Six (Briefish) Things
Thing 1 – Me me me
On Wednesday evening (tomorrow if you’re reading this today, today if you’re reading it tomorrow, and yesterday if you’re reading it the day after tomorrow – after that I can no longer help you) the winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced, and I’m still pinching myself on a daily basis at the thought that it might – MIGHT, I say – be Taking Flight.
Regardless of the result, I shall emerge from the occasion with a jaunty, carefree spring in my step. You don’t write for prizes, but it’s sure as hell nice to be nominated.
Ahead of the announcement, it was a proper boost to discover that Taking Flight was deemed 'the most stylishly written science book of the year' by Auraist.
If watching award ceremonies online is your idea of a fun Wednesday evening, you can do so here, and I’m powerless to stop you.
Also, a reminder that to celebrate Six Things being a year old, I’m giving away a copy of Taking Flight. Entries close on Saturday. For more, click here:
Thing 2 – Waxwings (but also me again)
Every couple of months The Guardian let me write about nature and stuff. Here’s the latest, about my hopes of seeing a waxwing on my local south London patch.
If you’re wondering what a waxwing looks like, here’s one. I console myself that while this is a terrible photograph of a bird, it captures something of the birdwatching experience. It will also please people who like sky.
Thing 3 – To Do List
Leonardo da Vinci’s to-do lists. I think my favourite is 'draw Milan'.
Thing 4 – 7 Frames
Seven Frames of Film is a fun game that would be even more fun if I watched more films. You are shown seven frames – all you have to do is name the film.
Thing 5 – Logo
The DVD logo is wrong. Steve Mould said so.
Thing 6 – Hummingbirds, inevitably
A day is always better if it has hummingbirds in it.
Oh Leonardo's to-do lists! I first came across these in Walter Isaacson's biography. My favourite is "Describe the tongue of the woodpecker" - woodpeckers have amazing tongues: https://abcbirds.org/blog21/woodpecker-tongues/
I remember thinking that his to-do list is the antithesis of SMART-goals. "Draw Milan" is Specific and perhaps Measurable, but barely Achievable, Relevant, or Time-Bound. We should all have less-SMART goals like Leonardo's.
I fell in love with Leonardo at around age ten - the day I came across, "The smallest feline is a masterpiece". His notebooks are extraordinary. I often think it must have been very, very difficult for him. He wanted to know so much...and paint.