Filed under: intellectualist, political musings | Tags: al-jazeera, death, news, stream
Today is one of those days. I’ve started with the end of Psycho, a glass of water with an aspirin, and news via Al-Jazeera. There’s been a lot of death in my day already; but there will be more.
Anyway, the reason for this post was to share the low quality, but also low-cost (ie. free) streaming video source that I’ve found for Al-Jazeera… download from here. You can also used LiveStation, but in Australia (and a number of others) the quality of the stream is very, very unreliable.
Have a wicked day – drink a whole bunch of tea.
Filed under: Uncategorized
As part of my assessment for an Islamic Studies course this semester I was required to interview a member of the Muslim community and post a ‘blog’ about them. In case anyone is interested, I’ve replicated my entry below. There are a number of other students entries publicly available on the class blog: Kaleidoscopic Islams.
Interview with an Imam
I count myself lucky enough to have recently had the chance to interview a very distinguished Muslim, one who is both an Imam in the local Brisbane community and a leader in multiple areas of the wider Islamic community of Australia. For the sake of anonymity he will be referred as simply ‘Imam’ or ‘the Imam’.
When I presented the opening question for the interview – What does it mean for you to ‘be’ a Muslim in Australia today? – the Imam responded very broadly, describing not only his personal experiences but also those of the wider Islamic community. He began by saying that it is very easy and safe for him to live inAustralia, both in a religious and a cultural sense. Religiously, he is free to practise his faith as he wishes; in other words, he is able to follow the Shari’a as described in the Qur’an. There are no restrictions upon this facet of his life. Culturally, the Imam – as with all members of the Australian population – is expected to behave within certain boundaries, however this has not been a difficulty. He also stated that he personally has not been a target of racial discrimination, and that he feels quite comfortable functioning within Australia. In order to further demonstrate this ease of functioning, the Imam wore a traditional thobe to the interview, thereby ‘proving’ to us that is safe for him to live how he wishes.
These initial responses are very similar to the results obtained in the study completed by Forrest and Dunn (2006), but differ in a number of specific areas. For example, the survey found that, while ‘most people’ perceive that there are different races in Australia, the vast majority of those surveyed did not attach any discriminatory significance to this. This correlates with the Imam’s experiences as a person of Arab descent, as he did not describe himself as having been racially discriminated against. However, Forrest et al. also found that almost half of those surveyed were concerned about multiculturalism, and indeed these people stated that there are groups which do not fit into their view of Australian society. The results from an associated survey -The Racism Project – conducted by UNSW (2001) clarify this statement, as this survey found that, out of all the cultural sub-groups present within Australian society, Muslims face the highest levels of negative attitudes. Therefore, whilst in his day-to-day life the Imam did not feel that he faced any negative attitudes, it is clear that these attitudes do exist.
At this point the focus of the interview expanded from the personal experiences of the Imam to the experiences of the Muslim community as a whole, covering topics including the influence of politicians, the position of women in Islam and many others. However, although the Imam’s opinions on and experiences relating to these topics were overwhelming positive, it became clear that there are still negative influences upon his life. Most dominantly, the Imam’s frustration with an oft-biased media was quite obvious; he mentioned how the media often purposefully ‘twists’ Islamic beliefs, his personal experiences, and how he – and the rest of the Islamic community – must peacefully endure this bias, in effect ‘disengaging’ from the media. He sees our media as having a negative influence upon not only Muslims, but upon the whole of Australia; in his words, ‘The media is really damaging this country… for it creates hate amongst each other.’ The Imam also cited the influence of certain recently removed politicians as particularly negative. However, regardless of such negatives, the Imam consistently held that Australia is a safe and positive place for Muslims to live and worship
This position clearly parallels the results of Hassan’s (2002) study, which suggested that Muslims are quite comfortable practising Islam in Australia and in fact do so to a greater extent than Christians from the same community. The Imam’s experiences with the media are also quite typical of Muslims in Australia; Aly (2007) notes that the media ‘plays a central role in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of Australian Muslims towards … and within the broader Australian community.’ Aly further discusses the issue of Muslim perception in the media by analysing representations of Muslims in terrorism-related articles, mentioning a number of cases of misrepresentation. The Imam’s intentional disengagement from the media is perceived to be a sort of ’strategic withdrawal; a form of media activism that empowers individuals to re-construct and re-define their identities as members of a broader community.’ With any luck, this ‘tactic’ will have the desired effect, and will improve the media-related experiences of both the Imam and the wider Muslim community ofAustralia.
In conclusion, what does it mean for the Imam to ‘be’ a Muslim in Australia? As far as I could tell, the Imam sees his position as a Muslim in Australia to be one of overwhelming positives; in his opinion, the struggles posed by the media and politicians to be insignificant in the face of the divine truth of Islam. As for the future, he feels that ‘if they keep things going the same way that they are going now… then we [Muslims] have no problem in Australia.’
Bibliography
Aly, Anne, Autumn 2007. “Australian Muslim Responses to the Discourse on Terrorism in the Australian Popular Media”. The Australian Journal of Social Issues, 42:1 27-4.
Forrest, J. & Dunn K.M., 2006. “Racism and intolerance in Eastern Australia: a geographical perspective,” Australian Geographer, 37.2: 167-186.
Riaz Hassan, 2002. “On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia,” Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2: 87-114.
UNSW. School of BEES. 2001. “Regional Response profile – Racism Survey: Brisbane Division,” http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/school/staff/dunn/racismfindings.html (accessed October 20, 2008).
c/o Last.FM
1
Afel Bocoum, Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate and friends – Mali Music
2
Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
3
Pivot – O Soundtrack My Heart
4
a-ha – Hunting High and Low
4
The Books – The Lemon of Pink
6
Roberto Fonseca – Zamazu
7
Four Tet – Pause
8
Ratatat – Classics
9
The Shadows – KON-TIKI
10
Four Tet – Dialogue
11
Charge Group – Escaping Mankind
11
Hot Chip – The Warning
13
Gorillaz – Gorillaz
13
The Beatles – With the Beatles
15
Amon Tobin – Bricolage
15
Four Tet – Rounds
17
Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons
18
Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Return to the 36 Chambers
18
Fleetwood Mac – The Dance
18
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Filed under: muse o muse, musik | Tags: amazing, band, Charge, group, lyrics, music
Light my way home
My boots are worn through
And I’m soaked to the bone with snow
Light my way home
My boots are worn through
And I’m soaked to the bone with snow
Oh how the tables turn
How the tables turn
Right round
How the tables turn
So lady
Light my way home
My boots are worn through
And I’m soaked to the bone with snow
Drag me through town
In the stillness of night
In the wet winter streets
I’ll drown
And I couldn’t resist if I wanted
You gave me your hand and the keys to your treasure
What my frost-bitten fingers stole from you
These hands that you trusted just fed seven vices
In a mild psychosis
Instead of golden sun
So lady
Light my way home
My boots are worn through
And I’m soaked to the bone with snow
Drag me through town
In the stillness of night
In the wet winter streets
I’ll drown
Help me get home
There’s no holes left to hide
And they don’t like me drinking alone
These vices have won
My boots are worn through
But your sole mending days are done
Oh how the tables turn
Oh how the tables turn
I had a friend of mine describe me as a person of extremes. I sail through life, feeling everything, but noticing nothing except those bits which make me feel something. I can break a leg, or a heart, or waste years of my life on some gambit, all in the hope of having something break through.
But maybe this is over. Maybe I’m changing, or allowing myself to change, or; something. I’m finally feeling my feet touch the ground, connect to something solid. My study is making me happy for once – imagine that! I’m working in a bloody tea shop – my dream job! And my social world, my friends, all those people I care about… I’m becoming less afraid to open up.
It’s liberating.
*On another note, this note is possibly the most egotistical thing I’ve ever written; I mentioned myself twenty-one times. Woot!
Filed under: intellectualist, thought images | Tags: inspiring, story, TED, video
A Nice Cup of Tea
By George Orwell
Evening Standard, 12 January 1946.
If you look up ‘tea’ in the first cookery book that comes to hand you will probably find that it is unmentioned; or at most you will find a few lines of sketchy instructions which give no ruling on several of the most important points.
This is curious, not only because tea is one of the main stays of civilization in this country, as well as in Eire, Australia and New Zealand, but because the best manner of making it is the subject of violent disputes.
When I look through my own recipe for the perfect cup of tea, I find no fewer than eleven outstanding points. On perhaps two of them there would be pretty general agreement, but at least four others are acutely controversial. Here are my own eleven rules, every one of which I regard as golden:
* First of all, one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. China tea has virtues which are not to be despised nowadays — it is economical, and one can drink it without milk — but there is not much stimulation in it. One does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it. Anyone who has used that comforting phrase ‘a nice cup of tea’ invariably means Indian tea.
* Secondly, tea should be made in small quantities — that is, in a teapot. Tea out of an urn is always tasteless, while army tea, made in a cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash. The teapot should be made of china or earthenware. Silver or Britanniaware teapots produce inferior tea and enamel pots are worse; though curiously enough a pewter teapot (a rarity nowadays) is not so bad.
* Thirdly, the pot should be warmed beforehand. This is better done by placing it on the hob than by the usual method of swilling it out with hot water.
* Fourthly, the tea should be strong. For a pot holding a quart, if you are going to fill it nearly to the brim, six heaped teaspoons would be about right. In a time of rationing, this is not an idea that can be realized on every day of the week, but I maintain that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes — a fact which is recognized in the extra ration issued to old-age pensioners.
* Fifthly, the tea should be put straight into the pot. No strainers, muslin bags or other devices to imprison the tea. In some countries teapots are fitted with little dangling baskets under the spout to catch the stray leaves, which are supposed to be harmful. Actually one can swallow tea-leaves in considerable quantities without ill effect, and if the tea is not loose in the pot it never infuses properly.
* Sixthly, one should take the teapot to the kettle and not the other way about. The water should be actually boiling at the moment of impact, which means that one should keep it on the flame while one pours. Some people add that one should only use water that has been freshly brought to the boil, but I have never noticed that it makes any difference.
* Seventhly, after making the tea, one should stir it, or better, give the pot a good shake, afterwards allowing the leaves to settle.
* Eighthly, one should drink out of a good breakfast cup — that is, the cylindrical type of cup, not the flat, shallow type. The breakfast cup holds more, and with the other kind one’s tea is always half cold before one has well started on it.
* Ninthly, one should pour the cream off the milk before using it for tea. Milk that is too creamy always gives tea a sickly taste.
* Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first. This is one of the most controversial points of all; indeed in every family in Britain there are probably two schools of thought on the subject. The milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, but I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.
* Lastly, tea — unless one is drinking it in the Russian style — should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tealover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water.
Some people would answer that they don’t like tea in itself, that they only drink it in order to be warmed and stimulated, and they need sugar to take the taste away. To those misguided people I would say: Try drinking tea without sugar for, say, a fortnight and it is very unlikely that you will ever want to ruin your tea by sweetening it again.
These are not the only controversial points to arise in connexion with tea drinking, but they are sufficient to show how subtilized the whole business has become. There is also the mysterious social etiquette surrounding the teapot (why is it considered vulgar to drink out of your saucer, for instance?) and much might be written about the subsidiary uses of tealeaves, such as telling fortunes, predicting the arrival of visitors, feeding rabbits, healing burns and sweeping the carpet. It is worth paying attention to such details as warming the pot and using water that is really boiling, so as to make quite sure of wringing out of one’s ration the twenty good, strong cups of that two ounces, properly handled, ought to represent.
Via BooksAtOz
Filed under: image conscious, musik | Tags: class, comic, gym, heroes, image, music, video
Yet another collection of things which I find fascinating.
The microphone which Gym Class Heroes‘ lead singer Travis McCoy snapped over the head of a ‘racially offensive’ member of the audience. Read the press release at their official website here. You should also listen them if you haven’t already, there’s a reason why they have over 20 million views on Myspace. Via I Shoot Shows.
An interview with Iggy Pop on French TV in 1977. Before seeing this, I’ve only ever seen pictures or video of the haggard, over-smoked Iggy that is still touring today. This gave me a wholly new perspective. Via The Constant Seige.
And, to finish the trio I present Dresden Codak, one of the only webcomics that I’ve read which I’ve had to regressively read in order to fully understand. Fantastic artwork, too.
I’ve wished for a long time that somebody would travel around asking ‘big name’ artists to share their taste in music. But I had no idea that somebody, namely Azuli Records, was already doing just that. I stumbled across the above album, ‘LateNightTales: Air‘, inside a torrent containing Air’s discography… and my day was pretty much made. I’m now halfway through the album, and I felt like sharing it because… well, it’s beautiful. The quieter, electronic-ish sounds of artists from Cat Power to Elliot Smith blend cleanly as Air pays a sort of homage to their influences.
It’s worth more than just a listen.
