Photo update

Developed a couple rolls from the Nikon F and the Lubitel (after the jump). I recommend hitting the fullscreen button on the slideshows to eliminate crunchy jpeg compression:

Oh, hi there

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. As an homage to my roots, and not a little because of laziness and lack of costume funds, I went as a cowboy. I saw a few Sarah Palins, but no McCains or Obamas. I hear you’re having an election over there soon, eh?

I’m also not yet accustomed to the lack of daylight around this time of year in this place. I think I’m going to need one of those special lights that replicates sunlight. My lack of energy is unprecedented. It’s no wonder they drink so much tea over here.

On the plus side, my flatmate and I bought a bunch of fresh veggies and handmade cheese tortellini at Borough Market this weekend, and the rustic tomato, mushroom and shallot sauce was one of the best I’ve ever made. As Gordon Ramsay says, there’s no substitute for fresh ingredients. Well, he probably says that with at least three epithets in there.

By the way, the razor brand Schick over here is called Wilkinson’s Sword.

A good day

I managed to make it through the seminar I had to give today, and I think I did well. I still need to work on speaking slowly and clearly, but I think the content came across well enough anyway. Here’s a link to the slide show, if you’re interested in a bulleted version of my talk (apologies to Flickr randoms I borrowed, and Google Docs seems to have mangled my PowerPoint slightly).

The ride home today was serene. On the train in West London, passing through trees changing color and football pitches waiting for players, it seemed there was nothing better or more peaceful than a sunny, autumn afternoon, when the sunlight shines strong at low angles to the Earth, lighting everything with an ethereal glow, and there’s a chill in the air and Midlake in my headphones. The Midlake is key.