So many people

So many people, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

St Pancras Station, London, on a bleary early morning

Clock and girders

Clock and girders, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

At St Pancras Station, London

Model for a Hotel

Model for a Hotel, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

On the 4th plinth this year, Trafalgar Square, London

Well, back to Belfast

I'm back in Belfast now after nearly 2 weeks in London, and feeling predictably bereft and full of thoughts such as "This time last week, I was doing...". This has only been intensified by working on a small number of photos that I took while there, and which I will now post in order taken. Some of them will be from days already posted about below, and some of them will be from days you haven't seen yet.

Coal Merchant...?

Coal Merchant...?, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Point Hill, Greenwich. Can anyone decipher all of this?

And cut!

And cut!, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Done with Dorian Gray for now. So quite why these actors were still walking along I don't know. It must be an actor thing. The men even tipped their hats to the ladies.

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Forced inside while they filmed outside. Not bad scenery though!

And action!

And action!, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Very proper.

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

From left to right - Chapel dome, arcades, Queen's House, arcades, Painted Hall dome. Notice something strange happening in the foreground - a shoot, whether for film or TV I don't know, of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Bastion

Bastion, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Some old bastions on the remains of the ancient London Wall, viewed from Bastion Highwalk, Barbican, London.

Sunken water garden

Sunken water garden, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

When this area was rebuilt after the war, the planners envisaged a concrete complex which would provide living space, work space, and play space, as well as water and plants. Still the same today. Barbican, London.

Routes

Settlers, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A poem in a display on early London, The Museum of London, Londinium.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Lemon Meringue Tart, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And a steadily busier lunchtime that you can't see around the edges. Fernandez & Wells, Soho, London.

Depths

Depths, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Just up the street from Ronnie Scott's, a famous jazz club. I have no idea where this leads. Nor do I know why they carpet the ceiling. But it's very very Soho.

Bar Italia

Bar Italia, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Amazing but expensive coffee, Frith Street, Soho.

Cakes

Cakes, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And Old Compton Street very much in the foreground. As ever. It's more than the sum of its parts.

Intrepid Fox

Intrepid Fox, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

This Soho pub closed a while ago and is sadly boarded up and dead. But the carvings on the corner still remain.

Now, where was that album taken?

Find out.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey behind on the right, and Battersea Power Station with its 4 white chimneys behind and left of centre.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Right foreground: Charing Cross station with some trains poking out onto the exterior. On the left: Nelson's Column and Trafalgar Square. Behind: Soho, Covent Garden, and on the right the wooded hills are North London. The wooded area in the middle distance is Regent's Park.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Right foreground: Shell Centre. Behind its white uniform bulk, the circular building with the blue Apple ad is the London IMAX cinema. Middle foreground, the Royal Festival Hall, Nation Theatre, Hayward Gallery et al. Somerset House across the river on the left background, and in the upper right corner is the Gherkin.

Kissy kissy

In St Pancras Station, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Cute couple. In St Pancras Station, London.

In St Pancras Station

In St Pancras Station, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken in St Pancras Station, blearily, on a Sunday morning. The sculpture is of John Betjeman, a poet who campaigned to save the building from the bulldozers. Lucky he did.

Model for a Hotel, Fourth Plinth, London

Model for a Hotel, Fourth Plinth, London, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

On the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London - current work by Thomas Schütte.

Dead

Dead, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Strrrrange shopfront in Soho. Click it to find out more. I was surprised!

Ghosts

Ghosts, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

By the river front of the Royal Festival Hall, London. If you click it, it'll look better.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Wandered over to see this last night, before the Prom at the Albert Hall. You have the sense while outside it that it is solid and weighty and strong, a real edifice - and when inside, that you are in a very light, open space rather than a building. Like being under a pergola in a garden.

Stilettoes

Stilettoes, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

I don't actually care about shoes, or female ankles. Or male ones, for that matter. This is just here because I like it.

Olympics photo blog

Here is a blog documenting the complete run of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing from one pro photographer's perspective - it has the photos which of course provide the instant wow factor, but also has the photography background which provides the geekery factor also. Enjoy.

On the shelves

On the shelves, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

In lieu of a proper Friday night post, because I am feeling tired and would rather like to chill, take a look at one of my many bookshelves instead. Nosey. Truffle-hunt. Enjoy.

Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken in the back garden, earlier.

Why cameras were invented

Come on In, originally uploaded by Lisa McKinnon.

Yes, I know that I have never been to Japan. But perhaps one day.

The rule of thirds

The rule of thirds, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken with a brand-new Canon EOS 450D. It's a sharp learning curve!

Light graffiti

IMG_8720, originally uploaded by illum.

An amazing set of photos. Again, sorry, but that is all for tonight...

Voyeurism central

One of the abandoned mansions of Mike Tyson. That is all.

Money Talks - sorry, *talks*?!

Money Talks, originally uploaded by chinese_fashion.

I suppose this all depends on how snooty / particular / loving you are about your coffee. But it isn’t just about coffee, so please do read on.

So, a guy walks into a coffeeshop in Arlington. Over the water in the United States. The coffeeshop is apparently locally renowned for being Very Serious About Coffee. Just my kind of place, really, and everything that Starbuck’s isn’t. He wanders up to the bar, and orders a triple espresso. Poured over ice.

(Here, I have to explain that pouring espresso over ice destroys the crema, that brown greamy goo that sits on the surface. Inside the brown creamy goo are many, many, many of the flavour and smell elements of your little shot of caffeinated delight. Sorry.)

The barista apologises. Explains that it’s against their store policy to ice espresso. The guy fumes, and orders a triple espresso and a cup of ice separately. Pours one over the other. Gets warned that it will lead to a less-than-enjoyable drink. Becomes insulting. Isn’t thrown out, has another drink made for him (as he says, perfectly delicious) a bit later.

Then, he leaves a tip of one dollar with “FUCK YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS COFFEE POLICY” scrawled on it.

Many interesting questions rear their heads here. One: who’s in the right? Unanswerable. Two: who’s in the wrong? Slightly more clear — the guy, for that insult. Third: does his dollar give him the right to demand anything from a coffeeshop that advises its customers that it doesn’t serve just anything?

I think it says a lot about the wider differences between the work ethic in his country and my country. Here, receiving a paycheck does not mean that you must put up with any shit thrown your way. Indeed, you may highlight important points about your products and policies to customers using your store, or tell off your boss (and, indeed, your customers) for saying something rude to you.

In the States, I get the impression, when you cash your paycheck you sign a lot of your rights away in a very real sense, and your customers (who, I might add, are also employees themselves and should remember their own workaday miseries when about to open their mouths to others) are practically to be treated as if they are on the same level as god. No space for human interplay in a 10-hour workday. No space for you. Or me. Just the wallet and the product.

I won’t harp on the injustices here, or on my distant admiration for the barista and coffeeshop concerned. I will just say this again, though: in their unashamed dedication to an excellent cup of coffee, they appear to be everything that Starbuck’s isn’t.

(Also, lookee here!)

Update: the coffeeshop owner has commented (in a, well... very fiery manner!) on the issue here.

15,000

Geometry, originally uploaded by Denise V&A Web Team.

Well, here’s a thing. A great big thing, made of lots of little ones. 15,000 little Swarovski crystals (black), to be exact. And the work is by Zaha Hadid, who has featured on peripathetic before — as if we matter beside her wider fame!

I don’t have many thoughts on it right now because it was only yesterday that I first came across a photo! But I’m going to do my best to stand underneath it and feel exhilarated, vaguely scared, and frustrated with my camera, when I’m next in London.

Speaking of London, another exciting thing is happening — yes, happening, at Hyde Park. Be sure you don’t miss it — we certainly won’t. We might even refresh ourselves with some coffee on the train on the way home.

Sexual surrogacy. I know: it’s rather jarring after the last thing, but very compelling all the same. Also compelling, a human mirror — a real, live human mirror on a train. People get puzzled and amused, gradually realising this is some glorious mass practical joke.

Not for the squeamish: death of a pig. From a live pig to bacon and pork belly. Videos included. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! But this is where your bacon comes from.

The other day in work, I wasn’t working. Instead I was perusing the work of Ansel Adams, having heard all about him (very famous photographer who had his heyday back in the early 30s and 40s and really made people realise that photography could be art) but hadn’t seen much of his work. And the links at the bottom of the article are really worth exploring. But then, surfing around, I forget where exactly, I came across a page full of old photos of New York City. Marvellous stuff, with which I will leave you. But hopefully not for quite so long, this time.

Rather worrying for when I next visit....

82-8000 VC-25 c/s AIR FORCE 1

82-8000 VC-25 c/s AIR FORCE 1, originally uploaded by Canon John's 40D.

Approaching Belfast for touchdown, earlier this week.

Prayer 24/7

Prayer 24/7, originally uploaded by bartmaguire.

A nice summer day in Belfast. Complete with relaxing prayer. All the time.

Heat in Belfast? No!

Victoria Square, Belfast, originally uploaded by dukeyandelmo.

It was hot last Saturday. That's true. But I didn't realise it was so hot that the dome at Victoria Square was closed for a time as temperatures hit 30 degrees.

I wandered through, briefly, for the first time, with my friend John and thought, hmm, it's nice. But not that nice. For a start, those wooden platforms could have been made with a single curving sweep of wood, not angular panels. And the surrounding architecture could have been a bit more cohesive.

But at least we have one place in Belfast that's truly hot. That's a first.

Well, I guess it's still May

Two posts in the same month! That is something, at least.

I was looking at this page of amazing designs by Luigi Colani. The kind of page which makes you want to blog it, too. And then thought, shit, my blog has been untouched for too long. Apologies — I transferred jobs and things have been... different lately!

Full service should resume soon. Or what passes for full service here these days.

Vintage wartime newspaper goodness

Allies move down road to Rome: Germans in full retreat, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A family friend was clearing out a drawer and found that her mother (deceased when very old a few years ago) had stored a roll of chamois leather away. It was wrapped in some newspaper — this one.

There are many more pages, and closeups, to look at if you click the photo and then the photostream. There are advertisements for Guinness and Lux Toilet Soap. There are wonderful examples of typeface design and typesetting. There are all the telltale signs of old newspapers — a rubber-stamped masthead logo here, a rubber-stamped news item there, no colour, a hell of a lot more news, and some superb writing.

The date of the paper is October 17, 1943, a time when the Allies were moving up Italy as the Nazis, having rescued the deposed Mussolini, had taken temporary control and then been forced to retreat. There is a driven, enthusiastic tone to the main reporting, and this comes from the now abandoned style whereby fact and open speculation are frankly mixed into a single news story. It also, of course, comes from the need for propaganda.

Keith Jarrett - Tokyo Solo

Keith Jarrett: Tokyo Solo, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

It’s become chilly in the house today. But I didn’t notice until this DVD had stopped.

It still hasn’t stopped in my head.

After his bout of chronic fatigue syndrome, Jarrett returned to the stage with two solo concerts in Japan, one of which was recorded for CD and published under the title Radiance, the other recorded for this DVD. His style had changed — instead of the familiarly monumental, arching single-movement improvisations, these were a series of shorter, more impressionistic creations.

I said at the time that this new music was pottery very much still on the wheel before the comparative solidity of The Carnegie Hall Concert, and this DVD answers me with as much riveting music as anyone could ask for.

There are times when he abandons note-values altogether; others when he shares his knowledge of Bach and Shostakovich within five minutes of each other and it doesn’t jar in the slightest. Times when, if you’ve heard Radiance or Carnegie Hall, you might wonder why the audience doesn’t applaud at the end of a piece — until you realise with a little excitement that nobody had ever heard him doing this before.

It shows, too — at one point, a person starts clapping late, thinking that the start of a new piece is the final hesitant blush of the last one. His face undergoes a quick crease like wind over water, the music stops for 10 seconds — and never returns, abandoned as he starts again with a completely different idea and carries it for 20 minutes.

Some of you won’t love the relative lack of big, broad tunes and immediately catchy hooks, but you will know everything is alright when you see him give the the audience a little glance of quizzical, playful agreement before each of the three Standards he plays as encores.

The sound is top-quality (5.1 Dolby and DTS if that matters to you), and the picture is just Jarrett and the piano surrounded by darkness, shot wide and closeup from different angles in perfect focus. My advice, as with that of others is, of course, to buy it.

Greenwich snow

Greenwich snow, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Jonathan sent me this photo he took this morning. It's April, for goodness' sake! And this is central London. Surreal and marvellous.

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.