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Thread: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

  1. #1

    Default The Daily Dealings of a Merchant


    The Daily Dealings of a Merchant
    Hath not a Merchant eyes? Hath not a Merchant hands, organs,dimensions, senses, affections, passions?
    Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
    warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?
    If you prick us, do we not bleed?
    If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
    If you poison us, do we not die?
    And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

    It seems that everyone else seems to have a cool, snazzy blog except for me. Well no longer, I say. But what, you ask, is the purpose of this blog, aside from filling the Members Blog forum with a blog from a particularly uninteresting person as myself? Well, it is to show that not all Merchants are evil and want pounds of flesh from everyone. I hope this blog will take away the misconceptions us of the mercantile trade. As a busy merchant, going between great cities on important trade missions, this blog may not be updated too regularly but will always be interesting.

    Best wishes to all,

    The Merchant of Venice


    Blog entries

    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; August 01, 2015 at 06:46 PM. Reason: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

  2. #2

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    An extremely belated welcome

    August 26, AD 2015

    Hello and greetings to this extremely late first blog post!

    Ok, after forgetting for a long time about this I've decided to start it back up again. Why not? What harm can be done? It's not like my existential musings will sadden anyone so much that the much question their own existence. Well, I hope not.

    I don't know yet if there will be any existential musings though, much to the delight of anyone reading this likely. However, I do promise regular updates, at least weakly, from here on in and if they do not come then feel free to pester me until they do, that is if anyone is actually reading this.

    Who is the man behind the Merchant, I here you ask. Good question. I'll try to keep it brief.

    I live in the most wonderful and upside down world of Australia where, if the internet memes or English backpackers will have you believe everything can kill. They will also have you believe ( and so will our tourism department and government in general) that we are Aussie through and through, we drink beer in the morning, throw steak and shrimps on the barbie (no not the doll, a BBQ), wrestle crocodiles and general be extremely masculine and strong and white and blonde.

    Coincidentally, I am indeed white and blonde but that is beside the point. So is my little rant on generalisations and stereotypes so I will stop that as well. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes Australia. I live in our nations rightful capital (though not
    technically its capital) Sydney. Sydney's a weird city, it is both tall and wide in a geographical sense but probably more wide. Having not seen many other cities, I cannot say if it is normal or abnormal but it is home to me. I live in the Inner West of this wonderful city, a neighbourhood known for Italians, coffee, Greeks, baristas, hipsters, tiny but expensive housing, public schools, left wing voters and generally being better than the wrest of Sydney. I go to high school here, which is like American high school but with college included (although I still don't quite understand the American system so perhaps I am wrong) and for you British people I can't make any comparisons because I am unsure if yours is exactly the same or different to ours.

    To call myself bright would be understatement and to call myself humble would be downright wrong. Well, I'm actually not that smart, I'm at a weird level where I'm unsure if I am as smart as I think (quite likely not). I do however have a passions for science, history, english and writing and perhaps it is actually just my liking of these subjects which disguises my real intelligence level. I've got the HSC for that though so I'll soon know.

    Not that intelligence is the only defining factor in a person nor is there one definition of intelligence. There are many and varied definitions of intelligence. Just putting that out there.

    Anyway, I have to sleep because of the boring routine of life and more specifically school but tomorrow, the second instalment in the belated introductions will hopefully, possibly, maybe be up. But what I can kind of promise is a new chapter of Way of the Bow. Oh yeah, if you don't know by now I'm the author of Way of the Bow. Check out my sig for a link to it. It's got samurai, and fighting and death and love and intrigue and is only kind of boring to read. Anyway, tomorrow new chapter with our favourite female- Emura Akara is back!

    Au revoir (yes I speak French)

    Merchant of Venice
    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; April 28, 2015 at 12:38 AM.

  3. #3

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    An extremely belated welcome- Part deux

    April 27, AD 2015

    So where do I continue? I'll go on a bit more about myself I think. I mentioned some of my interests earlier as well as being the author of Way of the Bow, so why don't we start there.

    So yeah, if you don't know me, perhaps you don't visit the Writer's Study often, I am author of Way of the Bow, one of the longest running AARs around now, though that is only due to my inept ability to keep to deadlines and post frequently. Way of the Bow is set in 16th century Japan, using Shogun 2 Total War, and follows Yuki as he rises up from a simple foot soldier. It also follows a few other important characters in the politics of the region. As I said, check out the link in my sig for more information. Also to current readers, there will be a chapter up later today so don't worry.

    Why do I write my own AAR you might ask. Simple, because I fell in love (should I say become addicted) to the Total War strategy games and I have a passion for writing. Writing you say? Pffft that's boring. I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. Maybe it is just me, but there is something semi-magical about writing, be it this different place you can escape to or these set characters you find obliged to write about because their future is dependent on you. Maybe I am (and to an extent all writers) are just control freaks who want a place where they are like an omniscient, all controlling god but for me writing is like the best form of reading. You know, when you are in a good book at 2 AM in the morning but you just want to finish it even if that means no sleep. Sometimes, writing can be laborious but really anything that requires you to think and work, no matter how much you love it, be it science, maths, engineering, history is laborious in some way or another for a bit.

    Do I want to become an author? If you asked me that two years ago I would have given the little half-half hand movement which seems to transcends languages ('maybe, maybe not' in English, 'comme ci, comme ca' in French...). Now though, I see how fun writing a book can be and not only that, the effect it can have on other people. After finishing the aSoIaF book series after one gruelling year and then following that up reading through fan made theories about the next book, it showed me the gripping and addictive nature of writing. Furthermore, I am astonished with G.R.R Martin's universe as well as the similarly complex worlds other fantasy and sci-fi authors have created and realised that I really want to do that. I want to create a world where the characters feel just like people that are simply a part of that world, nothing really important. I want that world to continue after that book or series has finished. I want the readers to want to know what happens to the 'auxiliary' characters. I want to make people cry (a bit psychopathic I admit), laugh, cry some more and be afraid. I certainly still want to do a science based job but I want to be an author as well. It just seems like so much fun.

    Moving away from my rant on writing and the impacts of books, it's probably not surprising that I'm currently one of two (thank you Hitai for abandoning us) Writer's Study staff, the other being my boss and content director, Scottish King. I quite enjoy managing this community and I really want to see it become bigger and better because it is quite unique in that it houses many talented writers and I like to think that we are kind of like a protected pond that the tadpoles live in before metamorphosing into frogs. That weird analogy aside, if you haven't checked out the Writer's Study I thoroughly implore you to, we have AARs, creative writing pieces, short tales, competitions where you can get cool shiny WS badges and more.

    Anyway, that might be it for today's entry, tomorrow I'll be discussing how we look at war as well as Anzac Day, to non Australians, non Turks and non-French people this mysterious day will be explained.

    Au revoir

    Merchant of Venice
    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; May 03, 2015 at 12:12 AM. Reason: Messed up the dates

  4. #4

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    ANZAC Day and how we remember the fallen

    April 28, AD 2015

    For those who maybe aren't from the land down under or just don't know, ANZAC day is held on the 25th of April every year and ANZAC itself stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps, the name used to refer to the Australian and New Zealand regiments in both WW1 and WW2. It is a national day of remembrance for both Australia and New Zealand and the date is used because it was the date the Anzac troops first landed on the Gallipoli peninsular. For those who haven't heard of the Gallipoli campaign, it was a military offensive launched by Britain and it's allies in the First World War in order to capture the Gallipoli peninsular which controls the straights of the Dardanelles. Once captured, it would allow the Russian fleet to exit the Black Sea where it was stationed. However the Turks were aware of the campaign and positioned many defences along any potential landing sites. The campaign was bloody for both sides but on 20 December, 1915, the allied forces and evacuated the peninsular. Remarkably, the only successful thing about the campaign was the evacuation which surprised the Turkish due to the use of self-firing rifles which lulled the Turkish into thinking that the allied troops were still stationed in the trenches. If you want to learn more about Anzac day, the Australian National War Memorial has some great articles on it.

    I myself am a strong believer in remembering and honouring the fallen, despite my objections to war. The young men, who admittedly chose to go there, died for my country and I personally believe we should continue remembering them for their sacrifices. I do have a few problems with Anzac day though.

    Firstly, is the phrase 'Lest We Forget', from the Ode of Remembrance, an except from the poemFor the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. It is not so much the phrase itself that I have a problem with, in fact I find it a great way of remembering the soldiers and, with the rest of the ode and the poem, is quite touching. But rather it is the use of the phrase which borders sometimes on the hypocritical. Lest We Forget, is both a warning and a reminder, a reminder to never forget the sacrifices the troops went through and a warning of the impacts of war. And so, so long as we are at war and sending men to die in a war thousands of kilometres from our borders, we are failing the ode and the promise we make when we utter that phrase. As pointed out by many historians, we had no real business in Gallipoli whatsoever, fighting against an enemy which posed no threat to us, nor really the British. Our troops were sent in by the British (no hard feelings though McScottish so don't worry) and our country was hardly at threat. Unlike the Kokoda campaigns in New Guinea, the siege of Singapore or the various Pacific campaigns in WW2, our country was not under direct threat. Yet, for 14 or so years, our troops have been involved in various wars in the middle East which pose no direct threat to ourselves and were
    initiatives of our allies. Sacrificing young men in the same manner as we did in Gallipoli, in order to look good in the eyes of our allies, is ignoring the pledge that we make every year on April 25 and disregarding the warning that Lest We Forget contains. Lest We Forget does not just concern the deaths of soldiers in past wars but also in future wars and that we should do what we can to avoid those future wars.

    Secondly, Anzac day seems to focus heavily on Gallipoli and sometimes Villers-Brettoneux but mainly Gallipoli because there 'the soul of our country was forged'. But focusing on Gallipoli so much despite the importance of it to Australian history and identity, is to ignore the other campaigns in WW1 and WW2, many of which made much more of a difference to the outcome the wars. The Kokoda campaign, which sought to halt Japanese expansion in the Pacific, was fought in just as much, if not worse conditions and who is to say that the deaths of those soldiers are of less importance than those who died in Gallipoli? What I like about the memorial services at Villers-Brettoneux (in northern France) is the gratitude of the inhabitants of the town and you can see the importance of Australian involvement in a war. I personally feel that we should focus more on the other campaigns and battles fought by Australian troops and a little less of Gallipoli.

    Lastly, the commercialisation of Anzac day really annoys me. I think that no one else but the RSLs (Returned and Services League) and other veteran associations should see anything that is related to Anzac day. We recently had a supermarket run a campaign on remembering the Anzacs called "Fresh in our memories" (a reference to there other Fresh Food people campaigns) which feels, to me, like an exploitation of the soldiers' deaths. Not just that, the million documentaries, which, while possibly made in good taste, feel like a bit too over the top. I think there are better ways than three documentaries a night every night in the week building up to Anzac day.

    However, with that all being said, I don't think at all that we should stop remembering the fallen and the dead and that Anzac day is an important way for everyone in Australia to pay their respects to those who died for our freedom. Yet, the hypocrisy of some recent governments, the focus on Gallipoli as well as the commercialisation of it all leaves me with a bitter feeling about it. To me, Anzac day is much more of a personal thing but is also something which doesn't need marketing and documentaries and pomp and ceremony. It is a memorial of the dead and should be nothing more than that and I think that in all the TV coverage and telemovies we can sometimes forget the fact that real people who died and we can lose track of the personal connection oneself has with Anzac day.

    Do you agree, disagree or feel you have something to say. Head over to the commentary page of this blog to voice your opinions. And props to McScottish for starting off the comments.

    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; May 03, 2015 at 12:11 AM. Reason: Messed up the dates

  5. #5

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    John Green, The Fault in Our Stars and Young Adult Literature

    May 3, AD 2015

    Now, I known that a few of you will disagree with the stuff I’m about to say because it may be complete and utter bull poo but I hope you don’t discard my blog because of it. Also warning, spoilers ahead.

    First off, three weeks ago I bought John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. Many of you will be aware of the plot, two cancer patients fall in love. I admit the plot is not remarkably amazing, in fact I went in to the book knowing what was going to happen because every kind of knows by now.

    But I think it is a testament to the author and the book that despite knowing the plot and the spoilers, I could still appreciate it tremendously for the characters and the emotions in the book. I think that is also due to how the book is written. As much as I love it, if I knew what was going to happen in aSoIaF, then I probably wouldn’t have read it. Not only is that a series a big investment of time and energy but it relies a lot on the plots and the unpredictable deaths and generally the reader not knowing what is going to happen next. That is the same for many other books, especially fantasy and adventure books. My own AAR, although it pales in comparison to any actual novel, relies on plot quite heavily. In aSoIaF you read on because you want to know what happens to the characters, either you want them dead or you want them to survive.

    I admittedly came into tFiOS quite skeptical, thinking it would be another cancer book. It was another cancer book. But it was different to other one’s I had read and seen. In cancer books its a rule of thumb that one of them has to die. It seems like authors don’t want their characters to live happily ever and so, one of them has to die, but in doing so, it becomes an archetype of the genre and the impact of death on the reader is softened because the reader expects it. It is the same in tFiOS.

    So why do I like this book? I came in thinking it was going to be ordinary and that the story would have little impact on me. I read it knowing who was going to die and what the bombshell moments were. But the two characters pulled me in so much that I did tear up multiple times in the books. Some may say that August Waters (the protagonist’s love interest) is pretentious, arrogant, not charming, one-dimensional and generally unlikeable. I disagree, though. He seems like a guy who, despite the facade, is struggling to come to terms with his cancer. He is slightly arrogant, but then, a lot of us are and perhaps this arrogance is due to having nearly lost his life. Hazel Grace (the protagonist and narrator) is a typical teenager and speaks and acts like one. She is also trying to come to terms with her cancer despite declaring she already has. She refuses to fall for Augustus not because of who he is but because of who she is and she doesn’t want to hurt him as she knows she’ll hurt her parents.

    The strong part of this book, I felt, was the dialogue between Augustus and Hazel and their interactions. Not only does their dialogue feel real but it also has an air of urgency to it, they want to say whatever they can before one of them, or both of them, bite the dust. They talk about random stuff and while often accusations of them not sounding like teenagers are levelled, I completely and utterly disagree. To say that no teenagers talk like that or think like that is both slightly insulting to teenagers as well as a massive stereotype. By saying that none do, your essentially saying they are all the same, have the same interests and don’t talk about anything but the opposite sex, drugs and video games. Its not only stupid but doesn’t make sense. Every person is different and until you meet every single person, there is no way you could support that statement.

    I think you might be able to tell that I’m a supporter of this book because the emotions it brought out in me as well as the feeling I had while reading it that Hazel and Augustus were real. That the world that they lived in, their parents, the support group they went to, was all real. I personally loved it and it was a reminder of what I was missing in Young Adult literature.

    After reading tFiOS, I realised that I hadn’t read any YA literature for a long time despite being what one may classify as a young adult. In fact, I think I started reading YA literature too early and so got bored of it and moved on to ‘normal’ literature. But more of that later.

    After reading tFiOS, I went out and bought two more of John Green’s books, Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska. Both were very different to tFiOS. PT and LfA both relied more on the plot but still required a lot from the characters. In a way, PT and LfA were similar in that the characters were very much like each other but the differing plots and endings managed to distance the two books.

    PT is about a teenage boy, Quentyn (Q), in Orlando, Florida and his neighbour, Margo Roth Spielgman, who is attractive, impulsive and generally kind of crazy. When Margo disappears after a night of pranking with Q, Q is obsessed with finding her, despite the fact that she has done this before. I liked PT, despite it dragging a bit in the middle, but the last third of the book, was fast paced and exhilarating, even if the ending was both unsatisfying and satisfying.

    LfA, John Green’s first published book concerns Miles or as he is soon know, Pudge. Miles moves into a boarding school in Alabama and soon gets mixed up with Alaska Young, attractive, impulsive and slightly crazy. However Alaska Young differs from Margo in that she carries a lot of emotional baggage and while Margo hides her craziness, preferring to play the cool girl part, Alaska embraces it.

    These two books are very much coming of age books but also seem to perfectly capture high school life, without boring the reader with gossip. Looking For Alaska has an interesting theme of how we deal with death, which is explored through the religion classes Pudge takes.

    Now on to what annoys me about YA literature, or rather what annoys me about people’s opinions about YA literature.

    There is a tendency, among literary critics, adults, even once amongst myself, to disregard and dismiss YA literature as too simple. But I think what we’ve forgotten as a society is reading for fun. Why does every book we read have to contain underlying, overlying and interconnected themes conveyed through motif after metaphor after symbol. It seems we think we have progressed to stage where every book which isn’t the next Gatsby or Pride and Prejudice is not really worth reading. Perhaps this is because of the fast paced nature of our lives, that we don’t want to waste time on books aren’t the best of the best.

    In all of this, we appear to have forgotten that books and stories were created for fun, for adventure, for escapism. YA literature fulfil these requirements but because at times they sacrifice metaphors for adventure they are disregarded.

    What I love about John Green’s books are that they are a blend between YA and ‘normal’ literature, they are mix of adventures and metaphors. The author himself has stated that the books are meant only for 16 year olds and older, this puts them at the edge of YA literature. And I feel that the three books mentioned are both serious and funny. They make you laugh but make you think. They aren’t the next Great Expectations or Jane Eyre but they are great reads.

    So next time your in a book store, don’t walk straight past the YA section as I have many times before. I’m not saying that you should only read YA literature, many of it, just like normal literature, may not be that great. But they aren’t as bad some literary elitists make them out to be. And remember, classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Fin, are really YA literature themselves and we hold them as classics to this day.

    Sorry for the big wall of text and rant-like nature,

    Best wishes,

    Merchant

  6. #6

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Testing your creativity

    June 13, AD 2015

    Sorry for the delay since my last blog post, exams have been on and stuff in RL has hit me hard over the past couple of weeks and my mind has been somewhere else entirely. Anyway, recently I sat an English exam which contained a section on creative writing and as often it does when I come across creative writing in an exams, a fire began burning inside of my heart.

    My problem with creative writing is not what most people have. Many people dislike it because they don’t think they’ll need it or creativity isn’t important or writing is boring. My anger comes from the process used. I personally think that writing isn’t something that can be done at the drop of a hat, or at least not in my experience. Sure anyone can write something if given a stimulus or even if there is no stimulus present but that writing does not represent the best writing that that person can deliver. Writing under such strict conditions and time limits inhibits our creative side and the stimuli given are often poor creative inspiration. People have their favourite book or movie genres and I believe people also have their preferred writing genre, as in what they want to write about. Why should someone who writes about pirates and naval warfare have to suddenly write about teenage angst? Of course, most writers should be flexible and not rigid in what they will or will not write but younger writers have much less flexibility. Actually, should I say teenagers have much less flexibility because young children could likely write about anything due to the nature of their minds. The ToTW competition we run is good at improving this flexibility but if your marks ride on what you write, surely you would want something you are experienced in.

    Furthermore, writing in such a strict time limit often means that no editing can be done. Proofreading may be able to be done but checking for grammar is different to re-reading and changing sentences or descriptions or dialogue. Ask any writer and they’ll tell you that editing is a big part of their job and many books you read are third or fourth edits of the original.

    So what can be done? I believe that writing should be taught up until the end of high school because it is important in not just adding some creativity to an otherwise creatively-restrictive education but also it may attract younger writers if they find out they are good at it at an early age. However, perhaps creative writing should be kept for assignments and tasks which can be completed over a number of weeks. Over here, in year 12 one can choose to take Extension English (its pretty much just advanced english taken up a notch) and at the end one must submit a major work, which can be a short movie, poetry collection, play or novella/short story. This major work is completed over the course of the final six months of the year and so, allows the student to slowly develop their story and edit over and over again.

    Anyway, I’m probably just a bit tired from exams and this is the result of that frustration but I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Next time (don’t know when), part 2 of my young adult literature rant/discussion.

    Best wishes,

    Merchant

  7. #7

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    The Performance Drug

    June 26, AD 2015

    No, not performance-enhancing drugs but rather the drug of performing.


    Do I still sound mad?

    Let me explain. Over the past twelve or so weeks, I’ve been part of one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. Our school put on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and I, luckily, was cast as Duke Orsino (egotist who constantly complains about not being loved). Rehearsing and the lead up was so much fun but actually performing it was something different altogether. I could barely contain my excitement back stage, not so much because of my part but rather because I could finally the product of so much hard work come together and actually be funny and entertaining (at least in my opinion). But now, after two nights (I wish we could have done more), it is over and my fellow cast and I are experiencing withdrawal as one might after quitting any sort of drug.

    And it really is a drug. At the worst, it can keep you awake and give you incredible amounts of energy. And without it, I do feel a bit empty inside. Mad I may be, but it with a lot of other stuff going on in my life, that play was a really good distraction.

    And while I crave the performance drug, let this be a warning to others. Once it grabs you, it doesn’t let go.

    Now, I must go and see if there is someone I can perform the Merchant of Venice….

    Best wishes,

    Merchant

  8. #8

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Thought of the Day: FIFA Rage

    This is a new, short segment concerning my favourite thought of the day (yes, it is just an attempt to post a blog post without putting in all the effort)

    Todays thought;

    FIFA rage is the worst type of rage.

    Best wishes,

    Merchant of Venice
    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; August 01, 2015 at 06:41 PM.

  9. #9

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    To write or not to write? That is the question-

    July 19, AD 2015

    First off, excuse me for the terrible Shakespeare references and future bad grammar and spelling mistakes it is quite late and I’m tired and I probably shouldn’t be writing a blog post write now but why the hell not? So here it goes;

    At the end of May/beginning of June, I experienced my first major, proper, heart-wrenching breakup. Needless to say, I didn’t handle it well and I found my life in a downwards spiral. The Twelfth Night production I mentioned in my last, proper blog post and the subsequent discovery of my love of acting (even if I’m no good) is what saved me and by that I mean, saved my life and stopped me doing anything really stupid. I absorbed myself in all things Shakespeare and drama and I found a place to escape. The recent school holidays also allowed me some time to myself which didn’t even moping around my house after school and I found another escape in just strolling around the city and other suburbs, looking in shops, sitting in parks, drinking copious amounts of coffee. I know, I sound like the life of the party. School has just started back up and while seeing my friends everyday is a good thing (they did a lot for me during the June period), school just seems, right now, to be a never changing, never ending routine of monotony and pointlessness. Keeping in mind, I’m someone who values their education and learning and puts in a lot of effort at school. It is just walking up those same stairs, eating the same lunch in the same area, sitting at the same desk in the same class in the same period seems a lot worse than it use to.

    And then I come to my writing, something I have neglected since early May, much to either the chagrin or delight of readers of my AAR. I find myself, yet again, apologising for my lack of updates and writing but I try everyday and everyday I make another excuse like “It’s too late” or “Dinner is soon” or “I have homework to do (even though that homework will likely go unfinished)”. I seem to have lost that connection with Yuki and the world of my story that I once had and I find myself barely thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong, I still like writing and would still love to become a writer and have people read the stuff I have written and have my written words become typed up words become printed words amongst thousands of other printed words in a book of many, many pages (I’m not entirely sure that sentence made any sense but it did to me). I do hope to have the motivation to pick up the quill and continue Yuki’s story.

    Well what do I do? I honestly don’t know. I find the dread of picking up the quill a thousand million times worse than actual putting pen to paper and finding the words flow out once again. I’m not suffering Writer’s Block but rather Writer’s Dread; the dread of restarting writing after a lengthy hiatus (“look at me coining new phrases”). Let this also be the thousandth but quite assuredly not the last, apology for my lack of writing and updates; I’m quite like TWC’s G.R.R Martin but without the gripping novel series, writing skill or amazing beard.

    I should probably get to sleep soon, it does have its benefits.

    Best wishes,

    Merchant

  10. #10

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Merchant of Venice stands with Adam Goodes

    August 2, AD 2015

    And so, yet again, Australia is embroiled in another race debate. This is going to be fun.

    Last weekend, while playing AFL (Australian Football League) (a weird mix between rugby and soccer), Adam Goodes, an indigenous player, was booed once again. Now fans of sport will probably say that booing is not uncommon in sport and wonder what the fuss is all about. The problem lies in that this isn’t the first time and a lot of people have a lot of reasons to suspect that he wasn’t booed because of how he was playing but because of his race.

    Adam Goodes has had an unfortunate history it seems with dealing with racist heckling. Last year, a thirteen year old girl called him an ‘ape’ from the crowd but he called her out for it and she was punished quite publicly. Some commentators labelled this as akin to bullying which is ridiculous. Some commentators stated that ‘she is only thirteen years and old and didn’t know what she was saying’, which is both sexist and bs. Firstly, if it was a thirteen year old boy there would be little doubt that no one would be making any excuses for him but because she’s a girl then she doesn’t know what she’s saying. Also, while thirteen is young, it’s not so young that you have no reason to know what you’re saying. Lastly, calling her out now, means there is a good chance that she’ll learn that things like that are racist. But apparently, Adam Goodes, for standing up against racism, no matter its form, is a bully.

    Earlier this year, after performing an Indigenous war dance as a celebration for a goal, he was booed and accused of being inflammatory and aggressive. While he did perform a war dance, any level-headed person can see that as a celebration, the dance meant nothing but a show of pride in his culture not some declaration of war against the opposition team. After that incident, booing increased significantly, so much so that Goodes sat out this weekend’s game and is supposedly considering early retirement.

    For someone of Goodes’ quality as a player (he is supposedly one of the best players in the AFL. I say supposedly because I barely watch the AFL) to consider retirement based on the booing and racist heckling he is being exposed to speaks volumes about the intensity and consistency of the racism he has had to endure, if it has effected him that much to consider early retirement. Even if, we choose to believe defenders of the booers and believe that there were no racist connotations behind the boos, it is still bullying. As the wife of one of Goodes’ Indigenous teammates said, “Booing is a public form of booing….. It is affecting his welfare, it is affecting his family and friends. And it needs to stop.” So the best turn on this situation is that Goodes’ is being publicly bullied and the worst turn is that he is experience consistent racism.

    And it’s quite hard to believe anyone who defends the booers when they come out with stuff like “They are not racist they merely dislike him for his pride in his Indigenous culture.” Excuse me, what??? If that’s not racism, what the flipping is? That’s like me saying “I’m not homophobic, I just hate when gay people are affectionate around each other or remind me that they are gay.”

    I can admit that I’m seeing this from quite a privileged place, my grandmother being a Jew is probably the closest I’ve got to being a member of a minority. And I’m seeing this whole situation after a childhood of not being exposed to racist or homophobic or sexist opinions from my parents or family and so, I think I’ve been lucky in that I haven’t been taught to believe that any of those things are right. Maybe that was the case with the thirteen year old girl, that she was never taught otherwise but it remains that Goodes is getting bullied for his race and for standing up against racism and prejudice and bullying. This situation shouldn’t even have happened. We’re in the 21st century and we are still battling with racism. Come on Australia, I know you can do better.

    And so, while I take very little interest in AFL or AFL players, I do nonetheless, stand proudly with Adam Goodes.

    Until next time,

    Merchant

  11. #11

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    The answer to the question

    August 9, AD 2015


    Bonjour my fellow TWCerians,

    Writer’s Dread has been conquered. Thanks to the TWC Uni course I’ve been doing (big thanks to FrostySTF for running that), I’ve been forced to write and that has allowed me to rediscover my love and passion for writing. Not only have I been writing quite a bit for that but also started back on my AAR and a preparing a couple of stories for the Scriptorium Writing Contest. Brace yourselves librarians, you’re about to be bombarded by Merchant of Venice’s poor writing.

    Looking back, I think the problem I had was that I focused too much on Way of the Bow, which meant I ran out of ideas in short term writing (as in description and dialogue writing not so much plot and stuff). So I’ve restarted work on Way of the Bow but I’ve been careful to write other stuff as well. I’ve found short story writing to be immensely fun, a lot more than I thought it would be and enjoy writing almost snapshots of a character or characters’ lives. Also, short story writing has also forced me to strengthen my descriptive writing which I felt was one of the poorer aspects of my writing.

    Anyway, although it is 1:21 in the morning, I’m off to listen to some late night jazz and enjoy not sleeping.

    A bientôt

    Merchant

  12. #12

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    New City, Old Merchant

    September 24, AD 2015


    I have returned!


    Not enlightened, nor full of a newfound enthusiasm for life, nor richer, nor poorer. But alas I have returned. Apologies for the absence, I took a little hiatus for about a month for absolutely no reason. Sometimes I find myself not wanting to check on TWC daily, and skipping a day turns into skipping two which in turn turns into a week and so on.

    Quite a bit changed while I was away it seems. Hitai left the Quill (temporarily) and SK resigned from Content Director of the WS. While I’ve posted about these two amazing individuals and their even more amazing contributions to their respective posts, let me one last time say how great it was to work beside and under two very deserving fellows.

    Now, about the new city part of the title. I have arrived in Melbourne, the Stark to Sydney’s Lannister, the Messi to Sydney’s Ronaldo, the Duke of Wellington to Sydney’s Napoleon. I’m currently staying here for a week as I absorb the wonder of not going to school and a day without routine.

    Now what was I going to say about Melbourne. I swear, I had something. I like apartments and penthouses, I have found out. As someone who has lived in houses quite solidly on the ground I have taken a new liking to places closer to the sky and my liking of penthouses comes from watching too much Suits. Excellent show, by the way, everyone should check it out. Currently nearly finished season 4 so no spoilers for those lucky enough to live in America and not receive it late.

    I do rather like Melbourne, it’s quite an exciting and different city to Sydney. Will do some more exploring of it tomorrow. It seems I have forgotten exactly what I was going to write but anyway, there’s a small, belated blog post.

    See you guys soon,

    Merchant

  13. #13

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    And I’m floating in the most peculiar way

    September 29, AD 2015

    Still in Melbourne (sorry Syd) and today I just went to see the David Bowie exhibit at the ACMI (an acronym that I don’t know what it stands for). It was spectacular, one of the best and most interesting exhibits I’ve ever been to. There was a lot to look at and listen to. You also went around with headphones on listening to an audio guide sort of thing which automatically changed when you moved towards a certain area. The audio guide even synced up with movies and videos and I felt it was a very cool way to make the whole exhibit come alive a bit more.

    One of my favourite Bowie songs has always been and will always be Space Oddity. There’s just something so catchy about that song and interesting and thought-provoking about the lyrics. The pause at the beginning after the count down and the bit at the end where they nearly lose contact are definitely my favourite parts of it. For instance that ending captures the most terrifying part of space travel- getting lost/cut off.

    Not only that, but for me it transports me back in time to a time when space travel was an exciting, new frontier. Back when millions watched eagerly as a man stepped onto the moon for the first time. As part of a generation too late to explore Earth, too late to explore the moon and probably too early to explore outer space, I want to feel the excitement of exploring a new frontier.

    All in all, Space Oddity is a human story and the human side of sci-fi stories have always interested me a lot. I love spaceships and time travel a lot, don’t get me wrong, but the way humans deal with the vastness of space and the risks undertaken. Interstellar is also a favourite of mine, not just because of all the stunning visual effects but the whole story of humanity leaving Earth and the relationships between the characters.

    I’d definitely love in the future to explore said themes in a novel or short story because while technology evolves I feel human morals will have to as well. Especially as we come into contact with aliens and other civilisations. One of Bowie’s other songs, Starman also illustrates this and its lyrics convey what I think is humanity’s tendency to destroy and vilify the unknown, be it other species, other races or just other human beings. While some sci-fi movies like to centre around an alien invasion, Starman and movies such as ET like to think of any potential contact as peaceful and that we likely pose a bigger threat to them than they do to us.

    Anyway, that’s just a bit of Bowie fangirling and sci-fi rambling.

    This has been Merchant of Venice reporting from Melbourne.

  14. #14

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Same, old routine

    October 6, AD 2015

    Hey everyone, how are things?


    So I’ve been home from nearly a week now and I keep meaning to write a blog post but I’m forgetful and horrible at keeping deadlines (well, for writing related stuff at least). So yeah, back in (some would say) boring Sydney and back to school as well, but maybe more of that later.

    So thoughts on Melbourne? Well now I can understand the hype behind it. Many an oft time I’ve heard friends or family rave on about “how Melbourne’s better than Sydney”. Well in the week I was there I definitely experienced a few of the really cool things Melbourne has to offer. Trams should be the only form of public transport, the Botanical Gardens were great (though Sydney’s are pretty cool as well), laneways are cool and funky (if you don’t know, Melbourne has a lot of laneways which, instead of being dirty and disgusting, are full of small shops and many cafes; and yes I just used the word funky), also I had a nice view from where I was staying and I’ve realised I actually love views. But however, I do fear I have some form of Balconyphobia; that is a fear of balconies. I do not know what it is about balconies because I’m usually fine with stuff high up there, perhaps it is the stories I’ve heard of murders/accidents that have happened on balconies but I have a fear of falling off them and also dropping valuables. I have a bad fear of like dropphonephobia. A bit of a late warning that people who respect the English language should probably stop reading.

    Anyway, back in Sydney, school has started and I instantly hate routine I’ve been put back in. This sounds very upper middle class and in fact just standardised first world problems but I do hate routine. Well, at least school routine. Though readers that have jobs may scoff that this. Slightly good news is I have finished the next chapter of Way of the Bow; A Seemingly Never-ending AAR and will begin rereading and editing it. Also, love the book Tender is the Night by F.Scott Fitzgerald. He has a unique writing style that I’m enjoying currently. Really want to go to Provence or anywhere on the Italian coast, like really badly. And do please tell me if you’re enjoying this blog or have anything you think will improve or any suggestions for want you want me to talk about.

    Au revoir,

    Merchant

  15. #15

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    O, full of scorpions is my mind

    October 10, AD 2015

    So today (well technically yesterday because its just past midnight) I went and saw the new Macbeth movie starring Michael Fassbender. It was dark and grim and very stylised but I must admit I liked it in all its raw theatrical power. Admittedly, it was the first movie or actual production of Macbeth that I have seen so I don’t have anything to compare it with. The acting in it, specially from Fassbender and Marion Cotillard (Lady Macbeth), was absolutely stunning and as I said, very powerful. The play I felt had been stripped away to its core and a lot of the scenes were shot in the Scottish countryside or in the village that Macbeth rules over before becoming King. If anyone has seen the fantastic TV series Vikings, I felt it channeled that show quite a bit, with a deep, bass drum heavy soundtrack as well as the focus on the rugged terrain and some slow motion battle scenes. So yeah, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, even if a lack of sleep and the dark cinema meant I was having trouble keeping my bloody eyes from staying open.

    Time to get some sleep I think,

    Merchant

  16. #16

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    The Prehistoric Channel

    October 25, AD 2015

    For this blog post I was going to write about exams and study stress and writing and my AAR but I recently discovered something much more uplifting than any of those and I wanted to share it with you guys.

    This is good new story about the internet. Yep, just when you thought that it was only full of trolls, mean people whose adjectives would be bleeped out by the censor and general no gooders (not to mention memes), the internet pulls a white rabbit of hope out of its mad, mad hat. The Prehistoric Channel is youtube channel run by a young kid (he sounds under or around ten) about dinosaurs (I love dinosaurs but more on that later). The kid records little stories with his toy dinos as well as giving reviews of toy dinos and the channel is full of general dino awesomeness. Anyhow, a reddit user discovered the channel and linked it in r/videos where surprisingly people weren’t mean on the internet. The kid’s number of subscribers jumped by from I think like 29 to 60,000+ in only a couple of days. When he discovered this, the kid uploaded a very cute thank you sort of video where he describes how it has made his day and he hopes it isn’t an error with his computer or YouTube. Already talk on the reddit thread has moved on to how we can pitch in for the kid to expand his dino collection or to get a new camera. It is overall a very heartwarming story.

    As a kid, I loved dinosaurs, still do I guess, just not to the fanatic sort of level I did when I was younger. I still have my very large collection of toy dinos and have a lot of books on dinosaurs. I was obsessed. I remember my days would be filled reading books, searching the internet for images of certain dinosaurs, playing an RPG game on the BBC website about being an Allosaurus (wasn’t that good at it), watching a variety of dinosaur documentaries and general dinosaur-ness. On the topic of documentaries, I still absolutely love and adore Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Beasts. I stand by my stance that they are one of the best pieces of film/television ever produced. I remember the sheer joy I felt when visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada when I was 10. For those who don’t know, it is an epicentre for palaeontologists.

    Anyway, enough about me, this is about the kid from The Prehistoric Channel. Yes maybe I can relate to this kid’s love of dinosaurs but I also feel in a way, he is not too much different from us. He is simply using the internet to create stuff he loves doing and to share it, like us in our writing. Of course, I doubt none of us are as cute as this kid but there are certain parallels that can be drawn.

    Could go on a lot more I think but it is probably time I sleep.

    À bientôt,

    Merchant of Venice

  17. #17

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Sharing

    November 11, AD 2015

    Hello TWC, this is Merchant of Venice reporting from Byron Bat, the most eastern part of Australia.


    On the plane here (it was a very short plane trip, under an hour actually in the air) I was reading the Virgin Australia Magazine which was weird in that it was travel and lifestyle and a bit of entertainment and actually looked like some work had gone in to it. I was reading an article on the cities of the future which didn’t really seem to have much science behind it apart from a couple of quotes from professors and experts and read much more like a sci-fi world building fiction and it was very idealistic in that many of today’s problems had been solved (climate change, food, space) by some ingenious and a bit lucky inventions and advancements in science. However, one of the things that caught my eye (apart from the massive increase in public transport and organic and locally produced food) was the idea that the sharing market had taken off and replaced the typical owner market we have today.

    I’m not a hippy or an idealist. You might have guessed I am left wing but I don’t believe that right wing politics (despite being labelled conservative) is not progressive, I just think that the majority of politicians who are conservatives are usually horrible people and excruciatingly stupid. Anyway, that’s a different topic. I personally believe that the sharing market is the way to go. I think the idea of owning something in exchange for energy spent (money really is just physical human energy) is stupid and is what is driving this over consumerism. That so much stuff is bought and thrown away and that even as an individual it is hard to break this cycle. It leads to so much waste and excess and I am definitely guilty of being a part of it. Already we are seeing companies like Uber and AirBnB begin to explore the sharing market but I don’t think these companies go as far as needed. A website such as Couch Surfing does. Unlike AirBnB which has mostly become a way for people just to rent out investment properties, Couch Surfing actually has people staying on the couch of other people’s homes for free or a small fee. Sure, it might bring up some safety issues but it is a great way for people to share their home and to ensure that a hotel building isn’t built because the demand for it has disappeared. Just something to think about.

    À bientôt,

    Merchant of Venice

  18. #18

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    Paris

    November 14, AD 2015

    I really don’t know how to start today’s blog post. Do I say a simple hi or maybe a hello or maybe a bonjour to show some solidarity. I don’t know. I think everyone by now has heard of the events of today or last night, depending on where you are. Sadly stuff like this seems to be common place by now. I keep watching Hank Green’s wonderful video on it and I can’t but agree with him. There is a time for analysis and for looking in to this, for blaming people, for investigating cause and effect, for making policies to prevent it, for declaring war but now, now is a time for raw emotions, for grief and yes, for anger. To me, stuff like this has almost been desensitised by the media coverage of these events. Mass school shooting and terrorist attacks are covered with the usual grief and 24/7 live updates and for some people, that is how they cope with it. In Sydney, last December, 3 people died during a siege type situation in the centre of the CBD. At school, we were told about public transport changes, to avoid the CBD, the emergency phone lines and everything else. But even then, being constantly updated on everything seemed to lessen the impact for me. Today, during the coverage of the first explosions and shootings, i simply and perhaps cruelly though “Oh this again”. It wasn’t until a few hours later, when I read more about the events and thought about the sheer randomness and terrifying nature of it, that it really dawned on me. Stuff like this is random and that’s more terrifying than anything. But right now I think I’m doing too much analysing. What do I feel? Anger at those who did it, those individuals who committed such atrocities. Sadness and grief for those who had their life taken from them, whose story ended mid sentence on what many thought was an ordinary night. Hopelessness that this seems to constantly be happening all around the news. Anger at some of the coverage of this. Hope for the messages of true solidarity by celebrities, politicians, organisations and every day people. Fear for the randomness of the situation, which while I know are what the perpetrators want, is still so terrifying and scary. Anger at those who are already using this tragedy to further their political opinions and ideologies, regardless of what they are. Fear again because I hope to live in Paris once I leave school and wondering whether it is safe there. More grief for those affected, for the families who have lost loved ones, to the boyfriends, girlfriends, wives and husbands who might have been waiting for their significant other and will always be waiting. I’m a writer but I don’t think I can properly, coherently write down everything right now. I just don’t know.


    Lastly, this phrase is something I learnt while studying French, a phrase I didn’t quite know what it meant and something I thought I would never need. Étre solidaire- to be in solidarity. Et j’espere, le monde, aujourd’hui, peut être solidaire.

    Everybody be safe.

    A bientôt,

    Merchant
    Last edited by Merchant of Venice; November 15, 2015 at 06:03 AM.

  19. #19

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    #prayforparis: A movement of sadness or an pointless hashtag?

    November 15, AD 2015

    Me again,


    Out of the Paris terrorist attacks, an unsurprising amount of social media support clogged up everyone's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. Even more unsurprisingly, people turned to hashtags to communicate their support or sadness at the situation. Currently #prayforparis is trending worldwide along with its counterpart #prayfortheworld. But what's the difference? And why are some people angry at the amount of coverage given to Paris but not Beirut?

    My friends and I were discussing whether Paris was receiving the right amount of coverage and why it received thousands times more than Beirut which came under attack from ISIS terrorists the same day as Paris. The consensus among as and among others on social media is that as usual, the Western world and by extent western citizens are placed higher in the priority list of media organisations. Thus the hashtag #prayfortheworld, encouraging people to realise how that Paris hasn't been the only place that has experienced such atrocities.

    But I think #prayfortheworld, outside of the usual stupidity of hashtags, is unnecessary. It doesn't really push media organisations to give more coverage to events happening in Africa, the Middle East and Asia nor is it of any use to encourage people to "pray for the world". People who are religious and pray and are decent would pray for the world anyway. #prayforparis does not encourage praying for only Paris and praying for those affected for all eternity but rather that on this day or for this week we pray for the victims. It’s like having a memorial day for WW1 and then saying what about all the other wars, as if that memorial for World War 1 will be the centre of everyone’s mind forever.

    Furthermore, while every post about remembering the other terrorist attacks is careful to write the condolences from the author to the victims, I think deciding that on these couple days that attention to other attacks should start being campaigned about is insensitive and a bit hypocritical. Where were these people’s Facebook posts when these attacks happened? If they post stuff, other people will see, other people will become interested and have desire to know about such things and the media organisations, obligated by ratings more than journalism sometimes will have to follow the desires of their viewers. So why choose these couple of days to bring attention to it? I definitely agree with events like Beirut being brought forward, happening I’m fairly sure on the same day as the Paris attacks, but some posts mention events happening weeks and months ago and which I heard about and so I would think they would have as well. It just reeks of opportunism by some people to parade about how great they are that they took notice of these other horrifying events.

    That’s why I think it is a good idea for the first day or two to be reserved for emotions. Be angry and sad and scared at stuff like this. If other stuff like Beirut, happens at the same time, share your emotions of that as well. But don’t turn your emotions into a campaign. Leave that for later. #prayfortheworld could help make the Western media less Western-centric, but it should do it after we are over our emotions. When investigating and analysing is the order of the day.

    And as one of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists pointed out, “we don’t need any more religion, our faith goes to music, kisses, life, champagne and joy!”. And I agree, too much religion was the start of all this mess.

    À bientôt,

    Merchant

  20. #20

    Default Re: The Daily Dealings of a Merchant

    The uncelebrated selflessness

    November 16, AD 2015

    In Beirut, Lebanon, 36 hours before the horrible Paris shootings, suicide bombers blew themselves up in a market, killing 40 and wounding at least 200 in an attack as brutal and cruel as that of Paris. This post won’t go into the whole specifics of the entire attack, I feel that will be saved for another blog post, nor will it go into the well tread field of why it didn’t get comparative media coverage to that of Paris. What it will go into is the pure act of selflessness of one man, Adel Termos, and the hope people like him give.


    Adel Termos was a father and regular citizen of Beirut. He wasn’t some special forces soldier, trained for decision making. He was a normal guy with a daughter and a wife, who one day decided to bring his daughter with him to the markets, as it could be imagined they had done so many times before. One bomb went off, shattering windows and sending debris flying and chaos took over the markets. He is said to have noticed the second bomber preparing his bomb and without weighing up the risks, without considering whether he should, without making excuses why he should not, he tackled the bomber and the bomb triggered. In an instant, tens, if not hundreds, of people were saved, were alive when they could have so easily died, all due to the selflessness of one guy who sacrificed a life with his daughter for them. He won’t see her graduate high school, fall in love and get married and have children of her own. He won’t see his grandchildren, he won’t have any more possible children of his own. His life and dreams are gone, maybe he was aiming for a promotion, maybe he was secretly an artist, maybe he was going to buy a present for his wife that day, maybe, maybe, maybe.

    But Adel could be remembered by what he lost by doing what he did. Or he could be remembered by what he did, by how he acted so selflessly without thinking about it. He didn’t need to. It is easy to imagine that we, typing at our keyboards would do something, but would we act so quickly, so without doubt?

    And this can’t surely be the only act of such selflessness. As a war wages across Iraq and Syria, I don’t doubt that there have been hundreds of Adels, hundreds of people who bought time for loved ones to escape, who lied to protect others even if they would die, who tried to stop one more atrocity from happening. To those who died in the hope of a more peaceful world, we owe to them to try and stop this conflict from escalating further, to try and prevent something like Paris or Beirut happening again, wherever in the world it may. How do we stop this? That question is up to greater men then myself.

    But not all greater men, would do what Adel Termos did.

    Minschoufak (goodbye in Lebanese, I hope)

    Merchant


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