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Things I have done recently:
Friday: to the Wych Elm, Kingston to meet![[info]](../../img/userinfo.gif?v=88.6)
richardbajor, Dave#1, and Laura, late of Kingston, now of Sheffield. It was like 1992 again except Laura's ex, Nick, wasn't there to try to sell Socialist Worker papers, nor did the crabstick man come 'round.
Saturday: to the Union Chapel (such a gorgeous venue, and selling coffee and cake rather than lager) before we got bored with the Knopfler-ing of the headline act and headed to the Compton Arms for afternoon drinkies before going back to Stokey N for curry at Karnaphuli, then returning to Islington for Dom's birthday at the Alwyne. You wait for one event and then loads come along at once, which is more than can be said for the 393 bus.
And so Sunday was spent indoors except for a trip to Betty's in Dalston.
Things I have learned recently:
1. If I were to become an apostle of any unbeliever, I would be a Bottonist, his tolerant atheism has less of the religious fervour that Dawkins' has (Jews make the best atheists).
2. Olde paintings of Jesus and Mary in a European setting were not because Euro-artists didn't know what a Palestinian Jew or 1st century Israel looked like, but to show that God (etc) is in our lives now, that Jesus' life is still relevant. So Mary in Italian Renaissance fashions or Jesus against a backdrop of a Flemish meadow shows that Jesus could be alive and preaching now, that society still needs him. I'm not sure this would work in the 21st century. Mary holding the infant Jesus in a call centre or Christ tweeting on his iphone would be kitschier than thou.
3. My favourite writers create worlds that I can't immediately step into, whether that be historical or futuristic or set in another country. I dislike books where I recognise the milieu, where I could be part of that world. My life, despite blurbling endlessly about it on this here blog, is not that interesting. I want to read about Other Lives, I want to learn stuff. China Mieville stated that sci-fi writers were those who'd never lost their childhood imaginations. I'd refute that: any kind of creative writing needs some sort of sense of fancy and I reckon it's easier to create your own actuality with your own rules (apes rule people! computers rule people! Soylent Greenrules is people!) than build a world that it is outside of your own experience but does exist (the past, another country).
4. Green Metropolis is good for selling pre-used books, as long as they are small and light. They pay £3 per book, although you can choose to sell them slightly cheaper or dearer, and take 75p for charidee. It took a while for my listings to turn up in the search engine, but once I'd sold the first book, they seemed to keep on selling. No fucking around with paypal or those tax-avoiding Amazonians.
Friday: to the Wych Elm, Kingston to meet
richardbajor, Dave#1, and Laura, late of Kingston, now of Sheffield. It was like 1992 again except Laura's ex, Nick, wasn't there to try to sell Socialist Worker papers, nor did the crabstick man come 'round.Saturday: to the Union Chapel (such a gorgeous venue, and selling coffee and cake rather than lager) before we got bored with the Knopfler-ing of the headline act and headed to the Compton Arms for afternoon drinkies before going back to Stokey N for curry at Karnaphuli, then returning to Islington for Dom's birthday at the Alwyne. You wait for one event and then loads come along at once, which is more than can be said for the 393 bus.
And so Sunday was spent indoors except for a trip to Betty's in Dalston.
Things I have learned recently:
1. If I were to become an apostle of any unbeliever, I would be a Bottonist, his tolerant atheism has less of the religious fervour that Dawkins' has (Jews make the best atheists).
2. Olde paintings of Jesus and Mary in a European setting were not because Euro-artists didn't know what a Palestinian Jew or 1st century Israel looked like, but to show that God (etc) is in our lives now, that Jesus' life is still relevant. So Mary in Italian Renaissance fashions or Jesus against a backdrop of a Flemish meadow shows that Jesus could be alive and preaching now, that society still needs him. I'm not sure this would work in the 21st century. Mary holding the infant Jesus in a call centre or Christ tweeting on his iphone would be kitschier than thou.
3. My favourite writers create worlds that I can't immediately step into, whether that be historical or futuristic or set in another country. I dislike books where I recognise the milieu, where I could be part of that world. My life, despite blurbling endlessly about it on this here blog, is not that interesting. I want to read about Other Lives, I want to learn stuff. China Mieville stated that sci-fi writers were those who'd never lost their childhood imaginations. I'd refute that: any kind of creative writing needs some sort of sense of fancy and I reckon it's easier to create your own actuality with your own rules (apes rule people! computers rule people! Soylent Green
4. Green Metropolis is good for selling pre-used books, as long as they are small and light. They pay £3 per book, although you can choose to sell them slightly cheaper or dearer, and take 75p for charidee. It took a while for my listings to turn up in the search engine, but once I'd sold the first book, they seemed to keep on selling. No fucking around with paypal or those tax-avoiding Amazonians.
