I had hoped for Vlad the Impaler or the like but no, its...
13 March 2007
12 March 2007
The great unread
Vernon God Little may have won the the Booker Prize but it also appears to have won a more dubious accolade: According to a survey pubblished today, DBC Pierre’s satire was the book least likely to be finished - 35% of respondents who bought or borrowed the book failed to get to the end (Me, I loved it but his second book Ludmilla’s Broken English was dreadful), beating Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into second place. Ulysses came third.
According to the survey Fifty-five per cent of those polled said they buy books for decoration, and have no intention of actually reading them. This suggests that some readers buy "intellectual credibility for the bookshelf" rather than books they actually want to read. "Far too often people are buying books because they think they will be good for them, rather than because they think they'll enjoy them," said Rachel Cugnoni from the publisher Vintage.
Oxfam and other charity shops have had quite a few unfinished books off us over the years. I really don’t get why people would buy books just for decoration though. Then again both myself and the not-wife are old enough and ugly enough to give a damn about what people thought of the contents of our bookshelves!
According to the survey Fifty-five per cent of those polled said they buy books for decoration, and have no intention of actually reading them. This suggests that some readers buy "intellectual credibility for the bookshelf" rather than books they actually want to read. "Far too often people are buying books because they think they will be good for them, rather than because they think they'll enjoy them," said Rachel Cugnoni from the publisher Vintage.
Oxfam and other charity shops have had quite a few unfinished books off us over the years. I really don’t get why people would buy books just for decoration though. Then again both myself and the not-wife are old enough and ugly enough to give a damn about what people thought of the contents of our bookshelves!
Judge orders access to detained Tsvangirai
A higt court judge in Zimbabwe has ordered police to allow lawyers access to Morgan Tsvangira, who was arrested yesterday. The judge said Mr Tsvangirai should have immediate access to medical care and should be brought to his court on Tuesday morning or freed.
Mr Tsvangirai, who leads Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was arrested after riot police broke up a public meeting in Harare. Mr Tsvangirai's lawyer Innocent Chagonda said he had seen the opposition leader from a distance of about 10m and that his head was bandaged and face.
The MDC, had split into into two rival factions over than a year ago. Both factions came together at the weekend in a rare show of unity aimed at trying to resolve the political and economic crisis in the country, including chronic unemployment and 1700% inflation, the highest in the world . They were joined by civic and religious organisations in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. Riot police used tear gas and water cannons as they fought battles with activists gathered for the rally, opposition officials said.
Mr Tsvangirai, who leads Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was arrested after riot police broke up a public meeting in Harare. Mr Tsvangirai's lawyer Innocent Chagonda said he had seen the opposition leader from a distance of about 10m and that his head was bandaged and face.
The MDC, had split into into two rival factions over than a year ago. Both factions came together at the weekend in a rare show of unity aimed at trying to resolve the political and economic crisis in the country, including chronic unemployment and 1700% inflation, the highest in the world . They were joined by civic and religious organisations in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. Riot police used tear gas and water cannons as they fought battles with activists gathered for the rally, opposition officials said.
Black Poplar - Chase Nature Reserve,
The Black Poplar (Populus nigra var betulifolia) is one of Britain’s most endangered native timber trees. There are only 3000 specimens, of which just 600 are female.
The Black Poplar was once a common sight in Britain. It was a very useful source of timber and was often planted near farms and villages and used for scaffolding, wagon making, even for arrows - a Black Poplar in Portsmouth is the descendant of one used to make arrows for the armoury of the Mary Rose.
However, the Black Poplar needs very specialised conditions in which to propagate. The seeds need to lie undisturbed on bare, wet mud or silt from June to October to germinate successfully. These conditions became harder to find as suitable habitats were lost.
Also as the need for native timber dwindled fewer Black Poplars were planted, this propagation difficulty became more important. Even worse, as a rule only male trees were planted: the females were considered a nuisance because of the drifting white down they produce.
thanks to Peter Roe’s informative Black Poplar website for this information.
It is nice to know that a local nature reserve, the Chase has six female specimens. These photographs were taken here earlier today.
London Wildlife Trust
11 March 2007
Playing with an infra red filter
The problem with IR filters is that they are pretty well opaque so I couldn't see what the hell I was photographing. This was a lucky shot - perhaps it's to buy a tripod and if I want to do these sort of photos properly.
Taken at the Chase nature reserve, just south of Elm Park
11-M comemorated
Today is the third anniversary of the Madrid train bombings.
King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and senior government officials are to unveil a monument outside the Atocha rail station, one of four targets in an terrorist attack that ripped apart morning rush-hour commuter trains on March 11, 2004, laving 191 people dead and more than 1,800 people wounded.
The monument is an irregularly shaped, 11-meter-tall (35-foot-tall) glass cylinder with a transparent inner membrane bearing messages of condolence that Spaniards left at Atocha station after the attacks.
King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and senior government officials are to unveil a monument outside the Atocha rail station, one of four targets in an terrorist attack that ripped apart morning rush-hour commuter trains on March 11, 2004, laving 191 people dead and more than 1,800 people wounded.
The monument is an irregularly shaped, 11-meter-tall (35-foot-tall) glass cylinder with a transparent inner membrane bearing messages of condolence that Spaniards left at Atocha station after the attacks.
The Bookseller/Diagram Prize: the one that really matters
It may not have the prestige of the Booker Prize and its winners are not as celebrated as Nobel (or perhaps even IgNobel) prize winners but the Bookseller/Diagram Prize, which is awarded for the oddest book title, truly deserves to rank among the greats.
Bookseller magazine has released its shortlist for the 2007 prize. Among the hopefuls are:
The winning author will receive a bottle of champagne for their efforts and a sense of honour that comes from victory. Joel Rickett, deputy editor of The Bookseller, said: "While rival literary awards have sold out, The Bookseller/Diagram Prize has refused all offers of corporate sponsorship for 29 years. It continues to celebrate the bizarre, the strange, and the simply odd. This year's shortlist shows that despite publishers cutting back their lists, literary diversity continues to flourish."
Roll of honour: selected past winners
The Joy of Chickens (1980)
The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History and Its Role in the World Today (1984)
Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality (1986)
How to Avoid Huge Ships (1992)
Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers (1996)
The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (2003)
Bookseller magazine has released its shortlist for the 2007 prize. Among the hopefuls are:
- How Green Were the Nazis?( edited by Franz-Josef Bruggemeier, Mark Cioc and Thomas Zeller),
- D. Di Mascio's Delicious Ice Cream: D. Di Mascio of Coventry: An Ice Cream Company of Repute, with an Interesting and Varied Fleet of Ice Cream Vans (Roger De Boer, Harvey Francis Pitcher, and Alan Wilkinson), and
- The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (Julian Montague)
The winning author will receive a bottle of champagne for their efforts and a sense of honour that comes from victory. Joel Rickett, deputy editor of The Bookseller, said: "While rival literary awards have sold out, The Bookseller/Diagram Prize has refused all offers of corporate sponsorship for 29 years. It continues to celebrate the bizarre, the strange, and the simply odd. This year's shortlist shows that despite publishers cutting back their lists, literary diversity continues to flourish."
Roll of honour: selected past winners
The Joy of Chickens (1980)
The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History and Its Role in the World Today (1984)
Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality (1986)
How to Avoid Huge Ships (1992)
Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers (1996)
The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (2003)
10 March 2007
When you want to be somewhere else
All her faourite fruit by Camper van Beethoven may be an odd choice but some songs define a particular time or eent. This song is one of them
FAA memorial
Images of the James Butler's Fleet Air Arm memorial on the Embankment, not far from Parliament. One of London's more eerie monuments in my view, but still I like it.
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