Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Responsibilities

You read the papers, the British ones that is, and there seems to be a lot of name calling, suggestions of fictional stories and little in the way of action in the news. What I want to know is given that you willingly accept a responsibility, why then is it so quickly discarded. Is it environmental, do you see other people not doing it and think its acceptable? Do you simply find it too tough but refuse to leave? Or is it that perceptions arechanged. Today a man was fined and given a criminal record for protecting his five year oldson, who was playing in the family garden, from two teenageyouths who were attempting to steal his son'sshoes. Read that again and let it sinkin. A man who protected his child bythrowing two miscreant thieves off his property had to plead guilty to assault or face thedistinct posibility of ajail sentence. The judge said, and I quote:

"You went outside and for whatever reason, maybe being new to the area or feeling under a degree of stress, you rather over-reacted in respect of these two young boys. One suffered an injury to his teeth (after falling over a fence trying to escape) and the other suffered an injury to his pride and you accept now that you over-reacted. No doubt the circumstances of you being a new arrival to the village contributed to that."

No doubt. It had nothing to do with two waster kids on his propertystealing shoes off his young child. I mean is this for real? Can we honestly live in a world where something like this can happen. If those teenagers had tried that in the Jones household they'd be lucky to escape with all their bones intact. Sorry to sound like some conservative ranter but what the hell were these kids parents doing, they let their sons take a man to court. What would have happened if it was their kids that were attacked? I'd imagine they'd cry bloody murder. So the point is this, responsibility is not something that can be achieved lightly, everyday we must question ourselves about our actions because otherwise examples like the above will become common place and the country will have gone to hell in a handbasket. Its time some influential people as well as the common person took responsibility.

Posted by Owen Jones 2005-01-12 20:16:18

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Me, myself and the other life

Escapism is the topic of the day. I watched Hellboy onDVD (originally typed video - old habits)last night and became quite engrossed in the movie. Sure its fantastic, over the top and at times a little crap but its different. As I've been reading and writing over the last few years I've similarly found myself living someone else's life in my head, whether it be as Kater in my dragging-its-heels novel orplacing myself in a popular television showI start enjoying too much. And I often ask myself the same question - is it healthy? Conventional wisdom commonly known as 'society' suggests not. But why not? A working week comprises approximately forty hours in whichmost people drag themselves to jobs they dislike for the monetary gain. So place aside the fact that people need money to live, thats an inescapable fact, whats so bad about escaping such anexistence when it simply is that, existing. We make money so we canlive but also so we have choices about how we spend our free time. You see thats also a trap, 'free time', because all our time is free if we so choose. We are free and even the dubious bonds society attempts tocontrol us with need not be accepted. And there-in lies society's problem with escapism - we can do it permenantly and thus unseat the whole premise on which society is built. Don't misunderstand this isn'tan extremist, anarchic rant but rather a questioning of what exactly purpose is and how an individuals 'goals' also fulfil those of society's. Is aspare time spent reading Heinlein, Asimov and Card a waste? Watchingthe works of Hitchcock, Spielberg and Scorsese so much garbage? Oris it simply that these are individual pursuits that offer no obvious or derived benefit to society as opposed to the economy. Because we choose to escape our lives fora period of time, does that make us unhappy? It may do but it just as likely doesn't, instead we have pummeled by societyof what is expected and what is available. We are flooded with materialism on a frightening scale that has so tainted modern living that we have become unaware of it. Except subconsciously, because even though we read mass-produced books and watch mass-produced films and television shows no human being everreads the same book or sees the same film. The key to escapism has always been perception, and so theone thing that can be agreed upon is that society really doesn't matter becausewe always know where reality lies.

Posted by Owen Jones 2005-01-11 16:22:14

Monday, January 10, 2005
Sporting saviour

I watched highlights of the hastily arranged Tsunami Benefit cricket match in Melbourne today. A Rest of the World team played an Asia XI will all proceeds going to aid the unfortunate people whose lives have been devastated by recent events. Everytest playing nation was involved exceptZimbabwe and South Africa, both of whom are playing tests at the moment. Sponsorship was incredible with 3 mobile donating a $1000 australian dollars for every run scored in the match (over 570 were so add half a million right there) Toyota donated $50,000 for every six hit (I think I counted 7) so there's almost a million dollars already. In the end with donations by players, supporters and companies over fourteen million dollars was raised at this one event!!! But this isn't why I wroteabout it, nor will I mention beyond passing that many, many sports stars from across the world(Michael Schumacer - $5 million)have donated large sums of money tohelp the rebuilding process. Instead I would like to point to the Asia XI. Made upof a mixture of Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and even a player from Bangladesh (who was amazed the other players knewwho he was)the Asia XI, fielding Indians and Pakistanis in the same line-up, showed that sport can and does make a mockery of divisions.The Sri Lankans suffered terrible losses to 3/4 of their coastline, losing houses, shops, livestock but most significantly lives. It is these lives that cannot be replaced, everything else is inconsequential. So to see them playing despite the turbulence of emotions they surely went through, to see players from rival nations, of different colours, creeds, ethnicities and religions all playing the same game, in the same place, for the same reason is a truly humbling symbol of what can be achieved. It must not be wasted.

Posted by Owen Jones 2005-01-10 16:52:33

Sunday, January 9, 2005
Perils of sport

I guess this comes under the co-heading of achievement. Living has always been a precarious issue and there is always the danger, especially once having had children, to live vicariously. For some its TV, for others its sports. So do we as individuals, individuals that is who do not pierce the upper echlonsof their favoured pursuit, lean too much toward fulfilling the wish/dream of participating at the highest level of that pursuit through others. The answer is almost certainly yes which raises the inevitable question of why? Has the thrill of participation given way to a society of observers, of armchair heroes so willing to criticise or wax lyrical on a subject they have never partaken in. I remember watching a boxing programme discussing who was the greatest of all time, one of the commentators had watched thirty years of boxing from Ali through to DeLaHoya and spoke at length about the skills and abilities of various fighters. But the most compelling thing throughout the programme was the way the retired professionals on the show listened and reacted to him, a mixture of cautious respect and animousity. Boxing being perhaps an extreme example this phenomenon nevertheless rears its head regularly, Sky Sports commentator Miles Harrisonhas probably never played a minute of competitive high level rugby in his lifeyet is seen fit to talk about rugby at the highest levels. Most of the time he's talking out of the wrong hole and the rest of the time he is simply what he represents - a textbook talker. Someone who didn't love the game enough to try playing but who supposedly carries credentials enough to debate what occurs out on the field.

This all serves to indicate what I'm talking about,society is continually edging toward pure commercialism, particpation is no longer required. Those that wish to do so are set apart, a breed singled out at birth purely for our entertainment. Sports, competition, both are slowly waning in the face of softer pursuits and weak governing bodies. Hell even the governmentsays kids should not be put in competitive sporting events at school! And then they scratch their heads and plow all this money into the growing obeseity problem, save our money Tony I can tell you why -we are encouraged to be lazy bar stewards. 24 hr drinking ismerely the latest example. So give more people incentives toplay sport,to be active otherwise there will be a distinct divide between those that take part and those that merely watch, because that is the death knell ofgrassroots sport.

Posted by Owen Jones 2005-01-09 16:50:13

Saturday, January 8, 2005
Kill all referee's

So the subject says it all. Stupid, egotistical referee's who can't keep themselves out of the action for more than a few minutes, who avoid the age old adage that a good referee is anonymous to the game not synonomous with the result. Its not difficult either, equality is all we are asking, not water into wine, butkilling the ball producing penalties for both sides!!! For those uncertain about that last statement the sport in question is of course the game of greats - Rugby. Now admittedly this sport is technical and very quick, providing plenty of opportunities for dirty little cheats like myself to bend the rules. However the difference between aSunday club match and the European Cup with a World Cup Final referee in charge should be obvious to aliens and Englishmen alike. Suffice to say the referee was English. Now being in danger of isolating most of this islandI live on, from my globally renowned blog I would stop - but I can't. Why do the most pedantic, one-eyed referees always come from England or Scotland? Don't they understand there should be freedom and flow to a game not nine bazillionoffenses? Is it any wonder they bored their way to the world cup then flopped afterward (or is that after woodward) In either case the rugby world should stand up andunite in saying NO! HELL NO! we refuse to watch an english team or referee who is only going to stifle a perfectly good game. Ban them permanently from the game and lets see some decent backs moves. To name and shame idiot of the day - step foward Chris White. Thanks for killing a decent game by pandering to the Thomond Park crowd and giving everything to the men in red. Lets hope you don't ref the next world cup final when Wales are involved. I'm off to prepare myself for more shouting at the TV tomorrow.

Posted by Owen Jones 2005-01-08 17:39:06