Greedy, mad, swivel eyed loons
This week the share price of Lloyd’s Banking Group went over 60p and so the government has reached the break even price for it’s shares. Royal Bank of Scotland made some gains too, so the government could get it’s 66 billion back that it pumped into those banks. (more…)
A trip to Walsall
I went to the wonderful town of Walsall yesterday. I used to think Walsall was great. The market used to go up the hill nearly to the church and that street was lined with little interesting shops. Walsall is a shadow of it’s former self.
Neodigital Art | Creative editing
This must be my best picture so far in 2013. The angle of the shot is unusual and I think it looks good in grey scale. I did my usual editing and removed a council litter bin, then changed it to grey scale. I did crop quite a lot of the original too.
A bank holiday day out?
It’s Bank Holiday in the UK today. Traditionally people would have a day out, in the countryside or take a train to the seaside. Now they tend to go to bloody Ikea. People are obsessed with spending money. It’s a rat race, but is it healthy?
Neodigital Art | Coloured pencil
I did this edit from a photo by Simon James. I cropped the photo and then edited with PhotoScape using the coloured pencil option. Neodigital Art is about using digital devices, cameras, scanners and computers to create something different.
Normal April showers?
I took this photo a year ago. I look at the sky a lot now in an attempt to predict the weather. The sky looked a paler blue last year, today it’s been a deep blue with white clouds and April showers. We had a very wet summer last year, are we back to normal now?
Neodigital Art | Getting creative with PhotoScape
The whole idea of art is to experiment and use your creativity to the maximum. You might not get it right every time, but you can create something and then just see how it looks. I’m getting really creative this week, with PhotoScape.
Psychology | Friendships
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
How many friends do you have? Do you you have lots of friends whose company you enjoy? Or do you have a few friends who are very loyal to you. We often don’t even think about what friendship is or how important it is.
The English eccentric
Today’s picture is of the River Tame, here in the Black Country. There are millions of flowers growing down the sides in Spring; this was last May. Only an English eccentric would know something like that. I shall check again this year and see if they grow along the Tame in Sandwell Valley.
Another midweek moan
Today I have used a picture of the churches overlooking the town where I live. When I’m out taking photographs, I often look at them and know I’m still close to home. They stand on a hill with steep sides on this side. A 1,000 years ago a castle stood there and Princess Ethelfreda fought the Viking invaders from there.
Neodigital Art | Defining Art
I used this picture last week and it was suggested that a colour version might look better. I did a lot of editing on this, cropping it and changing it to a watercolour image. I also edited out the cars in the background again.
A Black Country Sunday ramble
The weather is still very changeable in England. I need sunshine! It was a long winter and then we had snow in Spring. I want to take some photos of this beautiful landscape that we have in the Black Country.
Neodigital Art | Editing with PhotoScape
Today’s picture was taken at Forge Mill Farm in Sandwell Valley and I’ve edited it with PhotoScape taking out some cars in the background and I changed the colours to look for like sepia.
Mid-week moan | Times are a changing
Do you remember hand carts? People used to sell flowers from hand carts years ago. They often grew the flowers in their gardens and they made a living out of selling them.
Finance Friday | The last Easter Egg
The government’s austerity programme really begins to hit the poorest in society next week, as benefits cuts make the poorest even poorer. This could be the last Easter that some kids will get Easter eggs.
Neodigital Art | creative photo editing
The international students at the University of Wolverhampton are keen to record their time in England in photographs.
Looking forward to Spring?
Yes, it’s the Spring equinox in just four days! If you’re hoping for summer weather forget it, but we can expect blossom on the trees, tulips and daffodils and bluebells in the woods. I’ll be out there enjoying the fresh air and watching nature begin a new year. How about you?
A market economy?
Imagine you had to buy meat at the butchers because no one else sold it. If the prices kept going up, that could be because there was a lack of competition. If there are only two butchers on the High Street and the nearest one apart from those were 50 miles away; they might take advantage of that.
Engaging social media
Social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have become an important part of people’s lives. The profiles on these sites are like your front garden, they say something about you. LinkedIn is like the office and having a professional looking profile sends out a message to others about your professionalism. Your Facebook Timeline also says a lot about you. You should be careful what you post there.
Saturday Ideas for living
Today’s picture is of Moorcroft Pool in Moorcroft Wood nature reserve. The reserve is looked after by the council who have to make cuts and so they are cutting back on maintenance in parks and nature reserves. People are complaining about this, but are these facilities that important we should rate them higher than child welfare?
Top 5 Ideas to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
A guest post by Angelina Lawson
Cooking dinner is a timeless Valentine’s Day tradition that’s always a winner. The main ideas are to cook at home or go to a fancy restaurant. Asking a friend to cook for you and ordering food to come to the home are other options. Cooking at home needs an extra touch for it to be romantic so add rose petals as a guide to their seat or make every dinner item red-themed. Going out to eat requires a reservation, so book it in advance. You can also take your lover to a picnic in the park. (more…)
Taking and editing snow photos
This is what I saw when I opened my bedroom curtains this morning. I did the edit with Windows Live Photo Gallery. If you haven’t edited before, set the program as your default for viewing photos. Right click on a picture, then choose ‘open with’, then select ‘default program; then choose Windows Live Photo Gallery.
Sunday ramble through the art ways of the Black Country
Turner Prize
Walsall Art Gallery was in the news this week, they spent £471,000 on a bid to bring the Turner prize to Walsall. No, they didn’t get it, it went to Glasgow. They could always spend a few quid giving me an exhibition. I’ll send them some pictures to print and frame, then they can put them in the gallery. If they are throwing money around, why not throw it at someone local? (more…)
Easter 2013
I took this photo in March last year, the weather was warm and sunny, before the rains came. This year, my lawn is covered in snow. Is climate change to blame? That was the subject of one of my articles this week. The UK government will be cutting welfare this week too, the poor will get poorer.
(more…)
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March 30, 2013 | Categories: culture, Finance, Finance Friday, Neodigital Art, photography, psychology, Reviews, Thrifty | Tags: England, photography, reviews, social comment, Spring, UK | Leave A Comment »