my father’s hand

my father had a very bad case of Dupuytren’s contracture, which made his hands painful and curled.

interestingly I have developed the same condition on my right hand.

Dupuytren disease is genetic. It runs in families.

it is also known as Viking’s disease.

As the disease progresses, affected individuals may experience difficulty extending their fingers fully. This can make it challenging to perform everyday tasks such as gripping objects, typing, or buttoning clothes.

anyway, my father had it, and I’ve got it. It’s only going to get worse… so that’s life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuytren%27s_contracture

The Zone Of Interest

I finally saw this film yesterday. I had been waiting four months to see it because I live in Australia.

If you were to see this film without knowing anything about it, you may miss many things in the film because the film is not a Hollywood film. It is much more like a documentary.

Because I had to wait, I already knew a lot about this film, so I didn’t miss any of the information (scenes). My friend who was with me missed several key clues that were in the film. I’m sure this has happened to a lot of people.

I did so much research it wasn’t funny. I watched over thirty reviews and over ten interviews with the director Jonathan Glazer.

I believe that due to the amount of time that has passed since the second world war, more films and documentaries can now be made from the German point of view. I’ve actually been waiting for this change since the year 2000, when I became very interested in history. There is a plethora of films and documentaries made from the Allies point of view. In reality there are always two sides to every conflict.

I will be seeing this film again. I cried a lot during it, which I was expecting.

Christmas is a thing

Here in Australia Christmas is a Thing, capital T.

Although Australia is supposed to be a secular country, I strongly disagree because of this attachment to the ‘silly season’ (as it is referred to here).

Christmas has its origins with Christian religion, with the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but that is where the connection ends and advertising and commercialisation begins.

This is where I have a problem with Christmas.

For many people Christmas is a time of great joy and a time to spend with loved ones. But for many others it is a time of pressure, guilt, sadness, loneliness and grief.

I used to work for the state Coroner, and the amount of persons killing themselves over the Christmas period was both shocking and very upsetting for me. No one (as far as I know) has ever killed themselves over the Easter Bunny.

I also have a huge problem with the overeating at this time of the year. It is seen as completely normal and also an expectation for every person in Australia. Christmas and gluttony are really synonyms.

In America Christmas is not so important as they say: ‘Happy Holidays’ so that they include other major religions. Here in Australia we DON’T do that. Christmas is all consuming all expectations!

No. I’m not a Grinch. I respect other peoples right to enjoy Christmas. I just don’t want to participate in the national obsession of forced gluttony, forced gift giving and forced good will.

Gavin.