|
|
|
June 13th, 2009
10:51 am
*boggle* of the morning:
'Suitable for vegetarians'.
On the side of a jar of freeze dried coffee.
Leaving aside all images of vast herds of coffee beans sweeping across the wide Serengeti, I now have this terrible urge to start producing absurdist consumer notifications.
I think every housebrick would be improved by a little sign saying "warning: may be harmful if inhaled."
|
May 30th, 2009
09:20 pm - Such a perfect day.
There are days, long hot sunny summer days and the light is sharp and brilliant, when the best thing you can do is wander around with no set purpose; no goals, no clocks - just letting yourself go walkabout.
I am now feeling quite astoundingly relaxed.
|
May 20th, 2009
08:49 am - Bright light! Bright light!
Oh my goodness my head hurts.
Still, it was a very fun evening and it was lovely to see everyone who turned up.
Next time: a slightly bigger room, perhaps.
|
May 19th, 2009
10:55 am - Happy Birthday, monstrous!
You are (as always) fiendish, terrifying and horrible.
( proof behind the cut )
I love you very much.
G.
|
May 16th, 2009
12:20 am - A good bit of news.
California's Supreme Court bitchslapping the haters.
Now here's hoping that they can make it stick.
To say that love is somehow invalid simply because of your gender is an absurdity and an insult.
|
May 11th, 2009
09:51 am
Following the weekend's celebrations, I now have about 600 photos to process.
Of those, I'd say about 200 are actually not bad (a surprisingly high strike rate for me, and something I'm quite chuffed by). The rest of you will probably get to see edited highlights after the bride and groom have been consulted (so not until well after the honeymoon!) and I've had a sit-down with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rhythmaning.
However, there is a shot that I hope they will forgive me for airing early ; it is pretty much as it came out of the camera, and is I think one of my favourite shots of the day.
( image behind the cut, to spare the bandwidth )
It was, quite simply, a day I will always remember with pleasure; and a hell of a good party to boot!
|
May 10th, 2009
09:42 am
I'd like to report that the wedding of liadnan and pashazade can best be described as a joyful celebration - it didn't just go off without a hitch, it was consistently brilliant throughout.
A substantial part of this is due to frankie_ecap's awesome competence; who was possibly the most level-headed and organisationally gifted best man I have ever seen.
The thing that struck me as the zeitgeist was the sheer level of affection everyone had for the happy couple; everyone wore their delight openly, unmitigatedly and without reserve, regardless of age or social background.
All the best, you two; we'll remember that day as a very special one.
update: ... and some of the photos are pretty good, though I say so myself!
|
May 4th, 2009
06:44 pm - Flash!
(Aa-aa...)
So, last week, I decided to buy myself an external flash unit; I'd been half-meaning-to for ages and as it happens I have a wedding to go to next weekend, so I took advantage of the excuse to buy a shiny new toy.
The last few days have involved meeting various people in various pubs; I confess, I have taken the new toy out and waved it at people.
(Specifically including clanwilliam, liadnan, oursin, legionseagle, pashazade, coughingbear, hano, frankie_ecap, rhythmaning, dorcas_gustine, fluffcthulhu, autopope, feorag, major_clanger, rozk and various others. I hope I wasn't irritating anyone too much.)
I now have some quite promising shots of people to work on; I'll clean them up and post them to my gallery at some point this evening (probably!).
|
April 30th, 2009
10:52 pm - Right...
It has been announced that dorcas_gustine is going back to Italy.
This is all things considered a ver' bad thing and we are ver' sorry to lose her; even if hopefully only temporarily.
(What's so all-fire-wonderful about Italian coffee, when it comes down to it?!)
Fortunately, the augury for this weekend is good - deo volante - so it seems fitting that we have some sort of shindig to give her a decent send-off.
Which calls for a pub, really.
...the pub in question being the Black Friar (postcode: EC4V 4EG) - it's on the river (if the weather is good) and has an unique interior (if the weather isn't good) and does decent beer (because after several pints, who cares about the weather anyway?).
Timing? Glad you asked.
How does 17:00 on Saturday 2nd of May sound?
Depending on time, inclination and the continued of existence of life as we know it in the shadow of the Aporkalypse, there might be food afterwards (I'm always open to suggestions!), but at the very least, beer and sun would be good.
|
April 22nd, 2009
01:48 pm
If you can make it outside this lunchtime, do so.
To call it a lovely day is a gross understatement.
|
April 16th, 2009
11:19 am - The Panopticon Strikes Back.
More and more videos of excessive use of force by the police at the G20 are emerging.
This could be very interesting, especially given the implications for future policing of such demoes; the entire world is now able to watch the watchmen.
I hope that media coverage of such events will no longer consist of the top cop saying how proud he is of his officers' exemplary conduct interspersed with footage of dreadlocked soapdodgers smashing up private property - what we can see from the footage is that many of the people who were assaulted by the police were themselves 'normal'; and that they got belted simply because they didn't get out of the way of the police in time.
This clip is a particularly clear demonstration of elements of the police engaging in the use of force against a group of people who were (for the most part) not even trying to defend themselves!
Operation Glencoe was intended to be a test case for policing the 2012 Olympics. It may yet be - but not, I think, in the way the police may have originally intended.
(Of course, this only applies in First World countries at the moment; and only in crowds where the density of cameras among the demonstrators is sufficient to challenge the official record; for every such protest in globally-recognisable places like the City, there are many that go unrecorded simply because the people protesting are not of interest to the world's media.)
|
April 7th, 2009
10:22 am
From major_clanger, a link to a superbly-written article about the flip side of Dubai's economic miracle.
Caution: it is not easy reading in any way; and if you're anything like me, you will very probably be quietly seething at the end of it.
Nonetheless, this is real news; the sort of stuff that needs to be spread around the airwaves for all to read.
|
March 31st, 2009
12:14 am - ...and back.
Gosh, that was good.
P-CON VI was a weekend of funfunfun. And more fun.
Alcohol, food, chitchat, panels, flirting, geeking and generally hanging around with Many Fine People.
(...and an Elder God.)
Seem to have purchased: the complete graphical works of Leonardo Da Vinci in Hardbound Monolith Edition (seriously; the book is hardbound and weighs about 8 kg), a book on ancient Cretan civilisation and a book on Persia and its role in the Great Game. Must somehow find shelf space for them.
Herself may have won something or other for a bit of writing. Naturally v. proud.
Now have to resign self to the fact that tomorrow will involve going back to the stupid trivial bits of life that involve actually earning a living.
Go to P-CON. P-CON is more fun than can usually be had without ingesting sundry addictive substances.
In fact, P-CON is probably an addictive substance in its own right.
ETA: also, desperance has Designs on my coat.
|
March 22nd, 2009
11:01 pm - A life of dissipation and frivolity.
I think I've been out on the town (to some degree) every day for the last week and a half.
Culminating in liadnan's stag weekend in Ludlow; which was one of the most fun weekends I've had in a very long time (even if my liver would now like to crawl off and suffer somewhere in peace).
All must salute the fearsomely impressive organisational skills and sheer hard work that frankie_ecap used to make this a weekend to remember for all concerned.
(Frankie, you rock. Srsly. Thanks for a brilliant weekend.)
Photos exist and will go up on my gallery when a) my attention span is longer than 5 seconds and b) I can see straight again.
Also: I now have a fez of my very own.
|
March 3rd, 2009
06:09 pm - Conversation with a dead cat.
This is a warning; there is a certain amount of sentiment behind the cut (though not, I hope, sentimentality); if such things horrify you, then you might want to skip this.
( you've been warned. )
|
February 26th, 2009
11:07 am - Ouch!
Last night, I managed to do something spectacularly silly on the (fencing) piste...
( details within )
I now have invisible bruises up my entire left side. Ouch.
|
February 25th, 2009
03:47 pm
Had a few spare minutes at work waiting for an email.
So I decided to write an email disclaimer.
(As you do.)
"This email is confidential and directly solely at the people to whom it is addressed.
That said, it is sent unencrypted over public channels and therefore has all the privacy of a postcard; it may be intercepted and read by any number of third parties including law enforcement agencies.
The opinions expressed above do not necessarily represent those of my employer, as I am an individual employed by them to use my brain, rather than a robot devoid of free will - and this will usually lead to some difference of opinions from time to time.
By reading this mail, you agree to the following terms; that I have no overarching right to dictate what you can and cannot do with the text contained herein, and that my assuming your cooperation without first obtaining your consent absolves you of any moral duty to abide by my wishes.
If the above terms are not acceptable, I would be obliged if you would return the entire message unread."
|
February 23rd, 2009
10:40 pm - Pass it on.
Each and every one of us is who we are today thanks to the kindness of strangers.
To the people who give their time and money and heart to the benefit of anyone and everyone.
To people who act without consideration of the personal payback or whether the recipients deserve charity.
To people who are willing to deprive themselves of personal reward for the overall benefit of humanity.
Not for your party, your race, your religion, your gender, but because humanity needs humanity.
If you can, pass it on.
|
February 18th, 2009
11:58 pm - Protest
(via sierra_le_oli,hano and shezan...)
In case you were wondering, the black user icons thing that many have suddenly started displaying is to show solidarity with Internet Blackout NZ which is protesting against:
"Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party."
Y'all know what to do.
...yes, I know that the comments of people half a world away are likely to make no difference whatsoever, and that the people who see this will already be well aware of my general stance on such matters ... but things like this are still important, no matter who or where you are.
|
February 9th, 2009
04:28 pm - Jerk those knees!
'Jacqui Smith slaps down drugs adviser for comparing ecstasy to horse riding'.
Entire nation said to be 'in shock' as prominent politicians display blatant disregard for what was actually said in favour of an opportunity to sound off about the evils of drugs.
Disclaimer: I do not have access to the entire article; someone with medical connections might have more luck; but from the quotes I have seen...
Professor Nutt, writing a paper in a medical journal, suggested on the basis of his own work that:
Doing yourself a nasty is still nasty, regardless of whether it is by horseriding or taking ecstasy.
People seem a bit reluctant to address the glaringly obvious double standard that:
a) 100 people die from recreational horseriding every year and this is absolutely fine.
b) ~30 people die from recreational ecstasy every year and this isn't.
(Of course, some idea of sample size and overall partaking population would be handy when mentioning the two in the same context, but since one activity is illegal, we're unlikely to get solid mortality rates any time soon.)
Unfortunately, perhaps, Prof. Nutt is also chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), whose role is to advise the Government; and apparently any opinion that doesn't comply with the idea that drugs are inherently evil and wrong is to be shouted down by all sides.
Asked Keith Vaz:
"Have you seen the comments in the weekend press by Professor Nutt, the chairman of the Home Office advisory committee, who says that, in his view, ecstasy is less dangerous than horse riding,"
He didn't say that, you illiterate cretin. He said that in his opinion, there wasn't that much difference in the harm caused.
Never heard of Christopher Reeve?
Jacqui Smith responded:
"I made clear to Professor Nutt that I felt his comments went beyond the scientific advice that I expect of him as the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
"He apologised to me for his comments and I've asked him to, as well, apologise to the families of the victims of ecstasy."
Firstly; he's a scientific advisor; unlike the petty timeservers on the front benches, he is employed to tell the truth, at least to the best of his abilities - even if that does upset a few people.
Secondly; he didn't make those comments in any official capacity linked to ACMD; he made them in an academic journal as part of his own professional corpus - if it passes the review process for that journal, then it is a valid part of the subject under discussion.
Thirdly; when is the Home Sec'y going to apologise to those families shattered by deaths and injuries caused by horseriding?
Not to miss out on a bandwagon, the Tories pipe up:
'Laurence Robertson, the Conservative MP for Tewkesbury, welcomed the home secretary's comments but urged her to go further by suggesting to Nutt that horse riding provided discipline, whereas drug taking "not only wrecks lives, and ends lives, but also fuels crime".'
Yes, we know all about Tories and discipline, matey - and since when was horseriding not involved with crime, suffering and degradation?
(I could, after all, go on at some length about the evils of gambling on horses and how it attacks the vulnerable and addictive in our society by promising them that which it cannot deliver.)
Of course, it's possibly a little early to expect any of the politicians to have digested the hard lessons of the Prohibition yet; after all, it's only been 80 years.
|
|
|