Posts Peter H Bloecker Archives

SURFACE

Screenshot by phb | Banksy in Hamburg 2024 Surface Festival Street Art | Murals | Website 🎨 This post is about the SURFACE Festival in Miami, QLD. From 2–16 July 2025, the streets of Miami on the Gold Coast will transform into a vibrant canvas of urban street art, large-scale murals, live music, and creative exhibitions A. Here’s what makes it special: Massive murals by local and international artists Live performances and music events that bring the streets to life SLICK SURFACES: fun, hands-on art activities for kids Fence Line Exhibition: showcasing art along Miami’s iconic fences Collaborations with Santa Cruz Skateboards and Miami SHS for youth-focused events The festival is proudly produced by Miami Markettain with support from the Gold Coast City Council, celebrating the rich artistic spirit of the Yugambeh, Kombumerri, and Bundjalung peoples. Want to explore the mural map or check out the full program? You can find it on the official SURFACE Festival website. Today Thu 10 Jul 2025 I will spend a few hours around the area, where I live since 2015, having retited as a High School Teacher in Lower Saxony, Germany, after 35 years of teaching Languages and Literature in Germany, Namibia and Australia. My Profile Linked Program Program More here soon … Street Art in Penang ~ George Town All my photos are copyright protected! Pls respect! Penang | Credit phb Penang |…

Habits

Maria and exploring our backyards here | Credit phb What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life? This is a very good question, indeed. Have to think first: In a job application I might fail, I would think. Do I use any strategies at all? Do I really wish comfort? What are my comfort zones, if any? In a nutshell: As I have reached 75 years of age, I do not need any comfort in my daily life at all. I rather go through efforts and challenges and face them while they come up. However, not wasting my time is a motto. So re - reading Atomic Habits and knowing what I wish to do during my remaining days and weeks and months and years: This is really important for me, comfort no, rather not! Tasks and new challenges, yes, for sure. More reading? Depends … More blogging? Yes, of course. As long as it takes. Who are you, and how many? Screenshot by phb War Museum Screnshot by phb With Copilot you can try yourself and give it some shape according to needs: Copilot Version #1 Stillness, Repeated: Notes on Daily Comfort By Peter H Bloecker Author and active Blogger Profile Newsletter Edition – 9 July 2025 Version A warm mug cupped in both hands.A window cracked open to birdsong.A list written slowly, not to rush—but…

Winter

Around the Gold Coast in Queensland. And winter camping. On the move again around the Tweed River by bike: Splendid winter days here at the Gold Coast at present. You really cannot beat them. Tweed Coast NSW Canungra QLD Canungra QLD Winter Camping | Credit phb Winter Camping | Credit phb At night around 12 or 10 degrees C and over the day 22 or more. Magic happens There’s something magical about Gold Coast winters: balmy days, crisp mornings, and that perfect blend of sunshine and fresh sea air. July highs average around 19 °C or more, while lows dip to about 14 or 12 °C, making it the coolest—and arguably most comfortable—month of the year for me. Crisp, Sunshine-Kissed Mornings Wake up to clear skies and around 7 hours of sunshine, painting the surf and hinterland in golden light. With an average day length of 10 hours and 34 minutes, you’ve got plenty of daylight for beach walks, markets, or a quick surf before work or brunch. Perfect Winter Activities Beach strolls at Burleigh Heads, enjoying uncrowded sands and cooler water (average sea temp is 21.5 °C or even more). Hinterland hikes in Springbrook or Lamington National Park, where misty mornings clear into sunlit vistas Weekend visits to the Eumundi Markets or Carrara Markets—fresh produce, artisan crafts and warm coffee Whale-watching cruises as humpbacks migrate north (July marks the start…

Goats

The iconic Goat, by LB. Painted on wood by LB born 1980 in Lüneburg, Germany. This photo is about memories and icons, as my daughter Lisa Anna designed this trophy in wood and painting in her High School Years. Lisa Anna was born in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony Germany in 1980. Lisa Anna is my beloved and only daughter. Daily I am praying for her, as she is always on my mind. I am communicating with Lisa Anna in my dreams as well. And during my beach walks along the sunny golden beaches at the Gold Coast in Queensland. Painted by LB | #Credit Photo phb Lisa Anna LB | Credit phb My father JDB with LB | Credit phb Updated Thu 12 Jun 2025 to honor my father and my daughter: They were very close … to each other, full of love and mutual respect. Here both with photos and a chat about the people and more. My father Johann was a Hauptschullehrer teaching up to 9 year levels in one classroom. He was my primary teacher Year Levels 1 to 4 Primary in a North German Village with about 5 farms and 800 people. In 1960 I took a bus on school days driving us into Itzehoe in Holstein, north of Hamburg. I was the only boy in the village visiting a High School from year 5 on until year…

Hinterland No#4

Credit phb We had a great Hinterland Trip on a sunny winter day in Queensland from the Gold Coast. Not very far, but exploring some suburbs we have never seen in the last 10 years. Maria Ines | Credit phb Starting with Lunch at Hinkler in Worangary, we ended up in Highland Park, later to the end of Gilston Road and had a nice walk through Paradise Parkland in Nerang, with Community Garden there. Bring it back to the garden. Linked Very lush and green, real Country Backyard. Hinkler Le Vintage | Credit phb Credit phb | Dog Lovers Credit phb Credit phb Credit phb What a great Sat and t.morrow is Sunday! Blogger P H Bloecker Profile Website Updated Sat 17 May 2025. Credit phb

Ocean Vuong

Wayne Sorensen Photography Miami QLD | World Champs Surfing Burleigh Heads 2025 | Credit Wayne Sorensen | Screenshot phb Ocean Vuong | Vietnam and the USA Ocean Vuong | #Novalis A Voice of Elegance and Urgency The name is derived from Grace Amazing Grace #Lyrics #Music #Voices Ocean Vuong's latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, was released in May 2025 and has been selected as Oprah Winfrey’s latest book club pick A. The novel follows Hai, a college dropout and recovering addict, who contemplates suicide but ultimately forms an unexpected bond with Grazina, an elderly widow with dementia B. Set in the fictional town of East Gladness, Connecticut, the story explores themes of survival, human connection, and resilience C. Vuong’s poetic prose shines through as he examines the lives of those on the fringes of society with tenderness and depth D. Ocean Vuong Ocean Vuong, a Vietnamese American poet and novelist, has carved a distinct space in contemporary literature with his lyrical prose and evocative poetry. Born in Ho Chi Minh City in 1988, Vuong immigrated to the United States as a child, and his works often explore themes of war, trauma, queerness, and the immigrant experience A. His debut poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016), won the T.S. Eliot Prize and established him as a formidable literary voice B. Vuong’s first novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019),…

Aussie Slang

AI generated with Copilot | Credit phb The Author of this post is Kel Richards, known in OZ as the Wordsmith. What are Swifties? Generation Z? Generation 0.00? OZWORD OF THE DAY: Swifties As a Baby Boomer all I know about Taylor Swift is what I read in the newspapers. To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard a Taylor Swift song—although I suppose as I walk though Coles that background music they pipe in might contain a bit of Taylor Swift (not that I would have recognised it). So, all I know is that her ‘Eras’ tour attracted millions of people and made billions of dollars (well, a lot anyway) and that she is the leading pop star of this era (the Elvis and Beatles of today). Taylor Swift is, it appears, a songwriter as well as a singer and performer. And it’s her songwriting that might be interesting. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary people tell me that there are words being looked up by young people just because they appear in Taylor Swift song lyrics. And the words she is introducing the kids to are slightly out-of-the-way words that would baffle the average 13 or 14-year-old. Here is a sample (you’ll know all these, but look at them from the kids’ point of view): Clandestine— “And that’s the thing about illicit affairs / And clandestine meetings and longing stares”; meaning done…

Canberra

What students should know about the Federal Elections in 2025 in Australia, compared to other nations like USA or Britain or China or France. Outcome still open, as counting continues, however landslide victory of Anthony Albanese (Labour) is secured. International reactions interpret this victory (like the Canadian outcome) as an anti Trump result, as the opposition leader Peter Dutton has used Trump rhetorics and wanted new nuclear power plants plus stopping the renewables and use more coal. Here’s a breakdown of how elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives differ in Australia: 1. House of Representatives Election (Lower House) Seats: 151 (one per electorate, based on population distribution) Voting System: Preferential voting (voters rank candidates in order), for instance 1 to 6. Winner: The candidate with an absolute majority (over 50% of votes after preferences) wins the seat. Government Formation: The party (or coalition) with a majority of seats forms government. Election Cycle: Every three years, though early elections can occur. 2. Senate Election (Upper House) Seats: 76 (12 per state, 2 per territory) Voting System: Proportional representation (voters rank parties or candidates) Winner: Seats are allocated based on vote share, ensuring a mix of major and minor parties. Government Formation: The Senate does not form government but plays a major role in reviewing laws. Election Cycle: Half the Senate is elected every three years, except for territories, which…

Easter 2025

All our best wishes from the Gold Coast, where the light is now as good as gold. No heat, just golden sunshine and photographer‘s delight. Bike Trip | Credit phb Daimler Trucks Gold Coast | Credit phb Bond Uni | Credit phb Das Auto | Credit phb Golden Beaches QLD | Credit phb Paperbark Group | Credit phb Gold Coast Hinterland Views | Credit phb Frohe Ostern und Ostern ist auch in Australien ein Familienfest wie Weihnachten, über alle Religionen hinweg. Alle Menschen dieser Erde wünschen sich Frieden! Nur einige sogenannte Führer wollen den Krieg! Gier und Korruption. Das muss aufhören, und zwar sofort. Updated Easter Sunday 20 Apr 2025. Author and Blogger Peter H Bloecker (Retired). Linked

Easter 2025

All our best wishes from the Gold Coast, where the light is now as good as gold. No heat, just golden sunshine and photographer‘s delight. Bike Trip | Credit phb Daimler Trucks Gold Coast | Credit phb Bond Uni | Credit phb Das Auto | Credit phb Golden Beaches QLD | Credit phb Paperbark Group | Credit phb Gold Coast Hinterland Views | Credit phb Frohe Ostern und Ostern ist auch in Australien ein Familienfest wie Weihnachten, über alle Religionen hinweg. Alle Menschen dieser Erde wünschen sich Frieden! Nur einige sogenannte Führer wollen den Krieg! Gier und Korruption. Das muss aufhören, und zwar sofort. Updated Easter Sunday 20 Apr 2025. Author and Blogger Peter H Bloecker (Retired). Linked

Verbs

Grammar and infinitives The author of this text is Kel Richards (Found in my Mail Box today). OZWORD OF THE DAY: "Split infinitive" In The Weekend Australian I read a review of a book about AI and its disastrous impact on undergraduate student essay writing. The review largely approved of the book, but towards the end the reviewer wrote this: ‘A quibble: throughout the book, he splits more infinitives than Abraham Lincoln split logs. Is a writer of books on writing permitted such literary slovenliness?’ My problem with this assertion is that I don’t think splitting the infinitive is literary slovenliness. I don’t even think it’s wrong! Yes, I know a lot of grammar books over the years have fulminated about this and told us never to split the infinitive. But they were wrong. I shall explain. I suppose I should start by explaining what ‘splitting the infinitive’ means. The infinitive form of any verb is the form that has the preposition ‘to’ in front of it. So, the infinitive form of the walking verb is ‘to walk.’ And every other verb has a similar construction. We talk about the verb ‘to walk’ and then all the tenses it can take—present (‘I walk’) present continuous (‘I am walking’) future (‘I will walk’) past (‘I walked) and so on. But the basic form of the verb, which we call the infinitive form, is ‘to…