Culture Vulture Sculpture

We'll Get To That
First of all, it appears that Laura will not be receiving my generously-offered copy of "The Crying Of Lot 49" and the "Companion" to go with it, as she is in fact moving on from My Still Coyly Unidentified Employer to a job at Manchester College.  Congratulations, Laura, on your career progression, as this seems to be a positive move for you*.

Manchester Collage.  Close enough

     This means that your modest artisan now has the opportunity to plod slowly through the novel and the Companion at the same time, which - frankly, not being involved with the academic study of advanced texts for decades - is a little daunting.  You should see the list of potential questions graduate students might be asked about TCOL49 - here's an example:"Distinguish between thermodynamic and informational entropy and explain their roles in the novel."  
     Say what?
     I read TCOL49 because I enjoyed it, all the ideas and puns and complexity.  This reading-with-Companion-to-hand sounds like work.  Hard work!

Thank You Oscar
It can be quite useful if you can depend on your subconscious to create blog content, although Conrad doesn't rely on this input as it can be transient and unreliable.  Imagine coming to your computer in mid-afternoon or early evening, sitting there blankly as you didn't wake up in the night to make a note.
     Okay, Conrad did remember to make a note last night:

"Essex Guitar Workshop"
"Cetyl Piridinium"

     I know it's not great penmanship but you understand it was scrawled blindly in the dark.  It reads "Cetyl Piridinium".
     "It sounds terrifying!" I hear you comment.  "Like a hypergolic missile fuel that dissolves organic matter on contact, which gives off toxic fumes and burns at 7000 degrees!"
     Still your quivering spleen.  It's not rocket fuel, and it's not toxic either.  It's an ingredient often found in -

     Mouthwash.
     Which goes to show - er - well I'm not sure, but it definitely shows.

The Magical Affinity That Cats Have For Paper
I have demonstrated this several times already, and feel bound to add a little more specificity.  Your average cat will feel even more affinity for the paper in question if it happens to be bound in the form of a book that you are reading at the time.  Art?

Vindicated
(And exasperated)

About That Sculpture
On Thursday Conrad paid a visit to the Manchester Museum, rather than RAF Duxford.  This is because a return ticket to Cambridge would have cost over £100, still requiring a taxi ride to and from the Museum at Duxford itself, plus the entrance fee, and getting into and from Manchester.  A lot of fuss and bother.
     So!  I have photographs to post, in order to better educate you.  Think of this as a short, painless and free lesson in science and natural history:  Conrad - doing the rounds so you don't have to.

Elephant skeleton

     This is the second major exhibit to greet your eyes, and from this skeleton you can see where the myth of "Cyclops" might well have developed: to the uninformed it appears as though this tusker had a single huge eye socket in the middle of their head.
     

One of these is probably a sculpture

     This above takes care of the "Sculpture" part of the post.

In Egyptology

     As you might tell from the sarcophagi, this is in the Egyptian section, which was initially full of bright chirpy inquisitive primary school children, the noisy little horrors.  Those aren't toys, incidentally, they are grave goods, put there to entertain the dead and help them pass away the ennui of the afterlife.
     Then there's this:

The Word Square

     This clay tablet has the multi-palindromic phrase "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS" inscribed upon it, which can be written into a 25 letter square that reads the same up and down, and also contains the letters for "PATER NOSTER", which is Latin for "Our Father", meaning this might be a cryptic Christian identification.
     So!  Clearly, two thousand years ago, there were people who had all the interest in mucking about with words that your humble scribe has.  BOOJUM! - we have a pedigree!

Don't think this is the last of the Museum, because I have lots more for you.  Lots**.

Finally
This cropped up on Youtube:

They think this is odd?

     I think "Origami Towel Folding" or "The Social History of the Machine Gun" are rather more odd than this title.  Besides which, our old friend Jayne has rescue-chickens as pets, and they are pretty sound.



* On the other hand, another attractive woman is leaving :(
** This is one of those rare Both-a-threat-and-a-promise scenarios