A foil wrapped chocolate Easter bunny that we had for our yoga class chocolate meditation. You unwrap the chocolate, smell it, look at it and notice it’s shape and texture, then put the chocolate in your mouth without chewing it. Finally you chew it and notice how the texture changes. The process of slowly looking at, and tasting it gives you time to understand how lovely the chocolate was, and without just eating in a greedy or hungry way. You are exploring your senses. We also did yoga postures and breathing. It was a simple relaxing evening class.
I was reading a fellow bloggers post about a book that describes the complexity of the middle ages and how peoples freedom was affected by their ability to sell goods locally. I’m afraid I am struggling to understand the explanations.
It led me to think about a book I’m currently reading called Green Mars. It is the second of a trilogy about terraforming Mars by Kim Stanley Garner. The ideas in the second book Green Mars go into a lot of details about transnational companies becoming the defacto rulers of Mars. The population of earth are split between the rich who have had gerantological treatments and the poor who only have slight access to them. It’s amazing how thought through the future civilisation is. But it’s densely argued, even with a well plotted history including a brief third world war.
I’m only half way through the book, having read the first book in the trilogy, Red Mars, a few years ago. It’s my second attempt to read it. I’d read the first chapter during lock down but couldn’t get into the book. I think it’s worth reading if you don’t want rip roaring sci-fi, but a densely imagined history of the characters that use their scientific knowledge to terraform the planet. Reading about varieties of variously genetically enhanced people plants and lichens is fascinating if you have the inclination to read it.
I have Blue Mars on the bookshelves somewhere, I might try and read it one day.
Ten minute sketch while watching #skylandscapeartistoftheyear. It was of the Forth Bridge, although one of the towers looks like its collapsing! One of the reasons it was quick was because I wanted to watch the show and see what the artists did. You can’t do that while you are drawing. I enjoyed it very much.
The wonderful world of model trains. Where anything goes that’s in the modellers minds and ideas. We saw about ten model layouts, plus stalls with all sorts of train sizes and types for sale. Also station buildings, tracks, car models, people, ambulances, lorries, fire engines. Bridges, tunnels, trucks, lights, all sorts of things. If you’ve never been to one its worth a look.
We visited the Fine Art and Cartoon degree shows at Staffordshire University today, and I have to say that I was very impressed. I think they were probably the best I’ve seen in years. I haven’t included any images because of copyright. In the Fine Art section there was a lot more figurative work and portraiture than I’ve seen in years. There was also a lot of diversity which was great. In the Cartoon section there were a lot of fun ideas and comic strips. I chatted to some of the students there and they were very helpful explaining what they do.
I realised as I went round that the work is relevant to my illustration course. I really enjoyed the day.
Not sure what plant these pods are on. I just found the photo on my memories, I must have taken it because it was interesting. To be honest it’s not a good photo, so it could easily be deleted. Maybe that’s frost? I shall try and find out what it us. Might be good to try and grow it again.
What would Shrödinger say about my cat in a box? Curled up, unaware of the conundrum? What is the thought experiment? If I can remember it rightly…. A cat is in a sealed box, no one can see what is happening with it. Also in the box is a poison is in a sealed canister which can only be released by the radioactive decay of a chemical reaction, releasing an electron. You can’t tell when or if it will be released. The cat is therefore maybe alive or dead, but you don’t know until you open the box….
It’s a weird way of explaining quantum mechanics, but I don’t understand it very well!
We just attended a Zoom talk on Nepal. Our friend went walking there in 2006 to raise funds for eye surgery for the residents of Nepal. The talk included beautiful photos of the mountains including the Anapurna range. They were close to the eighth highest mountain in the world. The scale of the mountains is incredible. The villages in the valleys are tiny in comparison.
Through wonderful photography of the landscape and the Nepalese people my friend gave us such an informative talk about the country. He also included the music of the people with sweet, calm songs. A very pleasant couple of hours with many friends attending.
I don’t know much about bricks, except that they are fired clay. But I do like to see them when they are used decoratively. The way they are laid is called the ‘bond’ where it depends whether they are laid horizontally across the surface of the wall, or with the short end showing on the face of the wall and the length turned 90° so that the brick is across into the layer behind or allows the wall to turn the corner at the edge of the building.
As you can see from this photo, different coloured bricks are often used to make patterns and shapes in the brickwork or are used to frame tiled areas of text stating when the building was built.
I also know that brick sizes changed over time. That they were smaller in the past and hand made. Then molds were made and the brick sizes became standardised. I don’t know all the history of that sorry.
Clouds tonight, tiny specs of cloud and long mares tails. About 8pm tonight. The colours were beautiful and gentle. I think these clouds come before rain, so it might be thundering tomorrow.
At about six o’clock I saw this out of the landing window. A similar sort of cloud but without the whispy bits.
Looking up at clouds is fascinating. If you are interested you could look up the cloud appreciation society. There is a Facebook page about it.
Mallaband-Brown 