'Redneck Wonderland' Midnight Oil

It seems more provocative and likely to draw more comment in the current day, but when the Oils released this album it was fairly and squarely inspired by a country where Pauline Hanson was in the frame as 'a voice' for too many Australians, who felt under threat from immigrant culture and let's face it, faiths AND people 'taking their jobs,' their homes and whatever else they saw as laid at the feet of new Australian citizen's 'jumping some imaginary queue!' I won't have covered it all, because I can't begin to relate to her picture of our country! Especially not her fierce anger towards indigenous Australians and a determination not to accept 'the bleeding obvious,' stoking division. This said, the album has other inspirations, just sublime timing!

Moving away from this, the economics of immigration contradict the criticisms! When immigrant families can work, undertake education, buy food at supermarkets, cars, clothes etc They pay income tax, buy petrol and as an economic unit, create demand for goods and services, money for Government expenditure and help make the country live and work! VISA overstay far outweighs 'boats!'

The housing shortage is global, not just local, and it reflects supply side elements too! When conservative leaning politicians single out immigration levels as the problem, they invite focus on one aspect only! They risk inflaming social conflict and sadly, there's votes in it! Governments leaving social housing to Developers, cost of materials, lack of trades and urban sprawl are forgotten in the heat of the debate and while media eventually catch up, often the damage is done!

The album was released towards the end of 1998 - 2 years before the Sydney Olympics and just after Ms Hanson gained some notoriety as the proprietor of a fish n chip shop, with a platform to speak for ordinary Aussies, just like her... It's about more than what I've said, it's about a time in our history, sparked by some aspects and still including environmental concerns, whether we need to get off our couches, about urgency! I just love this album as a new sound from the Oils, linked to earlier material, different instrumentations and timeless themes!

Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!

Here's my t-shirt of this week, hopefully arriving in the post next Monday! Kimmel delivered the perfect monologue for genuine 'free speech' on his return from being taken off air 'indefintely' - thanks to inappropriate intervention from the supposed Chair off the FCC, at the behest of Donald Trump or #TACO, whose narcissism is what makes him 'thin skinned' when it comes to critics and worse still comics! Hollywood will never like you Donald!

"This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this," 

He is right, it's a bigger story than anything he said, and he never said what he was accused of, his critique was about the likes of Trump 'cashing in' opportunistically on the tragedy which occurred. Evidence of that is there in Kimmel's tweet mindful of Kirk's family at the time of the shooting murder! 

As they say 'jesters always play to the peasants!'

Holding the corrupt or inept to account and speaking truth to power does often come from the mislabelled 'left.' Descriptions like left and right, once described your values. They've been co-opted to 'label' people, because if you can label people, you can oppress, dismiss, sack or disregard them! Like the denigration of being 'woke' or awake to injustice or inequality! I'll never apologise for empathy!

So, maybe the 'revolution IS just a t-shirt away!

A long time ago...

I bought my Tatooine Cantina Star Wars T-shirt a few year back as a snug fitting, but brilliant design! 

I have for a long time sought a follow up, with many fun and detailed ones out there...

I decided to 'keep it simple'... This t-shirt takes me right back to the beginning...

The Chelsea Theatre Cinema - run by Uncle Colin and Aunty Margaret Hanks - Melbourne St, East Maitland! The Imperial Class Star Destroyer and these words, inviting us into story, spectacle and fable...George Lucas of course, loves starting a story in the middle... 

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope, opening week, May 1977!

 

Time for Another Round of T-shirt of the Week

 It's been a while, so for some reason I feel it's time to do another round of t-shirts! This is a 2024 purchase celebrating Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." A comedian's comedian, Jerry Seinfeld asked Larry to help him create the sitcom Seinfeld and this series, with cheap graphics and theme music, sees Larry playing a character indistinguishable from himself, sharing some of his real life story with amplified events and characters around him, taking his paranoia to new levels.

"Latte Larry's" is a Coffee Shop he opened, leasing the space next door to "Mocha Joe's" after an argument with its owner! Of course the whole episode ended in disaster!