I am chucking out books...

I'm chucking out books..

But before I chuck them outI reread them. And am rediscovering Margaret Atwood.

I was born, I would have begun once....

Rip. crumple, up in flames, out the window.

I was born, I grew up, I studied , I loved, I married, I procreated, I sais, I wrote, all gone now. I went, I saw, I did. Farewell crumbling turrets of historic interest, farewell icebergs and war monuments, all those young stone men with eyes upturned, and risky voyages teeming with germs, and dubious hotels, and doorways opening both in and out. Farewell friends and lovers, you've stipped from view, erased, defaced: I know you once had hairdos and told jokes, but I can't recall them. Into the ground with you, my tender fur-brained cats and dogs, and horses and mice as well: I adored you, dozens of you, but what were your names?....



Muogamarra NR: Open Day 28/08/2016

And correspondingly ridiculous book for Jamie

Some Plants for Jamie by Grandma | Make Your Own Book

This time not only did I put in an index to the plants, I also included an index to the collectors and botanists. I find it pretty remarkable that in a book containing about 30 plants, Robert Brown is mentioned 11 times (having picked up these plants on his journeyings with Flinders, or having later described them at the Admiralty in London), while Labillardiere travelling with d'Entrecasteaux ostensibly in search of La Perouse gets a mention 6 times. Perhaps a testimony to how ubiquitous along the shoreline (and a tiny bit inland) these plants were (are).

New book for Elizabeth

Kensington Bushland by Grandma | Make Your Own Book

Clicking on this link gives a preview of the book. I have become quite fascinated by the history of the plants, as well as wanting to know their names.. I am quite pleased with this book.

My 2014 diary. The diary has a week per page, a photograph of a botanical species, a brief history, and a map of where the species has been collected in Australia.

Diary 2014 by Margaret Donald | Make Your Own Book

On the fundamental ludicrousness of belief in the Judeo-Christian god

A friend of mine continues to attend Atheist/God believer discussions, and went to one in Melbourne not long ago, after which he posted a set of 16 slides from the confrontation of Lawrence Krauss and a so-called theologian. (Sorry, but it is difficult to take someone seriously who betrays such a fundamental lack of reasoning capacity...) One excellent Krauss slide was the following https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200990753585025&set=a.10200990712543999.1073741839.1052367228&type=3&theater

While probably the most ridiculous one from the other bloke (theologian) was this one: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200990717944134&set=a.10200990712543999.1073741839.1052367228&type=3&theater

Russell's full post plus the full set of slides may be found at https://www.facebook.com/russell.varley/media_set?set=a.10200990712543999.1073741839.1052367228&type=1

International Women's Day, March 8

Voting Day WA - cupcakes (Photograph by Nicole)

Nicole's contribution to International Women's Day, March 8. And note that the women of Australia won the right to vote and to stand for Federal Parliament in 1902.. NZ might have been ahead of us with the vote, but not with the right to stand (which followed on the women of South Australia getting both the vote and the right to stand in 1894 - by virtue of a bloody minded amendment in the upper house by which the proposers hoped to sink both possibilities....)

However, the women of WA and of SA had the right to vote for federal parliaments from day one (January 1, 1901) of the Commonwealth of Australia, since they already had the vote in WA & SA. http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/women_and_politics/suffr4.htm

ARKive

I was motivated to put something up when I received news that this photo was now 'live' on ARKive. Not a very good photo, and they do not link to the original photos, so that one might actually be able to view them better... However, the site had some good links and information. I found exploring the links to the so-called Dinosaur Ant most enjoyable. To go to ARKive click on the ARKive thumbnail. To go to the original photos on Flickr, click on the photos.

I was also curious about all their links and sharing options, so I posted it to Facebook and Twitter. Though for the life of me, I cannot see the pleasure or the point of Twitter.

Grevillea subtiliflora (A WA species, photographed at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Brisbane, QLD)