Bang, Bang Gunshots have a way of being capital B bangs. They might even be in all capitals, but that never looks right. Two gunshots, and the silence that followed was so absolute, pin-dropping would have constituted a racket. It was the kind of silence where you could hear the reverb rattling around in people’s heads as their brain scrambled to shift gears, the right gear for this new situation thrust upon them unasked for. ...

There was a jumper at Kingsgrove station today. We were delayed 25 minutes or so, but even within the first 2 minutes people were getting impatient. We were told that we were waiting for police and emergency services to arrive so that they could take care of it, rather than have someone jump onto the train or the tracks. The gaurd opened his door to allow people out if needed, and suddenly there was a rush on. People from 4 carriages down came up and out, and I wondered: for what? ...

A night of wine, women and song on the water, the middle of the harbour under the stars and surrounded by old friends and new… Well, that may be exaggerating a bit, what with less wine and more vodka, but ’twas a wonderful night. And now another year begins… It’s strange to think that nearly 10 years to the day, I moved to Sydney from the countryside. Year 7 would start in a few weeks, and in many ways, I was in transition. Nearly 6 years ago, I moved to Melbourne, no longer the country boy but equally lost and in transition. Each time I have moved, I’ve grown in more than just the physical sense, gaining abilities to adapt I believe serve me well. Last year, it was fiscal responsibility and discipline that I had to learn, along with a host of survival and organisational skills. ...

Ever found something that you’d always heard about, but never managed to track down for real? A feeling of satisfaction fills you as you realise that now, finally, you can find out exactly what everyone was blabbing about all these years. You might even expect it to be good, because, well, everyone talks about it, don’t they? You even feel a little guilty, because once you pretended you knew, and while you got away with it, you wanted to be sure next time they couldn’t catch you on the hop. ...

6 Movies You Really Should Have Watched This Year Hoodwinked Casino Royale An Inconvenient Truth The Departed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Thank You For Smoking (n.b. yet to see Babel but expect it to be most excellent) 6 Songs I Played Much Too Much Frou Frou - Let Go Youth Group - Forever Young Fort Minor - Cigarettes Pussycat Dolls - Don’t Cha Yoko Kanno - Christmas In the Silent Forest Hinouchi Emi - Crying 6 Women I Fell In Love With This Year ...