A collection of various different mixed miscellenea
21 January 2005. Inspired by .
Various things all fitted into one megapost.
Firstly, courtesy of LNR, this marvellous George Monbiot quote:
I want to live in a land in which wolves might prowl. In which, as I have done in eastern Poland, I can follow a bend in a forest path and come face to face with a bison. In which, as I have done in the Pyrenees, I can stumble across a pair of wild boar sleeping under a bush. I am prepared to exchange a small risk to my life for the thrill of encountering that which lies beyond it.
Amen brother. I once lived through a termite invasion where my dim flatmate thought the whole thing was a hoax and left all the windows open. We were finding them among the toothbrushes for weeks. If we have to live alongside nature, make it big, growling and dangerous, I say.
Next, Simon - a rather good photographer based in Barcelona - has come up with the very smart Thought Project. Great photos, great idea. And yes, for those who want to know, I'll be back with more doorbells very soon.
Furthermore, 'Tom Bohemia' - the alter ego of a writer whose real name is in the title bar of his own page - entertainingly reveals the true depths of travel writing over on his well-written blog. My favourites: this one I can relate to, whereas this one you probably can. It's funny because it's true. But you don't have to agree quite so readily. OK you can stop nodding now, you're hurting my feelings.
And lastly but bestly, the Good Lady Novelist has completed the first of the Imaginary Indices, which reads like the back of some wonderful atlas. If you're not sure what an Imaginary Index is, have a look over here for its origins, and here for how to enter. I expect yours on my desk by Wednesday, no excuses.
I will also be participating, now that I have some time. I have some time partly because I got rid of a huge block of work that was making me several inches shorter (and years older), and also because I now have a flat. And in a plaza that is, according to Fodors, "rife with artists, immigrants, students, and aspiring actors."
As someone who has, at one time or another, been all of those things, it sounds just perfect.