This will hurt me...

Dead fish. Hope Beach, South Arm Peninsula. April 2013. 100 Days in Photographs: Pivotal Events That Changed the World , Nick Yapp: A stunning collection, if a little US-centric. B+ . The Body in the Library , Agatha Christie: A dated little murder mystery. By the numbers. C . The Inheritors , William Golding: A fantastically-rendered and irredeemably sad tale of the extinction of one of the last remaining Neanderthal tribes at the hands of the more advanced (yet malevolent) Homosapiens . The final chapter nails the tragedy of it all beautifully. A . After the Quake , Haruki Murakami: An odd little collection inspired by the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Uneven, but worthy. B . Marry Me , Dan Rhodes: I do love every new Dan Rhodes release. Marry Me is no different. Equal parts sour, bleak whimsy and savage whimsy inspired by the concept of marriage. As black as coal and funny as hell. I loved it. A .

Dead penguin. Marion Bay, Tasmania's East Coast. April 2013. Sunday Stealing: The 5000 Question Meme Continues... Part Six 121. Have you ever lost someone without having the chance to say goodbye? Yes. To be honest, sometimes having the chance to say goodbye is harder. 122. How do you feel about women in politics? It depends on the woman, doesn't it. There are good ones and bad ones, much like people with a penis. 123. Would you rather have an indoor Jacuzzi or an outdoor pool? An outdoor pool. Hopefully with a sauna by the side. 124. What things are you interested in that you study or read about regularly? Lots of things! History, people, society, geography, nature. Just a few little things. 125. Would you consider yourself to be intelligent? Well... modesty forbids... [ahem]... OF COURSE I DO! 126. Would you consider yourself to be wise? Less wise than intelligent, perhaps. 127. Have you ever given or received a lap dance? In a commercial sense? The...

Jen's and Shaw's Cowfish #1. Marion Bay, March 2013. It's dead Jen. It's dead. The Fossil Fish , Christopher Middleton the fossil fish hides in time for now it is the season & all the hunters come with long clean rifles

Ezra explains the mechanics of a recently-departed Shaw's Cowfish ( Arcana aurita ).

Puffer fish puffs no more. Denison Beach, Bicheno. January 2013. For today's Sunday Top Five I thought I'd share Five Maxims To Live By! Don't shit where you eat. Try to be nice. Get on with it. This too will pass. You're a long time dead.

Morte. Wineglass Bay Beach, Freycinet National Park. January 2013. Theme Thursday and I WONDER ifyou, like me, WONDER much? I'm always WONDERing. I WONDER why I WONDER. Does everybody WONDER? Is there a point to WONDERing? Is it more a case of the mind at wander or the mind at WONDER? I WONDER...

Fin. Opossum Bay Beach, South Arm Peninsula. December 2012. Theme Thursday and there is not a whole lot of hope for this crab in terms of a REBIRTH. The Buddhist concept of vijñāna-srotām might offer some chance for this blighter, but I remain to be convinced that the crab subscribed to a Buddhist theology. There is a chance (however slight) that the crab was once the son of God/ awaits Frashokereti / is an inhabitant of Sheol/ or that Yawm al-Qiyāmah is just around the corner; but as I said, the odds are against it. No, the crab is dead. The best it can hope for is that some bird had a good meal and will go on to be a good parent and maybe (unlikely, but you never know) the children of that bird will open a crab infirmary for lame or destitute crabs in the future.

Dead crab. Or maybe it's sleeping. Little Howrah Beach. January 2012. Theme Thursday again and our minds are firmly fixed on the concept of STORM. Well, I should really say that my little mind is actually geared towards STURM ( und Drang ). Typically, people have translated STURM und Drang as "STORM and Stress" and use it to describe the proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred in the late-eighteenth century. Ever the dissenter, I prefer the less frequent translation of "STORM and Urge ". The implications of the difference is not a minor one. STURM und Drang was characterised by the liberation of individual subjectivity and the embrace of spectacular extremes of emotion – i.e. ladies fainting, men challenging each other to duels/ love affairs/ adventures. This free expression emerged largely in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment and its associated aesthetic movements. An example, previ...

Dead bird has seen better days. Calverts Beach, February 2011. I know how this bird feels.