This will hurt me...

To the memory of Fanny... Rescued headstones, St Davids Park, Hobart. January 2012. Theme Thursday and we are talking about CHANGE. I could talk about the CHANGE from 2011 into 2012, but aside from the number ‘2’, what has CHANGEd? No, CHANGE is more subtle than that. CHANGE is inexorable, inevitable and inescapable. Like that boulder in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (only in real life you’d be scraping Indy up with a trowel and sending him home in a jar). Take the case of the loving memory of Fanny [see picture above]. You can be guaranteed that when they planted poor Fanny in the ground, there was a suitably somber atmosphere with nary a snigger, snicker or titter at the back. Fast-forward 136 years and you write TO THE MEMORY OF FANNY on a wall and you would raise more than a few eyebrows. All because the meanings of words CHANGE. Words themselves CHANGE. Fanny used to mean one thing, and now it means something quite different. When it comes to CHANGE it seems that we need ...

Back when Tasmania was still Van Diemen's Land, a lot of babies died. A lot of babies. Earlier this week I spent my lunch break wandering around St David's Park here in Hobart looking at the gravestones they tore up to make a park. I snapped a few photos off, and noticed the preponderance of children's gravestones. The stones alone tell a bit of a story so I'll keep my mouth shut and let you look.

Here is Ezra. He's a bit sad after I told him some very distressing news. In the hoopla of Michael Jackson's demise, it would be a great tragedy if the passing of Mrs Slocombe went by without mention. All of our thoughts and prayers are, of course, with Mrs Slocombe's pussy in this difficult time.

Here's a Hobartian winter sunrise (when it isn't raining), for your perusal. I think that the two columns there are masts from a couple of super maxi yachts parked down in Constitution Dock. I have just heard that poor old Michael Jackson has died. As someone of the firm opinion that Whacko Jacko's work enables him to stand in the column marked Musical Genius (at least until it all started to go pear shaped . I am wondering, what do people think of the guy? Pop genius ? Kiddie Fiddler ? Tortured child trapped in a man’s body ? Punch line to a thousand jokes ?

Now (probably) Hobart’s most utilised public common, St David's Park was actually the site of Hobart's first cemetery. Indeed, David Collins - the inaugural Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Van Diemens Land, not to mention founder of Hobart itself – is buried here. Now, don’t get the wrong end the stick. Young lovers aren’t exactly lunching (or worse) on the graves or anything. That would be most inappropriate . No, the bulk of the headstones were carted off years ago, although some of the bigger ones remain for you to peruse as you eat your discount sushi. But not to worry if you are a fan of old grave fields! The area of the park that adjoins the Supreme Court remains home to many of those headstones that used to litter what is now a lush public garden (if not the mouldering remains). Thus, you can while away many an hour inspecting the particulars of particular people long since departed. Look at the tale of poor old Harriet Ann [below], I would wager that she did not ...

To continue a great day of news, Reuters are reporting that George Carlin has died. To quote the man himself: "Bummer". [A message to the faint hearted, please look away now.] [Are all the faint hearted people gone? You better be, because otherwise you won't be able to complain...] ANYWAY. In his honour, I would just like to say a few words: Shit Piss Fuck Cunt Cocksucker Motherfucker Tits Thank you and goodnight. [For an explanation, please click here . Man that Wikipedia is quick!]

I hate mosquitoes very much, so I really enjoyed these .

Perhaps unsurprisingly, in the hours after reports of his death, the top ten searches on Google Trends found people looking for more info on actor Heath Ledger. Perhaps more surprising was number two in the search terms... PhillyBurbs.com has more.

I just read in Mental Floss magazine that when Genghis Khan died, those in charge of the burial went to great lengths to preserve the secret of his resting place. Apparently, Genghis’ funeral procession included 2,500 followers and a mounted bodyguard of 400 soldiers. Anyone who happened to stumble upon the procession was immediately put to death by the soldiers. When the procession finally arrived at its destination, 40 virgins were killed to provide Genghis the appropriate pleasures in the afterlife. Then, at the end of the funeral ceremony, the soldiers killed all 2,500 members of the procession. Upon their return to the capital, all 400 soldiers were all immediately put to death by another group of soldiers. I hope that they do that for me when I go!