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Continue reading →: Smooth lines and blurred vision
The soft curve has an obvious appeal, and yet the subtlety of curvature juxtaposed with hard edges is a rare sight. Except for me, because now that my eyes are dim with age, (see Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone) most objects take on a softness of form…
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Continue reading →: Saturday blues
The anticipation of a weekend’s freedom from toil is rarely fulfilled. My own plans usually embrace slothfulness, but acknowledge that chores take precedence. In the summer I can combine the idleness that I crave with the carrying out of the main chore, washing a week’s clothes for two grown ups…
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Continue reading →: Passion – not just a rainy day in Ballymena
Ataraxia or mental imperturbability is a desirable state of being for some people (such as Micheu). The merits of not being unduly moved by things that happen to you are questionable, but I can understand the motivating factors. Earth shattering experiences can rob one of a sense of self. ‘Being…
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Continue reading →: January dieting might be OK
With part of my recently collected winnings (£5 at 6-1 for Donegal to win the All Ireland last year) I purchased the Hairy Bikers latest cook book. They have some good ideas about substituting ingredients that won’t pile on the flab. I baked my usual banana bread this morning, but…
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Continue reading →: Tortilla pizzas with salad and vino rosso
Tortilla pizzas are popular with at least eight people I know. The first time I tasted tortilla pizzas was at a dinner party given by our good friends, Cristina and Stefan. The pizzas are quick to prepare, then 5-10 minutes in the oven and voilà or ecco là. Just remember…
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Continue reading →: OZ poet
My Welsh friend and I were enjoying a quick pint on Friday when he recommended the poetry of Felix Dennis. We obviously discussed my enthusiasm for Montaigne, and of course he had purchased a 3 volume leather-bound edition of the Essays ( translated by Florio) some time ago. I was curious…
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Continue reading →: Kindness to fellow creatures
More Montaigne stuff… Micheu could not refuse his dog some playfulness to relieve the boredom (the dog’s). This attitude stemmed from his feelings towards living things. As a magistrate in the 16th century, he acknowledges that his abhorrence of cruelty prevented him from administering justice as it was prescribed at…
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Continue reading →: Nietzsche on free-spirited people
Certain free-spirited people, according to Nietszche, are perfectly satisfied with a minor position or a fortune that just meets their needs; for they will set themselves up to live in such a way that a great change in economic conditions, even a revolution in political structures, will not overturn their…
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Continue reading →: Von Trapp Clap
The striking similarity between the real life experiences of Maria, the singing nun, for whom the hills were alive, and Micheu, the author of a book that was banned by Rome for 200 years, is entirely implausible. However, Fideism was Micheu’s version of Maria’s Catholicism. God is not cast out…
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Continue reading →: Freak shows?
A new sensitivity and perception of disability emerged during the paralympics. Presenters and athletes were on our screens daily with missing limbs and the type of disabilities that go unnoticed. The word ‘disability’ seems inappropriate when the scale of the success and achievement of the athletes was accompanied by footage…
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