What's on the Blog
Farewell to my best friend
It's wrong to have favourites but truth is we always do. Twyzle was a rescue cat from the RSPCA and it was girlfriends idea at the time to adopt. It was me who got custody when we broke up but Twyzle was the kind of cat happy with anybodys company. I loved him dearly, and cried a river when he died 6 weeks ago. But he was not my favourite.Merv was a few weeks old when he was abandoned by a stray....
The Atheist's Holiday
Myself and a few other atheists finished 2011 in a small regional town being bombarded by the life's work of people such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. At this point in history it still takes an unusually courageous individual to stand up and carry the argument. These men are not alone, but they have shouldered the burden.2011 is a tipping point for the debate about reason over...
In Defence of Sony
Recently had a few rants thrown my way, one about my appreciation of public transport in Melbourne and then a more detailed effort about my articles on Sony cameras. To set the scene, I bagged the Sony Alpha range on the basis their SLT version of SLR is a gimmick looking for a market. Sony make some great gear, but have failed to grab a slice of the SLR market since launching the Alpha range....
Next
"The rank and file appear increasingly rank, yet hardly ever file."I think you know when it's time to move on, and if you let the Universe guide you a little it always works out for the best. That much desired label seems to be used by all and sundry, like a worn out phrase taken drastically out of context and eventually losing it's original meaning altogether.It seems like a good time to pick...
Reality and Travel Photography
The reality of travel journalism, at its best, is not lounging about a spa pool waiting for another cocktail to arrive, but getting up at 6am to trek into the village and chase fisherman about the beach with your camera. You get back to the hotel hot and sweaty and too late for breakfast, but you don't care because the excitement of those photos captured on the camera contain an expression of the...
Peaceful Places
Peaceful places where people are few but naturally pleasant.Crowds only happen when Monks gather in the mornings.Fast food is when sticky rice is ready to leave the steamer.A land where elephants still wander the forests.How do such large creatures disappear from sight?I can get lost inside a Tokyo train too. Anyone can.Trains flow like rivers but lack their grace. The river cares for its people...
How I Became a Travel Writer
The Victorian Writers Centre asked me to respond to a short Q&A about freelance writing. True to form my reply was over the word count and a day late! Seriously though, my initial write up was too long at 1100 words, so I'm posting the full length version here in case anyone is interested. The original questions are shown first, and then my reply.1. You travel write on a freelance basis. How did...
I want to be a travel writer
This is what happens when I stop doing work for 30 minutes and get distracted by text-to-type movie making technology......
