This will hurt me...

Art #1. Bathurst Street Car Park, Hobart. February 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... This one explores the history of neurasthenia or “invalidism”, a curious mid-nineteenth-century chapter in the story of the emancipation of women . This one is a bitter-sweet collection of photographs of Afghanistan in the 1960s . Our local museum is now offering a collection of 100 objects that help us understand and explain Tasmania . The point of universities? "James' Giant Peach Transport Across the Atlantic" , a in the Journal of Physics Special Topics . "In the US since 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill in self-defence, 101 women were murdered with a handgun." Women, Handguns, and Self-Defence: A Deadly ...

There is some halfway decent grafitti about town, you just have to know where to look. The lane-way just off Murray Street out by Centrepoint. May 2012. Tuesday means questions and answers, this week back to thieving from Sunday Stealing with The Imaginary Meme, Part One ! 1. Have you ever peed your pants as an adult? Not that I am aware of. 2. Who do you have a celebrity crush on now? I am not certain that I even know any relevant celebrities at the moment. I will be frank and say that celebrity status in itself is a bit of a turn off. 3. Would you date someone you met online? Only if my wife said that it was okay. 4. Do you wear underwear always? Not always. I like to hang free every now and again. 5. Do you hate yourself at times? Never hate. Occasionally I don’t fully approve of myself. 7. Do you like dirty movies? It really depends on the quality of the acting… 8. Could you believe Josha Ledet was voted off Idol? Who what now? 9. When was the last time t...

Some artists have been busy here. To the back and side of the Centrepoint Arcade, off Murray Street, Hobart CBD. May 2012. The Internet is a wonderful place filled with the rich and varied treasures of the world holds (as well as a lot of pop up ads.) 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.. A rant on why it is not a bad thing to place a ban those big buckets of fizzy drinks Lenin used to say that the fundamental law of revolution is that for a revolution to take place, it is not enough for the exploited and oppressed masses to realise the impossibility of living in the old way, and demand change. For a revolution to take place, it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way. Former Chief Economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, explores the 1 per cent’s problem, whereas the widening financial divide cripples the U.S. economy, even ...

Clean your windows! Princes Street, Sandy Bay. February 2012. Tuesday Q and A and we continue to trawl our way through The 99'er Meme: Final Part . This week, I reveal the origin of my marriage! 76) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? In the immortal words of Bananrama: Love, Truth and Honesty . And lots and lots of hot, steamy sex. 77) How did/ could someone win your heart? Aside from the lots and lots of hot, steamy sex? 78) In your world, what brings on more creativity? Being relaxed and having time, space and a bit of peace and quiet. 79) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? Cripes, that is a hard question. Accepting the offer of a beer from a very attractive lady many years ago turned out okay... 80) Why did you break up with your last ex? I never really had a last ex. Alternatively, maybe I am fooling myself... 81) What would you want to be written on your tombstone? I’m not keen on tombstones. If I did it would hopefully be suitab...

It might explain the popularity of the gang then. Geilston Bay Skate Park, Geilston Bay. December 2011. In today's Sunday Top Five I'm tackling a serious social issue: homophobia. As the two photos today attest, insults relating to once sexual preference retain their currency to a strong degree, particularly among the warring Risdon Vale Boys versus Geilston Bay Boys [GBB 4 EVA!] and Sk8ers versus Scooters [Scooter Represent!] Today I propose moving on from the typical dreary, pathetic and frightened wimperings of a group of young men that clearly need a) a good hug and b) a swift kick to a new form of insult. Yes, if we're going to slur entire communities, let's make sure that they're deserving. So today I offer you My Top Five Groups Of People Who We Should Encourage Young People To Speak About In More Demeaning Ways Instead Of Always Picking On The Homosexuals Who Already Have It Hard Enough! Bankers : RVB OFFER UNCOMPETITIVE INTEREST RATES AND FEES ON ALL C...

Michael Myers or Michael Stipe? Sandy Bay Road, the Sandy Bay/ Battery Point border. December 2011. The following poem is just about my favourite very short poem of all. Well, this one and Ezra Pound's The Temperaments . Now I want to know from anyone out there who actually reads poetry, what's your favourite very short poem? Their Sex Life , A.R. Ammons One failure on Top of another

A pipe in a wall in the middle of the road. St George's Terrace, Battery Point. September 2011. Is it good luck or good management to have ended up marrying the person that a) you think is the sexiest in the world; and b) you love most in the world? Answers on the back of a postcard please...

I am happy to admit that I don't really get this one. I’ve run through a variety of options, but don’t feel that I am any closer to answering the puzzle. A circle? Too obvious. A parallelogram? It has potential, but too obscure. A fish? A table? A remaindered piece of fabric faded by exposure to sunlight for sustained periods? The choices appear too endless to contemplate. If I disappear down that road trying to solve this conundrum, I’ll not have any time for any thought beyond this thought. Is that what they mean? Some devious plan hatched by modern day anarcho-syndicalists designed to cripple (ostensibly) free thinkers like myself? If I’m spending all of my time thinking about what I need to be thinking outside of, I am thus far less likely to be thinking about how I can prevent the overthrow of all that I hold dear by a bunch of cunning shysters. This thinkin' business is hard work. Answers on a postcard will be most welcome.

I know that I have severely limited the world's access to the gritty urban mean streets of Hobart, but well, you're not missing much. I have previously mused on the prevalence of penises in youthful graffiti, profound messages on poles, I've even mentioned how we've got the word 'dick' scrawled on our fence (it keeps reappearing)! Today's picture does not dwell on such low brow material, it concerns the ongoing ideological war bubbling away under the surface here in the southernmost capital city in Australia. I shall let the image speak for itself, but tomorrow I shall expand and show another photograph of the grubbiest former vegetarian eatery in the world ! Tomorrow at one: McCracken shall rant on anarchists!

I am continuing my ‘urban grit’ theme today, with another image of the out-of-control wild streets of Hobart. Yes, today we have a photograph of barbed wire. For reasons obviously beyond my feeble comprehension, there is a bundle of haphazardly arranged barbed wire on the side of the fire escape to keep reprobates off of the roof of this building. The logic behind this placement intrigues me. You see, the barbed wire only extends perhaps 1.5 metres across the ledge adjacent to the roof top, but the fire escape itself extends at least 2.5 metres, but more likely 3. This would allow enough space for all but the most corpulent of miscreants to freely access the roof and commit all sorts of heinous acts with the pigeons nestled on top. This oversight leads me to think that I can safely rule out roof access as the reason behind the inexplicable placement of the barbed wire. However, the wire does not sit in front of anything but a bare brick ledge. It protects no skylight, vent, power box o...

Lest you all think that Hobart is a forever happy, neat and tidy utopia, I felt it timely to inject a little urban grit back into things. This lovely shot was taken not three minutes walk from the city centre, somewhere between the needle and syringe exchange and Spotlight , the home of all things fabric and craftware. This is a spot in a nice little carpark that I like to stop with Henry and lecture him on the poor behaviour of some people. The title today is a quote from the wise words of Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally. I've blogged before about her brother, but I quite like Sally too. One of the things I like best about her are her 'new philosophies' that were frequently developed in the latter years of the strip. Generally, Sally's 'new philosophies' went along the lines of "Who cares?" or "How should I know?" I think that they reached their zenith when she declared that her new philosophy would be the word "No". This...

I though that we were overdue a bit of grit and grime from Hobart. This picture was taken yesterday morning, and I am almost certain that it is a reasonably common scene in many cities on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Having a look at it, I am reminded of once of my all time favourite quotes, courtesy of the world's most famous Jewish Cowboy, Kinky Friedman: Friday night was the night most people thought they were supposed to have fun. Trouble was most people didn't know what fun was or how to have it, so things usually ended up pretty ugly.