I've got a few assignments to do, mainly online. Today I called into the office and completed a module on recognising and dealing with elder abuse. I also have another assigment of a sort to complete, and it's a more amusing thing than elder abuse (which is not amusing and makes me want to club the miserable perpetrator like a baby seal). My writing group have set ourselves a challenge to write a brief piece on natural disasters. I think the theme was inspired by the flood that crapped in my house. Yeah, there's the usual things: floods lead to death, damage, and disease spread by the sludge and mosquitoes. But you know what else is also insidious about natural disasters? It's the celebrity mewlings on Twitter, such as Sending my love and prayers to the victimes of Hurricane Madness #Overpaid Diva With Mediocre Talent. Yeah, sending your love and prayers. Good. Surely sending something a little more tangible and helpful such as cash might be a better idea. And what is oh, so much worse, my friends is this: the celebrity charity song. Oh yeah. Particularly the ones to assist famine relief. Oh, don't get me wrong. Nothing makes me tear up like seeing photographs of starving children. But if you're going to do a charity song a la 'We Are The World', please, oh what they hell, just don't. Send money. Don't assemble in a studio and sing an unforgiveably banal song, and show how Down With It, Homies some drug-fucked sextagenarian in bandana is beside some tone def rapper. Don't try and look earnest and caring, because the result is you all just look pained. And if Quincy Jones et al wanted to gather the cream of American music, couldn't they have had Eddie Van Halen rip a beaut guitar solo into it? Anyhoo, that's the angle I've decided to take.
Last night I actually watched 'Q&A' in its entirety. I enjoyed it muchly. There were no politicians on, perhaps this is why. The panel composed entirely of authors, artists, and actor-types. They talked about art used as a form of protest over history, and I felt a twinge of solidarity. I never really thought about it before, but I use my art, to wit my writing, as a form of protest. My current book deals with the social issue of same-sex marriage (and the book is called 'Silver Studs and Sabre Teeth', and the link is http://www.zeus-publications.com/silver_studs_and_sabre_teeth.htm). My previous book, 'Abernethy', dealt with adolescent bullying, and check it out at http://www.zeus-publications.com/abernethy.htm. I'm a huge believer in art for art's sake, and separate the art from the artist. The question was put to the panel about that utter tragedy over the weekend, where some complete fuck-up again took to innocent people with a gun. Tara Moss seemed to be of the view that the kid was partially a product of a misogynistic-themed attutide that prevails in society. I see her views, but think he was more likely a complete fuck-up who slipped through the cracks, and sadly had access to a gun to fulfil and avenge his sense of entitlement. Whatever the case, it's sad, sad, sad.
My 9yo has just walked in with the goat skull he appropriated from his uncle's station during school holidays. Yes, it was today's 'Show & Tell' item. He told me the afternoon bus driver (who should be ferrying a broomstick, not a school bus) pulled and awful face and snarled, 'Eeeeew, what's that?' I told him he should have told her it was the mirror! Bahahahahahaha! My husband complained at me for teaching him that, but I seriously think it's a beauty. So did our son. He asked could he say that to her tomorrow, but we've advised it is perhaps best not to.
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