Category: Musings

‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin has been killed by a stingray while filming a documentary. Wow. And not only that, he was apparently swimming above the stingray when it somehow stabbed him right through the heart with its sting. That’s pretty amazing all things considered. Whenever stingrays were brought up in our diving lessons they were always considered a slight risk, but incredibly rare – the main risk being when walking along the sea bed, as when you tread on them by accident they tend to sting your legs, so you should always shuffle along the sand to scare them away.

We’ll crack a tinny for ya Steve-o.

Thanks to today’s word game over at Merriam-Webster for this great quote from Muhammed Ali:

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” – quoted in the New York Times

This all fits very nicely in with my current reading of the entire Buddha series by Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro-Boy. The main tenet put forward here, and I guess in Buddha’s teachings but that would involve actual research outside of the comic, is that everything in nature is connected, and we must all do our part without expecting others to do it for us. Combined with complete relinquishment of your ego this will, eventually, lead to enlightenment and all the good things that come with that. So it would appear that Ali was a particularly enlightened chap.

ps, as an aside my favourite word game on Merriam Webster is ‘Letter Rip‘. A good pastime, and probably less dangerous than Boggle!

Good news in the art world – Anish Kapoor, creator of some of my all-time favourite art pieces such as Marsyas and the Three Witches, is going to be installing a piece at Rockefeller Plaza in a few weeks. The new ‘sky mirror’ looks highly impressive and in the same epic scope as Kapoor’s more recent pieces. Huge, daunting yet integrated at the same time, unlike the Gates in Central Park – and I’m sure it will be a lot harder for anyone to steal a piece of this!

I first came across Kapoor’s work at the art museum in Ontario back in 1993 – the first of what has turned into many trips to Canadia. There, in the middle of the large open rooms, were three granite blocks – each with a slit cut into them brushed with dark blue pigment – facing each other. There was something dark and interesting about these holes, the blueness tantalizing, the feeling that you should be looking inside although you weren’t quite sure if there was an inside. Or maybe it was infinite in there, you had no real sense of scale. Kapoor plays with these concepts with ease, causing a mix of dis-comfort and familiarity with his viewers – active participants in sculptures that demand interaction. From then on I was hooked.

Since that first encounter I’ve tried to see as many Kapoor pieces as possible. Every major modern gallery has one or two – the dusted bright colours from his early periods, highly polished metals and curves from later years, or the epic stretched red canvas of his, all too brief, spot in the turbine hall at the Tate. Every one brings a new sense of wonder, of horizon. Once, at the Lisson Gallery, I caught a brief glimpse of the man himself, chatting with companions about his new pieces. One of those times I found no courage to go up and just thank him for the wonders he’d brought into being.

Now Kapoor is one of those international artists who cities fight over for the chance to exhibit. His new works are at a scale that, while dwarfing us, still somehow manage to embrace and welcome us. I guess this means it’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to buy one for my front room, but at least I get to share that sense of awe with more people round the world. Thanks Anish.

A big round of congratulations please for my little sister Abby – who just got her GCSE results and got… wait for it… all As! Not only that a large chunk of them were A*!!! That definately deserves some more exclamation marks!!!!! Well done Abby {:)

Exotic travel, international cartels, rogue French mercenaries and hackers – this potent blend comes together in Evans’ capable hands to create his latest highly enjoyable novel. From the very beginning I found myself drawn into the story, following from India, through France then onto America with a cast of characters who leave you wanting to find out more at every twist and turn. And twist and turn the story does in a manner slightly reminiscent of a good Bond tale, with modern (read: not sexist) sensibilities. This is a solid, enjoyable romp of a book which would be enjoyed by anyone with a mind to adventure, travel of hacking – especially if you have a nice sunny beach to enjoy it on. Wait. Is that something happening in the tropical forest next to me? I must go and investigate…

Disclosure: Jon Evans is a friend of mine and a lovely chap he is to. That said I don’t think that’s coloured my review, especially since he didn’t feature me in there as a cameo character unlike the best book in the world ever which for some reason is now out of print! Hmm. Guess I’m not the box office draw I thought I was.

Having read Martel’s very enjoyable Life of Pi a while back I was happy to find his latest in a Montreal second hand store. Turns out that synchronicity is relevant, as Martel is based in Montreal now as is a large chunk of this story of a boy who loses his parents, then one day wakes up as a woman. Martel writes with a sense of poignancy that grabs you and takes you underneath the skin of his main character. There is distance between the character and his/her life but over-ridingly a sense of joy and life. As she/he moves from place to place, person to person you get a sense of the slowness of life and growth as it can sometimes exist – a slowness that does not exist for the book, where every page pulls you forward to the next. A great book.

After reading the amazing Tipping Point, Gladwell’s famous first book, I have been avidly waiting reading his latest. Having tackled the growth of information in social contexts, Gladwell now turns his incisive and explanatory mind to the subject of split-second judgements. That moment when you see someone and fall in love. The way you can prejudice your decisions from a glance. Why the Pepsi taste challenge could never be won by Coke. Every chapter offers a new set of stories backing up a central premise, and each story is fascinating and engagingly written. However at the end of the book I felt like I had eaten a light snack rather than something filling and satisfying. True, I now have a great set of stories to relate in marketing situations, but ultimately I was a bit disapointed. Still a must read book.

Sometimes you just have to face up to the facts and realise that what you think is a good thing is actually a tattered shell of its former self, based on self-delusion and denial. These things happen, life is full of change which is a ‘good thing’. Yet sometimes it’s so hard to just let go, even when it’s for the best…

And so it is, with great sadness, that I have to announce the retirement of one of my favourite t-shirts. A classic Brooklyn Industries design purchased in 2003 on a brief stop-over from England to Australia. It’s literally been with me round the world and, if truth be told, it’s showing it somewhat. Those pad thai stains from Khao San road, the weathering from dive trips and the Jack & Coke stains from its home town of Williamsburg where it finally comes to rest.

Goodbye dear friend. You will oft be remembered… until BI makes another t-shirt I like better of course.

It’s always good when you land back from the UK, after a long and gruelling transatlantic flight, to find that multiple people have been arrested on suspicion of trying to blow up planes to the US…

Yay.

On the plus side, as I’m writing this post, I’m obviously OK – as was everyone else since it didn’t happen. Phew.

As part of my current trip back home to see my nephew’s christening I got to watch most of the latest season of Doctor Who, starring David Tennant. Wow. I thought the last season was good, especially after such a long break – but this new season was absolutely amazing. Clever, funny and with emotionally strong plotlines as well as believable characters all around. My only gripe would have to be a continued apparent ‘borrowing’ of characters much akin to those from Grant Morrison, for example the clockwork robots seemed very familiar. Ah well, he’s a good source to use that’s f’sure. So here’s to the next season…