Rick's Blog

#bunyipsbooksbeyond

Use the menu below to explore "All Posts," or delve into selected topics like "Children's Picture Books", and more.

There are words that feel like memories even when we hear them for the first time. Halcyon Days  is one of those phrases. Soft, nostalgic, and strangely luminous. It evokes warmth, calm seas, and a sense of time suspended. We use it to describe the peaceful chapters of our lives, yet its origin is not in leisure or luxury, but in love, grief, and transformation. The Myth Beneath the Calm In Greek mythology,  Alcyone  was the daughter of Aeolus , the god of the winds, and wife

There’s an Italian phrase that seems to hum rather than speak. Sta’ calma . Two words. A pause disguised as instruction. It doesn’t strike the ear like a command. It drifts through the air like a breeze through a curtain. In English, stay calm  feels utilitarian, even slightly anxious. A plea amid commotion. But in Italian, sta’ calma  feels elemental. It’s not merely telling you what to do. It’s reminding you what you already know. The language itself breathes for you. Techn

In an era when the edges of the map still blurred into the unknown, one young Englishman set out not to conquer new worlds but to understand them. Sir Joseph Banks  - botanist, explorer, and confidant of King George III - helped transform how Europeans saw nature itself. His name survives in flowers, islands, and libraries, yet his life remains a study in both enlightenment and empire. Lincolnshire Beginnings Joseph Banks was born in 1743 on his family’s estate at Revesby Abb

The 2025 State of the Climate Report  published today (29 October 2025) in BioScience offers the clearest warning yet. The planet’s vital signs are in crisis. Of the 34 indicators that scientists track to measure Earth’s health, from atmospheric carbon and ocean heat to ice loss and biodiversity, 22 have reached record levels . “Earth’s systems are nearing tipping points that could plunge the planet into a ‘hothouse’ regime,” warns William Ripple, co-lead author and professo

The Australian Club  in Sydney was founded in 1838 as a private gentlemen’s club, located at 165 Macquarie Street in the center of Sydney, overlooking The Royal Botanical Gardens and Sydney Harbour. It is the oldest gentlemen’s club in the southern hemisphere. Early on, the Club  provided a space for Sydney’s elites to meet, dine, stay, and network. Merchants, lawyers, bankers, and those with social standing. 1838–1840:  After being founded in 1838, the Australian Club was f

We always think there’s so much time. Time to call a friend. Time to visit a parent. Time to send the message, make the trip, finish the project. We imagine the future as a long stretch of open road, waiting patiently for us to arrive. And then, something happens. It might be a phone call in the middle of the night, a doctor’s appointment that changes everything, or simply the realization that someone we meant to see has quietly slipped out of our orbit. The world doesn’t alw

In the swirl of history’s great catastrophes, the story of Sir Nicholas Winton stands out. Not for spectacle, but for quiet courage, meticulous organization, and deep compassion. Born in London on 19 May 1909, Sir NIcholas carried out one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in the lead-up to World War II. An operation that remained largely unknown for decades. Background Nicholas George Winton was born to German-Jewish parents who had emigrated to Britain. The family

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born on October 5, 1958, in New York City, and grew up in the Bronx. From a young age, he was fascinated by astronomy. At 9 years old, a visit to the Hayden Planetarium ignited a lifelong passion for the stars. He built his own telescope, read astronomy books, and even gave public lectures while still a teenager. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he was editor in chief of the school’s science journal and captain of the wrestling team.

There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over a grandfather’s heart. It’s not the quiet of a Sunday morning or the hush of a sleeping house. It’s the stillness that comes when you ask, “Would you like to go for a walk?”and the answer is a distracted, “Maybe later, Grandpa,” without eyes ever lifting from a glowing screen. The Promise of a Walk Grandpa pictured these walks. Hands held. Sticks in hand. Pockets filled with rocks. Leaves that had   to be treasures. He imag

It slips into our sentences almost unnoticed. “She was, like, exhausted.” “And I was, like, what just happened?” We hear it everywhere....

Every morning on my walk, I pick up trash. Not out of compulsion, but out of quiet disbelief. The worst offenders, and the most...

This week, the world lost one of its most luminous champions for wildlife, nature, and hope. Dr. Jane Goodall, pioneering primatologist,...

I wrote this third part of this series because Carl Sagan’s legacy isn’t only about the tools of skepticism or the politics of science....

Carl Sagan never lived to see the current presidency, but his writings anticipated many of the tensions that have arisen during 2025....

Carl Sagan continues to matter. In an age when misinformation and pseudoscience can spread faster than truth, his voice reminds us of the...

Alzheimer’s disease is more than a medical diagnosis. It is a thief, silent and merciless, that robs people not only of memory but of...

On that morning in 1996, the exam room at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital was already full before the black Labrador...

Today I found a hummingbird feather while sweeping in the garden. I almost missed it. It was so small. Then I noticed the iridescent...

The NCI Mouse Repository is gone. Here's what we lose and what should happen next. On July 1, 2025, the National Cancer I nstitute (NCI)...

Street photography is the making of unstaged photographs of everyday life in public spaces , using observation and timing to reveal a...