This will hurt me...

Children can get very grating.

If that is not an awestruck look, I'll go jump in the lake!

Stuck!

Have YOU ever ridden a concrete elephant?

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

You can have dogs shot, can't you?

Lizard on a rock. At the ferry terminus outside Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney. September 2012. This Theme Thursday , I'm considering the POSSIBILITIES. For example, I might well end up accepting a dare today. Perhaps a doorman who is sensitive to others' auras might enter into the equation. You never know, I might have to prove myself to a psychic judge with transphobic tendencies. These things happen. Like the time that that guy told on that other guy. And the journalist who wants everything done by the rules got involved. It’s a dangerous business admitting to a fantasy, especially to a necromancer who has amnesia! We live in a colourful world. I knew a girl once who got into a bit of trouble when she started at a new school. She’d fallen into the wrong crowd and under the influence of a vampire who was trying to cover up a previous crime. It got a bit messy, there was a power-hungry weather announcer. The trouble was that he was trying to save his marriage but the vampir...

Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen!

Quite...

Hank approves of this ocean pool...

They really are a pair of handsome devils, aren't they?

Pssst. You. Yeah, You . Wanna buy a bridge?

Ezra does his best impression of a fennec fox. Now with added BONUS Henry impression of a fennec fox!

There are some very cruel people out there... Fairlight, Sydney. 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... Gender equality is stymied by the persistent myth of merit. I have to say that I am bemused by the notion that the world ever rewarded merit? I've seen scant little evidence thus far... Clarke and Doyle explain how the financial system works (or not)... 15 Scathing Early Reviews of Classic Novels. I heartily endorse the slap give to The Catcher in the Rye ...

A pair of artists all right... The Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney. September 2012. Five MORE Words That We Need To Start Using In English! Boketto ( Japanese ) Do you ever find yourself gazing vacantly into the distance? The Japanese have a word for that. Glas wen ( Welsh ) Trust the Welsh to think of a succinct name for an insincere or mocking smile. Literally, it translates to "blue smile". Pana Po’o ( Hawaiian ) When you've lost something, and you're looking hard, do you find yourself scratching your head? If you do, then you've just pana po’o 'd! Kaelling ( Danish ) We all know this one. You know, that woman who publicly berates her children? A kaelling . Mamihlapinatapai ( Yaghan , Tierra del Fuego) You know that special look that is shared between two people when you are both wanting the other person to do something that you both want, but neither of you want to be the one to do it? That's mamihlapinatapai ....

Manly Ferry. Sydney Harbour, Sydney. September 2012. Street Song , Thom Gunn I am too young to grow a beard But yes man it was me you heard In dirty denim and dark glasses. I look through everyone who passes But ask him clear, I do not plead, Keys Lids acid and speed. My grass is not oregano. Some of it grew in Mexico. You cannot guess the weed I hold, Clara Green, Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, you name it man, Best on the street since I began. My methedrine, my double-sun, Will give you too lives in your one, Five days of power before you crash. At which time use these lumps of hash - They burn so sweet, they smoke so smooth, They make you sharper while they soothe. Now here, the best I've got to show, Made by a righteous cat I know. Pure acid - it will scrape your brain, And make it something else again. Call it heaven, call it hell, Join me and see the world I sell. Join me, and I will take you there, Your head will cut out from your hair Into whi...

Dozing gator. Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney. September 2012. The Milkman in the Night , Andrey Kurkov Andrey Kurkov is my favourite author of post-Soviet blackly comic, absurdist tales. This isn't really his best (a little too much telling rather than showing for my taste), but it is an enjoyable little romp through modern-day Kyev. C+

Ez gets close and personal with the rather innovative water feature in Darlin Harbour, Sydney.

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’...

Sydney, as seen from the Manly Ferry. September 2012. Theme Thursday again and the day is nearly over. I didn't have a strong FOUNDATION to start with, and I will be frank and confess that the sheer number of panties, knickers and assorted ladies undergarments that I was confronted with today really did undermine any potential ideas that I was planning this Theme Thursday. It was a warm start this morning. 23°C when I stepped off the bus in town (7:40 am) which meant that every second lady in Hobart seemed to have opted for a skirt or dress. However, the 140 km/h renders the combination every pervert's dream . What's the emoticon for blush again?