Reflection

While visiting Mushrooms, I played around with the shadow and reflection on the other MCA harbour sculpture. 

It's so beautiful. 

And while not relevant at all, I'm LOVING this ode to Outkast (at least, that's how I think of it!). Brilliant song!

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Linking with #WeekendReflection

More October Reading

 A few gems...

I am on a Barnes roll with another of his lined up. This one is good but it's hard work, so it won't be for everyone. I really liked the ideas about what we know about people (and what we don't) and how everyone knows the same person 'differently'. Also about how a person is remembered. What truth is there in that? I found the jokes quite clever - especially the symmetry of the uncompleted paper.

However, there's a huge sort of essay in the middle with parallels but I'm not sure that's for everyone - it's very interesting but it is different to the narrative. 

Anyway, I enjoyed it - but one for the fans, not one to start with.

I've read book one but I will admit it's been almost 10 days and I've yet to pick it up again. I did finally push myself to read the second book but that was only to talk about it here. I'll give it one more try and then leave it if it doesn't grab me. If it wasn't for the movie, I don't think I'd try to continue but I'll persist a bit more....so if you love it, tell me why! (as that may give me things to look for that perhaps I'm missing). 

John Banville is extraordinarily talented, and I've only read Snow so beginning to work my way through his works. Having just been in Venice, I loved this. That said, it's not nice - the narrator is full of foibles and despicable at times...but it is so wonderfully written. Sheer poetry at times. "Did I have even the most distant inkling that already I was lost? No; we blunder blindly, eager as infants, into our worst miscalculations, our most calamitous errors". He is a superb writer, and this is a fun book (fun in the sense of a wicked narrator and wicked people abound). Loved it.

(Reviews for Banville's The Sea here and Snow here)

The last in my library's collection of the Herome K. Jerome Bloche comics. I think this one was probably the best of the 3. I really enjoyed it. Will try to track down more, or buy some if they aren't too expensive. You can read it on Hoopla (on an ipad would be better as I often had to make the frames bigger to take it in). 

Reviews for the others in the series: The Recluse and Post-Mortem)

I loved Brian Wood's DMZ series - this is a dystopian future (or lets face it, the climate disaster that is soon upon us). Celebrity chef style. It's dark and broody in a world where there are rich trying to maintain the life they had and everyone else is just doing what they can....so far the hero seems very much an antihero, though that perception is beginning to shift as more and more unlikeable characters seem to be set against him succeeding....Enjoying this comic a lot. You can borrow on Hoopla. Though again the frames are often too small on my phone so maybe read on the Ipad so you aren't constantly messing about to make the frames bigger to take it all in.

Back to Christie, as a little palate cleanse, so to speak. It's 12 stories set in London on audible, read by different actors (Suchet reads the Poirot story and Christopher Lee reads A Witness for the Prosecution - long time followers might know I adore his voice and went through a phase of listening to any audio book he read. He does a lot of the Tommy and Tuppence stories if you want to track those down). Great way to dip in and out of Agatha Christie, without a big commitment. One of the tales has Mrs Oliver having close resemblance to Agatha Christie when explaining her craft. That was fun as I don't recall having come across her before. Great taster of all her different detectives and mystery styles.

(Other Christie Reviews:  The Body in the Library, Passenger to Frankfurt,  Death Comes As the End, Destination Unknown, The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding, The Actress & Taken at the Flood)

Linking with #TrafficJamReboot #SundaySalon and #StackingtheShelves

Mushrooms at the MCA

My friend was away so I took an early morning walk around the harbour, instead of our usual trek on the weekend.

It was glorious so see the city without the crowds. 

My main aim was to see Mushrooms - the installation outside the MCA. 

It was sobering, a little depressing (we never learn and are so wasteful of human life) but also quite surreal with the beautiful background.

Further detail on the art and artist here.

Linking with #WeekendCoffeeShare & #KeithsRamblings

Haiku

These had popped up on a wall nearby and I thought to myself 'the world needs more poetry' so had to share.

I love that someone started it and someone else joined in. I will swing past again to see if anyone added to it.  

As a kind of street art, it's particularly charming.

Note relevant to this post but this cutie's been sitting on my camera reel for awhile so linking it with  #MuralMondays

Linking with #WordlessWednesday

What season?

Linking with #WaterThursday

It's ridiculous. After a sweltering night on Monday, it's back to winter clothes today.

I'm at a gig in the Domain this weekend and am now wondering how muddy it will be.

There's been 43 people bitten by bats on the Central Coast and in the Hunter as they are staving to death and fall to the ground (and they try to help them - leave it to the vaccinated professionals as they have a type of rabies that can't be treated once the symptoms start - so if you do get bitten, go straight to hospital). The dengue fever in Florida and the rise in bear attacks in Japan are all in part due to climate change.

We will die a slow death due to unforeseen effects.

Linking with #WildBirdWednesday

We went to see Digger, which is a great film. It's very funny, though grotesque. However, it's bleak - and it doesn't hold back. As someone who does what they can to reduce their environmental impact, I still had a moment of mea culpa. And I think that's why it's getting criticised. No one wants to admit they're part of the problem. The righteous want to feel righteous and judge others, but it doesn't let you. Go and see it, don't read anything about it because you don't want the spoilers. 

Linking with #Skywatch, #GaleriaHimmelsblick and #FloralFridayFoto

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event.  Please link relevant posts only.

Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Street art in Misawa

 

I have not been able to find out why, but there seems to have been a youth project and an art project to paint the shutters of businesses and adorn walls with murals in the main street of Misawa. Obviously Shuji Terayama (and the museum) feature but so much more.

There are ties with the US (airbase) celebrated.

Plenty of flowers and pretty scenes.

It's a lovely way to make something out of nothing and build community.

Linking with #MuralMondays #TalkaboutitTuesday and #TravelTuesday

Further reading: Street art in Japan (if not up for walking, the bus will take you past a lot of it)


Bear Season.

To celebrate a birthday or not?

I had been stumped by this prompt, and was just going to share 'my best birthday ever' post but someone posted on twitter 'is it wrong to celebrate your birthday over 30?'. I thought this was such a weird and sad attitude. My response was along the lines of 'There's so much wrong in the world and difficulties in life will amass to an at times overwhelming rate, you should celebrate every little thing you can'.

My 50th party, I had the best time partying with all my friends, but a lot of my friends also had the best time (I'm sure there were some that didn't but there was much dancing and merriment & people stayed late, so that's got to be a sign).

My kids have parties for their birthday and people swarm the house and sleep over (the young not being able to afford ubers) so the dusty crowd littered in the lounge room are smiles when they wake.

I think we think celebrating a birthday is about us, but it's about having a good time with those we love. Or indulging some money in doing something that you love - tickets to a show or doing something else you wouldn't normally spend the money on. It's a justifiable excuse, that's all!

And let's face it, given the state of the world and the myriad of health issues that might appear at any time, surviving a year is something to celebrate - and if it's been a bad year? Celebrate the new year to come! It's daft to think only children should celebrate their birth. The older you get, the more you've achieved just to be alive, the harder life has been for you and your friends - so offer some solace, a brief moment of fun and frivolity. You don't need gifts or cause anyone expense, it just needs to be a celebration - whatever form that takes - tea and cake, bowling, a dinner, a party. Whatever is a rare but good time for you all!  (Or just for you, if the expense is too much to extend to others - I went to WOMAD one year for my birthday present to see my favourite band from Europe, who I'd never seen before - it was one of the most magical days for me & still makes me smile, but with the kids and the cost, my husband stayed home).

So think of your birthday celebration as merely making more memories, for that is indeed exactly what it is!

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate". Oprah Winfrey

Linking with #TellUsAbout #TalkaboutitTuesday #TrafficJamReboot #SeniorSalonPitstop and #HappyNow - celebrate because it makes you happy! That's reason enough!