One of yesterday’s Guardian crossword clues had me stumped (well, most of them did, but there is a point this…). The clue was, roughly, “Fifth-rate celebrities around (for instance) John Donne (7).” I resorted eventually to Googling “John Donne” since I had no idea who he was. The first result revealed him to be a poet. Another result contained one of his works which, given the title of this blog, I really should have known:

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

Thanks to this info about him, I did manage to work out the answer. “Fifth-rate celebrities” is “E-list” and “for instance” is “e.g.” which together give John Donne himself: elegist.

Joe Gordon has been sacked from his job at Waterstone’s in Edinburgh for moaning about work on his blog, I learn from an article in today’s Guardian. I shan’t repeat my thoughts here as I’ve already commented on doctorvee’s blog.

Instead, since the Guardian article, “Blogger sacked for sounding off”, includes this excerpt from Joe’s blog:

Not far from my flat is a new bakery/pastry store, The Old Bakehouse, which also has an art gallery in the basement. Delicious pastries and artwork? Now how cool is that? Groovy.

and since I walk past it every day, and since I now have a new smartphone and a bit of software called PhotoAcute to improve its photos, here’s an illustration.

The Fifth Annual Weblog Awards are open for nominations. There are all sorts of catergories, from Best Meme and Best Tagline of a Weblog to Best Entertainment Weblog and Weblog of the Year. The more people who put nominations forward, the more representative the nominees will be. You don’t have to nominate in every category and you can nominate up to three candidates (four for Weblog of the Year) in each category.

Due to a mobile phone/alcohol coincidence (i.e., they coincided) shortly before Christmas, I’ve had very limited internet access. I’m currently in an internet café in Edinburgh catching up with emails, etc.

Be forewarned: I have a number of posts saved up to splurge onto these pages once my replacement phone arrives. In the mean time, I’ve added a sidebar link to the DEC donation page so you can pass the time waiting by contributing to the tsunami relief fund.