Holbrook Fields

Nelson Algren and Simone de Beauvoir

2011-05-29T21:06:00.002Z

Simone de Beauvoir visited Nelson Algren in Chicago in 19.. They were lovers. In de Beauvoir's novel "The Mandarins"......

http://novelinsights.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-by-nelson-algren/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Golden_Arm


Nelson Algren	Author of "Ipso Facto" and "A Walk on the wild side"


Simone de Beauvoir author	of "The Mandarins"

Cocophone - Glory Shoes

2011-03-05T12:32:00.001Z

Holbrook is off to see "Love in Dublin" tonight. "Love in Dublin" is two plays by Paul Kennedy showing at the newly re-opened Focus Theatre. I recently found out that there will be music by Cocophone. I downloaded their "Special Offers" EP from their Bandcamp site. Please support the band and download their music. In the meantime, you can watch an unofficial video by GroundskeeperXI for their song "Glory Shoes"

Blaise Pascal 2

2011-02-02T00:40:00.001Z

This snippet of Blaise's life or la vie de Blaise (all corrections to my French are welcome) I learnt from 'A Slice of Pi' by Liz Stracham. Apparently Blaise's father wanted him to learn Latin and Greek before he tackled maths, but one day he found him writing with coal on a garden wall, writing out a proof that all angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. So after that, the father let his son study maths and he went on to great heights in mathematics including lots of work on the Theory of Probability.

Buddhas of Bamyan

2010-12-18T03:17:00.002Z

So, the Taliban, you've heard of them right? They don't like the USA and all that stuff alright, but what a crap thing to do to blow up these statues.... stoopid.

And then there is this band, unrelated, except in my mind now, as I listen to them...

check them out here.

Blaise Pascal

2010-10-23T17:25:00.000Z

Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand. Clermont-Ferrand is in the Auvergne region of France. It's looks close enough to being smack bang in the middle of France.

Pascal has stuck in my head for years. I have this vision of making a short film in France that would feature Blaise Pascal transporting a barometer over the brow of a rural hill. A few tufts of grass and a worn track of dried light brown mud and two men carrying a glass tube on either side with a third and fourth on hand to help. Pascal carried out an experiment with quicksilver in glass tubes to test his theories on vacuums and air pressure.

It's a nice portrait. I think he looks like a kindly, happy man, wide open friendly eyes and the hint of smile at the edge of his lips. I don't know who painted the portrait.

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

2010-09-25T11:31:00.007Z

This is a graph that represents the stars of our universe. The vertical axis measures luminosity, i.e. how bright a star is. The horizontal axis represents surface temperature. Be careful though because the temperature does not get hotter as you go from left to right or from blue to red, it gets cooler. Blue is hotter than red and the horizontal axis starts at the left hand side with the hottest stars.

So stars in the top left hand corner are very bright and very hot. Stars in the top right hand corner are bright but not as hot.

The line going through the centre of the graph is called the main sequence. Our sun sits somewhere near the middle of that line. Middling brightness and temperature.

I heard about the HR diagram when I watched a series of astronomy lectures from Professor Robert Nemiroff. I downloaded the lectures from iTunes (search for Introductory Astronomy, PH1600). The actual classes were given in Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. Nemiroff also runs a website called Astronomy Picture of the Day or APOD.

Anish Kapoor

2010-08-16T21:32:00.003Z

'The Bean'

Until recently, I had never heard of Anish Kapoor until a friend who visited an exhibition of his at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao mentioned him to me. When I googled him I was really taken by 'Cloud Gate' in Chicago. What a beautiful piece of public sculpture, in a city with some great architecture. The sculpture, nicknamed 'the bean' by locals, has a 3.6 metre hollow underneath that visitors can walk under. It is made up of many stainless steel plates that were welded together and then the welds were smoothed and polished down. Amazing, and beautiful, inspired by the look of mercury. I'm sure the citizens and visitors to Chicago get a great kick out of it. And if all that is not enough to make you 'wow' nearby you also have the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Cloud Gate, Millenium Park, Chicago

Cloud Gate with the Jay Pritzker Pavilion


Cloud Gate, Millenium Park, Chicago

Air sing Kelly Watch the Stars in France

2010-08-06T22:15:00.006Z

This video features scenes from Castellane and the Gorge du Verdon in 2009.

Promenade de l'oiseau by Victor Brauner

2010-08-05T21:51:00.007Z

I saw this painting in the Musée de Grenoble a few months back. It was one of many fine paintings in that beautiful art museum. It was so spacious; purpose designed to hold large and small pieces. A modern building with wood floors, white walls, a very easy way through the building, a sculpture garden outside. Trés jolie. The photo is from here.

In 1934 Victor Brauner had his first solo exhibition in Paris at the Galerie Pierre.

Maxfield Parrish

2010-03-03T22:29:00.010Z

I like to hear of other people with 'field' in their names (like Matthew Elderfield the new financial regulator in Ireland).

I was watching a Gorillaz video. Noodle was set against clouds, standing and looking out over a high prominence and it reminded me of Maxfield. The clouds.

The subjects of Maxfield's paintings look like statues from antiquity. Yet they have a modern flourish and there is an excitement in the natural and classical settings. The painting above is named 'Ecstasy'. The world is being born again. Perhaps that's how the beginning of the American 20th century looked to Maxfield ?

Do you like his paintings? He was an illustrator too who made many advertisements in his day. If you're ever in San Francisco you can pop into Maxfield's bar at the Palace Hotel to admire his Pied Piper of Hamlin painting.

European politics - some basic info

2010-02-15T00:17:00.010Z

Can you navigate the bureaucratic tangle of European power structures? This is my effort to get a grip on how the EU works now that the Lisbon Treaty has passed. It's very basic.

So the EU Commission is made up of 27 commissioners and is located in the Berlaymount building in Brussels. The Commission is the executive branch of the EU with responsibility for proposing legislation, spending and ensuring compliance with treaties. Jose Manuel Barroso has just started his second term (2010 to 2014) as the President of the Commission. Ireland's newly appointed Commissioner is Máire Geoghegan Quinn who is responsible for Research and Innovation (everything from Aeronautics to Water).

Then we have the European Parliament which is made up of 736 directly elected MEPs (members of the European Parliament). It meets in two locations: Strasbourg and Brussels. The current President is Jerzy Buzek (from the Czech Republic). It is the legislative branch of the EU. Ireland has 12 MEPS from 4 constituencies.

Finally (for this blog post in any case), there is the European Council that is made up of the heads of state or governments from each nation state. It meets twice every six months. Now that the Lisbon Treaty has passed it has a President - the delightfully named Herman Van Rompuy. The Council doesn't legislate. From what I can gather it sets the political agenda for the Union.

Well, as I say, that's just some basics. I hope to return to this topic in future posts. Have you got a question about the EU? or a comment?

The graphic above is of Justus Lipsius (or if you prefer Joose Lips). Joose was a Flemish professor who lived in the 1500s. The building that the EU Council meets in is named after him.

Fuck you said in Irish Dáil (parliament)

2009-12-11T23:19:00.008Z

As a Green Party member I don’t know what to make of this. From a Joe Soap perspective it’s highly entertaining internet fodder, it’s refreshing. But there is a darkness to it. Is it more than just a laugh, is it a staging post in the country’s exasperation with politics? Could it conceivably get more people interested in politics because for once they understand the language a politician is using. Is it a low point in politics? It hardly seems that way when you think of the far more wretched things politics has brought us. Is it a harbringer of a tsunami of public anger in 2010 ? Is Gogarty a child lost in a sea of cynical adults, is he a muppet? Or is he a hero for being the antithesis of the smooth talking, PR groomed politician talking polite waffle? The joke on twitter is that he’s going for the 12 – 16 yer old vote ? Is that a good thing? Help me out here people, what should I make of this? Feel free to hurl abuse at me, Gogarty and the Greens. I reckon that’s only fair.

Read the full text of Paul Gogarty's speech here.

Laptops, digital media gadgets, Adbusters

2009-10-24T17:44:00.007Z

The Congo River, Democratic Republic of Congo

Apparently the metal tantalum makes great capacitors for compact hi-tech items like mobile phones and laptop computers. I think its also known as tin-ore, cassiterite or coltan. There was a tantalum rush in Africa in the early part of this century. The price of tantalum was very high. One kilogram cost over a hundred dollars. You could sell a handful for around twenty dollars.

This is a link to an article by Greg Queyranne, a Canadian researcher focusing on conflicts in Central Africa. Thanks to Adbusters.

If you want to know more, you can watch this video.

Popeye the Sailor / Elzie Crisler Segar

2009-07-23T22:06:00.006Z

Apparently Popeye's first words (when asked if he was a sailor) were "J'a think I'm a cowboy?" In this episode Olive becomes smitten with 'the International' a French radio presenter. Popeye takes none too kindly to this. Elzie Crisler Segar is the creator of the Popeye character.

Ten Rave Techno / Techno Rave Tunes

2009-07-13T17:52:00.018Z

Maybe you know some of these songs? They were recorded in the late 80s or 1990s. The tracks that have links are to the tunes on YouTube. If it's your thang.... enjoy!

French at About.com with Laura K. Lawless

2009-06-12T19:55:00.008Z

The French number for nine is neuf, right? But neuf also means new, as in a brand new thing. So they are what is called....mmm, can I remember, they are called homonyms, or synonyms or something like that, I think, right? Anyway, how many of these types of words exist in the French language? Is there a handy list anywhere? Un avocat means lawyer and avocado, appropriate? La somme is a sum or an amount of something but le somme that means a nap or a snooze. J'ai prend une somme? An bhfuil an cheart agam?

Van Morrison & Bob Dylan - Crazy Love

2009-06-08T20:19:00.002Z

I remember watching this on television many moons ago. To see two great songwriters together singing in front of the Parthenon. It's more of a Van Morrison vehicle than a Bob Dylan one. And they are singing a Van tune. Bob is just a songsmith enjoying the craft of another. I think it sounds great.

more about "Van Morrison & Bob Dylan - Crazy Love", posted with vodpod

Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Hobnox

2009-06-03T02:05:00.003Z

Neil Young has a great new album out. So does Bob Dylan. Then there is Hobnox. That's a whole other kettle of fish... I highly recommend checking out the Tone Matrix option and then just click the squares, press play and have fun!

'Dragonfly' by Marlonski QUBIQ Edit

2009-05-17T20:13:00.007Z

Check out more Marlonski here. What do you make of this video and song? Good, bad? definitely not your type of music, or exactly your type of music? As for QUBIQ. I presume he mixed Marlonski's tune? I think he may be from Phoenix, Arizona. And from the video I guess Marlonski hangs out in Berlin. This whole connection came from the nice people over at CryAndBeFree. As for who the guy is in the video... is it Marlonski, or is it Qubiq? Well, the video is set in Berlin so you would be right to guess it is indeed Marlonski. You can see a photo of him here, with the famous film actress Tilda Swinton... I'm impressed!

Madeleine au bois d'amour

2009-05-16T09:58:00.009Z

Émile Bernard painted Madeleine au bois d'amour in 1888.

La Femme à l'ombrelle

2009-04-30T23:13:00.007Z

Aristide Maillol, I'd never heard of him until I went to the Musee D'Orsay. What do you think of this painting he made? The colours don't come through on the internet at all. Standing in front of it, the colours shine so bright. Maillol made sculpture and paintings.

Lyric Fantasy, Op. 54 - Larsson

2009-03-14T10:55:00.007Z

Lars-Erik Larsson was born in Sweden in 1908. Classical music can be so relaxing. For me, Lyric Fantasy, Op. 54 creates romantic inner mindscapes full of subtle emotion. And towards the end of the piece it reminds me of Bolero (Ravel). Do you think so? I'll see if I can post a stream of the audio at some stage. Thanks to Lyric FM's great programming for the introduction. If you know who painted the cover art pictured here (taken from the cover of Swedish Orchestral Favourites, Vol. 2) it would be great if you could let me know.

Said Taghmaoui in "Linear"

2009-03-01T18:08:00.013Z

The latest U2 album, No Line on the Horizon (Deluxe Edition on iTunes), includes a movie by Anton Corbijn set to most of the songs on the album and one additional track. Said Taghmaoui plays the lead character, a traffic cop in Paris who burns his police motorbike and then hits the road on a regular motorbike. The camera follows him travelling through France and Spain as he heads south to Cadiz. The movie is called Linear and the photo above is a still from it.

Somalia, Pirates, Tanks, Ukranians and Kenyans

2009-02-21T10:55:00.002Z

Here's a video courtesy of Rocketboom which shows the end of a hostage situation in Somalian waters. Sounds like the commentary might be Dutch, but it is has subtitles. I don't quite understand the part about the Kenyans owning the tanks and the relevance of their relationship with Southern Sudan.

From Crackle: Somali Pirates Release Ukrainian Hostages

EU Audiovisual Library

2009-01-23T18:41:00.002Z

So I took a look at the EU Commission's Audio Visual Services website. There's not as much video on it as I expected, not that I could find in any case. There's stock footage of the Argentinian Stock Exchange, archival footage from early EU conferences featuring lots of white suited men smoking pipes, cigars and cigarettes. The terms and conditions state that the footage "is offered free of charge for EU-related information and education purposes". The video below is a YouTube (or EUTube as the channel is called) promo for the audio visual services provided by the EU Commission.

More Santigold

2009-01-18T14:10:00.004Z

Santogold has changed her name to Santigold. Santigold, sounds better? Less Spanish more Italian, more christmassy? This song and video are so 80s! There was a great live rendition of 'Shove it' live on YouTube but it was pulled. But you can still watch the cuddlefest 'Say Aha'.

Converse celebrates its 100th birthday

2009-01-18T03:16:00.004Z

Julian Casablancas (lead singer of The Strokes), NERD and Santogold collaborated on My Drive Thru'. There are 10,000 paper cut outs of the artists in the video. It took four months to make.

EUTV ebs+

2009-01-17T11:26:00.002Z

Mouse trap

2008-12-20T11:28:00.006Z

When will we see the end of the mouse? There have been such advances in home computing but here we are clicking away still. I like the look of tablets and I love the idea of speech recognition.

The Job

2008-12-16T20:01:00.003Z

The job
Uploaded by trescourt

MSF in DRC

2008-12-08T22:49:00.004Z

Sustainable Energy Europe

2008-11-14T18:49:00.005Z

Sustenergy.org

Reverend Billy has it in for Christmas

2008-11-13T23:26:00.005Z

I have an appetite or I am an appetite? Now that's what I call philosophical thinking! Reverend Billy prays that we stop shopping.. more billy !

A not so fond farewell....

2008-10-27T00:41:00.006Z

So, what do you do after successfully bagging riches from an investment strategy which anticipated the current financial crisis? Andrew Lahde, stellar hedge fund manager, recently published his resignation letter... It's worth a read!

Fibonacci numbers....

2008-10-27T00:11:00.008Z

No, it's not a type of pasta. I had heard the terms Fibonacci, Fibonacci numbers and Fibonacci Sequence but I didn't know what they referred to. It goes 1 (some people leave the first number 1 out), then 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377 and so on. The sequence is arrived at by adding the result of the first equation with the previous number in the sequence. So it goes 0 + 1 = 1 (some people leave this out) then 1 + 1= 2, the next in the sequence is 2 + 1 = 3 and then 3 +2 = 5, 5 +3 = 8, 8 +5 = 13, 13+ 8 = 21, 21 + 13 = 34, 34 + 21 = 55, etc.

Thanks to Melvyn at the BBC and his mathematical pals for enlightening me!

Le Palais des Papes

2008-10-06T21:24:00.008Z

A good friend recently returned from a trip to Marseilles, France's second city with a population of some 1.65 million. If you travel around 85km north west of Marseilles you will find Avignon where from 1309 to 1377 the pope ruled in what has been called the Avignon papacy or "Babylonian Captivity". And where did the pope live when he was not living in Rome? Why he lived at Le Palais des Papes . The picture is of some unfinished bridge, the Pont de something. Marseilles, Marseilles, the south of France. J'espere que tout les temps Marseilles est. Franglish.

Courtauld

2008-09-29T18:04:00.005Z

Courtauld has some great paintings, Cezanne, Manet, Van Gogh, Modigliani and some decorated plates from around 400 years ago that are still bright and blue and full of light. You will find the Courtauld Institute in Somerset House. A grand building by the banks of the Thames. I like the feel of the building, it has a quietness and calm about it that is welcome to find in a busy city like London.

Chapel in Sedona

2008-09-03T21:30:00.007Z

Back in the go-go 1990s I was fortunate enough to visit Sedona, Arizona. I went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross that was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, a woman by the name of Marguerite Brunswig Staude. My memory of it is fond. It has a simple but striking design. The American Institute of Architects gave the Chapel its Award of Honor in 1957. In the sculptor's words, “Though Catholic in faith, as a work of art the Chapel has a universal appeal. Its doors will ever be open to one and all, regardless of creed, that God may come to life in the souls of all men and be a living reality.”

On another architectural point, some guy has built a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Greystones, Ireland.

Bumper harvest....

2008-07-16T18:11:00.003Z

Bumper grain crop this year but not the biggest....

Bumper harvest on RTE...

esbjorn

2008-06-19T19:17:00.002Z

esbjorn svensson trio have made some great music over the years...

Devonvale..... some good cookies

2008-06-14T14:18:00.003Z

I just ate one of these today, it tasted real good...

http://www.devonvale.com/crumbles.php

31 May 2008 on the way to the Phoenix Park

2008-05-17T19:12:00.003Z

French flourishes in Albuquerque

2008-04-26T12:19:00.002Z

Here at Holbrook Fields we are always trying to improve our linguistic skills. Having fluency in more than one language is known to maintain mental acuity in the later stages of life.

Political lunch...

2008-03-25T20:49:00.004Z

So... I'm on a mission to find out more about videocasting and internet tv. Here's a link to Political Lunch which I found on blip.tv.

Brasil - Rio de Janeiro

2008-03-13T19:18:00.004Z

If I remember correctly Rio de Janeiro is named the river of January because some european guy came across this place on the first day of january the year of our lord something something something... anywho.... see for yourself...

Hercules and love affair - blind (frankie knuckles remix)

2008-03-10T21:42:00.003Z

you might enjoy this song...... thanks for stopping by at holbrook fields.....

Hercules And Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)

Sunday lessons

2008-03-09T19:08:00.002Z

The first international symposium on brain neuron things is being run by the PhD students of UCD beginning next Thursday.

Pink Man

2008-03-02T09:19:00.004Z

Well.... just see for yourself.....

Mouse on mars in vietnam

2008-02-23T13:58:00.006Z

Some images from a brief sojourn in Nha Trang a coastal resort town in south Vietnam.... music by Mouse on Mars... Saturday Night World Cup Fieber... enjoy!

Mix for Peter...

2008-01-28T16:58:00.000Z

A rainy night in Soho (well BAC) Soho just sounds better

2007-12-07T04:16:00.001Z

a taxi driver told me that it was the worst night of traffic in ten years.... impressive!

central bank

2007-11-29T23:08:00.001Z

central bank
Originally uploaded by holbrook fields

i moved here from flickr... and now that i'm here i've got something to say... peace!

Stuff

2007-11-26T21:43:00.001Z

Stuff

self publishing...

2007-08-16T23:44:00.002Z

i remember the days when i'd have an idea and have to use a notebook to scribble a few notes

But with noughts and zeros... the possibilities are endless.

So you can word process a script, tinker with a story. Holly golly. If you'd like to see my latest video ...you know where it's at...

haikus

2007-07-20T23:10:00.001Z

so i've never really known exactly what it takes to qualify as a haiku, i think it requires a certain amount of syllables. couldn't tell you for sure, but thanks to the wonders of wikipedia and the interweb i'll soon be able to elucidate you...

well it seems it isn't as simple as i thought. there are many forms of haiku but some common elements are:

use of three or fewer lines of not more than 18 syllables
use a season word (presumes this means a word redolent of the four seasons) and maybe punctuate between two distinct ideas, images.

so i guess the only thing to do now is try.....

the trees are bare
birds rest, grass waits
tumble over sunshine

Haika, Haibun, Haiga by Ray Rasmussen

Strawberries, peaches and rhyme

2007-07-18T23:25:00.000Z

Everyone is alone all the time
even at home or in the supermarket
Smooth, glowing and slow
feet crossing the snow
aurora borealis for all of us
each and everyday amen.

Ethics

2007-05-07T15:18:00.002Z

So, what we appear to have at present is an issue over ethics in government, it is an old chestnut and important to examine. Blanket concentration on the issue of Taoiseach Ahern's receipt of money from a businessman, who I know nothing of, and his purchase of his house is distracting from all the other important issues. This brouhaha needs to be given a name not a feeding frenzy. It is an issue of ethics, other issues include transport, housing, green energies, economic growth, health and so on...... good luck to all the candidates who try to compete on issues.

"Iron shirts"!

2007-03-11T14:20:00.000Z

I was writing a to-do list today. I wrote down "iron shirts" and it got me thinking about fashion. Do male office workers put on "iron" shirts everyday they go to work? When did men start wearing ties? And why do menfolk still wear them either by choice or by requirement? Will there be a world where men are not obliged to wear a tie no matter the occassion, would the world be better or worse for that?

The Society of the Burning of Ties (SoBoT)
Don't be a robot, be a sobot. The SoBot will have its inaugral meeting at the top of Grafton Street (date to be confirmed) where a symbolic burning of ties will take place. Passing office workers will be encouraged to relieve themselves of neckwear and to throw their ties into an oil drum for burning. A scissors will be provided for ease of detieification.

Capoeira

2007-03-07T22:46:00.002Z

I'm not sure if capoeira is in danger of giving me good posture or back pain. Perhaps there is a fine line? In any case it is probably not wise to wrap myself up in cotton wool so I plan to continue trying to improve, and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to do a headstand. In the meantime the stretching can't do me much harm.

"What is capoeira?
It is a fight, it is folklore, it is a divine practice. Its practice has so many benefits that we cannot distinguish them and define exactly what is capoeira. There are so many beautiful things: the music, the friendship, the health, the fight, the folklore. Capoeira is immense and we cannot explain it all. Some people think of capoeira only as fight, or as confrontation without perceiving that it has so much more to offer beside the quarrels for the name of the group or the title of mestre. I think of it more in the general sense of human participation: in the music, in the folklore, in the joy. I was to a school recently and there were people from different groups all playing together in the roda. That’s capoeira for me “alegria” and to be happy to do what you are doing.”

– Mestre Suassuna

Céline

2007-03-05T23:08:00.001Z

Recently an Italian classmate of mine told me that if someone was looking for a book to change their lives, Journey to the End of the Night by Céline would fit the bill. I haven't read it myself, I was always unsure if Céline was a man or a woman? Turns out he's a man. Louis-Ferdinand Céline. The hero Ferdinand Bardamu is pessimimistic and misanthropic, if that's your cup of tea. Perhaps some see him as a realist? It sounds too grim for my liking.

"Life hides everything from people. Their own noise prevents them from hearing anything else. They couldn't care less. The bigger and taller the city, the less they care." - Céline

..C major scale..

2007-03-04T01:11:00.000Z

The C major scale is also known as the Ionian scale. It goes C, D, E, F, G, A, B. That's seven major notes. Then there are five flat and sharp notes. That's twelve notes altogether. Sharps and flats are either a half note above or a half note below a major note. E and F, and, B and C, are only half a note apart.

'make me green, but not yet Lord'

2007-03-01T22:56:00.000Z

John Gormley TD launched his election campaign today....78 days or so to the election.... time for a new government?
there will be photo opportunities, policy papers, a swathe of posters tethered to poles, slogans, cheers, applause, anger, disappointment, elation, optimism, fear and more.. at holbrook fields we hear the rumble of a mass of people, carrying spears and placards, from the mist, over a hill they come...to make their feelings known.... we wish them well.....

The secrets of the universe

2007-03-01T00:09:00.000Z

Women and men have the capacity to interpret the universe inside their minds and through these thoughts massive physical constructions are brought to life.

A powerful and complicated machine that will bring together particles at super-fast speeds.

welcome to holbrook fields.....

2007-02-28T21:31:00.002Z

Here we are in Holbrook Fields and all is well. Thanks for dropping by, I hope you enjoy your stay. Holbrook.