April 2007

3: Jazz Therapy

There’s a funny section in Jonny King’s book What Is Jazz, when he describes his early student appreciation of the music. “Nearly comatose from another insufferable Renaissance history class”, he says, he returns to his room and was “instantly transported away from lectures, exams, and crummy furniture” courtesy of the great Miles Davis. Roommate one barges in and makes derogatory remarks about his hierarchy of favourites. King is “flustered and annoyed”, and resorts to Coltrane’s…
8: Woodland

The term ‘soundscape’ was coined by composer R. Murray Schafer, defined as sounds that “describe a place, a sonic identity, a sonic memory, but always a sound that is pertinent to a place”. When I was a boy, I had a library book with an idea for a new hobby: take your cassette tape recorder into nature, around town, finding interesting sounds. I never did it, because it seemed rather abstract and aimless. What do you…
9: Book review: Spiritual Intelligence by Danah Zohar, Ian Marshall

Nothing is more vulnerable and ephemeral than scientific theories, which are mere tools and not everlasting truths Carl Jung It is difficult to find a section almost anywhere in this book that is philosophically or intellectually credible. When I read it, I felt I was not engaging with the authors’ minds; I continued because I wanted to find out what they are saying, and then I went back and realised why I feel no rapport with…; Book Review: Fork in the Road by Denis Hamill

I was attracted to this book because of the recommendation on its cover, suggested by Frank McCourt who wrote Angela’s Ashes. That, plus a browse which revealed that it was quick-paced and featured Irish life and a fiery, red-haired woman. I don’t know what kind of reputation Denis Hamill has; sometimes this is useful, and sometimes I enjoy novels – and films, for that matter – which are not widely recognised and yet have much to…; Book Review: The Crow Road by Iain Banks

Phew. I started to read this book three times, re-reading the first 30 or so pages. I found it difficult, and this was for two reasons. The first is the way it references Scottish locations and place names that you have never heard of, do not know if they actually exist, and which mean nothing to you. The second is the literary intensity that Banks has; you have to concentrate. I persevered, because I knew Banks…; Book review: Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson

One of life’s minor but mentionable pleasures is discovering a new author that you like. I’ve done that with Robert McLiam Wilson because after finishing Eureka Street I know a writer of this calibre is someone I wish to explore further, that his talents will have crystallised into other compelling narratives. I was not too keen initially, because the backdrop for Eureka Street is the Irish Troubles, which repels me. I know it’s not simple,…
14: Soundslides Audio Photography

First there were home pages, built in crude but sweet HTML: tables, clunky text on bright backgrounds and, if you were really daring, maybe an animated gif. Then came the blog, and development shifted from Dreamweaver to the CMS, less concerned with arty Photoshop type design than lean and efficient content management. Quick on its heels was the photoblog, and I thought we were nearly there. Easy on the eye, personalised, visual, changing, interesting; photoblogs…
22: The Democratic Image

Our age is the age of criticism, to which everything must be subjected. The sacredness of religion, and the authority of legislation, are by many regarded as grounds of exemption from the examination of this tribunal. But, if they are exempted, they become the subjects of just suspicion, and cannot lay claim to sincere respect, which reason accords only to that which has stood the test of a free and public examination Kant: The Critique…
30: On Bicycles And Parks

(Wind distortion warning – but not too bad; it’s worth it). There’s something about parks that’s beautifully soothing, taken for granted, and rarely mentioned. At least, I’ve never seen it referred to: the melody of birds, breezes, and people talking out of doors. There’s a spaciousness to parks that antidotes the claustrophobia of big cities in particular, where social and architectural environments cramp and constrain us. You have to shout over traffic, break conversation to avoid…