One years worth of daily posts!

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Well, I did it!  I have just completed one whole years worth of daily posts!  And I’ve enjoyed it, though sometimes it has been a bit stressful trying to get the posts on in time.  Some have been long some have been short, but I hope everyone has enjoyed them (well some of them).  I have decided not to blog every day in the future as there’s quite a lot I can be getting on with and sometimes this feels like a full-time (unpaid job).  But, it’s been very good discipline and I’ve learned lots and lots and met some very nice people who I hope shall stay with echostains:)  Here’s a small slide show depicting some of the ‘high’ lights!

My 500th post

It’s not really my 500th post – that was yesterday, but I wanted to commemorate the Titanic.  I have been playing around with WordPress’ slide show tutorial and I thought what could be more fitting than to try to make a slide show of some of the items I have featured on my blog so far.  Starting in November 2008, I chose a few images from the monthly archives and made this slide show.  All the posts are still there in the archives, just type in the search facility or use the month and year as a clue.  I had great fun making it – it brought back many memories too.  I hope you enjoy watching it 🙂

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Update:  I have had to severely edit the slideshow as it was slowing everything down.  Hope this proves quicker.

All the Fours

I’ve done rather a lot on my Bookstains blog today, so this post will be a short one as I am off out tonight.  This is my 444th post.  I’ve spent rather a long time on here – I could do with getting out more lol!

irma and alfred prunesquallor

I’m still working on my art blog, that’s coming along very slowly and the Gormenghast journey (Titus Groan) – even though I’ve nearly re read it is going at a snails trail.  Will I continue to track when I get to the second book Gormenghast?  I don’t think so, I haven’t got the time.

Pip is told he has great expectations

Over on Bookstains I have been writing about the Dickens books I have read – just very brief summeries but they still took a long time to do.  I am going to keep the teapot category and also the Weird and Wacky, but I am going to introduce some news categories.  The idea is to make this blog an eccentric eclectic mix – and the more the merrier I say!

PS

A Visit from the Spiders and Pingback Mountain

I actually saw this giant spider in Liverpool - I will put my pics on

Some days it’s hard to come up with a post.  I just go where the mood takes me generally, and hopefully present it in an original way.  I’ve become a bit bogged down lately, and I think I need to get some more art into this art based blog.  I am still sticking to my one post a day though, and although some of them are short, and mostly spontaeneous, occasionally I do try to do a longer one.  I’ve now made 382 posts.  I do try to stick to one subject per post, though I could stick loads in one post and let the ‘spiders’ (robots) crawl all over it, picking out key words, I prefer not to because then it becomes a kind of tag farm and I’m just using certain tags for the sake of it.  No thanks, seen loads of these and I certainly don’t want my blog to become one!

Boomerang - OK I couldn't get a pic of an actual Pingback but you get the idea? it comes back to you

As well as the ‘spiders’ doing their bit (to the good I may add), there’s the Pingbacks’ to contend with.  I’ve been advised to keep these, though there are rather a lot, as when I link back to my other posts, they come thick and fast.  Sometimes when I read my ‘comments’ email, I think I’m seeing double when I see my own words coming back at me, lol!  It’s like mirror writing!!

Here’s one of my hero’s: he used to live in a room full of them, lol!  (sorry but that was all I could come up with for a ‘Mirror’ pun)  not really a video, just the tune. 

Bits and pieces, Whats going on and What Needs to Go On

 

Warhol is one of many artist's featured in my blog

Just going through my Categories to see which ones I haven’t posted about lately.  At last I managed to do another page in my altered book.  I haven’t done an Artist Birthday for a while, so I will have to see into this.  The artist of course, has to be one I actually like (which narrows it down a bit..).  At the moment I have solved the problem of displaying all my Altered book pages (coming in November, along with another little idea I’ve been toying with).

 

I llove Spam, but not on my Blog please!

Something that has been annoying me lately is the spam I’ve been getting.  I am having to get rid of it manually sometimes as it comes in the disguise of praise for my blog!  Yes I’ve fallen for it a few times.  But no more.  What the hell has,  what essentially is an art blog, got to do with Real Estate? Gambling? and other businesses.  Do they think they will actually got sales through pretending to be genuine readers?  Well, they won’t!  Moan over, I’ve been playing about with some of the new WordPress stuff, like galleries and the image editor that puts frames around the pictures.  I may change my Theme at the end of November (my one year anniversary).  I’ve still got got of ideas about what to include on my blog….coming soon.

Looking back recently, I seem to be doing a lot of reading and watching.  Must be these Autumn nights: Winter draws on, so to speak, lol!

300 Posts and Still Celebrating!

Celbrate with me!

Let the celebrations continue – that’s what I say!  Amongst my categories are ‘Potty about Teapots’, this is where I try to find unusual teapots that have particularly unusual and aesthetically pleasing designs (in my opinion), or they are made from unusual materials.  ‘Bronte Bites’ are little snippets about the Bronte’s that I find interesting.  I don’t profess to be an expert on the Brontes, I leave that open to people who are:  I include the latest debate about a recently discovered picture that the owner James GorinVon Grozny is convinced is the Bronte sisters, he is amassing evidence to authenticate his claim, which is proving very interesting.

Are these the Bronte sisters?

Other categories which are now more or less in the archives are places I have been, some of them short breaks, and one to Las Vegas.  These are quite extensive posts…especially Vegas and a London one (it’s amazing how much you can cram in a few days)

mosiac roman bath york

As I look back through my posts, I can see the character of my blog changing.  Although the blog is art based and most of the posts are about art (art is everywhere), I feel I must add some more art projects to it.  The obvious is my altered art book (which I am a bit stuck on at the moment).  The problem I’m having with this, is that I will insist in linking each page to an artist.  Well I’ve found the art connection with the narration on the latest page (it’s going to be an essay about Pop Art)…but it’s just getting round to this with so many other things to be getting on with.   I will have to make time!

New fodder will include a trip to Shrewsbury in Shropshire (coming very soon, so I’m scheduling posts as I speak).  This should be interesting as though we’ve been to Shropshire before, we’ve never been to Shrewsbury.

My 300th Post! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Let the celebrations begin!...well put them on hold

Yes that’s right!  This is my 300th post since I began blogging on 28th November 2008!  What on earth have I found to blog  about every day? (well very nearly every day).  Well some days lots and other days, not so much.  But I have got into a routine now and I don’t want to spoil it.  I even blog in advance and schedule when I go away (that’s how bad the bug is lol!)

A scene from Rear Window...who is watching?

I’m still not much the wiser about who is reading my blog IDENTIFY yourselves please !!  But my stats keep going up so I might be doing something right (or wrong – even that can be entertaining!!).  Sometimes the type still keeps coming out BIG, but these are just glitches.  I have now got loads more categories.  These can be found on the left hand side, and there are absolutely loads in my archive.

one of my weird and whacky...only beautiful by Boontje, witches utensil

Trust this milestone to come about on a Saturday (bad day for me as I am super busy).  Still, there’s loads of stuff to check out, including my ‘Watched’, ‘Dear Reader I read it’ (of which I will be adding to very soon as I have bought 3 new books today).  ‘Weird and Whacky Design’ is proving popular, though it’s so hard  to find them now: some of them look so normal to me…I’m beginning to worry lol!

frys-five-boys-chocolate-desperation-pacification-expectation-acclamation-realisation.....that its gone? well it HAS gone!

Another new category is ‘Living in the Past’, mostly about nostalgic things that have all but disappeared.  I’ve only just started this, but I shall have to get a move on as things are disappearing so fast, I can’t keep up! 

More in this sort of vein tomorrow, when I shall have a lot more time.  Cheers!

My 252nd Post: Hows it going?

Well It’s my 252nd post.   Since starting on 29th November 2008, I have only missed 6 days.  I am doing a lot of art or design related posts and have introduced new categories.

Little boots

Still stuck on my altered book and need to put more Transcription on.  But I have now got my Newcastle trip to write about, plus books that I am reading, not to mention the ‘Weird and Whacky Design section that is proving popular.

ganesh judith leiber handbag

The teapot designs  that I keep finding, never cease to amaze me!  My viewing stats are going up quite a bit now, which just goes to show that perseverence is it’s own reward! The next update shall be around the 300 post mark.

Girl riding a duck by Gail Ritchie