Peter S Clarke

Blackberries

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:51:14 +0100

I dip into the book The English Year every now and again to sample the quirkiness of our traditions and the author’s sympathetic wit. Here’s a piece I noticed about blackberries:

An extremely widespread tradition, found all over the British Isles, maintained that blackberries were bad, or even poisonous, after a certain date.

As with so many of these things, the Devil is to blame:

In the polite version of this superstition, the Devil puts his foot on the berries or wipes his club or tail over them, but in the more graphic versions he defiles them in more earthy ways.

The date (if you were wondering) is St Michael’s Day or 29 September. So pick them while you can.

Helter skelter

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:02:03 +0100

Helter skelter

Richard Nixon is alive and well and spent some time in...

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:29:39 +0100

Richard Nixon is alive and well and spent some time in Nottingham today.

Instant expert

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:23:09 +0100

Instant expert:

bobulate:

“Become an instant expert,” dares the FiveBooks site. And here’s how:

Every day an eminent writer, thinker, commentator, politician, academic chooses five books on their specialist subject. From Einstein to Keynes, Iraq to the Andes, Communism to Empire. Share in the knowledge and buy the books.

Find interviews and tailored lists from Tyler Cowen on Information, Jeremy Mynott on Birdwatching, Alain de Botton on Illuminating Essays, Dorothy Rowe on Lying, Jonah Lehrer on Decision-Making, Rebecca Goldstein on Reason and its Limitations, Claire Ptak on Cakes, and countless more. Instant expertise.

(thx, jason)

United States of Whatever - Liam Lynch I love how he gets...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:01:30 +0100

United States of Whatever - Liam Lynch

I love how he gets angrier as the song goes on…

Then it’s 3AM and I’m on the corner wearing my leather/and this dude comes up and he’s like “hey punk”/and I’m like WHATEVER

A family trip to the World’s Largest Photo Booth....

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:40:00 +0100

A family trip to the World’s Largest Photo Booth. I’ve left off the one of me looking like a goon, but you can find it on Flickr.

Mr Pretty Man - Prince I love Prince. The man’s a...

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:55:00 +0100

Mr Pretty Man - Prince

I love Prince. The man’s a genius.

He’s pretty handy with a guitar too. Check this out:

Being proud of ourselves

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:37:04 +0100

“Land of Giants”, a conceptual design for Iceland’s electricity pylons by Choi and Shine Architects has been getting a lot of coverage. I love it, because it says something about the way we should represent ourselves.

We shouldn’t be ashamed of our technology. When we need to put our stamp on the landscape we should take the opportunity to show ourselves at our best: creative, clever and mischievous.

lonelysandwich: Photographer Dmitri Kasterine’s best shot:...

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:54:18 +0100

lonelysandwich:

Photographer Dmitri Kasterine’s best shot: Kubrick filming A Clockwork Orange

This picture (featured in The Guardian’s My Best Shot series), moments before the camera platform he’s under started creaking and collapsed, Kubrick dashing out of the way “like a bolting rabbit”, is a real beauty.

via Sharon Linne Faulk

Camelot reveal Euromillions lottery numbers for 24 Nov...

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:25:24 +0100

Camelot reveal Euromillions lottery numbers for 24 Nov 2023…

Cotton - The Mountain Goats I want to sing one for the...

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:34:27 +0100

Cotton - The Mountain Goats

I want to sing one for the cars/that are right now headed silent down the highway/and it’s dark and there is nobody driving/and something has got to give

I heard this years ago on an episode of Weeds. Mountain Goats are one of those bands that I stumble across occasionally and always love, but never get properly into. Saving them for best.

What are your top five action films?

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:34:49 +0100

I don’t know who asked, but here they are:

Terminator 2
Commando/Predator (tied due to equally rampant machismo - see Schwarzennegger landing on the beach in Commando and the whole “I ain’t got time to bleed” thing in Predator)
Robocop
Die Hard
I was going to say Total Recall but actually, I think it’s Aliens

None of which were made in the last 20 years. Hmmm, I guess if I had to add a more recent one, I’d go with The Matrix. But to be honest, I like my action films testosterone-fueled.

Character limit humour at its finest

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:06:09 +0100

Character limit humour at its finest:

Blogging

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:49:49 +0100

It struck me that I’ve never had a ‘traditional’ blog. Long-form blogs, travel blogs, photo blogs even a business promotion blog, yes.

But never a Kottke-esque collection of all the interesting things I’ve seen around the web.

So here it is.

On original content

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:44:26 +0100

No, no. Not in the typical way it’s talked about online. I’m interested in what happens when the folks that produce the good, original content start flexing their muscles, and start leveraging their scarce product. I’ve got a hunch: despite how it’s usually presented, I don’t think the rise of meta-content actually detracts away from the value of original content or distracts audiences. Meta-content isn’t the most noble creative pursuit, but it is not villainous. In fact, meta-content probably makes original creative content more scarce and more valuable. Think of it this way: every hour spent making fan art is an hour spent on making something that supports and promotes that original content, rather than creating something new that would split or divide an audience’s attention. Every moment spent fabricating possible outcomes for LOST was effort diverted from crafting new and original stories. This is a boon if you’ve already the gumption to make good, original stuff.

Frank Chimero

Hello, Tumblr.

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:55:00 +0100

Hello, Tumblr.