Ben Peek's Blog, page 21
August 16, 2012
What the Julian Assange Case Says About Australia
I can't imagine that anyone, on hearing that the British have threatened the Ecuadorian Embassy, will believe that Julian Assange is really on charges for sexual assault. As from the start, the Assange case has been much more about who he is in the public sphere, and what he has done in relation to it, rather than his personal life.
What is also terrible about this is the reaction that the Australian Government has had, which is to say nothing. Having broken no law in Australia, Assange has been politically and publicly left out to dry, a fact that bothers me greatly. Much in the way that the Australian Government left David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay to be mistreated and tortured, Australia is leaving Assange to be picked up and, most likely, brought to trial in the US. It's probably best for us all just to accept that fact right now, incidentally, since it seems like an almost forgone conclusion based of the simply amazing statements made by William Hague.
Like this one, where he says, No, We're Not Causing a Diplomatic Situation Because of the US and Not in Danger of Setting a Terrible New Precedent:
Lovely, isn't it?
It's a terrible thing the UK and US are doing right now, but it is also a terrible thing the Australian Government is doing as well. This allowance of a farce displays aptly not just the worth of an Australian citizen globally, not just outside here, but also within, if they want to challenge the status quo in any shape or form.
Link.
Britain was locked in a farcical diplomatic stand-off with Ecuador last night after the South American country granted asylum to WikiLeaks fugitive Julian Assange.
Assange, who is wanted in Sweden on rape and sexual assault charges, has spent nearly two months hiding from the law in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Yesterday more than 40 policemen surrounded the building in central London to ensure the Australian could not be smuggled out.
A further six officers were stationed in the communal areas of the building, guarding lifts and access to the roof, as part of an operation that will cost at least £50,000 a day.
The moment Mr Assange sets foot outside the confines of the embassy, which is just yards from Harrods, the 41-year-old will be arrested.
Police will be equipped with heat detection equipment to beat any attempt to use special diplomatic bags or furniture to aid his escape.
What is also terrible about this is the reaction that the Australian Government has had, which is to say nothing. Having broken no law in Australia, Assange has been politically and publicly left out to dry, a fact that bothers me greatly. Much in the way that the Australian Government left David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay to be mistreated and tortured, Australia is leaving Assange to be picked up and, most likely, brought to trial in the US. It's probably best for us all just to accept that fact right now, incidentally, since it seems like an almost forgone conclusion based of the simply amazing statements made by William Hague.
Like this one, where he says, No, We're Not Causing a Diplomatic Situation Because of the US and Not in Danger of Setting a Terrible New Precedent:
"No one, least of all the government of Ecuador, should be in any doubt that we are determined to carry out our legal obligation to see Mr Assange extradited to Sweden. This is not about Mr Assange’s activities at WikiLeaks or the attitude of the United States of America. He is wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of serious sexual offences."
Lovely, isn't it?
It's a terrible thing the UK and US are doing right now, but it is also a terrible thing the Australian Government is doing as well. This allowance of a farce displays aptly not just the worth of an Australian citizen globally, not just outside here, but also within, if they want to challenge the status quo in any shape or form.
Link.
August 14, 2012
Objects
Back to work on the novel today, finally.
I have a few short stories in my head that I'd like to write, but I'm holding off, since I'm on the downward slope of the novel (rewriting the final quarter) and I want to push through and finish it before I do those. I'll have enough time as I search for a new agent to write short fiction, really.
The last few weeks have been busy, despite the fact that students were off doing their trials (and thus, I taught a little less). N. and I started up a stall out a Glebe Markets on a Saturday, where we primarily sell her photography in the form of prints, cards and magnets. I also sell copies of Above/Below out of it, so if you drift by one Saturday, you can buy one off us there if you'd like. It has taken a bit of work to get the stall moving, but it's pretty decent so far. It's also left me with a few ideas on doing small run projects to sell through the stall, perhaps reprinting 26Lies, maybe. If I do that, I'll probably get off my ass and get a website up and a little stall through there, but there'll be some time before or even if that happens. I kind of feel like doing something that makes pretty books, pretty objects, however--with all this talk of the digital world, of downloads and such, I find myself missing the talk of pretty objects, of nicely designed things you can hold and read.
But, y'know, like I said, it's a way off before anything like that. What I know about printing books I could describe to you in a handful of words, really, and when you know nothing, there's a lot to learn.
Still, it's all good thought for creativity.
I have a few short stories in my head that I'd like to write, but I'm holding off, since I'm on the downward slope of the novel (rewriting the final quarter) and I want to push through and finish it before I do those. I'll have enough time as I search for a new agent to write short fiction, really.
The last few weeks have been busy, despite the fact that students were off doing their trials (and thus, I taught a little less). N. and I started up a stall out a Glebe Markets on a Saturday, where we primarily sell her photography in the form of prints, cards and magnets. I also sell copies of Above/Below out of it, so if you drift by one Saturday, you can buy one off us there if you'd like. It has taken a bit of work to get the stall moving, but it's pretty decent so far. It's also left me with a few ideas on doing small run projects to sell through the stall, perhaps reprinting 26Lies, maybe. If I do that, I'll probably get off my ass and get a website up and a little stall through there, but there'll be some time before or even if that happens. I kind of feel like doing something that makes pretty books, pretty objects, however--with all this talk of the digital world, of downloads and such, I find myself missing the talk of pretty objects, of nicely designed things you can hold and read.
But, y'know, like I said, it's a way off before anything like that. What I know about printing books I could describe to you in a handful of words, really, and when you know nothing, there's a lot to learn.
Still, it's all good thought for creativity.
August 12, 2012
Catch 22
I finished reading Joseph Heller's Catch 22 on the weekend and thought it was a very fine and excellent book, funny and sad in the way a book like that should be.
I had tried to read it years ago, but never got far. I can't even tell you honestly what it was that I disliked about it, except that I just didn't like it at the time. But this time, it was different, and I enjoyed especially the way that Heller put together the book, the way chapters folded into others, creating a sense of narrative throughout the book much in the way a quilt is made, patch by patch, with each chapter being one of those patches. I thought, as I read it, how difficult it would be to make it into a film, which is something that I find myself thinking a little about these days--not because I am interested in books becoming films, but because I enjoy the way that prose does things narratively that film cannot. Much to my surprise, however, it appears that in the 70s, Mike Nichols made a film of the book.
Haven't seen the film, but I probably will, since it has Orson Welles in it and I'll watch anything once with him in it (which can be, lets face it, a bad choice).
I can't imagine that it is a successful film, or that it captures the surreal nature of the novel, especially towards the end as Yossarion's point of view turns hallucinatory and disturbing. I can't imagine that the adaption is anything but a literal adaptation of the book, considering its status in the world, but perhaps I'm wrong.
Either way, film or no film, I thought the book was great. Stepping outside of the structure, I enjoyed Heller's use of satire throughout, and the way he constructed the humour, from scene changes, to dialogue, and the control he kept on it for the length of the book. Catch 22 is not a small novel, but yet Heller keeps it together until the end, an amazing feat, especially when you consider not that it was Heller's first book, but how many books out there fall apart at the end. I am reminded of a book I also loved, Lydia Millet's Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, which was fantastic, truly, but did fall apart at the end, as if she was not sure what she wanted to do, or where to go with the concept that she had come up with. There are other books (plenty, really) that I could use as a comparison, but we'll leave it at that.
Anyhow: Cool book if you're never read it. Totally worth the time.
I had tried to read it years ago, but never got far. I can't even tell you honestly what it was that I disliked about it, except that I just didn't like it at the time. But this time, it was different, and I enjoyed especially the way that Heller put together the book, the way chapters folded into others, creating a sense of narrative throughout the book much in the way a quilt is made, patch by patch, with each chapter being one of those patches. I thought, as I read it, how difficult it would be to make it into a film, which is something that I find myself thinking a little about these days--not because I am interested in books becoming films, but because I enjoy the way that prose does things narratively that film cannot. Much to my surprise, however, it appears that in the 70s, Mike Nichols made a film of the book.
Haven't seen the film, but I probably will, since it has Orson Welles in it and I'll watch anything once with him in it (which can be, lets face it, a bad choice).
I can't imagine that it is a successful film, or that it captures the surreal nature of the novel, especially towards the end as Yossarion's point of view turns hallucinatory and disturbing. I can't imagine that the adaption is anything but a literal adaptation of the book, considering its status in the world, but perhaps I'm wrong.
Either way, film or no film, I thought the book was great. Stepping outside of the structure, I enjoyed Heller's use of satire throughout, and the way he constructed the humour, from scene changes, to dialogue, and the control he kept on it for the length of the book. Catch 22 is not a small novel, but yet Heller keeps it together until the end, an amazing feat, especially when you consider not that it was Heller's first book, but how many books out there fall apart at the end. I am reminded of a book I also loved, Lydia Millet's Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, which was fantastic, truly, but did fall apart at the end, as if she was not sure what she wanted to do, or where to go with the concept that she had come up with. There are other books (plenty, really) that I could use as a comparison, but we'll leave it at that.
Anyhow: Cool book if you're never read it. Totally worth the time.
August 9, 2012
From Virgin Australia
Mr McGirr pointed out that he works as a fireman in Newtown in Sydney and was trusted in his job to look out for the welfare of children.
"(The attitude of the airline) is 'we respect you but as soon as you board a Virgin airline you are a potential paedophile', and that strips away all the good that any male does regardless of his standing in society, his profession or his moral attitudes," he said.
A spokeswoman for Virgin Australia confirmed the policy and said while they didn't want to offend male passengers, their priority was the safety of children.
Well.
That's fairly insulting, isn't it?
Link.
August 8, 2012
Why I'm For Fifty Shades of Grey
I have decided I am for Fifty Shades of Grey.
No, I haven't read it, and no, I don't plan to do so. Lets be honest, if I wanted to read some badly written porn, I'd just surf the net for half an hour.
But I'm for it, anyway, and I think that it's kind of cool that it has become the best selling book of all time in the UK. It's a book about sex, and while to all accounts it's full of terribly written and barely believable scenes, it's gotten millions of people reading about sex. Yesterday, one of my friends told me how the women at his work were using it to reignite their relationships and how the guys were staying in to fuck. We had a good laugh, but hey, what's wrong with that? If the book gives you some ideas and you go off and fuck afterward and have a good time, does it really matter about the quality of the writing?
Well, I do admit, to me it does, but I'm still for Fifty Shades of Grey because it's not some shitty kids book that adults go out and buy and talk about how fabulous it is. After over a decade of badly written wish fulfillment in Harry Potter, not so subtle Mormon propaganda in Twilight, and the derivative and poorly written rubbish of Susanne Collins' Hunger Games, we've finally moved into at least a subject matter that people over the age of sixteen should be interested in. I mean, sure, there was a badly written Dan Brown novel in there, somewhere, but most of it has just been these badly written books for children that adults gobble up for reasons I can't quite understand. Much like Fifty Shades of Grey, I might add, since you know, the internet is one giant free online archive of badly written sex. But, I digress.
Around the world, people are reading about sex and then having sex.
And apparently the sale of rope to women has increased as well.
What's not to love?
No, I haven't read it, and no, I don't plan to do so. Lets be honest, if I wanted to read some badly written porn, I'd just surf the net for half an hour.
But I'm for it, anyway, and I think that it's kind of cool that it has become the best selling book of all time in the UK. It's a book about sex, and while to all accounts it's full of terribly written and barely believable scenes, it's gotten millions of people reading about sex. Yesterday, one of my friends told me how the women at his work were using it to reignite their relationships and how the guys were staying in to fuck. We had a good laugh, but hey, what's wrong with that? If the book gives you some ideas and you go off and fuck afterward and have a good time, does it really matter about the quality of the writing?
Well, I do admit, to me it does, but I'm still for Fifty Shades of Grey because it's not some shitty kids book that adults go out and buy and talk about how fabulous it is. After over a decade of badly written wish fulfillment in Harry Potter, not so subtle Mormon propaganda in Twilight, and the derivative and poorly written rubbish of Susanne Collins' Hunger Games, we've finally moved into at least a subject matter that people over the age of sixteen should be interested in. I mean, sure, there was a badly written Dan Brown novel in there, somewhere, but most of it has just been these badly written books for children that adults gobble up for reasons I can't quite understand. Much like Fifty Shades of Grey, I might add, since you know, the internet is one giant free online archive of badly written sex. But, I digress.
Around the world, people are reading about sex and then having sex.
And apparently the sale of rope to women has increased as well.
What's not to love?
August 7, 2012
Robert Hughes
Influential Australian art critic and writer Robert Hughes has died in New York aged 74.
Hughes, who was known for books such as The Fatal Shore and Shock of the New, died in hospital in the Bronx after a long illness.
I was sad to hear of Hughes death today. The Fatal Shore, his book on Australia's colonization, is pretty sweet--so good, in fact, that I have constantly said to myself that I should track down his other books, though I have never gotten around to it.
Hughes the Fatal Shore set itself apart from a lot of Australian history that I was reading while writing A Year in the City simply by the quality of his writing. A thick six to seven hundred pages in length (depending on edition and if you count notes at the end, which I do), the book is intelligent, articulate, and beautiful. It was one of the few books that I wanted to continue going, to follow all the history of the country as it unfolded, across all the States and Territories, and to have it continue to be told in Hughes' voice.
If you haven't read it, I do recommend tracking it down--there are so many light, poorly researched books on Sydney, Australia, on colonization, but the Fatal Shore is not one of them.
"One may liken this moment to the breaking open of a capsule. Upon the harbour the ships were now entering, European history had left no mark at all. Until the swollen sails and curvetting bows of the British fleet came round South Head, there were no dates. The Aborigines and the fauna around them had possessed the landscape since time immemorial, and no other human eye had seen them. Now the protective glass of distance broke, in an instant, never to be restored."
August 5, 2012
On Mars
Well, fuck, hey?
That actually worked.
August 2, 2012
Pyrotechnicon
One of the books I'm looking forward to in the next couple of months is Adam Browne's Pyrotechnicon.
It will also, from what I understand, come complete with Browne's illustrations throughout.
Link.
Cyrano de Bergerac: lover, poet, inventor, swordsman — man of ferocious blade and pretty talent.
In the Seventeenth Century, M. de Bergerac gave account of his fantastical First Voyage to the Moon and his Second Voyage to the Sun. How fortunate that publication of his Third Voyage has been so long delayed and that only now are we afforded the delicious anticipation of knowing the finest, the most fabulous tale of all is yet to come.
What matter any doubts as to the authenticity of the text (purportedly found during the United States’ MER-V mission to Mars, its rover robot famously rolling aside a small boulder to discover the pages you are about to read)? What care we who offers the riches; let us but accept the gift!
Let us dive nose first into this salty welter, effervescent with wordplay, tossed with wonders, a Voyage that takes Renaissance science to abyssal deeps and rarefied heights — trekking among the square roots of a mathematical forest; travelling across time in a rose-sailed ship; battling animalcules in a microscope-shaped zoo…
Above all, let us keep pace with M. de Bergerac on his most challenging quest — the inward quest; the test of the soul — for not until this fiercest swordsman in all France casts aside his blade will he have the might to defeat his deadliest foe, the dread Master of Secrets.
It will also, from what I understand, come complete with Browne's illustrations throughout.
Link.
July 31, 2012
Seven Minutes of Terror
This is a video explaining how NASA will land it's Curiosity Rover on August 5th.
Pretty sweet, hey?
If I'm lucky, I'll find a use for the title 'Seven Minutes of Terror' for a bit of fiction. Perhaps.
In other news, I am reading Catch 22, which I tried to read years ago, but didn't dig very much. It's quite funny, though, I have to say, and well written and I'm totally digging it. I guess I just wasn't in the mood back when.
Pretty sweet, hey?
If I'm lucky, I'll find a use for the title 'Seven Minutes of Terror' for a bit of fiction. Perhaps.
In other news, I am reading Catch 22, which I tried to read years ago, but didn't dig very much. It's quite funny, though, I have to say, and well written and I'm totally digging it. I guess I just wasn't in the mood back when.
