Category Archives: books

books, memes, personal, photography, science

Memories Meme


Memories Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

This week’s Flickr Photo Meme is about Memories. As usual here are the questions and my answers:

1. What is a special memory of childhood? Hot summer days camping at nudist club; I would have been about 10; in consequence I’ve never been uncomfortable with my body or anyone else’s
2. A memorable romance with? Faith, when I was a postgraduate; I was 23. she was 32; she taught me a lot
3. What was the most memorable gift you have ever received? My first camera, a Halina, has to be up there near the top; I don’t recall exactly when I was given it but I must have been about 12 or 13; look where it has gotten me!
4. What place have you visited that had a memory attached to it? Rye, East Sussex; I remember it from camping with my parents when I was 4 or 5 and have been back numerous times in recent years with Noreen
5. What was a memorable occasion that you recently attended? Almost any meeting of the Anthony Powell Society; this trip to the Widmerpool area of Nottinghamshire was an interesting day!
6. What was the most memorable toy you ever had? My teddy bear and black cat, both of which I still have, must be very near the top of the list
7. Who is the most memorable teacher you ever had? There were many, but Bob Goss and Derek Beadle, who taught me Chemistry and Physics, respectively, in the 6th form were probably the stars
8. Do you have a special collection that is memorable? My Memories, of course! I’m not really one for collecting personal mementos
9. What is your most cherished memento? Noreen, for lots of reasons and not just because she married me!
10. What trophy, ribbon, award, certificate are you most proud of that serves as a memory of an important event? My PhD, not just for the academic stuff but for all the formative extracurricula things too
11. It would be wonderful if all memories were good, but some aren’t; is there a bad memory that you carry with you? Breaking up with my first fiancée, Jill, at the start of our second year as undergraduates; I nearly failed my Part I exams as a result
12. What is your favourite summer memory? Playing Cricket, not that I was ever any good

1. Mother & Son, 2. FAITH: Earth element focal art bead pendant/necklace 1, 3. Halina 35X, 4. Rye, 5. AP Soc Members at Wysall, 6. Little Black Cat, 7. is there a shark behind me? …is that a yes?, 8. memories collage, 9. Noreen, 10. Student Life, 11. Jack and Jill went up the hill, 12. Playing Cricket

As always these are not my photos (except numbers 1, 5, 6, 9 which are mine) so please follow the links to enjoy the work of the photographers who did take them!

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

books

Book Marketing

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Today I got an email. Well actually I probably got well over 100, between work and home. But one stuck out. It was from Abebooks who are marketing 30 Novels Worth Buying For the Cover Alone. It’s an interesting way to sell – and buy – books, and certainly makes for a striking advert. Does it work? Well I guess it must, or at least it stands a good chance, otherwise Abebooks wouldn’t have perpetrated it. Punters? Well, given that he probably can’t read, isn’t this how Joe Average buys books anyway? Of course people like us wouldn’t. Would we?

Oh and just so you know the 30 novels are:

  • Skim, Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
  • Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
  • A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
  • Vacation, Deb Olin Unferth
  • South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami
  • Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow
  • The Noodle Maker, Ma Jian
  • Everyone’s Pretty, Lydia Millet
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
  • Fruit, Brian Francis
  • The Separation, Christopher Priest
  • The Chess Machine, Robert Lohr
  • The Last Jew, Yoram Kaniuk
  • The Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff
  • Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Vol. 1, Elji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki
  • The River Wife, Jonis Agee
  • My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead, Jeffrey Eugenides
  • Beowulf, Seamus Heaney
  • Strawberry Fields, Marina Lewycka
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
  • Memorial, Bruce Wagner
  • The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Archivist, Martha Cooley
  • Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson
  • Arkansas, John Brandon
  • The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon
  • Parasites Like Us, Adam Johnson
  • Hypohypothesis, Heather Folsom
  • Rant, Chuck Palahniuk
  • The Boys in the Trees, Mary Swan

Of which I have heard of just FOUR and read the grand total of … ONE!

amusements, books, current affairs, personal

Zen Mischief Awards for 2008

Here is my personal Honours List for 2008:

Most Annoying Person of the Year: Gordon Brown (together with the whole of the current Cabinet)

Most Dangerous Person of the Year: A tie between Robert Mugabe and George W Bush

Most Boring Event of the Year: Beijing Olympics

Biggest National Disaster of the Year: Government bailout of the banks

Star of the Year: Noreen – for her book, Dictionary of Children’s Clothes, and for still being married to me!

Person with the Least Clue this Year: Gordon Brown

Personal Achievements this Year: (a) I’m still working, (b) I lost 30Kg

Personal Highlight of the Year: Short Break in Germany in February

Personal Lowlights of the Year: (a) Current work project, (b) no major holiday for the second year running, (c) lack of time for the Anthony Powell Society, my family or myself, (d) I put back on 3-4 Kg having lost it.

Personal Unfulfilled Dreams this Year: (a) No golden handshake, (b) no big lottery win, (c) can’t yet retire in comfort.

books, medical, memes, people, personal, science, topographical

My Birth Meme

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Jamie over at Duward Discussion has laid down a new meme, so I just have to give it a go!

This is what you do:
Go to The Birthday Calculator, This Day in History and/or Google and enter your date of birth to find all sorts of interesting things about what was happening when you were born.
Now tell us about some of these interesting things.
Then, if you wish, tag a few of your friends to do the same.
And post a comment to this post so we know who’s followed the meme.

OK so here goes for me!

Birthday: Thursday 11 January 1951, 1250 PM GMT in University College Hospital, London. My mother has told me that I was 2 weeks early. This means I was conceived in the early days of May 1950.

Astrological Sign: Capricorn

Birthstone: Garnet; said to be a power stone
Alternative Birthstones: Emerald, Rose Quartz.
(Interestingly I’m not so keen on Emeralds, but I love Rose Quartz)

Fortune Cookie: There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

Chinese Year: Tiger

Native American Zodiac Sign: Goose
Plant: Bramble

I share my birthday with: Golfer Ben Crenshaw (b. 1952) and Anthony Powell’s younger son John (b. 1946)

Lucky Day: Saturday
Lucky Number: 8
Ruling Planets: Saturn & Uranus

Birth Tree: Fir Tree, the Mysterious. Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it, rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable.

Lunar Phase: waxing crescent

The day I was born:
There appear to have been no major world events, births or deaths.
Arsenal beat Carlisle United 4-1 away in an FA Cup replay.
London Algebra Colloquium met to discuss “Non-Archimedian Normed Spaces”

On this day in other years:
1973. Britain’s Open University awards its first degrees
1946. Enver Hoxha proclaims the People’s Republic of Albania
1922. First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient
1864. London’s Charing Cross station opened
1787. William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus
1569. The first national lottery is held in England; 40,000 lots, at 10 shillings each, go on sale at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London

Top Song of 1951: Mockin’ Bird Hill by Les Paul & Mary Ford

All in all it seems to have been a fairy dull day, so I guess I fit in well.

books, memes, personal, photography, pleasures, topographical

Twice the Meme!


Twice the Meme!, originally uploaded by kcm76.

1. Cat Help Needed! Ajuda Felina Urgente!, 2. New Banksy Rat Mural in New York, 3. Bat, 4. Air raid Beano, 5. December 1931 Country Life Magazine Christmas edition, 6. Punch 1957, 7. Icy Waterfall in the Harz Mountains – Germany, 8. Dartmouth Christmas, 9. Calm water at Buttermere, 10. Adnams “The Bitter” (Cask), 11. beaujolais nouveau, 12. All true tea lovers like their tea strong……, 13. Gandalf the Grey, 14. “The Satanic Verses”, 15. Evelyn Vaugh, “Decline and Fall”, 16. We ♥ Norway, 17. Not of this Earth – The Bubbling Sulfur Pools of Iceland, 18. japan, 19. 69/365- Words are worthless when you’re laying in my bed, 20. 49 pigeonholes, 21. day 76: pebble-dashed sky, 22. Holy Water at St. John the Russian’s Church, 23. James Turrell, 24. Jabez Rounds House

Questions and Answers, with something about why I chose each sequence:

This week we’re going to do 8 rows of 3!

1. Three animals
Cat, Rat, Bat; because they rhyme

2. Three magazines
Beano, Country Life, Punch; I remember them all from my childhood

3. Three holiday destinations
Harz Mountains, Dartmouth, Buttermere; I’ve been to all three and would like to go there again

4. Three drinks
Adnams beer, Beaujolais Nouveau, Tea; three of my favourites

5, Three novels
Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkein), Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie), Decline and Fall (Evelyn Waugh); three of many that I can’t read

6. Three countries
Norway, Iceland, Japan; I’d love to visit them all but I won’t because I object to their stance on whaling

7. Three numbers
69, 49, 76; number of houses I’ve lived in

8. Three names
John, James, Jabez; three of my great-grandfathers
[Later] Actually four of my great-grandfathers; two were called James!

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

books, memes, natural history, personal, photography, pleasures, science

Animal Meme


Anmimal Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

1. Cat’s eye, 2. Jaguar im Manu Nationalpark in Peru, 3. Steve-O, Which Channel is CNN ?, 4. Eeyore, 5. Not Afraid, 6. Alice Liddell and the Cheshire Cat, 7. Aquarium, 8. Sporting Lucas Terrier – Wandle Peter, 9. Morgana a fada!, 10. Animal skeleton, 11. Little Black Cat, 12. Small Fish from the Amazon

Questions and Answers:
1. What is your favorite animal? Domestic cats
2. Laws have changed, you now can own an exotic or wild animal as a pet. What animal would you own? Jaguar, they’re just slightly more manageable than tigers
3. Some people are cat fanciers and some are canine cuddlers. Which is is for you cats or dogs? Cats, every time; no question; cats are magic
4. What one word best describes your personality? What animal do you associate with that word? Depressive, so it has to be Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh tho’ I’d much rather be Tigger
5. Confess! What animal/insect/reptile/amphibian are you secretly (or not so secretly) afraid of? I don’t do “afraid”; I’m certainly in awe of the big cats; and I hate maggots; but I’m not afraid of anything
6. What was your favorite animal character from a children’s book when you were younger? Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland; I never did work out how to do that gradual disappearing trick. 🙁
7. You’re spending the day at the Zoo, it’s getting close to closing and you’re tired, but you’re definitely not leaving until you see the . . . Aquarium. Hah! Caught you! You thought I was going to say the big cats, but I’ve already seen them. 🙂
8. What kind of pet did you have when you were a kid or do you remember a particularly unusual pet you had? When I was 7 we got a small dog, a Lucas Terrier; but there were always cats at home too.
9. If you were to be reincarnated as an animal, what would you want to be? Why? Domestic cat with me to look after me
10. Animals in films always seem to tug at our heartstrings. What cinematic animal was your hero or a favorite? No animal hero or favourite ‘cos I don’t do films; I never did; it isn’t in my culture
11. If you had a stuffed animal as a child, what was it (extra points if you remember its name)? Little Black Cat and yes here he is, the original, snapshotted (can I say that?) specially for this occasion!
12. National Geographic has hired you to go on a photo shoot anywhere in the world you choose. What animal would you want to showcase in your full-color magazine spread (and where are you traveling to)? Fishes of the River Amazon and while we’re there we’ll have a few jaguars and parrots for good measure

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

books, food+drink, memes, nudism, personal, photography, pleasures, sexuality, thoughts

Happiness Meme


Happiness Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

1. Meet the cat: VIC, 2. Sand Sea Sun – Snorkel!, 3. The meaning of Photography, 4. Happy Nude Recreation Week!!!, 5. my wine and Brad’s beer, 6. My wife’s hairy cunt, 7. 8×6 frosty morning railroad, 8. day one hundred five, 9. Longing for Spring, 10. ordinary pic, but really tasty salad, 11. Reading A Buyer’s Market, 12. Katsuo-ji Temple bells

This week’s question: Just tell us 12 things which make you happy, and a picture for each.

Answers:
1. Cats – because they’re magic
2. Sun, sea and sand
3. Photography – it’s about the only creativity I have
4. Warm sunshine on my skin
5. Beer and wine – two of the essentials of a contented life
6. Noreen, my wife (perhaps I should not say explicitly what I was going to!) and that after almost 30 years of marriage we still have great sex
7. Bright frosty mornings
8. Nudity – it’s normal and it’s comfortable
9. Spring green and blossom on trees
10. Good, tasty, fresh salad
11. Books, especially Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time
12. Bells

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

books, memes, personal, photography, pleasures, thoughts, topographical

Vacation Meme


Vacation Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

This week’s Flickr photo meme.

1. Small DSLR, 2. Popular Photography Magazine’s Featured Sunset *, 3. Eel in the smoke, 4. steam train through avondale july 07, 5. 1600×1280 – Morocco-beach – sun-sea-sand-pebbles, 6. Flowers for Mothers Day- UK 2nd March., 7. A locomotive To Brocken, 8. Winterwald, 9. Wellcome…into Alice’s Wonderland, 10. Bratwurst, 11. Mannequin Pis, 12. The most sacred place of Japan

Questions and Answers:
1. What is a must-pack in your travel bag or suitcase? (you just wouldn’t leave home without it) Olympus DSLR
2. What is your favourite thing to do while on vacation? Photography as an alternative to nothing with a bottle of wine
3. What is your great food/cuisine you have had or tried while traveling? Smoked Eel; heavenly
4. What is your favourite mode of travel – most enjoyable way to get there? Steam Train; first class, of course
5. What is your favourite way of “relaxing/unwinding” while traveling? Sun, Sea, Sand probably just edges out mountains and forest
6. Visiting friends and family sometimes involves travel – what relatives or friends do you visit most often when you go? (i.e. grandma, Uncle Bob, or Kate) My Mother
7. What was the best man-made wonder you ever saw/experienced while traveling? Steam Trains in Harz Mountains
8. What was the best wonder of Mother Nature that you ever saw/experienced while traveling? Winter Mountians and Forest
9. You could only take one book to read while travelling or on vacation – what would be in your bag? If I really can have only one volume then Alice in Wonderland; or more likely I wouldn’t take a book but buy something interesting along the way
10. Okay, you need a snack in that carry-on or backpack – what would it be? Bratwurst in a Bun
11. What is the “most touristy” thing you have done or place you have visited? Mannequin Pis; it’s such a horrible tourist attraction you have to see it once and be disappointed
12. You just won an all-expenses one-week trip anywhere in the world, where would you choose? Japan although it’s really too far for just a week

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

beliefs, books, memes, photography, topographical

Midweek Meme 26/09/2008


Midweek Meme 26/09/2008, originally uploaded by kcm76.

1. Austin 7 Box Saloon, 2. January moon, 3. Wicken Manor & Time Team, 4. 0930 Blue Eye, 5. A dance to the music of time, 6. Cat Conspiracy, 7. Christmas Day 2007, 8. Shopping for Saturday, 9. June Lake Fire In The Sky 2, 10. Sea lace, 11. Anyone for Fennel Tea?, 12. “WHY MEN LOVE US”

Questions and Answers:
1. What’s your lucky/favorite number? 7
2. In what month were you born? January
3. Favorite tv show/movie? Time Team
4. What time did you wake up today? 0930
5. Favorite book? A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell
6. Favorite animal? Cats
7. An important date to you? Christmas Day
8. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
9. Favorite month? June
10. Favorite sound? The Sea
11. One thing in your refrigerator right now. Fennel
12. You write your own question here! Why?

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

beliefs, books, current affairs, thoughts

Deep Thought from Osho

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I’ve recently picked up a couple of books by the mystic teacher Osho* and have been flicking through them. This is from his volume Intimacy; it seems strangely relevant:

This society is a power-oriented society. This society is still utterly primitive, utterly barbarian. A few people – politicians, priests, professors – are dominating millions. And this society is run in such a way that no child is allowed to have intelligence. It is a sheer accident that once in a while a Buddha arrives on the earth […] Somehow, once in a while a person escapes from the clutches of society. Once in a while a person remains unpoisoned by society. That must be because of some error, some mistake of society. Otherwise society succeeds […] in destroying your trust in yourself. And once that is done, you will never be able to trust anybody.

* Better known to those of us brought up on a diet of 60s/70s culture as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.