Nature in the raw, How to solve a problem like Maria and More Philosophy (Epistemology 2)

Bye-bye birdie

There's a line - Red in tooth and claw which is from Alfred Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H., 1850. The line  comes (apparently) at   Canto 56 (it is a very long poem) and refers to man but it's been brought to mind by my vegetable plot..

The last few visits to the allotment have meant some sort of clearance of debris - day one there were feathers from what looked like a struggle around a bird and a strange smell coming from the water butt.
On inspection of the butt i discovered a small dead mouse floating on it's back - I removed this and disposed of it.

The next day it was another bird that had been struck down no feathers this time but one dead bird, again disposed of - hopefully this is the three that such things come in.

Maria, Maria Maria 

P J Proby summed it up so well and David's behind her.

PJ -probably another Maria in mind

Well thanks Maria-  as we're again we're reminded how disconnected politicians lives are from those who they say they represent.

A government that came to power saying things like 'we're all in this together' and tightening of belts overlooks the unforgivable greed and unfathomable arrogance with all the PR skills of Marie Antoinette.

When those living at the bottom of the heap in the UK are seeing their benefits being cut and being labelled cheats (and facing criminalisation for quite minor infringements)  the culture secretary pockets public money and pays back around £6,000 as opposed to the £90,000 she received and offers a 32 second apology.
It has also emerged that intimidation was used against the press and their reporting of the matter.

Be interesting to see what happens next..

Epistemology (2)

Now that the first part of my formal (ish) introduction to Philosophy has finished I'm returning to Marcus Weeks's Philosophy in Minutes and the next heading is  Epistemology.
Epistemology  is about knowledge and how we can get it, it   focuses on the means for acquiring knowledge and how it is possible to tell the difference between truth and falsity.

In fact one of the areas we probed on the introduction via great thinkers was how modern epistemology focuses on  a debate between rationalism and empiricism, or the question of whether knowledge can be acquired a priori  (knowledge that is independent of all particular experiences based on 'reason') or a posteriori, used in philosophy to indicate inductive reasoning. The term is Latin, meaning “from what comes after”and refers to that which comes after experience.

So terms that are important here are:

Empiricism: knowledge is obtained through experience.

Rationalism: knowledge can be acquired through the use of reason.
Here's a youtube..

Contemporary Art in London

The London Art scene is exciting and is not just about the big galleries and exhibitions, I enrolled in a Citylit  'tour' of some of the current hotspots.

Several things I noted from the first day which included not just the works but also about curation, how we talk about the works and something of the business that supports the 'Art'

Yesterday I was introduced to Tal R and the Walk towards Hare Hill at the Victoria Miro Gallery in Mayfair and a show of recent work by the Romanian painter Marius Bercea at Hypernova in Hanover Square just a stone's throw from the Tal R.

Tal R

Tal R was born in Israel in 1967 but now works in Copenhagen where his mother is from.
The series of 'painterly' works that Tal created last year were painted in the open air (en plein air in artspeak), they were mainly oils on cardboard, board and other media that were grabbed from the shed before he set out on foot or bicycle to nearby woods.
The fact that he was on his way towards Hare Hill was not realised by the artist at the time but this is known for being a picturesque spot.
As well as oils Tal used ink for a couple of the works (these were the more appealing works for me). Generally there was a spirit of the Fauve's about the work they were impressionistic generally featuring trees and showed a bold use of colour. For me the lack of figures and perspective moved the works towards abstraction and although the complementary palette was vibrant it did not show the artist's full talents (you can see more about him and his works  here) . As an exercise for the artist in creating works to a set of self imposed rules it was intriguing but perhaps for the what the viewer could take from the work it was limited.

The Victoria Miro gallery in 14 George Street is a nice space for what are works on a very human scale - be careful with the sliding door if you visit.

Marius Bercea  at Hypernova

The contrast experienced by the group  in our second visit was quite powerful, we were introduced to works from 2013  by the Romanian born artist   Marius Bercea (born in 1979 during the communist rule) , the works here were evocative and generally on a far bigger scale, some featured figures and they were (unlike Tal R's works)  individually titled.
The Hypernova is a more open (to light an people) and an exciting place to see paintings, it has light coming in from the street and the works were curated sympathetically across two rooms.
Bercea is an artist who is a rising star and his work we were told  is only sold/released to suitable purchasers (seems a little egotistical perhaps?)

The most striking of his works was Seasonal Capital of Itinerant Crowds (2013), there is irony and humour in the works here as well as technique and emotion.

There were clear cinematic references within the show with Toyon and The Flame of the Match Girl being prime examples.

Having seen the works by Bercea after those of Tal R I perhaps over enthused on the work of the Romanian some of the painting were a little flat and although there was detail the works may have benefited from more time and care.

Gertting there with the Greenhouse & Britsh Gas follow up

Aligning and holding the slabs

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It really helps to have two people when constructing.

Well it's not finished yet but you can see that the Greenhouse (Harmony 6 x4)  is coming along well.


I would say that the kit is quite intimidating with hundreds of parts including nuts bolts and panels.

The instructions that come with the Greenhouse are fairly helpful but not absolutely foolproof and I would certainly recommend undertaking the project with help, it may not be absolutely necessary but as they say two heads are better than one and this has been the case where there has been some doubt about which way things go.

 Lots of parts to check off 

I have (as I did with the shed) underestimated the size of base required and have bought more slabs which will me  an a bit of extra excavation.
As I would imagine with most allotment sites fixing is a challenge because permanent concrete/cement work is not permitted - I plan to secure the base to the slabs by drilling and bolting but am worrying about the slabs cracking.

The remaining work is the door, various fixings and finishing touches and more sand to add between the slabs of the base.

British Gas follow up

Yesterday British Gas called to discuss further my change of energy provider (from them to Ovo), no problem with the call they did confirm if my consumption was the same as last year Ovo would save me £80 as compared with the best deal they could do for me.
The lady on the phone was unable to explain to me how Ovo could provide at a cheaper price than British Gas
I think that the energy companies are now recognising that they have not done enough to keep their customers content and need to up their game Well done Ed Milliband !
I confirmed that I would move to Ovo but would be checking again in a years time (as we need to these days), the change should be completed in the next few days

The End of Philosophy

Today was (for me) sad as my Philosophy course finished and sorry to report that  I don't really know the meaning of everything.
Apart from filling out some feedback forms which will hopefully provide positive indications to the validity of the work that Scott had put into acquainting us with some of the great Philosophers of 'Modern' times we took a look at late period Wittgenstein and had a  short look at the question 'is this the end of philosophy ?
- The answer (I think) is no.

Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889 -1951 (the Philosopher) was one of several children born to a very rich  Austrian Steel Magnate (almost a pun there), three of his brothers committed suicide and he contemplated it himself. 
Initially he started his studies in Manchester in aeronautic engineering but after meeting with Frege in Jana he followed advice proffered by the older man and went to meet and study with Bertrand Russel in Cambridge.
At the start of his Philosophical musings Ludwig was what might be labeled a logical positivist but he emerged from this 'cul-de-sac' top work at the 'Theory of meaning' from a different perspective accepting the importance of language but embracing the ambiguity of it.
On realising that the almost infinite variety of sentence constructions meant that a full 'understanding'  was not practical he looked instead at how we are able to communicate via language without concrete rules and looked at Philosophy's focus and use of  language as being  centred on ordinary words used perversely, one of the bigger issues around language is perhaps what it is to be understood .

As we were at the end of our short philosophical  'journey' one of the areas that Scott (the course leader) suggested would (or could) be of interest to us was the work of Frans de Waal and his scientific work observing Chimpanzees and their 'morality' - books include Chimpanzee Politics (great name for a band) and How morality evolved (not so good).
This might provide some  illumination on something inherent in the human family - here's a short clip.