Grandfathers

What did your Grandfather teach you?

On 702 drive this afternoon, that's the discussion topic. I've never had a grandfather, but I loved hearing a few of the people's stories.

The funniest was a boy who's grandfather taught him how to roll cigarettes... at age 6!

Photo time

I just posted some photos at The Land Itself, my other co-authored blog.

Book culture

What are your book habits?

I'm a total flicker - I flick betweenchannels on tv, and I flick between books. I usually have up to 15 books on the go at a time.

At the moment I'm reading a few poetry anthologies (Yeats, Eight American Poets), a book on writing poetry, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, a book written from the perspective of someone with an eating disorder and the bible. There's probably others, but right now they're all piled up next to my bed and I can't see them...

I wish I were a one book at a time person - because I think that's actually more satisfying, but like with my tv flicking, and blog viewing, I'm pretty erratic!

What about you?

The Harsh Recession Lifestyle

I just caught a bit of Insight on SBS, which was doing a recession special.


Jo and I were both quite shocked by the head of some retail organisation saying how the recession had forced her to start using her kitchen again. As in - she is cooking. WOAH get out! Cooking? How quaint.

She also said people are now buying more staples - like rice and potatoes. RICE AND POTATOES! What new fangled carbohydrates

Is this true - have you been stashing potatoes away for the winter, and actually turning your burners on for the first time in years??

Turns out I've been a freak all along.

How not to relax

I think I have information overload. I feel stressed from reading too much, browsing too much and thinking too much. This is not good.

My problem is I have a voracious appetite for new things: ideas, images, words being the mainstayers. I seek them out aggressively - I read blog after blog, book after book, browse flickr till my eyes hurt.

It's my way of relaxing/escaping/being energised, but and at the end, I feel exhausted. Inspired - but exhausted.

Is this anyone else's experience?

It's probably a cliche to say it, but I think my(our?) generation really does have to navigate a sea of information, which churns and churns. It's wonderful, (and therefore addictive); makes you feel part of something bigger than yourself. BUT it's also actually really tiring.

I'm still trying to work out how to actually relax.

Andrew Bird

Photo credit: Cameron Wittig

I can't recommend this Chicagoan's work highly enough. He is a singer/songwriter/masterful violinist who creates a stunning blend of eccentric pop sprinkled with violin, whistling and artful harmonies.

I don't own his most recent album "Noble Beast" - I can't afford to buy it at the moment, but I have downloaded 5 of the songs with some free vouchers I received from iTunes. This album, like his others is a lovely place to be. In some ways it's easy listening - what with so many stirring melodies and calming harmonies, but his lyrics are fantastically clever. He especially loves science and history references.

If you like the Swell Season (as I know many of you do), I think you'd be charmed by it. Glen Hansard is very different from Andrew Bird, but if you like that kind of clever, beautiful 'pop', you should like Andrew Bird.

You need to check him out!

The Bakery

One of my favourite blogs is Design for Mankind. It's author is Erin Loechner, who's just started a "blogging for dummies" blog called the Bakery. She says she gets asked all the time how to make blogs work, and this blog is her answer to those questions.

So if you're a budding blogger, check it out here!