Through The Lens: Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium

View of Brisbane City from the Gardens

Crematorium Building, reliefs by Daphne Mayo

Crematorium Building

Fountain and memorials

Colombarium

More information: A burning issue: Queensland's first crematorium (State Library Queensland), Local Heritage Places: Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium (Brisbane City Council)

A Moderately Granola Goth's guide to Consumerism

I've been reading 'Goth: A History' by Lol Tolhurst recently, and it has prompted me to reflect a lot on the origins of Goth. At it's heart, Goth is a subculture that emerged from punk in the earlier days, so it's no surprise that anti-consumerism is a part of this. Anti-consumerism is closely linked from a perspective of Goth as a music-based subculture, but not always as much for those who perceive Goth as merely a fashion choice. This feels important to acknowledge, at least in passing.

While I wouldn't call myself an anti-consumerist, I do fall somewhere in what I would call the moderately granola camp - a term stolen from subreddit community /r/moderatelygranolamoms. Being raised in rural New Zealand in the 1990s in an environment away from the instant gratification of shops, among other things, is likely somewhat related. 

To be moderately granola is to be crunchy, and to accept mild inconvenience or higher monetary cost in order to reap other benefits, such as for the environment or our health.

"living in a way that shows you care about the environment and have generally liberal opinions"

Our collective culture and consciousness is often based in our identity being linked to the things we own, and with advertising being unavoidable it takes a conscious effort to step away from a way of living where we derive satisfaction from buying new items. I'm not claiming that we can entirely avoid this, but it doesn't meant we cannot try to find a better balance with our own consumerism - to be more ethical, lessen our environmental impact.

My offering to the internet void today is my humble opinion on a few ways to do consumerism in a slightly less detrimental way. 

A Moderately Granola Goth's guide to Consumerism

Support Local Businesses. Not franchises, ideally. Genuinely small, family-owned businesses. I've seen too many independent coffee shops disappear from my suburb and surrounds. With the concept of a third place seemingly dissolving more each year, I go out of my way to frequent my local café. 

Buy seeds to grow herbs or vegetables. This is one of the most rewarding things I have done this year. I companion planted basil and marigold seeds, not expecting anything to grow at all as I'm a beginner gardener. After a couple of months, the basil is thriving and the marigolds are flowering. I purchased seeds from The Seed Collection, and for 4 packets of seeds and $3.00 shipping it was a grand total of $9.00. It's still a purchase, yes - but it's a more sustainable, slower mode of consumerism. 

Library books. Books. Books that are free. Books that you can give back so they don't take up space in your house permanently. I must admit, I do wipe the books down when I receive them. I'm not sure if the library does that, but it feels like the right thing to do. I don't mind though, because it's free. I hadn't been to the library for a decade or so, and finally got a new library card this year. The process was easy and you can also loan audiobooks through the Libby app. See Brisbane City Council or your local Council if you're outside of the BCC area.

Bandcamp. I'm not anti-Spotify. In fact, I adore Spotify as a product and it's one of the few subscriptions I would gladly pay for until I die. However, it's not the best platform to support artists directly. I find that most of the artists I listen to also have a Bandcamp page, and Bandcamp passes on a larger share of revenue to them. Artists often have a variety of merch, CDs, vinyls, and digital downloads. Occasionally I see cassette tapes too. My most recent Bandcamp purchase was from Minuit Machine. There are likely vinyls from Switchblade Symphony, Ash Code and Bragolin in my future too. Aside from the benefit of supporting artists directly, I have an irrational fear of losing albums I love to the digital abyss if, for some reason, the songs get taken down from Spotify (it wouldn't be the first time).

Small events. This one is pretty simple, but events like local music events or comedy festivals help to support musicians and comedians. If you're reading this, you're likely more interested in alternative events, which have the benefit of being smaller - at least in Brisbane. Some of the best shows I've been to have been at tiny music venues. I'd recommend checking out Black Bear Lodge for less mainstream music genres and an intimate setting for shows.

Support your local hairdressing school. I only recommend this for brave and dedicated souls who are willing to sacrifice their hair for the greater good of your bank account, punk rock and also, learning (mostly the learning of others, but you might learn something too, who knows). I mostly do it for my bank account, because $80 - $100 is a lot for a women's haircut. Hair is dead, right? Anyway, $28 seems a lot more reasonable, and that's how much I paid last time. The customer who had been before me was crying, and warned me not to let them touch my hair. I say feel the fear and do it anyway.

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