I keep coming back to this.

Thinking always of my island in the Hebrides[12], which I suppose I shall never possess nor even see. Compton Mackenzie says even now most of the islands are uninhabited (there are 500 of them, only 10 per cent inhabited at normal times), and most have water and a little cultivable land, and goats will live on them.

[12] This is the first reference to Orwell’s dream of living in the Hebrides, to be realised in 1945 when he rented Barnhill, on Jura. Compare Winston Smith’s version of ‘the Golden Country’ in Nineteen Eighty-Four; see also Orwell’s review of Priest Island, 640. Peter Davison

via Orwell Diaries

My short story Me Am Petri appears in this week’s issue of Nature.

My friend and cohort Roy Huteson Stewart posted a picture of his desk on facebook yesterday.

It is magnificent.

This blurry fish seems to agree…

Necrophilia by Jim Leon, Oz #36 (1971). Via John Coulthart.

Online library of Oz magazines here.

More idiot insurance than a mod, really.  But having only ever owned digital cameras, it had to be done.

Sold another story to Nature yesterday.

Me Am Petri should appear in a couple of months or so, I reckon.

Definitely some kind of mix up here.

Not sure what was going on in this one. 

But it seemed to end well.

The blue sign was labelled “religion.” Not sure if it was the cure or the cause of the AIDS.

Got my comp copies of Supernatural Tales issue 17 last week. Includes my short story, 13 Nassau Street.

Looks great. Very nice cover by Stephen J. Clarke. Lots of good stories in there too.

Available here.

Holga 135BC + Ilford HP5 400 film.

At the bottom…

About halfway up…

Nearing the top…

The summit (795 meters)…

Research on Crowley: Wandering The Waste had me scrolling through a copy of Fred Gettings’ Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils for interesting squiggles which Roy Huteson Stewart might be able to incorporate into the backgrounds and page layouts of the comic. And would you look at what I found on page 201, given as Jerome Cardan’s 1557 sigil for the planet Saturn.

Looks familiar.

Further net-based mooching about led me to this excellent article about the symbol, and Jimmy’s use of it.

I bought a Holga 135BC on ebay for $30 including shipping from Hong Kong. I loaded it up with 400 speed colour film and played around with it last week, with mixed results.

First lesson I learned is that even if it’s a clear and sunny winter’s day in Ireland, set the aperture to Cloudy, not to Sunny. It seems that an Irishman’s concept of what a sunny day is may not be the same as someone from fairer climes. A lot of shots were underexposed to the point of being what even the most amateur photographer like myself would call “complete fucking shit.”

Managed to salvage a couple. All hinges should be designed like this one.

This was taken using the Bulb setting, shutter held open for about two/three seconds. Looks like it might prove to be an intersting option to have.

These were taken on an overcast day with the aperture set to Cloudy.

Great camera; cheap, extremely light, immense fun to use, and the fact that you look like a leering sex-pest while wielding it in the park can only add to it’s appeal.