quotes

Monthly Quotes

Here’s this month’s collection of quotes various for your edification and/or amusement …
When deaths occur in industries other than prostitution, the usual response is to ask how working conditions can be made more secure, not whether the industry should be scrapped.
[Frankie Mullin; http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2016/12/can-we-end-violence-against-sex-workers]
Trollope’s mass is greater, of course, but as in Dance individual novels can be read as single coherent volumes but are strengthened and deepened by their part in a wider sequence, in which everyday life engages with and is counterpointed by the public world of affairs.
[Prof. John Bowen]
Along the walls frescoes tinted in pastel shades, executed with infinite feebleness of design, appealed to Heaven knows what nadir of aesthetic degradation.
[Anthony Powell; Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant]
Let’s not kid ourselves: everything we think we know now is just an approximation to something we haven’t yet found out. That is the frustrating, exhilarating lesson history teaches us about fundamental theories of nature.
[Richard Webb; New Scientist; 19 November 2016]
If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
[Haruki Murakami]
The first people a dictator puts in jail after a coup are the writers, the teachers, the librarians — because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people.
[Madeleine L’Engle]
An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.
[Sir Henry Wotton; 1604]
Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope.
[George Burns; 1896-1996]
Theresa May announces Quantum Brexit
Turns out the reason Theresa couldn’t be more specific when she kept saying “Brexit means Brexit” is because she was working on a highly complex plan with Britain’s top quantum scientists, which she had placed inside a secure box. Under this plan, the UK is to remain both inside and outside the single market and both maintain free movement and abandon it at the same time … as long as no one ever opens the box. However, if we open the box, May warns, all Britain gets is a cat.
Quit blaming your parents for everything wrong in your life. Be grateful they saw you through your teenage years and didn’t kill you.
Hating the haters is still hate. Being intolerant to those who are intolerant is still intolerance. Being bigoted against bigots is still bigotry. Bullying the bullies is still bullying. Lying about the liars is still lying.
[Brad Warner; http://hardcorezen.info/my-epic-battle-against-intolerable-evil/5090]
My prick no more to bald cunts shall resort;
Merkins rub off and often spoil the sport.
[John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester; 1647-1680]
The government was not claiming power to repeal or amend or in any other way to alter Acts of Parliament. No power to alter the law of the land was being claimed.  However, a power to notify (under Art. 50) was being claimed notwithstanding that it will result in changes to domestic law.
[Law & Lawyers Blog; http://obiterj.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-litigation-in-supreme-court.html]
It is a poor family that hath neither a whore nor a thief in it.
[Old English Proverb]
Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit honour, or private interest of any one man, family or class of men.
[John Adams; 1735–1826; 2nd President of USA]
Progress in science depends on new techniques, new discoveries, and new ideas, probably in that order.
[Sydney Brenner]

beliefs, personal, thoughts

Talking Therapy

Over the years I’ve tried talking therapies, of various sorts, on a number of occasions and each time I have found they don’t work even if one persists with them for a protracted period.
In fact it is my contention that they don’t really work for anyone, although some may be able to delude themselves and reach a cosmetic resolution — which I guess is working of a sort.


Last evening I was reading a blog post by our favourite zen master, Brad Warner under the banner I Hate Myself. Brad points out that the root of the problem is that the “I” and the “Self” are one and the same, so trying to fix one to fix the other is as useful as trying to argue your way out of a paper bag — pointless and productive of very little. And because we become aware of our failure it often makes the situation worse, rather than better.
Indeed it seems to me this is what talking therapies are trying to do: to fix (your variant of) “I Hate Myself” by getting you to separate the “I” and the “Self” when this is neither possible nor sensible.
And this is why talking therapies don’t generally work: they’re based on the false premise that “I” and “Self” are different and can be separated.
In the words of the exam paper: Discuss.

words

Word: Cunctation

Cunctation
Procrastination; the action of delaying; tardy action.
The word is derived from the Latin cunctātiōn-em, noun of action; cunctārī to hesitate or delay.
The OED records the first English use as being in 1585.

books, natural history, science

Book Review: Field Guide to Moths

Paul Waring & Martin Townsend
Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland
2nd edition; Bloomsbury; 2009
This is a magnificent tome, but not what I would define as a “field guide”: for an octavo paperback of almost 450 pages, on glossy paper and weighing almost 900 gm you would need a poacher’s pocket or a JCB to carry it around. It is a reference book — and a brilliant one at that — but as such it is not something to be read from cover to cover but explored when needed. It is an essential on the shelves of anyone with an interest in the huge diversity of the insect world, especially, obviously, moths.
Having said that, it doesn’t cover all moths but just the “macro-moths” (essentially anything with a forewing length over about 1 cm); micro-moths are covered elsewhere.
I’ve long wanted such a book (why didn’t I get this before?) as there was for many, many years a huge hole in the field guide coverage of British moths; I remember my mother complaining at least 40 years ago that there was no good, available, guide to moths — how she would have loved this book!
The book does what it sets out to do: describe for the naturalist (both professional and amateur) every known species of moth in the British Isles. The descriptions are organised by genus, with each species getting an entry of a third to half a page in quite small type. The descriptions cover mostly the adult moth, its habitat, lifecycle and distribution.
Strangely all the illustrations of adult moths occupy the central 20% of the book. This is not obvious from the colour-coding of the pages and I’ve found the only way to know quickly where the illustrations start is with a bookmark. Having said that, the illustrations (by Richard Lewington) are magnificent — much the best I’ve encountered — and they show the wonderful diversity and beauty of these important but much disliked insects. Moreover the illustrations show the adult moths in their normal sitting pose, unlike many guides which show the wings displayed as they would be in a museum case (something that’s not helpful to the non-specialist).
There is, however, one significant thing I don’t like about this book. In general it does not illustrate the larvae (caterpillars) of each species. Some (maybe 15%) of species have a photograph of the caterpillar along with the description (not with the illustrations). This I find curious. I know that many caterpillars look very similar (even more than adult moths) but why not illustrate them and have a complete section of the illustrations — separate from the adult moths would be OK — as an aid to identification. For me, this stops the book getting a top 5-star rating.
My only other gripe is the cost; at around £30 for the paperback this is beyond the reach of many.
Nevertheless this is a reference book which will live on the shelf over my desk and quite likely become well used.
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

medical, personal

Knees Up

[Skip this if you don’t like things medical.]
For anyone who wants to know what a total knee replacement looks like 2 weeks post-op, here’s mine today just after having removed the dressing. Slightly longer scar than I had been led to expect, but no stiches/clips but glue. Still swollen and uncomfortable, but definitely on the mend.


Click the image for a larger view, if you dare

Notice about 2/3rds the way down the incision, a small scar on each side where I had arthroscopy some 10 or more years ago.

amusements, memes, personal

Birthday Meme

Just for a bit of fun, I thought I’d make up my own birthday meme. Hopefully it doesn’t give too much away!

  1. Do you share your birthday with anyone well known? Yes, former miners’ leader Arthur Scargill (b.1938), golfer Ben Crenshaw (b.1952) and England footballer Bryan Robson (b.1957).
  2. Do you share your birthday with anyone you know? Yes, JP.
  3. Do you share your birthday with an historical figure? Yes, most notable Harry Gordon Selfridge (b.1858), founder of the eponymous London department store; also James Paget (b.1814, English surgeon and pathologist) and Ezra Cornell (b.1807, founder of Western Union and Cornell University).
  4. Do you share your birthday with an important historical event? Again yes, the first recorded lottery in England in 1569.
  5. Where were you born? University College Hospital, London.
  6. What time of day were you born? Just in time for lunch! [No change there then!]
  7. How much did you weigh? Something over 8lb.
  8. Who are you named after? No-one to my knowledge, although I do have my mother’s family name embedded.
  9. Zodiac sign? Capricorn.
  10. Chinese zodiac sign? Metal Tiger.
  11. Innie or Outie? Innie.
  12. Do you wear glasses or contact lenses? Glasses since I was about 14.
  13. What have you had pierced or tattooed? No tattoos, and you really do not want to know where my piercing is.
  14. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes, I still have my tonsils, but I’ve been robbed of my appendix, a deformed fingernail and my right knee joint.
  15. At what age did you become aware of pornography? I think probably at about 13.
  16. What is your best attribute? An analytical brain.
  17. What is the thing you least like about yourself? An ability to be tactlessly outspoken.
  18. With who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? Noreen, Katy.
  19. The last time you felt broken? Today — it’s a knee thing.
  20. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert.
  21. Have you ever taken drugs; if so what? Only the West’s drugs of choice: alcohol and tobacco.
  22. Who amongst your current friends (not family) have you known the longest? Ken King; we were at primary school together 50+ years ago and have recently make contact again.
  23. Is there anyone on your friends list you would ever consider having sex with? Yes; but no I’m not going to tell you who!
  24. Are you cool with talking about sex? Yes.
  25. Who did you lose your virginity to? Faith.
  26. Has reading a book ever changed your life? Yes, see this from my Zen Mischief weblog.
  27. What were you doing when you last lost track of the time? Being wheeled into the operating theatre.
  28. What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago? Use crutches properly.
  29. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? Yes, of course; we all change all the time.
  30. What will you be able to do at this time next year that you can’t now? With luck I’ll be able to walk properly.
  31. If you had to be executed but could choose the method, what method would you choose? Instantaneous poison.
  32. What will people say at your funeral? “Phew! There goes that PITA at last.”

So you’re all now challenged to complete this on (or even not on) your birthday each year. The only rule is that you must add or change at least one question each year. Have fun!

personal

Ten Things

This month, as it is the beginning of the year, we’ll have a double serving of Ten Things.
First here are Ten Things I’d like to do in 2017 but probably won’t:

  1. Get a new body and a new head
  2. Have a nudist holiday
  3. Have acupuncture
  4. Get a tattoo
  5. Go for a nude swim
  6. Travel (across Europe) on the Orient Express
  7. Win £1M+ on the lottery (or equivalent)
  8. See the aurora borealis
  9. See the Severn Bore
  10. Prove my family history back to Tudor times

While, with the exception of , all the above are possible, if I achieve any of them it will be a bonus.
So here is the official, achievable, list of Ten Things I’m definitely trying to do in 2017:

  1. Keep breathing
  2. Do something I’ve not done before
  3. Go somewhere I’ve not been before
  4. Be drawn/painted/photographed nude (again)
  5. Walk across London’s Millennium Bridge
  6. Complete my AP’s London Photography project
  7. Do more photography
  8. Have a day out every month
  9. Visit Horniman Museum
  10. Make some significant progress on my family history

[And yes, I know the second list has a large degree of overlap with last year’s list; some of that is deliberate and some just reflects how badly I did in 2016.]
I’ll report back this time next year, DV.