relic

The place to be. (Not any more).

Junk in the Trunk

sun wall

Collecting Loss

Carol Mavor, a lecturer at Manchester University, author and all round odd-ball, loves photography. Just read an article written by Mavor called 'Collecting Loss', on female fetishism - in Mavor's case this is the fetishisation of clothing and photography, and the roles both play in narrating the past, and consequently, loss. Its a good article, a little sentimental, but I recommend it. Anyway, as Mavor explains, Roland Barthes the great voice of photography coined the term 'Punctum', meaning the 'inexplainable, but always personalised, sense of being wounded or pierced by a photographic image.' The word seems to fit the meaning perfectly, gonna adopt it.

Lewis Carole, Irene MacDonald, 1863
A much loved photograph by Mavor

Hooks

When times get tough, get darning

podge

in moderation, is hugely underrated.

Manchester Museum

This is a part of my univeristy buildings, I can't think of a better way to spend spare mintures between lectures. Skeletons, mummies, taxidermy...The photos are awful, sorry.

Undercover

This is in the window of an art cafe in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. The exhibition 'Undercover', displays the work of embroidery graduates from Manchester Metropolitan. The cafe, Nexus, is slightly smelly and serves things like jacket potatoes and watery cappucinos, but I'm told it's real cool. The exhibition is scattered around the the cafe, amongst cracked leather sofas and hanging from the ceiling. Its pretty bad, but I thought this was quite effective.

Graham Sutherland

Saw this in a newspaper magazine today. I don't really know anything about Graham apart from that this is pretty great.

Somerset Maugham, Graham Sutherland,1949
Seems pretty modern for a painting of 1949.

what a fox

christmas lights

give the living room the same glare as the top deck of a nightbus

colour

No sunshine for weeks... I almost don't trust colour exists

sublime?

I'm writing an essay on the Sublime. It started off being quite interesting, but after working for five hours straight yesterday with a friend in my kitchen which was freezing and smelt like onion mixed with golden virginia, the enjoyment is kind of wearing off.

Gordale Scar, James Ward. 1812-1814

Monk by the Sea, Casper David Friedrich. 1808-1810

Snow storm - Steamer off a Harbour's Mouth, Turner. 1809.

bad boob jobs

However incredible Michelangelo's sculpture was his depictions of the female body are torturously ugly.

bristol sun

First time Bristol, the puddle of the south, has seen the sun in months. It only lasted for five minutes early on sunday morning before the clouds descended but it was really great.

I met a boy called rich with great teeth

milk snatcher

Toilets

This is by far the prettiest building on the street tucked away and unused while the closest public toilet is a fifteen minute walk away and bears more than a passing resemblance to trainspotting's worst toilet in the world. The sole lightbulb looks down stairs of gritty cracked tiles and hosts a congregation of Bristol's least desirable characters.

Procrastination

Anything but the reading means drawing Gadaffi and colouring in Biggie.

fortune telling parrot

Joseph Cornell, 1937-38
Not as good as Istanbul, but still pretty great.

Max Ernst

Attirement of The Bride, 1940

Modern Life

is 'nothing more than a vital energy, the will to love and to power, swimming in a sea of disorder, anarchy, destruction, individual alienation and despair.’
Thanks Nietzsche.

bleak

Elephant and Castle

Friendly boarded up housing estate. A haven for the homeless or squat party promoters to be sure

Afflecks

One not to be missed. You can buy gems like these

Fortune Teller

So you pay this man 3 Lira, which is actually loads (£1.50) and he says 'What your name' and you tell him, then he says 'Chicken or rabbit' and you say rabbit(or chicken), and then he pulls out a draw with loads of little bits of paper in all folded up. Then he says to the rabbit, 'for (and says your name)' and holds the tray infront of the rabbit, and then rabbit picks a bit of paper from a tray of hundreds. And that, is your fortune. Mine said I had an important decision to make on monday. The guy had only 3 teeth, and they were all wobbly. I love Istanbul.
This is the ticket for the ferry

And these are the original harem pants

new term grim north

Top of the road

New hang out in the peaks


Better than the west country, scallys eat sweets too
And in Stockport...

to the window

Can't get the legs the right way round. Really want to see the original 1975 'Grey Gardens' documentary about Jackie Onassis' reclusive relatives but it's £15 on Amazon. Drew Barrymore is in the remake, I'm having difficulty imagining her irritating nasal drawl and constant 'just been slapped' facial expression suiting either Edie.

Manchester