This will hurt me...

Note the lobster claw in his hand and the crafty seagull eye off said claw perched atop the rock.

Dolphin. Bicheno Beach, Bicheno. Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. Jen survived her return to work this week. I survived the newly structured hours. Henry and Ezra survived the second week of school. Good stuff. I know why the caged bird sings , Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange suns rays And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Of things unknown but longed for still And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His sha

Honestly, this fella has taken to snorkelling like a... Like a... Well, like a... Like a Cousteau to water!

Be careful! Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart. January 2013. The Violin of Auschwitz , Maria Àngels Anglada: An engaging story, but a little too much telling and not enough showing. Even through Auschwitz is ingrained into the popular memory, there is a distinct lack of place. D . Arrival and Departure , Arthur Koestler: The third novel of a loosely-related trilogy that explores the conflict between morality and expediency and the ruptures that this conflict brings in the context of one's own nature and ideological standpoint. If you can suppress the urge to toss it aside through some extremely dubious thoughts on sexual consent and seduction, it's a great exploration of a tricky subject. B+ .

Harvesting seaweed? Easy!

Wineglass Bay from the saddle, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. Theme Thursday and if you have any SENSE, enough CENTS and a nose for SCENTS, you'd be heading down to Wineglass Bay. Wineglass Bay from the rocks, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. Sure, you have to climb halfway up (two) mountains (and back down again), but the beach is worth it. If you're into SCENTS, nothing can beat the SCENT of clear, pristine and clean water when you're swimming (even if it is a mild 15°C). Wineglass Bay from the beach, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. So come on, show some SENSE, starting putting aside your CENTS and get down here and have a crack at the SCENTS!

SHAG BAY!

Anoplognathus at rest. Opossum Bay Beach, South Arm Peninsula. January 2013. Wordless Wednesday. Anoplognathus up close. Opossum Bay Beach, South Arm Peninsula. January 2013.

He thought that he had cut his lip. He did not.

Lights camera action . ANZAC Park, Lindisfarne. February 2013. More questions? Of course! Stolen from Sunday Stealing, as usual. This week: The Back 15 Meme ... 15) How do you vent out your anger? Ranting and raving. 16) Favourite toy as a child? Some kind of ball, most likely. 17) Favourite season? I like elements of each, but if I have to choose I'd say Summer. 18) Do you ever get letters delivered by the post office? Most letters have at some point been processed by the post office... 19) When was the last time you laughed hard? Good question. I can't specifically remember, but it most likely involved cruelly mocking someone. 20) What is on the floor of your closet? My shoes. 21) Are you any good at drawing? Not very good, but I can manage the basics. 22) What did you do last night? Read and then slept. 23) What are you most afraid of? Irrelevance. 24) Plain, cheese or spicy hamburger? Spicy with salad. 25) Favourite dog breed? I'm not

Henry thinks that you can make a boat out of rocks. I reckon he's wrong.

Sea weed. Denison Beach, near Bicheno, Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. As you know, the Internet is a wonderful place filled with the rich and varied treasures of the world holds (and RSS feeds.) 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... Interesting fusion when an NBA player merges Marxism and a critique of modern mental illness . The sky. Cheating in sport is as old as sport itself. Tasmania on the bumpy road to economic sustainability. Describing shark encounters as 'attacks' is misleading and outdated, researchers say . Did dinosaurs love their children? If emotions are something special to humans, how and when did they develop?

Can you believe that this guy goes to school now? Amazing...

In the footsteps of Charles Darwin. Waverley Wildflower Walk, Bellerive. December 2012. Let's call this Sunday Top Five Five Things That Just Might Surprise You On This, The Ninety-Third Anniversary Of Poland's Wedding to the Sea ! The probability that, in a set of randomly chosen people, of finding a pair who the same birthday will reach 100% certainty when the number of people reaches 367. Moreover, 99% probability is reached with just 57 people, and 50% probability with 23 people . Researchers from the University of Queensland found that for every hour you watch TV you may shorten your life by as much 22 minutes . Furthermore, it suggested that watching TV could increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Bill Clinton only sent two e-ails as President of the USA . Nikita Khrushchev "we will bury you" speech that escalated the Cold War was probably a mistranslation. It received as threat to bury the U.S. with a nuclear attack. However, the