Posted on by Michael Austin

Window to the soul

In my own personal quest to understand creation its history and its maker, I have traveled throughout Asia and the America’s. While one can never understand someone else’s complete life experience. Most places I went I saw and felt a joy I didn’t know and a way of living that was foreign to me. I also saw pain, suffering, jealousy and confusion at the injustice and seemingly unearned the privilege when confronted with someone from Australia.

The eyes are the window to the soul, we all know this deep down. In the western world people with cataracts and eye deformities are some of the most uncomfortable individuals to hold a gaze with. These individuals often wear sunglasses, not because they need to, but because of the personal discomfort they invoke in the everyday citizen. That is a pure example of humility.

It is quite an experience when you have been humbled so much, that in order to rehabilitate yourself you are trying to force yourself to make eye contact with people for as long as you dare, or if someone is kind enough as long as they will allow you. It is a beautifully awkward but empowering experience when you stumble upon a fool who thinks that he has to hold eye contact to assert his dominance. You get to practice, and he gets revealed to everyone else in the room for the fool he is.

It is through the eyes that we can come to understand each other and spirits to a small degree. If you have never had the privilege of an epiphany in thought or, a experience that was so great you knew it was from outside of yourself and therefore spiritual. There is a very subtle re/action that lets us know we are all interconnected and that we have no control over it. It is the involuntary and seemingly random glance in a direction which was previously a blind spot only to find that a person or an animal is looking at you.

This is a shared experienced that we know to be real but have little control over. Often individuals and wild animals don’t like being looked at directly in the eyes. Through this practice you are being searched, evaluated, and explored. During this moment both individuals are lowering their own veil, while simultaneously a disarmament is occurring for the other. From such interactions judgments can quickly be made and represented through the eyes and the rest of the face. These judgments are often uncomfortable, they can be disdain or adoration.

Often an individual will seek to lock eye contact with figures of authority so that they can judged and decided if they are worthy of a privileged position that person is in and will either seek to subtly destabilize or empower this individual. Depending on how privileged a position it is, the more it will be tested, because the more vital it is to humanity.

Holding eye contact with someone is a privilege, no pure warrior worth his salt is even going to acknowledge a completely inferior warrior within his ranks, but of course, such humility may force the inferior warrior to become an assassin, the warriors blind spot.

Sometimes though there is curios respect, because the individual knows the other is onto something they know not, and they desire to find out exactly what it is.

Posted on by Michael Austin

Art, Science & Creation

Man is not perfect, God is and whether you like it or not it’s obvious. The greatest gift our maker has given us is to learn about him and his creation. We learn first and foremost through our own experiences, by watching and interacting with the world around us. Then, second hand through listening to others based on their past experiences. Then, through studying different texts and practice, perfected through discipline. But if you want to learn something for yourself, something abstract that is not intuitive, you will know it comes from outside of yourself, (meaning nothing you did specifically gave you that realisation, and if you tried to replicate it you couldn’t). What I am talking about is the “aha” or “aww” or “doh” moment, also known as a “eureka” moment that was made famous by Sir Isaac Newton. If you are truly puzzled by a problem and you study it long enough, it is likely you will not find the answer straight away, but often it will come to you through having a coffee break, going for a walk, or a surf, or fishing/camping. I have literally used scientific method to try and solve an engineering puzzle that took me weeks, I knew it was possible, but I didn’t have anyone to support me. As time moved on and the deadline approached and the budget dwindled, the pain and the anguish was very real. Then, I was provided some inspiration that was outside of myself, I literally dreamed the answer and then applied it the next day.

 

I argue that inspiration is proof of God, but inspiration doesn’t only come from God, it can come from something you love. That is why God is love. Another form of inspiration is art, as I break it down there are two types of art: raw art, which provides hope as it is believed that further inspiration may come with additional study and skill; and, refined art, which is the combination of the precipice of human skill and inspiration. Inspired artist with this precipice of human skill in their field are considered masters, and if their art produces physical creations, they are considered masterpieces.

 

Science and Art at their core are both inspired, the simplest form of science is elementary math. In math there is infinite diversity. For example, 2 + 2 = 4, but if we want to solve the equation for four, we know there are infinite possibilities using addition such as 3 +1 or 2.5 + 1.5. There are also other methods to use such as subtraction, multiplication and division, which all have infinite diversity. There are also infinite methods if we allow ourselves to combine them. That is the beauty of science that God has given us. Knowing that there is infinite diversity but only one absolute.

 

Art at the same time is infinitely diverse, but it is in the eye of the beholder. An artist does their work simply because they are inspired and one who seeks to be a master will, while they are not inspired, seek to hone their skill through practice, dedication and research, so when the moment of inspiration comes they are ready. Art shows us another great absolute about the human condition, and that is we are all individuals, yet we influence each other. Art doesn’t care if you like it or not, you may love it and another person may hate it. If you find yourself in a one-on-one situation and the two of you consider yourself of equally experienced in the study of this art, you will probably seek to understand why the other person has a different opinion to you, and in the end if you engage in dialogue long enough you may convince the other of your view, or have them convince you of theirs. One of the biggest conflicts in art is the difference between art for the raw and art for the refined, often there is so much difference between these two parties, that all they can do is agree to disagree, and that is fine, that is part of diversity which is a gift from God revealed to us through art.

 

Historically though, we have not been able to engage in dialogue due to a language barrier or the individual’s inability to get their voice heard. At other time, when a collective has an opinion that differs from the individual, the individual may repress their speech and actions, but within will still disagree and not understand why they are different, causing an unhealthy internal conflict. This, shows us another absolute, that we are all individuals, while at the also simultaneously we all influence each other. However, while we can repress our speech and actions to fit in and restrict conflict, we cannot control our freedom of thoughts and desires, and if we are actually physically silenced, or simply don’t have the words required, we can feel oppressed and seek to free ourselves in whatever manner possible.

 

The beauty of pure art and pure science is that it is something we all instantly know in our hearts to be true. It is that it is abstract and by itself doesn’t mean anything. Math only becomes practical when you apply units, where it then becomes physics or accounting, likewise Art only becomes practical when it provokes some sort of response, be it intellectual, spiritual, emotional or all three.

 

It is an absolute that we are all individuals, art shows us this. But those in the humanities (psychology, marketing, political science, ect.) have progressed their field using scientific method to a point where they are no longer studying phenomenons to progress society, but rather seeking to utilise the lessons learnt to implement an agenda. The individual is consistently getting put into categories, using a combination of art and science.

 

Pure art and pure science is a gift from God and learning how to apply it to ourselves and the world is our privilege. The Bible states that humans shall have dominion over nature. Today, it is fair to say we have near complete authority not only over nature, but through the internet have god like abilities, that were barely even imagined one century ago.

 

Our curse today is that we are so close to becoming gods, very little inspiration from outside of ourselves is needed. We have forgotten to be still and know the Lord. To truly understand something such as Wifi or 5G internet it takes 15+ years of formal education plus several years of work experience, and this doesn’t include all the knowledge accumulated of our forefathers. Yet, people often complain that God, a being that by definition is infinitely complex hasn’t shown himself to them. Jesus at the start of his ministry fasted on a mountain for 40 days and 40 nights and constantly sought solitude, yet often individuals want to know God with one simple quick prayer.

 

Our gift today is that we are so close to God through our knowledge of his creation and the laws it keeps, that we have the ability to exercise dominion in a truly god like manner. It is unfortunate that through our arrogance and pride as humans, we have forgotten both the magnanimous nature of the Lord and the fear that should come with being outside his favour.

Posted on by Michael Austin

2010 Olympics – Ireland Unification

The best memory I have of the Vancouver Olympics was opening night when myself and a bunch of Irish work colleagues (lifties), were waiting in line at Tapley’s after a shift on Whistler mountain, about to watch the opening ceremony. The mood was electric, people from all nations were just excited to be there. We were talking shit while waiting when a 6’5 American college jock who was behind us in the line, asked us jovially where we were all from. My mates were all from Cork, I was wearing my Wallabies jersey but decided to have a bit of fun and slightly slur my words and proclaim I was from Cork as well. The lads found it hilarious, the American was none the wiser. As the banter continued, the American sought to bring forth something he learned in a college history course and started talking about the division between the north and south. My mate’s weren’t having none of the lectures, and before too long probably the shortest of the bunch, had the quite physically imposing young jock, pinned up against the wall, with the edge of a snowboard pressed against his neck.

The crowd separated things, and almost instantly the RCMP was there. Then, while the crowd was keeping things at bay, I had the great privilege being taken a side, my slur ceased and voice became slightly more okka. With my chest proudly donning the green and gold I told the RCMP that an American tried telling my Irish friends why they fought with the north, all the while having the American yelled out “don’t listen to that dickhead he’s Irish.” Needless, to say the RCMP helped the college jock move on, while we continued to have a great night watching the opening ceremony.

Let me say as an Australian (and I know I am disregarding the Originals here, apologies!): If England is our mother, Ireland is the father we never knew. We are not like the US with a bunch of Boston(ites?) loudly proclaiming their Irish. No 2nd generation Australian really claims their heritage too loudly (not in Queensland anyway). If you look at our culture, I believe it is hard to see any resemblance. Peter Garrett dances with his arms, and to be honest I can’t really name a prominent aussie song with a fiddle. Having said that we have a lot of infrastructure thanks to the Irish, and when ever I am overseas – if a pub is closing around me, I am usually dribbling with an intimate group and an Irishman is smoothing over all the shit I’m spewin.

So with that said; let me say Conor McGregor is a great! There is no doubt about that, he is the first to have two belts in the UFC, losses make him stronger, he took on the best boxer in the world on his terms, then took on arguably the best wrestler on his terms.

Words are words, and they all ways will be, and short of cutting tongues and hands they can’t be silenced, only tamed. But as soon as the man said “It’s only business” he became the same as a British Trooper in a tank. What will always reign supreme over words is honour bound actions, maybe not on any given day. But we all know it to be true.

I have no idea, why anyone outside of England would want a full sized Union Jack on their flag. But let me have the arrogance to say, the wars between protestants and catholics finished at least a generation ago.

Cease the day my brothers and unite! Then, maybe, we might be able to broker peace on the Korean peninsular.

Originally published on facebook.com on 10 January 2019.

Posted on by Michael Austin

The Dark Knight – From The Perspective of a Crazy Man – Joker is the Hero

Let me start with something that shouldn’t be controversial. The Joker is Evil.
If I ask you why, you might say because he is a murderous psychopath, and while I would argue that the terms murderous and psychopathic are judgement and diagnoses which only a Judge and Doctor can make, it is of course fiction so l do encourage you to judge and diagnose.

But first let’s inspect the murder charge. The Joker is a killer, he is good at killing and he enjoys it and is experience to the extent of having a preferred weapon. He also encourages others to do it. Murder though is unlawful killing. The Joker is a self-declared anarchist not only through self professed beliefs, but though very deliberate actions. The Joker is an insurgent that is actively trying to remove the Government of Gotham, and is therefore in war with the Government, it is far more interesting to see how he would stand up as a war criminal.

I am sure Doctors would describe him as a psychopath, which even if you don’t really know the true definition of the diagnosis, you do know it is a mental condition and therefore you probably assume he should be locked up.

But let do a quick psychoanalysis.
What do we actually know about the Joker’s past in The Dark Knight?
We think we know how he got his smile, but then realize that he uses his captives curiosity against them. Telling them jokes designed to provoke both empathy, terror and hopelessness for his captives.
We know he decided to become the Joker after Bruce Wayne became Batman.
We know that he has no government record when he became the Joker. So he has either been a model citizen throughout the most hormonal and emotional years of a young man’s life, or hacked the government systems.

It is far easier for the model citizen to assume he hacked the government systems than to entertain that maybe up until Batman he was just like you and maybe even a better citizen. But if you think about it logically, while the Joker has a very deliberate attention to detail when it comes to his appearance, for the same reason Batman does. If an active anarchist with very little self interest, had the ability to remove his government records, he would also remove everyone else’s records at the same time.

So who is the Joker? If anyone who reads this post and even entertains the idea about becoming a Joker, please read on. A key tenet of the Joker is clear open and public communication, he lets his intentions known ahead of time when dealing with the public and gives people a clear unambiguous choice often with a deadline allowing the Government an opportunity to stop him. In the Joker’s opinion, the only way you can bring about anarchy is by directly confronting the individual with the choices they have to make if they want to have power over their own life while showing the people at the same time how powerless and useless the Government is at protecting them. The Joker forces the individual to choose between their own agency or the Governments.

How is he represented in the movie?
Some might argue he is the perfect villain or he is perfect insanity.
I argue he is the perfect man.
He cares about his appearance and understands that other people will react to him, accordingly.
He has enough strength to casually subdue men who rule by strength, while doing humorous magic tricks to earn their cohorts bemused respect.
The opening scene is a testament to his creativity and ability to relate to the individual showing them they are special and important to him, and to lend him their unquestioning trust.
He is a man of action, he has an agenda, based on firm beliefs and convictions which he is working towards.
The way the movie pan’s out, it can look like he predicted everything, but he is a self confessed agent of chaos that gives people choice and the opportunity to stop him.
He has an incredible understanding of the motivations of government officials and criminals, which allows him to accurately predict their actions most of the time.
He understands that chaos means anything can happen and therefore plans for most possibilities.
When the Government became proactive rather than reactive, they caught him. However, he had an escape plan that would have been in place from the very start.
He is a good business man and a good negotiator, he knows what he is worth and people have no problem paying him for his services.
He has no care for money or material possessions and only takes what he needs.
He is selfless and willing to die for what he believes in.
He also accepts that nature is cruel and does not let fear of unfortunate luck restrict his actions.
He is a man of his word and follows through on his threats.
He is a teacher, he seeks to show humanity what it really is, and understands the individual better than the average man understands them self.
He always enjoys his work, taking pot shots at armored vans with pistols while he waits for the real fun to begin.
He fails, but doesn’t let it defeat him – you can see the frustration when Jim Gordon jumps in front of a bullet that wasn’t meant for him.
He even apologizes in his own way and seeks forgiveness or due punishment, when he unexpectedly plays a part in the death of Rachel Dawes. – While Rachel did work for the Government, it is clear the Joker didn’t really expect her to die. She is the only non-combatant to die due to the Joker in the movie. (I would argue the Judge relies on combatants to enforce the rulings and therefore is indirectly a combatant).
He is learning and adaptable – He does not have a complete understanding of the human psyche, for example he was surprised in the boat scene. The innocent people knew what the correct choice was, which was demonstrated through democratic vote. However, no individual on the boat could bring themselves to kill the convicted criminals that had been terrorizing the City for years. They had been coddled by their government so much that no individual on that boat could defend themselves or the other innocents in a simple life or death scenario that required a twist of a key to act. This is despite it being both a carnal and democratic requirement if any individual had the ability to act.
He understands what God is and in turn loathes himself, welcoming and even wishing for his end. But he understands he has a purpose and knows that ending his life is not his decision to make.
Finally, the Joker understand that the issue at hand is so complex, he will be misunderstood and misrepresented and no one will even try to understand him. He understands the emotional reaction to the issue, but seeks to empower the people to break free from their fear not by looking outward but inward. He does this by trying to force the people into action by trying to force them to make simple but tough decisions.

So now that we know the Joker is arguably the perfect man, is he really an anarchist?.
I don’t think he is. He just hates Batman and everything he is.

People need hope, and they found it in the symbol of Batman. He provided progress, and shows them that there may be a better way.
Batman could be anywhere at anytime, he enforces judgment through catching criminals and leaving them for the Police to find. He is anonymous. He has financial and technological power that is beyond the reach of every other citizen in Gotham and its local government. He harnesses fear, and deliberately disorientates even his allies by disappearing mid conversation. He doesn’t care if you like him or not. He is also a vigilante, and believes through his benevolence and self imposed morals, he is above the law.

Batman is a symbol of a god, but in reality he is just a extremely privileged and flawed man in a suit. Anyone who plays god is dangerous. That is why the Joker hates him, seeking to destroy him and any system that supports him.

If the Bruce Wayne really believed in the symbol for what it is, he would believe that anyone can become Batman and fight for justice, making Batman even more omnipotent. But Batman doesn’t like his impersonators because they kill due to the fact that they are commoners that are less skilled and have less technology. We all long for a world free from death, but it is ignorant to believe we can create one and in turn work towards one. To not kill is a position of extreme privilege and ignorance. It is ironic that the only thing in this movie that we see damaging Batman, and in turn the only thing he shows fear of, is an animal of nature and man’s best friend.

So if Batman doesn’t believe in the symbol he created, what does he believe in? In this movie, to me it appears all Batman really wants to do is justify his existence. The Joker openly states that he will stop if Batman reveals his identity.

In my opinion the best joke the Joker pulls is killing the lesser Batman, painting his face as the Jokers and dressing him back up in their inferior Batman suits. Sending the ironically funny message to Batman that he is really just a inferior version of the Joker pretending to be a god. Unfortunately, Batman didn’t get the joke.

Why is Batman not the perfect man? He is ignorant to the feelings of those he loves and even choose not to save the one he loved due to an unfounded faith in another man. All the Joker wanted was for Batman to abandon his self-righteous ideals by killing someone, preferably himself, or quitting. In the end, the Joker got caught because Batman had the help of an omniscient power (Morgan Freeman), this was only made possible by violating innocent people’s privacy. By this stage the Joker didn’t care about being caught, people were starting to realize that in the pursuit of ideals they were making the problem worse. The Joker knew that his cause was bigger than one man. It was an absolute. In the end, Batman did break his one rule and killed Harvey Dent. Harvey was another idealistic flawed man who held closely the belief that he made his own luck. Once faced with reality that no man is truly completely in control of his destiny and must rely on other flawed men. He decided to seek justice, by following in the Joker’s foot steps and showing them how naive they had become. But instead of grappling with the complexity of an appropriate response, he chose to leave it up to equal chance with the options of complete forgiveness or death. The Joker knew the odds and would constantly play them putting himself and innocent people in danger to manipulate the situation to his advantage. What he never did was decide that an innocent should either die or live, and leave the decision up to equal odds. This is why the Joker failed to get himself killed, but succeeded in revealing that both an idol and a man playing god, are ultimately corruptible will fail and betray the very core beliefs that they think separates them.

So the Joker is Evil. He is the perfect man. But the reason the Joker is the Hero in this story is because he shows us what happens when we go outside the law and play god. Evil is an absolute condition of man, because man is not God.

So who was the Joker before Batman? It’s fiction so we can write whatever we want. If I was to write his prequel, it would be boring. He would be a good honest cop that tolerated his corrupt cohort and was married to a psychologist. They loved each other, and helped each other to perfect their craft, and through their shared perspective of Gotham, came to understand the true nature of man and their place in the world. He would be ordinary like any policeman. |Because he dealt with ordinary criminals, and ordinary government officials.

And then came Batman.

The Dark Knight is a story that reflects the tragic dichotomy of the human condition. We all love it for different reasons, but maybe we never knew why.

The true tragedy of this story of course, is that in the end the man who became the Joker, Heath Ledger did indeed die. His posthumous Academy Award, can attest to his perfection of the characterization.

The Joker knew how to exist in Gotham City, but he had no idea how to exist in a real western civilized society. He sought help, and was provided drugs that he had little to no experience with, from a Doctor that had probably never taken them himself.

We all know what happened, but who is to blame, the drug, the drug dealer, or the person seeking it in order to assist with the reality of life?

Disclaimer: I am looking at this movie in complete isolation of the entire DC Universe. I understand that most western men have probably at one stage in their life said “I am Batman”. We like him because we know his story, we feel his pain and share his desires. We imagine if we were in his shoes we would do the exact same thing.

The Joker is the same, we just don’t know his story.

The Christopher Nolan Trilogy is the story of man.
Batman Begins: A story of tragedy and rehabilitation through a dedication to the pursuits of personal perfection and the reduction of evil.
The Dark Knight: A complete war against evil and losing a key part of yourself in the process.
The Dark Knight Rises: Accepting humility and being content with oneself and the world through a union with an equal and worthy adversary.

Originally published on facebook.com on 16th December 2018

Posted on by Michael Austin

Australia Invasion Day – Reconciliation

An open letter for Senator Briggs and Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison,
CC: triple j

As representatives of both the Black Fellas and the White Fellas respectively, I ask you to resolve the issue of Invasion/Australia Day with the utmost urgency.

Thanks to Senator Briggs I feel as though I do have a small understanding of the issue, and hope that we can come to some reconciliation. While what it means to be Australian might be different, we have a common ground in the pride we share of our great land and those who came before us to make it great. If I am being honest I think there are a lot more important issues facing both the Black Fellas and the White Fellas than one day, and that focusing on a date is just a massive distraction from all of those significant issues that are a lot harder to solve and would require a lot more effort to address.

The reason why I have bothered to write this letter rather is because, as you may be aware, Triple J has moved the Hottest 100 to the January 27th. If I was under 25 and without child, I would be celebrating this move, because it would simply mean two days of back to back festivities.

However, I still remember sitting in the pool listening to my first Hottest 100 and “My Happiness” by Powderfinger coming in at number one. I was the not so ripe age of twelve. Many Hottest 100s have come and gone since that time, most I remember fondly. Some, like last years, I have no recollection of at all (probably had something to do with the news of my wife being pregnant and being in the process of changing jobs and moving back to Australia after three years overseas, this also explains why this letter is coming a year late).

Thus I am now 30 and am raising a little man that is currently three months old. While I am not sure my body could handle two days of Australian festivities without supplements, I am somewhat certain the Mrs wouldn’t let me even if the body would. Making a choice between commiserating Invasion Day/celebrating Australia Day and thoroughly enjoying the Hottest 100 is a dilemma that probably ranks as high as whether or not to go against the mother’s wishes when deciding if the little guy is beach ready (It is probably a bigger issue as the choice between the 26th and the 27th is one that will take a year until I can apply my lesson learnt and re-attempt the choice).

I understand that Triple J is talk back radio for the youth, and I rarely listen to it anymore (hate the format, love the music). But what it does for Australian Music is incomparable and Australia has so much musical talent to be proud of thanks to this station. For that reason, I am of the opinion that the Triple J Hottest 100 is for all Australians to enjoy, regardless of age.

Therefore with my position now known, I would like to provide a solution, not because I’m a expert or even because I feel super committed to the issue, but simply because I don’t like individuals or groups that expect other people to solve their problems without putting any prior thought into it themselves.

So my solution is: “Why not have both?” – we could call it Australia Invasion Day. Such a name does have its own issues though, we couldn’t say Happy Australia Invasion Day, as I feel that would be even more disrespectful than celebrating Invasion Day. However, I also feel that Commiserations for Australia Invasion Day, would also not be very palatable. We need a word that is uniquely versatile enough that it can evoke sufficiently positive emotions and/or negative emotions.

As Australia Invasion Day are all White Fella words, I think it would be quite fitting to use a Black Fella word. I understand that before the White Fella came, there were several languages within this great land, hopefully there is one with such versatility, and we could revive it and make it uniquely our own, similar to the way “Kia Ora” has been adopted as a greeting in New Zealand.

If there isn’t a Black Fella word that is sufficient, while I can’t think of any, hopefully there is a White Fella word we can use. It is my hope that this word will be so versatile that when a bunch of White Fellas get together they can say “Australia Invasion Day <insert word>!” in celebration, while a bunch of Black Fellas can get together and say “Australia Invasion Day, <insert word>!” in commiserations. And when the two great people get together or simply pass each other on the street they can say to each other solemnly with a nod of the head and a tip of the hat “Australia Invasion Day <insert word>”.

Hopefully overtime, the word could become synonymous with everything that is great and not so great about our country and we could proudly use the word as a post noun when stating where we are from.

That’s just my two cents. Of course there is another solution, Triple J could just move the Hottest 100 to the weekend before or after the 26th. I am sure we can all agree, consecutive weekend celebrations are a lot easier to get by the Mrs than consecutive days.

But please, Prime Minister Morrison, I would much rather have you remembered as the Prime Minister who facilitated the reconciliation of Invasion/Australia Day, than the Bradbury Prime Minister.

Originally published on Facebook.com on 11th December 2018