This will hurt me...

Pretty little flower blossom. Natone Street, Lindisfarne. September 2013. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls , David Sedaris: A new book! That's a rare thing these days. Like the one I reviewed last week, this is a hit and miss collection of essays and anecdotes with enough of a light touch to keep things ticking along. Worth a look. B- . Two Views , Uwe Johnson: A book very much of its time, this novel is essentially about the divisiveness of East and West Germany. The tale of two lovers (acquaintances would perhaps be closer to the mark), what the reader faces is an immense accumulation of detail to build the two "views" while two people endeavour to reach each other. The politics remains in the background, but remains a ubiquitous presence. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed reading this, but can recognise the skill. C+ . The Handmaid's Tale , Margaret Atwood: This is not the first time I've read this, but I'm not sure that I find myse...

Triffids blooming. Arthurs Circus, Battery Point. August 2013. 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... In our work-ethic-as-self-worth culture, we ignore the importance of laziness to a life well-lived… Public urinal users face fine for poor aim. It’s a bad time for psychology, a field rife with fraud, bogus maths and murky concepts. Happiness research, for example… Go on, get reading! "In 1998 men in the Health Care and Social Assistance category were being paid only 21 percent more than women. But that gap now stands at 48 percent - the worst figure for any industry in Australia ." Should we judge people of past eras for moral failings? On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.

Spikey plant. East Derwent Highway, Lindisfarne. July 2013. Sunday Top Five today sees Henry and I compile our Top Five Tracks From The Late Great Dusty Springfield (This Sunday)! The Look Of Love You Don't Have to Say You Love Me I Only Want to Be with You Breakfast in Bed What Have I Done To Deserve This (with the Pet Shop Boys)

By any other name. Battery Point. June 2013. Oops!

Baby Pandani. Lake Dobson, Mount Field National Park. April 2013. 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... National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2013 (Part 2) . Mr. Balls! Did you know that less time separates us from Tyrannosaurus rex then separated T. rex from Stegosaurus? Click to read more on Dinosaur Time... How typeface influences the way we read and think. Brilliant photo essay on World Refugee Day 2013. The World’s Population Mapped by Latitude and Longitude. Why We Should Rethink the Eight-Hour Workday. Can Women's Magazines Do Serious Journalism? Some people don't think so... Have you seen Russell Brand on MSNBC yet? 19 Mind-Blowing Details You Missed in Famous Works of Art .

The darling buds of May #1. Derwent Avenue, Lindisfarne. May 2013. This Theme Thursday brings with it a MYSTERIOUS selection of philosophical musings from a seried of over-educated ignoramuses. The first asserts "I do not know what I am: I am not what I know." The second, "But if cattle and horses or lions had hands, or were able to draw with their hands and do the works that men can do, horses would draw the form of their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle, and they would make their gods' bodies resemble their own." The first retorts, "When the danger is so great that death has become the hope, then despair is the hopelessness of not being able to die." "Quite", I said. The darling buds of May #2. Derwent Avenue, Lindisfarne. May 2013.

Abandoned rose. Marion Bay, Tasmania. March 2013. It's Theme Thursday and my apologies for the story. It's a true story, but not a pretty one. If you're faint hearted, simply admire the picture and move way now. You have been warned. Don't worry, we'll get to the theme. Be patient and bear with me. There are two toilets in the complex where I work. One is always locked and only people who work in the complex have the key, the other is unlocked 90% of the time, but lockable. I prefer to use the locked one. On Monday morning I was ready to burst after walking in from the town and immediately went to the unlocked one, as it was closer. There is also a separate vestibule with sinks, mirrors prior to entering the business end of the equation. I sensed an evil presence as soon as I walked into the place. Now, in this toilet area there are three seated toilets and three urinals. In the seated one on the left , the cubicle was covered in urine and there ...

Flower. Sandpiper Cottages, Denison Beach, just north of Bicheno. January 2013. 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... Given that - and I don't mean to shock anyone - at some point we're all going to die, it is an odd thing that so many just can't bring themselves to speak about it . ' A tale of two cows ': an info-graphic that you should have a look at. About: The babies who nap in sub-zero temperatures... "In its original form, Double Dragon is, if nothing else, a game in which Lynyrd Skynyrd fights to rescue America from The Ramones, The Village People, and Grandmaster Flash." Dan Whitehead of the Gameological Society has written a wonderful essay on Double Dragon and how gaming reflects a culture's changing re...

The bee's knees. Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart. January 2013. Sunday Top Five ? My Top Five Insects! Bumblebees Grasshoppers Butterflies Ladybirds Dragonflies

Hunting for flowers. Mount Wellington. January 2013. Sunday Stealing? That's right! The Triple Threat Meme , to be precise... Three names you go by, other than your given name: “McCracken”, “Dad/ Daddy” and “You”. Three screen names you've had: I use my real name when online. It’s a personal ethics thing. Three things you like about yourself: Hmmm. I think that I am reasonably frank with people. I like to think about things. I also think that I have pretty good manners. Three things you don't like about yourself: Hmmmmmmmmm. I’m a bit judgemental. Probably too disciplined for some. I can get a bit narky on occasssion. Three parts of your heritage: Scots. Italian. Tasmanian. Three things you are wearing right now: Shorts. Underwear. Shirt. That’s all I’m wearing! Three favourite bands/ musical artists: Too hard to isolate three. Making the short list off the top of my head: Wilco, Morrisey and David Bowie. Three favourite songs: Right now? The Spen...

Flowers. Bellerive Bluff, Bellerive. September 2012. A special Christmas Sunday Top Five today: My Five Favourite Kids Books That Venture Into Slightly Uncomfortable Territory But Impress The Children Immensely From 2012! Whatever , William Bee Tadpole's Promise , Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross Duck, Death and the Tulip , Wolf Elrbruch The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business , Werner Holzwarth Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable , Nicola Davies and Neal Layton

By any other name. St George's Terrace, Battery Point. December 2012. Have a love poem. I hope that you have a love to go with it. i carry your heart , EE Cummings i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Flower. Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart. October 2012. Do bees eat cheese? Do as they please? Do bees have needs? It it quite a tease. Have a proper poem... Lament of the Frontier Guard , by Ezra Pound By the North Gate, the wind blows full of sand, Lonely from the beginning of time until now! Trees fall, the grass goes yellow with autumn. I climb the towers and towers to watch out the barbarous land: Desolate castle, the sky, the wide desert. There is no wall left to this village. Bones white with a thousand frosts, High heaps, covered with trees and grass; Who brought this to pass? Who has brought the flaming imperial anger? Who has brought the army with drums and with kettle-drums? Barbarous kings. A gracious spring, turned to blood-ravenous autumn, A turmoil of wars-men, spread over the middle kingdom, Three hundred and sixty thousand, And sorrow, sorrow like rain. Sorrow to go, and sorrow, sorrow returning, Desolate, desolate fields, And no children ...

Hobart in the Spring, Royal Botanical Gardens. October 2012. Wordless Wednesday.

The the reproductive structure of an Angiospermae. Napoleon Street, Battery Point. October 2012. Eighth Air Force , Randall Jarrell If, in an odd angle of the hutment, A puppy laps the water from a can Of flowers, and the drunk sergeant shaving Whistles O Paradiso!--shall I say that man Is not as men have said: a wolf to man? The other murderers troop in yawning; Three of them play Pitch, one sleeps, and one Lies counting missions, lies there sweating Till even his heart beats: One; One; One. O murderers! . . . Still, this is how it's done: This is a war . . . But since these play, before they die, Like puppies with their puppy; since, a man, I did as these have done, but did not die-- I will content the people as I can And give up these to them: Behold the man! I have suffered, in a dream, because of him, Many things; for this last saviour, man, I have lied as I lie now. But what is lying? Men wash their hands, in blood, as best they can: I find no fault...

Little flower. Intercity cycleway, Cornelian Bay. October 2012. A little late, but this Theme Thursday I thought that I'd share a recipe for a very special SOUP! 1 tbl ambition 1 large optimism , coarsely chopped 2 cloves of potential , crushed 2 tsp finely grated competence 2 tsp ground resilience 500 g bitter experience , peeled, coarsely chopped 4 large milestones , peeled and diced 4 cups water 1 tsp resentment 1/2 cup low-fat natural cynicism Chopped fresh circumstances , to serve Step 1 Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle ambition. Add the optimism and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the potential, competence and resilience. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic. Step 2 Add the bitter experience, milestones, water and resentment. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the ingredients are soft. Set aside to cool slightly. Step 3 Place ...

Rosemary. East Derwent Highway, Geilston Bay. September 2012. Wordless Wednesday.

Flowers. Launceston City Park. July 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... Here's Peter Singer's take on an old theme: how far should the state limit our freedom to protect us from our selves? Shit Apple Fanatics Say... Anne Summers presents a rather disturbing account of the misogynistic attacks currently being waged on Australia's female Prime Minister (some NSFW content on this one). Minnesota Vikings' Chris Kluwe takes on anti-gay marriage politician. My favourite bit of his reply? "...I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster." Did you know that mor...

It's raining again. East Derwent Highway, Geilston Bay. July 2012. Theme Thursday and I am stricken with CONFUSION. I am CONFUSed because I have the flu. I am CONFUSed that I have the flu even though I've had the flu shot. I am CONFUSed because CONFUSION is the natural order of things. I am CONFUSed that if you try to deliberately fail at something, and you succeed, which have you actually done? I am CONFUSed that things often don't go to plan. I am CONFUSed when people do things that I don't expect them to do. I am CONFUSed about the Higgs-Boson Particle. I am CONFUSed that if you expect the unexpected, doesn't that make the unexpected expected? I am CONFUSed about bacon ice cream. I am CONFUSed as to why so many people watch 'reality' competitive cooking television programs. I am CONFUSed that so many people act against their own interests. I am CONFUSed about countries who kill people who kill people to show people that killing...

Flower power? How many kilowatts, to be precise?