1 International Day for Older Persons
4-10 World Space Week
6-14 Mental Health Week
10 World Day Against the Death Penalty / World Mental Health Day
13 International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
14-20 Anti-Poverty Week
17 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
19 – 28 Queensland Children’s Week
24-30 Disarmament Week
Welcome to the August retrospective of news and social media presence across the platforms I use.
Gallery of Family and friends
August included travel with opportunities to catch up with old friends and new. There were themes to explore including Multiculturalism and my status as a senior citizen.
My travel took me to Sydney and to my birth city of Geelong for a school reunion and a family celebration. With my new leisure time available as a retiree I decided to take the train using my NSW Discovery Pass which gives me three months of travel from Brisbane to Melbourne and lots of places along the way. Travel hint: pack your own snacks and nibbles as the trip to and from the diner car can be an obstacle course if the train suddenly turns a corner.
While visiting Sydney I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried the latest in hostel type accommodation at The Capsule Hotel, Sydney It’s another one for the bucket list but unlikely to be a repeat experience.
This slide show is a montage of people, faces and places that all have a story. A few shots in my purple hoodie are from a visit to my birth city of Geeelong. I got along to an “old Boys” reunion of St Joseph’s College Geelong, where I jumped in front of the lens with Des Podbury, one of the oldest former collegians and John Mildren, former ALP politician for the seat of Ballarat. My other Geelong old boy catchup was with Russell, with whom I went through St Pat’s Geelong West as well as “Joey’s”. The last pic in the purple hoodie was a family get together with my late’s father’s brother and sister in law, Chris and Margaret.
The lady wearing the Geelong footy scarf is my late mother’s only surviving family member, Majella Tracey FMM. Religion pops into a few of the other pics with a selfie taken with Bishop Vincent Long and a series of heads from St Mary’s Cathedral as well as a memorial plaque to Gough and Margaret at St James Church.
The pick of the pics is the one where I am wearing my Keffiyeh with a young Middle Eastern guy. I was in Parramatta and popped into the local Macca’s for a coffee, Ahmed, the young man in the pic noticed me and made a point of coming over to chat. He had never seen an Aussie wearing a Keffiyeh. We chatted and he introduced himself as a Muslim from Lebanon. We talked politics, religion and peace and embraced each other in a quiet suburban space of harmony.
The group shot was taken as part of Rainbow Seniors Free Screening of Victor Victoria.
Photography
Politics
How do we have respectful disagreement with politicians like Peter Dutton or media moguls like Rupert Murdoch?
How do we tell Senator Fraser Anning he is not just wrong but offensive?
How do we tell John Howard he was a liar about the Iraq invasion and Tampa?
How do we tell Malcolm Turnbull he is a gutless weak political leader?
How do we have a respectful disagreement with #Indonesia about the genocide and transmigration policies in West Papua?
How do we have a respectful disagreement with weapon manufacturers and the government s like ours that support them?
How do we have a respectful disagreement with Donald Trump?
In Brisbane this is Black History Month
Celebrate Plastic Free July
1 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday
7 International Day of Co-operatives
8-15 NAIDOC Week
Politics in May begins with Labour Day holiday and concludes with National Reconciliation Week . This is the month where we focus on the issue of Domestic Violence and acknowledge the value of volunteers in our community. There’s something for everyone during May including World Naked Gardening Day and of course the boost to the flower and card industry on Mother’s Day.
In the middle of May I posted a greeting to my my Muslim friends as they began their practice of Ramadan i am pleased to feature the AFL image acknowledging the Muslim community at this time.
Catholics have a busy month with the customs of honouring the Virgin Mary with processions and festivals. This year Aussies were asked to join a national rosary to “circle the country” There was a bit of religious imperialism added to the prayer: “We are praying for the future of our country and committing our nation to God and to the immaculate Heart of Mary.” Not sure there was a plebiscite about that bit. I like the idea of inviting people to pray for Australia at a time when the Royal Commission has recommended sweeping changes to religious and other institutions, when it demonizes asylum seekers and refugees, when it incarcerates First Nations peoples at an alarming rate and when corporate greed is supported by Government.
On Sunday 13th May I went on a rosary pilgrimage to reflect on our country, its needs and our mission. I took the words of Bishop David Cremin’s message as a focus.
“I support very much this good apostolate of promoting the Rosary at this time when there is so much poverty (and) bloodshed and refugee problems in our world,”
This pilgrimage began at 3.00 pm at the Sorry Day Plaque in King George Square and concluded at 5.00pm, at sunset at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens in Alice Street.
One of the May celebrations that doesn’t get a mention in Catholic Church bulletins is May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. I had a mention in the promo for my 2018 image of the Storey Bridge lit up in colours of the rainbow.
Photography
Updated Albums
Special Features
Odd spot of the Month
The back of my head captured during a liturgy at St John’s Cathedral
June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month
3 Anniversary of Mabo Decision (1992)
4 International Day of Innocent Children / Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989
11-17 Men’s Health Week
12 World Day Against Child Labour
16 International Day of the African Child
17 World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
17-23 Refugee Week
23 United Nations Public Service Day
26 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking / International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
30 Introduction of Unemployment Benefits Australia
Some more Community Celebrations you might like to mark with me!!
April began with that weird juxtaposition of Easter and April Fool’s Day. As well as attending the ritual festivities at St Stephen’s Cathedral on Easter morning I also joined a lively discussion following Evensong at St John’s Cathedral: Christ Foolery: The Ministry of the Fool in The Christian Tradition My contribution to the discussion was the introduction of the patrons of my Holy Irritant blog, St Christina the Astonishing, Virgin and St Basil the Holy Fool whose icons lead this month’s reflection.
My Easter celebrations continued into the second week of April when I joined the Catholic Byzantine Community of Our Lady of Protection in Woolloongabba who celebrated the feast using the Julian Calendar.
Careering Into The Future
This month marks a milestone in my career as I bid farewell to friends and supporters at Micah Projects after more than 12 years of employment.
The invitation to celebrations that went out through various networks included this amazing image that says much about my work and ethic. A few years ago I created “ Bananaman”, a promotional character for our fledgling social enterprise in South Brisbane. That enterprise now includes Hope Street Café.
Bananaman has made his curtain call. The work of social change and advocacy includes wild humour, a good dose of eccentricity and a costume from eBay. The costume may be retired but the eccentricity and wild humour will continue in my work as a Community Jester.
Performance of the Month
The Story of Brisbane with award-winning actors Therese Collie and Tim Mullooly was an extraordinary foray into history, local writers and secrets of the Brisbane Powerhouse. There will be a separate post coming about this soon,
Movie of the Month
If you only see one film this year make sure it is STOP THE BOATS. Simon Kurian has produced a documentary that exposes the stark brutality of the current culture of inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and refugees who come to our shores.
The film is harrowing, graphic and honest in its exposure of the abandonment of global responsibility, compassion and justice by our recent Governments formed by the two major political parties.
STOP THE BOATS will tear your heart apart. inspire your action to begin a new language and practice about asylum seekers and refugees and hopefully disturb your political conscience.
The ANZAC Mass
You can hardly reflect on April in Australia without a reference to ANZAC. In recent years I have attended the ANZAC morning Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral. While I respect the intention of praying for those have died in our armed forces I am disturbed by the presence and parading of military weapons during the liturgy. See my blog post here
April Photography
Great Stuff Found Online
Exhibition of the Month
The AFTM Emerging Artists Exhibition supports talented local outsider artists to further develop their creative vision under the guidance of a professional mentor and support from AFTM. This year’s selected artists were shortlisted by a panel of judges from over 300 entries in last year’s Brisbane Festival Exhibition. They are: Felicity Clarke, Margarita Iakovleva, Filippe Lombardo, Amy Mack and George Moraitis.
At the Exhibition Opening with George Moraitis
Under the mentorship of Art Consultant, Elizabeth Bates, the 2018 Emerging Artists have been given the opportunity to take part in an exhibition.
Exhibition continues to late June 2018 -AFTM Gallery, 136 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley. Make appointment to come in to view T 07 3151 6655 E aftm@wmq.org.au
Political Commitment of the Month
Today and every day until #Nabka, May 15 I will wear my #Keffiyeh. This act is a statement of solidarity with the protests in Gaza and a condemnation of the Israeli Government and military for their abuse of human rights.
As an Australian I wear my Keffiyeh to protest the silence of our major political parties and our diplomatic failure to censure Israel for its violence against the Palestinian Community.
28 April – 7 May Bike Week (Qld)
29 April -6 Heart Week
1 International Workers Day / World Asthma Day
5 International Day of the Midwife / World Naked Gardening Day
6-12 International Composting Awareness Week Australia
7 Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy
10-16 Schizophrenia Awareness Week
13 Mothers Day
13 – 19 Food Allergy Awareness Week
15 International Day of Families / Al Nabka
17 International Day Against Homophobia / World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
20-26 National Palliative Care Week
21 World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
21-27 National Volunteers Week
22 International Day for Biological Diversity
25-31 Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories
27 – 3 June Reconciliation Week
29 White Wreath Day / International Day of UN Peacekeepers
31 World MS Day
