We’ve just been on holiday for a week in Northern Norway with some friends, well inside the arctic circle. We were lucky enough to see the Aurora on four nights. It really is very beautiful there. The dog sledging was horrifically expensive (actually, so was everything.)
Winter greetings to all my readers, and non-readers too. Wishing you all a happy and healthy year ahead!
This wonderful cartoon of my Cartooning Workshop yesterday was made by (and republished by kind permission of) the talented Imogen Foxell (http://www.imogenfoxell.com) I’m the one in green on the left. The workshop was at the South Oxford Community Centre, and part of Oxford’s contribution to The Big Draw national drawing event. I had a lot of fun leading a set of interactive drawing games involving speed drawing and exaggeration to very enthusiastic participants. I’m pretty sure they had a lot of fun too.
We enjoyed an unsual musical act at the Old Fire Station on Friday. Thomas Truax plays songs with an understated, whimsical, often dark humour, with the occasional help of an mechanical drummer (named Mother Superior — you can see her at bottom-right in my doodle.) Also starring were the Hornicator and the Stringaling, and an impressive selection of effects pedals and looping tools. Thanks Thomas!
Thanks to Oxgrow for organising a session of drawing and painting in their beautiful community garden.
There she is again. This time the sun came out, and provided you stayed in the sunshine it was warm.
So Karen has earned herself a regular gig, singing solo at North Parade Market. The market is small, friendly and food-centred, with top-quality live music … what’s not to like?
Another fascinating talk on post-truth, this time by Tim Harford of Radio 4’s “More or Less” fame. The take home message seems to be that people need to care more about the world, and that facts alone aren’t enough to change opinions.
Another interesting talk at the Oxford Skeptics in the Pub meeting — Mark Lynas is an eco-activist who came to the conclusion that GMO is not necessarily bad, and that Organic isn’t necessarily good, using the power of critical thinking. One interesting point he made is that the degree of scientific consensus supporting GMO safety is roughly the same as that supporting climate change. So if you think critically you have to accept both (or possibly neither?)
The very energetic and interesting Dr. Helen Czerski presented “We need to Talk about Physics” at today’s meeting of Oxford Skeptics in the Pub. We learnt why blueberry jam isn’t blue; why the Hubble telescope is like a raw egg; and why there is a lot of physics still to do to understand everyday phenomena (such as how bubbles move in a turbulent fluid.)
I’m afraid the likeness is worse than usual. Dr. Czerski doesn’t do standing still.