Category Archives: Blog

Every Picture Tells A Story: Tamaki Drive at Night

I have a complicated relationship with Auckland. Over the past five years since we moved here, the city has become a bloated, enormous metropolis which simply cannot sustain its ever-growing population. Essentials like roads, public transport, health care and housing have fallen apart at the seams in Auckland leading us to head south and awayContinue reading “Every Picture Tells A Story: Tamaki Drive at Night”

Top Ten Greatest Old Man Insults

Put the kettle on and start eating some water crackers with lard on them. Just to get in the mood for this one… Nincompoop: Is said to come from the Latin legal and medical term Non Compos Mentis meaning ‘not of sound mind’. This evolved into nincompoop meaning a stupid or dumb person. Flibbertigibbet: A flightyContinue reading “Top Ten Greatest Old Man Insults”

FYI: The descent down the AI rabbit hole has now commenced

The following developments in AI have meant that we are on the verge of a very slippery slope indeed for fake news and the attendant chaos, disorder and conflict that this generates in the world.

Wild Woman Quote: Who We Used to Be

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, whoContinue reading “Wild Woman Quote: Who We Used to Be”

Five rare and awe-inspiring mountain and river maps

When it comes to design – the Victorians did it better. Nothing quite matches these 19th Century comparative river and mountain maps for exquisite hand-drawn detail, meticulous scale and luminous beauty. It makes me wonder, how can anyone not love old maps? A New Cartographic Convention One of the forerunners for this kind of mapContinue reading “Five rare and awe-inspiring mountain and river maps”

Every picture tells a story: Kanpai in Asakusa, Tokyo

As darkness falls over Asakusa in Tokyo, loads of locals who have just finished work head to their favourite local restaurant for some amazing and succulent ramen. A lady brandishes a treat in the air and makes her Chiba Inu jump and twirl for the entertainment of passers-by. Salarymen and tourists on their third orContinue reading “Every picture tells a story: Kanpai in Asakusa, Tokyo”

Travel: Lazy summer weekend ideas on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula

Only got a weekend in Melbourne, but want to experience the best of an Aussie summer? The Mornington Peninsula is where to go. This is where the locals flock for the best beaches and laid back holiday vibe.  Located in the south east of Melbourne, it’s my original stomping ground and so I know itContinue reading “Travel: Lazy summer weekend ideas on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula”

A photo of the day: Dusk in St Heliers, Auckland

We have lived in Auckland for the past four years and every other day, I walk the length of Tamaki drive, a long 8 km sea-skimming road that is bike and pedestrian friendly. Although the city itself can be a pretty bland and tiresome, the walk along Tamaki drive is always different depending on theContinue reading “A photo of the day: Dusk in St Heliers, Auckland”

Every picture tells a story: Mayhem and maid cafes in Akihabara

Very little can prepare you for how full on Akihabara or Electric Town is in Tokyo. This is the mecca for nerds and gamers, it has more square metres of computer shops here than anywhere else in the world. You can buy anything electronic here. Including ancient computers, gigantic robotic dinosaurs, sex robots, a gazillionContinue reading “Every picture tells a story: Mayhem and maid cafes in Akihabara”

Renaissance Art/Rapper Mashup

In the past I’ve showcased Scorpion Dagger’s Renaissance era GIFs. This takes the classical art mash-up one step further with hilarious results. B4 XVI (Before Sixteen) explores the often overlooked visual and cultural similarities between hip hop poseurs and medieval aristocrats. Hey it’s all got to be referenced from somewhere, right? One from the deepContinue reading “Renaissance Art/Rapper Mashup”