Technology Dependency

So recently I have become aware just how addicted to my phone I really am. It's almost an instinctive reaction that when my phone goes off I will check it. It doesn't matter where I am or who I'm with or even what I'm doing. I won't even realise it's happening until my phone is in my hand and I've looked down. It's usually nothing important (mainly just letting me know someone has "liked" a status or a friend had updated their facebook status). I know it's usually nothing important but I can't help wanting to be there the second something important does happen.
I've noticed I'm not the only one who does this. I was recently at an end of year Christmas celebration, looking around the room I would see groups of people, not talking, but simply on their phones. People say there is no way we could live with out our phones yet if we go back just 10 years ago how many of us can say we even had a phone let alone couldn't live without it. I had survived my entire life up to this year with a smartphone. Yet I would find it incredibly difficult to survive without it now.
Even getting this blog to you I am relying on technology to get the job done. We rely on computers and internet to do almost every job, even applying for jobs can be done online. Our lives are being over run by technology and a desire to have more. Everywhere we turn we are faced with some form of technology.
Now I'm not saying that this is all bad, for example the light-bulb is a form of technology that we have grown to need, yet I don't see this as a bad thing. Technology, when used correctly, can help further our civilization. Yet when we become addicted then technology becomes a problem, when we sit there for hours playing computer games, or sit at a party checking our online social lives instead of engaging in the social life around you, this is when we have a problem. I am guilty of these things as well, one of my favourite pass times is playing my Xbox while I have facebook open. I then complain I have no time do anything.
So here is my challenge to all of you who read my blog. Spend a day away from indulgent technology, see how much more you can get done. Will you're life improve or will you find it's better with technology? Will you be able to go a day without checking facebook?

Marriage Equality

We had it, and now it's gone. I'm from Australia and for a brief few days we had marriage equality, it was to the point of same sex couples actually getting married. Everything seemed to be going great, perhaps the new government wasn't as bad as everyone was making it out to be. Turns out the public was right about the new government. For reasons I can't full comprehend they Federal Government decided to take the new Marriage Equality Act (which was a state law for the Australian Capital Territory) that had already been passed, and bring it to the High Court and challenge it.

I just don't see why they needed to challenge the act, it had passed and was doing absolutely no harm to anyone. In fact it made Australia a better place to be in, but for whatever reason the government had they challenged it. They believed it went against the current marriage laws and that meant it was illegal and had to be stopped. 

Now this wouldn't of been a problem if the High Court could see that the government was only having a bit of a tantrum because someone found a loop hole in their law. But the High Court didn't see it this way. Instead they decided to rule in favour of the Federal Government and remove the Marriage Equality Act. Now keep in mind that people had been getting married since Saturday and the High Court didn't make a decision until Thursday. This mean we have had almost a week of same sex couples getting married and literally nothing changed. Except nearly 30 couples were able to take a further step in their relationship and decide that they love a certain person enough to get married and commit themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. 

So for a brief 6 days Australia (well the ACT) had taken a step forward into becoming an accepting and open country where people can feel safe and secure and most importantly, feel like they belong no matter what. 

Now thanks to the Federal Government and it's leader Tony Abbott (who's sister is a lesbian I might add) our country has slipped back even further than when we started. 

Same sex marriage is about equality amongst the human race, how can Australia claim to be accepting of all people if we won't even let people of the same gender get married! (And don't get me started on how the Australian government treats refugees)

Where Did You Come From?

So starting my what will soon be triumphant return to blogging I decided to look at my audience page. It's a little section I can click on that tells me how many of you have read my blog and from where you come from. I was blown away. Not only have I reached over 2,000 total views but I have audience members from all over the world! I live in Australia and was born in Canada so it was obvious I would have some audience from those 2 countries as well as a small audience in the USA thanks to my aunt and uncle. However I was never prepared for the range that this blog as reached. I would like to give a small shout out here to all the people in the countries that have read my blog. So here we go: Australia, United States, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea, Canada, Indonesia, Angola, and the United Kingdom. Thank you all so much for the support you have given me, it really means a lot. I hope you all stick with me for the next exciting part of Smart Yet Casual.

Content, Tired or Lazy?

As I haven't written anything in quite a while I believe one of two things have happened. I am either so content with the things happening in my life that I have no need to vent to you all, or I have been so over worked and busy that I have had no time to write. However, considering that there are still quite a few things that annoy me in my day to day life, it must be option number two. I have been worked to the bone, past the point of exhaustion, to the stage where all I want to do in my spare time is sleep.
I could bore you with the details of my busy life, but lets face facts no-one wants that. Instead I shall make a small post about my return to the blog-o-sphere.
I am returning, so be prepared.
Expect at least weekly posts for the next month or so as life dies down and my writing picks up. I may even share with you portions of a novel I am currently writing (if you're good that is). So stay tuned and get ready for the writing storm that is Darcy.

Beating Boring Bands

I got a chance to interview Effects of Boredom a while back, thought you might all enjoy my report from it!!

Local Brisbane band Effects of Boredom recently played two shows over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of May.

The band comprises of three members, Joe Rickard on guitar and vocals, Brendan Byrne on bass and vocals, and Jade Dujmovic on the drums.

The band found it hard to conform to one genre of music.

“We are a genre-confused punk band” Mr. Rickard said

The local Brisbane band has been together for over a year and a half and has played roughly 12 shows in the last 6 months.

Most recently the group graced the stage of Sn@p Wynnum and Ric’s Bar in Fortitude Valley.

“This is a milestone for the band.

“When we first started we had always wanted to play Ric’s” Mr. Rickard said.

They hope to release an EP at the end of the year to follow up their demo that was released last November.

The band aims to have between 5 and 7 songs for the EP which is planned to be released late November or early December.

Each song on the album is a collaborative song from the three members, each person adding in a different component.

“Joe and I come up with the ideas, melodies and riffs, but Jade ultimately decides what goes on the album.” Mr Byrne said.

In early years the group found it difficult to get gigs because they lacked the experience and fan base needed.

As time progressed gigs started to come more frequently, yet they are still turned down on occasion due to the number of Facebook fans they have.

This is because they band feels that they need to work for Facebook ‘Likes’ rather than just asking people to ‘Like’ the page with no reason too.

“We don’t want to be that band that promotes themselves constantly.

“We want to earn and work for our fans to like us.” Mr Rickard said.

Effects of Boredom plan to be playing at Snitch or Thriller within the near future. 

So Sorry

So I would like to say sorry for my lack of posting on this page. While I'm going to do my best to upload as often as I can, sometimes life gets in the way. For those of you who don't know, I have had a lot of exciting this going on in life. For example I've just gotten a job with a radio station and am the Assistant Music Director for a local Brisbane play. However the thing that is slowly taking over from my blog is my transition into the world of YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/forgottenintention Feel free to join me here for my vlogs, and keep interested here as I promise I will upload more eventually (when life slows down a little bit.)
And I just wanted to say a quick thank you for sticking with me for as long as you have.

Writers block

As many of you may have noticed there has been a severe lack of updates recently; for this I am terribly sorry. Yet I still can't find a topic that I feel is really worth writing about, so I shall write about having noting to write about.

Writers block: the fear of all writers. That mental brick wall that dams the flow of creative ideas. You think you've over come it and have written a few lines after hours and hours of sitting down and thinking only to find that those lines were the last of a weak trickle of creativity that had escaped the wall only to stop as suddenly has they began. The writers block can last for different lengths of time for each writer. Some cases it may only be a few hours or a few days, for some weeks or months may be taken over by writers block, and in some extreme cases writers block lasts years until finally the writer gives up and becomes a banker or an accountant where you have to deal with numbers, not words. 

Is there a cure for writers block? No one knows for sure. There are plenty of home remedies that writers have discovered for themselves, like listening to music, meditation, reading, stepping away. Yet none of these are guaranteed to remove writers block completely, and it almost always returns, lurking in the shadows waiting for you to get on a creative streak before stopping you dead in your tracks. 

For those of you with writers block I wish you luck, and for those of you with friends you have writers block I wish you luck too for you will have to deal with the nonsensical ramblings of a writer with no ideas.