hegemony

These words were uttered to me recently. I think they can be quite apt a description. They were made in regards to writing a PhD thesis (something I had been trying to complete for the last 12 months). Many people I have spoken to share similar sentiments. Advisers are patently aware of this and push you to improve your work only to the point just before it breaks you. I literally reached that point a number of times in the last year…

It has quietened down of late, though the controversy surrounding Japanese whaling in the Pacific emerged again a few months ago. Public debate was bolstered by both the renewed action of Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace (particularly Sea Shepherd volunteers boarding the Yushin Maru No.2 and subsequently being ‘kidnapped’ in January) and the Australian Governments talk of undertaking surveillance of the Japanese Fleet (Air and Sea). Criticism of Japanese whaling largely stems from opposition to eating whales based on whales being majestic creatures, bundled in with the myth of a scientific basis for Japanese whaling and the protection of endangered species. Similar arguments to the former are made against the killing of Dolphins for human consumption.

Over the weekend – well it stretched out a bit longer – I went on my longest bike ride/cycle tour – and my first fully loaded. A friend was leaving family, hometown and all associated to ride across the country – I joined her for the first two days of the ride (330km) and then rode back (via a different route, 315km). It gave me some to think and dwell on a number of things – more of a personal nature than my usual random ramblings in the context of current events… I am certain these will permeate through the next few posts here as there are a lot of things I want to share, as well as topics I already wanted to write on.

Two things stood out – my sense of time, and also my approach to food. Some days I spent upwards of 9 hours on my bike yet ate maybe less than half of what I normally consume. I was not hungry at all (I did consume a lot more water) and had so much energy. My metabolism is still high and I have a lot of energy…

What struck me, and I thought I would share my thoughts on, is the impact that my friend getting on the boat had on me. Writing about it today I realized we had only met a month ago… After we had a rushed good-bye (which I had not pondered before it happened at all) and I waited for her to come out on the deck so I could take a pic, I could feel tears welling in my eyes… That we may never see each other again…

I have been involved in discussions on the Vegan Freak forums with a number of people about the links between speciesism and capitalism, and have had a number of sticky questions raised that I have dwelt on for tangible examples for some time. Whilst testing by bike trailer set-up along the waterfront trail in the city I am currently in, I crossed paths with several people enjoying being outside, the ambiance of the waterside and being (at least partly) away from the machinations if industrial capital/urban sprawl and the relations of capital more broadly