Passing

I have a journal that my eldest sister gave me for a prominent birthday recently, ( I say recently and then realised that was coming up to 3 yrs ago!) which is what this post is about.
Why is it that as we age, the years rush past quicker and we have an obsession with finding about our forefathers/mothers?
Could it be as I discovered in my journal entries, that our loved ones come and arrive. Since I started on this new journal there have been three deaths and three births. Our mortality is staring at us, yet a new generation is beginning.
I too, have had new beginnings personally. I completed a Degree, ran a Marathon and found new poverty.
The circle of life is revolving around and around. My early years were middle class enough and then the race from the creditors began In my marriage we prospered slowly to a point where we lived the high life for a few years. Nice home, swimming pool, luxury cruiser, European holiday, Islander wedding for Daughter etc. THEN, the GFC! Now I strive to earn the rent each week after losing it all. However, we are relatively happy albeit the freedom to do what we please, family are closer, relationship wise and new found family members keep cropping up due to the fact that I wonder where I came from. That's not to say I am finding myself, heaven forbid!! Can't abide that hippy shit for "I can't be arsed to be responsible"    I mean, "who were my ancestors?"
Upon delving it appears they are nothing like me, so, what's it all about,..Alfie/

a start

Thursday, 28 July 2011

stuff

This week it was suggested by two family members that I should start a blog. Now I am not quite sure how to take these suggestions. Were they saying that I have something interesting to share for all and sundry or that I babble on about the most inane things that perhaps others should benefit/suffer.
My mind does inquire into the most absurd, which motivates me to create, so perhaps there are others that wonder why the universe throws us these things to ponder over.
When I was a teenager, my then boyfriend and I would take road trips to surfing spots up the East Coast of Australia and to keep it interesting I would list the foreign objects I saw along the side of the road.This mainly entailed road kill, but more often enough there was the occasional abandoned shoe. This started thirty-blurr years ago and recently I have been documenting the evidence that it just is not my imagination. I now have some 30 odd photos of the phenonema of the single shoe on the side of the road.
A lot of you would also notice this phenonema without really putting a story to why they are lying there in the most bizarre spots that one would abandon their one shoe.
Perhaps some of you have thought "why,how,when,whose?"
Let me know what you think as I also have many more questions and perhaps a thesis is in the making!
I will share some of my photos (gathered in the most dangerous acts in the name of art) in further posts.

photos

Here by request is some photos of my recycled hawaiian shirts with new filling that I have created.

speech stuff

I have recently brought up in conversation with significant others of a particular ad that has the main actor with what I presumed to be a speech impediment, like me others apparently consider such phenonema;
" So many English people pronounce " r " as " w "
Bargain Hunt is on right now and, according to the host, one team have bought a " Beatwix Potter plate "
" Pwoperty pwices " are always rising.
This is peculiarly English, we Aussies and the Americans and Canadians don't do it.
Why is it so? "  "but there is an answer according to; forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=830850

I am constantly surprised that this trend is not more widely recognised, indeed as in this case, when the issue is raised it is usually explained away as a speech impediment or some other cause that refuses to address the matter. From my experience Fiona is quite right. The phenomenon of sounding r as w is much more common in the language of England, and further more, it is more common in english speakers of certain class and educational level. Rather than being a speech impediment caused by some physical vocal fault, it is a learned behaviour that is handed down through generations. It seems to be far more a speech mannerism than an impediment.
Where this speech habit appears in other cultures, eg Australian, Canadian or American english it is far more likely that it is an impediment, but in English speakers of upper middle class, it is a language trait as common as that of any other facet of accent.
What do you think and does Mark fwom O'Bwien annoy you?