Monday, February 11, 2008

centuripe and gangi

last year, as we flew away from catania across sicily, i was intrigued by the distinctive "site-specific" layouts of two hill-top towns

i tentatively photographed them through the triple-glazing

yesterday afternoon i spent a long time using google earth to scan that rugged terrain and eventually was able to identify them as ...

centuripe
























and gangi

i looked up and there she was ... gliding with an accompaniment of unnecessary birdsong


Sunday, February 10, 2008

cardamom, fenugreek, fennel

i took the lid off each jar in turn to breathe in their magnificent aromas

i wondered what it might have been like to explore one of the great spice warehouses by moonlight, perhaps opening different rooms and only guessing at their contents

we forget that the spice trade was once a driving force of the world's economy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_trade

Monday, February 04, 2008

what we are not






most days i like to peek in to gatochy's blog ... she provides a great resource for image seekers, the blog is full of fun and ideas, and some serious stuff

today she gave some thought to hal, the computer in kubrick's 2001, a space oddysey

i have two disconnected thoughts to add ...

first, that like a lot of great art, 2001 tells us quite a lot about what we are ... by depicting what we are not

second, in retrospect, hal's voice sounds rather camp to me, which is probably something that kubrick was aware of

Sunday, February 03, 2008

"I'll be President of Europe if you give me the power" - Blair
























... if you thought starting a catastrophic war "in good faith" looks good on his c.v. ... then why not ?

Thursday, January 31, 2008

senior management


shaun's birthday



















our senior and best-loved driver is retiring today ... vic and rod do the honours
and then vic and glen see that shaun leaves the building on time and that his feet don't touch the ground