The Six Degrees To One Star
I am horribly guilty of being horribly hypocritical about emerging social networking utilities online. Although I condone the likes of Facebook and MySpace as responsible for mass-managing our growing friends list with an indulgence for escaping conflict when it arises, I cannot distract from the fact these online avenues have the capability for constructing communities that would otherwise be obscured by the boundaries of land, air and sea. Within a few clicks, revisit the profile of primary and high school friends, university buddies, thought long-lost family and even movie stars; it makes one feel silly for ever having been excited of the prospect of microphone speech over 28.8kbps modem in the days when we tirelessly thought “anything is possible”. I blame Doctor Who and Get Smart for their devilish influence upon the way we view technology — you must master it, or you shall become its servant.
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Move In, We’re Losing Ground!
There can be no greater catharsis from a busy week than hearing Ella Fitzgerald sing from Harold Arlen’s songbook, mellowing ‘Stormy Weather’ to accompany this hazy, lazy Sunday afternoon or Gershwin’s championing ballad, ‘That Certain Feeling’. The sweet syrup of her sound can glaze the most jaded wounds for the moment and transport the senses to the suspended enclave of easy feeling. Of course, no Sunday would be complete without a quick morning stroll and a divine breakfast to match. Regardless of the place we call home, it is easily illustrated that we don’t sacrifice the small things which make the rhythm of our lives. But at the same time, I never loose sight of the fact that I feel confined within the walls and bars surrounding my apartment, and the fact that the poorly designed soundproofing doesn’t leave a lot of noise uncensored (remember the bump in the night? It’s not what your parents told you it is as you were growing up).
I have spent the better part of my life in apartment living, consistently downsizing in personal space rather than increasing as time moves on, always mindful of the expenses and the factors of privacy, security and serenity. But as the demand for rental property increases in Sydney and the scruples of the real estate agents fall to their temptation of a quick dollar, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place to call home with the comforts of a well-maintained foundation. Whoever thought a two-bedroom ground floor apartment could ever be approved to hold seven tenants? (and I’m not referring to goldfish or cats as respective tenants!)
It’s hardly rare anymore in the inner western city metropolis, and has been a commonplace occurrence in many other places around the world — with the desperate juggle for a vacancy for all, Sydney is finally catching up to it’s reputation as a ‘world-class city’.
The Squeeze and The Great Divide
Society is a bit like a marsupial, whose warm pouches are welcoming to its own kin and a provider of treasured things such as affection and companionship. Of course, the social security construct works its best magic to bridge the gap between the well and the malnourished, so we are not talking about financial differences. And since we all survive day-to-day on our varying diets, we are also not concerned with intake of food. What precisely am I talking about, then?
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- The Six Degrees To One Star
- Move In, We’re Losing Ground!
- Our Craft, Our Shepherd
- The Squeeze and The Great Divide
- Jungle Man
