Aspidistra

As we drift blindly into a rabid consumerism that seems to be completely bolstered by submission to the fascist tactics of rampant capitalist ideology, I am not comforted to learn it's all quite accurately predicted in literature.

I have been reading the book Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell and have been reflecting on his observations of poverty that cause a shiver down my spine.

As we see our Government remove the safety net for unemployed, people with disabilities and even the elderly, while they vilify refugees, take away their support and give handouts to big business, a very grim picture of life in Australia is emerging. 

Though Orwell deliberately turns his back on the pursuit of Money as an Ends he illustrates quite clearly how the absence of money in a capitalistic society can rob from people all sense of basic human dignity. 

There is a concept of the failure of the individual in an environment that (possibly mostly in the author’s eyes) puts far too much importance on money as the measure of success. Capitalist ideology is dependent on a system that promotes ‘failure’ in order to motivate people to ‘success’. It is a producer of failure, and success is the illusion of those who manage not to be perceived to fail. The toll this attitude takes on individuals and society is devastating. The temptation of the successful to kick the ladder out from the feet of those aspiring to ‘do well’ seems a completely natural response to living in this kind of society. It is by nature cannibalistic and will create an underclass who have very few prospects and have very little cause for hope. Demoralization of the ‘underclasses’, the proletariat, or just plain ordinary folk seems to be the ultimate goal of this kind of social system.

In Australia I thought we aspired to a kind of democratic socialism that understood the need to protect the whole of society against the ravages of destitution, financial bankruptcy and the subsequent moral and social squalor that accompany it, because we could see that it produces a net loss to the country as a whole. 

That was the old way. We are now living in a very different country. For the financial elite it probably doesn’t seem any worse, they will amass more wealth and so will invest more into security, prison’s, military and punitive legislation to keep the rabble from messing with their comfort… 

I think Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a book that is worth reading as the conditions in Australia today are becoming very relevant to the themes in this book.

Ironic

Earlier this year I read most of Bukowski's 'Ham on Rye. The book was somewhat tattered and water stained. 

It was given to me by a mate who lives in the longgrass, he finds all kinds of interesting books which I am sometimes grateful he shares with me. (Other times not... depends on the book and what condition it's in, books get moldy when left in the scrub in a supermarket shopping bag)

As I came toward the end of the book I discovered the last 16 pages were missing! That was annoying, although if you've read Charles Bukowski's writing, (which, until Ham on Rye I hadn't) you may agree it was also a bit of a relief! Well kind of, he is so full of contradictions and a self deprecating humor, possibly a master of irony, I find myself loving and being repulsed by him at the same time.... much as I suspect he reacted to himself.

This afternoon as I was searching for some important documents in my mess of a draw at work, I found a small pile of yellow and creased pages crammed somewhere between something I was looking for last week and a bunch of stuff I should have thrown out a year ago. The final pages of the book! Hallelujah! 

Started reading and low and behold.... 4 pages were still missing!

 Frigging Bukowski!

 

TYPICAL!

Celestial nav

Did you ever choose to read a technical manual which describes a process you have no practical use for?

Last night I purchased a pdf file of Kris Larsen’s latest publication via The Smallest Forest’s Etsy store HERE. WTF is an Etsy store, you may not ask because unlike me you probably know all about all the groovy cool stuff on the interwebs... but I’ll tell you anyway.
According to the Etsy website, this is what Etsy is:

“ Etsy is a marketplace where people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods.” 

The Smallest Forest is the name of the blog (and trading name) of Natalie, an incredibly creative woman who happens to be Kris’s missus (Not sure she’d want to be referred to as that but this isn’t about her.) Or you can find more information on Kris's website Monsoon Dervish. Anyway back to the technical manual and why I bought it and why I like it. 

 

My cheap knock up of Kris Larsen's Manual of sextant navigation

 

The title is: 'Manual of sextant navigation', by Kris Larsen 2014.

No I don’t actually own a yacht… no I haven't sailed in a couple of years and never out of sight of land, I don't expect to sail a yacht in the very near future... So why did I buy this book?

6 Reasons:

1. I am fascinated by the technology. A device invented over 250 years ago which can be used for accurate navigation today!
2. Sextant’s conjure romantic ideas of the self-sufficiency and personal skill required of a navigator at sea
3. I particularly like the author’s style of writing and attitude toward the procurement of knowledge and the wisdom he appears to have gained through his life experience. (I think it came from hard work… I’m not prepared to put that to the test)
4. I am curious about the effectiveness of instructional styles
5. I like to support people who actually stick their neck out and create something themselves (sheesh if I can’t get my act together to do anything creative myself at least I can keep the hope alive by contributing to the subsistence of those who do… (for $3.94 AUD)
6.  I really like old brass stuff and sextant’s look, well, they’re sexy!

My thoughts on technical writing:  Although the use of correct terminology is important, I don’t believe that the over use of jargon or technical terms is always necessary to produce a good instructional guide. How are you going to follow instructions if you’ve fallen asleep reading them? I have come across a few books which somehow manage to speak naturally to the reader in the way a master would to an apprentice. They are written in a style which engages the reader in a personal way keeping the instruction simple but clear and to the point. It is a great skill to know what will be of use to the novice and what can be discarded. 

The Book

Having read the first few pages (and some at the back) I am really impressed with this manual. Of course I must qualify that by saying I am not currently attempting to put it to practical use at sea, I don’t have a sextant my interest at the moment is only in the theory and the style of instruction. I imagine there’s an unspoken disclaimer to the reader that a navigator is responsible for his or her own calculations and the author can not be held responsible for technical errors or misinterpretations.

Kris has included plates with hand drawn sketches, tables and technical diagrams, which are presumably sufficient to assist the reader with their application what they have learned in the main text of the manual. What I really like about the book is that Kris has anticipated the various errors a navigator might make or stumbling blocks inherent in the use of the sextant, or navigation generally, and has included troubleshooting suggestions in a very natural way in the body of the text. It reads like he’s right there with you talking you through the process so you don’t fall in a hole!

I have to say the guy has a brilliant mind and things he seems to find effortless I struggle with even the rudiments of understanding, but somehow (possibly with more humility than he’s prepared to admit to) he has managed to pear everything down to  the most comprehensible language which I reckon really helps to demystify the whole process for novices with a fried noodle like me.

I’ve printed my copy and used a comb binder to put a front and rear cover on it.

If you’re into sailing, celestial navigation or would just like to see how a person with practical experience is able to convey their deep knowledge of a fairly technical craft then I reckon get a copy of this manual! A pretty cheap investment I reckon. If you have any doubts about his navigational skills have a read of Kris's book Monsoon Dervish (transcript here). 

Kris and Nat are currently living somewhere near João Pessoa in Brazil, Kris sailed most of the way there single handed traveling from Darwin, East to West. His rout took him north of Madagascar and following the African East coast he sailed on the southern ocean and across the South Atlantic (Ok it seems the long way round but he knew exactly where he was going!). Based on Kris's past form he would have navigated the entire journey by sextant. Kris sails with no satellite navigation, not even a compass, (Or motor).

OK that's enough of a plug for the fella they call 'Longrasser'. Just buy a copy and read for yourself.

Other reads

If you're into navigation and want to really challenge your capacity to combine cosmology or cultural narrative with science try reading:

The Last Navigator.by Steve Thomas (see Amazon HERE). 

Or if you're into bicycle maintenance:

SHELDON BROWN.COM

My favorite writer of technical instruction was the Bike Guru Mr Sheldon Brown (1979–2008).

Sheldon Brown hand built the best database of bicycle technical information and practical advice I've ever seen. I discovered his website back in about 2005 and referred to it regularly. When I wanted to know more I'd send Sheldon an email and he used to reply to me. At the time I had no idea exactly how popular he was, he must have had 1,000s of people contacting him every week! Sadly Sheldon passed away in 2008, he is a legend in the world of cycling and is much missed.

Sheldon Brown.com is a must for backyard bicycle mechanics.

...an unflinching gaze on the world...

The book Sam is currently reading 'We all fall down' by Peter Barry has an interesting blurb on the front cover.

'A novel that speaks to the heart of our culture, and a gripping account of one man's fight for his soul. Both honest and compassionate it turns an unflinching gaze on the world in which we try to find meaning, at work and in love.' This post is not about the book... or even the blurb really. It's just a bit of a rant about an idea and nothing much came of it. (Oh and she said the book is pretty good if you're interested)

When Sam read the blurb to me my first response was to dismiss it as cliche' New-agey rubbish. Overloading a statement about work and love with overly heavy focus of finding meaning in the world... (I think I cringed most because sometimes when I think I've written something OK I read it and it sounds like that)

I thought about it a bit more and the first part played on my mind. Then I started to wonder...

The bit that caught my imagination was this. 'An unflinching gaze...', '...on the world in which we try to find meaning...'

I just started thinking about sight, seeing, vision, perception, reality, truth and illusions, beliefs, religion and lies.

Delirious from lack of sleep, yet again, my mind tripped across what it might mean to have an 'unflinching gaze' at anything... Recently most of my interactions with people I know regarding matters of spirituality, community, truth and the abundance of flimsy facades in their likeness etc... have lead me to consider that most people, nearly all that I have spoken with, are incapable of seeing the world in any other way than through the filters they have chosen to view it. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, actually I think that's how reality is created.

Stupidly I recently made the enormous social error of holding people to account for the ideals they espouse. What a stupid thing to do! (A bad idea considering I may be the worlds greatest hypocrite!) Of course I have discovered that there is a big difference between seeking truth and claiming to know it. I should have known that challenging the position of people who believe themselves to be right would only anger them. Rule ONE... Don't ruin people's illusions! After all reality is subjective but nobody wants to have their reality deconstructed in the vain and useless search for Truth, which may only be someone elses illusion anyway! 

If we are expected to live our lives grounded in reality, and reality hinges entirely on our perception, then it only makes sense that regardless of the falseness of our beliefs we would defend these illusions with all our might! So it's no wonder my dear righteous friends would rather I left their company without explanation than have their virtuous philosophy questioned. (And I did)

Seeing is believing.

When it comes to human vision I've heard there is a phenomenon of the human mind which prioritizes and sorts the information received from the eye in terms of relevance to the needs of the viewer. Gestalt theory explains how our minds are programed to sort visual information. The kind of programing that allows us to spot friends out of a crowd or identify potential dangers at a glance, while the mind sees, assesses and then ignores other information that it deems insignificant or predictable. Another trick I've heard our minds tend to do is fill in the blanks... i.e. at a glance we may build a mental image based only on glancing part of an object like the front of a car protruding from a corner. Peripheral vision is fairly limited but I've heard that the brain fills in the edges. Cool eh.

"The hand is quicker than the eye". Magicians have learned how to exploit our selective vision and have created many tricks that still baffle their audiences, even tricks that have been used for many years continue to confound. Even though we are able to admit that a magician got one over us, most of us would prefer to believe that what we perceive is the world as it is, rather than as we choose to see it. I know I do. I can't help it! When I studied to be a Park Ranger I had to learn scientific names of a book full of local plants. Pretty soon I was seeing the world through the eyes of a botanist (I've since forgotten most of them). I exchanged my naive romantic concepts of trees shrubs and flowers for a more scientific view... But was that Truth? I like to ride my bicycle to and from work. I travel along the same roads as 100s of drivers every morning and afternoon but my experience of the journey is very different to theirs. I see the road differently and I view other cyclists differently. When I read the abusive comments made about cyclists in the newspaper I read them from my perspective as a cyclist. People will often claim to know what is real and I guess they are all correct, at least until they change their mind.

I've always liked Bruce Springsteen's twist on an Edgar Alan Poe quote. In his song Magic Springsteen wrote the lyrics:   "...Trust none of what you hear

                            And less of what you see..."

(Now that's Magic!)

What is so interesting about this 'unflinching gaze'?  Well as I thought about just the two layers of interference between the eye and the consciousness it's likely we rarely see the vaguest outline of Truth in our lives. We are so convinced by what our brain has conjured, filling in the gaps and selectively ignoring what our own eyes see that we are unable to recognize Truth when it stares us in the face! It's possible that we simply just can't do it! So as I pondered this inability to perceive without judgement or prejudice I wondered what it would be like to 'Gaze Unflinching' at the world without trying to 'find meaning'. Then it sunk in. HOLY SHIT!

Who would willingly have their heart burned out through their eye balls for the sake of finding the Truth? Better to live comfortably in our reality, complete with doubt and confusion, fed on flimsy constructions of false promises and half arsed rationalizations; clinging to the barest bones of hope and trusting our superior intellect than to face Truth. Sorry guys I should never have questioned you. Please go back to cut and pasting all the meaning you can stick together and float peacefully over the horizon into paradise... There's nothing wrong with that after all.

But I have to say as far as honesty, truth, love, beauty go I'd rather spend a week looking at a 4 year old's finger painting than listen to 5 minutes of your rationalization.

Peace.