Anthropax's Old Blog

A couple of things include: Went for meal with Humph, Ron and Theo at a lovely Thai place. Very nice - I went for the duck with mango - very good. Off to Uni on Friday. I'm driving up along with one of each of a mother, grandmother and an aunt. The Tories are letting the party members vote for a leader. After the great choices they made last few times, it seems clear that they won't pick the one who could possibly win them an election (Ken Clarke), and so Labour will have another win in 2009. Interestingly, I think Blair will keep on until after the election, as he just is far more charismatic and, well, photogenic than Brown.

It was my Grandmother's 90th birthday on Friday. 90. Just to imagine the world events she has lived through is fantastical.

• She was three when the first world war ended
• She was alive when the Ottoman empire still existed
• As did the British Empire
• And the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Not to mention Imperial Russia
• She was born before the League of Nations, and the United Nations were formed
• Tibet stopped existing, and Israel (re?)started existing

And lots more

We're celebrating this today, with a small party. I'll put a few pictures up when I get round to it (If my camera works that it).

Thank you John for this. Google rocks my socks

adopt your own virtual pet!

Simon Wiesenthal has died. He was a devoted Nazi hunter, and an all-round great person. The world is a lesser place without him.

I'm off to the Tintern Philosophy circle tonight. The talk's on Kant, who I disliked intensely when forced to learn about his ethical ideas. Hopefully the great Ray Billington (buy his books now - http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books-uk&field-author=Billington%2C%20Ray/202-7862958-3123804) will shed some light upon him.

As both Jo and Nick have linked to Adloyada, I feel honour bound to do my bit in promoting Israel for tourists.

Israel - You'll never forget your first time

Israel - Standing tall and firm

I believe this is the garden in the lovely nine dragons Taoist temple. I can't recall where in HK it is, but the garden itself was fantstic in design, and so tranquil. The major part of the garden was water, which in itself made it distinct from my western idea of what a garden is. The visitor wonders around on walkways and bridges above this large pond (complete with fish). I presume, that as it is a temple garden, it reflect the ideas of Taoism itself. I like this photo, as it shows the dualistic nature of Hong Kong; a serene temple garden, with large utilitarian tower blocks rising over it. Next door to this garden (visable through some fencing) was a McDonalds. Need I say more?

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

This is a photo taken in one of the many outdoor markets in Hong Kong. As originally it sold mostly women's clothes, it is known as the 'Ladies Market'. It now sells lots of things, ranging from the items of dubious legality (i.e. stolen) to items of dubious authenticity (i.e. 'Rolex' watch for £5), as well as cheap T-shirts and, oddly enough, novelty thongs.
One major part that I enjoyed here was the haggling. Unlike a Mr H “Oh no, that’s far too cheap, take more money” Amos, I felt I was rather good. I had a nice manbag for HK$50, and some little shell bracelets to give as presents for around HK$10 each. Also purchased was the obligatory Chairman Mao T-shirt, although that stayed packed away until getting back to the UK – I have some tact after all. There were some lovely bargains to be had, and it was great coming to a place that tour parties would avoid like the plague (pickpockets were all about apparently).

This is one of the many giant spiders we encountered on the long march west in Hong Kong. They're about the size of a person's hand, and would deliberately place their webs over the pathway to ensure much crouched running under them. Spiders in the UK hold little fear now after confronting these beasts.

Although I have, in general, remained part of the Amazon using orthadoxy, in the past month, I've been exploring various new things. Although Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros and some Sufjan Stevens have been ordered from the company, Play.com has lured me away with some cheaper prices (although it's book collection is poor compared to the mighty Amazon). The major distraction has been my new-found love of ebay, with a couple of books and some lovely badges (one anti-nazi, and four velvet underground) under my belt, but no sales. I found some star wars toys the other day, that would have been in my drawer for around ten years. I'll try selling them, but at the moment, I'm flittering around the three in order to find the best bargin. *edit* As soon as paypal finds come through, this will be winging its way to me!

Te he he...

I recently discovered that the famous Philosopher and Writer Bertrand Russell, was born just a few miles away in Trellech. I will, at some point, go on a (rather short) pilgrimage to this house. Even a short account of his life reads like a who's who of philosophy. His godfather was John Stuart Mill, he studied at Trinity, where he met Whitehead and Moore, and he later became acquainted with Wittgenstein (who I have quite a lot of respect for, despite finding logical positivism rather dull, and almost nihilistic at times). I think my grandmother may have met him at sometime, and so, at her 90th birthday party, I'll question her about this.

Well, you are now reading the blog of a car owner. Oh Yes! It'll take a little while to arrive, but when it does, the Mitsubishi Colt will be my anthropaxmoblie. It's got loads of headroom, parking sensing thing, and a free sunroof.

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