James Mason's Blog -or- The Journal of Contemporary Lunacy

I'm a fan of dark chocolate. Like a lot of people, I was eager to believe that eating it had health benefits. Unfortunately, much like a nut wrapped in chocolate this turned out to be a small truth wrapped in a larger lie. Or, a raisin in a bucket of codswallop if you prefer... It’s a myth that darker chocolates always have the most flavanols. Dark chocolate does contain more chocolate liquor than milk chocolate; however, flavanol contents vary considerably depending on the bean’s journey through all stages of chocolate production. Though flavanols are abundant in the fresh, raw cocoa seed, how the seed is handled from tree to finished chocolate matters a great deal.  Through conventional handling and common manufacturing processes such as fermentation, drying, roasting and alkalization, the natural flavanol components are readily destroyed. Because of these variables, the cacao percentage marked on a chocolate’s label isn’t a reliable guide to flavanol amounts.  Though darker...

Mexican fans pelt the T&T corner taker with bottles and are rewarded/punished for their efforts by seeing the ball headed into the back of their net - beautiful!

Of course, no walk through the Botanic Gardens is complete without popping into the Art Gallery of NSW. Some lovely early Australian landscapes and some very nice 15th–19th c European art make it well worth a visit . A graphic depiction of what happens after the reading of the Riot Act John Hoppner's Mademoiselle Hilligsberg - a personal favorite (I have a print en route) The view out the north windows isn't too shabby either

Looking towards Sydney Harbour It's just a very calming place to spend some time These lovely, peaceful gardens - just meters from the chaos of the CBD The Conservatorium of Music, surrounded by castle walls for some reason

ul·ti·mo /ˈəltəˌmō/ adjective dated adjective: ultimo ; symbol: ult. ; symbol: ulto of last month. "the 3rd ultimo" Origin: from Latin ultimo mense ‘in the last month.’ Doesn't it just add so much to a sentence? Replacing, for example, "The 27th of last month" with "The 27th Ultimo" lends a touch of class. Or something close to class, at any rate...

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle Amen, brother...

An upside of moving house: lovely new view. And a downside: boxes of stuff everywhere...

I was uncharitably thinking it would be hard to take a nice shot of Ulladulla, but the harbor looks quite nice here: By contrast, it was starting to look a little murky in Batemans Bay though:

"I have so little that is fanciful or poetical about my own individu [sic] that I must trick out my dwelling with something fantastical otherwise the Coerulean Nymphs and swains will hold me nothing worth." - Sir Walter Scott