I'm amused by the term nonfiction, which like nonwhite is defined by what it's not, but I did set out to be an essayist, and I'm always pleased to be recognized as one. Have not finished an essay since 9:39am today.

If anyone with half an interest in #nature &/or birds wants to read a lovely book about a man’s emotional & physical healing while becoming totally absorbed in birds, I recommend The Snow Geese, by William Fiennes

“The weight of the bed was holding it from opening. I went over there to find out why it wanted to open. I went slowly and about halfway there I noticed that I was holding a gun in my hand.” #RaymondChandler #TroubleIsMyBusiness

“We went in. I went first, then Hawkins, then Beef wheeled neatly behind us like a door. We went in so close together that we must have looked like a three-decker sandwich.” #RaymondChandler #TroubleIsMyBusiness

“I liked this voice. It was smooth, quiet, and you could have cut your name in it with a thirty-pound sledge & a cold chisel.” ❄️ Weekend #reading: #RaymondChandler. #TroubleIsMyBusiness

Idk how cats manage to follow you from in front but they love that sht

Elin Thomas, UK textile artist who uses embroidery/crochet to create unique work resembling petri dishes and bacteria spores #womensart

Italy has moved me to tears for 3 days straight. Bravo ❤️

One for the “who could have seen this coming “ crowd

Making an effort to read the Australian literary mags that I subscribe to (which had included #Meanjin) - rewarded by reading "Extinctions" by @dani-netherclift.bsky.social on @islandmag.bsky.social islandmag.com/read/extinct...

@davidbridie.bsky.social gotta say - amazing Not Drowning Waving gig last night! So many NDW pieces are transcendent to hear live. Always glad I discovered you guys at a tiny venue, IDs in Prahran, in about 1988. Was probably hoping to dance to techno, or drink -but instead, became instant NDW fan.

Very sorry to only just discover the #Apostrophe Protection Society, but read that they’ve given up. What?! Surely punctuation nerds need to giggle at misused apostrophes more than ever right now?! www.apostrophe.org.uk

Well, that was an unexpectedly enthusiastic response to my post about eating eggs for lunch that were past their "best-before" date the other day! So for anyone interested, here's a well-liked post I wrote (a few years ago now) about socks! isthatcoffee.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/t...

Lunch today: scrambled eggs with a “best before” date of 9 days ago. 😳 Weighed up the risk of food poisoning - cooked them in butter so it would at least be worth it.

Re @meanjin.bsky.social - I keep thinking about a quote in "Let this Radicalize You" (@haymarketbooks.org ) from poet Diane di Prima: "The war that matters is the war against the imagination / all other wars are subsumed in it." It appears UniMelb are waging that war. @beneltham.bsky.social

Meanjin Journal is 85 years old; older than the Sydney Opera House. Closing it down is cultural vandalism of the highest order, roughly equivalent to demolishing the above mentioned opera house. I am disgusted @meanjin.bsky.social

Lmao at this open letter to the Unimelb VC proposing she pay for Meanjin with a 10% salary sacrifice that would still leave her better paid than the VC of the University of Cambridge It was my joy to sign, & I recommend doing so to all in the world of arts & letters

We're going to need a bigger crystal ball.

More than 1,100 of you wrote to tell us about the books that broadened your horizons, that you kept through every move, that inspired you to become English majors, librarians, writers and teachers.

NEW: In 40 cities across Australia, an estimated one million people have been on the streets calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza. These were the scenes in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

Many commentators say that vigilante groups are never the answer. But they clearly don't know about the masked Ecuadorian trio named “Acción Ortográfica Quito,” who roam the streets at night with a singular purpose: to correct all the spelling and grammar mistakes they find in graffiti.

Triple R's Radiothon is on now – Digging Deeper! 🌱 Radiothon is Triple R’s annual subscription and donation drive. It’s an essential time of year to plant the seed and help us grow! Subscribe and donate now! rrr.org.au/subscribe + rrr.org.au/donate 🎨 Deon Slaviero

The Reef just recorded its worst coral loss on record. We're losing a natural wonder due to climate inaction. 🇦🇺 is 2nd biggest fossil fuel exporter & one of ⬆️ per capita emitters in the 🌏 We need bold leadership to protect the people & places we love www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

“Who, I wondered, has been collecting broken-off sculpted noses and why?” I learnt a new thing. #Art dangerousmeredith.substack.com/p/collecting...

The word "dude" is often associated with the '80s and '90s. But its origin is rooted much, much farther back in American history and it took a long and winding road to reach the coast of California.

Wyndham Cultural Centre, in partnership with Melbourne Writers Theatre, is proud to present The Green Room Project – a dynamic new initiative supporting emerging playwrights in Melbourne’s west. artsreview.com.au/the-green-ro...

Going to see THE ORCHARD, by PONY CAM @ THE MALTHOUSE soon, so pulled out my old copy of #Checkov from uni days & my bookmarks from 1988 fell out. #Melbourne #theatre #Travelcard

Massive Attack announce alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza

I don’t normally do this but pretty p*d by today’s #Wordle - for anyone stuck, it’s LORIS. Go figure. It also accepted as guesses, GORIS & HORIS & DORIS - after 4 yrs of almost daily #Wordle it’s suddenly too stupid to persevere with. I think I’ll end my #Wordle days here. 😳

On July 12, the New York Times published a field report from Russia's Kursk Oblast about the aftermath of Ukraine's seven-month-long incursion. The Kyiv Independent picked five times the author failed to provide due context, and is filling in the gaps.

Every time somebody has a little lapse in judgment or makes a mistake or loses control of their filter and I feel like I’m all out of grace, I just remind myself that everyone is burned out all the time and nobody thinks good things are ever going to happen again and honestly that helps

NEW: McDonald's AI hiring bot "Olivia" exposed millions of applicants' data to hackers. How? With tricks as straightforward as guessing the username and password “123456."

It's just been that time of year again....something from 2022, on finding out that a parent is dying, and suddenly seeing the world differently. #grief isthatcoffee.wordpress.com/2022/05/27/t...

This is Amnesty International, the most reputable human rights group in the world. No one can say they didn’t know.

As #Wimbledon kicks off today, here's a look at some centre court action circa 1613 — from a 17th-century "friendship book". More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/boys-will-be-boys-playing-around-in-a-17th-century-friendship-book

Computers used to scream every time they connected to the Internet. They knew. They tried to warn us. We did not listen.

I'm in #Melbourne & yesterday I saw a job advert with 3 bullet points like this: -laid back, friendly workplace -creative environment -we have a heater ...and kudos to whoever wrote that job ad, that heater sounded so toasty & warm, I'm still thinking about it. 🥶❄️ #cold #freezing

And away we go for Melbourne. Pre-sale from tomorrow Friday 20th - Monday 23rd June Link will be live from tomorrow at 11am - presale code is TABARAN www.melbournerecital.com.au/.../curren...... General Public - Tickets on sale Mon 23th June

Submissions are now open! Best of Australian Poems 2025 accepts published & unpublished poems from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. Guest editors: Nam Le & Jill Jones! 🔥 Close of submissions: 30 June 2025. Submission guidelines + how to submit: www.australianpoetry.org/ap-projects/...

Just remember the first half of this Ai Weiwei quote: ‘Everything is art. Everything is politics.’

❛ Short stories consume you faster. They're connected to brevity. With the short story, you are up against mortality. I know how tough they are as a form, but they're also a total joy. – former judge Ali Smith We're up against it now! Don't miss out – closing 30 June.⏳️ bit.ly/mothshortstory25

Jim Chalmers says that there's an appetite in Australia for government to be bold and ambitious. We agree! There's no shortage of bold ideas. Governments just need the courage to implement them. Here's a freebie to start off: Stop approving fossil fuel projects! #auspol

Thrilled to be published in Backstory, a Swinburne Uni journal "with a loose theme of history." I love a loose theme of history! Inspired by Kosmos (an installation by Eva Rothschild) & the Avoca landscape. 📷 :me #art #nature #writing #poem #essay www.backstoryjournal.com.au/2025/06/10/t...

Viera Bombová (born 1932), award winning Slovak illustrator #WomensArt

the only good king is the king parrot 👑

1. Trump's tax cuts overwhelmingly help the rich 2. His spending cuts are targeted at the poor 3. Tariffs cost the poor a larger share of their income Roll these three regressive policies together and you get the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history. The anti-Robin Hood.

1960s songwriters in their dressing gowns. A mini thread of dudes abiding. Also, because I think dressing gowns are underappreciated. 1. Brian Wilson

Australia needs clarity. If the PM responsible for Robodebt can be rewarded, nothing is off limits. If we don’t speak up, we are silently agreeing to live in a nation where cruelty is policy and honour is survival at the top. #auspol #Honour

"Here is a thing you can actually do. You can sit down and make a list of every person you have ever loved in your life." - @summerbrennan.bsky.social #writing #nonfiction #essay #Substack www.awritersnotebook.org/p/the-list