Back from a lovely weekend in Hobart, Tasmania. A beautiful, serene, friendly city, and a great place for a rejuvenating break. It reminded M. a bit of Plymouth (although presumably, without Plymouth's pockets of urban grunge, and the notorious post-nightclub brawls between naval officers and local youth). M. was there for a full week, giving a ( Read more... )

Last Friday, I went on a quest to find Wuxia films on DVD.

I've decided that this is quite possibly my favourite contemporary film genre. The best action, the most breathtaking cinematography, the most detailed set designs, the best-looking lead actors. Basically, all of what makes film "filmic".

There's a great rental place not far from campus ( Read more... )

Very, very excited to discover today that my favourite imprint, Persephone (which re-publishes forgotten classics by women writers), has an online presence in the form of the Persephone PostFor lovers of the Omega workshops, books, textile design, English landscapes, urban history ( Read more... )

I'm an intermittent viewer of TED Talks, but had to link to this one featuring Eva Zeisel. Zeisel, the brilliant Hungarian designer and ceramicist (who turned 104 on November 13), speaks about her rich life and gives a snapshot of her philosophy ( Read more... )

The 2009 Melbourne Festival has just started, predicting a few weeks of random art and discovery. :-)

Last night was the last hurrah of the opening weekend celebrations, which saw a bunch of bell-themed street theatre (or, as the French put it, "les arts de la rue") invade the city at dusk, all preceded by a carillion of bells pealing out from the ( Read more... )