https://octopusmessiah.com/pops-in-london daily 0.75 2018-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465935508-W2IK69Q3WS4B4QMH202F/IMG_0480.JPG Pops in London This summer Ira J. Winn, aka Pops, came to visit us in East London. Did Cat and I need to hit the pub at 9am? You bet we did! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465935508-W2IK69Q3WS4B4QMH202F/IMG_0480.JPG Pops in London This summer Ira J. Winn, aka Pops, came to visit us in East London. Did Cat and I need to hit the pub at 9am? You bet we did! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465936727-Q5M1RXDPZ23PD17XAYYS/IMG_0489.JPG Pops in London Pops got to see our flat for the first time since we moved there 3 years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465937225-O5P9H4GUFCDZOQHJKRH5/IMG_0490.JPG Pops in London And check out Cat's garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465938696-TWF5O55II7M4U9N5LXYW/IMG_0491.JPG Pops in London And get annoyed by my taking pictures. "You'll thank me one day," I told him. "But not today." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465940385-ULOM7W378TQF7LHZ0RE6/IMG_0503.JPG Pops in London The jet lag flying east from CA is crippling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465942565-ZXDAHXTRUJW3MLQ9XBS5/IMG_0442.JPG Pops in London Honored to cook Pops his first meal in London. Chicken au fine herbs from the garden, plain rice and a hearty salad. Pops verdict? He liked the blue cheese. Ah, well, next time... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465944702-8QTUD8YI2IZCQJSEP9HN/IMG_0441.JPG Pops in London We walked the canals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465945032-1IMC94VO6MWF7RIG4SFH/IMG_0465.JPG Pops in London walked swiftly past the street art https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465947252-98EUVQVJPODNIZVXNDUY/IMG_0467.JPG Pops in London agreed with some of it https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465946525-YRJR6PXRMKQBUAXKN2JJ/IMG_0437.JPG Pops in London and went to our favorite (Crate) brewery. If you're worried that Pops was drinking a pint of stout fret not: The beer is only hiding his orange juice! Weighty matters were discussed. And pizza was consumed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465947818-AFYQEGBRHH4930W77OYC/IMG_0433.JPG Pops in London Are you going to drink that, Olive wondered. And if not, is it full of ham? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465949521-7KB4P3ZDZZ60DBHAL2GY/IMG_0474.JPG Pops in London Colombia road flower market! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465949383-6A8GFEIK2ZAHNYLATHH0/IMG_0475.jpg Pops in London Cat's been on crutches since May with her broken hip. Hopefully comes off them early next month or gets a hip replacement. Luckily, Pops was able to keep up with her! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465951918-FXHN7TB4UXYNJC3XB0JN/IMG_0476.JPG Pops in London Pops had advice for Cat's garden. Luckily she had none of it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465951106-6W81QB1NUA2JTZ5YGOWA/IMG_0519.JPG Pops in London We bought cucumas, which are the flower of the month in Winn world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465953688-J9HJP7AN9G6IRQOWGYHO/IMG_0484.JPG Pops in London Pops and I planted out the big barrel on Cat's command. Pops had ideas for how to arrange the plants. Again, Cat had none of it. Welcome to my world, old man! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465955161-ZD4BSH7X68RSIQKJOOPU/IMG_0492.JPG Pops in London The finished project. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465958553-SVT363VJAE13U9PBOLLL/IMG_2700.JPG Pops in London Pops was generous enough to buy us a big, beautiful pot. Naturally I had to see how big it was, to scale. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465960065-0ZQJL3MRC9KK1RQEK6X4/IMG_2704.JPG Pops in London Why is my son such an idiot? Pops wondered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465959834-3A56U5OMZ9W47OYZD1F4/IMG_0486.JPG Pops in London Pops appreciating the aquarium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465961362-RLGEJ2ZPCBB3Y5LTNAEA/IMG_0487.JPG Pops in London Pops appreciating our bohemian decor. Very relaxing apparently. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465961868-RNEF6B1SNMYN6Y9CXE9I/IMG_0496.JPG Pops in London This time Cat was the one with the advice. Luckily, Pops was having none of it. Welcome to my world, dah-ling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465962194-QMGBV0J62SM2P758NI8M/IMG_0497.JPG Pops in London Brick Lane for a curry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465964851-HAZHBCGRHMXZTVQGI8Q5/IMG_0500.JPG Pops in London There's nothing Pops loves more than a hearty PDA. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465965831-AGTMPY4I1ECJHQ7XZCP9/IMG_0502.JPG Pops in London Vamping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465966402-B7XNE7OP7IQOPXUFFDF9/IMG_0507.JPG Pops in London Fine, I'll feed the little bastards. What a bizarre hobby, eh? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465967349-RE3OSLRF57O6F2RH3ION/IMG_0508.JPG Pops in London Are we good here? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465969604-B5ZIWK6YKCAL4CJZSMZ6/IMG_2587.JPG Pops in London This is Ms. Thing, a mandarin goby, one of the most beautiful fish on the planet. "What, the black one?" said Pops. I could have killed... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465969610-TGGIKX0WGFHIZCR8P69T/IMG_0510.JPG Pops in London Let's not forget what this trip was really about, shall we? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465971715-CS3I0C3PTDFISH10Z3V9/IMG_0511.JPG Pops in London Queen Mary's university used to be a massive Jewish cemetery until they exhumed and reburied some 5,000 bodies. I take this walk nearly every day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465972385-XRYWLOHWA4XEVHZZ9H00/IMG_0513.JPG Pops in London Sometimes the living must contemplate the dead. And vice versa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465972454-6VU5MUYW8D56PIY67L67/IMG_0457.JPG Pops in London Luckily, Pops inherited my good looks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465973662-EIVKBI3O5J69VEZZ3Z26/IMG_0456.jpg Pops in London Frisbee with the Olive dog -- such grace. Such determination. Such agility. And Pops isn't half bad either. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465974618-41CDSO29MBC0IJ93FE9Z/IMG_0455.JPG Pops in London Fifteen minutes walk from our house is the Fox News "no-go-zone" of Whitechapel, a mostly Bengali neighborhood home to Britain's largest mosque. No go? Yes went! Is Pops more mystified by the woman's garb, or by the strange device she's holding to her ear? Ask him yourself. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465975900-QT1JKMTGHO21RX0U68U8/IMG_0453.JPG Pops in London Whitechapel fashion (and my fave of all the pics), from left to right: kid in SF California t-shirt, woman in white hijab, woman in black niqab, dude in suit, dude in mujahideen casual, student proto hipster w/headphones, bespoke collar and leash, floral blouse and birkies, American tourist with luggage tag. A long way from San Luis Obispo, eh Pops? My fave of all the pics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465976039-ZRDBY7TGT1TUXE9AXEL5/IMG_0517.JPG Pops in London So what do you think of Whitechapel, Pops? "It's quite upscale," he said. Um, London's unhealthiest street in the least affluent borough? I guess it's all about perspective!   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465978073-810EADOYX9YTRDV44NEF/IMG_0451.JPG Pops in London Cat has some excellent advice on how to improve Pops' lot in life, be happier and uncross his arms. Pops isn't so sure. Welcome to my world, cupcake! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465980366-8K7D65XNWA3DE7OFD4NX/IMG_2844.JPG Pops in London Post Sicily our good friend Bradley brought life to the party and drove us to the Prince Albert Memorial. Brad explained WHO Prince Albert was, I explained WHAT a Prince Albert was. You're welcome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465981903-4L5GZS7XHEMLJXUVM6K2/IMG_2846.JPG Pops in London A pretty spectacular renovation, it must be said... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465984098-CS2NBWGRJPWI567JWW6H/IMG_2848.JPG Pops in London It's not a TKMaxx but still... impressive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465985293-LF3XPKZQU3RZ84YDI98X/IMG_2859.JPG Pops in London https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465988233-964Y1IYNHDVVHB3J8N0T/IMG_2862.JPG Pops in London "If you could be lionized in gold like this, would you?" Pops asked me. "Hell no, I'm not getting a hole in my c***!" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990021-OAE28YPRQFT9306SWFWW/IMG_2863.JPG Pops in London You'll thank me one day, I told them. But not today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990813-VW4M2H0YLVCR0MHY8G1P/FullSizeRender.jpg Pops in London Ira J. Winn in his natural environment. 3 shirts = victory! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990875-5A4YYXT8JKDH1BRT4BO2/IMG_2866.JPG Pops in London Seriously, you're going to take a selfie now? Shmuck! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465996335-KLC5F47IIOCE1QWAOQY9/IMG_2868.JPG Pops in London Hyde Park sculpture garden. Sadly, not a shoe store... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465992360-GXKOHUWBMLYVF5BWRZ1Z/IMG_2870.JPG Pops in London The Italian fountains for a goodbye hug? Not too shabby! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465994373-E160R9WR6PI5EUESNIHE/IMG_2872.jpg Pops in London Coda to a great visit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465998311-DJ6862E5O38EPKYIOY4I/P1090267.JPG Pops in London Pops brought us four beach pebbles from his walking trip to Sicily. Which I've put on the one beach pebble Cat and I brought back from our first trip together, also to Sicily. I say pebble, I mean 25 pound catapult stone from a battle fought in 295 BC which I dug out of a hillside, stuffed into our motorscooter and Cat almost got arrested for at the airport for antiquities smuggling until she explained to the Carbinieri it was a healing rock for "soul rescue", demanded to be translated and afterward they bundled her and the cannonball back on the plane to make her go away which is how I fulfilled the "foreign plunder" requirement on my British citizenship application. True story. Mostly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465998476-0ITITEJERGZ4U6TWXCB2/IMG_0557.JPG Pops in London While Pops was in Sicily, Cat decided what she wanted in the lovely pot Pops gave us. More cucumas, obviously. And yes we're getting a cab. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466001674-NO923EQKVFVAD818CLIJ/P1090261.JPG Pops in London I hope this Pops character understood how adorable, wise and talented I am. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466002355-SH1GOBA672HTGTZFPUXC/P1090233.JPG Pops in London And so the early autumn garden is prepared for final glory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466004861-J3C5ECQ3YBM55971HP98/P1090232.JPG Pops in London Gardening on crutches is a skill. Yeah, sure, where do you want it... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466005521-CU3XE1PMWTLZEF12OG3E/P1090245.JPG Pops in London And so Pops' pot is potted out. Cucumas, echinaceas, phlox and something I can't quite remember. Just stuff them all in there, okay? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466009538-KQ8S2LDSC5ANI1TW5HQH/P1090243.jpg Pops in London So far, so sweet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466009674-HO3KPQVFZQOO7TSJ4YM3/P1090242.jpg Pops in London Now you see what look she's going for, right? RIGHT? Right! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466012851-KG9YXPEF9MBNDECAL3MX/P1090255.JPG Pops in London Great visit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474573247058-XIWPPX5ESZRE1741JA53/P1090256.JPG Pops in London Om shanti. https://octopusmessiah.com/tpom daily 0.75 2022-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1527612092523-FC59Y40BRI0U6A13QJ7D/octopusmandala.jpg TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1561361277841-UGFE5YCQH2K6WT0XTRDZ/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER.png TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437340737940-SB8TTPZ0S3XS3T0XSRJA/artifacts+from+the+novel TPOM Clockwise from the ghost of Grandpa's harmonica: coffee bean cowry from Emerald Bay, Jimmy Baba's aquamarine, the "stones of prosperity" and the Chepren amethyst. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1560622231704-MQBPJYY176ITPYOCXMBR/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+11.50.45+AM.png TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1561361208047-COOH1ANXGALZ2AV41IM1/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600-01_72dpi.png TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437340795808-PN6RB54X32VCNWR9RF6T/image-asset.jpeg TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1560622414478-BFC936R7IAM68A2J93Z9/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+12.53.05+PM.png TPOM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437253107198-SO6JBZ9SJROKWUUMYAU8/octopus.jpg TPOM https://octopusmessiah.com/contact daily 0.75 2019-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437690028316-CJ2SL6DH3OCP2GLIGCWU/IMG_0172.jpg Contact https://octopusmessiah.com/terence-mckenna daily 0.75 2026-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1561046989589-BYMENVBMQKYW7RZT6IM4/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+11.50.45+AM.png Terence McKenna RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1561047101200-IKRZY9LVYQL6MYPDYGOF/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+12.53.05+PM.png Terence McKenna RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438185632304-S3YTI6UYRNHY7KZ6A9J2/image-asset.gif Terence McKenna RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438186037734-HTZWDLXOZHDS6G3PGIPU/image-asset.jpeg Terence McKenna RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1562320255685-M4USUFXMC4NJA23MHLQ9/terencesigning.jpg Terence McKenna RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438241773305-F371WKLF671CJ5JDKUI4/Screen+Shot+2015-07-29+at+4.49.39+PM.png Terence McKenna RIP https://octopusmessiah.com/writing daily 0.75 2025-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438114104381-0XVT6H3VZJSM4FRA2I3Z/P1020520.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438114645515-UQ05FJBVBXO130N55JZ9/P1020678.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113683425-E1JPTJF71GIT62LC50DT/DSCN0556.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438116359096-XJE8IJDVJTOS1RRJT2NS/P1010158.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113654196-8T0U82F0POZVZH0HVW52/P1010006.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113695629-NIAJC6SKSUAAXZJ4M3IY/DSCN1338.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113647547-7S2QHWCK7HJNDBS22O80/P1000819.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113643450-AQVKBT1G4TV1N9WJK1PI/P1000236.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438117968620-LTX4VO09198MBRH6R8EM/P1010034.JPG+-+Version+2.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113659113-5H0JPMWA5L316DEWPA3U/P1010079.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113716963-Z7Q94USYKW1J57SFKJAR/P1000551_2.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113652489-5CQ142HD7V2HRJBMK4OE/P1000980.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113679706-Y4EMEIXNF5WKR6AOZEFG/DSCN0461.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113660156-0WZK4PN0GL04PDLGPRN6/P1010594.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113657158-4B8DJ2LIFGIC5S05333H/P1010121.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113669264-XT8NPT0YXUJX9IKMZPVU/P1010967.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438116629122-Q52MLPPIZBVRVJMQSYPL/P1020578.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113671788-GEL0F99OOS4VFOIOEIDS/P1010993.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113676267-Z5K0PR3EH1LJ0I79VWDC/P1020055.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113685059-KXHSSKPI4Y98LJ86INCM/DSCN0677.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113690441-LA0X99MEVKO7ERXAR83U/DSCN0743.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113689236-ZIGDT8888L9819MOSC82/P1020993.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438115956979-DPOL5TGON060QZU6E9KK/P1010256.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438114139228-IQDXTUSWM8Y08UU5OXTH/P1020675.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438115953653-TCPA1V4NZEPKPEQINFJ3/P1000334.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438113804556-RU8U6XD0OBF0OY8EVJZ3/P1070594.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438115958901-3S4TQTP8AVXP50EEXQN7/DSCN0841.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438117428646-SA43V7WFQ36J3IXVCZ0L/P1030537.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438118437371-V20E80LYEOLR0Y1RZ8HN/DSCN0520.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels Writing is the flip side of sex- it's only good when it's over - Hunter Thompson Why you should put me on a cushy travel assignment © ian winn ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522857228080-V7ZIEDUT0JTP57ZTV8SD/P1100796.jpg Freelance, Blogs & Novels https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437322841051-CFSFTMYKB0RG0H4NQZV7/image-asset.jpeg Freelance, Blogs & Novels "Another download stream was the aliens soothing my brow and telling me that being raped when I was seven was the central challenge of my lifetime and that I had overcome it. I wrote about it, now I speak about it publicly to huge audiences. I fucking won this round." - David Holthouse https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522914195034-1FAQGYJXBLBQ7CWA7WK0/New+Book+Cover%21.png Freelance, Blogs & Novels It's been a long strange ride. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440259575780-WQJHVXZ2XD6NE25B4KQ1/image-asset.png Freelance, Blogs & Novels "Well, Dan, your suggestion of sky-diving as a safe alternative to mushrooms is a matter I'll leave between you and your insurance agent." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557154163899-7YOQEBWT8DAAMCW52YEG/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER.png Freelance, Blogs & Novels https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557153954057-R5O57H87FTT9KCZ1FVGR/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600-01_72dpi.png Freelance, Blogs & Novels https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1445715484524-TJFX8HNW3758ITJOIPEX/image-asset.jpeg Freelance, Blogs & Novels Sentence of the month honors(!): "We scream like little girls and flee, each in a separate direction. The only thing uniting our paths is the fact they're all away from the snake." (technically two sentences but still...) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437999326512-ZPIH6ZWZUZ5NWUYZA8F8/DSCN0106.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels "I 98% taste-test guarantee shark's fin soup as being indistinguishable from something I can knock-up in my own kitchen using a sweaty mackerel, a teaspoon of gelatin and a drop of my own urine, try me." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438370356983-PKO3GEPCSC3YOQS9TINQ/image-asset.png Freelance, Blogs & Novels Make no mistake, 20 times per day, something or someone will goo in your palm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438081244220-00NO3F3ALVZ327S5980L/P1010034.JPG+-+Version+2.JPG Freelance, Blogs & Novels https://octopusmessiah.com/my-heroes daily 0.75 2019-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437927248067-6Y6N470ABUF0Y2SVYXS3/image-asset.jpeg Heroes DAVID f. HOLTHOUSE Ace reporter whose life story is so Gonzo they made it into a play. Most famous for infiltrating and exposing white supremacists, plotting to kill his childhood rapist and proving the Mac is mightier than the Glock, Dave remains my personal hero and I urge everyone to read his entire back catalog. Sadly, this is his best existing picture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437930297360-8CRCF9BQAFTEJN5LTLRM/image-asset.png Heroes RHETT BUTLER There we were... in Sulawesi, when the lovely woman in the cabin next-door called out, "Would you like to see a snake?" (There are two kinds of people...) The snake turned out to be an oriental vine snake and the woman turned out to be the fiancee of the inimitable-- yes, his name is-- Rhett Butler, who runs the internet's leading environmental news website, mongabay.com. Blacklisted by governments, charged by elephants, and besieged by killer earworms, Rhett fights the good fight for the world's most imperiled ecosystems. He's also a world-class wildlife photographer. Still a total geek, tho. (frankly, my dear, he does give a Danum) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438177249173-UARM5VN74XHYYJWHSEI9/p_terence.gif Heroes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438331464576-GA0IBQGT7AV5V2J4NQEG/lindseyhilsum.jpeg Heroes LINDSEY HILSUM It seems like every time some really horrible s*** is going down, Channel 4's International Editor Lindsey Hilsum is standing in a smoking crater looking fabulous. Rwanda, Iraq, Islamic State, Palestine, a Libyan Sandstorm(buy the book!)- wherever humanity is at its lowest ebb, Lindsey is not only getting the story but broadcasting it with compassion. How she manages to remain so unflappable after all the horrors she's witnessed is anybody's guess. I suspect cage-fighting on the weekends. Attention Channel 4: surely you can send her to Cannes once in a while? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438200827728-URSH28ENYJQLB2W8IEVB/Screen+Shot+2015-07-29+at+12.29.11+PM.png Heroes Sameet Kumar, ph. D Imagine spending your working life counseling the terminally ill and their families. Day after day, meeting people under the worst possible circumstances. Now imagine helping them to not only work through their grief but to make the process a transformative- even life-affirming- experience. Meet PH.D. psychologist Sameet Kumar, one of the lovliest dudes you'll ever meet. His book Grieving Mindfully helps you do just that. (I've been meaning to read his The Mindful Path Through Worry and Rumination but, sadly, living without anxiety would be a denial of my heritage). All of us will die and, if we're lucky(!), we will experience loved ones dying as well. Sameet has made it his life's work to bring consciousness to this inevitable process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437927428353-6AQGVXR2P3KQWZ37FIPL/image-asset.png Heroes MONA ELTAHAWY Kick-ass Egyptian journalist and go-to expert on Muslim women's rights, Mona is the author of Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs A Sexual Revolution. Which is brilliant. How hard core is she? After having both her arms broken by Egyptian security forces she got the Goddess Sekhmet tattooed on her forearm because Sekhmet, apparently, "Will kick your ass, then fuck your brains out" Mona's biggest secret? She's a total sweetheart. Mansplainers beware! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437992537408-Y2QWZTYS5ZA4FNFZYJSJ/image-asset.png Heroes MICHAEL WARNER a.k.a. Captain Proper SG. Heart, brains and brawn behind Ladyshape and parkour-inspired Street Gym. Specialist in children's physical ed and movement therapy for the mentally ill (we were made for each other!) Dude radiates positivity and has taught me so much about overcoming mental obstacles by climbing over physical ones. I used to train indoors with weights and machines but thanks to Mikey, I now rock up to children's playgrounds- train or shine- and say, "Hey you little punks-- get out my gym!" (Gwan king! #musclesauce) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438167795708-INEAAKT0KHH685BN71XG/image-asset.png Heroes Tim Butcher Few people can match the huevos or titanium upper lip of self-confessed hack journo (yes, he lets me call him) Timbo Butcher. A natural born raconteur-- the best guest for a podcast btw-- Timbo is renown for backing up stupid/crazy ideas with critically-acclaimed, best-selling books. Hey, I know, I'll go follow Dean Morton Stanley's expedition up the Congo, only alone-- I've always wanted to meet child soldiers! No, wait: how 'bout traipsing around Sierra Leone in the footsteps of Graham Green-- is there a jab for ebola? His books are so compelling it's annoying. Buy them all. Do it now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438172820930-OOB8VXY0UBNMHZSKL7WS/Screen+Shot+2015-07-26+at+3.07.37+PM.png Heroes Dr. Susan Blackmore I was first introduced to Susan's work by Terence McKenna who, at the time, was fascinated by memes: "What is imagination but meme mutation in action?" Her landmark book the Meme Machine, prefaced by Richard Dawkins, not only helped shape the way I look at the world but helped inspire a close friend of mine to get a vasectomy. ("If I can replicate myself by spreading information then why...") But Susan is more than memes-- she also studied the paranormal for 25 years before renouncing it all as bollocks. Which takes an Atlantic ocean's worth of character. An intellectuals' intellectual, with whatever Atheists call a kindly spirit.. https://octopusmessiah.com/authors-note daily 0.75 2020-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437773699996-LXFQL223NZNSH7VDMTLQ/ianwinnslampoet.jpeg author's note https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1438082009164-NEKQEZFMOH2JGBDYNU20/image-asset.jpeg author's note https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437667205097-J75R5BTGFMEA4QDG9AIQ/image-asset.jpeg author's note (It isn't breach of privacy when the photo's been on magazine covers. And that, my friends, is me covering MY ass.) x https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1437666859294-BLT1O0ZAMAJDJZ1A9XXU/bedoin-burn-octo.jpg author's note https://octopusmessiah.com/maldives daily 0.75 2016-04-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440943269351-HAPDTWXEKG7VIHQFDUP2/image-asset.jpeg Maldives We spent almost an hour watching this intense and rarely-observed event, a vicious, swirling cyclone of elasmobranchs in estrus. Note the bite marks upon the female’s back, top left. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440943195371-DX466EP90VRPLPPEFQAL/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440943876156-FAWYNG5ECZN47LX9RPWI/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440947021741-QBD0QH6KV7AYXPGCOO9G/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440942506814-KOAVRPLG8071F5QGAQUT/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440945313210-MU3MXD2DM2CX796EPEWS/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440951880799-MUYXZNKXVPEH2ZWGDN32/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440952822398-F7CFDB43TWQRC6ZWMSUI/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441040210138-LXSCNCDYFY3ETKWHB88J/image-asset.jpeg Maldives (East London, not the Maldives) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440946754057-NT47U1F95B050Y1J7WT8/image-asset.jpeg Maldives My wife hates this picture-- her for her expression and me for sweating like a bastard. So here it is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441033842599-RA0C6VAEPCY9TX610LGH/image-asset.jpeg Maldives Photo by Hani Amir: Thilafushi Kuni Gondu - God's dirty little secret https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440943516026-POL3G1YI87X7HI5KAOV4/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072629196-5Y0W6Y1U6O280UDZI1VZ/DSCN0035.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072629391-RJ4I2W48IVTFNETTPPFF/DSCN0119.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072633160-0Y5VXN3P0DZSEHU99ZPO/DSCN0179.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072633774-Y3RF2BPOQSBFOB0SJYUO/DSCN0230.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072638529-UQMVJGJF4OIHF1MOUCXZ/DSCN0254.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072642451-4046PFJCYPD05QBJKJ9X/DSCN0308.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072640879-NPRRZUV6XLTOO7HJEFXU/DSCN0512.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072646408-S30PPEVHZ36ALF8JVPWT/DSCN0548.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072648146-ZXSA6SWSZ9L3U6NQZOEL/DSCN0636.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072984190-7HE2HRKYELR2UXLFHMT6/DSCN0009.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072982040-2O3024MK7T52DT6ITYKA/DSCN0018.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442072984156-TFKS07IUL04UBOVNVCCD/DSCN0132.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442073310205-YR4WSDC7LMP3ASLCHCYK/DSCN0755.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442073305599-JNM6MBT8TPGOJM12P1FO/DSCN0746.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442073300892-ERKXFLRJT2J4D2QOHMI5/DSCN0743.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440942268359-94094CFH0KQAORSP9SFC/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441034963173-Z4346XQJLV99BB8192KS/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440952954558-31Y90GOQNPZM7WTR2E97/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441376128781-VWJMX70CCNADL5HI5BG8/image-asset.png Maldives Photo courtesy of Dean Bradshaw via Insatgram. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440947086865-2M64UH34JKQWR5OLCUSU/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441035556845-SJH1G0XDHIHHSXRALUT5/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440951764930-GG3I97N0HQKSF07DBD38/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039852349-C34SX7UI1WIVYUVUH7F6/DSCN0370.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039852094-W3DGVRDFTTQHXYPHJTHQ/DSCN0371.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039856515-C3K2O8A3QB7MGCSV7YNS/DSCN0372.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039857651-EN3TASPYT9H435S5770F/DSCN0374.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039860848-SRHSPPT0VI8HHES84VVD/DSCN0377.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039861815-U0M2Q0LHBKDZ5SFXY7RI/DSCN0381.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039921468-XX825EKMDTPOPKOL4X6D/DSCN0361.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441039923704-UGU1WGD5J6IGRHWZVY63/DSCN0410.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441035021018-4PG2MDI7ATN41QK2MLV7/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440945067410-E7U0IF98UQFBA20A1BUJ/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441379845331-0D57BTJNDSTXTFMCSYL8/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441373010616-EMAPYIJHL7H81GMUKRTE/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+2.22.13+PM.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441373019770-8SICS6F69T0WGJVQCRIV/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+2.22.22+PM.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441373027396-XEXX1QPJCE8MZ3THZHM8/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+2.22.40+PM.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441373033030-16CGEZSBQU7XKX55TDVN/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+2.22.56+PM.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440945105320-XF95UX7J9C37L9H80NUN/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440946952758-VD78FGJW7432ZTYBH2QN/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440947186976-JFI148S2MHZEGKKDJ9JA/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441394240590-9CXRLMK1TNHZQCC6RTOG/image-asset.png Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441378419878-49L69D3VZ1UOX7IZ44YG/DSCN0150.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441378424209-53YHOHZH4OHW8QM6HDHH/DSCN0611.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441378478918-9W086KERUETIYNMR6WQE/DSCN0162.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440944915182-GVZFBY5CTYHQAK02AEI9/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441380828307-CFUZ9NGTNGH088VKTI18/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440943570997-X8D4NGEZT7DO964RJBPJ/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442069941485-WH0GJ9TODYJXEV88HC01/DSCN0678.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442069945026-KBE4RRVI9T27EH8S3570/DSCN0679.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442069947341-OPTNC0Y2NH06L72JDJYF/DSCN0681.JPG Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1442069950701-AGS5K05VSIY3OBFLW5OI/DSCN0684.JPG Maldives It's in there somewhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1440952583220-CC6BRL73RZ5AVQHAWE7B/image-asset.jpeg Maldives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1441396413785-GLLAXLKYYG39CIOBOCB3/DSCN0583.JPG Maldives https://octopusmessiah.com/greg-junell-rip daily 0.75 2019-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443298404798-1UUD1YTIKGL763DRJENR/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443866717233-CMV9SIWP6CGBFH4DD6QB/image-asset.png The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell Greg remains intensely missed and especially so by Dorene Garvin, his former partner of 14 years. As I understand it, Greg confessed to a mutual friend on his deathbed that she was the love of his life. Damn straight. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443299845445-JRKK09CWFQAJ34AH1B7S/7785016274_054352572c.jpg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443301829507-UBJ7GZQ9S22FIX641VQT/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443300105156-JYITW4Y5K3OIZGQCH00F/image-asset.png The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443300462928-7XMFI2M0F67ML01PVFWG/image-asset.png The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell from Alex Grey images via erowid.org https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443301437234-FB3QOKYX8S7VO0ORX308/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell (From our wedding: this is the only photo I could dig up of the two main players in this tale together. From left, co-minister Greg, co-best-man Abe Rudnick, co-best-man David Holthouse and co-minister Moorlock. When you can't decide, have both!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443303422276-RY52T8XXW3NQN6ABC4EA/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443297988261-6GHUSQHSOF30DXTX51VC/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell Our wedding, from left: Moorlock, Mrs. Catharine Winn, yours truly and the late, great Gregorio Redbeard Junell. October 8th, 2005. For the record, co-best man David Holthouse can be seen in the background, just to the right of cross-dressed Robert Kaye in red (above the tiki torch). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443304564285-ELSFBEWPHT2W689ZIKAD/image-asset.png The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443304600665-DPQ9J5AHT2BTTQJS23KU/image-asset.png The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443301983022-MTNU7CIHV94QEEQ5KQFA/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443302715789-9971P2KJ4WIYJ0NKNP08/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443303777448-POCK9C4BNHUC6XLJKKVX/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443299511369-WMVJO33GAFICW3UKVZ3U/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443299959927-DE44J5RHS7IML8GDFS5Y/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443302314933-T5WI0UC2669SGZ59Q2EG/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443304198755-F1ZFDD4GKT0ZUY7NEAVW/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443302115438-CEMKBDNDSTFR8ZM7NVKK/image-asset.jpeg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1443340808602-JQBKJ994P9QLSH9RSRGG/7799077798_54bcdddd99+%281%29.jpg The Afterlife w/ Greg Junell https://octopusmessiah.com/borneo daily 0.75 2016-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065575850-Q93CXPCMCUMT3WOUR3B8/image-asset.jpeg Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444215954486-V64KCSGAJTFUB00V46NX/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) Proboscis monkeys are found only in the mangrove forests of Borneo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444214042991-9KPYKH4YD5CNE1E9B0JE/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444060780944-TOTIAIS77MTVEHPOK23C/scan_121020161626_1.jpg Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444214652757-4QP32U8FY11QUJKW7JT0/7836889934_51733792be_z.jpg Borneo (Esquire) photo courtesy of Paul Williams, taken at jakartaanimalaid.com/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444214779519-KZ8LGG6HPSWKCRVZVWDT/2042298559_4861f38316_z.jpg Borneo (Esquire) photo courtesy of Michael Whitehead https://www.flickr.com/photos/mwhitehead/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444217408899-YI8PGM2VCGLZDUPE42BO/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444215828368-0R5MDVR7G2Q723WMWE30/image-asset.jpeg Borneo (Esquire) courtesty of RPerro: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rperro/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062917541-5MO18THK7OU37VXJ7XLR/P1010127.JPG Borneo (Esquire) the gibbon spider! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062918573-MW72VDHRNVS68Y4QIXX4/P1010131.JPG Borneo (Esquire) the unidentified sleeping bulbul! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062920370-L04AXEXOHTXZBL0OXBKX/P1010121.JPG Borneo (Esquire) and just how cute is this sleeping, chestnut-naped forktail? (very) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062932218-FCQQ04ZDOXOK1B4BX1CV/P1010256.JPG Borneo (Esquire) or this blue-eared kingfisher? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062926617-KCH1L37JMY0U3XABJH3F/P1010158.JPG Borneo (Esquire) or the the highly poisonous long-legged centipede which both leaps and scuttles (okay, fine, this one makes my skin crawl too)… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062924685-VV3CWYPY8JLXV7AC789O/P1010414.JPG Borneo (Esquire) The long-bill kingfisher (who'da thunk?) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062931602-86I16WDLYDLRPDMK62J0/P1010424.JPG Borneo (Esquire) The buffy fish owl (yes, Buffy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062922024-2N3SIF9DUKTD5LJMU6XD/P1010156.JPG Borneo (Esquire) The civet cat that craps out coffee (please make it stop). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062915654-NYRW5XH67NND8UJWAKK1/P1010125.JPG Borneo (Esquire) This, um, lizard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062935972-SFFJCYYC75ULQW27U6SI/P1010457.JPG Borneo (Esquire) And of course the giant stick. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444155739301-OWSO6VQZHMP1OQ47CCW0/Screen+Shot+2015-10-06+at+7.21.45+PM.png Borneo (Esquire) This particular specimen literally fell from the sky during a night-trek in Sepilok, landing just beside me. My guide that night said it was the largest he’d seen in his fourteen years of guiding. FYI: had it landed on my head you would have heard my bug-scream in Kota Kinabalu… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444216207690-X0JH8M4JFEFYWYQFWUU3/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) (hint: it’s the orange blob in the middle) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065743274-5YH8SM04SGCVTXERAG22/image-asset.jpeg Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151514054-TYLD5BJI9XX888U9R8VI/P1010079.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151517407-E9434DWPFHKMG89VAOF9/P1010083.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151517939-WPO9VS46Q5AFIDX6L285/P1010174.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151518319-A9TOOHVBKJRM3BDX8BKO/P1010179.JPG Borneo (Esquire) “Denny, why is my skin burning? You said they didn’t bite.” “Do you smell that?” he replies. I sniff the flat-backed millipede and catch the powerful scent of almonds. “It’s releasing cyanide! Why didn’t you tell me they did that?” “Excuse me,” he says indignantly. “I only said they didn’t bite. I didn’t say to pick it up.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151521470-YPUBD64IM1W2WAE4MAIM/P1010225.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444151527657-YSMNFWEM8Z0EV3OUTFF1/P1010482.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154973831-FUGUDQMX7ILERWD1KSBL/P1010274.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154965056-G8E67BDUV9VMFVYVBPW7/P1010181.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154953204-JSZE8O4NLZA1MG3OM5U5/P1000760.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154955389-0FGMO14XBXAZN48WX8RL/P1000803.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154969563-GUEW55B7W3OWF92AXO2P/P1010253.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154958030-X00VQR7J3UOVMWOTMV06/P1000814.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154961407-2GFGVH28Y28DN4M2JRSA/P1000820.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154965563-8ZMJ2M3IKI0Q0FU899WB/P1000894.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154951650-N9PKUPY8Z0XBW1CE4Q07/IMG_0865.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154971848-DP97T86PXS395GB4HWZX/P1010281.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154976843-M0Z1KPKNI72H9Z023PRP/P1010287.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154984879-GZRW32JB5PWDTWO41D95/P1010305.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154982876-C5RXJRKOFHK1JJ5QK142/P1010328.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154986910-LLBIXPB29DQXW946PQFR/P1010367_2.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154987659-S52AH0T37FQU7LNU4YJD/P1010400.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154992381-X14B6PLECJFW9JN58VIA/P1010418.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154993787-HZ7RWGZKQL81931IBW5F/P1010492.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154996239-YLA11UGUY07ECQLS3XAX/P1010553.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444154999625-7XV0NLXUG4ESWGWPEFJQ/P1010565.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444155003099-K53YXGTFSGKNOVS07RLX/P1010566.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444155002597-BXOC4HF3XC64JEIQZP17/P1010590.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444155003787-OHOJV16T2M0BS50Q9C7U/P1010594.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444155221416-O0NLAR0OKXQE2JBXLH0T/P1010621.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444216845955-UIYUMVS7LO5WP5BDDJRN/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444060926036-QQ1YOKF7CP131JAC0XDU/image-asset.jpeg Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444218024153-VHFB9WDG81QU3DKU1WYE/P1000897.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150675448-WDK55L8870MTOU92ZM2B/IMG_0878.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150676434-OI0IRAJOVLKJD0YXXJJM/P1000765.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150695232-AN9VPUQVN642XKQZRD8S/P1010232.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150693485-TZ6MUMVSMVWZX3LXXOLJ/P1010227.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150679733-VP5KHE7QS67DD718RIDY/P1000878.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150690130-58S9J5KDI6YWATSXCGNR/P1010136.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444150683238-8LHLD61SFRU95YVZS9Y7/P1000845.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444062577739-OAJEMRNMK5IDNINQTSQ4/P1010429.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444216278057-UF3JJ8HR3PEOWUQ5ZWEG/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) Or, with a decent pair of binos, maybe this: (can you tell there’s a baby under her arm? Yeah, well, me neither) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444061310416-OIL8USVV6FL19EBMQ0CX/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444215147009-88HOIQD9UT5V5YBQM5BA/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444215240664-L5P05P2EQ7C8ESIEK9BC/image-asset.png Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444217953433-GUFBMN2HX3HMAQTH1T3B/P1010057.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444216585030-4M7UR9BTJMZ796SL2BG1/image-asset.jpeg Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065181025-UII4BX9OPAV877I7QDI1/P1000913.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065178920-HCXFHDOV20DFXC1OFC19/P1010205.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065182157-74AMQ1G78SA5LTRA1SRX/P1010222.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444065188010-QYXSP79MFRYGBUO3NLW9/P1010391.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152709322-2I77CLQAGDKLH6AVC2KU/P1000928.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Now I am eating my favorite bush. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152709913-GWHI160DP36N7UQ8T0EG/P1000931.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Now you will get out of the way. King is the dominant male here. (no argument) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444153220724-1GBQW5HYS3M14FPFZYSQ/P1000942.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Now, I'd like to climb the tree and eat the flowers but I know that there are bees up there and if I eats the flowers I will certainly get stung... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444153224361-K3FUSTW94FY4GBZNSBM3/P1000997.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Why did I climb the tree and eat the flowers? I knew I was going to get stung. Now I am hurting all over. Maybe I am not so smart. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152721218-43OMQ6C36FTDBYJBA08P/P1000972.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Oh delicious flowers, why have you forsaken me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152726067-EJE45P8GZ0ZQJX63F2N0/P1000980.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Nevermind, I'm going over here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152721448-2P2KZPZ6T3U3JHQHI6L6/P1000974.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Are you still looking at me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444153220697-9UEWTSWWJCM8C8DS2F3X/P1000981.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Nevermind, I will chew the sweet and tasty pith inside this bark... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444153641545-16DTG90CNGQ1B7STS6Q3/P1010043.JPG Borneo (Esquire) While you three stand around taking pictures of my nasty spit fibers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152735218-30VN37UNPT2C7GTRITHU/P1010006.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152735313-QMZXAUEMYTAKT5VWSEKV/P1010012.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152740651-8W5X0ENDQR3174TVI6O3/P1010031.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152739996-FGJDLTST1SG9Z1L34PWI/P1010034.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444152743890-SSUVLLB219KPH21OLTTY/P1010037.JPG Borneo (Esquire) Seriously, if that white dude doesn’t stop taking my photo, I’m going to eat his face, just like that chimp did to that woman I saw on Oprah. You’re lucky it’s your birthday, pal... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1444741782792-HIG02RIX1KR5AGPYRRAI/P1010621.JPG Borneo (Esquire) https://octopusmessiah.com/forzoeyandnia daily 0.75 2016-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471798278519-XKUTFQSDK2G54LRSMQ3E/P1030420.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) My name is Olive. I am four years old. How old are you? When I stand like this, with my elbows near the ground and my tail in the air it's called a "play bow". A play bow means I'd like to play. Do you want to play with me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471800550988-A2VOJHGVIKWJSQSDCOD6/P1080191.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I am a Jack Russell Terrier. Or at least I think I am. I don't have a birth certificate and no one knows my parents. Humans call me a "rescue dog" because I was rescued from a place where I was very unhappy. But don't worry, things have turned out great for me so far! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471800789686-C2LH002VME9CO0AU0R5D/Screen+Shot+2016-08-21+at+6.32.31+PM.png Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This dog is not me. You can tell because I am ten times cuter. This dog is a called a miniature Parson's Jack Russell Terrier. I think this is my breed. What do you think? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471798053696-BEMXTZ3NUX9HZ1GGDQYE/Screen+Shot+2016-08-21+at+5.17.06+PM.png Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When I was 4 months old, the humans taking care of me got very sick and couldn't play with me. They gave me to a dog shelter called the Dog's Trust. I lived there for two months. The people there were very nice but there were lots of big and noisy dogs running around. It was a little scary but I was very brave! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796622092-MGTBBKWLEJ03ZYR0UQRN/IMG_0347.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) One day, three people came to the Dog's Trust: Olive Daddy, Olive Mommy and their good friend, Olive Bradley. Here I am with Olive Bradley. He taught me that bald is Beautiful. When Olive Daddy and Olive Mommy go on vacation, I stay with Olive Bradley. He feeds me fresh cooked chicken but don't tell anybody-- it's supposed to be a secret. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797070808-AAIATQELN0Q4EL6KOX4N/P1040601.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) These are the people that belong to me. On the left is Olive Mommy. Her name is Cat with a C. I don't like kitty cats but I love Cat with a C! Next to her is Olive Daddy. Cat with a C calls him the Walrus, which has something to do with his face fur. To me he's Olive Daddy. Wait-- am I supposed to chase those leaves? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796625837-N3WMLAIGZ3JZHJJFLKVR/P1030289.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I live in the East End of London, England. It is a very cool place to live, with lots of art on the walls. When I first moved there I was scared because it was so different than the Dog's Trust. This is a picture from the day I moved. Can you see my yellow Dog's Trust leash? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796632571-6K0E3VJ47563NU5GVGIN/P1030295.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I live near lots of canals. People bicycle very fast down the canals so I had to learn to be careful. Can you tell I was a little scared? I was only six months old! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796630446-ZBVG7G2YAX9X6V6RKFF3/IMG_0348.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) My first memories of living with Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy are a little fuzzy. Can you tell? Can you remember your first memories living with your mommy? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471895763392-1TT9PHOR10INIHCVOXZL/P1030291.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Here is a picture of the canals I walk down every day. They even have boats that people live on! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796637024-FR4H3SBSEQ1FRNDOP5OT/P1030365.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I love my new home! My favorite place to sleep is on a sheepskin bean bag. Sheepskin is warm and fuzzy, just like me! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796641931-MRJL5DVQ3YFTJU2FZNBO/P1030415.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) My favorite thing is playing fetch. I will fetch a ball anytime, day or night. I will also fetch a rock, a stick, a slipper, a sock or a frisbee. When I am in play bow in front of a ball like this I'm asking you to please throw the ball. Will you throw the ball for me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796651663-0SRK10UUIR2V5K6DAGZS/P1030416.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I weigh 12 pounds. People are very big compared to me and can be scary, especially when they try to grab me. When we play fetch can you please stand very still? If you stay still, I will bring the ball directly to your feet! If I don't bring it close enough just say "Rubbish!" If you do I will move it closer. Rubbish is a word I know! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796643645-T04KUR28QYDRB2EH0YKN/P1030460.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I don't like to brag but... I am very good at catching and catching balls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796659599-E6NNDTB0SH16DSK9E4AH/P1040364.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) England can be very cold and rainy. When it's cold, Olive Mommy makes me wear a coat. I hate wearing clothes. Can you tell? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796657917-6042PUAYSP9OUNUBFJ9R/P1040557.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Some people say dogs only see in black and white-- not true! We actually see in blue and yellow. If there's a lot of leaves on the ground, I can't see a red ball unless it's moving-- crazy huh? That's why my toys are mostly blue and yellow, especially in the fall. Blue and yellow are my favorite colors-- what are yours? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796669058-W3R8BFQC06YLDB9VE2ZV/P1040562.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) It is very hard being this cute. Somehow I manage. You girls know what I'm talking about! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796662935-UVI281ZGSQ0JIIRGKRM5/P1040632.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I am very good at jumping over fences, as long as they are short! The command is "Up, up, up!" This is me catching major air. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796672216-T3X8PQ39A0H473BESD7T/P1040791.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy had two rules when I moved in with them. No dogs on the couch and no dogs on the bed. Those rules lasted less than a month. Being cute, polite and good works wonders. You girls know what I'm talking about! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796679605-OB1ND6WQTYRQBTJ8SE82/P1040867.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I hate Santa Hats! Do you know why? (Don't worry, there is no right or wrong answer) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796689027-0RMRBY5TS8YMV1FZS9BA/photo+%281%29.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Once, I broke my dewclaw, which is like a long thumbnail. The veterinarian had to pull it out which hurt a lot! Afterward I had to wear this cone on my neck to stop me from licking the wound. Do I look happy about it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796699977-3YT7MUCZPLLHT62EBK07/photo+1+%282%29.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Another time, I hurt my knee and couldn't play ball of SIX WHOLE WEEKS. It was NO FUN AT ALL. Olive Daddy had to carry me around in a special dog bag. At least the bag was very stylish. It's made of a fabric is called Oxford tweed. When Olive Mommy saw the bag she said, "Oooh, darling!" Can you say, "Oooh, darling!"? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796692960-PCVZAD3RRZYNS0Z2C15Y/photo+2-2.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Because I looked so stylish in my Oxford tweed dog bag, Olive Daddy had to look stylish as well. Do you think we rocked it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796701419-ZJRL3EDWSFWJ2P08FMTA/P1050135.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) In the winter, Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy get cold feet. Poor Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy-- their feet don't have any fur! Have no fear, Olive is here! As soon as they get out of bed, or come home from work I run and fetch their slippers. If they need them at other times they simply tell me "Muffin!" and I go fetch them. Muffin is a word I know. I like to help where I can. Do you like to help where you can? How? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796713899-TGPFD5YXHE9ZFJIKKHLD/P1050371.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When I'm asleep I like to stay asleep. There's an old saying that goes, "Let sleeping dogs lie." I wish more humans listened to this saying. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796720908-179N0E8DT84AELI8XYJC/P1050548.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I don't like wearing clothes but sometimes I have to model them. Being cute can be hard works sometimes! This is a shirt from Olive Mommy's restaurant, Joe Allen. Am I working it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796746549-UFRFWHBAHGQMM70O7NM4/P1050564.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is my action pose. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796740044-4XS0YED8143VKH7VC66W/P1050593.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Can I please take the shirt off now? And don't forget: I get paid in treats. My favorite treat is cheese. It's in my contract. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796751150-CCW1DCKE6CFRUI87S4V0/P1050615.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I hate brooms. They think they're made of fur but they're not. If I see a broom I will make sure it knows that Olive is boss. Is there anything you attack on sight? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796756043-DJDIE6UYRYI21E88O3E8/IMG_0019.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Daddy loves it when I kiss his face fur, which I do if he's been good. The command is "Kiss-kiss!" Kiss-kiss is a word I know. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796757892-TRC1T699VWQGXZQ0PALO/P1050622.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I'm only eighteen inches tall but I can jump four feet off the ground! Especially if it's to bite a broom. How high can you jump? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796764667-629ZF7SH5QQ4S5SEAN26/IMG_0095.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) If there are no leaves around I can see the orange ball, especially when it's moving. When I get too hot from playing, I lay down in the shade. When I pant, the cool breeze on my tongue helps me cool off too. It's hard to pant with a ball in your mouth! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796770979-UCRVUVXB4R7QGFWDI6KV/IMG_0101_2.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I love to roll around on cool grass! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796803849-U4YDFBPWP5DERZ4WD2P2/P1060088.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy likes to plant flowers in the garden. I like to help. Can you tell I'm helping? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796796667-0FB6E6HIVBFRCQFJ3RQ1/P1060273.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When Olive Daddy thinks it's time to stop playing he puts the ball where I can't reach-- but I know where it is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796805555-R9CIX3Y7JPKJLCJH64IL/P1060349.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I don't like to play with dogs who bark a lot, growl or scare humans. Those dogs make humans scared of all dogs, which is silly! Dogs are like people: some are nice and friendly, others can be mean. Don't ever play with dogs unless you're sure! This dog was cool. I never got her name-- do you think she liked me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796812282-ABX9F0QDH7EZ09VBZLDG/P1060354.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy sometimes takes me on a ferry across the River Thames. I love to ride the ferry. It means I get to smell new places! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796810614-H3E1HCWRE1YGI2STP688/P1060361.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Thank you for taking me on the ferry, Olive Daddy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796816310-JTWYCI1U5S48W3FC2U63/P1060406.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Ah, a nice cold drink from my special bottle. "Drink" is a word I know. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796822867-D6AXHHXCA28JHD5TOHUC/P1060414.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is a very good walk! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796826860-KH99EFTN5KFW7G6VJ25G/P1060441.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When there are no cars around, Olive Daddy lets me walk without a leash even when there's lots of people! As long as I stay close and come when I am called I get lots of time to smell things and walk around. If I'm very well behaved I also get treats. Did I tell you my favorite treat is cheese? Who's a good girl? Olive dog, that's who! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796824615-ZIUOQIO3AH7CPC4263PI/P1060454+-+Version+2.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Daddy has been very good and well-behaved today. Kiss-kiss for Olive Daddy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796838958-0S72HN2LN73EYEQGTENW/P1060473.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I'm not crazy about being picked up and riding escalators but sometimes it is necessary. Life is not always fun but it is an interesting journey. Do you agree? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796867285-QSLX35FYQYVK9CYB66BL/P1060488.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy don't have a car. Instead, they get around London on an underground train called the Tube. I'm not crazy about riding the Tube because so many people try and pet me. Imagine if everyone you met tried to stroke your hair. You'd be like: "Do I know you?" Luckily, Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy are there to protect me! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796854410-MG23JGQVHOH49A4V7L27/P1060525.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Can we go back to the park and play again now please? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796864963-P9UBBA2MEAQC3BE3HOFS/P1060535.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Look how good I am at catching the ball! I'm good because I practice every day, remember? The more I practice, the better I get. What do you practice? What do you want to be good at? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796875276-XIWNQ73CVJGBXYQW0CQR/P1060560.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Daddy likes to take pictures of graffiti art. While he takes pictures I like to smell things. My sense of smell is much better than humans. When I walk down the street and sniff, I can tell which other dogs have been there-- and what they've been eating. Isn't that cool? It's like reading a newspaper with my nose! What do you think I'm smelling now? What can you smell right now? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796874862-DEN3QQTY43I8D3LGDDQU/P1060628.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I'm hiding. Can you find me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796886642-S9F2KN7NY5D6DAVBVU13/P1060721.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Do you think Olive Daddy will mind if I drink his beer? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796885995-GUQKRMY1TZ70UXOWY4ZV/P1060724.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Just kidding, beer is for grown ups! Instead, I'm going to chew on a special stick that's good for my teeth and keeps them sharp and clean. How do you take care of your teeth? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796928452-J7NIMJARBJQ14OS036Z0/P1060874.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes I roll in fox poo because I like the way it smells. This makes Olive Daddy very angry because he does not like the way it smells. When I roll in fox poo he says a lot of bad words and makes me take a bath. He washes my fur with shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo and conditioner do NOT smell nice like fox poo. This is where Olive Daddy and I disagree. Which do you think smells better? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797012632-GDCZJ0842TNK9TTNME9M/P1070821.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) After a bath I roll around on everything to make the smell of shampoo go away. I'd rather smell like carpet! Or better yet: fox poo! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796937874-FYEB7PD08J7JVBWQOOUZ/P1060883.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Another one of my favorite games is tug-of-war! Do you like tug-of-war? My favorite way to play is standing on Olive Daddy's back while he's wearing his bathrobe. When Olive Mommy sees us playing like this she says, "You two are ridiculous." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796965296-RO8YKSGXB16A3BI2EMQP/P1060954.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Do you have any questions? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796967885-LV6AA50ZP86TY3UXAHJQ/P1070211.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I really don't like to be picked up. Can you tell? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796999011-7XFTXHI868MNELBLMOUD/P1070225.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy is much better at holding me than Olive Daddy. Why do you think that is? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796976849-0SEP3H5BLAMREKUDMOKM/P1070352.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Another thing I like to do is destroy feathers. Olive Daddy and Olive Mommy don't know how they feel about this but they love to watch me jump. It took me two years to notice the feathers on Ika Ika Man. Can you see them? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796991947-PH3GMMCOIMMETXIS2JWL/P1070430.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Oh no, they put me in a coat again! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797006462-RY0423EO097GPWZVD052/P1070418.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) How do I get the coat off? Maybe if I shake really hard? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797009543-Q7MIMXSRXTMWNF4P07BV/P1070443.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Maybe if I roll around on the ground! Get it off me! I'm already wearing a coat-- it's called fur! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797018724-88DD352EBO7A37LKG3NF/photo+3.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Thank you Olive Mommy for taking off my coat so I can play! I'll wear the coat when it's colder but today I'm fine, I promise. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797022994-W4ZSF4CTCMDCQ0CBSEKE/IMG_0702.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) To be good at something you have to practice but you also have to concentrate! The ball is moving very fast but if I concentrate and time my jump just right.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797022755-UAHPTJAVGAKHGP9R5X26/IMG_0715.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) BOOYAH! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797032583-HK2O9ZACILPIBHXEY3TE/P1080680.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When Olive Daddy was little, he lived in Los Angeles, near where you two live now! He went to high school with your Mom. When he lived in LA, Olive Daddy used to play frisbee with his friends. In London nobody wants to play frisbee. They'd rather play soccer, which Olive Daddy finds very boring. I'll play frisbee with you Olive Daddy! Can you teach me how? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797034859-5TH6MV7ERWWH8LX33V7V/P1030756.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) What are you thinking about right now? I'm thinking about cheese. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797045879-XUNCB1EUWFEUXA4APYV1/P1030836.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Once or twice a year I get a new collar and leash from a local designer ("Ooh, Darling!"). I wear a size small. The shop is called Love My Dog and they have a very nice dog named Rabbit. Isn't that funny-- a dog named Rabbit! He always eats my treats but I don't mind sharing. Do you share your treats? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797047627-H8JB0PZ0XG5BC7XNOM2X/P1030968.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Animals that have fur. give birth to live young and feed them milk are called mammals. Olive Mommy and I are Olive Daddy's favorite mammals! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797308849-B47SFOD1GP8PG3B65D8N/IMG_0181.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This year I wanted a red collar and leash to match Olive Mommy's outfit. How do you think I did? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797314736-9P15SCD88VJ6UY703EV0/IMG_0189.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) (I think we totally rocked it-- you girls know what I'm talking about!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797065748-JY9YGH6I9MADYHR7KG4G/P1040215.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I feel like someone's watching me... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797068234-CS0FBGGALYQCPGPJCQ7W/P1040616.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Up, up, up! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797074932-CAOYQSYT9ED8R4NHLS4Z/P1040667.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is where my humans and I go on Sunday to have lunch. It's a pub called the Florist and I am an honored guest. People play with me there and sometimes give me ham! I love ham! And I only get it at the Florist. Yay, Sunday! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471796894834-7TIDUJTKWJV29OJ52FKA/P1060793.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Nap time! Some people say they dream in black and white, others say in color. Do you think I dream in black and white? Or blue and yellow? How do you two dream? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797108758-CAAFPWG8D82AVSRECPPY/P1050462.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Why does Olive Mommy sleep when it's time to play? Naps are for Olive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797086791-MZ1FJ2SYE2TD8PEXIT63/P1050482.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) The vacuum cleaner is my sworn enemy. Not only does it have bristles it pretends are fur (like brooms!) but it makes a lot of noise. Do you know why I hate it? Because nature abhors a vacuum! (ask your mom) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797098784-GJOFV2JJSWR11KSU44D4/P1050716.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Will this place give me ham? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797139800-4RHY32VPNYO5NCN8HD7Y/P1050725.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) If your Mommy isn't smiling I recommend licking her chin. Works every time. Try it for yourself! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797141318-6FBXC4YL9LTTTQXG0CX5/P1060050.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Why did they build a chair that faces a wall? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797151783-C22DRC9SYL4JPI6B8MTF/P1060393.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes, Olive Daddy's Mommy comes to visit. I like her. She gives me lots of treats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797149284-F5BAQIH6EN30TDZM6AQW/P1060398.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes humans are slow and I have to wait for them to catch up. I make sure they never go where I can't see them. Do you do that with your humans? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797156663-LUT92TSJ0EP52T3IYUY6/P1060427.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is a very famous spot in London. It's famous because I've been there. I think. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797193791-U5EA21KDEBCVQB27SQCY/P1060485.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I like the Tube when it's not too hot, not too crowded and when Olive Mommy gives me scritchees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797166542-2BBE8W75P7ZJLRY5X85K/P1060550.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This park is called Victoria Park. We go here a lot. It is a great place to practice chasing balls and frisbees. Do you remember my favorite colors? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797176928-U5LP4JTPO5AX4XGN1023/P1060546.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When it rains I like to drink from puddles. When there are no puddles I drink from my special bottle or sometimes from the frisbee. Drink is a word I know! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797188844-VMT0EUYTJDXC2JK3PKVO/IMG_0231_2.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) One rule I always follow is no begging for food! Humans don't bothers me when I eat so why should I bother humans? This is part of being a good dog! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797214887-02UGX4DU5BDQ0CN4RUWF/P1060961.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Look how sharp my teeth are! Don't be afraid: I'm only yawning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797211924-ZB1GCCO5HJIPO703HW68/photo+2.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I like to ride on cars and boats. This is a lake in Victoria Park where Olive Daddy likes to row. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797227010-721E8RZ9AL8RGOQ9PCSF/photo+5.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Looks like Olive Mommy needs to smile more! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797237483-MOCA7YI58UYRM15525W6/photo+1.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Mommy doesn't like to get her head fur wet. I love it when it rains. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797234977-D2SFNZ5AZ6WXFY014KDS/P1070120.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is Uh-Oh the squirrel. He lives in the trees next door. Squirrels belong in trees. Squirrels are not allowed on the ground. Dogs are here to enforce these rules! Back in the tree Uh-Oh! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797243771-62WL9O93T1B1VD66S7YB/P1070333.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Only Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy are allowed to scratch my tummy. And only in the morning. When do you let your Mommy and Daddy scratch your tummy? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797253479-E1PGDUP361ZMBQ3ENX11/P1070853.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is Foxykins. Foxykins is a red-tailed fox who lives next door. She is pretty and smells good but likes to eat birds. Olive Daddy loves birds. My job is to protect the birds from Foxykins. Stay away from our garden, Foxykins! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471878413782-C85L551LCVKGYA3DLPXL/P1060660.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is our bird feeder. I protect the birds who eat here from Foxykins and from kitty cats. If someone shouts "Kitty!", I run into the garden barking and chase the cats away! Kitty is a word I know. The birds in this picture are called sparrows. How many sparrows can you count? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471878336158-FM6FOALEGH2NWLKNUMHJ/P1090064.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) These are Olive Daddy's favorite birds. They are called Goldfinches. I don't see what the big deal is. Do you think they're pretty? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797255856-LDGPD0G8ZZOB48GFGA92/P1070858.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) That's right, Foxykins, you go back to sleep. I'm watching you! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797262803-E200NJIN4YWYFKQJZR5F/P1080146.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Go back into your tree, Uh-Oh! The food in the bird feeder is for birds! Bark! Bark! Bark! I am a very quiet dog but not when Uh-Oh is around. Or the evil vacuum cleaner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797266825-X6QU0G0H7GMV7G72MJUX/photo+%281%29.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes Olive Daddy's friend Jason comes to visit. Your Mom and I went high school with Jason. Why do humans sit on that chair? What do they see? Humans are weird sometimes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471900994152-J4PW64UC3YH7WH7KGAX2/P1090215.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is our garden. Sometimes I drink from the pond in the middle. The pond has goldfish in it which makes the water taste delicious. Do you like fish-flavored water? I do! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471878925200-CO39165H9LW683DFOEUK/P1060296.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is one of the goldfish that makes the pond delicious. His name is Moby. Whenever Olive Daddy feeds the fish I say, "Ruff!" This is one of my favorite things. No one knows why. Do you? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797277990-L8YF580NO4F9B2TY0CU6/photo+3.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is one of Olive Daddy's best friends, David. I know David is a good man because Olive Daddy let him sit on the bed where Olive Mommy and Olive Daddy and Olive sleep. Only special humans get to sit on that bed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797289381-Q1HJGJRE5KVXCD4RPKYM/IMG_1807.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Does it look like I enjoy being picked up? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797292509-07LCCIHG4JCPTOKOVDIC/IMG_0191.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I like to chew on sticks. I don't like to let them go. Do you like to chew on sticks? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797301899-MPR5U0F9A4T4AODDL01W/IMG_1918.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) One time I got very hot after playing. I slapped my water bowl around until water spilled on the floor. Then I lay down in the cool water. Olive Mommy says that proves that I'm a genius! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797309839-OLEHASEUBO07OHK1XED2/IMG_1944.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Olive Daddy is a writer. He practices writing every day, almost as hard as I practice chasing balls and frisbees. When he writes I take a nap between his knees. Sometimes we stay like that for hours! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797312924-SKM9K2G1WTLXL9U39RA2/photo+%283%29.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) If Olive Daddy spends too long in front of the computer his head hurts. To stop his head from hurting I wake up and let him know it's time to play. He knows I'm right. I have trained him very well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797054821-ORZUXNIEWSMLM3N2GK99/P1030989.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) London is a very stylish city. Do I help Olive Mommy look stylish? Or does she help me? I think we help each other. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797399839-N4UHU8ECLOMKJX5MC3OE/Screen+Shot+2016-08-21+at+5.14.45+PM.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Speaking of stylish: meet Mikey. He is one of my best human friends! He and Olive Daddy go into the park and climb on jungle gyms to stay strong. Do you like to climb on jungle gyms? Whenever Mikey comes by I know we're going out to play, no matter what the weather. When I see Mikey at the door, I run around in circles! Do you like his socks? According to Olive Daddy, "MIkey is killing the sock game." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797363916-1VE7GD4V381M2WS872MK/IMG_0738.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I love to play with my blue frisbee! When Olive Daddy dresses fly like this I know it's going to be a great day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797331608-83JNNPNPNMOOXQBIJ76J/IMG_2089.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) When I catch the frisbee it's very important that everyone watching shouts, "Booyah!" I just caught the frisbee so.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797343514-LMZ8FR6E2UPI5ROOKNY7/IMG_2112.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) After a hard day catching frisbee it's time--- zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797322784-YTPSSDYL56PEP8X2NORX/photo+1.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) "Olive! Did you do this?" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797348391-39K5H35GT8NUSVNHO0CW/IMG_0685.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I'm not sure about Daddy's new outfit. What do you think? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797369851-WIZA2KLQMLAY21ECBY9Z/IMG_2163.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I don't like being picked up but I do like to sit on Olive Daddy's lap. Especially when he gives me scritchees! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797396832-GQFP304E2DYD6T9BAXSN/IMG_0006_2.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes I have no idea what Olive Daddy's saying. I'm not the only one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797381274-GEMEGPY3H22T942DRK3B/photo+3.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) This is our friend Kat with a K! (Olive Mommy is Cat with a C, remember?) Kat with a K walks dogs for a living. All the dogs in the neighborhood know Kat with a K is in charge! Kat with a K belongs to Bulli. Bulli is my best dog friend. Can you guessed which one he is? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797383891-SNLQTKABO5WAPC3GCH1T/IMG_2288.JPG Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Sometimes Olive Daddy has to hold all of Kat with a K's dogs while she buys coffee. Do you think I like this? Can you find me in this picture? Have you figured out who Bulli is? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471892805110-TNGQUQ52VDYTU16O54BT/IMG_0351.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) I love riding in the car! Do you know what I love more than riding in the car? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471888880948-A49YE2HP4EZ8DY2IVTQG/IMG_0349.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Riding in the car with Olive Daddy and my best dog friend, Bulli! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471888882652-UH6UH8MGVIPF9G5L5CPA/IMG_0350.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Let's roll! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471797401228-3HH9Q6WBTTNK7YRJGC22/P1090009.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Did you enjoy spending time with me today and learning about my life? I sure had fun showing you! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471893280239-MAELST8JT4GITD1O0Q2I/P1060344.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bus to catch-- a water bus! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471893228846-UNLW3MQG95XNIT8LRV2I/P1060357.jpg Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) Bye Zoe and Nia! It was nice meeting you! Please thank your mom for introducing us. Be good! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1471903644846-2PJTPCGRXZLZMARROH89/image-asset.png Meet the Olive Dog (a picture book for toddlers and beyond) https://octopusmessiah.com/life-story daily 0.75 2024-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522772698431-BK79QJG0516M6YYBJY8V/P1100783.jpg Life Story - ... who clearly didn't know how to dress himself so he let his mother do it for him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522833474987-YK0U0PVEAD3C20U0NTDN/mercuryinretrograde.jpg Life Story - Then something terrible happened. On the eve of a summer run of one-man-shows in San Francisco, the octopus had a psychotic break. He had been awake for three days trying to get from the antipodean points of Tulear, Madagascar to Oakland, CA while taking mefloquin to protect against malaria. Naked, hearing voices and covered in his own blood, he had his first-ever fistfight — in the street, against the Oakland PD — and was briefly institutionalized. He never even saw the theater and has been taking psychiatric medication ever since. (He is also very, very sorry for any harm/inconvenience he may have caused). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1528802903566-ER2CII62TSPWSQWVNWXL/octopusmandala.jpg Life Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522781698159-Z9HVTU4PGUJMVD98HUDD/backcover.jpg Life Story - But the octopus won many slams, headlined shows and TPOM got some good reviews (despite it needing loads more work the octopus says now with 20/20 hindsight as he releases the 20th anniversary edition for its second coming in this, the Kaliyuga, the last of four great Hindu ages when "even the prophets cannot be heard above the fray"). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522774549385-FPI7I065KJOT95DHXVKW/badcrowdocto.jpg Life Story - While getting his degree in marine biology from UC Santa Cruz, the octopus fell in with a bad crowd of journalists, helped to found The Fish Rap Live student newspaper (still going!) and decided to become a writer. Dress sense remained a major problem. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522773204462-EO7RNVBI9IC8QQW4YL24/P1100620.jpg Life Story - While all the other animals learned to surf or had girlfriends he stared into tidepools and aquariums. He even worked in a shop and kept a few octopuses himself. Not octopi, mind. Can't mix Greek and Latin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522775379189-4DF9301MVIPNKHNQF8N9/terencesigning.jpg Life Story - The octopus even spent a weekend with the man himself at the Esalen institute where Terence was the scholar in residence. This cost the octopus an arm and a half and even still he had to chop onions and sleep on the floor of the conference room. The octopus was teaching marine science to middle-schoolers at the time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522855987368-UTRQF8S3BJ3MFJFVE6WO/P1100796.jpg Life Story - Lastly (as if) he has finally finished his magnum octopus, Californian represented by Morwenna Loughman at BKS Agency. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556623754728-WHBFQKIDZXGFNE5BHXHJ/Screen+Shot+2019-04-26+at+2.28.13+PM.png Life Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522780824711-S8QRDA6RVMUV8G11PCD1/frontcover.jpg Life Story - What happened next became a book! (what happened next was the octopus smoked DMT, quit his job, chased a childhood dream to Egypt, hippified in India and washed-up in London where he performed spoken word for a year until what happened next became a book) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522782432909-G6D77LJRM3J0BZU4VJTR/paradigmocto.jpg Life Story - As a spoken word artist, the octopus took himself very seriously. Dress sense continued to be an issue only now with white-man dreads. (Pete Doherty insisted on running around a whole block so he could be behind bars for this photo. True story.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522786439263-KVVRTGJANMC6KB6550MV/scan_121020165020_1_2.jpg Life Story - He ended up in Denver, servicing aquariums and feeling very sorry for himself. This was before Colorado legalized weed even. Such terrible luck the octopus was having! On the plus side he was clearly dressing better. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522791552274-EHFCLS2D7KME0Q1S30XH/htmlocto.jpg Life Story - He thought self-publishing a book would be, as the English say, a piece of piss but it wasn't. Thankfully, he had help. He is very grateful to helpers. You know who you are. Most of you are in the acknowledgements section. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522788270515-Z083D6GC13JBI3D3294K/sock+game.jpg Life Story - Happily, after 51 years on earth, the octopus’ dress sense is finally on point! Especially his sock game. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522775029506-ED7H34STFI9CZ0HQVKXO/mckennaintroocto.jpg Life Story - While (allegedly) growing weed for a Hollywood A-lister to support his writing habit the octopus was introduced to the works of Terence McKenna. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522835148416-9DEKCOWSGW84B2XYCNBB/goodplaceocto.jpg Life Story - He and his bride reside in a one-lair, reef aquarium in East London. Either that or they just moved to Devon. Octopuses are notoriously hard to pin down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522785940280-KXX5OXTMVJM3LUHTOYY8/octoblazed.jpg Life Story - After two print runs the octopus' publishers sent him to promote it in the States where an embezzlement bankruptcy by their distributors meant the books never went to bookstores, media or many of his shows. Never saw America, really. The octopus had flamed out. :-( https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556623665706-3DQQLSUC2LJEOIARTC6R/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600_300dpi.png Life Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522788804098-OIXGL2YOBBV9BX38V81D/TPOMOCTOKEYBOARD.jpg Life Story - But his book, which showed such promise, never got to see the internet, or his native USA until now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1522788114695-GNYQSECIAZ4LU841WF43/scan_121020163547_1.jpg Life Story - Then something wonderful happened! A slinky, tattooed, Englishwoman dropped a signed copy of TPOM off a canoe in Thailand and had to replace it for a mutual friend. She contacted the octopus via his website and, after an 18-month e-mail correspondence, no photos, no voice, long story short, they were accidentally married by a Sakalava crocodile shaman in Morondava, Madagascar in 2004 and legally so in California by two guys the octopus met way back at McKenna's fateful conference: Moorlock, who accompanied the octopus to Cairo as characterized/slandered in TPOM and the late, great Greg Junell who was just... an amazing human being. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1523217049274-K0M0VLPML0T3Q7FPDYRY/P1100755.jpg Life Story https://octopusmessiah.com/shouting daily 0.75 2022-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556633260753-VXVVZJ9RX6IP33BAFDA6/Audiobookcover.png Shouting https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556633280336-SKI0HTDCABL16S475ACE/dreamstimesmall_32637506.jpg Shouting https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/2b77fe8c-e34a-49cd-8d78-c8f802b07596/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER+copy.jpg Shouting - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526230993650-YM2BTHJDYDNV597I9B7A/rockini.gif Shouting https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526230788504-50KDLPOFUY3GE41EOHA6/Screen+Shot+2018-05-13+at+5.52.25+PM.png Shouting https://octopusmessiah.com/home daily 1.0 2026-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338345955-BSARGPDCE0PJPIBE5QZR/2937-1205333168-b776cb43b03d60593f2b3d8a77756a4a.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338360333-JIXM368CW4L7KJ6LIN2N/2956-1214997750-edd8863ed69f1d0ff59a1e55c0db18fc.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338360357-A48KNF6XXHDR33XGP4VU/3025-1294264259-432464250c8717a881c35062753e1d0a+%281%29.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338385902-86E2OI78P2DP0BZO108K/3062-1306366615-bb731ad8eadfd870fc98bc649d0c589f.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338423055-HXPLKN4DJV6TSM17URKX/3260-1432067699-17d6cbf999f3e2bb45fc7ad23c26de21.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338385896-ZQTG5I39BSOSJTL6H9FU/3074-1310483604-5427a623bed091781edb7cbaadb435f5.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338415310-WVU3D6NMMX9XE4I2B64O/3206-1413826923-237f43c95d61077ac100600b0a3e08aa.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338410268-YSRI8N1A02DOYRS9VHY9/3236-1430842085-7d02d2ff6926b39ba0891d083585bcbf.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1489338371764-TJ05OB922LHT616U7VSR/3031-1299114024-c423934e261ac04c19d23df405cec79d.jpg Home The Age of the Eagle is over The Age of the Octopus has begun ☟ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556534724025-0QS8MQUJMI6IT7JGIJ6G/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600_300dpi.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556535246458-4Y7RGQJ60GCYYBSQE5S0/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+11.50.45+AM.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526327846076-ST3A59PXSBQ661STUPDZ/P1110121.jpg Home https://octopusmessiah.com/pig-toilet daily 0.75 2019-07-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1564146134890-RI7YIEW2PZ6BGSR7EV3A/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER+copy.png Pig Toilet https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526468298864-PIOGGORMLKHZYSLBS55G/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+11.36.12+AM.png Pig Toilet https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1564146043318-T2UIPV8NDHCW6AKM45G7/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600-01_72dpi.png Pig Toilet https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526467567704-MY0IHZQET9SK0XAKXTSR/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+11.44.59+AM.png Pig Toilet https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1526469321752-QMFHL21DS6Z5D52MHMDU/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+12.07.50+PM.png Pig Toilet https://octopusmessiah.com/tpomrocks daily 0.75 2024-10-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1565813570024-SITR3N9YR6GYTMYO33EE/P1110441+copy+2.jpeg Rocks https://octopusmessiah.com/floating-hell daily 0.75 2020-04-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1585998397487-O5XQAX9LO3P4YXDUN362/Audiobookcover.png Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556199892381-DYO8BSPSDS5HISPM7AT6/IMG_2232.jpg Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556199908359-PBZDLDJ6YY70JAYCQEKH/IMG_2234.jpg Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1586110266396-LWZMFD5H1YUBBEMH10AL/TPOM+BACK.png Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1556199508856-Z3QQQSHTJPPSQQYC0QOU/Screen+Shot+2015-07-31+at+8.17.47+PM.png Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1584543078307-1SDI0I06IBF9R0C8NYQJ/IMG_5199.jpeg Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1584542744011-9YYZ8CJT3G5HQFUF3I1A/Image+2-17-20+at+5.32+PM.jpg Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1584544001376-DF19VW8JSEKEWY4LFPRO/IMG_2234.jpg Floating Hell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1581961125384-XIAJN42UKWCSSE3KWTW5/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER.png Floating Hell https://octopusmessiah.com/byte daily 0.75 2019-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557233588912-4958U8VNTMQZF30N8G8J/Octopus+Speaks+Cover+Rockwell+Font.jpeg Byte Promo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557227078447-Q52A3Y6BNLAATYLCKIDN/OctopusCardFront2+copy.jpeg Byte Promo - Very briefly: Back in my spoken word/performance poetry days I was sponsored for a one-man-show in San Francisco. The show was sadly cancelled due to my suffering a psychotic break the night before (in large part thanks to the anti-malarial drug mefloquin I’d been taking in Madagascar). The show was 90 minutes long and had never seen the internet. This past March I decided to put it out , but wasn’t sure what form would provide the best experience for the listener, and give me a fighting chance to turn a profit besides. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558554191373-OC6QCD3MXU716W7T46VM/sam.JPG Byte Promo - Meet Sam. Sam “constructs beats” for a living. I told Sam that ACX had advised me against me using sound effects (as they often led to bad reviews for sound quality) but that I wanted — needed! — to have actual bells and whistles. As well as a campfire, breaking waves, two distinct instances of flatulence (one squeaky, one profound), a ticking clock, a slot machine, a pig squeal… Sam’s reply at left. Sam put me in tiny, soundproof room with my laptop and a quality mic and let me do my thing. He made sure my shouting voice was of equal volume as my (ooh yeah, baby) sexy voice. If I flubbed a line or wanted to re-record something, Sam very quickly backed up the recording and had me read aloud the sentence prior, over the mistake, and continue along. This was seamless, and something I was incapable of doing in my closet without brushing against the wires. The downside of my ridiculous, theatrical vision was it took seven hours of recording to get my ninety minutes. Even so, I came in well under budget and got to have my sound effects — something I wouldn’t have had time for in the major audiobook studio. Sam recorded my poems as high resolution WAV files which he then converted (“bounced” say the pros) to MP3’s. These I submitted one by one to the ACX website directly from the studio. Though it may sound complicated, this part of the process was very straightforward. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558560598624-C96QKULC6F8G8LQMV82W/Audiobookcover.png Byte Promo - When the going gets tough, the tough go digital! (Quick note regarding audiobook covers: on Audible you have to leave the bottom righthand corner blank so they can slap on an additional graphic if they so choose. If you didn’t know this beforehand, it might mean buying some flowers and heading back upstairs to the neighbors.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557233628732-K8J5QJSKJLRQ6NGVD85J/OCTOPUS_ST2_Ebook_2560x1600-01_72dpi.png Byte Promo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557233698655-OSYI2BE81V2NG5QAR870/OCTOPUSEDIGIGTALCOVER.png Byte Promo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557226537491-X2GAN5FWUEUDJ0K9L45H/octosong.jpg Byte Promo - …I felt pretty confident I could record the thing myself. To that end I filled the closet with bolsters off the couch (to baffle sound) plugged a USB microphone into my laptop, fired up Garage Band and off I went. According to ACX guidelines, each “chapter” must be uploaded as a separate file. Once I had a few pieces recorded I sent them to ACX to make sure I was on the right track. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1559135547083-FKAC1KYWMJ50M52EGQDX/Audiobookcover.png Byte Promo - Spoken word audiobook now on sale! Click the image for more information and read on for a free Byte-sized copy. Also on this page: creating an audiobook made easy. Well, easier… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558558946094-N3R6VT5L098UE75O37C9/Screen+Shot+2019-05-22+at+10.02.06+PM.png Byte Promo - Audible are very clever with their marketing They are the 800 lb orangutan in the room. In addition to the promo codes they also have a bounty referral program, where if someone uses the personalized URLs they give you (one each for UK, US, FR & DE) to purchase their first audiobook, you earn “up to” $75 if they stay for two billing cycles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558599324399-Q8GPX7601US8VKRRDWZ4/octobeer.jpg Byte Promo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557321235008-44QDNEKX23I7ZMLBDVYM/IMG_3040.jpeg Byte Promo - Greetings, everyone! Ian here — that bald Californian with the sideburns lurking at the back of most Byte The Book events. I’ve learned quite a bit from Byte and made some amazing contacts and friends to boot. Recently I composed, (had) produced and launched my first audiobook, The Octopus Speaks! and thought I’d share the experience. I’m also offering 8 (spot the theme) free copies of the book to Byte The Book members. For your chance of redemption (of a promo code, anyway) please hit the contact button above-right and put “Byte” in the subject line. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558556129834-YV6O6Z1XQXZXUNGB2B3G/The+fabulous+Josephine.JPG Byte Promo - I should also mention the fabulous Josephine The only female voice I can do is an elderly, white, working-class Englishwoman, which my wife says is racist. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at Byte The Book: if you’re not a woman… Josephine Buchan is a singing coach, theater impresario, documentary filmmaker, former TV presenter and a very good friend of mine. Her narrative contribution was brilliant and added a touch of class to the production. One listener even thought she was two different people! If you’re not a confident narrator, I definitely think you should hire one. Josephine’s advice was to keep everyone involved in the production sweet. To that end I brought Sam fresh-baked muffins, made Josephine huevos rancheros for lunch beforehand and am trying to source her some discontinued high-end bath soap (nightmare). After the production was done I waited to see if ACX would accept the audiobook, which they said takes between 10-14 days. I have to say ACX’s customer service was timely and excellent, both on the phone and via e-mail. They told me the most common mistakes people make are to the title/beginning credits which must be exactly the same as your Kindle version, and to the closing credits which must end with “The End”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1558540982689-EG40WG3ILFL6WNKQIB83/octagonofreciprocity.jpg Byte Promo - At Byte’s (clearly not a)… …Circle of Reciprocity, I stuck a post-it note to the wall reading, “I need help producing and marketing an audiobook.” Soon I was talking to an audiobook producer who works with all the major publishers. He told me even his productions sometimes got flagged over Audible’s exacting technical requirements. He also told me that his studio charged around £450/hour, which included an engineer, proper formatting and a finished product. He also said a good narrator will take twice the amount of time it takes to record a book as it does to listen to one. Even though my book would only end up being 90 minutes, this would decimate my budget. Was there a friends and family discount?, I wondered. (*Full disclosure: this photo is from 2018) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557322636052-PE4COJJ2QQJ0OBH1E1PE/htmlocto+copy.jpeg Byte Promo - First things first: In order to put an audiobook up for sale on Audible, the same title must be available on Kindle. Since my experience with self-(re) publishing a novel through KDP was relatively easy, and moderately successful (several hundred in sales plus the title is forever back in print), I got to work. This meant I had to type and format my spoken word routines, write a preface and a couple intros. Even though I was familiar with the process it was still a bit of a headache. Because I wanted people to listen to the book rather than read it, I described the Kindle and paperback versions on their Amazon product page as scripts. (I did a paperback version because, well, as long as you have the noose around your neck you may as well jump off the horse) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1557319327130-8CCTCO1J7Z6QKXGIOCVA/Screen+Shot+2019-05-08+at+1.38.02+PM.png Byte Promo https://octopusmessiah.com/obit4ira daily 0.75 2021-01-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465935508-W2IK69Q3WS4B4QMH202F/IMG_0480.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP This summer Ira J. Winn, aka Pops, came to visit us in East London. Did Cat and I need to hit the pub at 9am? You bet we did! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465936727-Q5M1RXDPZ23PD17XAYYS/IMG_0489.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops got to see our flat for the first time since we moved there 3 years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465937225-O5P9H4GUFCDZOQHJKRH5/IMG_0490.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP And check out Cat's garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465938696-TWF5O55II7M4U9N5LXYW/IMG_0491.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP And get annoyed by my taking pictures. "You'll thank me one day," I told him. "But not today." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465940385-ULOM7W378TQF7LHZ0RE6/IMG_0503.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP The jet lag flying east from CA is crippling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465942565-ZXDAHXTRUJW3MLQ9XBS5/IMG_0442.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Honored to cook Pops his first meal in London. Chicken au fine herbs from the garden, plain rice and a hearty salad. Pops verdict? He liked the blue cheese. Ah, well, next time... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465944702-8QTUD8YI2IZCQJSEP9HN/IMG_0441.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP We walked the canals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465945032-1IMC94VO6MWF7RIG4SFH/IMG_0465.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP walked swiftly past the street art https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465947252-98EUVQVJPODNIZVXNDUY/IMG_0467.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP agreed with some of it https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465946525-YRJR6PXRMKQBUAXKN2JJ/IMG_0437.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP and went to our favorite (Crate) brewery. If you're worried that Pops was drinking a pint of stout fret not: The beer is only hiding his orange juice! Weighty matters were discussed. And pizza was consumed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465947818-AFYQEGBRHH4930W77OYC/IMG_0433.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Are you going to drink that, Olive wondered. And if not, is it full of ham? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465949521-7KB4P3ZDZZ60DBHAL2GY/IMG_0474.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Colombia road flower market! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465949383-6A8GFEIK2ZAHNYLATHH0/IMG_0475.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP Cat's been on crutches since May with her broken hip. Hopefully comes off them early next month or gets a hip replacement. Luckily, Pops was able to keep up with her! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465951918-FXHN7TB4UXYNJC3XB0JN/IMG_0476.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops had advice for Cat's garden. Luckily she had none of it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465951106-6W81QB1NUA2JTZ5YGOWA/IMG_0519.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP We bought cucumas, which are the flower of the month in Winn world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465953688-J9HJP7AN9G6IRQOWGYHO/IMG_0484.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops and I planted out the big barrel on Cat's command. Pops had ideas for how to arrange the plants. Again, Cat had none of it. Welcome to my world, old man! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465955161-ZD4BSH7X68RSIQKJOOPU/IMG_0492.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP The finished project. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465958553-SVT363VJAE13U9PBOLLL/IMG_2700.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops was generous enough to buy us a big, beautiful pot. Naturally I had to see how big it was, to scale. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465960065-0ZQJL3MRC9KK1RQEK6X4/IMG_2704.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Why is my son such an idiot? Pops wondered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465959834-3A56U5OMZ9W47OYZD1F4/IMG_0486.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops appreciating the aquarium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465961362-RLGEJ2ZPCBB3Y5LTNAEA/IMG_0487.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops appreciating our bohemian decor. Very relaxing apparently. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465961868-RNEF6B1SNMYN6Y9CXE9I/IMG_0496.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP This time Cat was the one with the advice. Luckily, Pops was having none of it. Welcome to my world, dah-ling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465962194-QMGBV0J62SM2P758NI8M/IMG_0497.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Brick Lane for a curry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465964851-HAZHBCGRHMXZTVQGI8Q5/IMG_0500.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP There's nothing Pops loves more than a hearty PDA. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465965831-AGTMPY4I1ECJHQ7XZCP9/IMG_0502.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Vamping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465966402-B7XNE7OP7IQOPXUFFDF9/IMG_0507.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Fine, I'll feed the little bastards. What a bizarre hobby, eh? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465967349-RE3OSLRF57O6F2RH3ION/IMG_0508.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Are we good here? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465969604-B5ZIWK6YKCAL4CJZSMZ6/IMG_2587.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP This is Ms. Thing, a mandarin goby, one of the most beautiful fish on the planet. "What, the black one?" said Pops. I could have killed... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465969610-TGGIKX0WGFHIZCR8P69T/IMG_0510.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Let's not forget what this trip was really about, shall we? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465971715-CS3I0C3PTDFISH10Z3V9/IMG_0511.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Queen Mary's university used to be a massive Jewish cemetery until they exhumed and reburied some 5,000 bodies. I take this walk nearly every day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465972385-XRYWLOHWA4XEVHZZ9H00/IMG_0513.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Sometimes the living must contemplate the dead. And vice versa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465972454-6VU5MUYW8D56PIY67L67/IMG_0457.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Luckily, Pops inherited my good looks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465973662-EIVKBI3O5J69VEZZ3Z26/IMG_0456.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP Frisbee with the Olive dog -- such grace. Such determination. Such agility. And Pops isn't half bad either. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465974618-41CDSO29MBC0IJ93FE9Z/IMG_0455.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Fifteen minutes walk from our house is the Fox News "no-go-zone" of Whitechapel, a mostly Bengali neighborhood home to Britain's largest mosque. No go? Yes went! Is Pops more mystified by the woman's garb, or by the strange device she's holding to her ear? Ask him yourself. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465975900-QT1JKMTGHO21RX0U68U8/IMG_0453.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Whitechapel fashion (and my fave of all the pics), from left to right: kid in SF California t-shirt, woman in white hijab, woman in black niqab, dude in suit, dude in mujahideen casual, student proto hipster w/headphones, bespoke collar and leash, floral blouse and birkies, American tourist with luggage tag. A long way from San Luis Obispo, eh Pops? My fave of all the pics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465976039-ZRDBY7TGT1TUXE9AXEL5/IMG_0517.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP So what do you think of Whitechapel, Pops? "It's quite upscale," he said. Um, London's unhealthiest street in the least affluent borough? I guess it's all about perspective!   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465978073-810EADOYX9YTRDV44NEF/IMG_0451.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Cat has some excellent advice on how to improve Pops' lot in life, be happier and uncross his arms. Pops isn't so sure. Welcome to my world, cupcake! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465980366-8K7D65XNWA3DE7OFD4NX/IMG_2844.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Post Sicily our good friend Bradley brought life to the party and drove us to the Prince Albert Memorial. Brad explained WHO Prince Albert was, I explained WHAT a Prince Albert was. You're welcome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465981903-4L5GZS7XHEMLJXUVM6K2/IMG_2846.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP A pretty spectacular renovation, it must be said... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465984098-CS2NBWGRJPWI567JWW6H/IMG_2848.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP It's not a TKMaxx but still... impressive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465985293-LF3XPKZQU3RZ84YDI98X/IMG_2859.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465988233-964Y1IYNHDVVHB3J8N0T/IMG_2862.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP "If you could be lionized in gold like this, would you?" Pops asked me. "Hell no, I'm not getting a hole in my c***!" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990021-OAE28YPRQFT9306SWFWW/IMG_2863.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP You'll thank me one day, I told them. But not today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990813-VW4M2H0YLVCR0MHY8G1P/FullSizeRender.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP Ira J. Winn in his natural environment. 3 shirts = victory! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465990875-5A4YYXT8JKDH1BRT4BO2/IMG_2866.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Seriously, you're going to take a selfie now? Shmuck! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465996335-KLC5F47IIOCE1QWAOQY9/IMG_2868.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Hyde Park sculpture garden. Sadly, not a shoe store... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465992360-GXKOHUWBMLYVF5BWRZ1Z/IMG_2870.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP The Italian fountains for a goodbye hug? Not too shabby! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465994373-E160R9WR6PI5EUESNIHE/IMG_2872.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP Coda to a great visit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465998311-DJ6862E5O38EPKYIOY4I/P1090267.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Pops brought us four beach pebbles from his walking trip to Sicily. Which I've put on the one beach pebble Cat and I brought back from our first trip together, also to Sicily. I say pebble, I mean 25 pound catapult stone from a battle fought in 295 BC which I dug out of a hillside, stuffed into our motorscooter and Cat almost got arrested for at the airport for antiquities smuggling until she explained to the Carbinieri it was a healing rock for "soul rescue", demanded to be translated and afterward they bundled her and the cannonball back on the plane to make her go away which is how I fulfilled the "foreign plunder" requirement on my British citizenship application. True story. Mostly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474465998476-0ITITEJERGZ4U6TWXCB2/IMG_0557.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP While Pops was in Sicily, Cat decided what she wanted in the lovely pot Pops gave us. More cucumas, obviously. And yes we're getting a cab. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466001674-NO923EQKVFVAD818CLIJ/P1090261.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP I hope this Pops character understood how adorable, wise and talented I am. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466002355-SH1GOBA672HTGTZFPUXC/P1090233.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP And so the early autumn garden is prepared for final glory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466004861-J3C5ECQ3YBM55971HP98/P1090232.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Gardening on crutches is a skill. Yeah, sure, where do you want it... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466005521-CU3XE1PMWTLZEF12OG3E/P1090245.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP And so Pops' pot is potted out. Cucumas, echinaceas, phlox and something I can't quite remember. Just stuff them all in there, okay? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466009538-KQ8S2LDSC5ANI1TW5HQH/P1090243.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP So far, so sweet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466009674-HO3KPQVFZQOO7TSJ4YM3/P1090242.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP Now you see what look she's going for, right? RIGHT? Right! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474466012851-KG9YXPEF9MBNDECAL3MX/P1090255.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Great visit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1474573247058-XIWPPX5ESZRE1741JA53/P1090256.JPG Ira J. Winn RIP Om shanti. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609238186141-L7K7MDTK95SI6Q4EJTLI/IMG_0466.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236822621-TCPM1KEKK4GV0FOE58DM/P1010020.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236838758-SERYKCG4LXOF1WGE91AK/scan_121020162814_1.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236839404-VY558UCV1FA5HNQ3AGIW/scan_121020162544_1_4.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236833373-WAAMA3G3PYVWI30JJKV0/scan_121020161834_1.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609237112762-AKRHKJLA9OQT7CSJ7ZU0/P1010010.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236828750-47LVBNT08GVJURN0ZAWF/P1030598.jpg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609238186693-OL15PKGIMII5WFM3HJPB/IMG_2859.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236839268-HAG7BTE0EY24O8X1381K/P1070636.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236832051-U5P2GFZN04NZBHZUAL33/P1070674.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609237109475-V2UQTDP5LKRALSC1V6AC/P1070567.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236841908-PCFM6K5WIK1COLR8Q1QZ/P1070582.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236831112-VNV03BFA5JEG1K1SUFOR/IMG_4556.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609236834089-Q3VX30WT2B293WQRCWAA/P1100183.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a287d2e4b0c589e16d6be1/1609237625500-00RC0DPVRF93SKSXGDNE/scan_12102016248_1.jpeg Ira J. Winn RIP