THEY DID IT!

My beloved Sydney FC were officially crowned the minor premiers on February 14th 2010, after beating Melbourne Victory, 2-0 at home in front of 25,000+ Sydneysiders! Melbourne needed only a draw to win the championship, but in one of the most dramatic endings to a fantastic season, Sydney FC put on stunning display to seal a 2-0 win and claim the championship by one point.

Sydney FC 2009-2010 A-league Minor Champions!

To win the championship is one thing, to win it at home against your biggest rival and to do so, with such a spectacular performance is quite another. I’m so proud of the team, after being a member for 4 seasons now, I’ve experienced all the different highs and lows it comes with being a loyal supporter of any team – from seeing them hammered at home 3-1, to days like yesterday which were simply brilliant.

Last year we didn’t even make the final series, this season we’ve won the league. The contrast couldn’t be any different. And it’s all down to our brillant new coach Czech coach Vitezslav Lavicka who has installed in the team, a genuine European style of quick paced attacking football.

Two phenomenal goals, one a 25-yard volley from Karol Kisel and a sublime 20m finish from John Aloisi was enough to ensure the championship came home with Sydney FC in the first time in their history.

See video highlights, including those two utterly mesmerising goals right here

Karol Kisel celebrates scoring against Melbourne Victory

Here’s hoping we can beat Melbourne in the Grand Final too.

So happy!!!

p.s. You can follow Sydney FC on Twitter here and make sure you snap up your Sydney FC membership for the 2010/2011 season – they’ve going to go fast.

More stories here
Sydney Hungry For More Success
Kisel Thrilled With Triumph
Sydney Claim The Premiership
Sky Blues Take The Title
Newly Crowned Minor Premiers Prove Their Big-Match Temperament

Aside from the fact that I woke up today, to see this is anyone else feeling a little shocked it’s nearly October already?

It seems only moments ago that I was thinking about what hidden surprises 2009 might have in store, yet here we are, with less than 100 days to go until Christmas.

I feel if I’m not careful, I might close my eyes for a few seconds, only to wake up in the future, reclining in a nursing home, with a Yogi Bear cookie jar next to me and a mangy moggy on my lap, who goes by the name of Mr. Bigglesworth….imagine the thought.

One thing I often DO imagine, is the first impression people have when they stumble across my Flickr page. They must genuinely think that my friends are entirely comprised of some of the loosest drunken pirate fiends in the entire Sydney metropolitan area.

I wonder where they might have potentially got that idea from?

But enough of dust, cats, old men and drunk people, there are more important things to consider in this world aren’t there? Specifically, hehe, that back in June (just realizing it’s been THAT long already baffles me) , I mentioned that I was starting work on a new little project . Since then, there has been some seriously late nights spent beavering away, and whilst the timeline has moved a little, I’m really pleased to report that we’re looking good, to potentially reveal all before the end of the year!

It’s been really fascinating watching it develop over the past few months. You feel as if you’re achieving something as each little piece slowly slots into place. But until nearer the end of the year, I’m going to keep you in suspense about any further details. As the below picture shows, I’m all about keeping things on the down low haha

And finally, to recap on worldly matters since my last post

HIGHLIGHTS
I’m playing tennis again (Yes, even I was surprised!)
Sydney FC are top of the table
Got a decent return from Mr Tax Man
Credit Card balance $0.00
Bought tickets to Marilyn Manson
This photograph of Barack Obama

LOWLIGHTS
Still need that new bed
Fucktards who use Facebook to tell me things like this
Tax return is going on dentist
Waking up to the Sydney Dust Storm this morning!
My body trying to reconcile the notion of “exercise”

Hope all is good in your world, over and out

Alex

Probably one of the most divisive and well-known words in the entire English language. For some, it’s akin to inviting the devil over for tea, to others it can be an art-form, even inspirational and to anyone that has used the Internet, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry.

Just like the acts it represents, it’s use, interpretation and impact on society has been highly controversial, often illuminating and almost certainly, always polarising. Today I want to look at where we stand on the issue.

It’s as old as civilisation itself, permeating literature, photos, drawings, sculptures, paintings, films, video games and print.

And whilst pornography is certainly not a new phenomenon (Over in Ancient Greece they were a little frisky,  The Karma Sutra provided them with the perfect guide), its modern-day accessibility (and thus further reaching consequences) has begun to re-write and re-wire the moral code and conventional opinions of our time. Or has it? Have things REALLY changed that much?

In 1860 during the excavations of Pompeii, the Victorians unearthed depictions of confronting sexual imagery, dating back to the Roman Empire. Utterly mortified by what they witnessed, all of the ‘offending’ images, transcripts, paintings and relics were moved and stored in a secret location in Naples, Italy.

Why so?

Apparently, the upper crust of Victorian society couldn’t possibly allow such open displays of sexual activity be seen, for fear of corrupting women, children and the general public at large.

Depictions of sex were deemed immoral and likely to infect impressionable minds. That lead to the ‘Obscene Publications Act‘ being passed in 1857 in one of the most repressed empires at the time, the United Kingdom.

Which is a strange train of thought I must admit. The notion that everyone can have sex, but actually, in public at least, you have to pretend you don’t.

Thankfully times have changed. And we’ve gone from covering up the legs of our furniture, to being shocked when Britney Spears actually IS covering up at all.

With a medium that is so prevalent in our everyday lives (like those compelling late night TV commercials to get “Horny Russian Babes” on your mobile…) there will always be abuses of it. It has undoubtedly served as fuel for already disturbed minds, its resulted in young woman being held captive as sex workers and most disgustingly of all, it has lead to children and minors being abused.

The same , however, could be said for the institution of war or the industry of arms proliferation. The format is the same – the abuse of the individual or the exploitation of a demographic, which ultimately satisfies the malevolent desires of others. Now that could be power over a race, control over a society or their own sexual gratification.

There will always be evil in the world, but I’m not entirely convinced that ‘pornography’ at its most basic level (consenting adults), is quite the bogeyman the conservative right often trumps it up to be. Whilst I wouldn’t wish either on anyone, what’s worse? The sex trade or the horrors of war?

To try to categorize all the facets & permutations of pornography would take me hours, but regardless of format, its variations and interpretations are limitless.

Make no mistake, there is a network, community, newsgroup and often entire movements dedicated to the whims, fetishes and picadilos of every single person on the planet. So if we’re all looking, searching and partaking in indulging our fantasies – why do some people still consider them shameful secrets to have?

Does that make the people of the world’s most fetish friendly city morally bankrupt, if they like to wear leather and get spanked with a hairbrush?

Who am I to say it’s un-natural or peculiar behaviour? More importantly, who is anyone to pass judgement on what two consenting adults do? People wearing lipstick are not laughed at or branded as looking like clowns, so why should someone wearing a latex outfit be the target of ridicule?

It’s puzzling to me that people often rely on the views of others, to tell them what is “kinky” or “subversive” – be it from religious leaders, your family, your local neighbour or token community standards.

People inherently avoid talking about their sex life (ever chat to your boss at the water cooler about that gang bang you had last night?) and everyone has right to privacy (it should always be respected) but if it’s “the great unspoken” taboo – how can these same people be in a position to decipher what is and what isn’t acceptable? How are they even remotely informed?

Would you be comfortable restricting all forms of sexual expression, pornographic or otherwise? I certainly wouldn’t.

If the people that are the least aware and receptive (and by that, I mean those who shy away from pornography regardless of form) see fit to describe and brand others as ‘perverts’ or ’sickos’ maybe the harsh reality is that they themselves are ‘blinkered’ and ‘limited’ ?

For example, I would love to see the work of H.R. Giger on display in a local art gallery. But as we already found out, people even have strong views about the merits of pornography when it comes to artistic expression.

It seems to me, if you wanted to be a painter, you’d gain valuable insights into the techniques used by painters, if you studied their work. Can’t the same be said for people who enjoy sex and pornography? If you can hire a copy of the Karma Sutra from your progressive local library, why can’t you hire the yearbook edition of Playboy?

I have a very simple view on pornography (I’d like to think the majority these days share it with me, but you never know these days).  It should have been created with the consent of those involved, it shouldn’t be exploitative, it shouldn’t contain minors nor should minors be exposed to it (with the exception of sex education at high school) and animals are think are best left to the farm yard.

With those ethical rules in place, I don’t see why pornography needs any other such restrictions. Surely there are more pressing restrictions needed in society.

Why can you buy ammunition from Walmart so you can go and shoot up your University, but you can’t purchase a copy of Hustler? That kind of backward logic astounds me at times.

Isn’t “Freedom of Expression” one of the most quoted and fiercely protected human rights of all time? Don’t we have a right, as adults to decide what we view as entertainment?

We’re a society perfectly at ease with broadcasting the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a show where skimpily clan men beat the living hell out of each other. But you’d be offending the locals if you had two attractive girls kissing on the big screen? Why don’t we even have the right to choose? And if we do choose the vastly more appealing option, why is that considered shocking or immoral?

If brawling alpha-males, appeal our primal sense which is thousands of years old, surely pornography and the feelings it evokes, resonates too?

There is nothing more powerful than the human touch and whilst I don’t harbor any illusions that pornography is about love, it is nevertheless part of our genetic DNA – the primal instinct to mate, touch and pro-create. Somewhere along the line, with dolphins and chimpanzees, we decided we also liked doing it for the sheer fun of it. Pornography is our celebration of that ideal.

Why is that such a shocking notion for people to entertain?

I cannot understand the logical of YouTube willingly hosting a graphic and horrific video of a girl called Neda getting shot and dying on your computer screen yet they deem the concept of people having consensual sex on camera as offensive.

Whilst I know there is an argument that the video is newsworthy, that it needs to be seen to drive home the reality of the situation in Iran – it is far more shocking in my eyes, to see a human being die in front of me, than it is to see people engaging in sexual acts.

Maybe it’s about time we asked ourselves, why is there one rule for violence and death, but another rule for pornography and entertainment?

Alex

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8111352.stm

It’s a detailed analysis of the current debate surrounding the elections in Iran, but more significantly, it categorically answers the question which has been bandied about by various media pundits in recent months:-

“Will instantaneous user generated content (which is often poorly researched, lacking quality and purely opinion based) supercede traditional in-depth, long lead and professional editorial articles?”

With a resounding yes.

The article itself, illustrates the answer brilliantly, it’s the first time I’d seen those two forms of the news side-by-side, complimenting each other, providing a complete picture of the events unfolding.

The article is split into 3 areas. The main body is dedicated to the traditional balanced, researched report by BBC detailing the political mind-field that is currently exploding in Iran.

At the top, there are 7 tabs which feature different levels of content on the BBC site – Latest Developments | Who’s Who | Video | Reporters’ Log | Analysis | Your Reaction and Q&A.

(There’s also sections dedicated to to fill new readers on the ‘Background’ of the situation and several ‘Features’ which take a fascinating look at the history of Iran the social ramifications of the events taking place.)

Essentially, you have everything you need to peice together the broad picture, created, filtered and monitored by the most trusted news source in the world the Britsh Broadcasting Corporation. And yet whilst that seems like a tremendous amount of coverage, it’s actually only half the story.

The second part (and some would say in this day and age, the most vital) is the real-time breaking news and alerts provided by YOU the average person in the street.  The BBC should be applauded for embracing social media rather than fighting it. Whilst you can leave a comment and voice your opinion on the forums on the BBC, these have to be reviewed for content prior to approval (one would assume to stop spam and graphic images). So the BBC decided to go one better.

By utilizing such services as Flickr for photos, YouTube for video clips & Twitter for constant chatter on the ground, they are innovating the way in which we consume news, rather than segregating – like so many other traditional news outlets do.

Whilst the BBC correspondent is spending 15 minutes writing & publishing a “breaking news” article via their laptop from a hotel room, as protests rage outside in the streets below, I can go onto Flickr and see real-time mobile photo uploads of the scene itself.

Just think about that for a second.

We’re on the other side of the world, yet we can access pictures faster than one of our most established news sources.

I can look at Twitter and find breaking information, instant images from the streets of Iran, links to latest feeds and results or contact numbers for loved ones in mere seconds. Faster in fact that in takes for local TV stations to upload their news feeds via satellite. And therein lies the real power of social media.

It is truly staggering that a site like Twitter, unbeknown to the general population 12 months ago, is now taking precedence  and contributing in a dramatic way on a major mainstream news channel.

This unique fusion of respected and professional journalism (which we all rely on for a clear and concise understanding of the events taking place) combined with instant updates from the scene as it unfolds in the form of mobile photos, video uploads and audio files – provide the world with the most well-rounded and accurate form of news reporting we have ever seen in our lifetime.

No government can suppress the average person in the street uploading photos taken on their mobile phone to Flickr. There are 3.3 BILLION mobile handsets in use worldwide – no dictatorship (I’m looking at you China) can police that.

There is a genuine change in the air right now – at long last, it’s the public who are in the front row, technology and real-time syndication means news is now unfiltered, uncensored, free from delays, commericals or special interests – everyone gets to write part of the script.

It’s the most accurate and confronting look at our world, seen through the eyes of the people in the centre of it all.

Iran is an unquestionably bloody and bruised place to be in right now, but one thing is for certain – the entire world is now watching.

Alex

I’m so happy for America, for Obama and for the world right now. Read more here
Alex