This will hurt me...

How many hills can one little boy roll down until that little boy tires of rolling down hills?

Michael Myers or Michael Stipe? Sandy Bay Road, the Sandy Bay/ Battery Point border. December 2011. The following poem is just about my favourite very short poem of all. Well, this one and Ezra Pound's The Temperaments . Now I want to know from anyone out there who actually reads poetry, what's your favourite very short poem? Their Sex Life , A.R. Ammons One failure on Top of another

By this point, I'd given up on trying to keep Ezra dry.

Sacred Ground? St David's Cathedral, Macquarie Street, Hobart. December 2011. With the year rapidly coming to a close, I am currently sitting on 96 books read (not counting The first book - History in Practice by Ludmilla Jordanova - is a bit of a deviation from this year’s usual reading list, but I ran out of library books and resorted to digging in the cupboard for something to read. This is firmly in the ‘academic history’ camp, so will not be for everyone’s tastes. However, if you are a bit of a history buff you will surely find something worthwhile. Jordanova explores how the study of history has dramatically altered in recent decades. She does an able job at exploring what historians do, and in particular, why and how there have been such sweeping changes to the discipline. I’d happily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topic. Second up today is Giovanni's Room , James Baldwin's second novel. Typically described as a “homosexual novel”, I think that the m

Oops.

We need to talk. Errol Flynn Reserve, Sandy Bay. November 2011. Theme Thursday again and today we are casting our net to try and find an appropriate EVENT. I considered penning an ode to the fellow who appears to have launched his own Occupy Mayfair Plaza Car Park Toilet protest (fair dinkum, he’s been in there for 45 minutes already), but I’m not sure that it really qualifies as an EVENT until the riot police move in with vicious dogs and capsicum spray). In the past week or so we’ve had World AIDS Day , World Day of Persons with Disabilities and International Volunteers Day ; and immediately looming are Human Rights Day and International Migrants Day . However, as we’re amongst friends we can be frank and admit that these thing lack the pizzazz, zing, zest and a host of other zed words that truly constitutes an EVENT. The upcoming Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe has EVENT potential, but unless a rabid band of Guadalupens are planning to throw that virgin into a throbbingly angry

When climbing on stuff, particularly metal stuff on hard rock stuff, it is best to show caution. Our meat stuff, blood stuff and bone stuff doesn't bounce as much as some of us might like or need.

Looking south. The Derwent Estuary, as viewed from Rosny Hill. October 2011. Watery Wednesday again and what an awful lot of water I have for you today. I took this photograph while precariously perched atop a rock at Rosny Lookout (a lookout with the view almost completely obscured by tight bunches of ugly shrubs). Looking south, you can see Taroona, Kingston and probably Blackmans Bay further down south. Now, locals will tell you that this particular stretch of H²O is called the River Derwent , but I would argue that at this point the Derwent has ceased to be a river and would be more correctly referred to as the Derwent Estuary . Some have claimed that this estuary forms the the deepest sheltered harbour in the Southern Hemisphere, but I’ve been unable to confirm that even using the magic of the Internets. Suffice to say, at this point the water is incredibly deep and unreasonably cold.

At some point my children will tire of climbing through such objects again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Until then...

Dienstag! That means another Q and A stolen from Sunday Stealing. Today we are ripping off a blogger and blog called BlueLifeMemories . Welcome to the Blue Memory Meme, Part One 1) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? "Hello everybody!" 2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Someone with some answers. 3) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Take me to Prague. 4) What do you think about most? I have a tendency to run whatever is on my mind through a whole bunch of lenses. Over and over and over again. 5) You have the opportunity to spend a romantic night with the music celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? "Romantic"? At least it beats the usual "date" question. Oh I don't know. Someone fun. Maybe someone like Pink or Katy Perry. She could bring Elmo. 6) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Some s

I'm thinking of harvesting his eyelashes to sell to one of those millionaire US reality TV people who are prepared to pay the big bucks to look like a star. I reckon that might pay for a boat.

On the way to work. Kirksway Place, as seen from Sandy Bay Road. December 2011. The Internet is a wonderful place filled with the rich and varied treasures of the world holds (and photos of awkward families looking awkward). The following are some things that I've had a look at in the last week. I call this: a Compendium of Click-throughs for Monday Morning... The world is an amazing place. Need Proof? Awkward Family Pet Photos . Here is something that I bet you didn't know: Infants prefer a nasty moose if it punishes an unhelpful elephant . Follow the toads! New research may well help establish how animals predict earthquakes ... A good example of public policy gone bad over in Hungary. A late nomination for headline of the year (and further proof that ornithologists love to 'do it' in the bushes): Great Tits give insight into personality. On more serious matters, Tyler Cowen offers a really good exploration of the European debt crisis . Well worth five minutes of you

This is a pencil sharpener. German engineering. Fünfzig Bleistifte in 20 Sekunden. Two holes. Ein Paradigmenwechsel in der Zeichnung Technologie. Be afraid.

Boats, you say... No. I can't say we have any of those around here. Sandy Bay Yacht Club, Sandy Bay. November 2011. Cripes! Not only is it Sunday already, 2011 is nearly finished! Sunday Top Five? Hmmmm... Let me think about it. ... ... ... Okay... Okay, how about ' My Top Five (In No Particular Order) Shades Of Green! '? Sea green Office green Hunter green Fern green Bottle green