rcws – fat bike

#randomconversationswithstrangers

meet Matt, who is cycling the Nullarbor on his #fatbike to raise money for @RFDSnews

Matt’s a public servant from Canberra who got sick of people whinging about the time it took to get seen by doctors and knew others had it way harder. So he’s raising money for flying doctors by travelling across the country on his fat bike! He says the bike is amazing off-road (and there are some MAMMOTH off-roads across the Nullarbor!) but shocking on the road, especially against a head-wind.

Go Matt!

You can follow his adventure via http://facebook.com/FatRideAustralia – and support his fundraiser here – http://rfdsse-fundraisers.everydayhero.com/au/FatrideAustralia

[originally posted on Known, December 10th 2014]

on respect

Driving the #Nullarbor I can’t help but think of the traditional owners of this land and what it was like for them before us, before colonisation. I’m truly awed. I’ve made a cursory list of the Aboriginal countries #homeJames and I are, and will be, passing through on this trip. Whose land are you on?

I wanted know which Aboriginal Countries I have been travelling on* during this drive from Adelaide to Perth, so I went to look at my HEMA Australian Road Atlas. It’s not there; there’s no map of Aboriginal lands at all. I think there should be, but that’s something I’ll be suggesting elsewhere. For now I have used an ABC map** to make a cursory list.

Countries I have driven through so far (on this trip) – Kaurna; Nukunu; Banggaria; Nawu; Wirangu; Mirning; Ngatjumay.
Countries I will be driving through (to get to Perth) – Malpa; Nyaki-Nyaki; Balardung; Wajuk.

I have visited other Aboriginal countries, of course, and there will certainly be others after this, but for now, this needs to be said:

#homeJames and I pay our respects to the traditional owners of these lands and to their Elders past and present. We feel their energies present in the landscapes we pass through and imagine the lives they would have led, free to roam, before colonisation. We thank them for the care they have given, to this land and each other, and we stand by them in solidarity as they rightfully fight for recognition, respect and a future to call their own.

ABC's Aboriginal Australia map

ABC’s Aboriginal Australia map

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*Since I first came up with reallybigroadtrip I’ve wanted to make a scrolling ‘bus destinations’ readout that’s linked to a GPS tracker so I’ll be alerted which Aboriginal country #homeJames and I are currently visiting. I have been told that the borders aren’t quite as ‘set in stone’ as GPS requires, although fuzzy borders could be programmed. But more importantly, is it my right to make such a thing, even if just for my own use? If you’re going to explore someone else’s culture, surely you wait to be asked rather than decide to claim such a concept. Maybe one day I’ll be invited to do this, we’ll see.

**map source: http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/

November

I’ve been on a bit of a personal creative development bent for most of this last year, and this week I start talking publicly about some of the ideas I’ve been playing with. If you’ve been following my ‘lateral drift‘ ramblings, you won’t be surprised to hear that “it’s all about The Commons” :)

Nov 18-25th – Memefest Symposium: Melbourne

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The two-day symposium at Swinburne University from Tuesday 18 November to Wednesday 19 November explores this year’s Memefest theme Radical Intimacies: Dialogue in our Times. We will relate it to issues that affect social movements generally and, in particular, dialogues between Aboriginal activists nationally and the broader community. We all have a lot to learn from each other.

My talk is on Tues 18th Nov at 5.40pm: “A Return to Commons Sense”:
Contrary to the shameful displays of our so-called ‘leaders’, humans are by default generous spirits. Communities have an innate ability to support each other during bushfires, contribute to the dreams of their peers via crowdfunding, stand on the shoulders of giants due to knowledge sharing, work side by side in co-working spaces and grow collective meals through permaculture. All these elements have a basic footing in historical culture: The Commons. Nomadic geek artist, Fee Plumley, invites you to return to a philosophy of common sense through a renewed and contemporary sense of The Commons.

Read the schedule and speaker bios then head on over and register!

Nov 20th: Restructure2014

A one-day conference to discuss the current re-structuring in the arts, culture, creative sector in Australia, organised by Hugh Davies & Jan Hendrik Brueggemeier at La Trobe University. 

This conference looks at the current state of the arts, and considers alternative modes of culture and knowledge production within times of shrinking public expenditures. Featuring participants from performance, fashion, creative arts, gaming, media and community intervention, the event explores both broader sustainable strategies as well as “clever partial solutions” to cultural and knowledge production in a post-public sector environment.

I’ll be talking on a panel at 1.45pm about Internet / Cultural platforms with Trent Kusters and Rick Chen and then summarising the day’s discussions on a panel with Stephen Healy and Maria Miranda from 5.45pm.

Read more and book via http://restructure2014.net.

rcws – you’ve gotta watch that climate

#randomconversationswithstrangers

I really love my :)

nice old fella comes over to  “gawd they build ’em tough in WA!” (re me wearing a vest top). “I’m from UK, and she’s [the bus] from SA. I thought the weather had been nice here” “SA? I ran up Mount Lofty, oooo, would have been before you were born, 1953. Coldest weather we’ve had since i’ve been living here- 43 years [melbs]. The wind is coming off the melting icecaps”

“Yep, you’ve gotta watch that climate”.

[originally posted on Known, November 11th 2014]