Friday, September 16, 2011

1,000 : The Stained Glass Windows In The Cathedral Of My Soul

I suspect I have a photographic memory. Now don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting I have the ability to tell you what the 13th word on the 237th page of War and Peace is, nor can I find your lost key ring. If it is a photographic memory, the photographs tend to be old, and cracked and blurred : a little like those I often feature on Sepia Saturday. But when I look back through the 1,000 posts that today make up the full News From Nowhere archives, it is the images I remember best. And once given an image I can start to reconstruct what the post might have been about. So today, to mark my 1,000th News From Nowhere post, I give you the images. Yes all 1,000 of them and a few more to boot (some posts had more than one image). To you it is probably a meaningless jumble but to me ..... I was going to say that to me it was the story of my life for the last five years, but in fact it is a bit of a meaningless jumble to me as well. But that is quite appropriate because my life has been a bit of a jumble - and I stopped looking for a meaning to it years ago.


I have managed to compress all those images into just three mosaics : think of them as stained glass windows in the cathedral of my soul. If you click on them they will become a little larger, but don't expect any meaning to emerge.


Philosophically, I would probably list myself as a bit of an hedonist - I enjoy enjoyment. And as I get no pleasure at all from seeing other people unhappy, frightened, dispossessed or unfortunate, I like to think that my brand of hedonism is inclusive and life-enhancing. 


Looking back on the first 1,000 News From Nowhere posts, I have to say that they have given me great pleasure. I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging : both writing my own blog and reading those of the many other bloggers that I regularly follow. At the end of the day it is the interaction that makes it all worthwhile : it is in the comments and thoughts of all those who have read these last 1,000 posts that the pleasure lies. So as I go off to contemplate Post No. 1001 let me pause for a second to say ..... THANK YOU.

29 comments:

  1. This is a lovely idea, and I like the thought of them being a window into yourself. I have a collection of images in a special folder on my computer - it's quite large by now - and I like to flick through them sometimes. They make me think of so many things and can be really inspirational. Sharing some of them through blogging is indeed a pleasure for me.

    And I definitely approve of your brand of hedonism!

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  2. That's definitely my kind of hedonism. Congratulations on hitting the 1,000 posts mark. Here's to 1,000 more!

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  3. Jenny : THANK YOU
    Roy : THANK YOU

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  4. News from Nowhere always leads me somewhere. That's to say, a visit to your blog is an all round entertainment. I've been enlightened, surprised and I've exercised my 'chuckle muscle' regularly. Keep it up, Alan - raises a virtual pint - Cheers!

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  5. That's the sort of playing around with pictures that I like. Windows of your life... an apt description.

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  6. Martin : THANK YOU
    Valerie : THANK YOU

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  7. Congratulations, and I wish you a happy thousand or so more in the next five years. I look forward to sharing them with you.

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  8. Congrats of 1000! That is a ton and that must have took some time getting a pic from every single one, great display.

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  9. You have a very refreshing attitude toward life. That you've compiled all these images of life is meaningful in itself, and a whole lot of fun it looks. That's a pretty good combination. Happy 1000th and many happy returns, as they say.

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  10. 1000 posts. An amazing accomplishment, to be sure, made even more impressive by virtue of the fact that these posts have been entertaining! We all have "off days," I suppose, but I seem to have missed yours, my friend! (Maybe those "off" posts are still in your Blogger drafts? I haven't read every published post, having only known you for 2-3 years, but if the recent reprints are any indication, that would be my guess.)

    The three collages were an amazing bit of work as well, I should add...

    Here's to another thousand (as others have already said), and as many more as you care to bestow upon us.

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  11. Brett : THANK YOU
    Pat : THANK YOU
    Teresa : THANK YOU
    Silver Fox : THANK YOU

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  12. What a wonderfully appropriate way to celebrate 1000! Congrats!

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  13. Congratulations on your 1000th post, Alan! Setting up the mosaics was a brilliant idea. I recognize many, many of those pictures. Your posts are always enjoyable!

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  14. Liz : THANK YOU
    Betsy : THANK YOU

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  15. What a grand idea, a composite of the thousand images in your thousand posts. Congrats on this milestone on your blog. I have been checking out the many photos and images. This is fun.

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  16. What a splendid way to signpost the landmark. It is so good, I hope you won't mind if I borrow it at some stage.

    As I've only just joined, I'll have the pleasure accompanying you and your readers over the next 1,000 posts.

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  17. TechnoBabe : THANK YOU
    Mike : THANK YOU (and of course I don't mind)

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  18. Look at the last image through almost closed eyes, squint a bit, and you can see an image of Jesus.

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  19. Stained glass and mosaics, two of my favourite forms of art. Congratulations on your ‘Millefiore’ Alan and here’s to many more.

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  20. Your post has a valedictory note. I hope you're not leaving us, Alan??

    Loved the pictures. Very effective.

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  21. Heartiest congratulations to you, Alan! News From Nowhere is a truly wonderful blog--great images, lively, upbeat conversation & deliciously recondite facts! Here's the the first 1000 & the many many more posts to come!

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  22. What a tremendous achievement. Congratulations Alan and well done.

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  23. CB : THANK YOU (Here's squinting at you)
    Nell : THANK YOU
    Frances : THANK YOU (and I am going nowhere)
    John H : THANK YOU
    Bob S : THANK YOU

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  24. it's always interesting to look back. congrats on the 1000th!! s i've passed the 2000th mark, i've long stopped looking for a meaning too. i know i love a dose of prettiness, i whine a bit and even throw a tantrum once in a while; i am not humorous but some people think i'm funny, in the way i tell things. i'm just happy to blog. and i hope you stay happy too, for a very long time, as you do it so well!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  25. Ticklebear : THANK YOU

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  26. I feel if I look for long enough I might find myself in there, so eclectic and inclusive is your blog. Always a delight to read, I look forward to the next 1000. Many congratulations - definitely a very worthwhile achievement.

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  27. Here's to the next 1,000, and the next, and the...

    A neat thing happens as I look back at my own archives. As jumbled as they seem on the surface, when looked at from a longer-term perspective, they seem to be telling the story of my life. It's a very public journal, of sorts, but it's a journal all the same.

    I'm glad ours crossed paths at this point in time, as I look forward to seeing where the next phase of your journey takes you. And us.

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  28. Jenny : THANK YOU
    Carmi : THANK YOU

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  29. Congrats Alan! It is an accomplishment for sure! We never know where blogging will lead or to who..I feel lucky to have found you. I read back through some of your leading up to 1,000. I wish you many thousands more:)

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