My Bookworms

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Devastated by devastation

Devastated by devastation What's a writer of fiction to do when times are dark.

I don’t want to be alarmist, but as an author of pre-apocalyptic, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction I’m finding it difficult to see the difference between reality and conjecture, especially when viewed through the recent smoke haze that has descended upon my city and the fires raging across my nation. Devastation is upon us, however, as the rain falls, I like to remind myself that with all…

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The Every Day Time Machine

The Every Day Time Machine

I love time manipulation stories, from H.G. Wells to Doctor Who and everything in between (or perhaps it’s more scattered and nonlinear with no in between). Anyway, it’s no wonder that when my workload became a little unrealistic recently my mind turned to a fictional way of dealing with it. Much to the chagrin of those around me, I find practical solutions often appear to me once I’ve first…

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More than Paris burning

More than Paris burning

I feel terrible about Notre-Dame. It’s a unique architectural wonder that deserves to be preserved. Its place, at the centre of Paris, is more than merely physical. It holds ground in hearts and minds, in literature, in cultural and historical spirituality. Not only valued by those that live in Paris, but by all those around the world that have been drawn to and affected by its qualities.

But…

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Selfie interested

Venturing out for some culture on Sunday afternoon, my partner and I found ourselves at the Nick Cave (artist, not singer) exhibition, ‘Until’, currently being staged at Carriage Works in Everly, Sydney. A fine example of immersive work that raises questions, peaks emotions and disturbs sensibilities.

More disturbing than the artwork however was the intrusion of the mobile phone. We couldn’t…

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Sid and Essie

18 December 2018

On this day 35 years ago my grandfather, Sid Sperling, departed this earth. He left behind a loving family, many great memories and an indelible mark on those that knew and loved him. He lived a full and happy life. Along with my grandmother, Essie, a strong bond was created with each of their 11 grandchildren. My life has been underpinned by the strong sense of love, community,…

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Matrix Meditation

Spoiler Alert: If you have never seen the matrix, be warned the following piece describes pivotal screens.

There is a moment towards the end of the Matrix that I find compelling to contemplate.

Inside the Matrix, Neo collapses after being showered in bullets. His body in the real world flatlines and it appears that he is dead. Trinity leans in close, her lips to his ear, she tells him to get the…

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Unexpected whale of a time

Unexpected whale of a time

I like a morning walk. Most days I get up with the sunrise or just before and start the day with a brisk walk. My regular walking track is along parts of the Cooks River. It’s not the cleanest of systems but there’s something to be gained from walking along its paths, listening to the wind blow through the trees, nodding hello to fellow walkers and generally doing something mentally and…

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Is there anybody out there?

Is there anybody out there?

I’m a regular listener to podcast ‘This American Life’. This week featured three acts about loneliness and while all three have great merit for very different reasons, I want to tell you about the first one by producer David Kestenbaum. You see Kestenbaum was feeling sad, I mean really sad, because of Fermi’s Paradox. The paradox concerns the high probability of the existence of alien life…

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Rational thought and a warm bath

Rational thought and a warm bath

One of my earliest memories is of the thought of death. The pink tiles in the upstairs bathroom, glistening from the steam of the bath, breathing in the hot air, feeling the warm water on my skin. Then goosebumps rising quickly as I’m lifted from the water and covered in a towel. Patted down and dried then left to stand in front of the bar heater. Its searing coils radiating warmth through the…

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The mysterious art of Artemis I woke to find the shimmering light of Artemis dancing into my room. My brain constructing complicated scenarios in a wistfully precise language I know I’ll never capture, the only audience will be my half-conscious mind.

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The Unseen

Just before Christmas, I met a young man named Mitch. He was living on the streets of Sydney. My girlfriend and I almost walked by him as many people do. Choosing not to see someone because it’s somehow uncomfortable. Acknowledging the homeless also acknowledges that you are doing nothing to help them. The city was filled with Christmas shoppers and the homeless are an unwanted obstacle in the…

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UberDad

A rare evening out with friends recently was interrupted by a request for UberDad services. I explained to my rarely seen friends how the high-tech system works. Teen offspring sends a text to book UberDad to drive teen offspring to a movie. UberDad interrupts rare night out with friends to collect teen offspring and friend. UberDad reminds teen offspring of the essentials; shoes, jacket, keys,…

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The soupy contents of my mind

The soupy contents of my mind

My psyche has been pummelled by decades of cross-genre input and frankly, I like what the wash and spin cycle of my brain does with it all. The trick is getting readers to understand what they are in for when they read my work. It’s a trick I haven’t learned particularly well, but I’m well-adjusted to going with the creative outpouring. It’s hardly surprising that after a lifetime of perceptions…

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Fragmented Reality?

I haven’t posted in a while and there is a good reason. Actually, it’s not a good reason it’s a bad reason. A very bad and sorry excuse for a reason. I’ve written previously about the effects of the 24/7 news cycle on my psyche. I could blame being too busy with work, or domestic responsibilities as reasons for me not putting pen to paper, or in my case fingers to keyboard. But the fact is I’ve…

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Boys own bike ride

Boys own bike ride

For David and Adam

When I was 15, in January 1983, David Owens, Adam Garnett and I somehow convinced our parents it was a good idea to let us ride our bikes from North Ryde to Terrigal on the Central Coast for a week’s camping trip.

We met at 4am on the corner of Twin and Badajoz Roads. There were a few parents in pyjamas and bathrobes checking we had everything and ensuring our commitment to…

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Why Cli-Fi?

To Cli-Fi or not to Cli-Fi, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous science fiction or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them?

Yes, a somewhat bastardised version of Shakespeare’s famous soliloquy. Yet if you take a moment to deconstruct it, the answer to why many authors are picking up and running with the…

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The Great Disruptor

There are a ton of things going on in the world that bother me. They range from mildly inconvenient intrusions into my daily life to global demigods that threaten the end of our existence. The everyday intrusions I’m learning to deal with. What’s harder is the wave of moderate to high, national and global issues that inundate my mind at the speed of light. Literally light carrying information…

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