Life is very random at this time of year? Is it?

Christmas and........the weather.

Random?

The weather is random. Very cold this year -12 Celsius and my central heating radiator in the bay window froze up.

Very cold but very beautiful.

 
Even the sheep at Melton Market have frost on their backs.

Christmas is even more random.

This year has past by so quickly that Christmas is here before I knew it, much like the very cold weather.

But seriously - are the weather and Christmas random?

The weather has possibly been behaving 'normally' - it's just a little colder than 'normal'. After all, the winters of 1947 and 1963 were far more severe. Christmas is certainly not 'random' as it occurs at the same time every year.........so how did it creep up on me? 2010 has been a very busy year - work, life and time, all gathering pace and pressure to make the year fly by. My parents always said the older you get the faster the time passes by. Wise words indeed.

In conclusion, it is probably myself that is random since I perceive normal things as random.

So there.

Merry Christmas and have a brilliant 2011!

Another Place

Art - who could live without it?

I recently visited Crosby near Liverpool UK to take a look at the work of Antony Gormley.

100 life size metal men spread out along 3km of beach, stretching 1km out to sea, looking out to sea. Secured on 3m high foundation piles the sculptures are solid cast iron, made from moulds of the artist's own body.

The experience of the work depends on the state of the tide, the weather conditions and the time of day, with all the figures becoming completely submerged at particularly high tides.

 

 

The weather was dry, cold and windy. The light was changing all the time and the figures took on a peaceful, thoughtful but determined stance. It really was very atmospheric.
 

 

The figures condition across the beach vary, some partially buried by the movement of the sand and others covered with marine life.

Another Place uses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature.

Antony Gormley explains this - "the seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by the tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of sky seem to question the earth's substance. In this work human  life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to time the nakedness of the particular and peculiar body, no hero, no ideal, just an industrially reproduced body of a middle aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet".

 In November 2006 the statues were expected to move to New York but after a successful appeal they will now permanently remain.

Dahlia the Drug

Please stick with this - I need to get it off my chest.

My name is Ian Craddock and I am a dahlia grower.

I am not going to tell you why either. The flower speaks for itself. It's mid October in the UK and the dahlia is still going strong even after flowering all summer.

Dahlias in my garden 10/10/2010

 
I will not bore you with how to grow them - they are really easy but addictive. Once you grow one you need to grow many, many, many more.

After the first frosts they die back and the tubers are dug up (the foliage is 99% water), dried and stored for next year when the fascinating cycle starts again. Every grower learns the best way for their garden.

There you have it -  dahlias are so under-rated, it's ridiculous.

Gwyneth

.....and it appears that dahlias have another use as design inspiration - from lighting:

............to umbrellas;

......and unique folding seating.....

Cradiator the Brand

Reality TV - comes in all forms and one of the best versions of it is 'The Apprentice' which began it's sixth series last week.

21 year old Stuart Baggs a "telecoms entrepreneur" from the Isle of Man started out with an introductory speech of real quality:
"People aspire to having a flash car, maybe a house in the country - I've got that already. Where's my glass ceiling? I don't have one. I'm Stuart Baggs the Brand. I'm confident. I'm unique. I'm successful. Everything I touch is turned to sold".

What made him come out with all this interests me. Doe's he really think that Alan Sugar will employ a person who promises so much but in reality has done very little? Even Stuart cannot be that naive - can he?

That outburst is probably just someone trying too hard and in the process of doing that everything comes out wrong.

Chloe Mafia the X Factor contestant from Wakefield. Now this is a person hungry for success, appearing on 'Snog, Marry, Avoid' before X Factor and when on X Factor was exposed as being a prostitute. I listened to her interview on BBC Five Live and it was tough to hear someone so young so unhappy and so much a self made victim.

So what is the difference between Stuart Baggs and Chloe Mafia?

One is well off and wears a suit and the other a single parent? In reality there is no difference between them. Just two people desperate to be liked and even more desperate to make money. This desperation makes them behave in the worst way possible, which the camera and ourselves love.

'You cannot be serious'

Now for a first serious post - not all of them will be like this - but I have a bad cold and at times like this I have serious thoughts............

Let's get the hot topic out of the way - the looming spending cuts on 20/10. Now then - yes it's 'dull', but just pull back from it and try to make sense of it.

Who has failed us - anyone? The Banks? The Government? Ourselves?

For me economic policy has been lacking. As technology has taken over it was sold to us as a 'promised land' by the economist - more output using less people = more earnings  = greater wealth = more leisure time and everyone is happier, wealthier and living longer.

Living longer has certainly happened (more to do with medical advances). Some of us are comparatively wealthier and happiness for many is still a dream.

Fairness - now, can this be applied to economic policy? Was this the missing link in the economist's theory? Maybe.

What has happened is the rich have got super rich and the poor have suddenly got extremely poor. The lucky ones in the middle are still working hard, with even less leisure time and our health is probably suffering because of it - terrified of loosing our jobs and relative good wealth.

If the economist's had included some adjustment in the distribution of wealth I believe the world would be in a better position.

There are rumblings of this happening already. Not loud shouts but small pockets of normal people asking questions - why have the banks still got a lot of money and are unwilling to loan it out? Why is so much wealth owned by so few? Why do people suffer when they have done nothing wrong? The questions continue.......

The new government keeps talking about 'fairness' and 'we are all in it together'.

Think about it - is it really 'fair' and are we really 'all in it together'?

Only our apathy and fear is getting in the way of truly answering this.

It's new world.

Or is it? To start a Blog is like - 'cutting edge'.

 Probably not. Anyhow - here goes, it's a dull day and this will be my 'dullest' post.

Here is the randomness of my mind, body and soul - for all to see on Cradiator The Blog.

Exciting times- come back for more if you like.

Ian.