The day started with a walk. The church spire reflected in a puddle seemed painterly. No longer a church, it is somewhat diminished if described as the maritime museum spire reflected in a puddle. A building in which we have attended civil wedding ceremonies that are enriched by the maritime icons that symbolise journeys of hope in this life rather than what many see as the cruel and debasing imagery of the supplanted Christian ethos.
[Read more…] about Sea and LightOn Harvest and Blue Moons
I will be very disappointed tonight. I already see that the Harvest Moon will not be visible at moonrise from South County Dublin at 1930 local time. The skies have clouded over and that’s it for this moon. It will rain instead.
[Read more…] about On Harvest and Blue MoonsPhotos and Maps
Every time I open my laptop, I see a price list of Cecil Beaton’s photographs. A bare printed list of 76 pictures that I saw in an exhibition of his photographs in April, 2017. The folded paper prevents the keyboard imprinting itself on the screen.
[Read more…] about Photos and MapsOn Becoming Four
‘I read the news today, oh boy.’
One million are dead from Covid related illness and we’re going after half a million sharks for their squalene.
‘And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh.’
Death isn’t the end in Romania. A dead man was elected as mayor in a landslide victory. Is it a coincidence that this is the country of Dracula and Frankenstein?
[Read more…] about On Becoming FourTraces of Masts
Here are eight photos of the reflections of masts of yachts on a day of high atmospheric pressure in a harbour on the east coast of Ireland. All taken during a pier walk in Dún Laoghaire with a polarised telephoto lens.
[Read more…] about Traces of MastsWatching The Watchers
‘… there is as yet no consensus on why religion arose nor on why it has so tenaciously remained. And not for lack of ideas: coopting the naturally selected brain, driving group cohesion, calming existential anxiety, protecting reputations and reproductive opportunities’
― Brian Greene Until The End Of Time.
Does religion persist because it confers an adaptive advantage? Could it be that faith is a byproduct of the evolution of cognition? Could there be better things waiting for us in the future than we are experiencing now? Once you start asking questions like this, potential answers are legion.