Sirharris.com

Blogger-no-more

2010-04-28T08:02:00.004-05:00

Hello all, Blogger have forced me out of my current setup, and so this site will be an even greater state of flux than usual (something truly hard to imagine or believe).

I'll be looking into other ways to get ideas onto this webspace. Sirharris.com started in the English summer of 1998. It's gone through periods of time with no update, but as far as I know, it has not gone through any length of time without something being here, marking my little corner of the web.

So, I'll spend a little time thinking, and I'll try and put together something new and relevant. I'd love to hear any ideas you have.

P.S. I nearly forgot to add, I have no bitter feelings towards Blogger, they provided a free way to conveniently update content, that has been a great fit for me, since 2001.

Dancing Plague of 1518

2009-11-11T06:00:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to wrestle my humble website from being a chore and instead a natural extension of my rambling mind, I bring you a new type of post named: "Hard To Believe" (please excuse my abuse of quotation):

"The Dancing Plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, France in July 1518. The outbreak began when a woman, Frau Troffea, began to dance fervently in a street... Within a week, 34 others joined, and within a month, there were around 400 dancers."

"Over the period of about one month, most of the people died from heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion."

Learn more about this at:
Wikipedia: Dancing Plague of 1518

Newcastle upon Tyne

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Excuse the delay in this next instalment - I know your life is that little bit richer when you get some Vandalism!

That vivid little delight comes from Mr la Rue. He has literally hundreds of spray paint fiestas for you to browse over. So as I move my way around the country, there is very little chance you wont see him again here in the coming weeks.

The Good Shepherd

2009-06-01T12:08:00.003-05:00

"Cetera desunt" my friends. It is time to once more revert to our Monasticism.

Anecdotally referred to as the most photographed place in New Zealand, this is The Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo.

As is often the case, I define a photo theme and then find myself following a tangent to the point I've created an entirely different theme. In this case I could easily rename this one, Holy Day with extra peace. Of course, anyone who didn't think it inevitable that Monasticism would end up involving eye opening photography of churches hasn't been to this site much in the past ten years.

The above is the fantastic property of Richard Bolt, great work sir.

Selly Oak

2009-05-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Plain red brick may have been good enough for the Victorians, but round here our eyes seek a little Vandalism!

"And did those feet in ancient time, walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God, On England's pleasant pastures seen?"

I had to write the above, I simply could not resist. I wish I could recall fond memories of Selly Oak. I similarly wish I could follow that sentence with anything that was not likewise negative. The closest I have is the following: On a dark Friday afternoon I once fell asleep on a bus leaving Broad Street, in Birmingham. I awoke in Selly Oak to be told the bus couldn't proceed further due to localized flooding. I got home safely to the utopia that was Redditch. The weather really was torrential. (End of story.)

The above photographic offering belongs to Herbz. He shares a mountain of graffiti images from the surrounding Dudley, Stourbridge, Selly Oak, etc. Fans of urban art would be well advised to see his take on the modern British cityscape.

Alcázares Reales de Sevilla

2009-05-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

On this day we take a further step in our ever growing Monasticism.

Behold the visual antidote to the mundane. This is the Alcázar of Seville, as captured by Ivan. If that has piqued your interest, Wikipedia provides a video tour of the palace which is well worth a view. You'll need a player that can handle OGG format video.

Oxford

2009-05-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Another wonderful city, time and time again I'd find myself returning: When you think Oxford, it's time you started thinking Vandalism!

Anyone who has spent any significant time in Oxford has surely noticed it's burgeoning bounty of urban art. As a lover of photography, there is nothing better than when I'm left struggling, wondering which of several I should present to you.

The above choice belongs to Damian Cugley. Other great alternatives include: Migration is not a crime, and this different shot of the same Ceasefire Now!.

Empty Without

2009-05-12T06:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to monastery life, from where you receive your next daily serving of Monasticism.

You've just viewed the photography of Matthew Rice. Who owns an especially interesting photostream simply entitled: Things

As an aside to the above, I've been recently enjoying the excellent
Two In A Bed written by Paul C. Rosenblatt. This work covers the social politics beneath bedsheets, and how people must adapt to the endlessly altering variables, effecting the majority of time two people will ever spend together (the time they are in bed). Overcome the hurdle that it's written for an academic audience and you'll find something both informative and wonderful. Thus concludes the Adrian reads books section of today's perfomance.

Royal Leamington Spa

2009-05-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

You've had your soothing, now here's your wake-up. It's time to show you some Vandalism!

I present to you this luminescent delight from one of my favourite places on this little planet, Leamington Spa. The "Royal" was removed at some point in recent history. When I lived in Redditch everyone just called it "Lem" - could that be a grim foreshadowing of potential names to come.

This is the work of Charan-kamal Singh, who has a mountain of great graffiti to likewise gawk at.

The Sanctuary

2009-05-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

Here it begins good reader. It's the start of our visual Monasticism.

This gorgeous image, and the enclosed story of a dog named Charlotte , comes from AprilM2107. I've always tried to avoid writing a single word to you which isn't worth your reading.

Instead I suggest spending the time seeing what else AprilM2107 has to show you.

Stage Seven: Monasticism & Vandalism

2009-04-30T12:38:00.006-05:00

It's time once again for me to find something truly beautiful for your daily staring pleasure. Our world weary peepers are in need of nourishment, and I have an effective prescription.

Wikipedia teaches us:
Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone) is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work.

Long time followers of Sirharris.com may well remember the five months of Holy Day features, ran back in 2005. I hope this will be at least half as enjoyable. So there we are, the next daily postings will all revolve around this simple theme: Monasticism.

I've decided as a last minute addition to juxtapose my monastic findings with that perennial favourite: Vandalism. I promise this bizarre union is for reasons other than purely comical.

So here it is, the postings shall alternate between all things private and tranquil, and all things laid public and "ruined". Obviously I use the term loosely as things are rarely so black and white.

Reoccurence

2009-04-30T12:16:00.003-05:00

The sky is clear, lunch is concluded, and again I find myself considering another photo feature right here on Sirharris.com.

This little nook of the internet is all mine. Whoever you are, reading this, I hope this posting finds you well and in good spirits. I'm about to start something all over again.

Texan Technicolor

2008-07-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

We've travelled through both city and field, walked over grass and stone. Today is the conclusion to our brief photographic tour of America. This is the finale of Stars and Stripes:

This is the famous Cadillac Ranch, skilfully captured in time by JoWiJo.

Indeed, that's the Cadillac Ranch, not to be confused with Carhenge, or Stonehenge for that matter. Enjoy your day all.

Amber Fields Of Grain

2008-07-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

For my friends, the penultimate installment of Stars and Stripes:

I stumbled into a gorgeous collection of photography, perfectly entitled how i spent my summer vacation..., belonging to fstopinertia. This forms just part of Day Ninety.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that for the year 2000, 72.7 million acres of America was covered in the above crop for harvesting. That equates to 15.1 billion dollars worth, which is indeed quite a golden amount of corn.

So Much For The City (Redux)

2008-07-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

We've gone in a straight line, from the big apple, to the sleepy suburbia, to the heart of the countryside, this is the fifth installment of: Stars and Stripes, lets celebrate the country I know you love!

With a fantastic grasp of all things country, this find is the work of Anon Nona, entitled Old Red Barn.

I have to say, before arriving in America a couple of years ago, the whole "red barn" phenomena was completely lost on me. A colleague has a good friend who works in a large scale hardware store, here in the states. He talked about an obvious markup from certain paint manufacturers on the shade "barn red". It appears if you are one to base your patriotism on the shade of your woodwork, to have a barn that isn't this traditional hue, just isn't American.

Obwandiyag

2008-07-24T06:14:00.002-05:00

Onwards we move, below lies the third instalment of my Americana photo tour named: Stars and Stripes.

Again, I've looted the vast electronic albums of Philippe Sainte-Laudy with another aptly titled work: Pontiac.

Learn about the Pontiac, the man, on Wikipedia.
Buy prints of the work of Philippe Sainte-Laudy on Zenfolio

Here's Your Happy Days

2008-07-23T06:00:00.003-05:00

We're out of the city, followed the interstate, and now we're ready to pull off for another visual morsel of Stars and Stripes. My fellow foreigners can feel free at this point to tell their boss how much they're learning on the companies' time. This is your National Geographic!

Belonging to dshearer, the photographer calls it Americana. I'm going to take this to the logical conclusion and call it Al's Diner.

I too have begun to wonder why that Arthur Fonzarelli spends all his time loitering in the men's bathroom of that particular establishment.

P.S. 25 cent coffee! (that's 13 pence well spent!)

Rank And File

2008-07-22T07:00:00.005-05:00

Thank you for joining me once more. If the statistics tell me no lies, I should likely be saying to you: "Welcome back"!

You've arrived just in time for the deuxième part of Stars and Stripes - and just look at you! everything's going your way these days!

This is the property of Mr. New Yorkled, with the self explanatory title: Ellis Island Immigration Museum. A favourite image, and the obvious starting point for a lot of the world, when visiting the country I now call home.

I'll spare you the usual reference points, facts, figures, etc. save to say the often quoted trivia: It is estimated today that about one third of the present population of America can trace at least one ancestor who arrived in the country through Ellis Island.

Redundant

2008-07-21T07:31:00.000-05:00

I've been dusting off the cobwebs here at Sirharris.com, making the place more comfortable for you, dear guest.

As I worked my way down the right column of this website, I groaned whilst finding, one by one, the majority of the interesting little sites I once linked to, are either not so interesting, or just generally redundant.

At the top of my hit list are Truth Laid Bear, who never seemed to track the majority of my incoming links anyway, Photo Bloggers (since when did I label myself a photographer anyway?), and Blogshares who, at some point, purged any record of my site from their memory.

I was gone two years after all. I suppose I would find the internet more depressing if nothing had changed on me in all that time. Nevertheless, I am enjoying my renewed resolve. Please spread the word to those you know, I am most certainly back.

Not That Monument's Name

2008-07-21T06:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the commencement. It's the genesis of a photographic tour of America via what we call: Stars and Stripes.

Better than the real thing? This is the work of Philippe Sainte-Laudy named Statue of Liberty - Last Vegas.

For the curious amongst you, QuoteWorld will make sense of the title.

Stage Six: Stars And Stripes

2008-07-20T20:10:00.002-05:00

In an effort to swiftly build momentum, I present to you my next feature.:

Stars and Stripes
Seven is my magic number. Here comes seven images that represent my own personal America, summarised through the photography of others.

Polish off your staring apparatus, and prepare yourself for a little brass, a little dazzle, and a whole load of that good old red, white and blue.

Inspiration

2008-07-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

Good Morning,
As I continued my ritualistic spring cleaning of things accumulated and unused, I found myself languishing in an old email account, browsing the neatly lined columns of archived mails. There in the midst of it all was nearly a full page of "your web domain will expire in three months", "your domain will expire in two months", "in six weeks your domain is lost!" etc.

The conclusion of which was a mail stating I had just six days to renew sirharris.com or it would fall into the ether, perhaps to be set upon by the electronic robots which frequently hold pockets of the internet hostage.

I will not claim to be anything but predictable; I received my six day warning, reassessed the ten years of this location's existence, in one form or another, and I promptly took action.

If you are reading this far, you have tolerated my schmaltzy relaunch message very patiently. For that I am most grateful:

Here comes Sirharris.com again, art I love, things that interest me, and another chance to steal fragments of your lunch breaks and quiet time.

Updated

2006-08-17T12:15:00.001-05:00

Hello all. I am now well into my second week of living in Pennsylvania, USA. As you can all imagine, it is radically different from my comfortable little existence in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. What is very similar, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know, is that both places are very enjoyable. At present my time alters between the office and my apartment, as I know you are familiar, there are a thousand things required of you in a move.

Sirharris.com will continue to exist. Once my feet have been found I shall look to bring more features and the usual kinds of posting.

Don't remove me from your bookmarks, there is still life left in me yet.

Transition

2006-07-22T17:25:00.001-05:00

Once again, I am in the midst of moving internationally. It's my third time now. I have just under two weeks left in the United Kingdom.

My lovely little flat in Leamington Spa is to be no more, transferred to boxes, awaiting my arrival in Pennsylvania. For those I know who are here in England, I'm bidding a goodbye to you for now. For those I'm about to see in the United States, hello. This move will be a permanent one, if that doesn't work with you, consider this a formal invitation to visit - I love (scheduled) visitors.

Berlin Station

2006-07-21T16:40:00.000-05:00

As a interuption from inactivity, here is something pretty by Samsara entitled Radiant Railway:

I trust you are all taking care of each other.