This will hurt me...

Hot steppin' hootenanny!

Lines. The living room, Geilston Bay. November 2012. Here's an old classic... Fire and Ice , Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

Have YOU ever ridden a concrete elephant?

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

That's right. It's me. Whachya gonna do 'bout it?

Snug Falls. Snug, southern Tasmania. October 2012. Theme Thursday and again, for a week we are TOGETHER. Just like these photographs are TOGETHER. Henry and Ezra are usually TOGETHER. Jen and I are more often than not TOGETHER. Ice creams and sticky hands. Chocolate and guilt. Sex and death. Bert and Ernie. Wallace and Grommit. Christmas and regret. Flags and racists. Some things just inevitably go TOGETHER. Jen adjusts. Snug Falls, Snug, southern Tasmania. October 2012.

We might not be able to make a cricketer out of him, but by golly he will be a fine wood-cutter!

Mountain goat urinates on other mountain goat in front of the Harbour Bridge, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney. September 2012. Wordless Wednesday.

Konzentrieren .

Waiting for something to happen. Intercity Cycleway, Cornelian Bay. October 2012. More questions, this time Sunday Stealing's Who Are you? Part 2–The Grown Up Meme ! Would you survive in prison? I'm quite certain that I wouldn't enjoy it very much, but I am aware of the odd trick to keep up appearances and pass the time. Will you keep your last name when you get married? I already did! When you look into the past, what do you miss most? Youth! Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? I think I have! Do you wear your shoes in the house? Only very rarely. I'm a bare feet kind of fellow. Happiness is a ________? Delusion. If anyone came to your house on your "lazy days" what would ya'll do? Bolt the door and hide. What are you naturally good at? Soliloquising. What irritates you most on the internet? The incivility of many. What is worth the pain? Bone marrow transplants (if needed). Transplanting marrow

Urban grit Henry.

Football. The living room, Geilston Bay. November 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... A British father living in Malmö reflects on a Scandinavian system that pays men to stay at home and keeps women in the workforce... Looking back at the Cold War... A bit of retro phone action... The brave new world of making money from music... Breakfast, lunch and dinner: Have we always eaten them? The politics of ‘orphans’ and the dirty tactics of the adoption lobby... Toddlers and discipline! Bloody Hitler!

You can have dogs shot, can't you?

Australian Fur Seal, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney. September 2012. This Sunday Top Five I thought that I'd share with My Top Five Favourite Words That Rhyme With 'KNOW'! Beau Dough Faux Schmo Woe