Splashes

Splashes, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

In the past hour, there has been a rare (for Belfast, that is) storm, with impressive, deep rumbles of thunder, flashes of sheet lightning, and minutes later a torrential downpour of hail.

I stood outside while the hail was coming down, and feared for the flimsy patio roof above my head, in the way you would feel a pleasing terror at a horror movie. When the thunder-flashes came, every few minutes, it was as if you’d blinked when you hadn’t; a tic in the visual field, nothing more. Which was dispelled when the rumbles arrived. Then I read this:

The speed of sound in air is approximately 344 m/s or 1130 feet per second or 762 mph. The speed of light can be assumed to be infinite in this calculation because one must know that there has been a lightning strike before starting counting. Therefore, the lightning is approximately one kilometer distant for every 2.9 seconds (or one mile for every 4.6 seconds). In the same five seconds the light could have circled the globe 37 times.

Ahhh. The world we live in.

twombly

twombly, originally uploaded by madabandon.

Well, I can’t wait until the summer, when I get to go to London again, and perhaps just as importantly, see a retrospective of Cy Twombly’s work in Tate Modern. Don’t worry — you haven’t missed anything because it isn’t there yet.

Truth is, I was trying to write a post in my head about a superb film called The Counterfeiters, which I saw last night. I couldn’t because it’s still too fresh. And then I found I couldn’t fully relax into a substantial post about anything much here, because the new way of blogging on this host makes everything seem rather... ill-fitting. It’s like having a new bed. Or writing with a type of pen you’ve never used before in your life.

Anyway, hopefully this post cracks it.

peripathetic has a new home!

Hopefully you should be able to see this post. peripathetic has a new home! I'm sorry that comments have been disabled for all posts except those written after the recent move - it was a side-effect of the migration and I can do nothing about it. Still, there will be plenty of opportunity in the future.

peripathetic may have yet another new home in a little while, but that would be the final move. Ever. I'm looking into options and will keep you all posted.

peripathetic is moving house!

I've been thinking about moving hosts (and blogging platforms, for that matter) for a while, and it's recently come to a head with the revelation that I only have about 3MB free here on tripod.

So I'm going to be moving this blog to (hopefully!) http://paperpete.blogspot.com/ as of now. Please update your bookmarks, feed readers, etc. A 'copy' of peripathetic will stay here for a while so that this post is visible, and if the new URL isn't going to be what I think it is, please use google. This is the only blog of this name in the whole world.

Please also bear with me just in case any nastiness of any kind crops up over at blogspot. I'm treating this move to blogspot as really only a halfway house until another possible move to another blogging platform, but we'll see how things go over there. One thing that I can tell you is that your comments aren't going to move across, and only flickr photos will stay. The rest will most likely be replaced with nasty tripod placeholders until and unless I can fix them. Layouts will be different, and I may play around with them or not.

Now, fasten your seatbelts and hope this isn't a bumpy ride!

Innuendo

Strange linguistic collision - only a wee butt, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

It's only a little butt. I can vouch for that personally. On the side of a bus, Belfast. This ad is about rubbish and smoking - I wonder if the authorities would accept this excuse for more... flagrant offences?

Itching to go

Itching to go, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Could anything be greyer? I can't wait to get home for a nice, long weekend.

Muñoz

Muñoz, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

This, because i can't get it out of my head, is one of the haunting works in Tate Modern's exhibition. If you can, go before it leaves in the near future. Image from the Guardian.

Musical Habitat

Musical Habitat, 2, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

This is a former cinema on Regent Street, London, and is now a Habitat. The cinema Wurlitzer Organ is still there behind the grille on the wall; you can see the console on the shopfloor - and there's a recital once a week. We weren't there for the recital, but for coffee, but the coffeeshop has shut. Shame.

Shades of community

Shades of community, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A community centre near Waterloo, opened last year. The colours and overhanging glass are wonderful. It just needed to be a bit sunnier, that's all.

Placeless balconies, Tate Modern

Placeless balconies, Tate Modern - 2, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Part of the Juan Munoz retrospective, Tate Modern, London. These were placed on the concourse on level 4, so anyone just walking past the exhibition entrance can get close to them. They started to unsettle me about 20 minutes after I'd seen them and had moved on.

Stepping into air

Stepping into air, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

I made this as light as possible so the dark grey sky would overexpose as white. It worked! Bankside, London.

Work, Wake, Woozy

Work, Wake, Woozy, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Typical morning scene, Greenwich.

Shameless

Shameless, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Notice who has nearly finished - and who has barely got a chance to start. Is this equality? Greenwich, London.

Undignified

Undignified, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A bit of fish in the sink and your hauteur goes right down the drain. Greenwich, London.

Wild and lovely

Wild and lovely, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

The things you see on pavements! Seven Dials, London.

Upside-down venue

Upside-down venue, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

The Queen Elizabeth Hall entrance, reflected in freshly-fallen, foul, cold rain, South Bank.

Winter sheen

Winter sheen, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

I underexposed this as much as possible to approximate the strange effect that bright days can have on your pupils.

Reluctant

Reluctant, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Lee was unconvinced that a photo would be the best idea in the world. South Bank.

You *really* think so?

You *really* think so?, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Feline disbelief, Greenwich.

Fortified

DSCN1988, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

This building looks like it should be some Cold War era defence complex. In fact it looks a lot like the big spaceship which features in Aliens, in a way. Southwark, London.

Colours

DSCN1984, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Muted slightly by the grey afternoon.

Starts here

DSCN1995, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And keeps going riiiiiight to the other end of the Turbine Hall. It's a lot of chasm/crevasse/dislocation.

Deep

DSCN2030, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And dark. Can't see the bottom.

Photo opp.

DSCN2068, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

People were making a bee-line for this all the time. Once they noticed it. One girl said "where's the sculpture?" and had to have it pointed out. But despite its depth nobody seems very afraid.

This actually isn't...

DSCN2088, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

...a crack but rather a penetration. Apparently. But it did get surprisingly deep in places. Tate Modern Turbine Hall, London.

Acting

DSCN2074, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

...the fool for the camera, Tate Modern, London.