Sirharris.com

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

Labels: hard to believe

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.

Labels: vandalism

"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.

Labels: monasticism

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.

Labels: vandalism

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.

Labels: monasticism

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!.

Labels: vandalism

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.

Labels: monasticism books