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My grandmother died the week prior and her funeral was on Friday. I’m sad I didn’t get to speak to her one last time but I also know it wouldn’t have been what I wanted; namely, to go back in time and talk to the person she used to be before her condition deteriorated about a decade ago. I really wanted the kids to meet that version of her. She was the first person I remember who considered it a matter of fact that Australian land was rightfully Indigenous land. I will miss her and the person she was.
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In a somewhat related vein, the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum (Wikipedia) was voted down on Saturday. Australia has a difficult constitution to amend so this isn’t a shock but it was a little surprising that, with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory, every state (together with the Northern Territory) was majority no. From what I’ve seen online, I am unlike most yes supporters in that I don’t think that this is incontrovertible proof of the Australian population’s racist attitudes. While I think creating a voice to parliament (Wikipedia) would have been an important (and morally justified) step in integrating Australia’s Indigenous population into its governing structure, I am sympathetic to people who were concerned about the consequences of such an innovative idea. Personally, as someone who thinks it’s a great strength of federalism that you can experiment with different approaches, I would have waited until it had more of a track record at the state level but I understand why the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people didn’t want to have to wait even longer for more recognition.
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I had a blind pimple (Cleveland Clinic) and in trying to explain what this was to Eri I discovered that Japan apparently doesn’t have them or at least doesn’t have a word to describe them.
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Boomers criticise Millennials for having a lack of impulse control and maybe that’s what this is but I couldn’t resist buying the kids a new Switch game. John especially loves playing on the Nintendo and I should have got him one for his birthday rather than the subscription to the educational game I got instead. In any case, I bought Yoshi’s Craft World second-hand and it’s gone down a real treat. I was worried he and Emma might find it too basic but that’s turned out not to be the case.
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As mentioned last week, I’ve started rewatching the first season of Loki. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s chemistry. I also appreciate how clever the show is at playing within its own rules.
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I never enjoyed Rogue One as much as some other people did and I often wonder what the ‘original’ cut of the film was like. Were you not aware there was an earlier cut of the film? The YouTube channel, Bullets & Blockbusters, does a decent job explaining what we know about it in a 10-minute video if you’re curious.
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Japanese television producers frequently sprinkle in music from famous soundtracks to random segments of panel or variety shows. During one such show that was on this week, I heard Quincy Jones’ ‘Soul Bossa Nova’ and have had it in my head ever since (Apple Music).
