Lev Lafayette's journal

Around 1.45 am on Monday, December 8, my close friend of almost forty years and mentor in my youth, Bruce Tapper, died from liver failure. I must start by thanking all those who reached out to me when informed that I was travelling to Perth to see Bruce. Your kindness and supportive words speak of your character. Yesterday was spent with Richard, Lucas, and Angela as we made the initial steps to clean out Bruce's villa; he didn't have much, but he did have great style with his few possessions. At extremely short notice, a dinner party was held in his honour in the evening,g with a score of people attending at various stages.

Bruce had an eventful and interesting life. Raised in Perth, where he spent his entire life, he nevertheless had an expansive and worldly interest in other cultures, which one could find in his francophile tendencies (I definitely got that from him) and a love of passenger shipping. Several years ago, the WA Today news included an article on him discussing what it was like to be a gay man in the 1960s in Perth; a place where the cultural changes stood in stark contrast with the law.

Unsurprisingly, Bruce had a formal interest in politics. In the 1970s, he was President of the Fremantle branch of the Labor Party and an ally of the famously radical and socialist MP at the time, Dr. John Troy and as a member of the Fremantle Society. dedicated to preserving that city's heritage. During this time, he also worked for McLarty's Engineering, famously exposing their business practices from his position in sales management. In addition, with a keen interest in antiques, he and Richard B. had a very successful business in that trade during the 1970s and 1980s.

In the 1980s, Bruce went to Murdoch University as a mature-aged student, and it is in this context that we met for the first time. Elected as a student representative on the Academic Council, he initiated a bridging course for Aboriginal student applications. Bruce would complete an honours degree in communication studies and worked as a tutor, reflecting his deep interest in semiotics and the use of ideology to shape culture, and adding enormously to his already expansive knowledge.

Through our friendship, I introduced Bruce to the Perth goth and alternative scene, where he readily found an accepting subcultural home. This would lead Bruce to become the co-founder of the famous clothing store, Alysian Empire, with James Nicholson and Erica Wardle (whose own premature death in 2017 I have written about). It was in this role that Bruce really became a sort of "elder statesman" for the Perth goth community, making use of his extensive connections in the media and politics to promote and protect the subculture.

For myself, I am readily accepting of Bruce's death. It is a sad moment, but death comes to us all, and one must learn to respect this reality. I am far more likely to be distraught when living people suffer because that involves situations that could be different. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of Bruce's influence on my life. He further inspired my existing interests in history, politics, and ideology. He was enormously influential in my own sense of household style, an appreciation of the absurd, an interest in classical aesthetics, and so the list would go on. At the risk of being seen as a sentimentalist, Bruce was also a deep advocate for love toward others as a foundational principle. That, perhaps more than anything else, is how I will remember him and how he has influenced me, and I hope it is the legacy he will leave.

The past week has been spent in tropical Darwin helping my dear friend Lara move into an apartment. This is my third visit in recent years to said city and the third time I've found myself in such a situation. Of course, the difference this time is it's our apartment, which comes with it's own name, Mr. Blue Sky. The name was a memory burnt into my brain from a couple of years ago during a visit; a dry season sunshine and after just visiting the Territory's famous "jumping crocodiles", the song by Electric Light Orchestra seemed perfectly appropriate. Also appropriate was the decision to snaffle a username on the new Blue Sky Social Media platform for the apartment; MrBlueSkyDarwin, a home for the adventures that occur from said home. Of course, LJ/DW remains my primary 'blogging platform, as it has been for over twenty years, as it remains the best for the longer, reflective journal of life.

The actual house-moving itself was a relatively simple and quick affair, helped out by Lara's workmates and Zane, who seriously is the most muscular person I have met in real life. Lara's almost-spartan approach to belongings and many hands made it all very light work, especially given the opportunity to get a few new and larger items delivered. Cocoa the rabbit settled in very quickly and was very pleased with the extra floor space for his domain. Of course, a week in Lara's company inevitably means a few nights out. Not only did I have a wonderful opportunity to catch up with neighbours Jacqueline and Raja at the Cavanagh, but Lara and I also had the opportunity to eat at Moorish (Spanish/Moorocan, really quite flavoursome, lovely setting), and Junoo (cheap and cheerful setting, cheery and friendly food, and absolutely superb, first class, food).

It is, of course, a bittersweet moment to be composing this as I head back to Melbourne. There is some sense of acceptance in my return and even a great deal of desire, for I love old Melbourne town. It has been an excellent week away in the company of my dear friend, even if I did spend the overwhelming majority of time dedicated to work and study duties. Most importantly, I think my assistance at a critical moment has made a dream for Lara come true. That, in itself, brings a reward of great happiness to me and, of course, I will be back as soon as I can.

The past several days have included a few noteworthy China-related events that I have been involved in. The first was a mini-conference and trade delegation from Anhui Province (you know, just sixty million people). The second was a radio interview with 3CR in my role as state president of the Australia-China Friendship Society. The third was attending the launch of (Australia's former ambassador to China) Geoff Raby's latest book "Great Game On: The contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy" and finally, as an upcoming event, the Annual General Meeting this Thursday of the Australia-China Friendship Society, where I am re-nominating as president.

The Anhui conference at Pullman Melbourne On The Park in East Melbourne was attended by roughly 120 people and included various business representatives from the province and Victoria, with a notable presence from various vehicle manufacturers located in Anhui and the Australia China Business Council. I ended up meeting with several representatives from their Department of Culture and Tourism and, knowing just a little about the culture of the area, suggested a dual tour of the Anhui Opera (Hui Opera predates even the Peking Opera) with the Victorian State Opera. That apparently has set tongues a-wagging among both groups (it helps to have contacts), so don't be surprised if I unexpectedly end up adding "International Opera Tour Organiser" in the next year or so.

On Saturday morning, I had a lengthy interview meeting with Jesse Boyd from 3CR, who hosts the Wednesday morning breakfast show which, unsurprisingly, will be broadcast this Wednesday. Without giving too much away, items of discussion included the ACFS, travel to China, their economic successes, especially in poverty alleviation, and the often utterly wrong portrayal and predictions of the country by our capitalist media who, unsurprisingly, don't want anyone to think that their political economy could be a better model in some cases.

Dovetailing quite nicely into this was Geoff Raby's book launch tonight and panel discussion with several academics, hosted by the University of Melbourne and Asialink. With approximately 150 people in attendance, Raby presented a case that Russia and China both had competing strategic interests and a competing history over the central Asia republics ("the 'stans", as they are sometimes called), even if they cooperated in other areas. A political realist and far more knowledgeable than most of our politicians on China matters, Raby presented a very compelling argument. The panel discussion was quite rigorous, with much debate around where Russia and China's relationship sat on the continuum of a "marriage of convenience" and a "marriage of values", a discussion spurred by UNSW Professor Mimi Zou's deft initiation and use of the metaphor.

All of this inevitably leads to some personal reflection. I know that I am in some danger of becoming a bit of a Sinologist despite what I consider a rather modest knowledge of the subject (even my knowledge of the standard Chinese language is only CEFR A2 level on a good day). Of course, there are certain enticements of being present with notable political, cultural, business and academic figures at such events, but after many years of being on the fringes of such things and with a discerning clarity of purpose, I feel rather inoculated from titles and the importance of others. My focus is based on pragmatic realism ("shí shì qiú shì", "seek truth from facts"), that this century is China's century, and no other country on the planet has the capability or interest to provide solutions to the problems of climate change and poverty eradication. Whilst certainly not as hedonistic as other lifestyles, this is living with meaning and intent.

About a month ago, I decided to supplement my long-standing occasional activity as a music reviewer and critic (Metior, The Dwarf, Rocknerd) with actual practice. True, I touched the bass guitar when I was in my early teens, and four years ago, I started an online course from an Augsburg University lecturer. But these ventures were without much enthusiasm. This time however, I have practised daily and have completed the Duolingo Music course. Of course, I have reviewed the course on Rocknerd, doubling with a long-awaited review of Carbon Based Lifeform's studio album, "Seeker" (2023). Further, I have also joined the local Spanish choir "Sonidos del-Alma", courtesy of an old invitation from Liza D; partially because I have this mad idea in my head about taking an extended visit to South America in the latter part of 2025. Unsurprisingly, I've restarted the Augsburg course as well.

The inspiration for all this comes from my dear friend Mel S., who in a past life was the vocalist for the retro synth-pop band "The Greenmatics", with whom I'm forming a collaboration for a somewhat different sound and audience. To further help things on their way a couple of weeks back I attended two events from UniMelb's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, one evening after the other. The first was "The Glory of Venice" with Erica, which covered the Venetian school's polychoral compositions of the late sixteenth century. The second event was "A Touch of the Sacred" with Kayo, which included choral numbers by Bach, Puccini, Mascagni, Schubert, Mozart (Requiem, of course), along with several newer pieces. To add to the story, a few days later Nitul and I attended a performance of Reservoir Dogs in the style of Shakespeare; a clever musical of sorts and in Melbourne's historic Little Theatre.

Apropos, on Saturday, Mel, Erica, and I attended the opening of the City of Merri-Bek's annual Summer Show exhibition, which featured over one hundred visual artists at the Counihan Gallery, and what seemed to be at least five hundred people in attendance. I am unsurprised that at least two people I know (Elif Sezen and Diana Videka) had works displayed, so congratulations to both of you! I know that spending the time to convert a concept to an actual completed piece of work can (and should) take weeks of concerted effort. I am not quite in the right mind to pick up the brush just yet, let alone start a master's in fine arts, but neither is beyond my horizon. In the meantime, it is that famous month for novel writing and I have something quite different brewing in my mind. Dare I write a socially up-to-date version of a second-person multiple storyline romantasy? Of course, I do.

"Fast beat the feet / Fast fall the hands / The pulse is alive / Making me sane / Let your body learn /
Let your body build"

In the past few months, I have shed about 15kg. Back then, I had good reason for a "bon vivant" lifestyle and had become quite lackadaisical in looking after my fitness, and I am aware of how easily I can slip into hedonistic and epicurean pleasures, resulting in the greatest level of chonkiness that I've had for quite a few years. I made a modicum of effort to bring this under control, but it has been in the past month I have imposed a stricter regimen that has become the new normal in my life. Every day I find myself exercising for approximately two hours across the day, a combination of jogging and aerobics in the morning, cycling (Albert Park is particularly pleasant this time of year) in the middle of the day, and weights in the late afternoon. Just to focus my mind even further and suffer some punishment, I have also decided to join a local sǎndǎ (the Chinese equivalent of MMA) group, who surprised me by being quite accepting of my age and size. My objective is still to lose a further 10kg and arc up the rate of my activities; I am, of course, constrained by time. If I do 20km an hour cycling at the moment, I want to be able to do 25km by next month, and so forth. Because incremental gains in life are typical and rapid gains are extraordinarily rare, successful improvements are predicated on dedication.

Naturally enough diet has a big part to play as well, and I've been tracking that very carefully. Metabolism slows down by the mid-twenties, and sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass, begins to occur a few years after that, often increased by changes in lifestyle. Unless one keeps their fitness in at least some semblance of good activity (and I'm very grateful that I had both the ability, mentality, and foresight to do so) by the time a person is in their fifties there will be significant issues with calcium and vitamin D, vitamin B12, etc. As journaled a fortnight ago, I had taken the path of cutting out alcohol for a month and restricting it to once a month after that. This has made a difference as well, and I am slightly surprised by how little I missed it. Tonight, however, is going to be a bit different; I'm pleased to be hosting the "All Saints' Day" cocktail party for residents and friends of two particular households of Stawell Street, Burnley and Rushall Crescent, North Fitzroy from the mid-1990s to early-2000s. Some of the people attending tonight haven't seen each other for thirty years or more, and others have stayed in touch as loyal and true friends.

As Victorian President of the Australia-China Friendship Society it is unsurprising to discover that there are more than a few events to organise and attend under that banner. For what it is worth, my own orientation still tends toward a critical evaluation of that country's political system, which includes recognition of their truly impressive economic success and especially encouragement in their role in developing environmentally beneficial technologies (whilst noting that the country is now the largest producer of greenhouse gases). This aside, there is also the cultural aspects of promoting friendship. For my own part, this includes finishing the heavily revised (it needed it) Duolingo Chinese course this morning. In addition, this Saturday, a small number of from the society and friends will visit the Dai Gum San precinct (museum, gardens, temples, restaurant) and then the historic Bendigo Joss House Temple. Bendigo has a remarkably a rich Chinese history and we're planning on meeting some members of the Bendigo Chinese Association.

A few weeks after that, the society will be hosting its annual dinner at the Red Emperor in Melbourne's Chinatown, and we're hoping to have an announcement of a very special guest speaker in the next few days. Running parallel with this is a sale of a collection donated from the former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Ken Smith, who served in the parliament from 1988 to 2014. A number of items in that catalogue are really quite extraordinary; the riverside rice paper and silk painting that spans over 4 metres in length is an example. There are, of course, a great number of smaller items available as well. Obviously if anyone is interested, the catalogue is available on request. Hopefully, between the dinner and the catalogue the society should generate enough revenue to keep ourselves financially afloat in the coming year.

A number of weeks ago, I finished a draft of the society's website, sticking to the principle that a simple HTML/CSS design is vastly preferable to the previous fashion of database-driven sites (which, I admit, I succumbed to under duress some twenty years ago). Alas, the company that holds our domain has been expensive and without great service to make up for it, so I've arranged for a transfer. Further, a few weeks back, Anthony, Robin, and I met with the director and colleagues from the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne with a view of setting up a prize fund for an appropriate essay. That is, of course, a lumbering process through any bureaucracy, but at least it has been formally initiated. Finally, the national body is already making plans for next year's annual trip in April, which, if I recall correctly, will be the Beijing-Shanghai region - another temptation!

Human beings are social animals. Through shared symbolic values that have mutual understanding, we know collectively far more than any of us as individuals can know. That, more than anything else, is the reason our species has made so many remarkable achievements, as we are able to share facts about the universe. But it is not just across the technological and scientific dimensions that we do this. We also do it with aesthetics, expressing our opinions about art and beauty, and socially, discussing the organisation of our society, its political economy, our laws, and our experiences with other people. There are, of course, pragmatics to consider; one should stick with facts when discussing the truth, stick with justice when discussing rightness, and stick with sincerity when discussing aesthetics. A blue or grey sky is a statement of facts, not morals, and a person who legitimately enjoys wearing a style of clothes that you may find distasteful is committing no moral crime.

I have recently come across a story that illustrates the importance of social reputation. A friend had been in a relationship with a man for about a year. In the course of that year they took under their wing a teenaged woman who had become estranged from their parents, and they sort of become her surrogate parents. The relationship between the couple ended, but they remained friends (of sorts) and continued their existing "parenthood" of the young woman. However, in a moment of great distress, the young woman visited the man who proceeded to ply her with alcohol and, when she was thoroughly inebriated (he didn't touch a drop), dragged her to bed and had his way with her without even the pretence of consent.

Reputation is a gift; it is a gift to society so we may know others and it is a precious gift to an individual not to waste and ruin. A few years back, I gave an address to the local Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, "We Are What We Do" that, among other things, pointed out the relationship between verbs and nouns in our social reputation. If you want to be known as an artist, you have to produce art. If you want to be a scholar, you must study. If you want to be known as a truthful person, you have to speak truthfully and honour your commitments. If you want to be a kind person, then you must help rather than hurt people. It is false to assert a noun ("I am "X'") unless there is a verb ("I do 'y'") to match it. It is useless to complain when others talk about you among themselves when you've hurt one of their circle; the absolute best thing you can do in such circumstances is to show appropriate remorse. And if you don't want to be known as a rapist, don't rape. We are what we do.

On Monday night, I had a lovely evening of dinner at Blondie followed by Unimelb "Jazz and Improvisation Small Ensemble Series" concert in the company of Justine and Simon, who have just returned from an awesome motorcycle-camping trip around Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales, and Kayo. Despite my usual displeasure of jazz, this was more of the relaxed, lounge-jazz variety which is "mostly harmless", and provided the opportunity the youngsters to show off their skills both with shared and in-group solo performances. All in all, I really quite enjoyed the local night out. But it is an act of insanity not to attend such things when living in the art's precinct of the city.

"But wait, did you say Kayo?" Yes, the one and the very same. Close friends will know the deep and tumultuous relationship that I had with said woman with its on-again, off-again status that spanned a few years, driving me to the peak of happiness and to a pit of despair. About a fortnight ago, I suddenly received an email from her after radio silence for twenty months looking for some support and advice on a household matter that was important enough that I just had to respond. Given our history, of course I am cautious, surprised, but also glad to share in an old (spanning two decades) friendship again. Also, I have much better boundaries these days. Finishing a psychology degree helps, of course, but I think the lived experience and reflection of challenging relationships can result in a person coming out more aware of themselves is more important.

As I expressed in a conversation a few days back, unless there is a very good reason (e.g., violence, an egregious breach of trust), I find it difficult to understand why one would cut all ties with a former partner. Surely, if you loved someone once and that characteristic is still present, you have reason to continue that love even if you have both moved on in different directions. Whilst I am not in contact with all my former partners (it is not that many, honest), I am happy to know that the overwhelming majority I can still reach out to and one, at least, my dearest Erica, counts among my closest and most loyal friends, whom I know I can always trust.

If I may give an example and reminisce, decades ago, when we were both first-year university students, I had a short relationship with a woman named Michelle. Young, politically radical, dirt poor, and full of energy, I have to say we formed quite a powerful team, and I will never lose memories of those wild and beautiful days. But we went our separate ways and she ended up moving cities. However, due to the power of the Internet we made contact again in 2016 and now can see how each of us has grown and matured. But as so much of life is deeply unpredictable, I must express that deep combination of solidarity, sadness, and optimism when such an old friend is responding with the grief of losing their partner. Michelle's beautiful words and memories have recently been published. I urge you all to spend a few minutes reading them and reminding yourself how little time we have with each other.

One of the ways that affirmation occurs for those who live by the keyboard is that your essays are read and then circulated. I've had two such experiences recently. The first was my letter to members and associates of the Australia China Friendship Society (ACFS) Victoria on the 75th anniversary of its founding of the People's Republic. Apart from the hundreds of people it is distributed to normally, local members and other state branches have also asked me if they could forward and republish. The second such experience occurred just today when a member of East Timor Women Australia (ETWA) asked if they could republish my review of the Tais Exhibition and Symposium, as it includes a combination of a capsule history, personal experiences, and a review of both events.

If this wasn't enough, I have received similar feedback in recent days from multiple sources concerning three HPC workshops that I ran the week previous which started from the Linux command-line and ended with profiling and debugging MPI code, which is quite a firehose to drink from in three days if you're starting as a newbie. Over the years I have become accustomed to receiving positive feedback from doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from these workshops. After all, when you have complex problems and big datasets being introduced to supercomputing opens your eyes to computational possibilities. However, when such remarks are made by professors and lecturers with years of experience in the HPC world you can be forgiven for thinking that you've done a fairly good job. Apropos, in a few weeks I will be giving a presentation at eResesearch Australasia with the snappy title "The Spartan HPC Story: From Small Scale Experimental to Top500 and Beyond". This is story of a brave little supercomputer that started on sticky-tape and elastic bands and now is one of the most powerful systems in the world.

The third related item is that I've started work on my doctoral studies in climatology and sustainability. Being just a couple of weeks in it is an orientation period where one is introduced to the Euclid University way of doing things, which includes using their preferred tools. Coming from an open-source world it never ceases to surprise me how products like Microsoft Word (for example) are the default; a lot of this of course is because educators themselves teach how to use a tool rather than the underlying principles of learning such tools and then cycle of ignorance continues. For the shell game that is referencing systems, the University prefers Chicago-style referencing with Zotero for tracking (at least that is open-source). In the future, I may get an exemption to use my preference, IEEE style, notable for being spartan in implementation and free from unconscious biases.

Over the past several days I've had multiple opportunities to engage in some significant cross-cultural events. Last week there was two events for Timor-Leste, a country whose experiences have been long close to my heart and mind. The first was the opening of a gallery exhibition at Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, which I attended with Erica H., and the the latter, a follow-on event, a symposium of scholars and activists at the same location, with both being promoted under the same banner of "Tais, Culture, and Resilience", and organised by my good friends and political allies, Deb Salvagno and Clinton Fernandes. With hundreds of people attending both events, it was certainly heart-warming to know that there are still so many ordinary Australians who continue to engage in committed solidarity with this small, impoverished country that successive Australian governments have betrayed with alarming regularity. I have taken the opportunity to write up my thoughts on Timor-Leste, the events, and my own experiences on the Isocracy Network website.

This past week I've been at two events for National Day of the People's Republic of China. The first was a dinner of various community organisations in Victoria where, along with several others, I gave a brief speech in my role as President of the Australia-China Friendship Society. In a more flexible role, I could express how Australia's understanding of China is poor across many metrics (especially compared to the reverse), and how Chinese in Australia have often been subject to incredible levels of racism, and too often expressed in law. The second event, somewhat more formal in presentation, more informal in opportunities to do free networking, was at the Park Hyatt and organised by the Consulate-General in Melbourne which is a pretty nice location. Both, of course, had their range of speeches from various officials, community leaders, and politicians, along with some really impressive entertainers, of which I will make special mention of the dancing snow lions from the Chinese Masonic Society at the first event, and the operatic singer of the national anthems from the second. I will also take this opportunity to suggest that, as a recent visitor, now is perhaps the best opportunity in many years to visit China with flexible visa-free travel; don't miss this chance.