The Mind

It starts to run. Gives up half way.

The filament

spits and shimmers.

Evening

comes and wheels

turn away from the street,

away from the house

into leaves and dirt

and the secrets of the

earth.

That's where the mind

rests. There is the easy time.

husshhhhh

I wanted to share my favourite track, Cicadas and Gulls, off Feist's new album with you, but I couldn't find a version on YouTube that wasn't filmed on an phone at a concert.

But I did find this cover, which is a little bit Iron and Wine, and a little bit lovely.

So here you go, Cicadas and Gulls. A hushed song for sleepy time on a Sunday night.

Listen to more from her new album, Metals, here.

Where do you read?

My new reading nook

When I was last in Hobart I spent a dreamy half hour reading in my friend's hammock. It was pretty much the best reading experience of my life, closely followed by any time I have found myself lying on the sand or grass near water with a cool breeze blowing... ahhhh....

But, not having regular access to a hammock, island paradise, or good weather, most of the time I find myself reading at home, and more often than not, in an uncomfortable position.

I find it hard to read sitting at my desk, unless I'm studying or working. When reading fiction I prefer to lie in bed, switching from side to side as my arms get tired. But in the morning, which is when I like to read the bible and pray, I don't want to lie in bed.

Hence, the decision to create a reading nook in my room. Not much was involved in nookifying my bedroom. All it took was a small rug and some cushions; the red one re-purposed from the lounge room, the others found at IKEA.

The other good thing is it functions as a hang out space for meandering house mates and visitors.

I rather like it.

What about you? Where do you read?

Political lego

This brilliant lego depiction of watershed moments in Australian politics is in the current edition of Melbourne Uni's student magazine Farrago. Here's just a couple.

1994—John Howard promises Peter Costello that he will hand over the Liberal leadership

sometime during his second term. Philip Ruddock listens in.

June 2010—Kevin Rudd is replaced by Julia Gillard as Prime Minister.

Props to my housemate Elizabeth, who edits Farrago, and extra props because this is her last ever edition! See more here.

one warm spring night in brunswick

It was still around 26 degrees when I took these photos after dinner tonight. There was magic in the air and a tinge of melancholy in my heart.

A gift for you

The evening light inspired me to create this mixtape for you guys using the site 8tracks.

8 tracks to listen to at dusk. Enjoy.



Tracklisting:

Months - The Middle East
Holocene - Bon Iver
The Golden Age - Beck
The Swimming Song - Loudon Wainwright III
Tap At My Window - Laura Marling
Country Disappeared - Wilco
The Frankston Line - Youthgroup
After the Curtain - Beirut

dreamy weekend goodness

Lazy Saturday morning brunch and a wander around Brunswick, with a special visit to the new shop Gleaners Inc, which only sells upcycled bits and pieces.

Then a trip to little Vietnam (Footscray) to visit someone in hospital. I couldn't say no to some amazing duck soup at Pho Tam, paired with a punchy iced coffee and a trip the local green grocer. Can you believe I bought nearly 1.5 kilos of mangoes for $4.50?

What did you get up to this weekend?

The meaning of life according to Apple

Recently I was given the opportunity to upgrade my phone to the new iPhone 4S, and so having nothing to lose (and about $15 to gain each month), I took up the offer.

You've probably heard the new iPhone employs a robot called Siri, who can perform tasks, like reading my text message and telling me what the weather is like, as well as answer questions, like who created the photocopier.

At first I thought the robot was just pure novelty, particularly when I discovered it had a personality. She told me I was the wind beneath her wings when I asked her to marry me, for example. But now, a day into our virtual relationship, I'm left pondering the deeper implications of artificial intelligence and what it means that our society is heading towards this kind of relationship with its technology.

My phone is no longer just an extension of myself, it is also a sage friend, a counsellor, gratifying my need for information and connection now (NOW).

Just now I decided to ask Siri the meaning of life. You, like I, might be surprised to learn that Siri has thought about this, and offered me a number of responses. Here they are:

1. That's easy... it's a philosophical question concerning the purpose and significance of life or existence in general.
2. Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
3. I can't answer that now, but give me some time to write a very long play in which nothing happens.
4. 42.
5. To think about questions like this.
6. A movie.
7. I don't know, but I think there's an app for that.
8. I find it odd that you would ask this of an inanimate object.

I was pretty stunned. In there you'll find humour, cultural allusions, pluralism, relativity, uncertainty, satire, and philosophy.

Number two and three are my favourites. I think these sum up our society's thoughts pretty darn well. What about you?

Her reponses have raised more questions than answers, though. What does it mean that Siri can't give me one answer to life's meaning? What does it mean that she even tries? And what does this tell us about our ontological crisis, when the basis of our knowledge on these matters becomes this shallow?

So many questions and only one answer.

Why you should stop worrying and do that crazy thing you've been dreaming of

This is in part a lecture to myself, but I wanted to get the motivation juices flowing for you too.

So, why should you stop worrying and do that crazy thing you've been dreaming of, especially when there's so much at stake.

You could fail. You could look like a fool. You could waste time, money, energy. You could end up back where you started.


Here are three reasons why you should kick those stupid thoughts to the curb.

1. Fear is ugly.
Fear is what drives selfishness, it's the little voice in your head that tells you to be less honest, less bold, less yourself. But true beauty is letting go of the fear and letting the weirdness of you, flourish.

There is something very attractive about conviction, not caring what others' think, about knowing thyself.

Make an effort to know yourself, and not just the nice bits. Because once you've faced up to who you are, you can continue the work of surrendering to God, and let go of the fear.

2. We are constantly enjoying the fruit of other people putting their dreams into practice.
The death of Steve Jobs reminded us all that life is short, and that it's not worth holding back.

It takes pioneers, artists and entrepreneurs to show us what we need or want before we realise it. And I'm not talking about gadgets. Sometimes we need words of truth and love, but we resist them until they find us. Sometimes we need to hear a story of redemption, before we can see we were stuck in guilt and sin.

That crazy thing you're dreaming of can be a service to the people around you. And if it's not a service to the people around you, maybe you need to think again, because the world needs people to take risks on its behalf.

It needs people to cross borders to heal the sick and revive the spiritually dead. It needs people to stop thinking only about themselves, and do something crazy for someone else.

3. You will learn from the experience.
That one speaks for itself. But think back on risks you've taken in the past and reflect on the lessons you've learnt. Uh huh.

So go do it!

miniature new york

I can't stop staring at this photo. No, it's not fake, it's not a miniature. It's a real photo, taken at a wedding, by Max Wanger.

sometimes I forget there are stars in the sky

So you've seen the sun rise from earth. But have you seen the sun rise from just above the earth, from space? Check out this amazing time-lapse footage of the earth at night taken from the International Space Station.

I watched it without reading a description of what it was passing over, which made it pretty exciting, but also a bit baffling. So I'll help you out:

The space station flies over North and South America, then ends in daylight near Antartica. You can also see lightning (those bursts of light), the earth's ionosphere (the yellow line), a satelite and stars in our galaxy.

Amazing.

The Hour of the Spoon

You can tell by Kate's crazy hair it's the HOS...

Our house seems to be experiencing the "hour of the spoon" a lot lately.

You know that time of day when simply holding up a spoon makes everyone laugh racously for no reason? When you run down the street to get icecream, giggling and tripping over things? When you find it hard to put sentences together you're laughing so much? Last week, I was even forced to ride one of those novelty kids rides at the supermarket while being filmed during spoon hour.

Spoon hour is one of the reasons I love share-housing.

Ryan Adams back in form?

This little preview of Invisible Riverside from his new album Ashes & Fire makes me think yes.



And another sneak peak here.

So glad he's come home to country after the wilderness years....