Nike+ Human Race 10km

Believing that I was made purposefully, I know I'm too skinny to be a sprinter and not skinny enough to be a marathoner. My body, therefore, was built somewhere in between and 10km (for running) seems to be my perfect distance.

Today I raced the Nike+ 10km Human Race. Amongst a sea of red shirts (quite literally) and with the likes of Craig Mottram competing, I set myself the goal of 45min (of 4.5min/km).

It was a beautiful, cool but not cold Melbourne morning for the race - perfect conditions in my book. The course straddled the botanical gardens and rose through the CBD and then around the Fitzroy Gardens before finishing back at the Myer Music Bowl. Two major hills were
present, first at Anderson Street on the Botanical Gardens then at Russell Street in the City. I enjoyed the course, although it was a bit congested at points.

One of the worst things one can do when racing is compete with others. This may seem a bit backwards because isn't the point of racing competing against others? I believe if you racing to compete, you will always be disappointed - particularly in events where there are thousands of people running, and hundreds passing you up. If you run for self-gratification, which, in itself is a more ego-centric motivation, you will never be disappointed unless you disappoint yourself (e.g., not give it your best shot).

Today was the first race I did without my iPod and this, surprisingly, encouraged me compete against the masses. I was so focused on my position and who was passing me and who I was passing, I forgot to listen to my own body in the first few kilometers. By the fifth kilometer I realised this and began ignoring those around my and trying to detach myself from the crowd. Needless to say, next time I will race with my iPod which help me ignore those around me.

I have a great run and, now, sitting at home, I realise I could have pushed myself a bit harder but nonetheless I am happy with the result. The next challenge is the Melbourne Marathon (42km) in early October and the 210km Around the Bay Cycling Race the following week (which I might do twice if I'm feeling insane enough). 

The Journal Jurisprudence

The 1st Edition of the Journal Jurisprudence goes on sale next week. Plenty of orders have already come to Elias Clark Group, our publishers.

You can pre-order it for the low, low price of $40 from amazon.com - see, The Journal Jurisprudence at Amazon.com

My other books Special Protections and The Art of Time are also available from amazon. 



Books by Aron Ping D'Souza

Target

So its a bit crazy, but it seems like Target (the department store) is now stocking my second book Special Protections: The Ethics of Copyright and Aboriginal Iconography.

See, http://www.target.com/Special-Protections-Copyright-Aboriginal-Iconography/dp/0980522412

Herald Sun Comments

In reply to my contentious article about Alan Moss in the Herald Sun
a few months ago, some colourful replies were printed.

As long as there are people on this planet who are homeless, starving
or suffering from preventable or curable diseases, I'll never be
convinced that anyone deserves $80 million.
Aron D'Souza (``Moss is worth every cent'', May 26), it's a matter of
ethics, not rocket science, or even ``jurisprudential forecasting'',
whatever that is.

John Howes, Geelong West

Aron D'Souza (``Moss is worth every cent'', May 26) suggests CEOs
have skills that the average person doesn't. Hasn't he heard of HIH,
OneTel or the sub-prime crisis? Those skills seemed to be limited to
sacking people, increasing fees or losing investors' money.

Ray Lawson, South Melbourne

Aron D'Souza (``Moss is worth every cent'', May 26) should add
politics to his studies. He would then be able to recognise the
social Darwinism that his view represents.

Colin Hayes, Williamstown

To the surprise of most, I am an artist. Don't let the math in The Art of Time or the utilitarianism of my politics fool you, I have a serious artistic inclination and, for much of my life, it was manifested through film.


However, like most artists, I don't tend to like watching my own films. I've made about thirty films, on formats ranging from S-VHS or IMAX, and after their initial distribution runs, they are contemned to storage under lock and key. I must that I don't particularly like any of my films, with one exception, which I am happy to share with the world on YouTube.


"The Dream" is a epic visual poem, so to speak. It tells the story of the American civil rights era through visual montage inspired by Sergi Eisenstein. It runs for about eight minutes and was originally mastered on the awesome IMAX format. Much of the colouring was done by hand and numerous pieces of software were developed to achieve visual effects of the film. Mostly, I must say, the lasting legacy of my film career is of technical innovation rather than as a storyteller. "The Dream" is a testament to that technical prowess.

New Books

I have recently authored two books and both are available for purchase.

Special Protections: The Ethics of Copyright and Aboriginal Iconography.... the title is pretty self-explanatory. 408 pages on the ethics of copyright and aboriginal artwork, with a strong law reform bent. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/Special-Protections-Copyright-Aboriginal-Iconography/dp/0980522412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217555630&sr=1-1

The Art of Time: Toward a Fundamental Grammar of the Cinematic applies theories of information to cinema to create a mathematical mode of analysis. Second edition. Available at http://www.amazon.com/Art-Time-Fundamental-Grammar-Cinematic/dp/0980522404/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217554737&sr=8-2