thomasgleeson.com

Frank is a middle-aged man with few things to live for. He lives in a dank, dreary flat in a part of the city that no one visits. He lives alone, no family, his only relatives are his successful brothers who, at best, send him a Christmas text every year. His job, if you can call it that, is in a low-life hole of a business washing other people’s garments for little pay, little satisfaction and no recognition. A life that fills no need, holds no worth, and to the majority of society, the disappearance of such an individual would be a mere flicker in the furnace of their hectic lives. Such a man as this requires something special to go on, and what it that ingredient to persistence, the cure to pessimism? Such a question can only be satisfied by the words of the beholder, only one in Frank’s position can answer that. As for me, an outsider looking on, I have little more insight than any other person. But the important thing is that there is an answer, there is something that can give you a spark of brilliance in a place of despair, some idea or philosophy that can provide someone with (seemingly) very little to live for, the cause and means to persist. As for Frank, he ended up owning that very hole of a business which he slaved away in. His life improved, so insignificantly to the rest of us, but for him, life was worthy. I guess the point I’m trying to make with this cliche of a fictional tale is that there is always hope, there is always a way out, even in the darkest and most evil corners of one’s mind, a solution is possible. However, the one common factor in all this, something that no one should hide away for too long, are those timeless values of hope, optimism, creativity. When you have the reins of these under control, life will open up, and you will find that there is nothing, nothing that can stop you…

“Giving a shit“. We all do it. And just to clear it up for all of them smart arses (namely Dec-os), I mean caring about stuff, not being generous with one’s feces .

So, why must we care? We must care because it is in our material, vain and commercialised nature to care about way too may things. I am not an exception to the curse of caring, I am perhaps it’s worst victim yet… actually probably not… but still, everyone suffers from it in one form or another. We care about what we wear, how we look ( primarily ), who we are friends with, how we act, what we’ve done, who we are. Basically everything there is to care about is stressed over. Now, when I say ‘care about’ I don’t mean needs and necessities, but I am specifically targeting the material mindset which is inhabiting much of teen mankind. It is the founder of conditions like anorexia, bulemia, depression and self-harm. Giving a shit can be really fucked up.

But. If we never cared for anything then where would we find ourselves, as a race, as a planet? If Aristotle never cared for the stars and planets moving around the night sky, if Rosa Parkes just accepted that her people were being treated like 2nd class citizens, if Dean Power and Michelle Gleeson were inert to the shortcomings and overall unfitting reality that we were living at our old town, where would we stand. You see my friend, caring about what you do and say and think is as fulfilling as it is draining. It is the instigator to change, the catalyst to thought, and the domineering trait of mankind.

If I want to say anything in this useless babble it’s this. Caring about yourself is important. Caring about your family and friends maintains healthy bonds. But you, as a perfect unique individual, need to remember that not everything that is said, done, or thought is worth caring about. If someone you hardly know or who isn’t worth knowing says something you may not agree with, you need to make a decision right away about whether you are going to care about that or just let it go. Sometimes it is better to let things pass you by, just as a certain Bobby McFerrin put it, “Don’t worry, Be Happy Now”.

Peace. Yew.

What? Oh so you want a new post? Fair enough. Well I’ll do my best…

So we all make decisions right? Sometimes you make conscious decisions and sometimes you make unconscious decisions. We make big decisions and little decisions, decisions we regret and decisions we are grateful for. But my point is that there’s always a different outcome for every choice we make, and it will play such a significant role in our live. For instance, choosing subjects for one’s senior years at high school. Whilst we like to think that we can still do this as a career even if we don’t take that subject (which is perfectly possible), it is more often the case that your decision will affect every aspect of your life, least of all your future career(s).

How are we supposed to make the best, most right decision for us? Well I guess it would start with being aware of what you want out of your life’s experiences, what you value, and just being confident of you and who you are. Each path we choose leads on to another ( my english class mates will know what I’m talking about). But all-in-all, just do your best to make decisions that, when your sitting in your space-age rocking age some 60 years in the future, you won’t look back on and regret.

Tomm Gleeson, signing out…peace. yew.

Yo homies, How have you been??

Life’s been pretty crazy of late,  having to find a new house, which is ever so upsetting, if you knew how magical my house is you’d empathise somewhat with me. So those two aspects of life have provided our family with considerable worry and effort for which I hope we will emerge stronger and wiser people. Some consolation, for me anyway, is the situation at school. School is going well at the moment. Since the start of the year, when I felt like an outcast on a foreign planet, things have sprouted.  I just wanted to say that Daniel Lamb (a fellow peer at my school) is a very dedicated promoter of the ever-growing thomasgleeson.com. I would like to thank him, and of course anyone that’s reading this for checking it out.I’m sorry for not posting more interesting pages, but its not one of the things that is of high priority to me at the moment.

Anyway, I have since got another job at a local cafe called “The Urban”. It is, quite simply, the bomb. Cafe’s are probably one of the coolest places to work, especially in this area, because you meet so many cool people from around Byron and the world. I recommend to any young people who wish to improve their social skills, and dip their toe into the world of work in general, to work at a cafe.
The music scene has been pretty happenin’ of late. Last Thursday night I attended my first ever hardcore/punk show. It was an experience worth experiencing, but maybe not on a Thursday night (so tired). I know that there’s a lot of people out there that have some musical objection to the so-called ‘heavy crap’. But in my opinion, everything deserves a try. I was one of the most scrutinising individuals when it came to the genre of music. However, thanks to some wise guidance from some very ‘in the know’ people, I have hooked myself up with some good HP (Hardcore/Punk) music. And, most importantly, I like it.

Now my point isn’t to try to convert you to listening to any particular style or band in general, because I love people having their own beliefs, their own styles and their own way of seeing things. The moral of this story is to convey the simple message that is, to give everything a try.

Thankyou and Good Night.

P.S. Foosa!!!

P.P.S Xavier Rudd is actually Kevin’s mum’s friend’s daughter’s ex-boyfriends gay lover… just to clear it up.

There are approximately 700 thousand canola seeds that go into the average tub of margerine

Tom vs Tomm

Originally uploaded by tom.gleeson

The New Hit Online Comic: “Tom vs Tomm”

Tom is quietly reading a book about how to make shoelaces when he thinks he hears something outside his window. At a glance he doesn’t see anything but then he see his arch-nemesis, Tomm!

Who will win the epic battle, find out in the nest issue of “Tom vs Tomm”!

Hello everyone, first of all, I would like to apologise for the slackness of my posts, I mean it has been nearly three months now and if your still there then you have passed my test, and are a life time member of the thomasgleeson.com fanclub (if that’s any consolation). Well I guess I’ve got a fair bit to catch up on… Since my last post my friend Kate and I went to the Blues Fest. We spent about eight hours standing in the mosh pit, and I was sure that I was going to faint during Missy Higgin’s performance. Overall it was an awesome experience, I firmly enjoyed myself and I think Kate did too.  And since then life has been just great. So yeah, I just wanted to say hey to all my fans out there, Kate, Daniel Lamb, Declan, and the whole Monto High crew, you guys rock. I’m so tired now but I will return to write a more fulfilling and meaningful blog, or I won’t write anything for another three months, oh the suspense! Stay cool people, tomm.

TomKateDay1

Originally uploaded by tom.gleeson

Today begun the adventures of “Kate Week”. My good friend, whom I’ve known since baptism 1n 1993, has come down for a visit at my family’s humble abode. We met her at the Byron Bay bus stop, and followed it immediately by a trip to Organic Doughnuts, and they were positively organically b-e-a-utiful. I was seemingly impressed at how well Kate was dressed, not to imply that she doesn’t dress well all of the time, but in comparison to my daggy t-shirt and shorts, she looked positively fashionable. After the organic/orgasmic doughnuts, it was shopping time. I thought that maybe we would just do a little bit of retail therapy, just to show Kate around Byron and stuff but, oh no, I did not know what I was getting myself into. It was a lot of fun, and we got some cool clothes and wrist-bands along the way, but I just had to sit down before I fell down, so I suggested a movie, and Slumdog Millionaire was the lucky winner. It’s a great movie, it really presents India in a way that isn’t all dance and song and falling in love…but it did have a bit of that too. So that was fun, but we were both feelin’ pretty freakin tired, so we hit up some red Bull, now that’s the shit to get you awake, if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be writing this blog entry. We basicly did the whole of the retail Byron in one day, and it was…exhausting. But, surprise surprise, Kate was still going strong, and eager to go out to see some live gigs, which never happened. The end.

Dooble

Originally uploaded by tom.gleeson

Hello everyone, this somewhat strange little character seemed to just pop into my mind one day whilst I was drawing, and I simply wanted to share it with you. What do you think? Cheers, tom.m.g

Imagination can be drawn

Art, music, culture, life… they all seem to go hand-in-hand. But what is art today? In my opinion, there is no clear definition of art. It seems that anything can be art, and I’m not trying to be detrimental towards art, I’m simply confronting an issue, or rather a query, that has been evident to me for some time. I think that there are more varieties of art and artists than there are varieties of people in general. Everyone can create some artistic expression, and it doesn’t have to be through a pencil and paper, for instance.

And now we come to why I am in love with what art has become, art in it’s true and wholesome self, has become the most malleable, the most acceptable and the most adaptable thing that we have in our possession. Sure there are other things that have the same elements, such as our opinion, our personality and our imaginati0n, but art is more than these, art is the physical representation of all of those perspectives poured out into something that can be appreciated, respected and economically assisting.

I feel as if I can only delve into the shallow end of “Art”, after all, I could blabber on with this stuff for an age, mentioning how art allows individuals to express themselves and yarda yarda yarda… But my message is that, in essence,  art is a wonderful thing. Everyone should have their own attempts at an artistic piece, I mean, you have to start out somewhere, I’m sure that Picasso would’ve done his fair-share of crap doodles, so-to-speak, prior to his masterpieces. I love art, and I hope that, perhaps, you will try some for yourself, and if you already are, kudos dude-os. Thanks for tunin’ in, tom.m.g

The Inconspicuous Truth.

Well, ladies and gents, it is that fateful time for another update from the whimsical life of Master Thomas Gleeson. Let’s venture into a clearly controversial issue, school. I attend school, as a matter of fact! Byron High School in truth, and considering my last school was only 150 students, it seemed like a whole new world. School is such a complex place, it’s full of every kind of person, and each one is different. However in saying that, although it is completely true that everyone is different, there is always one or even two groups that dominate the school’s culture.

It is the old cliche of having the “popular group”, the nerd group, the reject group and so on and so forth. And so, with all of these teachers, parents and mentors telling their respective children, “just be yourself, just be you and you will be accepted”, we think, “Well, maybe it will work.” It may well come true, you dare to step out and be yourself, with no regard to those that think little of you, and you become a true individual. However, it’s not the way for some of us. Some people, like myself in some instances, struggle to behave in a way that is truly ‘them’. It has all to do with self-confidence, and some people can just go to a completely new place, and have a profound affect on the people there. But other’s struggle. It’s the constant dilemma faced with being accepted.

In the end, above all material possessions and all quests for power and knowledge, people just want to be accepted. I don’t want this to be the kind of article that invokes a feeling that if your not already accepted for who you are, you will never be. I want to try to communicate the opinion that everyone is in the same boat, everyone is trying to be accepted by someone else, and that once you find someone that accepts you, the real you, that will be the best moment of your day. Luck and best wishes, tom.m.g