ratogi.net

I had a talk with a friend a couple of days ago about the link between history and music, and in particular how listening to certain music that relates to some bit of history can inspire you to go learn more about it. That’s certainly true for me. Case in point is Midnight Oil. I’ve been listening to them for over 20 years, and I’ve used their songs as a jumping off point for learning more about the plight of Aboriginal Australians (from their Diesel and Dust album, in particular “The Dead Heart” video a couple of posts back and “Beds Are Burning” below) and the Battle of Gallipoli and Kemal Ataturk (“Blossom and Blood” and their cover of Eric Bogle’s “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”), among others. Makes you wonder how moments from the present day will be immortalized in song.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td1ZLqrEpXI

The Sentinelese people live on the Andaman Islands off the coast of India. They are among a number of tribes in the world that have shunned contact with the rest of the globe. And with a culture that has survived intact and served them well for 60,000 years, you can’t really argue with the wisdom of their choice. The Indian government tried for a while to establish contact, but met with little success since the Sentinelese are quite happy not to be bothered. Here is a video of one attempt to contact them. These links come from Survival International, an organization devoted to supporting the rights of tribal peoples worldwide.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd officially apologized to the Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia for the state-sponsored mistreatment that they have endured over the last century. It’s an important symbolic step that was long overdue, but of course it remains to be seen what happens next. For an overview to this sad chapter of history, read the Stolen Generations article in Wikipedia. Better yet, watch the excellent and heartbreaking film Rabbit-Proof Fence and check out Midnight Oil’s 1987 song “The Dead Heart:”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd_diPTrjpI

so after several years of dormancy, i figured i should actually attempt to do something with this site again. blogging is pretty popular these days, but since i don’t currently have much time for writing lengthy bits of prose, i figure i’ll just type in a random paragraph every now and then… most likely just quick notes about interesting places that i find during my normal travels about the web. i’ll try to keep them fairly well sorted into the (arbitrary and subject to change) categories listed on the right. the ever-popular photo gallery is also here, of course. if you have any comments, please contact me. enjoy!

~r