Georgiezine

Last Sunday night we decided to drive up and down laneways of Kilkenny just to get a feel... old converted shop front cottages, converted churches, some factories, some empty factories, many a graffitied long wall, lovingly planted gardens, large playground complete with wooden fort.  At our friends house, kid kept himself busy with a miniature barrow he filled with autumn leaves, made vain attempts to befriend the cats (Rumpus, Pickles) and sat in Megan's lap. She collects things I like-50s ceramic cups, vintage pictures, frisbees. Ali declined roller-skating has game-app developer vertigo.... At printmaking, we sit around and do our thing-last Wednesday was hand painting screens in our designs (everyone made rapid decisions-mine was Emerald City, Michael's was RIP Hazel Hawke), and talk about stuff. Discovered Simone grew up in South-East, not too far from me ("we used to go there for school excursions, it was the big smoke"), and swapped notes about the video arc...

Some people have the luxury to deal with their depression as an existential ailment, and seek a cure in eastern religions, with Ben Lee being a prime example. I like Ben Lee. As a musician, I'd count him as someone whose tunes I like and find catchy. It's his personality and cultural depth that put in a more beloved realm for me. Whereas other Australian based musicians whose work I love, have inevitably dabbled in mind altering substances (The Church, members of the Birthday Party, Paul Kelly etc), Ben Lee has sought adventures abroad and embraced spiritualism. As my husband and I watched "Catch my Disease" (a film documentary that was screened by the ABC last night), we each felt slightly cringey about Ben's earnestness. It was sweet, but also slightly vulnerable, how much he had embraced his guru and his spiritual path. He did have the air of a convert or born again, but who was I to mock it? Had I experienced it for myself by being there and living that lifest...