Artful juxtaposition — placing ideas, items or images together to create insight or incitement through comparison or contrast — is at the core of the best haiku and is what we hope brings our loyal readers to f/k/a. Last week, the f/k/a Gang discovered a kindred-spirit weblog that juxtaposes its treatment of legal news, analysis and politics with the lore and love of surfing [sea, not cyber]. It is The Barrister Blog by Tim Kevan and Aidan Ellis, who are members of chambers at 1 Temple Gardens in London. Their specialties include personal injury, health and safety, fraud, and related areas of the law, and they publish and edit numerous publications. Tim is the surfophile
Last month, the Daily Diary weblog at Legal Week praised The Barrister Blog, saying it has the “unlikely but extremely captivating blend of legal analysis and quasi-philosophical musings on his other passion — surfing.” (“Surfing DLA at the great barrister reef,” Jan. 8, 2007)
The Barrister Blog includes a Weekly Review of the Best of the Blogs and Legal News. On the current main page, topics covered include The Compensation Culture, The dangers of specialisation, and surfers and the environment.
Why Lawyers Should Surf by Tim Kevan and Dr. Michelle Tempest
Tim is the author of nearly a dozen books. His two latest — co-authored with psychiatrist Michelle Tempest (his fiancee) — Why Lawyers Should Surf and Why Doctors Should Surf will by published in June by xpl Publishing, and can be pre-ordered. The rationale for the books is explained in this post, and in “Why Lawyers specifically should surf”, and described by the publisher:
Lawyers and Doctors need motivating. As with all intelligent human beings, the best motivation is self-motivation. After many years without an original and empathetic book, we now have a strikingly original one written for practitioners. With the metaphor of surfing and the ocean flowing throughout, the authors have drawn on their collective experience and brought together not only some powerful psychological tools but a beautiful collection of ideas and images which will continue to inspire long after the first reading.
Excerpts from the book can be found in postings at the website, including:
- – – Urbanicide
- – – Saved by the Surf
- – – Wipeouts – Portals of Discovery
- – – Lessons from Big Wave Riders
- – – Time Out
- – – Genius in Boldness
- – – Meaning of Surfing
Although my weblog plate has been overflowing for quite a while now, I plan to push aside some of the cyber veggies and potatoes and save room for both the entrees and the desserts offered by Tim and Aidan at The Barrister Blog.
after all these years
ankle deep
in the other ocean
Beach picnic
sharing our bread
with the one-eyed gull
midday sun
my shadow
to the ocean floor
. . . . . by Pamela Miller Ness
“midday sun” – The Heron’s Nest (Oct. 2001)
“summer breeeze” – The Heron’s Nest (Oct. 2000)
“after all these years” from A New Resonance 2; (2001) frogpond. XXI:2
on the beach
the tracks of two
lounge chairs. . . . . by John Stevenson from Quiet Enough
empty sandals
on the beach
pull of the moon
. . . . . by Carolyn Hall
The Heron’s Nest 3:5 (2001); A New Resonance 2
in what’s left
of our footprints–
some of the wave
dry air—
the dog shaking off
the ocean. . . . . by Gary Hotham from The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku series
“in what’s left” – snow on the water: RMA 1998; South by Southeast V:2
arabesque
where the wave
withdraws. . . . . by jim kacian, from Chincoteague (Red Moon Press, 2000)
in the beach breeze
my travels forgotten…
evening cool. . . by The Haiku of Kobayashi Issa, David G. Lanoue, translator.
nude beach
a man and a woman
collect shells………….. . . . by ed markowski from The Heron’s Nest.
beach parking lot —
where the car door opened
a small pile of sand
. . . by Michael Dylan Welch from Open Window, haiku and photographs
in both hands–
the water she carries
from the ocean. . . by Gary Hotham from breathmarks: haiku to read in the dark
empty cabin
the beached canoe
fills with leaves. . . by DeVar Dahl from New Resonance 3: & Snapshots Calendar 2002
the view west –
a splash of red
on every wave
. .. by matt morden – Morden Haiku
. . . . update: Feb. 12, 2007:
she scratches my back –
I reach around
to hers
. . . . . . . by dagosan
with many thanks to The Barrister Blog for its generous pointer to f/k/a
update (April 21, 2008): See our posting “surf report: a river, a doctor and an ex-barrister“.