Etsy.com

After hearing about etsy.com for some time, I actually made a few purchases from sellers on the handmade/craft/small buisiness/artisan stuff website. I liked that I received personal communication from the sellers - both of them sent handwritten notes in with the items I ordered. I am looking out for things, other things, to buy on the site, but I am finding it difficult to find stuff that I like. There are a few ways to search the site for items or sellers or whatever, but I don't find them very helpful. Ah well I'm still looking.

The first items I bought were two beautiful felt (I think) brooches from Kate Broughton after a recommendation somewhere on the web, I think it was notcoture.com





The second lot of things I bought were some of these beautiful plastic animal rings from soop but bought through etsy, I can't recall where I heard about - oh no, I saw these rings on the online shop lastfootwear.com, er I think I did anyway, I can't remember anything anymore. All spidery, webby business.


As I am a duck these things have to be adapted for me to make wear of them, maybe the rings can be adapted into some kind of headwear and I shall find some way of wearing those brooches.

Fiction Podcasts (Some Podcasts I Have Sampled - Nine)

I have listened to the First series (Season?) of Wormwood, a drama in podcast form. Evil lurks in the small town of Wormwood, Dr. Crowe (booming like Brian Blessed at times) has been drawn there after having visions of a drowned woman, when he arrives secrets begin to unfurl.

Shadow Falls is another, similar audio drama, small town, Evil powers, reincarnation, mysterious narrator.

There are other fiction and audiobooks I am listening to, but I haven't listened to enough of those to recommend any, I recommend these two, I have enjoyed them and hope there will be more.

I can't recall whether I mentioned Linux Reality before, but I will mention it now. An excellent introduction to using Linux, and is also good for those wanting more in depth info. I've found it very helpful, there are episodes on things I have wanted to find out about like KDE and GNOME, Linux resources or file systems.

On Podcast Overload

I've been listening to and watching podcasts. I am being overwhelmed by podcasts. The iTunes podcast list is dizzying and is actually quite upsetting. There's so much stuff I have yet to listen to that I don't want to delete, but I don't want to immediately listen either. It's the podcast equivalent of bacn. There's about 220 feeds in iTunes right now. Some casts I want to mention here but the thought fills me with exhaustion. I've been checking out some ABC podcasts (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) and CBC podcasts, also the BBC is podcasting a few more programmes like the excellent Thinking Allowed (sociology, culture etc.) and their travel programme Excess Baggage. Find BBC podcasts info here.

There are many food and cooking casts out there, many of them video podcasts. Reading recipes is a lot more daunting than watching food being prepared and cooked - "They make it look so easy" 'n' all that. Also lots of tech/gadget video podcasts and how tos.

Too many gigabytes taken up with these things. I'm beginning to fear them.

My Occupation : Animal Crossing

I've been initiating myself into the world of Animal Crossing Wild World (wiki link or official page) over the past few days. I am coming to know its mysteries and to enjoy and be irritated by the "personalities" of the animal characters. Though I am annoyed I can't get the WiFi to work, it should work (with my iMac rebroadcasting my network connection via the Airport card) but for some reason Animal Crossing is one of the games it doesn't work on. Alas. So either I give up on that idea (wireless fun) or I get myself a wireless thingummy. Well anyway I'll post a pic in a while (of my character in my town). I've been mulling over buying this game for a few months, as I didn't even have a DS, so I bought a Nintendo DS soley in order to play this game, so far I'm not disappointed.

OK, OK

So I haven't posted in a month or so. I am in an orgy of lethargy to be truthful. I haven't been doing much; haven't been listening to much music, haven't been - actually I have been watching far too much TV. I find that it's a good gauge of depresion/stuckness/boredom, more TV more of those listed elements in my life. When I'm all abuzz, TV doesn't usually get much of a look in. What's on that I watch regularly? - Rumpole of the Bailey, Ironside, Midsommer Murders, Frasier, The Simpsons, QI, Wycliffe, Pie In The Sky, Jeeves and Wooster, Without a Trace, Star Trek TNG, Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm and I was watching the latest US Season of Desperate Housewives but that is on hiatus now till January.

I have been reading, still slowly plodding through War and Peace (the Russians have fought of Napoleon's advances, huzzah, but Moscow is now ablaze) and have read a couple of Penguin Classic crime books. One was a jolly romp set in a University, with all the English academicness that I love and a poetic Scotland Yard detective, though the book was mightily prolix, I larned me some new words, but have since forgotten them. The book was "Death at the Prestdent's Lodging" by Michael Innes. (Here's a review) Oh yes, it's an all male cast (pretty much) which is a little erm..., the odd woman does get a mention here and there.

I was going to post some links, but then I take a look at my web habits and see there isn't really anything of note, Well I'm sure there is but nothing leaps out at me.

I might add that I have become aware of the number of Farmers (Farmer's or Farmers' ?) Markets around the Birmingham area. There is a bi-monthly one in Birmingham City centre and Monthly ones in Harborne, King's Heath, Moseley, Bearwood (a tiny one), Sutton Coldfield and Solihull. A friend of mine is a regular at these events, I keep away as I am likely too see ducks on sale, all wrapped up in plastic and labelled. My friend tells me she saw some Mallards last Saturday at Harborne, she even bought some duck breasts.
I'm still unsure as to how I feel about that.

I will now return to my life of quiet (and fruitless) aspiration.

On My Duck-ness

I have been doing not much in the way of anything recently, hence no posts, but that is not unusual (the not posting). But I have been contemplating my duckhood. What does it mean for me to be an, as I describe myself a neurologicaly evolved Mallard? Some will say that I should spend my time campaigning for animal welfare, or somesuch relevant issue. No doubt that would be a great thing to spend my time doing - although I don't thing I could offer the unique animal perspective they are looking for (Do animals suffer, do they understand they are going to die? and revelations to these questions that they are seeking.) Because although I understand that I will die, and that I suffer in a way that I assume is comparable to human suffering, I can't say the same for my duck relatives. I realise, and always have that I am very different from them and can say nothing with surety about what they feel or understand or experience. And scientific investigations are not something I will willingly subject myself to (let us hope that I won't have to undergo them unwillingly either).

So then what is the purpose of my life here, away from the wetlands? My work is not to eat and find a mate and experience the duck experience, so then what should I be doing with myself?

Over the past couple of weeks of contemplation I think this comes back to the freedom of the individual. I grant myself those rights as obviously (obvious to myself) I deserve them. I must be free to do the things I want to do, and the things I enjoy, which is partially what I have been doing up until now. And if people judge that I am doing wrong in not doing the things they perceive I should be doing then that is that. I must get on with my life and discovering what it is to live in this unusual (perhaps unique) way, this half human half duck (half human in a neurological, not a physical way) development.

Anyway, those musings I have touched upon here I will be continuing through the rest of my life I expect, but that is what I would like to say today.

---------
And also that I have been reading the Barbelith forum quite a bit recently. Though i do not think I would like to become a member, I makes for a thoughtful read.
Following on from that I have been discovering The Invisibles, which is all very exciting and inspiring.

I Shall Be Away.

Off, sans computer for a while. I will be pining. I'm far too adapted to this way of life. What a development for a duck.

Birmingham's free Arts festival Artsfest was on last weekend. I saw parts. Elliot Jack were the best music act I saw. (With banter about breakfast cereal while waiting for their powerbook to sort itself out.)

I may write more when I return.