Sometimes I have to keep learning the same lesson. Over and over again. This month's lesson in humility has come from the barbell. I have had some time off work and decided to push up my deadlift a bit. Two weeks later, beaten and sore, with no meaningful progress in sight, I stopped. I don't… Continue reading Strength training for the chronically busy and tired
Author: James
Gambling
I've never really warmed to gambling. I understand that it's one of those things that you're meant to at least slightly enjoy, especially in Australia where the value of "having a flutter" is a foundational cultural myth. It doesn't even leave me cold - I find it stressful and mildy boring.
13 May 2019, Blackburn
I went to vote yesterday. Being an early elector, I forwent the democracy sausage (don’t ask how the sausage is made) in favour of a surprisingly long queue slightly outside of my electorate. We have a very good-natured democracy, but one still has to run the gauntlet of people handing out flyers. Apart from the… Continue reading 13 May 2019, Blackburn
Sunday May 5, 2019, Glen Iris
I spent the afternoon at a trampoline gym with one of my kids. We both had a glorious time, bouncing, flipping, landing awkwardly, trying not to crash into other people. The place was filled to the brim with kids, being a Sunday. A handful of adults were bouncing too, but the vast majority were patronising… Continue reading Sunday May 5, 2019, Glen Iris
The e-Reader – I may have been wrong
It turns out that the fuddy-duddies were right. Even though they're not always the most practical, paper books are magical.
Canberra
Canberra gets a lot of bad press. Some of it is deserved, but less that you might think. Being the capital of Australia, it suffers the same curse which afflicts Washington DC and Brasilia; namely that it is an invented settlement which has been located for reasons of politcs rather than practicality. In the case… Continue reading Canberra
14 April 2019, Canberra
Sometimes I drink instant coffee at work. I joke that I do it because sometimes I need to hurt myself in order to feel something. The truth is really that I just like coffee. It's tough to live in Melbourne and not have strong views on espresso style coffee. I mean, I like it, and… Continue reading 14 April 2019, Canberra
7 April 2019, Union road, Surrey Hills, Victoria
In this election season I have been forced to conclude that Clive Palmer's electoral office are trying to sabotage him. I mean, look at that poster. Looks like it's been put together by the year nine work experience kid. Awful Photoshopping, lurid colours, typography that could only be worsened by the addition of WinDings. It's… Continue reading 7 April 2019, Union road, Surrey Hills, Victoria
6 April 2019, Surrey Hills Uniting Church, Victoria
Most churches in Australia give off a strong air of swimming against the tide. The buildings are spic and span, gardens watered and mantels dusted by a committee of keen parishioners. But the demographics are inescapable. There are no young people. There are twee little poems posted on the bathroom wall about not leaving the… Continue reading 6 April 2019, Surrey Hills Uniting Church, Victoria
5 April 2019, Camberwell, Victoria
In these peri-Brexit days, the imperial tide is pretty far from the shore. But you still come across a few pieces of flotsam, washed up and left stranded in an ocean of transnational sameness. The stern Victorian aesthetic is a bit out of place in a country that prides itself on being egalitarian and easy-going,… Continue reading 5 April 2019, Camberwell, Victoria
