The me that began 2020 is not the me that is ending 2020. I am transformed, battle-scarred and bruised, but alive. And that is an achievement because there were times during this year that I did not want to be alive. “I just feel like giving up,” I sobbed to my old friend Leon Nacson […]
The year my life broke Read More »
I love the strangeness of children. The way their little minds are so fresh and unpredictable and just totally out there. My five-year-old son says he is ‘allergic’ to warm towels. If I try to wipe his face with a warm towel, he can’t stand it. He squirms around like it’s making his blood run
12 really weird things I did as a kid Read More »
Scholars have debated the mysteries of Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas for more than a century, but a startling discovery has shed new light on the construction methods used to build the city, which the ancient Incas began constructing at 8,000 feet above sea level, atop the jagged green peaks of the
Ancient bionic dung beetle discovered in Peru Read More »
I’ve suffered from self-doubt my entire life. I got good grades at school, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted better grades. I didn’t think I was worthy of love for a long time, so when I found it, I held onto it for dear life, even when it was bad for me. I didn’t apply
Self-doubt will kill your dreams if you let it Read More »
Paperback vs ebook A good beach read has to be a paperback. Seriously, who wants to read a book at the beach on a Kindle or a phone? You go to the beach to relax and unwind and perve at strangers in various stages of undress. You don’t want to worry about getting sand in
Vamos a la playa – what to look for in a good beach read Read More »
I met the author and speaker Wayne Dyer around 25 years ago and he told me something that always stuck with me: ‘Don’t die with your music still in you’. He didn’t tell only me, of course. He told hundreds of thousands of people around the world during his many self-development seminars. Wayne was great
“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal.” – Paulo Coelho I first heard of the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho in 1994 when his book The Alchemist landed on my desk for review. I was working for a newspaper in Sydney called The Planet. It was a healthy lifestyles and environment newspaper
The night I creepily followed Paulo Coelho to a church toilet Read More »
Love it or hate it, Eat, Pray, Love was a phenomenon. It sold more than 12 million copies and made author Elizabeth Gilbert a star. I know a few people who disliked Eat, Pray, Love, but I wasn’t one of them. I liked it because it combined two things I have a keen interest in:
Here’s why I think Eat, Pray, Love was so successful – and how it differs from my book Read More »
I’ve spent most of the day reflecting on the Game of Thrones finale last night. I feel conflicted, because on one hand I am supremely grateful to the brilliant David Benioff and D.B. Weiss who adapted the TV series from George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, into the most epic TV
Alternative Game of Thrones ending for those who are feeling ripped off Read More »
I was a rampant New Ager in the 1990s and one thing I loved to do was surround myself in a bubble of white light when I was in a potentially dangerous situation. It worked like magic. In 1995, I left Australia for the first time and backpacked around South America. I ventured into many
The trouble with white light bubbles Read More »
Incomprehensible eating habits are by no means the domain of hippies. However, I’ve been around a lot of hippies in my life. Australian hippies. South American hippies. Mexican hippies. Japanese hippies. English hippies. And regardless of the country I was in or the variety of hippie I was hanging out with, I just never learnt
7 hippie foods I refuse to eat Read More »
Maleny was all wrapped up in colourful wool last weekend. The Knitfest Yarn and Fibre Arts Festival was on and a clandestine group of needle-happy knitters yarn-bombed the town – trees, shopfronts, the cow sculpture out the front of Woolies – nothing was safe. People came from far and wide to admire the knitting and
Knit me a jumper, I’ll write you some words Read More »
My son Cohen has decided to change his name. It’s a very Maleny thing to do and at the age of four, he’s starting young. Names that start with a C aren’t cool. X is cooler. He asked me what names start with X and all I could think of was Xavier. So, Xavier it
A hippie by any other name would smell as sweet Read More »
A close friend has informed me I’m not much of a hugger. I had no idea there was anything untoward going on with my hugs, until she pointed out that whenever she tries to hug me, I squirm away from her. I wasn’t offended or hurt. I was genuinely curious: am I bad at something
We need to talk about hugging Read More »
Hey, I’m blogging again! The last post I wrote for this blog was in August 2013. I had closed my blog indefinitely, but I felt compelled to relaunch it after watching Wild Wild Country on Netflix and thinking, wow, Hippies with Guns would make a great blog title. I put my blog on hold when
Hippies with guns – not the worst thing about Wild Wild Country Read More »
One day in early August, a Canadian university professor by the name of David Lloyd started a bit of argy-bargy in the Maleny & Surrounds Chit-Chat Facebook group. This particular weekday, a handful of us were clearly procrastinating the afternoon away on Facebook, avoiding whatever work we were supposed to be doing at the time,
The world’s dumbest university professor Read More »
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