on which definition you use, I’m either Gen X or Y, so… XD)

I had a thought earlier in the week. How many of the groups around now will still be performing and touring thirty years from now? Forty years from now? Do Gen Y have a different attitude to music? Is it not so much a career thing? Or is that more to do with the increased fickleness of the industry and actually making it? That it’s actually much harder to sustain success now than it used to be?

I suppose any list documenting notable bands worthy of eternal praise and devotion is going to be different for everyone. Because at the end of the day, music is a very personal thing, and what I love and adore and has shaped my life is not the same as someone else’s. Just because I don’t get how apparently brilliant Jeff Buckley was doesn’t mean I am somehow deficient in being able to pick good music. Then again, I adore trashy 80s music and obscure 70s rock, so who am I to complain?

It’s a time of night that has a certain feel to it. It’s distinct from earlier in the evening, or much later on in the night towards dawn. It’s still and quiet, especially during the week. I’ve discovered some of my favourite TV shows and movies during this time of night.

I like hearing the occasional car drive past. Suburbia has its own insane beauty that I just adore. Being at work again has given me many thoughts. Peculiarly, one came to me while printing labels for a file. Is handwriting going out of fashion? We’ve come to rely on computers and technology for almost everything, all our communications, from twitter to writing letters to reading news. Will it eventually kill our need for handwriting? Will there come a time when a human being will not know what to do when presented with a pen?

It worries me. When you think about the work you do, how much is ever handwritten anymore? Sure, little notes or initial minutes of meetings might be handwritten, but how much of that ever gets preserved? Everything is typed, word processed and desktop pubished to death. Your employer is unlikely to see your handwriting.

Perhaps I’m being overly sentimental. Perhaps I’m being overly paranoid. I don’t know. I just … I believe the ability to write with a pen, handwriting, is too important a skill for humans to lose. We should not become so reliant on technology that we are unable to function without it. :/

I am, perhaps, rather more cynical tonight than usual. One of my moods, or perhaps the result of all the political bullshit that erupted over the last week, amusing as it is. I think the hypocrisy is getting to me. I just can’t believe any arguments the Oppostion make when I know they’ve committed the exact same crimes they’re accusing the Government of committing. It makes me a little ill. My growing apathy towards both major parties is increasing.

Also, late post is late because, well, brain has been preoccupied with other things, and it’s hard to finish a post about the night during the day. Srsly. :/

I have other thoughts, now that it’s night and I can think again. It’s quiet and calm and there is nothing buzzing around in my head. I might let them fester for a while though. I can’t quite articulate them yet. Perhaps Sunday. When I get around to fixing this blog at any rate. XD

I was completely shocked by the furore that erupted over their ‘Make A Realistic Wish Foundation’ sketch, especially considering all the other potentially offensive material in that particular episode.

Okay, I’m the first to admit I did laugh at that particular sketch. It was wrong on so many levels, but damn did I laugh. Still, I do think it could’ve been executed better. This doesn’t make it an offensive sketch, it makes it one that was just done badly. There’s a difference.I was most angry at the Prime Mininster casting judgement on the sketch without having seen it. It felt like the whole Bill Henson bullshit all over again, with our PM acting like the nation’s moral compass and criticising art as if he’s got a mandate to do so and tell us what’s acceptable because he knows best. Christ, it’s like a Father Knows Best state here.

I, for one, don’t accept that, and I think there are better things for him to be focussing on than a comedy sketch gone wrong.

I was also angry at Amanda Duthie losing her position over this. Nothing said scapegoat more than that, and I was actually ashamed at Media Watch for calling her out on it. One bad decision shouldn’t have been enough to warrant her removal, and I think it was totally unfair to do that, especially when she’s one of their most valuable assets (in my opinion).

In all of this, though, I”m not the sort to defend every Chaser sketch they’ve eber done, just becase I think they’re beyond fault. That isn’t true. There have been things they’ve done that I’ve disliked or hated or not laughed at. Has that changed my love for them? Not really. I think it’s disingenous to say you can’t criticise them as a fan, you have to love and adore them, no matter what.

However, this, just like all the other things that have caused controversy over the last few years, I think a lot of people have completely missed the point and were merely looking for a reason to get angry at The Chaser.

Acknowledging that this is just my opinion and might differ from the way it was supposed to be taken or how others took it, I saw the sketch as a comment on, well, lots of things. Not just the foundation, but the way we lavish all this shit on dying kids and it doesn’t actually solve anything. The pointlessness of it all.

Perhaps this is just my expreince talking, but I suppose because I’m aware the rest of the health system is fucked and the elderly and the mentally ill especially don’t get the same sort of sympathy or funding. I suppose I wish there were better things to do with that money than keep paying for every kid to go to Disneyland because they’re dying.

I think especially with mental illness there’s a certain stigma attached to it, and there’s little compassion for them. I think there’s a certain dismissal of them and their issues and a reaction like ‘get over it’ rather than a genuine concern for their welfare and a desire to help. And I know this is a tangent, but compared to all the sob stories on TV of some kid who’s dying, stories of people with mental illness don’t get the same treatment.

The bloke who was Tasered to death in Queensland recently comes to mind. The attititude of the cop who was describing him didn’t seem to care. There was a certain disdain/dismissal as he talked about him that I thought was completely unnecesary. It was like, he was mental, we were perfectly justified in Tasering him.

Tangent aside, yes, the sketch itself perhaps could’ve been executed better, but I don’t think that just because it was a bad sketch that meant it was made to be offensive. That’s not the same at all and anyone saying so has completely missed the point.

Either way, that’s what I took from it. I’m not trying to be callous, nor am I trying to say that dying kids isn’t bad. I suppose I’m trying to be realistic myself. I just remember all the kids dying of starvation in other countries and wonder why we can’t spare the money to help them.

Perhaps I’m overanalysing or overthinking it. I don’t know. They’re my thoughts on the sketch at any rate. Feel free to disagree.

Humans are stupid creatures who will pick petty fights amongst themselves for no reason at all. Religion turns people into sheep, no matter which one it is. I’m tired of it all. I want out.

I’ve always been a bit individualistic like that, I think. I don’t like being told what to believe, and I can’t stand to be around people who refuse to question their faith, or refuse to rock the boat. It’s not on. Use your fucking minds. God, Netjer, whatever, gave you a bright fucking mind and as much free will as you can cope with. Why must you give it all away and let someone else dictate what you believe?The longer I hang around in the Pagan community, the more I see the same things happening there. They just follow blindly. You’d think they’d have more sense, since they usually come from Christianity with complaints about being told what to believe, but apparently, that doesn’t count when it comes to Pagan faiths, because they’re totally different and so much better anyway.

Please. Tell someone who cares.

This is why I can’t bear to be a part of any religious group. I hate being told what to believe, and I will not be preached to. I have my own beliefs. They’re sufficiently eclectic that I just don’t fit into one place. So excuse me for being different. And it’s not even that my beliefs clash with everyone else’s. It’s more that while my path might converge and run parallel with some groups more than with others, they never meet, nor should they be obliged to.

I don’t even know if the Bawy year is responsible for this sudden influx of agnosticism or  not, or whether it’s just me being weird again. I think I need to be away from Kemetic Orthodoxy (KO) for a while. I need that freedom to work myself out and whether I can abide being affiliated with them again. I meant to do so a while ago, but never got around to it. Perhaps now is the time to step back from my shemsu vows.

Actually no. I’ve changed my mind. I think what I need to do is pull back and work out what being a shemsu actually means for me, not try and be something I’m not. As much as I want to pull back from KO, and I have thought about it for over a year now, I’ve never done anything about it. I think a part of my soul really does want to be KO, so now I have to work out what shemsu means for me, not what it means for everyone else.

A friend and ex-KO once asked me what it means to be a shemsu, and I couldn’t answer her then. I think I need to find an answer to this. Maybe then I’ll feel better about where I am.

Because I embrace many beliefs that aren’t KO and don’t strictly belong to one single other faith system. I am eclectic like that. I embrace bits of discordianism, bits of warrior spirituality, a few things I swiped from Isobelle Carmody, and other things relating to the country I live in. I’m a mongrel of a person. I’ve picked up a few things from learning about Indigenous beliefs as well, especially things relating to country.

I suppose I’m also tired of the politics within specific groups. There is a pressure to conform even if there’s no thing to conform to. The more you’re obsessed with Egypt, the better you are spiritually. Which is utter bullshit to me.

This isn’t one of my better worded essays. More a late-night rant I need to get off my chest. Maybe I’ll collect this into a better worded thing later, but right now, I need to get these words out. So deal with this semi-coherent rant. I need to sleep before I go to work tomorrow.