This will hurt me...

Experiments in light #1, Dark Mofo, Hobart Experiments in light #2, Dark Mofo, Hobart Experiments in light #3, Dark Mofo, Hobart Experiments in light #4, Dark Mofo, Hobart

Life underwater. Clifton Beach, June 2013. Once Were Warriors , Alan Duff: Very dark, very gritty. It's a far bleaker portrayal of life for marginalised Maoris in modern New Zealand than the successful film. Domestic violence, urban violence, poverty, drugs, alcoholism, unemployment, gang warfare, rape, physical and mental abuse, suicide, gender, identity, race and culture are just a few of the subjects explored in gritty fashion. I'm not sure whether reading this is more akin to getting punched in the face or kicked in the guts. One of the two, anyway. A- . Maggie: A Girl of the Streets , Stephen Crane: Urban grit, 1893 style! Originally refused by all publishers because of sexual frankness, it might seem tame to the modern eye but remains shocking enough. C+ .

Jen on the rocks (taken from the ice cold water). Clifton Beach. May 2013. Another Q and A pilfered from Sunday Stealing. This week I am dreaming, with the IF I WON 100 MILLION DOLLARS.... meme. What kind of car would you buy? Do they drive themselves yet? Where in the country would you move to? Somewhere warm and near a beach. What kind of house would you buy? A decent-sized one with good soundproofing. Would you give your family any money? If they promise to leave me alone. What charity would you donate to? None of them. I might find some microcredit organisation to help out. Would you give your friends any money? Do they have a convincing business plan? Where would you go on vacation? Everywhere! World tour... What luxury item would you buy first? I would enquire about top notch cameras, diving gear, kayaks and perhaps get a quote for a sauna. Would it change your life? Bloody oath would! Would you save any of it? I'm a saver by...

Tall tree. Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens. November 2012. We , Yevgeny Zamyatin: one of the earliest examples of the dystopian genre. We imagines a totalitarian and conformative modern industrial society where free will is the cause of unhappiness, and that citizens' lives should be controlled with mathematical precision based on the system of industrial efficiency. A tricky read, but effective. B- . The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers , Delia Falconer: Set a quarter century after the event, this novel imagines Captain Frederick Benteen remembering the destruction of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry at Little Bighorn. A meditative book, this is an exquisite eulogy for the ordinary soldier, alive and dead. Brilliant. A+ . Utz , Bruce Chatwin: A satirical portrait of life in Communist Czechoslovakia rooted in the idea that human nature is the same no matter what political winds are blowing. I liked it a lot. B+ . Ellen Foster , Kaye Gibbons: Thoughtful, funny, tender and - most important...

This is the lazy man's attempt at pointillism...

Ezra impersonates Clint Eastwood. Mount Wellington, Hobart. April 2012. I figure that for today's Sunday Top Five we may as well try and be useful. Today I present to you My Top Five Quick And Easy Tips To [Hopefully} Take Better Photographs! Go to where the picture is! Be prepared to get your knees dirty for the sake of a shot. Get down on the ground, climb up a tree, squat low and reach up high. Like a lot of things in life, even the most ordinary thing can look far more interesting from a different angle or a different perspective. Don't fixate on the centre! If you're wondering why your photos might all look a bit 'the same', it could be that you are always focusing on the centre of the shot. Don't! Mix up your composition. Try and encourage the observer's eye to follow through the photo by using of strong lines or patterns. It's not always about the thing in the middle. Know where your light is! Light can make or break a picture....

The make power poles from concrete too. East Derwent Highway, Geilston Bay, October 2010. My beautiful babies, and my beautiful and sexy wife, are all now at the airport awaiting a flight to that filthy city of sin: Sydney. It will be a whirlwind visit, but nonetheless I shall be without their company for the best part of THREE DAYS and TWO NIGHTS! As would be expected, I am at a loss. Stricken, heartbroken and utterly forlorn, all that I have for company is this here power pole.