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Showing posts from October, 2006

the proles

George Orwell's 1984 was written in 1949. I first read it 12 years ago and am re-reading it now. One great thing about the science fiction genre is that by stepping outside the world we inhabit it lets you look at things from the outside and can offer clarity when you relate the fictional world back to your own. Here's an except from 1984 that is quite striking: "The Party taught that the proles were natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals, by the application of a few simple rules. In reality very little was known about the proles. It was not necessary to know much. ... They were born, they grew up in the gutters, they went to work at twelve, they passed through a brief blossoming-period of beauty and sexual desire, they married at twenty, they were middle-aged at thirty, they died, for the most part, at sixty. Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbours, films, football, beer, and above all, gambling, fil

digression

Let me digress and leave Arnhem Land for a post, while I go back to the place where my interest in language was first sparked - Iceland - where I was an exchange student after I finished highschool. Now, Iceland has hit the news because it plans to start commercial whaling again, with a quota of 30 minke and 9 blue fin whales. The Australian government (my favourite thing in the world!!) responded with this criticism from Environment Minister Ian Campbell (thanks ABC News website): Senator Campbell says its a very irresponsible move. "I think it will raise doubts right around the world about Iceland's commitment to environmental issues," he said. "It is really a very sad day for the world, when a first world, developed country like Iceland should effectively tear up one of the great environmental achievements of the world from the last century, that is the moratorium on whaling." Okay, so I'm not into whaling as much as the next guy, but for Australia to cr

bush tucker 101

The other day old BR asked me to drop her down at the local billabong. This is just the kind of humbug that sometimes annoys me, but as a peace offering BR gave me the biggest yarlbun I've ever seen! (Which made it all okay.) Yarlbun is the Marra name for this bush tucker - it's the fruit of the water lily, a big seed pod that you get by going into the water and feeling around for under the surface. And these pictures show you what you can do with it. The first pic shows the giant yarlbun intact. Next, I've peeled the skin off, revealing the inside part bulging with lily seeds. Now, you can eat it just like that, like an apple, but as you'll see in the third picture, I've actually emptied all the seeds into a bowl. And that's how I ate it, just like cereal. Very tasty, and I'm sure very healthy. And the last pic shows a row of yarlbun that had been roasted on the fire - another good way to eat it. And thus endeth your first lesson on bush tucker.

a good but tired day

I’m tired. I find myself moving through each day here at Ngukurr with not much energy. Not really struggling, but just going through the motions, even though the motions are far from boring and repetitive. If I wasn’t so tired and in need of a good break, I would be really enthusiastic about my day today. Today was a really good day and most days we are still doing lots of good stuff, but I’m tired and am finding it hard to be inspired. But can I tell you about today? The first good thing that happened was a visit from Ted Egan, who is the administrator of the NT. (He’s is the Queen’s representative here, same as a governor, but only states have governors.) He’s been visiting Ngukurr for a couple of days and yesterday happened to be at the school when we were doing language classes. He was very impressed with what he saw (good job Marra mob!). He met the Marra teachers and asked if he could sit down with FR, our deadliest Marra speaker. So this morning Ted Egan came to Language