Coup D’etat
(by Edward Luttwak) (1968) The only good thing about the film Casino Royale (1967) is the moment when David Niven recalls Lenin as a ‘first-class organiser…second rate mind.’ This cool, matter-of-fact, revolutionary, cookbook for a coup is rather the reverse of that characterisation. It’s a impressive assembly of material, from necessary pre-conditions, to the strategic and tactical aspects of coups d’état, sprinkled with apt historical instances. A masterpiece of concision, yet where the book meets it margins, we see what Luttwak recognises as the “difficulty of predicting human behaviour.” So whilst the book is a worthy Machiavellian guide to the overthrow of…
Continue Reading →Canticle of the Sun
First Pope by Rubens
Sometimes only faith makes sense, The soul tires, sat on the fence, Balancing on the swaying timbers, Dug into the dying cinders. When the trope du jour is worn Out, when recall that we were born Comes, cast around a little more In this wicked world, start searching for A new design, another one To shade the screeching soulless sun. While on the sun, a modern trend Yet all too old, the welcome end Of time, shall serve as our device, To inculpate all human vice. So Hail Mary! Spread the wealth, Frack off! Cease digging coal by stealth, Lights out –…
Continue Reading →What Stevie Wore in Adelaide
"Oh, I'm getting older too" (Photo courtesy of Flickr)
Dear Annabels, our beloved Stevie Nicks stomps a bit now and she really shouldn’t turn side-on to the audience but she is pretty as and still rocks it just fabulously. At Fleetwood Mac’s October 2015 concert, I was close enough to see up Stevie’s two (not one or three) nostrils and so I took careful note of what the lady wore. I don’t think I need to say that it was (almost) all black, but Stevie wore:- A skirt of (perhaps) microfiber, layered and good for lifting out at the sides A fitted long-sleeved velvet vest with points at the…
Continue Reading →Fleetwood Mac
(Billboard magazine, 1977)
[Adelaide, 28 October 2015] The Varnished Culture saw Fleetwood Mac last night, at Hindmarsh Stadium aka Cooper’s Stadium*. These ancient rockers sound magnificent and look marvellous, although the ravages of time, travel, art and their relationships show, especially if you are lucky enough, as we were, to have tickets that get you stalker-close to the stage. The by-play between them, borne of decades of love, hate, and indifference, gave joy to the dedicated audience, some of whom have been party to these shenanigans for their whole lives. We had seen the group a few years ago but this was our first time with the original line-up,…
Continue Reading →Hairy Cushions
I think of these two newbies as “The Hairy Ones’, although they are not really so hairy. The Bouvardia rug is hairier. The granny square one was made with Stylecraft Special DK and other bits and pieces. It was inspired by these divine chairs from this pretty blog. I just love the pink and green with the white and the one pink square in the green one and vice versa. (I ran out of puff after one cushion front). For more lovely chairs decorated with crochet and every other technique you can think of, visit my Pinterest page which…
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