Dan Djurdjevic

To commemorate my father's passing - on this day 30 years ago - here is a song I wrote for him. I am now the same age he was on that fateful day.

You know you've made it when you find  your own book in the local library ! So cool!

You know you've made it when people start to  pirate your work ... particularly when they give you  rave reviews : ":winnah:I advised it to all my friends. It is the best thing I.ve ever read." "I like it! It's interesting, sophisticated and excellent." "Forget everything you've read earlier That was nothing in comparison with this great book!" "The best masterpiece I've ever read!" "It has to be in every flat!" "Firstly, you will be smiling then you will be crying and don't say you haven't been told!" This seems to be a German group (which might account for some random Germans I met in Europe who had actually read my book - and were fans!). I don't know whether to be outraged or flattered!  And I seriously don't get the "free" thing - not when Amazon has dropped the  Kindle price to $4.80 ...

I am so pleased to have received  this review  on Amazon from respected WA novelist and academic Ian Reid for my novel  The Mirror Image of Sound ! The funniest book I've read for a long while. I love the playful way it takes the idea of self-reflexive storytelling and turns it into a zany fantasy of split characterisation - D1/D2, Fenyops Pikkeljig et al. Unflaggingly inventive. Hilarious characters, situations, dialogue. DD should consider writing scripts for comic movies. It is wonderful to have such an endorsement from one of my colleagues in the writing profession.

Some of you might recall from my essay " My unlikely relationship with the jian " the story of how my father bought me a hunting knife when I was 7 years old - and how I lost it.  In fact, it wasn't "lost" so much as stolen.  Now, after almost exactly 41 years, I have it back.  Almost.  Anyway, here's the story: You might remember that my father and I entered a rather smoky little specialist blade shop somewhere in downtown Belgrade in December 1972 where he bought me a lovely bone-handled hunting knife.  It seemed like a large Bowie in my child-sized hands.  And it was love at first sight. I took that knife home with me to Papua New Guinea.  Back then we were living in the tiny hamlet of Kavieng on the northern and western tip of New Ireland, just 100 km south of the equator.  It was a hot, sticky, remote and totally undeveloped corner of the world where  remnants of World War II  were still "fresh" - at least in a decomposing, ox...

Yes, I know you'll think otherwise.  You'll think: "Dan's lost the plot." But it turns out research data overwhelming supports the view that once you don't have to worry about money (ie. you're not wondering where the next meal is coming from or whether the gas bill and rent are going to be paid) and once you are doing a task that is even partially intellectual or conceptual, money isn't what motivates us . If you don't believe me, watch this video featuring animations imposed on Dan Pink's talk: It seems the science is irrefutable: money doesn't motivate us beyond simple mechanical tasks or the sense of financial urgency.  Instead we are motivated by three different factors: Autonomy Mastery Purpose This explains a LOT - particularly why micromanagers are so bad at "managing" people.  They ignore the fact that no amount of money takes the place of having a sense of autonomy, mastery and purpose in our work lives. ...

If you've been wondering where I've been for last month or so, I have been working at a somewhat furious pace in the background on one of my long-sought after goals.  And now I've finally achieved it: After 6 years of toil and struggle, my first martial textbook, " Essential Jo " has finally been published! The book is intended as a complete instructional manual on practical, as well as sophisticated and elegant, techniques using the jo.  For those who don't know, the jo is the Japanese 4-foot staff, originally taught with the ken (sword) in the samurai arts. As far as I can tell, Essential Jo is the most comprehensive text on the subject to date, offering a course of study from white through to black belt in the "Way of the Jo" (jodo). The book features over 900 professional black and white photographs accompanied by clear, detailed textual explanations. While it is intended primarily for students with experience in weapons arts, part...