Peter Howard is Wintermute, mythologist

WYD Updates

19August2005 [directLink] [france]

Currently in Cologne, here for a couple more nights… The atmosphere is amazing, the city has been at a standstill but bustling with people for days! Couple small bits of news:

• Going to go backstage and up on the stage with hundreds of other people and the Pope on Sunday — it will be much closer than our already close A2 section
• Saw the most amazing musical performance this afternoon — I tripped into Bonn and while I was there decided to watch a jazz/gospel performance. Either I went to the wrong place or it changed without me knowing, but I ended up seeing (still very jazzy) a German group called Cyminology — I already loved the girl singing but when she did her jazzy scream I was hooked
• And I was under the impression the official announcement wasn’t till Sunday midday, but Steve slipped this morning, and now the WYD news site is reporting it as fact anyway — “the winner is Sydney”, World Youth Day July 2008

Tripping Europe

06August2005 [directLink] [france]

This is likely my last post around here for a while. I’m off to Paris tomorrow afternoon. For the next six weeks or so I’ll only have intermittent internet access. I’ll take lots of photos, and while on WYD I hope to get lots of video footage that I can cut into a documentary of sorts. I’ve bought two extra long-lasting camera batteries especially for the occasion — there’ll be no running out of power at the final overnighter!

Travelling with a Sydney pilgrimage group in France for a week, then World Youth Day in Cologne (Aug15-21). Then I meet up with Liz and we go to Santiago de Compostela and elsewhere in Spain’s North West. After a brief pause in Pamplona, I head to Barcelona for four nights (2-6Sep), then to England for a week. While in England I’ll be at the Perplex City meet-up in London on Sep10. I currently fly back to France on the 13th, in time to prepare for the next semester.

JK Rowling Interview

06August2005 [directLink] [myth]

Just read this interview with JK Rowling on fansite The Leaky Cauldron. There’s three separate pages to it (linked from the first), lots of interesting information for anyone interested in the mythos. Note that it’s full of Book 6 spoilers, so only read if you’ve read it already.

And discovered the interview via JK Rowling’s own site, which is very interestingly put together. There’s a flash and a text version — the flash version has you clicking around at objects on her desk to navigate; some of the links are very clever, like a rubbish section debunking the gossip presented in the media. Again, if you’re interested in the mythos, there’s lots of material throughout.

Woo! Drink Good

03August2005 [directLink] [myth]

I knew it… Apparently regular/moderate alcohol is actually good for you. Moderate drinking was defined as 14 to 28 drinks per week for men and 7 to 14 for women.

“An Australian National University study of 7000 people has found those who drink in moderation have better verbal skills, memory and speed of thinking than those at the extremes of the drinking spectrum. ….[They] also seem to be healthier, physically and mentally”

The study compared people who drunk not at all, moderately, and excessively, also looking into physical health, social lives, &c, and found that the moderate drinkers (admittedly in Queanbeyan and Canberra) were better thinkers (while sober) than the others.

Now I’m usually able to rip statistical studies to bits, but I like these findings too much to do so.

Source: news.com.au 3Aug2005