Stephen Blyth's Blog

I’ve been counting up the number of sayings used to describe the way we cope with the ups and downs we face in life. There are lots. Without trying the adages flow: purses from sow’s ears, silver linings, and taking the rough with the smooth. Despite the clichés, I am actually finding some solace in [...]

I stayed in an apartment behind the glitzy charade of the Crown casino ‘gambling addiction-generating’ complex. My apartment was next to a motorway fly-over, surrounded by construction sites with a full view of a multi-story carpark. Hoardings for idyllic and life changing abodes dominated the streetscape. The cool glass tall towers of Melbourne cbd a [...]

Everybody I talk with this month will sooner or later hear about FebFast. And you, dear reader, are no exception. This month I’ve joined over 1,000 people to raise funds for four organisations helping reduce alcohol and other drug related harms amongst young people. Like everyone else, I’m not drinking alcohol for the month. At [...]

If I had the time when biking to Canterbury university I’d make a detour on the way. This wasn’t to stop off at friends to argue about politics or to grab a fresh coffee. My detour was for aesthetic reasons. I took the long way so I could bike through a glade of trees and [...]

David Rawlings was so absorbed in his playing I could have sworn his hands fused with his guitar. I couldn’t really tell. I was sitting 23 rows back from the stage at the Paramount Theatre when he played back-up man to Gillian Welch. The concert, in October 2004, was memorable not only for Rawlings’ playing [...]

Now it’s time to head-offline to actually read something, rather than just scanning, sorting, saving links, removing unread articles from my desktop, more scanning, etc.  Yes, I’m downing tools and going on holiday. Packed in my bag are a couple of books and unread newspapers. And, yes, amongst everything else is my laptop. I’m taking [...]