29/7/2011 In the words of Self ...This will not please a lot of people, but at least it removes the crass layer of sentimentality to reveal the brutal truth.
I do agree with him one hundred per cent... The human condition is pathetic enough without our sad little (self-serving) conscience adding to the misery. http://will-self.com/2011/07/28/madness-of-crowds-a-modest-african-proposal/ 25/7/2011 Media frenzyThe media can't believe their luck, these days: a phone-hacking scandal involving very rich people, politicians and celebrities (oh, and a few "normal people" thrown in for good measure); a massacre with some religion(s) and racism and anti-multiculturalism involved, enough to get everyone chattering for, like, weeks on end.
Thankfully, the guy was not wearing black, didn't have a few piercings and tattoos and it hasn't been said (yet) that he had been listening to some electro/industrial/goth music (which, of course, would have explained everything!). He was blue-eyed, blond and did some management course or something. He probably liked wooly jumpers and listened to classical music... This one horrified me as I adore Scandinavia and see it as a haven from the horror of the rest of the world... The landscape, the splendour of Nature... Oh, and some celebrity died as well. I am not commenting on this as I really don't care about that one at all. I've got better things to do than waste my time on that one. Only that you will probably soon see the "devastated family" fight over her money. 24/6/2011 What\'s the world coming to?Humans are increasingly becoming robots, literally.
Brain atrophy might be contagious... Without wanting to sound like an old-fashioned cow, the below article is rather spot on... http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-how-to-survive-the-age-of-distraction-2301851.html Also a great speech by a fictional character ... but it rings so true it hurts... http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2011/06/23/billys-speech-comes-true/ 17/6/2011 The right placeI knew I would love Dorset before setting off, but I was not expecting falling in love with the area as much as I did last week. If I told you I have found the perfect place, would you believe me? Well, let me tell you: I have found it. It is not easy to describe, even for a writer, the kind of feeling you get when you are out there, standing in a landscape that hasn't been changed nor spoilt for hundreds - even thousands of years. You feel like you are in a timeless place, a place in which Nature has always had the upper hand. You feel at peace. It is the best of places for a writer: Dorset can give you beauty and danger, placid hills and uncompromising cliffs, chocolate-box villages and atmospheric manor houses, but also isolated, ruined ghost villages and wind-swept 14th-Century chapels. It offers you a much needed quiet and allows you to retreat inside yourself, your thoughts at last unpolluted by the increasingly attention-seeking outside world. The countryside is lush, abundant and extremely varied. It is full of animals and feels incredibly alive. You feel linked to the past and the future and tend to reflect on the place of human beings on this earth, especially when you look at the breathtaking Jurassic coast or at the imperious ruins of Corfe Castle. If you have an ounce of imagination, then hundreds of images appear in front of your eyes and you make up stories in your head at the pace of at least 100 per hour. No wonder the area has got links to literature and the arts. It is one of the most inspiring places I have been to. It is also well placed if you itch to explore further (Devon, Somerset) or go back to the pulsating hive that is London (about 2 hours and something only away!). Now for one of my favourite places in South Dorset: St Catherine's chapel in Abbotsbury. We saw it under a blue sky with the sun shining. I want to go back and see it in the winter... I will see it in the autumn, which is not too bad. The chapel is overlooking the incredible Chesil beach. Incidentally, St Catherine's chapel has inspired PJ Harvey's song "The Wind". Catherine liked high places High up on the hills A place for making noises Noises like the whales Here she built a chapel with Her image on the wall A place where she could rest and A place where she could wash And listen to the wind blow She dreamt of children's voices And torture on the wheel Patron-Saint of nothing A woman of the hills She once was a lady Of pleasure, and high-born A lady of the city But now she sits and moans And listens to the wind blow I see her in her chapel High up on a hill She must be so lonely Oh Mother, can't we give A husband to our Catherine? A handsome one, a dear A rich one for the lady Someone to listen with Below is the video for "The Wind". It has absolutely nothing to do with the song, but hey. Never mind. Here are my pictures of St Catherine's chapel. Read more about the chapel here: St Catherine's chapel
15/6/2011 Back!I am due a few Dorset blogs, and I am browsing my photos now.
Then afterwards, it will be back to The Book of Thoth - at least I do hope so! In the meantime, here is a lovely little card bought in a National Trust shop in Devon. La philosophie, oh la la! 31/5/2011 New Joolz Denby websiteOne of my favourite artists/writers has a new website, with pictures of her art, photography and tattoo work, reviews and extracts of her novels and poetry and an extensive biography. Go and have a browse... and discover a very talented lady! http://www.joolzdenby.co.uk/ I have just noticed that Joolz' picture would go very well with the text "Today's the Day" I posted earlier this week! The Mask of Death and the pretty flowers of the summer...
23/5/2011 My DoppelgangerMost days, I look like this cross little fella in the middle... Especially when on the Tube...
Only I'm not that bright yellow... 10/5/2011 The joy of being female, part 1Author Sofi Oksanen to dowdy female Radio 4 presenter who had just asked her to describe her hair for the listeners, because "she would stand out in a crowd *nudge nudge - you're a bit weird, aren't you?* and has been described as the Lady Gaga of literature (my comment: by lazy, ignorant journalists)":
"I am an author. I am here to talk about my work. My hair is not my work." and this followed by what I would imagine was a killer look to the *embarrassed dowdy presenter who stammered and quickly changed the subject* Good on you, Miss Oksanen. We would have liked to hear more about her writing and her work, but it all lasted about 5 minutes and half of it was about this writer's "fame" and appearance. Dumbing down, lack of respect? Aargh. The author's website: http://www.sofioksanen.com/ Maybe somewhat related: At the station this morning, a nice-looking Eastern European girl, with make-up, nice dress and heels was buying her train tickets. I was just behind her. As soon as she left, the employees at the ticket office (a bloke and a 50 or 60 something woman) started bitching about her. I couldn't hear very well and I am glad I couldn't. But basically, they were saying things like "that's what Southend is for you nowadays" and "she'd be lucky to get out alive", etc. I am glad I didn't hear fully what these two saddos were saying. It made me feel awful, really. Time for the London Slutwalk, don't you think? http://www.slutwalktoronto.com/ (update Monday 16th May: Read this morning the rather sickening article written by one Minette Marin of the Sunday Times. I would have three words: UP YOURS, MARIN) 10/2/2011 Making things difficult for myself...Listening to the radio and looking at book reviews in newspapers recently has made me think that I probably haven't been doing the right thing about my writing career.
Instead of writing novels, why haven't I opted for the obvious choices that seem to be getting quite a lot of publicity these days? I could have written my very own misery memoirs about depression and eating disorders, although it's true I haven't got any celebrity friends or haven't dated any actor. I also could have written an oh-so-shocking-that-it-would-have-been-censored-by-the-education-minister(s) book about my years as a teacher in London, only telling it as it really is out there (you really don'twant to know...) and creating a bit of a stir in The Guardian and the TES book reviews pages. The stuff I've seen and heard... everything, apart from kids learning anything, ever. But you know what, it would be so boring to write. Therefore I am going to carry on the way I've started, just follwoing my instincts and interests. It might mean I will never be published, but at least I would have remained true to myself and to the dreams I had when I was a child, when I was dreaming of becoming a writer. |
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March 2024
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