NATIONAL SORRY DAY

SORRY

A NEW BEGINNING

Today the people of Australia apologized to the Aboriginal people, the oldest living culture on the planet, for the wrongs inflicted upon them by the European settlers over the last 210 years.

Kevin Rudd, our humane and enlightened newly-elected Prime Minister, fulfilling his election promise, delivered the Apology to the Aboriginal people as his first task at the start of the first sitting of the 42nd Parliament in Canberra today.

Aboriginal tribal elders witnessed the event from the Public Gallery above.

Outside thousands of Aboriginal people and supporters from all cultures that make up our multicultural nation watched the proceedings on a giant screen. All around Australia people gathered to watch this historic moment that will transform our nation from this day forward.

I was in tears. Many were.

At the conclusion all members present rose in support. Their united voice said "Yeah".

Australia says Sorry.

This is a new beginning.
This is not an intellectual exercise,nor an empty condescending gesture.
Sorry is a word of substance with an agenda of positive action encoded within it.
Reconciliation will follow.

This is a core promise of national responsibility that goes beyond all posturing, petty politics & puerile attitudes.

The Commission that will follow will introduce constructively defined projects to improve the life of these people.


We have to come to terms with the past in order to embrace the future.

"Seize the Day," says Kevin. Let this day become a rare moment of national transformation. The real possibility of reconciliation of our indigenous people.

It brings the last two shameful centuries to a close and opens a new chapter that respectfully recognizes these ancient people, the original inhabitants, who have inhabited the Australian continent for >60,000 years......some estimates say twice that.





We cannot go back but we can go forward and not repeat past mistakes.

Minds wide open we can tackle the challenges that we will encounter as we go forward in this new chapter in our nation's story.

Nobody says it's an immediate cure, that suddenly everything wrong will miraculously come right.

But it is the first step in the healing process and will eventually lead to a healthier united Australian nation for the generations to come.

It is about decency and respect.

We will craft a new future from this day forward.

They no longer speak of boongs & blacks,
they talk of the Aboriginal people

Neville Bonner -1st Aboriginal MP

Images recorded from ABC TV 130208

Carried on the Shoulders of Giants

My latest batch of Apophysis images. All of them owe more to the genius of the DeviantART crew than my Apophysis abilities.
Go here for the production details.

Julia's Star Flowers.

In honor of Julia Gillard
who today became our 1st woman Deputy Prime Minister.
Better times ahead!
Well done Julia!

Hear This!
It sings.

Wind of the Sun.

Kaeltyk Egg.
My version of Kaeltyk's flame.

ApoObsession
Nights of Apophysis can do this to you.

Today is K1.
The first day of Kevin. At last the country can become more humane under his guidance. The harshness of the last government did not create a happy population. Here's hoping Kevin, Julia and their team can right the wrongs and get us fulfilled in all we can be as a nation in the planetary arena. The coming trials of climate, economics, overpopulation and so much more beyond our control, will be a daunting challenge.

All good children go to Kevin! He's definitely one of the good guys. Get behind the new team and be part of the solution. Together we can do it.

Congratulations to all who helped make the change to a better Australia.

THE TRIBAL ELDERS and the CYBER ARK.

After my brother and I visited our Aunty and Uncle last weekend I decided I needed to record it for posterity in this Cyber Ark of human experiences. This is my Aunty, today, in her 80's, the eldest of my father's family line. Sorry Uncle but pix I took of you were too blurred - camera shake!

My Aunty

Below, this is my Aunty and Uncle when they were married in 1947, the year my brother was born. The beautiful Australian princess marries her handsome British pilot. They have just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, with congratulatory message from the Queen putting icing on the cake, so to speak.

The fairytale is real

The photo above is from my Nikon Coolpix S6 snappa, taken through glass onto framed tiny snapshot, then Photoshopped to resize & clean up. It isn't great but it hasn't come up too bad.

Charley

This handsome fellow is my father, my aunty's brother who fought to keep us all safe in the Middle East and New Guinea. This is taken after the war in 1955. He died in 1972.

Mama, me & Grandmama - 1940

This is my mother, aka Dawn Gold, carrying newborn me with Ivy, my grandma (my father & my aunty's mother), walking down Pitt St., Sydney in 1940. Caught by one of those prevalent street photographers of the day outside Repins Coffee Shop. Mama died in 2004. See Post below.

These are and/or were my tribal elders. Now my Aunt and Uncle are the sole representatives of their generation in my family. They are strong and hearty and will prove what healthy stock we are in their longevity. I bet they outlive me and my brother, both of us being in less than great shape at present. Stay tooned!

＼（‐＾▽＾‐）／

Had all the best intentions of creating more Apophysis digArt today, but got lost in the Magic Carpet of Memories Room after my aunty asked me to list the chronology of my life events. An interesting exercise that brought me to the Cyber Ark concept.

CYBER ARK

These pages and my Flickr pix are going to be around long after I'm gone (IF we survive the climate change biosphere breakdown crisis and I do mean IF, not when). Here I will be able to be accessed by those who come after, so it's a time capsule event. Hello y'all, just in case you have found me.


STORM SEASON IS HERE

View from studio south side yesterday evening as the first Big One blew in.
Green sky means hail.
It did, not here tho, but further east where it lay like carpets of snow.

Hail, lightning strobes, big sudden storms moving through quickly, not much rain. Suddenly the season has changed and it all feels dangerous. Memories of the 2002 tornado that wrecked the studio & garden. Another brewing, time to disconnect everything & put up storm blinds.