On my daily walks I pass a field that has been planted with an unknown crop. It’s unknown because I don’t know the farmer and haven’t asked anyone what it is. I’m assuming it is potatoes but that’s only a guess.
For some reason when I look at this field Vincent Van Gogh hovers over my mind. I call it the Goghic Crop because it has that Vincent vibe. Anyway, I thought I’d post the pictures of this crop in a somewhat chronological order from the time the field was plowed, then sown until today where it looks in healthy growth.
Today is Wednesday 14 December 2022. I will post more photos as the days and weeks go by until it is time for harvest. Hopefully by that time I will know what the crop is.
I found out today, Monday, 23 January, 2023 that the farmer is growing pumpkins.
I’ve been pondering the animosity harboured by staunch conservatives and reactionaries towards liberals and progressives in the current political landscape. Here’s my thoughts, infused with the spirit of our times.
Reactionaries despise the pursuit of a levelled playing field that the forces of democracy, multiculturalism, and technological advancements are ushering in at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Their disdain extends to globalism, fueled by the perceived erosion of national sovereignty exemplified by events like Brexit and Trumpism. As the world undergoes transformative shifts, reactionaries grapple with a palpable sense of cultural disarray, exacerbated by the dismantling of the once-dominant edifice of White Supremacy, crumbling beneath the weight of demographic realities.
The time-honoured social hierarchy, where male superiority and inherent inequalities thrived, finds itself under the scrutiny of progressives seeking reform or abolition. Trump loyalists, adherents of QAnon, Pauline Hansonites and the far-right fringe harbour an intense aversion to progressives for their attempts at restructuring the established order.
In essence, the truth is that reactionaries stand as foes of egalitarianism, democracy, liberalism, gender equality, religious tolerance, racial harmony, and diversity. Their fear is palpable, stemming from the perceived dissolution of the power and status that white males once enjoyed, fading away right before their apprehensive gaze.
Joe strolled through the streets of Redfern, the full moon casting its luminous glow upon the tenement rooves. The scorching heat of the day still emanated from the footpath beneath his feet. In the distance, a man briskly approached, clutching a book in one hand and a fireman’s helmet in the other.
Upon reaching Joe, he halted abruptly, prompting Joe to scrutinize him from head to toe. The man, clad in a black suit and tie, met Joe’s gaze, his eyes fixed above Joe’s head. Placing the fireman’s helmet near his shoe and tucking the book into his coat pocket, he leaned in and cupped his hand near Joe’s ear, whispering softly, “I possess the skill of palm reading, young man. My mother taught me, and I offer this service to those I encounter on this very street.”
With his owl-like eyes, he bore the semblance of an undertaker. Raising his hands to chest level, he added, “If you spare me a few minutes of your time, we shall unravel the mysteries that Fate has in store for you… if you permit me to read your palm. Rest assured, you have nothing to lose.”
Joe felt a slight dizziness, a loss of control. “You want to hold my hand? I’m afraid that won’t be happening, mate,” he replied.
“Yes, so that I may discern its secrets. Every day, I must read the palms of at least three individuals. You are my third,” the man explained.
“A quota, akin to traffic fines handed out by police officers? A quota of fates? Fascinating! Three per day, you say!” Joe remarked with a touch of sarcasm.
The man in the suit appeared driven, as if on a mission—a renegade Freemason or a peculiar Scientologist without the customary folder, seeking redemption. The impression was fleeting, but it piqued Joe’s curiosity. And what was the significance of the fireman’s helmet at his feet? Joe’s mind drifted back to a distant memory of his eight-year-old self, playing with two small magnets his father had given him. He reveled in the way they snapped together and how, when he reversed their polarity, they repelled each other—a minuscule push in the invisible realm that his fingers could feel.
“Alright then, how long will this take?” Joe reluctantly acquiesced.
The stranger reached for Joe’s hands, assuring him, “Not long.” Turning his head and sniffing the air, he took hold of both of Joe’s palms, turning them upwards and scrutinizing them intently. Releasing Joe’s left hand, he focused solely on the right, his hovering fingertip traversing Joe’s palm. Joe felt a familiar magnetic force, reminiscent of his childhood. This time, it glided over his palm, countering the hovering finger’s movements.
“Every human hand harbors a landscape, with rivers and mountains, deserts and plains. Right here, in the middle of your palm, lies the Plain of Mars,” he pointed. “And to the northeast, Mount Jupiter. The River of Life courses southeastward beneath the Mount of Venus.” His finger traced the lines on Joe’s palm. “Saturn resides here,” he indicated, his finger lingering over the mounds beneath Joe’s fingers. “Beneath these hills lie the Head and Heart lines.”
“So, what does it say?” Joe inquired, now consumed by curiosity. He had no idea he held the entire solar system within the confines of his hand. A smile graced his face.
The man sniffed, retrieving a small cube from his coat pocket—a dice. Placing it in the center of Joe’s hand, he explained, “Now, upon the Plain of Mars, you possess a compass.” Amidst the plains, rivers, and mountains of one’s life, a single dot on the ivory cube stood out. How long had the man been standing there? Joe observed intently and asked, “Well then, what is my fate?”
The man in the black suit and tie chuckled softly and whispered, “Roll the dice within your hand, then observe the number.”
Joe twirled the dice within his closed palm. Upon opening his hand, he beheld two dots. They resembled eyes, and Joe stared at them intently. Slowly straightening his back, an air of revelation engulfed him, akin to a cobra hearing its melodious tune. He gazed up at the palm reader, his entire being ablaze with contemplation. “Perhaps this is what religious awe is all about,” a voice uttered. Did it emerge from his own mind, or did the palm reader speak it? Joe could no longer discern the boundaries between his internal and external world. The posture of his body, the ambiance surrounding him, resonated throughout his nervous system, tingling in every inch of his being. A newfound sense of anticipation welled up at the base of his spine, spiraling upward like a neon coil, igniting a spark of recognition within his chest.
“Well, this cannot be real,” Joe declared, facing a replica of himself. The palm reader had vanished into thin air. The dice was no longer nestled in his hand. All that remained before him was his own reflection, gradually fading away. As he continued on his journey, his foot collided with a fireman’s helmet. Leaving it behind on the ground, he pressed forward toward Mal’s place.
Recently I tweeted a whole pile of photos from my Flotillas of Hope archive. The thought crossed my mind that it will be good to put a whole lot of them on one post. I won’t give captions of each. Assume when you see photos of boats they are either of Eureka or One Off.
When you see photos of stuff on boats they are on one of the boats. The flags were ALL made by community members as were all the pieces of material with messages from Australians. There are also pictures of toys which were gifts from Aussies for the kids at Nauru. We didn’t get to give them the gifts because we were chased out by Nauru Government. The more hazy pics of beaches or buildings in the distance are the photos I took of Nauru when we approached the island. I sent these via satellite phone to our Australian ground crew who then uploaded them on the website. In 2004 social media wasn’t around and yet we got the message out & brought some hope to the asylum seekers. John Howard, Prime Minister at the time released 77 refugees because of our journey.
We were told after we returned to Australia by the refugees released by Howard due to our journey that there were Australian police waiting for us with guns on beaches of Nauru.
There’s also a photo of the Tarot Spread that Starhawk made for the Flotillas of Hope when we met.
When you see photos of islanders they are all from Solomon Islands. When you see buildings and landscapes they are again on Solomon Islands.
The other day I had a chat with my GP and he told me my blood sugar levels were normal. He also said that about six months ago. So, what’s the big deal? I was diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic one year ago, yes, September, 2021 so to find that I have normal blood sugar levels without meds is amazing! In fact, the GP was amazed too. He asked me what I did to have this happen. I told him I changed my diet and was walking 7 to 8 kilometres a day.
When I tweeted this result I was surprised by the response. I promised I’d write about my experience and hope that it may help others.
Just as there is diversity in our body shape, skin colour, eye shape, facial features – there is diversity amongst people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. So, what may work for one person may not work for another. What I tell you about my experience is just that – MY experience. There should be no feelings of failure if you try what I describe and the results aren’t the same for you. Maybe something else will work for you.
My GP asked me to get a fasting blood test last year. He said I may be diabetic and a blood test will show if I am. I wasn’t surprised he’d suggest this because there is diabetes in my family. I didn’t eat takeaway food like Maccas or pizzas. I didn’t eat cakes nor lollies because I haven’t got a sweet tooth and I was careful not to eat fatty foods. I also ate only home cooked meals. I love fresh fruit and vegetables and I didn’t drink alcohol. So, how could I be diabetic? Well the results came back and I was diabetic – just crossed the indicator line.
Freak out time! Shock….what to do? The GP suggested I see a dietitian & a physiotherapist specialising in exercise. This was in Covid times so I didn’t see them face to face – just phone. The info the dietitian gave me I also found online & the exercise guy when he found out I was 69 asked me what did I want to do. I said walking would be great. So that was the end of that consultation.
I then researched diabetes and found the biggest myth about diet was that fat was the enemy. I found that my love of fruit was also contributing to my diabetes because of the sugar content. I thought I was a good little vegemite with my soups. I’d have an instant soup with noodles and add garlic, peas, cauliflower, spring onion, olive oil & a dash of lemon juice. The noodles are carbs and contribute to diabetes.
I took on board what the dietician said. I also read Michael Mosley on diabetes. Everything pointed to me losing weight and changing my diet along with some fasting.
I was brought up in a Greek Orthodox home with my mother ensuring we all followed the strict Orthodox fasting and dietary rules pertaining to holy days. I did this until I left home when I was 18. So the idea of fasting or eating particular foods on certain days wasn’t a big lifestyle program reset.
I’m telling you this so that you may get a glimpse as to why changing my diet wasn’t such a big deal for me because of my previous life experiences.
I need support to watch my diet and ensure that my exercise routine is beneficial to my aims. My aims? To lose weight and to bring my blood sugar levels down. My support comes from today’s incredible technology. I use a smart watch, a smart phone and the apps that go with them. The use of this technology helps me maintain the new routine by providing me with on time feedback concerning what I eat and what I physically do.
Technological Support
The 2 apps I use are Samsung Health and Lifesum. Both of these are connected to my smart watch through bluetooth. I can set my watch to automatically monitor my heart rate, speed of walking, number of steps and blood oxygen.
Samsung Health app helps me set goals and tracks my physical activity, sleep, weight, heart rate, and other vitals throughout the day.
Report on the app of my daily walk
Body Composition
The other amazing thing about the Samsung Watch is that it measures your body composition. This means that you can see how much is body fat and how much is muscle. Some say that the induction technology used is not very accurate. I don’t care. It’s better than nothing and all it needs for me to do is to place two fingers on the side of the watch and I see an estimation of what’s happening to my insides. I have noticed over the year the progressive loss of fat and increase in muscle.
Lifesum helps me track calorie intake and informs me of the nutritional content of the food I eat. I have chosen automatic tracking that’s connected to Samsung Health. This means that the calorie count is accurate because it subtracts the calories burnt during exercise from the amount eaten. It is still only based on what an average person burns during the day but it’s good enough for me to gauge what’s happening with my goals.
Brisk Walking
I found out it is best to walk briskly. Just to walk at an easy pace may be pleasant and familiar because that’s the everyday speed but it won’t help with burning calories. Then there is the moderate pace, the one we use when we’re late.
Brisk pace should feel like you’re just about to break into a jog. A brisk pace is relative to your fitness level and your level of exertion. For your pace to be considered brisk you need to raise your heart and breathing rate. You may feel slightly out of breath or sweaty when walking briskly. Just by picking up your pace you can burn 50 percent more calories! It gets your heart rate going and makes you breathe harder and faster and supports healthy blood flow. My watch informs me the speed I am walking at and a brisk pace is about 4.8 – 5.6 kph.
Best Time for Walking
I also walk in the afternoons just after 3.00PM because research has shown that this is the best time to exercise for both performance and building muscle. Research has also shown that lung function is best from 4.00PM – 5.00PM. This may help to reach a more vigorous intensity.
Other Exercise
Before I leave home for the walk I do one set of dumb bell exercises that I found on YouTube. When I reach the first kilometre I stop and meditate for about 15 minutes. During the walk there is a 1 km stretch that’s a walkway with fence posts on either side of the path. To increase my heart rate I do press ups against the larger posts. Since they are lean to press ups they are far easier than horizontal on the ground. I do 100 on the way out and 100 on the way back.
The Walkway
Now for the numbers
Walking about 8kms per day means you are walking just over 10,000 steps. This means that you are burning between 2 – 3,500 extra calories per week. One kilo of body fat is about 7,000 calories. So depending on your weight, goals and exercise intensity you could lose about 500 grams a week.
Walking 8 kms a day at a brisk speed means you can lose half a kilo per week.
I drink between 2.5 – 3 litres of water per day. It’s been found that drinking 500ml before a meal can help with losing weight.
Lifesum gives a variety of diets to follow and the one I use is the Mediterranean diet because it’s familiar to me. The app gives the approximate calories you need to eat each day. When you enter the foods the app calculates the numbers and during the day subtracts the calories burnt.
Meal entry on Lifesum
Another wonderful feature of Lifesum app is that you can scan the ID number of foods with your phone in the supermarket and it tells you if it’s OK according to the nutritional properties. I’ve found that even so called health foods, protein bars etc when scanned reveal that the attributes are not what the packaging claims.
The Scanner using your phone camera
Detailed analysis of food scanned
Detailed analysis of food scanned
When I started using the Lifesum app I weighed every bit of food I ate and entered the weight in the app. I did this for every meal. It became a ritual for me and it showed me the amounts of food and the calories associated with the food and the amount. I was also incredibly surprised that bacon and eggs was very good food as was peanut butter. I cut back on the amount of fruit with lots of sucrose and started eating more raw cauliflower and carrots.
Now, after one year and having lost 15 kgs with my blood sugar levels normal I have decided to not weigh and enter all my meal details into the Lifesum app. I am now doing a daily intermittent fast of 14 hours and 10 hour eating window. Since I have changed my diet I now just eat the appropriate food only during the eating window.
The daily walk has become a habit as has my new diet and intermittent fasting.
It is possible to have a remission of diabetes using exercise and diet. I also believe that it is possible to reverse diabetes and heal the pancreas after a couple of years doing what I am doing now. When this happens I have no plans to change my diet and exercise routine because I feel so much better doing it.
I hope this post helps you achieve your health aims. By the way I am NOT getting any commissions for citing the apps and the wearable technology. I cite them so that you know what I used. There are brands that can do the same as what I have shown here.
In the 1980’s, as a hobby, I’d write poems & then transform them into lyrics with music making songs. Most of the music was written by a friend, Henry, and there are some I wrote the music. I wasn’t a great guitarist, just knew a few chords & made do with them for my music to the lyrics. Apart from Henry there was also Dennis who played lead guitar and Willie, my brother, who also played guitar.
I scored a cheap Casio player and there are some jams we recorded with me playing the Casio. It was one of the first players that had programmed polyphonic auto accompaniment. “Playing” implies I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I just pressed some keys in rhythm hoping it’d make some semblance of a tune. It provided the “metronome” drum beat & the programmed beats/notes. These acted as “guard rails” to the jam.
The Casiotone we used was like this. It was the first to have programmed polyphonic auto accompaniment
It was a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night. We didn’t have any plans to perform, we just liked hanging together making music for ourselves. I’m so glad we took out the microphones to record them on cassette.
It all is SO long ago.
I’m uploading these recordings for posterity sake. No, I’m not putting them up on YouTube or SoundCloud because this blog is good enough for my purpose. My purpose? Why do I bother? Simple – for my kids & grand kids to have easy access to what I was up to, musically. It’s also a part of my Journey in this World Within Worlds.
I have already posted some of the songs’ lyrics so I thought, once I overcame my cringe factor, to complete the outing by posting some of the songs – complete with my singing & mates’ music. Writing a poem is very different to writing a song lyric. Transforming a poem into a song lyric is an interesting exercise, especially if someone else writes the music.
So, step back in time – come into my lounge room & get a taste of some home grown songs from Sydney in 1980’s.
By the way – if there’s anybody interested in updating these songs let me know by messaging me at dodona777@yahoo.com.au
I think some of these may work with right mixing even 40 years later. Some have links to the lyrics on this blog.
This is the simple & cheap transformer from cassette tape to mp3 I used to digitise tapes about 40 years old!
“Prison of Time” Lyrics by Stavros, Music by Henry. Recorded on cassette in lounge room. Stavros – singing, Dennis – Lead Guitar, Henry – Rhythm Guitar
I live near a river that has a large flood plain to the north. We are very lucky because our home is on high ground so when the river floods we have “water views” but we don’t suffer the effects of a flood. The flood plain is quite large and consequently the views are expansive. This makes the sky and the clouds a prominent feature of the landscape.
Below are some photos of the sky above the flood plain with one picture reflecting the sky on the glass top of the river.
I tried using the Night Mode on my Samsung Ultra 21 recently and was amazed at what it does to simple backyard scenes. The pictures below are from that experiment.
Today while on my daily walk a question crab crawled behind my eyes. I was looking at the scenery, taking photos of same, tweeting them and all the while there was this feeling – question “Why Write?” The question arose because I’ve been working on a book that I want to complete the first draft by the end of this year. In the background there’s another book I started and restarted many times that I also want to write after this one. A part of me says, just leave them, no one cares if they’re written or not. Why put yourself through all this anguish? Another part of me says, no you have to do it.
But why? Why write?
Do I write for fame? Well, that’s a joke, especially for someone my age. Even if I wasn’t old why would I want it? I love my invisibility. I don’t mind occasionally sticking my head out from the cave into the spotlight for a few seconds – a small spotlight, for a good purpose. To have that light on you every day, that would be torture. There’s a lot to be said about using a fake name. This is why I like Twitter. You can be kinda anonymous, say your stuff and just disappear.
Do I write as a side hustle? To make some extra dollars? That’s another joke when you consider that the average book sales in Australia is 813. This figure is the last time the Australian Bureau of Statistics collected comprehensive data on the publishing industry back in 2003 – 4. In 2015, 20,000 new ISBNs were created of which 390 books sold more than 10,000. Now a best seller, in Australia, is anything over 3000 copies. Hmm….and then you get 10% royalties on the net profit. So, if you have a best seller and sell, say 5000 & net profit of each book is say $15, you will get about $1.50 per book. You’re looking at about $7,500. Now, this is for a big best seller. If average sales is say 1000 you’d make about $1500. If you self publish the earnings are about 60% of net profit. I won’t bother going into details but suffice to say you won’t be making a living from it…unless you are lucky and have a super best seller.
It doesn’t look like I want to write to make money because it won’t make money. The other reason is that just making money doesn’t turn me on.
How about spreading a message, you know, changing the world? Telling people my politics and writing the ideas so that people take them on and hoping more people do it so that there’s a change in the world – for good. Yes, that appeals but it doesn’t require the discipline of writing a book to get those ideas out. I wrote an email Call to Action for the Flotillas of Hope to Nauru. Not a book, just an email. Did it change anything? Yes. John Howard’s conservative Government released 77 asylum seekers due to the Flotillas of Hope. Ideas do change the world and I can see that it’s a good reason to write. However, given that a best selling book in Australia is about 3,000 the chances of my book changing the world is pretty limited. I’d much rather write an email than a book if my purpose in writing it is to change the world.
What about leaving stories for my family and future generations to know who I was after I die? Yes, that’s a good reason to write. Out of all of the reasons so far, this one resonates. But it’s not enough. It doesn’t answer my question “Why Write?” It gives a partial answer but doesn’t explain this inner need to write that I feel.
What if I spent a few years writing my masterpiece and getting it published in the traditional way and no one buys it except family? Well, say my partner, my kids I don’t think would care. I won’t make money on it. I won’t get fame from it. I won’t change the world through it… and my family won’t really be interested.
If there’s a nano chance of achieving any of the above goals from writing, why write? Especially today with the web, print-on-demand and so so easy self-publishing. All of these self-published and traditionally published books flood the world with at least a million new titles every year. Let me say that again, a million new books, every year!
The question arises – is it a waste of time and effort to write a book if only your partner and maybe two others read it? According to publishing metrics if only 3 people buy it, the book is a gigantic failure. So, was it worth the effort to write it and then get it published, either traditionally or self published?
Well, something deep inside me is calling out YES! It’s this voice I hear when I write. It’s not logical, reasonable or even smart. It may even be idiotic but I’m subject to idiotic episodes, as my life demonstrates . What is this voice? Who does it belong to? It’s a voice I’ve listened to when I dropped out of uni, hit the road and traveled around Australia with hardly any money, fallen in love, left jobs, changed direction and sailed 8,000 kms with no prior experience in sailing. This voice can be dangerous to listen to but simultaneously can open a door to amazing adventures and emotional journeys. It is the voice of my heart. Heart? That muscle pumping blood? Maybe that’s where this voice resides, like my mind resides in the brain. Anyway, my heart informs me through feeling that I must do what must be done so that I feel OK. When I don’t listen I get depressed, I get a feeling that I’m dying inside. When I listen to its promptings I feel energised, alive and full of purpose. I have meaning in my life. Put a gag on the voice and I die.
So, why do I write? I write so that I answer the call of the heart. The heart may have other names – the Higher Self, the Muse, the inner god, the Wild One. Whatever name it has I have a need to express and this need is the heart calling me to do so.
Welcome — I’m glad you’re here.
On this blog I share the paths I’ve walked: outward journeys across places and causes, and inward journeys through reflection and creativity. Expect stories, poems, photos, quotes, and occasional star-gazing — astrology, I Ching, alchemy, and other ways of seeing.
You’ll also find traces of the human rights campaigns I’ve been part of, offered here as part memory, part witness.
Above all, this space is for connection — I hope you enjoy exploring, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I also share thoughts on politics and ideas on X (Twitter) @dodona777
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Posted by stavr0s 
Welcome — I’m glad you’re here.
Journeys and Star Gazing 