1. Had a dream that featured Deborah Mailman. I remember the dream leading up to her appearance; and I woke up knowing that I dreamed of Mailman. But the part with her seems unclear to me.
The strange thing is, the same thing happened in my dreams the night before. Deborah Mailman was there somewhere, but her part was unclear.
2. Started watching an episode of Scooter: Secret Agent.
3. Finished watching the episode, and now I'm going to watch another one.
4. Trying to understand what's happening with the Hassan Asif situation. Asif came to Australia, from Pakistan, to be a student. Then he ended up with terminal skin cancer. He wants his family to come visit to say good-bye. The government is saying no.
Why?
5. Looked at government quote in article. The compassionate nature of the proposed visit by his mother and brother was considered, however, anyone wishing to visit Australia must satisfy Australia’s visitor visa requirements, including health, character and genuine temporary stay requirements.
Is there something we're not being told about the family? Why aren't they eligible for a visa?
6. Read more.
The idea I'm getting is that the government fears the Pakistani family won't have reason to return to Pakistan, and they might try to become Australian.
I think they're also worried that the family won't be able to afford the trip. Hassan Asif himself is living in a homeless shelter, because he couldn't afford rent.
The thing about governments is they'd much rather take in people who are going to financially contribute to the country. They're much less interested in taking in people who are going to need financial help from the government and social service agencies.
7. Hoped that Hassan Asif gets to see his family; though what I really wish is that he didn't have terminal cancer.
He's homeless and he's dying. Each of those on its own is depressing enough.
8. Wondered if there are many other very ill and very poor foreigners in Australia who are wishing to reunite with overseas family.
Is Hassan Asif's situation unique? If it's unique, I think it will be easy for the government to change their mind and be compassionate. If there are many people in Asif's situation, it might not be so easy.
9. Felt there are two facts that need to be balanced when considering these types of stories.
A) Governments are made up of self-serving and bigoted individuals that are lacking in compassion and bogged down by bureaucracy.
B) There are way too many unfortunate people on this planet, and it's impossible to fully help all of them without societies making gigantic sacrifices.
10. Went to Tropfest!
I am loving that website lately.
11. Saw that my film for today is directed by a woman. I think it's the first female-directed Tropfest film I've watched. But I might be wrong.
The film is called "Still", and the director is Jayne Montague.
12. Started watching the film.
13. Thought the actor in it looked familiar.
I'm thinking it might be Peter O'Brien, but I'm probably wrong.
14. Felt the film was slow.
15. Felt more bored than sad.
The story is a man moving out of the family home. We're shown him packing, looking at a picture of him and his wife, and then having a moment with his son.
All that could have probably been shown, and have been effective, in one or two minutes. Instead it takes four minutes for that to happen.
On the other hand, maybe the slowness adds to the uncomfortableness of the situation.
16. Thought the bedroom of the married couple looks very sterile.
It doesn't feel like a home. It feels more like a blah hotel room.
Does that symbolize the situation in some way?
17. Saw that the man in the film was not Peter O'Brien, but it is a Pete—Pete Walters.
18. Saw from IMDb that Jayne Montague hasn't done any IMDb-credited film work beyond 2009.
She made one other short film in 2008. Also, that year, she had assistant jobs for The Black Balloon and Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger.
19. Saw that Jodine Muir, who played the wife in the movie, was a production accountant for some episodes of All Saints.
That's kind of interesting.
It sounds like the production accountant is in charge of budget stuff.
21. Liked this quote from the article. David Melito says, My favorite example, that I use all of the time, is that if the producer were a Disney villain, I’d be the crow that sits on their shoulder. I’m Iago, on Jafar’s stick. We are the kings’ advisors.
22. Learned that Melito wanted a job in the film industry but had trouble finding his niche. Then eventually accounting turned out to be his thing. He didn't go back to school to get a degree, though. He learned on the job.
I wonder if that was the case with Jodine Muir. How did she end up with the short-term accounting job?
Was she an accountant who landed a television job? Was she like Melito—interested in film but didn't know where she belonged within the industry?
Has Muir done accounting outside the film and television industry?
23. Saw that Jodine Muir has one of those extensive acting websites.
I'm thinking that acting is what she wants to be doing. My guess now is that the accounting stint on All Saints was a way to make money AND network in the industry...or just be within the industry.
24. Started to watch Jodine Muir's showreel.
25. Finished watching it.
It was good. There was an intriguing story in it about a guy with memory loss.
26. Noticed something on Jodine Muir's filmography I didn't notice before.
In 2000, she was the payroll accountant for the American movie Vertical Limit. Some of the movie was filmed in New Zealand, so I'm guessing she did work over there. Maybe she's a Kiwi by birth?
Anyway, I'm imagining that this movie might have been the thing that sparked Muir's interest in a film career. Or it could be what sparked her interest in accounting.
I guess what I'm most wondering is whether it was film or accounting that caught her interest first.
27. Saw from Jodine Muir's acting page that she's appeared on that documentary Deadly Women. Though it's not included on her IMDb filmography.
28. Looked up Carol Croydon, because this is who Muir played on the show.
From what I'm learning in this article, Croydon is a British woman who murdered her husband in a hotel room.
29. Saw that Muir has done a lot of theater. The most recent thing listed is a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. This was at the New Theatre.
30. Saw from the New Theatre website that the production ran in June-July of this year.
31. Learned that the New Theatre has been in existence since 1932, and has been in it's current location since 1973.
It's on King Street in Sydney.
32. Saw, from Google Maps, that the street and theater are in Newtown.
33. Saw that in March, there's going to be an adaption of a Tim Winton novel called That Eye, the Sky.
I've not heard of that novel.
But...anyway. The website says that Richard Roxburgh helped with the adaptation. Is that the actor Richard Roxburgh?
34. Learned from Lord Wiki that That Eye, the Sky was a 1986 novel.
I'm not sure how I missed it.
35. Looked at the filmography of Wes Chew. He was the sound mixer for "Chew". From IMDb, it looks like that was his first sound job. He's done a lot since then—Wild Boys, The Strange Calls, Redfern Now, The Kettering Incident, and a whole lot more.
36. Learned that Wes Chew works for a company called Sonar. On their website, they talk about Chew doing the scores for movies such as Animal Kingdom. That movie and many other impressive things are listed on Chew's filmography under music department. But for a lot of things, he's listed as the score mixer, usually. Is that the same thing as writing the music?
37. Looked at the credits for Animal Kingdom.
Towards the top, it says, Music By Antony Partos. So I'm guessing Partos was the composer.
Further down, there's a music department which seems to have a whole orchestra. Chew is in that group as the music producer and music recordist. Maybe he's the one who got the orchestra to play Partos' music?
I'm confused.
I didn't think most movies list their orchestra. Do they?
38. Looked at Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They have all their music people listed.
Maybe it IS something that's usually done.
39. Looked at an old movie—Poltergeist.
They list their musicians as well.
40. Saw lots of people Tweeting to Peter Dutton, the man who's preventing Hassan Asif from visiting with his family before dying.
I decided I should learn something about Dutton, so I consulted Lord Wiki.
If I'm understanding Lord Wiki correctly, when Kevin Rudd apologized to the Stolen Generation, Peter Dutton abstained. I guess that means he didn't stand behind the apology.
41. Clicked on the link to the article in which Lord Wiki got his information.
Yeah. It says Dutton abstained from the apology.
He doesn't sound like the type of person I'd like.
He doesn't want to reunite a family in pain, and he didn't want to apologize on behalf of the government for the kidnapping of children.
42. Looked at Peter Dutton's Twitter, and saw that he's not responding to any of the begging that's coming his way.
43. Looked at Peter Dutton's voting records.
He's very much against gay marriage and very much against plain packaging cigarettes.
Wow.
He's totally not my kind of guy.
Knowing all this, it's making me think the Hassan Asif situation is not about a politician having to make a difficult and unpopular situation because of constraints the public doesn't understand.
I kind of had that story in my mind. I guess I was trying to give Dutton the benefit of the doubt.
But now I'm imagining he's not the type of person that's full of compassion.
44. Looked at more of Peter Dutton's votes.
He voted very strongly against scrutiny of asylum seeker management. I'm guessing that's about making sure those in charge of the asylum seeker programs aren't evil. Why would a politician be against that?
45. Saw that Dutton voted strongly against protecting Australia's fresh water.
Really?!
46. Saw that Dutton is against marine conservation?
Is he TRYING to look like a Disney villain?
47. Saw that Dutton is very much in favor of live animal exports.
Lovely.
48. Hoped that Peter Dutton has a change of heart regarding Hassan Asif. Looking at his voting record, though, I'm doubting it's going to happen.
I also can't imagine Peter Dutton giving into public pressure about the issue.
Is there any other way?
Can Malcolm Turnbull do anything? Is it really bad for a Prime Minister to step on the toes of someone in his cabinet?
49. Started to proofread, and Googled the name of Hassan Asif's name to make sure I had the spelling right.
It was then that I saw that his family has been granted visas!
I'm glad I ended up being partly wrong about Peter Dutton.
See? Sometimes it's good to be lacking faith in someone. Then they can pleasantly surprise you.
Read my novel: The Dead are Online
Is there something we're not being told about the family? Why aren't they eligible for a visa?
6. Read more.
The idea I'm getting is that the government fears the Pakistani family won't have reason to return to Pakistan, and they might try to become Australian.
I think they're also worried that the family won't be able to afford the trip. Hassan Asif himself is living in a homeless shelter, because he couldn't afford rent.
The thing about governments is they'd much rather take in people who are going to financially contribute to the country. They're much less interested in taking in people who are going to need financial help from the government and social service agencies.
7. Hoped that Hassan Asif gets to see his family; though what I really wish is that he didn't have terminal cancer.
He's homeless and he's dying. Each of those on its own is depressing enough.
8. Wondered if there are many other very ill and very poor foreigners in Australia who are wishing to reunite with overseas family.
Is Hassan Asif's situation unique? If it's unique, I think it will be easy for the government to change their mind and be compassionate. If there are many people in Asif's situation, it might not be so easy.
9. Felt there are two facts that need to be balanced when considering these types of stories.
A) Governments are made up of self-serving and bigoted individuals that are lacking in compassion and bogged down by bureaucracy.
B) There are way too many unfortunate people on this planet, and it's impossible to fully help all of them without societies making gigantic sacrifices.
10. Went to Tropfest!
I am loving that website lately.
11. Saw that my film for today is directed by a woman. I think it's the first female-directed Tropfest film I've watched. But I might be wrong.
The film is called "Still", and the director is Jayne Montague.
12. Started watching the film.
13. Thought the actor in it looked familiar.
I'm thinking it might be Peter O'Brien, but I'm probably wrong.
14. Felt the film was slow.
15. Felt more bored than sad.
The story is a man moving out of the family home. We're shown him packing, looking at a picture of him and his wife, and then having a moment with his son.
All that could have probably been shown, and have been effective, in one or two minutes. Instead it takes four minutes for that to happen.
On the other hand, maybe the slowness adds to the uncomfortableness of the situation.
16. Thought the bedroom of the married couple looks very sterile.
It doesn't feel like a home. It feels more like a blah hotel room.
Does that symbolize the situation in some way?
17. Saw that the man in the film was not Peter O'Brien, but it is a Pete—Pete Walters.
18. Saw from IMDb that Jayne Montague hasn't done any IMDb-credited film work beyond 2009.
She made one other short film in 2008. Also, that year, she had assistant jobs for The Black Balloon and Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger.
19. Saw that Jodine Muir, who played the wife in the movie, was a production accountant for some episodes of All Saints.
That's kind of interesting.
20. Started to read an article about production accountants. Actually it's an interview with a production accountant.
It sounds like the production accountant is in charge of budget stuff.
21. Liked this quote from the article. David Melito says, My favorite example, that I use all of the time, is that if the producer were a Disney villain, I’d be the crow that sits on their shoulder. I’m Iago, on Jafar’s stick. We are the kings’ advisors.
22. Learned that Melito wanted a job in the film industry but had trouble finding his niche. Then eventually accounting turned out to be his thing. He didn't go back to school to get a degree, though. He learned on the job.
I wonder if that was the case with Jodine Muir. How did she end up with the short-term accounting job?
Was she an accountant who landed a television job? Was she like Melito—interested in film but didn't know where she belonged within the industry?
Has Muir done accounting outside the film and television industry?
23. Saw that Jodine Muir has one of those extensive acting websites.
I'm thinking that acting is what she wants to be doing. My guess now is that the accounting stint on All Saints was a way to make money AND network in the industry...or just be within the industry.
24. Started to watch Jodine Muir's showreel.
25. Finished watching it.
It was good. There was an intriguing story in it about a guy with memory loss.
26. Noticed something on Jodine Muir's filmography I didn't notice before.
In 2000, she was the payroll accountant for the American movie Vertical Limit. Some of the movie was filmed in New Zealand, so I'm guessing she did work over there. Maybe she's a Kiwi by birth?
Anyway, I'm imagining that this movie might have been the thing that sparked Muir's interest in a film career. Or it could be what sparked her interest in accounting.
I guess what I'm most wondering is whether it was film or accounting that caught her interest first.
27. Saw from Jodine Muir's acting page that she's appeared on that documentary Deadly Women. Though it's not included on her IMDb filmography.
28. Looked up Carol Croydon, because this is who Muir played on the show.
From what I'm learning in this article, Croydon is a British woman who murdered her husband in a hotel room.
29. Saw that Muir has done a lot of theater. The most recent thing listed is a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. This was at the New Theatre.
30. Saw from the New Theatre website that the production ran in June-July of this year.
31. Learned that the New Theatre has been in existence since 1932, and has been in it's current location since 1973.
It's on King Street in Sydney.
32. Saw, from Google Maps, that the street and theater are in Newtown.
33. Saw that in March, there's going to be an adaption of a Tim Winton novel called That Eye, the Sky.
I've not heard of that novel.
But...anyway. The website says that Richard Roxburgh helped with the adaptation. Is that the actor Richard Roxburgh?
34. Learned from Lord Wiki that That Eye, the Sky was a 1986 novel.
I'm not sure how I missed it.
35. Looked at the filmography of Wes Chew. He was the sound mixer for "Chew". From IMDb, it looks like that was his first sound job. He's done a lot since then—Wild Boys, The Strange Calls, Redfern Now, The Kettering Incident, and a whole lot more.
36. Learned that Wes Chew works for a company called Sonar. On their website, they talk about Chew doing the scores for movies such as Animal Kingdom. That movie and many other impressive things are listed on Chew's filmography under music department. But for a lot of things, he's listed as the score mixer, usually. Is that the same thing as writing the music?
37. Looked at the credits for Animal Kingdom.
Towards the top, it says, Music By Antony Partos. So I'm guessing Partos was the composer.
Further down, there's a music department which seems to have a whole orchestra. Chew is in that group as the music producer and music recordist. Maybe he's the one who got the orchestra to play Partos' music?
I'm confused.
I didn't think most movies list their orchestra. Do they?
38. Looked at Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They have all their music people listed.
Maybe it IS something that's usually done.
39. Looked at an old movie—Poltergeist.
They list their musicians as well.
40. Saw lots of people Tweeting to Peter Dutton, the man who's preventing Hassan Asif from visiting with his family before dying.
I decided I should learn something about Dutton, so I consulted Lord Wiki.
If I'm understanding Lord Wiki correctly, when Kevin Rudd apologized to the Stolen Generation, Peter Dutton abstained. I guess that means he didn't stand behind the apology.
41. Clicked on the link to the article in which Lord Wiki got his information.
Yeah. It says Dutton abstained from the apology.
He doesn't sound like the type of person I'd like.
He doesn't want to reunite a family in pain, and he didn't want to apologize on behalf of the government for the kidnapping of children.
42. Looked at Peter Dutton's Twitter, and saw that he's not responding to any of the begging that's coming his way.
43. Looked at Peter Dutton's voting records.
He's very much against gay marriage and very much against plain packaging cigarettes.
Wow.
He's totally not my kind of guy.
Knowing all this, it's making me think the Hassan Asif situation is not about a politician having to make a difficult and unpopular situation because of constraints the public doesn't understand.
I kind of had that story in my mind. I guess I was trying to give Dutton the benefit of the doubt.
But now I'm imagining he's not the type of person that's full of compassion.
44. Looked at more of Peter Dutton's votes.
He voted very strongly against scrutiny of asylum seeker management. I'm guessing that's about making sure those in charge of the asylum seeker programs aren't evil. Why would a politician be against that?
45. Saw that Dutton voted strongly against protecting Australia's fresh water.
Really?!
46. Saw that Dutton is against marine conservation?
Is he TRYING to look like a Disney villain?
47. Saw that Dutton is very much in favor of live animal exports.
Lovely.
48. Hoped that Peter Dutton has a change of heart regarding Hassan Asif. Looking at his voting record, though, I'm doubting it's going to happen.
I also can't imagine Peter Dutton giving into public pressure about the issue.
Is there any other way?
Can Malcolm Turnbull do anything? Is it really bad for a Prime Minister to step on the toes of someone in his cabinet?
49. Started to proofread, and Googled the name of Hassan Asif's name to make sure I had the spelling right.
It was then that I saw that his family has been granted visas!
I'm glad I ended up being partly wrong about Peter Dutton.
See? Sometimes it's good to be lacking faith in someone. Then they can pleasantly surprise you.
Read my novel: The Dead are Online