Archive for the “Personal” Category

The recent wisps of cloud that have partially shrouded the sun’s rays were and remain a welcome shift in the weather patterns that have graced the Maltese Islands as of late. Not only has the weather brought a fairly decent flow of wind but the shaded periods also provide myself with respite from the radiance of light seeping through the thick curtains of my room before proceeding to filter warmly through my eyelids as I do my bit to get some sleep. Its never anything that a soft piece of cloth used as a blindfold cannot fix of course but the shadows always seemed a little more calm, easy and less invasive than the light.

And yet it makes me quietly yearn for the coming month, September, where clouds become less alien to the azure skies and where the hope for less stifling temperatures is very much present within my mind. Of course, one of my favourite aspects of the month, certainly about half-way into it, is the significantly higher potential to witness spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

There is just something so fulfilling about watching the dance of the solar rays within the hanging clouds of ever changing shape and hue. Regardless of whether the horizon it rises upon is a green forest bursting with life or the barren smouldering landscape of a recent war zone. Regardless of whether it heralds a day of joy or leaves behind a day of mourning the natural cycles proceed virtually unscathed.

In my few travels I have been fortunate enough to look down upon and drive by seemingly massive wooded lands and paddocks. I have had the pleasure of watching the sun set and then listen to the rolling thunder outside. Ah yes. Such memories shall remain with me and nor shall I forget those who had shared their experiences with me, regardless of what the future may send my way. I mark the 11th of August as a day holding a fragile link to some of the happier moments so far experienced, to be kept and cherished as an era all in its own. And with this in mind the past is to be appreciated but the future is yet to be faced. Another sunrise and another sunset – another experience and another episode in the progression of life.

Well a month has passed and I somehow managed to fit in a fresh fragment for every day of it, give or take a little stuttering in the post scheduling. It has been a satisfying time and I got to make a number of new blog contacts and a couple of really pleasant persons through it so I’d say that it has been worth my while.

However as with all good things sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and ease the pace a little. OK. Sure it doesn’t seem like a lot but the truth is that I have to balance upon several tightropes and yet remain on-track. It is the downside of taking on commitments – you eventually get round to realizing that they actually take up sizeable chunks out of your time.

Well, all misgivings aside, I shall be cutting down on contributions to about once every other day. While it will hopefully mean an improvement in the qualitative selection of post topics, such is beyond my ability to guarantee. In the meantime the ‘Ask James‘ page is still active and I will seek to answer questions as best as I can. Actually I encourage readers to send in questions as good questions tend to save me time thinking about what I will be writing about next.

This question was put forward by Simon in a comment on the ‘Ask James‘ page.

Simon: – James, as the mainstream parties political continue to move towards the centre, would you say that political ideology still has a realistic place in Maltese politics?

Me: – As regards the mainstream political parties, it is true that their policies seem to be heading towards a common mono-rail. However at times I have been given reason to question whether it is truly two political parties whose’ manoeuvres we are witness to and not a puppet act; with the Labour party thus far playing the puppet, seemingly taking a fall at too many important junctures in the past decade to shrug off as mere misfortune.

1998 – Was Labour taking the heat for utility price rises and CET to pave the way for the Nationalist’s surcharge and VAT increases?

2003 – Was “Switzerland in the Mediterranean/ Partnership” ever properly explained? Why were voters against EU-entry instructed to split their vote (don’t vote, spoil the vote, etc.)?

2008 – How did Labour retain Alfred Sant as leader and manage to lose the election… again? Who kept him there and why? Isn’t it interesting just how friendly and comfortable the Nationalists seem to be with the new leader?

Would you like a cheese burger or a hamburger Mr. Voter? 9_9

…But that wasn’t your question. ;c)

I would say that political ideology not only has a realistic place in Maltese politics but that the Maltese Islands are desperately in need of ideology. Without ideology reality is destined to deteriorate as you would get little progress (progress itself resulting from ideological processes).

Unfortunately I do not believe that the Maltese Islands have sufficient ideology in politics. This has resulted in a knock-on effect. Without political ideology there is no means by which a population can truly relate to the structures of governance that they have endorsed. The people become apathetic, just as they are today. The people worry about the cost of food and the lowness of the wages – important – but miss the wood for the trees. Tuna does not give a human being a purpose in life and neither does a one-Euro increase in wages (though welcome). What gives a human a feeling of purpose in life is to feel that one belongs, that one matters, that one has a role that one has chosen and that one will be appreciated for, that one is able to grow within their society, rather than wither beneath the jealous, vindictive or malign stares of others.

Realism can give Malta more of the same, and a practical means to achieve – but without ideology the best that one can aim to achieve is what one already is… and as they say, you need to aim for the mountains to reach the peak of a hill.

Do let me know if I fall short of answering your question in any way. :c)

Simon: – No, you haven`t fallen short at all. I appreciate another informed and well-expressed opinion. Like you, I would like to see political ideology return to the domain of political debate or, failing that, for the political actors to just come out and admit that they have no ideological convictions if that is the case.

At the moment, it seems that they want to have their cake and eat it by paying lip service to the ideological traditions in order to curry favour with certain parts of the electorate but essentially ignoring it when it comes to governance.

Me: – You’re welcome and thank you for another excellent question. While things do not look positive for the future of Maltese politics, what with both sides of the mainstream party locking down upon power in whatever means they deem necessary (under the pretence of “strengthening democracy”…). Indeed it seems that they are having their cake and they are eating it and this cannot very well be denied considering the mess that I witnessed at the counting halls during the last election.

However defeatism never ever brought about progress even in the most seemingly hopeless hollows.

This question was put forward by Simon in a comment on the ‘Ask James‘ page.

Simon: – James, is Satanism a problem in Malta? If so, what can be done to tackle it?

Me: – Hello Simon.

While I am of the impression that there is a presence of Satanism in Malta I am also of the impression that public opinion on the matter has been sculpted by a Roman Catholic manipulated media and is hence likely not as reliable as one would be led to believe.

For instance, the article carried on illum a month or so ago about “Satan” being born in Mater Dei hospital was an exercise in misinformation and sensationalism – the child was born to a Pagan mother who, as an individual of a different religion, refused access to the child for the clergy on-site. It naturally doesn’t help that Pagans are sometimes mistaken for Satanists if they aren’t too overly careful about blending into Catholic society.

There is also the misconception that every person who wears black and a few piercings, tattoos or trinkets is probably a Satanist, which again is taking public perception a lot further than the bounds of logic.

Is Satanism a problem in and of itself? It is, to the Roman Catholic institution, but Satanism is an anti-religion and is therefore itself a sect of Catholicism. What the Catholic institution should do therefore is ask itself this same question and look within for the answer.

My own stand on the matter is that an individual is entitled to believe, or not believe, whatever he or she wishes to – even in some divine fluffy dice in the sky, if they should wish to choose to. However I also am of the stand that religious freedom should begin and end with the individual and should not cross the threshold into state or active influence of the state as this is where there lies the greatest potential of subjugating minorities as the Catholic Church has done within Malta (Just one example in the form of a question: – should the academic future of a child be jeopardized by a compulsory religion exam should that child fail?).

In conclusion Satanism in and of itself is not the problem per se, it is the acts of Satanism that contradict the rights of others that are potentially the problem and this is where action should be aimed. Trying to raise the status of minority religions to the point of permitting non-socially invasive shrines is one thing that I would like to see done as I suspect that there do exist minorities whom are forced to the fringes of society in order to practice whatever legitimate worship that they would wish to practice.

I hope that that long-winded response sufficiently answers your question. :c)

Simon: – Thank you very much for your informed and detailed response. It has provided ample food for thought and given me some previously unconsidered perspective on the issue.

You’re welcome Simon and thank you for such an interesting question.

There are not many things that I truly get hung up on. For the most part things just slide off of me like water off a duck’s back. However there do remain a few things that bother me and one of the worst would probably be personal inefficiency.

I like to be punctual. It doesn’t matter if it is meeting a deadline set by others or myself or whether its getting to a certain place by or at a certain time, I do not like to keep persons waiting. It is fortunate that I do not apply these standards quite as rigorously to other persons around me as I’d probably end up with an even smaller network of individuals that I’d call friends than I do at present.

However I also have several rather annoying habits that sometimes hinder my ability to meet my own standards. One is a tendency to underestimate tasks that I have to deal with, or to overestimate my ability to deal with them within a set period of time. Another is a tendency to take on or seek to take on more tasks than I can actually handle at any one time. This is why my personal to-do list dwarfs my done list. Either way these little quirks mean that I end up encroaching upon or even surpassing my deadlines more often than I would care to admit. It is similarly fortunate that this is far more likely where the tasks are being dealt by myself and ‘for’ myself but occasionally other persons do get a bitter taste of it in the form of way-overstepped expected deadlines.

I guess it comes down to having time-management issues really and, since I am reluctant to give up the new-found pace that I’ve set into motion within this web log, I thought it would be good to use this opportunity both to apologize to that individual who is waiting for work from myself as well as to provide a little insight to readers. I am working upon it of course, and will try to get results through as soon as possible, but I’ll be sparing the estimates this time as they were wildly optimistic the last time round and I’m nowhere near done with the segment concerned.

Besides, I can be a bit of a perfectionist and if there is one thing that troubles me more than handing in work late, it would have to be handing in what I personally consider to be shoddy work.

Yes… I do recall that I had stated that I would be setting this ball rolling as of the beginning of May… a whole two months ago… but I frankly found that circumstances were just not favourable enough for such.

I could regale yourselves with a number of well-thought-out excuses, such as having underestimated the time pressure that the examination and assignment hand-in period, or of having struggled to keep up with tasks that I chose to perform for friends and associates, or having grappled with a mid-life crisis every bit as premature as the receding of my hairline… but I shall not, at least not beyond that which I have already touched upon.

And yet for as long as educational and work-related commitments persist I shall allow the pathforger.com site to idle for quite some time longer which, while not thrilling to myself, is the best thing to do. I’ve stated it several times before since its inception – there is a lot more to pathforger than James Cauchi – and I feel that my continued solitary presence on the website merely enforces this misconception further within the minds of readers.

As such I shall be redirecting and channelling a portion of my sustaining energies towards the development of this my personal web log. This will allow myself to write a lot more freely as within this web log my personal opinions and observations could not sit more comfortably – they belong here. Sure, I shall be reviving a number of topics spoken of on the pathforger site (as the solitary writer it is unsurprising that there shall be striking similarities) and shall be using this as an opportunity, both to give substance to my identity in the minds of readers as well as to introduce and expand upon new concepts.

This is my first post upon this website. I realize that things are not completely set up as I type this out, but beginnings are rarely complete. Anticipate that this web log will likely serve as my primary connection with the World for some time to come, I invite readers to make their presence felt through their comments, and to check back every now and again.

I personally do not expect to place any focus on the inclusion of content over the next few weeks, probably getting things truly into motion around the turn of May – however an introductory post is essential as I would like people to know that I exist, just as they do.

Once things are prepared – I shall begin to contribute. In the meantime I wish you well.