The Pharaoh's Lesson
Say there was an eternal afterlife – what would you choose to take to the other side? Your house? Car? Gourmet food and wine? That comfy sofa in the living room? Maybe some favourite clothes, jewellery, makeup and shoes? What about some underwear?
Pharaohs packed all this and more. The reason we know this is because of the infamous discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, the most complete and spectacular unplundered royal tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings.
Most other notable tombs, whether it be in the pyramids or dug into the arid cliffs at the Valley of the Kings, were robbed way back in antiquity. The only reason King Tut's tomb remained undisturbed was because of the unusual circumstance surrounding his death.
Welcome to Vitalis
Vitalis is a magazine for everyone who shares our thirst for living a full life. From profiling wholesome local eateries to sharing thoughtful travelogues, we cover the topics that adds to the joie de vivre. As practising artists we also provide a healthy dose of critique on art and culture, and the world of business and politics, with the hope that it inspires us to improve on what we have. Underpinning it all is something that is sorely missing in our modern lives; a healthy dose of wisdom, which is key to wellbeing.
An examined life, is a life well lived.
Join us in the exploration.
Food and Travel
Where to Eat
Where to eat in Coogee
I have lived in Coogee for over 16 years now and the one ritual I have stuck to is eating out at a local cafe/restaurant, seeking out establishments that go that extra mile with their food while keeping it all very affordable. Here are the five places in Coogee and surrounds that I keep returning to.
Travelogue
The pharaohs' lesson
Say there was an eternal afterlife – what would you choose to take to the other side? Your house? Car? Gourmet food and wine? That comfy sofa in the living room? Maybe some favourite clothes, jewellery, makeup and shoes? What about some underwear? Pharaohs packed all this and more.
Travel Tips
Why do we travel?
What possesses us to leave behind a comfortable home and head off into the unknown? I am not referring to luxury travel or the sort of travel one does with organised tour companies either. Rather, I am talking about the self-directed, budget-conscious journeys that intrepid souls embark upon through distant lands. As adventurous as such a form of travel may sound, it is not without its trials.
Serialised Travel Literature
Published Monthly
21st century travel with 19th century wit
A travel guide like no other.
What would a lady in possession of new-found freedoms desire other than to explore every part of this glorious world in the freedom of her own company!
Prologue:
Caught in a Time Loop!
"Having departed in my carriage for Town in the year 1815, I arrived somewhat abruptly in a place known as Rendlesham Forest. The year was 2025; two centuries and a decade had passed before I blinked an eye.
His Majesty’s Government is well acquainted with this phenomenon, for it happens commonly enough; they call it time travel. For some inexplicable reason, mysterious wormholes have been known to appear in this part of England, bringing with them strange objects, rather aptly referred to as Unidentified Flying Objects, or unwitting time travellers, such as yours truly ...
Art and Culture
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words –
No More.
Say there was an eternal afterlife – what would you choose to take to the other side? Your house? Car? Gourmet food and wine? That comfy sofa in the living room? Maybe some favourite clothes, jewellery, makeup and shoes? What about some underwear?
Pharaohs packed all this and more. The reason we know this is because of the infamous discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, the most complete and spectacular unplundered royal tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings.
Most other notable tombs, whether it be in the pyramids or dug into the arid cliffs at the Valley of the Kings, were robbed way back in antiquity. The only reason King Tut's tomb remained undisturbed was because of the unusual circumstance surrounding his death.
Artist Life
Practicing art in obscurity
I accompanied my partner to an opening at an art gallery late last year; one of his old friends was exhibiting his latest paintings. At one point in the evening I found myself at the edge of the crowd, looking on at the artist with his posse of friends. Like him, they’ve all had careers as creatives. A sober realisation dawned: This will be the last generation to make a living from the Arts.
Critique
A picture is worth a thousand words – No more
...
Artist Life
The art and wisdom of Illustrating children's books
It was at University that I illustrated my first children's book but it took 35 years more to do a second – a lifetime if you are a Grévy's Zebra. Why so long? You may ask dear reader and I will explain in more detail over the next few paragraphs but suffice to say it was the necessary time for me to gain the wisdom to do the second.
Business and Politics
2025 was a turning point: Being a billionaire is no longer cool
20th of January, 2025: On a freezing winter's day in Washington, Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States of America for the second time. The chill captured the mood of at least half the nation and perhaps, most of the world, as the mad king was once again handed the reins to the most armed nation in the world.
Michelle Obama broke tradition and did not attend the inauguration. She did not put forward some fake excuse either; her absence was a silent protest that spoke volumes. All other dignitaries, accustomed to the machiavellian nature of politics took their allocated seats, dressed in the appropriate expression for the occasion.
Amongst them was a surprising new addition; a skulk of tech executives, sitting unabashedly in the front row. It set the tone for what was to come.
Socio-Political
DEI deserves to be critiqued – Just not how the bros are doing it
I have lived in Coogee for over 16 years now and the one ritual I have stuck to is eating out at a local cafe/restaurant, seeking out establishments that go that extra mile with their food while keeping it all very affordable. Here are the five places in Coogee and surrounds that I keep returning to.
Book Business
The problems with self publishing on Amazon
Amazon has long been hailed as the saviour for self-publishing authors, providing access to not only a huge marketplace to sell books but also to a complete range of publishing, printing and logistics services. It was only we delved into the 'economics' of it all that it felt more akin to daylight robbery ...
Entreprenuership
2025 was a turning point: It's no longer cool to be a founder
Having departed my carriage in the year 1815 and arrived, somewhat abruptly, in the middle of a place called 'Heathrow Airport,' I find modern day London to be remarkably withdrawn, if not, excessively shy; the extraordinary lengths to which a modern Londoner goes
Possible Futures
Monthly Essays
The Human After
Imagining a Post-AGI Reality
AGI will be a game changer. We ought to prepare for it.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the holy grail of our age. The definition of AGI varies but a simple way to understand it is that machines will be able to demonstrate the same sort of 'general intelligence' that humans are capable of – where we learn and perform many different tasks with a high degree of competency if not, mastery.
AGI goes far beyond the capabilities of the current generation of AI applications like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini; effectively Large Language Models (LLMs) with impressive predictive powers but limited reasoning, memory and learning capabilities, and a troubling tendency to hallucinate. Whether, how and when AGI can be achieved is an open-ended question, but given the advances already achieved and the trillions being poured into research, it also has an air of inevitability.
So, what will happen once we would have birthed a synthetic form of intelligence that supersedes the powers of their organic counterparts: Will it have agency? Will it share our values and goals? Can it contained?
While some in AI are confident of being able to train and align AI to human goals, many others are skeptical – Has every parent who did all the right things succeeded at raising perfectly good children?
AGI is the big unknown of our time.
Human After is a series a monthly essays; each a thought experiment on the possible future that we may encounter in a post-AGI world.
Wisdom and Wellbeing
A New Life Lesson: From The School of Hard Knocks
Hey, can you attend to this lady next?", the ER nurse called out to a passing doctor.
"Her elbow is dislocated; her arm's hanging like a deadweight."
I looked at Darren and chuckled; the nurse's graphic yet apt description had momentarily distracted me from my sorry predicament.
About three weeks ago, I came off my bicycle ... In the space of a few moments, I was thrown onto the tarmac, dislocated my left elbow, landed hard on my jaw, chipped my teeth and skinned my chin, knees and palms — All it took was one bad decision.
Lived Wisdom
If you must dwell, dwell on the positive
I have lived in Coogee for over 16 years now and the one ritual I have stuck to is eating out at a local cafe/restaurant, seeking out establishments that go that extra mile with their food while keeping it all very affordable. Here are the five places in Coogee and surrounds that I keep returning to.
Lived Wisdom
How to stay relentlessly positive – in spite of the news
Amazon has long been hailed as the saviour for self-publishing authors, providing access to not only a huge marketplace to sell books but also to a complete range of publishing, printing and logistics services. It was only we delved into the 'economics' of it all that it felt more akin to daylight robbery ...
Lived Wisdom
How to navigate changing times
Having departed my carriage in the year 1815 and arrived, somewhat abruptly, in the middle of a place called 'Heathrow Airport,' I find modern day London to be remarkably withdrawn, if not, excessively shy; the extraordinary lengths to which a modern Londoner goes
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