Thoughts from the bottom of the glass....

[Dregs]

Sometimes I wonder how much of this internet interaction is real. Reading thru some stuff, I realise I portray myself as an angry young man. But I don't feel this accurate. Normally I'm pretty happy, but I can get angry at things, like stupidity. And when I'm all fired up, then I post more, and the angrier i seem.

In the fantastic, wonderful realm of real life, I'm one happy camper. My career is moving along in waves, I have some fantastic mates, but above all I have a fabulous woman. Who I'm spastic about. I was always fairly lonely, and it made me weird. Not anymore.

[Dregs]

Words imply more than their meaning. All the conotations of words that can be heard in all those syllables, by different people at different times. Lets take a single word, truth.

How can there be 'truth' if everyone sees it through a veil of different experience? Say a man was wearing a green shirt. To say it was 'true' that he was wearing a green shirt would appear to be true on the surface. But to a person who is colour blind? Or an animal that sees in the infra red spectrum? Green is only green in the spectrum we see in, but it is not universal. The word truth implies universality (i think) that cannot possibly apply in a world or universe so varied.

To imply that what works for me will work for everyone is not only arrogant, it is bordering on ignorant. To say that ones experience is applicable to everyone shows that one has not considered everyone in this assumption. Pure statistics says there is always one possibility to which the statement does not imply.

[Dregs]

Religion is like bourbon. I don't like it so I don't drink it. Other people like it, and swear by it, and I'll buy them one as long as I don't have to drink it. To me it doesn't matter to me if god exists. Its just not relevant to me and my life. But to others it is relevant, so as long as they let me drink tequilla, they can have their bourbon. Cheers.

[Dregs]

I've always wanted to write a story about the end of the world. Some great catastrophe that wipes the world clean of humanity, except for the chosen few. Sort of a cleansing of everything I see as stupid or petty in the world today. And one man alone in the world.

But then I think why don't I write about one man's apocolypse? The only world that ends is the world of one young man. Something so explosive that he becomes disconnected from his life, while the rest of humanity continues, completely unaware. How would one man react? Would he still be bound by the rules of society? Would he follow some code of "natural" justice? I think it would boil down to a story on human nature, and the true, basic nature of humanity. Could I write a story like that? Or would I just unwittingly turn it into a modern parable on why humanity is retarded?

I think if i wanted to write any story, I'd have to stop writing about other things, like pest management in Australia or the role of zoos in conservation. I'm not in a position to do that now, and I don't think i will be for some time, now. And I'm not even sure I could write a story even if i had the time. Its been so long since I've written anything "fictional" that wasn't written in 5 minutes for drunken humour in maybe 10 years. Not since high school. I think I'm too rusty.

[Dregs]

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
Nana nei i tiki mai
Whakawhiti te ra
A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
Hi !!!

I die! I die! I live! I live!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
This is the hairy man
Who fetched the Sun
And caused it to shine again
One upward step! Another upward step!
An upward step, another.. the Sun shines!!
Hi!!!

[Dregs]

A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
Hi !!!

One upward step! Another upward step!
An upward step, another.. the Sun shines!!
Hi!!!

The haka Ka Mate is not about intimidation. Its about confidence. Its saying we are here, we're ready to play, we're going to give everything we have for our team, our country and ourselves. Its about standing infront of adversaries and adversities and saying, "You are going to have beat me, because I'm not going to let you win".

Confidence in sport is the same as confidence in life. It comes from pride. If you can be proud of your life, then you can stand up to everything and anything that comes along. You may not win, you might get the shit kicked out of you, but as long as you stand up and face your life, then you've a got a chance.

If you have no pride in your life, or no confidence in what you are doing with your life, change it. Do soemthing that will make you proud of your life. Find something that needs doing and do it. Don't worry about other people's approval, because pride comes from within. Just go do it.

Show your teeth to the world.

[Dregs]

To get through our daily life, we need to make assumptions. We assume that things the basic things will be stable: the sun will shine, gravity will keep us on the floor, life will go on, etc These assumptions are based on experience; we have never experienced otherwise, so they seem acceptable, and they probably are.

We also have to assume other, less certain things: we assume a moral code of behaviour exists and is adhered to, that road rules will be obeyed, that society will function. These are generally true, too a point where it is probably safe to assume them. They are not always true, but true enough. And we need to assume them, otherwise we wouldn't leave the house.

The problem with assumptions is that by assuming something you acknowledge that you don't everything about everything. How could you? How could anyone? If we don't know everything, then there is a risk of our assumptions being incorrect. If we assume something, then we need to assess the risk of our assumption being wrong, and assess the consequences of that.

For example, a young man believes that he is ok to drive, although he has been drinking. While he is aware of his inebriation, he has driven drunk before and has not died. He assumes that he is not a risk. What if he is wrong? Drinking can impair judgement, as well as concentration and responsiveness. There is a very real chance that his assumption is wrong. But more importantly, if he is wrong, then the consequences of that assumption are going to be costly: his life, that of his friends, and that of innocent people.

If we assume something is correct, then we must acknowledge that we don't know, for certain. If we don't know for certain, then we must acknowledge the possibility that we may be wrong. Everything we do, think and believe is based on assumptions, therefore everything we do, think and believe might possibly be incorrect. THat doesn't mean we shouldn't do it, just that we should be aware of the possibility, and the consequences if we are.

[Dregs]

I keep coming back to my parable of personal apocolypse (damn I'm good at aliteration). Im kinda stuck on what to do with a man whose whole life crumbles instantly. I'm pretty sure it has to be instantly, a gradual collapse of ones life is not going to have the impact af a flash flood of events that sweep his life away.

If someone is disconnected from their life, but are still alive how would they react? Will they become cold and passionless? Violent? Cold, passionless and violent? Since their life is over, what would drive their actions? I'm thinking down two paths:

1) They become animalistic: they are driven by primal need - food, shelter etc. I'm not sure this works for me

2) They become seperate from society. They become numb to the "outside" world and as a result don't function in it. No longer restrained by the usual drives and mores of society, they function with, but outside all other humanity.

Am i trying to seperate a man from his life, or seperate society from man? Is human life inextricably bound with community? What makes a life? What makes a life worth living? Can a person survive long without society?

Or am I trying to seperate a man from reality?

?

[Dregs]

The world keeps turning, no matter how much we do to it. Its good to remember that if civilisation ends, the world will take over again and make it like we had never been here at all. Thats oddly comforting.

What would be more comforting would to make the "Master Plan" move a little faster. I'm kind of stuck in my own hypocrisy at the moment, and I'd like to move out of this small rut. Soon.

[Dregs]

I disapprove of the methods of modern agriculture, but I still buy meat from the super market. I don't approve of irrigation, but I still buy rice. I don't approve of stupidity, but I still smoke. Its hard coming to terms with oneself and ones actions. Nor is it pleasant. But what option do I have? I can't go about shooting animals and eating them and still follow my goal. Its neccessity, but its still hypocrisy.

[Dregs]

Note to self: Possible bumper stickers:

I drink tequilla, and I vote: Democracy Just Doesn't Work

[Dregs]

Better puts this down before someone steals it and puts it on a shirt. Its my Intellectual Property.

"I like tequila. Tequila thinks I'm a fuckwit"

[Dregs]

"You can think of the glass as half full, or half empty. Or you can just stop being so bloody philosophical and buy the next round, you tight git"

[Dregs]

You said it was all over,
You said it was the end.
I didn't take it all that well,
So I slept with your best friend.

There's more, not going to write it here, though. Gets a little risque!

[Dregs]

Class A drugs? Yes, please. Not all of them, in fact, only one. MDMA. Ecstasy. Pills. Eveready's. Mitsubishi's. Theres something to be said for feeling connected in a disconnected world. Connected to the people around you, in particular your best mates. Connected to the beats, breaks and rhythms of the music. Just letting your worries drift off, and be replaced by a feeling of oneness with the world. Just to let the shackles of life go, just till dawn, to feel free. To care about strangers, have strangers hug you, tell you how good it is to be alive. It is good to be alive. Its FUCKING great to be alive. Just sometimes, its nice to be reminded.