Monday, December 22, 2014

Monday Forum - go where you like

With Christmas coming, traffic on this blog has displayed its normal sharp dip. Traffic is higher than last year, but still well down. People just have better things to do than to visit me!

I have no idea how many people are still around who might want to comment on this forum. So today a random selection of topics to help.

Over on The Conversation, Hilda Maclean looks at the fall and then rise in public mourning. I was thinking about one aspect of this. For Australian readers, when did you first notice the rise of private crosses and road side memorials to mark the road accident death of loved ones.? I was trying to work out when I first noticed it. Early eighties?

Staying with the Conversation, I was interested to learn that some colleagues at work not active in the on-line world follow The Conversation as an impartial source of information. I would have thought that the publication was firmly fixed on the center left simply because of its writing base. I quote from its web site: You must be a member of an academic or research institution to write for The Conversation.

This is Judy Cassab's 1987 portrait of Chandler (Channy) Coventry. I love portraiture. Do you have a favourite portrait?

On Facebook, our mate Ramana asked us to circulate this story It wasn’t the final atrocity. He also asked us to read the comments. I did so and now do so.

On Catallaxy Files, Sinclair Davidson wrote A quarter of the population is now suspect? and promptly got his head knocked off in comments.

A few questions for you. Indonesia is our biggest neighbor and is a majority Muslim country. As the Indonesian economy grows, Indonesia will become more and more important to us. We also need Indonesia for defence reasons. My best guess is that in twenty years we may have over a million Indonesians of Muslims faith living in Australia. They will dwarf all other Muslim groups. How might they fit in? How will Australia respond?

I suspect very well. What do you think?

I must finish now. Washing and the world awaits.

Postscript

I was  reading Judy Cassab's diaries (Judy Cassab, Diaries, Alfred A Knopf, Sydney 1995) when I came across this reference to the Chandler Coventry portrait.

30 November 1987. "Bob Klippel and Rosemary Madigan came on Saturday to pick up the marble torso, and Bob seemed to be impressed by the large composition. He liked Channy's portrait, said: "The eyes are amazing, as if surprised and desperate about the injustice of the stroke."   I think that that is an acute and also sad observation.    

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was just watching Coriolanus - a modern version with Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler Brian Cox Vanessa Redgrave and that actress out of Zero Dark Thirty - 2011 I think it said.

Have to say I'm not generally a fan of 'updates' of Shakespeare but this one was just superb, simply superb.

And then the thunder and lightning came through, and my satellite tv died in the proverbial, so I didn't get to see how Fiennes worked the ending. A must re-watch in calmer weather for me.

Anyway, maybe a good Christmas CD present for those who enjoy re-thinking/imagining Shakespeare?

kvd

Anonymous said...

Hi Jim

You've got me wondering about roadside memorials.

I fancy(= don't know) that maybe it was later than the 1980s?

And I saw The Dream, Bell Shakespeare, back in August this year(a streamlined production of Midsummers Night's Dream) it was so,so good. I'm a fan. Bring on the updates.

Sue

Anonymous said...

"Updates"? Well some are better than others, - agreed, and then there's the ultimate 'updater' who is now up where he belongs :)

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/joe-cocker-songs/

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

I have never been a fan of updates, although Sue will remember an unintentionally funny one in York. Mind you, kvd, the Coriolanus film does sound good from the wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolanus_(film)

On the road side memorials, Sue, it may have been the nineties. Dratted memory. I was trying to remember particular trips on which I first noted them.

Jim Belshaw said...

And Joe Cocker was good, kvd.

Anonymous said...

Jim, you said go where you will, so one for Avenger:

http://askthepast.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/how-to-keep-your-cat-c-1470.html

(Love the first comment - "does this work for feral cats?")

Hope tomorrow brings you what you wish for, and my sincere thanks for the many thoughtful posts.

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

Hi kvd, happy Christmas for tomorrow and may there be many more exchanges between us over 2015!

Liked the link. Don't think that I will try it on scrawny, and avenger just hangs around!

The butter one is interesting. Old proverb in various forms goes sold the butter, lost the money to describe unhappiness. Butter was pricey, so they really must have wanted to keep the cat!

Anonymous said...

Steven Pinker, offering some wider perspectives on our 'troubled times':

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/12/the_world_is_not_falling_apart_the_trend_lines_reveal_an_increasingly_peaceful.single.html

Worth a read, and some thought.

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

Hi kvd and happy Xmas. That piece is indeed worth reading.

Anonymous said...

Burying this back here, because I think it is important to note, but far too long for 'topical reading'.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/spiritual-shape-political-ideas_819707.html?page=1

One of the most thoughtful essays I have read this year.

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

That is an interesting if depressing piece, kvd.