daffymost.co.uk

A year of writing

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:29:11 +0000

I want to dedicate this year to take back writing and making a job of it, instead of a hobby. So I look forward to writing something -novels, articles, blog posts etc.- at least three times a week. I am getting back contacts to sell some articles as a freelance journalist but I also have more ambitious editorial projects that I want to try -like a collection of short novels, or an essay. I always had trouble with new year resolutions -my personality really doesn’t like to be forced into following its own rules! But I know it is worth trying, because it’s something I love.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My precious coins

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:33:36 +0000

I remember buying my first fire safe. It was such an ordeal. I must have easily driven all over town as I determined to find one which was heavily discounted. I only wanted a medium one as I only have a limited number of possessions. The most expensive asset would have to be my gold coins and my silver coins dating back pre 1965. Lots of people like to call it junk silver. I regularly trade this so called ‘junk silver’ and make a tidy profit each time. It can be a lot of fun and I do not have to pay expensive storage costs.

Old house, new furniture

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:28:59 +0000

After 2 years and a half abroad, I came back in my old Italian house. However the furniture I left there was the one of my student years -it was old, weary and generally ugly. So, helped by my father, I spent my last week giving my house a new look. First of all, repainting walls. Then, getting rid of a lot of old, terrible furniture and buying new one. I wanted a somewhat clean, modern look for my living room, so I decided to play on the contrast between the white of the walls and black furniture -especially a black, square wooden table me and my father had fun in assembling!

Science for everyone

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:28:45 +0000

If I could, I would like everyone in the world to have a proper basic scientific education. While science has been the most powerful force advancing the world, its basics are almost totally ignored by the general public even in first world countries -many Americans for example still believe that the Sun orbits the Earth, if asked! If this could change, it would be a deep boost for the development of poorer countries, and it would give us a deeper awareness of who we are and of our place in the Universe. It would make us a wiser species, a species where everyone, and not only a select few, can understand how does the world around us works.

Trivial Pursuits (thefinchandpea.com)

Trouble On The Horizon

admin — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:48:18 +0000

My friend went on a stupid rampage when he decided to steal the fire truck for our town. There were some consequences, but he didn’t care about them at the time. He went around the town and spraying houses with a fire hose. He said that the town needed to be cleaned up. I considered him to be on drugs because the town was spotless. It makes the best sense to say that he was in a position to do the right thing and just stop, but it took the police to get involved and they got the city truck back.

I love songs ; just not reggae songs

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:28:32 +0000

I listen to a staggering diversity of music genres -rock, pop, electronics, jazz, classical- but in general I have a soft spot for acoustic songwriters. From Leonard Cohen to Will Oldham, from Johnny Cash to Townes Van Zandt, the emotional power of an acoustic guitar and of a powerful or subtle voice conveying poetry is always able to touch me deeply. On the other side, I was never able to properly understand reggae music. I don’t know really why but, while many find it relaxing or even dance to it, I just find it irritating. It seems to me like a grotesquely slow carnival going on. It’s a funny exception in my broad listening habits.

Stockholm, marvellous city

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:28:02 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I didn’t travel incredibly far from my home in my life, and my farthest travel has been in Stockholm, for a summer holiday in 2007. It has been probably one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. Me and my girlfriend wanted to go there because we both were fascinated by Scandinavian countries but have never been there. It has been the most pleasant of surprises. The city is utterly amazing -built upon island after island, each with its personality, full of art and culture, huge but incredibly friendly and quiet. The food was wonderful -I’d say Sweden, after Italy, is the European country where I ate the best! I will never forget the boat trip among the islands, a truly outworldly experience.

A library of old books

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:10:25 +0000

Having $1000 to spend at a single store? Old books for sure. I love collecting old books, from the XVIII or XIX century. Especially illustrated natural history or medicine books -the quality and the feeling conveyed by the old illustrations and engravings was of a marvellous elegance, today unfortunately almost completely lost. I would have of course to find the right shop for that -there are a lot of antique book sellers but only a few have enough precious pieces to allow me to spend all my $1000. Second-best choice would be a shop of antique maps -another item I can’t become sick of. They are simply too beautiful to look at, every antique map looks like it depicts a different world from the other one. It’s something you can get lost every time.

Europe Adventures

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:39:49 +0000

During my senior summer while in undergraduate school, I traveled with my sister to Europe for ten weeks. We had the time of our lives. With only a backpack on our backs, we had a week’s worth of clothes and we stayed in hostels throughout Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, and many more. We met some very interesting people along the way and learned about their traveling experiences. This helped to guide us in our adventures because we would hear what was worth visiting in each place. We planned most of our trip, but had a mystery week where we planned nothing. We went to Switzerland to experience the Alps and were crazy enough to go skydiving twice in 24 hours! It was an absolute blast!

Travelling Europe by train (ebookers.com)

Shop ‘Til You Drop

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:35:48 +0000

If I received a $1000 shopping spree to use at one store only, I would definitely choose Crate and Barrel. I recently moved into my apartment with my fiancé in New York City and we are trying to redecorate. I believe this store to have class in its style and its variety of products. Crate and Barrel seems to have a natural style with subtle, but pleasant colors that we would like to incorporate into our apartment. I would want to get a rug there and possibly some decorations like vases, frames, and canisters for our food. Although Crate and Barrel is relatively expensive, I would like to use the money there because it would give us a chance to get the things we have been really wanting.