Essay Writing.

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Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Or alternatively,

HERE

Old... but still SO GOOD!

SEXY

"Mrs Robinson! You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"

One of life's great tragedies that this never happenned.

Bill Gates should totally have got the role over Dustin Hoffman!

Eighteen...

. . . days and counting.

Getting pretty worried now. Sometimes I'm glad I'm a worrier. I'm told that it means I get more done, out of mortal fear, or a lack of belief in my own abilities. I think that's quite a good character trait to have in these situations. The rest of the time, I would disagree. It is unhealthy.

It seems like it's been a long time since I've posted anything substantially wordy on here (I like to think all my words are going to a better cause right now...). It seems as I scroll down my own page that this blog has become some kind of image-fest. Note to self: images in moderation. We can't be having all of these pictures cluttering everything up. I mean, why for example did I decide to post a picture of a skeleton praying. I suppose maybe I thought that people might interpret it in some way for themselves or find it 'interesting'. And why did I decide to post a picture of the decidedly plastic looking airbrushed Brigitte Bardot? And also... why is my computer full of photos of her!? (I really am confused about that one).

Anyway, in the name of the 'word' here I am.

Saturday I go back to York. Not sure if I'm excited, or relieved, or what. I feel distinctly indifferent. Standard feeling in this situation. I feel like I've really settled back into homelife. Unfortunately, however, everyone else has gone back to their respective employments around the country leaving me stranded in this now barren land. Unfortunately (also), the last few weeks in Cardiff have been my most socially active for the whole summer. A shame really. Everyone come back please I was just beginning to enjoy myself!

And for lack of anything else to say I am going to end this post with yet another random image from my hard drive. This won't happen again.

Giulietta Masina 

It all makes sense now . . .

Pssshhh, stupid dinosaurs

Brigitte Bardot

Part of me says she is beautiful, and part of me says she is awful. Eep.

Baby Octopus

Somebody get me one? :D

XXXVI

Hipster Dinosaurs

Fisheye

Photos came back.
It appears I am a flash abuser.
And I feel deeply ashamed of myself.

At least I know how much light I need now.
Here are some of the ones that did come out well.

♥

It's been a fun few days with this bad boy.

Getting my first film developed tomorrow.

Excited.

Gargantua & Pantagruel

Readers, friends, if you turn these pages
Put your prejudice aside,
For, really, there's nothing here that's outrageous,
Nothing sick, or bad — or contagious.
Not that I sit here glowing with pride
For my book: all you'll find is laughter:
That's all the glory my heart is after,
Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.
I'd rather write about laughing than crying,
For laughter makes men human, and courageous.

BE HAPPY

Octahedron

MASTERPIECE

(seriously)

Russian Dolls in Tandem.

Russian dolls in tandem, sit deep on my windowsill. They are elaborately painted, varnished, reflect the light from behind me. There are five dolls in total. All face forward. Each doll stares into the back of the head of its respective elder. Except for the smallest. The only one which is not hollow, has not been bisected. It is the only doll which is whole. But it does not feel that way. This doll stands in defiance of the others. It has its back turned, a blue and red shell. It stares out of the window at the tear stained pane, and the giant oak which lies beyond it.

A blue origami elephant also stares, but this time into the white wall. I made it last week. It is sketchy, slightly malformed, a first attempt. I can see its reverse fold tail poking out from between two fragile hind legs. It sits on a copy of Love is a Dog from Hell. I made two. The second was much better. It has been sent to someone special in the post. These two baby blue effigies seperated by hundreds of miles. I am skilled at tearjerking. Do you feel it yet? I wonder if they think about each other at night. Maybe not. The elephant continues to stare into the wall.

The Burrow

Been reading the short stories of Kafka. The Burrow. I feel as if I have read this story at the most perfect stage in my life, that it speaks to me more than it ever could. With time I don't think i'd ever be able to take any more from it than I can now. Which is perhaps an insult to Kafka's work. I feel like I've experienced some kind of complete affinity or absorption. Probably doesn't say much for my mental state / perception of self that I can identify so much with it. I'm not too concerned about that. It's made me realise how little I identify with everything else. Instead of having to deal with my birthday on thursday, I just want to be in my burrow.
I think that Kafka may be my favourite literary 'personality'.

I had the blues but I shook them loose . . .

Letter from Sydney Smith to Lady Georgiana
16th February 1820

Dear Georgiana,

Nobody has suffered more from low spirits than I have—so I feel for you. Here are my prescriptions;

1st Live as well as you dare.
2nd Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold.
3rd Amusing books.
4th Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.
5th Be as busy as you can.
6th See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.
7th And of those acquaintances who amuse you.
8th Make no secret of low spirits to your friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.
9th Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.
10th Compare your lot with that of other people.
11th Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
12th Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy sentimental people, and every thing likely to excite feeling or emotion not ending in active benevolence.
13th Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.
14th Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.
15th Make the room where you commonly sit, gay and pleasant.
16th Struggle by little and little against idleness.
17th Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.
18th Keep good blazing fires.
19th Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.
20th Believe me, dear Georgiana, your devoted servant, Sydney Smith

The Slip

I don't care how many other people dislike this album. I think it's one of their best. This track has come back to dominate my life.

...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness

There is only one phrase I can think of to aptly describe the new album from Ólafur Arnalds. 

And that is, as the soundtrack of a broken heart.

I have been a fan of Ólafur Arnalds almost since his initial arrival on the neo-classical scene in 2007 with his mindblowing debut, Eulogy for Evolution. I remember being astounded that a musician of only twenty years of age could produce something so emotively charged... something so mature. It is only recently that his second complete 'studio album' (for there are other projects of his out there) hit the streets. It does not dissappoint...

It is an album which is difficult to speak of in musical terms, but lends itself to description in terms of light and dark, of weights, maybe even colours, and, of course, emotions. Ólafur's musical task is different to that of many other contemporary classical composers, in that he often fuses indie, electro sounds into his work. Similarly, although his music centres around a solitary and desolate piano, you will find a variety of instruments incorporated such as drums, an agile strings section, and of course synth. Arnalds' has stated that his aim is to mix his classical sound with those contemporary in popular and indie music. This gives him a sound which I would be reticent to compare to that of any other groups, but in some ways seems in keeping with the contemporary musical output of his home country, Iceland, which has been the home of many post-rock-esque, neoclassical groups in the past.

Like his previous albums, ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness is a work which is deeply melancholic, one could go as far as depressive. It is the sort of music which is capable of invoking a barrage of emotion which is sometimes hard to categorise and understand. Unlike Eulogy of Evolution, however, where the album spirals into a overwhelming and dizzying climax of emotion, it is clear that this new album is much more balanced. This, of course, can be interpreted as either a good thing or a bad thing depending on taste. The album takes a course which retains a sense of brooding sadness, but listeners will find that where they least expect it a wistful, and struggling light can be found in the music, which breaks through triumphantly causing the music to blossom and revel in its own beauty.

This sense of 'balance' does not just pervade the progress of the work as a whole, but also the individual tracks themselves, which are composed with utmost delicacy and attention to detail. The richness of the music is expressed through its cadences, its crescendos, and the timbre of sounds which resonate through the whole album giving it a cohesiveness which makes each track a single fragment in a much wider musical vision. Although the classical instrumentation of the album is top notch, surprisingly powerful bouts of musical climax are expressed through Olafur's carefully positioned use of drumming and (increasingly economical) use of synth, which really take tracks such as Tunglið and Þau hafa sloppið undan þunga myrkursins to a much higher level of musical complexity, and increase the depth of sound within a genre which is often criticised for its shallowness and minimalism. It is in these instances that the contemporary style that Ólafur aims for is most obvious.

Drowned in Sound have said that the album 'is not a sudden tidal wave of emotion laid on thick, but a glacial melting of mournfulness,' a statement I couldn't agree with more. The melancholy of the album, though intense, seems to wash over the listener and be replaced at times with fleeting glimpses of optimism. But regardless of this, it still remains one of the most melancholy and touching pieces of music I've ever heard. I'm not sure I'd rate it above his debut Eulogy for Evolution but it certainly gives it a run for its money. There are few people out there at the moment with the same vision as Ólafur Arnalds, a vision which works so well. The album is an incredibly rewarding listen, and one of the most emotionally resonant works of art I've had the pleasure of experiencing. It could even be my favourite album so far this year...

The album can be bought at Erased Tapes

Spotify users can listen to his first album, and his musical 'experiment' Found Songs here

And here's a little taster of the new album for all of you.

Illuminate My Heart, My Darling.

One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

It may be long, but it is SO worth it.

Apparently they'll be supporting Oceansize on their UK tour this september. Surely a chance not to be missed.

Part 1


Part 2

Provincetown

I am in love this photo which my Dad took in Provincetown, MA., in July.
It is so perfect that it looks like a painting. I should add that this hasn't been photoshopped or edited at all.

I'm still shocked at how un-real it looks.