Okay, I know that this is not exclusive but I love this man and I am curious about his new book. Also, with his rare media appearances and after so many pages I have read by him, it's fun to finally hear and watch him talk.
Hi arrogance and confidence, which are absolutely deserved, make me crazy and I really want to either kick him hard or smother him with kisses, but at the end I think that I could only stutter and look stupid if I had the chance to meet him in person....
Also, don't you remember a short story by a sci-fi author that dealt with an invisible dome sometime in the late 70's or 80's?! I bet my fur I have read it! I will post again when I find the story, and until then - enjoy ol' Steve.
He is ageless. He speaks very quietly and virtually in verse. Born in Malaysia, Shan now walks the streets of London and on Mondays we share a Creative Writing class together. Also, he takes exquisite photos which you can see here.
Today I am publishing 3 of his untitled poems. Enjoy!
Poem 1
'Twas hung upon a thread, Set above knives, A thing tender - so delicate, As a candle's dying fire, lies - naked to that last strong wind, It is lost in strife It is lost in vice, That thing - That mead of Life
Poem 2
Wine on wine, My wine, upon thy lip, Thy lip upon mine, What's wine now, what's brine? As crazed man, I lose count, Our night's heavenly mount.
Poem 3
I'll write myself an epitaph, but how can I, without first being dead? So I'll write to a lover lost Tell her what to write, And write, that life - Did my feeble senses, exhaust.
Guns and Roses (and Radishes and Red Peppers Too!) I suppose I shouldn't go on forever with posting random (if interesting) photos here and calling them proper blog posts (at least for a writer), but I hope I can get away with doing just that till I find myself in a better position time-wise, which basically means the end of my first semester in mid-December. However, I am carefully choosing the photos in question with the hope that they will illustrate what I can't verbally express due to lack of time - and indeed my fascination with art and beauty.
Here is a guy who shoots his photographic objects....literally. I've seen something similar with flower vasesbut thisis quite fun too:
"The California-based photographer Alan Sailer, 54, has captured a series of otherwise unassuming items as they explode on contact with a bullet.
The dramatic results feature everything from flowers to fruit, as well as more unexpected items such as bacon and even snow globes.
An expert at high-speed photography, Mr Sailer takes the pictures in a dark room positioned around 20cm from the target. The camera, which features a unique home-made flash, is set at a one-second delay."
He says: 'The special item is the flash. It is a home-built unit based on the design of Harold Edgerton*. The flash is about .5 microsecond in duration and runs at 17,000 volts. It is beyond dangerous, it's deadly.
'The flash is triggered when the pellet from a rifle travelling at about 200 metres per seconds passes through a laser beam. Its the same principle as those beams that set off a chime when you walk into a store,' he continues.
'The camera is set at one second and an f-stop of 9-13 depending on the reflectivity of the subject. The flash stops the action. The one second gives me time to click the camera shutter with one hand while I pull the trigger on the rifle with the other.'
I will allow myself just a short commentary on those images - they capture a powerful dynamic and speed, and the result is cheerful, almost magical. Now imagine what this bullet does to flesh.
Once in a Lifetime - Do You Speak Whale? Last Christmas I had the opportunity to swim with dolphins. Although it was a very controlled experience, somewhat of a tourist attraction really, it was amazing to be able to be in the same realm with a real dolphin and to actually hug and kiss it. Dolphins are smooth and soft and very loud creatures, always smiling and playing and celebrating life, even in captivity!
The next thing I dream about doing is this:
It's a good fantasy for the mid-term busy times in cold and wet London.
Just a short reminiscence of the times before..........
Water Melon-choly The art of Thai vegetable and fruit carving originates from the floating lantern festival (Loi Krathong Festival) of the kingdom of Thailand at Sukhothai dynasty 700 years ago.
Cloud Porn I borrowed the title for this post from a group I'm member inon Flickr. The content is much more innocent than it sounds - I found those images around the intewebs and I couldn't wait to share them (as I said, I just don't have time to write; it's so busy busy busy lately). I wish I could say I've seen as well defined shapes in the clouds myself... but hey, there are so many summers and so many hours of lying in fields and staring at the sky ahead of me!
