Thinking Allowed - Including musings by Daan Spijer.

Archive for February, 2012

From the Kitchen

February 29, 2012

From the Kitchen #145

In writing this weekly blog, I tend to steer clear of commenting on matters that are current fare for the media, especially politics.  I would prefer what I write to have a more timeless quality, rather than be tied to the ups and downs of what is happening in the world.  However, I find I am prompted to explore deeper issues by my reactions to some current events.  One such has grabbed my attention and got my goat.

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Book Reviews

February 27, 2012

Her Father’s Daughter

Her Father’s Daughter
Alice Pung
Black Inc Publishing  2011
ISBN: 9781863955423
$29.95
238 pp

Having just finished reading this book, I feel that I have been allowed to be an intruder in a family home.  It is an autobiography written as a third person account, but it is very personal and revealing of the characters in the stories.

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From the Kitchen

February 22, 2012

From the Kitchen #144

I took the dogs out for a walk shortly after sunset and was awed by the beauty of two bright planets in the western sky: Venus close to setting and Jupiter some thirty degrees higher up.  The horizon was suffused with bands of deep orange and a strange green.

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From the Kitchen

February 15, 2012

From the Kitchen #143

It started with an innocent nail clipper.  At least I thought it was innocent, but I was not allowed to take it on the flight to Perth.  As it was sternly removed from my carry-on luggage, I imagined that someone bent on violence could have wrestled it from my grasp as I trimmed my toenails in seat 23D.  She could then have used it to pull out the fingernails of one of the cabin staff for serving cold coffee and stale scones.

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From the Kitchen

February 8, 2012

From the Kitchen #142

Sometimes I read what I posted some time ago and it seems rather negative in hind-sight.  This set me thinking about the difference between listing all that is wrong with the world and imagining what we can do to solve existing problems.

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From the Kitchen

February 1, 2012

From the Kitchen #141

Writing is a secret pleasure indulged in by dreamers and visionaries, as well as those who have a burning desire to proclaim their insights and wisdom to the world.  Reading is also a private pleasure, with the individual questing, searching, drinking in whatever nourishment and flavour the words may offer up.

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