good gnod

Gnod is good, and intriguing. It's an

" . . . experiment in the field of artificial intelligence. Its a self-adapting system, living on this server and 'talking' to everyone who comes along. Gnods intention is to learn about the outer world and to learn 'understanding' its visitors. This enables gnod to share all its wisdom with you in an intuitive and efficient way. You might call it a search-engine to find things you don't know about."

Effectively Gnod has got three separate strands: books, music and movies. And it's also got a discussion thing Flork. If you are looking for a new author Gnook (the book strand of Gnod) asks you for the names of three authors you like, and it pulls a fourth author out of its hat. Eg I put in Joan Didion, Thomas Mann, and Anthony Powell, and it gave me back Andrea Barrett. I've read and like Andrea Barrett so I clicked on the "I like it!" button, and got another author Ann Pachett, who I'll now have to look up.

finally - Brokeback Mtn

We went to see Brokeback Mtn last night. It was odd seeing it after everything that everyone has said, difficult to just sit down and watch it as a story, without looking for import and meaning. On the whole I liked it, I didn't get everything that was said, old Ennis' mumble was often impenetrable, in fact I wonder if the script actually had any words at those points, or if there was just direction: Ennis mumbles, 2 sec duration.

This morning I woke up, having done the usual overnight mull, and thought, okay so in this movie there are at least 3 people who know what's going on in the relationship, who see it from 3 totally different points of view, and don't say anything about it. Well, the sheep boss says something, but only to Jack, and after a year's thought on it. You could argue that things go to shit because nobody says anything, Ennis' wife loses him, Jack's father grows older with no-one to take over the ranch. But you could also say that these people had absolutely no structure for talking things through. Ennis hits people when he's angry, or just swallows huge hunks of rage.

When the credits came up I saw that Larry McMurtry had written the script. He also wrote The Last Picture Show, and there are interesting correspondences between the two films. I'll have to watch LPS again, and also reread some E. Annie Proulx. Both Proulx and McMurtry are interested in the decline of the west, in the way farming has changed, and in people's relationship with the land.

the complexities of bush welfare

I've been thinking, off and on, all week about the complexities of welfare. I've been wondering if the way I've been thinking has been paternal - them and us. As my dad used to say "Who are they?" getting 'us' - my brother and I - to define the other, to define ourselves. I'd been thinking 'they' and 'us', 'they' being Aboriginal people in remote locations, and 'us' being people who make decisions. Yeah right, nice one Lynn. So, I realise that the discussion about welfare for Indigenous people has been brought out into a foreign forum - what do I know about the way that CDEP works? about the needs of people and business in remote and rural areas?

I know a tiny bit, from knowing people that have worked in remote areas, from working for Centrelink. I know enough to know that the issue of welfare and work is incredibly complex.

Okay, so the thing that most shocked me about The Australian's editorial was that Aboriginal people are blamed and called 'indolent' for working within a structure - CDEP - that has been set up for years. That was put in place as a means of getting Aboriginal people to work. It offended me that people that have been doing the 'right' thing by the welfare system are now accused of being lazy.

There hasn't been much more in the news about the issue. The ABC reported on Monday, February 27 that Kimberley MP rejects welfare plan.

The state Member for the Kimberley, in northern Western Australia, has rejected a plan which would block welfare to Aborigines who turn down employment.

The Federal Government has foreshadowed a stricter system, whereby payments would only be directed to those who genuinely cannot work.

The push has come from the Indigenous Land Corporation, which has revealed that 60 per cent of its staff are non-Aboriginal.

But the Member for the Kimberley, Carol Martin, says the Government needs to look at working conditions, instead of refusing the dole.

"Why would you want to go and work somewhere with CDEP [Community Development Employment Projects] with a top up? Why would you?" she said.

"You don't get job security, you don't get the benefits of an award that actually looks after your rights and interests as an employee. As far as I'm concerned, if they operate as a business, they come with the same integrity as other businesses."

This implies that the much vaunted jobs with the Indigneous Land Corporation are not much better than CDEP, are not full-time award wage jobs.