Glorious evening at Hōkio beach.


Finished reading: The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom 📚

It took me a while to get into the book and the story but eventually it just flowed over and into me and by the end I could feel and smell the characters and the story. Loved the ending. A challenging but rewarding read with a gay working class protagonist. Visceral as hell.


Saw Nosferatu at the movies today. Very effective and stylish remake of the 1922 movie. Then read the “Children of the Night” chapter of the Queer as Folklore. Great to compare and contrast!

Film poster of Nosferatu (2024)Book cover of “Queer as Folklore”


Finished reading: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse 📚

Post-apocalyptic science-fiction in an indigenous North American world. Fascinating contrast to my recent read, “Cahokia Jazz”. There is a sequel (“Storm of Locusts”), that I’ll almost certainly follow up with at some point.


First brunch at Floriditas for 2025.


Finished reading: Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford 📚

An excellent alternative historical novel. All the wonder of a history where indigenous Americans more successfully resisted conquest and destruction, and remain a vital political and social force. A detective story, a personal redemption and loss story, a re-discovery of lost roots, and the discovery of personal emancipation.

This quote captured much of the feel and writing of the story for me:

“Someday, when the night of wonders was far away in memory, he would probably long to be able to go back to it. But he couldn’t miss it now, when he was carrying the happiness of it in his whole body. When it ran through, it filled him, vein by vein, nerve by nerve, muscle by muscle, from the soles of his feet to the graze on his scalp. Now, what he felt was free. She had freed him by giving him this gift. It could not be repeated, but it could not be relinquished either. He was one self, in one skin, but he could do anything, it felt like, go anywhere. From this morning forward many possible lives branched out, and all of them his own.”

Thanks to @jeremycherfas (https://www.jeremycherfas.net/) for the recommendation!


Brisbane river fireworks - Happy New Year!


Year in books for 2024

Here are the books I finished reading in 2024.

The Last Dynasty How Economics Explains the World Deep Black Civilisations The 7th Function of Language Breaking Hel Ten Days that Shook the World Storming Heaven Disorderly Men In Youth Is Pleasure Don't Let the Forest In My Year of Rest and Relaxation Creation Lake Sound Tracks Consider Phlebas Hard by the Cloud House On Savage Shores Blackouts Fifth Sun Annals of Native America Bernardino de Sahagun Homer and His Iliad The Florentine Codex Prophet Song How the World Made the West Ancient Cuzco Why the Bible Began Mona of the Manor How the Bible Became a Book A History of the Bible Florentine Codex The Iliad The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome The Inheritance

Finished reading: The Last Dynasty by Toby Wilkinson 📚

And: The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome by Guy de la Bedoyere 📚

Two excellent and recent histories of Ptolemaic Egypt. Great to be able to read two scholarly treatments of the same topic in tandem. Fascinating and somewhat overlooked period of Egyptian history.


Finished reading: How Economics Explains the World by Andrew Leigh 📚

Excellent short overview of economics and economic history, with good balanced coverage.


Finished reading: Deep Black by Miles Cameron 📚

Excellent merchant navy space opera.


Finished reading: Civilisations by Laurent Binet 📚

Quick re-read of this excellent “what-if” historical fiction. What if the Vikings had a larger impact on the New World - sharing both iron-working and diseases, so that the Americas are better prepared for Columbus, with iron weapons, horses, and disease resistance? What if the defeated brother of the Inca Emperor sailed to Lisbon on Columbus’ repaired ships, arriving just after the Lisbon earthquake? What if the Inca adventurers used the divisions of Reformation Europe to their advantage, and conquered the continent?

Highly entertaining, very well written and full of historical allusions. Highly recommended.


Finished reading: The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez 📚

Absolutely breathtaking. Heartbreaking and inspiring. Full of loss, redemption and hope. Essential reading or viewing for those seeking to understand the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic on generations of gay men right up to the present.


Finished reading: The 7th Function of Language by Laurent Binet 📚

Intellectual mystery by the master of intellectual “what-if” history.


Xmas photos from CC using her new instant thermal imaging camera

#xmas #grandkids #kids #cc #family


Xmas morning Irises, Hōkio beach

Purple, yellow and white irisExplosion of irises


Happy Xmas morning at Hōkio Beach.

Rose-tipped clouds over the sea.

Merry Xmas Eve from Hōkio, Aotearoa

Glorious sunset

Traditional Hokio Xmas Irises


Finished reading: Breaking Hel by Miles Cameron 📚

Fantastic conclusion to an epic story. Love, gods, magic, transformation, rebellion, rebirth - it has it all !