Tuesday, December 7, 2004quiet power of an early morningThere are certain mornings that come with subtle satisfaction. The satisfaction is such a small matter that it’s almost unnoticeable. It resounds through absence rather than presence, moves as shadows, soft as the sun. It soothes and cools my mind as I sit in a bus moving quietly through the near... Sign in to see full entry.Sunday, December 5, 2004what's your favourite book of all time?Australia’s Favourite Books was on the television last night. For a few months people have been able to vote for their favourite book and, last night, the top ten were revealed. The top of the list was Lord of the Rings followed by Pride and Prejudice and The Bible. Other books in the top ten were... Sign in to see full entry.Friday, December 3, 2004the consolation of green in a concrete jungleAbout an hour ago I was sitting in a park, in the middle of Sydney, sipping coffee. Hyde Park provides a civilising imprint of green in the midst of a concrete jungle. At the moment Sydney is full of the mad, irrational rush of Christmas shopping. Children are three deep and straining to see the... Sign in to see full entry.Thursday, December 2, 2004could you write an Animal Farm for our times?Since I’ve been reading the Orwell biography, I decided to revisit Animal Farm last night. The fable works because it is a simple and direct piece of writing and it doesn’t hold back any punches. Being aware of Orwell’s personal experiences of the duplicity of the communist faction in the Spanish... Sign in to see full entry.Tuesday, November 30, 2004a writer's commitmentAt the moment I’m reading a biography of George Orwell by Bernard Crick. It’s fascinating seeing the way his ideas gradually formed over the course of his life and as a consequence of his experience: being a part of the empire’s establishment as a policeman in Burma, intentionally entering into... Sign in to see full entry.Sunday, November 28, 2004down at the beachI was down at the beach during the weekend. It isn’t quite summer but the weather was a scorcher, as high as 40 degrees Celsius. Coogee becomes an over-populated place as soon as the heat sets in. People stake a claim on every inch of sand and, out in the water, you can see an international flotilla... Sign in to see full entry.Friday, November 26, 2004make music this weekendYesterday I took the day off and travelled up to the Blue Mountains with a friend. Getting out of the city is certainly becoming an increase theme in my life. I'm aware that I am making a consistent choice and I'm feeling great benefit in getting into the bush but I'm not full aware what it means.... Sign in to see full entry.Wednesday, November 24, 2004how a poem made a claim on ten years of my lifeThere have been a few comments indicating interest in my experience of monastic life. I wrote a first draft of a book about that period of my life. It's very rough and I'm in a prolonged state of getting motivated to tackle the second draft. It's understandable that people might wonder why I spent... Sign in to see full entry.Tuesday, November 23, 2004contending with a thick sludge dayI feel like my head’s full of thick sludge today. The normal little consolations that make a day in the office bearable just aren’t registering. I’m peering at websites for jobs and filled with a desperate voice that keeps yelling get me out of here. It’s all terribly predictable really. I look at... Sign in to see full entry.Monday, November 22, 2004in praise of privacyLately I’ve arrived at a particular description of myself which may initially seem somewhat antithetical to the business of blogging. In many ways I’m a private person especially when it comes to matters of the heart. I suppose my past history can provide a psychological explanation for my tendency... Sign in to see full entry. |
