Confidence & Paranoia

There was an episode of Red Dwarf back I the ‘80s that I remember watching which stuck with me for some reason. It was (according to the reviews) the worst episode of Red Dwarf they made in that series, and maybe they had a point looking back at it. The thing that stuck with me from that episode however was a line by Lister…. I have to say it, I agree with Chen’s theory, well I agree up to a point 😉 there do appear to be two voices competing…

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Παρθενώνας

So…. Ο ναός που οι Αθηναίοι αφιέρωσαν στην προστάτιδα της πόλης τους, Αθηνά Παρθένο, είναι το λαμπρότερο δημιούργημα της αθηναϊκής δημοκρατίας στην περίοδο της μεγάλης ακμής της και το αρτιότερο ως προς τη σύνθεση και την εκτέλεση από τα οικοδομήματα του Ιερού Βράχου. Κτίσθηκε κατά τα έτη 447-438 π.Χ., στο πλαίσιο του ευρύτερου οικοδομικού προγράμματος που συντελέσθηκε στην Ακρόπολη με πρωτοβουλία του Περικλή, και πάνω στη θέση παλαιότερων ναών αφιερωμένων στην Αθηνά. Ο Περίκλειος Παρθενών (Παρθενών ΙΙΙ) διαδέχθηκε έναν προηγούμενο ναό, το μαρμάρινο Προπαρθενώνα (Παρθενών ΙΙ), που άρχισε να κτίζεται…

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Kelmscott Manor

During our trip away we discovered that our site wasn’t too far from Kelmscott Manor, the Cotswold retreat of William Morris and Co. The Manor is only open a couple of times a week so we decided to reschedule a few things so we could fit it into our trip. It was certainly worth it, you can tell why William Morris liked the place so much, and why they were so creative in those surroundings. The first part of our visit after leaving the car park was to visit the…

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It’s not just dribble, it’s pretentious dribble

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve visited a fair number of art galleries in Scotland and the North of England, and we have seen a great deal of great art. ‘Isabella and the Pot of Basil’ by William Holman Hunt for example (on display in the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle) is something we could have spent hours looking at. When you look at Hunt’s Isabella you can see he has spent hours observing light, shadows, colours, shape, form, how light reflects off objects onto other objects… Hunt has then…

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The Monsters are the Critics

Critic (n.) 1580s “one who passes judgement,” from Middle French critique (14c.), from the Latin criticus “a judge,” from Greek kritikos “able to make judgements” Able to make judgements, how many of us are really able to make judgements that are fair and unbiased? We often have preconceived ideas as to how something should look, sound, taste, act…. but is it fair to compare that preconceived idea with what we actually see at the cinema, or when we first listen to a CD? It’s something I’m curious about, my curiosity…

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