Wilderthorn's cover of "The One I Love"

I am so stoked... Jon Bilbrough aka Wilderthorn and James Underwood from Iskra String Quartet have recorded a version of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love"... for me... and, well, everyone else on the interwebs.

It's a great version... haunting and uniquely theirs. I love it. Well done guys!

Two new challenges + NaNoDrawMo2011 no1

Challenge #1 for November
JD has challenged me to participate in NaNoDrawMo2011... aka... draw-fifty-or-more-pictures-in-November.

According to the Flickr group...

Inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), NaNoDrawMo is a personal challenge to push would-be artists beyond the bounds of comfortable "when I have time" practice for one month and see what happens.

Loosely defined goals are for each participant to produce 50 individual works/drawings between Nov 1 and Nov 30. You can always do more than 50 if you've got it in you! That's just the minimum everyone should be shooting for.

I'm not an artist... in the sense of someone who draws / illustrates... I'm a photographer. But I am willing to give it a go... and I have a purpose for the Moleskine Cahier Olly printed for me.

I have been inspired by data visualisation and the emerging field of graphic facilitation (read this for more).. and want to improve on what basic skills I have.

I also want to document my second challenge...

Challenge #2 for November
Inspired by the idea that change happens one step at a time... I am going to try to change my behaviour one step at a time. I'm going to document each change in a NaNoDrawMo2011 picture.

Change #1... I'm going to stop drinking milk in my tea (I never took sugar in my tea).

Tx

November 2011's calendar/wallpaper

Don't panic... this month's wallpaper *is* a bunch of pink roses.

I want to reclaim pink roses from the Shmaltz family... and just enjoy them for the awesome things they are. I love the intricacy of a rose in bloom... and think November is a month that could do with more colour. I hope you agree?

Usual flavours included... along with a PSP version which I thought I'd bring back after getting back into playing it thanks to Dayna and Lego Star Wars.

Enjoy.

Tx

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iPhone with calendar
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980x800 (no calendar) for my pal Andrew

Photos from the West of Scotland Youth Band's visit to Strathaven

Posted some photos from the West of Scotland Youth Band's visit to Strathaven on Wednesday past... to see the full set go here :: Flickr

It was a great evening... really looking forward to their concert with the Kirkintiloch Brass Band on the 12th November.

Tx

Olly's new idea: stamped cahiers

Olly is doing something new... something to complement her handcrafted cards: she's stamping Moleskine Cahiers with interesting patterns and uplifting messages.

Pictured is the first one off the 'line'... a wee pocket cahier that's now in my pocket. It combines a celtic symbol with some love imagery.

She's still playing with the idea... but if it is something you'd be interested in... jump onto her facebook page and leave her a message.

Thanks honey!

Tx

believe handmade

What's your number?

Here's an interesting interactive data visualisation... find out your 'ranking' in the world's population.

I am the 4, 007,773,415th person in this world... and I have a life expectancy of 77.4 years (i.e. I have 40 years left).

Find out your ranking on the BBC website.

Tx

Malcolm Gladwell tells the strange tale of the Norden bombsight

It's always nice to hear something new from Malcolm Gladwell... I really appreciate his insight.

Tx

I received this compliment a few days back...

I received this compliment a few days back that has really bouyed me up...

'...just wanted to say thanks for all your music recommendations, photography, and interesting spiritual retweets. Over the last year or 2 Ive found myself reading/listening/viewing a lot of interesting things thanks to you!'

I won't embarrass the person who wrote it... but just wanted to say thanks!

Tx

Loving... 'Introspection' by Earlyguard

Introspection is the act of looking within oneself... the act of self-examination. It is also the fitting title for the ever-productive Earlyguard's latest longform ambient soundscape.

I was delighted when 'introspection' arrived in my Dropbox ... I have become very fond of the soundscapes Earlyguard produces and am extremely grateful for an early preview of his latest work.

I find his latest piece deeply moving... it has an almost tangible other-worldly quality to it as if he has recorded the sound of being in a "thin place"... a place where Heaven and Earth meet and touch.

The majority of the soundscape is a low drone... a kind of reverential hum with rays of light shining into the space at times (such as around the 20 minute mark)... to make an immersive sacred thrum that engages me, the listener, in thought... in consideration... like time spent in the grandest of cathedrals... both man-made and in nature.

'Introspection' provides time out... almost 45 minutes in another place... a dream-like space where there is the freedom and the inspiration for deeper thought and measured consideration.

I welcome this and would actively recommend this release to you.

Tx

'Introspection' is released on Tuesday, 1st November on bandcamp

Loving the artwork... "the past is a foreign country" by Venona Pers

I received today a physical copy of Venona Pers lovely folktronic ambient album "the past is a foreign country" ... and wanted to post about the artwork.

The front cover is wonderfully subtle... so subtle in fact that my Nikon struggled to capture it. It's too white / light for the auto focus... so here it is from the album download:



The cover artwork is reproduced with kind permission from Yanming, Guangdong, China (unfortunately the website appears to be suspended at the moment). I love it.





The inside artwork is by illustrator Jim Robertson. It is also subtle... this time, however, it is an impressionistic painting of a woman... muted with warm oranges contrasting greens and blues.

It is a fitting cover for a beautiful album... and one I would heartily recommend. I've been really fortunate with the physical CDs I've obtained through Bandcamp... all unique and intentionally beautiful... and this one is a fine addition to my collection.

My thanks go to Jonathan C Hill for sending it through to me... he didn't have to... I had bought the album as a download... but he was kind enough to give me the CD. I am grateful.

Please support independent whenever and wherever you can.

Tx