
Italian Film Festival – Naples to New York, The Mountain Bride

Film festivals can be hit and miss, but I enjoyed the picks for this year’s Italian Film Festival, two period dramas that couldn’t be more different in style and mood.
Finders Keepers by Stephen King – Book Review

The second novel in the Bill Hodges thriller trilogy is a side quest rather than a true sequel to Mr Mercedes, but it makes for an entertaining return to some of King’s perennial topics: the power of literature to shape a life, and a fan with a dangerous obsession.
Cape Schanck

I love Mornington Peninsula, and Cape Schanck, its southernmost tip, is one of my favourite places for scenic walks.
New Music 10/2025 – Kim Gordon, Everything But the Girl

Former bassist-singer of Sonic Youth makes ugly but compelling noise on a solo record; a comeback album from the English pop duo.
Mountain artwork in progress 09/2025
I now finished the mountains in the foreground, and it’s been a fun and smooth sailing so far. This artwork is one of my more structured pieces, a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with little room for experimentation. It’s a more rigid process perhaps, but I also find it quite soothing. As always, no matter how much leftover fabric I’ve got, I still need to make trips to the fabric stores for more shades!

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick – Book Review

My first Philip K. Dick novel turned out to be an inventive, fast-paced mind-bender, throwing out ideas and philosophical questions like a tennis ball machine.
Donnie Brasco – Film Review

After re-watching the first three seasons of Fargo, I still had a craving for some crime drama. This 1997 movie, based on a true story of an FBI agent who infiltrated a New York City Mafia family during the 1970s, more than satisfied it.
Trim the Cat
While looking for more cat-themed paintings, I came across what is considered to be Australia’s most famous feline: a black-and-white cat called Trim, who accompanied explorer Matthew Flinders on his voyage around the coastline of Australia. Trim was a true seafaring cat, born aboard the ship in 1799 and made a favourite for his grit, intelligence and cheeky personality.

The plaque at the Mitchell Library in Sydney has this moving dedication written by Flinders in memory of his cat:
The best and most illustrious of his race
The most affectionate of friends,
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures
He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia,
which he circumnavigated, and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers

