Monday, September 24, 2012

Icarus

Icarus may have flown 
too close to the sun,
but I bet he was stoked 
before his wings melted.


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Monochrome Monday (vignettes)

Fog, coffee, water, Photoshop, laptop, blog, 52000 views, zero profit, karmic credit, dawn, birdsong, traffic, three day growth, razor blade, exercise, sweat, dreaming of Dad and changing motorbike oil, desire, longing, regret, weetbix, medication, water, meditation, distraction, spring equinox, hash tag, instagram, followers, lurkers, creepers, strangers, inspiration, friends, fabric inlay, guitar nails, coffee, cameras, commuting,





Saturday, September 22, 2012

Nathan's Baby

Nathan Oldfield is a poetic photographer and indie film maker who's latest effort - The Heart and The Sea - is ready for delivery. Support him, spread the word or at least check out the trailer at his site.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Zen x Yom Kippur

Next week is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for some surfers. For others Friday or Saturday or Sunday will be their holy days. For my Zen friends contemplation of everything and nothing is important, including the intricate symbols important to others' creeds. Peace, respect and unity to all lovers of the brine.
"And the princess and the prince
Discuss what's real and what is not
It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden."
 from Bob Dylan Gates of Eden


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Overload

Today's post goes out to my mate The Shroomster who texted me at 3:16 am this morning. Sorry my dude to hear that you are shipwrecked and shabby. Hope you both get some zing back into your thing.

"I'm Touched By Your Pleas
I Value These Moments
We're Order Than We Realize
...In Someone's Eyes

A Frequent Returning
And Leaving Unnoticed
A Condition Of Mercy
A Change In The Weather

A View To Remember
The Center Is Missing
They Question How The Future Lies
...In Someone's Eyes
The Gentle Collapsing
Of Every Surface
We Travel On The Quiet Road
...The Overload"

from the song The Overload by Talking Heads

Monday, September 17, 2012

Same same (kinda)

Two different framings of the same shot.
Today's music - a variety of blues starting with Bessie Smith, a smidge of acoustic Clapton, electo fuzz wah RL Burnside and right now Collard, Greens and Gravey.
Breakfast - same as yesterday.
Lunch - same as yesterday.
Weather - rain.
Yep, wet stuff. Even the back deck possums are confused. Well, definitely the little furry bubbas clinging to their mumma's back. They have never felt rain in their short lives, It's been dry here for 55 days. Could be a good blues tune in there somewhere.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Monochrome Monday (Tempest)

What we need around here right about now is a bit of a tempest. Preferably a few 100 kilometres out at sea to pulse out some sweet swell.
The closest to a tempest I got this grey Monday morning is Bob Dylan's 35th album, Tempest. Not bad for a 71 year old. I bought this one cold from iToons following a very impressive review in the press. Now I know from first hand experince that the Bobster has had a few duds, including the last time I saw him live. Dark muddy lighting and equally confusing muttering don't constitute a satisfactory sonic experience.
I've just done my first listening of Tempest and I can report that although the title may be a misnomer, the old story teller can still spin an evocative yarn. There's whiffs of the Delta, the scarlet delights of Bourbon Street, the sea, death and love. There's always richly complicated surrealistic relationships in Bob's universe. My verdict on one listening - a fine moody gem just right for a quiet midnight wind down or a Sunday morning come down.


Thursday, September 13, 2012

Dancing Badly

I've seen it written a few times before on inspirational cards, posters and signs you can hang up at home - "Dance like nobody's watching". Well, that's what I'm doing this morning while the sun creeps into view, blogging, making lunch and chowing down on wholegrain cereal and fruit. The fact that I'm fairly uncoordinated isn't bothering me. Especially when it's Friday and Exile on Main Street is beating out of the big ole headphones. Oh and nobody's watching thank God.



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Spring Koans

cicada concert
ants moving to higher grounds
retrenchment nightmares

wattle starts blooming
purple jacaranda smiles
taipan sheds her skin




Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Mise en Scene

In my imaginary surf movie, this would be the first shot. Rather plain, no waves, but plenty of room in the frame for a title like "Modyssey" or something more contemporary like "Hipsters Unleashed 3". A rather laid back vibe would slowly start creeping out of the speakers. This would be the second shot, as I establish mise-en-scene as the French film critics in Cahiers du Cinema were want to say.

"What matters in a film 
is the desire for order, 
composition, harmony, 
the placing of actors and objects, 
the movements within the frame, 
the capturing of a moment or look...
Mise en scene is nothing 
other than the technique 
invented by each director 
to express the idea 
and establish 
the specific quality of his work."
Fereydoun Hoveyda 
Of course there would be surfing footage. Eventually It's a surf movie after all. This post is for my fellow traveller and student of cinematic discourse, Mark. Soon holidays, buddy.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Seducing Demons

Today's post is dedicated to my long boarding mentor and good mate The Bazzmeister who has just joined "the zipper club" following open heart surgery. Speedy recovery mate! In the meantime, there's magazines, surf vids and blogs to keep you stoked.

Book of the week is Erica Jong's funny, irreverent memoirs Seducing the Demon, a brilliant guide for all aspiring writers. On page 205 she writes:
"I think it's almost impossible for a young person 
to get into the head of an old person. 
If we could the world would never go forward 
nor would it change. 
The old are perhaps younger in mind than we. 
But their bodies have rebelled against them, 
and while we still have our eyes, 
our legs, our ears, we cannot imagine this. 
We think our material selves will last forever. 
The old know better. 
They know that nothing lasts but words, music and colour. 
The rest is just a pile of bones and teeth 
and a dark spot in the ground."


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Monochrome Monday (delightful rain)

Woken up at 430 am 
by the sound of delightful rain 
on our old tin roof.
I didn't mind. 
It's the first we have had 
in something like 50 days.


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Waiting for Coral (Sea)

Currently encamped in Noosa Shire.
Scribbling notes on digital devices.
Flashing kookaburras with strobes.
Drinking too much coffee.
Getting fatter.
Waiting for waves.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Not Reading


I love reading. Books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, emails, texts, scribbled directions to "secret spots", people's phone numbers, menus at restaurants - they all enrich my life. I can't imagine not being able to read and am eternally grateful to those patient souls who help me get to this point. If I never learned to read, I would never have learned to write. There would be no blog. I like to write.

And as for navigating the maze of the supermarket shelves to buy groceries? That could be a disaster, like the time my mate's illiterate housemate brushed his teeth with Dencorub - a camphor skin cream that heats up torn muscles when applied to the skin...."not to be taken internally"
So let's support the original Aussies with this great little initiative.