Some Holiday Reading

Well, feeling a bit exposed after my last post so thought I better get back into it and deliver my final post for 2010 with Xmas and the new year fast approaching.

I thought I’d take the lazy way out and do up a list of some of the articles that have stuck with me this year. At least I thought it would be the lazy way out. Because in the end it’s taken me quite a while to track down some of them on the interweb so that I can bring them to you. And no doubt I’ve missed a few along the way, but hey, it’s been a long year and I’m sure the ones below will suffice in wrapping it all up and providing you with some ‘thinky’ holiday reading.

So firstly, it’s probably no secret that John Birmingham is one of my favourite writers and I’m regular visitor to his blog, Cheeseburger Gothic. Of the heaps of his posts I’ve got a kick out of in 2010, I’ve selected this one as it neatly summed up my feelings about the hysteria that went on during the debate about the super profits mining tax. A lot of things made me angry during the year, especially politically, but to see billionaire mining company executives trying to pass themselves off as being salt-of-the-earth working men whose only interest was for their workers really took the cake.

Sam De Brito’s blog is another that I’ve been visiting for many years now. I don’t always agree with what he has to say but thoroughly enjoy the fact he’s willing to put himself out there and ponder some very profound subject matter around society, gender and the nature of male-dom. This post in particular looked at war and some of things men as soldiers have been grappling with for centuries, and led me to reading Sebastian Junger’s latest book, War, which I also highly recommend.

One of the other things that made me angry this year was the media coverage of the Federal Election. It lacked any serious analysis of the policies being put forward by all the parties and merely concentrated on trivial matters and the politics of personality. However, reading this post from Annabel Crabb back in August shed some light on the difficulties that journalists experience during an election campaign and illustrated that not all the blame can rest entirely at the feet of our fourth estate.

As mentioned during my Top 7 Albums post, I’m a bit of a music nut and especially love delving into its history and seeing where it all began and where else it has travelled along the way. This blog article tapped into this curiosity as I’ve often wondered myself what’s to become of the music industry and what will people in 10, 20, 30 years time say when they look back at the current crop of artists. This may sound a little reverse ageist, but I just wonder who is going to be the Nirvana or Pink Floyd or The Rolling Stones to this generation. And shudder to think it might end up being The Black Eyed Peas or Lady Ga Ga or My Chemical Romance.

I discovered Grog’s Gamut after the controversy of his ‘outing’ was reported by JB. This led to me checking it out for myself and seeing what all the fuss was about, particularly as it was in the weeks leading up to the birth of Nah Seriously and I was interested and intrigued by all things blogging at the time. This post is Grog’s actual response to his outing by The Australian so thought it was an appropriate introduction despite its length, as it also raises some fascinating issues about the changing face of the media and the conflict between the old and the new.

My next entry is merely just one of many from Kathleen Noonan that I’ve enjoyed over the last 12 months. Her style of writing is always reflective and some of her subjects are often just what I need to hear after the week I’ve had over the five days before. I’ve chosen this one though as it actually lodged something in my brain and got me pulling on the runners again after a break from a calf injury. I could also relate to its ‘story’ as it reminded me how hard it is to get back into exercise after an extended break but that the rewards are great and it is always worthwhile in the end.

I first stumbled upon the blog, Dirty Laundry, 18 months ago as it had some light-hearted and amusing anecdotes about parenthood and the raising of kids, a subject matter close to my heart at the time after the birth of my son. While my occasional viewings since then have picked up the subject matter becoming a little darker and profound over the last year, I did not see this post coming at all and it has stuck with me ever since, probably because of my own childhood experiences. You certainly have to admire the courage to put it ‘out there’ and bare one's soul to all.

This was another article which nicely summed up my feelings on a particular issue. And yes, another issue that made me angry (I'm not always angry I swear!) over the course of the year. The debate in this country about refugees and asylum seekers has been confused and misunderstood for a number of years with untold falsehoods and myths being perpetuated. Articles such as this are therefore needed to state some of the facts and make clear what the reality is. Just a surprise it came from The Curious Snail. Not exactly a hotbed of objective journalism and non-sensational reporting.

My boss is a New Yorker. She’s been out here for years now but still likes to keep up-to-date on things ‘happenin’ back at home’. Consequently, this article from The New York Times came from her and again it’s one that has returned to me at times since I first read it back in July. Just as a reminder that there’s a personal story to every casualty statistic and that it’s amazing what the human spirit can come through and achieve in the face of such overwhelming odds.

And finally, this photographic essay which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. While strictly not an article as such, nor a 2010 publication, it qualifies for this list as I was only made aware of it a few months ago. It is compelling viewing with a heartbreaking and poignant story. I defy anyone to not have a lump in their throat or a tear in their eye at the end. A more moving series of photos I have not seen.

Anyway, I’ll be incognito over the holiday period so won’t be posting again for a few weeks. Have a great Xmas then everyone and see you in 2011.

Til then Nahhers,

EDM.