No more books

Dear reader,

I refer to the previous entry in this on-line journal. if it had not been made sufficiently clear in the near ten year existence of this blog : I love books.

Not 'like', not my hobby is 'reading', no 'I wish I had more time to read'. NO.

I love books. I devour them. And of all the challenges and limitations I've set myself for 2015*, accepting the challenge of not reading 100 books a year, this year was perhaps the one challenge I should have thought over. I cringed and gasped for air at the mere sugestion. Of course. But nonetheless I accepted.

Mr. T is hopefully near because I am indeed a fool and need to be pitied.

*more on challenges and limitations in future blogs

A far harder test

One house mate gives up internet for a week. Another drinking alcohol.

I have considered giving up on my greatest addiction i.e. reading but I might die during the process. So Monday hence I will not eat any cookies/ biscuits/ cakes/ etc. For a week.

But no more than a week.

I am Charlie - I follow Charlie

It is no secret that I live in a country geographically, politically and culturally near France. And as 99,99% of my country men, I dare say my fellow Europeans I was utterly shocked by Wednesday's news of an attack on the redaction of the French political magazine 'Charlie Hebdo'. Shocked twofold.

First of course because of the attack itself. Even though I regret to say such a thing is to be expected, every religious, political or cultural view (for lack of a better word I had nearly written 'genre') has it's fanatics and it is only luck that most extremists are simply too stupid to organise their thoughts into actions that saves us from an attack/ killing spree/ threat of violence every day. But I like independent journalism and I'm an artist (though be it in training), it is almost as if some far of relative or that guy you used to know but never kept in touch with just died. You fear for the end of everything you think important or take for granted.

Secondly the reactions to the attack. When a killing spree of this size is claimed by any organisation or made in the name of such and such beliefs a strong antipathy against that group is the usual and predictable response. And it has been so now,... marginally. Marginally from my point of view.  Even in the non-extremist camp of the intellectual spectrum the stupid are in a vast majority but no longer overwhelmingly so and what pleases me most. The media are seen to write sense.

#jesuischarlie = I am Charlie and for me means that I feel for every family member, every colleague, every friend lost to a lack of selflessness.

#jesuischarlie = I follow Charlie and that means for me be bold. Be bolder than ever, fight with words, with pictures, with laughter, with music with everything you have. Fight for ever against violence unprovoked by other violence.

Resolutions - 2015 edition

• not buy any more typewriters
• not drink alcohol
• run 10 miles every week
• buy a house
• finish a 30 day without sugar challenge
• balance reading, drawing and watching Dr Who

Not overly ambitious but well, life can't be hard work all the time.