Lead article
Report to an Academy
‘A Report to an Academy’ is a short story by Franz Kafka told from the point of view of an ape. The ape, ‘Red Peter’, so-called for the red mark on his cheek, the only sign thought to distinguish him from his predecessor ‘Peter’, addresses an esteemed audience of academics on the topic of his life.
[continue reading...]Editorial
This month has seen many changes in the Mutation. Hidden changes for the most part (If you’ve been reading my blogs you’ll gather that I’ve become obsessed with SEO – search engine optimization). Firstly, I’ve optimised all the current articles (I’m planning to start on the archives next)in the hope that more people will find us online, find your work online. Secondly I’ve added in a few feeds into the sidebar...both are worth checking out.
I will, as promised, be adding a newsletter into the ezine for all our mutant space members. This will give all members the choice whether they want to read it or not as opposed to the way I did it before – sending a newsletter directly to a members inbox. I'd love to know how all members feel about this change - it's important. On that note please make an effort to use the comment boxes at the bottom of every article – our writers are always eager for a response from you.
So, to this issue. Thanks to all the contributors (more this month than ever before) and here’s hoping our readership keeps increasing.Have a great month and if you have any comments, queries or questions please get in touch.
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Featured articles
Wilderness; Part 1
I had found the perfect place to expire. A compact 1-bed flat just off the industrial heart of the city, ...
The Killing of Celebrity Culture
Thoughts behind an Idea: by Wasps Vs Humans As a whole we are too obsessed with the celebrity. This is fame ...
Savoy Cabbage
Since the agricultural boom of the early 19th century, cabbage had been one of Ireland’s firmest of edible friends – ...
Sending Sticks(6II) - “Reaching Orhovelani in Thulamahashe - part II”
(see "part I" at http://themutation.com/?p=968) Blaring the insufficient speakers, Peter Gabriel’s “. . . Tower that Ate People” rattles the crystal ...
Deep sea diving in NYC
"Why do people live in New York? … There is no human reason to be here, except for the sheer ...
Artists Masterclass
I love the sound of that, “Master class”. It makes one feel quite the expert, not a beginner anymore, and, ...
Awareness of the battleground is half the fight
This is difficult. As time goes on I find it more difficult to narrate this story, to tell this tale ...
Colm Lynch + Paulo Nutini
Colm Lynch New album: Tickety Boo One thing is for certain, Colm Lynch & his eight piece band know how to perform- ...
It’s time to clear the air
Wiping away the sweat is what it’s all about these days. The Prado thermometer read 39 Celsius yesterday. It makes ...
Stanleys Essential Decade
When a decade passes you're bound to get some daft articles chronicling what was the best music. When I suggested ...
Things I keep going back to
Carl Antony Plover from Chunky Planet & Wasps vs Humans An old paperback version sits on my shelf and every so often I will delve into it. Under Milk wood for me captures the true beauty of life and the wonderment of words, describing characters, with such detail. As quiet as a mouse, Bible black. I have it on vinyl too, the original BBC recording with the mighty Richard Burton, and a full Welsh cast. Everyone should have a copy.
Stories from The Moth
The art of making absinthe An artist illuminates the outlawed art of making absinthe. L. Gabrielle Penabaz is an international performance artist and filmmaker. The absinthe tales continue as she creates multi-media shows and marries people to themselves when they least expect it.
Notes from a kitchen
Almond Cake + Apricot bread As part of my activities in the garden, I love propagating plants. I do this from both seeds and cuttings. However, more often than not, I end up with more plants than I need and I then give away the surplus. This gives me joy, as does the reverse. I love walking around the garden and taking note of the different plants and shrubs that have been given to me over the years. With a rush of pleasure, thoughts of the donor friends and relatives come to mind. Recipes have the same effect on me. When I try a new one and it is a success, I immediately think of who I should share it with. I also love to be given recipes by others and again I think fondly of the donor when I subsequently eat the dish, which is the subject of the recipe.
Books of the month
Books of the Month Escape Routes: Control and Subversion in the 21st Century: Control and Subversion in the Twenty-first Century by Dimitris Papadopoulos, Niamh Stephenson and Vassilis Tsianos
Illegal migrants who evade detection, creators of value in insecure and precarious economies and those who refuse the constraints of sexual and biomedical classifications: these are the people who manage to subvert […]
Band of the month
LOWmountain Acclaimed music series ‘Other Voices’ is set to return to our TV screens on Wednesday next, February 3, 2010. West Cork music fans will take special interest in the first episode as local three-piece LOWmountain are to feature alongside Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle, Choice Music Prize nominee Adrian Crowley and the multi-platinum-selling Snow Patrol.
LOWmountain […]
Mutant blog
Sports daze Before the rugby. The Six Nation Rugby Competition begins today and brings to mind the fact that we have no sports writers in this blog. A culture blog with no sports section is like a house with no roof. Nearly finished but missing a fundamental piece to make it complete.
We often think of sport as something outside our cultural framework – the topic of culture being primarily focussed on the arts; culture is art, theatre, dance…. Well. So it seems from where I sit. Sport seems to have its own individual place, its own context within our lives, separate from our daily cultural life when infact it is an inseparable part of our existence, even if we don’t follow any particular team.
Into the mire.net
People booking flights just to be seen naked People booking flights just to be seen naked on body scanners. Airports with full body scanners on trial have found that many people are booking flights for the sole purpose of being seen naked by somebody other than themselves
Mutant space newsletter
February Newsletter Okay. Right. The newsletter. Been going on about this for so long and am only now getting it together. Up until now I only sent out newsletters to mutant space members. I’ve decided to change that. I think I’m better off giving members the choice of whether they want to read the newsletter or not as opposed to getting a not wanted email in their inbox. So from now on newsletters are going to be put into this blog and everyone is welcome to read or not to read. Whether they’re members or just readers of this blog
Poetry now
Poetry by Alan Maguire The cattle wander the land,
wanting to graze even though it lay barren,
father blamed the drought,
but the neighbouring farms cattle were fat,
father even begged the neighbours but returned with a deep sorrow in his eyes,
forced to take drastic measures father culled every single head of the herd,
he had no choice,
then the seasons changed,
bringing storms of wind and snow,
but only I survived the winter madness.
Website of the month
Freedom.org.uk The Freedom Press (which includes Freedom Newspaper, Freedom Bookshop and Freedom Publishing) is a longstanding anarchist publisher based in Whitechapel, East London. Founded in 1886 it offered an outlet for radical ideas and a meeting place for the anarchist thinkers of the day. We seek to continue that tradition, along with promoting and supporting current […]
