New paintings and regular art updates.
Look what’s arrived! The new book by Martha Kennedy. All the way from the states. I can’t tell you how excited I am to read it. Its about her life teaching English at South China Teacher’s University in Guangzhou in 82/83.
I’ve been reading excerpts from it in her blog, ‘I am a writer, yes I am’ on WordPress and I’m really looking forward to it. (If I can get it back of my hubby who just snaffled it!)
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Sitting on the world
Held down by gravity
Like a fly pinned
To a windscreen
Travelling through space
At thousands of miles an hour
Thank goodness we can’t fall off.
I just decided to look at my stats at WordPress for this year. It’s surprising how many people from so many countries have taken a look at my page. Some of them are only one or two views. I hope people like what I write. I try and write about a broad range of subjects because I’m interested in such a lot of things. I try and write clearly and if I have an explanation for something I will try and include it. I had a good general education but you won’t find me writing about pop music or astrology. I don’t know much about cars or trains, but I will have a go at most things. I do try dabbling in poetry. It seems to help clear my mind. But most of all I’m an artist. I like experimenting with art and some of it turns out OK.
To people following me I want to say thank you. I do try and follow back and although I don’t always have time to look or comment it is good to be part of this community.
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I have that sort of portentous ache that feels like I’m coming down with something, perhaps a bug? I’m not sneezing yet but my throat is sore again. Perhaps I’ve been overdoing things, just feeling tired and aching.
Trouble with the Internet is that you can seek sympathy instead of just getting on with things. It is good to moan but it’s also probably annoying to hear people going on about how they feel Is it appropriate to complain?
Well I guess in one way it’s informative. I won’t be doing much today because I’m not well. But whose business is that? I’m talking to strangers, to people who don’t know me. One may be sympathetic another thinks get over yourself.
My health pales into insignificance compared to people hurt or killed by cyclones or murderers. Life feels personal to me. But I am one individual. Life is more than that.
X
imagine a world with two sun’s. Both about the same size as ours. You are on a planet orbiting both of them, luckily half way between the two so it never gets too close to either of them and far enough out so that it doesn’t get too overheated by twice our suns power.
Instead of winter the North and South poles of the planet get almost continuous sunlight. At the equator two shadows are cast at almost right angles to each other. There is no ice at the poles. In fact there seems to be almost permanent summer there. If the world has water perhaps plants continue to grow all year, like our tropics. The weather would be affected by heating from the suns and any magnetic fields may interact so I imagine a liquid iron core like ours would be an advantage.
I used to read old science fiction stories which imagined all sorts of life forms, crazy plants, strange animals based on different gravities. But I guess because of TV Sci fi we now think that all intelligent life will be bi-pedal with oddly shaped foreheads or ears….
There is an infinite universe out there but we are too parochial.
One of my favourite films is Galaxy Quest. It is a spoof sci-fi film based on the old TV cult classics. I wonder if we will ever move on from those ideas?
This was a painting I did last year but I wasn’t satisfied with the result so today I have added white to the clouds. Sorted out the curve of the earth and added shadows below the clouds to try and create a more 3d effect.
It’s half past midnight and I’m having a rest .
I’ve not had that much beer, probably a bottle, because I’m sharing with my partner, trying to see which one is best. My favourite is a chocolate flavoured porter. About 6% abv. That’s quite strong but I’ve had less than a quarter of a pint and if I can spell that I’m OK. Just chilling.
So my thoughts are.
I’m lucky to be able to do this, sit and watch TV, have a roof over my head. Be able to paint and draw. Have enough money to feed myself and my partner, run an old car…,
I wish everyone had that chance. Could live in peace. I’m a silly old idealist. But I care about people. ….maybe this is the drink talking? I see people begging in the streets. It wasn’t always like that. We were more of a caring country I think, where did we go wrong!? Austerity is a word used to hide the cruelty of the rich getting richer and the poor, well..poorer.
The working poor is the latest thing. Doctors, nurses and police taking second jobs to earn enough to live on? When did that start? Ordinary people with three or more jobs to pay the rent?
I’m leaving this here…what is happening to the world!
