This will hurt me...

The Devil's Kitchen #1, Tasman Peninsula. October 2013. The Testament of Mary , Colm Tóibín: For those of the Christian faith, I can see how this novel is a provocative work, but me – who accepts the existence of Jesus the historical figure (if not the Son of God) – it is an evocative and memorable depiction of Mary as I understand her: a mother who lost her son to a pretty gruesome end. In a chronological sense, Tóibín sticks close to the Gospels; but rather than the meek, blessed construct of the New Testament, in this reimagining Mary is an angry, solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. As such, she has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel struggles with the actions and motives of her son’s disciples. The story is familiar, but this work manages to convey a startling intimacy. Given the magnitude of the tale, Tóibín’s book is surprisingly understated...

Hank shows his Mum how it is done.

Use the force Ez.

Ezra, der Mann lebt an der Unterseite einer Klippe!

They opted out of a swim that day...

One Henry. On the rocks. Shaken, not stirred.

Speaking of brave boys...

Don't step back!

Heavy lifting. Fossil Bay Cove, Tinderbox. December 2012. We've actually been away all week and all of these posts have been automated, so this week's Theme Thursday theme is actually VACATION.

Cliff! Clifton Beach, October 2012. The Devil's Larder , Jim Crace: Sixty-four teeny weeny stories on food-related themes, which also stand as metaphors for life itself. A pleasant diversion. C . The Lucy Family Alphabet , Judith Lucy: Judith Lucy explores the complex relationship she shared with her adoptive parents. Dark, funny and ruthlessly honest, it also stands as a moving tribute to a pair of lunatics. B- .

Um seine Intelligenz zu beweisen, beschloss Henry, um die Natur zu finden Dinosaurier verwandeln.

Waiting. Howrah Bluff, Howrah. August 2012. We're rapidly approaching the end of Sunday Stealing, so someone find me some new questions QUICKLY! Until then, The End is Near Meme, Part 2 21. Biggest lie that you've ever been told? That people get what they deserve in life. 22. Blondes, brunettes, redheads or bald? Brunettes. Every time. 23. Who do you phone most? Jennifer. 24. What was your first job? Delivering newspapers. 25. What were you doing before Sunday Stealing? A little series that I called " Ads that I like ". I made it up to number 123 before Iput that one on hiatus. 26. If you could get plastic surgery what would it be? I'm not interested in plastic surgery, but if anyone wants to stump up the cash to get laser surgery so that I don't have to bother with these glasses I'd happily do it. It's less about vanity than it is practicality though... 27. Why did you fill out this survey? The pass the time. 28. What do you ...

Rebel without a point?

Jocks on rocks?

Nestled in a cavity halfway up a cliff with a blustery southerly roaring off Antarctica at your back sure is a fine place to be.

Three blokes under a cliff minding their own business. Spring Beach, Orford. Tasmania's East Coast. July 2012. It's a very special Theme Thursday today, but one filled with many DISTRACTIONS. It is young Ezra's birthday today, you see. Yes, my dear little baby boy is FOUR ! FOUR! Where did the time go? That's the problem with time. Life is so full of DISTRACTIONS that you sometimes fail to notice that every second time is ticking away and suddenly it's 2012, you're thirty-five years old and your teeny-weeny baby is FOUR. It doesn't seem that long ago that he was a mere 27 seconds old an in his mother's arms (you can click here and view the original post ). Or the time on his first birthday when he tried to eat the candle (you can see that post here ). Or the time on his second birthday when he nearly took off because of all the balloons he was holding ( click to see that here )? Or even the day of his third birthday, where we demonst...

Cliffs at Clifton Beach. Clifton Beach. April 2012. Oops. Theme Thursday and I really forgot to ORGANISE myself and pre-post today. My apologies. I will not let it happen again.

John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row is one of the revered books of the American canon and takes its name from a street lined with sardine fisheries in Monterey. The novel revolves around the lives of its inhabitants: Chinese grocers; bums; bouncers; prostitutes; the local marine biologist (!) and other assorted chancers and ne’er-do-wells. As much a series of vignettes as a coherent narrative, the book does a supreme job reconstructing a certain time and place that seems very distant from the world today. As such, it is a masterpiece. It is incredibly funny, yet surprisingly poignant. As ever Steinbeck does a superb job recreating both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. This really is a fantastic book, one of the best I’ve read in a while. Extremely highly recommended! Second up is something a little different, Philip K. Dick’s Time Out of Joint . First published in 1959, the book captures a lot of Dick's recurrent themes concerning the nature of reality an...

Cold? You don't know cold! Why, when I were a lad we'd be thankful for this kind of cold! I'd go to sleep every night thankfully that I had a blanket of snow keeping me warm at night!