When confronted by death I am full of useless impulses to be doing. I think. I attempt poetry. I weep. I don't want to eulogise. I look up rituals. I listen. I wait and cannot. I sleep, or try to. I wake, and try not to. I complete my usual household tasks. I watch grey clouds … Continue reading Nothing matters and it all does
Random Short Thoughts
Miss Molly: a kitten story
Earlier this year my household got a call. A kitten was in need. Of course she arrived, wide-eyed in her carrier. I named her Molly. She was suspicious of people, refused to eat, and shrank away from everything, terrified. She had been dumped in a bin with her siblings. Luckily, all were rescued but were … Continue reading Miss Molly: a kitten story
Of myths, coincidences and writing histories
I was thinking the other day about author Sara Douglass. She had one of the best creative writing Genesis myths I had ever heard regarding the provenance of her book BattleAxe (and the subsequent Axis series). I could retell this story, but it is her's and she wrote it down for us. The entire concept … Continue reading Of myths, coincidences and writing histories
Solstice
It's sunny in Melbourne. There is barely a cloud to cross this blue sky. It is chilly though, and the over-night dew lingers across shadowed surfaces. All too soon the sun will hide, and the long evening will bring on the damp air. It is the shortest day of the year and more usually it … Continue reading Solstice
Rereading’s good medicine
I confess to being the kind of reader who will stop and never return to a novel if it's not to my taste or standards. I couldn't even really begin Cloud Atlas. Apart from a missing page, I just didn't get it and it didn't draw me in. On the other hand, I did go … Continue reading Rereading’s good medicine
Really, spamalot
My site has been getting a deluge of spam lately. It has been picked up by the anti-spam tools, but looking over it, I think the quality has gone down. Gone are the days of half page incoherent word salad, or non-English sounding pleasantries. Now, it is likely to be a single word with poor … Continue reading Really, spamalot
Of nano, knowledge and social media
The below is a poem about a recent social media argument between science communicator, scientist and PhD candidate Upulie Divisekera (follow on Twitter @upulie ) and a very famous tech entrepreneur after he made some sweeping generalisations and dismissive statements. My little effort is styled upon Walt Whitman's When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer. When I … Continue reading Of nano, knowledge and social media
Speak words and learn
I delivered a short story writing workshop to a high school class. I'm still riding on a crest of elation over its success. Given the opportunity, it's something I could get used to. In an unrelated incident, I was telling someone I had written stories that were published. This person's enthusiastic response reminded me being … Continue reading Speak words and learn
A matter of time
I don't think I believe in linear time. Lines are just points joined together; they don't have heft or taste. They exist to measure who's winning, but have no extent. They're abstract. You can't sense linear time internally the same way other time is detected. I have moments when I am chock full of vital … Continue reading A matter of time
All the life left
The clock strikes off the hollow half-hours of all the life that is left to you, one by one. - Emily Bronte I love this time of year; especially the long afternoons of mellow golden light, well at least on those days when it isn't raining or threatening to. While the sun is shining it's … Continue reading All the life left
