A Little Blog About Nothing

This Blog is about nothing, absolutely nothing at all.

So why did you open it ? Did you think you would gain something ? Did you think you would learn something ?

Well whatever the reason, you were wrong !

Reading this blog will tell you nothing, so you might as well stop reading now !

There is no news in this blog, no politics, no gossip, no last minute up-to-date reports. There is no health news, law reforms or current statistics contained in this blog about nothing.

No Information At All !

So you may as well stop reading now !

You aren't going to learn a thing by reading this blog !

Are you STILL reading ?

Why are you still reading this blog about nothing ? Look, quit now while you're still ahead ! Honest this blog will tell you nothing.

I don't believe it ! You are still reading !!

Do you realise you have read now for over a minute and what exactly have you learned ?

NOTHING !!

Look, let's approach this sensibly, sit down.

Why don't you find a newspaper or a novel, maybe even an excyclopedia or something. That way you will benifit and gain something for your reading effort.... See you later ! Bye ...

You're still here !!

Stop reading this NOW ! you empty headed pea brain.

Sigh ... Your still reading aren't you ... YES !

You can't help yourself can you ?

You can't stop !

You must keep going and read this blog about nothing !

You are going to read on regardless !

OK

I take it you don't have a newspaper or encyclopedia handy. Go read a cereal packet then. You won't learn anything if you keep readingn, go on off you go.

Good Bye

YOU CLOWN !

YOU GIT !

You are learning nothing ! You are wasting your time !

QUICK !

Close this page NOW ! Here's your big chance.

You can't stop reading can you ?

You're addicted. Maybe I could get you to eat a cow pad, you're obviously easily amused.

You can't help yourself, you must satisfy your pathetic curiosity.

SHAPE UP !!

One last chance -- " STOP READING NOW "

Arghhh

Well, here you are still reading.

Sigh

You are learning nothing, you know that don't you ?

You are wasting your time sitting behind that monitor reading this blog but you can't control yourself can you ?

Just watch this ....

See ! ... Your still here !

I knew you would be, you can't help yourself !!

Go for a walk.

Go earn some money.

Go rob a bank.

Go do something -- ANYTHING !

Don't just sit there reading about NOTHING !

Still reading, eh ?

SUCKER !!

Ok bucko, if you don't stop reading this trash NOW it will corrupt your monitor and explode.

Well, arn't you a tough nut to crack !!

Even threats can't stop you reading - wasting your time.

Do you always vegitate this way ?

What teh hell do you hope to gain ?

Look I've just about had enough and take my word for it, there is absolutely NOTHING worth anything in this blog, NOTHING ! so shut the web page down now you jerk !

Why ? Why? Why

This is rediculous. here you are reading about NOTHING !!!

Another minute gone, you should be ashamed of yourself !!

Can't stop yourself can you !

No Willpower !!


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Still here ?
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And Yes you're still reading even though there was only dots to read !

It's pitiful .....

THIS IS IT !

I HAVE HAD YOU AND YOUR BEADY LITTLE EYES !

You my friend have a face like a buckled burp !!
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So you're still here, even insults can't stop you !

I don't have to put up with this. i refuse to have you reading about nothing at all. In Fact, I REFUSE TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU AT ALL !!

STOP READING !

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No, I thought not. Had to read the last paragraph didn't you ? Couldn't resist it could you ! Yes this is the last paragraph because I refuse to write anymore. So There ! You have to push off now !

Good Riddance !
















Ah Hah !

Caught you, you had to see if there was anymore didn't you !? Well this time there isn't, you HAVE to go and DO SOMETHING ELSE !! ( ha ha shove that in your left earhole )

The End

( I knew you'd have to read that !! You're disgusting ! A whole three minutes gone and what did you learn ? what did you gain ? )

NOTHING







( Happy New Year to all my Blog Friends out there ) :)

Golden Quote

Great minds discuss ideas.

Average minds discuss events.

Simple minds discuss people.

Wild Logan Village Beauty

Have no idea what these are but I found this shrub on the side of the road just outside Logan Village covered in these beautiful and vibrant flowers.

Photograph © Andrew swansson 2010

I believe in reincarnation -- Jackie Evancho

This young girl here is exactly why I believe in reincarnation and every now and then you get a transfer of soul and talent from one lifetime to the next ….




Thank goodness for shows like this that allow talent like Jackie to be found !

There is beauty in everything and everyone

The below picture is of a Scottish Thistle ( Onopordum acanthium ) in Australia it is considered a very noxious weed and a plant to be eradicated at all costs. It is considered to have little value and to be an unwanted pest and yet despite all these negative perceptions it delivers one of the most striking and unique flowers around & it's cultural significants in it's native homeland of Scotland is immeasurable ( as listed below ) where it is both loved and respected.

I'd like to think in some ways, irrespective of any negitive perceptions each of us have attracted or created that we are all a bit like the Scottish Thistle and shine bright for those that matter and carve out our own piece of significants where ever our homelands may be.

Photograph © Andrew Swansson

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249–1286) and was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. According to the legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scots army encampment. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a Scots Thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders. Some sources suggest the specific occasion was the Battle of Largs, which marked the beginning of the departure of the King Haakon IV (Haakon the Elder) of Norway who, having control of the Northern Isles and Hebrides, had harried the coast of the Kingdom of Scotland for some years.

Suburban Truth

Sunshine soft
Sunshine warm
Wattles swaying over fresh cut lawns,
Dancing birds singing bright
At the rays of dawns first light.
The smell of toast, coffee, tea
Float on past on a morning breeze,
Souls raised high on a wing and a prayer
For a day without despair.
..........
Movement and clatter as the day awakes
People start to move in haste
Cars are started
Tempers fray
Here we go on another day.
Office opens
Boss demands
There goes that bloody phone again
No time for lunch
No time to breath
No time to smile
No time to be.
….......
End of day boss is richer,
Shares are up in the bigger picture.
The global village grows and grows,
At the expense of our mortal souls.
Feeling exhausted brain won’t work
Heading home to a place that hurts,
Wife demands less hours more pay
Get it right or she won’t stay.
Kids need braces
Bills demand
Self-esteem has faltered again.
….......
All demand all want and need
All want your blood to help them be,
Bleed you do
Every last drop
Until all is gone
And you simply drop.
Peace at last,
Free of demands.
Sleep deep my friend till dawns first light,
When the birds wake you with their singing bright
To herald the new day on a wing and a prayer
Of a day without despair.
……….
Andrew Swansson
© 2010

I Had A dream

Yes, I had a dream !

It’s not quite as big as Martin Luther King Jnr’s dream and I don’t think it will affect or alter too many people’s lives other than mine, but it is an important dream non the less and it’s MY dream !

I used to dream a lot as a child. I would dreams so vivid that I could smell and taste them, dreams that were so strong that I could get up several times in the middle of the night, get a drink and walk around for a bit then go back to bed and jump straight back into the dream where I left off. A dream world filled with adventure and mystery, a parallel universe to my reality world, a world that at times helped me understand my real world and then at other times poked fun at my real world to show me that it wasn’t as serious as I felt it was at the time.

They were very rarely nightmares and were usually pleasant and insightful. My dreams always seemed to help me understand my real world better and in times of confusion they helped me find answers.

I’m not really sure when I stopped dreaming but I vaguely remember stopping around the time that I left school and entered the workforce, a long time ago anyway.

I’m also not really sure why I stopped dreaming but suspect it was because of a lost connection with myself, a lost innocence and connection to my higher self, brought about by my temptation of a largely material world which I had been introduced to through the entry into the workforce and a supply of income that I never previously had.

Suddenly I didn’t have time to sit and contemplate, I didn’t have time to relax into a deep and secure dream world, I had lost the ability to STOP! To stop and smell the roses, stop to actually hear myself think and time to listen to myself. I was too busy to connect.

With my loss of connection to my higher self was the loss to understand my real would with the clarity that I once enjoyed and it also heralded a period in my life filled with chaos and self-doubt.

Interestingly enough, the loss of my ability to dream also coincided with my loss of drive or ambition to artistically create. I used to love painting and I actually won a few encouragement awards for my paintings and drawings back in my high school days. I also used to write a lot of poetry and always dreamed of learning the guitar and putting my poems to song like one of my artistic Idols “ Bob Dylan ”.

I have attempted to reconnect with my artistic side may times over the years but could never find that river to tap unless I was in a period of turmoil and self-reflection. Now while I loved the artistic fruits of these moments of deep self-reflection they were more times than not painful periods in my life and it got to the stage that I preferred not to connect rather than take my mind and soul to these dark places to find inspiration. I wanted to connect in the light again and was not willing to walk in the dark.

Nude Lady 1985 By Andrew Swansson ( My Last Painting )

My life as it turns out has taken many rough roads over the last 5 years and in the process my life has fundamentally changed in many ways. With these changes have come the deep realisation of mortality and the realisation of what is really important in life. The realisation that life is limited and the most precious commodity that we could ever hope to hold. The problem with this is that we can’t buy more when we run out of our life’s allocation, once you have used, spent or squandered your allocation that you were given on the day that you were born, it’s gone. You can’t buy any more life, you can’t borrow any more life and you certainly can’t steal any more life once yours is gone.

So life is precious and the lives of those that you love and hold close are equally as precious. To share your life with another person, and to have them openly share theirs with you has a profound effect on the average life, it makes them Shine ! And when they shine they illuminate your world in such a way that it removes all the dark places and dark corners, it illuminates your life and allows you to see your world in a perfect clarity, it allows you to see the path forward.

Another thing I have learnt in recent years is that of priorities and the real importance of “ Stuff ”. It has magnified my “R.I.S.E” gauge. Now my R.I.S.E gauge or should I say “ Real . Important . Stuff . Evaluation ” is quite simply my assessment of what is really import and what is an illusion created by society and marketing.

For example, my awesome 42 inch Plasma TV can’t make my lonely heart feel any better on a cold winter night when I am home alone. Sleeping alone with 7 pillows in a top of the line king size bed and pillow top mattress is nowhere near as comfortable as sleeping in an old wire base bed and 15 year old mattress when shared with the one you love on a cold winter night. Having that impressive high flying corporate job that pays a squillion dollars means nothing if you go home to an empty house or even worse, a full house where no one knows who you are because you have so little time to spend with them and communicate with them. All that money will only help pay the solicitors arrange a settlement. Having a successful corporate career does not equal a rich and rewarding life. The sweetest sound is that of a child laughing, the most honest words are the words of children, the most important place to be is here and now, home is where your heart is, the truth is more valuable than the answer you were hoping for, Bigger houses are only better because they have more storage space for your stuff, cuddles are fuel for the soul, happiness is having yourself as your best friend and you can never lie successfully to the person in the mirror.

I wrote a poem a few years back called Love is Elusive and the first section goes like this “ Love is elusive, Love is a dream, Love is always there but rarely seen, our eyes are closed to the simplest of things, of what love is and what it means.” By connecting with our R.I.S.E Gauge we can all open our eyes and understand better.

As I started to say at the beginning of this Blog, I have had a dream again. In fact I have started to have many dreams lately and while I won’t go into specifics of these dreams the important thing is that I am having dreams again.

Partly due to being made redundant four and a bit months ago and partly because of changes in my life’s circumstances I have found myself stopping and listening to life. Listening to the birds in the morning, listening to my heart. I have been looking at life through the lens of my camera and actively seeking out beauty in this world. I have been listening to natures little clues to know which road to travel to find that next beautiful moment and to capture it in time with my camera.

I have been actively reducing my material possessions and distractions to a point of needs rather than just wants and I have been reducing my consumptions based on boredom and frustration until I reached the point of consumption based on needs.

All of this has made life a more real entity with purpose rather that a life based on distraction.

Now I don’t know if this is just a coincidence or an equal reaction to my actions but suddenly I am dreaming once again.

“ I Have A Dream ”

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Thank you for taking the time to read my Blog

Dohi

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Turf wars between an

Australian Galah ( left ) & a Rainbow Lorikeet

over the morning feed tray.

A Must See Clip

Nature !

How amazing it is, just when you think you understand you get to see something like this !


EMBED-Leopard Kills Baboon But Saves Its Baby - Watch more free videos

A Few Of My Latest

Hope you enjoy, all are from my back yard except the wattle flower !

True Love

Sulpher Crested Cockatoos ( Cacatua galerita ) as part of my " Urban Wildlife " Collection. My aim is to try and capture all the species of wildlife that visit my yard !

A Rainbow Lorikeet

( Trichoglossus haematodus )as part of my " Urban Wildlife " Collection.

Some type of Australian Bush Wattle

Is Love Enough ?

Most who read my Blog would be aware that my marriage went through some interesting times over the last four years which resulted in me now being separating permanently from my ex-wife and best friend of 17 plus years.

In more recent times I have watched another best friend’s marriage disintegrate into a bitter, hateful situation when both sides are always defensive and looking to get the next point over their partner. Their relationship has descended into a win at all cost “ War of the Roses ” and both parties have resorted to using their 3 kids as cannon fodder against each other ( even if they are unaware of what they are doing ).

Another friend is currently going through a domestic abuse hell from her partner that has resulted in criminal charges against her ex-husband and she is now living 24/7 with the fear of him turning up and finishing the job he had started.

And then last night I was talking to a another ( 20 year plus ) friends wife only to be told in secrecy that her marriage is a complete sham and that from the moment she walked down the aisle she knew it was the wrong thing to do but felt trapped and unable to get out of the marriage. She informed me that her wedding day tears walking down the aisle were not tears of happiness but tears of sadness and regret of what was happening.

The sad truth is I’ve only listed four marriages above but in reality I could run off a list of twenty or more friends and associates who’s marriage did not stand the test of time.

Yes, I too know people who have been married for very long periods, including my parents who have been married 50 years and my sister who this week is celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary, but they are the minority, an ever decreasing group who have to date stood strong against all that time, marriage and life has thrown at them. Some are still there out of genuine love, some out of long formed habit and some out of fear of being alone.

How does this happen between two people who once loved each other openly and unconditionally ?

I have many thoughts about relationships but since my marriage did not survive you may not want to put too much weight onto my beliefs, many are probably off the mark but all are qualified by real relationships that I have either been a part of or have observed first hand.

I think the first big killer of any relationship is the fight for control within a relationship, I have not yet seen a relationship that is 100% amicable where both parties agree on everything all the time. That I think most would agree is impossible and a fantasy world saved for day time sitcoms.

Every couple will have disagreements, every couple will attempt to “ Negotiate ” a compromise and every couple over time will feel like “ They ” are the ones that ALWAYS have to compromise, every couple will start to resent the inability to have it their own way and will feel more and more like “ Their opinion doesn’t matter anymore to anyone ”, individuals start to feel dis-empowered, lost and without a voice. The power battles start and suddenly the decision over which show you both watch or the colour of the new blinds takes on an illogical level of importance that is more deeply rooted in the need of each individual to be heard than it is about the actual topic.

Another big issue I feel is an ever growing phenomenon in marriage for the need to “ Change ” or “ Fix ” those silly little flaws in our partners. Just about, actually ALL relationships that I have observed have started independent, but before long at least one side of the relationship ( if not both ) attempt to change the other half, to “ Mould ” them into a mirror of themselves. While opposites attract it makes for hard work to constantly negotiate a compromise and inevitably one will attempt to conform the other so that the day to day existence of a relationship becomes less work and easier.

Can you remember when you first moved in with your partner ? Can you remember the small insignificant things that shouldn’t have mattered but in reality drove you mad with frustration. Did they leave the toothpaste lid off ? Did they not close the wardrobe doors when they were finished ? Did they want to watch their shows all the time instead of your shows ?

I believe that in most relationships this is natural and one side will always be willing to give that slight bit more than the other. The issues come into a relationship when one side feels that they have paid their dues and given more than their share of ground for the relationship but are constantly asked to give yet more.

Finally I think the third big killer of marriages is “ Jealousy ”, unless it was an arranged marriage ( which is a whole other story ) we all would have met our partners at some type of social gathering, be it Church, the Pub, Through Friends ect .. we as humans are social creatures, we thrive on connecting with others, in fact we cannot survive in isolation.

Yet despite our partners having multiple friends of both sexes when we met them it is amazing how many partners don’t TRUST their partners to remain social outside of the marriage. I ask you this question, “ Would you allow your partner to go out to dinner and a movie with a member of the opposite sex alone ? ”.

If your answer is no I would ask YOU why ? Do you not trust them ? Do you not trust the other person ? Do you not trust yourself in the same situation ?

Without trust in any relationship you have nothing.

It is YOUR issue that YOU need to deal with and carry the burden of. It is not for your partner to carry your insecurities for you or to resolve. You do not own your partner and therefore have no rights to restrict or control their life.

On a lighter side, I have a young nephew about to marry one of the most beautiful souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, they really do seem to be the real deal, a couple that will stand the test of time. Everyone is excited about their wedding day which is such a refreshing feeling in today’s cynical world.

They really do stand as a beacon of hope for us all and of what is right about this world.
So please raise your glasses and toast with me to “ Mathew & Lilly ” as a reminder to us all of what it was once like and of how it should always be.