A few things to think on before we head off into the hills for the weekend (those daffodils aren't gonna pick themselves):
Any post that attracts hundreds (perhaps, by now, thousands) of comments is worth reading. Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl wrote about the way in which she's being attacked silently and anonymously from some corners of the web and it broke my heart. It's a long post, so you may want to skip halfway down straight to the relevant bit. Next day, an article in The Guardian Weekly (Jo and refer to it as The Cardigan Weekly for some reason), a piece by Tim Adams titled How the Internet Created an Age of Rage got me thinking. Again, a long-ish read, but the part that spoke volumes arrived, for me, in the final paragraphs.
Arthur Schoepenhauer wrote well on the subject 160 years ago: "Anonymity is the refuge for all literary and journalistic rascality," he suggested. "It is a practice which must be completely stopped. Every article, even in a newspaper, should be accompanied by the name of its author; and the editor should be made strictly responsible for the accuracy of the signature. The freedom of the press should be thus far restricted; so that when a man publicly proclaims through the far-sounding trumpet of the newspaper, he should be answerable for it, at any rate with his honour, if he has any; and if he has none, let his name neutralise the effect of his words. And since even the most insignificant person is known in his own circle, the result of such a measure would be to put an end to two-thirds of the newspaper lies, and to restrain the audacity of many a poisonous tongue."
I like it. Doesn't mean I'll be posting pics of my family online soon, but worth thinking on. (Also, isn't the word "rascality" just fantastic? Hope to work it into my vocab, most especially as spellcheck didn't like it one bit...)
There's a rawness and lovely turn of phrase over at this fledgling blog.
This made me giggle.
Ganga has posted a beautiful Balinese coconut rice recipe I've made twice since I got back. It's a keeper.
AND
Sharon (hi Sharon!) at FlavourCrusader asked me a few questions about how and why I cook. Always good to think on the whys and while you're there, have a look around the website. If you've got an interesting food story to tell, let her know!
you made the rice! Wonderful. I love it too.
Posted by: ganga | September 17, 2011 at 05:47 PM
hello and thank you!
Posted by: sharon | September 18, 2011 at 11:01 AM
Did you pick the daffodils? Are the cherry blossoms in full, beautiful bloom? Thank you so very much for your mention of my fledgling, at-times-fragile space. K x
Posted by: karen | September 20, 2011 at 11:08 AM
karen: you are welcome, m'dear. and yep. daffodils are picked - a bloody armload, in fact - and the cherries, well, i'm not sure how they are yet...watch this space!
Posted by: Lucy | September 20, 2011 at 03:52 PM
great links - had a read of shauna's post and was really sad but also inspired by her attitude - thanks
Posted by: Johanna GGG | September 20, 2011 at 08:12 PM
I can't believe what Shauna endures!! It's pretty fabulous that she wrote about it though, thanks for the link. And yes, rascality is great. I plan on using it all day. x
Posted by: Amanda | September 27, 2011 at 04:30 AM
johanna: i'm inspired by her 'tude too! amazing how sometimes saying things out loud leads to such overwhelming positivity.
amanda: it's SUCH a great word.
Posted by: Lucy | September 27, 2011 at 09:40 AM