Category: Uncategorized
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I have met two armed robbers. The first was an old Irish guy named Whitey who used to drink in a Clifton Hill (Melbourne) pub called the Royal Hotel. This was twenty years ago and Clifton Hill was just in the process of being gentrified; on every tree lined street, construction crews swarmed over…
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A strange experience last night, when I fell head over heels into a depression pit, for no sensible reason. It’s an odd sensation, like suddenly dropping into a hole, a deep badly lit hole, with greasy walls. You shake yourself, try a bit of sensible self-scolding ‘oh for God’s sake princess, harden up’ but…
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The University semester starts next week bringing my beloved summer holidays to an abrupt end. One minute living in old jeans and egg splattered t-shirt; the next making an effort to look vaguely professional and like I know what I’m talking about. We’ve re-jigged one of the courses I’m teaching this semester so this week…
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It’s interesting to speculate how what you read effects what you do in your life, how you live, what you think. For me, books and conversations often trigger a whole new way of thinking about something; but quite often it takes some time for their impact to manifest itself in real life. I thought I’d…
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I recently visited Hobart for my cousin Julien’s wedding, a spectacle that I’ve been privately referring to as the ‘unicorn sighting’, Julien being an exotic creature and someone not inclined towards matrimony or the domestic sphere (I’ve mentioned him earlier in this blog in connection with his band: The Cambodian Space Project). Julien and…
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Another project that I’ve had hanging around for a while is a half-finished detective novel set in the city of Newcastle, NSW. I sometimes work on it after Sophie’s in bed, so I call it my Novel Night Job. I had written quite a few chapters when it became clear that I needed to know…
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Sadly January, designated as my Fun Month, will shortly come to a close. Latest activity in pursuit of hedonism was TM’s 40th birthday party in Kangaroo Valley last weekend. The valley is a beautiful place, high sides and its own weather, lush greenery, mists. Population the usual mix of disaffected Sydneysiders and hardened country…
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People are always suggesting that you read this or that, some great book or article, and mostly you don’t. In my case it’s not laziness, ill will or a lack of faith in their judgement, more a sense that the right books come to you when you’re ready for them, and what may be…
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A few days ago I read two things that pulled my mind in completely different directions on the subject of aging. With my fourtieth birthday just around the corner, I’m currently quite interested, compulsive actually, about the topic. Instead of doing what most people do, which seems to be a quiet, internalized distintergration, I thought…
Helen Hopcroft: an artist's life 