D.A. Cairns's Blog, page 55

The Most Persecuted Woman in Australia

Sadly the level of politcal debate in Australia, and the quality of politicians and media represenatives involved in that debate hit an all time low this week. The lack of respect shown for the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has been appalling. From having her body parts described in a derogatory fashion as items on a menu for a Liberal party function, to being asked if her partner was gay because they aren't married and he's a hairdresser, Julia Gillard has been treated disgracefully. Where is the respect for the leader of our nation?

Unfortunately her whole time in office has been marred by personal attacks on her: trivial comments about her appearance, and vicious, unreasonable assaults on her integrity. Why has it been so intense? Because she is a woman. The media and opposition party led campaign against her has gone into overdrive, machine gunning her credibility. Barring the largest political election day miracle in history, her government will be defeated on September 14.

The media drives the policy agendas of both the government and the opposition, and our politicans pander to their media masters. Policy discussion is characterised by personal attacks, hollow slogans and myopic superficiality. We are suffering from a lack of leadership and a lack of ideas. Or so it appears according to the media reports we hear and read. Our response is disrespect, but when we disrespect others, we disrespect ourselves. The current pathetic state of politics in Australia is our fault as well.

[image error] The things people say publicly about our Prime Minister represent an abuse of political freedom. I know it's a colonial thing. Since Governor Arthur Philip first raised the flag in 1788 we've been rebelling against authority. If this week has proved anything to me it is that many Australians are simply dumb convicts who wear their prejudice and ignorance as badges of honour.

How do you feel about personal attacks on the democratically elected leader of your country?

The Myth of Innocence

This man's name is Simon. He was in Sydney one Saturday night recently, minding his own business when he was assaulted without provocation by a group of rowdy troublemakers. Simon was found unconscious on George Street in the early hours of the morning, and according to the doctor who treated him, was minutes away from losing his life. He is recovering in hospital.

My 17 year old son and my 15 year old daughter were in Sydney last night. They are responsible, well behaved children, who don't look for trouble and consquently rarely find any of it. But what do you do when trouble finds you? I look at this picture and think it could, but for the grace of God, be my son, or my daughter. They didn't get home last night until after 2am, and my wife and were worried. We had text messages saying they were on their way, to comfort us, but anything could have happened on the one and half hour drive home.They could have become victims. Statistics.

Whether they were innocent or culpable would be a mute point if tragedy struck. Simon was an innocent bystander who was king hit by a stranger. Innocence did not save him, nor would it save my children from harm.

The fact is that we are all guilty. Guilty of something or other, and we all live with guilt. While many deny it, and others struggle with it all their lives, some admit it, confess it and seek help.There is no true innocence in humans. We are stained. There is nothing within us that can remove the impurity, the stench of sin, the burden of guilt. We need a Saviour. Have you met him yet?

Photograph courtesy of  Mitch Gardener via ABC News

Is the universe trying to tell you something?

It's day 4 of my battle with man flu. Despite what the ladies might think, it is an accepted medical fact that men suffer much worse head colds than women. Two days of nausea caused by excessive mucas in the brainbox, and the cough is beginning to wind up. I already bought shares in a tissue company, and my nostrils are red and tender. All this after a fitful 10 hours in bed during which I was subjected to "Chinese burns" to my face all night. I fully expected to be the first recorded case of exploding head due to distressed sinuses.

Not that I'm complaining mind you. I mean I didn't even mention the continual headache, fever and lethargy. I haven't left the house for two days, but I haven't been idle. I've watched episodes of The X-Files and Blue Heelers, done a little housework and written three chapters of my next novel.

[image error] People often talk about the universe sending a message through the circumstances in which you find yourself, no matter whether good or bad. Illness may be a sign that I have been working too hard and not getting enough rest. Fiddlesticks! I don't work too hard and I eat well, exercise, and get plenty of rest.There are so many bacteria in the air and all around us that even the great naturalist Charles Darwin armed with the latest technology could not catalogue them all with another lifetime to do it in. I caught a cold. Who hasn't?

The only message being broadcast by the universe is of the glory of God who created it, including the damned bacteria and when I get to heaven I'm going to ask Him why. If I remember. I might not care anymore when I see him face to face. What question would you like God to answer?

Photograph sources:
www.theblogfarm.com
http://sepetjian.wordpress.com/tag/bacteria/

The Fast Track to Clarity

[image error] It's easy to get lost, to lose perspective, to live an unbalanced life. There are times when I not only forget to stop and smell the roses, but I can't smell the coffee, and the stench of some dead creature in the corner of my office cupboard fades from my olfactory register. Sometimes I run but I forget where I am going.

For five days this week, I banned myself from social media. I fasted from something which in itself is neither good not bad. For me, however Facebook and Twitter, had begun to distort my view of myself and of reality. One of my best lines, when my children show me something on Facebook, is that Facebook makes me despair for humanity. Lately, it had been making me despair for myself.

[image error] The problem is I don't like to communicate in a vacuum, and who does? If I say something, I would like a response. If I ask a question, I would like an answer. My experience of social media is that it is mostly one sided. Roughly half a dozen of my Facebook friends interact with me, and the figure for Twitter is even lower. This dearth of interaction annoys me, and the reason I get irritated is because I am self centred.

I am looking for love in the wrong places. Social media is a tool not a barometer. The popularity game promises great rewards but delivers superficiality. I chose not to play this week, and as a result I wrote four chapters of my next novel. Fasting something which I enjoy (usually) but do not need, helped me to see clearly that I am an author, and I am important regardless of how many hits, friends or tweeps I have. This clarity led to productivity.

I also fasted from Coke for three days, but that is another story.

Photograph sources:
http://www.totalwallpapers.com/wallpapers.asp?number_id=574
http://hicks-tuj.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/social-media-and-its-contributions-to.html

The Last Hard Sell

I could have written this yesterday when, despite strenuous combatative mental efforts, I felt somewhat despondent. I could have used this forum to vent: to decry the appalling waste of six hours of my life, to lament the vanity of my efforts, to call into question the wisdom and value of my actions. I could have done that yesterday, but I was hoping a good night's sleep would take the edge of my disappointment. It seems I may have been mistaken.

As part of my continuing efforts to sell my novel, Loathe Your Neighbor, I travelled to Gerringong where a street market is held once a month. At short notice, I was able to get a table, in a good location just inside the entrance to the Town Hall. It was a fresh, sunny morning. My mood was hopeful, and doubtful.

I greeted nearly everyone who walked past.Twenty six of these greetings turned into conversations. I handed out a dozen or so business cards. People talked to me, asked me questions, gave me advice, encouraged me, looked at my books, talked about what they liked to read, and what they had written themselves. Just before nine o'clock I sold a copy of my debut novel, Devolution. Forty five minutes later, I sold a copy of LYN. With that sale, I covered the cost of the table, my mood was bouyant. However, that was my last sale.

A number of people said they would think about it. Still more said they had already spent their money. Others said they simply couldn't, or shouldn't buy any more books. They wished me well. They walked away.

I couldn't help think of my taxi driving days when I once worked ten hours and took home thirty dollars. I couldn't help consider the fact that I had sold two books accidentally, a week ago when I was having dinner with a group of guys from my church. I couldn't help but be hurt but the words 'It costs too much.' I couldn't help but be discouraged by the guy who self published a book and walked into bookshops, and sold fifteen hundred copies. I received so many suggestions on how to sell LYN, and I have tried most of them, but my success has been underwhelming. I've had enough.

[image error] Was I only making conversation with people yesterday because I wanted them to buy my book? Yes. Do I like talking to  people? Yes, but I wouldn't go anywhere specifically just to say hello to people, and have a chat. Am I tired of devising new ways to reach people? Yes. I'm not a salesman. It's time to concentrate on the next book. I've done all I can. Enough is enough. This post is too long and I don't want to write any more like this. When I cannot enjoy the fact that two complete strangers risked $20 of their hard earned money to buy my books, I know it is time to step back from this marketing madness. As Kenny said, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."

Photograph source:
http://www.haggardandhalloo.com/2010/10/28/review-kenny-rogers-gambler/

Are you Happy?

Today is Mother's Day in Australia. My Mum has brought me untold happiness. She was the first to make me happy. She showed me what happiness was, and how to find it. She also taught me how to make others happy. Happy Mother's Day, Mum. This post is dedicated to you.

While everyone would readily agree that happiness is good thing, actually defining the word is more difficult.


[image error] Is happiness a cause or an effect? In other words, is it an intrinsic quality or is it the result of external stimuli? Many things makes me happy. My team recovered from a 0-16 deficit in last night's game to record a 24-16 victory. When I heard this news, I was happy. I didn't see the game because I was dining with friends. Their company made me happy. I enjoyed the food and the conversation. I felt happy before I even arrived there, in anticipation of the happiness that spending time with my friends would bring. My answer therefore, is that happiness is the outcome of pleasurable circumstances. Our happiness depends to a large extent on the happiness of others, especially our family and friends.

[image error] Although we all know happy people, happiness, for most people, tends to wax and wane. It comes and goes. Life is a mixed bag of lollies: a collection of sweet, sour and downright unpalatable experiences. Some address the fleeting and often fickle nature of happiness by contrasting it with joy, which is said to be a more settled and permanent state of happiness, and one which is not dependent on circumstances. That distinction is probably a semantic illusion.

This is how I define happiness: pleasure, peace, contentment. How would you define it? What makes you happy?

Photograph credits:
http://socialpsychologyeye.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/the-pursuit-of-happiness/
www.obstacol.com

2013 A-Z Blogging Challenge Reflection

My mind feels fat and lazy as I reflect upon the intriguing and entertaining blog-a-thon of April 2013. It wore me out a little.
It was my first time, and I possessed the comensurate level of anxiety as I contemplated 26 posts in 30 days. I usually only blog once a week. To have reached the end, not missed a day, and stuck to my theme was incredibly satisfying.

Before I continue with my extremely abridged highlights/lowlights package, I want to announce VR Barkowski as the winner of the inaugural Square Peg Award, (I just thought of that!) for the best interactor of the challenge. VR was a faithful visitor and a sagacious commentor. For her efforts she has received a free digital copy of Loathe Your Neighbor, (first of only two book plugs). You can find her at http://vrbarkowski.wordpress.com

There was a huge increase in the number of visitors to my site, but not many commentors. I became extremely green when I saw how many comments other bloggers were getting. I think I may be too heavy for many people. I made some new online friends, and was constantly intrigued, challenged and inspired by the posts of my fellow bloggers. I praise God for the amazing diversity of his creatures who, like me, creatively interact with the world through their words. I thank you all for participating and congratulate you for surviving.

I said I was going to promote my book twice. I've been told that it is uncool to ask you to buy Loathe Your Neighbor, so I will just tell you that it would be in your best interests to at least check it out. http://dacairns.weebly.com

Z is for Zealot

“Phil might have remained an eccentric and disagreeable neighbor but David had turned him into an enemy, and Julia might have been a breath a fresh air which blew into his life for a couple of hours once a week to teach him about how to be a better communicator. Instead, he had transformed her into an object of desire and stupidly pursued her.”
-          Loathe Your Neighbour ch.26
Zeal is a good thing, and if someone describes you as being zealous, you would accept the compliment unless it was delivered with a side order of sarcasm. Why then, I wonder, is it that the word zealot has such negative connotations? There appears to be one of those invisible lines drawn somewhere between being zealous and being overzealous, and if you cross that line you become a zealot and as such, no longer the object of admiration, but of scorn. David Lavender took the passion and protectiveness he had for his family and transformed it into a crusade against his neighbor. He became a zealot, and in so doing, he further antagonized that neighbor, aggravated the police and annoyed his wife. He took a healthy interest in women, an appreciation of them, and turned it into a hunt for something to satisfy his lust. On neither occasion did he realize he was taking things too far, that he was becoming extreme in his thinking and subsequent behavior, until it was too late to avoid the inevitable consequences of his actions. Have you ever crossed the line between passion and zealotry, or are they the same thing?
Zeal you later, everyone. It’s been a pleasure.

Y is for Yellow

“One day, he was home from work early. Lilijana had taken the children and would be gone for more than an hour, so David picked some lemons from the tree in their backyard, put them in a plastic bag, and took them next door to 1008. It seemed an innocent enough gesture at the time.”
-          Loathe Your Neigbor ch. 10
Although I have referred to and quoted from my novel, Loathe Your Neighbor, in every post, this is the only time in the challenge that I have brazenly and directly tried to sell it. As part of the promotional parade for LYN, I am offering readers a chance to enter the draw to win a brand new, still-in-the-box genuine Renovator multi-purpose power tool. Simply read the book and answer the question, “What is the significance of lemons in LYN?” The draw will be held on May 25 so if you want this awesome piece of hardware, buy the book, read it and drop me a line at devolution_dacairns@hotmail.com  As a special offer for visitors to this site, I will throw in a free digital version of my debut novel, Devolution, for everyone who buys LYN and enters the competition. Make haste my friends.
Lemons are yellow, and with that I end my penultimate, and clearly most loosely, alphabetically speaking, connected post in the challenge.

X is for Xerarch

“Now there were two catalysts…The second denied his need for satisfaction and excitement. His wife from Heaven bored him. He winced. The thought was repugnant yet true. Lilijana bored him often, and annoyed him even more. He could imagine life without her.”
-          Loathe Your Neighbor ch.2
Hopefully during the A-Z Challenge I have given you something to think about and some new words to play with. The letter X had me wracking my brains and running for my dictionary. Now I have learned a new word. Xerarch. I have a Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary which was a gift from my grandparents for achieving Dux (top student) of my primary school. It’s a bit old school, and I do often use online dictionaries, but my Websters is one of my favourite books: in my collection for over thirty years now. That’s enough padding…onto xerarch. It means originating in a dry habitat, like a cliff face or a desert. This clearly refers to plant species and ecological stages of development,  which takes me way outside my limited areas of expertise. However, if I may be permitted a little artistic license, I would like to suggest that certain human behaviours originate in dry emotional places. For example, loneliness might be described as withered emotional state in which a person is not watered by the richness of human company, and which therefore leads to eccentricity or anti socialism. Sexual promiscuity may derive from the inability, or unwillingness to be vulnerable and thus experience emotional intimacy. There may be a disconnect between the fertile fields of the spiritual aspect of sexuality and the physical actions. I’m thinking out loud here, so to speak. Would a person thus described be considered to be xerarch or would their behavior bear that label?