another wide-moon night
mops of jasmine-scented sky-
uncoiling in your arms

The internet is a wonder to behold! While it is not necessarily indispensable (for really, I could get by without it ) it is a marvelously useful tool for news, information and much else besides. This blog, now in its 10th year, is written and stored online and would almost certainly be different if it were written down in a book in diary form. Structure often informs content.

The web has also democratised the citizenry in all manner of good and bad ways. The pre-online informational world, by which I mean TV, radio, newspapers and books, was largely dominated by informed or expert opinion. There have always been shock-jocks and wayward columnists and letter-writers, but popular opinion was largely confined to informal channels such as friends, family, social events and the pub. Now anyone with a computer and an internet connection can chime in to any forum, start up their own webpage or make commentary in pretty much any way they like. And much of it - at least amongst the stuff I have read - is dross. It is poorly written and ill-thought through, sometimes full of vicious invective against any differing point of view and frequently anonymous in one form or another.

Bill Bryson recently bemoaned this kind of writing. Folks who have not taken the time to inform themselves or can't be bothered learning to write or spell properly seem to feel entitled to express opinions that better belong at a family bbq or local hotel. Bryson has advocated the following rule, which I heartily support:

"Well, here is a new rule: if you are too stupid to spell 'disappointed' even approximately correctly, you are not allowed to take part in public discourse at any level."

The full article is here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11895215/Britains-heritage-at-risk-due-to--ill-educated-internet-critics-says-travel-writer-Bill-Bryson.html

Yesterday I took Tom to visit my mum in Dee Why. She has been unwell lately and also very keen to sort out some family business. I spent the afternoon with her listening to her recollections of her father and mother, which was prompted by some issues around family history. I won't dwell on the details at this time.

While we were there, a storm came in from the sea and in the midst of it (which strangely yet beautifully involved a conflation of blue sky and sunshine) a double rainbow appeared, forming an almost perfect arch across the near-sea expanse of Dee Why. And here is part of it.

flowers turn to leaf
grounds shrouded in the fallen,
your slippers, just so

The end of the Abbott era could not come soon enough. Whatever one might say about Tony Abbott's political talents, and he certainly had instincts and convictions that made him formidable, he was not suited to being Prime Minister of Australia.

After years of rehearsing for the role, Malcolm Turnbull has assumed the top job and now has 12 months to convince the electorate that the Coalition is relevant. I am not a conservative voter but I like Turnbull and wish him well. The Labor Opposition have their work cut out for them if they want to stay competitive.

Tom plays football (soccer) for the Hazelbrook Hawks FC. Today was the club's gala presentation day at Gloria Park and the weather decided to become spectacularly Spring-like. This is Tom's third season and he is beginning to get a handle on the game, though still inclined to daydream!

There was a good turnout and the trophies have certainly improved over the years. All players get an individual trophy, a substantial improvement over the pennants we used to get. Trophies only went to Best and Fairest and Most Improved back in the day.

Below, Tom waits with his team while trophies are being awarded to junior divisions.

NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster, is hosting a haiku-writing site, so I decided to hop in and write one based on one of the photos they supplied. I am in two minds about the last line. Maybe you can help me decide. The second haiku will please purists, since its third line numbers 5 syllables. However, writing haiku is not about purity, but sensibility.



errands detaining
you wait in the long cool light
warming my seat

or

errands detaining
you wait in the long cool light
willing my seat warm


And here is a link to their page.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/haiku_masters/

As an addendum to my last post and by way of giving some balance to the debate, I applaud the Federal Government's decision to take a significant number of refugees from camps inside Syria and adjoining nations. Dragged and screaming it might have been, but in the final analysis it was honourable and decent. My faith in Australia is partially restored for the meantime.

On a different topic entirely, my girlfriend Ann and I went up to Wentworth Falls this afternoon to check out the scenery. Today we just took in a lookout or two, but I have plans for us to descend to the valley floor for serious bushwalking. Here is Ann at the Princes Lookout, which sits high above the waterfall and looks out into the Jamison Valley.. She is so cute.

For the little boy who was found drowned on a Turkish beach - Aylan Kurdi was his name - and to the many others who in trying to find a better life perished through no fault of their own.

I am sorry.

For the policies of Western Governments, this nations no less, who turn their backs on people displaced by the very conflicts they give lip-service to or engage in.

I am sorry.

The shameful and illegal actions of Australia ramify most for me as this country, in its modern iteration, was built on the labours of immigrants, one wave after another. It augurs poorly for a nation to act in a manner that is moral bankrupt, but such is the abysmal level of political leadership now, this is the case.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/someone-has-placed-an-anonymous-heartfelt-notice-for-little-aylan-20150904-gjezcw.html

blossoms on my bonnet
spring shrapnel to wayward breeze,
lambent hitch-hikers