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Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (2006)
Meditations turned out to be a wonderful read, full of insightful philosophical thoughts, most of which were still as relevant today as when they were originally written almost 2000 years ago. The book is a translation of the writings of Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor. Originally written in Greek, the writings were preserved and handed…
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari (2014)
Sapiens endeavored to tell the story of us, from a starting point much further back than we may be used to. This anthropological deep dive into the development of human culture and society was a fascinating and enjoyable read. For a story so large I was delighted by the clear writing style and simple structure…
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Anything can happen in a four hour game
As I made my way to Lakeside I had to face a delayed train, missed tram and buckets of rain. Despite these annoyances, I remained hopeful for tonight’s Australia Cup match against Olympic FC. South was coming off of a full week of rest, and Olympic was not of the same caliber as Wellington. It…
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Lisbon Poets, forward by Leonor Simas-Almeida (2015)
You can probably last about a day in Lisbon without hearing about Pessoa, fortunately for me I was in the city for longer than that and has the opportunity to learn more about the great man. Statues, tour guides, street signs and souvenir shops preach his greatness so when I was given the opportunity to…
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Illegitimate Authority: Facing the Challenges of Our Time, by C. J. Polychroniou and Noam Chomsky (2023)
This book represented my introduction to Noam Chomsky and after hearing his name thrown around for years, I was keen to read some of his original work. I came into this book expecting a dissenting voice and I got one, although not the one that I was expecting. The first thing I noticed, and was…
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Know your place
The junior programDevelops senior playersThat’s not the problemThe senior men’s teamWins silverware in state compsThat’s not the problemThe women’s programIs solid and consistentThat’s not the problemAll abilitiesHave a chance to partake hereThat’s not the problemThe engaged fan baseVolunteers and supports themThat’s not the problemSo what’s the problem?Arrogant and annoyingThey don’t know their placeThey didn’t forgetWhat…
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Open letter, closed communication
For the last three months I have been lost in the NST desert, wandering aimlessly across the baron internet praying for a drop of news about the proposed competition. The other night I fell hard for yet another mirage, this time in the form of South Melbourne’s open letter to the football community. The letter…
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Poems, August 2024
I will add to this throughout the month. We are all carriedWe are the weight of the worldIt never complains Stay the course untilyou find you are going inthe wrong direction When I close my eyes I seeSomeone sitting in the darknessI don’t know if this placeis where he restsI don’t know if this placeis…
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The Symposium, by Plato (2005)
Well this was a weird one to say the least. I hadn’t really had any exposure to classical literature and picked this book up with that in mind. I found it at a bookstore, noticed it was short and included a second piece on the Allegory of the Cave, which I had at least heard…
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Slow Horses, by Mick Herron (2010)
The book was fine. I’ll be honest, I had higher hopes for Slow Horses and in the end I reckon that the genre just isn’t quite for me. I bought the book on a lunch break. I was specifically looking for something light that would become a good bedtime companion, and ironically wanted to avoid…
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South are Premiers! NPLVIC Centre of the Universe!
It had been an exhausting week to say the least. First, a 120 minute Saturday showdown against Oakleigh saw South claim the Dockerty Cup after penalties. Second, over 4,000 people rocked up to watch South eliminate A-League opposition on a cold Tuesday night. Third, the boys escaped the Reggio Calabria club with a draw –…
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A 20 year victory
A cold and still nightA traffic filled journeyThe crowds arrived lateAnd then South scored earlyThe first half a flurryAggressive directSouth wanted to scoreNot simply protectThe half time break welcomedBy both of the teamsAs the Nix clicked into gearAnd South ran out of steamThey held the possessionFor forty five moreThe Nix with the ballBut not with…
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Third time’s the charm for South Melbourne vs A-League opposition
South Melbourne vs Wellington Phoenix. It was a game that I had been looking forward to since it was announced, and one that was scheduled just a few days after my return from holiday. In terms of cultural whiplash, I’m not sure the experience could have been any more surreal. Instead of relaxing on a…
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Two different football games
Amongst the family homesBesides the Merri CreekNo trains or trams in sightThe fans walk through the streetsThey wander from their carsAnd make their way insideAn old suburban groundTo watch their teams with prideThey join thousands on their feetNot all can get a seatThey shiver in the coldJust like the days of oldDown at the MCGFrom…
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Lunch Break in the City
The tradies in their fluroDot the city streetsAmongst the suits and parkasThey find something to eatThere aren’t as many smokosThey vape throughout the dayTheir breaks are now far fewerAnd they have much less to sayThe suits meet them at middayFor poke bowls and banh misBut they’re quick back up the liftsThey will not savor theseThey’ll…
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Knight’s can’t catch a break but South can throw a goal
Well here we are again. I managed to pull myself to another South game this season between work, study and the rest of it. Funnily enough it happened to be the return leg of the my last attended match. I headed down to Knights Stadium with a few of the boys and couldn’t be happier…
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Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis (1946)
I already know this review will not reflect the many feelings I have about this book. Zorba the Greek stands alone in the western consciousness as the embodiment of Greek literature. A book elevated by its Oscar winning film adaption and Nobel Prize nominated author. A book, I believe, is not correctly understood or interpreted…
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God Forgets About the Poor, by Peter Polites (2023)
‘God Forgets About the Poor’ first came to my attention after seeing a review in the Neos Kosmos. I enjoy Greek literature, particularly Greek-Australian literature and after reading ‘Lucky’s’ by Andrew Pippos was keen to get into a similarly frank migrant story. Unfortunately when the book resurfaced again to me I was personally disappointed that…
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