Wars and Holidays

The United States has Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Veterans Day is celebrated as Armistice Day elsewhere (end of WWI). Memorial Day was formerly Decoration Day to commemorate the dead soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. Independence Day is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Britain.

In my last five years in the US, it seemed that these three holidays had psychologically merged into similar generic "support our troops" flag-waving holidays. Of course the predominant message in the American media is HOLIDAY SALE!!! But the "serious" sentiment was moving towards stripping these holidays of their original meaning and shifting the focus towards a generic "support our troops". Veterans Day and Memorial Day were especially more prone to this generic merging than Independence Day, which seems to have become referred to more as "July Fourth" or the "July Fourth Holiday" than Independence Day; more about BBQ and less about England. Of course, flag-waving (and retail sales) predominate on all three occasions. There have been some really good articles published about how the general American public has become removed from the hardship of war and of realities faced by soldiers - hence increased mythologizing and praise for these increasingly rare participants.

And so with this perspective, I encounter the 100th Anniversary ANZAC Day, and attempt to get an immigrant's perspective on Australia's two major holidays - ANZAC Day and Australia Day. As an American, both of these holidays were unknown to me. As the curmudgeon that I am, the more I see, the more I put them into the same category as the strangely merged American "support our troops" triumvirate, which is to say, Celebrations of Empire.

ANZAC Day is an especially odd celebration of nationalism in the face of its citizenry being fed into what was a meat grinder at Gallipoli. Australia Day is taking on the same sickly tinge that has added pallor to Columbus Day in the United States. Australia Day and Columbus Day both more realistically commemorate a meeting of civilizations where the original inhabitants did not fare well (inadvertently introduced diseases killing more than actual warfare).

Although all Australian holidays can be seen as occasions for extended alcohol consumption, I give the Australians more credit than the Americans at least in terms of maintaining the storyline of their holidays, and a larger focus on meaning. Even if that meaning is blatant, nationalistic propaganda, and has sometimes not-so-subtle overtones of white supremacy. Here and there, Americans acknowledge that the national theme is all about an elusive (to most) get-rich-quick scheme (the pursuit of happiness). But there's a great American pretense that all holidays are celebrating some historical event, rather than what they really are, which is the larger agenda to promote consumerism.

Succulents

Since I've moved to Sydney, it seems I've had bad timing. Trivial, yes, but this is the best timing I've had for anything I've done here - got some succulent starts potted before the big rainstorm hit.

Coconut water

Thought I was getting coconut water, but maybe coconut water with cane sugar? And I got most of the sugar in the first three sips (oops). Great Vietnamese chicken sandwich (locally referred to as "roll"). Unfortunately, I didn't write down the name of the shop, but I've eaten there three times now. From Google Maps, looks like about 18 Quay Street, Sydney, but their streetview doesn't show the current sign. The sandwich was $5.50, the drink $3.50 - which is more than I usually spend for lunch; I often go without the drink.

Tut tut... Looks like rain!

Two days of umbrella crushing wind and rain! Yesterday I sat indoors thinking of how miserable it looked. Today I put in some contact lenses, put on appropriate clothing, and was invigorated by the brisk weather. The best part - I shared an Olympic swimming pool with only two other people. This garbage can (locally referred to as rubbish bin) just happened to be conveniently located in a spot where wind whipped around a large building.

What's an Aboriginal person look like?

This photo exhibit, which I saw in 2013, was my first exposure and realization that Australian Aboriginal people were not of the stereotypical portrayal. I've more recently learned that 75% of Aboriginal people live in the urban or suburban areas. The popular portrayal seems to be based more on very remote villages, where, like Native Americans, disparate groups were placed either near ancestral lands, or far away for convenience, as their land was taken over by mining or other interests. Black on White: our stories

Steam heat

New steam heat radiator. In a couple of months I'll be living somewhere that has heat! How is winter in Sydney? It's like San Francisco winter, minus that week when it snows on Mt. Tam.

Easter insanity

Easter in Australia means a Friday and Monday holiday. And in Sydney, Thursday is usually a "shopping" night - which is to say the stores usually close at around 6pm, but on Thursdays, they stay open until 9pm. So I foolishly went shopping this Thursday evening. Craazy. Grocery chain Woolworth's had most of the bread gone when I was shopping around 7:30pm. In some areas shelves were empty, lots of people circulating and boxes stacked in the aisles. Meanwhile, on the overhead were announcements that fish, deli meats, flowers, and milk products were all going 1/2 price to move them out before the store closed for four days.