Bombshell is a podcast on US defense policy – it’s pretty good. One thing they do is ask all new guests a set of the same questions. There was a first series set of questions, and now they’ve changed them with a second set. They’re interesting, so I thought I’d answer them myself. Old set:ContinueContinue reading “Questions”
Author Archives: Ian Rapley
Diary v8.0
Ghost in the machine I’m not sure I can express this without seeming a bit condescending, but my voyage into shepherding has been a total education in so many different unexpected directions. One thing I’ve been thinking about is the extent to which we tend to think about creative expression in terms of novelty andContinueContinue reading “Diary v8.0”
In Spring
“In Spring It Is The Dawn” starts The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. For me in the winter, the most beautiful moments are the ones with cold and clear skies, where the very emptiness gives a real sense of the vast amount of space above our heads, straight off to infinity.
Diary v.6?
World building I watch Game Of Thrones – I’m not particularly proud of it, but it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure. I think that its great strength in the early stages was a willingness to violate time honoured rules of narrative in fantasy – most obviously to let anyone, anyone, die at any moment.ContinueContinue reading “Diary v.6?”
A Day At The Sales
I mentioned before Nelson, with its handball court and breed of sheep. Here is the court (not, I assume in its original form), from a month ago when I went to see the annual ewe sale: The sale took place in a field down a rutted track that was marked only by some temporary signs,ContinueContinue reading “A Day At The Sales”
Diary V
Tree trunks I’ve been reading a book recently that I picked up after hearing of it on the Talking Politics podcast. It’s interesting, but I’ve also found it a little intimidating because it’s somewhere north of 700 pages long. What’s more, looking at my to-read shelf, I can see at least 4 other brick-sized booksContinueContinue reading “Diary V”
Diary 4.0
On Naming There’s a lot of variety in the fluffy white sheep milling about the fields throughout Britain. There are distinct breeds, and then there are the mules – crosses developed to match the best qualities from two or more breeds. Their names often tell you something about their origins – Border Leicesters, LincolnContinueContinue reading “Diary 4.0”
Stepping into the same city twice
I lived in Tokyo between 1999 and 2001. It was during my early twenties, so in many ways it was a pivotal experience, a coming of age. I’ve been back a few times since – for a few weeks at a time for work, and then in 2009(?) a three month spell for research. MostContinueContinue reading “Stepping into the same city twice”
Diary 3.0
The Temple of Dendur I was listening to The Memory Palace podcast talking about the Temple of Dendur. I’ve never been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, nor heard of the temple, before but a line stuck out about the prominence that a fairly minor Egyptian building now has in one of the world’s majorContinueContinue reading “Diary 3.0”
About 9 months of idle banter
Originally posted on Zeelite:
After about 9 months of idle banter, 4 of fencing, and 4 of hunting, we’ve finally got a flock of sheep up and running. As they go, three barely makes a flock, but hopefully we can add to them later on this summer. In the last few months, as a break…
Fireflies 