Next Thing

Time for an explanation as to what the hell is going on in the life behind this blog. I'll give you a bit of context and answer DPF's post about blog fathers and I will not comment on the gendered language behind the family tree concept, lest I get attacked by the anti-PC brigade.. I started this blog a couple of years ago when I was finding myself getting very frustrated with the world around me but couldn't really jump up and down about it publicly due to my role as a public slave. I was also on a mission to improve my writing so I figured if I got into the habit of writing more often it might improve that way. So I thought I'd set up a blog as a place to publicly vent my spleen. I never expected anyone to read what I wrote and I didn't promote my blog at all but then after a while I noticed that people had started to read it, and then come back again for more. Quite odd. Then I felt the pressure of an audience and kept going. I also noticed that I was a lonely Green voice in the blogosphere so thought it was important that someone was representing there (until I was usurped by that damn frog). And it's been fun! There's still been a lot of stuff I've wanted to write about but haven't due to lack of time or little technical issues like breaching parliamentary privelege ;) But I'm thankful that I've been able to engage in the world around me in the form of dialogue. I don't think there is any particular blog that inspired me to get going but I'd be interested to know if there's anyone out there who got inspired to start their own after reading this one. I know I certainly built a couple of blogs for other people. So now I've left my job and I'm on my way to the next thing. I fly out on Friday to Sydney. Just in time for the protest against terror laws and the Rock Against Racism and to visit friends and family and then I'm off to Melbourne to find a job and somewhere to live and to take part in the National Day of Community Protest for workers rights. My grand plan for the next thing is the get involved with film. I've been a hobby film maker for a while now, mostly covering protest action, Green Party events and whenever my friends have babies. But I'm planning on making this my full time focus from now on. One of the things I loved about my job is hearing the wonderful stories of things going on in our communities. From the youth radio set up in Porirua to get kids off the street to the 12 year olds running political campaigns in their communities to protect things dear to their hearts, to the old ladies running community breakfasts for those too poor to afford the most important meal of the day. There is stuff like that happening all over the place and we never hear about them. These stories deserve to be told, not just because it's important for us all to hear about them but because most of those people out there feel like they're doing these things alone and get really isolated. It's hearing stories about what other pieces of fantastic community action are going on that keep people going on their own work or inspire them to start their own. And of course there's a bigger picture interest for me here. We are at a fascinating point in world history, some say that the decisions we are making now will determine the survival of humanity. I believe that it's really important that the resistance to capitalist globalisation is recorded, in our own words. I know that for me, as an (r)evolutionary activist it's reading stories of activists from days gone by that inspire me and keep me involved in activism and help me with my critiques of the world around me. I find it entertaining when I think that my generation is far more radical and visionary than any previous, and then I read writings by Emma Goldman from a century ago to realise that it's quite possible that the opposite is the case. So I want to tell stories of resistance. I hope to focus my work on antiracist stuff, particulalry decolonisation and immigration issues. But want to do work about prison reform and prisoners rights as well as getting into some more core environmental issues like the rainforest protection work going on in Tasmania at the moment. So that's what the next thing is. I will be reporting on what I get up to and I will be continuing to blog on my thoughts on the world, although my parliamentary focus will probably fade away as I gradually reclaim my soul from the evil toxicity of the parliamentary environment. So thanks to all my readers, especially those of you with nice comments to make. Watch out world, here I come.