POLLOCK?

I now have a British Library Reader's Card, and had some books called up for me in one of the reading rooms! I felt so official and important; it was a truly validating librarian experience. It pales, however, beside the thrill of the Treasure Room, aka the Sir John Ritblat Gallery. I literally wept over the First Folio, which I discovered is actually titled something like "Comedies, Tragedies and Histories of William Shakespeare." I asked a docent about it, and he said the book that was thus titled IS one of the copies of the FF. I realize now how silly it is to think that Heminges and Condell would call it the FF! DOH! Yet my associates said that it IS called the FF. But that's absurd! Only in retrospect could it be thus named. What's even weirder is that I did a (quick) search for the quote unquote title, and only found it referenced as The FF. 

Anyway, I spoke with my flatmate about how incredibly moved I was (I'm getting fuhklempt now, even) to look at an original instance of this priceless collection. It didn't HAVE to happen; no one else put it together. How much poorer we would be without it! Imagine - it might not have come into existence - but it DID, and in retrospect, this possibly spontaneous decision has irrevocably altered our world. I am so indebted and grateful to Mr. Herminges and Condell, and to FSU for bringing me here to weep in its presence. 

We were to think about photos differently today...which is kind of where I'm going with this retrospective thing. ALL of the items in the Treasure Room really only matter if you really think about what they are and what they MEAN. The Magna Carta? BIG deal, IF you take the time to fully appreciate how it has altered the course of history. Illustrated manuscripts, original scores by Purcell, and Handel's Messiah! Wow. Amazing, priceless holdings - thank you, BL. The British DO look at things differently than Americans, and I have to say I appreciate their point of view much more.

I posted my 'different' take on some street graffiti on my group's Facebook page, and referred readers here. 

Out of context, it looks like a Pollock or something. But I took another picture of it, here.

The most amazing thing is that it wasn't until I was sharing it with my flatmates that one of them pointed out that it's a Dalek saying No! Again, I didn't see it because I was thinking differently than I do ordinarily. Useful and enlightening thing to do every so often.