MURDER TRIAL

I sat through a murder trial today – the end of it really. The first part was last week.

It wasn’t dramatic like on Law & Order. The murder was discussed so matter-of-factly that in my head I’m going ‘this person might be locked up for a very long time. How can you be like it’s just another day at the office’.

But I guess that’s what it is for the judge and the lawyers. Just another day. And how could they do their jobs properly if they didn’t have that distance?

Seemingly inconsequential details were examined minutely. DNA results were introduced, not to incriminate but to eliminate.

An expert witness gave evidence about the position of the furniture in the room, using an interactive video. There was the bed. And there was the victim on the bed, sleeping the big sleep.

How did the family feel, seeing that?

The court was shown CCTV footage of the killer, agitated and smoking a lot and drinking endless cups of coffee. Texting on his mobile. We were watching the preamble to a murder.

The accused didn’t look vicious or evil. He looked like a regular guy. And maybe he is just a regular guy – most days.

The summing up is tomorrow.

this post was first written on Monday APRIL 12, 2011

TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR

The expression ‘15 minutes of fame’ comes from Andy Warhol’s book A-Z and Back Again (1975). It obviously struck a chord. Why?

With an artist’s vision, he captured and mirrored back to people something they instinctively felt to be true. He tapped into the zeitgeist.

Everybody wants an audience. The ordinary, the retiring, the unremarkable. Everybody wants to sparkle even if it’s just for a moment here, a moment there.

Social networking – the phenomenon of our times – hasn’t just taken off because it’s convenient for busy people leading busy lives. People who can’t be bothered moving from home yet still want social interaction.

Or because it’s a great marketing tool.

The real appeal of social networking is that it validates what you have to say. It tells you that your opinion means something because somebody, somewhere is listening. And responding. Even if you don’t know that person and will, almost certainly, never know that person.

The distance and the comparative anonymity, rather than being inhibitive, are exactly why this medium perfectly suits modern sensibilities. If your social network friend says something you don’t like you can block them or ‘unfriend’ them. Just like that!

There is no requirement to develop or use the skills of communication and negotiation necessary for real friendship. It’s all about ME.

Greenies and refugee advocates think that they are solving society’s ills but they are still riding the wave of the ‘me’ generation and the tide hasn’t turned yet.

Maybe all the attention and the lol’s now available on tap will pacify us and, like a hungry baby finally fed, we can get back to the business of living.

GOOD LUCK, ANNA MARIA

Anna Maria, you seem very nice.

I’m new to Queensland and I never took much interest in politics until recently and I only had a vague idea of who you were.

But I saw you on television when the floods were happening and I said to myself – and to my partner – and to a couple of other people – Anna Bligh seems very nice.

So I hope Campbell Newman doesn’t beat you to the Premiership. As a lot of people seem to think he’s going to – because he’s good for Queensland. Because he’s ‘Can Do’. Who came up with that nickname, anyway?

I hope he loses and gets called Can Don’t or Canned Doo or Can the Plans Campbell.

He says you have got Queensland in a lot of debt and he’s going to fix it. Have you really got Queensland in a lot of debt? I really wouldn’t have a clue about that.

But, Oh! The power of figures! Just pull them out and hammer them til the mantra takes on a life of its own. Who said – that if you tell people a lie often enough they will eventually believe it?

Anyway, I think it’s important to have someone nice as Premier. So, good luck, Anna Maria.

ABOUT BLOGGING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

A few days ago Cass posted a You tube video on the J School blog of Steve Jobs giving a speech to some grad students. I thought it was great advice and sent it to my 17 year old son.

He makes the point – which has been made many times by many people – that life is short – we are all going to die.

Right now, in my mind, that idea is connecting to blogging.

I got into blogging a few years ago and did it for about 6 months before losing interest. The blogsite was for ‘writers’.

I had a lot of time on my hands because I was recovering from major surgery and I was trying to avoid my ex-husband while we lived in the same house.

I wanted to write some stuff that I could publish. That’s what it’s all about. I’m no different to masses of people who want to give their point of view to the world.

Listen to me! Listen to me!

My posts were mostly formalized writing that didn’t invite comment. But I wanted the practice. Or seeing something I wrote published. Or my name on the page (though, I admit, the name on the page was a bit of a shock and I wrestled with that).

But it was ‘mine’ and I spent as much time designing my pages as I did writing.

The thing I liked best about this blogsite was the discussion and interaction that it generated. Responding to the content of other people’s posts. The spontaneity.

So, back to Steve Jobs’ speech in relation to blogging… death will be snapping at my heels before too long, so I appreciate the reality that I am an infinitesimal speck in a vast timeless Universe. I don’t want to waste my limited time half-communicating.

The best blogs posts mean what they say and say what they mean. They are ‘authentic’, not written to impress.

Ultimately, blogs are about communication. Even if people disagree with you.