Matthew Ford’s Infernal Blog

We went to Maroochydore, which is a beach town up the Sunshine Coast, about 1.5 hours’ drive north from our Brisbane home. We stayed at the Sebel, a wonderful, new hotel which was both lush and affordable! I surfed, Dylan boogie-boarded, Kat sunbaked. (Kira was in the loving care of Dee back home.) We had a great weekend away. Some pictures of the trip, and Dylan’s 14th birthday, are now in the Flickr photostream.

(Please sing the above title to the tune of “Holiday in Cambodia” by the Dead Kennedys… we did…) We just got back from a holiday in Tasmania, we three running about in a campervan for a week. It was great! Not sure if we are campervan types but we enjoyed Tassie and enjoyed the freedom of carrying our home around the island. (continued »)

Kat and I (and by extension, Dylan) became Australian citizens on Australia Day 2008, which is… come on, you know it! I know it! (In fact I took a citizenship qualification test which made me memorize it forever, along with the wattle and Phar Lap) …January 26th. (continued »)

Me and the family are about to take a little holiday in Tasmania, so what better time to finally post something about my trip in November with my buddy Cameron? (continued »)

I am finally back to my rich blog-scribing tradition after a long break of intense work, holidaying, and procrastination. To make more bite-sized the mountainous prospect of updating this blog after my long period of taking short vacations (the subject of a later post, which is the whole point), allow me to write about something short and sweet. Ah, I feel less oppressed already… I’m not writing a five-page travelogue, I’m just writing yet another paean to Radiohead’s latest album In Rainbows. I could just copy-and-paste one of the thousands of other love-fests frolicking on the web, but none of them are my style so I’ll give it my own shot. Besides, now there is a dandy Amazon pay-me widget I can imbed in my post, so go buy it now! I’ll wait while you download the MP3s.

You’re back? Good shit, huh?? Now you’re listening to it as you read the rest of this post, hopefully drinking a glass of Syrah (note to my legion of Aussie fans, it’s called “Shiraz” here in Australia and good on you). You’re sipping Syrah|Shiraz even if you don’t like it, because I do like it, and I should not be drinking alone at 6:07AM. (Kidding!) (continued »)

Dylan and Kira and I took a walkabout yesterday in the reserve behind the house. In the big loop formed by Moggill Creek there is a hill which every springtime erupts in thick clover, so Dylan suggested we check it out. It was a li’l slice of heaven, and I was lucky enough to get a really nice picture out of it as well.

I’ve uploaded a bunch of photos from my and Kat’s weekend trip to Townsville; head to my Flickr site to see many more! This one is from when the tour operator (pictured) on Magnetic Island (near Townsville, Queensland) brought us to a pub that specialized in attracting hordes of rampaging rainbow lorikeets. On his instruction I took a handful of sopping wet bread from a bucket and held it out. “What n–” I started to ask, and was answered by one of most startling and intense experiences of my life. I was instantly set upon, and you really have to be there to understand how overwhelming it is. The color, the claws, the whipping of wind from the wings, the deafening caws in my ear… it was a feast for the senses in the sense that having a cannon full of Chicken Cordon Bleu fired at you is a feast for the senses.

Australia is #3 on the UN living index. I’m interested in this because I think a lot about social progress and how to support my country (now Oz) in improving the quality of life for all its residents. At the same time I want to do what I can to bring up those countries on the bottom, for which there is no good excuse to let them languish there. Humanity will not be truly on its way to happiness and stability until its most unfortunate members are lifted up.

Kat and Dylan and I went to Robin and Penny’s house to see the first series in the Bledisloe Cup, which is a rugby match between New Zealand and Australia. We went for Australia while Robin went for NZ. It was great fun and though Wallabies lost to the All Blacks, it was a good match in the cold and wet and I think the next match will be a close one. Robin and Penny live in a nice section of Fig Tree Pocket, near Dylan’s school, and the suburban life was tempting, but I also love living in the city, walking to work, and being near the action.

 (Added 2007: The house we moved to a year or so later was in fact just a few km from Robin’s!)

Dylan and I drove out to the Brisbane Forest Park. It’s not far, maybe 45 minutes west of the city. I even avoided getting very lost on the way there and back, which is quite an accomplishment for me. Dylan and I had a great time. We went to lookouts and saw fantastic views of Samford valley. We ate sandwiches at Jolly Lookout. Then we went to a rainforest walking loop. Dylan loves the rainforest and we explored a bit. It was kind of spooky looking at the strangler figs swallowing up trees. Dylan also remembered and wanted to talk about my Alchemy game concept so we chatted a lot about that. It was a rainy day, which was perfect for the rainforest. It never poured on us except while we were in the car so the timing was good.