24-1-8 handwavers changing face of campaign. children are in it. soft sell. major rush in the morning in front of newsagency/chemist. all sorts, the elderly yes, no problem, kooris on side and fun's a winna mait. our frame of reference, the ever increasing zeros on our bank accounts, house prices through the roof. what does the black swan know of our reality? laundry day successful drying in the caravan park lakeside tented up or starting dingy, fishing all the go. lack of skateboard knobs and wear on concrete corners marks a town comfortable with youth. luxury lake overlooking multimansions [View Full Entry]

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19-1-8 lazy light rain, very early walk/spruik sleepy saturday morning. took in forty but. succumbed to kfc. then library and marina parkup another burgee to boat. much trash picked up. diesel spill in marina fouling the air. had another vision of gaia. then the rain drove me to pub. 20-1-8 majic moments i reached merimbula. early morning walk spotted wanda scared up a whole flock on mamula lake short track. speckled bark gums slender in the regrowth. some big beauties but. tea and day of fasting as evidence emerges that fasting is fantastic. ambling drive thru tracts of trees, thru bega [View Full Entry]

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16-1-8 morning green tea on north finger sitting comfortably on giant triangulated blocks concrete, low sun bright on the water. pleasure power fisherfolk passing. spruik carpark parked up in gum shade to sit casually for unbelieveable result. then went to 'totally board' surfshop where ozpom other owner got forty sickers at retail. both handwavers were hanging at till counter. is there enough heat for ignition? then lunch and thunder brought terrible threats and little rain. internet finally logged back blogs then rest harbourside overcast, mild. and everywhere i go i'm seeing birds, many an [View Full Entry]

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7-1-8 near nandi fiji torrential rain, warm humid summer in the south pacific. days hve passed i've been dark places, lost, lonely the sometimes curse of the intrepid traveller. doubt, indecision, the existential dilemma looming not lurking, chant your mantra, hold on thru that difficult night. then the dawn, a new beginning i met michael who tlaked in a talahassie drawl of all the truths like a monologue of life. while he steadily consumed beer and occasionally wine. but i'd just finished malouf's 'johnno' a lyrical phraseology and before that 'my life as a fake' by carey. what genius. and [View Full Entry]

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dean is keen doing flips off the grass and on to sand below. madison to be at market in the morning. i'm talking to thirteen-year-olds about flag. madison four flips fantastic. 14-1-8 overcast occasional mist morning tea among the gums and cockatoos. spruiked in front of PO. lunch barby and fell to talking with council workers and then sydneysiders family of five they gave me a burger! down at dock espied boat that came in earlier and chatted with builder/owner and saw his sign looking for crew to go north!!! a marvellous vision appeared of that splendid ship in a stiff [View Full Entry]

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17-12-7 rise to sound of honking. yet going shoping the streets seem wider, cleaner. al eid in two days some effort has been made to sweep the streets and i'm three weeks later less appalled by the traffic and pollution, a breeze had reduced it. i knew cab fare and bargained with shopowners. when we did pay overmuch i took it with a hard-earned serenity. kate wanted to eat in our old neighborhood falafel stop. walking back to hotel a bull with feet tied lying in entry to clothes store. just at that moment its throat was slit, blood gushed red. [View Full Entry]

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14-12-7 early discussion on direction finally set out for khalil/hebron. bus to jerusalem/al quds i went thru on foot with the people, one woman with US passport and palestinian papers was turned back. met 'ecumenical accompaniers'. went to demonstration (approved) of israeli women in black now 17 years, an hour a week. so we stood on street corner with black hands saying 'end occupation' while the traffic of jersalem went past. i was too volatile (this was more silent witness) so i sat and wrote to calm myself. the banality of evil by arendt on eichmann echoed from the buildings, sheraton [View Full Entry]

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11-12-7 bus thru desert tree plantings along the way a sign of hope. fields and orchards as we approached amman pleasant. 12-12-7 down to dead sea for swim, walking in water on slabs of salt that don't dissolve. bobbed up like corks. good fun. rinsed as best we could with bottle of water. walking past resort guard let me in for cold shower rinse. hitched ride to road to aman and bus was leaving immediately. got back seemingly miraculously. 13-12-7 easy walk from hotel to roman ruins, fountain nymphaeum, amphitheatre and up to fort, pillars of hercules and beginning of muslim [View Full Entry]

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4-12-7 gave reggae 100 and flag. flew to cairo. got long bus ride which went under canal (didn't see it), past red sea resorts all the way to sharm el sheik. seven hour trip took eleven, ten security checks en route. arrived dahab midnight, owner saying he had only sand beach in town and i'm thinking we're aussies, he's selling ice cubes to eskimos and i find myself dreaming of mollymook, mooloolaba and scotts head. we've certainly damaged the land in 200 years. these peopole have been at it for millenia and it shows, not a level spot that hasn't been [View Full Entry]

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2-12-7 karnak temples complex where construction, destruction and reconstruction over millenia has made a marvel. traces of paint give another hint of the splendor. litterally defaced carvings tell of turmoil. the human story in stone. by the time we had lunch with reggae it was linto arvo and we boarded felucca by passing noisy smelly construction for obligatory sunset cruise. light breeze, too light, we ghosted across the flow to west bank. there the crew poled along the edge slowly working our way upstream. sunset thru smears of grey turned pink, captain mohammed got huge heavy oars lackin [View Full Entry]

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