Fish Escape The Net.

I wish that I could escape this net of ill health. I still have not recovered from my long drive to Chicago and court hearing last week. I have been sleeping in and resting up. Tonight I tempted myself to overcome the pain and lethargy and sat up at my desktop computer for a creation session and voilà, Fish Escape The Net. The sound of rain while I worked was comforting.

Later, at my bedside laptop computer, I continued binge-watching Big Brother Australia 2014 on YouTube.com. I would have liked to have gone there in person. The show was interesting if you are convalescing, but I would not want to spend another 56 hours that way, even with "massive" skipping ahead. I learned some Aussie slang. They reassure one another with a playful “tickety-boo”, originally the Hindi expression "tickee बाबु" meaning everything is in good order; fine, Sir. Straight-edge means not consuming alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and other illegal drugs; and not engaging in premarital sex, it also leads to teasing not to be the "fun police". "Slip, Slop, Slap!"* is a cultural meme for all ages.

The Big Brother show goes beyond schadenfreude, into overt sadism. It is heartbreaking to see those healthy, earnest twenty-thirty year-olds put themselves out before cruel cameras in a game where only one wins the fabulous quarter of a million dollar prize. How can I take enjoyment in the troubles, failures, and humiliations of these beautiful young people, especially when the deceitful game seems fixed against them? I could not shake the unpleasant suspicion that the game fix was in down under when a relatively unknown player won.

Like many Americans I have a massive affinity for Australians, without having ever met one. It seems like they have more fun down-under "in the land where women glow and men thunder".

Men At Work - Down Under (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s

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* http://www.sunsmart.com.au/tools/videos/past-tv-campaigns/slip-slop-slap-original-sunsmart-campaign.html

Caption: Fish Escape The Net, by Annmarie Throckmorton 2018.