what are you
Fleet Foxes are playing at Falls Festival.
They are the only act at Falls I am yearning to see. Wouldn't mind Mystery Jets, Tegan and Sara and the Dodos..
and there are only 3 at Meredith I'm completely sold on seeing. The only flaw in the summer festivals plan is that I don't have anyone to go with. Also I don't have money. The latter is less important to me somehow. I feel I can just.. pay for them and uhh get a job at some point which will aid in paying rent. I know that a job is a definite for when uni finishes.
I'm writing an essay about Elizabeth Bishop. I feel very interested in her which bodes well, aye. Whilst researching her I keep coming across all these familiar names from last semester ie Barthes, Grosz, Derrida.. the whole gang. Makes me feel quite cool cause I'm getting to know all these folk.
Sometimes I really wonder about my friend Jacki. Every now and then she'll complain because she's so stressed out about year 12 and all her assessments and stuff, but then she sends me these pics/vids of she and her friends driving around Halls Gap (driving w/o licence??? ok deserted roads and one of them has their licence) and I'm meant to have sympathy for this. There are often many things I want to criticise about her, so many things that irk me about her general demeanour.. I wonder why we ever became friends.
I quite often wonder why people like me as I tend to judge a lot (as you can probably guess) and I'm a bit boring at times - Lindy wanted me to come to some gig tonight but I declined because I'd like to get stuck into my essay. I generally try to be understanding of others though and like to think that I'm good at seeing multiple points of view about varying situations, that I'm perhaps a bit funny sometimes. At the same time, I can be quite shy around people who are intimidating or who I think are cool. This makes uni pretty daunting sometimes, because there are a bunch of "cool" people who I would probably like to be friends with. But they're just not very friendly, warm or accepting. Despite my shyness, I am about 95% certain that I am accepting of others.
I feel a lot of weird distance in my life of late. Don't like it.
Today it was beautifully warm and sunny and as I walked home, even at 8pm, the air was still welcoming and fresh. I am a cliche: uplifted by the warmer days. I guess I'll celebrate this by listening to silly European pop caberet, embracing yet another cliche that European stuff is better than stupid Aussie stuff. Someone said to me the other day that Australia (and New Zealand) have little culture. I was mildly offended. I don't really agree or disagree, leaning possibly towards disagree, if I'm honest. What gets my goat is that the person who said it to me berated me for championing European stuff over Aussie stuff. So if Australia has little culture, and I'm not allowed to be partial to Swedish/German/Icelandic bands then what do I do?
So what is culture anyway?
I am yet to truly absorb the following, but today's lecture provided a few definitions. [Side note: I always listen attentively in my media and meaning lectures because I've got a bit of a thing for the lecturer]
The meaning of culture has roots with the word 'cultivation', firstly agricultural, obviously, then onto the human mind. By the 18th century its meaning had transformed into something like 'the way of life of a complete population'. Suddenly you could "be cultured" and there were "cultural activities". A very elitist definition of being cultured from Matthew Arnold: "knowing the best that has been said and thought in the world". Although in my opinion that begs the question what is the best?
Then the focus of the lecture was defining the difference between idealist and materialist definitions of culture. Idealist is the Arnold version. Culture as the arts, the 'canon', abstract and conceptual, aesthetic qualities etc. Materialist culture is the kind that is constantly produced on an everyday basis, it's in a state of flux, it's democratic. From Raymond Williams: "culture is ordinary, in every society and every mind".
Australia has culture. Melbourne has culture, even if you loathe all the little alleyway cafes with their supposedly hipster patrons, the keffiyahs (was only introduced to what the hell they are on Tuesday. It's nice to have a name for something that is so vile), the glasses with no lenses. There's substance underneath that, if you know where to look. I take a more materialist view of culture.. although come to think of it I fear that I think culture might be more subjective. Or maybe subjective culture exists outside the general sweeping idea of culture. Is there an overarching umbrella culture? Anyway basically I feel that most people have their own idea of what is good and what isn't; they have their own tastes and feel that some things are worthier than others. There's got to be some middle ground between idealist and materialist culture, some sort of grey area for a DIY culture.
This entry has been suitably rambly and incoherent. Maybe no one cares about what culture is, they just want to hate on it so they can profess that they are DEFINITELY not a part of it.
They are the only act at Falls I am yearning to see. Wouldn't mind Mystery Jets, Tegan and Sara and the Dodos..
and there are only 3 at Meredith I'm completely sold on seeing. The only flaw in the summer festivals plan is that I don't have anyone to go with. Also I don't have money. The latter is less important to me somehow. I feel I can just.. pay for them and uhh get a job at some point which will aid in paying rent. I know that a job is a definite for when uni finishes.
I'm writing an essay about Elizabeth Bishop. I feel very interested in her which bodes well, aye. Whilst researching her I keep coming across all these familiar names from last semester ie Barthes, Grosz, Derrida.. the whole gang. Makes me feel quite cool cause I'm getting to know all these folk.
Sometimes I really wonder about my friend Jacki. Every now and then she'll complain because she's so stressed out about year 12 and all her assessments and stuff, but then she sends me these pics/vids of she and her friends driving around Halls Gap (driving w/o licence??? ok deserted roads and one of them has their licence) and I'm meant to have sympathy for this. There are often many things I want to criticise about her, so many things that irk me about her general demeanour.. I wonder why we ever became friends.
I quite often wonder why people like me as I tend to judge a lot (as you can probably guess) and I'm a bit boring at times - Lindy wanted me to come to some gig tonight but I declined because I'd like to get stuck into my essay. I generally try to be understanding of others though and like to think that I'm good at seeing multiple points of view about varying situations, that I'm perhaps a bit funny sometimes. At the same time, I can be quite shy around people who are intimidating or who I think are cool. This makes uni pretty daunting sometimes, because there are a bunch of "cool" people who I would probably like to be friends with. But they're just not very friendly, warm or accepting. Despite my shyness, I am about 95% certain that I am accepting of others.
I feel a lot of weird distance in my life of late. Don't like it.
Today it was beautifully warm and sunny and as I walked home, even at 8pm, the air was still welcoming and fresh. I am a cliche: uplifted by the warmer days. I guess I'll celebrate this by listening to silly European pop caberet, embracing yet another cliche that European stuff is better than stupid Aussie stuff. Someone said to me the other day that Australia (and New Zealand) have little culture. I was mildly offended. I don't really agree or disagree, leaning possibly towards disagree, if I'm honest. What gets my goat is that the person who said it to me berated me for championing European stuff over Aussie stuff. So if Australia has little culture, and I'm not allowed to be partial to Swedish/German/Icelandic bands then what do I do?
So what is culture anyway?
I am yet to truly absorb the following, but today's lecture provided a few definitions. [Side note: I always listen attentively in my media and meaning lectures because I've got a bit of a thing for the lecturer]
The meaning of culture has roots with the word 'cultivation', firstly agricultural, obviously, then onto the human mind. By the 18th century its meaning had transformed into something like 'the way of life of a complete population'. Suddenly you could "be cultured" and there were "cultural activities". A very elitist definition of being cultured from Matthew Arnold: "knowing the best that has been said and thought in the world". Although in my opinion that begs the question what is the best?
Then the focus of the lecture was defining the difference between idealist and materialist definitions of culture. Idealist is the Arnold version. Culture as the arts, the 'canon', abstract and conceptual, aesthetic qualities etc. Materialist culture is the kind that is constantly produced on an everyday basis, it's in a state of flux, it's democratic. From Raymond Williams: "culture is ordinary, in every society and every mind".
Australia has culture. Melbourne has culture, even if you loathe all the little alleyway cafes with their supposedly hipster patrons, the keffiyahs (was only introduced to what the hell they are on Tuesday. It's nice to have a name for something that is so vile), the glasses with no lenses. There's substance underneath that, if you know where to look. I take a more materialist view of culture.. although come to think of it I fear that I think culture might be more subjective. Or maybe subjective culture exists outside the general sweeping idea of culture. Is there an overarching umbrella culture? Anyway basically I feel that most people have their own idea of what is good and what isn't; they have their own tastes and feel that some things are worthier than others. There's got to be some middle ground between idealist and materialist culture, some sort of grey area for a DIY culture.
This entry has been suitably rambly and incoherent. Maybe no one cares about what culture is, they just want to hate on it so they can profess that they are DEFINITELY not a part of it.