A 1950s image for today’s postmodern world As it’s half-term in the U.K. Jocelyn, Becky and Josie are at Amos this week. They arrived here this morning at around 4.00 am. They brought fine beers from Thwaites, and Fullers. Fine Port from Warres and Bombay Gin to fuel Damla’s Martinis. Most importantly they came themselves. [...]
Power vs Force The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour According to David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D, consciousness may be quantified by a numerical value. There is a logarithmic progression between energy values of the numbers in the scale he invented which is calibrated in numbers between 0 to 1000. Several individuals operating at the lower [...]
The Somerset and Dorset Light Railway was known as the ‘Slow and Dirty’ Today, in 1956, third class rail travel was abolished by British Railways. This was a catastrophe, not arguably because with the demise of the third class ticket Her Majesty’s third class subjects could no longer travel by train, thus giving Dr. Beeching [...]
Just Let Go! Two years ago I gave up practising as a therapist, trainer, management consultant, and NLP person. This caused some consternation among those whom I had helped to train. They couldn’t understand my motives. The fact is that I had no reason in mind. It’s true that I thought it would be nice [...]
The sole biography of Henri Cartier-Bresson will both delight, and disappoint his following A few days ago I was celebrating the immanent arrival of both American Photo and Practical Photography. But today I learn that Mine has broken her leg and cannot, after all, come to Amos, at least for a while. This is quite [...]
A shy creature protected by a mastiff Between Martinis Damla lent me a copy of a book called ‘ The Snow Leopard‘. In it the author, Peter Matthiessen makes a long trek through Northern Nepal into the borders of Tibet. It might seem a great adventure but the book is beset by tales of flies, [...]
Jocelyn in familiar ‘repose’ Today we must say goodbye to an English rose, for after a week that passed so quickly Jocelyn, [Becky and Josie], must return to Londinivm Avgvsta. They are taking a nocturnal Hippogryph from Dalaman. Their visit has brightened our days and Jocelyn’s recurrent greeting of: “Do you want a drink?” will [...]
Home Made Ice Cream And Apple Pie Yesterday’s pictures of Becky and Josie diving into the sea might imply that Amazon, Irem and I spend all our days on the beach? This really isn’t true. I rarely venture to the shore and even Amazon and Irem don’t go there every day. Instead we enjoy our [...]
An Unexpected Suprise! Last evening I made some prints in order to experiment with the PowerRetouche toning utility. Alpay Bey’s portrait from the photograph illustrating a recent piece about Henri Cartier-Bresson and The Snow Leopard worked well when toned to resemble a platinum print ~ the kind favoured by Irving Penn. This morning Amazon and [...]
The vines provide a wonderful rich pattern of green folliage and black shadow What a difference a few months can make! In April and early May we were walking to Kumlubük every day at around five thirty in the afternoon. In April there were streams. Everywhere was green, except the small field above which is [...]
Just what the Leica was invented for! When Robert Capa arrived on Omaha Beach to photograph the D. Day invasion he took a number of photographs at dawn. These were printed throughout the world. They were grainy, often out of focus, and full of movement. They are nevertheless great photographs. What most people don’t realise [...]
An important announcement from 1945 Alpay has found even more copies of Lilliput. Some research on E-Bay suggests that these pocket sized magazines originally selling for 1/- (5 pence) are now worth up to $15 each. I suspect the early ones could be worth even more. In 1945 as the world recovered from six years [...]
Aloe Vera Bloom, Amos Bay, Turkey This Aloe Vera flower was captured with the FinePix E900 whilst we were visiting Yusuf and Çidem, who are staying in Piraye’s and Duan’s house. Yusuf tells me that Aloe Vera flowers for just one day each year and today’s bloom is, as you can see, exceptionally lovely. Tomorrow [...]
At Siegfried’s coming of age he accepts the gift of a sword from his tutor Wolfgang Marmaris are currently staging their 3rd National Ballet Days. The Turkish National Ballet is performing between the 14th and 28th June. We went to see Swan Lake performed by the Izmir Ballet Company. It was a thoroughly professional performance [...]
Adequate Supplies For The Ex-Pats, Maybe? Travellers to Amos from the United Kingdom have been pleased to bring with them two bottles of Gordon’s London Gin, which was a special offer on their flight. I am pleased to say that the holiday tourist doesn’t have the stamina of the genuine ex-pat with the result that [...]
Chopped Willys On Demand! Customer focussed communication was one of the buzz-concepts of late twentieth century management. I even wrote an ebook about it! But that’s not entirely what I want to write about. For today I’ve been experiencing that peculiar kind of melancholy that frequently precedes change, although the change may be as long [...]
For Your Throat’s Sake! Scanning through the old copies of Lilliput loaned by Alpay Bey I was struck by the number of advertisements for tobacco products. Today these are banned but in their heyday tobacco ads produced some of the most iconic brands of their times. For example the Gitannes Man, taken by Alice Springs, [...]
Lesley Bray with her Sherpa, who seems just as tactile as a Turkish waiter. Lesley what were you thinking about? Great news today. We received an e-mail from my highly pressurized niece Lesley. She recently returned from Nepal where she was staying with the organizer of Alf Erickson’s favourite sport Elephant Polo. Currently she’s attempting [...]
Have You Seen This Man On Your Telly? An ex-flatmate Bryan, who is an American of Iranian stock and the possessor of an Irish pasport, the founder of the the United Kingdom’s Saucy Shakespeare Company, writes: Hello there lovely Stephen and Irem, Ages since we’ve been in touch…. I’m still hoping to come see you [...]
Mira For the past couple of days we’ve been acting as foster parents to Mira, who is a retriever that belongs to one of our neighbours. They were called away to Istanbul and asked us to take her until they can get back next week. She has a wonderful disposition, but is prone to running [...]
An Unlikely Sign? Seth Godin published a useful link in his journal today. It connects to a nice article about logos and brand identity. It makes the point that a good logo won’t support a weak product, or service. True as far as it goes no doubt? To my mind those commissioning a logo, are [...]
The Adventurous Ten Pound Note In Turkey this ten pound note is worth about thirty new lira. But that’s not what’s remarkable about it, for the note, to my knowledge has never left the shores of Great Britain. It was however meticulously tracked for a week by Steven Bogan a journalist of The, [former Manchester], [...]
Wot Day Is It? Last year Irem bought the beer for Phillip‘s Visit. She chose some cases of Efes Extra for him. For the benefit of the uninitiated Efes Extra is the Turkish equivalent of Carlsberg Special Brew. The ex-husband of my ex-personal assistant in Dorset was partial to a spot of Special Brew. One [...]
I doubt If you can make a decent Mint Julep with it? I’m worried that Barry may not have received my last e-mail in which I requested that he bring me a bottle of Jasmeson whisky. He did not acknowledge the request and is flying back to Amos tonight. Perhaps it’s just as well since [...]
Click The Image To See The Campaign Today I’m astounded to find that I’m in agreement with George W. Bush. He once expressed support for regulating CO2 emissions, but now favours voluntary steps to reduce them. Legislation, he argues, would cause unemployment and raise costs. The fact is that George has probably been informed of [...]
Le Dejeuner Sur L’herbe by Eduard Manet According to American Photo Magazine top photographer Annie Leibovitz is being called out for borrowing compositional ideas from no less a personage than Irving Penn. If this is true then she is in good company, for we too have borrowed from the Venerable Penn and published the results [...]
When Stephen uses Skype to make a phone call he encounters problems with his neice’s voicemail. The USS Voyager [NCC-74656] to send a Vice-Chancellor a message about effective corporate communications.
Amazon Striking Out In Her Armbands After yesterday’s serious lesson on corporate communication within academia today we focus on something lighter. Amazon is making great strides, [or is it strokes?], with her swimming. Here we see her striking out toward Irem. And here we see her after she has covered the distance. Own A Camera? [...]
Paris Hilton, and Mike Filsaime show how “It’s cool to buy what they want.”
You are currently browsing the Pebbles From Paradise weblog archives for June, 2006.
Difficilis,querulus, laudator temporis acti.
Sepuero, castigator, cesorque minorum
Stephen Jeremy Maxwell Bray lives with his wife Irem, and daughter Amazon at Amos, Turunc near Marmaris, Turkey..
If you agree that this web site is a scabby, thumb-twiddlin' rag; written by a testy, grumbling individual who is inclined to praise the way the world was when he was a boy, whilst always playing the critic and censor of the current generation. Then why not recommend it to your friends, or if you prefer, your enemies?
You cannot lose, either may appreciate your gesture. Your enemies may even become your bosom friends, and if not nothing is lost, indeed they might waste so much time surfing these pages that they will sink into total obscurity, and never bother you again.
We do not store e-mail addresses during this process. Both your privacy and that of your friend(s) are assured.
