Wordless Wednesday
Category: Humanity
Sunday Slackers
Time for tea, and a schmoozy through some fun stuff …
Technology: Fifteen of the most advanced robots ever invented (video) I’m quite keen on the PR2 – and I checked the date to make sure it wasn’t an April Fool prank!
Literary Art: Graffiti artists’ tributes to Sir Terry Pratchett
And in related news – How you can tell if you’re in an STP novel. Carry on down and read the comments, there are plenty more ways.
Reaper
Indigo eyes of the exterminating angel
Forewarn of potential danger
A wreath of barbs in the tear garden
Create a fiendish tangle
Her grimy soul in isolation
Catches rain within her hands
Weeping song drips through her fingers
And sings a note of salvation
Pity their ignorance in the joy of diversity
Forgive their joy in the pursuit of bigotry
Refuse to kow tow to conformity
The Reaper will have her revenge.
This is a new piece of artwork by Richard Jefferies in his Goth on My Keyboard series.
After contributing poems responding to Richard’s wonderful character for his Goth on My Keyboard charity book, Richard produced a new image for a reading I gave at a Seasonally Effected evening. The result was the Reaper poem above, which doesn’t appear in the book.
If you’d like to contribute to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, you can find a link to the book in my original blog post here, which gives you more information on the charity.
Sunday Slackers
A fine excuse to put the kettle on …
Space: The final frontier – these images are little bit more spectacular than what I saw here in the south east on Friday. I’m not bitter. But I totally blame Dara and Brian for getting me all excited and then …nothing.
Nature: A tortoise, a croc and Sir David Attenborough. We may be being a little insensitive to the tortoise’s feelings – but it’s too funny not to share. I normally watch the GN Show so I must have been on a rare night out to have missed this.
R.I.P Sir Terry Pratchett
Sir Terry suffered from PCA, a form of Alzheimer’s disease, for the past seven years. Although we’ve been robbed of his genius, we can help to save others by donating via the Just Giving page set up in his memory.
Sunday Slackers
This week’s lazy Sunday selection …
Art: Sort of – people who didn’t know they were art until it was too late!
Business: 5 Reasons Darth Vader made a great leader
The physics of productivity: Newton’s Laws for getting stuff done
For writers: 10 Blunt Tips from Geoff Dyer – who has to feel like he’s bunking off from something!
Film: Raiders of the Lost Ark sweded – by 11 year olds
The People’s Strictly Blub-Fest
The People’s Strictly kicked off last night – and shares in Kleenex must have soared!
With an audience potentially split between this, The Brits and Wolf Hall, it quickly became clear that for depth of character, drama, passion and all round life affirming goodness, BBC1 was the place to be.
This wasn’t just any emotional rollercoaster. This was us being more emotionally rollercoastered than ever before, as we met three of the deserving Strictly Come Dancing fans being given their chance to shine in the Strictly ballroom.
Michael, Cassidy and Heather are three of the most inspiring people you’ll ever meet. Their selflessness in the face of shattering adversity in their own lives just serves to remind us how powerful the human spirit really is. Read all about them below, along with Trishna, Anna and Phil, who we’ll be introduced to next week and whose stories are just as incredible.
From left to right of the above image (top row and then bottom):
- Anna Kennedy, who set up a school for people with autism, is dancing with Robin Windsor
- Former Marine medic, Cassidy Little, is dancing with Natalie Lowe
- Heather Parsons, who set up a charity to support intensive care patients and their families, is dancing with Ian Waite
- Youth theatre company director and fundraiser Phil Barnett is dancing with Janette Manrara
- Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser and awareness campaigner Trishna Bharadia is dancing with Aljaz Skorjanez
- Meningitis fundraiser and awareness campaigner Michael Pattie is dancing with Aliona Vilani
The couples will compete for the People’s Glitter Ball in a live show on March 11, hosted by Tess and Claudia. We’ll vote for our winner, who’ll be crowned The People’s Strictly champion during Comic Relief on March 13.
The Twitter timeline was awash with virtual tears and tributes to these amazing people. Here’s a selection (to prove it wasn’t only me sobbing my heart out!)
The Three Heroes (click to read the quotes)
The Heartbreaking One
The Men Sobbing
The Competitive Edge
The Unashamed Tributes (a fraction)
The Last Words
Sunday Slackers
The internet of interesting things. Put the kettle on and while away your Sunday …
Animals 1: (video) Everybody’s gone surfin’, surfin’ USA (Uplifting Seal Adventure)
Sculpture: Wooden transformation
For screenwriters: Download 9 Oscar Screenplays
Photography: A gorgeous view of Venice
Adult fun: Who’s with me?
Tech: For lazy people
Family Fun: Hilarious, yet also somehow creepy
Animals 2 (video): Unlikely best friends
Art: Ancient mosaics in Greece
Politics: What it means to ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ Britain First content
Stupidity: A lighter, totally unrelated note to the last link 😉
Extreme Sports (video): Don’t try this at home. I know it’s tempting, since we’re having a little bit of white slushy stuff falling intermittently …
Sunday Slackers
The internet of interesting things to enjoy on the Sunday slow-way … help yourself to a biscuit.
Culture: Douglas Adams on what it is to be English
Art: Even if you don’t believe in all that astrology stuff, you’ll want to check yours out!
Life: An incredibly inspiring story
Death: All men (and women) must die. But what about after? I want to be a tree …
Writing: How to write a screenplay that sells itself
Music: Brilliant one-man cover version of Uptown Funk
Photography: Fascinating old photos, some odd, some poignant
Sunday Slackers
The Internet of Fascinating Things …
Being active online means coming across far too much good stuff than I can personally read during the week or can be shared on my Twitter and Facebook timelines without annoying the hell out of friends and followers. So I’ve decided to collect them all together in one handy blog post that I can enjoy at my leisure, along with the hope that you do too 🙂
Miscellaneous: Bikeshedding and Parkinson’s Law – In thirty odd years of employment, I’ve come across this a lot! I’ve been to meetings where the only decision made was – the date of the next meeting! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law
For writers: Two heads are better than one http://www.bang2write.com/2013/06/4-reasons-2-heads-are-better-than-1-by-gareth-meredith.html
Nature: An excerpt from Chasing Ice – the largest ice glacier calving filmed. Awe inspiring and yes, scary. http://uk.businessinsider.com/largest-ice-glacier-calving-filmed-2015-1 and some ice pictures to show up close how beautiful it cab be http://www.boredpanda.com/natural-winter-snow-ice-art/
Music: You know that joke about someone’s singing sounding like cats? http://www.reshareworthy.com/boys-choir-sing-funny-song/#xqUKpalS67mwzoZ5.01
Creativity: Cassy’s 100 ways to get creative. What are you waiting for? http://www.cassyfry.com/2015/01/100-ways-to-get-creative.html/
Humanity: Restore your faith in 4 minutes flat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btiDHCuWyBA
Animals: Literally shaking a tail feather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bt9xBuGWgw
Festival: The first South Coast Jazz Festival, 23-25th January, support it if you can. http://www.southcoastjazzfestival.com/
Practical joking: I started laughing at the description, then got mildly hysterical as it went on, which became maniacal cackling. http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2015/01/09/limbo-stick-prank/
Quote of the Week:
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
Jaye Nolan 