Among the chaos and the streaming lights there are tiny rockets moving between buildings and jostling people out of the way as they walk into the street. In South Korea, Japan, Thailand and China these pocket rockets roam through the night, comandeered by a mixture of salarymen, young punks and mums with kids strapped toContinue reading “Travel: A scooter swarm and the dance of life and death in Taiwan”
Tag Archives: inspiration
Homes of all shapes and sizes since time immemorial
Throughout human existence, homes have varied drastically in scope, size, and design. Cob houses originated in the eleventh century, are made from straw and earth, and Gothic architecture has been around since the middle ages. We’ve come a long way from our cave-dwelling ancestors, and in the past few years we took another leap withContinue reading “Homes of all shapes and sizes since time immemorial”
Book Review: The Domesticated Brain by Bruce Hood
This is a riveting read from one of the leading lights of modern psychology, Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol. The book’s main premise is that 20,000 years ago our brains were 10% larger than what they are today. And that the reason for this is primarily the influence of social practices, culture andContinue reading “Book Review: The Domesticated Brain by Bruce Hood”
Book Review: A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard
* No plot spoilers in this review A Death in the Family is Book 1 of the My Struggle six part autobiography of Karl Ove Knausgaard. This mammoth six part memoir really grabs a hold to the marrow of his family, friends and sexual relationships – the blood and bone. A Death in the FamilyContinue reading “Book Review: A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard”
Travel: Luminous Edinburgh during Christmas time lights the way through winter
Edinburgh is bewitching at all times of year but arguably the most captivating time is before and during Christmas. From early December the area in Princes Gardens is turned into an enchanted frozen amphitheatre. The faerie wonderland buzzing with a German Christmas market and overflowing with handmade, wooden and delicate trinkets, along with carnival ridesContinue reading “Travel: Luminous Edinburgh during Christmas time lights the way through winter “
Art: The Horoscope of Prince Iskandar (1411)
A sublime Persian horoscope crafted from lapis lazuli and gold leaf by hand for Prince Iskandar. The Prince was named after Alexander the Great and was the grandson of Tamerlane, the Turkman Mongol conqueror. This horoscope shows the positions of the stars and planets in the sky at the moment of Iskandar’s birth on 25thContinue reading “Art: The Horoscope of Prince Iskandar (1411)”
Book Review: Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Jon Kabat Zinn is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and is the founder of a stress reduction technique called MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), which is used in hospitals and medical centres throughout the world. He is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and a life-long teacher andContinue reading “Book Review: Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn”
Book Review: A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Book Two of the Min Kemp (My Struggle) in the series of six autobiographical volumes is possibly the least adventurous of his stories although still no less compelling and compulsively readable as the other ones. If you are unfamiliar with Karl Ove Knausgaard then you must have been living under a rock. He has beenContinue reading “Book Review: A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard”
Book Review: Boyhood Island by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Boyhood Island is a no nonsense autobiographical tale of a boy called Karl Ove Knausgaard, aged 6-13 years old and his everyday adventures living and growing on the island of Tromøya, Norway in the late 70’s. This is a strange and unusual novel in that it doesn’t follow traditional novelistic or storytelling conventions. It’s a meanderingContinue reading “Book Review: Boyhood Island by Karl Ove Knausgaard”
Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Orakei Korako
Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Orakei Korako! I visited one of Aotearoa’s most unique and unexpected delights, a #volcanic and #geothermal park near Taupo on the North Island #travel
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