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• Up Front: Well, Read Women, in reply to Craig Ranapia, 10:50 Jul 26, 2015

  otally agree with you Mantel just doesn't do kitchen sink sentimentality. If you'd like some insight into why, her memoir Giving Up The Ghost is well worth tracking down.

  Thanks for that Craig, my curiosity is now firmly focused.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Speaker: What I learned in Class: Should…, in reply to Ian Dalziel, 08:37 Jul 26, 2015

  Dave Snell's tv show Bogans begins this Thursday

  "Mate, we don't do re-enactments! We do historical medieval battles. Like, you see these guys on TV, dressing up as elves, giving each other a few taps with wooden weapons- that's not us. We do it with steel, mate, like they did in the 13th to the 15th century. You wear chain mail or full plate armour, and go at it hammer and tongs. When they take off their battle kit, most of these people love heavy music, wear black clothes and so on, then they strap on 30 kilos of metal and go at each other with historical metal weapons. As referee, I get to stand in the middle while these guys smash the crap out of each other. It's awesome!"

  So how about a separate bogan electoral roll, with their own electorates, which they fight for by going all medieval on one another instead of voting? Take it away Mr. Trotter.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Speaker: What I learned in Class: Should…, in reply to Ian Dalziel, 07:47 Jul 26, 2015

  Ace of spades, definitely

  and naturally...

  Eat the Rich. The bit where Lemmy recommends his "bacon torpedo" is particularly good. Eat yer heart out Eminem.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Up Front: Well, Read Women, 16:41 Jul 25, 2015

  A few from closer to home.
  Ruth Park - The Harp in the South, Poor Man's Orange, Swords and Crowns and Rings, plus the two volumes of autobiography.
  Dymphna Cusack and Florence James - Come In Spinner.
  Barbara Baynton - Bush Studies. The bush gothic short story Squeaker's Mate is a favourite.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Up Front: Well, Read Women, in reply to Carol Stewart, 16:07 Jul 25, 2015

  A word here for Hilary Mantel and her inspired re-imaginings of the reign of Henry VIII...
  She's also a handy social commentator - this interview with Der Spiegel is well worth a read.

  I've only recently read Every Day is Mother's Day, which I believe is her first. On the strength of that I'm looking forward to the later stuff, though the subject matter seems worlds away. After a few pages of wondering if I'd embarked on a dreary piece of kitchen sink sloggery, Every Day is Mother's Day totally won me over. Mantel is sharp, funny, and as playfully merciless to her characters as George Orwell and Muriel Spark ever were.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem, in reply to Tom Adson, 15:40 Jul 25, 2015

  You seem to be blessed with an enviable presence of mind Tom, good on you. Should you have the time and are able to follow the link to Te Putatara - it's a little slow to load - it would seem that things have deteriorated way past the point of whether or not there is credible oversight in the prison system. I've posted it in what I believe to be good faith, as it seems to provide a very pertinent context for some of the issues you've been raising.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem, in reply to Tom Adson, 14:56 Jul 25, 2015

  The physically disabled are in some ways easier to help because they are clear to see...

  From this excellent but deeply disturbing account, they may be seen but does anyone care?

  One such case was a young man in my unit who had breathing issues. His cell mate pressed the emergency button at about 2am to report this, and medical staff arrived at about 7am (as in, when they start in the morning) to find him in very bad shape. He was taken away, like the others, in an ambulance.

  He spent a few weeks in hospital then back into high risk/admin then back to our unit. The prison knew there had been a fuck up with him, so to buy his silence they offered him a room in the prison’s self-care unit. He took the deal, not realising that this broke an unspoken prison rule about taking prison deals. Prison justice kicked in and he was summarily beaten black and blue in self-care.

  This is how overcrowding turned a simple asthma attack into black eyes and broken ribs. This was not the only case like this.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Speaker: What I learned in Class: Should…, in reply to Steve Barnes, 14:48 Jul 25, 2015

  Whereas Bogon, in my humble opinion, is a Culture/Class thing.

  That Trotter's picked it up indicates to me that westies, druffs, hoons, chavs, neds, whatever, are all fodder for gentrification. And I'd go with Alan P's guess that bogan is Australian.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Access: Disability as a wicked policy problem, in reply to Tom Adson, 12:54 Jul 25, 2015

  Prison is one form of social housing, but a very small part of it and at the negative end. The very expensive end. Many prisoner’s have mental health problems. They shouldn’t be in prison.

  Thank you and a big amen to that, Tom. Superb post.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

• Speaker: What I learned in Class: Should…, in reply to Craig Young, 10:44 Jul 25, 2015

  Er, except Britain doesn't have bogans, it has chavs. Some of whom are gay, apparently, but then Britain is a very stratified society.

  Could you be a bit more specific? I really don't have a clue what it is I've said that you're on about.

  flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report

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