oh life
Well it's the night before my last full day in Hobart. I've come to realize that this place means more to me than possibly any other I have ever stayed in. Definitely on par with Berkeley, or maybe even more.
I came back from the Franklin to endearing notes left by a certain Swede and found that I was one pair of pajamas short. She'd hived them and left a wonderful letter explaining why. Oh well. That now gives me a reason to go to Sweden. I must get my pajamas back and that's the only proper way. So a trip to Sweden should be in the making sometime soon. haha.
I've spent most of the last week at Kieren's country house and oh, what a beautiful place. Right on the magnificent Huon River (about a mile or more across in most places), and so we went fishing and canoeing and into his upper paddock to watch the stars at night. I petted his horses (they have five) and we wrestled and arm wrestled and fought and did things like pull ups and handstands and had such a great time. We went to the beach and played tennis, and even played a combined 41 holes of golf at the local course. It was a few chips short of a country club. On one hole I sprayed a ball straight into a paddock and sent the sheep running, then set the ball up on a pile of sheep shit as a tee and subsequently put it right next to the hole. I was cooked dinner and had quite a lovely time with his parents and sister and last night we even watched Spiderman 2. I thoguht it alright but was quite disturbed by teh morality being impressed by Hollywood. I suppose for people who haven't really been overseas it would seem that American culture and Hollywood are principally consumed by Americans, but that's not the case. "Friends" plays here. Almost every American sit-com is watched over here and subsequently mulled over each morning. Trucker Hats are all the rage here. Korn, Justin Timberlake, and Good Charlotte Posters abound everywhere. And to them, that is American culture. It's quite hideous. My Taiwanese friend said that approximately 30% of young Taiwanese (himself included) want to become the "51st state". They speak a different language, but they want to be part of it. This television culture isn't my culture, it's not even American culture, it's a total hijacking of American culture.
And so, I suppose I found Spiderman 2, despite being branded as "entertainment", morally disappointing. Of course films aren't meant to be ways of setting morals, but how can people let their kids watch show after show of these things where things like marriage are seen as things that you can undo so easily. Kirsten Dunst just decides to get married, and postpones it just as if she was skipping a dentist appointment. Sure, it'll hurt somebody, but it's not that big of a deal. The movie then ends happily. If you ask me, it's a travesty. But then again, I plan to steer clear of movies and television in general. I suppose since I've come to Australia I've seen that this is not an American problem. It's a global one. And in truth, it's mad me even more radical about TV than before, if that is at all possible. I went to Kieren's girlfriend's house, and her dad was absolutely entranced by the TV, didn't even look up as we walked in and said hello to him. I can hear millions of doors slamming across the world, and millions of stationary heads that just keep on staring straight ahead. God, what a horribly passive way to live.
Well. We had a damn good time. Kieren and I fit quite well together although he has the habit of asking the same thing 4 times without noticing. I suppose only Anna would really understand the lunacy of this and its endless ability to frustrate, having experienced it quite often firsthand.
"So Ted, you want to go to Clifton Beach?"
"Yeah that sounds good."
"Ok. let's go to clifton. I think is a much nicer beach"
five minutes later : "Ted, so we're going to Seven-mile beach?"
"no, I thought we were going to Clifton"
"yeah, I think Clifton is a much nicer beach."
five minutes later : "You want to go to Clifton beach Ted?"
repeat this process endlessly throughout the day, with almost everything we do. I try hard to keep my smile hidden, as well as the facial twitches of frustration.
New Year's was slightly depressing (as it usually tends to be) thinking about the course of the past 12 months, but coming home I feel like such a better person.
Tomorrow is my last day, and it will be well spent listening to Tasmanians for the last time and planning my next big adventure/surprise: Sydney/LAX.
I came back from the Franklin to endearing notes left by a certain Swede and found that I was one pair of pajamas short. She'd hived them and left a wonderful letter explaining why. Oh well. That now gives me a reason to go to Sweden. I must get my pajamas back and that's the only proper way. So a trip to Sweden should be in the making sometime soon. haha.
I've spent most of the last week at Kieren's country house and oh, what a beautiful place. Right on the magnificent Huon River (about a mile or more across in most places), and so we went fishing and canoeing and into his upper paddock to watch the stars at night. I petted his horses (they have five) and we wrestled and arm wrestled and fought and did things like pull ups and handstands and had such a great time. We went to the beach and played tennis, and even played a combined 41 holes of golf at the local course. It was a few chips short of a country club. On one hole I sprayed a ball straight into a paddock and sent the sheep running, then set the ball up on a pile of sheep shit as a tee and subsequently put it right next to the hole. I was cooked dinner and had quite a lovely time with his parents and sister and last night we even watched Spiderman 2. I thoguht it alright but was quite disturbed by teh morality being impressed by Hollywood. I suppose for people who haven't really been overseas it would seem that American culture and Hollywood are principally consumed by Americans, but that's not the case. "Friends" plays here. Almost every American sit-com is watched over here and subsequently mulled over each morning. Trucker Hats are all the rage here. Korn, Justin Timberlake, and Good Charlotte Posters abound everywhere. And to them, that is American culture. It's quite hideous. My Taiwanese friend said that approximately 30% of young Taiwanese (himself included) want to become the "51st state". They speak a different language, but they want to be part of it. This television culture isn't my culture, it's not even American culture, it's a total hijacking of American culture.
And so, I suppose I found Spiderman 2, despite being branded as "entertainment", morally disappointing. Of course films aren't meant to be ways of setting morals, but how can people let their kids watch show after show of these things where things like marriage are seen as things that you can undo so easily. Kirsten Dunst just decides to get married, and postpones it just as if she was skipping a dentist appointment. Sure, it'll hurt somebody, but it's not that big of a deal. The movie then ends happily. If you ask me, it's a travesty. But then again, I plan to steer clear of movies and television in general. I suppose since I've come to Australia I've seen that this is not an American problem. It's a global one. And in truth, it's mad me even more radical about TV than before, if that is at all possible. I went to Kieren's girlfriend's house, and her dad was absolutely entranced by the TV, didn't even look up as we walked in and said hello to him. I can hear millions of doors slamming across the world, and millions of stationary heads that just keep on staring straight ahead. God, what a horribly passive way to live.
Well. We had a damn good time. Kieren and I fit quite well together although he has the habit of asking the same thing 4 times without noticing. I suppose only Anna would really understand the lunacy of this and its endless ability to frustrate, having experienced it quite often firsthand.
"So Ted, you want to go to Clifton Beach?"
"Yeah that sounds good."
"Ok. let's go to clifton. I think is a much nicer beach"
five minutes later : "Ted, so we're going to Seven-mile beach?"
"no, I thought we were going to Clifton"
"yeah, I think Clifton is a much nicer beach."
five minutes later : "You want to go to Clifton beach Ted?"
repeat this process endlessly throughout the day, with almost everything we do. I try hard to keep my smile hidden, as well as the facial twitches of frustration.
New Year's was slightly depressing (as it usually tends to be) thinking about the course of the past 12 months, but coming home I feel like such a better person.
Tomorrow is my last day, and it will be well spent listening to Tasmanians for the last time and planning my next big adventure/surprise: Sydney/LAX.