“Up there in the night air among the high-rises, music dies as you fire up your fake sunrises: your light is the birds’ last darkness.” Margaret Atwood

Before I started my web Another Country Diary I made these few pages to show to friends when they asked what my life was like in a country town, while I worked in Canberra and Sydney.

I was still pining from losing Australian MultiMedia and couldn’t stop scratching the ‘publishing’ itch. ‘Written so you can understand it’.

November 1995. This was a ‘walk-through’ demo, part of how we saw Murdoch Magazines’ many women’s lifestyle publications working on the web -via Conde Nast’s experiment Epicurious.

I finished reading Oliver Sack’s story of his ‘chemical’ boyhood some time before I wrote this. My response to the book (as it was for my English mate Norman) was ‘Yes! I felt just like that as a boy’.

I’ve filmed and photographed the work of John Shortis and Moya Simpson for over twenty years. This is where it will be assembled.

In a classic Old World – New World twist, as wild harvested truffles disappear in Europe, countries like Australia and Spain are farming increasing quantities of high quality truffles. The Canberra region growers needed to educate people about theirs.

Two films, one Super 8 from 1971, and one Standard 8 consisting of two earlier anti-Vietnam war marches. Both of these will be transferred in higher quality and have music added but they need to be here before I get time and money to do that.

I was ‘sponsored’ by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia to attend Slow Food 2006 Terra Madre, I just had to pay to get there. That’s where I learnt that eating is an agricultural act, producing it a gastronomical act (it has to taste good) and purchasing it (our choices) a political act.

It’s like the Seamus Heaney poem ‘Postscript’ where he writes about driving through County Clare  – “when the wind and the light are working off each other … Useless to think you’ll park and capture it, More thoroughly. You are neither here nor there.”

How our tools change the way we work interests me most, and not just theatrical mainstream. For this Cinema Papers piece I selected from the first 54 issues of the Cantrill’s Filmnotes magazine talking about ‘alternate’ film and video technology.

As I rounded the corner I saw the road covered with white flying feathers and a splattered chook being picked up by a tall young man with a look of pain on his face. He crossed the road just in front of me, the early yellow sunlight on him against the dark road.

Adrian Carr, Australian film editor and director talked to me about interactive components for The Pandora Directive game from 1997, and Power Rangers TV shoots. Updated from Cinema Papers #115

This captures a time of media change nicely I think. It was when suddenly it was cool to write about computers, and the advertisers rushed to The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian computer sections. That’s where I was writing.

I think Tony Sarno has created another monster, this one may be Godzilla and stomp across standard newspaper conventions, and it might have to battle to win its own audience. On the positive side, almost like Godzilla, there’s going to be a new episode every week and that’s a lot of opportunity to get it right.

“The road connects things, the road has the potential of the continually changing viewpoint, a different driveway every night. The only thing about the road that is frustrating, is that it would be terrific if you could turn a corner and really be in a different place. On the Internet you can do that with a simple link. Click on a URL and you are in some fantastic place you never imagined.” Dana Atchley

Dana said it was the best thing that had been written about him and he linked to it for years. Besides being flattered (after all it was just using his words) I like it too. He died in San Francisco on December 13 2000.

This started as a gallery of my toy robots until I began musing on why I collected them. That brought up all the usual stuff, god, drugs, sex, myths and creativity. It was originally made in Flash in 1998.

After the feast moving pictures were shown by Dr. L. S. Woods. Much excitement was caused when the girls who took part in the Netherlands Day festivities saw themselves acting on the screen. Other films showed scenes of Albury and district, with an interesting commentary by Dr. Woods.

That’s John Grierson. He was held up to us as we did our Film Studies at RMIT Photography School, as sitting on the right hand of the film gods. I was an eager convert to the Church of the State Film Centre.

In 1967 I was asked if I’d offer a film history / film making class at Burwood High School, by English teacher Robin Hall.

“There is less justification for make believe in life than there ever was. The changed circumstances of the world, and the altered standards, should have brought home to every person of normal outlook that the readiest means towards an honest living should be sought.” L.S.Woods

After the feast moving pictures were shown by Dr. L. S. Woods. Much excitement was caused when the girls who took part in the Netherlands Day festivities saw themselves acting on the screen. Other films showed scenes of Albury and district, with an interesting commentary by Dr. Woods.

Spending time with these films has brought a lot of pleasure and surprises. As a fellow film-maker, there is recognition of the subtleties within the content.

Everyone has a quote from Mark Twain.

When I asked the waiter what the birds were, circling above the old walls over our balcony table view in Spello, he shrugged, rolled his eyes and said he didn’t know. I think they’re now one of my favourite ‘exotic’ birds and a tribute to jackdaws is in order.

If you closely examine the men of the quill
And search for goods stolen with sharp piercing eyes…

Looking to start a collection of tin and plastic robots and space toys? Already a dealer looking for some bulk in your collection and things to swap? Buy mine.

I don’t look at this page much.  If you have had recurring dreams about falling from a tower, you might want to give this entry a miss as well.
I won’t mind.

I rather prefer short critics to long ones.  I like critics with tan shoes — look nicer, I think. . .