Crafty beads.... and plushies!

I think there's decidedly not enough craft stuffs on here!

So I'm going to show case some beeeeads!

I managed to get this bundle for £3.20 from ebay... the woman who was selling it had given up the hobby. She lived so close (I didn't realise this at the time) that her husband dropped them off so free p&p!



A crafters squeeeeal ran through me as I opened the box... more and more beads!
Amazing!

So what to make I hear you cry?!
Well I've started small... Beaded animals! (Coincedentally some of which are available to buy on my etsy store *cough* :D --->)

Beaded Goomba

Seahorse earrings


Dog

Cat!

So apart from beeead overload, what else have I been procrastinating with?... Well although mums sewing machine has now been kidnapped back home *sniff* I HAD to give this a whirl BY HAND *faint*:



Although unfortunately I forgot the head gusset so it only has one ear... Oops! The Boyfriend says that its not a scottie dog but is in fact a unicorn... I hit him...

So until next time!
ttfn

Nic
x

New layout!

New layout with thanks to:

Magic Paper

A cheat since the template isn't mine.... but lovely anyways :D

So until next time
ttfn

Nic

Serious Rant: Smoking Ban in the UK

The reasons that prompted me to blog about the current smoking ban in Wales (For those that don't know I live in Wales...) that was introduced on the 2nd April 2007 was due to a debate that began on the unofficial Lampeter Students forum Lampyland.

While I understand the fact that the ban is a pain for smokers as it prevents them from smoking in public areas; ie pubs, clubs, restaurants and the like. I can't understand the extreme outcry that seems to have been produced by it....

Its been proven that second hand smoke can cause lung problems, the extreme of which is lung cancer, and that the toxic fumes within a building is significantly more concentrated than outdoors (obviously). While I understand nipping out in the rain to feed the need for a nicotine hit is undoubtedly uncomfortable, I don't see how that is really a problem, its a few minutes out of your life and hey presto you've had your hit and you're ready to join the rabble again.

The ban was needed because SOMETHING had to be done. It was and is a public health issue. Which leads to the issue of the non-smoker. On the afore mentioned forum one member stated that:

The only non-smokers to get lung cancer from tobacco smoke are those who work consistently in smoky atmospheres. Barmen, full-time waiters and waitresses and (until they banned it on aircraft) air hostesses. The people are taking a risk, a standard occupation hazard which they are well aware of.

It would make just as much sense to ban slippery floors, hard edges, germs and sharp things.

The human individual should probably be given rather more credit.

I think this is rather narrow minded, for the ban is not only applicable to pubs, but is in fact applicable to all public arenas. A child is just as probable to frequent a restaurants for example. Are they not at risk too?

Cancer Research:

Children are particularly at risk because they breathe faster than adults and have underdeveloped immune systems. A study by the Royal College of Physicians showed that about 17,000 children in the UK are admitted to hospital every year because of illnesses caused by second-hand smoke 41.

A large study of over 300,000 people found that children who were frequently exposed to cigarette smoke at home had a higher risks of lung cancer as adults 42. Another study found that children in households where both parents smoke have a 72% higher risk of respiratory diseases. And the EPIC study found that exposing children to second-hand smoke increases the risk of bladder cancer later on in life by a third.43

So one could argue that they are in fact more susceptible to lung problems as a direct consequence to breathing in tobacco smoke. I think its a bit far reaching that young children do not attend public places like restaurants. I was a frequenter of restaurants from a very young age, my parents made a point of including me into their world instead of foisting me off with some babysitter eating some crappy turkey burger shapes, chips, beans and the such. (Which beyond school dinner food I've NEVER had, my parents made a point of me eating what they ate, albeit Caesar salad to bloody calves liver) What better way to promote good eating etiquette than to be brought up visiting restaurants where bad behaviour is simply not tolerated?... But that's another rant...

The argument that its the non-smokers fault for not leaving a smoking room seems a bit to wet for me. Non-smokers do not actively change their environment, smokers do, and their smoke can remain within an enclosed atmosphere long after they and their smoking habits have gone. Saying that I respect a person who does have a habit, its their choice... but it's not a non-smokers choice to breathe in their waste products.
So again links back to my original puzzlement, what is wrong with popping outside?!

So what am I saying? Are we becoming victims to a nanny state? Or is the ban an attempt to address and curb growing numbers of health problems, all of which are smoking related yet some of which are been developed by non-smokers?

While I think a ban on freedom is not something anyone should condone, in this case, I think its the only way to ensure the health of those around you, of non-smokers, of your

friends

family

children.


After that ramble... I think I'll leave you be...
So until next time
ttfn

Nic

WTF FACTOR FRIDAY #11!!

Yup its that time again!!

WTF FACTOR FRIDAY! Its already reached its 11th friday! Shocking!

Well lets move on

This week isn't so much WTF, its actually an animated poem, one that struck me as needing to be shared, while retaining a certain element of WTF (As bec discovered while watching the thing with no sound :P).
Enjoy



So until next time!
ttfn!

Nic

One Day Silence

WTF FACTOR FRIDAY!! #10

WTF FACTOR FRIDAYYYYY! No. 10

This is a bit odd.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAICzC6FVb8


Unfortunately embedding has been disabled by the user but I think this video proves that some people have strange strange minds....

As one friend put it:

It's the kingdom of penises! ... holy ****... wait does this mean when I die, I turn up wherever sans manhood, because he's gone to pervertland?

"Love filled tickle fingers?"

W T F ?!

So until next time
ttfn
Nic

WTF FACTOR FRIDAY #9

Just a quickie WTF FACTOR FRIDAY this week

This entry is a Bill Plympton short "Nosehair"



Nosehair... yup...

So until next time
ttfn!

Nic
x

Buy some art!

Thats right, you can own ORIGINAL NICOLA LIGHT art!

Not only that, your purchase will go towards: Nic's Rent Fund. A worthy charidee that allows Nic and Tom to have a place to live...

So what will I get? I hear you cry! Well have a look at this here link:
Ebay Auction 1


I'll edit as more is uploaded to ebay... Don't delay, buy today! :P *groan*

So until next time!
ttfn
Nic
x

WTF FACTOR FRIDAY! #7+#8!!

Yup its that time again... Its time for WTF FACTOR FRIDAY!

For No. 7 I present: "Surreal Surgery"

A mirror effect, an old education video and some strange music? Yup its WTF?!

For No. 8 I thought we should step away from YouTube for awhile and instead look at some strange Japanese inventions... Now some kind of make sense... others seem to be totally insane!


Noodle cooler fan... yup...


I think this is actually quite clever... condiments within your utensils to dispense as and when you need it directly to your food... ok its a tad weird but I think its pretty cool...


Fresh air? Feed your plant your own carbon dioxide!
Erm I'm not quite sure how this one works....


Why share one single umbrella when you can use a dual one?! The thing that amused me is the colour differences... why? Then again the whole thing is a bit WTF?, but I grant that it is a clever idea....


Need a snooze while commuting to work? Fear not because with this hat you no longer have to worry about nodding off and drooling on someone elses shoulder! THATS RIGHT, with this baby you can drool on your own! Hurrah!

I think I'll leave it there... lol

So until next time
ttfn!
Nic

Stealing art?

What is your view on using other peoples artwork to create your own?

Where is the line between what classed as taking inspiration to downright copying?
You could for example argue that some Roy Lichtensteins work was "stolen' from the comic authors, where he used entire comic panels and created large canvas copies. A move that raised many complaints from artist circles (particularly that of comic book artists).

However he argued that it was not simply a case of him copying someone else's art, he was attempting to bring the "art of today" into a broader scope of the art world. Its a difficult example, but it does highlight my point... was he simply copying lesser known (and smaller, comic book following) artists or was he highlighting an important idea of our perceptions of art and Art? (Bearing in mind that it was the 1960s)

Anyway the focus of this post is that of Todd Goldman aka Todd Goliath of David and Goliath]David and Goliath
(The bloke who produced the "Boys are stupid - throw rocks at them)



He has come under fire from the webcomic world for using a known comic and copying it as a painting, and then displaying it in a high profile LA art gallery (Wentworth gallery)in an exhibition entitled Golddigger.

The original image is well known and some of you will probably know of it. Its original form is from Purple Pussy by Dave Kelly from the September 19, 2001 strip. Its a popular webcomic which has been translated into a number of different languages.



So it came as some surprise when this was submitted in Goldman's exhibit:


Not only that but he's done a few of them and has slightly modified them... the original artist Dave Kelly overlayed his image over Goldman's to see how he's changed it in later revisions:




Bit too close for comfort....

This has obviously made people look at the other works by David and Goliath... and what do you know... found another similar looking character...
One being that of graphic novel artist Roman Dirge and his character Lenore


and David and Goliath's Evil L


Complete with matching cat sidekicks...
Might be a random coincidence since they do look different but share similarities.... but it does make you wonder...

Random similarity or genuine blatant stealing of other peoples work?

Most art can genuinely be copied if its NOT sold for profit... so if the painting of the praying squirrel is just on display and not for sale it is, in theory allowed... but should it be when the original artist has no clue about its existence?

Hummm....

On another note, its time to FINALLY announce the winner of THE ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY COMPETITION


GingaNic's PARTY COMPETITION

Drumroll please.....








The winner is EEEEMommy!!
I'll be emailing you soon EEEEMommy, your prize awaits!

Oh and I realise I've missed last weeks WTF FACTOR FRIDAY!, I've not been on the net so I failed to venture onto the blogger world... so next friday will be two submissions... hurrah!

So until next time
ttfn
Nic