Dear collector, its been only 86 years since the release of Boris Karloff’s  magnificent epic “The Mummy’.  Since then face-lift surgery has made signinficant steps in halting the insidious creep of time. Fascinatingly, in two days time the only surviving original poster of the epic goes up for sale at Sotheby’s. And they’re expecting in excess of 1 million dollars. 

Hang on, wait a minute. “One million dollars’, I hear you say. That seems an awful lot of money for just a movie poster. And indeed it is. But in this world of corporate kelptocracy it’s just a drop in the bucket for a Transurban executive, an Exxon corporate or just your common or average bank executive. And what a a perfect adornment it should make. A poster that was manufactured at the time for a mere twenty cents, (two shillings in the old currency) selling for over a million. What elan you would demonstrate by putting it in your loo. And how excited your guests would be knowing that staring down upon them with those melancholic lugubrious eyes, would be the eternal spirit of Boris. Boris Karloff, the impenetrable, the soft spoken master of the ghoulish grimace. 

Standing for preselection in the seat of Wentworth.

Spare a thought then for the artist. Karoly Grosz, who was probably paid a few hundred bucks for doing the ouvre, (that’s an art term for work) and cept for this one would just be a footnotes footnote in history. But we think, and we stand corrected, that this image is a presentiment, in a time of political flux. There is something unneringly familiar about this poster. 

Is that not Geoffrey Rush in one of his febrile incantations? And who is the damsel? Is she swooning to the power of a mis-directed emoji? Or is it the spirit of Ming the Merciless, returning from the grave to pronouce the Liberal party as beyond dead. Imprisoned in the dubious lobotomysing philosophy of Bob of the Santamaria. 

The man on the right is actually REAL!

Whatever the portentous contrivance, one thing is certain. Plastic surgery had progressed in leaps and bounds, and Boris would be shamed by the likes of Sam Newman and  Paul Hogan who’ve proven that you can halt the indisious creep of time by looking like an alien. An episcene apparition from another world and be ageless. Because as something approximating a wax work dummy, all trace of humanity, experience, character, has been erased. To become the oblivion of everything that money can buy and the vacuity of it all. 

Hoges. The plastic surgeons craft, a wonder to behold.

Speaking of vacuity, another state election is on. Both sides singing the chorus of boosterism from the developers songbook.  To increase the population so that we may all buy more stuff and fill our lives with useless trinkets. And some amongst us will get richer. And perhaps one amongst us to purchase a movie poster, from a bygone era. To watch mesmerised, and mummy-like the craft of a painter who speaks to us from the vortex of time. Whose echo still resonates within the sarcophogus of our collective souls. Another election? 

And the mummy says in an impromptu entry at the Geoffrey Rush libel case; “Dance for me Baby”. 

Once again we’re indebted to our sage of the near North Mr Joe Blake (esquire) for this rivetting review. We anticipate copies of this novel may be acquired from the local library, newsagent, purveyor of fine books and amongst those who go round in literary circles. Though we hasten to add, being a book gifted with the aura of imagination, wit, eroticism and mystery it will not be found in school libraries, universities or any other institution promoting standardisation, homogenisation and the credo “BELIEVE”.

Killing Commendatore, by Haruki Murakami, Harvill Secker, hardback, 681 pp, rrp $45 

Reviewed by Joe Blake

On the night that voters cast their first judgment on his ill-starred and inevitably-short-term government, a terrified Scott Morrison delivered a harangue channelling Haruki Murakami. “We’ll reward those who have a go,” he steamed, face getting redder by the second. “Those who get up early in the morning.” Well, Murakami does just that, but I’m not sure he wants Scomo’s prizes. At 69, he starts writing at 4am each day, keeps it up till lunchtime, then goes for a 10 kilometre run. Despite this Liberal Party attitude, he withdrew from the alternative Nobel this year because it might be “distracting.”

When you finish a Murakami, you might reflect that the tale was a mite complicated. The good thing is, that never occurs while you’re reading. His crystal-clear prose, translated brilliantly, allows you to drift through the story and follow each twist and turn with ease. Just one example of the complications: The Commendatore of the title (Italian for Commander) is a character in the Mozart opera Don Giovanni, who also appears in a painting and comes to life (a 2-foot tall man dressed in medieval costume) as an Idea. The said painting is a representation of a plot (by the artist and his friends) to assassinate a Nazi official in Vienna during World War II. That’s just part of this amazing novel.

The narrator (and main character) of this story never gets a name, but is central to everything that occurs. A would-be artist who makes a living by doing portraits of the rich, he goes into seclusion in the hills after his marriage collapses. Luckily for him, he is able to stay in the house of a famous painter, who has succumbed to dementia. Although he intends to keep away from his fellow humans for a while, it doesn’t work out that way. To keep himself afloat financially, he teaches a couple of art classes, and starts a couple of affairs with married students. (Perhaps I should have warned you: this is Murakami, so there’s bound to be sex involved. There’s also cooking and descriptions of the outfit of every character, every time they appear.)

He also meets some neighbours: a Great Gatsby type who has a lot of money, a huge house, an E-Type Jag and a murky past; and a 12-year-old girl who lives with her aunt. There’s a special relationship between these neighbours, or maybe there isn’t, but I won’t spoil it by going into that. There’s also a lot of magic happening, like the bell that rings in the night when nobody’s there to ring it, as well as the appearance (and disappearance) of the Idea-as-Commendatore I mentioned earlier.

As the story unfolds, lots of parallel situations reveal themselves, so that by the close of the novel there seems like a millions ends to draw together. In the meantime, to save someone’s life the narrator has to undergo an ordeal that threatens his own existence, involving obstacles like hidden tunnels and Double Metaphors. Of course, he triumphs, and all’s well that ends well. It’s a hell of a ride.

Whe you’ve forgotten what an education was for, and lost the capacity to ask the reason why? Spose you have to believe in something. Murakami’s novel will not be found here.

If you’ve never read this wonderful writer, rush out and get yourself a copy of Killing Commendatore. I warn you though: don’t take it out in public. If you do, you’re certain to be mobbed by Murakami’s adoring fans, all asking for a loan of your precious object. 

Ave amici,

Just as the Democratic Republic of the Congo has given a whole new meaning to the word ‘democratic’, so in Australia the Liberal Party has given a whole new meaning to the word ‘liberal’

Australian politics has given us such wonderful semantic wonders as ‘core promises’, ‘on-water matters’ and ‘small l liberal’

For those Dispatchees who are unfamiliar with Australian politics, don’t let that worry you, you’re not missing out on much. Disappointment, disillusion and disenchantment are the likely reward for making the effort to understand it.

Suzannah Espie singing Disappointment ( my Old Friend)… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnfd3z5nUuM

Suffice it to say that the governing coalition of the liberals and nationals (formerly the Country Party) is better described as the Conservatives.

The electoral division of Wentworth is one of only two Australian Federal electoral divisions never held by the Australian Labor (sic) Party. According to census data the electorate has the highest proportion of high income families of all the federal seats in Australia.

A by-election was held in Wentworth in which a massive (record) swing against the Conservatives resulted. There will be countless arguments, opinions etc. as to why such a result resulted. The swing was in favour of an Independent.

Commentators seem agreed on one thing: The electors of Wentworth have “sent the Government a message” whatever that message is.

A ray of sunshine: it is apparent from the result that being privileged and wealthy or well off is not mutually exclusive with having a social conscience.

Having seen the conservative candidate’s speech, in which he most graciously conceded defeat, I conclude that politicians would do well to attend Diplomacy 101 lectures. The conceding candidate has served as Australia’s youngest ever Ambassador (to Israel).

I fear that for our current Prime Minister, such lectures would come too late. He has already committed several humongous faux pas in record time.

This from a 2010 Dispatch-

“There were unprecedented swings in polling booths in central Australia (including Kintore, Santa Teresa, Titjikala, Ampilatwatja, Utopia, Ti Tree, Rockhampton Downs, Yuendumu, Papunya, Mutitjulu and Yulara) against the sitting member and Minister for Aboriginal Health, Warren Snowdon – with some booths showing swings of 60-70% against him and 30-40% to Greens candidate and NTER critic Barbara Shaw”

It was mainly non-Aboriginal voters who got Wazza across the line, and then only by the skin of his teeth.

Warren Snowden was lauded by his parliamentary colleagues (“he is from the Northern Territory and knows his constituents”) . The same is being said of our Current Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Nigel Scullion. albeit from the other side of the political fence.

In the 2010 election which Wazza survived, the people from the bush “sent him a message”. Like the Wentworth election which looks like resulting in a “hung Parliament”, if Wazza had lost, it. could well have resulted in Tony Abbott forming a Government instead of Julia Gillard. The butterfly of Chaos Theory.

Big difference, the “message from the bush” received scant publicity and was either not received or was ignored. That ‘ignore’ and ‘ignorant’ are related words goes without saying.

Yuendumu recently had a visit by a group of celebrities including Ernie Dingo and Dan Sultan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z6SyjaPbMg Dan Sultan… Kimberley Calling

In preparation, two sets of car bonnets were installed at the entrance to our town. The bonnets spell W.E.L.C.O.M.E.(twice). A strong gust of wind has knocked down one of the bonnets. It now spells WE COME. Make of that what you will.

In conversation with some French tourists/backpackers I learned that Muammar Gaddafi is alleged to have bankrolled Sarkozy’s electoral campaign. I told them that I empathized with French people in that at the last election they could choose between a Banker and a Fascist. It then dawned on me I was being rather precious, in Australia I told them we weren’t much better off, we got to choose between a Banker and a Wanker.

Deinde usque ad tempus

Franklinus

PS- Elections are not much to sing about. I’m again resorting to non sequitur musical links:

A beautiful song by Joan Baez… El preso numero nueve https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjaa-OhDm8Q

And an exuberant performance by a fabulous brass band

No BS! Brass Band: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjNggZsWow

Competition WTF.

Yes indeed!

We have admitted defeat this week.  Defeat by those with tax payer funded inherited privilege, by the focus of those with wealth and power on human rights, and by their focus on the problems with democracy.  Defeat by a Government so bereft of morals that it now plans to increase the world wide refugee problem by throwing petrol onto the fire in the Middle East by moving our Israel Embassy to Jerusalem and thus blowing up the former bi-partisan two state solution.  Defeat by a Government that having created intense instability by repeatedly changing leaders having the gall to say to electors in tomorrow’s by-election (which was caused by their instability) that a vote for them is the only vote that will restore stability.  Defeat by the stable party within the coalition wishing to reinstate the sexist Barnaby as leader – and he won’t even answer the question as to how he can look after his new baby and still do justice to being leader.  We are defeated by a government that is determined to reinstate a racist, sexist, economic and religious class system, not only in Australia, but world wide.  Scott Morrison has made Winston Peters look like a Statesman!

Maybe we will be back next week, to watch the Liberals unload mightily on Malcolm Turnbull.  To blame him for the Wentworth result, to blame him for the ABC debacle, to blame him for the instability that they themselves have caused.  Oh to find succour in the blaming of others for problems of our own making.

There is no way we at PCBYCP can compete this week.

Cheers

(This dispatch was first published 26 October 2014)

Καλημέρα φίλοι μου, ας σταθούμε και να θυμάστε Gough,

Gough Whitlam was much loved and respected by the Warlpiri Nation.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0

Gough came to Yuendumu twice. The first time as Prime Minister.

In 2001 Gough and Margaret Whitlam came to Yuendumu to open the refurbished Yuendumu Old Peoples Programme (Mampu Maninja-Kurlangu Jarlu Patu-ku) building.

Gough’s lengthy speech was a dissertation on Constitutional Reform. Margaret was overheard despairing… “What is he on about? Somebody please stop him!” or words to that effect.

The invitation to Gough and Margaret was insisted upon by ‘Yuendumu’ despite the wishes of the incumbent Government to have the building opened by ‘one of theirs’

Occasionally we get our way.

Four years ago I wrote in a Dispatch:

On 4^thApril 1968 Robert Kennedy was scheduled to make a campaign speech in Indianapolis, when he heard that Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. He then discarded the speech that had been written for him. He ignored warnings of potential violence and announced the assassination to a predominantly black crowd, most of whom had not heard the news.

In his impromptu speech, Kennedy quoted his favorite poet, the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus: “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

That an elite college educated white man should quote an ancient Greek poet to a crowd of black ghetto(?) dwellers has been remarked and puzzled over ever since. Some have labeled it bizarre.

There were riots in 76 major U.S. cities. Indianapolis remained calm.

That an ex-Prime Minister that had been a keen student of the Greek classics, should address a crowd of predominantly Warlpiri people about Constitutional Reform may also be labelled as bizarre by some.

Nothing bizarre about not patronizing people.

That we didn’t understand Gough’s speech didn’t bother us. We are used to those in authority addressing us in unintelligible language.

….it doesn’t matter what your colour as long as you a true fellow….[ It doesn’t matter what your language as long….]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYLKGIf68So

A large number of painted shields were presented to Gough and Margaret. Never before nor after did I see such. A single shield yes, but not one from every family.

“Nyampu purlka-pardu yanurnu nyampu-kurra jirramaku.
Wangkaja nganpa jukarurru-nyayirni.
Purda-nyangu nganpa kanunju nyumpa-nyumparlu.
Wardinyi-jarrijarnalu pirrjirdi manu yinka-kurlu, kuja nganpa wangkaja.”

[This old man came here for us twice.
He spoke to us truthfully. He listened to us with deep concern.
We were happy with him, over the serious matters and laughing together when he spoke with us.]

Gough and Margaret were true fellows. From a Warlpiri perspective there is no higher praise.

Gough dared a Nation to dream. A dream of inclusiveness. 

Οφείλουμε να Gough και τους εαυτούς μας για να ακολουθήσει αυτό το όνειρο

Dear reader, we’d had enough  of flash Prime Ministers. Kev was just too high level bureaucrat. Julia was too high flying unionist.  Tony was just too self important and athletic and iron man. Malcolm was just uber 100 percent  “Mr Harbourside Mansion”. 

Learnt from Barnaby. Big Hat. Big impression.

Scomo has departed from wearing a suit. Gone are the Flash Harry equipage of Keating. Keating was a flaming disaster, had big ideas, wanted to do stuff about reconcilliation, equity and made us all worry about our superannuation and get all conservative. 

All the others tried to make a difference. Kev wanted to let everyone know how clever he was. Julia tred to not be like Kev.  Tony just tried to be like Bob Santamaria. Malcolm didn’t stand for anything other than wanting to be Prime Minister and looking confused.  For one reason or another they all failed. 

That’s of course after we had enjoyed a new Edwardian age, a Golden Summer, an eternal twilight under the benign endowment of John E Howard.  Australia’s, second greatest PM ever!. Johnny gave us xenephobia, insecurity, cultural cringe and reasserted our right to fight other peoples wars. John you’d think would reign for ever, and his legacy has stood us in good stead. That was his brand. “Relaxed and Comfortable”.

But how’s Scomo gonna differentiate from all his predecessors? 

We have the answer.  By being ordinary. And acceptable to ordinary Australians. That’s code for Lowest Common Denominator. 

Scomo in a pair of footy shorts and a baseball cap is ordinary. Scomo fronting the first X1 sporting a Max Wallker toweliing hat is nationalistic ordinary. Photographed with the Opals, meaningfully mysoginistically ordinary. His message is simple. Be ordinary. 

And by the end of the week in a country town somewhere looking at a grain harvester, having a look at a drought affected paddock in a Dryzabone and be back on board for the following week.

Scomo when he’s not passing coal around in Parliament. Bit worried about the slogan below his right forearm.

His roster is ordinary.

A NATURAL BORN LEADER!!

Monday;  Open footy club training facility. Talk of opportunity.

Tuseday; Visit mine site, wear hard hat. Talk Jobs and Growth.

Wednesday; Visit old age home. Talk Service Industries.

Thursday; Inspect womens health centre. Talk Women’s issues

 Friday; Talk about gambling promotion on the Opera House with Alan Jones. Talk Sport.

But of matters of policy and the future?

It’s  a non issue. Nothing to see here (dear reader) we don’t care, so why shoud Scomo? 

And besides he’s attending the launch of the latest batch of French submarines ‘le Merde’ and ‘le Toilet’. 

Well not the launch, the launch of the pre launch parliamentary process paper, which will determine whether the periscope is left or right hand drive. This is very important in a submarine, for without the periscope the submariner is blind. 

Collins Class Submarine demonstrating capacity to sink nobly.

And technically you’d be surprised how many submarines that come off the slipway are not properly invested with a trusted and proven persicope. Which puts us at a strategic disadvantage. 

But Scomo has renamed the entire Collins class fleet, with names we all recognise. There’s HMAS Ordinary, Booney, The Don, Lillee, Thommo, Macka and Jezza.  This indicates a multicultural nuance, which shows how progressive we are. And in the long run if the periscopes don’t work it doesn’t matter. Cos as Scomo points it “what you don’t really see don’t matter”. 

And that’s reassuring. 

Cos he knows most of us really don’t care. 

G’day,

The first time I heard of Borroloola was soon after I graduated and joined the geological consultant firm of Cundill Meyers and Associates. At the beginning of the Nickel Boom, U.S. Steel became a significant client of CM&A. I was assigned to U.S. Steel in the Pilbara. Doug Rutledge was sent to Borroloola where U.S. Steel was exploring for Manganese.

A few years later on our way back from Canada, we stopped in Duluth where I attended a Geological conference hosted by the University of Minnesota. A field trip to the Mesabi Range was part of the conference. It doesn’t require a lot of imagination to discern similarities between Duluth and Whyalla in South Australia. In both cases the socio/political/historical development being much influenced by the iron oxide (rust) content of their ranges. A bus load of geologists passed Hibbing which I much later found out was the birthplace of Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan). This then being a perfect excuse to insert a non-sequitur musical link …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ST9TZBb9v8 Joan Baez Diamonds and Rust

The tour was led by the head of the geology department, a wiry enthusiastic gentleman by the name of Ralph Marsden. When Ralph found out I was from Ostrailia he told me he’d spent time there when he was working for U.S. Steel, so I then mentioned I too had done work for U.S. Steel in the Pilbara area and that a colleague of mine had been sent to Borroloola- “Burralooolah!!! Burralooolah !!! Burralooolah!!!” exclaimed Ralph, who then proceeded to tell me a tale of woe how he had ended up on the wrong side of a crocodile infested rising river and it took a week before he could wade across and find his way back to civilisation. Thus it came to pass that whenever Borroloola was mentioned my ears would prick up and I’d pay attention. The story of the Borroloola Library comes to mind (Google it sometime if you have the time and want to be intrigued). Both the building and the valuable books are alleged to have been consumed by termites. I suspect that Borroloola may have at least in part inspired Alexis Wright’s town of Desperance in her brilliant book ‘Carpentaria’

You may recall that in the most recent Dispatch I expressed my repugnance at the appointment of Tony Abbott as a special envoy to Aboriginal Australia.

I sometime despair at the hypocrites getting away with it. Talk about Dracula in charge of the Blood Bank!

‘Stop the Boats’ Tony Abbott ….Bob Marley: Can’t take your slogans no more……. No more sweet talk from the hypocrites…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD6C3vX4cSg

Tony Abbott the Judas of Australian Conservative politics.

So every now and then the hypocrites are called out and my despair evaporates in a brief flash of schadenfreude.

This article appeared in the online Alice Springs News

Tony Abbott sent packing on his first Aboriginal envoy trip

Former Prime Minister turned special envoy to Aboriginal Australia was forced out of Borroloola this week after facing heated criticism from parents, educators and elders during his first visit to the community in his new role, according to a media release from the community.

It says it was angered “by Abbott’s hypocrisy, cutting millions from community based services while Indigenous Affairs Minister, and his vision for assimilation through education and punitive policies linking attendance rates to welfare payments.

“Parents, elders and school council members challenged Abbott over his comments that Aboriginal children should not only speak English first, but think in English too, and attempts to force failed direct instruction policies on the school.”

Gadrian Hoosan, a parent and school council member quoted in the release, told Mr Abbott he was not welcome in the community since intervention policies ripped out community funding leaving residents worse off, while denying much needed new housing and basic services.

“He looked like he couldn’t wait to get out of there when we all started bailing up on him.

“He picked the wrong community to try and bully. We have a strong school here and strong families. He’ll be having nightmares tonight. We told him we don’t want him as our envoy.”

STOP THE HYPOCRITES!

Chau,

Frank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjNggZsWow

Enjoy!

This bloke comes highly reccommended to chair the ABC

One of the problems of being almost the only surviving fully independent media organisation in the country is that people come to us, as in  a swarm, offerring us advice, pointers, insghts and suggestions. It’s a problem just responding to all the letters.  Our internet thingy gets chocka block full of videos, emails and emojis sent to us, as a sort of journalistic benediction. They have faith in our objectivity. And we must admit, at times, the load seems crushing. 

WE’ve lost count of how many times we’ve been told to reject this individuals application.

However, since Mrs Crinklade’s elevation to the toppest tiers of the Murdoch organisation, (she was headhunted) things have changed.  Only she, (who has a diagnosed memory impairment and ethics disorder), was chosen.  WE only gave her the job cos Centrelink said they’d cover the cost of her theft and mendacity condition. And to be fair she settled in well in the footy tipping, though things started to go missing.  But Centrelink would never get back to us on the payments we were to receive, the training, assistance or anything. WE felt left out.  We felt almost biblical. Yet through our rejection we also felt a manifest sense of exceptionalism. We danced for joy at being SHUNNED!!

Still, this individual demonstrates clear tenacity under fire.

And in our isolated exceptionalism, we laughed as Mulva, (for that is Miss Krinklade’s Christian name) sent us postcards, and twitter feeds of her new life with the Murdoch Empire. At first it was not easy supressing the pangs of jealousy, as she showed us images of her with Theresa May at Chequers, of Donald Trump at his resort golf course, and Scott Morrison, in a workers hat, looking serious. WE thought we’d keep track of Mulva’s travels just to see in graphic form her extraordinary diary of travel and high level meetings. And after we’d put coloured string to all the pins stuck in a map of the world we could see that all the english speaking democracies were in the thrall of their leader Lord Murdoch, and strangely we felt a chill. Because underneath the spaghetti like tendrils we knew that any notion of good governance may be under review.

Such was the scale of Murdoch’s tentacles of inlfluence, and such the weight upon Mulva to be a high achiever. 

On second thoughts….Can’t underestimate the stature of a bloke who wears a big hat!

“Good thing we’re non achievers’, Clarrie said, and we all heartilly agreed.  And yet in spite of our obscurity, in spite of our lowliness and in spite of our abject poverty, we were heartened to hear, via crystal set a faint morse signal. WE yet, might still be able to perform our duties from the outside. 

Within seconds Maltravers had decoded it on his army disposal Enigma machine, and deciphered it. 

The message read: ‘Have found new chairman of ABC. Stop. 

Proceeed with operation Whitewash. Stop

Destroy all malcontents. Stop

Total Ultimo. Stop

Stop when I say STOP’!

WE were aghast. What could this mean? Could this be a slur on the very thorough root and branch investigation of malfeasance, conflict of interest and base politics being conducted by our Communications Minister. Surely we should wait on the findings before embarking on action. 

Or a helmet. Useful for those feisty board meetings.

But the code spelt it plain and simple.  ‘Total Ultimo’. That could mean only one thing. Ultimo had been targeted for re-assignment, and we knew what that meant. Within the organisation the cogs were whirring to select a replacement CEO. And the man pulling the levers, adjusting the knobs and dials was none other than Rupert, Lord of Murdoch, the supreme being. And we all breathed a sigh of relief. 

Why you may ask? Because in the corridors of power and its mouthpiece the ABC it signalled “Business as Usual’. 

And we.  Once again.. 

Might be RELEVANT!