australia Hello George First, a heave as the right wing dips and the intercom dings, "there's a little weather over Canberra, so we've been put in a holding pattern," and we do lazy loops
poetry Spenseriana Let's go get a burrito and debate our favorite pasta shapes as the crenelated bank across the way catches the sun. the late sun, the one that holds hands with the older trees.
Taking a belting This has been a good week for those that love to talk about sci-fi. Yes, dear readers, we are indeed going there. Let’s talk Star Wars. The past couple of months have
The Continuing Adventures of Learning It seems that going from a zero to twice-daily blogging regime is the first thing to fall by the wayside in the long weekend of learnings. That's okay, let's cut it to once
The Shape of Work “Let me tell you a story,” she says, “about work. About the shape of work.” She is tall, glasses too big for her thin face, although he doesn't think this is A Fashion
writing Hear the Wind Sing Haruki Murakami, on writing: For me, writing is extremely hard work. There are times when it takes me a whole month just to write one line. Other times I’ll write three days
travel Thoughts on running This morning I clocked a thirteen km run as part of my goal to see if I can run 150 km in a month. This is absurd to me. I'm not a runner,
travel Wandering Soles I threw out my shoes today. This was not an easy decision, nor one rendered simple through the enforced time pressures that come with the intersection of an end of lease and the
usa The Brewer's Art The counter is massive. Its scarred face gleams in the soft yellow light of the chandelier above. A fireplace, set in the same marble as the counter, dominates the back of the room
The count of three The leaves have done falling. The drips from under the eaves freeze into an icy crust on the hardened dirt. Once more the north spins, off, into the dark.
life One White Brick As a kid, I was convinced it was the white brick that did it. This was a carefully reasoned deduction that went as follows: walking directly past the house yielded no response; nor
travel A World Expo He will win the next hand. I know this because from where I stand, under the soft blue glow of four enormous Chinese characters, set in neon, I can see his cards, both
travel La Camioneta Outside, there is an apple orchard on a cracked hillock of sunburnt clay. The trees are loosely arranged, bent sideways from the salty winds that blow across the peninsula each afternoon. The fruit
trains Those Graceful Hands “Please stand back from the edge. Please be mindful of the yellow line. Please form a queue. Please be patient. Please stand back from the edge. Please…” The station is chaos. Somewhere upstream
travel When the Levee Breaks You notice the billboards first. They cluster around highway exits, illuminated in silver-grey floodlight, thrust hundreds of feet above this flat, wet country. The journey toward the Panhandle is marked by photographs of
thailand Socks for a cause The roar of the rain against the metal roof is more effective white noise than anything I can produce in my tiny headphones. It circles and nibbles at the bottom end of everything,
asia Mani/Pedia You can sense its happening. A thickening of the air, a prickling of the skin, and the distant thunk of the generator all come a moment before the lights buzz on and the
travel Adalbertstrasse Early morning Kreuzberg, blowing with the late night detritus of winter weekend Berlin. The police huddle in a circle outside the chicken stand, nodding in unison to the background hum of sirens and
travel The White Light of Amman The taxi driver, Hassan, uses my garbled explanation of where I think I need to be to apply an educated guess. He drops me at the side of the road between a shop
japan Shimeji The man stands motionless in a crush of white-shirted salarymen, as they swarm past him, toward the single escalator at the end of the platform. He is tall, and gaunt, and wears the
life The Lord of the Forest Gnarled and pitted wood rests where it has fallen, shapes transformed by the tiny creeping filaments of the moss that covers everything, in this place so textured with age. It is in everything:
japan Shinobi The kid plonks himself down on the seat next to me and announces, “I’m going to be a ninja.” He does a seated kick for emphasis and, in the process, boots his
travel Seishun Juu-hachi Kippu The Seishun Juu-hachi Kippu (Youth 18 Ticket or 青春18きっぷ) is a little-known JR ticket that is a boon for the budget conscious traveler. It is especially great for those already living in Japan
thailand It's because of China I am unsure whether it is the wind, or the spray being kicked up by the boat, or whether it is conceivable that I am cold. This seems impossible, in Bangkok, at this
thailand Festina Lente The motorcycles swarm and huddle in the shade under the bridge, like so many angry bees, waiting for the green disc up ahead to light up, so they can soar back into the
