Monthly Archives: January 2015

waltzing matilda

Posted on January 25, 2015 by anton veenstra

Tomorrow is Australia day. Our national anthem used to be Waltzing Matilda. Wiki has a number of theories as to how the lyrics were shaped. What strikes me is how many German references are involved. Firstly “waltz”, then “matilda”. “Waltzing … Continue reading →

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people on the move

Posted on January 21, 2015 by anton veenstra

Is that a David Bowie phrase, I ask??? I was taught that a lot of railway lines were built across Europe in the early 1900’s. With that, like a tidal wave, people up & decided to travel, to go, to … Continue reading →

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seeing the future

Posted on January 20, 2015 by anton veenstra

I had to go to Burwood yesterday, for a ridiculous bureaucratic meeting. It was a public office, understaffed because of budget cuts by successive governments, Labor as well as the current Lib/Nat admin. Its attitude is characterised by my verbal … Continue reading →

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Tearing the fabric of existence

Posted on January 18, 2015 by anton veenstra

Having only recently said that he understood the violence that insults provoke, although he would not condone violence, in the Philippines recently, Pope Francis declared that same sex unions threatened the structure of human life, or the fabric of the … Continue reading →

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nothing new under the sun

Posted on January 17, 2015 by anton veenstra

I believe it was Aristotle who said, “there is nothing new under the sun”. The medieval “semioticians” codified his ideas as a series of rhetoric, one for every occasion; the artists who put those ideas into practice created art works … Continue reading →

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The best parents say: “I still love you”.

Posted on January 16, 2015 by anton veenstra

Ethan Morrden New York based gay writer once concluded in a narrative of gay Manhattan that the best parents, when they discover that their child is gay, say: “I still love you”. GLBTIQ community folk will tell you that our … Continue reading →

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biggest thugs on the world stage

Posted on January 16, 2015 by anton veenstra

I have just watched an interview with the solicitor acting on behalf of two drug mules awaiting execution in an Indonesian jail. I simply could not believe the insidious utterances of this unctuous spokesperson; he urged aussies to make representations … Continue reading →

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be utterly lovely

Posted on January 14, 2015 by anton veenstra

Both Stephen Fry & Ellen end their tv shows with a variation on the exhortation “be utterly lovely unto each other”. I haven’t watched Oprah lately, so she may in fact end her public sessions in the same way. What … Continue reading →

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a dogmatic vid gone wrong

Posted on January 11, 2015 by anton veenstra

People have been re-posting an Italian vid of an off screen narrator telling small boys to interact with a beautiful but older girl/ young woman. Firstly, he gets them to caress her, then he commands them to “slap her hard” … Continue reading →

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brutalized militarised radicalised

Posted on January 9, 2015 by anton veenstra

The first two conditions above were cited by our fearless leader about young Arabic men in their struggle today. I have just finished re-reading Le Carre’s The Man Who Came in From the Cold, wherein Stalin’s words are quoted: “Hundreds … Continue reading →

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