Content Is King
As you know after Blaze decided to be named Blaze again he went to Indonesia.
He is a frequent visitor. In fact he goes there like old people go to the toilet. But you see this is one area where Blaze and I differ.
I have to admit I have trouble in understanding the whole Bali thing now days. Of course the waves still pump but they are now as crowded as anywhere else in the world. And I know it is cheap and close by, so if you have don’t have a lot of coin you can get overseas and forget your worries and relax for a week or longer in a tropical paradise. Except in many ways it isn’t a paradise anymore. It’s just another party place for us westerners to get our rocks off at a budget price with the resultant crime and rip offs. Most of the visitors have zero interest in the local culture and unfortunately have the same lack of attention to the over development, pollution and corruption that the partying brings. And of course now that the better off of the world have come on board it is now becoming even more corrupt and overdeveloped as luxury hotels and villas are built here, there and everywhere. So now it doesn’t matter if you are a gap year partier, hard-core surfer, a posse of Soccer mums and dads with their families sharing a villa or a Russian oligarch and his retinue, Bali is for you.
I know the local economy now depends on tourism, which is handy for the locals as their rice fields get built over, and I know I am being a naggy spoilsport but I can’t help feeling uncomfortable with the whole thing. So I ain’t going. But if you are like Blaze, knock yourself out. I’m not going to judge you.
Just remember as those great philosophers The Eagles once sung, “Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
There is of course more than one way to see the world. And by that I mean to see the world in the sense of taking it in, thinking about how it might work and not just travelling around it. I have started reading The Overstory, this year’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Richard Powers. Now obviously at this stage I can’t tell you much more about it other than what is on the back cover but if you like trees you will love it. And if you think that all living things on this planet might be even more interconnected and in contact with each other that we humans have realised, I think it will get even better. In other words it just might change the way you see the world. Obviously the man can write so I will report more soon.
However I have been, as they say, taking in content across other channels.
Binging you might say, in an Omni channel way. Some highlights being the following.
On TV is ABC’s Squinters. You need to be quick as there are only six episodes of series two. If you haven’t seen series one I guess I need to tell you that the show features five different couples sitting in their cars as they drive to work in Sydney. The show is all about the conversations and the facial expressions. So fantastic writing and great acting gives you funny, cringey, bittersweet and must watch viewing. You can catch what you have missed on IView.
If you love Rock and Roll you need to know about Rick Beato. I have been slow to pick up on this guy but if you want to know more about how famous songs were made, how legendary musicians got their sound, record production secrets, scales, time signatures, triads and other musical shit I can’t even begin to understand, Rick will tell you and show you how, when, where and why. It doesn’t matter if you can play like Hendrix or don’t know a D chord from a G you must check it out. There are hours and hours of his content on YouTube and it’s fucking awesome. Rick is an incredibly accomplished musician himself [he has a masters in Jazz Studies], a former music professor, and a great presenter. He is officially my new hero.
Podcast wise I have been enjoying ABC’s The Money which, not surprisingly given the title, investigates the financial implications and machinations of everything from instant noodles to divorce, horse racing to museums, drought to Facebook. Only 30 minutes long per episode it fills a work commute just nicely. Give it a listen.
No songs this time. Go to Rick Beato’s channel on YouTube and pick a favourite.
