Famous For Less Than 15 Minutes – 19th November 2022

His name is in the papers
Overcome with joy
Running around excited
As a little boy
There, upon a page
Was indeed his name
A minor accident
Bought a day of fame
It surely won’t last
As other events soon came
But it was still a source
Of pride just the same

inspired by an Anton Chekov short story


Coould be worse, think of all those poor people who have to answer emails in an office all day.

from Soaring Twenties Social Club newsletter

Today I’m feeling:
Exhausted
Today I’m grateful for:
Our old vacuum cleaner that still soldiers on despite all the cat hair and mummified lizards. The floor will look good for five minutes. As soon as the cats come in from outside bringing dust, dirt and grass with them it will be back to normal.
The best thing about today was:
Talking to Hayden for a good thirty minutes. He’d received the blog posts that I’d printed out for him and we chatted about those amongst other things. It was good to share with him and I think he appreciated my sending them.
Daily thought
What would you do with the ring of Gyges?
I’d like to think I would be a guiding hand for good. Stop cats and dogs from getting run over, and somehow help people make better decisions and not get stuck with problems. Perhaps I would be a little Robin Hood too though. Try to spread the wealth and happiness around further. It’s all perilous though. Maybe there’s a set balance in the world and for every good in one place something bad would still happen somewhere else. Maybe if just be a voyeur and trying to understand the ways people think about things.
Write about your favourite/worst haircut.
I liked my hair when it covered more of my head. I liked it when it was shaggy. I always like it messy too. I liked when it was blue too but that was only for one day as Amy refused to be seen with me with my hair that way. Haha.

I took this picture because Pi’ti was looking cute here and the only places I went today we’re here at Utopia and the car wash. Not many photo opportunities there.

Spread The Word – 27th October 2022

A rusty soul needs constant scrubbing
Lifting hands up towards the sun
Don’t turn around a-snubbing
For a journey just begun
Spread the word when required
Now’s the time to teach
Everyone needs to be inspired
For the heights to which we reach


We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.

E.O. Wilson

Today I’m feeling:
Dizzy and tired. Maybe getting the flu…
Today I’m grateful for:
Amy’s mum and dad for paying for my birthday lunch today. I was ravenous and enjoyed a bowl of nachos. Simple but effective.
The best thing about today was:
Contacting a local tattoo shop and planning some Cardiacs related tattoos. I’ve seen the work from the studio on Art and Boss at Utopia and it’s pretty good.
If you can pick any job in the world, what would it be?
I’d be interested in almost any job so long as there was no pressure. Imagine any job and being given a six-month training period with no expectations and imagine this was for any job. People could just keep trying what they wanted and be able to find the best thing for them at that time. I’d learn about plants and growing or be some kind of operator at CERN. Maybe a train driver, car dealer or painter. Any job where you can feel respected and worthwhile would be good.

I took this picture because this is the birthday cake Amy got made for me for today! It looks great and dad made a joke about cutting through the neck.

You Won’t Believe Number Four – 16th October 2022

Here’s a list of things you must see
There’s something here to set you free
And you won’t believe number one
Something no one else has ever done

If that really doesn’t tickle your fancy
Number two will surely make you antsy
And number three has so much more
But you’ll never believe number four

Scroll on through to five and six
You’ll start to see these amazing tricks
Manipulations to make you laugh and lol
To make sure the way on the infinite scroll


One can only live while one is intoxicated with life; as soon as one is sober it is impossible not to see that it is all a mere fraud and a stupid fraud! That is precisely what it is…it is simply cruel and stupid.

Leo Tolstoy, A Confession

Today I’m feeling:

Happy and contemplative.

Today I’m grateful for:

The gardeners. Whenever they come they will appear here. They do all the hard work that I’m lazy to do and they can have it done quickly. I wonder if I would ever be in a position to hire a full-time gardener or maid or similar, would I actually do it? It seems like a weird thing to do though there are actually people who would appreciate the opportunity. One of Amy’s mum’s friends has two ‘workers’ though she does own and run a substantial property with guest houses. It just seems strange that you would be the boss of your house and get your staff to do the actual work. Cooking cleaning or gardening etc…

The best thing about today was:

Picking up the guitar after a three-day break, almost stopping after only seven minutes, carrying on and then realizing an hour had gone by.

Write about your work/life balance.

My work/life balance feels perfect at the moment. I’m loving being on holiday right now but I also love being in the middle of another semester. I love my time at school and away from it. I rush to get to school and I rush to get home. It’s great.

I took this picture because these ‘fruit’ from our palm trees caught my eye this morning as I opened the gate after walking back from Utopia. They remind me of music and dancing somehow. In this mono edit, they still pop. A few hours after this the grass was cut and the garden tidy again.
Fatman report

Roundhouse – 24th September 2022

This is the house that time built
The 60s are just through the door
Another world, another lifetime
What were the billions gone all living for?

This is the house that time built
Educated to a level capability
Flexing muscles of hidden thoughts
Exercising a great mental agility

This is the house that time built
Once glorious yet now decrepit
All shall one day return to earth
No matter how amazingly intrepid


Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.

Edward Abbey

Today I’m feeling:
Happy
Today I’m grateful for:
The chef at the shop next to Utopia for preparing me a delicious lunch to my requirements with yummy fresh tofu and crispy noodles to make lard na.
The best thing about today was:
Getting so many little things done but in a relaxing manner. Sometimes I struggle with motivation but today I managed to push through without feeling like I was forcing it.

I took this picture because I was walking home from Utopia and thinking about how to make an interesting picture. The three contrasting colours of yellow, green and blue along with the lines as seen from the ground level give this picture a more complex feel. I thought about straightening the picture but kind of like that it is a little off.

Cells – 18th September 2022

Multiplied and divided
Grow, grow, let’s go
Take over full control
Double what you sow
Stuck in the blood
The economy of fire
Divide and multiply
Punished by desire
Spaces filled by ashes
Opportunity comes a-knocking
The tumour is a-rolling
Pumped by hearts a-rocking
Starve the common driver
Temper evolution from within
Back in white counts
The cancer starts to thin


The foundation of all mental illness is the unwillingness to experience legitimate suffering.

Carl Jung

Today I’m grateful for:
Seeing Amy happy and dancing around her apartment in Sydney as she was enjoying her Sunday knowing she can do whatever she wants.
The best thing about today was:
Sydney Swans making it through to the grand final this year even if it was by the slimmest of margins and the tension was immense.

I took this picture because Pi-Ti is my weekend coffee cat, the king of the cafe at Utopia.

Get Used To It – 11th September 2022

Get used to it, it’s not going to change
Settle on down til it’s no longer strange
Culture shock, not worth fighting against
It’s upsetting but not worth taking offence
Getting used to it, going along for the ride
Hiding in the open is the best place to hide
Running away or kicking against the pricks
Means never teaching this old dog new tricks


Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Today I’m grateful for:
Receiving some comfortable new sandals that at least attempt to give me some arch support.
The best thing about today was:
Walking home from Utopia in the light drizzle. It was just the right rain not to get too wet and to keep the temperature down. The air felt supremely fresh and reinvigorating. I really enjoyed the walk.

I took this picture because the clouds amongst the mountains looked amazing and reminded me of windswept moors of England.

What’s Missing? – 7th September 2022

You’re only seeing the red pill
Or maybe just the green
Oblivious to the fact
The green pill left unseen

When the choice is one or two
Always search for three
Sometimes you’ll find four or five
If you look long enough to see

16th Nov 2024 – Shared with the Word of the Day Challenge – missing


Now is no time to think of what you do not have.

Ernest Hemingway

Today I’m grateful for:
The chef in the kitchen in the shop next door to Utopia, who remembered that I wanted food without meat and made delicious fried rice with chilli that had me sweating so hard I needed a shower when I got home.
The best thing about today was:
Having fun with all the kids who were cooking as part of their scout week. They were very playful and happy.

I took this picture because this unfinished building always fascinates me. I guess it was going to be a hotel. It is located next to the river and is an easy drive into town. I fanaticise about turning it into a punk house for world travellers and having shows there.

Outside – 28th August 2022

I don’t want to go outside
The rain spits knives at my blinking eyes
Don’t want to be outside
Angry ghosts stare at me in surprise
I don’t want to see outside
Evil awaits with sharpened knives
Don’t take me to the outside
Amongst the dead and zombied lives
I don’t want to go outside
The flashing neon against dull grey skies
Don’t want to be outside
To smell the carcass covered in flies
I don’t want to see outside
The monsters can’t get me in my bed
Don’t take me to the outside
Where the rats of paranoia invade my head


The day a child realises all adults are imperfect, he becomes and adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; and the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.

Alden Nowlan, Selected Poems

Today I’m grateful for:
Pushing myself to walk to Utopia in the morning and recognising the extra energy that gave me throughout the day. I got a lot done.
The best thing about today was:
Reading more Gormenghast. I’m loving the language and imagery and being introduced to all these weird and quirky characters. I’m enjoying it more than the first book in the series so far. There were lots of other good things today too mostly because I was in a good mood because of my morning walk and the sun being out again.

I took this picture because this was the view of the sunrise on my first early morning walk. It was also nice to view the world around me from different perspectives.

Atrox, Disciples of the Elder, (A poet), Other Side Of The Fence – Cornwall Hotel, Dorchester, Dorset, UK – 15th March 1985

Personal Hells – 5th April 2022

Eyes agog at AMOLED screens of trusting fakes
Ears alert to every chime, bell and whistle
*They spit weird dilatory rants and pithy takes
Or burp up half-digested chunks of newsfeed gristle*

*from That Guy From The Internet’s ‘This is a newsletter’ newsletter. Love these two phrases.


Reason must lead the way no matter what good fortune comes along.

Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that I have managed to survive the last eight days on very little money and especially to Art for allowing me to have daily coffee on credit!

Greene On Keats – 25th March 2022

This constant need for certainty
Is the greatest disease you may face
Creative power comes from negative capability
Mysteries are to endure and even embrace

Paraphrased, but almost word for word, Robert Greene talking about Keats.


The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.

Robert Greene

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for Art to go book shopping in Chiang Mai for me and get me five music-related books. I’ll keep them at Utopia.