The Maroon Diaries

I have got the ultimate low-maintenace hairstyle. There are many wonderful reasons for shaving one's head, including being a Buddhist (which many people assume I must be - the long flowing maroon robes don't help to dispel the impression). But the most compelling one for me personally is, quite simply, the heat. I can't stand the heat. I really can't stand the feeling of my hair holding the heat in my head. And I mean really. I get really distressed if I get overheated, and feel sure that my head will either explode or just melt. And then I need to cut all my hair off immediately. If I ever have thoughts of growing my hair out longer again, as I do on cooler-headed occasions, they will be quickly dashed once the next summer comes along. I find it very interesting how much people care about other people's hairstyles. Very interesting, and highly disappointing. Really, whose business could my hairstyle possibly be but my own? I first discovered just how much ...

I was walking up the stairs yesterday morning when I first caught it, sensed it. A smell, perhaps, or a feeling in the air - but what exactly? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Is it that it's a bit cooler today? No, that's not it, it's more than that. Hmm. I got on with my day. Then I was out in the backyard, just a little before sunset, when I caught it again. Oh yes, that's it. I definitely smell autumn coming. I did a little counting of the days in my head and then smiled when I realised, oh yes, it's February already. February 1 - it's Lammas. Perfect timing. I love it when it works like that. Lammas is the celebration of the first harvest. The Sun King has been in his prime, at the height of his powers since the Summer Solstice. The Goddess is heavily pregnant with the Divine Child, his son and heir, and the crops are ripe in the fields. But there is a change coming, and it heralds the time of sacrifice for the Sun King. He must die and re...

How can you 'celebrate' the armed invasion and occupation of the Australian continent for penal slavery and the attempted genocide of the Aboriginal peoples? For me and many other Australians, today, January 26, is a day of mourning, and we call it Invasion Day. The myth of Australia Day was just one of those lies we were taught by society for the purpose of suppressing its true history. Like I said on December 25th , there's no fucking way I'm going to celebrate that. By the time I was twelve years old, I was pretty well educated for a kid, and a star student. But still, after 8 years of public school education, my understanding of the 'settlement of Australia' was that it went pretty much like this - Captain Cook discovered Australia and turned up with a boatload of convicts on January 26, 1788. When they got there, there were Aborigines living there. However, they weren't really people, they were actually just native Australian animals, so it was ok...

As I surf and stumble around these here Internets, I find things. Sometimes, I find extraordinary things, ridiculously beautiful things, and things that can change the way you see the world. Sometimes, my heart leaps, or a shiver goes down my spine. I want to share these things with you. Here are some that I've come across lately. *  Trees will eat the world. These pictures show you how. * Oh, how I would love one of these real-life hobbit houses . * Beautiful art by Kelly Louise Judd. * An anatomically accurate kimono called Silk Me Back . * A lesson in perspective from children not looking at modern art . * A beautiful short film (just under 10 minutes) called The Invention of Love by Andrey Sushkov . * The actions and words of one awesome kid brought tears to my eyes. And again when I read it through a second time. Bonus points to the awesome parents for supporting him to do this. Could there be hope for humanity yet?

I went out early today to give the garden a good drink before it got hot. According to the weather website, it's 41.6 degrees Celsius right now. That's over a hundred degrees in the old money. Positively ghastly. (Question. Why doesn't my keyboard have a degrees symbol? It would be most useful.) This morning, I harvested my first ever zucchini that I've grown myself. I was soooo excited. It's a yellow zucchini, because differently coloured vegetables are more fun. I'm sure I feel as proud of it as if it were a baby. But it's not a baby. It's a zucchini. So I cut it up into tiny pieces and cooked it. I think we'll call today's creation Yellow Zucchini and Corn Fritters. Yum. And there's plenty more where that came from. Last full moon, the sky was clear and the light was bright. It was a perfect time for harvesting some magickal herbs. In particular, the sage and the lemon balm were getting a bit unruly and crowding ou...

People who are prone to listening to my rants and rambles will soon notice that I'm quite particular about which holidays and celebrations I will endorse and practice. I feel the need to investigate the history, etymology, and social and political implications of the recognition and practice of a holiday, and make an informed choice as to whether that is a tradition that I want to uphold in my life. So what about New Year's Day? The basic idea of celebrating a new year, as defined by the revolution of our planet around the sun, is a perfectly understandable thing for humans to want to do. Exactly which point at which to define one year as ended and a new one begun is something we can all disagree on for ourselves. There have been many different systems of reckoning the passing of time and the seasons used throughout different periods of history, by different cultures. They are all valid from the perspective of their culture, but still, we can see that it's really very use...

This year, for the first time since primary school when such lists were pretty much compulsory, I've kept a list of all the books I've read. I was inspired by the various blogs I was reading. Many bloggers were publishing their reading lists, and I really loved seeing everyone's lists. In fact, I have found several amazing, gorgeous books that I would not have ever heard of but for a mention on a blog I was reading. I thought it was such a good idea that I tried it too, and I must say, it has been very enjoyable to keep this list throughout the year. I like that I can now place exactly when I read a book, and compare it to other events happening in my life at the time. When I started by typing in the first title here, Love Times Three by the Darger Family , I immediately remembered laying on my bed, reading this book and listening to the sounds of the New Year's Eve revellers lurching around the streets outside. I remember that New Year's Day was hot, so I sta...