MELBOURNE BELOW
- Editorials -
A series of articles offering insights into the Melbourne Below Project.
Current Editorial
Past Editorials
CURRENT EDITORIAL
AUGUST 2010 - "The City and the City" by Michael Green.
I have been reading China Miéville's remarkable novel "The
City and the City."
This book is set in the rundown city-state of Beszel and the
neighbouring city-state of Ul Qoma. The remarkable thing is that these two
cities overlap and intertwine - but the citizens of each are trained from
a very early age to unsee elements of the other city.
I have also heard it said that the only people who gaze upwards in awe at the Manhatten skyscrapers are tourists. The citizens of Manhatten ignore these sights - perhaps they are too busy. Perhaps their role requires them to unsee these awesome glass and concrete monuments to modernity.
And how many of us are ever tourists in our own city?
An activity I do recommend is to wander around the city with your eyes open. Though our city is not as old as many, its history is long enough to encompass many architectural styles: Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern, Post-Modern. And we have a city with many whimsical things: a fairy-tree, gargoyles and faces on Victorian buildings, arcades and alleyways filled with curious shops and cafes, and basements and upper rooms in buildings for markets, artists' spaces and performance places, murals, hidden gardens, strange and beautiful sculptures on street corners.
Melbourne is more than its glass or concrete towers. As time passes the place grows more layered and complex - and this complexity and whimsy grows outwards to slowly transform the suburbs around.
In 1993 I returned to Melbourne after living overseas for almost three years. Being away lends you new eyes - the once familiar is seen as the strange thing it always was.
If we can break the habit of unseeing - then we will see and will marvel at the objects and places that have always been around us.
We will find enchantment in the view.
--- Michael Green.
PAST EDITORIALS
JULY 2010 - "The Paradox of Cool" by Michael Green.
JUNE 2010 - "Hippocrites and Harpocrates" by John Gibbins.
MAY 2010 - "Giant Skeletons and a Matter of Existence" by John Gibbins.
APRIL 2010 - "The Many Roads of Melbourne Below" by Michael Green.
MARCH 2010 - "The Other Ways" by Marie Mantzioros.
FEBRUARY 2010 - "Valentine's Day - The Madness that Was" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
JANUARY 2010 - "Intellectual Properties" by John Gibbins.
DECEMBER 2009 - "Water Margins, Crosshatches & Thresholds" by Michael Green.
NOVEMBER 2009 - "Fiefdoms" by John Gibbins.
OCTOBER 2009 - "Embracing the Strange" by Michael Green.
SEPTEMBER 2009 - "On the Edge" by John Gibbins.
AUGUST 2009 - "Visiting Other Worlds" by Michael Green.
JULY 2009 - "The Goddess is Alive and Well, and Being
Served in a 'Parlour' Near You!" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
JUNE 2009 - "Feeling Under Seige" by John Gibbins.
MAY 2009 - "Racing the Red Queen" by Michael Green.
APRIL 2009 - "Types of Organizations" by John
Gibbins.
MARCH 2009 - "Internet Censorship" by Marie Mantzioros.
FEBRUARY 2009 - "The GREAT and the TERRIBLE" by Michael Green.
JANUARY 2009 - "Happy New Year!" by Michael Green.
DECEMBER 2008 - "Choices" by John Gibbins.
NOVEMBER 2008 - "The Beginning of Time to Reflect" by
Gabbriel O'Shae.
OCTOBER 2008 - "The World Financial Crisis" by Marie Mantzioros.
SEPTEMBER 2008 - "Chipping at the Mountain" by Michael Green.
AUGUST 2008 - "Out Caste. Part II" by John Gibbins.
JULY 2008 - "Out Caste. Part I" by John Gibbins.
JUNE 2008 - "What Matters...." by Marie Mantzioros.
MAY 2008 - "Community" by John Gibbins.
APRIL 2008 - "The Red Queen's Race" by Michael Green.
MARCH 2008 - "The Essence of 3s" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
FEBRUARY 2008 - "A New Beginning" by John Gibbins.
JANUARY 2008 - "Oh Computer!" by Marie Mantzioros.
DECEMBER 2007 - "Change to Embrace the Strange" by Michael Green.
NOVEMBER 2007 - "Connections" by Marie Mantzioros.
OCTOBER 2007 - "Simulated People" by John Gibbins.
SEPTEMBER 2007 - "Melbourne and the Seasons" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
AUGUST 2007 - "Change and Choices" by John Gibbins.
JULY 2007 - "The Reality of Melbourne Below" by Michael Green.
JUNE 2007 - "Whatever Happened to the 21st Century?" by
Marie Mantzioros.
MAY 2007 - "Reality Surfing" by John Gibbins.
APRIL 2007 - "Time...It Was" by Michael Green.
MARCH 2007 - "Remembered...." by Marie Mantzioros.
FEBRUARY 2007 - "Out of the Shadows" by Michael Green.
JANUARY 2007 - "Reflections on a Year Passed, and a
Year to Come" by John Gibbins.
DECEMBER 2006 - "Anniversary" by Michael Green.
NOVEMBER 2006 - "Alternatives" by Marie Mantzioros.
OCTOBER 2006 - "As Above, So Below" by Gabbriel
O'Shae.
SEPTEMBER 2006 - "Child of Two Worlds" by John
Gibbins.
AUGUST 2006 - "Disasters, Delays & Changes" by
Michael Green
JULY 2006 - "A Life Less Ordinary" by Michael Green
JUNE 2006 - "Melbourne Below and You!" by John
Gibbins
MAY 2006 - "The Way to Melbourne Below" by John
Gibbins
APRIL 2006 - "From Where Does Culture Spring?" by
Michael Green
MARCH 2006 - "The Geography of Melbourne Below" by
Michael Green
FEBRUARY 2006 - "Places to Grow" by John Gibbins
JANUARY 2006 - "Melbourne Below" by John Gibbins
JULY 2010 - "The Paradox of Cool" by Michael Green.
There are many websites out there whose raison d'être is to describe the new and "happening" shops and nightclubs in Melbourne.
(Some of these websites - such as Three Thousand and Underground Melbourne have links on Melbourne Below.)
I have always found the "search for cool" to be highly amusing! This is partly because I have never been much concerned about whether anything was considered cool or not ("I know what I like"), and partly because the "search for cool" means that someone obviously hasn't found it.
One paradox is that what is considered cool by the Cool-hunters is constantly changing (their "what's hot" and "what's not" lists), but the notion of what "Cool" is doesn't change. (Thank about it - the essence of coolness in the 1920s is pretty much what the essense of coolness remains in the 2010s - with the possible exception of the cigarette between the lips.)
Coolness is then unchanging. It isn't something restricted to the young, the middle-aged, or the old - despite what the advertisers might tell you. (Cool folks can be found in every age range. I know cool folks in their 20s, in their 40s, and in their 70s.) Coolness isn't restricted to either the rich, those with middle-incomes, or the financially challenged. It isn't restricted to those of a particular educational-level or IQ.
(Its opposite unCoolness is likewise not restricted to any particular social group.)
Coolness is hard to define - but you know it when you see it!
Coolness is highly desirable. There is a common notion that being seen as "cool" will lead to riches, success, adulation, and a terrific sex-life. (Though - oddly - not necessarily a long life or a happy one.)
Coolness will make you memorable. Maybe that is its deepest allure - the longing to be remembered in a world we are no longer part of.
Coolness cannot be taught, nor can it be feigned. It is not something drapped over the outside like Gucci sunglasses or a Matrix-style full-length leather coat (though these things may help you feel "cool"), coolness is something that comes from inside.
Coolness is a personal quality like generosity, a capacity-to-forgive, or a talent for making other people laugh. (This doesn't mean that "you either have it or you haven't" - like all qualities (good or bad) it can be developed.)
The final paradox of 'cool' relates to its desirability. If you energetically follow each trend and live with the constant fear that you might not be 'cool' - you are not cool! If you do not give a stuff about what others deem to be cool or not cool, and devote your energies to becoming the kind of person you want to be and doing the things you feel the need to do - they you might possibly be cool!
The paradox of 'cool' is that the people who don't care whether they are cool or not, are the ones who are.
--- Michael Green.
JUNE 2010 - "Hippocrites and Harpocrates" by John Gibbins.
There has been lots happening in June and lots happening in Melbourne.
Corporate Governance
When I was young a long time ago, we had different principles. In those days
we were taught that the customer was right and the company had a duty of
care. It was an era with grass roots or bottom up management: the client
was right, and their interests drove the sales team and the marketing department,
then middle management ran the organisation and eventually the CEO and Board
came in last.
Since about the mid-1990s the whole situation has been turned on its head, and the world has changed. The situation now is that the Shareholders rule supreme and the board looks first to their interests. This then is passed down through senior management to middle management, with the sales teams and customers coming last. Then we reaped what we sowed with the collapse of Enron P/L. Those staff from Enron had to go somewhere... they scattered to the four quarters. Those same techniques were used in thousands of companies instead of just one; and we got the Global Financial Crisis.
The lesson from those times is that there is more at stake than simply shareholders' interest. We have a Hippocratic Oath for Doctors who look after the health of the their patients. We need bankers to take a Hippocratic Oath to look after the financial health of their clients. What we need is for a Hippocratic Oath for customer service people to take who look after their customers' interests. There have been quite a few scandals involving Priests in the Church, so perhaps they need to take a form of Hippocratic Oath too!
"First do no harm..."
A Change of Leadership in Australia Above
We have moved from Kevin Rudd to Julia Guilard. There has been a lot of discussion
about the method of her gaining Office. With the current constitution of
Australia, the office of PM is not even mentioned. They are the spokesperson
of the ruling party - that is all. Some have mentioned they preferred a more
presidential system - so that would have the Governer General running the
country.
Now she has adopted the Howard-Ruddock system of deterring asylum seekers with the Pacific Solution. She came through the leadership challenge and now stumbles within her first month. At one time politicians looked to the health of their electorates, and the health of the country. Maybe they need a to take a Hippocratic Oath!
This was worded in another form in the classic SF novel "Starship Troopers" by Robert Heinlein. There they pointed out the difference between Civilians and Citizens. The difference is that Citizens take personal responsibility for the society around them. So in that culture people can be held accountable.
This is the great strength and difference of Melbourne Below: people who join as refugees from Melbourne Above, become the Citizens of their Fiefdom in Melbourne Below. Likewise this is why many people in Australia Above are scared and xenophobic of refugees. Migrants and refugees have taken personal responsibility to leave their original home, move country, and come here. They know who they are, what they are doing and where they are going. The remainder in Australia above are civilians.
The difference is that Melbourne Below recognizes and celebrates its Citizens and peoples. There is always room for more people here Below, so why not come and join us!
SOURCE
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath
--- John Gibbins.
MAY 2010 - "Giant Skeletons and a Matter of Existence" by John Gibbins.
[ BACKGROUND - HERE and HERE! ]
Perhaps I am simply getting old and growing into a grumpy old man? :)
What I want to write is something of a lament - a longing for younger days and a longing for times when there was more certainty.
Photoshop has a lot to answer for. Indeed, the media has a lot to answer for too.
We cannot always refer to sources. There is a large body of writing and sources on BOTH sides of most arguments these days, and it is a growing industry.
There are many books and sources both for and against global warming, there are many books and sources both for and against evolution or creationism, there are many books and sources both for and against UFO sightings, there are many books on history and for and against Vikings having scissors!
SO the argument has shifted from sources, to looking at the criteria used for accepting a source or rejecting it.
In a brief discussion, there may not be time to go into all the sources or all the criteria; and often I just let the topic go and agree to differ without testing whether either of us might be partially correct.
There are problems with relying on consensus to establish existence.
My son has many stuffed toys.
The standard argument goes: maybe there is a hippo under the bed!
Some people who look under the bed won't see a hippo, and they might be right. Other people who look under the bed will see a hippo, and they might be right!
It is hard to say, one group might have been drinking, and some people have very strong beliefs.
Now even if I get a thousand people to look under the bed and they all see a hippo, the next person might still say "No!" You can never get 100% certainty as the next person or the last might not see the hippo.
Statistically you won't get either that 0% you want, nor the 100%.
Hence in a statistical sense all existence is probabilistic and everything has a probability of existing somewhere between 0% and 100%.
Take the case of UFOs. Thousands of people claim to see them each year - the probability of UFOs existing is certainly much greater than zero.
Yes, I think that the giant skeletons photos were a hoax and side issue.
Strong proof that the photos was a hoax says nothing about the existence
or otherwise of the giants mentioned in the Bible. Those giants
may have existed, it is just that we have not found the supportive evidence
yet.
We may never find that evidence and we may never have the opportunity either to disprove their existence.
Yes I lament that so much of our language is in metaphor and allegory.
Once I could take the concepts and handle them and slice and dice them like
a person would solid clay; but now in these times they are slipping
from my grasp and becoming vague thoughts and ideas in a distant realm
of the mind.
Indeed, others are making them solid. We now have wars against ideas! We have a war against poverty, a way against drugs, a war against terror and terrorism.
There is the line that this has always been the way - the way of the local village gossip at the well in the centre of town. I find it far worse now. At the city watering hole you could talk and gossip and draw pictures in the dirt. You could share the common metaphor of the town around you. You could communicate with colour and sound and gesture and all the senses. On the net you mainly get bare text. The communication is not as rich in layer and texture.
When I listen to stories of distant relatives or strangers, they tell me amazing tales about their lives! Some are barely credible! Yet if I start to pick apart their facts and go for evidence I miss a lot of the message, then I lose the beginning of a friendship.
It is far better to say that there is always a slight percentage chance that they are accurate. Then I can listen to the warmth and the emotion and tone and build the friendship and relationship. So I dont really mind if they talk about Reptillians or dragons or elfs or aliens - so long as we get along and can grow on the Path together.
So I can either seek certainty and evidence and attempt to gather together an ordered world, or let that all slide and go along with the story and share a beer... it may not be possible to have both.
--- John Gibbins.
APRIL 2010 - "The Many Roads of Melbourne Below" by Michael Green.
Many years ago I saw the movie "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time. It was at the Yallourn Cinema - long since demolished along with the town.
Dorothy begins her journey from Munchkinland in a double spiral of bricks - red ones and yellow ones. The yellow brick road leads to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz. Am I the only person who has ever wondered where the red brick road lead?
Melbourne Below is a spiral - from the centre you can take a journey outwards to many places.
The Melbourne Below Website reflects this in an incomplete and imperfect fashion (for the city it is a reflection of is always changing and developing and growing - and a sketch taking time to make can never be completed). The Website, itself, is like a spiral of brick roads - but we have more paths than just two.
There are paths of music and of dance, there are paths leading to the past (re-created) and the future (imagined), there are paths of play and paths of study, there are paths where one can create and one can perform.
There are other websites which explore these destinations in more detail (we link these to the Melbourne Below Website), but it is here at the centre that the signposts are found. It is here at the centre you can choose what journey to make.
--- Michael Green.
MARCH 2010 - "The Other Ways" by Marie Mantzioros.
Here it is, almost April and I still have neglected to complete the March editorial! Oh well... can I use my life as an excuse? I know it really isn't an excuse, but when you're chronically sleep deprived with a baby that keeps you up most of the night for going onto months and almost a year now, it really is quite difficult to keep track of time.
I have been working on something meaty for the editorial but I'm afraid it won't be complete before the end of the month, so I shall pen a few words with the hope of spreading some low level seeds of inspiration.
First, a small example: I recently visited the city with my young family, and instead of walking along the main roads of the city we took the back streets and lanes. My young son was most impressed with the street art (as was I) and we saw many things that were quaint and charming and all together quite apart from the scenery my family are accustomed to seeing in sanitised shopping centres.
It's a tiny and not very exciting example, I know, but we all had a great time. We have also enjoyed local events and productions that are a little off the beaten track (or publicity machine as the case may be). I must say we have been spoiled for choice with concerts and plays and more events you can name that are out there every week if you make the effort to find them. Being non-mainstream doesn't have to be so off-beat that it is inappropriate for kids. Just look a little closer, and you may find that portal to a magical place you can share with your children.
--- Marie Mantzioros.
FEBRUARY 2010 - "Valentine's Day - The Madness that Was" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
Now that one of the most over-commercialised days of the year is over, I can only wonder and marvel about what makes Valentine's Day so special. Don't misunderstand - I'm happily in a relationship and enjoy the simple pleasure that is spending time with my beau, but to be frank, have never understood the fuss that comes with this once-a-year 'Hallmark' day.
All around me, from TweetDeck (another form of Twitter) to FaceBook, all I saw was "What did you get/do/etc for Valentine's Day?" I figure, if you're with someone, it shouldn't matter what day of the year it is, any day is good day for a bit of romance or time spent with that special someone.
And for those who aren't with someone? "What did you get/do for this Hallmark'd day?" What should it matter - live as you want to live, if that means shagging some random person or just having a day/night out with friends, or even something for yourself - like a massage. It's all good. The other option, if people know whether you have a partner or not, is to simply ask them: What should it matter?
Remember people: Valetine's Day - An over-rated, over-priced Hallmark day, where people are to feel guilty for not getting someone anything, or not getting anything in return... To be summed up? Any day is a day to feel special - Not just Valentine's Day!
Coming from a realistic optimist who's seen too many people look down over not feeling special one day a year!
Not what we give, but what we share;
For the gift without the giver is bare
- J.R Lowell; Vision of St Launfal, II
--- Gabbriel O'Shae.
JANUARY 2010 - "Intellectual Properties" by John Gibbins.
This is mainly about intellectual property.
What do we know? Do we know anything...
People have been flocking to see the movie Avatar recently, and marvelling at the different cultures. Some marvel at the war toys which resemble those of the game Halo more than just a little. Others long for the ecological awareness and knowledge of the Navi. Likewise there is a growing movement towards the Steampunk era and the althernate lifestyle that it offers. There is also the issue in Melbourne Above as to the relative merits of indiginous cultural knowledge and the WASP cultural knowledge.
With the different fiefdoms within Melbourne Below we have a similar issue. There are so many splinters of the federation in Melbourne Below it can be bewildering. The strength comes from being able to move to the particular fiefdom that you need. Each fiefdom has its particular world and rules and wisdom to share. For us to say that THIS FIEFDOM has all the answers is to fall into the same trap as does Melbourne Above. Everyone has some piece of the jigsaw puzzle and contributes in some ways to the great multi-verse interweave and tapestry.
Each fiefdom has its own strengths. Not all fiefdoms will be up to date
with computer technology. Some fiefdoms will be good with metalwork, some
fiefdoms will be better with computers, some with a hobby or skill, whilst
other fiefdoms will be more like the sports clubs of
Melbourne Above. To pursue a study in a particular discipline, you
may have to move to the fiefdom that specialises in that area. The strongest
of these fiefdoms are like parallel worlds each with their own alternate
history.
So it would not surprise me if there were visitors from the 1800's Victorian era and London Below who would visit modern Steampunk fiefdoms. They could learn secrets of computers; to take back and share with Babbage. Verne and Wells could visit their own fiefdoms Below and gain insight into the troubles of the late 1900's. You might have noticed them lurking at the back of the last Steampunk Convention. This is similar to the folk who have joined the alternate technology fiefdoms, and are building antigravity machines and spaceships, beyond the comprehension of Melbourne Above. Indeed, the laws of physics may be slightly different in those alternate fiefdoms to allow them to work. They may meet up with similar people who can share those secrets of future times.
The lesson for the people of Avatar is that they both need each other's technology, and being apart has harmed them both. The indigenous Navi can gain much from learning the tactics, electronics and spaceflight of the mining corporation. Likewise the mining company can learn much by working with the planet about becoming green and ecological. The resources of the flora and fauna could be worth more than the ore. The real winners are those who can have a foot in both camps and draw on the technology from both.
There are two cautions here that need to be noted. Firstly, if you borrow some technology you should always cite the source. This respectful referencing is partly to avoid instances of fraud and plagarism. It is also good in hightlighting the primary, secondary or tertiary sources for your work. Technology always comes with some cultural baggage attached. Giving reference pays heed to the other Fiefdoms that you borrowed the technology from. Even relativistic physics comes with the baggage of belonging to The Academy. (A fearfully powerful fiefdom of tertiary institutions!) Other sciences like para-psychology and the new physics phenomenons come with the baggage of the New Age movement. Likewise western medicine comes with the culture of the WASP West; while Chinese medicine comes with the Eastern culture, and other forms of medicine come with their own cultural trappings.
Although we might like to shield the culture from technology, this is fraught with problems and dangers. This is like taking the cultural elements out of martial arts and getting left with two words, "kick, punch". Physics within the Academy fiefdom is different to that outside it. Likewise psychology inside the Academy is different to that as pracised in medicine, and that is different again to that which is practised in business. Culture and the fiefdom warps and influences the technology that is about. The Shamanism as practised in the wilds is different to that which is practised on the 8th floor apartment in the heart of the city. Even with the technology of travel by train; you have completely different fiefdoms and experiences with V-Line, Melbourne Metro, the historic steam-trains, and the train-restaurant service.
Not all technologies and cultures are safe to deal with. Like as always there is one sure test, to be wary and keep clear of Melbourne Above. Does the Fiefdom claim to have the answers and deny the wisdom of all other fiefdoms? Do they claim to have a unique position and have the best answers? These views privalege their small fiefdom at the expense of the whole diverse community. They are dangerous as they would kill and stifle those who have new technology or different ideas. It is a common experience shared by those in Melbourne Below that there is no privaleged position, and everyone has something to offer.
There are so many diverse people and ways within Melbourne Below. To stay in one little niche is to abandon the broad canvas and clutch at a thin thread. There is the challenge to branch out and visit the Merchants of Melbourne Below and see other sights ... view other vistas ... and start to live in the strong diversity that Melbourne Below offers.
--- John Gibbins.
DECEMBER 2009 - "Water Margins, Crosshatches & Thresholds" by Michael Green.
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy defines "water margins" as "shifting or ill-defined boundaries" usually between two types of reality. It defines "crosshatches" as "a situation where the demarcation line between two realities is blurred and 'two or more worlds may simultaneously inhabit the same territory', and defines a "Threshold" as a doorway between two realities - sort of like the wall in Neil Gaiman's novel (and the film of the same name) "Stardust."
I find myself contemplating these definitions when thinking about the relationship between Melbourne Above and Melbourne Below.
Melbourne Above is the mundane city - the inner city of tall concrete and glass towers, the far-flung suburbs, and the ordinary aspects of the lives of its millions of citizens. (LIke the ant-hill it is a story of survival and necessity.)
Melbourne Below is much much more than that! It lies below the conscious physical city, and like the 'Twilight Zone' is largely "a dimension of mind."
Life in Melbourne Above can be lived in automatic. The alarm clock goes off and everything that follows until the final exhausted resting of the head on the pillow is repeated ritual - deep thought not required.
The touch of Melbourne Below changes that. It is the sudden awareness you have of the strange, the magical, the uncanny, the fascinating. It pulls you to engage your mind rather than to shut it off.
Like the crosshatches of fantasy fiction the geography of Melbourne Above and Melbourne Below overlaps. (But not every part of Melbourne Above is easily reflected in Melbourne Below - sometimes the distances are too great.) For example - a shop can be both a physical money-making proposition - and a place where you can meet interesting folks and be introduced to new ways of thinking.
Our Fiefdoms are often located in mundane parts of surburbia, but the people there and the activities they offer, make them mind-expanding and a true part of Melbourne Below.
Water-margins and thresholds have their place in the geography of Melbourne Above/Melbourne Below as well. Places change over time - the magical may give way to the mundane, or the mundane may be enriched through imagination and become magical. And thresholds exist a-plenty - mundane doors lead to imaginatively-decorated nightclubs, hidden cafes, or hidden-away performance spaces.
With this website we attempt to provide you with a selection of doorways to "the life more interesting" in Melbourne Below!
--- Michael Green.
NOVEMBER 2009 - "Fiefdoms" by John Gibbins.
One of the key features of Melbourne Below is our section on FIEFDOMS. These are groups of people who close off and run their own affairs. Usually they are like clubs or societies; however the concept can be expanded to include suburbs, ghettos, precincts, cliques, and small cells of people. There are two parts to our fiefdoms, the geographic region and the social group of people. Other people go further and develop micro-nations and micro-states1 . The best known example of that is the famous Hutt River Province in WA Australia (See link below).
1Micronations are generally viewed as ephemeral, eccentric and somewhat amusing by most external observers.
Micronations should not to be confused with microstates, which are small extant sovereign states such as the Andorra, Kiribati, Monaco, Nauru, San Marino and the Vatican.
Nor should they be confused with self-determination, secessionist or exile government groups, which typically have many hundreds or thousands of active supporters, and are often engaged in armed campaigns in support of their aims against the governments of one or more sovereign states.
When looking at a country we need to go beyond the simplistic notion of a nation-state. Despite this term being used to describe many countries the real situation is often different. It helps to distinguish amongst the terms used and to separate out the concept of a nation from the concept of a state. In some countries like Canada there are various nations of people within the one state. In other places like Europe there are many states which share the same nation of people. Other places again have a mix of many nations and many states in the local geographical region.
Part of the problem with the boat people is on the supply side and part on the demand side. There are problems in the country of origin and also problems of getting into Australia. If micro-nations were encouraged and recognised, then the people wishing to secede would be encouraged to do so. They could form their micro-state. This would assist people like the Tamils, Singhalese, Kurds, etc and would remove the need for secessionist violence. They could immediately secede overnight and claim sovereignty. If enough boat people got to an uninhabited island or reef, then they could claim the territory and annex it. They could form their own micro-state. There goes Christmas Island...
Likewise within Australia, people could splinter off into their own separate groups. Within the major cities we have different groups and precincts already. In Australia we say we are one people, and yet we also claim to be multi-cultural. If we are consistently one people then there should be no divide and people should be forced to homogenise into the one culture, language and society. However, if we are actually multi-cultural, then we are divided and diverse in our language, culture and society. To recognise the unity within Melbourne we have the one Melbourne Below and to recognize the diversity we have the plurality of the different fiefdoms within Melbourne Below.
To give an example of what the situation would look like, we can see how normal Australian society would have to change. If this were carried out in Australia Above we would do away with Federal Government and State Governments. Almost everything would be done at the local shire or municipality level. The three exceptions are the Courts and legal system, the Military and armed forces, and a little taxation. (With such a small system the only taxation needed would be GST and stamp duty). Almost everything would be provided from your local municipal council, and from the corporate sector. Australia Above has too much inertia for this to happen any time soon, and so we have the alternate Melbourne Below.
When new arrivals come here they are not citizens of Melbourne Above and are restricted in the services and work that they can access. As an alternative to this, there could be offered to them, the ability to become a member of the many Melbourne Below fiefdoms. That way they could trade and barter their skills; to gain goods and services like food and housing. Within the Melbourne Below community this could be easily enabled. Likewise the groups of people who don’t want new people can close off their fiefdom, and be separate from those fiefdoms that do. It is a shame that so few refugees and asylum seekers enter Melbourne Below and disappear, whereas instead they take on the problems of detention camps within Australia Above.
Within Melbourne Below these fiefdoms already happen. The big benefit is that individuals can gain and experience their empowerment and sovereignty. Being outside Melbourne Above you side-step normal laws and morals; and enter a world of your own. Providing you escape the vigilance of the Melbourne Above constabulary and LEO; you are free to do live within your own fiefdom at peace. There are many fiefdoms within Melbourne Below with their own rules and Articles of Association, their own committees, their own meeting places and halls. Some of these organisations, like the LET$ communities, also have their own internal economy and currency. Some of these organisations are run by democratic vote and others are principalities run by their ‘prince’.
This is fine and an intellectual exercise for those middle class people from Melbourne Above whom sometimes go down to Melbourne Below. We sometimes forget that there are many people who are not able to enter fully into Melbourne Above. The refugees and asylum seekers are excluded. The entire under-class is excluded. The homeless and long term jobseekers are excluded. There are many people in sheltered homes or institutions which are excluded. There are people who are excluded by nature of their religion or ethnic grouping. All these excluded people may sometimes rise up to be seen in Melbourne Above, if only for a few hours a week.
For Melbourne Below to thrive we need to capture all these excluded people and cater for their needs. We are the only group which has the vision and scope to do this. Various charities and welfare groups work sometimes sending aid and relief into Melbourne Below. They suffer from the same flaw into trying to rescue their clients and bring them back up into Melbourne Above. If that were going to work then they would be able to cope. If that were going to work they would have never have slipped down away from Melbourne Above in the first place! Often these people can barely cope with Melbourne Above, and flounder like a fish out of water. Instead we need to accept the fact that they have moved on and provide a stable community for them in Melbourne Below.
Bringing your household and mates into Melbourne Below as a fiefdom is a good way to go. It is a conscious decision to move away from Australia Above under Rudd and all that represents. It is a claim of sovereignty over your own lives and that you take responsibility for what happens. It moves you away from being a forgotten person and into a federation of many thousands of similar fiefdoms across Melbourne Below. It also brings responsibility. There is the responsibility that you also allow others to secede and be different to you. This brings with it the fellowship of thousands of other people who have similarly dropped down into our large community. Although we are one as Melbourne Below we are each separate sovereign fiefdoms.
We are ready and waiting here to welcome you all!
LINKS
http://www.hutt-river-province.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_autonomist_and_secessionist_movements
http://www.melbournebelow.com.au/fiefdoms.htm
--- John Gibbins.
OCTOBER 2009 - "Embracing the Strange" by Michael Green.
I have been fascinated by subcultures ever since I noticed there were these cooly different punks and hippies around. I love the fact that subcultures exist and that people dress and act in different ways.
Subcultures are just one of the ways that people vary. People also vary in age, body-shape, cultural background, gender-identity, skin colour, and religious and political viewpoints. I love the variety of human beings on this planet because it is just so very very interesting! (And I live in Springvale where I get to see a wide variety of human beings everyday.)
But there are some people out there who feel threatened by all this diversity. It is something I have never understood. Why do some folks feel uncomfortable with cultural diversity? Why do they let themselves get worried about such trivial things as a person having darker-than-average skin or being gay? (Why would they prefer to live in some imagined place I call 'White Bread Land' where everyone is like they are? Is there safety in boredom?)
My parents were Irish - which makes me pretty mainstream Australian. Do I feel my inherited culture is under threat because I have an Indian couple living next door, or because there are Asians upstairs? Not at all! I believe that multiculturalism works - a diversity of cultures in the mix makes for a much more interesting culture overall!
Perhaps my fascination with cultures and subcultures is linked in some way with my identity as a science-fiction fan. Science-fiction is a genre which is meant to open up your mind to accept new ideas and alien cultures. (And when the aliens arrive with their three heads, eyes-on-stalks and multi-coloured flourescent tentacles - the average hippy, Goth, or punk is going to look pretty mundane by comparison!)
I love the diversity of the world and of its people. It is endlessly and forever fascinating.
--- Michael Green.
SEPTEMBER 2009 - "On the Edge" by John Gibbins.
There are a few events that I want to write about.
Recently we have had someone go missing in the mountains. It is a few weeks ago now that Tim Holding went missing up on the Razer Back near Feathertop Mountain. A massive search was organised for him and State Parliament paused for a few days until he was found.
So the issue brought the whole Melbourne Below mission to mind. The question raised in my head was do we in Melbourne Below have a duty of care? We say that we are a site that caters for people on the edge, and yet perhaps we don't go there yet.
We have some resources on the Melbourne Below website. The main pages we have are the Calendar Page and the Fiefdoms Page. As our clients and readers, we need to hear from you what you require from us. If the demand is there we can have web-pages on job searching and the dole. We could have web-pages on survival in the countryside, or how to survive in the city. We do need to hear from you.
Because people do go missing. They do leave the track and get lost. Others get evicted out of their home and get thrown on the street. Some have always been homeless. So the issue remains whether we have a duty of care to the people who are truly of Melbourne Below. Other people get displaced or become refugees or leave the world above... There are many many stories of the legions who have been betrayed by Centrelink and denied payments. There are many people who get little support and who need assistance.
There are lots of people from Melbourne's underground and Melbourne's underclass who may come to Melbourne Below. If we incorporate, (as I believe we should), then we would be at the bottom of the world above. We can offer those who are down and out some thing different. There can be somewhere else where they can go.
In the Calendar there are many conventions and events that people can attend. We should not look out for the masses who come to these events as a holiday from Melbourne Above. Instead we should look for and catch those who stagger into the events as a possible refuge against the cold. This might be the only place in the last week where they have seen a friendly face. It may be the lost soul in the corner who is actually there at the core of what Melbourne Below is about.
The other side of the coin is that we need to expand our base. We need to grow from being a few people to being a registered Association. How many of you readers would be willing to join the organisation if we incorporated? The other question is would you be prepared to pay a joining fee and annual fee to belong? Would you be prepared to pay $20 to join and $20 each year - as that is our initial estimate to cover the incorporation expenses.
It would be great to have you all come and join Melbourne Below as then we would be representative of all our members. The meetings would be open so that your voices could be heard and the resources will go where you think they should go.
So let's get real: a real association with real people for real people.
--- John Gibbins.
AUGUST 2009 - "Visiting Other Worlds" by Michael Green.
This weekend I am going to a science-fiction convention, in Melbourne, called "Galaxies By Gaslight." It is a celebration, amongst other things, of steampunk - a mutated offspring of cyberpunk SF set firmly in a cybernetically-enhanced 19th Century!
It should be a lot of fun.
And later this month is the Melbourne Writers' Festival. Many writers and readers will gather to celebrate the written word, and to celebrate the worlds that writers create - or marvel at the distorting lens they use to view our world.
And in November there is the Melbourne Medieval Fayre and Tourney - a chance to visit (in a sense) times past.
And over the next few months Theatre Companies will be presenting their own small worlds upon the stage.
Melbourne Below and this website gives you the information you need to leave your humdrum world and explore other worlds. Worlds of images and ideas, of music and poetry, of performance and the wonderfully new.
We are your roadmap. Explore. Experience. Be renewed.
--- Michael Green.
JULY 2009 - "The Goddess is Alive and Well, and Being Served in a 'Parlour' Near You!" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
Just an aspect to think about:
Once upon a time, in many ancient cities and cultures, there were many faces of the Goddess being openly served by Her many priests and priestesses. These included the very sexual Deities - Freyja, Venus, Ishtar, Aphrodite - just to name a few. The priestesses who served these beautiful, sensual and sexual Goddesses were considered sacred. Any word against them would be considered a criminal offense.
Fast-forward to the present day:
These very same women, priestesses who either knowingly or unknowingly serve the Goddess in her sensual and sexual aspects are frowned upon, shunned and even judged - simply because people have lost touch with the celebrations of the Cycles of Life... These very same women who have chosen to live their lives, their way are refered to as prostitutes, or in the worst way - whores.
Let me break it to you: These women have chosen to embrace their task, celebrating one of the most sacred of duties, and deserve the highest respect - especially when they treat themselves and their bodies as sacred. There are the unfortunate ones who succumb to their shadow selves, delving into the realm of drugs, but those who have remained true to themselves and strong against the drug channel of the Adult industry deserve the utmost praise and respect...
Just another way to serve people on a one-on-one basis, really. Companies pay employees to screw people over for money, sometimes... At least these women are being honest enough to admit their customer service is pleasurable to their customers.
JUNE 2009 - "Feeling Under Seige" by John Gibbins.
This month I remember back to my early 20’s; when I was young and used to read SF novels. The one SF book I think of most at this time is Fahrenheit 451, and one concern is the current bashings of Indians (and the vigilantism). The two seem to be related, especially to Melbourne Below.
When the Cronulla riots happened in Sydney a few years ago, the thought was that Melbourne would be immune. We had the perfect antidote in the new movement that was Melbourne Below. In those days the technology was strong and so seemed to work well. We are alone in having a "Below" group in our city, as no other city has taken up the franchise!
I should not be writing this, as the book Fahreinheit 451 points out. Having a written text can be a crime as well as a sin. Instead we should be living the text and have the text learned by rote! For Melbourne Below could talk to the peoples about the many things we have in common. We could talk about how to have separate groups and Fiefdoms side by side. We could discuss about how to disappear, and be invisible in the populace, so you don’t stand out. We could discuss about community building and building strong defenses. We could talk about the various mediations that go on inter- and intra- communities. We could talk on… and we could also learn a lot by listening to their voices.
There are several practical things that we can do. One thing is to welcome any refugees from Melbourne Above to Melbourne Below. We can share with them practical ways of enriching each other’s culture. We can build links between the groups and so further build the tapestry and interweave that is our multi-verse. The other practical thing we can do is harden the border between Above and Below. That way there is less influence between the two worlds.
There are too many Ethnic and Cultural groups we have not reached yet, and too many peoples who are ignorant of our mission. From the ‘grey nomads’ to the ‘Falun Gong’, I wonder how many people we have reached out to? The bashings of the Indians and the cracks in our society are symptoms that Melbourne Below is losing its Charter and losing its way. There is a time to stop writing about change and start living the change. There is a time to stop writing our fanzine and start living the script. Our credibility depends on it.
---John Gibbins.
MAY 2009 - "Racing the Red Queen" by Michael Green.
We in the Melbourne Below Collective have had very busy lives recently. John and Marie have a brand new baby, and Gabbriel has a brand new job.
Even I have been far busier that usual of late. I have more paid work, and a couple of new outside activities to squeeze into each week. In addition I have met someone special and need to create time to spend with her as well.
Sadly this means that there hasn't been as much time available to us as we'd like to update Melbourne Below. (But all the entries and updates we get emailed for Melbourne Below get highlighted in red in the Eudora mailbox so that they do not get overlooked.) We have events to list for months ahead - but the short term priority has been to place upcoming events into the CALENDAR, and to set the others aside to be added when we have the luxury of more time.
I am so looking forward to having more time, for Melbourne Below is a fascinating project and there is so we have found which we long to add to these pages.
Keep us bookmarked!
---Michael Green.
APRIL 2009 - "Types of Organizations" by John Gibbins.
In Melbourne Below we run a web site. As much as possible we aim to run in grass-roots or bottom-up mode - so that you people out there do much to give input and substance to the community. Nearly every other club is run in a top-down model and we are different. Very different!
Most organizations that I work with these days are run top-down. The management team are instructed by the CEO and the Board on behalf of share-holders, and the prime focus of the company is to maintain a good share price. This boss-yness goes down through the executives through middle managers and staff, and through to the customers who are told by the company marketing people when, where and what to buy. The customer is never put before maintenance of profits! This is a great difference to the world where I grew up as teenager; when the customer was right and people actually did customer service.
In contrast to this is grass-roots and bottom-up organizations. You start with the customer and the influence goes upwards, so the bottom rung and sales team caters to the customer by keeping them happy. This is facilitated by the middle management team and other support staff, and these in turn are assisted by the executives and back office. The shareholders get the rewards of being part of a strong and responsive company.
Most of the rest of the world is run with a top-down model. It starts with the G20 and the OECD, and then you get the trickle down effect. The best organizations to belong to have always been bottom-up. This includes many clubs and societies; some communes and closed communities, and some political organizations. Much of the crisis and terror starts with those top-down organizations. The difference between the two is huge.
In a large organization there are two conflicting forms of staff loyalty. Some would argue that you should be loyal to the company and put the interests of the share holders first; while others would argue that you should be loyal to the company and put the clients first. In a daily newspaper, for instance, there is the loyalty to shareholders and rorting the advertisers for more money; or loyalty to readers and so giving better quality articles and gaining market share. When you work in a call-centre for a major teleco, for instance, there is your loyalty to the out-sourcing company, or to the customers of the company, or to the shareholders and the company profits. This choice of the workers in the organization alters the attitude of the workers and also the flavour of the company.
Over the last few months there have been various natural disasters striking people in our community. There was more happening in the world than bush fires! There was snow and cold for our friends visiting London, and various flooding rains in Queensland and NSW. As a community we need to take some time to assist and do what we can for people faced with these disasters. Disaster can strike in different ways in different places; and so we need to be versatile in how we cope and respond.
When you re-build a community like after the recent bushfires; do you impose order and community from above, or do you allow the local residents to decide for themselves? Do you rely on the government to bail out and provide services, or do you allow people to provide by making their own choices?
It has been our aim over the years to provide a structure and vessel where people can leave and go elsewhere, with a valid alternative. We have the ability to turn this organization into something that allows you the freedom to go and be otherwise. It has the ability to put you in contact with other people of like mind and to run your business. It takes you from being the pawn and victim of a callous society to a place where you can be in control. This may take a bit of courage for some people. Yet all the resources and assistance is here in our Melbourne Below. On the outer skin of Melbourne Below is the CALENDAR page with the list of events. Supporting this is our strength in good and solid stakeholders of the organization.
Within Melbourne Below there are three separate groups of stake holders. Firstly there are the various individuals who are listed under PEOPLE who make up the main characters of Melbourne Below. (This is not a complete list, as many of the most colourful characters wish to remain anonymous.) The second group is the various businesses who are listed under the MERCHANTS category. Unlike various trade lists, we only list a few people here. Although I would like to list many thousands of companies, only a few hundred have come forward to be listed. The third group of stakeholders is the groups and organizations that make up the various FIEFDOMS of Melbourne Below.
That we have taken the methods of Bottom up management, means that these three groups are likely to remain small in number. Many people are nervous about being in control of their environment.
Melbourne Below could have gone down the top-down road, and imposed its view of the world. We could have gone commercial and provided lists of thousands of companies and businesses; similar to the Yellow Pages. We kept away from that road as it is the wrong choice for us.
When we finally incorporate, we hope to continue to be run as a grass roots organization, and be responsive to your needs. After all - this is *your* organization! So we look for your continued input and response. We would also hope you begin to question your loyalty and ethics of the companies in which you work. Is it better to impose control from the top or from underneath?
As the old saying goes:
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
---John Gibbins.
MARCH 2009 - "Internet Censorship" by Marie Mantzioros.
Internet censorship - it's not only a contentious issue in the traditional sense, but myself, and others I have spoken to feel conflicted about how we feel about it. I know how I feel in general about censorship - that is, except for media destined for the eyes of children, I am against it. I have always felt that adults have not only the ability to reject and/or ignore material they find distasteful, but also the right to choose without being dictated to.
However, the internet, and its proliferation of users and content, brings with it new challenges. First, it's hard to ignore that children can gain access to much of the content. But it goes beyond that. It's also hard to ignore an inbox full of unsolicited and/or offensive material. To add to this mix, a media release on 2nd March announced that 1 in 4 young people report being bullied on line.
Critics of internet culture such as Lee Siegel ("Against The Machine: Being Human In The Age Of The Electronic Mob" - published 2007) argue that it has all gone too far. Siegel borrows a phrase formerly applied to television in its youth in labelling the internet as 'a vast wasteland'; a place where the lowest common denominator dominates and which enforces conformity rather than creativity. He claims the internet has 'the rhetoric of democracy, freedom, and access is often a fig leaf for antidemocratic and coercive rhetoric; where commercial ambitions dress up in the sheep's clothing of humanistic values'.
So what is the solution? Well, firstly, all the above mentioned problems really are just opinions, and this leads to the core of the problem with censorship. One person's opinions are what become law, effectively. I cannot, therefore, agree that top down censorship should be our aim. I do not see the internet as a wasteland, and I'm sure many others would agree that it is a matter of personal perspective. As far as poor material goes, it really does speak for itself, in that it does not receive the hits or attention of the more compelling material online, and I don't see why we need to give it more attention in the form of policing. So I do not see any need to cull material on the net, as web traffic has its own life.
I agree that bullying is a problem, but surely there are better ways to keep a reign on this problem than mitigating free speech? Top down methods of policing what people say really do restrict human rights. All we need do is look at countries that restrict what can be said and read on the internet to see what that is like. If you believe that Australia's laws would never be so extreme, I would like to cast people's minds back to the "terrorist" scare in the aftermath of 9/11... those labelled terrorists were not just gagged but had other civil rights removed, regardless of whether the allegations were founded or not. Many people who felt they were merely exercising their democratic rights (and even a few petty criminals) were caught up. Once restriction and censorship becomes the norm, it becomes difficult for people not only to exercise their rights and to criticise that censorship, but it also becomes difficult for ordinary people to control, as its limits are then set by "policy makers".
So what can be done about on line bullying?
I feel the primary battle here is a social one. The bar will be set at what internet users find acceptable, and rarely above this. True bullying must be taken seriously by web managers, and by other users. Although social shunning and even officially barring people from certain sites may not seem that severe, if the perpetrators continue to offend and receive the same response wherever they go, they will eventually run out of people to listen and places to go... Also, harrassment must be taken seriously by authorities. One possible response to unfair and offensive behaviour including bullying, rumour spreading and so forth could be to extend the scope of existing bodies which currently investigate reports of "offensive" online material - I fear, however, that once the gates are opened to material which is personally offensive to certain individuals, if we consider the current state of chat rooms alone, they may become inundated. Sadly, this goes beyond the internet, and permeates our society. Thus, I don't think there will ever be an encompassing solution to online bullying, at least not without a significant cultural shift. It is worth remembering that personal harrassment and degradation, etc., are miles away from the many forms of free speech that do proliferate on the internet. I fear legislative restriction would do more to stifle true free speech than restricting bullying, etc.
I probably can't go any further in this editorial without mentioning SPAM. Given it is unsolicited and a scourge on our lifestyle, I do support legislative restrictions where SPAM is concerned. However, until restrictions become international, offenders will continue to shift their borders to avoid prosecution. I hope it is obvious that I am not defending the right to SPAM in any way in my above defense of internet free speech.
I do also hold concerns for the kind of material that can be accessed by children. I feel the solution to this may be more technical that social, however, I concede that so far "technical" attempts at restricting under-18 access to certain materials has by and large failed.
Despite the problems mentioned above, I do not believe that the solution justifies the means, and so I am not in favour of further legislative restrictions on the internet. It is also my opinion (and I am glad to be able to express it) that the internet can be and is a source of valuable bottom-up culture; voices, that would otherwise go unheard - images that would go unseen, people that would go unconnected... Those people like Siegel may feel this takes a big chunk from their professional "pie", but besides ironing out a few flaws, could we really live with it being any different?
---Marie Mantzioros.
FEBRUARY 2009 - "The GREAT and the TERRIBLE" by Michael Green.
Like many Australians I was delighted to see Barack Obama inaugerated as the new US president. The previous incumbent, George W. Bush had been at best, perhaps, a buffoon and at worst a criminal.
I was delighted because the world is going through a tough time and tough times require leaders with intelligence and wisdom - and I felt we might be getting that with Barack Obama.
Time will tell (as it always does) whether our hopes will be fulfilled.
So from the great to the terrible - these bushfires raging through Victoria - 180 or more dead, thousands of homes destroyed. I have friends and relatives near Churchill, at least one has been a witness to tragedy.
The world and us continue on our journey through history - finding things to delight and things to abhor as time passes and changes come.
Sometimes I fell powerless to change circumstances in places like Burma or Zimbabwe, and can only protest. Angry and impotent.
Sometimes confidence is renewed as I hear good news from one of the world's trouble spots - but the whole is monstrously ambiguous; the GREAT and the TERRIBLE continue to appear and to reappear.
This whole world is becoming a more complex place.
Regards,
Michael Green.
JANUARY 2009 - "Happy New Year!" by Michael Green.
It is a little over four years since this incarnation of the Melbourne Below website came into being.
Between 2005 and now there has been a lot of hard work, a lot of searching and researching, a lot of typing, and the preparation of over 180 entries on underground culture in Melbourne.
And in recent days the CALENDAR has been expanded in preparation for the inclusion of new and exciting events for 2009. These new events will start appearing over the next few days - though several upcoming conventions are listed already.
And early in the new year is when we update the entries for the theatre companies we list, and include the details of their shows for the coming year.
A lot of hard work - but fortunately the Melbourne Below website is cheap to run.
Tell us what you think!
Regards,
Michael Green.
DECEMBER 2008 - "Choices" by John Gibbins.
These last few months have had a lot happen in the world.
During the Spring Season, we have seen the partial collapse of the capitalist system. There has been a collapse on numerous stock-exchanges all around the world. As well, billions of dollars has been spent proping up the worlds banks, (make that trillions of dollars.) There are many fiefdoms out in the world that revolve around money, and they are a scary place.
Does anyone know how much a billion is? What does that number mean? If you took a sheet of A4 graph paper and had a dollar for every square millimeter - then how many pages for a million dollars? Ok - a billion dollars is a thousand times more, and a trillion is a million times more! Think of all the houses you could wallpaper with that amount....
Back in 1984 I was learning about the financial system, and helped to seed the bartering communities around Australia. (Melbourne Above hijacked my idea and formed the company BarterCard to exploit this.) That was my apprenticeship and introduction to loansharks and futures trading. It has been 20 years since the movie on insider trading, pointing out that 'Greed is Good'. It has been 10 years since the book series, 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', was published. (1997, Kiyosaki and Lechter) There were many lessons in those books about gaining financial literacy. There are solutions to the current climate, out there being exploited at this very moment. There are many people out there at the moment financially hurting. Others who don't fetish-ize money are doing a lot better.
On the international stage we have seen Obama elected as the first 'black' President of the USA. We hope that this brings some change to America. We have seen the Georgian crisis come and go; as a replay of Kosovo. We have seen hot-spots and violence in Mumbai and Thailand. Unlike their international counterparts; we are lucky to have many peaceful fiefdoms in Melbourne Below. Perhaps we in Melbourne Below know things that the world above has forgotten!
The question comes with this economic collapse. The question concerning the welfare of my new family. The issue of what we teach our kids... The question used to be, 'what to do now?' instead the question becomes 'with all its glitter - why should I leave Melbourne Above?' With the bleak outlook to the future; the answer at this Christmas time is to look after your family and loved ones.
Yes - the best way to look after your family is to leave Melbourne Above far behind.
[About 22 pages of A4 graph paper for a million square millimetres.]
---John Gibbins.
NOVEMBER 2008 - "The Beginning of Time to Reflect" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
The year is almost over, and with the start of our fourth year fast approaching, it kinda makes me where do we all go from here, now? With the rush of xmas preparations and putting the trick-or-treating away, there's little wonder we ever feel anything but stressed.
So I put it you all, to take the time, simply to chill in your own space, just to reflect on whether you did what you set out to do, and whether or not you feel you have made an impact on the lives around you. Maybe you think you didn't. But what about the flash of a smile you gave to someone in the street, as you walked past? Or taking the time to listen to someone when you could've easily brushed them aside?
Where those small actions to you probably meant little or nothing, they would have meant the world at the time to those people you chose to interact with. The seemingly small random acts of kindness have a bigger impact on those people than anyone could ever imagine.
So, there's nothing wrong now to just take a breather for yourself, because the world is always changing - can you and your perceptions keep up, though?
That's my 5¢ worth. Looking forward to interacting even more with the people of Melbourne, even if it's incognito!
---Gabbriel O'Shae.
OCTOBER 2008 - "The World Financial Crisis" by Marie Mantzioros.
The following is a brief rant about my thoughts on the current global financial crisis. It may appear a little brief and cold, however, this belies how I actually feel about the situation. Unfortunately, while I am quite emotional about the outcome of global financial events, I felt crippled to express this in writing, and therefore was forced to remove myself somewhat emotionally, if only to get this 'October' editorial on the website before the November editorial gets posted... please feel free to comment. I feel there should be more discussion about these issues amongst "non experts" and indeed, the welfare of people all over the world may be "too important to leave to the experts"... Here is one brief perspective:
"The World Financial Crisis".... there are many analysts attempting to explain how it happened and what it all means, and they all have far greater understanding than myself of world financial markets. However, I am often disappointed in their commentary for the following reason: they all appear to be missing something vital in their analyses, that is a larger framework.
Although some are claiming it could have been avoided, none are examining the effects that practices accepted as inherent in the system have. Practices which at the very fundamental end mean that what we use as currency is also treated as a commodity, and at the other end why banks are able, and indeed encouraged, to operate with not only complex procedures, but procedures which mean they lend much more than their capital. This is not just in the US, but everywhere, including Australia's top rated banks. Analysts seem to gloss over these facts with the merest glance, blaming the whole crisis on sub-prime US mortgages and the fall in property values there, without ascribing any kind of blame to standard bank and financial practices. I believe this is somewhat akin to high class drug dealers blaming low class street dealers for a spate of overdoses... Yes, the street dealers may be the direct providers of this "bad batch", but aren't they all to blame for feeding and sustaining the market for those drugs?
I suppose it does depend on your perspective. I despair of what our world really is about when over 700 billion US goes to prop up banks which have been creating some very wealthy benefactors with sky high profits in the recent past, and this appears as the only way to avert crisis. What kind of message does this send banks for how they operate in the future? And now the UK government is doing a bail out to the tune of 1 trillion. I find myself wallowing in disbelief. Our banks are just as guilty of this "come save me" outlook. They are happy to rake it in when times are good but hold out their hand for our taxes when things get tough. And sadly, many of us agree to this because we are so dependant on the banks.
I'm sure we could all think of better uses for this inconceivable amounts of cash involved in the "bail outs". Perhaps this is a good reason to become independent of the banks and the money markets. They are so intertwined with our society, however, it is difficult not to be affected when they go bad, and this is the saddest outcome of all. It appears this "world financial crisis" means many ordinary people across the world will suffer, whether from 'fiscal tightening', job losses, superannuation losses, or the many other effects that might ensue.
I guess I am just after some deeper analysis, and also some positive real change; a recognition that something is fundamentally wrong. Let's wait and see if any of this does happen. I won't be holding my breath.
---Marie Mantzioros.
SEPTEMBER 2008 - "Chipping at the Mountain" by Michael Green.
Melbourne Below is vast. It covers hundreds of square kilometres and contains hundreds of fiefdoms and thousands of curious shops and markets and other places. It has thousands upon thousands of citizens.
The Melbourne Below website is much smaller. Its pages contain just snippets of the vast alternative city - sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the number of messages I get from the alternative city - messages about shows and festivals and workshops and concerts and creative people of all kinds.
Some of these messages get added to the CALENDAR or converted into entries for FIEFDOMS or the MARKETPLACE, but I feel sometimes like I am chipping away at the mountain.
There is so much we know of which hasn't yet been captured in the website - not for nothing is Melbourne known as an International City of Culture.
And each entry we have can be a portal to other places.
This website is unique. There are other websites which list theatre productions or gigs or names of clubs you can join but nowhere else are all these strands of the hidden side of creative Melbourne brought together. (Some of these other websites are listed on our RESOURCES page - we do try to be helpful.)
Time restraints at the moment mean that the website is not growing as fast as we might like - but it is still growing. We will never get the mountain onto this website, but we do provide you with a place where you can get a good view!
---Michael Green.
AUGUST 2008 - "Out Caste. Part II" by John Gibbins.
However the model fails badly.
There are just too many exceptions to make the scheme work! I have been on many political rallies over the last twenty or thirty years. Most of the people marching proclaimed loudly that, "They were unhappy!" and under the current government and administration, "...they could not function in this society." So most of the protesters would fall into category (d) and yet they were not locked away. Likewise, some people can be both very happy and very unhappy on the same day, perhaps in the same hour. Life and its circumstances can do that to you, throwing your life around. Are those people to be locked away and in put in hospital also? There are very many exceptions. The refugees and immigrants might find themselves unable to function in society, and unhappy from time to time. Or maybe the unemployed people get unhappy and can't get a job.
So with all these exceptions, the model fails. There are two large problems we face with the collapse of this model. The first problem is that of finding different criteria for deciding who needs to go to hospital. Some people do fall ill and do need help, healing and the attention of the medical profession under the ancient Hippocratic Oath. We need to be able to clearly identify and assist those who genuinely need it.
The other problem is for those people in Melbourne Below. Many of us are refugees here, making an attempt to escape the problems and 'dull grey' life of Melbourne Above. We must be careful to be in disguise and hide well! For many of us are unhappy with Melbourne Above and left; or cannot function in Melbourne Above and have left.
We are forever under the constant threat of being carried away and being locked up. Maybe Melbourne Above does not have a cold Gulag, as other countries do – it does have a gilded cage of institutions in which to place people who attempt to leave or live outside it. We must beware that we do not become prey to those who guard the borders. We must be ever vigilant against being caught and found-out, then locked away for safe-keeping.
It takes a certain amount of courage to leave Melbourne Above and join those of Melbourne Below. There is little safety here and the security is precarious. The cost to go back Above is to loose your freedom and liberty, to loose your soul and inner spark. Life Above is grey and flat in comparison – yet the fear remains – when will they take me away and lock me up!
For how long can I run and avoid them?
JULY 2008 - "Out Caste. Part I" by John Gibbins.
This month I have been pondering the groups of people cast out of society, sometimes known as the 'out-cast' or 'out-caste'. Amongst the better known of the people outside Melbourne Above are the caste of refugees and immigrants, who have travelled far and at great peril, to get here and find safety and refuge. How surprising then for them to be given insecurity and fear in the detention centres! Another group of people outside Melbourne Above are the growing numbers of working poor.
Yet I wish to speak of different people today. About seven weeks ago one of my friends went from Melbourne Above into the outcaste group of 'people in hospital'. He entered the hospital and was admitted for many weeks; and left behind many of the rights and responsibilities of his former station in life. It confused me that anything like that could happen: why did he cross over the border into that unknown territory?
So in talking to my mentors I found that there were four main types of people:
(a) Those who are happy and can function in society,
(b) Those who are unhappy and can function in society,
(c) Those who are happy and can't function in society,
(d) Those who are unhappy and can't function in society,
My friend had crossed over to category (d).
Those four categories satisfied me. They work well and seem to function as good boundaries to make sense of the world. Many triage wards could be simplified to use those categories!
This seems to be a good model of how the world functions – and gives a method of understanding the health issues involved.
In Part II, I will discuss where this model fails.
JUNE 2008 - "What Matters...." by Marie Mantzioros.
Here's a question I asked myself earlier today:
Do I care about the quality of my digital prints more than the ongoing destruction of Victoria's old growth forests?
The answer is of course, no. But strangely, that response would be difficult to gauge if you attempted to glean it from my daily actions. In fact, I have been more vocal about many topics, some of which I barely care about, than my deep concern about the destruction of our heritage in East Gippsland.
Enquiring amongst my friends, it would seem I am not the only one to put deep-seated concerns on the back burner while busying myself with day to day trivia.
Why is this? Is this central to the human condition and emotional survival or a product of information overload and modern lifestyles?
Of course I don't have the answer to that particular question, though I think it does make an interesting discussion. However, considering the pressing nature of the many environmental issues we now face, it is apparent that not only individuals, but our society as a whole finds it easier to address only those issues which are immediate and pressing.
Of course fossil fuels are finite, but do we care until we begin to run out? Spewing toxins into our atmosphere with unknown consequences can't be good, but laws weren't passed until it was proven to be lethal to humans, even the wealthy!
So, here we are, a good 30 years after scientists and other experts warned of the perils of greenhouse gases and habitat destruction. It is apparent to the majority of sane people in the world that action must be taken immediately. I will not even entertain that a reader of this editorial can think otherwise. But what about the issues of the future?
The warnings are here now. There are many spheres in which experts are begging for immediate action: health & welfare in our country and in poorer nations, environmental destruction and habitat loss, diverse cultures and traditions which are at risk, managing future epidemics, endangered species, social alienation, and the list continues...
Here I begin to remember why I wind up talking more about my digital prints; there is so much lacking in plans for the future, I'd probably have a nervous breakdown if I focused on these constantly!
However, there is a place in my life for demanding action on the issues which I believe we should not leave to future generations. I would argue that we all need to remain a little bit vigilant and take up causes which we believe may pose problems now and in the future, even if it means merely talking to others about how we feel. The power of real people talking to real people can never be underestimated!
Furthermore, despite my disappointment at the extent of destruction in East Gippsland, I have to remember that during the time of my involvement with the Rainforest Action Group, we did achieve some major victories, and positive outcomes, such as gaining commitments from major chain hardware stores to switch to renewable timber, just to name one.
Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself.
But I also like to remind myself that I only have one life to live, and though I am but one individual, I would like to think that when future generations look back upon our society with disbelief at our complacency, that I will not have been one of those that sat back and let it all happen without speaking out.
MAY 2008 - "Community" by John Gibbins.
The community we live in has four main spokes and so like a wheel it needs to be kept strong. If we are to have a strong vessel to move into the next decade - the wheel needs to be strong. You need all four strong spokes to make Melbourne Below a sturdy community.
The first is the individual. The group was formed originally to act as a refuge. People who were tired of the Red Queens' race could come for a few weeks or months and have some time out. It used to provide succour and recuperation for people. We can be a community of strong refreshed people. Yet people who gain strength at the expense or family or clan don't go very far.
The second spoke is the family. Whether a nuclear family or a large extended family, it is within a family we grow and build friends. The family offers support and nurture to our children and the family also offers comfort for the elderly. The sharing of a meal with family members is often happy and memorable. Yet the family who gains power at the expense of others can find itself isolated and break the wheel.
The third spoke is organisations and fiefdoms. By uniting and standing together great things can be achieved. We can build and work in teams to help the organisation and the common good. When large groups of people band together, there is little that cannot be accomplished. Yet the organisation that exploits the workers as individuals and their families has lost its soul, and so does not deserve to flourish.
The fourth spoke is the large stage of national and international issues. When politicians ignore topics like the global warming, the carbon footprint, and the hole in the ozone layer - can this fourth spoke be strong? Our community once was a rallying point for people who valued the ecology of our planet. In the last few months there has been the independence movement in Kosovo, the trouble in Tibet and the Olympic torch debacle, etc. Does anyone even care or notice anymore? The large players stumble around acting like toddlers in the playground, so we have problems in Taiwan, the Tamils, the Kashmir, and the US meddling in Afghanistan and Iraq. With the fourth spoke bent and dented, Melbourne Below can act local while thinking global.
The engineers have made the community with four spokes, and seek to assist our Melbourne Below. We need four spokes, strong and well balanced, supporting each other. With a sound community our Melbourne Below can roll on for many decades to come.
--- John Gibbins.
APRIL 2008 - "The Red Queen's Race" by Michael Green.
"Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else — if you run very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
"Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there" - Lewis
Carroll (1872).
In the last few months I have felt like I have been caught up in a Red Queen's
Race with the updating of Melbourne Below.
I receive the emails about upcoming events, I gather information together about new entries for FIEFDOMS or the MARKETPLACE - but finding the time to carry out this work is difficult.
Which is odd - as I have more free time (theoretically) than I had last year. Maybe it is a case of more things competing for the time I do have.
Plans for the expansion of this website retreat further and further into an uncertain future, and it is a struggle, at times, even to keep the CALENDAR up-to-date.
I am not happy with this - and somewhere my subconscious is working on a solution to this problem.
In the meantime someone should buy the Red Queen a pair of roller-skates, whilst I await my own solution.
All the best,
---- Michael Green.
MARCH 2008 - "The Essence of 3s" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
The third month of Melbourne Below's third year! An important milestone,
because as more people are drawn to the site the more of a harvest that comes.
As for harvest, I'm harvesting my hair's wealth to give to the community
for the World's Greatest Shave. My hair, nearly three feet long - another
three - releasing power into the universe with the strength a healer can
bring.
It's strange, so many people have begged me not to use March - the month
of the Harvest Equinox - to shave off my hair, to raise the money for research
for a cure for cancer and leukaemia. I have to wonder; what's more selfish?
Being determined to raise this money losing my hair, or giving in to those
who are begging me not to do to this? The healing power of Three begins this
month - on the weekend of the World's Greatest Shave. So mote it be, Melbourne!
---- Gabbriel O'Shae.
FEBRUARY 2008 - "A New Beginning" by John Gibbins.
February is usually the hottest month for Melbourne. Just when children go back to school the heat comes along. The summer continues until Easter heralds in the beginning of autumn. It is that time of year again.
There are a few remaining festivals held in Melbourne this month. People are mainly back at work and the holiday resorts are quietening down. Mind you the campers along the Port Phillip Bay will be there to Rosebud, until the very end at Easter. They are hardy souls and quite dedicated.
This is a year of change for Melbourne Below. The management committee has been holding some meetings and discussing incorporation. This will be a rite of passage in many ways. It will take Melbourne Below from being a small minor site into being a main player. This will bring greater security of the assets and greater room to expand. For the people viewing the site it will allow you to become actively involved. There will be scope for our staff to expand and many more people brought on board to bring you the best alternate site for Melbourne.
With all these rights and perks comes responsibility. It will mean that we will have to step up to the mark and perform. It will mean that we have to give our best for the company. It will mean that if you ever wanted to join a team that is going places, now is the time to put your hand up and be counted. We will need a good team with you to take up the challenge.
There are many ways you can contribute. If you find any shop you like, let us know! Shout out! Tell us if you go to a movie and just thought it was the best! Yell! And let us know of any events going down, good places to get gear, cool places to visit. We need to have your input so that it becomes the site you like to visit; once a week and every week. So tell us! Rave on! Yak yak yak and so let us know. We are here to listen.
This has never been a site about me or any one vision. It is a site that attempts to welcome people who are different, and follow the beat of a different drum. It is for people that take the road less travelled. So give us a go, find out how you can contribute and join in. Next year it could be you helping to run the organisation! We need good people on our team; and now is a great time to join.
So this is a turning point in the year. The days are going to get shorter,
and the leaves start to turn brown. It is a turning point for our Melbourne
and a turning point for us all. Be ready and be part of the change. I see
a great future ahead!
---- John Gibbins.
JANUARY 2008 - "Oh Computer!" by Marie Mantzioros.
The virus checker has expired. Got to do something about that soon. Why does this computer take half an hour to start up? What is this crap! Oh yeah. Shouldn't have sat here for so long. I could have been washing the dishes. And the baby's bottles. May have even got the sterilizing done, and poured out the water .....<snigger> Never. They never leave me boiled water in the jug! I keep on topping it up with water, flicking the on switch... when I get back, there's half a cup of boiled water left. I suppose I just have to learn to treat it like a commodity, and act accordingly.
When you think about it, what isn't a commodity?
...
No seriously, I have been here for ages now, staring blankly. Please inform me of some wonderful expression of humanity that isn't a commodity... I'm sure there's a few out there, just can't think of them right now.
Oh well. I've got to go and empty the car and the bags.
Damn! Left a bunch of quarter-full bottles in here. They've been fermenting well. It's amazing really. <sigh> Life... so insidious.
I must get on with these finances. Tax returns are one of the ugliest indicators of modern humans. Just like an albatross's effluent. But I must to do it soon to avoid those late fees. Perhaps the next time I take holidays. This holiday I've been completely booked out. I thought I'd have time to wipe glass and mirrors free of "greasy handmarks" and drool, and organize the plasticware cupboard so that it would no longer be known as the 'cupboard of death'. Oh well. What did I expect? It's all Christmas and family. As if I was going to get my tax done, fix the back fence, weed the garden and as well as the above... All I did was wrap, eat, drink, complain and socialize, along with the traveling that it all incurs. No time for serious stuff.
Oh damn! I'm really behind on the New Scientist. I'm lagging around 8 issues or so behind. Must catch up.
I read last night that El Nino causes the earth to experience extra drag and thus slows down our days. It says "the effect is slight" and causes a slowdown of one millisecond per day. Hang on! This has alarmed me. Here is what I thought: For every day that we experience El Nino, which could theoretically be all the time, we slow down a millisecond a day. So in 1000 years, we would slow down an entire second. 60000 years, and it's a minute. 3.6 million years and it's an hour. 86,400,000 years and it's an entire day. Can this be right? That's not long, geologically speaking. There are other effects that are slowing us down too. I wonder what they add up to? I'd love to look it up on the web. That's what the web excels at. But I can't... I've really got to do all of my online chores and check the inbox.
I remember when your kind were "fun", and at the mercy of batch files. Nobody told me what to do with my computer then, except for XTree Gold... he he it was fun!
All I want to do is make a 6 gig folder of music for my MP4! This darn computer! It's slower that any of my "slow" machines ever were. And anyway, they weren't machines then, they were pals.
Yes. <laughs> As the saying goes, the bulletin boards and crazy tricks that amused us so thoroughly... that’s all another story.
<rambling complaints heard fading into the distance>
---- Marie Mantzioros.
DECEMBER 2007 - "Change to Embrace the Strange" by Michael Green.
On October 26th my job in Werribee finished. They had offered me a month or three's extension - but a series of three terrifying dreams told me this was a very bad idea.
I had realised that my job had been destroying me! It was not only the long commute each way each day, the early mornings and the fatigue - I had had to set aside everything that gave my life value.
My stories remained moth-balled in disregarded drawers and dusty folders; my diary of thoughts, dreams, and imaginings whithered and died; my fanzines became dull litanies of days and ways.
I was too tired even to seek new inspirations in the citadels of Melbourne Below. The highlight of days was the TV shows I watched, or the minutes spent before crashing for the night in another writer's world.
For the sake of a fistfull of dollars each fortnight I had chained my muse and locked her away.
It took three nightmares to show me in no uncertain terms what damage I was doing to myself.
So I said goodbye to Werribee - and re-entered the uncertain world. Glad to be here. Able to take up the things set aside for too long and run with them. Even taking a chance to do a course I had long wanted to do, but had not had time or energy for.
My muse lies sleeping still, but I am quite sure she is not dead.
When she wakes - oh, what dreams we shall spin then!
---- Michael Green.
NOVEMBER 2007 - "Connections" by Marie Mantzioros.
Recently I had a conversation with a work colleague where he complained to me that there is nothing to do in Melbourne. I mentioned theatre, galleries, etc. but he stated he wanted things to "do" rather than "watch". He went on to explain to me that the website which lists a lot of great parties to go to is actually London based (which is where he resided before Melbourne) and rarely do Melbourne activities come up.
To my dismay, I had no real response to this. I know I personally get invited to many parties, but these are generally smallish private events. Does Melbourne really suffer a dearth of large public parties? I don't have the evidence to refute it, so it just could be true. However, there must be something out there to amuse and occupy my colleague on the weekends!
Furthermore, last night I met a Canadian tourist who had 4 days left in Melbourne and wanted something exciting before departing. He also had had his fix of "cultural" attractions and was wanting something more hands on. Sadly, I could think of none in the next four days.
I like to think of both examples above as more of a lack of knowledge on my part than a lack of suitable events in Melbourne (but perhaps it is a combination of both?). The websites I checked had been dormant for a while, and I didn't know where else to check. 'What if we listed these on Melbourne Below?' I thought to myself. So now I have another chore to add to my endless list: make connections with the street party and dance party scene and add them to the 'Melbourne Below' community, as well as investigate other sociable communities…
I suppose if they were more apparent and easy for me to find, they would really belong to 'Melbourne Above' rather than 'Melbourne Below', so I don't really have cause to complain about the work this may involve.
There are many people out there trying to connect to the kinds of events which give their lives meaning, and I would love to see Melbourne Below fill that niche. Whether large or small gatherings or creations, there are many events of all sorts whose creators struggle for an audience, while individuals languish in front of their tv sets, unable to find the connections which stimulate their unique personas.
I am pleased that Melbourne Below is still building momentum, and as it continues to grow in both visitor numbers and advertisers, that more people will see it as a place where they can find the very connection for which they pine.
--- Marie Mantzioros.
OCTOBER 2007 - "Simulated People" by John Gibbins.
It seems that most months are a celebration and remembrance of something. This month in October we remember the Sputnik launch 50 years ago – going overhead and introducing us to the space age. Thirty-nine years ago a book was written by Philip K. Dick which became a major movie 25 years ago. A movie classic which has stood the test of time; and so again we remember the first screening of Blade Runner.
The movie Blade Runner dealt with many threads and plots. One of these was the issue of replicants, or manufactured (cloned) people. These days you might call them androids or living-dolls. They appeared like people except they were manufactured to the design wishes of the factory. Like widgets they could be bought, sold, or recalled by the factory. If you questioned these replicants closely; they would repeat learnt slogans and jingles, and you could find flaws like holes in their memory – thus you can distinguish them from biological humans. If you walked through Bourke Street Mall, it would be difficult to distinguish the replicants from the humans!
Not that this is a new thread. Back in the 1950’s there was a movie called The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, which had parallel themes. What has happened is that instead of building android replicants in a factory; we have trained our populations so that they resemble the automaton replicants despite being biologically human. The sweat shop innovation to business has produced generations of people doing process work. The various sweat shops have given way to modern examples in the form of call centres, or data entry pools, or outsourced sewing, or temping firms and cheap labour hire companies. Instead of the system being built around free thinking people, people are being trained to fit the current system. Despite having a few tertiary qualifications, any job that I apply for, requires me to NOT think and so obey blindly.
Likewise a few years back there was a small social movement called colour the grey. This social movement tried to alert people that you did not have to stay grey in a colourless dull life, that you could get out and live a bit and be colourful. The movement tried to wake up the human-automaton sleepers and allow them to live again. This was very reminiscent of the earlier work by Gurdjieff. For those of us involved in the 'waking up' and rehabilitation, it was a challenging task.
In Melbourne Below we reject the grey – and we embrace the colours of the rainbow. We build a space called Melbourne Below where the humans of Blade Runner could live, while leaving the replicants of Blade Runner in Melbourne Above. What Melbourne Below provides is a conscious separation. The people who are staying grey could go about there daily lives in Melbourne Above, quite safe and in their ignorance. Those who would think and have some colour and cognition in their lives could stay happy in Melbourne Below, unhindered and unchained to enjoy life as they create it.
There are heaps of colours in Melbourne Below! We celebrate with a wide and varied Calendar! We have lots of groups and Fiefdoms in which people can participate. There are lots of merchants and people plying there wares; living, performing, creating and building. We have people from all walks of life, both young and old, and from all suburbs of this great city. In many ways we are the life and vitality in Melbourne that keeps the rest of the city going.
We offer sanctuary and succour for those who wake up and become human again. So wake up and fully live in Melbourne Below.
--- John Gibbins.
SEPTEMBER 2007 - "Melbourne and the Seasons" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
Spring has reappeared, with flowers opening up after the cold time of winter. In the underworld the goddess has been released from her time there, and renews the world, and everybody's spirits with hope and joy. Almost the way I feel, actually.
At the beginning of winter, my two year relationship died - how appropriate the timing - metaphorically speaking. And through the winter, I've spent my time keeping to myself, working and attempting to resurrect my social life, and myself.
At the end of winter, and now the beginning of the most fertile parts and seasons of the year, my life begins a new chapter, knowing that between work, my friends and my life, I also have time to spend for Melbourne Below - clearly, since this is the first editorial I've had the energy to write for over a year.
It may seem cruel to say that I am relieved to exit the current winter of my life, but I know it was something I had to do. I couldn't stay energetic in all the things I love, including the Melbourne Below project, and it's wonderful to be a part of it again.
Just like Persephone returning from the Underworld. As a Modern Goddess, it's good to be back among the living!
* Blessed be, everyone!
AUGUST 2007 - "Change and Choices" by John Gibbins.
A lot has happened recently to anchor this moment in time. We have had Kevin Sheedy retire from coaching the Essendon Football Club. We have had Steve Bracks resign as Premier of Victoria. It has been 10 years since the start of South Park on our TV screens. It is one year to go, until the Chinese Olympics in Beijing.
So whichever way you look at it, this is a great time to be alive. The diversity of views of the now reflects the diversity in Melbourne Below. Some folk are interested in Living History, and so think back to previous centuries. Others are interested in SF and so look to the stars and our future. Some have artistic talents and provide a mirror to reflect the world around us. It is this great diverstiy that makes Melbourne Below.
The only way we can appreciate this is to take a step back, slow down, and step outside the Melbourne Above. It is only from Melbourne Below that we can choose which view to take. It is from Melbourne Below that the city draws its strength. Under the surface lie numerous undercurrents: who will replace Sheedy? How will they decide to replace Bracks? How will they prevent the athletes in Beijing from asphyxiating in the smog? Most people only see what is presented by the media, without lifting the veil to peer underneath.
So at this moment in time - what will you wake up to in the morning? We have the gilded cage of Melbourne Above where people make their existence. Or there is the Melbourne Below where people can choose and people can live. (And what a range of choices there is!)
As a father I have to make choices, so that my new family has a future to inherit. We leave this world for our children, and initially we choose for them. When I look around at the diversity that Melbourne Below provides, it is hard to know how to prepare for that, that is my responsibility.
Bracks is gone. The world under Mr Brumby and Mr John Howard is all provided to us. In Melbourne Below we each have some responisibility, for the world we wake up to is chosen by us. We are responsible for the world we see around us as we have made this choice. No one else has made it for us in the world Below. As a Dad the choices I make are both for me and my family. It is tough balancing life and family and work, as there are only 168 hours a week.
Melbourne Below allows me to make informed choices, and to do the right things in life.
--- John Gibbins.
JULY 2007 - "The Reality of Melbourne Below" by Michael Green.
Mister Gibbins sent me an email the other day about the documentary series Gamer Revolution shown on the ABC. He wondered, and I quote: "how it differs from our virtual world of Melbourne Below."
My immediate response was to reply that there was nothing 'virtual' about Melbourne Below!
How to explain? Melbourne Below is real, dead real, but it is often overlooked by people because of the perceptual filters people slip over their minds as they zombie through the rituals of a mundane life.
(If there is one thing the human mind is very good at - it is in automating stuff. Our conscious minds are disengaged as our unconscious minds are allowed to take over the running of our lives.)
Ironically we may seek stimulation inside a grey life by playing online games in virtual worlds - and then in a second ironic twist letting our game reflexes become automated as this is the key to obtaining those high scores.
But Melbourne Below is the waking dream - you can touch it, no machine-interface required! To enter Melbourne Below you disengage the zombie, unplug your robot - to find you are experiencing the world again as the rich and magical place it has always been.
The Melbourne Below website is a collection of magic keys freely offered to you. Each key unlocks a door to an alternative way of living in the world; each key unlocks doors to adventures and experiences in this most Magical City.
Don't be a zombie shuffling through life - reawaken your human mystery, bravely step into the unknown, use the many portals of Melbourne Below.
---- Michael.
JUNE 2007 - "Whatever Happened to the 21st Century?" by Marie Mantzioros.
Whatever happened to the 21st Century? This question has been pondered by many a science fiction fan, daydreamer and optimist. In the latter part of the 20th Century, there were many predictions made about how we would be living today. However, our history has diverged from the path the idealists had envisaged. Much of this is not surprising, since all predictions are merely guesses. However, there are some advances, promised or not, that humans could have enjoyed but didn't. These aren't so much about transport tubes to the moon, or instant dinners in a coloured pill. There are more basic advances we were promised with the burgeoning of new technologies which have never come to fruition.
One of my particular disappointments is the perpetually promised shorter working day, and the corresponding increase in leisure time, neither of which have eventuated. Technology has certainly decreased the time we labour in the home and increased commercial and industrial productivity. Automatic washing machines, central heating, computers, email; on goes the list of labour saving devices. So where has all the time gone? And what are we doing with our labour in instead?
I’m sure some of this time has been lost to sitting in traffic jams, waiting in phone queues, and standing around with tickets anxious for our number to be called, but these annoyances aren't the entire story. I find a striking difference in 21st Century life is the dramatic increase in our number of possessions. Ironically, many of these items can be described as either "labour saving" or "leisure enhancing". So it would seem part of our time must be spent earning money to buy all these items. Advertising, and indeed capitalism, has somehow convinced a vast number of us that we need designer clothing, novel mobile ringtones, piles of DVDs and computer games, updated homewares, bling for our pets, larger houses, etc. Given modern society, it would be unfair to ourselves (and unpleasant) to go without some of life's treats while watching others have all the pleasures in life we also long for. To have these, however, we must work and hence earn more.
But this is not the whole story. Part of the problem is the "decreased labour" line was a myth, a form of advertising in itself. This has not merely sold us the gadgets that fill our ever bulging homes, but has also sold us a positive spin on our changing society. We are gaining "better lifestyles" and "more choice". Of course, the reality is that a truly better lifestyle is one where people are able to spend more quality time with friends, loved ones, and on healthy and relaxing pastimes; where people are given the opportunity to make genuine choices about their lives. Technology doesn't change where we really are as a society. Are we truly happier than our grandparents because we have mobile phones and plasma TVs? Our governments have often sold us the line of decreased working hours in "the future", but what government has ever agreed the practical implementation of this? I doubt any ever will. The 8 hour day was a hard fought battle that didn't come easily. Those that work short weeks now, and there are many, do not enjoy a blissful utopia either, as they often earn too little to function comfortably in our society, and end up below the poverty line.
So it appears that this particular utopia has gone pear shaped, and we barely remember how it all occurred. Workchoices, pay TV packed with advertising, shoddy electronics that pack up after a year or so; all examples of how we are accepting less.
Naturally we can't change what has happened in the past but we can alter the future. The more people come to realise what is actually important, and refuse to swallow all the spin from the consumerist lobby such as advertisers, the more we will be able to see through the hype and judge "advancements" on their true merits. For all the technological advancements we have, an outdoor performance, a sing along or a glass of wine with friends, or a cuddle with a loved one, are just some examples of simple, ageless pleasures that we still enjoy. Rather than dominated by new and exciting gadgets, genuine future 'advancement' would mean we improve our social structures and fundamental humanity. This would give human dignity, the environment and nature, genuine culture and expression, and true freedom, the respect and reverence they deserve.
Martin Luther King Jr put it more eloquently and succinctly than I ever could with the following statement:
"We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
----Marie.
MAY 2007 - "Reality Surfing" by John Gibbins.
This month has seen quite a bit of activity. In April Melbourne hosts the International Comedy Festival and in May the International Jazz festival. Each month Melbourne hosts something special. We live in such a wonderful city!
This is the world of Melbourne Above, merely the tip of the iceberg, and Melbourne Below has so much more.
Perhaps the biggest issue of this month has been dealing with people who see the world as fixed. What a mistake to make! Instead of seeing the depth and diversity of life, these people blame the world they see as they can't alter it. Maybe we should all get out the flags and banners and start a revolution!
Or not. For the rest of us in Melbourne Below, the world around us is variable. The ability to have choice in the world gives us many options. We have in Melbourne Below the choice of what I call 'fiefdoms'. This word was chosen as it designates a 'space'; and not just a geographic territory; fiefdom includes social and political and head spaces. In Melbourne Below we can choose to perceive and experience our world in different ways. In each of the fiefdoms or versions of Melbourne CBD the terrain varies: e.g.: the school girl experiences a different Melbourne to the business man, the mother and child experiences a different Melbourne to the Asian tourist. Each perceives and experiences a different Melbourne due to many factors in who they are and their background. You could say that their realities differ. The expression "getting real," means different things to different people.
The joy of Melbourne Below is that one fiefdom may be as good or bad as any other. If you find that one is bad you are able to keep moving through different alternatives till you find one you like. On another day you might go back and find that some of the fiefdoms you discarded; are great for the moment, and then you move on. You don't have to feel trapped into any single role, identity or reality. This browsing of different cultural spaces is sometimes called 'reality surfing'. If you change your fiefdom and travel around Melbourne, you will discover a myriad of worlds to choose from: Chapel Street shopping is different to Brunswick Street; Frankston Mall is different to Highpoint; Werribee is different to Dandenong. Likewise a change of headspace can make the CBD experience change in dramatic ways. In Melbourne Below we acknowledge and practise this choice.
Some people are trapped trying to destroy the main fiefdom of Melbourne under Mr Bracks and Mr Howard. Instead of seeing the diversity of culture and life in Melbourne, they only see a dominant one. Being able to see only the main society and the main opposition does limit you to a range of two choices. It would be like visiting Africa and only seeing a lion and an elephant. It would be like visiting the USA and only seeing theme-parks and airports. Once you take off your blinkers and start perceiving the richness and breadth of choice – you will realise that other options exist. If you move into Melbourne Below you find many hundreds of possible choices.
So the practical use is to know that we need never feel stuck in a city without friends or options. The choice is always there to leave and walk into a different fiefdom. If you can't find happiness in this reality, it is so easy to shift to another.
The practise in changing from one space to another allows you many options and many futures to choose from. Shifting from one to another can be as easy as jumping on a tram and seeing where it takes you. All we have in Melbourne Below is choice and responsibility, so that no one is trapped.
----John Gibbins.
APRIL 2007 - "Time...It Was" by Michael Green.
Most days I get emails in my in-box telling me about exciting Melbourne Belowish events. Most of them end up listed in our CALENDAR and those that arrive with short notice get forwarded to our mailing list.
Sometimes, but only sometimes, I am able to make it to these special events. I have been to art shows and plays and concerts. I wish I could go to many more, but often time is my enemy.
I have a busy life, and a job at the other side of Melbourne from where I live. Sometimes - I get so tired.
But amongst this busy life, amongst the repetition of mundane essentials, I am able to make some time to experience something of what Melbourne Below offers.
I have seen New Breed Mischief and Jessica Paige on stage.
I went with friends to see the Frankston Theatre Group's performance of "Move Over Mrs. Markham."
I saw the three pagan bands at the Spanish Club in Brunswick - Dandelion Wine, Wendy Rule, and Spiral Dance.
These have added colour to a life sometimes threatened with mundanity.
There have been many things I would have liked to have done, but time or commitments prevented. But each month brings new opportunities to explore the exciting and the new in the streets and buildings of Melbourne Below.
I will walk those streets when I can - and I hope you will too!
---Michael.
MARCH 2007 - "Remembered...." by Marie Mantzioros.
The antipodean autumn is upon us again, heralding a change in the city's mood. What does this mean to Melburnians? In terms of theatre, there is the Comedy Festival which kicks off autumn. This is lots of fun, but only the beginning of Melbourne's love of culture, which endures through the cooler months. Melburnians love the night and live theatre and music and there are many options and tastes to choose from. Taking a glance at the Melbourne Below Calendar reveals many interesting and surprisingly affordable options. It is thrilling to think there is so much on offer for us.
I'd love to get out more, but circumstances prevent me getting to evening events more than once a millennium or so. Somehow parenthood is now becoming easier and more testing. How does that work?! I am glad I enjoyed so much theatre and live music when I had the chance, and I urge anyone with the opportunity to take advantage of the time you have and see some live performances, whatever they may be. It may be a pleasant change to take a chance; see something you may not have considered. Be brave and you will rarely regret it. If the worst happens and the show is bad, you can have fun with your friends laughing at it afterwards over coffee. Some of the most brilliant performances I have seen have been entirely unexpected.
Hopefully, I will see more of you out and about when fate allows me to have my evenings back. Until then, enjoy, and don't opt for the movies every time; the world is too large and exciting to be stuck in a lifeless cinema!
On a more personal note, I would like to say bon voyage to my beloved dog, Pluto: December 1991 to February 20th 2007. He brought us joy and unconditional love every day of his life and I'm thankful I took a whim to visit the Lost Dog's Home the fateful day I found him. May he be perpetually running while chasing sticks and eating chocolate wherever he is right now. We were blessed to have been a family and to have been given such a long time together. I will always remember his big smile which was larger than life, and as such endures in our hearts. Bye bye little Pluto! I will love you forever.
Marie, Pluto and John
FEBRUARY 2007 - "Out of the Shadows" by Michael Green.
Many moons ago on one of my nocturnal perambulations I passed by a school hall, one I had passed by many times before. But this time I noticed a lot of people streaming out of the hall.
I asked a woman what was happening. She told me there'd just been a performance of "Godspell" by the students.
I asked why I hadn't been told.
"It was just for the students and parents," she'd said.
I felt cheated. It is one of my quirks of taste that I think "Godspell" is pretty cool, and I was annoyed that it was being performed in my suburb and I hadn't even known!
I'd learnt there was cool stuff going on in my local community which I didn't know about, and as a result I began to take a lot more interest in the content of my local free newspaper.
In its pages you can find out about all kinds of local artistic and creative events - including, of course, what your local theatre companies are up to.
It was one of these almost serendipitous discoveries, for example, that lead me in 1996 to see a most intriguing play called "The Golden Age" (by Louis Nowra) performed by the VCE Theatre Studies students of Caulfield Grammar School. (The play has so many deep themes.)
But I also reflected that we do not receive all the free community newspapers - and I was kept ignorant of what was going on in the other communities of Melbourne.
The whole history of the Melbourne Below project is one of discovery and display!
It was in going to see my friend Sean's band Eden play many years ago, that I first came across the enchanting Wendy Rule. It was in going to a compilation-CD launch in Armadale a few years back (to support my friend Corinna's band Liminal) that I first got to hear the beautiful voice of Jessica page.
I have been to see displays of art by people I know to, in the process, discover the works of people I did not know.
By careful reading of local newspapers, newsgroups, and by observing the places that I walk through I am always discovering new entries for Melbourne Below.
Much that is wonderful in this life and this city is hidden, but with the Melbourne Below project these precious things are brought out-of-the-shadows and placed where they may be found.
There are 165 treasures gathered together in Melbourne Below, but these are just a tiny portion of those waiting to be found.
Explore, share, enjoy!
----Michael.
JANUARY 2007 - "Reflections on a Year Passed, and a Year to Come" by John Gibbins.
2006 has gone and we start a new year in 2007.
With all that is happening 2006 brought me three hats. Already a long time staff member of Melbourne Below, in August I became the proud father of a bonny boy. Then again there was my own fiefdom to watch over.
At this stage of the year many people look back and remember the year just gone. It saddens me that so few people remember or respond. How long ago was the tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Ceylon, and the other countries bordering the Indian Ocean? There was a large campaign for funds for restoration. The reports I heard are that very little of money actually reached the people for which it was intended. Much of the money went to the administration of the funds. Sometimes I wonder that the saying for Melbourne Below is to think local and act global.
At the beginning of the year there was trouble in Sydney with the riots around the beaches and streets of Cronulla. Is it that surprising that it happened in Sydney? I feel that Melbourne is partially protected against similar incidents due to there being a Melbourne Below - a place where people are comfortable with differences. If there wasn't a Melbourne Below then the citizens of Melbourne would have to create it! A challenge for 2007 may be to see if there can be a Sydney Below or an Adelaide Below.
We have had several lows in 2006. There was the ongoing civil war in Iraq - which is disturbing. There was also the war in Lebanon that caught many people off-guard. So many Australians were caught in Beruit and Lebannon and had to be evacuated. If it wasn't for my wife, Marie, being pregant we would have been in Tyre in Lebanon at the height of the battle. Haggling and negotiating a safe passage for my family through the crisis to safety.
The main highpoint in Melbourne for 2006 was the Commonwealth Games. It was a large event and catered for both the masses of people in Melbourne Above, and those of us in Melbourne Below with the cultural events in the G-spot. During the games I spent a few days wandering with my family and enjoying the events there. The best events cater for the mix of people in Melbournes Above and Below.
Last year we also had people waking up to global warming. Some of us have been concerned about global warming for 30 years! Melbourne is now in the grip of Level 3 water restrictions while the rest of the state has been on this level or higher for some time. Every household needs to take action and start to think about reusing water and installing rainwater tanks. Every household needs to begin to think and plan on the next issue - reducing electricity use. The installation of solar panels and reselling excess power back to the utility companies is not yet supported by the State Government.
It is worrying when there were more voters for American Idol in 2006 than in the U.S. half term election. Perhaps that is an indication of people's priorities. The state election in Victoria left much unchanged, and thankfully brought in a few of the minor parties. Unfortunately Melbourne Above was seen to hold sway with a huge proportion voting with it. (Liberal and ALP votes combined totalled over 80%.)
In every day of the last year there was action and things to do. Sometimes it was assisting the Melbourne Below team, sometimes working with the fiefdom, sometimes at work and sometimes with my family. Each day the challenge is there to be awake and alive in the city, somehow. So what is on the go for 2007 - do we have 31 million seconds of opportunity to live; or do we have another insignificant 2% of our life gone? How do we see the year ahead: will it be a year of opportunity to LIVE every minute, or have another year wasted?
"Throughout the world, most people live in cities or urban communities and don't feel a strong connection with the land on which they live. Often people think they own the land - that it belongs to them as a thing, a possession. But at the same time, we depend completely on the land to feed us and support us and inspire us. And so we can see that it is the other way around: we belong to the land. If we keep it healthy then it will sustain the web of life on which we depend." J. Baker
DECEMBER 2006 - "Anniversary" by Michael Green.
The "Melbourne Below Project" in its current incarnation is approaching the end of its first year.
It is an organic project and it is impossible for it to ever be considered complete. The site must continue to evolve as the city it serves and sketches continues to evolve.
The site now has almost twice the entries it had when it was officially launched on the BLACK MOON of December 31st 2005! Many new entries are also receiving their final polish before they get published here. This makes the "Melbourne Below" site an increasingly valuable resource for the many subcultures it aims to serve.
In the last couple of months the "Melbourne Below Community" mailing list has also began to take off. The list is open for anyone to read, not just subscribers, and is often used to announce upcoming cultural events (sometimes at short notice). Any subscriber may post items to the list and we welcome opinions, reviews, announcements and invitations.
The "Melbourne Below" website has recently had a change of server. We anticipate this will provide greater reliability and speed for the website. Hopefully the days of the occasional "site not found" messages will be behind us.
We hope to formally launch our CLASSIFIEDS section in the near future. (It has been part of the "Melbourne Below" website since the beginning but hasn't received the attention it deserves.) We are now getting over 70,000 hits a month - so anyone placing a classified advertisement is guaranteed an audience.
So thank you for visiting "Melbourne Below", and remember we always welcome your feedback.
"Have a cool Yule!" - Michael.
NOVEMBER 2006 - "Alternatives" by Marie Mantzioros.
Where is Melbourne Below? The term "Melbourne Below" may conjure some interesting images for visitors to our site. Sometimes I think of the "dole army" who lived in the drains ... or the various subcultures I've had the pleasure to experience, or the political activism I've been involved with, or the many wee hours spent in basement jazz dives ... the list goes on. Melbourne Below is probably all of those things, but it is more. That Melbourne Below isn't a place but an idea doesn't quite describe it either.
Melbourne Below is many ideas; it is any idea which doesn't come from advertising, or isn't dictated to us. It is anything that comes from within, that is creative. It is any idea which comes from a subculture. Melbourne Below doesn't value judge these ideas and subcultures, but accepts them as equal. It is essentially the value that diversity, creativity and alternative views are essential in a real society, and a full life.
Unfortunately, in Melbourne "above", we hear only of so called creative ventures when they are produced by corporations large enough to pay for advertising. The main views we hear are the streamlined conservative views of the mainstream media. Talentless celebrities make millions for the major record labels, but there are plenty of great musicians, actors, thinkers, etc. Where do we find these people?
We can all get out and about and stumble across great things. When we find something fantastic it seems tragic that we can't share it with more people. Melbourne Below aims to showcase these alternatives, and to share information between anyone who is interested in finding or publicizing non-mainstream events, activities and products.
For instance, through my stepfather's part-time career as a jazz drummer, I have met many great jazz musicians. They have wowed me with their brilliance yet they will never be commercial entities or get recording contracts. Their art lives in the realm of small venues and the correspondingly small but enthusiastic audience. Many of the greats I remember from my childhood such as the Tortoise and other legends have passed, but there are always talented musicians, young and old, still out there. These are just one of the many types of artist the Melbourne Below website has the opportunity to showcase.
I would like to encourage anyone interested to join the Melbourne Below email list and partake in discussion, thereby going a step further than just visiting the website. We don't subscribe to any particular view. Perhaps you can also make your mark on "Melbourne Below" ....
On a more personal note, I am currently staying at home with my newborn. It is a long way from the excitement of the outreach work I normally do in Melbourne's west. I now rely more than ever on resources such as Melbourne Below to keep me in touch with reality. Being stuck in the suburbs with only TV could be quite soul destroying, but I am endeavoring to make more of my life than a suburban mum is supposed to. The key is to always involve networks of friends and family and think outside the square when looking for baby-friendly activities. Fresh air can never be underestimated. I am looking forward to the future as it unfolds, as I am looking forward to seeing, hearing, experiencing new things and meeting new people. It is a bonus that I can share this world, "Melbourne Below", with my new son.
OCTOBER 2006 - "As Above, So Below" by Gabbriel O'Shae.
As part of the Melbourne Below network, I've often wondered about what I would put in the Editorial. The guys have been very generous, knowing that I have been studying fulltime, but that time, for this year at least, is drawing to a close. For those who celebrate Hallowe'en in October, it is indeed the Above becoming Below, and Below preparing for the Above.
What will Melbourne Below be like, now that we have, as a community, recognised that it exists? Although the question really to ask is, are we ready for what it may bring? This is the 10th month that Melbourne Below has had its own website, and so the Circle is almost complete, before we start again.
However, we have our regular people to thank, for letting us know that all our planning and gradual processes haven't been wasted. For us, as a team, this says a lot! It has told us, there is a need for those who are NOT mainstream people with mutual desire to see a website dedicated to them and that they use it. For us, this is not just good, it is GREAT!
As Hallowe'en draws closer, the veils between all worlds - the mystic to the mundane, Melbourne Below to Melbourne Above - will thin, and those who seek the Below will find it... Just make sure you don't miss the 'last train' or you may be stuck there for awhile, wandering around, with only those who know the way to find you.
Take care...
Gabbriel
SEPTEMBER 2006 - "Child of Two Worlds" by John Gibbins.
September is not usually seen as the beginning. For me however I must say that September will always be special. With September there is the new beginning after winter. Spring comes on the 22nd of September and we look forward to much spring rain. (Most of the gardens and dams could do with constant rain between now and Christmas.) We have just had a new baby born to my extended family. As we look forward through the months and year ahead there is so much to do.
What sort of world will we welcome this new child to? There are two Melbourne's now, and we will have to see that he can survive in Melbourne Above. There is always the everyday work, and stuff to deal with. There is also another Melbourne to introduce him to.
Each culture has its own internal rules and values. There are values we are told to follow in Melbourne Above, and those of Melbourne Below. We hope that you people of Melbourne Below follow the good ethics and values that set us apart. We left Melbourne Above for Melbourne Below for good reason. Part of that was the quality of the Merchants, the quality of People and events on the Calendar. We would hope that you respect the community and people in it. Respect and honour are two cornerstones of Melbourne Below.
Within Melbourne Above, most people only speak English. Within Melbourne Below people speak other languages. There are many languages around the globe, and lots of people who come from overseas speak them. To communicate amongst them in Melbourne Above they use English. So to appreciate the fullness of Melbourne Below, teaching a second or third language might be required. Any suggestions of suitable second or third languages would be worthwhile.
Within Melbourne Below we also have various different trading schemes. Some merchants use regular money and cash; while other people use barter and LET$ trading. Likewise within Melbourne Below we cater for many differences amongst people. Some people choose traditional western medicine while others choose traditional Chinese medicine. With our merchants we have different types of restaurants, different types of bookshops, and different forms of lifestyle. Having only one system to choose from would leave the child limited with fewer options. At Melbourne Below we cater for people from all walks of life.
This child will have choices and alternatives now that were not there before. We have a large extended family here with Melbourne Below, with over 50,000 people accessing our site, each month. There are two worlds of opportunity to explore, instead of one. There is a warmth of community in Melbourne Below that is not there in Melbourne Above. So when people grow old and die, as old age and death takes us all, there is more support and sympathy in the time of trouble. There is more that can be done to assist with the process of grieving.
The city of Melbourne is such a wonderful place to live in. It is great to live in Melbourne Above, and doubly blessed to be part of Melbourne Below.
AUGUST 2006 - "Disasters, Delays & Changes" by Michael Green.
On May 19th my computer died - an endless pathetic cycle of booting, waiting, rebooting.
Unable to download email, upload digital photographs, or work on webpages including those of Melbourne Below.
Stressville. I hadn't realised how much of my life I had entrusted to its magnetic domains - years of emails, hundreds of photographs, dozens of projects, years of fanzines. Wondered how much the PC-wunderkind would be able to recover. I lived with the nightmare of what I had imagined I had lost.
The wunderkind was indeed wonderful - and found out my harddisk had died & Norton Ghosted the files to a new drive. A little tweeking & it was better than before.
But I had lost weeks of Melbourne Below updating time.
And a further change and disruption was approaching.
I was moving house, and my whole life was being packed into boxes. It took weeks and my normal routine was interrupted.
Moving Day came and boxes and furniture made the trip from Malvern to Springvale.
Then there was the cleaning-up of the old place & the unpacking and setting-up of the new place.
The move is completed now, but I am still unsettled. Only minor changes have been made to the Melbourne Below site. I have information on new entries to be added, but my deepest regret is all the events I have missed out on adding to the Calendar.
Oh well, best of luck everyone - and may your life be chaotic in a good way!
-- Michael Green.
JULY 2006 - "A Life Less Ordinary" by Michael Green.
There is an Anarchist graffito I have always found disturbing:
Eat - Consume - Die
It disturbs me because of its savage reductionism of modern human life to these three stark actions.
It disturbs and unsettles as it makes me ponder (if only for a moment) - "Is that all there is?"
I have struggled all my life with the Darkness and the Light. I have strived to find meaning and purpose in even the lowest, most-horrible parts of my life - and I fear that in three thousand years time all the historians will have to say about me is that I worked, I consumed, and then I died. No other mark on this world except the bare bland economic and biological.
Melbourne Below, amongst other things, is a raging against this bleak view of human existence.
This site is a conduit to "a life less ordinary" - enabling you to set side (at least for a moment) the Anarchist's angry despair and explore something rich and new.
The CALENDAR is included in Melbourne Below for a reason. Every entry is a chance we offer you for adventure; to go out and explore the creative, the beautiful, the blissful, and the mind-expanding.
Do not allow yourselves to *ever* be reduced to consumers or animals! Human beings are so much more than that. A life of repetitive mechanised rituals is not a life worth living. Go out there: seize the day, life a "life less ordinary," and you will be less ordinary yourself and happier.
And all of us here at Melbourne Below will honour you for it.
JUNE 2006 - "Melbourne Below and You!" by John Gibbins.
June has arrived and the weather is getting colder. The fogs roll in most mornings and blankets Melbourne in mist. The last days of autumn are getting colder, until winter begins on June 22nd. We will have to wait until late September for the beginning of spring.
I enjoy the foggy mornings! The mists blur the distinctions and boundaries between Melbourne Above and Melbourne Below. After the damp mornings, come the clear warm afternoons, until evening falls again. The 'hounds of Tindalos' will have to wait and catch someone else today.
The storms of autumn bring the howling winds and cold. As people huddle together more against the cold, often the tribal boundaries will become more clear cut: those west of Sydney Road and those east. Those who prefer Lygon Street to Chapel Street. Those who prefer the Queen Victoria Market to those who like Chadstone. Those who prefer to live on the fringe in zones 2 and 3 to those inner dwellers in zone 1. Some of you will use Melbourne as a base to travel and frolic in the snow, while others will move to escape the cold. Some will revel in the World Cup frenzy and others will staunchly follow the AFL season.
This website Melbourne Below is for all of you, to bring some warmth and cheer for you in the winter months.
Our site continues to be the place to promote your activities and your events in Melbourne. We have a CALENDAR with events and activities for almost every day of the month. We bring you updates regularly and keep you informed of what is happening. Our merchants in the MARKETPLACE get many responses and good customers.
We could still be better though.
Instead of a forum on our site we have an e-list where you can tell us what you think.
We are waiting to hear about what you would like on this site. Have we left
out some part of Melbourne Below that you feel is vital and fascinating?
Let us know!
Have we forgotten to list your business or your shop? Tell us and we will
add you to the MARKETPLACE.
Would you like us to host your music downloads or pictures? We can do that too!
Have you been to any raves or parties that were so awesome you want to tell everyone about them? Let us all know.
Just use the link and put your words up on our site. This is your site, as it is people like you who are the citizens of Melbourne Below.
MAY 2006 - "The Way to Melbourne Below" by John Gibbins.
May has arrived and so have the colds and sniffles. If there is any reason for this editorial running a bit late then you can blame it on the flu. Our site has grown over the months with over 140 clients listed. Our site and our Calendar obtain over 30,000 hits per month. How do you communicate what it is like, to live in this most liveable city of Melbourne?
When I was travelling around Europe and the UK people would often ask me what Melbourne was like. How to answer such a question? What I would ask them is, "Have you watched Neighbours?"
***
Melbourne has seen a lot of activity over the last couple of months. First there was the Commonwealth Games, alongside the Melbourne 2006 Festival. That was followed by the motor sports and the Grand Prix around Albert Park lake. Following that we have had firstly the Roman Easter followed by the Orthodox Easter. (I wonder how many got two lots of easter eggs!?)
Looking ahead we have winter. In August there is a Commonwealth Census and later in the year we have a state government election. All the time there are major events in this global and cosmopolitan city.
We can look at another level and find many galleries and art exhibitions happening in Melbourne. In the warmer months there are many all day outside music festivals, whether held on the coast, or at the music bowl, or near to Melbourne. In winter there are more indoor events. We have various comedy and movie festivals held around town finding a permanent spot on Melbourne's calendar. Many of these remain in sight and form the main texture of Melbourne.
And yet looking closer again there are so many small theatre productions; so many small gigs; small time performances; which happen all the time. Every neighbourhood house and community centre has a solid program of activities which they offer. Every small Sunday flea market has almost more spruikers and banter - impromptu stand up performance - than at a comedy festival! As well as the major bookshops selling the hardbacks and discount remainders, Melbourne has a large number of smaller and secondhand bookshops which can stock those obscure texts, which are far more interesting. Smaller still are the numerous zine publishers and writers with their works. There could be a thousand things happening any weekend.
The rich tapestry of Melbourne is composed of more than the underlying canvas. It is all the small fine threads and detail that makes the richness and vitality. It is all those little events which stand out larger than life. If you were to sum up the visible Melbourne in a word, you would say spectators. To sum up our Melbourne Below you have participants.
So the most interesting parts of Melbourne are hidden. They lie below the attention of the media. They lie below the reach of meddling party politics, and outside the normal sight of people.
***
So yes, I would ask about the classic soap opera Neighbours. Then I would ask if they had seen the equivalent; either Eastenders & The Bill for London, or Coronation Street for Manchester, etc. It was then easy to explain how these in no way portray the real cities! In no way does my Melbourne resemble that of the soap opera.
Of course, in our travels we can meet people who actually believe in that portrayal of Melbourne. Some have the soap opera as a model for the institution they are part of; and so it makes a cosy cage. For the rest who have the choice of leaving the cage and entering a bigger world - we have a greater Melbourne. For there exists a Melbourne above, and then for us there is Melbourne Below.
APRIL 2006 - "From Where Does Culture Spring?" by Michael Green.
We are told many lies in this society we live in. There are lies of time and of place and of circumstance. One of these lies is about culture.
We are persuaded that culture is something that is presented to you for a price, or something that you can go out and buy.
Like culture is a mystic river in which we float and find shiny pebbles lying in its riverbed.
This is false. To see why imagine that culture is like sport.
In the recent Commonwealth Games we have seen elite athletes do their thing. But there is more to sport than watching others, much more. All over Melbourne there are sporting clubs we can join; where rather than *watching* the athletes we can *be* the athletes.
Culture is just like that. It is not just something we can observe from the outside - it is something we can do for ourselves. We can *create* culture!
*Melbourne Below* has a FIEFDOMS page. On this page you will find descriptions of groups you can join where you can sing or paint or act or write or create or imagine things together.
We in the Collective present this information because we believe that there is tremendous value in engaging with culture, in participating in the creation of something wonderful and new.
Because deep down culture doesn't come from the film studios or the media companies - these corporations are only tools. Fundamentally culture springs forth through the alchemy of the human brain - we create, we invent, we influence and we communicate to others.
Now don't be lied to! Imagining and creating is as natural to us as breathing. By denying and burying these gifts we damage ourselves.
Sure it is okay to take the dreams that others offer to you, but then run with them! Use their keys to open portals to other worlds you will find. Discovery is not just for scientists.
In short - seize the day! Do something new, exciting, and a bit scary - and have fun!
Cheers,
Michael Green.
MARCH 2006 - "The Geography of Melbourne Below" by Michael Green.
In 1992 I was wandering through the London CBD feeling insignificant amongst the ugly grey brutalist architecture when I turned a corner and found a small green square of park and in the midst of the park a small crooked building of whitewashed daube and oaken beams.
I approached this building with awe. Now surrounded by the dull concrete and steel of the new cityscape this little building (the plaque read) had stood here since the 14th century.
Not just London but the world is like that. Amongst the mundane and the ugly we can discover the marvellous.
This is my feel for the Melbourne Below Project. If you walk around this great city with a relaxed and receptive mind and with your eyes open you will find the marvellous, the magical, amongst the dull houses and the towering glass edifices of a century too obsessed with money and the marketplace.
I have a role as a cartographer of the secret places of Melbourne, both physical places and cultural places of the mind. But the role of cartographer of Melbourne Below is not mine alone. You, dear reader (as they say in 19th century books), can contribute to this new map of the city.
Melbourne is vast and sometimes I can feel a despair of being overwhelmed by all that belongs to Melbourne Below. At these times I have to remember that mine is only one journey amongst many. I will only visit some of the places in this magical city with self and computer mouse, but it is better to explore even a little than to stay at home terrified at the bigness of the world.
Here at Melbourne Below we welcome stories of your own discoveries in this marvellous city and descriptions of the magical places you know well.
The map of Melbourne Below can never be completed but we can all point to interesting places found on our travels.
I remain your correspondent,
Michael Green.
FEBRUARY 2006 - "Places to Grow" by John Gibbins.
Have you wondered how the other half lives? Have you sometimes wandered around town, trying to make sense of all the shops, the heaving crowds, the maze of streets and lanes? Melbourne Below can provide assistance. This site can get you through the day, the week and the months ahead.
Welcome again to Melbourne Below, and its range of services. Starting from naught we have grown to 88 entries - a remarkable achievement this month for our small team. Our most popular categories were:
Marketplace > Bookshops
Fiefdoms > Theatrical Societies
Fiefdoms > Journalism and e-Zines
Likewise we are looking for more entries in the
categories. Keep up the good work, keep sending in those reviews and reports!
The classified section might be mistaken for the core of the site. The strength is not there. The strength of our site is you people. We provide a place for people like you to come, share your stories and your vision. It allows people like you to show your wares and trade. It gives space for people like you to have your opinion and to say how the site should be developed. We hope that you come back and visit us often. This is not our site, instead it is your site.
We have a Forum set up for any comments or concerns. This may function instead of a "letters to the editor" type page. It may also be a page where we let you know of any news.
In the next month we plan to include a new section: for first time visitors to Melbourne and for tourists. Whether you are a back-packer freshly arrived from the UK, or a seasoned traveller on a cruise liner, you can find something that proves useful. There will be good basic information to help you settle in, and then get about Melbourne. There will be information about Melbourne and its infrastructure. You can find out the basics.
So stay with us here at Melbourne Below - for we have not gone away or folded
in the first 12 months. We have grown in the past months and learnt from
our mistakes. We can assist you and our merchants by providing you with the
best site for Melbourne. This site is tailored to you and yours.
Visit us often.
Enjoy.
John Gibbins
Also have a look at:
JANUARY 2006- "Melbourne Below" by John Gibbins.
Greetings and Salutations.
This is the first editorial for the new Melbourne Below website. Some of you may have seen the old site which was pretty yes, and it was a bit dysfunctional. So we have started again. Everything from now on is new.
The vision was and remains to be the number one site on the web, the peak body, for alternate and underground community in Melbourne. We have not gone after the entire country, nor have we gone after the conventional world and fashion. At Melbourne Below our vision is to remain the peak body for alternate and underground communities in Melbourne. You simply won't find us or them in the normal walks of life. You will find us in and about Melbourne, searching out the best, searching down the various nooks and crannies.
Our heritage owes a great debt of gratitude to Neil Gaiman, who showed us that the best part of a city and the most interesting lies below the surface. There is some joy and some use in the world above yet the real soul of the city lies below the surface and in the people. Those who want to pursue his interpretation can look to his writings, and in particular Neverwhere for London, and MirrorMask for Brighton, England.
As we are dealing with both location and community our lexicon may be different from what you are familiar with. We sometimes talk of clubs, or organisations, or neighbourhoods. In addition we talk of place and turf and home-base and neighbourhood. Combining both the meme geographic and the meme social, we get the concept of the fiefdom. It combines a rich tapestry of place and people and experience. Musicians play, people banter, there is an exchange of coin and drinks are served, the place warms up and provides a friendly space to gather. It is that cosy social space where we live in Melbourne Below. In many ways the bonds that we have with the city are as deep and ancient as the bonds many indigenous people claim for the countryside. Just as some say that 'they are married to their job' so some say: 'They are married to the land.'
The site also can challenge us. Given the opportunity and safety to be who we are, and the chance to perhaps follow our vocation and calling: what will we be? Who will we be? After taking off the numerous layers of uniform and costume, and then wrapping our selves in garb according to our nature, what will we wear? Some take the opportunity to be themselves.
Catering to this collection of people and organisations are a wide range of merchants, shops and stores, who provide goods and services to our people. Our site provides a focal point where people can come to find those obscure items they have been looking for. Likewise it provides an opportunity, for people to advertise and sell off their stock, their curios, and the many items required by the people of Melbourne Below.
Together we comprise a vast spread out city, over 80km from Pakenham in the SE to Sydenham in the NW. Likewise from Werribee in the SW to Healesville in the NE. Amongst all this expanse are many people who could use the services of Melbourne Below. The city is more than the bricks and mortar, more than the steel and glass. The city is also the people; and also the many relationships and friendships that bind the city together. We hope that you spend some time with us and explore all we have to offer.
I welcome you to get to know each member of our team and the skills and strengths we have to offer. We each contribute different things to this project. I have known them all for many years and have great confidence in their abilities. I know they will do their best to provide you with the best website possible.
You are welcome to come inside and surf. Enjoy.
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