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"God's problem now": Man's hilarious obituary for his father goes viral

<p>A man's hilarious obituary for his father has gone viral, after he claimed his late dad's antics were "God's problem now."</p> <p>Texas man Charles Boehm wrote the obituary for his father Robert, who died at the age of 74 on October 6th after he fell and hit his head. </p> <p>When Charles was given the task of writing the notice for his father, he wanted to make it funny in a way that would reflect his dad's character, rather than making it a sombre and serious obit. </p> <p>“Robert Adolph Boehm, in accordance with his lifelong dedication to his own personal brand of decorum, muttered his last unintelligible and likely unnecessary curse on October 6, 2024, shortly before tripping backward over ‘some stupid bleeping thing’ and hitting his head on the floor,” the obituary read.</p> <p>He joked that his Catholic father managed to get his mother pregnant three times in five years, allowing him to avoid getting drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.</p> <p>“Much later, with Robert possibly concerned about the brewing conflict in Grenada, Charles was born in 1983,” Charles wrote.</p> <p>“This lack of military service was probably for the best, as when taking up shooting as a hobby in his later years, he managed to blow not one, but two holes in the dash of his own car on two separate occasions, which unfortunately did not even startle, let alone surprise, his dear wife Dianne, who was much accustomed to such happenings in his presence and may have actually been safer in the jungles of Vietnam the entire time.”</p> <p>Charles wrote of his father's hilarious hobby, saying, “Robert also kept a wide selection of harmonicas on hand — not to play personally, but to prompt his beloved dogs to howl continuously at odd hours of the night to entertain his many neighbours, and occasionally to give to his many, many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren to play loudly during long road trips with their parents.”</p> <p>Earlier this year, Robert’s wife and Charles’ mother, Dianne, passed away, with Charles writing that God had “finally” shown her mercy and given her some peace and quiet.</p> <p>“Without Dianne to gleefully entertain, Robert shifted his creative focus to the entertainment of you, the fine townspeople of Clarendon, Texas. Over the last eight months, if you have not met Robert or seen his road show yet, you probably would have soon,” the obituary read.</p> <p>“We have all done our best to enjoy/weather Robert’s antics up to this point, but he is God’s problem now.”</p> <p>The obit was shared to social media and quickly went viral, with many praising Charles for his unique and heartfelt writing. </p> <p>“You ever read an obituary and think, ‘Dang, I’m sorry I never had the chance to meet them. They seemed pretty cool’. That’s me with this guy,” one person wrote.</p> <p><em>Image credits: dignitymemorial.com</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"Oh my god!": Natalya Diehm wins Australia's first women's BMX medal

<p>Natalya Diehm has become the first Australian woman to win an Olympic medal in BMX Freestyle. </p> <p>Fans witnessed the moment the 26-year-old found out that she had won the Bronze medal, as she was filming a live story on Instagram. </p> <p>Diehm was sharing footage of fellow BMX competitor, Hannah Roberts on the track, when Paris 2024 officials made the announcement that she had scored higher. </p> <p>"Oh my god! oh my god!" the Olympian screamed as her teammates  embraced her in the moments that followed. </p> <p>She placed third with a final score of 88.80.</p> <p>"I have dreamt of this moment for so long and I felt it all week, I was like 'I know I'm third, I know I'm going to make it on that podium," Diehm told <em>Nine</em>.</p> <p>"I wanted this so bad, I don't know else to say, I can't believe it. This is the first medal I have ever got in an international competition and what better way to do it than at the Paris 2024 Olympics."</p> <p>After her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the athlete has suffered with a few injuries over the past few years, with her having to undergo six ACL surgeries and two shoulder surgeries. </p> <p>Following her win she has encouraged any aspiring athletes who may be struggling physically or mentally, to not give up on their dreams. </p> <p>"There is always light at the end of the tunnel, when you feel like there is not, keep pushing," she said.</p> <p>"I had full belief in myself and as long as you have that, you have hope and the world is going to keep on spinning, every day it will keep on going and you will keep getting better.</p> <p>"Have the belief and trust in yourself and you can get anything done."</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

TV

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“Please go away”: Grieving mother slams “god-bothering” vandal

<p dir="ltr">A heart-broken mother has slammed a “god-botherer” who superglued a cross to her son’s memorial.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney parents Edwina and Anthony Symonds lost their son Sebastian, lovingly known as Seb, when he was just 10-months-old in 2018.</p> <p dir="ltr">After Seb’s death, the grieving parents organised for a memorial plaque to be fixed to a sitting rock located at a popular walk in the city's northern beaches – a place they frequented with Seb before his passing.</p> <p dir="ltr">Edwina told <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/sydney-baby-memorial-plaque-cross-super-glue-parents-message/348ed1ef-3155-4d56-977e-df84db43715b" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>9Honey</em> </a>that she is used to finding well-wishing trinkets people have left behind on Seb’s memorial.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Previously we've had little bibles left there, or small rocks that have been painted by children, or feathers," Edwina said, adding that the family usually takes the items with them as they go along.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, Edwina said one passerby has taken it too far, by supergluing a religious cross to the plaque.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's obnoxious," Edwina says.</p> <p dir="ltr">She was informed of the unwanted addition to her son's plaque by a friend, and shared a post on a local Facebook page to explain her distress.</p> <p dir="ltr">"To be fair, I'm Catholic and I used to go to church every week when I was younger. I don't have a problem with religion," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I think I captured it well with what I wrote. But don't super glue your religion to me or my son."</p> <p dir="ltr">Her Facebook post read, "To the God-botherer that vandalised our son's plaque by supergluing a cross to it!!! I imagine somewhere in whatever religion you choose to follow, there is some sort of rule that says, 'Don't be a low-life by wrecking other people's property.' If not, there should be.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"Religion is a nice ideal. You are entitled to your beliefs and no-one should take issue with that. I certainly don't.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"I am sure you had some lovely thoughts when you were sitting with Seb like, 'God took this baby to a 'better' place, or that he 'had a plan' for this child, or even the classic 'everything happens for a reason.'”</p> <p dir="ltr">"Cool story, but please go away. Seb doesn't need you to 'save' him. He died already. He can't be saved.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Anthony also commented on the post, not holding back with his frustration over the vandal’s actions.</p> <p dir="ltr">"To the god botherer, Seb is looking down having a laugh at your kooky effort and giving you his swear finger. At 10 months old, his heart was as pure as it gets, though he has subsequently learnt the words f--k you.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"A narrow minded fool, keep away from Seb's little playground. Keep your ideas out of other people's lives unless invited in, the end.”</p> <p dir="ltr">While many of the comments expressed distress at news of her son's death at such a young age, Edwina was quick to explain they are managing to live with their grief, and that Seb's death isn't the issue at hand.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I'm sure they had good intentions, but their execution is s***house," Edwina told <em>9Honey</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I haven't been down there yet, you have to walk one kilometre along the walkway to see it. I'll have to go to Bunnings to get some bond remover or something. But I have two young kids, so it's just another thing on my to-do list."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Frankenstein: how Mary Shelley’s sci-fi classic offers lessons for us today about the dangers of playing God

<p><a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/frankenstein-9780241425121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus</a>, is an 1818 novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Set in the late 18th century, it follows scientist Victor Frankenstein’s creation of life and the terrible events that are precipitated by his abandonment of his creation. It is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gothic novel</a> in that it combines supernatural elements with horror, death and an exploration of the darker aspects of the psyche.</p> <p>It also provides a complex critique of Christianity. But most significantly, as one of the first works of science-fiction, it explores the dangers of humans pursuing new technologies and becoming God-like.</p> <h2>The celebrity story</h2> <p>Shelley’s Frankenstein is at the heart of what might be the greatest celebrity story of all time. Shelley was born in 1797. Her mother, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mary Wollstonecraft</a>, author of the landmark A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), was, according to that book’s introduction, “the first major feminist”.</p> <p>Shelley’s father was <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/godwin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">William Godwin</a>, political philosopher and founder of “philosophical anarchism” – he was anti-government in the moment that the great democracies of France and the United States were being born. When she was 16, Shelley eloped with radical poet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Percy Shelley</a>, whose <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ozymandias</a> (1818) is still regularly quoted (“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”).</p> <p>Their relationship seems to epitomise the Romantic era itself. It was crossed with outside love interests, illegitimate children, suicides, debt, wondering and wandering. And it ultimately came to an early end in 1822 when Percy Shelley drowned, his small boat lost in a storm off the Italian coast. The Shelleys also had a close association with the poet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lord Byron</a>, and it is this association that brings us to Frankenstein.</p> <p>In 1816 the Shelleys visited Switzerland, staying on the shores of Lake Geneva, where they were Byron’s neighbours. As Mary Shelley tells it, they had all been reading ghost stories, including Coleridge’s <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43971/christabel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christabel</a> (Coleridge had visited her father at the family house when Shelley was young), when Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Thus 18-year-old Shelley began to write Frankenstein.</p> <h2>The myth of the monster</h2> <p>The popular imagination has taken Frankenstein and run with it. The monster “Frankenstein”, originally “Frankenstein’s monster”, is as integral to Western culture as the characters and tropes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.</p> <p>But while reasonable continuity remains between Carroll’s Alice and its subsequent reimaginings, much has been changed and lost in the translation from Shelley’s novel into the many versions that are rooted in the popular imagination.</p> <p>There have been many varied adaptations, from <a href="https://youtu.be/TBHIO60whNw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edward Scissorhands</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGzc0pIjHqw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Rocky Horror Picture Show</a> (see <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/11/the-20-best-frankenstein-films-ranked" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for a top 20 list of Frankenstein films). But despite the variety, it’s hard not to think of the “monster” as a zombie-like implacable menace, as we see in the <a href="https://youtu.be/BN8K-4osNb0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trailer to the 1931 movie</a>, or a lumbering fool, as seen in <a href="https://youtu.be/nBV8Cw73zhk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Herman Munster incarnation</a>. Further, when we add the prefix “franken” it’s usually with disdain; consider “frankenfoods”, which refers to genetically modified foods, or “frankenhouses”, which describes contemporary architectural monstrosities or bad renovations.</p> <p>However, in Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein’s creation is far from being two-dimensional or contemptible. To use the motto of the Tyrell corporation, which, in the 1982 movie Bladerunner, creates synthetic life, the creature strikes us as being “more human than human”. Indeed, despite their dissimilarities, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoAzpa1x7jU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the replicant Roy Batty in Bladerunner reproduces Frankenstein’s creature’s intense humanity</a>.</p> <h2>Some key elements in the plot</h2> <p>The story of Victor Frankenstein is nested within the story of scientist-explorer Robert Walton. For both men, the quest for knowledge is mingled with fanatical ambition. The novel begins towards the end of the story, with Walton, who is trying to sail to the North Pole, rescuing Frankenstein from <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Das_Eismeer_-_Hamburger_Kunsthalle_-_02.jpg/1280px-Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Das_Eismeer_-_Hamburger_Kunsthalle_-_02.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sea ice</a>. Frankenstein is being led northwards by his creation towards a final confrontation.</p> <p>The central moment in the novel is when Frankenstein brings his creation to life, only to be immediately repulsed by it:</p> <blockquote> <p>I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.</p> </blockquote> <p>Victor Frankenstein, like others in the novel, is appalled by the appearance of his creation. He flees the creature and it vanishes. After a hiatus of two years, the creature begins to murder people close to Frankenstein. And when Frankenstein reneges on his promise to create a female partner for his creature, it murders his closest friend and then, on Frankenstein’s wedding night, his wife.</p> <h2>More human than human</h2> <p>The real interest of the novel lies not in the murders or the pursuit, but in the creature’s accounts of what drove him to murder. After the creature murders Frankenstein’s little brother, William, Frankenstein seeks solace in the Alps – in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog#/media/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Wanderer_above_the_sea_of_fog.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sublime nature</a>. There, the creature comes upon Frankenstein and eloquently and poignantly relates his story.</p> <p>We learn that the creature spent a year secretly living in an outhouse attached to a hut occupied by the recently impoverished De Lacey family. As he became self-aware, the creature reflected that, “To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honour that can befall a sensitive being.” But when he eventually attempted to reveal himself to the family to gain their companionship, he was brutally driven from them. The creature was filled with rage. He says, “I could … have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery.” More human than human.</p> <p>After Victor Frankenstein dies aboard Walton’s ship, Walton has a final encounter with the creature, as it looms over Frankenstein’s body. To the corpse, the creature says:</p> <blockquote> <p>“Oh Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst.”</p> </blockquote> <p>The creature goes on to make several grand and tragic pronouncements to Walton. “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change, without torture such as you cannot even imagine.” And shortly after, about the murder of Frankenstein’s wife, the creature says: “I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture; but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse, which I detested, yet could not disobey.”</p> <p>These remarks encourage us to ponder some of the weightiest questions we can ask about the human condition:</p> <blockquote> <p>What is it that drives humans to commit horrible acts? Are human hearts, like the creature’s, fashioned for ‘love and sympathy’, and when such things are withheld or taken from us, do we attempt to salve the wound by hurting others? And if so, what is the psychological mechanism that makes this occur?</p> </blockquote> <p>And what is the relationship between free will and horrible acts? We cannot help but think that the creature remains innocent – that he is the slave, not the master. But then what about the rest of us?</p> <p>The rule of law generally blames individuals for their crimes – and perhaps this is necessary for a society to function. Yet I suspect the rule of law misses something vital. Epictetus, the stoic philosopher, considered such questions millennia ago. He asked:</p> <blockquote> <p>What grounds do we have for being angry with anyone? We use labels like ‘thief’ and ‘robber’… but what do these words mean? They merely signify that people are confused about what is good and what is bad.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Unintended consequences</h2> <p>Victor Frankenstein creates life only to abandon it. An unsympathetic interpretation of Christianity might see something similar in God’s relationship with humanity. Yet the novel itself does not easily support this reading; like much great art, its strength lies in its ambivalence and complexity. At one point, the creature says to Frankenstein: “Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.” These and other remarks complicate any simplistic interpretation.</p> <p>In fact, the ambivalence of the novel’s religious critique supports its primary concern: the problem of technology allowing humans to become God-like. The subtitle of Frankenstein is “The Modern Prometheus”. In the Greek myth, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prometheus</a> steals fire – a technology – from the gods and gives it to humanity, for which he is punished. In this myth and many other stories, technology and knowledge are double-edged. Adam and Eve eat the apple of knowledge in the Garden of Eden and are ejected from paradise. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, <a href="https://youtu.be/RWCvMwivrDk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humanity is born when the first tool is used</a> – a tool that augments humanity’s ability to be violent.</p> <p>The novel’s subtitle is referring to Kant’s 1755 essay, “The Modern Prometheus”. In this, Kant observes that:</p> <blockquote> <p>There is such a thing as right taste in natural science, which knows how to distinguish the wild extravagances of unbridled curiosity from cautious judgements of reasonable credibility. From the Prometheus of recent times Mr. Franklin, who wanted to disarm the thunder, down to the man who wants to extinguish the fire in the workshop of Vulcanus, all these endeavors result in the humiliating reminder that Man never can be anything more than a man.</p> </blockquote> <p>Victor Frankenstein, who suffered from an unbridled curiosity, says something similar:</p> <blockquote> <p>A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind … If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections, and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind.</p> </blockquote> <p>And also: “Learn from me … how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”</p> <p>In sum: be careful what knowledge you pursue, and how you pursue it. Beware playing God.</p> <p>Alas, history reveals the quixotic nature of Shelley and Kant’s warnings. There always seems to be a scientist somewhere whose dubious ambitions are given free rein. And beyond this, there is always the problem of the unintended consequences of our discoveries. Since Shelley’s time, we have created numerous things that we fear or loathe such as the atomic bomb, cigarettes and other drugs, chemicals such as DDT, and so on. And as our powers in the realms of genetics and artificial intelligence grow, we may yet create something that loathes us.</p> <p>It all reminds me of sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson’s relatively recent (2009) remark <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00016553" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that</a>, “The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.”</p> <p><strong><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/frankenstein-how-mary-shelleys-sci-fi-classic-offers-lessons-for-us-today-about-the-dangers-of-playing-god-175520" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Books

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"Why Phil Tippett will never do another film like ‘Mad God’

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phil Tippett, the man behind physical special effects seen in the likes of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Star Wars</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jurassic Park</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Robocop</em> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">has spoken about his latest project, </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.madgodmovie.com/madgod-home" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mad God</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and why he could never do it again.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The independent stop-motion film, funded partly through online platform Kickstarter, took the iconic animator 30 years to make, and premiered at the annual cult cinema festival, Monster Fest, in Melbourne this year.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846211/tippett3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/49414a0037f44b4d9eb0c8ee60851f41" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phil Tippett’s most memorable monster creations include the wooly Tauntauns which appeared in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Image: @tippettstudio (Instagram) </span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tippett’s latest feature is a wordless, nightmarish film that follows a figure in a gas mask known as the Assassin, as they make their way through a landscape filled with monsters, zombies, disturbing science experiments, and other grotesque forms.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking to </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/inside-the-nightmares-of-hollywood-s-mad-god-monster-maker-20211129-p59d29.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sydney Morning Herald</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Tippett said his work comes “entirely from the unconscious”, which saw him experience a “psychic breakdown” while making </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mad God</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You can only know your own mind. So my mind is a cage, and that’s where I am unconsciously trapped,” he said. “But within is an entire universe. And you never know what path you’re gonna go down.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846210/tippett1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8a0d0c80699746d49efe33cfadc5ee60" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grotesque figures and monsters fill Phil Tippett’s latest film. Images: Mad God Movie</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mad God</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> led to a psychic breakdown for me, and then I had to go to the psych ward for a little while, and then it took me six weeks to recover.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tippett went on to say finishing </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mad God</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> came both as a personal triumph and a relief, as something he would not repeat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I will never do another </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mad God</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, ever. It’s impossible. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, he said he already has an outline and “about 800 storyboards” made up for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pequin’s Pendequin</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a sequel that’s intentionally more commercial and influenced by classic Warner Brothers and Popeye cartoons.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6ZZ1yDVo0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6ZZ1yDVo0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Phil Tippett (@madphilg)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite its clear change in direction, Tippett conceded that it will still contain elements of his style.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As the canary sings one song, it’ll get my flavour in it somehow,” he added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s a certain amount of darkness to it. But it’s a lot more humorous, with very vibrant colours, and … happy.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See the trailer for <em>Mad God </em>below.</span></p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pbW5ns_pIZo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Tippett Studio / Getty Images</span></em></p>

Movies

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“Please. God. No”: Basil Zempilas mocked for AFL grand final suggestion

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Basil Zempilas, Lord Mayor of Perth, probably didn’t anticipate quite this level of backlash when he shared an idea on Twitter on Friday morning, posting, “TOMORROW @OptusStadium - 20.21 in the first quarter #AFLGF - we’re asking everyone in the stadium to stand for one minute and applaud - a nod to our friends around the country who are doing it tough &amp; to let them know we’re with them in this difficult time. Let’s do it WA”.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">TOMORROW <a href="https://twitter.com/OptusStadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OptusStadium</a> - 20.21 in the first quarter <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFLGF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFLGF</a> <br />- we’re asking everyone in the stadium to stand for one minute and applaud - a nod to our friends around the country who are doing it tough &amp; to let them know we’re with them in this difficult time. Let’s do it WA 👏💪🏆</p> — Basil Zempilas (@BasilZempilas) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasilZempilas/status/1441170568972095495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The match, set to take place in Perth on Saturday night between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, comes at a time when WA’s borders are closed to the majority of Australians, and will most likely remain closed for the foreseeable future. As many responses to Zempilas’ tweet pointed out, this hardly engenders feelings of solidarity.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">No offence but this is a horse shit idea. I couldn't go to Perth last year for my grandmother's funeral. My brother and nieces haven't met my almost 2 year old son. WAs borders are constantly closed off to the rest. Don't give us the "we are all in this together" crap.</p> — Adam Hoskins (@hosko) <a href="https://twitter.com/hosko/status/1441199359262003204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An overwhelming number of responses focused on the families kept apart by Premier Mark McGowan’s tough approach to fighting the spread of COVID-19, and also pointed out that WA’s low vaccination rate was only prolonging these separations (</span><a href="https://twitter.com/CaseyBriggs/status/1441274845996535809/photo/1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">WA currently has the lowest vaccination rate in the country</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">).</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Instead of clapping I would love WA to hurry up and get vaccinated so Mark can open the border and my kids can see their grandparents again <a href="https://t.co/nYYxL2f0ZR">https://t.co/nYYxL2f0ZR</a></p> — Chryssie Swarbrick (@chryssieswarbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/chryssieswarbs/status/1441230427847462913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other footy fans said they’d rather everyone just got on with the game, frankly:</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">It’s a nice thought Baz but I reckon most of us footy fans on the east coast would rather the crowd just focus on and enjoy the game</p> — Michael Sleap (@michaelsleap) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelsleap/status/1441191160936951808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One Twitter user pointed out that amidst interstate sniping over lockdowns and vaccination distribution, it’s almost heartwarming to see the country come together to make fun of Zempilas’ terrible suggestion:</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Australia's a very fractured country right now. But it's been nice to see everyone united against this terrible idea. <a href="https://t.co/sgFTMm6luk">https://t.co/sgFTMm6luk</a></p> — Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceRugari/status/1441227932937064455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">ABC Melbourne sport reporter Catherine Murphy even got the hashtag #NOBASILNO going, encouraging users who share her belief that Victorians have been subjected to enough to post using the hashtag in order for her to get an idea of just how many people found the suggestion patronising and meaningless.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Please. God. NO. <a href="https://twitter.com/AFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AFL</a> <br /><br />Can we just STOP the week?!!!<br />😩😩😩😩😩<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoBasilNo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoBasilNo</a> <a href="https://t.co/iwlyqTPQQz">https://t.co/iwlyqTPQQz</a></p> — Catherine Murphy (@CathMurphySport) <a href="https://twitter.com/CathMurphySport/status/1441225144035250179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pre-match festivities kick off at 6.15pm on Saturday and include performances from John Butler, Eskimo Joe, Abbe May, Stella Donnelly, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, and Baker Boy. Birds of Tokyo will perform during half-time alongside the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images</span></em></p>

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"Oh my God": Woman discovers $1 billion in her bank account

<p>American woman Julia Yonkowski got the surprise of her life when she went to withdraw $20 from her bank account and saw $1 billion instead.</p> <p>According to the bank receipt she received from Chase Bank, she had $999,985,855.94 in her account.</p> <p>“Oh my God, I was horrified. I know most people would think they won the lottery but I was horrified,” she explained.</p> <p>“When I put in for the $20, the machine came back and said we’ll give you the $20 but that’ll cause an overdraft and you will be charged and I said, ‘Oh just forget it,’”.</p> <p>She hasn't touched her account since Saturday night.</p> <p>“I know I’ve read stories about people that took the money or took out money, and then they had to repay it and I wouldn’t do that anyway because it’s not my money,” she said.</p> <p>“It kind of scares me because you know with cyber threats. You know I don’t know what to think.”</p> <p>She's tried reaching out to Chase Bank several times but gets "tied up" with their automated system.</p> <p>“I just can’t get through. I get tied up with their automated system and I can’t get a person,” she said.</p> <p>However, a representative for Chase Bank confirmed that the high amount of money was a fraud prevention method.</p> <p>It also explains why Yonkowski wasn't able to get the original $20 she tried to withdraw from her account.</p> <p>According to the bank, Yonkowski's late husband was also named on the joint account and the bank requires proper documentation to release the account to a sole individual.</p>

Money & Banking

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Scott Morrison "called to do God's work" as PM

<p>Scott Morrison has told an audience at a Christian conference on the Gold Coast that he was "called to do God's work" as Australia's Prime Minister.</p> <p>The statement was recorded at the Australian Christian Churches conference last week and shared on Facebook by The Rationalist Society.</p> <p>In the address, Morrison, a Pentecostal Christian, said the misuse of social media was "the work of the evil one" (ie the devil) and had a "corrosive effect on society".</p> <p>“It is going to take our young people... it’s going to take their hope, it’s going to steal their hope,” he said.</p> <p>“Sure, social media has its virtues and its values and enables us to connect with people in ways we’ve never had before, terrific, terrific, but those weapons can also be used by the evil one and we need to call that out.”</p> <p>The PM said he had looked for signs from God during the 2019 election campaign and often prayed while working, as well as practicing the "laying-on of hands" when out visiting people.</p> <p>Morrison said he had asked God for a “sign” while he was at an art gallery in New South Wales.</p> <p>“And there right in front of me was the biggest picture of a soaring eagle,” he says in the video.</p> <p>“The message I got that day was, Scott, you’ve got to run to not grow weary, you’ve got to walk to not grow faint, you’ve got to spread your wings like an eagle to soar like an eagle.”</p> <p>He also revealed that he had practiced the laying on of hands when he visited victims of the devastating Cyclone Seroja in Western Australia.</p> <p>“I’ve been in evacuation centres where people thought I was just giving someone a hug and I was praying, and putting my hands on people ... laying hands on them and praying in various situations,” he said.</p> <p>“God has, I believe, been using us in these moments to be able to provide some relief and comfort and just some reassurance.”</p>

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James Bond is more than a (sexist) secret agent. He is a fertility god, a Dionysus of the modern era

<p>James Bond is more than a (sexist) secret agent. He is a fertility god, a Dionysus of the modern era</p> <p>“History isn’t kind to people who play God,” quips James Bond to supervillain Safin in the trailer for No Time to Die.</p> <p>The film’s release has been delayed yet again, to April 2021. It will mark Daniel Craig’s swansong as 007 and speculation continues as to who will be the next Bond. Will it be Idris Elba, Tom Hardy or perhaps a woman?</p> <p>Bond has long been criticised for his sexist attitudes, with even Judi Dench’s M in GoldenEye (1995) dubbing him a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur” . But what if we view him through the prism of Greek mythology? Is Bond, in fact, a contemporary incarnation of Dionysus, the god of wine, pleasure and fertility?</p> <p>In Greek mythology, the gods punish mortals for the sin of hubris. In our pop-culture pantheon, Bond is a deity.</p> <p>Dionysus travelled throughout the ancient world, sometimes by boat in the Aegean islands, sometimes in a winged chariot. Bond also circumnavigates the globe, equally at home on yachts or in helicopters. But his chariot of choice is an Aston Martin.</p> <p>Its logo? A pair of wings.</p> <p><strong>Secrets of wine – and martinis</strong><br />Wherever Dionysus went he initiated his followers in the secrets of wine-making. Wherever Bond goes he initiates the mixologist in the secrets of making the perfect Vesper martini.</p> <p>In Ian Fleming’s Diamonds are Forever (1956), Bond tells the bartender to combine three measures of Gordon’s gin, one of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet with a thick slice of lemon peel and poured into a deep champagne goblet. In Casino Royale (2006), he adds the martini must be shaken “until it’s ice cold.”</p> <p>Unlike mortals, Bond’s prodigious consumption of alcohol does him no harm, indeed he is hailed as “the best shot in the Secret Service.”</p> <p>In a study of the novels published in the British Medical Journal in 2013, researchers estimated Bond consumed an average of 92 units of alcohol per week with a maximum daily intake peaking at 49.8 units.</p> <p>There were days when Bond abstained – 12.5 out of a total 87.5 days – but mostly because he was being held prisoner.</p> <p><strong>Weapons of disguise</strong><br />Dionysus carries a thyrsus: a sacred pinecone-tipped staff wreathed in vines. The thyrus is a phallic symbol, sometimes displayed with a kantharos wine cup, denoting female sexuality.</p> <p>The union of the two created a powerful representation of fertility and rebirth. Dionysus also turned his thyrsus into a dangerous weapon by secreting an iron tip in its point.</p> <p>As a secret agent, Bond conceals his Walther PPK pistol in a hidden holster, but one of his most lethal weapons is disguised as a cigarette – a potent symbol of sexual union in cinema, where smoking a cigarette signifies the completion of copulation.</p> <p>In You Only Live Twice (1967) the villain makes the fatal mistake of allowing Bond “one last fag.” It turns out to be tipped with a rocket-propelled bullet, proving that cigarettes aren’t just lethal for smokers.</p> <p><strong>Gods of possession</strong><br />Dionysus was deeply attractive to his female followers, Maenads, who would drink themselves into a frenzy to be possessed by the god. Likewise, Bond is pursued by a bevy of beautiful women – Pussy Galore, Plenty O’Toole and Honey Rider – panting to be possessed.</p> <p>As with the Maenads, devotion to Bond comes with its perils. In Live and Let Die (1973), Bond girl, Solitaire loses her psychic powers after a close encounter of the passionate kind with Bond and becomes a target for heroin baron, Dr Kananga.</p> <p>In Goldfinger (1964), Jill Masterton is punished by the eponymous villain for betraying him to Bond, dying of skin suffocation when he covers her in gold paint.</p> <p>This puts a new spin on the Midas myth in which Dionysus granted the king’s wish to be blessed with the golden touch, only to discover that it is a curse making it impossible to eat or even embrace his daughter without turning her into metal.</p> <p><strong>Ecstasy and death</strong><br />In ancient Greece, the number seven was sacred and composed of the number three (the heavenly male) and the number four (the heavenly female). Bond’s number in the secret service – Agent 007 – is thus the perfect number to represent a modern-day fertility god.</p> <p>Like Dionysus who is depicted in a number of forms which range from an older, bearded god to a long-haired youth, Bond has appeared in a variety of guises from the debonair David Niven to the strapping Daniel Craig.</p> <p>Yet regardless of his age and physique, Bond’s dual Dionysian nature brings either divine ecstasy in bed, or brutal death to his foes.</p> <p>Dionysus almost dies before he is born but his father Zeus saves him. Later he returns from the dead after he is dismembered by the Titans.</p> <p>Bond says, “You only live twice: once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.”</p> <p>Like Dionysus, Bond is resurrected in Skyfall (2012) after he is accidentally shot by Moneypenny. The bullet penetrates his body causing him to fall off a train and into a waterfall where he sinks to the bottom. But Bond is immortal. He returns to save another day.</p> <p>When it finally reaches cinemas, No Time to Die will be the last hurrah for Craig, but gods do not die. Bond will live on.</p> <p><em>Written by Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan. This article first appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/james-bond-is-more-than-a-sexist-secret-agent-he-is-a-fertility-god-a-dionysus-of-the-modern-era-131040">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Movies

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“Thank God for you”: Pierce Brosnan’s heartfelt post to wife of 19 years

<p><span class="CmCaReT" style="display: none;">�</span></p> <p><span>Pierce Brosnan has doted on his beloved wife of 19 years, Keely Shaye Smith, as she celebrated turning 57 on Friday.</span><br /><br /><span>The 67-year-old James Bond star took to his Instagram account to deliver a sweet message to his love, revealing the presents she was gifted her with on her special day.</span><br /><br /><span>He posted a snap of himself and Keely beaming as she held onto a glass of fizz and wrote: "Happy birthday Keely my darling, thank God for you angel heart."</span><br /><br /><span>The star added that he presented her with some artwork he created himself.</span><br /><br /><span>“A few paintings on this day, with ever my love. 'Spring' still in the works! ... 'My Old Chair'."</span><br /><br /><span>The Hollwood actor also uploaded snaps of his quirky paintings.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFlWqv6ggHD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFlWqv6ggHD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Happy birthday Keely my darling, thank God for you angel heart. A few paintings on this day, with ever my love. “Spring” still in the works! ... “My Old Chair”</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/piercebrosnanofficial/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Pierce Brosnan</a> (@piercebrosnanofficial) on Sep 25, 2020 at 7:52pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /><span>Keely showed her gratitude at the sweet post by taking to the comments to leave kissing lip emojis.</span><br /><br /><span>The loved-up pair first met on a beach in Mexico in 1994 and went on to marry at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland in 2001.</span><br /><br /><span>Their wonderful romance heated up just before Pierce made his Bond debut in 1995 hit film Goldeneye.</span><br /><br /><span>The pair have two children together, Dylan and Paris, while Brosnan previously had three children from his marriage, his first wife, Cassandra Harris, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 1991.</span><br /><br /><span>Brosnan has three biological sons, including Sean Brosnan, 36, from his marriage to Cassandra.</span><br /><br /><span>The generous actor also adopted Cassandra's children from her first marriage, Charlotte Brosnan and Christopher Brosnan.</span><br /><br /><span>Both Charlotte and Christopher went on to take Pierce's name following the death of their biological father and Cassandra's second husband, Dermot Harris.</span><br /><br /><span>Sadly, Charlotte passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 42 in 2013, the same illness that had taken her mother's and maternal grandmother's life.</span></p>

Relationships

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In the company of mountain gods

<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Justine Tyerman practises her “one foot after the other” mantra on day two of the Bear Trek in the Swiss Alps. </span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kleine Scheidegg Pass looked formidable in the early morning light, shaded by the massive granite North Face of the Eiger. I was tempted to bury my head under my cosy down duvet, feign a pulled ligament or something and allow Guide Birgit and Team Super-Fit to hike on without me.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had made the mistake of studying the profile of Day Two of the Bear Trek the night before and discovered that before we even started the climb, the track plunged all the way to the valley floor, appropriately called Grund, adding hours and vertical metres to an already challenging ascent.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The warning bells I had earlier ignored before I left New Zealand were clanging away again inside my head, but so too were my Kiwi tramping friend’s words that had kept me going the previous day: “One foot after the other and you’ll get there... eventually.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Besides, I was the only Kiwi in the group and I couldn’t let the Aussies get the better of me. I floundered my way out of duvets and pillows so deep, they must have placed the entire Swiss goose population in serious jeopardy, showered, pulled on my hiking gear and presented myself in the dining room with a brave smile on my face.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over a hearty breakfast at our lovely Hotel Kirchbühl high above the village of Grindelwald, Birgit studied the itinerary for Day Two.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The detailed route map proposed by Eurotrek, the company that organised our hike, went from Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen via Kleine Scheidegg Pass, covering 19.5km, ascending 1230m and descending 1465m, a hiking time of seven hours, 25 minutes.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Birgit frowned... and then beamed.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think we’ll take the train to Alpiglen,” she said. “No point in walking all the way down just to climb back up again. And we’re staying in Wengen for the night which is much closer than Lauterbrunnen.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tall, lean Ms Super-Duper Fit was crestfallen but I was so relieved I hugged Birgit.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">What a wonderful, wise woman</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, I thought.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> How I love the Swiss Transport System. There’s always a train, bus, cablecar, gondola or funicular right where you need it. Catching the train to Alpiglen and staying at Wengen would lop off about three hours and hundreds of vertical metres. This would enable us to have a more relaxed, enjoyable experience with ample time to revel in the landscape, take photos and stop for a leisurely lunch on this most pristine of sunny autumn days.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first rays of sun kissed the tip of the snow-capped peaks as we set off, well-fuelled, after a substantial hikers’ breakfast. The train deposited us at Alpiglen where we began the climb to Kleine Scheidegg Pass, 2061m. The ascent was steep and steady but the unfolding of the landscape as the mighty Bernese triumvirate - the Eiger, Mönsch and Jungfrau - came into view, made every step rewarding. Bright sunshine, clear skies and mild temperatures added to the magic of the day.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">We crossed gurgling, gin-clear, ice-cold streams trickling down lush, green mountain pastures, and stopped to pat friendly cows with tinkling bells. They were so tame, they licked us with their long purple-black, sandpaper tongues.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Encounters with other hikers and bikers of different nationalities were more frequent than on the previous day but we had the well-formed trail largely to ourselves.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was last to “summit” the pass but the heady exhilaration of having made it to the top obliterated the pain in my calf muscles and thumping of my heart. The Aussies were good sports. They didn’t seem to mind waiting for me. With breath-taking alpine panoramas, there was no down-time for them – cameras and iPhones were working overtime.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Above Kleine Scheidegg, in the shadow of the 3970m Eiger, there’s a tiny museum that documents the triumphs and tragedies of past climbing expeditions on the treacherous Nordwand (North Face). The stories are chilling especially the horrific tale of the climber in 1936 who, despite valiant rescue attempts, froze to death on the end of his rope after his three companions perished. He was just metres from safety.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sphinx Terrace and observatory at the “Top of Europe” was visible high above us - building such a structure on a narrow ridge 3571m above sea level is a marvel of engineering. So too the cogwheel Jungfrau Railway train from Kleine Scheidegg to Europe’s highest railway station (3454m). Opened in 1912, the top 7km of the 9.4km of railway climbs through a tunnel hewn in the rock of the Eiger and Mönch, an audacious project that took 16 years to complete.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we sat in the sun gazing at the mountain gods, I felt a deep sense of reverence to be in their company.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a quintessentially Swiss day – a sprinkling of fresh snow dusted the peaks, the edelweiss was in flower, and the alpine chalets were competing for the brightest window boxes and neatest firewood pile.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Swiss stack their firewood under the eaves against the chalet walls or in purpose-built sheds. The pieces are always perfectly cut to exactly the same size and arranged with the utmost symmetry – like an artwork.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a Swiss thing,” Birgit said, “a point of national pride. A messy wood pile would be shameful in Switzerland.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Descending from Kleine Scheidegg Pass, the rumble of an avalanche echoed around the mountains as a slab of ice broke free from a blue-white glacier and thundered down the valley, an awesome sight and sound from a safe distance.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Late in the season, a few of the mountain restaurants were already closed but the Bergrestaurant Allmend was open and served an excellent lunch platter. With only a short downward hike to Wengen ahead of us, a little schnapps was in order, “a Swiss tradition,” Birgit said.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">An easy downhill hike from the Allmend took us straight to the Silberhorn, our hotel in the centre of the delightful, car-free resort of Wengen.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exquisite picture-postcard village, with its traditional wooden chalets and belle époque hotels, is perched on a sunny terrace 400 metres above the Lauterbrunnen Valley with stunning vistas of the Jungfrau and Schilthorn.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Famous for its World Cup Lauberhorn ski piste, Wengen also has excellent year-round, family-friendly activities for everyone including skiing, toboggan runs and winter and summer hiking trails. Mountain trains and cableways provide access to spectacular vantage points throughout the Jungfrau region.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a relaxing soak in the Silberhorn’s outside Jacuzzi, I managed to do justice to a delectable five-course feast at the hotel’s excellent restaurant - melon and prosciutto, lentil soup, salads, beef ragout and apricot tart... among many other choices.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">High altitude can sometimes disrupt sleep patterns but the exertion of the day and the larger- than-usual-dinner... and a glass or two of wine...  acted as a powerful sedative for me.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I fell asleep looking at the map of the next day’s hike with the words “22km, 2000m ascent, 1400m descent, 9 hours” swirling around in my mind  – but by now, I was confident I would manage whatever trimmed-down version Birgit had in store up for us.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I knew I’d reach my destination, eventually, simply by placing “one foot after the other...”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read more about </span><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international-travel/the-slow-coach"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Day One of the trek</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><strong>Factbox</strong>:</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">* The Bear Trek is part of the Via Alpina, a classic among long-distance hikes in Switzerland. The Via Alpina is a challenging mountain hike through the picture-perfect landscapes of Switzerland’s northern alps. A series of 20 daily stages takes hikers over 14 alpine passes and through a great variety of alpine terrain, villages, flora and fauna - a hiking enthusiast’s dream. Mountain restaurants and hotels provide meals and accommodation along the way. Eurotrek organised our accommodation and luggage transfers so we just carried a light day pack. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Justine Tyerman was a guest of </span><a href="http://www.myswitzerland.com/hiking"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Switzerland Tourism</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, travelled courtesy of </span><a href="https://www.swiss.com/au/en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Swiss Travel Pass</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and hiked in the </span><a href="https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/winter/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jungfrau Region</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with </span><a href="https://www.eurotrek.ch/en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eurotrek.</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></em></p>

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“Completely deluded”: Fiery backlash after Israel Folau linked Aussie bushfires to abortion and same-sex marriage

<p>Ex-Wallabies star Israel Folau ruffled feathers after claiming that the bushfires that have devastated Australia and left six dead are God’s punishment for legalising abortion and same-sex marriage.</p> <p>The 10-minute recording has Folau, 30, saying that the timing of the bushfire crisis is no coincidence, but a taste of God’s judgement should nothing change.</p> <p>“I’ve been looking around at the events that’s been happening in Australia, this past couple of weeks, with all the natural disasters, the bushfires and the droughts,” he says.</p> <p>He then reads from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible: “The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore, earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.”</p> <p>Folau continued with his sermon, saying that it’s okay to “murder” unborn children.</p> <p>“The events that have happened here in Australia, in the last couple of years – God’s word says for a man and a woman to be together … they’ve come and changed this law,” he says.</p> <p>“Abortion, it’s OK now to murder, kill infants, unborn children.”</p> <p>“Look how rapid these bushfires these droughts, all these things have come in a short period of time. Do you think it’s a coincidence or not?</p> <p>“God is speaking to you guys. Australia, you need to repent and take these laws and turn it back to what is right.”</p> <p>Many have hit back at his comments, including a Twitter account run by “God”.</p> <p>“Don’t tell me how to do My job, Izzy. I don’t go to your job and … oh wait, you don’t have a job anymore,” the Twitter account “TheTweetofGod” wrote.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Don't tell me how to do My job, Izzy. I don't go to your job and... oh wait, you don't have a job anymore.<br /><a href="https://t.co/B9nnjYNg5l">https://t.co/B9nnjYNg5l</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/smh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@smh</a></p> — God (@TheTweetOfGod) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/1196232777676386305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">18 November 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Hillsong Church Founder Brian Houston tweeted a message of support to Australians impacted by the bushfires, with a shot at Folau saying:</p> <p>“Pray for your Nation, don’t condemn it.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Pray for your Nation, don’t condemn it. 🇦🇺<br /><br />John 3:17.<br />“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” <a href="https://t.co/MWT0cSGXB3">https://t.co/MWT0cSGXB3</a></p> — Brian Houston (@BrianCHouston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianCHouston/status/1196323979134263297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">18 November 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Ex-Ireland rugby player Allan Quinlan told<span> </span><em>Off The Ball</em><span> </span>that Folau has “lost the plot”.</p> <p>“It’s becoming sad at this stage. This guy is obviously completely deluded,” Quinlan said. “It’s shocking bulls*** that he is continuously preaching to people. Some will argue that it is just him preaching in his church, but he knows it is going to get out.</p> <p>“I’d say now, aside from believing any of this stuff, he’s damaging his case against Rugby Australia even more so, and I don’t think he’ll ever win that case.</p> <p>“People talk about free speech, but this is crazy speech. He’s saying it is out of love, but people have died here – Jesus, did you ever hear such crap in all your life?! There’s no way back for this guy now.”</p> <p>Even Prime Minister Scott Morrison denounced the comments from Folau.</p> <p>“I thought these were appallingly insensitive comments,” Morrison said to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/fiery-reaction-after-israel-folau-links-australian-bushfires-to-same-sex-marriage/news-story/35d07139e6ba4b69fae67a3388071a97" target="_blank">news.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p>“They were appalling comments and he is a free citizen, he can say whatever he likes. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have regard to the grievous offence this would have caused to people whose homes have been burnt down.</p> <p>“And I’m sure to many Christians around Australia for whom that is not their view at all and who’s thoughts and prayers, let me stress, are very much with those who are suffering.”</p>

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“God is speaking to you”: Israel Folau preaches that bushfires and drought are God’s punishment for abortion and same-sex marriage

<p>Israel Folau has caused further outrage by suggesting that the current bushfires and drought that is ravaging Australia is God’s punishment for legalising same-sex marriage and abortion.</p> <p>Folau spoke at The Truth of Jesus Christ Church in Kenshurt, north west of Sydney.</p> <p>“The message I mainly want to speak about today is mainly for the people who are outside within the world,” he began. “I’ve been looking around at the events that have been happening around Australia in the last couple of weeks with the bushfires and the droughts and all these things that are currently happening.”</p> <p>"I'm doing this out of love for people to be able to hear this message and receive it with open hearts."</p> <p>He said that Australians could solve the problems within the country by repealing these laws.</p> <p>"I am speaking to Australia - they have changed this law and changed the ordinance," he said.</p> <p>"They have changed that law and legalised same-sex marriage and now those things are okay in society, going against the laws of what God says.</p> <p>“Abortion - it's okay now to murder and kill infants, unborn children, and they deem that to be okay,” he continued.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F592277641115135%2Fvideos%2F528446637884157%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=267" width="267" height="476" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>"This scripture is speaking to Australia. You have changed the law and changed the ordinance. Look how rapid these bushfires, these droughts, all these things that came in a short period time.</p> <p>"You think it's a coincidence or not? God is speaking to you guys, Australia, you need to repent and you need to take these laws and turn it back to following what is right by God, what God says in his word."</p> <p>Many people have been outraged by his comments, as four people have died in NSW alone and bushfires continue to threaten homes in NSW and QLD.</p> <p>However, Folau warned that the worst is yet to come.</p> <p>"What you see out there in the world, it's only a little taste of what God's judgment is like," he said.</p> <p>"The news now are saying that these bushfires are the worst they've ever seen in Australia - they haven’t even seen anything."</p> <p>Longtime supporter and 2GB radio host Alan Jones is usually a fan of Folau, but has quickly urged him to “button up”.</p> <p>“Israel is a lovely human being, I know him well. Israel, button up. Button up.</p> <p>“These comments don’t help.”</p>

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Alan Jones' awkward moment on Q&A: "Oh my god"

<p>Alan Jones has argued that Australia should not act on climate change on <em>Q&amp;A</em>’s post-election wrap.</p> <p>The 2GB host reiterated his argument that anthropogenic climate change was a “hoax” on the ABC show on Monday night.</p> <p>The panel was asked if the Coalition Government will be able to bring about change in climate policy despite opposition from climate change deniers.</p> <p>“What is climate change?” said Jones. “Young people are highly intelligent. They have many platforms from which they can [glean] their information and knowledge. I wonder whether they’re being told all the facts in relation to this.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">The Government has previously been “paralysed by climate change deniers” - can Scott Morrison exercise his party authority to effect change? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QandA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QandA</a> <a href="https://t.co/8A7NNgynqo">pic.twitter.com/8A7NNgynqo</a></p> — ABC Q&amp;A (@QandA) <a href="https://twitter.com/QandA/status/1130457836448669696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>The broadcaster then attempted to explain how little Australia contributed to the world’s carbon emissions levels.</p> <p>“It’s 0.04 per cent, and of that 0.04 of a per cent, human beings around the world create 3 per cent. And of that 3 per cent Australia creates 1.3 per cent. So, for the 1.3 per cent of 3 per of 0.04 per cent we then decide to have a national economic suicide note.”</p> <p>Two weeks ago, he explained the same model in a Sky News segment with Peta Credlin using a bag of rice to illustrate his theory.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftheweeklytv%2Fvideos%2F295288728074680%2F&amp;show_text=1&amp;width=476" width="476" height="568" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p><span>“Oh, my God,” Alice Workman, political reporter at <em>The Australian</em> cut in.</span></p> <p>“Alan, Alan, Alan, Alan, I’m happy for you to have made that point which you’ve made many times on radio but it has to be answered by others, and particularly by scientists in the long-term,” said host Tony Jones to the audience’s applause.</p> <p>Business leader Ming Long also criticised Jones when the 2GB host asked where businesses get their advice from about climate change.</p> <p>“We listen to the scientists,” she said. “We do an analysis, not just because one party says one thing or another, we look at it from a risk perspective and we look at it from a return perspective. The return from fossil fuels is going to decline long term.</p> <p>“This is not a viable investment option for our country.”</p> <p>Jim Chalmers, Labor’s Shadow Minister for Finance and another member of the panel, said Australia should face the climate change issue head-on.</p> <p>“We need to deal with pollution. We need to deal with rising energy costs. We want to see proper investment in renewables. As Ming rightly points out, that’s not just our view, it’s the view of the scientists, the economists, the financial institutes, the Reserve Bank.”</p>

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The most controversial song in history

<p><em><strong>Karen Fournier is Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Michigan.</strong></em></p> <p>Since punk rock’s earliest days, the genre has sought to challenge social norms and traditions.</p> <p>But when the Sex Pistols came out with “God Save the Queen” 40 years ago, on May 27, 1977, it was instantly greeted with widespread, visceral condemnation.</p> <p>Released only months after the band’s <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6vY7av0P6E" target="_blank">infamous and expletive-laden television debut</a></strong></span> on the Bill Grundy show in December 1976, many viewed the song as an all-out assault on the morals and values of British culture. Others saw it as an attack on civilization itself. London Councillor Bernard Brook Partridge <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLBr98UOBX0" target="_blank">described the song’s creators</a></strong></span> as “the antithesis of humankind” and wished for their “sudden death.”</p> <p>Bernard Brook Partridge didn’t think too highly of punk music.</p> <p>What made “God Save the Queen” so much more menacing in the eyes of its critics than any other punk song released in 1977? Why did the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-bbc-bans-the-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen" target="_blank">BBC bar it from radio airplay</a></strong></span>? And why was it denied its rightful place at the top of the U.K. Singles chart despite outselling the number-one hit of the time, Rod Stewart’s “<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azcy9_F0DCE" target="_blank">I Don’t Wanna Talk About It</a></strong></span>”?</p> <p>Many think the song was denounced because it distilled punk’s key complaints into a single, targeted hit against British civic and political life, which was embodied by the royal family. Originally entitled “No Future,” the song ended up changing its name to “God Save the Queen,” an appropriation of the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk" target="_blank">British national anthem</a></strong></span>. The Pistols’ version was an “anti-anthem,” a critique of Queen Elizabeth II, whose <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Jubilee_of_Elizabeth_II" target="_blank">Silver Jubilee</a></strong></span> – a celebration to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her ascension to the throne – happened to coincide with the year of the song’s release.</p> <p>The artwork that accompanies the song depicts defaced images of her Jubilee portrait and torn pieces of the Union Jack and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Stewart_tartan" target="_blank">Royal Stewart tartan</a></strong></span>. The lyrics, meanwhile, reflect the state of an empire that seemed to be imploding during <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/17090761" target="_blank">the economic downturn of the mid-1970s</a></strong></span>:</p> <p><em>Oh when there's no future</em></p> <p><em>How can there be sin</em></p> <p><em>We're the flowers</em></p> <p><em>In the dustbin</em></p> <p><em>We're the poison</em></p> <p><em>In your human machine</em></p> <p><em>We're the future</em></p> <p><em>Your future!</em></p> <p>Taken together with its visuals, the song rings like a dire warning about the waning fortunes of the post-colonial British Empire at the very moment that it was celebrating its queen.</p> <p>Recent scholarly interest in the intersection of punk and religion <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Seditious-Theology-Punk-and-the-Ministry-of-Jesus/Johnson/p/book/9781409467014" target="_blank">gives a more nuanced reading</a></strong></span> of the song’s title and lyrics. According to punk scholar Mark Johnson, where the British national anthem asks God to watch over the queen as she executes her duties, the Pistols’ version conflates the queen and the church over which she presides.</p> <p>Johnson argues that the song’s central message is that “if there really is no future, and thus no future judgment, then how can there be sin for there is no penalty?”</p> <p>The phrase “no future” – repeated 15 times during the song – becomes a call to arms against any authority that promises salvation in exchange for obedience.</p> <p>The song found a visual counterpart in the punk fashion designer Vivienne Westwood’s <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=vivienne+westwood&amp;client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwifjc7rgITUAhXFYyYKHTRtBSgQ_AUICygC&amp;biw=1440&amp;bih=703" target="_blank">DESTROY T-shirt</a></strong></span>, which infamously featured an upended crucifix superimposed on the Nazi swastika. Film clips of the band’s live performances and many photos from the period associate Rotten with the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://plasticbag2005.blogspot.ca/2014/07/new-john-lydon-book.html" target="_blank">T-shirt</a></strong></span>.</p> <p>Unlike other punk songs of its time, “God Save the Queen” attracted criticism because it mixed signifiers of British pride and patriotism with one of the most reviled symbols in the world: the swastika. But for those who lived in London’s crumbling, impoverished neighbourhoods during the 1970s, the “victory” against the Nazis seemed like a myth. If winning the war promised a better future, British youth were still waiting. And as the song alleges, Nazism was simply replaced by a “fascist regime” intent on keeping the poor in their place by denying them educational opportunities and meaningful employment. It also overlaid this political critique with a sharp stab at the Church of England, which the band viewed as complicit in the subjugation of those it was supposed to help.</p> <p>Where other punk songs only hinted at the source of the economic and social problems in the U.K. in the mid-1970s, the Pistols were prepared to name their enemy. Until “God Save the Queen,” no punk band had pointed directly at the queen or the church as the source of all societal ills. And this is what made them sinners – and even treasonous – to the band’s critics.</p> <p>John (“Rotten”) Lydon <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoXHgBhWbyw" target="_blank">has since explained</a></strong></span> that the song was a counterattack against these critics:</p> <p><em>“There we have it. More sinned against than sinning, don’t you think? I’d like to sum up with what my real opinion of censorship is, but quite frankly, I’d be censored for it. So I’ll let you guess the rest.”</em></p> <p>“God Save the Queen” can be located in a rich history of protest songs. Stretching back to genres like folk and soul, it’s most prevalent today in genres like rap. What these songs hold in common is a willingness to speak truth to power. And with many angry over Donald Trump’s election in America, we’ve already seen at least one artist, the rapper YG, use the blunt, in-your-face style of the Sex Pistols with his song “<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2017/02/could_yg_s_fdt_f_donald_trump_become_america_s_no_1_song.html" target="_blank">FDT</a></strong></span>” (“F— Donald Trump”).</p> <p><em>Written by Karen Fournier. First appeared on <a href="http://theconversation.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Conversation</span></strong></a>. <img width="1" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/77767/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation"/></em></p>

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Reflecting on my spirituality throughout the years

<p><em><strong>Margaret Cunningham, 61, is ‘semi-retired’ from her role in digital communications. She is a hobby writer who particularly enjoys writing articles with a reflective viewpoint. A lifelong passion of health and fitness means she is known in her community as ‘that lady who runs.'</strong></em></p> <p>The In Hindsight series, of which this story is part of, is a collection of stories and moments that have impacted my life. They are snippets of insights and experiences. In the end, these stories will tell the tale of the dash (-) between the dates of my first and last breath. I want these stories to mean something – to let all who read them know the person behind the tags of daughter, sister, mother, wife and grandmother.</p> <p>My mother led an eventful life. Her eulogy certainly revealed a woman with an adventurous spirit, but as my brother delighted us all with the telling of her story I was struck by the thought that her life was just a list of events. The story of her soul, I don’t know. How she felt about her list of events. Her fears, her disappointments and regrets. Of being frightened, of loving, of lessons learned. What made her feel alive? I don’t know. She took this with her to the grave as did my father with his life.</p> <p>And this is at the heart of the In Hindsight series. Me is not my soul – I am more than a list of events. In every Hindsight story lies a chapter of my soul. So to be true to the Hindsight philosophy, I need to talk about the moment when I realised that everything I perceived God to be was a lie. Even now as I write the words, I feel its impact on my soul.</p> <p>­­</p> <p>From the moment of conception our lives are shaped by others. Within the womb and out of the womb, our first experiences of life are provided by parents or caregivers. In those early years it is adult decisions, opinions, customs, actions, and perceptions that shape what we believe and how we feel. As children we unconsciously accept the beliefs of those around us as the truth. No questions asked. So my parent’s authoritarian Catholicism was my first introduction to God. As far as I was concerned God was religion and religion was God.</p> <p>It’s interesting the impact this had on me. On the one hand, the moment I left home I never stepped back into the Catholic Church, yet God… well I just couldn’t get rid of God. In her book, Watching the Tree, author, Adeline Yen Mah says, “… change is the only constant. To that I will add also the universal human yearning for truth and wisdom.”  I never quite know whether to use the term ‘fortunately’ or ‘unfortunately’, but the yearning for truth and wisdom seems to be the road I have travelled.</p> <p>Fitting God, or not fitting God, into our own worldview is a good way to keep God under control. We are good at shaping God to our expectations. God is who we want God to be. And so it was for me. From childhood to adulthood I constructed my own set of values and spiritual beliefs based on past and present life experiences. Naturally these evolved over time because real experiences do change us. The worldview of my youth and for much of adulthood was what I chose to believe. And as is the arrogance of youth, I believed that whatever my worldview was at the time, was the ultimate source of the truth. I still cringe at some of the zealous moments of my spiritual life as I moved through the ‘born again’ scene. As well-intentioned as they might have been, they had more to do with my own ignorance and ego than any display of tolerance, peace or truth. Most of all I feel cross with myself because I did not question.</p> <p>Nothing is what it seems – and this is exactly why we should question everything we think. Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”? Kids are such natural questioners. They start off asking endless ‘why’ and ‘what if’ questions, but somewhere along the way fewer and fewer questions are asked. Why is that? Is it because as adults we think the constant ‘why’ and ‘what if’ questions tedious? Do we say ‘… go away I’m busy’ or do we laugh at a question because we think it silly? The fear of being knocked back, ridiculed or laughed at was very real for me as a child and this accompanied me into adulthood. I didn’t ask questions because I just believed everyone else’s truth. </p> <p>We all have a ‘spirituality’ whether we want one or not, even if we believe/don’t believe in God, or whether we are religious or not. Mention God, spirituality or religion and it conjures up images of churchy, holy, pious, New Age or some other airy fairy mystical perception. This was, and is not me, and if I could write this in shouty CAPS I would. I have led a fairly eventful life exploring most of what life has on offer, the good and the bad. God was just always part of my spirituality and I would modify God to suit my views, values and worldviews at the time. On this particular day I was about to literally dump God for good. God was not behaving as I wanted and acting as I believed God should. Why did God not seem to be answering my prayers? Why did God not feed the starving? Injustice. Wars. Greed. Power. Rape, Poverty, Disease. Why were some babies born just to die? Six million Jews and minority groups massacred in the holocaust. Couldn’t you have stopped this God?  Why? Why? Why? So many questions. It was then I became aware of another option. What if everything I believed and perceived God to be was a lie? And it was. So I let God go.</p> <p>For a while I felt utterly bereft. Bewildered and panicky at what was happening. It felt as though I had wasted 50 years of my life chasing God, of being conned by my mind. Letting God go left a huge void. But at the same time completely liberating. I read somewhere that if we continue to journey trying to make things fit into our own worldview then no one will benefit. I had designed God so I could control God. Throughout history, God has suffered a great injustice at the hands of those who claim to be the closest to God. No one person or religion has a monopoly on the truth.</p> <p>What did I replace God with? Oh, I didn’t replace God, no, I just let God go to be God. I have no intention of replacing God with another God. God just is, that’s all. What remains though is room. Plenty of room for God to be God. What I have noticed is how my attitudes towards others have changed. The people I meet and their life experiences have become incredibly precious. Love, peace and tolerance take on new dimensions when you let God go to be God.</p> <p>Nothing is what it seems. Maybe what you believe right now is the truth and you have the answers. If that’s the case, then don’t be afraid of to ask yourself the question. What if everything I perceive, or don’t perceive, God to be is a lie? It may well be that you end up right back where you are now. But it’s a wonderful, exhilarating, never-ending question of what, and who God is, or is not, to explore.</p> <p><strong>Read more from Margaret’s In Hindsight series here:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/12/margaret-cunningham-on-fear/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Don’t let fear stop you from your goals</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2017/01/margaret-cunningham-on-time-to-do-nothing/%20"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>In praise of doing nothing</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/relationships/2016/11/margaret-cunningham-on-what-makes-a-marriage-last/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>What really makes a marriage last</strong></em></span></a></p>

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