It amazes me that a speech made 73 years ago, (and from a movie at that) can still be so hauntingly relevant. Chaplin has such conviction, and pairing it with The Album Leaf for backing tugs at your emotions.

I don’t know if I could name a favourite, different books have meant different things to me over my life. Something that was perspective altering at 15 has a diminished return when reading it years later. As such, the answer to this question will always be very of the moment. I like to seek out new material rather than tread old ground but despite this I’ve read The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy several times in the half decade since I first encountered it.

I’ll leave you to investigate the story of the book if you so desire, but the overarching plot is about the complete and utter collapse of one man’s life due to a decision he made two decades before. The decision itself, while terrible, did not set him on the path of an inescapable fate; rather his own continued bullheadedness and pride was his eventual ruination. I like to take this message as a reminder to keep myself in check.

The protagonists will is also my favourite passage of any book, as it sums up his acceptance of what has befallen him and how he wishes for all he has achieved to be cast aside in the hopes that his mistakes will also be forgotten.

That Elizabeth-Jane Farfrae be not told of my death, or made to grieve on account of me.
& that I be not bury’d in consecrated ground.
& that no sexton be asked to toll the bell.
& that nobody is wished to see my dead body.
& that no murners walk behind me at my funeral.
& that no flours be planted on my grave.
& that no man remember me.
To this I put my name.
Michael Henchard.

I did criticise her actions by sending “Asks” so she could publicly explain herself but despite having a blurb about “answering every question” she repeatedly ignored everything I sent to her. I even sent her the image; it’s not as if I’m laughing at her behind her back.

I do speak my mind on material that I mention on here, it’s just generally through messages or IM. As someone who’s clearly read all my posts, you’re failing to neglect a number of things I do express my opinion on, if you wanted to hear my thoughts on something in particular then all you have to do is ask - I owe no public obligation.

I made it on a public platform because I thought some of my possessions might be of interest to those with similar tastes; everyone who follows me, for the most part, has found me through ‘tags’.

Why be so critical? It’s a privilege afforded of anonymity I understand, but what do you have to gain. A feeling of superiority? How brave of you to put smug, arrogant me in my place, you’ve certainly knocked me down a notch!

I stopped studying physics something like 7 years ago, my knowledge from that point is something of a mish-mash of journal articles and layman’s books such as “A Brief History of Time” which doesn’t really cover the theory of special relativity.

Thanks for reminding me I have to investigate it more, I already know about time dilation/length dilation and how Einstein ties time to light etc but it was a jokey throwaway Facebook comment made with out much thought; not a heated discussion. I’d love to chat about the topic though if you’re interested!

Well, it’s nice to know someone has read all my posts! That girl’s “About Me” was hilarious, I have no regrets about belittling her; especially since I remember she was being horrific to people who had asked her questions as well as telling tweens to self-medicate depression with LSD and other such idiocy.

If formal education can not be used to judge someone’s intelligence then what scale do you propose? Even measurements such as Mensa IQ Tests can be gamed if you regularly take such tests and know the type of questions to expect. Clearly neither of us are stupid, but it’s far too easy to highlight anyone’s faults and flaws when they are making personal posts. No one is infallible; undoubtedly I could just as readily make scathing and belittling remarks about your persona if you weren’t hiding behind a veil of anonymity.

This is my personal blog, I originally set it up with the intention of making a photo record of everything I own and leaving a few remarks about each possession. It’s moved away from that idea though, as blogs are apt to do - but so what? I don’t reblog anyone or go out of my way to interact with people on this site, why do you think I care what internet strangers think of me?

This map was made over 30 years ago by an anonymous Japanese man, who worked as a janitor in a public university (Good Will Hunting anyone?).

It took him an almost unobtainable standard of focus over a period of 7 years to intricately ink this labyrinth of brobdingnagian proportions onto an A1 canvas (33” x 23”).

Full size prints are obtainable for ￥1,480 (£10) here.

Arrogant in what sense? I haven’t actively belittled anyone on this blog as far as I’m aware.

I like to ramble on; how I get across ideas isn’t very enunciated at times I’ll admit - but so what?

Intelligence is hard to rate in any capacity but as far as education goes I have 5 A Levels, 14 GCSE’s and a degree in Criminal Law. I am constantly seeking to further my knowledge on a variety of topics and I keep up with what is happening, the world over. Not to turn anything into a pissing contest but where do you draw the line between someone passing themselves off as intelligent and someone who is actually well versed?

Now if you had called me egocentric and a narcissist, well, you might have been making a better assessment of my character…

It’s sad to see that Taylor Mead has passed. He was a delightfully flamboyant man during the beat movement, a stark contrast to the reserved composures Ginsberg and others upheld. With that propensity it wasn’t long before he became embroiled within the Factory scene despite being almost twice the age of the majority of the gang; he went on to be a father figure of the underground and featured in several of Warhol’s short films leading to him working with numerous of the ‘Warhol Superstars’.

His role in this piece is oft overlooked, for focus is typically on the greatest star of all; Candy Darling. Despite this, he delivers a powerful performance! On a side note, it even features an appearance by the elusive East Village darling, Craig Vandenburgh, (who tended to bring a touch of Pink Narcissus to his live performances from what I can gather from archive footage).

The secret ending for completing ‘The Great Gatsby’ without dying.