Life Is Amazing publisher

@lifeisamazing

I deal in rare books, write & publish books, give talks, present shows. I make my living from words. If you're rude or aggressive I'll block - I am curating, that's all. I block habitual shitposters because I hate lies. I do not engage with the far right.

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Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· 19d

In fact I still have the collection from 40 years ago - actually The Oxford Library of Short Novels. Time to read it again, I think!

Red faux leather 3 vol box set of The Oxford Library of Short Novels

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· 29d

As a young man back then and not-young man now, I have to say they knew how to make her look extraordinary. I suspect she had so much fun doing this. Some of her disguises were just marvellous, though she's not hiding much in these stills from Back In Black.

Jennifer Garner stands in black skimpy bra, suspender belt and stockings in classic S and M dominatrix pose with riding crop, a look of serious intent on her face.

Jennifer Garner lying on furs in a bed, in red dressing gown, red lacy bra, heavy eye-make up - as classic seductress.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Jun 14

Sacred landscape

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 18

From Edward Hyams's "Soil and Civilisation" - 1952. This passage about Imperialism is one both Trump and Putin should heed, as they engineer the demise of their respective civilisations.

CHAPTER X
OKLAHOMA: DEATH OF A SOIL

ONE of the symptoms of that decadence of the spirit which
overtakes a great civilization before its failure or when
it is about to give birth to a new one, is an outbreak of
territorial expansionism late in its career: thus, for example, the
violent Hellenization of the known world between the times
of the adventure of Alexander and that of his aged and heroic
emulator, Trajan. Thus also the European conquest of the
world for Western Civilization late in the nineteenth century,
a conquest which has the superficial air of a dynamic and
creative act, but behind which one can detect that fear and
despair at the failure of the spirit which accounts for its violent
and predatory character: it is as if, for the loss of moral and
aesthetic "goods" at home, there was an attempt to substitute
success in arms and trade abroad. Dazzled by the gaudy feats of
successful military men, orthodox historians have consistently
failed to perceive that Imperialism is a symptom of despair, of
a deep self distrust in the soul of the imperialist culture.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 18

One of the reasons AI uses the em dash is its training includes a vast corpus of 19th Century writing that used it so effectively. The fact that Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, George Eliot and Conan Doyle were such prolific users of it is no reason not to use it now. AI does not own the em dash

‘ Then we were right,’ said Holmes. ‘ And now, Dr James Mortimer—’

' Mister, sir. Mister—a humble M.R.C.S. I presume that it is Mr Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not—’

‘ No, this is my friend Dr Watson.'

THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

played at houses — their own little river, the Ripple, where the banks seemed like home, and Tom was always seeing the waterrats, while Maggie gathered the purple plumy tops of the reeds, which she forgot and dropped afterwards — above all, the great Floss, along which they wandered with a sense of travel, to see the rushing spring-tide, the awful Eagre, come up like a hungry monster, or to see the Great Ash which had once wailed and groaned like a man — these things would always be just the same to them. Tom thought people were at a disadvantage who lived on any other spot of the globe; and Maggie, when she read about Christiana passing ‘‘ the river over which there is no bridge,” always saw the Floss between the green pastures by the Great Ash.

Charles Dickens - Pickwick Papers - randomly selected page

Upon the doctor, and the widow, the eyes of both Mr. Tupman and his companion had been fixed for some time, when the stranger broke silence.

“Lots of money —old girl — pompous doctor — not a bad idea — good fun,” were the intelligible sentences which issued from his lips. Mr. Tupman looked inquisitively in his face.

“I'lll dance with the widow,” said the stranger.

“Who is she?” inquired Mr. Tupman.

“ Don’t know — never saw her in all my life — cut out the doctor —here goes.” And the stranger forthwith crossed the room; and, leaning against a mantelpiece, commenced gazing with an air of respectful and melancholy admiration on the fat countenance of the little old lady. Mr. Tupman looked on, in mute astonishment. ‘The stranger progressed rapidly; the little doctor danced with another lady — the widow dropped her fan; the stranger picked it up, and presented it, — a smile —a bow —a curtesy — a few words of conversation. The stranger walked boldly up to, and returned with, the master of the ceremonies; a little introductory

even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me— upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain— upon the bleak walls— upon the vacant eye-like windows — upon a few rank sedges— and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees — with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium— thE bitter lapse into every-day life— the hideous diopping of the veil,

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 17

Pheneas Speaks in first edition by Arthur Conan Doyle, recently added to my collection. A much neglected aspect of his life was the belief in spiritualism, and this is his most personal statement of a rather curious aspect of his personality.

The front cover of the 1927 first edition of Pheneas Speaks.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 17

Exhibit 1: Sfinari Beach, Crete.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 14

Trump and Xi looking like a 1970s northern working men's club comedy duo who made their named doing slightly saucy songs about whippets but suddenly found themselves on a BBC national variety special and don't feel that the old material translates well to television.

Trump gurning on the left while Xi bursts into a half-hearted rendition of "My old ma's leg got a nake in the knee-ba-goom caps, and that's why she got hersen a zimmer frame now."

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 4

Walter Besant's 1882 novel All Sorts And Conditions Of Men includes a musing on the novelty of Newnham College, Cambridge, where ladies were also receiving an education. Its fascinating how he manages to patronise while simultaneously arguing the case for women's education...

They were not soft eyes, nor languishing eyes, nor sleepy eyes, nor downcast, shrinking eyes; they were wideawake, brown, honest eyes, which looked fearlessly upon all things, fair or foul. A girl does not live at Newnham two years for nothing, mind you; when she leaves that seat of learning, she has changed her mind about the model, the perfect, the ideal woman. More than that, she will change the minds of her sisters and her cousins: and there are going to be a great many Newnhams; and the spread of this revolution will be rapid; and the shrinking, obedient, docile, man-reverencing, curate-worshipping maiden of our youth will shortly vanish and be no more seen. And what will the curate do then, poor thing? Wherefore let the bishop look to certain necessary changes in the Marriage Service; and let the young men see that their own ideas change with the times, else there will be no sweethearts for them. More could I prophesy, but refrain.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· May 1

Why Etsy is so expensive for buyers - sellers inflate prices to cover costs. The first picture is what Etsy's estimate of my costs on a £25 sale when listing. The second picture is what I actually receive for that sale. Bear in mind, I offered free shipping, so that will also need to come off.

Price set to £25

Etsy estimates my earnings at £22.02

The payment from Etsy is actually £15.61.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 23

Let's try this. Here are four very interesting photos of a book that me and my dad were trying identify on Portsdown Hill last night while drinking a cup of tea atMick's Monster Burgers. I'm wondering how the carousel will display them "in glory". Can't wait...

A badly photographed picture of a rook, looking somewhat taken aback at being photographed and tilting its head coyly to say "moi? Vraiement?"

A high action shot of actually a super-rook moving just below the speed of light and thus slightly blurred because my phone's shutter speed settings' shortest interval is 2.5 micro-nano-seconds. Or something.

Though I tried to pap this crow secretly, I saw me. Last after this was taken its security team descended and started threatening to pooh on the windscreen unless I deleted. Thankfully, they only had talons and were unable to delete it themselves, and I tricked them by saying I'd deleted it for them when I hadn't. Hah!

This rook finally consented to be photographed when I told it i recognised its posture as that of an 18th century sea captain looking out from the poop-deck at the approaching French Napoleonic navy.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 20

For a minute there, @tadethompson.bsky.social , I thought "what has Tade been doing in the sporting world?!?" - before the double-take...

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 17

This extract from anarchist ecologist Edward Hyams's "Soil and Civilisation" includes a powerful chapter on imperialism... This feels pertinent, with Trump and the USA on the ski slope of deep decline...

CHAPTER X
OKLAHOMA: DEATH OF A SOIL 0 NE of the symptoms of that decadence of the spirit which overtakes a great civilization before its failure or when it is about to give birth to a new one, is an outbreak of territorial expansionism late in its career: thus, for example, the violent Hellenization of the known world between the times of the adventure of Alexander and that of his aged and heroic emulator, Trajan. Thus also the European conquest of the world for Western Civilization late in the nineteenth century, a conquest which has the superficial air of a dynamic and creative act, but behind which one can detect that fear and despair at the failure of the spirit which accounts for its violent and predatory character: it is as if, for the loss of moral and aesthetic "goods" at home, there was an attempt to substitute success in arms and trade abroad. Dazzled by the gaudy feats of successful military men, orthodox historians have consistently failed to perceive that Imperialism is a symptom of despair, of a deep self/distrust in the soul of the imperialist culture.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 13

Conspiracy theorists might think that Trump is signalling that Epstein isn't dead, and he's going to bring him back.

Image of Trump as Christ bringing with magic glowing hands bringing back a dead person who looks somewhat like Jeffrey Epstein while an adoring nurse, soldier and citizens look on, while a satanic winged figure flies about his head, with an American eagle, while a statue of liberty stands diminshed and distant in the background, forgotten by the credulous followers of Cheeto Christ.

This image was actually shared by Trump in a Truth Social post. It is not satire.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 11

Agreed. I'm reminded of the opening of the Louis de Bernieres novel, attached.

manner unknown since God Him-self set his bow in the sky.

They launched two satellites, one at each pole, to project their name upon the eternal snows so that it was visible in the telescopes of dis-tant races and strange civilisations, who accordingly changed their name for our planet. In the Arctic there evolved new species of red polar bears, foxes, and seals, which were then too conspicuous to leave their boundaries of light and ven-ture into the whiteness, and in the Antarctic the same effect was ob-served upon emperor penguins.

But this message was as nothing compared to their transformation of the moon. Hundreds of silver-suited workers with post-graduate

ways of brush huts and painted upon the rocks of Mount Acon-cagua.

But with the passage of time even the specially formulated paint could no longer stand the condi-tions of our satellite. Sprayed with lunar dust, battered by meteorites, expanded and contracted by ex-tremes of temperature, the writing began to break up until it appeared that the face of the moon was smeared with blood. People would look up at the sky of night, and shudder.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 10

Sellars and Yeatman's old classic history "1066 And All That" certainly makes everything clear when it comes to Hengist and Horsa.

HUMILIATION OF THE BRITONS

(? or horse)

The brutal Saxon invaders drove the Britons westward into Wales and compelled them to become Welsh, it is now considered doubtful whether this was a Good Thing. Memorable among the Saxon warriors were Hengist and his wife (? or horse), Horsa. Hengist made himself King in the South. Thus Hengist was the first English King and his wife (or horse), Horsa, the first English Queen (or horse). The country was now almost entirely inhabited by Saxons and was therefore renamed England, and thus (naturally) soon became C. of E. This was a Good Thing, because previously the Saxons had worshipped some dreadful gods of their own called Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 5

Lately I've seen some shizzle about being able to spot AI when you see an em dash or an Oxford comma. George Eliot, Charles Dickens and James Joyce beg to differ.

The first two sentences of The Mill On The Floss by George Eliot, with em dashes and Oxford comma.

A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide, rushing to meet it, checks its passage with an impetuous embrace. On this mighty tide the black ships—laden with the fresh-scented fir-planks, with rounded sacks of oil-bearing seed, or with the dark glitter of coal—are borne along to the town of St Ogg’s, which shows its aged, fluted red roofs and the broad gables of its wharves between the low wooded hill and the river-brink, tingeing the water with a soft purple hue under the transient glance of this February sun.

The first three sentences of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, replete with Oxford commas and an em dash...

Chapter I.
My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

I give Pirrip as my father’s family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister,—Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith.

The first five paragraphs of James Joyce's Ulysses, replete with em dashes and Oxford comma.

[ 1 ]
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned:

—Introibo ad altare Dei.

Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:

—Come up, Kinch! Come up, you fearful jesuit!

Solemnly he came forward and mounted the round gunrest. He faced about and blessed gravely thrice the tower, the surrounding land and the awaking mountains. Then, catching sight of Stephen Dedalus, he bent towards him and made rapid crosses in the air, gurgling in his throat and shaking his head. Stephen Dedalus, displeased and sleepy, leaned his arms on the top of the staircase and looked coldly at the shaking gurgling face that blessed him, equine in its length, and at the light untonsured hair, grained and hued like pale oak.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 4

Watching Daredevil graffiti sprayed on a wall at the start of one episode, and I genuinely for a minute there thought someone wanted a glass of Double Diamond Pale Ale - that classic drink from the 1970s.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 2

I see a lot of people pettifogging about the definition of fascism. If you need to go into that much detail to find specific points that prove you're not a fascist, well, you know the rest.

Fascism
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For other uses, see Fascism (disambiguation). For the original Italian political movement, see Italian fascism.
Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ FASH-iz-əm) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement that rose to prominence in early-20th-century Europe.[1][2][3] Fascism is characterized by support for a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived interest of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.[3][4] Opposed to communism, democracy, liberalism, pluralism, and socialism,[5][6] fascism is at the far-right of the traditional left–right spectrum.[1][6][7] What constitutes a precise definition of fascism has been a longrunning and complex debate among scholars.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Apr 1

When I was 8 years old I had a crush on Barbara Bain's Dr Helena Russell in Space 1999. She was in her mid-40s and I had an absolutely all overpowering fascination with her. I have no idea why. I think it was the considered, intelligent brainbox, and I still find that hot 50 years on.

Barbara Bain in Space 1999 outfit, beige with waistbelt, scientific instrument attached, against a 1970s futuristic interior background. It's all beige, baby! She is looking inquisitively at the camera.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 30

Was it like this one..? (I know, this is fiction)

GREAT and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of [England], when first he sent Your Majesty’s Royal Person to rule and reign over us.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 27

From George Meredith's One Of Our Conquerors (1891), this extraordinary outburst from young 16-year-old Nesta speaks radical feminism (and anti-French, anti-Catholic sentiment) in one impassioned breath. This writing is so rich and varied.

MRS. MARSETT

341

Oh, there are bad women as well as bad men: but men have the power and the lead, and they take ad-vantage of it; and then they turn round and execrate us for not having what they have robbed us of!'

I blame women if I may dare, at my age,' said Nesta, and her bosom heaved. Women should feel for their sex; they should not allow the names; they should go among their unhappier sisters. At the worst, they are sisters! I am sure, that fallen cannot mean-Christ shows it does not. He changes the tone of Scripture. The women who are made outcasts, must be hopeless and go to utter ruin. We should, if we pretend to be better, step between them and that. There cannot be any good-ness unless it is a practiced goodness. Otherwise it is nothing more than paint on canvas. You speak to me of my innocence. What is it worth, if it is only a picture and does no work to help to rescue? I fear I think most of the dreadful names that redden and sicken us. The Old Testament!-I have a French friend, a Mademoiselle Louise de Seilles-you should hear her she is intensely French, and a Roman Catholic, everything which we are not: but so human, so wise, and so full of the pride of her sex! I love her. It is love. She will never marry until she meets a man who has the respect for women, for all women. We both think we cannot separate ourselves from our sisters. She seems to me to wither men, when she speaks of their injustice, their snares to mislead and their cruelty when they have succeeded. She is right, it is the brute: there is no other word.'

'And French and good!' Mrs. Marsett ejaculated. 'My Ned reads French novels, and he says, their women.

But your mademoiselle is a real one. If she says all that, I could kneel to her, French or not. Does she talk much about men and women?

'Not often: we lose our tempers. She wants women to

ONE OF OUR CONQUERORS

have professions; at present they have not much choice to avoid being penniless. Poverty, and the sight of luxury! It seems as if we produced the situation, to create an envious thirst, and cause the misery. Things are improving for them; but we groan at the slowness of it.'

Mrs. Marsett now declared a belief, that women were nearly quite as bad as men. 'I don't think I could take up with a profession. Unless to be a singer. Ah! Do you sing ?

Nesta smiled: 'Yes, I sing.'

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 27

George Meredith writes in extraordinary dense language with such a particular register... and I love it, BECAUSE he is difficult. This paragraph rewards over and over on rereading.

A SMALL THING OR A GREAT

325

Good enough beginning.' She rose, for the atmo-sphere was heated, rather heavy. And if one proves to be of aid, you'll own that a woman has her place in the battle.'

The fair black-clad widow's quick and singular inter-wreathing of the evanescent pretty pouts and frowns dimpled like the brush of the wind on a sunny pool in a shady place; and her forehead was close below his chin, her lips not far. Her apparel was attractively mourning. Widows in mourning, when they do not lean over ex-tremely to the Stygian shore, with the complexions of the drugs which expedited the defunct to the ferry, provoke the manly arm within reach of them to pluck their pathetic blooming persons clean away from it. What of the widow who visibly likes the living? Compassion, sympathy, impulse; and gratitude, impulse again, living warmth; and a spring of the blood to wrestle with the King of Terrors for the other poor harper's half-night-capped Eurydice; and a thirst, sudden as it is over-powering; and the solicitude, a reflective solicitude, to put the seal on a thing and call it a fact, to the astonish-ment of history; and a kick of our naughty youth in its coffin;-all the insurgencies of Nature, with her colonel of the regiment absent, and her veering trick to drive two vessels at the cross of a track into collision, combine for doing that, which is very much more, and which affects us at the time so much less than did the pressure of a soft wedded hand by our own elsewhere pledged one. On the contrary, we triumph, we have the rich flavour of the fruit for our pains; we commission the historian to write in hieroglyphs a round big fact.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 25

After reading Tolkien's The Silmarillion for the first time 45 years, I couldn't resist digging deeper.

The first three books of Tolkien's History of Middle Earth - The Book of Lost Tales, The Book of Lost Tales Part II, The Lays of Beleriand.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 10

And true to form, someone who clearly has anger issues and despite a supposed reluctance to wade in immediately defaults to calling people seeking to protect their livelihoods in a rapacious corporate environment "fools". Hilarious!!! 🤣🤣😂🤣🤪😂

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 9

I used to love Under My Thumb by the Rolling Stones when I was a kid. Then I read the lyrics. (Included in the Alt Text to this image) Yikes.

The picture shows the cover of The Rolling Stones Album "Let It Bleed", which shows a record with an old gramophone needs surmounted by a cake plate with a film reel can, pizza, bike tire and decorated cake topping set with four figures of the Stones.

The album features "Under My Thumb", the lyrics of which are below:

Under my thumb
The girl who once had me down
Under my thumb
The girl who once pushed me around

It's down to me
The difference in the clothes she wears
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb

And ain't it the truth babe?

Under my thumb
Is a squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways

It's down to me, yes it is
The way she does just what she's told
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, ah, say it's alright

Under my thumb
Is a Siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb
She's the sweetest, hmmm, pet in the world

It's down to me
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, take it easy babe
Yeah

It's down to me, oh yeah
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Yeah, it feels alright

Under my thumb
Her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well I
I can still look at someone else

It's down to me, oh that's what I said
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Say, it's alright

Say it's all
Say it's all

Take it easy babe
Take it easy babe
Feels alright
Take it, take it easy babe

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 7

Currently reading 7-times Nobel Prize nominee George Meredith's 1891 novel "One of our Conquerors" - look at this: a mixture of James Joyce's Ulysses and Dylan Thomas. Dense, intense, poetic, image-stiff, language-redolent. This is a jazz man's novelist, a connoisseur's writer, difficult, rewarding.

That a phrase on any other subject was of much the same effect, in relation to it, may be owned; he was lightly kindled. The scene, however, had a sharp sparkle of attrac-tiveness at the instant. Down went the twirling horizontal pillars of a strong tide from the arches of the bridge, breaking to wild water at a remove; and a reddish Northern cheek of curdling pipeing East, at shrilly puffs between the Tower and the Custom House, encountered it to whip and ridge the flood against descending tug and long tail of stern-ajerk empty barges; with a steamer slowly noseing round off the wharf-

cranes, preparing to swirl the screw; and half-bottom-upward boats dancing harpooner beside their whale; along an avenue, not fabulously golden, of the deputy masts of all nations, a wintry woodland, every rag aloft curling to volume; and here the spouts and the mounds of steam, and rolls of brown smoke there, variously undulated, curved to vanish; cold blue sky ashift with the whirl and dash of a very Tartar cavalry of cloud overhead.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 6

Just shocking to think there's an AI bot now defending Trump online against satirical posts and deserved outrage.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Mar 3

In fact, I've screenshot it for when the block comes.

‪JennieWhiteWave‬
‪@jenniewhitewave.bsky.social‬
· 1h
What fucking stupid comments. Give your head a wobble you prat. Or preferably just STFU. No one needs this idiocy. How do you live with yourself. Thank the lord you’re not in charge. We’d be in a huge fucking mess.

Life Is Amazing publisher@lifeisamazing· Feb 27

AI is making auction descriptions utterly pointless by not describing the item for sale, but giving a general description of the idea of the book drawn from millions of other descriptions of other books. Utterly useless to a serious buyer.