fourth edition

Wall behind the Hunterian Art Gallery and most likely part of the Glasgow University Campus
I have a real weakness for old bricks. They come in all sorts of colours depending upon where they were made; they can be handmade or marked with the manufacturer’s insignia; and they tell stories. We have too many brick photos [...]

For some odd reason I keep going back to the idea of a knitted dress. I found a machine-knitted dress in Monsoon (British clothes shop) which I absolutely loved (apart from the fibre make-up) and then I saw some jaw-dropping Briars and lengthened Dusty tunics. I just sit here in my cold flat and imagine [...]

“..there is beauty in everything. What ‘normal’ people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it” – Alexander McQueen
British fashion designer, Alexander McQueen committed suicide today. He was only forty years old. McQueen was one of the very, very few who deserved to be called a genius in his chosen [...]

On Tuesday, northern Norway experienced a strange light show. No, the photo you see on your left is not a Photoshopped image. It is the real deal. But what caused this bizarre phenomenon? Bad Astronomy can tell you (incidentally, if you are not following the Bad Astronomy blog, do so! It is great).
All that aside, [...]

A few brief links:

Why not visit Pompeii from the comfort of your own home? The ruins of Pompeii are now available on Google Street View.
This is absolutely lovely: Flare, a wind-sensitive electronic dress. “As the wind gently caresses the dress or if you “blow” on the dandelions themselves, a pattern of lights will twinkle across [...]

Tomorrow my partner, David, and I are off to an arty little Halloween party. As I’m writing this, David is busy getting himself all Van Gogh‘ed up. Both ears are still intact, thankfully.  I have chosen to go as Frida Kahlo, who is pictured to the left. Having a similar colouring as Ms Kahlo [...]

“This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England… as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries. Absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells.” – Leslie Webster, Former Keeper, Department of Prehistory and Europe, British Museum
The UK’s largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered [...]

I haven’t done one of these in ages. Also: insomnia has struck.

This is my new favourite cartoon. Strong words lurk within, beware.
Robert Barclay Allardice – The Celebrated Pedestrian: “His most famous feat was the walking of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 1000 hours for 1000 guineas in 1809.”
Fancy Fast Food: “Yeah, it’s still bad for you, but [...]

Yesterday I found a new favourite place in Glasgow. Walking into Tam Shepard’s Trick Shop is like walking into another world, another era. The shop could have been straight out of the 1930s – except for the Obama masks and the nu-rave-esque wigs. It is a place where the owner will start a Victor Borge [...]

Ooooh, nice location and a suitable size! I also like that it hasn’t been refurbished beyond recognition (I have a particular bone to pick with developers putting Poggenpohl-knock-off kitchens into Victorian properties).  Shame about the price, of course.
A few months ago David and I went to see the Swedish vampire film, Let the Right One [...]