January | 2009 | Heroes Not Zombies

Archive for January, 2009

Creativity and play

Posted in creativity, from the dark room, photography on January 16, 2009| 3 Comments »

I watched a documentary about “prog rock” on BBC Four the other weekend. If you don’t know what “prog rock” is, you’re probably significantly younger than me! That genre of music of one was one of my favourite genres in my teens – bands like Caravan, Soft Machine, Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd. I really enjoyed it, not least because of all the memories it brought back. In fact, it stimulated an exploration of a deep cupboard in my house, digging out some LPs (that’s large, black vinyl discs!), and setting up a USB turntable with Audiohijack software on my iMac to record some of those old tracks as MP3 files and syncing them onto my iPod! Oh the joy! One of the musicians on the programme (I think it might have been Rick Wakeman actually), said one of the things which was important amongst those bands was that they were given recording contracts without any great commitments. They were encouraged to play and see what emerged. Well, how different is that from the factory-style production of contemporary pop!?

It was the statement about “play” that stuck. I need to play more. Even if it doesn’t stimulate my creativity it’ll be fun!

While I’m on the subject I thought I’d share something playful with you. I got this camera for Christmas –

It’s a Lomo Fisheye 2. Lomo cameras use film. Remember film? There are a number of different Lomo cameras and each has its distinct characteristics. In fact “Lomography” is a bit of a cult. In the box with the camera comes a number of booklets, posters and leaflets about using the camera. But the big difference is that none of the material is serious. It’s all presented in a fun way and it’s all focused on persuading you to just go and “play” with the camera. So I did. Here are some examples from the first roll of film I shot –
The first two are of a ring of standing stones up by Aberfeldy.

A Highland road…..

And a double exposure – standing stones and a forest….

This last one, hints at one of the things I’m going to explore with this camera – you can take as many exposures as you want on any frame. It’s an interesting and somewhat spooky effect, isn’t it?

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Belief and buses

Posted in from the living room, life, tagged belief on January 11, 2009| 7 Comments »

Maybe you’ve read about the Aethist Bus Campaign? A group of aethists working with the British Humanist Association have raised money for an aethist message to be placed on 800 buses. The message is “There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.

I understand how the campaign began as a response to Christian adverts on buses, but I must admit my immediate response was – What evidence is there that people who believe in God worry more than those who don’t? And what evidence is there that not believing in God frees you to enjoy your life? Neither of these beliefs strike me as particularly rational. Surely there are both atheists and thiests who worry, and how on earth do we figure out whether or not there’s a relationship between enjoying your life and believing that God either does not, or does, exist? I bet there’s no general consensus on that one!

So the bus ad campaign seems to be no more than a battle of believers – between those who believe there is a God and those who believe there isn’t. Both groups would like us to adopt their particular beliefs. My own take on buses is…….there’ll be another one along in a minute!

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100 words about Big Pharma

Posted in from the consulting room, from the reading room, health on January 9, 2009| 5 Comments »

The British Journal of Psychiatry runs a series where an author’s view is published in a 100 word article – it’s a neat idea. This piece, by David Healy, really appealed to me –

Little Pharma made profits by making novel compounds; Big Pharma does it by marketing. Doctors say they consume (prescribe) medication according to the evidence, so marketeers design and run trials to increase a drug’s use. They select the trials, data and authors that suit, publish in quality journals, facilitate incorporation in guidelines, then exhort doctors to practise evidence-based medicine. Because ‘they’re worth it’, doctors consume branded high-cost but less effective ‘evidence-based’ derivatives of older compounds making these drugs worth more than their weight in gold. Posted parcels meanwhile are tracked far more accurately than adverse treatment effects on patients.

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A passion for living…

Posted in books, from the living room, from the reading room, life on January 7, 2009| 4 Comments »

Mark Vernon posted about an interview with Diana Athill. She’s 91 years old and is the oldest writer to win the Costa Book Prize for her book, “Somewhere Towards the End”, which is about aging. I can see there is a lot of wisdom in her book and I was especially struck by this –

‘I remember when I was young once hearing my mother talking to someone and saying, thank God she hadn’t had to go to a dance last week. And I thought to myself that if I ever reach the stage when I thank God for not having to go to a dance, I shall kill myself.’

Sometimes I hear a doctor thanking God that a patient hasn’t turned up for his or her appointment and that always makes me think that’s a sad thing to be thanking God for. If I ever find myself thanking God that I don’t have to see patients today, I won’t kill myself, but I’ll go and do something else instead. Why keep doing what isn’t really your passion? And, the other side of that coin, doing what you are passionate about makes your life richer (and maybe even longer!)

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The ground beneath your feet

Posted in from the dark room, photography on January 2, 2009| 4 Comments »

On any trip into the Scottish countryside you can’t help but look up and around, but every now and again it’s worthwhile just pausing and looking down at the ground beneath your feet…..

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A time to reflect….

Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography on January 1, 2009| 4 Comments »

We all need to pause now and again and reflect. Reflect on the past, browsing through some memories; reflect on the present, taking a look at ourselves, and our lives, with fresh eyes; and, reflect on the future, imagining where our current paths might lead.
You’ll be doing some of that today I bet. Take your time. And do it again, often.

The past….where we come from, where are roots lie, where we grow from…..