World's apart

December in Boston versus December in Sydney.

Longing for Sun's warmth v. Drinking beers in the sun.

The delicious crunch of snow under footed boots v. Dry, squeaking beach-sand under toes.

Cosy dinners, hearty soups v. Pool-side mangoes and watermelon cubes.

The wet of misted breath v. The moist air of evening summer storms.

Crisp winter air v. Flies, fish 'n chips and First-class cricket.

New friends, old stories v. Old mates, new tales.

Solo iPod grooving v. The moshing masses at outdoor festivals.

Branches, powerfully stark, bare v. Gumtrees green, shady, scented.

Boston. Sydney. December's apart.

Survival of the fittest

Sometimes we are faced with a life-decision that has far-reaching implications. The consequences of this seemingly impossible choice, stuns and immobilizes the senses. The pressure to move forward in your life is immense, but over-thinking freezes all action. The pressure builds.

To overcome a personal crisis requires the discovery of undiscovered inner strength and resilience. Sometimes it takes time, boldness, and a little external support to move on. Sometimes hope will get you through. Other times, all you can do is laugh.

Survival of the Fittest.

(From the Best of Craigslist)

"Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.

I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one."

Wedding +61

For those that know me the slightest, it's clear that I'm not a morning person. You'd think that my best mates, who have known me for over 12 years would remember this simple fact, but no. This oversight was evident last Saturday when I was woken up at the ridiculous hour of 9.30 am (!) by the abrasive ring-tone of my cell phone. After one attempt at ignoring the excessively long ringing, I groggily fell out of bed to answer the second call. On the line was a drunken cohort of my aforementioned mates. My annoyance at having been deprived of precious sleep-in time quickly vanished once I realised who was on the line. In fact, I was grateful for their call since it meant that I hadn't been totally forgotten, as being in Boston had caused me to miss a huge event in our lives: my good friend Surfermate getting married to his girlfriend Jules. To them both, congratulations and best wishes!

As mentioned previously Surfermate is the first of our group to get hitched. By all accounts the wedding was a simple yet emotional ceremony. It was held somewhat casually on the beach in a manner true to Surfermates uncomplicated stance on life.

Obviously I was sad to have missed out on the wedding, but chatting to a bunch of my mates (despite the ungodly early hour) was a blast. Conversationally rotating through the spirited mob, I learned from GK that our gift and card were very well appreciated by the bride and groom. Surfermate requested no gifts, but we thought they deserved one anyway. Surfermate and bride were staying at a resort prior to the wedding and the gift was placed outside their room. A call from Reception instructed them to check outside their door, and bingo, instant surprise. The present and the sentiments in the card made quite an impression apparently, with tears shed and plenty of positive emotions all around. Thanks to the perpetual organizer and 'mother-hen' of our group, GK, for organizing everything (GK, you definitely need to come over here and sort out my tangled mess of a life).

Hearing an Aussie voice by a +61 call is always nice. Knowing it's your mates celebrating the happiness of one of the group? Not a bad wake up call at all.

The hypocrisy in ink & lemons

Tool is one of my favourite bands. Their songs are not only great to listen to on a musical level, but the lyrics frequently have a deeper message that makes you stop, think and question. All good things I say. Their message is often spiritual in nature or about self-examination. No, not that kind of self-examination. Philosophical examination. You know, the meaning of life stuff? Sheesh.

The overall message from Tool regarding their music is to find your own interpretation of the songs and to not be a sheep. Sure there might be a consensus view about what a particular song means, but there are plenty of ambiguous references or words that the individual listener can interpret in their own way.

Even if you're not a fan of their music, I think their message is relevant to all and I urge you to read on.

This is my analysis of the meaning of "The Pot" by Tool, with specific reference to one line in the song that made no sense when I first heard it.

“The Pot” is from Tool’s 10,000 Days album, and is a song that generally examines the hypocritical laws and policies of the US government, an idea that is obvious from the lyrics and the reference to kangaroo courts. However, it seems the meaning of one line in the songs chorus has stumped many Tool fans (e.g at Toolnavy and others).

“Weeping shades of cozened indigo/Got lemon juice up in your eye”,

I think that line is used to illustrate the main theme of the song, that is hypocrisy of the US govt., by referring to the US ban on henna. A ban which causes more harm than good.

Henna is a plant from which a dye is prepared by using lemon juice (“Got lemon juice up in your eye”) and sugar. Henna dye is commonly used for tattooing. Although considered harmless, with a large dose, henna may be fatal for persons with a certain genetic deficiency. Around 0.6 - 2.9% of the US population have this deficiency. Based on this data, according to the FDA, henna is illegal in the US.

As a substitute for the illegal 'real henna', some tattoo artists use 'black henna', which is also commonly used to dye hair black. Unfortunately, black henna is more likely to cause harm than real henna, as black henna contains a synthesised compound that causes severe allergic reactions in 3 - 15% of the US population (compare this to real henna). So when someone gets a temporary tattoo, they may receive black henna, a dye that can cause severe blistering, sores and scarring, “Weeping shades”. In addition, although named “black henna”, it is not a henna product at all. It’s a misnomer, hence “cozened indigo”.

Black henna is a legal and readily available product in the US.

Moreover, those persons that are allergic to (real) henna are also allergic to fava beans. Needless to say, fava beans are a legal product in the US.

Talk about irony/hypocrisy overload.

Also, the “Please” in “Ganja! Please! You must have been out your mind” absolutely exudes sarcasm, and given the general tone of the song, I see “The Pot” as a rant from Tool. In my opinion, it’s a song that uses the henna/pot/other issues as devices to make us think about the inconsistent, frustrating and misguided policy of bureaucracy that we live with everyday.