This post could have been a Snake Oil post, but it didn't quite fit. Having not written a Snake Oil post for some time, I wanted to, but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. You can't put a square peg into a round hole...apparently. Have you ever noticed sound discrepancies? You listen to a radio program and the announcer's voice comes through your speakers loud and clear. On the other hand, guests on the program or callers to the program, are soft and occasionally indecipherable. The ads which interrupt the shows you watch on television (and pay for them, btw) are much louder than the show. The action scenes in a movie deafen you, but the soft conversation scenes sound like mumbled babbling. Sometimes what you want to be loud is soft, and vice verca.
Heavy metal music is better loud. Elevator music is better soft. Opera is better not heard at all. Cheering for your football team should be loud. Conversation is better soft. Verbal abuse better not heard at all. Singing praise and worship in God's house; loud. Comforting a heartbroken friend; soft. Inspiring words; loud. Romantic words: soft. Hateful words; better not spoken.
Whether loud or soft there are many things I enjoy listening to, like a good sermon for example, and many things I do not, like barking dogs and motorcycles. Soft rain is nice. Heavy rain is annoying. Laughter is usually a pleasing sound except when it boils over into obnoxious or is an expression of ridicule.
Are you listening? There is a voice which has been speaking loudly and softly since the beginning of time. There are voices in your head which mirror this: a voice of truth and another voice. Turn the latter voice right down low. Switch it off if you can. Turn off all the the noise which distracts you, medicates you, even confuses you. Life can be a noisy beast. Find the quiet. Enjoy the soft silence. Listen to the the voice of truth, speaking in a whisper.
I am a Neighbours fan. This long running television show is very well known in both the United Kingdom and here in Australia where it is produced, and although not as popular as it once was, it maintains a legion of fans who live for their daily dose of this most celebrated soap opera. There are of course many things Neighbours could be criticized for, and even fans join in sometimes, but there must be a reason why it has survived for over 30 years. The thought has occurred to me numerous times over the many years I have watched the melodramatic lives of the residents of Ramsey Street, but of late it has made me laugh. Convenience. Father Jack arrives at the coffee shop on his way to church and asks his ex girlfriend, Paige if she wants to join him. Guess what? She has just finished her shift and she would love to. Gary breaches his AVO by not only approaching Cooper over the assault of his daughter, but threatening him. Guess what? Ramsey Street's resident cop, Mark, is there to stop any escalation and arrest Gary. If someone gets hurt, Ramsey Street resident, Dr Karl will be there to assist. If someone breaks the law, or is in trouble Mark will come to the rescue. Jarrod 'Toadfish' Rebecchi lives in Ramsey Street and he's a lawyer so guess who makes his legal services available whenever, wherever and to whomever? Ah, convenience. Imagine if life was like a soap opera. In real life, no one could handle the drama load dumped on the actors by the scriptwriters, and the good guys are not always around to help, but just for a moment, consider such a life...or not.
In the tradition of the great Charles Dickens, I present to you a tale of two television shows.
I'm watching The Voice Australia season 5, and although I am well versed in the ways of modern television vis-a-vis self promotion and cross promotion, I still find it irritating to have to endure the 'coming up after the break' previews, and the 'before the break' reviews. At the beginning of the show, there's a recap and a preview and then a review and a preview at the end of the show. It's hugely repetitive, and for people like me who watch it all rather than dipping in and out, it's maddening. In my opinion, it minimizes a lot of the potential drama, and diminishes interest and excitement.
Classic case this week. All the advertising for the upcoming blind auditions on The Voice featured a dramatic moment when a singer collapsed on stage. Every single promo, both during the program and between episodes, showed her falling down. I had seen her fall down 47 times before I actually saw her full audition. There was no shock or surprise, no drama at all really. Had I seen it not knowing what was coming I would have been stunned, as were the coaches and the live audience, but I was only relieved that I would not have to see it anymore. Not for a while anyway. The Voice Australia 2016
I was reminded of a time I was watching The Footy Show (NRL). They held an arm wrestling competition which featured some current and ex players. Ben Ross and Wendell Sailor met in the final, and during the struggle, on live television, Sailor broke Ross's arm. The audience fell silent, horrified, as were the show's hosts and the television audience. Producers quickly cut to a break. I could not believe my eyes.
No one knew that was going to happen. It was an incredible and horrific moment. I've seen the accident a number of times since, and each time it has less impact, as was the situation with the Iranian singer who collapsed. I was ready for it, and she was perfectly fine not long after her fall, which I knew was the case as well because if she wasn't, we would have heard about it. The event was pre-recorded and as I said, I had seen her crumple on to the stage 47 times already.
I think the way shows like The Voice are produced and presented to us as viewers, as consumers, says something quite poignant about us as people. What do you think?
I once sat with my hand on it to ensure it worked. On another occasion I put sticky tape on it, and that worked temporarily. Sometimes, I simply endured it the way it was:annoyingly sporadic and frustrating. I considered buying some equipment to permanently fix it, but I baulked because it didn't quite make sense to me that a particular piece of technology would do the trick. I just didn't want to spend money on a possible solution.
I love cricket, and last Thursday, Big Bash 5 started. Covered live on Channel 10, the first match of the tournament featured my team, Sydney Thunder. I donned my lime green cap and settled on a beanbag in front of the television with a Cowboy on the rocks buzzing with anticipation.
In the beginning the reception was okay with only the odd interruption here and there. I hoped it wouldn't get worse, but it did. I became desperate. I had to be able to watch the game. Had to. I tried the sticky tape trick again, and also considered sitting with my hand on the cable. However, the first time I did that I was watching a thirty minute soap opera. A T20 cricket match lasts for three hours. Then a great thing happened. I found another cable hidden in a drawer which when connected, once and for all solved the reception problem. Game on baby! Victory was mine. I rejoiced, and to add icing to my cake, the Thunder won the match and in doing so recorded their first ever win over their opposition: Sydney Sixes. Today I celebrate a little thing called an antenna cable. When you have you had a technical problem with a television which very nearly destroyed your life?
I'm a fan of two very different television shows which feature angels: Touched by an Angel and Supernatural. In each episode of Touched by an Angel, Monica is assigned to help someone deal with a serious personal issue. She is assisted and supported by her supervisor, Tess, and sometimes the Angel of Death who despite his name is a nice angel who escorts people to Heaven. At some point in the episode, having posed as a friend or co-worker to the person who needs help, Monica reveals herself as as angel and delivers to them a message of love and encouragement. Touched by an Angel is classic wholesome, family viewing which tugs at the heart strings and provides inspiration and hope. It emphasizes the compassion of God for his fallen creation, and it reminds me how much God loves me. Supernatural used to be about brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, searching for the demon who killed their mother, and killing whatever evil things they encountered along the way. Throughout various twists and turns, their mission became stopping the apocalypse, and then surviving the apocalypse...and killing whatever evil things they encountered along the way. In season four, angels were introduced to the mix when we met one called Castiel. Supernatural is a violent and gory show which laughs at sexual promiscuity and pornography, as it emphasizes the pre eminence of man as his own saviour. It is a quintessential example of post modernist humanism. The line between good and evil is constantly blurred. It leaves me wondering why people, including myself, are so entertained by such horrible things. I believe in angels and demons because the Bible teaches that they are real. I don't need to see them to believe in them, just as I don't need to see God to believe in Him. I don't like the angels in Supernatural and next week, I am going to explain why. How about you? Do you believe in angels and demons? In ghosts? Have you ever seen something supernatural? Have you ever been touched by an angel?
The popularity of television, books and movies testifies to our desire to escape the humdrum of everyday life. Certainly, many books and television shows are watched for their educational value, but what we really want is entertainment. We want to be transported, if only in our imaginations, from where we are to some other fantastic place. From reality to fantasy. Along the way we happily gobble up debaucherous immorality: lies, sex and violence, and why not? We aren't doing it, and it isn't been done to us. Living vicariously through fictional characters is safe. It is also both amusing and instructive vis-a-vis human nature.
After many months of wondering what happened after the explosion in the final episode of season 14 of ER, and then subsequently forgetting about it when we couldn't watch it because it wasn't on TV and Leading Edge video store which supplied us with season 1 -14 didn't have season 15, we watched the final episode of the Australian police drama, Blue Heelers. Not being able to follow the trials and tribulations of the coppers at Mount Thomas was a blow, and by the time we neared the end of season 14 we were in despair. How could we go on without our much loved friends in the Victorian police department? And then, season 15 of ER appeared on the shelf at Leading Edge. Hooray! Last night we found out what happened after the explosion at the end of season 14. *Spoiler alert. One of the main stars, a favourite character who had morphed from an annoying and narcissistic cowboy of a doctor, into the chief of the ER and everyone's best mate, appeared to have survived the explosion. He made it out of the ambulance and into hospital where it was eventually discovered that he was much more seriously injured than first presumed. Fatally injured in fact. First episode of a new season and they killed off one of the stars of the show. It was shocking, gripping, and emotionally draining, which is exactly what you want from television drama. Dr.Greg Pratt died a horrible death. After the funeral his friends gathered at the local watering hole to eulogize him and eat deep fried mozarella sticks in honour of him. As we watched those deeply moving scenes, I felt a bit teary and I wanted to eat a deep fried mozarella stick. Then we watched another episode. Life carried on in the emergency room of County General, as it did in our home where after episode two, I brushed my teeth, went to bed and slept peacefully. Untouched. Unscathed. Safe, warm and well. I cannot imagine a world without such entertainment. The escapism provided by the amusements of our culture is a reflection of who we are: empty, craven, and broken.The breadth of human experience, the highs and the lows, can be encapsulated in a forty minute episode, a two hour film, or a three hundred page novel. And it's all fake. Realistic? Sure, but completely counterfeit. All our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our grief, our suffering and our joy is there for us to enjoy, but how much or how little of this experience is our own?
This will be the most fascinating and mind blowing blog post you will ever read. Fans of the television show, The X Factor, are used to this kind of ridiculous hyperbole: the beautiful looking people pictured below, give us a healthy dose of it every week. Ronan Keating is the worst of the lot, or the best, depending on your point of view. I mean they are doing exactly what they are paid to do. Entertain us. I enjoy the X Factor but it's a love hate relationship. There are a number of things about the show which disturb me, like pepper in my nostrils. One of them is Shiane Hawke. It's a good thing no one reads my blog because I could get into some trouble here.
This girl can sing. I'm not questioning her ability, although it will be a few years before she hits her peak and learns to control her God given talent. She's got a good voice. It doesn't particularly float my boat, but she can sing. My problem is she's 14 years old, and I cannot escape the feeling, every time I watch the show, that she is winning votes, and avoiding the harsh criticism of the mentors, because of her age. Nobody wants to see a 14 year old girl fall apart in front of their eyes. My daughter is 14 and she can sing too, but I wouldn't want her on television, and under such intense pressure and scrutiny. It just makes me feel uncomfortable. Even watching her sing sometimes makes me cringe. Adult songs loaded with deep 'life scars' issues being sung by a child who has no experience. I don't like it. If I could vote to kick her off, I would. For her own good.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. The Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped, and the deceased would come back to life and wreak havoc by causing sickness or destroying crops. Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them. Trick or treating resembles the late medieval practice of 'souling' where poor people would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1) receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2).
Early migrants from Europe carried the Halloween festival to America where it was elevated to a whole new ball park, made into an art form and a massive money spinner. The celebration of the macabre, the dark side of life or death, even for skeptics, is big business now. And it's great fun too. It is one of the great American holidays and is an entrenched part of American culture. Every television show that has ever been made has featured a Halloween special. From The Simpsons to Supernatural, the ghosts and ghouls, the jack o lantern, costume wearing, and trick or treating are woven into the fabric of the modern pysche. And let's not forget the multitude of slasher and horror movies which have been inspired by Halloween, including the classic series of films which featured the deranged Jason violently murdering people on October 31.
Naturally, Australians who slavishly follow United States pop culture trends, have embraced Halloween. Why, I do not know. I know why businesses push it. They see dollar signs. Halloween has been added to the crowd of marketing gimmicks, like Valentine's Day which is another crock. Here's a day to do this, and to do this, you need to buy this and that. Hand over your money. Hand over your brain. Let's follow the corpulent zombies, dance with the witches and join with the damned as hell breaks loose over our land. Happy Halloween! Bah Humbug!
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