The Irony of B Celebrities

Let’s be honest, the majority of comments I've witnessed since Willy Moon and Natalia Kills were announced as judges on X Factor New Zealand have been "Who are these two?" I guess if you live in a country that has wasted time indulging this couple in a "career" you'd have a clue who they are. However here in little old New Zealand they are indeed B grade celebrities. 

Right now unless you are hibernating under a rather large rock within the shores of NZ you will realise that there has been quite the fracas over the last 24 hours regarding these two and their venomous comments towards X Factor contestant Joe Irvine. That alone was enough to boil my blood to a temperature that left me in danger of blowing my stack. But what really pushed me over the edge was the level of arrogance and hypocrisy that oozed from these two. Now anyone who knows me understands that both of those things are two of my greatest pet hates, apart from crumbs in the butter but that's a whole other blog.

When Joe Irvine appeared on stage from behind the screens and started to croon I thought "WOW. This guy looks amazing. Michael Buble would be proud!" Not once did I think he looked anything like Willy Moon and I'm sure most of NZ was thinking the same thing. In fact when Natalia started her rampage of words I was shocked more by the leap she'd made to him looking like her husband than the words that came out of her mouth. What level of arrogance does one have to have in order to make that sort of association? But that wasn't the worst part in my books. What really rubbed me the wrong way was the following quote by Cleopatra's doppelganger:

"As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you have copied my husband. From the hair to the suit, do you not have any value or respect for originality?"

I think Mrs Willy Moon needs to look at a dictionary and learn the meaning or originality and creative integrity, because I'm not seeing an ounce of it in her or her husband. I mean lets break this down and examine how much of what she wholeheartedly believes in, actually exists in her own life.

Firstly, myself and well anyone with 20/20 vision can't help but notice how much Natalia seems to model her look on Cleopatra. It is of course a much more aggressive version of the look. And by aggressive I mean she looks like a wannabe drag queen that fell into a face full of make up before rolling around in a bunch of gaudy Christmas decoration cast offs, and then attempted to call it fashion. It would seem that when you stole Cleopatra's look you also managed to get a giant pyramid wedged so far up your arse that it causes regular outbursts of verbal poison followed by bouts of sulking and pouting. You might want to sort that attitude out before you end up falling into D grade celebrity status because no one wants to work with a spoilt brat.

As for Mr Moon himself, every time I see a video clip of him awkwardly jigging to his music like a drunk epileptic, I can't help but think he has modelled his look on the likes of early era Beatles and various other suited acts from the 50's and 60's. Where on earth is the originality and creative integrity in that? The there is his actual music which sounds like he shouted down the microphone for a few minutes, auto tuned it to sound like he is singing into an tin can and then proceeded to call it creative expression.

This however seems to be the irony of self important celebrities that hype themselves up to A grade status when it is clear they are nothing more than B grade wannabes. You are not creative! You are not Original! You are not Talented! You are just arrogant, self inflated ego's who really bring nothing of importance to the world.

You will forever be known as the judges fired from X Factor NZ. You will forever be known as bullies.

I look forward with eager anticipation to see what level of creativity and originality you bring to your careers next.

That last part was really hard to type without breaking into hysterical laughter. Until next time blogettes!

Lulu xo

September 4th 2010

For as long as I live, I don’t think I will ever forget my experiences of September 4^th 2010 and February 22^nd 2011. As I write this it is only two days until the two year anniversary of the September event. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since it happened. Other major events that have happened over the years around the world, I’ve often marvelled at how quickly the anniversaries roll around. However, when you are the one directly affected by it, it seems to take place at an even faster pace, a pace that fills me with disbelief. The flashbacks I have in my head from both of these events feel so fresh, as if they have only just taken place. The emotion associated with these vivid memories are still so raw when I remember, that I still feel the fear in my gut and devastation in my heart as if I’m back in that moment.

One of the biggest emotions represented on those days were shock. It is here that I feel the need to elaborate further in order for people to understand this completely. I am a proud Cantabrian born and bred, out of thirty four years I have spent twenty two of them living in Christchurch. In those twenty two years I can count on one hand the amount of earthquakes I’ve felt there. We were never the ones to experience the next big one; we didn’t even know there were major fault lines running under our region. It was supposed to be Wellington, not us. Even with the second quake on the 22^nd of February, which claimed one hundred and eighty one lives, there was absolute shock. When September happened the experts said it was a once in a lifetime event to experience a quake of that size. Everything they’d seen before in previous earthquakes of this level said that these events always follow a pattern. What happened in Christchurch is unprecedented according to the experts, so they had no idea what was going to unfold after September.

As I sit here writing this I close my eyes and allow myself to go back to those moments so I can live them and feel them all over again. I remember literally being shaken awake and in that first instant I thought it was just your stock standard earthquake. That was until my eyes focused a moment later and I could see the wall above my sliding door to the balcony violently jerking back and forth at least half a metre each way. It was then that I knew this wasn’t anything I’d experienced before. I screamed out “EARTHQUAKE” at the top of my lungs to wake James who was asleep beside me. At that time my mum and little brother, who was almost 10 years old, were staying with us, so my immediate first thought as I tried to make it to the doorway was them. I remember attempting to run at least to the door as I was flung backwards and forwards. I only just made it past our old and very heavy 29 inch TV before it came down crashing and smashing onto the floor. It was so close I could feel the swoosh of air as it fell. I realised then that I couldn’t make it any further through the house than the door way, and it was there that I clung to it like it was some sort of safety raft. I will never forget the sound of the quake as it filled my ears, an angry continuous rumble accompanied by the sound of the house and everything in it being smashed about.

James had managed to stumble to the door way and was standing there more annoyed that he had been woken from his precious sleep. I thought this quake was never going to end as it just went on and on becoming more and more violent. Attached to the doorway all I could do was look directly across the landing to my mum and brother who were under the opposite doorway, looking equally terrified at what was taking place. I remember hearing my mother praying loudly “Please God, please God keep us safe. PLEASE GOD.” We were all convinced that the top storey we were in was going to fall to the first floor if this violent rocking and jerking got any worse. I can’t even begin to explain to you how excruciatingly terrifying it is to stand only metres from your family and watch in horror as you think you might possibly watch them die in front of your eyes. That’s not over dramatics or an attempt to make this sound worse than it was that’s how it felt in that moment. Until you have experienced something of this size you can never fully understand. I know those of you reading this who are fellow Cantabs though know exactly what I mean. And so all I could do was chime in with my own prayers “Please God, not yet. I’m not ready yet. Please God not yet!” It’s incredible that in times where you feel your life is in danger that you either “find” God or “reconnect” with him pretty damn fast.

This terror we had become caught up in lasted for almost a minute. Now if you sit there and watch the clock for a full minute before it ticks over you begin to get a sense how long a minute can feel like when you are aware of it. Even in those moments when the house finally stopped swaying so violently, you still felt like you were moving and then there was little reprieve before the aftershocks began to roll in. Suddenly there was eerie silence directly surrounding us, with sirens wailing in the distance from cars and houses. My instinct was to reach for the light switch, as for me everything seems far more scary when it’s in the dark. But to my horror I discovered there was no power, frantically I pushed the switch up and down, willing it to work before I gave into the fact that we were stuck in the darkness. By this stage I had gone into panic mode, all I could think about was my animals. I had three cats and my beautiful dog then and they are my babies so I was instantly terrified for them. It’s not like I could gather them all up in my arms and hold them tight to protect them like I could with real children. I started crying and saying over and over “the animals, the animals what about the animals.” I’m so proud of my mum at this exact moment where she fell into the role of super mother, despite the fact that she was just as terrified as the rest of us she straightened herself up and took over the situation. She said to not worry that she will make sure they were safe but that we needed to get out of the house until we could tell how much damage there was and that it was safe to re-enter. I don’t even remember who went and let them out because my next worry was finding my pants to put on. Remember its 4:35 in the morning and I’d been thrown out of bed in a panic, thank god I wasn’t sleeping naked that night and had a night gown on, but I wanted my damn pants and that set me off crying again.

Someone managed to get my pants and get them on me as another aftershock started, which only added further to the hysterics. Dressed and with shoes only a couple of minutes after the initial quake had hit the animals were outside where it was safer for them in our eyes. What I failed to point out was that at the time we lived in a block of five town houses, so as I rushed down the stairs and out the front door of our house sobbing with fear, every other person in our block was doing the same. They were calling to one another up and down the driveway to make sure everyone was ok and I can assure you there were a lot of choice words being thrown around by everyone. We all gathered in the middle of our shared driveway to check how everyone was, when suddenly we realised the old lady directly next door to us was nowhere to be seen. Quickly myself and another neighbour rushed to her front door and began pounding on it and calling her name. We were starting to panic as we hadn’t got a response from her and had been standing at the door for about a minute when this small voice from inside answered. She informed us she was hiding under the dining room table and that she was ok. We knew it would only be a matter of a few minutes before her daughter would probably show up to check on her mother.

Again, I’m going to use the word shock to sum up the atmosphere of ourselves and our neighbours as we stood in the middle of the driveway. Waves of aftershocks continued to roll beneath the ground with the added sound of the large trees nearby shaking with every movement. Everybody just looked at one another with stunned expressions, several of us lit up cigarettes sucking on them like they were atomisers full of valium. We all sort of spoke over one another as we tried to get our own personal experiences and feelings out. Some of the neighbours decided to wander back inside, realising there wasn’t much that could be done out here. I was eyeing up my house like it was something evil intent on destroying me, I really didn’t want to go back inside, but I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I was alone out there and that was almost worse. I have discovered in moments like this you literally want to cling to those people you love that are around you. As if they are your life raft through this entire experience, as if they will make everything all better just by them being nearby.

Throughout all of this there had been panicked usage of our cell phones as we tried to contact our family and friends that were also in Christchurch. We knew how bad it had been here, but we had no idea how the rest of the city had fared. Ringing people’s landlines wasn’t an option as many lines had been damaged during the quake. Thankfully for us, those that we were worried about the most were able to contact us back and let us know they were ok. It was about this time that James decided he was going to go back to bed, grumbling about not enough sleep. It seemed as if most people were going to attempt the same, so I begrudgingly followed suit. I also remembered that I had a radio on my cell phone that I could use if I could find the hands free earpiece that went with it, which meant spending a few moments in the lounge downstairs rummaging for it. The entire time I was in there I was terrified that another massive quake was going to hit and the entire second story would fall down and crush me. If I had to be inside and choose the lesser of two evils it was to be upstairs, at least that way if the second story did go I’d fall with it rather than it fall on me. Once I’d found the hands free ear piece I made a mad dash up the stairs to the second floor landing where my mum and brother were waiting for me. My mum asked me if she could drag the mattress from their bedroom into our bedroom and sleep on the floor at the end of our bed. Of course that was alright, I could understand how they wanted to be close to us. Like I’d said earlier you feel the need to cling to your loved ones in a moment like this. In the darkness, as the house continued to tremble every few moments, we listened to talk back radio. It was then that we learned just how big this quake had been and the early affects it was having all over the city. That was the first time we ever heard the term “liquefaction (1),” something that would be widely discussed and loathed in time to come. We marvelled in whispers at how lucky it was that this had taken place in the middle of the night. Lucky may be an ironic choice of words given the circumstance we found ourselves in the middle of, but had it been day time we knew it would be so much worse; a theory that would be confirmed in just over 5 months time.

James had managed to go back to sleep quickly an ability I am envious of. I lay in the dark clinging to him as I waited for every roll and shake to come, almost crying with fear every time. I waited with baited breath for the sun to come up because all I wanted to do was get out of that house. When I looked around all I could see were potential hazards and objects that could ultimately fall on me. I felt like I was stuck in a death trap and I wanted to get out. As soon as it started to become light I was up and getting dressed choosing to face this outside where there was plenty of open space. My little brother scurried out following quickly behind me; he was unable to sleep too. I was forced to put on a brave face for his sake as we stood at the end of the driveway and surveyed the street, hugging each other tightly as we spoke in muted tones about what was happening. I tried my best to reassure him that everything was going to be alright, even though deep inside I was completely terrified and wanted to get in the car and flee the city.

It wasn’t long before my mum had decided it was worthless trying to get more sleep and joined us outside. We were still without power and as it was morning I was craving my morning coffee. I cursed the fact that we’d never gone through with buying a gas powered portable stove top. We decided that we should go for a walk to the local dairy where I was sure I’d be able to find some sort of drink packed full of caffeine. We were also curious to survey any damage that had happened locally, but I don’t even think we were prepared for the damage we were going to see over the next few days. Only five houses down from us did we discover the first proof of the power of the quake. There is a beautiful old historic villa there that has been lovingly restored and I’d often admired it when passing by. However on this day, the entire left brick wall had fallen out still in perfect formation of the wall leaving only the wooden frame for that side of the house. We could see right into the privacy of their lounge and bedrooms. We stopped for about 10 minutes and talked with the owner of this home making sure he was ok and seeing if he needed anything. We were almost rooted to our spot in shock at what we were witnessing before our very eyes. It was a combination of sick fascination and horror. This didn’t happen to cities in New Zealand, let alone our very own Christchurch. This was the sort of stuff that took place in some far away land were accommodation was often substandard or extremely old.

We continued on our walk towards the dairy noticing various other cracks and chips missing from buildings that had been intact until a couple of hours earlier. Among them was the local church that had lost a lot of its facade which now lay in a crumpled heap on the ground below. A house damaged is sad enough because that is someone’s home and heart but when a place like a church, which is the epitome of peace and tranquillity, is damaged it really upsets me. But what upset me even more on that day was witnessing dairy owners who were charging exorbitant prices for basics like water which we could no longer get from our own taps due to possible contamination. It saddens me that people used a terrifying and shocking time to turn into vultures to extort money from people. It really does say something about the humanity of some people. However for every story that emerged about some arsehole, there were ten times as many to replace it with stories of kindness among both neighbours and strangers who reached out to one another and offered help in an abundance of ways. It was during those moments that I was proud to be part of such a community and culture of people who while in their own suffering reached out to help others.

In those days, weeks and months that followed people got on with cleaning up after the earthquake, and tried to cope as best as they could with the aftershocks that now plagued us and were in all honesty scary as hell. We moved house because I could no longer cope with living in a two story house. I’d been so terrified by the event that I hadn’t slept for the first 72 hours after it and ended up melting down and having to go on medication to keep me calm. According to my doctor most patients they saw directly after the quake were in need of the same sort of treatment. This quake had shaken our community to the core, but we knew we were strong and we would come back from this. We thought that the worst was over. We were wrong.

West Memphis Three Are Free

I never thought I’d ever have the chance to write those words and as I sit her writing this, the whole event that took place in Jonesboro, Arkansas only a few hours ago is bittersweet.  As any of my regular readers will know I have been a staunch supporter of these three men for many years now.  In fact it was only three weeks ago that I wrote a blog piece about the DNA evidence the defence had that would clear Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley from having in part in the murders of the three little boys back in 1993.  For 18 years many of us have supported these men and done everything we can to get the message out that this entire thing has been a miscarriage of justice.  While they may have walked free today the way this was handled is still a massive miscarriage of justice and the legal system and everyone within it should be ashamed of how this has turned out, especially you Mr Prosecuting Attorney, Scott Ellington. 

A couple of days ago it was announced that the judge in the case had called a surprise last minute hearing for Friday morning and that is when the murmurs first began that the three could be looking at release from prison.  Most of us to begin with thought this is fantastic they acknowledge that the defence now has DNA evidence so they know the defence has a chance of winning the admission of evidence hearing that was scheduled for December.  What we didn't count on was that because these three were desperate to gain freedom the prosecutors could use this to their advantage and use underhanded tactics to allow their release, so they offered them something known as an Alford Plea.  The plea works with the defendant/s not admitting the act but acknowledging that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely prove the charge.  In a round about way they are admitting guilt by admitting the prosecution has enough evidence, which we all know is completely false.  The only reason the prosecution offered them this plea is because they needed to save face and avoid a lawsuit from the three men.  By taking this plea Damien, Jason and Jessie cannot sue the prosecution or the state for the 18 years misspent in Jail.

To begin with Jason Baldwin did not want to take the plea, he wanted to fight for their freedom and clear their name but they were advised by their defence counsel to take the plea.  Personally I think that the defence were worried that a retrial could end up the same abortion as the first one because of the obvious corruption that has carried this case now for 18 years.  Jason realised that in order to ultimately save Damien’s life from death row the plea needed to be taken.  As I said this makes it a bittersweet moment for us all, that yes they are finally free but their names are not completely cleared yet.  This is something that I am prepared to rally for and support them through in the future.  We need to clear their names and try to reassert some form of justice into what has become a three ringed circus.  We also need to try and find some closure for the three little boys that lost their lives at the hand of a coldblooded killer.  Whoever it is, they are still roaming free and we need to do whatever we can to find out the truth and make the real criminal in this case accountable.

This is the next stage in this story, this doesn’t stop here for those of us that support Damien, Jason and Jessie.  They need our support more now than ever as they try to adjust to a world they don’t know or understand.  I’ve shed tears of joy and tears of heartache through this case, hell I stayed up until 6am my time all the way over here in little old New Zealand just to watch them walk out of that court room free at last.  I’ve always been one to fight for those who need it, and I’m not going to stop now.  We need to rally together to support these three men and their families through what is still going to be some tough times ahead.  We need to clear their names and bring justice once and for all.

Podcast for 15th August 2011

In this podcast I discuss the London Riots, England's controversial new jersey for the Rugby World Cup, and introduce you to my Music Pick of the week.  Click Here to listen.  Please feel free to comment and join the discussion in the comments below.

What I Believe

I have a tendency to sit and think a lot about things, in fact its one of the reasons I seem to have a problem with insomnia so often.  I have a mind that doesn't shut down easily as I try to put the world to rights in my own head.  I often wish it was more like a computer where I could place my mind into sleep or hibernate mode.  But, that is not an option so my mind continues to wander over various topics and over the last few months I’ve been focused on what I believe, what exactly are my belief systems.  Its been like an exercise in learning who I am at this point in my life, because our belief systems can change and alter over time as I’ve come to discover that mine have.

I believe in the supernatural, the paranormal, the unexplained.  In fact it goes beyond a belief to more of a fascination and a need to learn and understand about those things that are unexplainable.  One of my dream jobs besides being a writer of course, is to hunt the unexplained and paranormal.  Ghost hunting would be fantastic and its one thing I actually plan to dabble in more this year.  I also believe in big foot, the lochness monster, and other various cryptozoological anomalies.  However, I do not believe in aliens; how's that for a little bizarre, here I am believing in all these other weird and wonderful things and yet I don't believe in little green men.  I do believe that Unidentified Flying Objects exist, but I don't believe that they are alien aircraft.

I believe in God or a higher power, I don't think it matters what you want to call it as its the belief in something out there that is the most important factor, I just choose to refer to it as God.  I believe every “religion” has something important to teach us in order to help us on our journey of life, so I choose to take the things from various religions that speak to my core.  But, here is the kicker, I don't believe in organised religion.  I believe that your chosen religion or belief system can be anything that speaks to your soul and makes you strive to be something wonderful.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post I feel that music is more my religion than anything else, if you haven't read that particular post yet I encourage you to in order to understand my rationale better.  You can find it Here.  For me it doesn't matter that people have different belief systems from me, we are all entitled to our individual ideology, what really matters is that we have faith in something.  One of the main reasons I no longer believe in organised religion is because of the trouble that is often caused in the name of religion.  So many wars have been started in the name of whatever they believe in at the time.  The Catholics fight the protestants, the Muslims fight the Christians, we burned witches or pagans for their beliefs.  How is all of that a good thing, shouldn't we be concentrating on loving our fellow man and accepting them despite the differences in belief.  Isn't religion supposed to be about peace, love and acceptance.  And yet the moment you disagree with someone's beliefs they turn their backs on you or persecute you.  I refuse to be a part of something that encourages those reactions and behaviours towards people.  I chose a path of love and acceptance no matter what you believe in.

I believe that individual culture is what keeps us feeling like we belong and at no time do we have the right to judge another persons culture.  Ethnocentric minds sets are what have systematically destroyed many cultures around the world.  Westerners especially are guilty of such behaviours, our ancestors have travelled to the ends of the earth and raped many people of their culture and sense of self.  I believe that is why so many indigenous cultures have issues with drugs, alcohol and committing crime.  When you lose your culture you lose your sense of self, when you lose your sense of self you lose your place within society.  When we are lost we turn to various vices in order to makes us feel better or to numb the pain.  As people we need to stop trying to change everyone's culture in order to make us feel better about ourselves.  We do not necessarily have to agree with the practices within other cultures, but we must respect them and allow them to continue their practices.

I believe it is our responsibility to look after this earth and all the creatures on it, which is why I am passionate about fighting the cause.  I believe that we have already damaged this earth enough and that if we don't do something about it soon, this earth will destroy us in return for our actions.  I believe wholeheartedly that this is the reason natural disasters have increased, we have created a knock on effect through global warning and the destruction of this planet.  I believe that because animals do not have a voice, we must stand up and act as a voice for them.  If we don't then creatures we take for granted will one day no longer wander the earth, they are disappearing before our very eyes and we must do whatever we can to stop this.

I believe that when we figure out our belief systems then we begin to know who we are as a person.  I believe that when you know who you are as a person, you can find peace within.  So, what do you believe?

London Riots

I think the whole world has watched in horror as these riots have unfolded in London and spread throughout England to Manchester and Birmingham.  I have many friends from the UK who have expressed their distaste at the English people involved in these riots, they have also spoken of their shame at even being British.  My own great grandfather came from Canning Town in the East End of London, jumping ship upon his arrival to New Zealand.  A lot of us have links to the UK and the people within it, so we have all in some way been touched watching what is going on.  I had one friend comment that they had lost their faith in humanity, however I saw that humanity returned tonight on the news, watching the droves of people coming to the areas worst hit in London and spending the day working together to clean up the mess.

In the coming days and weeks people will want answers, they will want to lay the blame with someone and expect whoever they point fingers at to take responsibility for what has happened.  I say that we are all responsible for what has taken place, I have expressed that on various social networks and I wanted to expand here on my blog.  Watching these riots it is abundantly clear that the majority of those taking part are young men who have absolutely no respect for anyone or anything, especially authority figures.  So the question posed is Why?  And the obvious answer I can see is that its because we have allowed this generation to exist.  We have come through a generation of people that have become to relaxed in parenting skills, we see it all the time children getting away with things they shouldn't be because we allow them to.  No longer can we use smacking as a discipline without fear of persecution or prosecution, instead we are encouraged to talk to our children rather than set boundaries and keep to them.  We have raised a generation that we have taught to stand up and fight against the authorities, rather than respect them and listen.  When someone breaks the law the penalties are not harsh enough, we simply slap them on the wrists and send them on their merry way, sending the message that its ok to break the law because you’re going to get away with it anyway.

We have created a generation of lazy people that want the easy way out so turn to living a life filled with making easy money, usually through doing things illegally.  We allow them to sit around and claim benefits all day and never encourage them to be productive in life.  Boredom creates restlessness and restlessness leads to these sorts of acts we see today.  We need to make changes for the next generations coming up through the ranks.  We need to get back to the days and ways of old that teach us respect for people, respect for property, respect for authority and respect for boundaries.  If we don't change the way we are raising our generations we are going to see more and more of these moments of unrest and uprising.  Something needs to change before it is too late. Make the changes for the next generation!

West Memphis Three Update

First I’d like to thank the official Free The West Memphis Three blog for originally bringing this information to light.  If you’d like to follow the blog you can do so here.  If you have no idea who the West Memphis Three are or would like to learn more about them, then please read my original blog post regarding them here.

Now that we have all of that out of the way we can focus on the new information that has been made public.  DNA samples were sent away a while ago and the results of these have been returned with the report being filed on the 18th of July.  These DNA results conclusively exclude Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin from ever being near the bodies of the three boys.  The DNA was found on the bottom of one of the boys shoes and upon testing have discovered that it belongs to two separate males that they have yet to identify.  They are also still testing hairs that were found at the crime scene and will also make there findings public once it is completed.  All of this evidence however points to the WM3 being innocent as so many of us have known all along.

This craziness has been going on for 18 years now and three innocent boys, who have now become men behind bars, have lost out on their youth because of an immense miscarriage of justice.  These latest findings will go before the judge in December, where he will decide whether this evidence is strong enough to call for a new trial before a jury.  If he doesn't see that there is mounting evidence to prove the WM3 are innocent of multiple homicide then someone higher up the legal chain needs to step in.  This is completely ridiculous and makes a mockery out of the judicial system to keep three innocent people behind bars.  Evidence doesn't lie, and all evidence points to them being innocent.  Keeping fighting for justice people, it will prevail in the end.

Podcast For 24th July 2011

In this podcast I discuss the death of Amy Winehouse, the attacks and mass shooting in Norway, and the possibility of Israeli Spies in Christchurch the day of the February 22nd Earthquake.  Click HERE to listen.  Please feel free to comment and join the discussion in the comments below.

Tranny Basher’s Reduced Sentence

It would seem in this country we reward those who beat transsexuals and cross dressers to death.  In 2009 David Shaun Galloway (18) and Phillip Christopher Sanders (42), beat 64 year old Richard Milton Jones, who was a cross dresser (the media really need to learn the different terms correctly), to death.  Originally David Galloway was sentenced to 10 years in jail for manslaughter with a minimum non parole of 5 years.  The judge gave him this sentence and time specifically because they had admitted their hatred of transsexuals.  In a police interview, Galloway said “that he followed Sanders to the flat ''to beat up a transvestite'', that he ''believed in Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve'', and that he did not deserve to live.”  Firstly, that should have been classed as murder as it was premeditated, instead of the pathetic lesser charge of manslaughter.  And Secondly, that to me sounds like definite motive for a hate crime, suggesting the judge made the right call.

Well not according to the court of appeals who this week reduced his sentence to 9 years with a minimum non parole of 4 years citing that, “the judge overstated the seriousness of the hate crime aspect of the homicide.”  Obviously the court of appeals didn't get the memo about Galloway hating tranny’s.  How stupid can these people be, he admitted to hating them and that they didn't deserve to live!  Now if they had bashed and killed some poor old “normal” (and I use the term loosely) 64 year old man, everybody would be jumping up and down crying out for more blood.  But because this old fella liked to wear woman’s clothes, he isn't as deserving of justice.  At least that is the message that the court of appeals is sending out to the public.

I am continually disheartened and disgusted with the state of this world and the people in it.  There seems to be ignorance and bigotry wherever we turn.  Its 2011 people, time to drag our arses out of the stone age and realise that we don't have the right to judge others in that way.  ALL hate crimes are unacceptable and we need to stand up an refuse to tolerate them.

To Burqa Or Not To Burqa

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of ignorance that abounds in this country and most other countries when it comes to cultural differences.  You'd think being such a multicultural society we would have more understanding and tolerance, but it seems this is not the case.  While at University studying Anthropology we did a study of the burqa and women.  Based on various studies carried out in recent years it has become apparent that more Islamic and Muslim nations are giving women the choice as to whether they want to wear it.  Most women said that they would rather wear it than not.  Why?  Because THEY feel secure beneath it.  Because THEY feel safe beneath it.  This particular paper by Lila Abu-Lughod poses the question, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” and there are many other papers and studies echoing the same idea should you wish to search them out and learn something about this issue. At the end of the day it is not our god given right to try and tell a culture how they can function.  We do not have the right to come in and tell them what they can and cant do.  Its their culture!  Have you people not learnt any lessons from colonisation?  I'm ashamed that so many kiwis are so Ethnocentric. 

A lot of people use the weak argument that “if I have to respect their laws and dress that way when I’m in their country, then they should do the same when here.”  I really don't see the validity of that argument from my own perspective.  If I go to an Islamic country am I bothered that I must wear a burqa or cover up, No.  At the end of the day it really doesn't harm me or effect me greatly in any way.  Do I care if they come over here and continue to wear the burqa or cover up, No.  Again at the end of the day it really doesn't harm me or effect me greatly in any way.  It seems to me that the main reason people don't like the burqa is because they either feel threatened by them and Muslim/Islam in general, or they think that the burqa represents female oppression and male domination.  Both of these opinions are purely bred from ignorance and bigotry.  I’m all for people having opinions and support that fact whole heartedly, however I do believe that an opinion should be formed by educating yourself on the various facts first and it seems to me that so many people fail to do that when it comes to issues such as this.

For my non Kiwi readers we have a show here in NZ called “Campbell Live,”  hosted by John Campbell, its a half hour investigative type show where journalists get to the bottom of issues happening in our country at this particular time.  Last night they did a segment on the burqa and how people who wear it are treated.  John sent two of his staff out onto the streets of Auckland, Mihingarangi Forbes who is a journalist on the show and Jayne Soons who is a producer.  Both women dressed themselves in full burqa before heading out to film reactions.  Yesterday our Prime Minister stated that “we live in a tolerant and inclusive society”, with the opposing party leader Phil Goff agreeing and adding, “it’s live and let live in New Zealand.”  How wrong and out of the loop these two politicians are, because if they had watched this story on Campbell Live last night they would have seen a different side of New Zealand tolerance.  I was both appalled and disgusted by the pointing of strangers, the staring and the women at a store called “Barbara’s” who refused them entry into her store and said some things that were unwarranted.  For those of you who want to watch the full report you can do so here on the Campbell Live Site.  For those of you who aren't interested in watching the full report here is the transcript of the conversation that took place:

 

Retailer (Standing in the doorway to her store):  No, no thanks

Reporter:  I can’t see your clothes?

Retailer (nodding to the rack outside):  You’ve already looked

Reporter:  I mean the ones inside?

Retailer:  You speak with a New Zealand accent.  What on earth are you doing dressed up like that?

Reporter:  Pardon?

Retailer:  What on earth are you doing dressed up like that?

Reporter:  Religion is a choice.

Retailer:  In some countries it is.  You take advantage of us here.

 

You Miss Retailer, whoever you are, should be ashamed of yourself.  How dare you speak on behalf of every New Zealander.  Who do you think you are to tell people what religion they can or cant choose?  I hope that if you ever do that to someone that is truly Muslim or Islamic, that they haul your arse into court for discrimination quicker that you can blink.  People like you are both ignorant and imbecilic, choosing to believe misinformation about the Muslim and Islamic faith.  You choose to believe that the extremists represent the majority when this is not the case.  You fear what you do not understand and you create a breeding ground for hatred and bigotry.  It is 2011 people, its time that we stopped living with our heads in the sand and took the time to learn the truth about different cultures and belief systems so that we can work towards living in understanding.  If anyone came along and told you that you couldn’t choose the majority western faith of Christianity or go to Church there would be an outcry.  If we deny indigenous cultures their rights it is considered racism, and yet this kind of bigotry against Muslims and Islamic is allowed.  Instead of all this, what we should be doing is working towards having a society full of balance and acceptance of others and their beliefs.

Legal High’s Face The Chop

First we had BZP and now we have legal high’s which for those not in the loop, are a synthetic cannabis type substance that people roll up to smoke.  BZP based party pills were banned several years back and the government announced this week that they wanted to put limitations on legal high products.  We all know this is the first step to them banning the product all together.  These days I don't really drink all that much, nor do I use drugs,  not because I can’t, but because I choose not to; so my opinion on this matter is in no way biased.  However, I do believe that the government is wasting time and energy focusing on a product that is the least of our worries in the society we live in. 

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne is the main catalyst in this movement stating that “changes will be covered when amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act are passed in the next few weeks. The law change will make Kronic a restricted substance, putting in place rules on where it can be sold, the way it's advertised, and who it can be sold to.”  Auckland Hospital has also spoken out against the legal high’s saying they deal with at least two cases a day that are related to the product, although they have not put any concrete evidence forward of this fact.  Our government seems to be following in the footsteps of Western Australia who already passed a law banning the sale of it on the 17th of last month.

It is all well and good that the government are putting our best interests at heart, or so it would seem.  However, I find it ironic and a double standard that they are focusing so much time and energy on this when there is another drug that rates higher than all the rest in the world.  This drug in question is consumed in large quantities on a daily basis the world round, and yet it is allowed to continue to ruin the lives of many without any real concern from any governments world wide.  What is this drug that they constantly turn a blind eye to?  Alcohol.

Last year Professor David Nutt, head of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs published his findings regarding the seriousness of alcohol and where it rated in the list of drugs that are regularly abused.  The study weighed the danger of a drug based on a 16-point checklist.  The checklist produced scores out of a total of 100, obviously the higher the score, the greater the danger posed by the particular drug.  Interestingly drugs that we believe to be some of the worst scored in the middle of the overall list, with heroin at 55 and crack at 54.  Shockingly based on the scoring system, alcohol rated at an alarming 72.  In accordance with Professor Nuts other role as Chair of the government’s Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs he was obliged to pass on his findings to the government, who promptly fired him despite his expertise as a neuropyschopharmacologist and expert in drugs and alcohol.  Leslie King, an adviser to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs who was also a co author on the study has called for a “redistribution of resources away from illegal drugs to fight the problem of alcoholism,” a suggestion that was promptly ignored by government officials.

If we take a look at our own statistics regarding alcohol in this country, courtesy of ALAC (the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand), we see the following:

• One in six (17.7%) adults (aged 15+) have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern
• In New Zealand, estimates indicate between 600 and 1,000 people die each year from alcohol-related causes
• Between 18 and 35 per cent of injury-based emergency department presentations are estimated to be alcohol-related, rising to between 60 and 70 per cent during the weekend
• At least 33 per cent of all police-recorded offences in 2008/09 were committed where the offender had consumed alcohol prior to committing the offence
• On an average day 52 individuals or groups of people are either driven home or detained in Police custody due to their state of intoxication
• In 2008, driver alcohol was a contributing factor in 103 fatal crashes, 441 serious injury crashes and 1156 minor crashes
• Worldwide, alcohol is responsible for approximately 20 per cent of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents; 30 per cent of deaths due to oesophageal cancer, liver cancer, epilepsy and homicide; and 50 per cent of deaths due to liver cirrhosis

Its time that governments start sitting up and paying attention to the real problem in our society, the drug that far out weighs any other in the destruction stakes.  If I had my way I would legalise cannabis and ban alcohol.  A controversial opinion I am well aware of and will probably shock some.  But I have had dealings with both cannabis and alcohol in the past through friends and family, I have never seen anyone commit a violent act while smoking marijuana, injure themselves or others; however, I have seen the destruction and pain that alcohol causes time and time again.  When will the government get their priorities straight and make decisions based on the scientific facts, rather than biased opinion due to their own selfish desires, or their fear of angering the alcohol manufacturers.  We can no longer have these double standards, the government either want to look out for their constituents or they don't.  We can no longer have one rule for one thing and not for the other.  Its time for change, with more time and effort being given towards combating and managing the problems presented by our greatest drug, alcohol.

NZ Insurance Companies – The Newest Scam Artists

By now many of my readers would have read my previous post regarding the earthquakes in Christchurch and will have an understanding of what is happening.  Some of my readers are from Christchurch, many of them still living in the City and dealing with the on-going daily stress associated with this.  So far there have been troubles with the EQC (The Earthquake Commission), for those readers from overseas you can learn more about the EQC’s role in all of this by visiting their website.  In essence the EQC was founded in 1945 to cover people during natural disasters, it has been funded by collecting premiums through insurance payers and offers up to $100,000 towards damages.  However, there have been many problems with claims since the earthquakes in September last year, and February and June this year, many people still remain unpaid for their claims going back to September, many builders, plumbers and others associated with fixing peoples homes remain unpaid by the EQC.  To add to the already frustrating situation that is unfolding in Christchurch, it would seem that the insurance companies are now jumping on the bandwagon and defaulting on paying a number of home owners, specifically those within the Red Zone.  Residents in this zone learnt last week that the suburbs they live in, that fall within this area will be completely demolished with no hope of rebuilding them in the future.  The government has offered home owners compensation packages with two options, one the can take the full amount of the government valuation on their property, or they can take compensation for the land their home sits on and receive their insurance pay-out for their actual house.

Now in essence this has made many people happy as they have now received the closure they so desperately needed and can now move on with making the appropriate plans for their future.  There are homes though within the red zone that are only in need of repairs.  However, the government has made the decision that all those suburbs must go because they are built on unstable land that is not sustainable for future homes or rebuilding of homes.  This is where these insurance companies have managed to find a loophole in order to somehow get out of paying for the full insurance value of the home.  These insurance companies have stated that they are prepared to repair these homes that need it, but they will not cover them for the full replacement value of the home despite the fact that they fall within the area that is ordered by the government to be demolished.  In other words these insurance players actually have full replacement policies, they are entitled to it but the insurers have stated “they won't replace their homes, they'll only repair them, even though they're earmarked for certain demolition” (Campbell Live).  This has left many home owners in the red zone that have been faced with this new information from their insurance companies wishing that, A) their homes had sustained worst damage in the three major earthquakes or B) hoping for another large quake to destroy their home further in order to be paid out what they are owed.  How awful is that these people have been left hoping for desperate measures and further destruction of their homes, city and lives.

What amazes me is that a lot of these people have been paying insurance for the majority of their adult lives, for some people like my grandfather he has lived in the same house and owned it for fifty years, so what has happened to all that money he has paid in that time.  Why are insurance companies baulking at having to pay out so much money?  Its my estimation that there isn't enough money in the coffers to accommodate everybody, which highlights the question where is everyone's money?  Something needs to be done to stop these insurance companies from ripping off their consumers, surely under certain legislation such as the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 there are laws that are being broken, the government needs to step in and perhaps make changes to the way that insurance companies are able to operate.  It is my opinion that there needs to be even more regulation within the insurance industry.

According to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) there is the fair insurance code which states the following:

While the Insurance Council assumes no liability for its members, compliance with the self-regulation framework assures customers of quality service.  Insurance is a contract between the insurer and the customer based on the principle of "good faith". The customer (by paying a premium) depends on the insurer to provide a service and to settle claims fairly and efficiently. In turn, the insurer relies on the customer to act honestly, and to accurately disclose all information relevant to the insurer being able to provide insurance cover that meets the customer's needs.

The Fair Insurance Code was developed by the Insurance Council as a set of principles which aims to continually improve the standard of practice and service member companies provide to their customers. This set of principles is in additional to those obligations created by the law.

By the look of things the quality of service is lacking, claims are NOT being settled fairly and efficiently and the standard of practice and service is non existent.  Those effected by this ridiculous newly announced policy of many insurance companies need to fight for their claims and their rights that are pursuant to the various legislations that are put in place to protect both the consumer and insurance customers.  We need to demand that the government makes changes to both the legislation set forth and the regulation of this industry to protect future victims of natural disasters.  Watch this space and lets see what happens.

My Beautiful Christchurch…

Its been a couple of weeks since I’ve written anything, mostly due to having some nasty virus that knocked me on my arse.  Two days after my previous post, Christchurch was once again hit by two nasty quakes; a 5.6 and a 6.3, only to be once again followed by its own sequence of aftershocks.  I only learnt of the quakes when I received a tearful phone call from my mother who was beside herself that our beautiful city had once again been hit by some form of devastation.  After the February quake that took the lives of 181 people both myself and my mother left the city, mostly due to fear and the mental effect this was having on all of us.  I chose to get further away by moving to the North Island, whereas my mother decided to move to a small town about 30 minutes south west of the city.  While she is away from the majority of the aftershocks that are felt regularly within Christchurch, anything above a 4.0 is felt out there.  On June 13th she definitely felt the quakes that once again ravaged Christchurch, she was also on the phone with her best friend when the quake hit and had to listen in horror as her friend dropped the phone and screamed hysterically,while mum could hear her friends house rock, shake and crash.  Its no surprise that by the time my mother called me she was near hysterical, and I must admit my first reaction to the news that it was happening all over again was just to cry along with her.  And as I write this somewhat of a tribute to my beautiful city and all that has happened to her, I can feel the emotion and the tears begin to rise once again.  The recurring nightmares of destructive earthquakes have returned once again for me and I’m not even there dealing with the day to day fear anymore.  But in some ways for me personally it is harder being here, I live in fear and terror for my beloved family and friends that have chosen to remain there, and feel completely helpless as I’m stuck here and can’t do a thing.  I simply wait, pray and be an ear for anyone that needs to talk about things.

For any reading this who may have spent the last 9 and a half months living under a rock and have no idea what is happening on our side of the world, it all began at 4:35 am September 4th 2010 when we were literally thrown out of our beds by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Darfield, which is a town outside of Christchurch.  But by god did we feel it here in the city, I thought that was the day I was going to met my maker.  Now I’m almost thirty three (in 6 days…ugh), twenty three of those years have been spent living in Christchurch, a proud and true one eyed born and bred Cantabrian and in all that time I’ve experienced about 6 earthquakes there.  The other ten years have been living in the Wellington region which is far more active when it comes to seismological activity, in fact Wellington has always been predicted to be the next place to experience the wrath of the earth, NOT Christchurch.  So you can imagine all of us were extremely surprised to be experiencing something of this size in Christchurch.  I still have the flashbacks to that moment where I was thrown awake to see the bedroom wall in front of me being lurched back and forth violently several feet at a time, I’m not quite sure how with that sort of movement it was able to remain attached to the rest of the house.  I remember screaming “EARTHQUAKE” and making a run for the doorway, a very difficult process as I was being thrown back and forth while trying to run.  Just as I ran past it the 29 inch TV in our room came crashing down behind me.  I clung to the doorway, as groggily James made his way to the door very put out that his sleep had been interrupted by something he considered to be so trivial, I don’t think he realised right at the moment the severity of the situation.  All I could do was pray as I watched across the hallway to my little brother and mum clinging to the other door they where standing under, “Please God, not now, I’m not ready yet, PLEASE GOD NOT YET”.  I really did think out two storey town house was going to fall away underneath us as the violent rocking seemed to go on forever, it felt like it was never going to stop and then the aftershocks started immediately afterwards.  I remember crying and looking at my mum as she kept saying “Its still going”, at that point my next concern was to get the hell out of the house, I became hysterical as I thought of my pets, my three cats and one dog, my fur children.  I’m forever thankful for my mum and James who managed to get me calm enough to get out of the house, they opened the doors and let the animals just run outside as the aftershocks kept coming.  This is a once in a lifetime event the experts told us, this is something you will only experience once and now the appropriate aftershock sequence will follow.  They were wrong.

Flash forward to February 22nd 2011 at 12:51 pm.  No more than half an hour earlier I’d been sitting in one of the malls having lunch with one of my best friends, her mother and her little daughter.  We’d been discussing all the predictions that were being banded about that there would be another major quake and this was not over.  I claimed it to all be nonsense, preferring to listen to the experts and the scientists so my opinions lay in the camp of the geologists, I proclaimed that according to Science this wouldn't happen again and that we were safe.  The experts weren't wrong, they just didn't know as this has never happened before in the history of seismic recording, what they didn't know was that the September quake which belonged to a previously unknown fault line had now activated another fault line and it was at 12:51 that we discovered the ferocity of mother nature once again.  This time though it was during the day, there were many people in our Central Business District working and shopping, it was lunchtime so there were a lot of people outside on their break, right in the path of falling building facades.  I was inside a store in the mall with my friend, her daughter and her mother when it hit, luckily for us we were in the clothing department, which meant there wasn't a lot to fall on us, but I remember us all clinging to one another as we struggled to stand, the building rocking and rolling violently, we watched the roof above us, the lights dancing a fit as we wondered is it going to crash down on us, is this our final moment.  For the second time in less than six months I thought my time was up again.  Then there was mayhem as the quake ended and the alarms screamed at us, it was pure insanity as everybody bolted and ran for the doors to escape, I’ve never seen such a terrified stampede of people before.  A normal twenty minute journey home took two hours and it was the scariest two hours of my life, massive aftershocks were rocking the roads and I feared many times on the way home that the ground was going to open up and swallow me and my car.  We left the city that day, only to return to pack our belongings up and say goodbye to family and friends.

Then on June 13th as earlier mentioned it was once again hit with a 6.3 and the cycle started all over again.  The only saving grace this time is that no one was killed because town is still shut down and is part of the red zone, meaning only construction and demolition are allowed in there.  A lucky twist of fate as another one hundred and forty something buildings were damaged further or collapsed that day.  It has been a long nine and a half months for Christchurch and the people that call it home, and according to geologists it may not be over just yet.  In this last week we learnt which suburbs and streets are considered to be the red zone, this means the houses will be pulled down and they will not rebuild there, whole suburbs are going to be demolished back to the land they once were and the owners of those houses will be compensated.  I struggle to comprehend the drastic changes that will take place to my once beautiful city.  Many have stayed strong and stood firm, proclaiming that Christchurch will rise from the debris and it will be beautiful once again.  But, for me the city I love and adore no longer stands and for that reason I have mourned for her and continue to do so.  I feel like I have lost a friend, I adored the beautiful architecture of our heritage buildings, they were the history of our city and also of my family who on my fathers side had a hand in the design of them.  I’ve always loved Christchurch for that very reason, its historic beauty always captured my heart and took my breath away no matter how many times a week I would see these buildings.  I’ve been known to sit and stare at the buildings within the art centre while visiting it for the weekend markets.  In fact I loved it so much that almost thirteen years ago myself and my then husband had our wedding photos taken there, it breaks my heart now to know that the art centre is now falling down where it once stood proudly.

I mourn the loss of those who died within our city limits, two of which I knew, granted they were not close friends and family but they were people that I had known either growing up or through study and they had left a lasting impression on me years later and my heart breaks for their families who have lost them.  I am left with regret that I hadn't kept them close and remained in contact over the years.  I feel the pain of my brothers and sisters of Christchurch, the fear and mental wearing on them is hard, but I am proud at how much strength they all show, I ran away much sooner than they have and I’m proud at their loyalty to our home town.  My heart is broken and I feel like I am living in a nightmare that has no hope of ending, I still struggle to believe that this has all happened to the place I love with all my heart.  I don't think that I will ever return permanently, the trauma and damage done has been too great for me and I want to remember living in the beautiful City she once was.  But, I will always and forever remain a Cantab at Heart.

WELCOME HOME MARTYN PAYNE

For my readers outside of New Zealand, many will be unaware of the recent immigration battle of this chap.  Martyn Payne and his family moved to New Zealand from the United Kingdom six years ago, where on his arrival he invested 700,000 into a garage and petrol station in the Northland town of Kapiro.  Since owning the business he has paid his taxes and brought revenue into the New Zealand economy.  However, because of an earlier surgery on his heart the immigration department declined his application for residency and promptly booted him out of the country six weeks ago.  According to Payne’s doctors the previous issue with his heart that resulted in surgery, was not one that would be on going.  The Immigration department decided though that even a slim chance of needing further surgery to the cost of $25,000 was enough to force him out of the country.

The irony of this entire debacle is that foreign visitors to our country, not foreign residents, owe a total of 19 million dollars for treatment received while visiting our country.  The largest bill racked up by an individual patient was in Auckland and cost the District Health board there more than $500,000.  So it would seem the government are happy to allow tourists to place our already teetering economy into further debt in the name of tourism, but refuse to allow a man who works hard and brings money to the economy, residency on the off chance he may need 25,000 dollars worth of surgery.  How the immigration department can even justify such an argument is beyond me.  What annoys me the most about this entire thing is that we have many immigrants in this country, a number of which once here go on to commit crimes and end up spending time inside our jails.  The amount of money spent on corrections in these particular cases is horrendous, and yet these people are not deported they remain in New Zealand free to drain our economy as repeat offenders.  It would seem to me that the NZ government has their priorities wrong and need to sit back and take a good hard look at there legislation.

Mr Payne has spent the last six weeks staying in Brisbane while people on this side of the ditch fought a hard battle in his corner against the immigration department.  Mr Payne’s daughter claimed that her family hadn’t cost the tax payers a single cent of money for healthcare since immigrating, stating that if one of them is sick they visit the doctor and pay their way just as every other Kiwi does.  More than 1200 supporters have signed a petition regarding Mr Payne’s situation and the Motor Trade Association (MTA) have hired an immigration agent to fight his case.

Thanks to the efforts of so many that supported this event, especially the hard work of both the MTA and Campbell Live on TV 3, Mr Payne has been granted an eight month temporary work visa.  This has enabled him to return to New Zealand, the place he now claims as his home.  During those eight months he will be able to apply and offer proof of health in order to attempt to obtain permanent residency.  We as Kiwi’s are battlers and generally all round good buggers, and Martyn Payne has proved himself to be both of those.  He may have an English accent and originally come from the UK, but he has proved himself to be a Kiwi at heart.  All your supporters, including myself, are behind you 100% and will continue to fight in your corner until you are granted permanent residency.

Haere mai ki to mātau kāinga.  Ka whakakaha mātau kia toa ki te riri.  Kia Kaha!

(Welcome to our home.  We endeavour to win the battle.  Be Strong!)

Music Is My Religion

Some people believe in God, I believe in music.  Some people pray, I turn up the radio.  Those very words were spoken by a girl at the end of the video clip for the 30 Seconds To Mars song, Closer to the edge.  When I heard that phrase I connected with it, I understood what she meant.  Religion for many people is about believing in something that speaks to your soul, whether its God, Buddha, Allah or one of the many other names used to describe the head deity within a religious movement. 

I was raised in a Christian home, granted it was just me and my mother in the home but Christian it was.  I don't mean the type of Christian a lot of people are, where they go to church on a Sunday, sing a few hymns, confess their sins and then go straight back to doing what they shouldn’t be, but feel absolved because they had done their weekly time in the house of the Lord.  I was a full on Pentecostal, evangelical, praying in tongues, healing the sick, casting out demons kind of Christian.

I’m no longer what is considered a practicing Christian in those circles, I left the church when I was 17 because I wanted to explore the world outside those walls.  I didn’t want to be another pew warmer that was out drinking, having sex and taking part in other “sinful” activities during the week and then say a few “praise be to Jesus'” to make me feel better about myself.  One thing I’ve never stood for is hypocrites and liars, so I made the choice to follow the ways of the world.

The funny thing I’ve noticed about the Christian world is that if you make the choice to walk away they tend to turn their backs on you, or try to convince you that you need to have some devils cast from you.  Either way if you’re not playing by their rules, they no longer want to have anything to do with you.  Of course you are always going to get the odd few who have outstanding values and uphold the laws of loving your fellow man despite what life they choose, but for the most part they will ignore you. 

Personally I find this method of treating those that have “back slid” disgusting and goes against all that is taught in the bible.  Are we not supposed to love mankind despite their sins and faults?  We don't necessarily have to agree with peoples actions or decisions, nor do we have to like them, but we have to love them despite all this.  As I’ve become older I’ve kept my faith in a higher power that I choose to call God.  However, I also believe that we can learn various important things from other religious movements and should implement them into our life journey.  What I have lost faith in is the idea of organised religion or Christianity, where we all meet once a week to worship our chosen “leader” and failure to do so means you are having problems with your faith. 

Which brings me to 30 seconds to mars.  There have been rumours abound and joking that they are in essence a cult.  Today I read a post by a girl where her father threatened to take her CD’s away from her because he believed the band to be a cult.  When they play their hit “Kings and Queens” they get a bunch of fans on stage to dance around, have fun and partake in The Church of Mars.  The video for Closer to the Edge touches on this a little more, with fans at the beginning and end of the video talking about what music and the band mean to them.

For these people music is about the sound and words speaking to your soul, making you feel alive and as if you have something to believe in to help you walk your path through life.  I’ve watched many times the videos of 30STM, and watched frontman Jared Leto raise his hands up as if he is praising something.  Much like we would see people in a church doing while they are singing their songs of worship. 

 

I’ve always liked this band and their music, but in the last few weeks I have really rediscovered them and taken the time to really listen to the message they are sending people.  Many of their songs are about discovering who you are, embracing who you are, embracing and protecting the earth we share.  I see their messages as being positive and one that is meant to uplift their followers and give them something positive to hold onto.  When I listen to their songs it reaches my core, it speaks to my soul and makes it soar, like I have found something amazing to put my faith in and believe in. 

Isn't that exactly what having faith is all about?  At the end of the day does it really matter what we have faith in?  Isn't the most important part that we have faith in something or anything?  These guys are speaking to the youth of today, filling them with hope and something great to believe in.  In my mind they deserve an award for managing to do that.  I don't see them as being a cult or that Jared Leto is our God, rather that we all have a love for music and how it makes us feel.  We are all believers in music, including the members of the band.

Some people may be wondering what has led me to even discuss this.  There is no one single reason for my post, other than I have too much time on my hands and a brain that works overtime churning thoughts.  So I’m here to say that ultimately music is one of my religions, next to writing of course, as I will always worship at the alter of the written word.  Blasphemy I can hear Christians crying across the world.  And my response is that at least I am part of something that comes with TRUE unconditional love and acceptance, no matter what path I walk in life, I have my brothers and sisters of music.  Perhaps churches might want to try testing that philosophy out once in awhile.

THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE

Here in New Zealand we are rather oblivious to these sorts of stories that are taking place, and I feel that its important we learn more and offer our voice in support.  I literally stumbled across this story several years ago when the documentary Paradise Lost when it featured on the Sky TV documentary channel.  This is a documentary I urge you all to watch, if you haven't already, along with Paradise Lost 2.  When I first watched Paradise Lost it really left me wondering what was really going on, a part of me doubted the guilt of these three young men.  It wasn't until I researched the case further and eventually watched the second documentary, that my belief in these boys innocence grew.  I have supported the fight for their freedom for many years, and now that I have this blog, feel it is important that in some way I add my voice to the many who have before me, in supporting these three.

Some of you reading this probably have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me give you a quick run down of the story.  On the afternoon of May 6 1993 the naked and hog tied bodies of three young boys were discovered in West Memphis, Arkansas.  Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers had all been reported missing the previous day by their families.  What followed in the coming days, weeks, months and years will go down in history as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice, and is still continuing to this day.  Three teenagers Jessie Misskelley 17 years old, Jason Baldwin 16, and Damien Echols 18 were arrested for the murders based on the fact that it was believed these three were devil worshippers.  Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40.

One thing I learnt watching these documentaries is there seemed to be a lot of covering up and mutual back slapping by the authorities.  I consider this to be disgusting behaviour from people we literally trust with our lives.  Police officers coerced an error-filled "confession" from Jessie Misskelley Jr., who is mentally handicapped. They subjected him to hours of questioning without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments with a total of 46 minutes.  Even though an abundant amount of new forensic evidence has come to light in the last few years, which proves these boys innocence, this case has continued to be run like a three ringed circus.  Mostly this has occurred a the hands of circuit court Judge David Burnett, who it seems since day one has had a personal vendetta against the west Memphis three and has continued to ignore both evidence and the law.  In September 2008, he denied Echols' application for a hearing on the new DNA evidence. The Arkansas Supreme Court heard oral argument on Burnett's decision on September 30, 2010.  On November 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Burnett's interpretation of the DNA statute was too narrow and reversed and remanded all three cases for hearings as to whether new trials should be ordered.  The hearings, to be presided over by Judge David Laser, are tentatively scheduled for October, 2011.  It would seem that finally someone is actually listening and paying attention.  However, the damage has already been done, these boys who have now become men behind bars, have spent 16 years of their life in prison.

Thankfully these three have the backing of some rather influential people, such as Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Ozzy Osbourne, even Disturbed earlier in the year released a song called “3”, of which all proceeds will go to funding this case.  I urge you to get behind this landmark case and offer your support in any way possible to these young men who deserve a chance at realising freedom once more.  I also encourage you to watch both the Documentaries, “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Lost 2”.  If you wish to know more information about this or offer support in any way please visit Free The West Memphis Three.  I intend to keep updating the information regarding them on my blog and promote any help that is being offered to them.

To Damien, Jessie and Jason stay strong and know that there are so many people that are fighting in your corner.  I am just one voice, but together we are deafening and can’t be ignored.

Modern Day Witch Hunt

I thought I’d bring you something of the more bizarre nature today, seeing as the bizarre and unexplained are one of my personal interests.  Now call me crazy, but I was fairly certain that we left behind the witch hunts in the 18th century, with the last executions taking place then.  Personally I think being that it is 2011 people would have enough sensibility to realise that all these ridiculous tales of witchcraft are in fact just that, tales.  It would seem this is not the case in South Africa where a community decided to take what they believed was evidence of witchcraft and the law into their own hands.

Twelve people stand accused of setting alight and burning a local Pastor, Albert Malwane, with their trial date to be set this coming Thursday.  Here people, is where it truly turns bizarre, when we discover why exactly these twelve felt it necessary to deliver such a punishment on their Pastor.  They believed that Albert Malwane had in fact an “invisible” penis that he was using to seduce the women of the local community.  His other crime was talking to animals.

I sit here in wonderment that in this day and age people can believe these crazy ideas in the first place.  They even went so far as to accuse his wife of turning into a snail to terrorise the community.  I think if you were going to turn into any thing in order to terrorise a community, that a snail would be rather far down on the list of potential creatures.  Also I’m fairly certain he had himself a perfectly fine “real” penis with which to seduce women.  I’m puzzled as to why in fact it would have to be invisible.  And if talking to animals is reason enough to suspect someone is up to no good, then I’d suggest my local community come and fire up the barbeque, as I talk to my animals daily.

This story remains amusing and yet slightly scary to think that there are people out there that have no sense of logic available to them.  Much like those who have chosen to follow the words of Harold Camping.  It seems in the evolution of mankind some of us really haven't come far at all.  For those wishing to read the full story it can be found Here.

SCORN FOR WELLYWOOD SIGN GOES GLOBAL

It was only on Monday that I wrote about the dreaded Wellywood sign, voicing concern at how other countries would now have further reason to poke fun at us.  And it would seem that concern has now become a reality.  The Americans are now up in arms about this ridiculous notion courtesy of Wellington Airport.  I must admit deep down inside I knew it wouldn’t take long for the US to get wind of this and have a conniption, I guess I’d just hoped it would be long enough for us to quash the evil that is the Wellywood sign. 

According to an article published in the New York Times the Wellywood sign is considered blasphemy.  AGREED!  The article goes on to say, "Not much is sacred in Hollywood.  Classics are remade; final cuts are subjected to focus groups and re-edited.  But the Hollywood sign? That is sacrosanct."  The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns the original Hollywood sign, had their own strong opinions on the copy cat, stating it thought the Wellywood sign was dead and buried, and was surprised to see it back in the news.  They were also quoted as saying, "We are not without a sense of humour, nor without legal rights.  Over the years, we’ve been contacted by a lot of people who want to mimic the sign. We usually tell them, ‘Do something of your own.”  It is at this point that I would like to point out to our friends from the US, that the majority of us back your opinion and by being Kiwi's are in no way affiliated to the imbeciles that wish to bring this ridiculous idea into fruition.

Steve Fitzgerald, what more do you need to hear to realise that no one wants this to happen?  Are you so arrogant that you seem to think you can afford to piss off the movie heavy weights?  Even John Keys has said that he is not overly impressed by the decision for the sign to go ahead.  That’s the first thing John Keys has said since he became prime minister, that I actually agree with, so that’s pretty monumental in my books.  Add to that the fact that there are now over 26,000 people on the “Wellingtonians Against the Wellywood Sign” Facebook page, surely you are going to have to pay attention to the masses eventually.

Amusingly in comparison there are only 50 members on the “Wellingtonians for the Wellywood Sign” Facebook page.  That really makes me want to do my “Suck on it bitches” happy dance.

LUCKY BUGGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

 

This weeks lucky bugger award goes to Steve McCormack, a 48 year old truck driver from Opotiki, New Zealand.  I’m sure some of us have been accused of blowing hot air up peoples arses in our time, but this one takes the cake.  In what can only be described as one of the most bizarre of freak accidents, Steven found himself literally blown up like a balloon.  At the time of the accident he was standing on the platform between his truck and trailer.  Unfortunately for him, he slipped and landed on the brass valve that pumps compressed air to his brake system.  Upon landing the valve punctured his skin entering his body in his lower left buttock.

Because of the weight of his body on the valve it activated the compressed air, causing it to enter his body at a rate of 100 pounds per square inch.  Now we have all seen what happens when we over inflate a balloon and continue to blow air into it, it explodes.  Apparently the same happens to a human body when it is filled with compressed air.  But being the lucky bugger that Steven is, his colleagues managed to save him before it got to that point.  He did however swell to twice his normal size, causing his eyes to shut and his one of his lungs to fill with liquid.  Below is a picture example of what happened to him when his body swelled.  The light blue colour in the picture depicts how much his body actually swelled.

The amusing side of this story is that when he was finally safely in hospital, Steven told of how the air left his body.  And that is the only natural air does leave our system, through burping and farting.  Immature I know but a great fart always gets a chuckle out of me.  It was also mentioned that if his workmates hadn’t of been there to help him he would have literally popped like a balloon.  Now there is an image I can’t just seem to get out of my head.  I keep picturing Violet from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory being rolled out by the Oompa Loompa’s.  Slightly distasteful perhaps, but I tend to find amusement in the most dire of circumstances.

And on that note, here is to Steve McCormack, our lucky bugger of the week.  Two thumbs up for you!

107 Years Young

Big congratulations and warm birthday wishes go out to Peg Wilson, of the Kapiti Coast (funnily enough where I live), who turned 107 today.  She celebrated her birthday surrounded by her family and friends.  Her sister Betty who is 101, travelled by Interislander ferry from the south island to be with her sister.  Obviously longevity is in this families genes, with both sisters looking considerably more spritely than one would expect for people in their 100’s.  Now there is a sentence you don't get to use very often.

Peg has three children, five grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.  Up until two weeks ago she was living in her own house, but has now settled in one of Kapiti’s retirement homes.  In 1932 she did her O.E by ship, one of the many amazing stories I’m sure she has to tell from her many years.

Again happy birthday wishes to you Peg.  May you see many more happy returns.

 

Peg Wilson (L)  Her Sister Betty (R)