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Last Notes

2025-03-23 09:00:00

When is a cow not a cow? When it is close.
It was just a cow by the side of the road. There were plenty more chewing their way through the paddock.
I was trying to photograph some interesting trees. I didnt want the stupid cows in the shot.
But then this one came over. Close enough that I could hear her breathing, close enough that I could see the muscles in one of her legs shaking, close enough that I could see the pupils in her marble black eyes…and it was no longer just another cow, it was a fellow sentient being.
And as I framed her, she reminded me again of one of my favourite poems:The Two-headed Calf
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there
are twice as many stars as usual.
— Laura Gilpin
#blackAndWhite #monochrome #photography #poetry
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/dscf2937.jpg?w=1024

2025-02-09 20:00:00

Waypoints. #1Location: ///yards.tuned.handle
-35.332080, 149.085729
We see them all the time. Those roadside memorial markers left by family and friends to mark the place where a loved one has died.
These markers are seen all over the world.
There seems to be a fundamental human need to place some sort of remembrance, some sort of celebration, some sort of point of gathering, at the actual location where the death occurred.
The last accessible waypoint for the living.
Some of these places are fresh and raw and crowded with memorabilia and flowers and photos. Some are simple affairs that are easily missed.
Some are old and fading and not-quite-reclaimed by the world.
For this photo project, I am going to document some of the memorials in my local area. Once you start paying attention, it is pretty shocking just how many there are.
So. I will post a few pictures through this week, and if the feedback is that you find these photos engaging in some way I could continue out beyond that.
Sometimes I will have a little bit to say about the site. Other times the picture will speak for itself.
#Australia #blackAndWhite #death #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/img_2152.jpg?w=1024

2025-02-07 06:00:00

Lost? Good!
Here is today’s video recommendation. Don’t be put off by the “THIS SPIRITUAL FILM WILL AWAKEN YOU” spiel.
I won’t give any spoilers. Just take it for a spin
As usual, I recommend putting aside a few minutes to simmer into it rather than just including it in any impatient FOMO scroll.
https://youtu.be/9KArWcMldPM?si=YVI72q1bASyPhTTb
#consciousness #health #meditation #mindfulness #philosophy

2025-02-06 19:00:00

People being dicks. Part 255.
Sorry to post another people being dicks so soon after the last one. But, well… people are being such dicks.–ooOoo–
Returning to our car after a morning cafe visit, Kelly and I noticed a dog in the back of the vehicle parked next to us.
To be fair, the rear of the car was in dappled shade and all the windows were a little bit down.
Yet the front windshield of the car was now in direct sun.
It was late morning with an outside temp of 24 Celsius predicted to climb to the mid 30’s. There was zero breeze.
The dog did not look too distressed but he was panting.
So what to do. For sure we could not just drive off.
I stuck my hand in through the window gap and it felt warm (but not hot) inside.
Kelly stayed at the car whilst I walked around the nearest shops and cafes asking if anyone was the owner.
By the time I returned the sun had engulfed even more of the car. Direct sun covered the dash and was spilling across the front seats.
The dog in the back was still panting gently and looked OK. A little forlorn…but OK.
But I was not OK.
I mean, what sort of narky-holed flange-endowed smeg-impregnated gob-smite would leave their dog in such a high risk situation?
About 20 minutes had passed by now. I was just about to reach in through the window gap and unlock the door when the owner rocked up.
He was pretty dismissive of the whole situation assuring us that his house was probably hotter than the inside of the car (which may well have been true).
During our ‘conversation’ the head of a second small dog popped up from behind the back seat. There were two dogs in there all along!
Turns out no animals were harmed in the making of this story.
I dunno. Maybe I over-reacted, if the owner had been sitting in the car with the dogs with the dappled shade and the windows down a bit and all, I probably would not have given second thought.
But I did give second thought. And then third thought. And all those thoughts were that he was definitely a people being a dick.
#animals #dogs
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/img_8235.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-24 21:00:00

The things a dog cannot know.
A dog is enclosed in its dogness, its doggitude, and cannot get outside that. The cleverest dog that ever existed can do and understand only what it is possible for a dog to do and understand.… Anyone who claimed of any natural creature apart from ourselves that it is capable, in principle, of understanding anything whatsoever would be talking obvious nonsense.… Whatever our origin, how could limitations imposed on us by our nature not be untranscendable? Yet if it is so, it almost certainly means that there are whole universes of unknowability for us, just as there are for dogs, dolphins, orangutans, and every other living creature. The sort of reasons why most of reality lies permanently outside “the ken of a dog, a dolphin, or an orangutan apply by parity of reasoning to us.
— Bryan Magee
#blackAndWhite #dogs #meditation #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/img_7010.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-21 22:32:50

The light through it all.
Im off on a 7 day mediation retreat starting this Saturday. I may tee up some posts in advance to cover this time, but just in case I don’t……take care of yourselves (things are cray-cray right now)and remember this salient advice:
Um….I got nothing, never mind.1The picture will show you a thousand words! ↩︎
#blackAndWhite #meditation #photography #zen
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2384.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-20 18:34:26

There is a lot going on in the world right now.
Today, a dopey machiavellian man-baby with a narcissistic psycopathy and delusions of plutocratic grandeur steps into the cockpit of the worlds most powerful economic and military superpower.
A world increasingly infected with fascism and all things fascist adjacent as it leans into a gaping dark maw of climate collapse.
Yup. There is a lot going on.
But everything is going to be OK. Really.
“All right I think we’ve been down here in the dark long enough. There’s a whole other world upstairs. Take my hand, Constant Reader, and I’ll be happy to lead you back into the sunshine. I’m happy to go there because I believe most people are essentially good. I know that I am. It’s you I’m not entirely sure of.”
― Stephen King, Full Dark, No Stars
#meditation #photography #politics #trump
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2384.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-13 19:41:00

Pimp my ride.Civic area. Canberra, Australia.
I don’t know who did this, or why, or how it had not been vandalised (or stolen).
But I do know the world is an incrementally a better place because of this random bit of street art.
Or perhaps, this is just the way some funky kid rolls.
#Australia #Bike #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/img_8199.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-13 08:02:00

A pretty good manifesto.
Over at his Substack blog, photographer Wesley Verhoeve has written a manifesto for 2025 to promote creativity and connection.
I think it is pretty good and even if you are not into photography (everyone takes photos no?), you can substitute the words ‘my life’ for the word ‘photography’.1. Resist the Algorithm
Photography isn’t data or content, and it’s not made for clicks or likes. We reject the sameness algorithms demand and the obsession with “engagement.” True creativity doesn’t come from feeding a machine—it lives in discomfort, challenges, and unpredictability. Photography should move and speak to people, not platforms.2. Say No to Gatekeeping
Photography is for everyone. Market value or institutional validation? Can be amazing in so many ways and we’re grateful for it when it happens, but it’s not the point. The power of photography lies in its ability to inspire, and provoke, and to make us feel connected.3. Collaborate Across Borders
Photographers, writers, musicians, painters, filmmakers—let’s blur the lines. Creativity doesn’t care about boundaries, and collaboration makes the work better. Breaking out of silos is how we amplify our voices. Work with others, lean into play, adopt the beginner’s mindset.4. Get Physical
We’re not anti-digital, but we are pro-human. Technology should serve the art, not the other way around. Let’s meet in person when we can, talk over video or phone when we can’t, and make work that exists beyond a screen. Print zines, hang photos, hold exhibitions—create things people can actually touch and feel.5. Celebrate the Raw and Real
Over-polished photography kills its soul. We’re here for the messy, the imperfect, and the intuitive. The joy of creating without overthinking.6. Push Back Against Sameness
Photography isn’t supposed to blend in. It’s supposed to move, challenge, and inspire. In a world obsessed with trends, let’s make work that is authentic to who we are, embrace differences, and chase truth.7. Build Community, Not Ego
We don’t create in a vacuum. It’s a conversation between creators, collaborators, and audiences. Let’s build spaces—online, in person, wherever—for learning, critique, and encouragement.8. Rethink and Rebel
Creating is an act of rebellion against the status quo. Let’s challenge ourselves to think differently and create boldly.
Go read Wesley’s full post to get the complete picture.
#creativity #photography

2025-01-12 23:56:52

- reply

Nope. I’m pretty sure it was the NGA. But I did both in succession…so there is a non zero chance I am totally wrong. 😉

2025-01-12 20:00:00

Piano Man.Smiths Bookshop. Canberra.
This gentleman was playing an old ‘ruined’ piano outside a bookshop/cafe in town. I had to pull a sudden 180 on my bike to go back and listen for a while ‘cuz he made the old wooden girl sing.
#Australia #blackAndWhite #Canberra #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/img_8198.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/img_8196.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-11 21:05:00

Benchmark.First Nations Embassy. Canberra, Australia.
I wanted to get some pics at the Aboriginal Embassy outside Old Parliament House.
For whatever reason the site is looking pretty disheveled right now making it photographically interesting.
I thought the place was deserted, but as I framed up my first photograph a dude stepped out from inside one of the sheds.
“Good morning”, I said. “Sorry, I didn’t think there was anyone here. Do you mind if I take a couple of photos?”
“No photos”, was his curt reply.
So. Absolutely fair enough…. and that was that.
Later, I did get this shot a little further away from the embassy. I like it a lot.
#blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2334.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-11 05:03:30

Vinyl beats digital. Hands down.Im a new convert to the revival of vinyl record collecting.
After thinking bout it all morning, I take Earth Wind and Fire for its first spin in over 30 years.
A single disc of vinyl with a single shallow groove cut into each side.
I slide the black record out of its plastic sleeve. The muscle memory is still there and my 3 middle fingers instinctively balance on the centre label while my thumb lightly touches the edge.
After 30 years in darkness, there is surprisingly little dust on the surface. I tilt it into the light and a rainbow runs across it. I can see a tiny string of dust or perhaps it’s a hair, and without thinking I blow on it sending a fine spray of spittle dots across tracks 3 to 5.
How can it be that the utter simplicity of this wriggly little line has held the power of EW&F’s brass section… frozen in silent symbol for all this time. Thirty years! Yet the moment the needle touches its surface the band explodes forth with power and memory.
The trumpets wail. The speakers crackle and pop and…POW, it’s 1979, and its disco, and I have flares in my trousers and a tie as wide as a banana is long.
I sit between the speakers and listen to the entirety of side 1. And I hold the album cover and I examine the art and I read all the print. And don’t judge me here, I smell the cardboard. Above all I marvel at the depth and clarity and vibrance of the sound. It makes Apple Music on shuffle over WiFi sound like cotton wool soaked in Vegemite.
Next its Miles Davis ‘Directions’. Released in 1981, a double album of recordings made in the 1960’s and 70’s with Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Gil Evans, Herbie Hancock et al. Opening the album I soak in the extensive liner notes breaking down a track by track history of the album.
The acoustics are all velvet and coffee as Miles riffs with the band. There are occasional pops and crackles but the music is crisp and sharp and the room fills thick with cigarette smoke and cheap scotch.
Seriously. This is how music should be listened to. First up live, and then if that is not possible, dipped in plastic and spun with chilled intention.
Thanks to being a boomer and having a dad that listened to the sort of music I would grow into there is already quite and extensive discography for me to work through. And then there is the whole search for new old records thing to explore.
I feel (another) obsession coming on.
#music #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2339.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2340.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-10 20:00:00

Just looking III.National Gallery of Australia. Canberra.
I spotted this photographer framing up some people who were looking at the artwork. Leaping out from behind a pillar, and the object became the subject.The predator became the prey.
No sooner had I grabbed my smug shot, when this lady holding her iPhone tapped me on my shoulder… “You realise I just took a photo of you taking a photo of that photographer.”
#blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2324.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-10 09:33:00

Meditation. Go deeper than mindfulness.An article from Vox magazine explores some of the latest research into meditation practice.
Now, I usually spend the beginning of my meditation sessions doing focused attention practice to settle the mind. And when I notice my concentration is stable enough, I release the focus and drop into open-monitoring practices. And when my mind falls into an especially weird place that words don’t really capture, I figure, maybe that’s leaning into this non-dual stuff? Just having the labels helped kindle my interest in playing around with things.
[…]
Predictive processing says that we don’t experience the world as it is, but as we predict it to be. Our conscious experience is a construction of layered mental habits acquired through past experiences. We don’t see the world through our eye sockets; we don’t hear the world through our ear canals. These all feed information into our brains, which conjure our experience of the world from scratch — like when we dream — only that in waking consciousness, they’re at least trying to match what they whip up in our experience to what might actually be going on in the world outside our skulls.
[…]
Even if some 60 million Americans tried meditation in 2022, if most of them only do some sort of focused attention practice, they’re never trying anything beyond the first step. That’s like concluding that running probably won’t make you significantly healthier because you laced up your sneakers and nothing transformative happened.
Oshan JarowARTICLE: How meditation deconstructs your mind.
#meditation #OnlyWords #zen

2025-01-09 19:42:00

Just looking II.National Gallery of Australia. Canberra.
#blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2314.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-09 06:31:31

Just looking.National Gallery of Australia. Canberra.
#blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2317.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-08 22:47:30

Things I have noticed and things I have become.At nearly sixty two, I have noticed the changes.
Here is a stream of thought list written down & posted without filters or edits:
The ground is further away than it used to be.
Big Macs are small.
Mostly (but not always): TV is shit. Social media is shit. Movies are shit. Music is OK. Books are awesome.
I am way less stressed about things.
I am becoming my father (well, bits of me).
I have less tolerance for bullshit, and I give less fucks (probably than is socially acceptable).
Ambulances are driven by 16 year olds.
Years pass more quickly than days.
The world is ads.
I am less smart.
I am sliding slowly to the left of the introvert–extrovert spectrum.
Wisdom is available.
The machine is beginning to have operational issues.
Bedtime is soon.
Avoiding the ‘cynical old man’ cliff is a full time challenge. And it’s slippery at the edges.
Small things matter more.
Most’experts’ seem too young for me to take seriously.
Mental and physical well-being is everything.
I don’t have many close friends anymore.
Mirrors must be lying.
I am now in the home stretch.
Weights at the gym are getting heavier. Or the earths gravitational pull is increasing.
I no longer feel the impetus to solve the worlds problems.
I embrace it all.
#OnlyWords

2025-01-07 05:09:23

Scroll your house.Small wooden Buddha on shelf in my house.
Instead of scrolling your smartphone tonight,
put it down.
Put on some music.
And scroll your house.
Notice all those things that you don’t notice.
Those small objects imbued with personal meaning.
A thing you bought on holiday. A thing you kept from a friend. A knickknack in a jar on the sideboard. A photo stuck to the bookcase. A book. A wooden statue. Dim memories re-lit with attention.
Move around. Lift things. Open things. Explore.
Scroll….
#meditation #socialmedia #zen
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2309.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-06 21:34:44

- reply

Choo choo bars deserve their own post!

2025-01-06 21:00:00

50 cents worth of mixed lollies please.Sweet nostalgia. If you know, you know. On the way to school. 2 for 1 cent.
Caramel swirls.
Freckles
Milk bottles
Black Cats
Redskins
Musk sticks
Pineapples.
Mint leaves.
Green/Red frogs
Bananas
Clangers
Fantails
Jaffas
Aniseed ringsMorning break
Warm Milk. Small glass bottle with gold or red foil bottle-tops (often used as tiny frisbees to flick at girls). Milk was delivered in crates that were left outside the classrooms. Sometimes it curdled.School lunch.
Lunch orders written on large white paper bag first thing.
Paper bags arrive in large wire basket carried by the ‘lunch monitor’.
Devon and tomato sauce sandwich (wrapped in baking paper).
Vegemite and butter sandwich (wrapped ditto).
Space Food Stick (or perhaps a Jupiter Bar)
An apple.
A Sunny Boy or a Glug or a Razz
Jam donught.
Chocolate Moove.
Have I forgotten anything?
#Australia #OnlyWords

2025-01-06 01:07:10

- reply

What a supportive comment!
Thank you very much for taking the time to make it.
As for the savings….a digital detox fund sounds like a great idea. Hmmmmm…….

2025-01-05 23:30:00

I could save myself over $1,000 this year.
I mentioned that one of my goals this year is to unsubscribe from some most of the subscription based services I use.
I thought I would share my thought processes around this activiy so you could evaluate your own situation1 and be motivated to perhaps save yourself a few bucks in 2025.
Let start with my current lay of the land:ServiceMonthly $Yearly Total $AUDIBLE16.45197.40AMAZON PRIME9.99119.88APPLE TV12.99155.88NETFLIX18.99227.88YOUTUBE PREMIUM22.00264.00APPLE MUSIC12.99155.88NORD VPN—149.001 PASSWORD—71.881,340.92Audible:
I really don’t listen to books2. I prefer to read them. I find listening especially egregious if the narrator has an annoying voice. When listening in bed I just fall asleep and find myself listening to the same chapter over and over each night.
Also, Audible is owned by Amazon which is sketchy as bro (see below). This will be my first subscription service on the chopping block. UNSUBSCRIBE.Amazon Prime:
I am really trying to avoid supporting Amazon due to their dubious environmental impacts and a well documented record of workplace en-shitification (you can read more about their business practices here).
So…UNSUBSCRIBE.
I also use Amazons eBook service and now have hundreds of books on my Kindle.
However…I don’t actually own a single one of them. Instead, I lease them. Amazon can remove them or modify any of them as they see fit. That sucks.
I am thinking of buying the alternative KOBO device that does not lock you in to using Amazon’s sketchy ecosystem for eBooks. Or perhaps I will just stick to rBooks (real books)3. Apple TV.
Looking back over the last 12 months I watched one series on Apple TV (Slow Horses) and a couple of movies maybe. UNSUBSCRIBE.NETFLIX.
Again, I really have not watched much over the last 12 months. But there is always the FOMO that a really great series or doco or movie is just about to be released.
PENDING.
I believe that NETFLIX is also experimenting with inserting ads into their streaming services (so that even though you are paying to watch a movie, you will still get ads throughout it). This will probably be served up as a new cheaper optional tier.
Do not be fooled…this is just more example of en-shitification and the moment it rolls out I will….UNSUBSCRIBE.YouTube Premium
This is a tough one4. Wading through the quagmire of mind numbing slop on offer, there is actually some really good educational, instructional, and inspirational content on YouTube. I admit, I actually watch a lot of YouTube, and I cannot stand the ads they invasively crowd throughout the clips. So I am prepared to pay to make them go away5….but this is by far the most expensive subscription service on my list.
PENDING.Apple Music.
Another tough one. Almost every (mainstream) song or piece of music available instantly at the touch of my finger. Incredible. Actually incredible.
Yet, I am pretty certain, musicians all over the world are getting butt-screwed by this business model.
Besides, I am currently working on building my own collection of vinyl records. Music that is a physical product, that I actually own.
PENDING with a goal to UNSUBSCRIBE.NORD VPN.
This is a virtual private network service that I use to (supposedly) protect myself when using public WiFi (ie when travelling) and to help cloak me from advertising trackers and privacy snoopers.
KEEP.1 Password.
Password management app on my iPhone and laptop. Don’t even get me started on passwords. But (for now at least), I have to deal with using them. There are some free, open source alternatives available but all my passwords are already on this app and basically I cannot be arsed moving them to another platform. This app works pretty well for me.
KEEP.–ooOoo–
So that’s were I am right now. Would love to hear some feedback on how much you spend each month on subscription services and what you think about it all….–ooOoo–Your own opinions and justification on using these services may well differ from mine. ↩︎However, I do love listening to podcasts.They are free and I currently subscribe to 48 of them! ↩︎Vinal records, paper books, notepads and paper, film camera…I feel there is a theme developing here. ↩︎YouTube is owned by GOOGLE which is one of the grandmasters of enshitification. ↩︎Unfortunately I still have to be skipping through the ‘sponsored content’ and product placement in so many of the videos. ↩︎
#OnlyWords

2025-01-05 20:00:00

Vintage steel.Lake Burley Griffin.
Canberra. January 2025.
I love photographing vaguely interesting people.
Vintage steel custom bike.
A journaling of tattoos.
Kick arse cadence.
Nudging a flashback to Sarah Connor in Terminator (tell me that wasn’t 40 years ago!)
#blackAndWhite #Canberra #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2264.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-05 06:30:00

Burning the cat.A poem by W.S. Merwin.
Here is another poem from my favourite poet, WS Merwin.
It is a confronting story about a man trying to burn his dead cat.
And in the ending, it is about so much more.
Now, despite a good poke around, I cannot find this poem anywhere else on the internet.
So I had to type it out myself (ughrrh).
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Subscribe to continue readingSubscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.Type your email…SubscribeAlready a subscriber?
#poetry

2025-01-04 19:15:00

The Circus is in town.Canberra. Summer 2024.
I can literally walk to the big top from my front door.
This circus has been around a long time. I think I saw it back when I was a teenager (or was that Ashton’s Circus?…maybe both). Things were different back then. The tents seemed bigger. I remember elephants, and maybe tigers.
Another quick couple of snaps and then I run away.
After all, it was getting dark….and the clowns might be out.
#Australia #Canberra #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2301.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2296.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-03 20:00:00

Lit.National Portrait Gallery.
Canberra. Summer 2025.
Snapped this sitting at a small table in front of the doors to the gallery. Ten seconds before would have delivered a far better photo. But I was so not ready.
Note to self: be ready.
#Australia #Canberra #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2281.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-03 05:09:16

Some people have shit jobs.Canberra. Summer 2025.
Took this photo of a dude lifting (full) portable toilets onto the back of a trailer in the middle of a scorching hot day. The crane was not working properly and the toilets were being jerked and bounced and sloshed around in the lifting.
PooCarter dude was yelling profanities the likes of which I have seldom heard as he struggled with the loads.
I snapped one (sorta out of focus) pic and then ran away… certain that if he spotted me he would be hurling more than foul language my way.
#Australia #blackAndWhite #Canberra #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2283.jpg?w=1024

2025-01-02 07:00:00

Breaking news…..thanks but I’m fasting.
Im trying a little experiment at the beginning of 2025.
I feel this is going to be a big year (and not in a good way).
So I want to answer this 3 part question:
If I were to stop consuming the news, would the world be a better place, a worse place, or be completely unchanged?
If I were to stop consuming the news, would I be a better person, a worse person or be completely unchanged? And…
What is the relationship between these two questions?
My thesis is that a news fast would make me an incrementally better human… improving my mental hygiene and regathering all that wasted time and energy mulling over events I have little or no control over1.
By becoming better (even incrementally better) the world is ipso facto improved by exactly that increment.
An anti-thesis might be that burying my head in the sand and ignoring local and world events of import, leads to complacency and social ignorance and opens space for nefarious powers to propagate unchecked and unchallenged2.
The synthesis of these two viewpoints lay in the third part of my experiment.–ooOoo–
For a little while, at least, I am fasting from ALL the news. To wit:
No watching commercial news TV.
Avoiding to the best of my ability all other news media formats…
Except once a week, when I will check a couple of long-form analysis/summaries of current events.
Only check once a week!
When out in social situations avoid getting entangled in those circular conversations energetically discussing the latest world catastrophe, political fuckup or breakdown in the last vestiges of social cohesion (ie raging over the state of the world as I see it). You know the convos I’m talking about.
Minimise use of Facebook, BlueSky or Mastodon (my main exposure to scroll-bait news).
Fill the void in my time left after removing all the news with a worthwhile replacement. TBA.
End Date: I have a 1 week meditation retreat at the end of this month, so how about I run this experiment until after that…and see how that works for me.–ooOoo–2024 saw me furiously ruminating, simmering in a broth of impotence over the obliteration of Gaza, the war in Ukraine, Climate change, Trump, capitalism, elitism, imminent global war, dumbing down of mainstream TV, the Australian government kowtowing to the fossil fuel industry and the general enshitification of the world by those with power. ↩︎Not because I have any individual agency to change things but because at scale all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. ↩︎
#OnlyWords

2025-01-01 18:52:13

The light of simple things.I see
light does not illuminate objects
objects illuminate
light.
#photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2226.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2212.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-31 22:54:35

Shooting into twenty five.Lake Burley Griffin. Canberra.
New Years Eve 2024.
#Australia #Canberra #philosophy
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2195.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2218.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dscf2210.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-30 20:13:00

Help. Im searching for a camera.
For a while now I have wanted to dip my photographic eyeballs into the somewhat whim-indulgent world of analogue film photography.
Old school.
Kinda cool and kinda weird… ’cause after all the fussing about with film and getting it developed and whatnot, the end product is going to most likely be digital anyway. It’s all about the journey, not the destination. The process, not the product.
Here is the thing….I am looking to acquire a specific camera. This is due to its alleged durability, simplicity and the probability that it will continue to deliver the goods despite its well worn age (it was produced from 1978 until 1983).
Here is the camera, the Nikon FE.Nikon FE
I found one in a camera shop in Japan but it was a little worse for wear and a whole lot overpriced. You can pick them up online, but I thought I would ask around on the serendipitous off-chance a visitor here might have one.
So if you happen to have one of these cameras (perchance a lens or two) sitting unused in the back of your closet, or lying dormant in a cardboard box in the roof of your garage, I am very interested in talking to you.
Drop me a message here.
PS. As my reach on the socials is limited, it would be super helpful if you might post this into your own Facebook etc feed.
This cameras is out there somewhere, waiting patiently for a new life.
#OnlyWords #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/image-1.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-29 18:59:00

14 of my 15 goals for 2025.
Note: Don’t be specific. Don’t be serious. Don’t be superficial. Commit to at least one item. Maybe two.
Meditate twice a day more than once a day.
Less screen time more paper time.
Unsubscribe from all (well most) subscription based apps and media services.
Don’t fall off any ladders.
Embodied fitness over aesthetic fitness.
Pick up all the dog poops.
Take more advice. Ask for help. Give less fucks.
Own a record player.
Make more photos and write about them.
Be less tired.
Embrace the stupidity of it all.
Be less stupid.
Be more embarrassed.
Be rich.
[REDACTED]
#OnlyWords

2024-12-26 09:00:32

Hang onto your hat!Sydney. Summer 2024. iPhone 12.
#Australia #blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/img_8181-2-1.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-25 21:11:18

Tim Minchin on kindness and social media.
A worthwhile pause to the usual post Christmas scrolling.
https://youtu.be/H9wRL8QLmO4?si=E74Vkw5_EjrLUNAu
#kindness #meditation #OnlyWords #socialMedia #socialmedia

2024-12-25 03:36:36

Christmas breakfast.
Already hot. So. Waffles. Blueberries. Bubbles. Unwrapped chaos. Crisis. Crisis resolved. Dad jokes. Arguments. Second helpings. Fight-out for thirds. Paper. Scissors. Rock. Maple. Cross-table, expert over-talking. Trump. History. Politics. Social media. Fortissimo. Clean up. Dishwasher Tetris. Disengage. Flop. Belly-busted dribble naps.
Now for dinner…..
Wishing you a day likewise filled with all this.
#Australia #blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2175-1.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-24 04:04:42

Christmas eve walk in Sydney.
I ran away from my last minute Xmas obligations to wander the city in search of some quiet amidst the chaos.
#blackAndWhite #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2140-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2134-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2109-1.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-21 10:42:07

Rolling Rum Balls.Xmas 2024.
It’s a Xmas thing.
Rolling Rum balls.
Rum for the balls,
Gin to lubricate the rolling.
#blackAndWhite #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2075.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf2079.jpg?w=683

2024-12-20 03:03:05

Real men crochet.Canberra. Summer 2024.
“Self-actualized people…live more in the real world of nature than in the man-made mass of concepts, abstractions, expectations, beliefs and stereotypes that most people confuse with the world.”
― Abraham Maslow,
#blackAndWhite #photography #quotes
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/img_8118-2.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-19 19:00:00

Recipie: Spiced Mushroom Walnut & Lentil Loaf
Xmas is almost upon us.
That last minute cataclysm of Christmas dinner preparation…when without warning or due process, [insert family member’s name here] informs you they have gone full plant based diet.
Don’t worry, Ive got you covered….
And yes there are eggs in this recipe.
Did you know that if eggs are a no-go, in most recipes you can substitute the juice from a can of chickpeas for them?
This is called aquafaba (3 tablespoons of juice approximates 1 egg).
On to the business at hand….Subscribe to continue readingSubscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.Type your email…SubscribeAlready a subscriber?
#food #OnlyWords #recipe
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/img_8097.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-19 00:59:54

A ball of scruff.My dog needs a haircut but he don’t care.
#blackAndWhite #dogs #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/6cb1780d-a614-4818-80ad-68d270ffd6e9.jpg?w=1024

2024-12-18 03:22:25

So what’s the deal with the drones?
I don’t know if you have been following the mysterious drone activity in the US over the last few weeks.
There have been thousands of reports (now over 5,000) of unusual ‘drone’ activities that began in New Jersey sometime mid-November, and have now spread to Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts and New York.
What do I think is going on?Subscribe to continue readingSubscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.Type your email…SubscribeAlready a subscriber?
#drones #OnlyWords #science #UFO

2024-12-17 22:30:33

Cleaning the slate.
I have just about recovered from our most excellent Japan travels. If you are a new visitor, I hope you might go check out the photos.
Nine hours flying home in a cabin filled with a fine purple mist of viral particulate coughing (there were about 10 people with moist productive coughs scattered through economy class that kept us all awake most of the night). At the time of posting Kelly and I both feel fine, so (touch wood)it looks like we have dodged a COVID Xmas this year.
I have been doing a bit of work under the bonnet of this website preparing for a fresh slate in 2025. As it was approaching storage capacity, I have been deleting old, unread posts. Over 1000 posts in total have been nuked, with more to go. And tons of photos.
I am also tinkering around with the aesthetic of the site. The more observant of you may have noticed a change in font, and some other small experimental swivels. Im going for a less formal journal/notebook look. Rougher around the edges, less confirmative, more wild.
All this deleting and redesigning is to make way for a more artistic and personal presentation through 2025. More photos, more unfiltered writing. For those of you who are subscribed to the paid model…there will be a lot more content specifically for you too.
Somebody once said: “Superficiality is the enemy of….everything”, and I have become increasingly despondent with the superficial (yet, I am the first to admit, highly addictive) click-bait, drivel served up for our mass consumption these days.
It is mostly just vomit with additives and flavourings.
I really don’t think we have all that much time left in this world as we know it (and you can take that any way you wish), so Im trying my best not to waste it on chewing the cud of the banal.
When you deeply wake up to the fact that your days are numbered (and those numbers have less digits than you imagine), there should be some fundamental shifts to your hierarchy of needs. And if there isn’t….fact is you will have wasted your one and precious life.
In summary: more photography. More unfiltered, raw writing (less persona, more archetype). Deeper free diving.
#OnlyWords

2024-12-11 23:33:37

Japan. Thats a wrap.
So thats a wrap on our 2024, last minute Japan trip.
Im sitting here in our hotel room in Tokyo procrastinating a re-pack before our flight later tonight. Working with the physics of fitting a huge bag of dirty laundry into a tiny teeny suitcase.
….I know, I’ll write a post instead!
It has been an outstanding trip. After our first attempt was cancelled due to a medical issue, it now rings true that everything happens for a reason. If we had left on our original dates we would had totally missed the peak autum displays we encountered.
I hope you enjoyed my attempt at getting some photos that captured the ‘spirit’ of the trip rather than simply point and shoot instagram shots and selfies. I was trying to be arty. I was trying to be cool. I was trying to be ‘a photographer’. Its a work in progress.
Now back to the hot summer of Canberra.
#OnlyWords

2024-12-10 21:00:00

Tokyo glow.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1958-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1984.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1982.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-09 20:00:00

Morning at the temple.Asakusa.
#blackAndWhite #Japan #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1865-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1845.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1917.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-08 20:00:00

Tokyo. Day 2.Tokyo station. Imperial palace.
#blackAndWhite #Japan #photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1796-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1789.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1798.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-08 07:12:40

Tokyo is f*cking big man.Tokyo skytree.
#JapanPhotographyBlackAndWhite
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1242-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1213.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1231.jpeg?w=768

2024-12-07 20:00:00

Searching for ramen.Arrived back in Tokyo this afternoon. Began search for ramen dinner immediately. In a fail of epic proportions we ended up eating pizza in a Japanese Italian cafe.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1782-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1784.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1783.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-06 20:00:00

Kyoto. Day 5.Alleyways at night.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1751-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1759.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1746.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-05 20:00:00

Kyoto. Day 4.Nishiki Market.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1706-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1739.jpeg?w=768
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1704.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-04 20:00:00

Kyoto. Day 3.Philosophers Path | Ginkakuji Temple | Nanzenji Temple.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1627-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1599.jpeg?w=768
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1604.jpeg?w=768

2024-12-03 20:00:00

Kyoto. Day 2.Fushimi Inari | Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Winter 2024.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1563-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1577.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1582.jpeg?w=1024

2024-12-02 20:00:00

Kyoto. Day 1.Gion area. Winter 2024.
#blackAndWhite #Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1449-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1407.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dscf1405.jpeg?w=1024

2024-11-30 20:00:00

Japan. Day 4.Lake Ashi. Winter 2024.
#blackAndWhite #Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dscf1342-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dscf1363.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dscf1383.jpeg?w=683

2024-11-29 20:00:00

Hakone-YumotoHakone-Yumoto. Winter 2024.
#Japan #photography #travel
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dscf1339-1.jpg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/img_9454_polarr.jpeg?w=1024
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/img_1685_polarr.jpeg?w=1024

2024-10-29 19:22:29

Raisin toast and a long black. Testing out my new 50mm lens, I stole this picture of an elderly couple sitting across from us.
They mostly sat quietly with few words between them. Yet I noticed that each time they lifted their cups, it was perfectly together.
https://shojiwax.com/2024/10/30/synchronicity/
#photography
https://shojiwax.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/dscf0907-1.jpg?w=1024