Looking Back, Looking Forward
I've often started the conversation of what I've been up to this year with 'it's been a bit of a meh year', but that's not right. It can be hard to see the big picture when you're in the middle of it I guess. In February I started a new job and technically a new career (more on that later), and while COVID put the breaks on my dancing life, I used that time to refocus on myself. This post is about taking time out to breathe and reflect on how far I (we) have come this year, and look up and look
A File Format By Any Other PRONOM Signature
November third is World Digital Preservation Day and what better excuse to blog about my journey into digital preservation so far? This time last year I was being interviewed for what would become my new role as Digital Preservation Officer at an Australian State Library. I remember reading the entirety of the DPC (Digital Preservation Coalition) Handbook trying to bring myself up to speed on all the acronyms, lingo, and underpinning values of digital preservation. This was a specialised world t
Doom Scrolling
I hear the beating of hooves as I scroll lazily on my phone, half awake in the dirty morning light flooding in through my bedroom window. Distant at first, like fat drops of rain against a tin roof heralding in a summer storm, scattered, heavy, with the promise of more to come. Brief snippets of news interrupt a flow of cat photos, memes, and biting satire to talk about viruses, sickness, and quarantine. I scroll past it all, letting the pandemic fade into the distance, like a white horse gallop
The Impermanence of Suffering
Clay opened her eyes slowly as she came back from the brink of nothingness, her head pounded and her chest burned. She could feel the hard bed through the thin mattress beneath her and was vaguely aware of the heavy blankets covering her clothed body. After a while the pounding in her head gave way to the muted sounds of conversation going on around, but not directed at her. Clay couldn’t yet turn her head but she was aware of another bed in the room. The voices around her seemed interested in w
Three Scenes
I'm finishing a creative writing unit and thought it would be interesting to post up one of the assignments. This was a study in genre, three scenes, three genres. I used existing characters/worlds that I have created and thought it would be a fun way to showcase upcoming stories and have a little sample taste of existing works. Just for the Hecate I should have known better but the lure of a free lunch and a pretty face to spend the afternoon with was too strong. Instead I was getting sawdus
It Was the Best of Times...
For me, 2021 has been a mixed bag of good and bad. Charles said it best: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities 2021 didn't start out the best for me. I had put off a lot of things for far too long and t
A Year In Read-View 2021
My enthusiasm for reading was somewhat diminished this year. I partially put that down to lacklustre book choices early on, my mental health, and COVID/work related stresses. Things picked up towards the end of the year but then stopped when I started my penultimate university unit (I am almost finished my degree!). I managed a total of nine books this year, well below my normal reading rate. There were some great books in there though, and some terrible ones. I am hoping to read more in the new
They Shall Be Consoled
The memory of the klaxons still sound in my ears despite the heavy pressure door slamming shut moments ago. Without warning I’m thrust back against the bulkhead, cushioned only by the unforgiving jump seat between me and the cold metal wall. Strong g-forces compress my whole body and I momentarily black out, thankful for the forced break from my own panic. The ship is gone and I am alone. Nobody else came. The small pod is empty except for the corpse strapped in opposite me. An unnatural grin is
Regular Ordinary Shaddow Meal Time
I took a nostalgic trip back through my YouTube history recently and wanted to share the weird and wonderful cooking shows I found there. Cooking on YouTube isn't new and these days I think Babish has the market cornered, but I've always enjoyed the weird and the wonderful. In the Beginning I think the first cooking show I was introduced to was Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time or #ROSMT for short. That was all the way back in 2011 or so. Since then phrases like "It's good for you!", 'MR FOX