The first time my husband and I set foot outside the United States was last summer, when we spent one night in Vancouver. This fact is a bit embarrassing to admit, but be assured it was not a lack of desire that kept us home, but rather a lack of funds. Raising two kids and paying a mortgage on the island of Maui can be a bit of a challenge, especially when one of you earns the paltry and erratic income of an eternally “up and coming” writer… but I have a real job now. So this year we decided to take advantage of a two-week long spring break, and with our 17-year old son in tow, we set off on our first true international adventure, heading south to Australia.

We reached Sydney at dusk – it was a thrill to see the Opera House from the plane’s window – but upon landing we were immediately introduced to the unpleasant spectacle of the flight attendants walking the aisles, spraying insecticide over our heads before anyone was allowed to leave their seats. I understand the reasons for this – Hawaii has suffered excessively from unintended introductions of exotic species and it would be nice if our state would take more precautions – but as someone who assiduously avoids pesticides, it was a bit shocking. Fortunately, everything improved from there.

Sydney is a wonderful city. We explored from Kings Cross to Darling Harbor, walking through diverse streets and neighborhoods, and never once did I feel uncomfortable or uneasy. The architecture is a wide mix of modern and historical, and always interesting. The parks are lovely – we were fascinated by the flying foxes that inhabit the botanical gardens. It was very exotic to leave a little restaurant on Stanley Street at dusk, and see skeins of huge bats flying out of the gardens and across the purple sky.

After Sydney, we took a train to Melbourne and spent some days on the southern coast, in the company of a friend. We had already seen most of the iconic Australian animals in a zoo, but after several short hikes and lots of driving, we were able to score sightings of many koalas, a couple of wallabies, a small mob of kangaroos, flocks of cockatoos and several different kinds of parrots. Strangely enough, we also discovered an impressive grove of sequoias at a picnic stop in the mountains of Great Otway National Park.

So why the “The Land of Oz”? It wasn’t immediately obvious to me why this was a nickname for Australia, until I realized what is “Aussie” in the US sounds like “Ozzie” down under.

We had the fun of arriving home before we left, since Australia and Hawaii are separated by the dateline. It was very handy to be able to do Friday twice! The trip was a fantastic experience, and we are already talking about going back. Queensland, next time! And someday, on to New Zealand.

Indulging once more in a musical theme… on rare occasions I will hear a song on the radio that will instantly seize my interest and demand that I learn more. That was the case with Audioslave’s Like a Stone. Chris Cornell is an astonishingly talented singer, and by the time he reached the lyrics

On my death bed, I will pray to the gods and the angels,
like a pagan, to anyone who will take me to Heaven…

I was utterly won over.

Like a Stone was a fairly unique song on this first CD, but there were many other excellent offerings, on this, and the next two albums. The latest CD, “Revelations” came out last September, at just the right time for me. Very often in the course of my writing, certain songs will serve as “theme music” to the stories I am trying to tell — sometimes for the lyrics, but more often for the mood or the feel of the song. Somehow “Revelations” became the music that let me write the final chapters of the fantasy novel with a speed and confidence that had been lacking during the tumultuous years when this story first began to develop.

So it was with regret that I heard the news that Audioslave is no more. Chris Cornell has left the band for a solo career. Artists must find their own paths, and my admiration goes to those who are willing to try new ways. So here is a toast to the past, while looking forward to the future.

I have rarely made it to the movies these past many months, but my husband wanted to see Letters from Iwo Jima, so we went today. “How did you like it?” he asked afterward. Trying to keep my voice steady, I answered, “I thought it was excellent… but it’s one of those movies I’ll watch only once.” It was that emotionally wrenching.

The movie depicts the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of a private in the Japanese army. I don’t think it’s a spoiler if I say that the movie conveys both the horror of war, and the horror of being trapped in a situation you never thought possible, with no way out.

The acting was very well done. We are all Ken Watanabe fans here, but Kazunari Ninomiya did a superb job portraying the private Shigo.

In all… highly recommended, at least once.

Anyone familiar with my previous blog will naturally have doubts about the wisdom of my starting another. That first failed experiment took place at my science fiction website, mythicisland.com. My goal then was to record the process of writing a novel. Life and a lack of resolve (not to mention time) got in the way — but being a writer I laugh off failure (or pretend to, anyway). So here I am, ready to try blogging again.

My goal this time is more nebulous. I want to write about things that interest me, from the serious to the simply fun – and on the way, I would like to learn to write short and fast. My natural skills have always flowed in the other direction, which neatly explains why I am a novelist – but on to something new.

Why Hahví.net? It’s a place-name from the fantasy novel. I’ll write more on that subject in a later post, but for now, let it suffice to say that Hahví is an idyllic land that vanished over the horizon long ago.