In my garden... this morning

A question... if I may? #2

I have recently discovered Yann Tiersen's awesome soundtrack to the film "Amelie".
It says "Paris" to me.
It says "France" and "French"... and reminds me of my holiday last year.
This year I am heading to Lido di Jesolo, near Venice, in Italy... and was wondering if anyone could recommend a piece of music... say, a soundtrack score... that says "Venice" and "Italy" to them?
Any ideas?
Tx

Yesterday's trip to Dean Castle

Yesterday... we went to Dean Castle in Kilmarnock for the afternoon. To be honest... none of us had heard of it until Olly came across it.

It is a really well restored Middle Ages Keep and Banqueting Hall. The Keep is free to visit but you need to go on the tour (again... free) to see all the other great spaces. The tour is well worth the wait... with the guide being very engaging and informed.

Afterwards... we had a donder around the grounds... then went for a cuppa in the tearoom.

As always... I took some pictures. Go here to see the set.

Tx

Wow... Tempest Freerunning Academy

Every-so-often... I see something like this and go "wow". This is definitely a "wow" moment.
Thanks to JD for sharing.
Tx

Yesterday at Kelvingrove Museum

Yesterday... after a very depressing start... we joined my sister and Godson in visiting the Kelvingrove Museum (after a wee trip to the Salvation Army charityshop on Dumbarton Road).

To me... Kelvingrove is one of the finest museums in the world. It has an eclectic nature that makes wandering around a sheer pleasure... moving between stuffed aninmals to dinosaur remains to Egyptian artefacts to one of the most wonderful Religious paintings in the world...

Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross:



The pic was taken with my iPhone because I only had my 50mm prime lens with me. I have to say the alcove in which the painting resides is now befitting of the painting. Before it was on the top of a stairwell and was lit in the more terrible of light... now the lighting has been greatly improved and there is a wee video and some posters to put the picture in context and provide a background to its history.

I would recommend visiting the Museum just to see this painting... albeit you wont be disappointed with the rest of the space.



Afterwards, we headed to Beanscene for a London Fog and a blether... good times, regardless of the weather.

Well recommended!

Tx

Some pics of birds from my dining room window

As mentioned yesterday... I only got round to uploading the pics from my Dad's Canon EOS 350D recently... and apart from the photos from the Whitelee Windfarm, there were a number of photos of birds in our back garden.

Olly has done an awesome job of making the back garden an inviting place for humans and for wildlife, especially birds. We love nothing more than watching the sheer variety of birds that we get (albeit not as varied as in Marc de Ridder's garden).

I have taken to having the tripod set up in the dining room... and a 300mm lens left in there too... to facilitate shots like the ones on here.

I could really get into wildlife photography... albeit that's a very costly area of photography with the emphasis placed on big zooms and macro lens.

I many ways I am pleased with what I have achieved with what I have.

Enjoy.

Tx

Some photos from Whitelee Windfarm

A while back... Olly, Dayna, Miriam, Pippin and myself took a wee donder around the Whitelee Windfarm, near Eaglesham. I took some photos with my dad's Canon EOS 350d and never processed them (I prefer SD cards to CF... my MBP has a direct SD cardreader).

Apparently it is Europe's largest Windfarm... and it is, well, truly awesome... in the true sense of awe inspiring. The turbines are so large... you just feel small... and with the dark and ominous sky, it was wonderful.

I've posted the set [here] and hope you like them.

Tx

We need Guides rather than Experts

As I am typing this... Olly and Miriam (my 9yo) are watching "America's Top Model".

I have had an allergic reaction to shows like this... and programmes like "The X-Factor"... because of the role of experts... or should I say the role given to experts.

In these shows... the experts (and please understand I do not doubt their expertise and experience in their respective areas) are elevated to the role of Judge, Jury and, in some cases, Executioner.

Their opinions can make or break a person... and their careers. They act as subjective filters... removing the chaff they wish to remove to emphasis the wheat they wish to keep.

Now... don't get me wrong... I believe there is a lot of chaff out there... in fact, every contestant on "The X-Factor" is chaff, in my humble opinion... but that's the thing: its my opinion!

Just as these Judges choose based on their own subjective views... I select what I like based on mine. I am opinionated... I have an opinion!

That's the point... if we allow others to make up our minds for us... do our thinking... filter out the chaff... then we do not develop our own tastes and therefore cannot complain when we feel unsatisfied and empty.

We need to think for ourselves... we need to develop our own preferences and be open enough to share them.

Consider the Rob Bell "Love Wins" furore... a number of people didn't and haven't read the book because they have sub-contracted out their opinions to people they "trust"... they happily follow the people they have raised to Expert level and let them do the thinking and the opinion-forming.

I have been inspired by the book and hope to share my thoughts when I finish the book... but please don't take it from me. Don't follow my opinion on the book or, for that matter, the music I love or the films I've seen... taste them for yourself and make up your own opinion.

Read the book.
Listen to the album.
Watch the film.

This is why I would consider myself a Guide... someone who shows you what they have found and lets you sample it for yourself. I don't care if you don't like what I like... because I'm not invested in being an expert... the thrill for me is finding something awesome and pointing to it. If you like it then fantastic! If you don't but have tasted it then fantastic!

We need more Guides than Experts... show me new things and let me decide rather than telling me what to think.

The only issue with this is choice... an over abundance of choice... but then we need to choose our Guides carefully... and be prepared to form our own opinions.

But don't take it from me... what do you think?

Tx

A wee trip to the Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow

Yesterday, Olly, the we'ans and myself took a wee trip to the Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow. Scotland Street School was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and was a functioning school up until 1979. As a museum, it tells the story of education in Scotland over a hundred years, from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.

It is also a must-see for Mackintosh fans - the building is a wonderful example of his architectural style and the first floor has space that shows the process of building the school, from plans to opening.

On the second floor, there are various period classrooms... from the Victorian era to the late 60s... all decked out as they would have been. There is even a large "Home Economics" space set up as it would have been.

On the ground floor there was a Toy exhibit... that contained a remarkable number of toys that all four of us remembered in some way... from Action Men to Furbies.

The cafe... a Willow Tearoom... was fab too - very reasonably priced with a great selection of food, leaf tea in pots and some fantastic local ice cream.

All in... a fab afternoon out... made even better by the fact the whole space is free.

The rest of my photos are available >>>here<<<.

Tx

Just because you can... doesn't mean you should!

I'm on holiday... and trying to spend more time with my family and less time on the interwebs. Slightly ironic that I am saying this on a blogpost... I know... but I couldn't keep silent about the actions of Pastors Sapp & Jones... and, more importantly, their "right" to do what they did.

Just because you have the freedom to say whatever you can... doesn't mean you should say what you want!

Now... let's be clear... I do not condone the acts of retaliation that have resulted in 10 people dead, so far. Nothing is worth killing over... especially the killing of innocent third parties... and I condemn outright the people who have killed them. I believe they have completely and totally overreacted.

However... I strongly believe this could be avoided.

Consider these verses from 1st Corinthians 13 (taken from The Message)... words both Pastors will be very familiar with:

"Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end."

I could pick out any line from the above, but I'd like to pay particular attention to the second line... Love cares more for others than for self... regardless of what you think of another person's Holy Book and their faith... the loving thing is to care more for them than you do for yourself.

This means taking their opinions... thoughts... feelings... beliefs... and values into account before acting.

When viewed in this way... the actions of Sapp and Jones were nothing short of selfish and unloving... and for Pastors... for representatives of Jesus in this world... that is nothing short of atrocious!

Yes... I would agree with some who say that... in this day and age... no one has the right not to be offended... but sometimes the best thing to do in response to a personal affront is not to do anything at all.

Except maybe to smile... and move on.

Just because you have the perceived right to say whatever you want in criticism of others... doesn't mean you should. Ten people are now dead because two Pastors held their freedom of speech as being more important and significant than their calling to love.

And we wonder why people walk away from the name of Jesus. God help us all!

Tx