Category Archives: WBIAGW

Passive aggressive getting it wrong!

Opinion, WBIAGW, , , , , ,

As I’ve written about before, I am a member of two of my local Freeclye groups and while I love the premise of it all,  it never fails to amuse me how many rules and regulations the  moderators like to impose and how heavy handed they are in their issuing of “sanctions” when there has been a perceived breaking of these rules.  Give someone  a bit of power and it goes straight to their heads – However in saying that there are a few rules in whic I agree the main one being you’re not allowed to offer animals –

As an animal lover I agree because I feel animals should only be dealt with through reputable sources – guaranteeing the welfare of the animal along the way – but if one were to be offered in a group I am a member of I wouldn’t feel it my place to say anything as that’s what the moderators ARE there for, which is why when this following post appeared today it amused me so much – why anyone would want to take it up on themselves to have issue with another member is beyond me but to get it so very wrong along the way is just absurd – I saw the initial offered posting so I know this is accurate:

I have just had the most rambling email of a J**** S****** about my treatment of animals, as follows:

“Sorry, but I have to say what so many others are thinking. You should be ashamed of yourself, rehoming a living creature, on a site like this, to what I presume was a stranger! You know the rules, along with everyone else on Freegle, and they are there for a reason! You obviously didn’t care about the dog, otherwise you would of rehomed it in one of the appropriate, and more caring, ways!”

Which was in reply to my offer as follows:

“I have a large dog teddy, its real cute bout 4 ft long, cost £60.00 Would look great in nursery/kids bedroom. Needs a wipe as some coke was accidentally dropped on it, collection asap or off down the tip.”

Please if your going to complain and make a fool of yourself J**** then read it first.

Thanks M****

My Street

Family, Photography, WBIAGW, , , , , ,

I have on loan a 10 mm Tamron lens from Rich – he will never know how much I love him for giving me the use of it. Soon I will be shooting a wedding I’m doing as a “favour” for some friends and then I will have to give it back.

I’ll have some serious saving to do if I ever want one of my own.

Between now and then however I’ll be putting it to use as often as I can and whilst getting to grips with how it handles I shot this of my street, sky, pavements, road, houses all of it in shot – oh how I love this 10mm lens!

….and yes my Mom did tell me not to ever play in the road – but she also told me not to talk to strangers and it doesn’t stop me using Twitter now does it!

My email to the BBC

Opinion, WBIAGW, ,

Dear BBC

Can you please remind your presenters and guests on all of your programmes, but specifically the breakfast and news presenters, that we don’t elect a Prime Minister, we elect the party,and they appoint a leader, who if is still the leader at the time of the election, becomes our PM.

It’s so annoying to hear repeated claims that we (the electorate) have elected a PM!!!

There is enough confusion and apathy without the BBC making it worse by misrepresenting our electoral system.

Of all the news outlets the BBC should be the one leading the way to encourage people to look at and vote for policies, not personalities!

Thank you.

My 4am

4am Project, Photography, WBIAGW, , , ,

On the 4th April 2010 at 4am I was walking the streets of Wolverhampton with 5 other idiots enthusiasts with cameras documenting our world.

Why? Well because I could, BUT why then specifically? Because of this: 4amproject. The 4amproject is the brainchild of Birmingham photographer Karen Strunks, she was driving home one morning at 4am and realised just how different her world was at that hour and decided to document it, on it went from there taking the rest of the world with her.

I really wanted to take part in the first 4am project, I set my alarm and everything but when it went off 12 months ago I woke looked out of my window thought hell where do I go as a none driver to take “interesting” photos around here now? and went back to bed. When I rose the next morning and explored Flickr for some of the results I could have kicked myself – I could have just literally walked out of the front door and shot my empty street if I’d wanted as at 4am that IS interesting, so this year I was determined that I would join in.

I made plans with Rich to drive into Birmingham, but we decided that it might be more fun to join the Wolverhampton group,  but then on the afternoon of the 3rd he realised he was maybe being a “little” ambitious trying to take part in the 4am project with me and then driving his wife to Manchester for their flights to Egypt at 5am – so what should I do? Go alone but James wasn’t happy with the idea of me walking around town looking for a taxi once I’d finished with the Wolverhampton 4am-ers , but nor did he want me out on my own locally either, he even offered to get up with me and we’d take TBK out with us so I didn’t miss out. While trying to decide what to do  I tweeted:

Trying to decide; @4amproject is it worth taxi fares to get to town as my ‘driver’ can’t make it, do I go local, or do I just sleep through

Twitter is full of amazing people and the ever lovely Lee Allen saw my dilemma and made me an offer of a lift home – (Thank you again sir) – So I set my alarm for 3am, booked the taxi for 3.30am charged my camera batteries and that was me set.

I met up with some lovely people Lee, Adrienne (and her much coveted LensBaby), Dave (T), Dave (B) and Dale – some of whom I had briefly met before some I hadn’t. We encountered one bemused security guard, one amused cyclist and one confused man topless covered in blood and his lost ambulance.

Lee made a video of us doing our thing:

4am Project in Wolverhampton from Lee Allen on Vimeo.

–Adrienne and Dave (T) have written about it on their own blogs, and despite being told I was crazy by everyone who was tucked up warm in bed at 4am Sunday morning I can’t wait to do it all again next year – which  Rich for the record there will be no backing out of 😉

My Mix Tape

Friends, Music, Opinion, WBIAGW, , , , , , ,

I have been “eavesdropping” in on a conversation on twitter regarding mix tapes,  Dan Slee has done a wonderful job of summing up the “history” of mix tapes so I don’t have to but I love the whole idea of them being the original Social Media – THE way to share in the 90’s and it got me thinking about some of the tapes I received as teen as Dan puts it:

They could be a love letter, a  sign of friendship or the grandstanding of musical knowledge.

…and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

When I was in senior school I used to swap mix tapes with my friend Jess. We were, in our opinion, the optimum of cool and shared  a mutual love of all the artists and bands the supposed “in crowd” hated, Nirvana, Hole, PJ Harvey, Chilli Peppers, to name a few and with our mix tapes playing through the earphones of our walkman we looked down upon the lesser beings with our musical snobbery. It cemented our friendship and I went on to purchase some of my favourite albums on the back of tracks Jess  included on those now long lost c90’s.

Yet the most impressive mix tape I have ever received wasn’t a tape at all, it was a CD and while I’m sure it started out as a “grandstanding of musical knowledge”   it turned into the greatest love letter I have ever received….

In Steph's Honour

“In Steph’s Honour” given to me by James in December 2005  – 4 months before we became us. He told me then it was an “education” as we liked some of the same music, but he  has since admitted that he was trying to  impress me a little and I have to admit it did!!

Disk 1 – The Rock Show

  1. One Armed Scissor (At The Drive-In)
  2. A Box Full Of Sharp Objects (The Used)
  3. Vessel & Vine (The Lucky Nine)
  4. 57 (Biffy Clyro)
  5. If You Don’t, Don’t (Jimmy Eat World)
  6. The Sign (Foo Fighters)
  7. The Graduate (Third Eye Blind)
  8. Corduroy (Pearl Jam)
  9. Sad and Lonely (Secret Machines)
  10. Stockholm Syndrome (Muse)
  11. My Tortured Soul (Probot)
  12. Superunknown (Soundgarden)
  13. Inspire (Cave In)
  14. (I Am) What I Am Not (Idlewild)
  15. I’m Not Okay (My Chemical Romance)
  16. Beating Heart Baby (Head Automatica)

Disk 2 – Late Night Ditties

  1. Wishlist (Pearl Jam)
  2. I Never Came (QOTSA)
  3. Blue and Yellow (The Used)
  4. Switching Off (Elbow)
  5. Between The Bars (Elliot Smith)
  6. Pink Bullets (The Shins)
  7. Walking On A Wire (The Get Up Kids)
  8. The Light And The Sound (Rocky Votolato)
  9. Scary Mary ( Biffy Clyro)
  10. And Then You Kissed Me (The Cardigans)
  11. Drop (Clarkesville)
  12. Amie (Damien Rice)
  13. Those Crimson Tears (Ed Harcourt)
  14. El Capitain (acoustic) (Idlewild)
  15. The Sun (Joseph Arthur)
  16. Title and Registration (Death Cab For Cutie)
  17. My Sundown (Jimmy Eat World)

Four years and a bit years on I still haven’t made this track listing a playlist on iTunes or on Spotify because nothing compares to the feeling of finding this CD off the shelf , remebering just how much effort went into it and putting it into the player and dancing around my living room. It is such shame that with digital music this is a dying art,  and while Philip John is correct when he wrote that “Spotify needs to get social” I doubt a shared play-list on Spotify or a recommendation on Mflow would have the same feel good impact as picking up something tangible and knowing that someone made it just for you!

The Magic Box

Family, Home, The Blonde Kid, WBIAGW, , , ,

image

Despite it now being March 2010 I still have my 2009 calendar up in my kitchen, not because I’m particularly lazy (but I am) but because it’s about 50 shades of awesome!

Of course every parent thinks their kids work is amazing, fantastic, fabulous, first rate etc, but this is! I like it so much because while it’s not the work of art Matisse, Banksy or Tracy Emin could produce, and it’s no Shakespearean prose, Hell it’s even below the quality of work TBK can produce when he wants to, every time I read I can’t help but smile.

I read it and remember that it’s good to have imagination and to never ever stifle his!

The Magic Box

In my box I will put a massive, dirty and dangereus exploding army tank. The feel of silky, shiny, sparkly, quick Sahara sand and a door leading to a u.f.o.

In my box I will put the smell of super noodles cooking the sight of presents round the tree and the sound of rock music.

My box is fashioned from high tech lock and dinosaur skin cover.

And hinges made from a alligator jaw.

Spelling mistakes are all his own!