You specialize in something until one day you find it is specializing in you.

Not that my children have (wisely) embraced Australian Rules Football and the mighty Essendon Bombers, Henry and I have been working very hard on his fundamentals. His endurance and speed is top notch and while his handballing needs a bit of work, it is not bad for a fellow of his age. He's getting the hang of keeping his eyes on the ball and is thus improving his marking in leaps and bounds. On that, he has a fair bit of spring in his step, so his leaps and bounds are very strong.

Where he lets himself down is in the kicking department. He reminds me a little of Michael Symons, poor technique and prone to rush it. Next stop, electrodes.

I would sooner be broken on its wheel and buried in its barrow.

Nature and industry co-exist. The view north-west from Natone Hill, Lindisfarne. June 2012.

When the World discovered The Beatles, for a time it seemed that all things Liverpudlian was considered cool. This extended (amazingly, really) to poets. Even though Adrian Mitchell wasn't actually from Liverpool, he was someone tagged
with the 'Mersey Poet' label because he shared many of their key themes and concerns. I'm something of a fan of Mitchell, and can't help agree with his summation on the state of modern poetry in the eyes of the public, "Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people." I like this one about protecting one's wheelbarrow. However, I am torn between 5 and 9 as the best retort. I've been waiting nigh on thirty years to use one of these...

Ten Ways to Avoid Lending Your Wheelbarrow to Anybody, Adrian Mitchell

1 PATRIOTIC

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
I didn't lay down my life in World War II
so that you could borrow my wheelbarrow.

2 SNOBBISH

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
Unfortunately Lord Goodman is using it.

3 OVERWEENING

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
It is too mighty a conveyance to be wielded
by any mortal save myself.

4 PIOUS

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
My wheelbarrow is reserved for religious ceremonies.

5 MELODRAMATIC

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
I would sooner be broken on its wheel
and buried in its barrow.

6 PATHETIC

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
I am dying of schizophrenia
and all you can talk about is wheelbarrows.

7 DEFENSIVE

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
Do you think I'm made of wheelbarrows?

8 SINISTER

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
It is full of blood.

9 LECHEROUS

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
Only if I can fuck your wife in it.

10 PHILOSOPHICAL

May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
What is a wheelbarrow?

It is not down in any map; true places never are.

That's right, the lads and I took a road so less travelled that the map provided doesn't even work any more!

A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.

Public art or graffiti? Does it matter? In the lane-way off 99 Bathurst Street, Hobart. May 2012.

Here's a book review. The Battle for History: Re-fighting World War II, essentially an extended literature review on the subject by British military historian John Keegan. Give that well over half a century has passed since the end of World War II; it strikes many as surprising that historians are still struggling to define it. I’m not sure why people are all that surprised, given the infinite angles and interpretations that can be applied to the events of the period (especially when one considers the ways in which the world was irrevocably altered).

In assessing the general histories, Keegan manages to illustrate the extent to which our past – including how we think about it, interpret it and define it – dictates our present. Each chapter covers separate approaches to the topic, including overall histories of the war, biographies, distinct campaigns, the intelligence war, logistics, and resistance. The book opens with an overview and discussion of how some of the war's main controversies have influenced the histories (i.e. strategic bombing; the use of nuclear weapons on Japan; the Allies’ failure to act on knowledge of German death camps; the withholding of intelligence for broader strategic aims; and the realpolitik that occurs during wartime).

This isn’t the perfect text. It limits itself to English-language books, and (not unrelated) favours the European war at the expense of the Asian and African theatres. However, one can’t expect extensive analysis in a work of such brevity. Keegan has done an admirable job in summing up key issues and describing the merits of a wide range of standard works on the war. If you are in any way interested in the area, this is a great resource, even if you might disagree on some of the individual points.

First law on holes - when you're in one, stop digging!

Fellas. FELLAS!

Mecca's the other way fellas.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

Statue or public art, who can tell? Clarke Avenue, Battery Point. June 2012.

Theme Thursday?

ALL GOOD THINGS...

...come to those who wait.

I do believe that this is the latest I've ever had a 'morning' post come up. Six and a half hours late? You can probably tell how my day has gone...

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

After dealing with the Ruskies, Ezra makes his way to Székesfehérvár...

Events will take their course, it is no good of being angry at them; he is happiest who wisely turns them to the best account.

Morning over 10 Murray. Hobart Waterfront. May 2012.

Wordless Wednesday.

Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.

Henry channels the spirit of Jennifer Lopez...

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.'

There is some halfway decent grafitti about town, you just have to know where to look. The lane-way just off Murray Street out by Centrepoint. May 2012.

Tuesday means questions and answers, this week back to thieving from Sunday Stealing with The Imaginary Meme, Part One!

1. Have you ever peed your pants as an adult?
Not that I am aware of.

2. Who do you have a celebrity crush on now?
I am not certain that I even know any relevant celebrities at the moment. I will be frank and say that celebrity status in itself is a bit of a turn off.

3. Would you date someone you met online?
Only if my wife said that it was okay.

4. Do you wear underwear always?
Not always. I like to hang free every now and again.

5. Do you hate yourself at times?
Never hate. Occasionally I don’t fully approve of myself.

7. Do you like dirty movies?
It really depends on the quality of the acting…

8. Could you believe Josha Ledet was voted off Idol?
Who what now?

9. When was the last time that you bought a car?
The next time will be the first time.

10. Have you ever been camping?
A long time ago now. As someone who always seems to be number one of the mosquito hit list, I am not a fan. We’ve advanced too far as a society to be messing about camping!

11. How many times a day do you go on Facebook?
It depends on the day. A couple at least.

12. What was the last movie you saw in a theatre?
Cripes. I think that would be Juno.

13. Have you ever worried that you'd cut off a limb?
No. I did worry that I took the top off my finger once…

14. Where did you get your last e-mail from?
My darling wife!

15. Favourite website?
Google Reader is a really useful aggregator for me to keep on top of the [quickly checks the number of feeds] 223 feeds that I currently have on the go.

16. Are you down with ghetto?
While I am all for self-empowerment, I do worry that the idealisation or embrace of those cultural elements that have had a tendency to hold people back or engender prejudice. That is, if you are stereotyped as violent or thuggish, I am not certain how asserting a violent or thuggish front is going to help alter other people’s ignorance.

17. Will the world end in fire or ice?
History would say that it will likely be a combination of the two; i.e. catastrophic events causing spectacular emissions that will drastically cool the Earth, thus killing most forms of life. Regardless, one day our Sun will burn itself out and we’ll all be stuffed then.

18. Do you believe in the afterlife?
No.

19. Would you be upset if Facebook stopped working?
I’d probably be irritated for a while, but given that the it has always been a free service I would no doubt move on to the next thing.

20. How did you start your blog?
My first son Henry was born and I was taking a lot of photographs of him. I thought that uploading them online would be an easy way for relatives in distant locals to admire him/ watch him grow. 5 years, 4 months and 5 days and 3,496 posts later, here we are!

Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature; and the error is ineradicable.

Henry has been made ducks of his class!




.... [ahem] ....





I'll get me coat.

If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

I climbed up there once. Telephone tower, as seen from Sandy Bay Road. June 2012.

The Internet is a wonderful place filled with the rich and varied treasures of the world holds (is it possible to have a mid-life crisis at 35?) 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..

• Zadie Smith in favour of libraries. "Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay."


• Mythbusting! Food additives do not cause childhood behavioural disorders.


• Some ideas on how to save $$$ in healthcare...


• An enjoyable, brief discussion on feminism. Also, I love the first line.


• A niche interest: ladies swimsuits of the 1940s...

A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.

Look...

Henry has a kangaroo in a headlock...

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

A hole in the fence. Clarke Avenue, Battery Point. May 2012.

Sunday Top Five day and this morning another reminder of the joys of children! Dear Little Ezra® came in to our bedroom this morning with some fanfare, announcing that it was his intention to vomit right there and then. Cue lots of frantic rushing about to ferry said child to toilet, get a hold of a large bowl for any other spillage and so on. I will confess to being slightly sceptical about the validity of the initial claim (this is my nature), I did set about addressing the strict list of demands advanced by my youngest son (while he convalesced in bed, (my bed, with my wife and my electric blanket on).

Anyway, this list of demands (i.e. breakfast) is today's list: Five Things That Ezra Requested (And Ate) For Breakfast, Thus Really Establishing The Fact That He Is Not - Contrary To His Claims Otherwise - In Fact Sick!

1. A croissant(hot)


2. A large bowl of Coco Pops 'Chex' (with milk)


3. A large bowl of Weet Bix Fruity Bites (with milk)


4. Chocolate milk


5. A strawberry

I don't know about you, but when I am feeling sick - particularly if I want to vomit - the last thing that I am after is a large breakfast, particularly any involving Coco Pops.