This will hurt me...

Gull. Flowerpot Point, Blackmans Bay. July 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... Lessons on feminism. New book finds U.S. conduct during the Vietnam War to be much worse than previously understood, where My Lai was “an operation, not an aberration.” The Strange Sexual Quirk of Filipino Seafarers. 25 Hilariously Inaccurate Knock-Off Toys. Political power, said Mao, “grows out of the barrel of a gun.” His fondness for bloodshed should not blind us to the accuracy of his observation… Why Violence Works. Vote Compass is an educational tool developed by a non-profit group of political scientists and hosted by the ABC. Answer a short series of questions to discover how you fit in the Australian political landscape. Election FactCheck is...

Proud Gull. Boat Harbour. April 2013. It is another Theme Thursday and today sees a burst of CREATIVITY and a shot little piece that came to me on the walk to work. I call it Perception . Quiet Jim was the first of the old gang to die. It came as a bit of a shock to get the invite to his funeral on Facebook. There were five in our gang: me; Quiet Jim (he was the quiet one); Loud Jim (he was the loud one); Big Jim (he was the fat one); and Little Jim (he wasn't very little, but he was much smaller than Big Jim). They just called me ‘Mike’. It was a surprise to all of us that Quiet Jim was the first to go. He was so, well, quiet . Loud Jim drank too much, got into fights and generally wasn't a very nice person.Big Jim’s diet was terrible, he smoked like a chimney and the mere thought of exercise could send him into apoplexy. Little Jim (who really wasn't little at all) had a taste for bizarre sexual practices. I’m pretty laid back, but as an avid trainspotter am al...

In flight. Howrah Beach. March 2013. Denver , David McKee: Even though I've read a LOT of children's books, I rarely review them. Here is an exception. Denver argues that rich people are better than poor people; poor people cannot be trusted (and are guileless idiots to boot); and that sharing is a very bad thing. Perhaps the worst thing that I have ever read. F . A Spy in the House of Love , Anaïs Nin: I'm sure that this was frightfully shocking in the 1950s, but it's all a bit of a yawn these days. D . Railway Maps of the World , Mark Ovenden: If you like history and you like maps, you're bound to like this lovely coffee table book. B . Loser Takes All , Graham Greene: One of Greene's self-derided 'entertainments'. I enjoyed it. B- .

Gull. Bellerive Beach, Bellerive. February 2013. Sula , Toni Morrison: Part-critique of heterosexual institutions, part-exploration of friendship amid a backdrop of family, love, race, and the human condition. Very strange. B- . A Swell Looking Babe , Jim Thompson: Another one of Thompson's odd blend of hard-boiled crime noires and Freudian psychodrama (this one from 1954). The Oedipal subtext is not exactly subtle and the apparent central action of a vicious robbery really is a subsidiary plot to the real drama taking place inside our central character's head. I enjoyed it. B .

We spend a bit of time on the beach. Howrah Beach, August 2012. Sunday Stealing: The 88 Meme, Part Two 23. Why do you think so many people cheat? Because so many people are lazy and stupid. 24. Tell me what's on your mind? Having a break! 25. What are you looking forward to in the next three months? Some good weather, lovely walks, a bit of a swim and plenty of decent photographs. 26. Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing? Not deliberately. 25. When did you last talk to your BFF? This morning before work. 28. When is your next road trip? Friday! 29. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell anything to? That would be my wife. 30. How's your heart? It seems fine. 31. Have you ever felt like you weren't important? I’m not important! 32. Do you think somebody's secretly in love with you? I certainly hope so. 33. What are you planning on doing after this? Work. 34. Last time you yelled at someone? I may have yel...

Stern looking kelp gull. Derwent River Estuary, Lindisfarne. May 2011. It has been said – by people who mustn’t know me at all – that I am by nature a cranky person. Some cruel ne'er-do-well even had the temerity to compare the look on the above kelp gull’s face with mine! Bastards! Leviathan , by George Oppen Truth also is the pursuit of it: Like happiness, and it will not stand. Even the verse begins to eat away In the acid. Pursuit, pursuit; A wind moves a little, Moving in a circle, very cold. How shall we say? In ordinary discourse— We must talk now. I am no longer sure of the words, The clockwork of the world. What is inexplicable Is the ‘preponderance of objects.’ The sky lights Daily with that predominance And we have become the present. We must talk now. Fear Is fear. But we abandon one another.

Two seagulls in the sun at Opossum Bay. March 2010. Theme Thursday . Hmmmm. My tendency to pick the image and title prior to learning the topic often makes it hard. Here we go: Here you can see picks number 19 (foreground) and 23 (background) in the twenty-seventh annual Tasmanian seagull DRAFT. 19 is a lithe, cheeky, receiver- sort who's good on the outside of packs with a healthy turn of pace. 23 is a more old fashioned, in-and-under type who doesn't mind getting his knees dirty and has excellent core strength. He lacks somewhat in pace, but makes up for it in heart. I've got a lot riding on these two.