What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Ideas in the comments, please!
Me? I’d buy a lottery ticket to win a nice big jackpot, so I can afford to retire.
Or would I be altruistic and magic away religion, politics and war? 🙂
PS. I stole the quote from a photograph on Flickr.
This week’s self-portrait: 52 Weeks 4/52, 2008 week 12.
I was working on the train to Glasgow early on Monday morning.
Here’s this week’s self-portrait. I was mucking about and decided to try something different: this is a composite of 4 frames taken under identical conditions — well I had only to swivel my chair! I’m not sure if it works, but it’s different.
Thinking, originally uploaded by kcm76.
Apologies for the long silence here; I’ve had a very hectic 3 weeks: a week’s holiday in Germany (pictures here with many more to come; I’m still working my way through the 1000 shots I took!), a business trip to the enticements of Manchester, a really filthy headcold and mountains of work. But with luck normal service will be resumed RSN.
I actually took a day off work today, and apart from a doctor’s appointment, I’ve done almost nothing. The most creative enterprise of the day is this self-portrait. It really is about all I’ve got to show for the day!
I have Monday off as well, so if the weather is good I might take myself off on a photographic trip somewhere. If I can get myself out of the sloth of lying in bed that is. 🙂
Self-Portrait of a Foot, originally uploaded by kcm76.
One of the groups I belong to on Flickr is called “Thirteen Things”. The idea is to post a self-portrait with a list of thirteen things about oneself. This photo and list are my first contribution, posted a couple of days ago.
Amazing the things one thinks to do when getting bored in an hotel room!
As this is my foot I thought I’d use this for my first “Thirteen Things” list. So here are 13 Personal Things About Me …
- I’m an only child
- I’ve changed a lot over the years; even my boss says I’ve mellowed! I used to be very angry and lose my temper a lot, I’ve learnt to let things wash over me and go with the flow; tho’ I do still get irritated and frustrated and swear a lot.
- I love the smell of grapefruit, coconut oil, bacon cooking, fresh bread, the sea, wood smoke, frying garlic & onions.
- I hardly ever drink coffee.
- I lost 20Kg between summer 2007 and New Year 2008, but i’m still obese.
- I was born with a deformed right index finger-nail; I’ve now had it permanently removed.
- I have a third nipple.
- My parents didn’t have me circumcised, for which I am very grateful.
- I wasn’t baptised as an infant. I took the plunge myself at 22 (eeek, that’s 35 years ago!) when I joined the Roman Catholic church. I’ve since converted to atheism.
- I’ve worn glasses since I was 14; it doesn’t bother me and I can’t imagine switching to contact lenses.
- I have never driven a car or a motorbike.
- I’m actually boring, shy and introverted, although many people find this hard to believe.
- I have type 2 diabetes.
Seen yesterday morning on the M11 near Stanstead Airport.
1. What is your fave thing about Christmas?
The anticipation; the excuse to do absolutely nothing quite shamelessly; the time off work.
2. Did you believe in Santa Claus? If so, what was the best gift from him?
Nope, I don’t think I ever did. But I did get an electric train set from him one year.
3. Do you have a Christmas Tree? Ribbon, Angel, Star or ______ on Top?
Yes, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree. And it has a star on the top.
4. Best stocking stuffer you got?
My wife. We got engaged just before Christmas and then had to spend Christmas itself keeping quiet about it until we had the right opportunity at New Year to tell our respective parents.
5. Wishing for a White Christmas?
Of course. In over 50 years I’ve never seen a white Christmas. Lots of snow on Boxing Day, and a couple of days before Christmas, and lots of frost on Christmas Day, but never snow on Christmas Day.
[Brought to you courtesy of Friday Five.]
There’s an article in today’s Observer which, at a personal level, I find more than somewhat disturbing. It begins
A business trust is looking at sites for a Christian showplace to challenge the theory of evolution.
Apparently there are plans being laid to build an intelligent design (ID) theme park (my phrase) in NW England.
At a personal level I find this deeply disturbing. Christianity, indeed all religion and politics, is about belief. But those who believe in ID claim it as science. Science is about knowledge. Thus belief does not (and by definition cannot) equal knowledge. ID is not science, or knowledge, but belief.
What’s more I find this Christian proselytising of their (to me misguided) beliefs objectionable. For me it is a basic human right that everyone is allowed to believe (or not) whatever they choose without having someone else’s beliefs rammed down their throats, as is the Christian way. Don’t get me wrong. I find all proselytising just as objectionable; it’s just that Christians seem to have a particularly well developed, self-righteous and nauseating form of it.
But this does give me a moral dilemma: freedom of thought and speech. Everyone is entitled to their opinion/belief, however misguided. And they are entitled to be allowed to express that belief. So morally I have to allow these people that freedom. I just find their beliefs, their methods, their self-righteousness and their closed minds deeply obscene.
1. What’s the last movie you saw?
At the cinema: probably Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Pictures at an Exhibition in 1973. On TV probably some Lord of the Rings-ish thing last Christmas. See, I keep telling you I don’t do films.
2. Are you gentle?
Me? Gentle? Oh do be realistic, I’m about as gentle as a clumsy hippo!
3. Do you sleep with your bedroom door shut?
Nope, not at home, not usually even when we have people staying; we both hate shut doors. Tend to shut the door at other peoples’ (except my mother’s) but really only ‘cos most of them do. And when I was a student, although I shut my room door at night it was never locked, and often left ajar when I was in during the day. In this house shut doors are really only for one thing: to keep a cat penned in – and even so most of the doors can’t shut ‘cos there are things (like a pile of books) in the way.
4. What’s your middle name?
Cullingworth — my mother’s maiden name. Not many around and none now in my line of the family as my mother was one of four sisters. Cullingworth is a small village in Yorkshire, so the family come from there originally.
5. Friday fill-in:
I could learn to like not having to work to eat.
[Brought to you courtesy of Friday Fiver]
Much human ingenuity has gone into finding the ultimate Before. The current state of knowledge can be summarized thus: in the beginning, there was nothing, which exploded.
[Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies]
