Art in the Gardens

Covent Gardens in London is by far one of my favourite place to visit within London and I don't know why really. It may be the architecture of the buildings or the bustle of the street or maybe it could be the fact that in every corner, there may be someone doing something weird or wonderful.

Or perhaps it's because of snog nearby...

On that subject of snogs, the Christmas tree at Covent Garden is an unusual, unique and very special interactive art exhibit and we all love that. In short, the tree has lights that shine when a couple underneath some mistletoe kiss. My mother just had to have a go...

If you're in Covent Garden, have a go, it's for charity!

My take on #TwitterJokeTrial

So this week, we learn that posting something on Twitter is like shouting it out load where you are tweeting from. Or that nothing is a joke unless it's written by somebody employed to it. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, in short, you can get arrested for joking on twitter. What's most worrying about this is that this is giving out a message that whatever you say must be serious, because when I tell somebody I'm going 'to kill them', I'm totally threatening to murder them. No doubt about it. Anyone with a little common sense would call this a joke so why, just because the words 'blow up' are mentioned, is it any different?

Furthermore, what if Chambers was a comedian? Would it be more of a joke? I'd say this whole would have been less of an issue and that, my friends, doesn't make any sense. Simply because he isn't employed to makes jokes doesn't mean he can't make jokes which, in fairness, is nothing compared to what horrors come from Frankie Boyle's mouth. Last time I checked, we could all be arrested for the same things regardless of what your job is.

Funniest of all this nonsense; If people retweeted his post, then it wouldn't be a problem right. I mean, people are reposting his original joke with the hashtag #IAm Spartacus so when are the police going to arrest them all. Or is it different now? Is it a joke now but when Chambers said it there was a chance that people could die?

Please, don't be so stupid.

EDIT: After reading this article, the judge of his appeal had said "Any ordinary person reading this would see it in that way and be alarmed." 'Ordinary'? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Doodles are fun

I've been doodling with my DSi again and I should try to make more from this character.

The Dark North

I've always seen my photography as a hobby and less of a skill of showing accross emotion or an idea and I kicked myself not to get a horror shot in time for Hallowe'en but I did take a photo a while ago which only now have I seen the works I can do with it. This is a shot I took to the Angel of the North:

This kind of portrayal came about from what the artist, Antony Gormley had said about the piece:

"People are always asking, why an angel? The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them."

I see angels as the type of creatures which will come up and eat you up for dinner. My thoughts on an evil angel are probably not unique but I can say that I agree with Gormley and say that people should continue to imagine the angel and the images that they can make.

Musical Monday 1 - Kom Så Andas Vi

I guess that I'm not the most when it comes to suggestion music as I often have very niche likings. Namely Europop..

But about a month ago I discovered the Swedish Synthpop band Page (pronounced "Pag") which I hadn't had thought was quite popular among Swedes but I was quite wrong finding two videos of TV performances and I had been listening to this song over and over again!

Enjoy!

What is art?

As a photographer I'm involved in the artistic community as much as a painter would and I am most definitely not afraid to call myself an artist. But I've grown to hate the word art. I believe it's a word that is far to general in the definition. Art is always defined as a creative way to show imagination and perhaps to convey a message.

This is art!

This is art...?

Recently, art is being defined by people as using paint and a cavas to picture something with only a few recognising photography, literature, music and even digital painting. As a photographer I'm angry and a bit worried about this change in definition. I'm no longer considered an artist anymore and I think this causes for irrational behaviour:

Ban the word 'art'!

In all seriousness though, what comes to mind when I say 'art'?

Crank up the contrast!

Gems from Jemma

I have a friend called Jemma who can be funny in ways she doesn't even realise and, bless, she came out with some great gems today:

Jemma: "Right, Andy. If something isn't real, what is it? Real?"

[After somebody took empty chairs] Jemma: "I'm off to get them chairs back"
 Me: "Why? We don't need them"
Jemma: "Pfft. They are ours"


Just an insight into my fucked up world.

ASDA Daisy Lemon Cupcakes Review

I've been thinking of buying the cupcakes from ASDA's 'Chosen By You' range and I also had to review them being the massive cupcake lover I am. Firstly, the price of it is a quite reasonable 80p each and I have to say that it's quite reasonable for what I seem to think as a luxury dessert.

Aesthetics
4/5
This has to be the prettiest cake I've ever eaten and I love the little edible daisy which it has been garnished with. The frosting in some places was a little bit messy and uneven where some parts hadn't even been frosted but there is plenty to go round.

Taste
3/5
It didn't really have much of cake taste and more of a sugary lemon taste from the frosting which made up most of the cake. It did have the tangy taste you would expect from a lemon flavour with a good mesure of sweet to balance it out and normally these two don't really go well together but it seems to do a great job. I was also disappointed with the daisy made with the wretched edible paper. It's defiantly one to have with tea.

Texture
4/5
The cake was moist and very easy and the frosting didn't seem to gloop everywhere when bitten into like some cupcakes I've tasted before. The cake was so moist, however it nearly melted in my mouth which made you taste more of the frosting then the base of the cake which was a bit disappointing.

Overall
13/15
It's a great cake to have with a lunch or with afternoon tea but it's defiantly not one to go for if you're not fond of lemon or sugary frostings but it's a great looker and ASDA have done a great job at making a great lemon cupcake.

My thoughts on YouTube in the mainstream media

For one, I'm no film maker and I couldn't possibly manage to create any kind of entertaining length of video because of my lack of patience. But I watch a lot of content from the people who are lucky enough to be very talented in the field of media with any kind of education or not and I praise anyone who tries it knowing that it's something I couldn't do. I often hear film makers on YouTube saying how 'modern media' should start to consider the amazing talen which exists on the internet and I support whoever seems to get a job at and kind of television network. However I cannot fully support it for a couple of reasons:

• YouTube is already modern media: Many times have I heard walking around schools about conversations on what they see on YouTube. Hell, I've even suggested a couple of members to my friends in some conversations so I have no idea what these people are meaning when they are already part of an emerging media which is obviously being talked about and making it better overall.
• They could lose their touch: When you have producers and people advising them running around them, I know that I would freak out. These people on YouTube do what TV networks do with many people and they have found ways to getting to work with what they have and they get along fine.
• The lacking community: One of the amazing things about YouTube is the community which exists on it and offers a kind of fanbase and you can kind of make yourself famous, so to speak. Also the new addition of YouTube Moderator kinda helps. Moving onto a TV network and you lose that community of shared ideas and views on whatever the video was about and I think these 'YouTubers' (a phrase I absolutely hate...) will start to see the effects that the community has.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Michael Buckley strutting his stuff all over the American TV networks but I feel that the loss of the community isn't really worth the effort of doing TV. In essence, I would prefer to see my Shane Dawson fix on the web, thanks..