Cultural Divide

When writing, I have discovered cultural nuances which I have absorbed. In particular when I sub work for critique to my group of fellow writers from all parts of the globe.

It is not just the spelling, or the actual words, such as "port" or "bitumen" that catch me out, it is the things my characters do - like walk under buildings.

Any person from Queensland would read that character has walked under the house and understand. We spend much of our lives under buildings. I did not realise this was unique until now. So to assist with global confusion, please see above a "Queenslander" - the architecture that defines our state.

Writing and Working Fulltime

Let me tell you about working full time and being a writer.

When you are a writer and working full time (not as a writer), you spend a few minutes before you go to work tidying your house, not because you have an anal need to have a tidy house.

You do it because if you tidy every morning it will take less time on Saturday and you will have more time to write.

The Day After Tomorrow

I didn't want to see this movie when it came out, but it crossed my path recently so I thought I would give it a go. My original instincts were correct.

There are serious credibility issues in this movie. Not that the Earth suddenly freezes over, baffle me with enough science and I will believe anything.

I do not find it credible that this stupid man walks to New York to save his son. Why? What did he think he would do when he got there? As it turned out his son had it sorted anyhow, and the father arguably killed his friend and work colleague so he could prove he wasn't the slack father his ex-wife thought he was. A rescue team would have flown to New York when it was all over anyway - he didn't need to walk there.

Bin this one.

I am a guest blogger today. See my fellow writer Jennie Helderman's blog. Jennie is an accomplished writer from Atlanta. Flashquake nominated her for Pushcart Award in 2007. Wow, I can't do her justice, but hopefully you will all get to read about Ginger one day.

The Lovely Bones

My favourite film by Director Peter Jackson is Heavenly Creatures (regardless of the success of The Lord of the Rings), so when I read he had bought the rights to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones I was enthusiastic. Peter Jackson and The Lovely Bones seemed the right fit and wanted to see what he would do with this wonderful book.


The reviews for the movie have been mixed. I think there are two problems. One, people could not get The Lord of the Rings out of their heads and their expectations ran toward an epic. The other problem is the story does not follow the usual plot line for a rape/murder story. How it should go... innocent child is raped and murdered, everyone does everything to catch the perpetrator, the perpetrator is caught and justice is done.


That is not the story The Lovely Bones tells. It tells a better story.


When I read The Lovely Bones, I thought, this is a book about grief. How people cope with grief, how Suzie copes with the grief of being dead, how her family copes with her being dead.


There is a risk of seeing a movie after reading a book that has been enjoyed and happily the movie worked for me. But it took me to a different place. For me the story in the movie is about how our bodies are less important than how we live our lives and the love we leave behind.


This is not a catch a murderer story, and sadly I think the trailers may have led people to believe otherwise. If you like to delve deeper than the good guys catch the bad guys then I think this story - book and movie - are worth a look and a read.

Devotees

Devotees is a surreal little story which started as a strange dream. I worked hard on it but it is not mainstream and has been hard to place. I am happy to announce Crash has published "Devotees" in their first issue.

Priorities

I choose reading my book over mopping the floor.

Sleep

At the end of the day, I close my bedroom door, my teeth are clean, I am clean, there is my bed, there is my book. Whatever else the day was, it is now perfect.

Avatar in 3D

Avatar is both magnificent and ordinary.

It is lush, full of colour, light and wonder - truly beautiful and with 3D more fully realised than any 3D I have experienced.

It is exciting on the superficial level of explosions and killing sprees.

The story however, is rather ordinary. For the majority of audiences who want an adventure flick with their Jaffas, I am sure it is an extraordinary experience. For someone who appreciates some depth and interest in characters and a story with surprises, there may be some disappointment. Some guy goes native and falls in love and has to fight his own people...been there? The top boss solider is a cardboard cut out bad guy with no soul, no real motive and stacks of guns.

Still, I wouldn't say don't go. I expect if you don't see this movie in 3D at the movies you will have to spend the next decade explaining why you weren't there.

Priority

I choose my garden over nice fingernails.

Storm Gardening

Looking through the window, snow is picture perfect. I expect living with it is challenging.

Queensland's license plates used to say "The Sunshine State." It's true many are envious our our ceaseless sunshine. Living with it is not always as one would expect.

Take today, I have some big gardening jobs on my mind. I hope to get a little in first thing in the morning. I wake at 7.30am, early enough for a Sunday morning I think. It is already too hot to go outside. Certainly too hot for weeding and planting and hard work. Perhaps I will get some gardening in at dusk, if it is not too steamy.

Then, mid morning, a silver lining on the horizon. Dark clouds.

For someone closer to the poles, where perhaps it is snowing, this may be the oddest thing you hear today, but gardening in the rain is perfection.

Cold? No, I wipe the rain from my forehead and the sweat from my upper lip and somehow they even themselves out.

The soil is loose and the weeds come out like a balding man's hair.

My children come outside to tell me there is a storm warning. High winds and flash flooding. It is for nearly all of south east Queensland. Not specific enough for me.

I can hear thunder. If there is any lightening I will go inside.

Mid afternoon and I am done. My hair is red with mud and my clothes cling like glad wrap.

I step into the shower clothes and all.

Clean, on the veranda with a wine and some cheese and crackers, I can admire the luminous grass and the sparkling garden. A perfect summer's day, minus the sun.

If it wasn't for these flies.

But, that's Queensland for you. Beautiful one day, perfect the next.

New Year

I don't know the meaning of Christmas. I spend more time thinking about the meaning of the New Year.

There is the whole thing about finding the perfect party, the perfect time to be had. Then there is the whole resolution thing, the diets that last a week or two.

Neither of these things speaks to me.

I am tangled in the idea of "start as you mean to continue."

If the New Year is the start, then this is the chance to give our year a flavour.

A boring New Year's Eve? Perhaps a dull year. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

2007/8 we spend at the Woodford Folk Festival. It rained buckets and buckets and there was mud up to our knees. But we kept on smiling. Everyone kept on smiling. Woodford is like that. But actually, it was a trial and many, including us, left early.

2008 - A year of challenges? You bet. I spent the whole year smiling while I trawled through the mud thinking what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

2008/9 - We had new year at our place. It was not what we had planned, but old friends were coming to visit and it seemed logical bearing in mind the mud we had spent the year muddling through. I was in pain, I was sick and no one knew it. I didn't want people in my house. I wanted to go to bed.

2009 - a Year of not getting what I wanted. I was thwarted at every turn by other people and other things. It has been the busiest year of my entire life.

Today we are going back to Woodford. Already we are thwarted by a puppy with a red eye and an emergency trip to the vet. One last hurrah from 2009.

Anyhow, we will get there. I have my gumboots, my hat and sunscreen and water and I am prepared. I have my smile and a positive attitude. Will it be enough?

Games Suck

I admit it, I was sucked in by the tv advertisement. The new Super Mario Wii.

I don't like "video games." Really have never been good at them. Not ever.

But occassionaly I get addicted, and I have a soft spot for Mario.

There is a family in the advertisement. Four people. Two adults and two kids. Wow just like us. Look how happy they look, playing together.

Sucked me right in.

So if this game is an indication of our family dynamics, I would say we are an arguementative, chaotic group of people living in this house.

I think I prefer to go to bed.

puppies for sale!

My new camera!! Brisbane

Puppies

Perfect Contentment

Puppies

The little puppies lie on thier backs, and thier little legs twitch and wiggle while they sleep.

Puppies

Puppies love to be close to each other. Is it any wonder they make great companions for people too.

Puppies

A jumble of puppies? A tumble of puppies? Certianly not a little of puppies.

Puppies

My life is a delicate juggling act. If I take my eye off any particular ball it will fall and crash on the floor like an over exhausted mother/partner/worker/writer/gardener etc etc.

The blog ball dropped recently, partly because I have had that eye trained on the puppy ball. So to keep the two balls flying at once, a feast of puppy photos will take over this blog.

To begin, this is "the white one", the only one that looks like his Maltese dad.