These are tiny half-stories, vignettes born of whimsy and a wayfaring-but-trapped mindset.
This Corpse is Full of Birds The first was a fledgling, a Jacky Winter launched from the nest on new-found wings to snatch at an insect. His sole flight was a faltering plummet, yet it filled me with envy. So I scooped him up, and swallowed him whole. He sang his dissent all the way […]
The last knuckle on the little finger of my right hand is inexplicably fragile. There's nothing visibly wrong, but then I can only see the surface of it, and the problem lies deeper, as it always does, as it always must. I can feel its weakness when I grip, especially in the cold: there's a […]
As I may have mentioned, I've recently moved, and am currently rocking new digs in a new neighbourhood. Mostly this is awesome, for so many reasons, not least of which is that the new neighbourhood is much funkier and edgier1 and is also — this bit is very exciting, in case you didn't realise it […]
I feel bereft, but I'm not sure precisely why. I find myself standing in the centre of the room — the lounge room, the bedroom, the bathroom; my cubicle at work — and casting about me. As if, whatever it is I've lost, I must have dropped it somewhere nearby. But there's only the usual […]
Today I saw an old man walking an old dog. The dog was a golden retriever, his long coat still clean and glossy, but his head hung low and his mouth hung open and his eyes had more of a droop than his heavy, plodding paws. The dog wasn't walking fast, but he was still […]
» Of The Fish Balls I said: Watch out! They're kinda plasmic! She said: They're really hot. » Of The Sitcom I said: It's just totally pedestrian. At best. She said: It's really bad. I thought: I use big words.
Chemically speaking, a catalyst is a substance that initiates or accelerates a reaction without itself being affected. Which is correct, as far as it goes, but it's also a reductionist view. The catalyst may appear unchanged from its initial state, but nevertheless it participates in the reaction. The reactants adhere to its surface, and squirm […]
I could tell you that I have amazing friends, one of whom staged a stealth pickup at the airport yesterday, and didn't flinch from hugging me even though I hadn't showered since May. I could tell you that Mongolia is Big Sky Country. Or that I am currently sporting the darkest tan I have achieved […]
Sometime last year, my bank (in a fit of promotional madness) sent me a couple of free movie tickets. I can't remember why — I think I answered a survey or some such inanity. Anyway, not the point. The point is that the free movie tickets were for Greater Union cinemas, of which Melbourne has […]
Today it rained, and Melbourne forgot to wake up. I ventured out into the darkness and the hissing rain, giving the trench coat it's first outing (even though it's not cold enough for a coat of any description yet), and found myself utterly alone. No cars, no pedestrians, just me and the rain and the […]