I've just come back from the driving range - after work Dad and I decided to go hit some balls around, but didn't really have time to do a whole nine holes. I have to say, I was more Happy Gilmore than Nick Faldo. That said I think I'm sorting out the slice I've had for a while now, so it wasn't a wasted trip at all. I do need to seriously look at my swing though, as the papa is getting an awful lot longer on equivalent hits, and I really doubt that it's because of any greater strength on his part. Maybe I will have to start sneaking off on my own and getting some practice in. I know that sounds a little bit...unsportsmanlike, but to be honest, to maintain an illusion of effortless superiority, I really amd ok with it.

Otherwise not much as been on, so I think I'll start another book (I finished The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro the other day, and it was really excellent). I'm eyeing up Richard III, which, to my great shame, I have never read. For some reason I have difficulty in reading anything I associate with uni at home though. I guess I figure I need to be reading it 'properly'. Well, we will see. So far the only things I have read that is really relevant are a few chapters out of Kerrigan's book, and flipping through some illustrations and paintings in a book on Renaissance art, bit of a primer I bought a few weeks ago. Although even those have been mildly succesful, and I discovered that in 1591 lovely Elizabeth was treated to a pretty extraordinary example of hospitality at Elvetham where a new garden was established with an island and tritons for her pleasure. That and the fact that I discovered that 'island' is both a noun (self-apparent), and a declarative - 'I land'. I'm really getting excited by this terraforming idea - I think it has a lot of legs, and lots of interesting crossover with ecocrit. On top of that I'm starting to think about the idea of replication and miniatures, which kind of goes hand in hand with terraforming. For an idea of this kind of duplication I had a look at Albrecht Altdorfer's The Battle of Alexander at Issus, which seems almost fractal like in its reductions. Anyway, that's just nonsense really, but suffice to say, I'm excited. Definitely excited. Also I wish I had graduated. I think I'm the only one in the world who hasn't yet, and after seeing some lovely pictures of my girlfriend's graduation, I want to wear a stupid hat too! Bring on Spetember I say!

Labels: islands

"The circle of human knowledge, illuminated by the pale, cold light of reason, is so infinitesimally small, the dark regions of human ignorance which lie beyond that luminous ring so immeasurably vast, that imagination is feign to step up to the borderline and send the warm, richly colored beams of her fairy lantern streaming out into the darkness ; and so, peering into the gloom, she is apt to mistake the shadowy reflections of her own figure for real beings moving in the abyss.

Sir James George FrazerThe Golden Bough

April 2010 / May 2010 / June 2010 / July 2010 / August 2010 / September 2010 / February 2011 / April 2011 / August 2011 / September 2011 /

I'm so popular. / Shakespearean folly / Rev Road / It's too darn hot... / From Russia, with love / Edin-burrr. / おくりびと / HEY / A long time coming / Don't get excited. /

The title of this blog comes from a poem by Coleridge, A Wish: Wriiten in Jesus Wood, Feb. 10th, 1792, Plus most blogs are moans anyway. Including this one. lol manuscripts

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I'm a 23 year-old student in London Cambridge London, studying English Literature Law. It's hard to really think of anything truly personal I can put here that might give you some idea of who I am, so I will just tell you that my favourite Shakespeare play is Richard II, my favourite chocolate bar is Snickers, and I have a bit of a thing for instant coffee, especially if someone else makes it for me.

I'm interested in Renaissance Literature, Higher Education policy, and libraries.
I'm completely in love with a Scottish girl.