Blame Stephen : Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?

September 30, 2016 / No Comments / Posted in: News

 

Half of you reading this have come here because you’re curious to see what I think on the topic of same-sex marriage. The other half, you’re at your desk or holding your phones, hands jittery, already itching to reply and tell me I’m wrong … that same-sex marriage is wrong. Wrong, wrong, fucking wrong!! You probably don’t even have an argument, other than saying … “it’s wrong.”

 

Well, I’m about to tell everyone the two reasons why it isn’t wrong. I’m going to explain two incredibly simplistic reasons why we should embrace it. Are you ready for this? Hold onto your seats and prepare to have your mind blown!

 

Wow … that might be building things up a little too much … anyway, here we go.

 

Reason #1   Economic Growth

 

What the Fuck am I on about!?

 

Yeah I know. It’s not the reason you were expecting, but hear me out. We, especially here in my home state of Tasmania, could really do with extra growth in our economy. Tassie is doing is pretty tough and has done for decades, so why not find a simple solution to throw extra dollars into the market.

 

 

The average cost for a wedding in 2012 was $36,200. Holy Shit-Balls, Batman!! Now I know you’re reading this and saying, “Troy. You’re full of shit. My wedding didn’t cost that much,” but remember this is an average cost. So … some only costed out at thousands, while others were in the hundreds of thousands. Also, that average would now, four years later, will be thousands higher than that figure.

 

Imagine for a moment, how many same-sex couples want to get married. Census information from 2011 tells us that there were 33,700 same-sex couples in Australia (I’m sure that numbers has increased significantly as we now live in a more accepting age and I’m sure many people weren’t comfortable admitting that information). Not everyone wants to get married, obviously, so how about if just 6,000 couples would get married if they were legally able to. That’s a low number, but fair for this discussion.

 

6,000 x $36,000 =  $217,200,000 … yep … that’s over  TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS being spent locally on venue hire, caterers, musicians, florists, decorators, alcohol, churches, celebrants, accommodation and more. And this aren’t things you order online so nearly all the money will be spent with local people who NEED the business.

 

 

And that figure doesn’t even include the engagement or wedding rings. So, let’s be realistic, and say that all the rings come to a total of $2000 for each couple. That’s 10,000,000. Another ten million!!

 

Then, and here’s the kicker, if the government decides to legalise it instead of spending (wasting) a quoted $160,000,000 on a plebiscite, not only do we gain close to quarter of a million dollars of local spending, we also save a hundred and sixty million that can be better spent on more important things such as health and education.

 

Plus, with the rate of divorce these days, imagine how much extra money lawyers will make. They must be secretly hoping for same-sex marriage more than gay couples.

 

If I had a mic right now I’d drop it and leave the stage. BOOM!!! But I’m at a laptop and not onstage so let’s just move on, shall we.

 

Legalising Same Sex marriage is financially smart for Australia!

 

Reason #2    The World Needs More Love

 

How simple is that? And guess what … you can’t argue it, can you? Not with any actual valid points, that is.

 

Humans aren’t the smartest creatures at times, but one thing we do well is we learn and change and grow, looking towards a better future for us and the generations to come. History is littered with terrible mistakes and we can’t escape that, we can only be better going forward.

 

It was that long ago that there was slavery.

 

Woman couldn’t vote and stayed at home looking after the children and the kitchen was their place.

 

Girls couldn’t play cricket or football.

 

Having black skin made you a lesser being (there’s still a long way to go there).

 

Only men held high paying or important jobs.

 

Same-sex couples couldn’t marry.

 

Oh, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself there. Same-sex couples still can’t be married, though the thought seems as archaic as the others listed.

 

If you want blatant proof of how quickly the world changes around us, this is what a standard vagina looked like in the 80s …

 

 

This is what your everyday vagina looks like now.

 

 

Okay … not the best representation, but you get the point.

 

Seriously, we live in world that has come so far, but still has a very long way to go. There’s so much pain and segregation and war and hate and a little bit of love can’t be a bad thing, can it?

 

 

Now … I’m a 43 year old, divorced, straight, white guy. What the hell do I really know about marriage equality? To be completely honest with you, I don’t understand why people are against it, other than the fact that they just don’t like change. From a religious point of view, I was married next to a beach and God wasn’t mentioned once so it’s no longer a religious ceremony, which means that argument is void … and most of religious history is fiction anyway (waits for religious friends to text me).

 

I don’t believe same-sex couples want to steal anything from us. They just want their relationships to be as relevant as others – it’s like wanting to be able to vote. Until that happens we are judging same-sex relationships are second-class and not equal. A friend recently said to me that it wasn’t right for same-sex couples to be able to marry because they can bring up children who will only see a gay environment and be swayed that way. Anyone who thinks this is a valid argument for not legalising same-sex marriage obviously has no idea of how world-wise children are now. Kids know more, are able to discover more information than ever before, and are more acceptable of people than you or I will ever be.

 

And here’s one more thing for you … gay couples are already having sex with their two penises or their two vaginas and doing cute relationship things around you all the time anyway and have been for decades. They are in the house next to you, sitting in the next row in the cinema, snuggled up on the couch watching TV, holding hands and walking on the beach, making out in clubs, eating dinner across from you in your favourite restaurant, and doing anything else that you normally do. Why? Because … now keep this a secret because we don’t want everyone to know … because they’re just the same as you.

 

The world needs positive energy. Love all people, no matter what sexual orientation, religious belief, gender, or race.

 

Let love win.

 

After all … what can go wrong? It’s not like men and women living together and getting married works out perfectly.

 

 

Writing Horror. The Past, the Present, the Future!

May 9, 2015 / No Comments / Posted in: News

The grey sky is melting and dripping over everything outside so it’s a perfect day to sit at my laptop, a lone warrior with a keyboard for a weapon.

Before I jump violently into a full afternoon of writing, I’m re-reading the last few thousand words of Deadlight – Part 2, the current WIP (work in progress), to let it all flow back in, while listening to a new band for the first time.

They’re called Starset. If you’re a fan of bands like 30 Seconds to Mars and Breaking Benjamin, I’d really recommend you have a listen. A friend in the USA, unfortunately so far away, recommended them to me when I posted on Facebook that I was listening to another band called Seether. I find so much inspiration for my writing when I listen to music. Music is emotion. It grabs what’s inside and directs you to where you need to be. Anyway, check out Starset. I’m liking the hell out of their debut album, Transmissions.

 

In regards to the current writing project, I need to punch out 4,500 words over today and tomorrow to reach my target of 20,000 words in total by Sunday night. Then the plan is to smash out 10,000 words a week for the next 6 weeks. I’ll then have roughly 80,000 words, the first complete draft of Deadlight – Part 2 by the end of June. It’s a big task, considering I work during the day and write of a night, but I’m motivated right now so I’m going to grab that box with motivation written on it and abuse it as much as I can.

Once the draft is done, I’ll possibly get really drunk to celebrate I’ll definitely get really drunk!

Then the draft will be set aside for a few weeks so I can come back at it with a fresh mind, ready to re-write complete sections, rip others to shreds in disgust, and if I’m lucky, wonder if it was really me that wrote the awesome parts.

While this break is in motion I’ll be appearing at Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne on June 27 & 28. Supanova in April was fantastic and I’m super keen to see how Comic-Con goes. Hopefully I’ll sell a bundle of books, meet some awesome people, and have a fantastic trip.

The plan after Deadlight – Part 2 is written and sent off to be edited?

Well … I really want to put time and energy into bringing out my first anthology. I’ve been playing around with this idea for years now and I really want to bring it out of the wilderness so others can see it.

It will include most of the 8 stories that appeared in various anthologies in the USA, unless I despise them so much now and want to burn them all in a moment of crazy depression. Nearly all were created before Deadlight was released and will be re-written to a better standard. Some of those tales are set in Raven Beach where my second novel, Monochromacy, is based. Raven Beach is, of course, based on my home town of Penguin, so that’s a barrel of blood-soaked fun right there!

I may include a few small poems that were put to paper years ago. I don’t think they are very good, to be honest, but readers seem to like that dark space inside me let loose in a few short words. No concrete decision has been made on this yet. Watch this space! Haha.

And there will be a bunch of new stuff. I keep a files full of ideas that just come to me from time to time. They range from outright gruesome, to terribly violent and horrific, to strangely sexual and bizarre, to just plain wrong! But they want to be brought to life.

The working title for this anthology is Fictional Therapy. Because all of us, at some time or another, need it.

But for now …

I need to go … Sarah is driving an old Volkswagen beetle down a lone highway in search of a deserted carnival in a town she never knew existed. Some things should remain hidden, but they never do.

Till next time, never be afraid of the nightmares in your head because they’re part of you.

Death is too Polite : Blame Stephen

February 11, 2015 / 8 Comments / Posted in: News

I decided to start a blog and really push the usage of my website. Other than for book orders, the site gets lonely. It, understandably, craves attention. And I realised that if I’m going to release these entries into the online wild, they need to provoke something in people and not be as boring as a week-old loaf of bread. They need to make people think for a moment, be angry or sad, or maybe make them just want to tell me I have no idea what I’m talking about. Any response is worthwhile.

So with all that in mind I have no choice but to rant about something that niggles the hell out of me.

 

THE WAY PEOPLE REACT TO DEATH

 

If, via Facebook, a news/media outlet reports the death of someone in, for example, a car accident, we all think it’s a terrible thing. Death sucks and it’s dreadful, no matter how or when it happens.

 

But then what happens?

 

All these online followers of this page who don’t know these people or their families, or in many cases, don’t even live within 100kms of the deceased, start leaving the stock-standard messages that serve no purpose, other than to increase the Facebook stats of the particular media page you follow.

 

“R.I.P” or “My thoughts are with the family” or “What a terrible waste of life.” And my personal favourite … “Such an attractive girl didn’t deserve to die so young.” (Why does how good-looking you are make your death more important, for fuck sake!!)

 

Now … right at this very moment you are thinking that I’m a heartless beast of a man who, obviously, doesn’t care for other people. Guess what? You’re wrong. I’m an incredibly sensitive guy. I even watched The Notebook … liked it quite a lot … and cried at the end.

That makes me compassionate, doesn’t it?

 

So where am I going with all this? It’s simple. These messages are a complete waste of time and for some bizarre reason, you are only writing them there because you feel like you should. You feel like it’s the ‘right thing to do’ … or you want to be seen as ‘human’ in the eyes of others.

Well, here’s the truth of it all. It means JACK SHIT if you didn’t know the person involved or the family. It’s a waste of time. And if you do it just because it makes ‘you’ feel better about the bad things in the world around you … then stop that too, because it won’t change anything. Nothing!

 

Now while we’re on the topic of how we react to death, here’s an interesting point to leave it on.

There is a great movie called St. Vincent starring the amazing acting talent that is Bill Murray.

(SPOILER ALERT) His wife has recently died in the movie and the young boy from next door just finds out and has a short conversation with him out the front of his house. It’s a great moment and it makes you realise that we say things because we think we should, instead of saying the things that mean something.

Young Boy : “I’m sorry, Vin, for your loss.”

Vincent :       “Never understood why people say that.

Young Boy : “They don’t know what else to say.”

Vincent :       “How about … What was she like? Do you miss her?  … What are you gonna do now?”

 

As always, if you don’t like what I’ve said, let me know … but in the end remember that the only thing you can really do is … Blame Stephen!