The Great Architect

For now, I have taken the original entry for this down. After varying means of communication with EMAP heirachy broke down via our representation, I decided to try a more direct approach and it looks like (hopefully) there is a small breakthrough. I contacted someone on 17th April via email, received a VERY swift and dilligent response after another of my images was used as a ‘reader winner’ and it looks like there may be a small, but significant step towards resolution.

The image in question was acknowledged as mine in both the magazine itself and via email immediately, which is nice.

With this in mind, and in the spirit of fair play, I’ve taken down the original article for at least 28 days to see if statements and details made via email become apparent. Fingers crossed – (and to quote Bogey) “this could be the start of a beautiful friendship”…

Well, it has been a while in getting around to this, but I finally think I have got a small set up going with www.spreadshirt.net so I can put some of my photoshopping skills to some use and put designs onto various T Shirts and other items to sell. I’ve started off with a simple design, and something which I hope will raise a chuckle at least, in the very best traditions of a ‘Carry On’ Movie…

spreadshirt.net do all the hard work and set the basic price. The commission I add to it works out at about a couple of quid per item. I’ve decided to do it to raise a little money for Charity.  All the commission I make on the sale of the T-Shirts and other items (new designs and items will be added as and when I get around to them) will be going to Macmillan Cancer Relief.

My Father-in-Law is currently dealing with terminal cancer, and the Macmillan Nurses have helped support him, and the family throughout. Aged only 53, it has been a terrible thing for him and the family to deal with, and while a lot of money is always raised for cancer research, there is always need for funding for those who help support people with the disease. So rest assured that any money raised by hopefully selling a few T-Shirts and other items will be collected together and regularly sent on to Macmillan Cancer Relief.

If you would like to have a look at the current items/design, follow the link to My Shop in the blogroll on the left.

If anyone has any ideas for T-Shirts they would like to see, I’ll leave the comments field open. Many thanks for looking

Well, its been a good while since I last updated this, and in the interim period, I’ve turned the 30 milestone. Does it feel any different? No, not really, still a slave to the system in all respects.

The reason for actually doing a post today comes from frustration at the power of the internet, and the ‘faceless power’ it seems to give some people. As mentioned in previosu posts I love the B3ta.com website, and have particpated to a very small part over the past couple of years. It’s been a mainstay for humour, fun and discussion and I love it. Last year, a good few weeks prior to the Rememberance Day, a few contributors thought it might be a nice gesture (nothing more, just a thought) to perhaps show that a number of users of the board could pay respects not only in thir own individual way, but perhaps do something on the messageboard to show a common thought behind it. That was it, no gloating, no advertising, no ‘look see what I’m doing, mentality’ or anything. The day itself came and went, and no one complained or got uptight and EVERY single person who saw the relevant post on the board and commented on it understood the meaning and took it for what it was…

Well. That was last year. This year, we’ve tried to start a similar thing, not growing on it in any way, but it was something that struck a chord with quite a few of the contributors, and we used a new tool on the website so that people who wanted to be present around the same time could replicate a similar gesture. We use the internet for work, for fun, for study, for relaxation, why not to remember those who have fallen before us, people who have fallen on all sides. The internet is a diverse community of opinions, tastes, styles, morals and suchlike, and if some of these differences can be brought together under a single thought, is that such a bad thing?
Well, starting the process up this year, to try and make it a little more organised, there seems to be a small number who are convinced this is the vilest thing going. Yes, they respect those who have fallen, but don’t see past what appears to be their own insecurities to start assuming the reasons why everyone else would want to be part of it. My reason for taking part is my own, and it is sincere. The situation of having people I don’t even know try to mock and assume the reason why I might want to take part is, to me at least, insulting, and this has just got me to the point of frustration where I had to let it out somewhere. Grrrrr The Internet, your best friend one day, Judas the next! I guess what starts out with the best intentions doesn’t always get interpreted like that. Such is life.
Anyway, apologies for no funny pic or suchlike, and excuse the post if it comes across as an indulgence, which is not the meaning behind it, but now back on an even keel I think! Not really sure if I could be opening up a hornets nest, but if anyone has any comments about this, I’ll leave the comments field open.

Well, here we are again, and this week has been one of the strangest I’ve ever had in the ‘virtual world’. A world which seems to fill more and more of my working and social time. To begin with, I had my first experience of the ‘internet argument’ with a complete stranger. Not to delve into the subject matter, it occured to me in hindsight that, at the time, I should have just kept my mouth shut on the subject. However, like the little fly buzzing around the ultraviolet light of destiny, I couldn’t help it. The argument that was raging concerned areas of my working expertise, and I jumped in with both feet, within a few minutes totally consumed by a whole medley of emotions, until, eventually, I had to get a grip, came to my senses and just stopped replying. To be honest, the argument, as I am sure with nearly 99% of all internet arguments, could have raged on until hell began hosting the winter olympics, and in retrospect, I’m glad I got out when I did. War on the internet sure is hell, soldier, so take a tip you crazy kids, if someone gets your goat on the internet, let it ride…

Then, the week got even weirder, and again linked to the wonderful world of modern technology. I started freelance lecturing again this week, and I shan’t be saying too much about that now, although I’m sure in the coming weeks there will be plenty on the subject… However, turns out the infallible IT systems that the Higher Ed. establishment runs – and is deemed as a form of ‘progress’ – cannot distinguish between two people with the same name. So, I’ve been having a student go around, using my staff credentials, accessing computers etc etc etc – all good fun, and it’s sparked a huge internal investigation as to how the IT dept. gave him my account. God I love the efficiency of foolproof systems.

Anyway, all that is put in perspective today for me, as one of the presenters of the always watchable “Top Gear” program has seriously injured himself in a 300mph car accident. Although not war, politics or anything on the ‘grand’ scale of important world affairs, I was geneuinely upset by this news, primarily for the fact that I am such a huge fan of the “Top Gear” program. You don’t have to have an intimate knowledge of cars and their every mechanical part to watch it, but the on screen rapport between the presenters is addictive, and, as I have since come to the conclusion, the show is the last great bastion of ‘Blokeness’. A program which celebrates blokes being blokes, and anyone over the age of 28 should know what I mean by that. So, I hope the ‘Hamster’ gets well soon, because all us blokes are wishing him well.

Well, aside from all that waffle, I’ve also starting doing some more ‘artistic’ stuff with photoshop, and will hopefully be able to put some up on here shortly.  However, until that time, have an old ‘vector-style’ piece I did a few months ago…

Seems a little weird to expect anyone to read this as a first entry, so I’ll keep it short and to the point. My thoughts on starting this? Well, everyone else has, so I didn’t want to get ‘behind the times’.  I’m still more than a little rusty on all things technical and web related, but hopefully this will all start to get more exciting and funky the more I use it.

Well, where to start. One of the main reasons behind this whole blog thing for me has been the fact that several contributors to the www.B3ta.com website – digital arts and photo manipulation aplenty – have been finding their handiwork plastered all over the media in general, often without permission, but more importanly, with their creator ‘tag’ missing.

A keen ‘unofficial contributor’ to many a lad’s mag, daily newspaper and suchlike is the very talented Beau Bo D’Or, who has a blog here: http://www.bbdo.co.uk/blog/ and I recommend checking it out.

One particular magazine with which both he and I, and many others among the B3ta community are having trouble with, is “ZOO” magazine, who have recently started printing photoshopped images ’sent in’ by the public, and having the creator’s ‘tag’ removed somewhere in the transition between being found on the internet and being sent in to the Magazine… Funny that.

Beau is a champion for the cause, having missed out on a “Generation Game’s” worth of prizes given to the public by the Magazine, he has started contacting them to at least get credit where credit is due, and have the ‘tags’ remain on the work. I myself have had the best part of 10 or so images ‘lifted’ and printed in just that one magazine over the past year, and up until the last couple of months or so, all tags had been left on them. So, where does this leave all us budding photoshoppers? Well, hopefully Beau will get some good result from it. Check out his blog – address above – and follow with interest.

Right, well, enough of all that, what sort of photoshopping do I do? Well, on B3ta, I have the username ‘The Great Architect’ and have recently been asked by Site Owner Rob ‘The Ginger Fuhrer’ Manuel to submit a couple of pieces I’ve done to the up and coming “B3ta Sick Joke Book” – available from all good stores if you badger them enough, or available to pre-order on Amazon for a few Earth Poundingtons, and ideal for your Granny for a last minute Christmas gift.  Now, don’t get me wrong. Not all of my ‘work’ in the photoshopping area is in ‘bad taste’ but every now and then something comes out which people may put in that category. I’ll let you be the judge with these two recent additions of mine…

..it’s not that hard to keep the ‘tag’ on either, is it “ZOO”?