a hell of a lot of teeth

I can't remember where l got these photographs from, but this is a person who certainly has a lot of teeth, baby teeth or not.
I wonder if it's a relation of Luis Suarez , the man who can eat an orange through a tennis racket?

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u2 photographs

At one point in my life l produced and sold magazines around the UK and Ireland, plus l was a bootleger, taping concerts and selling cassette copies of them by mail order and at record fairs. During my travels l met a lot of  'stars', but mainly just interesting people from all around the world, some of whom l corresponded with for a while, but sadly lost contact with, as l am crap at staying in touch with people.
Digging through the garage stuff (see below - an ongoing battle), l found these snaps of U2's Bono and The Edge knocking about from Glasgow 1987. The wall is outside Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin.
Below is a beermat signed to me (as one of 'The Glimmer Twins') from drinking with The Edge and his brother in the outskirts of Dublin (in about 1989).
Happy days.

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the big bang - simon singh

 

Well. l've finally managed to finish Simon Singh's 'The Big Bang', and if you have even a passing interest in space, time, creation, mathematics and physics, it's the book to head for.
The majority of it was interesting, and Singh explains the subjects well, but l got a bit bored when it came to the breakup and formation of atoms. l prefer the mathematical side of working out and judging planets sizes and distances, as it's something l can get my head around easier.
As for the title and conclusion of the book, there are still so many unanswered questions regarding  'The Big Bang' itself, and my own view is l am in favour of infinite expanding and contracting multiverses that have always been, and will always be, requiring no creator (or start up from nothing).
Mindblowing, but the only option to me that makes sense.
More scans of the cartoon type/diagram pages from the book can be found here.

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the teapottery at leyburn

While out and about with the FPO last week, we ended up visiting The Teapottery, just outside Leyburn (North Yorkshire).  There was plenty of interesting looking tea pots inside (as you would expect), but there was always the dreaded thought that you might accidentally knock one off the shelves, as a sign states that all damages have to be paid for (and they are not cheap).
I prefered the odd looking ones or the rock and roll related ones (no surprise there), but despite my collecting bug, novelty teapots are something l can live without.

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the solar system to scale

A superb representation of the solar system's planets and sun - to scale.
It all makes us look so insignificant, and that's just in our tiny little part of space.
From here.

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1 to 100 in 150 seconds

Kanaal van Filmersblog says:

"In October 2011 I started documenting people in the city of Amsterdam, approaching them in the street and asking them to say their age in front of the camera. My aim was to 'collect' a group of 100 people, from age 0 to 100. At first my collection grew fast but slowed down when it got down to the very young and very old. The young because of sensivity around filming or photographing children and the very old because they don't get out of the house much. I found my very old 'models' in care homes and it was a privilege to document these -often vulnerable- people for this project. I had particular problems finding a 99 year-old. (Apparently 100 year-olds enjoy notoriety, but a 99 year-old is a rare species...) And when I finally did find one, she refused to state her age. She simply denied being 99 years old! But finally, some 4 months after I recorded my first 'age', I was able to capture the 'missing link' and conclude this project".  (from Boing Boing)

Interesting stuff, and it's also interesting hearing all the dutch accents.
Old age - it's a bummer (as the kids used to say).

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tubbs and a rabbit skeleton

Just think, if l managed to clean all the crap, fur, whiskers and blubber off Tubbs, he will look look this, nice enough to stick on a shelf. I'll make a start tomorrow morning by shaving him.

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andre the giant

l am not a fan of wrestling, especially the USA version of, but l am a fan of drink and characters, and old Andre The Giant (real name Andre Rene Rousimoff) certainly was one of those.

He became famous as a wrestler, (especially his bouts with Hulk Hogan in the 1980's), but was also a huge (in more ways than one) drinker.

Over 100 bottles of beer in six hours? Two bottles of vodka to 'feel warm'? That my friends, is drinking.

Because of his condition (acromegaly), he did not expect to live very long, so he enjoyed life to the full until his death in 1993 (aged 46).

There's a great article about him here.

As l said before, a drinker and a character.

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a geek at his computer

I like the look of this room, (courtesy of Jonathan Worth) cluttered and interesting. I have read a few of the books behind him, but would like to delve into a lot of the others (and swipe some of the ornaments). If l only had more time........... (and money) The picture can be enlarged by clicking on it, but more information on the items can be found here.

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oldman river viaduct at lethbridge, alberta 1908

This is the erection of the viaduct over the Oldman River at Lethbridge, Alberta, circa 1908.

It's a pretty large erection (fnarr fnarr - ooh my sides - stop it etc).

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the itch and the brain

There is a great article in The New Yorker about a woman who had an itch and scratched it so much that she went through to her brain (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande).

There is also information about treatment, phantom limbs and sight. Interesting stuff, especially regarding the eyesight and the brains memory.

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food rotting

Check out the maggots!

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stars playing records - marc bolan - marilyn monroe - john lennon

Here's some snaps of stars playing records at home. I am such a sad bastard that it annoys me the way Marilyn and John are holding their vinyl, as there will be fingerprints and smudges all over them. Hasn't John learnt about putting them back into their sleeves? That's how they end up being stood on and scratched. Why doesn't Marilyn put down her record while the other one is playing? Pah! Stars and their debauched ways. Marc looks like he has a fine collection, with Dylan and the Stones on display, although from what l know about him, that would probably have been deliberate to show off his tastes. Anyway, much as l love Marc and John, and despite the way she treats her vinyl, looking at those photos, l know who l would rather have round to 'spin some discs', 'stick the needle into the groove', 'hear some sounds' etc etc.

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bob harris and his cd shelves

There is a feature in this months Word magazine about collecting records, and storing them if you have loads. It featured (amongst others) Bob Harris, who stores his CDs in a portakabin in his garden. It may well be a mightily secure and alarmed portakabin, but it is a portakabin non the less. It is also full of shelves and CDs. To say l was envious looking at the pictures is an understatement, l was so outrageously jealous it was unbelievable. It is not even the amount of CDs he has, as l have the same amount, if not more. It's the shelves. Those beautiful wooden shelves. I think l am becoming addicted to them (and very, very sad). Time for a lie down methinks, it's getting late and l am going giddy.

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kill bill remix

Everything Is A Remix: KILL BILL from robgwilson.com on Vimeo.

This guy ( robgwilson.com ) has gone to a lot of trouble putting this together. Worth it though (and glad it was not me doing it). Just check out all the references/steals from other films.

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the bubblesmith - sterling johnson

Stinson Beach Bubbles (canon 550D) from markdaycomedy on Vimeo.

This is on Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco. I like the way they disappear so quickly, it looks kind of spooky.

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new orleans and the levees

I have just been reading about New Orleans and its system of levees, which are supposed to keep the waters out. Now l have been to New Orleans, loved the place (especially a night out with Chinese White), discussed getting a bar there, and knew they had a levee system. What l did not realise was how low a lot of the city is in comparison to the water. The levees look pretty high when the water is down, but if l lived there l would want them to be even larger, or live in a house (or pub) that could float (there are such places available). Other options could be to raise the land or make New Orleans an island. If sticking to the present system, those levees need to be mighty high and very strong.

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jetman over the grand canyon

Wow - how cool is that. I would love to have a go on the old jet pack - even if you crashed and died (hopefully very quickly) - what a way to go!

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some cool optical illusions

Pass the drugs maaaaan

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beyond the moon and knocking on heavens door

These were two of the documentaries l watched over the weekend. Both were interesting and had some footage l thought might not appear (USA disasters and USSR dodgy experiments), but the best bits were the photos from Hubble and images of space (in all it's infinite glory). I am worried they have made me an evangelical agnostic (OK, they have not, l was one already).

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