archives

I picked up a copy at work. Here's the Lord Mayor's introduction. Anyone else seen Dune, or Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome?

(note: emphasis is mine)

More than a thousand people move into the Brisbane region each week. As part of the fastest growing region in Australia, we must engage in a public discussion about how and where we will support our increasing population and, in particular, how we can more efficiently use our valuable natural resources. Brisbane's water supply has contributed significantly to the economic prosperity of our city and the increasing needs and demands on our water supply now pose the greatest threat to its sustainability. If we do not change our water use practices now, there's a real chance that in 20 years time our region will not be able to maintain future water needs. Also impacting on Brisbane's water supply future is the increasing evidence of a gradual decline in water fall due to climate change.

Water is an increasingly valuable natural resource. However, only one percent of Brisbane's current drinkable water is used for drinking, with more than half of our domestic water supply ending up on our gardens and lawns. Our challenge is to create a policy framework to ensure our children and future generations of people living in South East Queensland have a sustainable future.

The goal of "Water for Today and Tomorrow" is to maintain a supply of fresh water, as well as preserve the health of our rivers and Moreton Bay. As a community and as individuals, householders, businesses and families, we must accept the need to change the way we value - and use - water. We cannot continue to think of water as something that just comes out of a tap and goes down a drain. If we are to properly manage our water resources, and maintain the great subtropical lifestyle we value so much, we meed the cooperation of the community, business, industry and all levels of government.

I encourage you to join me in helping Brisbane realise its long-term vision of becoming a "Water Smart City"

When I first starting preaching from Bhagavad-gita a decade ago, people would say: "What do you mean you have to perform yajna to get rain? No one is performing sacrifice to the Supreme Lord, and it's still raining!"

No-one can say that now. You are being punished. If you want to have a Godless civilization - one that attempts to enjoy the facilities of this world without reference to the creator and owner, you will be punished.

The current godless civilisation will be ground into dust if it does not reform its ways.

Animals do not respond to reason, only force. If people refuse to listen to the reasonable explanations of saints and scriptures, then nature will use force to reform them.

As Srila Prabhupada explained, the problem with the world is not the quantity of people, but the quality.

The Earth can produce sufficient to support everyone, but if the people are sinful and misguided in their interaction with the environment, then the Earth will react to cast them off.

Just like a body develops a fever to eliminate diseased cells, the Earth is about to burn up the diseased civilization currently attacking it. The target of the reaction is the mentality that is driving things today, just as the fever attacks a virus that has inserted itself into otherwise healthy cells.

We must cast off this mentality ourselves, and rectify our interaction with the environment, acknowledging the existence and proprietorship of the Supreme Lord. We have to change the goal of our human life from one of unfettered sense gratification, which satisfies no-one and destroys the Earth, to one of self-realization and contented living.

We can do this by coming together to chant the Lord's Holy Names, by developing wholesome God-centered culture of music, artistry, and philosophy, and simple living in community, with real human life.

In the meantime the so-called leaders of society do not address the root causes, but rather think about how to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic as it sinks.

Prem put up some curtains at Atma last weekend. Here they are, in all their glory:

They make the place more homely. Here is a shot of the lounge:

Ryan made a new shoe rack, after a guest mistook the last one for a chair and broke it by sitting on it. The new one won't be mistaken for a chair, and it won't break if someone sits on it:

Both use mylar heads, and the bodies are constructed of aluminium. Weight is good. Sound is good.

The Egyptian design is something that could work for a mrdanga. It would remove the perishable rubber component from the current Balarama design.

A young guy at the drum shop told me he bought a clay darbuka in Egypt that uses mylar heads. I'm going up the coast to the place that imports darbukas to see some clay ones. I'm interested in the possibility of a hybrid clay / synthetic head design.

We have a locally made clay water filter at Atma, so we can get fired clay. Glazed it will be stronger than the unglazed bodies made in India.

Remo make Nuskyn and Fibreskyn heads for world percussion instruments. These are synthetic heads that mimic animal skins, using layers of Mylar and Tyvek.

It's almost impossible to get animal drum heads into Australia. Customs gamma rays and sprays them, which makes most of them break quite soon afterwards. There are local animal skin suppliers, but these are definitely not ahimsa heads.

Synthetic heads avoid the animal slaughter angle, and are easier to replace and more consistent in different weather conditions.

The current Balarama design uses a 17.5" head. The darbukas have 22" heads. The Remo Djembe has a 30" head. We'll make our mrdanga use a standard Remo head, so that replacements are easily procurable.