The Japanese Monks do 1000 marathons or, traditionally, kill themselves To achieve enlightenment, the monks of Mount Hiei, Japan, must complete 1000 days of long-distance running over seven years. At one stage, they do a double marathon every day for 100 days. They dress in white, the colour related to…

Writers, explorers, and cartographers even described the mythical range in detail — In his book, Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa, the Scottish explorer Mungo Park first described spotting the magnificently named ‘Mountains of Kong’. When he saw the distant range, Park wrote: “[P]eople informed me, that these mountains were situated in a large and powerful kingdom called Kong.” (Source)

Boyd’s bio of artist Nat Tate was read by Bowie at Jeff Koons’ NY studio. But, unfortunately, it was all a lie. — Nat Tate was an American artist who lived from 1928 till his suicide in 1960. When Scottish novelist William Boyd wrote a biography about him, the launch caused a significant stir in the New York art scene. The launch was attended by major players in the New York art scene The book was launched at Jeff Koons’s Manhattan studio, with David Bowie reading…

She lay down for a nap, and her life changed forever — Meteorites hit the planet with alarming regularity. For example, a five meter-sized rock hits the Earth, on average, about once a year. However, the damage caused is minimal. Others, such as the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, happen once every 100 million years or more. While common, very few meteorites…

How did I do it, and what have I learned? — I should preface what follows by pointing out that this is purely my own experience. Journalism, writing, freelancing and so on are very broad terms. Also, my career has been different from most. I’ve been writing for predominantly print magazines and the odd newspaper for 30 years. However, last year…

The tragic tale of an ambitious young man achieving his dream — On the 4th of June, 1923, a horse race took place at New York’s famous Belmont Park. It was a race that would make history for being the only time a dead person has won a race. This is the tragic tale of Frank Hayes. Frank Hayes was a stable hand who dreamed of being a jockey Frank Hayes was a 22-year…

It might not be what you expect, but it makes a lot of sense — Have you ever been on an airplane and wondered why the cabin crew are so insistent on the window blinds being raised for take-off and landing? The obvious assumption is that it is something to do with safety. But why exactly? …

In 193AD, the position of emperor was up for grabs — In 193AD, there was considerable turmoil in the Roman Empire. Emperor Commodus had been assassinated on New Years Eve 192, and it was hoped the transition to a new emperor would be simple. …

I am preparing myself for the upcoming changes and a writing onslaught — If you are one of my regular readers, you may have wondered what has been going on with my profile. It began with my brief bio, followed by a series of lists. I wasn’t just being lazy, I was implementing a way to organise my work. …