A gnawing need of many surfers is to get a good pic of oneself in action. It’s all very well to share stories of new and past glories (or disasters), but there’s also a yearning to have physical proof that you can do what you claim to do. Over the years I’ve accumulated a few photographs, mostly of me floundering around on the waveski at Point Leo. Continue reading
A special book: Incarceration
I’ve edited thousands of documents (reports, articles, chapters, books, letters, theses, etc.) over the years, probably comprising millions of words. I enjoy it. There’s a great sense of pride and accomplishment in reworking text, spotting errors and typos that others have missed (e.g. see My greatest contribution to Monash University), and offering rewriting suggestions that are welcomed by an author (not always the case, of course). A recent editing task has been one of the most fulfilling and worthy efforts I’ve ever undertaken – Incarceration: My Five Years as a Political Prisoner in Iran. Continue reading
A word on sermons
There is, perhaps, no greater hardship at present inflicted on mankind in civilised and free countries than the necessity of listening to sermons.
That pretty well sums it up, really. In this sentence, and the paragraphs which follow, Anthony Trollope (in Barchester Towers) provides an eloquent and definitive judgement on the topic of sermons. And I should know, for I’ve heard hundreds of them. Continue reading
Fermat’s fiendishly difficult problem
Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665)
It was a famous unsolved maths problem that had stood for hundreds of years – Fermat’s Last Theorem (FLT) – then along came Andrew Wiles, who solved it in 1994. That’s the beginning and end of it really, though the details of the efforts to solve it provide a fascinating tale. The main reason is that FLT is a seemingly simple problem, easily understood by anyone with a cursory understanding of high school maths. Continue reading
When Trollope met Turgenev
One of the joys of retirement is the time for reading. My reading follows no particular path, comprising a mix of fiction and non-fiction, as I seek out writers who enhance this simple and rewarding pleasure. Authors I’ve enjoyed include David Lodge, Phillip Roth, Amis father and son, Patrick Leigh Fermour, Christopher Hitchins and Hugh Trevor-Roper, plus a few relative ‘unknowns’ who’ve told remarkable stories, such as Carmen Callil (Bad Faith) and Heather Rossiter (Lady Spy, Gentleman Explorer). Continue reading
Hello to all that
In recent years we’ve been treated (if that’s the right word) to multimedia offerings that seemingly reveal the realities of World War I. Two specific examples are the much-lauded film 1917, and, more significantly, Peter Jackson’s magnificent They Shall Not Grow Old, amassed from archival footage from the Imperial War Museum. But what about the printed form? The book that resonated with me is Robert Graves’ Goodbye to All That, which I’ve recently re-read after a couple of decades. Continue reading
Me and Jehovah’s Witnesses
A couple of months ago I received a hand-written letter in my letterbox from a Jehovah’s Witness (JW), inviting me to their special annual meeting to celebrate Jesus’ death, with an accompanying special talk, ‘Have you found a pearl of high value?’ It brought back memories and prompted me to respond. Continue reading
When Kipling met Twain
Blessed is the man who finds no disillusion when he is brought face to face with a revered writer.
Rudyard Kipling interviewed Mark Twain in 1889. This surprising fact was revealed to me as I perused one of the books which emerged when I recently successfully ‘downsized’, moving across the road from a house to a townhouse. It was an opportunity to take stock of my motley collection of books, discarding a few (not as many as I should have), reminding myself to re-read some favourites and planning to read a few unread titles. Continue reading
Who is that on the $50 note?
Australian currency is a curious mixture, with the coins dominated by the monarch and varieties of fauna, apart from the $2 coin, which has QEII on one side and Gwoya Tjungurrayi, an Aboriginal tribal elder, on the other. The notes exhibit a motley collection of Australian notables, some more well known than others (by me, anyway: BanjoPaterson, Edith Cowan, Nellie Melba, John Monash). Less well known are Mary Reibey on the $20 note (a rags-to-riches story of a girl transported to Australia as a 13-year-old convict) and the Aboriginal man depicted on the $50 note, David Unaipon. Continue reading
Who sent the first rocket into space?
Very few people seem to know who sent the first rocket into space – well, I didn’t anyway. The following quote provides a not-very-helpful clue:
… we have invaded space with our rocket and for the first time – mark this well – have used space as a bridge between two points on the earth; we have proved rocket propulsion practicable for space travel. To land, sea and air may now be added infinite space as a medium of future inter-continental traffic. This day … is the first of a new era in transportation, that of space travel.
Who said these words, when were they spoken and what was the occasion? Continue reading