thousandeye

TV

2012-01-24T08:24:00.000+11:00

The commonest item I see dumped curbside in Canberra is old CRT televisions. They will be fairly useless, unless hooked up to your Betamax player or the like, when the switch to a digital signal is complete.

For some reason, there is no hard rubbish collection in Canberra and you actually have to pay a specific fee for dumping these things. Although plenty of people seem able to afford a cheap new LCD television, no-one is particularly eager to then fork out more money to dispose of the CRT. When dumped, these televisions gather into small groups and demonstrate their instinctual herding instinct.

As a testament to say, rampant consumerism and materialism, you could build a wall out of them at least a few metres high, stretching for miles, but CC came up with a better, slightly more practical idea: using paint pens to decorate them with song lyrics and faces.

Seeing as they were dumped and had been there over a week, I don’t see the crime involved. Defacement of rubbish perhaps? In the balm of a daylight-savings lit Friday evening we sat down and got to it. CC executed her planned drawing with precision, whereas I felt the need to make it up as I went along.

While we were working, I said to CC, “This is making me feel like a hipster and it’s not a good feeling.”

The odd thing was that the televisions disappeared the next morning. I was surprised that a council ranger would pick them up on a Saturday, seeing they had been there a week already. Perhaps they were eager to prevent a fad from starting. The other possibility is that someone decided they would make nice objet d’art.

I can see they might look interesting on top of 9 foot perma-pine poles.

Tech Support

2012-01-23T19:08:00.000+11:00

This is what an annoying brother I am.

Having complained to my sister about getting spam from her old hot mail account, she tried to delete it and messaged me asking for help (in grey).

Letter

2012-01-23T19:03:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago, I was talked out of leaving this note next to the barbecue in my shared yard. I felt guilty too, because perhaps it was rude, especially depending on your sense of humour and/or English comprehension skills. It is really punny and if I hadn't written it, I never would have composed a proclamation for the flies either.

Yes. Someone did probably forgot a carrot while they were peeling it. So I claimed back the note, put the naked carrot and peel in the compost and left behind the peeler. Then, in the mood for cleaning, I swept up piles of dead flies that had expired at the entrance door of the complex over Christmas, encanting,

"Know this then is a passage of doom,
Fly not this way,
Or seal your fate at death's gate."

Of course the next day the maintenance man came to clean everything.

Now with smurfs

2012-01-21T20:07:00.000+11:00

Has any item,
before or since
the UHU stic,
done more to advance
the cause of craft
for all humanity?

Smurftastic powers included

recycled wallet

Front

Back

construction materials

2012-01-20T08:49:00.000+11:00

Not really a day for sleeping in with catfight outside my window @ 0530.

Bonsai forest detail, cypress

Glow worms

2012-01-19T23:37:00.000+11:00

Okay, a quick post before goodnight.

My Derwent metallic pencils got a workout on the weekend. They always seem to come in handy when insects are involved.

After a funny conversation with some friends, I decided to draw them a glow worm.

CC pointed out she didn’t know glow worms only had one eye.

“The things you learn!”

Preliminary sketches

The Public Service Part

2012-01-19T22:21:00.000+11:00

In the maelstrom, the firestorm that has been evoked over the Capital by Public Service Circular 2012/1, ahem, yes, indeed; this is my Official Statement, before the Fire Department comes and burns all my books.

"Rumour?" writes dear reader, the author, "I read in a blog comment at Grog's Gamut, that an ex-employee found copies of his letters to the editors of various newspapers on government policy faithfully attached to his personnel file under an FOI request or some such years later."

Parteth the Onne

If you therefore are a Public Servant reading this in your performance of an official capacity of enquiry deemed to be in the public interest, not excluding because you are what could be broadly understood by the people of Australia to be a "secret agent", take further note next.

Please faithfully reproduce all written matter herein (in being this blog) faithfully on 150 gsm white A3 paper, with a 7cm bleed all the way round; photos on archival paper, A4, matte, unless their native resolution does not allow it.

For this I thank you.

Satire.

Yeah.

Like it says in the Introduction on my Profile.

Parther the Two

If you are still a public servant reading this in a capcity that the public would deem to be in their interest, because you are at work, then you are a genius for having found this, like all public servants are geniuses.

You should probably keep reading this to reward your geniushood!

Just don't let them see you, because unless you are busy making my book, reading this can only be considered worky if you need creative inspiration, want to understand the meaning of the universe and everything.

Partest the Three

In which I save all my best jokes for later.

2012-01-15T15:02:00.001+11:00

Today is orange day

with

roasted butternut squash, corn, carrots

&

soup of sweet potato, more carrots and squash.

Outside is no sky to be seen.

Back

2012-01-01T16:26:00.000+11:00

in Canberra and back to work this week after over six month off.

I am pretty worried about how I will cope with wearing shoes again, but am feeling positive about returning to a routine and being paid normally. I really would not have coped without the support of famiy and friends over the last six months.

My garden managed nine days of my absence well. Sure it appreciated a good drink yesterday, but I could see some species were doing better for a lack of water. The sun nearly slayed my rosemary, the only not succulent/cactus present, but it revived overnight. The weather was pretty mild over the Christmas period I think, but looks to be getting proper summer hot in January.

It seems obvious to me now that many of my specimens will not get any bigger due to the size of their pots. So I am heading out into the shared courtyard garden where space and my time allows. Pretty much all I have can go in the ground, which when I have a proper garden it mostly will. Also evident that I have overplanted some pots, so repotting into bigger pots and spreading things out will keep me busy for a while.

You probably remember the butterfly pot below. To me, it is mostly useless as a pot and looks much better on its end, so it is simply for display now. The other pot is quite new, finished just before Christmas. I still feel ambivalent about it. Literally it hurt my head to look at sometimes and the design is incoherent I feel. Still, it was a chance to try some new techniques and I incorporated a broken plate in the rough shape of a bird. The vision got a bit lost due to continual inspirations, no drawing of a design and making it over a few sessions.

It is very bright though and today after sealing the grout, I planted the cotyledon into it. The roots of this plant had spread to fill the original pot, even though it wasn't pot-bound. I have watched it getting juicy for a while. The plant I cut it off a few months ago in Ainslie must have been at least a metre by a metre. All the original leaves of the cutting are still going strong. Here is hoping it gets to show off more now and with size manages the look of the pot a bit better.

When I am planting, pruning, playing I often chuck leaves etc off my little balcony. It was amazing to see a tiny succulent had landed in a cobweb and started to form roots there. I have been potting scavenged sempervivums and echeveria above the soil and they love it because they can grow aerial roots easily. In fact, it is probably better not to plant them until they have formed these roots, but I can be impatient.

Cylindropuntia imbricata

2011-12-26T14:34:00.000+11:00

In Adelaide I am collecting cacti. The climate here is a lot drier than Canberra (at least of late) and I have been seeing large opuntia everywhere.

Photo via Luigi FDV on Flickr (great gallery)

Staying with my sister I went for an early morning walk. Wandering past a yard in Rostrevor with a large specimen of this tough customer, I could see an old gentleman watching me from just over his back fence.

I went up to the plant, had a look and shouted out, "Beautiful plant." He eventually wandered over and told me it was over 20 years old. The cladodes (or pads as they are often called on the more common opuntia species, including the prickly pear) root readily where they fall to the ground and there were many offspring at the base of the two metre plus tall specimen.

He was happy for me to grab a few out of the ground and went off to get me a trowel and bag. His wife came out and introduced herself as Roma. I introduced myself as Alf and told her I was staying nearby, visiting my hometown and my mum is...etc.

Suddenly she exclaimed, "Alfie!" and gave me a big hug. Normie and Roma it seems knew me as a very young lad, when they were godparents to one of the best friends of my childhood. We hadn't seen each other since before they first bought this cactus. I remembered their names, but all else was vague.

Wonderful people and the quirkiness of this chance meeting brightened both our days.

Quite a set of coincidences.

On The Road

2011-12-25T06:05:00.000+11:00

My peregrinations have bought me to Adelaide.

Tricky to spell word.

Peregrine like the falcon.

As in wandering, lazing through the sky.

Travelling.

Travels.

Rather than the falcon, the kestrel would be a more appropriate bird. We saw lots of kestrels seemingly effortlessly, floating, gliding, hovering, chest to the wind, on the drive from Canberra.

It is a good drive. Flat, flat, flat across the Hay Plains. Towns every 150 kilometres or less, at most 200 kilometres.

And there are lots of 5 kilometre markers. Which is a piece of genius. At 165 kilometres to go, 33 units counting down.

Count slowly.

So then to wander the valleys of my childhood. Literally I suppose, but only in homage to some eternal youthhood.

I drive to the top of Addison Avenue and park the car to enter Black Hill Conservation Park. On foot I hang a hard left in the general direction of The Sugar Loaves. Pausing on a zig zag descent leaves me overlooking a valley. There are ants everywhere so I seek the dustiest dust and kick off my thongs. Stamping out a circle free of their patter and nipper. It is a wide trail cut into the side of the hill to make it flat and I can enjoy the shade of a tree.

Time to play flute, but after chanting a little, the moment is sacred. There is natural cause to wash my hands, face, eyes, ears and lips, before playing. It is 36 degrees and the water cools me. I seem to have invented a cleansing ritual as I offer the hollow metal aloft above my head to heaven, seeking a deeper breath.

Music is a prayer.

AUM seems to reverberate through all the earth and tree. My voice is plucking the harmonic of nature from beyond the deep blue of the horizon.

At first, a dragonfly about my head hovers, back and forth. Whirling a little on the hillside the notes come, but I struggle to discover my resonance and relevance here upon the greatest stage of all. Alone with Nature. I want to capture all the space I see before me in my sound. It is loud.

A maelstrom of eidolons emerge from some unlit space. Mean thoughts attack I.

My mind is as vast as the sky and nobody can tell me otherwise says the heart.

Really, who is in charge here?

Supreme is He, an ever-transcending summit.

Only a fool tries to compete with God's Beauty.

I drink from The Evening Cup of Peace and climb back upward.

Coming soon:

Study of riverstone and cement wall construction in Rostrevor
150 year old Moreton Bay Fig pictorial (with centrefold)
Consideration of soil erosion management techniques in Fourth Creek (see 1.)
Hollow gumtree photographs (times two) - mighty boles guaranteed or your money back

Garden - end Phase One

2011-12-21T17:48:00.000+11:00

A bee is lazing around my living room as I finish this piece.

The butterfly below stopped by this afternoon.

Other photos from yesterday.

I have finished working on my garden for the year!

And plan to stick just to watering for a while.

Was going to print myself a Most Improved Balcony Certificate.

I am fairly confident this piece of cactus amonst the sempervivums will grow. So prefectly and evenly dried a specimen, crinkled and wizened. It might be a type of opuntia. Who knows? But for this survivor of the plant kingdom, the drought is over.

Scavenged cactus

Euphorbia from Hall Christmas Market $3

Let it grow.

Let it grow.

O butterfly,
Won't you visit the flower of my heart today?
Alight upon these petal lips friend,
Spilling wishes from the cup of spring.

Fontana

2011-12-21T16:33:00.000+11:00

Fontana del Pantheon
1575
design Giacomo della Porta
built Leonardo Sormani
located in front of the Pantheon in Piazza della Rotonda.

My Wabbit

2011-12-16T10:14:00.004+11:00

Her name is Miss Rumple

In The Princess of Wales Conservatory

2011-12-16T08:34:00.000+11:00

Named for Augusta, opened by Diana.

Some cacti

Kew Gardens

Sept 2011

Pinus Pinea

2011-12-16T08:23:00.000+11:00

Kew Gardens in London

September 2011

Nice bole.

Assuming 1972 is the year of planting, nice size for around 40 years old.

Pinoli or pine nuts come from this tree. Hey Pesto. Birdy nom nom.

London style

Italy

October 2011

In their native climate, the Italians call them Umbrella Pines. They are nearly always encouraged to grow a straight trunk and the lower branches are removed.

View from Zolli, Campagna

Outside the Vatican Museum, Rome

Near the Colosseum, Rome

Chamaecereus

2011-12-15T17:18:00.000+11:00

How to care for your cacti by John Pilbeam

Freaky Thursday Insect Christmas Special Edition

2011-12-15T16:45:00.000+11:00

Moths always rest with their wings flat

Butterflies with wings up

Wildflower, kerbside

tree decoration

same moth

tree decoration

new growth

spider on decoration

same butterfly checking out the camera

blue lizard

same spider?

om nom nom nom - hard to photograph as never still, all a caterpillar does is eat, eat, eat to earn its wings

same butterfly, other typical wing rest position

hearts

has same leg position as in blue pot photo - think it is same spider

Tannebaum

2011-12-14T13:47:00.000+11:00

Here is my Christmas Tree, harvested locally. Comments so far include: "non-typical shape" times three and "It's better than ours!"

Flying High

2011-12-13T08:25:00.000+11:00

Screenshot: The Age

'...alleged to have made some 10,000 euros ($A13,000) from selling on his ill-gotten gains from Air France alone over the last three years.' (Story)

Hang on.

It costs a lost to fly first class.

Is there really a large market of stupid people willing to buy Air France napkins, glasses, plates and blankets?

"Mon Dieu! I only need one first class soup bowl to complete my dinner setting!"
Marguerite La Fontaine, Paris socialite

After three years, this thief has to be way behind.

Worst. Criminal. Ever.

AFP, the source of this story, stands for Agency France-Presse.

Is this just guerilla advertising for airlines under the guise of journalism?

Someone has to ask the hard hitting questions.

CIA Drone Wars rhymes with Star Wars Clone Wars.

Coincidence?

I think not.

The Dust Buster of Justice

2011-12-12T18:51:00.001+11:00

The humble Dust Buster is under-rated as an enviromentally friendly bye-bye-bye-buzzy-buzzy-fly device. I just caught nine soaking up the sun on my bedroom window. Well, I wouldn't spray them and wacking them seems such an indolent pursuit. Let them all go again on my balcony. My preference is to leave the door wide open, but this is the result.

Weather wet.

At times.

There is your weather forecast for the coming week in Canberra.

Singing with the rain is so lovely. Sacred songs with harmonium. Not singing in the rain - I am not that cool. After the shower on Sunday night, the world seemed to be flooded with a golden light. A suffuse glow from above so warm reaching to hug existence. You could never catch it. You can only jump in to it, knowing you can never turn around again, because only death is behind. At the least, you will not be the same again, remain unchanged.

I like to play my flute during the thunderstorms too. The lighting comes on the high notes.

For a time, every bird outside my window teases, "Come on, sing a song. Here is my melody, play along."

It rains again.

The time has come to sing.

An exercise in design

2011-12-06T18:22:00.001+11:00

When I mentioned working on a design last week, it was for a coffee cup. This is the sample I made on Thursday using pen, paper, pcanner, photoshop and printer. I don't know that the local business is going to end up going with it. I see it is kind of a radical departure from their current design and they did not actually ask for a logo, but offered me a chance to share some of my own art.

The thing is, I don't actually have any particular work or style other than a dedication to eclecticism. I just relied on the power of my imagination and given they love bikes and roast their own beans, a dragon on a penny farthing seemed apropos.

Not for the first time, I thought that if my illustration skills were up to my imagination, then I would be able to make a children's book. This cup was great fun to make and took three hours in total. The exercise showed me that if I want to make a book then the only limitations would be self imposed, because there are no rules. The spirit of effort that imbues a work is what makes it appealing.

I emailed the design off with the following note:

"It is true that a dragon lives in the wood-oven right? He heats it up every day to do the cooking. This dragon is actually a retired wizard. Being a wizard is what allows the dragon to shrink himself to fit in the oven. He comes out to roast the coffee beans, but makes himself bigger again before starting this chore. Of course, most dragons end up becoming wizards due to their extreme age. Obviously, for a magic dragon to make a penny farthing if he feels like exercising is the easiest thing in the world. This dragon, due to having a mother who was a Sicilian, has a voracious appetite for cannoli."

Look out

2011-12-03T09:09:00.001+11:00

source unknown

More pots

2011-12-01T21:55:00.001+11:00

After spending the morning working on a design, I potted up more succulents in the afternoon. The new strawberry planter was a bargain for $10 due to one of the openings being chipped. It is already invisible after planting and otherwise sound.

The blue pot is called Eccentrica Gallumbits.

New garden

2011-12-01T13:11:00.001+11:00

This is my first pot using my new plants and took many hours of sadhanna. I am concerned about the precise sun requirements to keep these succulents this colourful and may arrange some cocktail umbrellas for shade in the short term. I have some sea glass collected from the coast of Capri on top of the gravel at the moment. It will look more amazing in a year, but interested parties should note it is for sale now for $489-50, including GST. Email for details.

Really, if you want your home in Home Beautiful, then this is the kind of thing you need in your bathroom.

You know it.

Rango plus snacks

2011-11-30T12:07:00.000+11:00

mmm yum

minstrelsy provided by mariachi

Rango was directed by Gore Verbinski

The production designer was Mark "Crash" McGeery

gotta fly

Rango at IMDB

All images owned by Nickelodeon or someone else with heaps of money

Gardening

2011-11-30T09:10:00.001+11:00

My succulent collection arrived yesterday. Don't get me started on Australia Post who don't ring my door and just leave a card in the letter box. Anyway, it was $30 including postage for 35 cuttings, but I got over 40 because there was a three delay to my order. Succulent Delights.

They came packed in shredded newspaper. When I was unpacking it all on the lawn, a neighbour's kid came over to have a look, then wandered away saying, "See you, holiday-man."

It is quite an impressive collection, even if I have maybe five or six of the varities already. It will be fun planting today, but daunting as I want to improve my groupings and don't know their final sizes. Perhaps a book or the internet will help. Or I will use the force. Colour, shape and size are all variables.

This collection is probably going to max out my balcony space, but I am working on hanging pots from the rail. Alas, still have not found any old teapots suitable for turning into pots. A row of them would look cool hanging. Preferably metal, maybe ceramic. Either way need a drill too.

2011-11-30T00:34:00.001+11:00

By the Lakes of Canberra on the shores of Burley Griffin in fact

2011-11-28T21:52:00.001+11:00

I was surprised that the winged creature - I thought it was a baby dragonfly - let me get so close. The spider actually jumped onto the magnifying glass and then my phone. While I was dealing with that, another type of insect landed on my leg, also keen for attention. But it flew away before I could photograph it.

Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella, Lago Maggiore

2011-11-28T11:56:00.001+11:00

On the way to making another photo-essay of Napoli, got distracted with a gallery of the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore.

Yackadoo

2011-11-27T17:11:00.001+11:00

Ladybug feeding time. (Not all ladies! Females are usually larger than the males, but if you do not find a pair midst coitus, you will need a microscope and the relevant owners manual to tell the sexes apart.)

They go to sleep at night and then they wake up in the light.

Louis Armstrong is my elephant's name. He plays trumpet, horn and cornet.

plate and sea shells at table with scarf $48.95 (scarf, plate, table not included, includes gift wrap and postage, excludes chair and any other fixtures, this is for the shells only people)

Naples, view of

Large increase in insect activity following the cessation of rains.
Butterfly, moth, fly, wasp, beetle and spider.
More webs than I have noticed in a while.
A full canopy of green beckons to my balcony.

How did I convince myself at the shop earlier today that I would not wish to eat chocolate later on?

Wish list item number one - pet turtle

Mainly plants

2011-11-18T09:48:00.001+11:00

There are a number of Australian websites on succulents:

The Succulent Garden - best for identifying plants, comprehensive range for sale

Succulent Delights - where I bought a mixed box, review to follow

The Plant episode of BBC's Life is on iview now

Intermittent rain all week in Canberra, but I enjoyed singing with the rain on Sunday. Songs from the poem Savitri set to music.

The Radar Map makes entertaining viewing for the stimulus starved and contains quite an astounding array of scientifical information.

All about fracking. Hmm.

I planted a Haworthia or called Zebra Plant due to its markings.

I watched all of The Hamster Wheel on iview, in reverse order, in a day. It is so clever, the fake tweets were the best bit. It tickles the funny bone in a peculiar way, a bit like MediaWatch on testosterone. The inquiry into Australian media should watch highlights, not that they will be able to legislate intelligence into we, the masses.

The small succulent in the thumb vase has been that size for nearly four months, it is possibly a miniature.

My cactus is flowering, it really appreciated coming off the window sill overnight.

My cypress seedlings look very happy, here is one:

Some kind of cupressae

Still shot National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Random succulents from the neighbourhood in a pot I painted (pond sealant plus acryclic paint).

Still shot National Lampoon's European Vacation

My novel, cactus and Venice

2011-11-17T13:19:00.001+11:00

Inventing conspiracy theories is fun, only sometimes, sometimes... they turn out to be true! One boy's extraordinary adventure to save the world with the Lochness Monster, a Polaris Missle and four brave dolphins.

I might rework the second sentence a bit before coming back to this novel.

Unable to identify this cactus photogrpahed in Sorrento below, but it was at least 12 foot tall. My best guess is Lophocereus which is prone to mutations. I am going to try and grow a decorative prickly-pear. Who knew growing an invasive weed would be so confusing from reading the internet? All I need is well-drained soil and sunshine.

Prickly Pear can be grown into a fence, which might make an interesting feature wall in a dry climate. Against a turqouise, sky-blue, cerulean what are you? coloured wall. The problem with having a good cactus garden is the Mexican desert ain't safe for homesteading no more since the narcos took over.

The thing about Venice was that I remembered it from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, so I was a little dissapointed with the experience. No-one chased me in a speed boat while I was hunting artefacts. There were certainly a lot more people about than in the fantastic film below. Italy should totally hire movie stars to live in and wander through their famous cities. I am sure they used to do that. Not enough Senators are buying festivals for the people anymore it seems.

Berlusconi is to blame for the massive banner ads for cars around St Mark's Square as they undertake restoration work underneath. In a country full of tourists, for shame. I met someone who paid big money to look after pandas for a week in China and they only got to touch one once! Mario Monti now needs a Tourism Minister who charges foreigners to come and undertake restoration work on their holdiays, for a specified period, otherwise they are not allowed entry into Italy.

Murano, most likely if memory serves, where I bought my glass animals

These are mosaics with marble work on the floor of the church in Venice where I wasn't supposed to take pictures.

This is Venice bits and pieces, which it is falling to, you can see.

From Russia With Love. Padlocks are the new graffiti.

Way of the dead - limited lunch options.

Gardening and home maintenance

2011-11-17T10:21:00.001+11:00

Listening to Jean Michael Jarre, I keep waiting for the song to become normal, but it never happens.

External window cleaning nearly complete, ladder required from shed and I can tie the wisteria in the yard down at the same time. I wore a hat because safety first.

Totally rearranged the balcony yesterday to welcome my new mosaic pot, including making a temporary seafood restaurant wall decoration with pebbles. Just discarded idea of leaving pot on outside window-sill round the corner as a cactus garden. Realise my weather widget is set to Adelaide and it will not be 34 degrees and sunny, it looks like it may rain a little for a few weeks here. Explains confusion in regards to the weather of late. The pot will not fit on the inside ledge of my room either. It is still going to be a cactus garden though. Time to get four cacti with identical water and sun requirements. Plus the right soil.

Put safety chocks under the pot so no cats could knock it over. I have seen one around here you know.

Some of the pine cones I have met

The arrangement of stones is influenced by Finding Nemo. People can pay me $100 to come and see this art while it lasts. They can have as much tea as they like while they are here.

My geranium about to flower, strawberry planter needs something up top

I also repotted two cypress seedlings and potted two new succulents for my collection. Well, you want the place to look good for visitors, even if they don't turn up. Speaking of, in a piece of tactical brilliance, highlighting strategic foresight par excellence, Australia has delivered Darwin as an American base. Why is this such a boss move by Australia?

Obama wants Darwin for one reason. It is number 10 on Lonely Planets Top 10 cities for 2012. Since the CIA got overtaken by the Facebook Generation and changed their motto to: "All hot, all the time," the Lonely Planet Top 10 cities list actually provides the template for American Foreign Policy/plans for world domination.

Think NASA is finished? Yes. Finished building the United States Space Ship Reagan that is. Named so, as it was afterall America's greatest actor/President (not the other way around) who ordered a Death Star be built at the height of the Cold War. The USSS Reagan will have its maiden flight in 2012. From Orlando! Number nine on our Lonely Planet list! They are working backwards okay...but I digress.

Who is responsible for the Lonely Planet sphere of influence (spycraft lingo)? Two Australian hippies. That's right, it's all part of a bigger plan. A plan that involves scientists at the CSIRO, the secret love child of Gough Whitlam and Germaine Greer, radical experimental reverse fractalisation techniques and the latent psychic energy contained within the infamous painting Blue Poles. All being in the same room together at the same time. I am not at liberty to explain further, but quite clearly, as I have oulined here, the Australian Government is right on top of this one.

I can feel my own plan coming together. One that involves concrete and rocks.

Something like this. (Esplenade, Sellicks Beach, South Australia)

The President comes to Canberra

2011-11-16T09:27:00.001+11:00

The President of the United States is nearly here!

My street in the Inner North of Canberra was blocked off at 5am this morning. The neighborhood pulled together and the trestle tables went up in the middle of the street before dawn broke. Now, the cutest little hand-embroidered American flags flutter in a gentle breeze atop platters of moist cupcakes. The smell of freshly baked Pumpkin Pie is wafting through the air. Red, white and blue streamers festoon the trees.

Previously arthritis-bound geriatrics spontaneously began to promenade in evening-wear an hour ago. The street echoes with the laughter of merry children gambolling as they wait their turn to have a Black Hawk helicopter ride from the park next door. In their down time, while they are not barbecuing in their Aviator sunnies, the Marines in the park are lobbing mortars at the ABC building on Northbourne Ave as per American military protocol on relationships with journalists while on foreign soil.

Alas, we have lost sight of the turkey who was due to receive a symbolic pardon from the President in a ceremony commemorating our two nations progress on the new Free Trade Agreement. Alarmingly, it was last seen wandering towards the Turkish Pizza House on Lowanna St.

The motto of Braddon's finest and only pide merchant is, "TURKISH PIZZA worth a try." In a linguistic misunderstanding, no-one knows if a unique addition will appear on their menu tonight, but the Secret Service is expected to investigate.

For security reasons, no-one is sure just what time Barrack is arriving in Braddon. I must off and take a pot of tea to the lovely snipers who have encamped atop the roof of my apartment complex - maybe they will have an update for me.

Patriotically, Tony Abbott volunteered to perform security duty, "While Osama is in town..." and was fitted for his uniform earlier in the week.

"Who wants to see my robot dance?" responds the putative future leader of Australia, to the moves of the number one break-dancing digger currently in country. Photo credit: Penny Stephens

It is going to be such an exciting couple of days.

Goodness, I need a nap.

Footnote (afternoon):

After going to the trouble of submitting this alleged "article" to the RiotAct, using Wordpress of all things, it was rejected for being too funny. Which is just as well, because the President failed to come visit immediately upon landing. Dissapointed sums up the mood here really. There won't be another window of opportunity this time Down Under from him to come round.

Indeed, I saw on the SMH website that he went to Parliament and shook hands with school kids, next to our Julia, who actually kinda looked like Cate Blanchett for the occasion. Also, none of the kids did high-five, which was pretty surprising really. They must have got instructions beforehand.

It may not surprise you to learn, unless you are befuddled of wit, that like most people in Canberra, there is no way I am going to get even a hint of a glimpse of our special visitor in person. Except on a television, which I do not own, or the internet, which I do. In case my eyeballs melt and I revert to my alien-form. It pays to be safe rather than sorry. Obviously.

Meanwhile, it turns out ASIO are really nice people. They just want to be friends and learn all about your friends.

No kidding.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

2011-11-15T23:36:00.001+11:00

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, the story of an attempt to faithfully construct a Roman villa in the countryside of contempary Shropshire was a fascinating show to watch.

Many of the construction techniques used were experimental and based on the writings of Vitruvius. Six builders, all from the modern construction industry, were thrown together under the direction of a suitably qualified academic. Sadly, the academic could have been a bit more flamboyant with his tweed. Still, for me, reality television doesn't get any better than this, although Bear Grylls diet is certainly funnier to watch.

So many traditional building techniques were on display, including making and baking tubulae, building a hypercaust, carpentry from forest to beam, plaster followed by fresco and laying a mosaic. The mason, who was really a brickie, shaped six sandstone blocks into two circular columns.

The narrator mentioned that the Pantheon in Rome has one piece columns, which is relatively rare. It is made of the harder granite of course. I have decided this is why the Pantheon was the most striking building that I saw in Rome.

When they finished the villa, the builders celebrated by donning togas for a traditional feast, recalling any number of dinner scenes from Asterix, minus the debauchery and gluttony.

Visit the villa.

Thanks my ABC.

Finding Nemo

2011-11-15T19:45:00.001+11:00

Over coffee and popcorn with a friend this week I saw Finding Nemo for the first time. Is this a simple children's film or an allegory upon the totality of existence? Check with Carl Jung or Joseph Campbell, but I loved it.

Picture courtesy Walt Disney's frozen head

It was pleasantly surprising to find Australia featured so prominently. Dory is such a sweet character, she is so self-effacing, full of faith and loyalty. This makes her a winner. As I have to visit a dentist soon, this aspect of the film was a little discouraging.

Image via Walt Disney's zombie

I learnt what a supraesophageal ganglion is. You never know when that kind of information could come in handy.

Surely we can all speak whale if we try.

Making Monday

2011-11-14T15:18:00.001+11:00

The Hairpin has a great article on What Dogs Want. Favourites below:

Image Copywright : Lisa Hanawalt

Just spent $100 at Bunnings, which is always fun, especially with a birthday voucher worth $100. Mosaic supplies in the main.

Tomorrow a Real Estatey person is coming to check out how much I can rent my flat for. If the plan comes together, then time for a house of some sort early next year. I need a garden and a shed to mess about in. This place is just too small and lacking in such opportunities. One day, maybe a ruralish property where I can build stone walls and gigantical mosaics that come to life when no-one is watching and have adventures.

At this point I can't make any mosaic of a decent size because I am concerned wood is going to flex and as mentioned concrete board is just too big to transport. I did get a nice terracotta pot 20cm square and 30cm high for my next project.

Image Copywright : Lisa Hanawalt

I saw Midnight in Paris. It was good, because who doesn't like time travel? Quite a sweet paean to the charms of Paris, where I have never been. The actors playing Dali, Hemingway, Picasso et al have a lot of fun. Hemingway certainly comes across as quite a tool. Owen Wilson and his misshapen nose is likeable, especially compared to his deliberately annoying contemporary companions. A bit of Cole Porter music makes it all the better too. Check out Red, Hot and Blue if you are unfamiliar with his songs.

While lazing, have been re-reading my favourite Terry Pratchett books. His latest book, Snuff, has received quite a variable reaction from his devoted readership. In consideration, he does have Alzheimer's, so I will give it a go, but borrow it from a library.

Need more ridiculous stock photography?

Remember to stay hydrated as the temperature heats up.

bee plus tree

2011-11-14T00:15:00.001+11:00

Realistic drawing is not something I excel at. Occassionally, with sufficient concentration, I manage to make a passable likeness of things seen. Like this piece of a Pinus halapensis at Yarralumla.

Some time ago I made a bee with the help of a projector and a photograph I took.

The folk at LSR, Canberra's best coffee purveyors, were kind enough to let it rest in their wallpaper tree.

Upcoming event at Lonsdale Street Roasters

Dining Out in Canberra

2011-11-13T17:33:00.001+11:00

On the way to the Vinnie's Warehouse Sale the other day, I did not have time to stop at King Arthur's Feast in Mitchell. Nevertheless, based on their bold proclamation, "Food for a King", I have no hesitation in making a recommendation that you dine there soon.

Evidence - truth in advertising does exist

I did have breakfast/lunch at Joey's Kitchen today in the Watson Shops and it was really good. Great coffee, good food, fine prices and friendly staff. Definitely go there too. Their doorway also has a nice mosaic of a cornucopia.

Arriverderci

2011-11-13T12:06:00.001+11:00

Image: Reuters, Tony Gentile via ABC

Poetry

2011-11-12T14:39:00.001+11:00

Well, I won't say my poetry writing days are done, but I certainly do not hear the muse so often.

This poem, being on dreams, reality and God, holds a deep meaning for me:

A DREAM-POET

A dream-poet
Sows gold for others
And collects silver for himself.

A reality-poet
Sows lead for others
And collects diamonds for himself.

A God-poet
Sows fulfilment-smiles for others
And collects futility-cries for himself.

Sri Chinmoy
The Dance of Life, Part 13

Insects - Beetles

2011-11-12T14:21:00.001+11:00

Continuing study of insects.

From Mr. See-more says "Look Around" by Eric and Lucy Kincaid (Brimax Books 1977)

This beetle is obviously not going to a party.

I can not identify this beetle that I shot in Mt Lofty Botanic Garden. I can tell you it is very loud. Not that I can entirely discount an auditory hallucination, but I heard it land from a metre away, while facing the other direction. Again I heard it turn around after photographing it and moving away. Remember those clickers we got at parties as a kid? I guess they kind of mimic nature.

2011-11-10T08:54:00.001+11:00

Grouting my latest piece took half an hour last night, but I have left it to cure now. It is in my bathroom to stop it drying out too quickly. After 48 hours, I can paint some grout sealant on it, which I still have to buy. This is definitely necessary if it is going to sit outside, seeing it is white. Then it will take still longer to dry. Still not convinced that white is the best colour to use for grouting.

This means it may be another week before planting anything in it. I have four or five different succulents ready to plant. Some have been sitting around for weeks, but they should be fine. I love collecting succulents wherever I go and have many from South Australia, as well as Canberra.

I imagine it will look a lot better with some plants actually in it. While I have time, I am going to try mixing some colour in my sealant before painting a few small terracotta pots. Bright colours. It should have an interesting effect. As long as it doesn't just flake straight off, a weathered look should work.

Still do not feel overly confident about making a design and sticking to it. In fact, I don't know if it will be possible, but I take comfort and inspiration from the following.

Natural stones also offer amazing possibilities. Building up a bit of collection of stones now.

What odd weather we are having at present.

I noticed recently that birds say new things every day, but they do talk about the weather a lot.

Insects (oh my, butterfly)

2011-11-03T09:55:00.000+11:00

The Insect episode of David Attenborough's Life will be available on iview for another ten days. The photography is absolutely incredible. I have watched it twice already. The segment on the damselfly is particularly amazing, as is the footage of millions of Monarch Butterflies, but it is all beyond fantastic.

Regarding butterflies, I took inspiration from this book that I picked up at the Lifeline Canberra Bookfair for two dollars. If you like books, then this event is almost too much to handle. Bring water, food and something with wheels to carry your booty, although not a ride-on mower, unless you are particularly committed to bargain hunting.

The story of life as it has never been seen before!

My terracotta tub is quite small, but the theme is butterflies. I did both sides so my neighbours get a view of one side from the balcony, but I can rotate it as desired.

chrysalis

Butterflies smell with their antennae. Below are magnified antennae - moth on the left and butterfly on the right. Butterflies always have club-shaped antennae.

Antennae - moth on the left, butterfly on the right

Some male butterflies can pick up the scent of a female butterfly from 100 metres away, but moths have an even keener sense of smell.

Note club-shaped antenna

I will not have a chance to grout this until next week, but will show you when it is finished.

Dang it

2011-11-02T11:21:00.000+11:00

as everyone knows

Seashore

2011-11-01T07:50:00.000+11:00

Lines in the sand

A cricket (I think) living in a rotting branch

Mosaics

2011-10-28T22:29:00.000+11:00

This is called Project Stereo Box. There is blue like the sky and the sea, because music embodies emotion and for freedom. And I see lots of faces.

There is much more space between the tiles, the surface is not flat, but curves at the edges.

This is grain in a storm.

There is way too much space between the tiles, although I really like the design. It could just do with more tiles, although I would still prefer to fill up the empty spaces rather than tighten up the design. Live and learn.

I decided that I was losing white tiles, so added black ink to the white grout. Grout is not very attractive and the greater the space between tiles the worse it can look. Not sure if it behaves differently on wood.

I have a rectangular terracotta tub that I sealed ready for my next attempt. Feel awkward about actually trying to draw a design on first and follow it, but favouring bees and butterflies in that regard.

Chance to collect rocks and seashells at the coast this weekend.

Bread

2011-10-28T11:30:00.000+11:00

This bread is so good.

It is from Tufara Valle and Carmine is doing the cutting. You can see how big the loaves are. It was still hot from the oven when he bought it home.

You can buy Italian wood-oven bread here, but it is still a simulacra, as it lacks the moist fluffiness within to some extent.

The closest I have eaten to it in Australia is in Adelaide when I was a kid. My grandparents used to buy bread from a family on their street who baked it in their own backyard oven.

As this set of grandparents came from Tufara Valle and immigrants often clustered together, it would not surprise me if the bakers were related. One day, we stopped being able to buy the bread, because the family was reported for running an illegal business.

Marble Pt I (Pisa)

2011-10-25T00:02:00.001+11:00

Pisa Baptistry

Construction 1152 - 1363 (211 years)
Largest baptistry in Italy
The portal, facing the facade of the cathedral, is flanked by two classical columns...
Photographs below of the left column demonstrate what sculpted marble exposed to the elements looks like after close to 1000 years.

I am fairly sure I saw a marble quarry from the highway on the way to Pisa, but I am not sure which one. (I made a no photos from the bus rule fairly quickly, because it was too frustrating in the main.) Anyway, check out this link about mining marble at Pietrasanta.

Taking marble from the ground is lot a work:

During the Renaissance, marble was quarried by inserting wooden pegs into naturally occuring cracks in the rock, then pouring water onto the pegs to make them swell. Eventually the rock would split, liberating a piece of marble.

The principal tool of modern quarrying is a wire cable 1cm in diameter, fitted at 5cm intervals with diamond-studded collars. Holes are drilled in the mountain, the cable is threaded through the holes to form a loop, and the loop is driven at high speed by an electric motor.

In this quarry the marble is extracted in rectangular blocks measuring 8' x 8' x 16'. Once the sides and back of a block have been separated from the mountain using the wire cable, the bottom is undercut from the front using a chain saw that translates along a horizontal rail.

If you want to go and look at the famous leaning tower, mi raccomondo you visit at 3am or some other time when the seemingly endless row of tawdry souvenir stalls are closed. (It must be close to a kilometre long and is L-shaped.) This does offer the disadvantage of probably missing a chance to buy a cut-price Rolex watch, but will greatly improve the aesthetics of the location.

It is probable this column is made of travertine, which is technically a type of limestone, not marble. Travertine is formed through the accumulation of calcite from hot springs. Typically, hot water passes through limestone beds and takes the calcium from the limestone into suspension and takes that solution to the surface where the water evaporates and leaves the calcium crystals in layers on the surface. It contains lots of holes that were formed from water flowing through the stone.

Travertine is not of sufficient quality for statuary, even if it will take a very high polish. This explains the prominence of the holes, but only in combination with pollution and weather, particularly water. If acid rain still exists and even fruit juice can "damage" a marble benchtop, then the impact of nature and time on the design has been exaggerated. It is fascinating how the result has integrated with and responds to the carving.

So I am not a geologist, results are not scientifc, sue me.

PS Despite appearances, it still feels absurdly soft and smooth to the touch.

Finished mosaic

2011-10-24T11:36:00.001+11:00

Pretty happy with this for under four hours work.

May do some smaller pieces on wood for indoors before a 127cm x 227cm piece on my outside wall.

Gold tiles and pieces of mirror would really add a lot.

It's a flower.

Salad

2011-10-23T21:48:00.002+11:00

You know you want it...

Mosaical

2011-10-23T20:30:00.000+11:00

One of the things I liked about Italy was the super-prevalence of mosiacs. I took many photos of same with the intention of copying designs, but haven't sorted many of my pictures yet.

This afternoon after a trip to Bunnings I made my first mosaic. It is an organic design, although I had a tree in mind.

To make a better one I will need a tile cutter with more accuracy. Still, happy with it as it took under three hours and the goal was finish before sunset, which I did. Though of course the grouting has to be done tomorrow.

Working on a plan to get a 4.4m piece of "Blue Board" home as they won't cut it at the hardware store. This can be used as a backing for outdoor pieces. The pictured piece is on a bessa brick paver. It is very heavy for the size and I won't be driving iron pitons into any walls soon. Blue board will let make large pieces that can be attached to brick.

Mosaics offer a lot of artistic decoration potential. Bathrooms, kitchens, outdoor areas, but that will probably have to wait.

Murano glass

2011-10-23T12:52:00.000+11:00

About 20 minutes by fifty seater boat from Venezia is an island called Murano. They have made glass there for centuries to avoid the risk of setting fire to Venice itself.

We saw a short demo where a 72 year old made a beautiful vase in five minutes and a dancing horse in two minutes. 1200 degree Celsius furnace. I wondered if they used it to heat up their lunch. The guy who talked us through these artistic labours was louche as Flash Harry.

Canberra has a glassworks too with the same type of furnace, but at their demo they spent half an hour faddling one big lump of glass.

After the veteran artisan finished, Harry took us to the showroom, a three floor mezzanine with eight rooms. There were masive unique pieces with price tags fit for oil-well owners.

On the boat in I had seen a whole row of smaller showrooms along the waterfront so I was never going to waste an hour in one spot as we were encouraged to do. I found all these tiny glass creatures in three different shops instead, which must be better for the local traders.

Shot in my garden.

Sorrento

2011-10-10T04:35:00.000+11:00


After meditating on the beach at Positano

Do you want to see pictures of Pompeii? Didn't think so. Very glad to have read Pompeii by Robert Harris before visiting there. And it is not as cold as it looks on the beach, it was windy, but I just really like wrapping scarves around my head. The sand is grey due to the volcanic rock from Mt Vesuvius.

Definitely the most awe-inspiring sight in Rome is The Pantheon by the way. The internet in my current hotel is supposed to cost 10 Euro an hour and only be available in the lobby, but it is actually free and available in my room, so I will try and get some more photos up after dinner.

Ciao.

Roma II

2011-10-09T01:36:00.000+11:00

I am on a Trafalgar Tour now. To see the highlights of Italy in a limited time it is a good idea. While not a fan of The Vatican and its ways, their museum is full of awesome works of art. With a tour group, you bypass all the queues which can be ridiculous - 20,000 people a day go through there.

Artemis in the Vatican Museum

Detail from painting in the map room of the Vatican Museum

Detail, map room, Vatican Museum

The Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine

Doing my best to fare una bella figura

The Sistine Chapel was the one place in the Vatican where I felt the art was definitely imbued with divinity. After all, the genius of Michelangelo spent 11 years painting the thing. But it is quite gloomy, the security are constantly shouting not to take photos and to keep quiet, plus it is always packed full of people. St Peter's Basilica is so massive that monument exhaustion quickly sets in. My favourite part was the map room.

With any interest in Roman history and enough time and money it would be easy to explore this city for weeks.

Roma

2011-10-08T07:45:00.000+11:00

Walked down the Spanish Steps to Piazza di Spagna from the church (la chiesa) Trinità dei Monti up top.

No squalling

Detail of painting in the Trinità dei Monti

Sigh

Your typical Roman Legionnare has adopted a much
more relaxed approach to empire building these days.

Wall of the Villa Barberini

The following four statues made up the corners of a monument.

The Hebrew on the scroll translates as:
"Caution - you are about to pay five dollars for a tiny bottle of soft drink."

At dinner time, musicians roam through restaurants amongst the diners, along with folk selling scarves, wooden carvings, baubles and bangles. Even now, at 10pm, with the window open on the seventh floor of my hotel, the sounds of the piano accordion are making their way through the open window.

We are staying very close to the Termini Train Station, but we only had to wander about three blocks away from the row of hotels, past the falafel shops, to find a restaurant mostly lacking in tourists. The best thing about Trattoria Giovanni was the local just playing guitar to his friends as they ate. The owner, who was actually called Valentino, also took a turn on the the guitar, knocking out Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Unlike the vagabond players, they were not passing around the hat for Euros. When a Neopolitan wandered by and asked for a regional folk song, they all joined in. This made it easy to ignore the guy who eventually wandered in to play (badly) the theme from The Godfather on the piano accordion.

I don't know much about art, but the painting below, also in Trinità dei Monti, has awesome symmetry.

Zolli - a culinary introduction

2011-10-08T01:38:00.000+11:00

When I have time, I will do a long post on the village of Zolli where I spent the last five days or so, but just a few pictures and stories in the mean time.

These are the mushrooms we ate for lunch one day, fried in olive oil with a bit of garlic. I found them down the hill on the way to the river. Dad's Zia (Aunt) was quite offended when I asked to actually cook them myself. Sitting at the table to eat sees the men sitting at one end and women and children at the other. The men are served first and start eating before the women even sit down. Old school. When I helped to clear a few plates one night, everyone was surprised and amused. Zia could only tell me they were funghi normale, i.e. normal mushrooms; they tasted great with pasta.

This is the bowl of spaghetti with fresh porcini, again foraged locally, we had for dinner one evening.

And not to reinforce stereotypes about Italians and pasta (much), but this was the amount of pasta on hand in my third of fourth Aunt's kitchen cupboard.

Buon appetito!

Italian culture 2011

2011-10-06T18:21:00.000+11:00

Io non credo - tastes okay though

I am proud not to own a television, but this comic from xkcd perfectly sums up the quality of entertainment here. The Amanda Knox acquittal (vergogna!) was shown live and every time I have seen the box in the past few days, a panel is discussing the verdict in a studio before switching to the street. This literally goes on for hours.

Also saw a bit of a candid camera style show which included:

a woman with a samurai sword walking around the audience to select participants; and
a man with a shaved head, wearing leather pants and trench coat, shooting an apple from a model's hands with a bow that had a laser sight.

Napoli

2011-10-02T08:36:00.001+11:00

Word on the street

Local speciality

Advanced Italian language technique

View from my hotel - local bylaws require that balconies display either melons or washing

After Italy became a Republic in 1946, the royal family was banished, here the Queen is seen returning to reconcile with the President of the Republic

The President of the Republic leaving La Palazzo Royale (no joke)

The preferred method of transport

Mural in La Galleria

Neapolitans displaying their famous civic pride (and love of Rome)

The Ministry of Health's sunsmart campaign was well received by the locals

The Italian synchronised swimming team take a well-earned break from training for London 2012

The Spanish Quarter

Babbo, bambino e bicicletta

La Galleria

Interiore Galleria

"Chicks dig this hat right? They told me chicks would dig this hat."

Fiori di zuchhini

Performing for the camera

Local rat patrol

Legendary efficiency of the Italian beuracracy - this was the shortest queue seen since World War II

Once plentiful in The Bay of Naples, due to the obsession with frutti di mare, mermaids are now extinct

Yum

Hamming it up - Napoli beat Inter 3-0 tonight

Born to be wild

London

2011-10-01T16:29:00.001+10:00

I apologise to my regular readers, (all 2.8 of them), for the paucity of posts of late. After five days in London, I am in Naples where the hotel has provided free Internet. Here are a few shots from my trip so far.

Peripatetic Peruvian Bears sighted = nil

Outside The National Gallery

A quick guide to British Birds

Cancellation of The Bill, in tandem with cuts to public services, has seen the numbers of uniformed officers/out of work actors on the streets of London skyrocket. Their powers are limited to providing tourists with directions.

It's a squirrel in Hyde Park

The English indulging in one of their traditional pastimes, toad in the hole, in Hyde Park.

A flower, Kensington Garden

The same type of flower with a bee, Kensington Garden

Orb Weaver on holly in Kensington Garden, Hyde Park

The chestnuts are ripening in Hyde Park, BYO brazier

Life is tough for Smurfs on The Thames

Man on horse with sword

"I can nearly see Albert Hall from here."

At the movies

2011-09-19T22:00:00.000+10:00

Last century, back in the Eighties, computers were going to make everything possible as they daily performed miraculous wondrous feats. Life was all set to become a dream come true. Hence, the first known appearance of the film Weird Science in 1985.

War Games in 1983 had previously taught us the computer was our friend, a benign and wise guardian. Then, following the dizzying artistic heights revealed during 1984 in Revenge of the Nerds, in an evolutionary leap that still baffles scientists, studio executives manifested an unparalleled vision of motion picture genius.

They produced the following equation:

nerds

increasing availability of home computers

missile technology

Kelly LeBrock

Never again would our lives be the same.

Towards the end of the film, in a stunning plot device, mutants appear during Gary and Wyatt's party, enabling the boys to discover their true manhood:

Micheal Berryman (did not play Sloth in The Goonies also released in 1985)

Vernon Wells, inexplicably still in make up from Mad Max 2 (1981)

This film also contains Robert Downey Jr before his teeth were fixed and Bill Paxton's inimitable Chet.

This is truly a film for our age and every age still to come.

Watch

No surprises there really

2011-09-19T20:15:00.002+10:00

Snapshot from front page
Sydney Morning Herald

The Grand Adventure

2011-09-17T11:43:00.004+10:00

On Friday, I went for an awesome walk by and near Lake Burley Griffin. The weather was glorious.

It somehow took over three hours. Once I got to the corner of Flynn Drive and Alexandrina Drive, I was surprised to find that the Chinese are building a second embassy building next to their existing one. Very low key frontage to the lake. It is pretty big. New World Superpower Size.

Someone had dumped a broken washing machine on the spare tracks used by trucks to the right of the compound. Seriously, why don't people throw their rubbish in a bin? Or use a dump? Tempting to write a big sweary sign. We should have hard rubbish collection in Canberra.

It was all bush-bashing after that, up through a very thick young uniform sized eucalyptus grove. Fairly slow going around the ridge formed by Forster Crescent. At least 100 metres of blackberry bushes. I can't remember exactly, as I was trying to play flute at the same time. I guess because of the embassies around there, they don't clean it up and encourage wandering. It was mildly irksome in jeans and sneakers, but some boots and/or a machete would make it easier.

The work of a landcare group is evident once out of the neck of the valley. It is an interesting tract of land, because it is largely undisturbed. Lots of big ant's nests:

And I saw a bunch of Spitfires:

Fascinating creatures, they spit yellow eucalyptus oil when threatened. Check out wikipedia.

I also saw a centipede, but only shot a bit of video of it. About 10cm long. Red around the edges, yet so good at camouflage when they choose to twist themselves up.

It doesn't bear to think about these creepy crawlies crawling around on a person. The spitfire has a nasty reputation that is probably undeserved, I doubt I ever found one in my hair or on my neck, but as children they freak us out when we imagine being attacked by them.

During the week I spent a few hours in Fairbairn Pines. Mostly I was photographing a lichen. I decided that I am not that big a fan of pine plantations. Aesthetically anyway. Alone in the forest, where only the trees hear my tears, I recognise my attachment to the earth-plane.

Like all natural phenomena, once observed, I find their presence everywhere. Now I can see from my balcony a lichen on a trunk just metres from me. For the same reason, it was slow going through the bush when trying to avoid breaking or disturbing all the spiderwebs stretched between branches.

It seemed like the first real day of spring where the earth had a chance to warm through and radiate the heat of the sun upwards. The gently baking earth warming cocoons and pupae.

Other sightings:

first butterfly and dragonfly of the season
massive burrow complex, but only one bunny rabbit
acacia plantings by a landcare group
many cairns
native wildflowers
awesome cubbyhouse precinct

This is not an alien, but a freak of photography. The same spot of fungus, found on a fallen pine, is pictured immediately afterwards, sans eyes.

There is not a lot of detail in the yellow lichen unless you enlarge it. I find the suction cup-like protuberances the coolest part.

So, I don't know who is responsible for the cubbies, but they are huge and well built. I took some video as I didn't know if mutants were going to charge out and I wanted people to know what happened to me if my phone was discovered after the event. I was all prepared to send the video as a distress signal. An anthropilacitatus is not actually a giant wombat to the best of my knowledge.

So, there were quite a few of these structures, although this one was the finest.

I sat to play some flute then. A couple of kangaroos stopped to listen. I have never found kangaroos very intelligent. In this case they proved it, by not staying to listen. When I got back to the National Library, I played this video while waiting outside. A pair of magpies walked over and started carolling along with it for a minute. The video is on a funny angle because I was levitating at the time.

I wish you could have seen the wind blowing in my hair along the lake. Oh, hang on, I took a video for you.

For a video of the wind blowing through my hair, please send $20 and a SSAE to your nearest favourite tree.

Clearly the National Capital Authority should pay me to serve as a wandering tourist attraction.

Bonsai

2011-09-14T12:10:00.000+10:00

Other than the gentlemanly pursuits of visiting my cobbler and my tailor this morning in preparation for my impending Grand Tour, I planted a bonsai garden. I am not sure what type of conifer these are. They were transplanted from the ground three weeks ago and seem to have survived with growth on the tips of their uppermost branches. I think they are doing well because of their size and retaining native dirt around their root base. I hope the one at bottom right grows crooked.

More busy bees

2011-09-13T17:18:00.000+10:00

Bees being busy

2011-09-13T16:53:00.000+10:00

Geastrum triplex

2011-09-13T00:56:00.001+10:00

Also called earthstar, collared earthstar, the saucered earthstar, or the triple earthstar.

Some use in traditional Chinese medicine, plus Native American Indian legend and medicine.

This fungus is found in hardwood forests where undisturbed acretions of detritus and leaf litter has had the chance to form a dense layer and make humus.

Widely distributed planetarily.

Still, I spend a fair bit of time under pine trees and I have never seen it before. Lack of low branches in urban areas increases the likelihood of the ground being disturbed and may even provide too much light. I would not be surprised if Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) was inimical to its continuity.

There was around seven or eight in a square metre at my site in Haig Park. About three metres from this flower.

I put these ones back where I found them, but was quite excited to find them. The spore sacs look a bit puckered where I touched them.

Excellent fan-made Australian fungi site (slow to load)
Wikipedia entry

Cracticus tibicen and other birdies

2011-09-12T13:37:00.000+10:00

Lake Burley Griffin, Winter 2011
the young have grey chest plumage which will turn black with age
brown-eyed bird

Wikipedia

Misunderstood birds at the ABC

Watch testing of the efficacy of helmet adornments in repelling magpies

CSIRO

Today I saw many birds do things for the first time in my yard:

Crimson Rosella drinking from the bird bath
A pair of Superb Fairy Wren (probably) in the bush next to my window
Unknown parrot in the bush over the other side of the stairs
Pied Currawong, with a yellow eye, walk along the rail of my balcony, check out the piece of pine I am wittling, eyeball my washing inquisitively and crap accurately on a succulent before flying away.

Three days ago, I saw a Willy Wagtail on the balcony also, so it is certainly spring, when all the birds like to sing.

I have to get better at identifying birds before I could take part in the survey which the reference Birds of Canberra Gardens is based on. The Braddon quadrant is sadly lacking in survey sites, including all of Haig Park. I wonder what the rules are to consitute a sighting.

I love that the scientific name of the Australian Pelican is Pelicanus conspicillatus. Despite my lack of bird-identification skills, I can confirm zero sightings of those in my courtyard.

Corin Forest

2011-09-11T17:43:00.000+10:00

I am so tired, I just completed an emergency afternoon nap following authorisation from head office.

I spent a day - it seems like longer in a good way - doing volunteer work at Corin Forest in preparation for Corinbank 2012.

Puruits included:

bonfire management
routine maintennce of a 25HP mill
gravel spreading
advanced strategic rock placement on muddy ground
tree saving
bush road formation
flute playing
pasta gobblance
testing the marshmallow tolerance of denim
considering the possible advantage of leather fronted denim
fireword chopping (rudimentary progress towards merit badge)
frog listening
waking up to wonder who was shining a light in my face at 3am, the moon through the window, a bigger, brighter face you'll never see
lichen loving
crumpeteering
photographating
fire tending
vacuuming - alas and praise Jesus, more than I do at home
marvelling at the relationship between my beloved pines, the mill and endless construction potential
foundation laying with concrete, timber and plum-bob square pants
water carrying

Wild flower

2011-09-11T15:33:00.000+10:00

A teeny weeny tiny wild flower makes a spring appearance.

Haig Park, towards Turner.

The song

2011-09-08T10:12:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, in the afternoon, I played my flute as never before. While this is always true, I rarely feel my song is new. But this time, I was flying faster than I could remember ever doing so. When I play well -if I am any judge- the tune tells the story of my life; I feel my existence and all the events that cluster around my being released. Thoughts, good and bad, my choices, actions, they all leave me in deftly weaving sound.

My dancing fingers do not know exactly where they are going, just like I never know exactly where I am going. No. I sense, I follow, some modicum, the fleeting taste, of sweetness. I pursue beauty, not to catch it or own it - impossible; but to appreciate it, for I am a worshipper of beauty. In this way, all the notes return to their source to be reborn. On their journey, the right notes sounded will provide strength and succour, the other notes, set free, will find their place in a better song. Claiming this beauty, I approach the truth.

My song has not been written, it is not recorded anywhere, except perhaps as the entire potential of the universe for invention. I sense perhaps it is writ upon the walls of the heart of the creator, but this is a nonsense. Where do those walls start and end? Is there anything outside the heart of creation? Will not just the beat of one wing change the entire course of a flight? Here on earth, the seasons turn and ever turn. While hope lives and breathes in a single human heart, the earth-star, our sun, will hold its place. And the moon will call the waves to cleanse the sands of existence again and again. The bleak appearing day will surprise us by admitting a rainbow.

There is no final song, no fixed course, this is the nature of the song and its glory. Just so, I can pretend to know what I am doing, but my life is not mapped out. Anything else is pretense. I will take experience as a guide for further action, but I can never be sure of playing a perfect song. But I can try. And try to remember that the gaps are as important as the notes, the silences precious. Knowing when to be quiet makes the song.

Perhaps it is not a new song, but a very long tune instead. A song that has been since time began, a song that began time. Not my song, but the song I belong to. The orchestra of existence entire.

Sometimes I feel subtle mysteries and truths slip through my fingers.

a pretty picture

2011-09-07T20:14:00.000+10:00

I am working on a post of my day's adventure around Canberra, but in the meantime, I really like the colour and tone of this picture. It was taken in Waite Arboretum, but my disorganisation means I can not tell you what species it is.

Mahler Symphony No. 2

2011-09-07T17:02:00.000+10:00

By the power of the shuffle granted unto me, today I heard the finale of this symphony for the first time. Below is probably the loudest version on youtube. You may, as I do, prefer Bernstein conducting, but it really needs to be heard loud.

Information on Mahler's Symphony No. 2

The original German and translation of the finale is pretty awesome. Only the Germans could have a word for 'piercer of all things' - Alldurchdringer.

Ouch.

Itsy Bitsy Spider part 2

2011-09-07T16:42:00.000+10:00

By popular demand from my viewers who eagerly clamour for more.

(I hear you knocking on my door.)

Here are two shots of another spider in Waite Arboretum.

While it was suggested by Wojtek that my other eight-legged friend was performing the Salute to the Sun, this fellow appears to be weaving his web directly from the light of the dawn.

I am pretty sure it is an Orb Weaver, maybe the golden silk variety, but this could just be the gold of the new day's sun.

I am really happy when I make the chance to wander amongst nature and explore as the day begins. I recall singing that morning:

Itsy bitsy spider
Walked up the garden path,
Itsy bitsy spider
Had a friend called Alf,
Itsy bitsy spider
Had a little bath.

It's what real men do.

Of bicycles, blooms and blossoms

2011-09-06T23:23:00.000+10:00

Today was a grey, grey day. Persistent light raininess.

Prior to this, spring appeared to be well and truly establishing itself with many mild sun-filled days. I took to riding my bike in lyrca and tweed. But never at the same time of course. Long, pointless rides that wheeled around my favourite trees, dodging branches and revelling in the feel of the earth beneath my wheels.

Can you gambol on a bike? I gambolled; slowly, standing on my pedals, past the abundant globular inflorescences of rows of acacia or the plentiful blossoms of prunus. Often turning around to do it again. All the while imbibing the inimitable fragrance and view.

my impression of a wattle through a magnifying glass

My favourite type of blossom is the larger white one, with the crimson core. The Crimson Rosella is not so picky. They will colourfully pick every blossom off a tree to eat some part at the base. Fun when you are standing underneath the tree, strategically positioned so the petals fall on your face as they go about their destruction. Not so fun if you watch it destroy a future crop of apricot or peach in your own backyard.

I should have a photo of my favourite blossom, but technology failure saw me lose two weeks of phone data. It was like travelling back in time, to find truncated message chains and a whole series of photos no longer existed. As if these things never happened.

via Flickr

That reminds me. When I saw a Delorean driving along Northbourne Ave recently, I was desperate to communicate with the driver. Pulling up behind him at the lights, I was able to draw a quick sketch of a flux capacitor in my notebook and present it from my seat to his rear vision mirror. The driver noticed, was able to appreciate this palindrome of the circuit world and gave me a thumbs up.

To find a favourite blossom planting, head North from Civic along Northbourne Ave and shortly take a left onto Masson St. Then turn left onto Watson St. There is a dense planting of blossom trees. Only two rows, but they are very close together and quite young. The right height and width to be filled with their aroma when betwixt the rows if conditions are right.

Cleverly, there are two varieties planted there. Although the rain may have finished the pink ones today, there is a planting of another white variety in between. They were only just beginning to bloom a few days ago.

The blossom below was in Hahndorf, South Australia; August, 2011.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-09-06T20:38:00.000+10:00

Photographing flora and fauna can be a most frustrating experience. My favourite features of the natural world are small, delicate, hidden. Often by their own design. They can be difficult to find if you look for them, but sometimes they present themselves to the corner of the vision and the opportunity for appreciation and observation presents itself.

I do recommend that you take the time to watch a spider at work spinning a web. So fascinating. We bluster blithey through webs so often that it is not usually too hard a task to find a spider about its business. A morning fog of course helps to highlight arachnid architecture.

Otherwise and anyhow, go stand under a tree. Get close, get personal, near to leaves and branches. They are there. Practically everywhere. It may take a while, a change of your angle of sight perhaps, but be patient. We are not meant to see them anymore than their prey I suppose.

Once you have found one spider, your eyes will begin to tune to their presence. Then it is easy to see that they usually cluster in groups of sorts. Not so surprising when you rely on the wind for transport, have started out from the same place and are likely to encounter foilage fairly quickly on your journey. It is quite something to see a clutter of spiders all spinning in a square metre. (Both cluster and clutter are accepted as collective nouns for spiders, but cluster is more natural to me.)

This little felow was decorating a tree living in Waite Arboretum. Waite Arboretum is well worth a visit. Plenty of old trees, well-labelled.

So, yes, the size of smaller spiders, their own activity and particularly the wind makes it tricky to get a sharp picture of a spider, but sometimes it works out.

I am pretty sure he is doing morning calisthenics to wake up, but as always, click the image for a better view.

If I were a carpenter

2011-09-05T16:04:00.000+10:00

then this humble shelf would be professionally constructed.

Still, it is not going to break without a concerted beating and has rustic charm.

Scavenged wood, except for the two vertical pieces which was a spare shelf.

Things I have learnt

2011-08-24T22:46:00.000+10:00

I am first and foremost a man of science, that is why I always carry a magnifying glass.

Number two

I do not like to bleat like a goat.

Three

Most people do not like to wake up early.

You can see below, a picture of Crispin Crispian, the dog who belonged to himself, in his kitchen. I forgot to buy a coffee or even make a pot of tea today, but luckily I do not look like this, even when I wake up.

From Mister Dog
Little Golden Books, 1978
Copyright Western Publishing Company, 1973

Quite the strangest children's book ever written I suspect.

To the beaches of Tripoli (or Misrata)

2011-08-24T13:38:00.001+10:00

When a friend tweeted, encouraging me to sign a petition calling for a broad ranging inquiry into Australian media, I realised I had not looked at the news for quite a while and began exploring the biggest issue of the day and pondering the macchinations of the media.

Poetry and photos again soon I promise...

History will be written by the victors or at least those who own the media.

But the proxy war we see via media announcements does not have a zero death count.

Trying to find out what is going on in Libya is undeniably difficult if you live on the other side of the world, don't have a dedicated research team or an intelligence agency at your disposal.

After reading this piece called The Big Gaddafi, I watched some Al-Jazeera Live in an effort to discover what was actually happening. Their broadcast had to make do with 30 seconds worth of footage of 50 or so men in a dark square, ubiquitous AK47's pointed heavenwards, (what happens to all those bullets fired into the air?), chanting, "Allāhu Akbar". It usually does the trick. On five minute repeat. Nobody knows what is going on, amidst endless speculation.

I watch an Al Jazeera reporter roadside in Tripoli, city outskirts, a freeway somewhere, talking live. Everytime a vehicle drives by on the mostly empty road, I flinch, hoping she is not about to be shot. Is she thinking the same? But it looks like normal cars. Towards the end of the broadcast a Toyota utility drives off in the wrong direction, but there are no gunmen in back.

Reporters inside the Rixos Hotel tell what it was like.

Eleven hours or so into "the fall", the Italians are sighted on Al Jazeera Live-Blog.

Monday, August 22, 2011 - 10:27 GMT+3 - Libya

Technical staff for Italian oil giant Eni have arrived in Libya to investigate how quickly they can get oil facilities back up and running, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said.

"The facilities had been made by Italians, by [oil field services group] Saipem, and therefore it is clear that Eni will play a number one role in the future [in Libya]", Frattini told Italian state TV RAI.

Classy.

The British PM, such a prize of homogenity I can't even remember his name, Jones or Blithersplatt, is giving a presser, referring continuously to someone called Chairman Jilal. Who? This fellow. Cameron's message to Gaddafi is clearly written on the News Bar: "We control the money."

At last, what I have been seeking, the glory of the internet, the opportunity to read smart-arse reviews on Google Maps of Bab el-Aziziya, the Gaddafi stronghold.

And, Google, why, yes, I am interested in buying a Used Tractor, how could you tell?

Now, a day or so later, talk is Rome will conquer once more. Will Imperator Berlusconi really find redemption in a foreign land, so like conquerors of yore? What happened to all those criminal charges? Surely there is a limit to the amount of botox one face can take? With all the laws overturning laws, surely the next actor/model can't wait to grasp the slippery reins of Italian power. Such intrigue is the Roman way.

With all the weapons that will have dissapeared from Gaddafi's compound, Berlusconi will not be touring the Italian Quarter of Libya in the back of a jeep to receive flowers and kisses from the locals. All the cathedrals there have been converted into mosques anyway.

The (latest) leader of the Rebel Alliance travels to Milan for an audience in the heart of the Empire tomorrow. Star Wars analogy fail. Sigh. Anyway, it is only 2 hours 11 minutes flying time from Benghazi to Milan. And plenty of transport options available.

Under the circumstances, I think a submarine might be safer. Surely Silvio would much prefer to be talking bunga bunga with his old pal, Muammar. So where is the ousted leader? In a hole with a suitcase full of US dollars? South Africa says they have no idea. Do the copywriters at the CIA have the Death section of the Colonel's Wikipedia entry written, ready to update? Does the Prez have his finger on that publish button?

Who knows?

According to the Agency's trusted World Fact Book, the median age in Libya is 24.5 versus 20.9 in Iraq, compared to 37.7 in Australia. There is a reason for this. Note also that Iraq is only a quarter of the size of Libya but has six times the population.

Let us hope that the rhetoric of the West and democracy by imposition lives up to its promise this time.

Hahndorf Part 2

2011-08-18T08:36:00.000+10:00

Here is a restaurant review of the white house provincial kitchen and lounge located on Main Street in Hahndorf. It is a review focussing predominantly on spiders and their webs, so this is one for the true foodies.

We shared a roast field mushroom burger with sage butter. It was really good, the bun being brioche, butter being butter, only with sage, and the mushroom happening to be a fun guy. The coffee was alright, but I can not make a learned judgement, seeing it was nearly cold by the time I came inside from taking photos in the car park.

Our waitress did not complain about slow dancing sans music in the otherwise empty dining room. Arriving early meant we beat the day's traffic, but the fires were not lit. It also meant discovering the glorious decorations in the trees of their yard when we pulled into the carpark.

Magical.

Hahndorf Part 1

2011-08-17T12:42:00.000+10:00

Kudos to Canberra Connect. Kim from Urban Trees rang me seven days after I called to discuss tree removal in Haig Park. She advised that Pinus Radiata has the status of a weed, but due to the heritage nature of the planting they would replant the same species as removed, in more or less the same positions. (Also, apparently pines are very hard to prune.) There is therefore not a specific plan for the work or the layout of Haig Park generally. An arborist is contracted to perform the job.

No tree survey exists for the location, but there is a Trees Database, probably for the wider region. Unfortunately, it is not accessible to the public, except under Freedom of Information laws or a friendly purposeful request.

Here are some pieces of the park I removed to practise drawing.

Details below from a panel in The South Australian Art Gallery by Wakabayashi Shokei found in the Asian Art Collection.

Ink painting of male strobilus and other features from tree in Hahndorf, South Australia.

Video of pollen being released from the same tree. It is probably microsphoryll containing pollen. I don't know if this applies to the conifer in question, but the female strobilus containing the megaspore or mother cell does appear in the first spring at the end of branches where male strobili are manifest. Their meeting begets megasporophyll and so on.

This would explain the shape of the tree I sat under with four spiders for some time. Of course there were undoubtedly more than four spiders present, but these particular four made my personal accquaintance.

Is not the magnifying glass the greatest instrument of scientific discovery, considering it can be bought for as little as the price of two cans of baked beans?

Conifers are a good subject for ink painting and I got my hands on a roll of rice paper in Adelaide for further practice.

kha & The Upanishads

2011-08-08T13:38:00.000+10:00

One of the Arabic sounds. As well as being written from right to left, the letters of the Arabic alphabet are different depending on where they appear in the word, which I have tried to represent by showing dawn, midday and the evening as well as the meditator who sits alone. An Angel has spread its wings over earth under the full moon. Star Wars appears because we all have our myths.

There is a homeless man in Canberra who sells wooden-spoon-wands decorated with fluorescent texta. He complains that the Jedi differentiated between the dark side and the Light. Prior to this the universe was in accord. Well, you could say there is a little Light, more Light, Infinite Light.

उपनिषद्
The Upanishads
Upaniṣad

There the sun shines not,
nor the moon and the stars,
nor the lightning,
let alone this earthly fire.

Only when illumining Light shines,
everything else shines;
the self-revealing Light illumines the entire universe.

Translation by Sri Chinmoy
The Upanishads: The Crown Of India's Soul
Agni Press, 1974

Arabic picture drawn with a quick binding of pine needles from a tree at Yarralumla. At maturity, the pine has twin needles growing from a 1 cm fascicle, needles average 8"-10"/20-25cm. The fascicle has an equivalent articulation to the human shoulder joint, not allowing for any shoulder movement above head height.

Further reading on The Upanishads.

These most bold chants of the supreme-poet-warriors of the Himilaya resonate still with their deep inner discoveries and hold the key to cosmic satisfaction. Within their self-discovery, the convocation of life and death is a Peace-full conversation.

Message to my neighbours

2011-08-08T11:40:00.000+10:00

Democracy in action

2011-08-08T11:22:00.000+10:00

Waiting to hear back from Canberra Connect about what they are planning for this portion of Haig Park, nearest my abode. Hopefully there is a tree survey that I can look at as I would like to know how to take one. Seeing plans if they exist would be cool.

I Love Words 1

2011-08-07T16:04:00.000+10:00

Immortality

I feel in all my limbs His boundless Grace;
Within my heart the Truth of life shines white.
The secret heights of God my soul now climbs;
No dole, no sombre pang, no death in my sight.

No mortal days and nights can shake my calm;
A Light above sustains my secret soul.
All doubts with grief are banished from my deeps,
My eyes of light perceive my cherished Goal.

Though in the world, I am above its woe;
I dwell in an ocean of supreme release.
My mind, a core of the One's unmeasured thoughts;
The star-vast welkin hugs my Spirit's peace.

My eternal days are found in speeding time;
I play upon His Flute of rhapsody.
Impossible deeds no more impossible seem;
In birth-chains now shines Immortality.

from My Flute, Agni Press, 1972
Sri Chinmoy

Shakespeare for a Sunday

It is in Act 1, of The Winter's Tale, that Leontes admonishes his companion to,

"Look on me with your welkin eye."

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Oberon commands the redoubtable Puck, cupid on amphetamines, carnation of chaos:

"Thou seest these lovers seek a place to fight;
Hie therefore, Robin, overcast the night;
The starry welkin cover thou anon
With drooping fog as black as Acheron*,
And lead these testy rivals so astray
As one come not within another's way."

In Richard III, the ever-martial King Richard implores:

"Fight, gentlemen of England! Fight bold yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!"

*
Latin Acherōn
Ancient Greek Ἀχέρων
One of the rivers of the underworld, the god of this river, the underworld, especially as the abode of the dead, a river in Epirus.

Plant Life

2011-08-07T13:45:00.000+10:00

I thought this was milkweed, that camels eat, but the seeds of milkweed look like this:

(c) 2004 Steven J. Baskauf

So I am fairly sure it is a choko, or Sechium edule, seeing it definitely came off a vine. If so, the fruits must be harvested young to be esculent.

from Curtis Botanical Magazine, London 1917

Very spongiform interior had my subject. The white wings are extremely spry, catching the slightest breath of wind to fly, but I have not seen it travel with a seed.

I am certain a camel would eat whatever it is.

Larch, Haig Park, Seed Transport Mechanism

2011-08-07T12:42:00.001+10:00

Plus what I said to the Larch, not the Lark, and the Larch said to me.

A Lark

From The first Ladybird book of BRITISH BIRDS and their nests, 2nd Edition, 1953.

2011-07-29T17:14:00.000+10:00

This article piqued my interest:

Census won't count Jedis or pastaferians

Particularly, the following:

"It was the 1901 or 1911 census that had the question, which went something like, 'How many imbeciles or idiots do you have in your house?"'

Answer:

One. I live alone.

Who withdraws money from an ATM and forgets to take it? Remembers five minutes later when they go to pay for something and is surprised to have no money. And is now waiting ten working days to see if the machine ate the money back up or it was stolen.

Of course I recorded myself as a Jedi on the last census.

Only the force was not so strong in me today.

Except it is still so wonderful to be alive and I am going to see Paul Kelly perform with Paul Grabowski tonight.

Further Reading

Cheese - A Review

Do not buy this cheese. The makers of this cheese are portraying a rich sense of irony by adorning the package with the appellation, "Tasty." It is a yellow, cheesish appearing substance with no discernible taste whatsoever. In future, if I wish to save money, I will fast one day in seven or make my own toilet paper out of leaves. This cheese imparted no discernible flavour to my baked eggs. Is it a cruel and unusual fate for an egg to be baked? I can not answer that. It is simply impossible for one man to know everything.

Coming Soon

String Theory simplified

2011-07-22T00:58:00.000+10:00

I am the breath of the smile
That whispers open
Dreaming cotyledons.

Henry David Thoreau wrote:

I would keep some book of natural history always by me as a sort of elixer, the reading of which would restore the tone of my system. To him who contemplates a trait of natural beauty no harm nor dissapointment can come. The doctrines of despair, of spiritual or political tyranny or servitude, were never taught by such as shared the serenity of nature. The spruce, the hemlock and the pine, will not countenance despair.

Part 1

2011-07-20T23:59:00.000+10:00

To see a World in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a wild flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake

From Auguries of Innocence

With these words, for me, the poet Blake launched a hundred, million, billion, trillion sailing ships. They are found at the commencement of the book where all the keepsakes and keys to my adulthood are stored. Teeth, hair, whatnot, trinkets that count for naught, except in the formation of an organic based life form. The cage, the shell, filling for the character that inhabits this space before your eyes now.

Challenging it is to avoid the mind which creates the idea of mind. How can this be unusual? It is not. Yet, all these dancing words are testament to a life beyond mind. Writing is a dying art, some commentators upon the Internet profess. So in my composition I refuse the imposition of the instant search magician: google. Instead, I first attempt to recall this quote I read many times inside my baby album. With mixed results:

To see infinity in a grain of sand
And behold a universe in an ocean,
To know eternity in an hour

What force and joy there is in the printed word. The decision to eschew the bounds of the Internet and instead stretch the binding of paper pages is a key to developing and progressing as a writer. Books. Surround yourself with them.

One day, a library, with a trolley, regular reference shelf and a classification system of my own invention. Second-hand is the way to go. My only clue to bargains is the curio-peddler in submarine-town. Mmmm. Pick the fresh ones, they are not so mouldy. I am planning an expedition to the National Library of Australia as I have not been there yet. Better pack sandwiches, to make a breadcrumb trail and find my way back out.

Wandering from book to book, day to day and pondering the profound has coalesced this tale. When I do write using only the Internet as my reference source, cross-checking is critical and government-sponsored sources are higher on my list of authorities. This is because I am all too acquainted with red-tape and how hard public services all over the world hold to convention.

Terrible stories abound of keyword-driven writing and certainly I will never write 500 words in an hour for five dollars. Am I to live in darkness and make candles from rendered-fat? A good piece of writing, in my own judgement; what I consider an article, say 350 words, will cost me three hours.

And poetry. Can a numbered tag ever be tied to a piece of poetry?

A DREAM-POET

A dream-poet
Sows gold for others
And collects silver for himself.

A reality-poet
Sows lead for others
And collects diamonds for himself.

A God-poet
Sows fulfilment-smiles for others
And collects futility-cries for himself.

Sri Chinmoy

From the Dance of Life, Part 13

2011-07-20T23:21:00.004+10:00

In other news, after downloading over five separate programs from different Canon websites all over the globe and multiple computer restarts, I can not scan negatives as I want to. It is a sign to sell my rangefinder.

In case you didn't know, the Mac Lion OS is coming, an automatic download has prepared my computer for migration. Woah. Backup. Backup. Let's see if it costs $30 from the Australian apple-vendors. It seems pretty low key in the media, although my reading of the papers barely extends beyond a quiz, let alone the technology section nowadays.

Perhaps the media is just to busy dusting lint off Mr Murdoch's shoulders with a feather duster. Don't get me started on Australian politics. At least the ABC explained Rupert's British media interests produced revenue of $1.6 billion US last year, a touch under five percent of $32.7 billion US overall. The presenter finished by saying that the impact on the empire was significant regardless. Yes, clearly people no longer watch television, so nobody sees Fox News around the clock.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Parent Company Trap

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Bodhidharma

2011-07-19T09:42:00.003+10:00

Below you can see my favourite picture in the Dolphin History of Painting Volume 6: Far Eastern Art. This painting of Daruma, as the Japanese call Bodhidharma, was made by Soga Jasoku in the latter half of the fifteenth century. According to legend, once Daruma's eyes closed during meditation; in a fury, he ripped off his own eyelids. As he chose to ever see, Bodhidharma was an incredibly popular subject of Japanese Zen painting in the fifteenth century and afterwards.

On the subject of vision, here is a poem or saying from Bodhidharma:

A deluded mind is hell.

Without delusions,
the mind is the country of the Buddhas.

When the mind creates the idea of the mind,
people are deluded and in hell.

Those established on the path to Buddhahood
don’t use the mind to create the idea
of the mind and so are always
in the country of the Buddhas.

Courtesy Poetseers.

From my scant sources, I believe this painting was made at the Yotoku-in, a temple attached to the Daitoku-ji temple complex in Kyoto and is possibly still found in the temple.

Image via Wikipedia.

Chamecyparis obtusa or Japanese cypress is a robust wood with an even grain, making it highly valued in Japan. The use of hinoki, in Japanese, for constructing temples and other ceremonial buildings means that few old growth trees remain.

Further reading:

Biography of Bodhidharma at Poetseers

Bodhidharma at Wikipedia

Daitoku-ji Temple at Japan Guide

Daitoku-ji at Rinzai-Obaku Zen

Fuji Arts - Japanese prints for sale

2011-07-16T15:06:00.003+10:00

In this house of wonder,
Wondrous wonderful miracles
Play 'neath the yearn
Of a lonely blue.

A flock of darkling birds wheel,
Their ever-turning flight
Lost in thought of night.

Taut upon the rack of bitter pang,
I own the ever-waking ache
That turns the will
Of self discovery.

Foggy Highway

2011-07-14T20:16:00.002+10:00

Everything is white, as only the breath of a virgin's nuptial finery, sweeping past at the close of her triumphant journey's march. All the vestment and holy gown of our Earthen Queen is dyed this colour rung from the soul of her children's hopes. Sweet potion of evanescent emotion, brew hearten full. Come, sun, song, ring, sing, King, sacred ray; leaven, bring, day. Unwind the ice wound stiff round leaves of grass and hang baubles on this same yearn of trees to craft perfect mirror orbs. By a brilliant golden effulgence; blazing, gentle and insistent as a lover's caress, cease frozen plight, gift of night, unclasp the chill dress of winter's height.

The Lord God Bird

2011-07-13T22:33:00.001+10:00

Today I listened to The Lord God Bird by Sufjan Stevens.

Hear the story of The Lord God Bird on NPR. You can also download the song at the second link. NPR has great stories. The Republicans wanted to cut funding to the station. Because they are Republicans. They probably succeeded. Can you imagine the ABC running beer ads?

The Ivory-billed woodpecker, believed extinct, was sighted again after 60 years in Brinkley, Arkansas. When somebody sees this bird, they tend to say, "O my Lord God", or, "Great God", due to its 75 centremetre wingspan. The story examines the economic and social impacts of the bird's reappearance on Brinkley. In the 2000 Census, close to a third of the city's population lived below the poverty line. A situation that Wall Street is unlikely to have improved since.

Duck hunting is a major source of income to the town, but since the sighting there has been a conservation imperative, along with an influx of twitchers. Observing birds, particularly in flight, speaks to the ancient freedom of our soul; does it not? America has created a wonderful solution in respect of the tension between the nature-lover-artist and the hunter.

When President Hoover authorised the acquisition and preservation of wetlands as waterfowl habitat in 1929 under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, he did not provide ongoing funding for the purchase and care of any land. To solve this conundra, President Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting And Conservation Stamp Act in 1934. Since then, artists have painted birds to feature on stamps which the hunter buys as permit to shoot birds. The money raised has created a National Wildlife Refuge System.

The paintings are pretty cool. I was a part-time philatelist way back. Except it is hard to imagine these stamps are found on any envelopes and they are not valid unless the hunter has signed the front, preventing them from changing hands. Below are some of my favourites and here is a link to the entire Federal Duck Stamp Gallery which generously provided the images.

Join the Duck Stamp Design Competition!

Zaniness

2011-07-13T07:00:00.002+10:00

The word zany comes from Italian. Zanni was a character in the ‘Commedia dell'arte’. Zanni or Zani in French was a servant cum coyote trickster, kin to Wodehouse’s Jeeves. Zanni is Venetian dialect for Gianni or John. This name often rang in the countryside surrounding Venice where peasants raised servants for a wealthy Gondola-Class. La Commedia dell'arte form of theatre, with its stock of set characters, had its heyday during the Renaissance, but regionally, similar theatre sport existed during the Roman Empire and the Ancient Greek playwrights only ever had room for three actors per play.

History holds it has always been safer to mock the elite and render the foibles of the state from behind a mask. For that matter, primitive cultures have donned the mask as talisman, token of God; symbolising at once, union, while confirming separation. The actor/actors who played Zanni, or his altar-ego, Arlecchino (Harlequin), required deep insight into politics and human nature. Certainly, the popularity of La Commedia in Renaissance Europe can be attributed to the panoply of talents evident in the extemporaneous excellence of actors who were also singing, dancing acrobats. I say, get thee to a Peking Opera School, Jackie Chan.

Across the Channel, in a kingdom built upon the ruins of camps fortified by the ancestors of these actors, the birth of Shakespeare and Marlowe coincides with the period when companies such as Gelosi Company, Zan Ganassa Company and Confidenti Company began touring the rest of Europe, often performing for the aristocracy. These two English playwrights were both to turn ten in 1574, the first time such an Italian company is recorded as performing in England. It would then be another 22 years or so before crumpled, sweat and swill stained manuscripts of The Two Gentleman of Verona, The Bard’s first play, were stuffed into the breeches and boots of English actors. Pulcinella, another character of La Commedia, begat Punchinello, who sired Punch, who married Judy. Much later, Freddie Mercury would implore, “Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?”

O how I yearn for the jongleur’s life once more...

Dial L for Leela

2011-07-12T13:42:00.000+10:00

House Hunting

2011-07-12T08:06:00.000+10:00

What I did on My Holidays

2011-07-12T07:53:00.000+10:00

Every medium has its challenges. With ink, keeping it off the hands, especially when writing against the inclination of the hand, i.e. right to left for a right hander. Not to mention the floor.

These were my thoughts two days ago, but having discovered my new favourite method of calligraphy or script writing is a big brush, the problem is now sufficient surface to practice. I imagine that sand served well once, or water on stone, with wind and hand to refresh the surface. Papyrus. Wax tablets. Scrolls. Vellum. Palimpsest. Codices. What and where is the sum of all invention when the heart is absent? We live in such an epoch of technological abundance and plenitude, yet it fails to quench our thirst.

The challenges of writing in Hebrew trope, Arabic and Japanese are varied. Remember I am just trying to enjoy the forms and discover their grace; English calligraphy at best is precise and has the cacpacity to represent exactitude of thought, precision and embody clarity, being as it is such a versatile tongue.

The paleo-Hebrew alphabet is itself basic, like Phoenician, but letters are not words. Arabic letters take different forms depending on their position in a word. Hieroglyphics were a brief diversion I plan to return to. The evolution of Chinese script from pictographs to characters is tremendously fascinating. Correct stroke order is critical and there are many helpful videos and still more books available at the library if required. Devanangari is the script used to write Sanskrit.

In the absence of a Writing Room, if I can work out how to integrate a small drafting table into my residence, then good. When I started spending more time at home creating, I really felt the need for a tall long bench to work standing up at. Of course, the Americans have created a wondrous motorised device that can not fail to satisfy. It has been the practice of many to work standing and research shows that sitting all day is just about the worst thing for a body to do.

Still, in the absence of space and wealth and with the provision of sufficient materials - for who is so poor in this country that they could not procure at least paper and pen with minimal effort - the most important aid to creativity is keeping the place clean and tidy. Other than constantly discovering objects again through the imposition of order, it correspondingly serves to release constrictures upon the mind in some way and allows the space a greater chance to preach in symphony with the universal harmony.

For the first time in three years, at a modest estimation, my washing basket is about to be empty. This can only serve as incontrovertible proof that I own too many clothes. The quantity of shirts I possess exceeds 40, but is less than 50. Still, as excuse, I offer this does include a limited number of the less versatile short-sleeved variety. Other than preserving a few favourites and the lighter varieties which suffer staining easily in the neck, the rest will go to charity or, once ironed, a local flea market. You see, the demands of fashion have never served to moderate the size of my wardrobe, for I hold not to false idols. Still, in many instances I have succumbed to the allure of whimsy and a well-practiced profligacy has added to the burden of my clothes rack. Anyway, I will also ditch a whole bunch of stuff no doubt.

I have exported my blog in XML format, the file opens with DreamWeaver but can probably go straight into WordPress if the upgraded design and layout features in Blogger are not satisfying. Decisions, decisions. Having successfully renounced Facebook, I am not going to join Google+, even if xkcd is right.

A roll of Chinese rice paper (xuan zhi or chih) or Japanese shoji paper is required; perhaps best obtained in a larger city, if I can't wait to buy it cheaper on the net.