Great White Bear
Until Mar 25 Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, London, SE23 3PQ

Great White Bear
It’s easy to see how these things happen. One minute you’re wondering vaguely how many stuffed polar bears there are in the UK, the next you’re engaged in a three-year project to find and photograph them all in situ, and trace the history of how they came to be killed, transported, stuffed and displayed. From there, it’s a short step to borrowing ten of them for an installation in Bristol, publishing a lavish art book about your quest, and exhibiting your photographs at the the Horniman Museum.

At least that’s how it was for Mark Wilson and Bryndis Snaebjörnsdóttir, a duo of collaborative artists whose work explores the relationships between people, places and the natural world. Their curiosity was piqued by what these specimens tell us about the way people have attempted to pin down and appropriate the raw power of these fierce and beautiful animals.

There are 34 bears in the exhibition - although there ought to be 35, as the Horniman is currently searching for its own lost bear, which was sold in 1948 and may have ended up in a pub in Hull. The specimens the artists have tracked down range from a very manky-looking object on wheels, dating from 1786, which the artists found in a gloomy corridor in Blair Castle, Perthshire, to a playfully posed and pristine beast which was bought by Lord and Lady Puttnam in 1999 and installed in their London residence. Several, of course, are housed in museums, including well-preserved and naturalistically mounted examples in the Natural History Museum, Manchester Museum and Sheffield City Museum. But there are some unexpected locations too: in the hallway of a private house in Somerset, a bear which once graced the Fox’s Glacier Mints factory now wears a fez on one ear and presents visitors with a basket of tulips.

Venue:
Horniman Museum,100 London Road, London, SE23 3PQ

Phone:
020 8699 1872

Times:
Daily 10.30am-5.30pm. Gardens: daily 7.15am-dusk
Rail:
Forest Hill rail
Bus:
176,185, 312, P4, 63, 122, P13 bus

Elephant Car in Auction

I think I am in a really strange mood lately. I have attracted to off the wall things my whole life, but lately I like the odd and obscure.

A rare 1947, Elephant car in auction at the moment. Powered by a four cylinder Chevy engine, all hydraulics, tucked neatly inside the body cavity. The elephant literally skates along at speeds of up to 20 mph.
Stuart made three of the in 1947. One is permanently housed in a museum in Austria, one as well used for decades by the Hudson Department store in Detroit (it was later sold to a private museum in Chicago where it resides today) and one was kept by the inventor. It is the latter pictured here and it comes to us from his family who cared for it after his demise. In all likelihood, it will be the only one ever to come up for public auction.

It appears that at least this one was made for Barnum Bailey's Circus.

Baby Hamburger

I went to the House of Commons today for a launch on study on mining in the Philippines. I met and chatted with Clare Short!! And gave her my business card so that she could add me to a follow up committee on business advisement.

Woohoo!

My visitor tag is now proudly displayed on my notice board behind my desk.

Very pleased and feeling a little British.

Unusal Paintings

I am having a tough day.

This morning a number of couples rang the doorbell at 11 am and wanted to see the flat. Apparently, a viewing had been scheduled with all of them but no estate agent has been scheduled. I guess that is why no one told me they were coming. After showing the place to people, I went in the garden to discover the fences and the table had blown over. The place was a mess. Brilliant.

Then I try to call my husband who is apparently staying with someone for the weekend. He told me that an estate agent just called and they said that they were bringing someone by. Apparently, being hungover and frustrated by them not having anyone show people around at 11, meant that he was unwilling to deal with them. He put the phone down on the person. Great, so now ther 12:30 appointment is cancelled. Does he not know we are trying to sell this house and someone not viewing is a bad thing. ASS! I am starting to hate him.

Then to round off things, I go in the back garden and try to fix the fencing situation. The fence is completely rotten and I cannot get it to stay up. The neighbors came out of their flat and talked to me. We agreed that tomorrow we would all head to the Hardware Store and buy new fencing and then put it in. I tell Adam that we are going to do all this tomorrow at 11 and he complains about the time. I am doing everything and he has one obligation and he gets annoyed with it. I cannot wait to have him out of my life.

Photos of amazing soviet bus stops. They make me smile. It is so interesting that they were created. I am glad that someone has gathered the images together.

I was rushing to leave work and missed a step. I landed on one ankle which I am pretty sure was not entirely straight. Anyway, I was in a state of mild shock as the cleaning man and one of my coworkers asked me if I was okay. I tried to communicate I was fine but I was still in such a state of pain that it was difficult to think of anything else.

I struggled through most of the evening. Went home put my leg up and put the only thing in my freezer on my ankle - sausages. So, there I am laying on the couch with my leg on the armrest and sausages in a dishtowel strapped to my leg.

I found it hard to sleep. I place my leg on a pillow but even the weight of the duvet hurt. It was so tender.

In the morning, it was black and blue and it looked like my ankle had taken up the business of smuggling walnuts under my skin.

I decided to work from home and debated going to the Accident & Emergency clinic. I finally hobbled down to the local pharmacy.

I showed it to te pharmacist. I completely grossed her out. She physically recoiled. HA! Not a good sign.

But she said that the skin was not broken and I could walk on it which means that nothing is broken or torn. All positive signs.

I got an anti-inflammatory with ibuprofen, a support bandage and some more ibuprofen to take orally. I need to elevate my leg and keep off it as much as possible.

I perhaps should have bought some adult diapers as well? The hop to the bathroom is killing me.

Edible squid-flavored postcards!!

Residents of the coastal town of Susami in Wakayama prefecture love the sea and the post office so much that the town once installed a mailbox on the ocean floor for scuba divers. Now, further evidence of this powerful sea/mail love comes in the form of “Surumail” — edible postcards made from squid.

Produced by the Susami fishing cooperative, Surumail postcards consist of dried surume squid (Todarodes pacificus), the local seafood specialty. The squid jerky is flattened and vacuum-packed into the shape of a postcard, and an adhesive label is included for the postage, delivery address and a short message.

The fishing cooperative has sold between 4,000 and 5,000 cards each year since they went on sale in 2000. According to the Surumail website, which touts the postcards as a cutting-edge medium of communication for the 21st century, many big-name companies — including Microsoft and IBM — have inquired about the cards. Surumail may play an instrumental role in saving the Japanese economy, the website claims. (Although, I have to admit that is what I read in an English review. I cannot read Japanese.)

The postcards cost 320 yen (under $3) each and are available at the Susami post office and JR Susami station, as well as through the Susami fishing cooperative. You can also order the postcards online, but it is unclear whether they ship outside Japan.

A while ago, I came across a blog that talked a lot about "Nerd Core". It didn't offer much of an explanation. I went to wikipedia and strangely there wasn't an entry about it. I thought there was an entry about everything. (I was wrong)

I went to the same blog and there was a link to a trailer for an upcoming documentary on Nerd Core.

From what I can figure out from the trailer, Nerd Core is a form of hiphop fronted by...wait for it... NERDS!

Anyway, here is the trailer on you tube if you want to see more about this growing phenomina called Nerd Core.

False alarm on the husband front. He is not interested in focusing on the relationship. It is a relief to finally have a decision. Now I can move on. 2007 is going to be a good year. Closure and all that.

Onward and upward!!

Encouraging my drink habit. ;)
Celery engineered into straw shapes. Photo and link.

Well, just returned from the US. Spoke to my husband about officially splitting up. It appeared that he had a date around the house. It was a bit shocking. I want to date again but to see that he had someone around our house was a bit much.

We started talking about us and splitting and mistakes we have made in the past. He said that he didn't know if he wanted to split. That perhaps 2007 would be a good time for us to try to start again together, but really start.

We gave ourselves two days to think about it and then agreed we would speak and make a decision. Do or do not.

We will see. D-day is less than two days away and I need to decide whether I could really try again. I am unsure. I bet he is as well.

A-Team star Dirk Benedict arrived in a replica A-Team van, smoking a large cigar, to join the Celebrity Big Brother house in the UK.



Damn, now I am tempted to watch it.