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Showing posts from July 22, 2012

Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly.

If anyone out there needs a car washed, I'm putting Henry out to tender...

Thus mellow'd to that tender light / Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Gute Nacht Mond. As seen from Sandy Bay. July 2012. Lord Byron was a filthy bugger. Even through he liked a swim, he never could wash that stink out... She walks in beauty, like the night , Lord Byron She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies, And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellow'd to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress Or softly lightens o'er her face, Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek and o'er the brow So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent.

Man can alter his life by altering his thinking.

This is the point at which Ezra decided that wearing shorts to a winter's morning stroll in South Hobart was an idea that he could not endorse any more. We turned back.

If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess.

Morning arrives at Salamanca. Shed No. 1, Salamanca Place. May 2012. Two books this week, both Australian. The first is Helen Garner’s odd short novel-plus-two-short-story collection from 1992, Cosmo Cosmolino . Set in Jeff Kennett’s Melbourne, the chaotic communes and share-houses of the 1970s now contain bitter middle-aged people, uncomfortable in the individualistic and capitalist world they find themselves in. Drifting in and out are younger transients less tolerant of the collective temperament of the 70s. It is a tricky book, quite bleak, but never completely without hope. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but as a capture of a specific time and place that now seems long ago (despite being only twenty years old), it does a very nice job. Recommended. Second up is a book that was a real revelation to me. At the time of its release – 1976 - The Glass Canoe by David Ireland was a Miles Franklin Award-winner and widely acclaimed. Time though seems to have diminished the est...

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

Henry takes Ezra's new umbrella for a stroll. I won't comment on the lad's supremely-wise decision to wear his Essendon FC jumper to last Friday's casual dress day...

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.

ANOTHER brick in the wall? Retaining wall, Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart. April 2012. Theme Thursday. CONNECTIONS. associations links acquaintances agents allies associates contacts. go-betweens intermediaries mentors messengers networks. correlation correspondence intercourse nexus partnership relationships. Everything is CONNECTed. Nothing works.

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

He's got Bette Davis eyes!

Never be ashamed of being an Australian. There's plenty just as bad as us in the world.

View from casino. Wrest Point, Sandy Bay. June 2012. Wordless Wednesday.

It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.

Henry and Ezra patiently receive a lecture on the mating habits of the Lesser Flamingo...

I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.

The gang's all here. Spring Beach, Orford. July 2012. It's a challenging Q and A for a bloke that has barely watched a movie in the past ten years with the glory that is The Movie Time Meme , once again stolen from Sunday Stealing. Thankfully, a large portion of my life pre-children was dedicated to watching films! 1. What is your all-time favourite movie costume? John Hurt’s get-up in The Elephant Man is pretty good. 2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake? If a film is a ‘classic’, it seems rather pointless to ‘remake’ it, wouldn’t you think? Watch the original! 3. Name your favourite femme fatale. Jessica Rabbit. 4. Name the best movie title. I like the simplicity of Jaws . That said, I have some time for the expansive The Assassination of Jesse James... 5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen. It’s not really a short list, is it? Generally I would opt for any child with bright red hair that is aiming for ‘cu...

Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.

Left or right? Which way do we go?

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.

A drum. Just out of Brighton, the Tasmanian Southern Midlands. June 2012. As you know, the Internet is a wonderful place filled with the rich and varied treasures of the world holds (as well as a lot of very lonely people.) 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.. A good overview of just how we might go about creating good schools . A fascinating look at disputed and false memories . How is it that you can start to believe someone else's memory is your own? And why is it so straightforward to give people memories of events they never actually experienced? Kate Beeton (of the Hark! A Vagrant webcomic fame) nails the culture of media commentary on female politicians . Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed. The tale of how the wild west was won and where it got America. "Protracted depression is making life ever harder and disillusioning for those, and their children, t...

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

By Christ it was so very, very cold the morning that this photograph was taken.

Friendship is a very taxing and arduous form of leisure activity.

Happy birthday Ezra! The kitchen, Geilston Bay. July 2012. This Sunday we give you - the world - a chance to see this year's entry in the wonderful world of children's birthday cakes that I have made! Yes, it is the Mr Happy cake. Ez has originally nominated Mr Tickle as his subject of choice, but after numerous hours of planning and head-scratching, and finding no solution to the wiggly arms conundrum, I whether or not a Mr Happy cake might just be what he really wanted... He seems to have been convinced. Which leads me too: My Top Five Cakes! Dinosaur! (Henry's 5th) Wallace and Grommit Rocket! (Ezra's 3rd) Crocodile! (Henry's 3rd) Shark! (Henry's 4th) The Nan in the Moon! (Ezra's 3rd)