Heroes Not Zombies

Colorsplash

January 10, 2010 by bobleckridge

I got an ipod touch for Christmas and one of the apps I downloaded is called “colorsplash”. Oh, it’s such fun! You load up a photo, it turns it into a black and white version then you use your finger to “paint” back the colour.
Here are my first attempts. I hope you like them….

This app reminded me just how important it is to have some fun in life, to just play sometimes, just for the creative pleasure of it. This week’s been a difficult week for traveling due to the snow and ice, but one of my train journeys home flew by as I made these four photos.

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Hope mongers

January 5, 2010 by bobleckridge

I don’t know if you subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog or not, but if you don’t, I recommend it. I enjoy his thoughts, insights and ideas a lot. Very inspiring.

This lastest piece by him has completely hit the nail on the head I reckon.

He argues against all the “fear mongering” which is being promulgated and in favour of a different approach – to become a “hope monger”. I love that. We are bombarded with fear-inducing stories and it’s feeling like serious manipulation and attempts at control. Can we really go about our ordinary lives expecting (or fearing) the worst in every day? What would life be like if we did? Well……increasingly it’s like that anyway! What a difference it would make to our everyday to assume a default position of hope instead of fear.

Well said, Seth!

Posted in from the living room, life | 2 Comments »

Clearing up

January 4, 2010 by bobleckridge

This is a time of year when we think about our lives isn’t it? A time for doing some clearing up, getting things in order, making plans, decisions, resolutions and so on…..

I was passing through the main market square in Aix in the other day and suddenly I saw just how beautiful clearing up could be! Yeah, sure, you can look at a scene like this and see a horrendous pile of garbage…..but then, just pause, look again…..don’t you think this scene is incredibly appealing?

You can see where this is going, can’t you? 2010? A better year? A year where we tackle what needs tackled? Where we clear up what we don’t want cluttering our lives any more? Make good choices this year.

And, hey, even if you don’t do that…..at least I challenge you to see the beauty, the wonder, the “emerveillement” all around you, every, single, day.

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playing with words

January 2, 2010 by bobleckridge

I do enjoy word play…..finding other meanings in phrases, or words which sound similar, for example. One thing I really notice about French is how they often love to find the words within words, breaking down a word into separate sounding parts and revealing a relevant meaning within. Here’s a simple example I spotted the other day

You get the idea? This one works because the French don’t pronounce “th” except as a “t”, so for them “therapy” is “terapy”. This is a key part of their word play which is based on what the words sound like.
This was a holistic massage office, by the way.

Posted in from the dark room, photography, writing | 5 Comments »

New Year’s wishes?

January 1, 2010 by bobleckridge

So what are your hopes, wishes, goals for 2010?

Here’s a few suggested by a shop I passed in Aix en Provence……..

Need a translation?

Opulence

Extravagance

Sensuality

Treasures

Elegance

Love

For 2010

…….how different would be your list?

Posted in from the dark room, photography | 1 Comment »

Blue moon

December 31, 2009 by bobleckridge

well, here it is…..a blue moon.
You weren’t expecting it actually look BLUE were you?
A blue moon is the second full moon in the same calendar month. This one just makes it – I took the photo at 3 minutes to midnight – so it was only a blue moon for three minutes longer!
Next blue moon on a New Year’s Eve? 2028!

Posted in from the dark room, photography | 2 Comments »

just snoozing….

December 28, 2009 by bobleckridge

When I arrived back at the flat, I saw this man lying in the wheelbarrow. “There’s been a MURDUR!” I heard Taggart growl in my ear! But, no, he wasn’t dead, just snoozing…….half an hour later he was up on the roof repairing broken tiles….