This will hurt me...

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...

Sharks patrol these waters. Manly Sea Aquarium, September 2012. 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... Fukuyama quizzes Habermas as to what it is to be European . Right up my alley! Phallus. What does war sound like now? How T. Rex Ate Triceratops in 4 Easy Steps. From Gaza to Where? Ouch. Is Our Retro Obsession Ruining Everything?

SHARK! Manly Sea Aquarium, Manly. Sydney. September 2012. Theme Thursday again and I am challenged by the theme of ANGELS. Well, I don't know any ANGELS and I'm not certain that I've ever met one. Which is why I've written a story, maybe it's a parable. Anyway, I call it Simon's Wife . Simon’s wife often thought of Simon as she did the dog that she had as a young woman, a German shorthaired pointer named The Black Prince . Like The Black Prince , Simon was loyal energetic and enthusiastic. However, also like The Black Prince , Simon could be needy, aggravating, over familiar and often trailed a distasteful smell about him. Helpfully, many of the skills and techniques that Simon’s wife applied to the day-to-day handling and management of The Black Prince were equally useful and applicable to Simon. Tone of voice, consistent and poised body language was critical. Whenever The Black Prince became a little too boisterous or even a little too frisky, Simon’...

Just look at that look of absolute terror on Henry's face. Laurence Olivier eat your heart out!

SHARK! Melbourne Aquarium. April 2011. Despite the fact that it was the stingrays chewing on the diver's head, Henry remained as terrified as ever of the cute 'n cuddly grey nurse shark. It seems that once you've got yourself a reputation (earned or otherwise), some people have you pegged for life!

Look Henry! Great White to the port side!

Here is an image that is a nice approximation of a lazy Sunday here in Hobart. Not that many actually own boats of course, but it's easy enough to find one to look at. The rich in Tasmania haven't quite managed to fence out the rest as they appear to have elsewhere. That said, I'd rather a kayak anyway. A boat seems like too much hard work. The bonus with a boat however, is that it would enable me to finally get that Great White Shark that Henry and Ezra have been pestering me about.

So here is number two in my planned trifecta of textures. Yes, it's some worn old red bricks, and no, not the same red bricks that I featured last October . These red bricks are on the side of a shop, and at some point must have had an advertisment or mural painted on them. I'm not sure if the degraded brickwork is because of time, or a hurried job to clean off the paint. There are some interesting gouges in the bricks themselves, but I've no idea who (or what) left them there. After reading the past couple of day's newspapers, I have developed a theory: Sharks!

Sharks have been in the news here in Australia today, another swimmer became breakfast for a Great White , another tried to eat the winning yacht in the Sydney to Hobart race , and some dudes in kayaks got a spectacular home movie to show when the get back to work. This is the closest I have been to a shark today, and at the moment Ezra's uppers are more of the gummy variety. Don't worry though, there are two little razor sharp beauties coming along nicely along the bottom. That's the thing about Australia you see, just can't move without bumping into a shark. Or a crocodile. The crocs are a whole other story ...

I will be honest with you and admit that aside from penguins and wombats, my favourite creatures tend to be bloodthirsty killers. Thus, I am thinking of getting the lads either a crocodile or great white shark for Christmas. I mean really, isn’t this guy a cutie? If you’re a shark freak out type like me, you might like to check out this collection of images and links from Dark Roasted Blend . It’s well worth a few minutes browsing.