I do like my food. Who doesn’t? My son tried crickets the other day. They were cooked. He wasn’t too keen on going back for seconds. Some of my friends prefer the raw diet. Let me show you. Read more
Food, Glorious Food
The Ayes Have It
Wonders of Nature
Lies. lies, lies. Sounds like something Mr Trump would say, don’t you think? Fake it ’til you make it, otherwise known as cognitive behaviour therapy. It also describes the internet perfectly. Have you ever wondered what human nature is? Isn’t it just nature? Sorry, I’m amusing myself. All this fake news has got me thinking. Specifically, I am thinking you might enjoy learning about a little bit of trickery in the orchid world. I am talking about sex, lies and infidelity, ladies and gentlemen. Read more
Book Review – The Brothers Path (Martha Kennedy)
Book Review – The Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy
The Brothers Path is set in the 16th century during the tumultuous and bloody Swiss Reformation. Ms Kennedy brings to life the events of the Swiss Reformation through the everyday experiences of the six Schneebeli brothers – Heinrich, Hannes, Peter, Conrad, Thomann and Andreas. The novel is a follow-up to Savior (see my review here), a story of two Swiss brothers (ancestors of the Schneebeli brothers), caught up in the Crusades in the 13th century. Each novel is self-contained and can be read independently. Read more
The Choice
Australia — Stop Adani. No coal.
So often novelist, Richard Flanagan, speaks for me on matters close to my heart. He is spot on when he says the fight to stop the Adani Carmichael mine is not just about Adani. (Read Richard Flanagan’s speech to the Stop Adani rally by clicking on the above link.)
The Adani mine infrastructure is needed to make other prospective mines in Galilee basin viable. Political power broker, Clive Palmer, also has mining interests in the Galilee basin. Mr Palmer’s political party, United Australia Party. has just signed a deal to direct preferences to the Liberal and National parties. The tag line for the United Australia Party is “Make Australia Great”. Seriously! In addition, the family of Matt Canavan, the Minister for Resources in the Morrison Government, also has interests in the Australian coal industry.
Several years ago, I attended an event where the Australian Council of Trade Unions had an information and merchandise stand. They were selling T-Shirts advocating for wind power. I remarked to the woman on the stand that there was an inconsistency between what she was selling and the views of then leader of the Australian Workers Union (AWU), who was concerned about the how the shift to renewable energy would affect his members. She said to me that the AWU does not represent the views of her union or the union movement as a whole. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (rivals to the AWU), has recently been applying pressure to the Australian Labor Party to support the Carmichael mine. It should be noted that the PM-in-waiting, Mr Bill Shorten, was once head of the AWU.
Do I need to remind Mr Shorten and his party that the AWU and the CFMEU do not represent the views of the entire Australian labor movement? Voters, if you come across representatives of the ALP door-knocking, remind them of this and send them a strong message that the Adani coal mine must be stopped and our environmental legislation amended immediately to ensure that the carbon footprint impact of projects is taken into account. Carbon neutrality must be a minimum for project approval. Read more
Another Day At The Office
First world problem – when there is a fast moving river running down your street due to a burst water main and your son is late for work. Read more
The Changing Seasons – April 2019
Take me to the April sun in Canberra (pronounced Canbra). In the words of George Eliot:
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
Daylight savings has ended. so we sleep in another hour.
Lens-Artists Challenge – Less Is More
This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is hosted by Amy. Her chosen theme is “less is more“. Amy’s inspiration for this theme is a quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Now that is a very intriguing notion to me, because it seems to me that there is nothing more perfect than nature’s design. Read more
Dangerous Liaisons?
Hello Groovers, I was going to start with a joke about how I’ve been hanging out in a hotbed of radicalism, but that doesn’t seem very appropriate now. So instead, I will tell you about how lovely it was to spend last weekend at the National Folk Festival (Canberra) with many people of goodwill. Admittedly we were a little cranky given the political times/blame games, but we took our frustrations out in peaceful and creative ways, such as through humour, verse and songs of kindness. Here’s how it goes. Read more
A Prayer For Those Lost To Terror
My thoughts are with the good people of Sri Lanka as you mourn the loss of many lives to terror and ignorance. I am sorry for your loss. May God give you the strength to respond to violence not with more violence, but with peace.
Kind Regards
Tracy.
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 