soft snowflakes falling

It has been a gorgeous snowy day in Stockholm today. With mild winter temperatures, but lots of fluffy snow. The best of both worlds. Not counting that despite all the whiteness it has been pretty dark due to heavy clouds. And such heaviness in weather makes me tired, my head fuzzy and my mind sad - once again I really really do wish humans could go into hibernation too...



All that despite excellent oat latte, go figure.

In the InstaWeather app I found an adorable effect that created a lovely snowfall. Published on Instagram, but apparently it is far from that easy to import and publish said little film on other sites. So I'll leave you with the "movie" turned picture here and with the words "imagine big, soft, snowflakes slowly falling in a very quiet world". I hope you can see it...

Or, you can click the picture below and see the wee movie on Flickr.

dogs on the town

A friend of mine came up with the hashtag #hundarpåstan (ie #dogsonthetown) for dog spotting in Stockholm. I think it's such a darlin' idea so of course these days I feel an even more urgent need to dog snapping when I see them out and about.

Today I saw this adorable grumpyfaced French bulldog outside a cafe and I realised a #hundarpåcafe (#dogsatcafe) is a must hashtag.

Here are some of my previous #hundarpåstan snaps -

Or here would be some more dog photos if Flickr had cooperated, as all too often it does not. The two years ago new Flickr never did get any better, the poor performance has sadly just continued ever since... It would have been nice to have been proven wrong.

about.me

Not sure why I (about a year ago) decided to join the about.me site. One of those "it's free, why not try it" things I guess. A year later I have to admit I'm still far from sure what the purpose is. And when I ask around people either don't know what it is or have the same attitude towards it as I have. Noone I've talked with has it as a part of their social media strategy.

So why do I still have my about.me page? Well, mainly because

• I thoroughly enjoy that you can create a really cool tiled background with your Instagram photos. Thus I update it regularly. (It looks especially awesome on an iPad.)
• I also enjoy the idea of a supersized, dynamic online business card (of sorts). I shy away from having a really long bio, because noone really care to read that through anyway. Via selected apps I link to Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Flickr and Instagram instead, if anyone would like to know more.

I've also found that

• Their customer service is really friendly and swift, when there's a glitch or question.
• People tend to view other people's pages quite a lot, much more than they give compliments about them. Although you do get compliments regularly, far from always from people you feel you can compliment in return. So a "thank you!" and then a pass it forward to someone's page/photo/bio you enjoy is my way to deal with that.
• To use tags on your page (a maximum of 10) is a great way to find likeminded people. 
• You get added to weird collections like "Viewed", "People I thanked", "People who glanced at me" and I have no idea why one would even bother with that... 
• But you also get added to nice collections like "Creative people", "Amazing people" (oh my!), "Interesting people", "Compassion for all life" (how sweet is that?!) and of course "Twitter friends".
• I've only made a collection of "Twitter friends" - obviously I don't really see about.me as a networking site for me per se. Perhaps that will change.

How about you, do you have an about.me page?
Is it a part of your social media strategy?
If so, how and have you had good use of it
from a business point of view?

new flickr

i rarely make a lot of fuss when websites get revamped, eventually all will in one way or the other. mostly for the better, at least in some ways and the rest one gets used to, after a while. and after all, many website services are free, even if we as users are providing the website with their business, for free.

the other day flickr was launched with a new design. and i can't stand it. it's fugly with a claustrophobic feeling - pretty much everything i dislike with the flickr app has been adopted by the website - it has an awkward look and i loath infinite scrolling. the old interface is still very much a part of flickr and it all looks very messy and confusing as far as i'm concerned.

so far i've come across so many bugs i don't know where to begin grumping (my "favourite" might be the one where you try to change the layout to a more manageable one and it only sticks until you edit a picture then it's back to the awful infinite scrollingness. or you follow a change your layout link and end up with "oops it looks like you followed a bad link").

basically, at this stage, the only thing i like with the new design is the option to make a new cover/header.

in my opinion flickr just isn't a user friendly, easy to navigate website that offers a simple way to manage a substantial amount of photos anymore. it takes ages to edit picture details and obviously a vast amount of time doing it, which makes it massively offputting from the start. unlike before the photos and pages take forever loading. of course things can improve, but what's the point of launching something that clearly is far from ready to be launched with its bugs galore? to me it just seems highly unprofessional, premature and haphazardly done.

and, like so often in this world, why making a massive overhaul of something that basically just needed a bit of modernisation and tweaking to be awesome? newsflash, just because something is supposedly more modern looking it doesn't mean it's better or more user friendly. this is certainly one of the big drawbacks and misconceptions of the internet (and people's view on the world i'd say); just because something is new it doesn't mean it's better, brighter, smarter and more useable. 

to be honest i don't care much about a free terabyte, the pro account offered limitless storage anyway. and full resolution photos, well, how about the resolution limits set by the computer screen. if you're interested in the new/old flickr accounts this article might answer some of the questions regarding that and pricing.

i've been on flickr since 2007 with a pro account - which has been an affordable service indeed - and i have almost 30.000 photos uploaded. countless hours spent uploading, editing, blogging, communicating in different groups, admiring the never ending talent, creativity and quality of other people's photos. for me flickr has been both a great extra security online backup for my photos, a portfolio and of course an endless source of inspiration and awe.

i fear that has come to an end. i hope i'm wrong, time will tell, but i have a distinct feeling that flickr and i will not be happy together anymore. which actually makes me quite sad.

what's your opinion on new flickr?

drowning in images

The image of me right now; desperately trying to edit photos, download, save, extra save, upload, save, decide if they're a keeper worth sharing or not, delete duplicates (since I'm a scatterbrain who still insists I will remember which photos I've already edited, downloaded, saved, uploaded, shared or not etc etc).

Ever since I joined Flickr almost six years ago now I've thought it's been a brilliant way to have an extra extra online back-up of the best photos, the best way to blog photos, I've enjoyed some groups and been endlessly inspired by the photo community. Since then I've been good at uploading within a week of photos being taken, it has never been a burden keeping up with it, always a joy.

Until I began slacking last October, over a year ago now. Obviously my priorities have changed. With the photo possibilities and editing apps that come with the iPhone - enter May 2010 -, the once beloved SLR-camera really not functioning as it used to (hundreds of thousands of photos can do that even with the best of bunch), my photo routines as well as my life have changed.

I will never stop loving the magic one can capture with a camera, but I have to admit the more administrative stuff that comes with it (and granted some of it is solely my own 'invention') have become rather a burden and nuisance. Yes, I still want to edit the best photos, I still want to enjoy it, download, upload, do what I've been doing for these past six years, but neither brain, heart, time nor energy is in it. Still slacking.

Sometimes I just think that my personality of an jane-of-all-trades, me bursting with creative wanting to do this that, that and this, and then some leaves little room for prudently focusing on one project/duty at a time. I want to do everything and I want to do it NOW!

Let me just say "the tulip sweater" and that sums it up well. I have no problems in finishing projects and stuff for others, but things I do for myself, well that's another story. For every project I start AND finish for myself, there are at least five unfinished. It's a conundrum.

Two years ago I had grand plans of finishing at least one creative project a week. Sadly that has not been the case. Life can do that with plans.

Back to the photos, the drowning in images that needs a bit of work. The iPhone desperately seeking relief from being storage of far too many photos. It would be such a nice nice thing to start a new year with only a couple of hundreds of photos in phone and not several thousands. Alas I don't see that happening. Especially not with a crappy Internet connection as well as the new Flickr app being lousy when it comes to uploading.

It may be a luxuary problem, but nevertheless an issue I find terribly annoying and without any other solution than keep editing, saving, downloading, uploading, tagging, one picture at a time. Barely keeping my head above image water. And no, to stop taking so many pictures and editing, which I love, is not the answer.

(Despite the fact that M has been complaining for years now that walking with me is even worse than walking the loaf dog, who wants to sniff, read and pee every third minute. I want to stop, look, take photos, set the camera, change angle, light, every second minute. On extra troublesome walks, from M's point of view, I have both the SLR and the iPhone, both need to be used. Obviously.)

Do you ever find you're drowning in your own photos?
What do you do about it?



PS Even if a cat is the answer to so many questions in this world, I somehow don't think one getting close and personal with the camera is the answer to this particular question DS

wednesday musings

:: So far I've been a semi-strict boss - in the semi-finished office above - to self this week. I've made a few phone calls in-the-name-of-the-company - remember me being an odd phoney so it's a big thing - including talking to a dream-client (and was asked to call back next month, thus plenty of time to prepare, oh the joy, the borderline delirium afterwards). Booked a meeting. Prepared for a meeting. Am going to a meeting. Have written, will write.


:: I celebrated the phone-calls with the baking of a gingerbread cheesecake with pomegranate - it was de-lovely, but with forgetting to set the timer I dabbled with time and it would probably be even nicer with less baking. Next time...

:: I don't think I'll be celebrating every phone-call from now on with the baking of cakes. There's only so much cake a gal can eat and share. Really.


:: Reading blogposts about doing big clean-ups in the blog reader I've thought a bit about leaving comments, not leaving comments, the notion of reciprocating, replying to comments, blog-etiquette (if there is such a thing) and expectations.

When I began blogging I don't think I really expected comments, blogging in Sweden wasn't that big then, I think I wrote for myself, it was a good ventilator, a diary for real. I wrote a lot of nonsense and silliness back then - like I neeever do now of course... - but I don't think I've removed any of those old, sillier posts, I was a few years younger, perhaps I wasn't sure about how to express myself to a potential online world, so I wrote ackamarackus. Remove it would be a bit like denying who I was then, in a way I suppose. So it's there, even though I'm not the same person then as I am now.

I slightly digress, because what I wanted to say was that back in those early blogging days I did make a proper effort to always reply to comments left, if only with a "thank you" - and reciprocate (if possible). But that's (unfortunately, as I think it's a nice gesture still) not something I'm prioritizing anymore, even if my aim is to do it still. I do hope everyone reading/commenting knows how much I appreciate every. single. sweet. comment despite that?

Blogging, as life, is also full of different people, differing views, likes and dislikes. I might read and enjoy your blog, leave comments now and then, but you find no interest or joy in mine or at least the notion of reciprocating commentwise is not in your realm of blogging. Or the other way around. I am usually fine with that. I show my appreciation, you show your appreciation, but we may not click as such.

But sometimes I do get annoyed with the so called "very popular blogs" (which I rarely read, but I have a few of them in my reader for various reasons) as there are often, imho, tendencies of hoity-toitiness and frankly, I get bored, they repeat themselves, "their" ideas are deemed inspirational, but hey there are a zillion of blogs out there less popular who've already been there-done that and are very much read-worthy. I've also noticed many of them have adopted the same style of writing, fairly often acknowledging eachother for their respective inspirational awesomeness, forming a club of intermutual admiration. It's rather amusing in a way, but yes, equally boring in the long run.

I think the icing on the nuisance cake was one of the popular bloggers expressing a disappointment the other day over the lack of response/comments to her latest post thus keeping the subject short from now on. Seriously. I write, I blog because I. Have. To. I don't adjust my subjects/posts to what I think will attract most readers, get more comments. If that's what blogging is to you, then thank you, but no thank you.

I think I'll go and cleanse my feed reader too now. It may not be as cathartic as cleaning your house, your life of excess stuff, but still, the annoyance factor in life will get a tad bit smaller.

Do you have firm opinions on dos and don'ts in blogging and the blogosphere? Care to share them?


:: A couple of months ago I realised it was that time again. That time being getting a new identity-card, the big issue being taking a photo for said card. I know you're supposedly able to make those photos yourself online these days, but getting the proportions and details required correct seems a bit dubious, so a photo machine it will be. Can't stand the idea of going to a photographer for this, because seriously, I. do. so. hate having my picture taken when I can't control the outcome the least bit and having to fuss with how unsatisfied I am with result with a photographer over a measly identity-card photo - gah.

Thus I'm looking for a photo machine, preferably in a quiet location, where I can fume over the unsatisfying result in peace. Apparently a photo machine is a tricky thing to find these days - I used to love taking pictures in them when I was a kid/teenager and they were seemingly everywhere then - but I've located a few in the vicinity of Stockholm. Will have to go brave my demons soon, very soon. Probably this week. At least I have my dotty glasses to hide behind this time.

It's not as if you use that identity-card very often these days, but when you do, you really do. It's just weird to carry one's passport around for that. And well, if my current identity-card photo wasn't bad enough, the passport one is even worse. Plus I need a new passport very soon too. As one has to take the passport photo at the police that issues it these days, the notion of the "are you happy with this picture? - no - are you happy with this one? - no, I still look like a crazy hag"-conversation at the police station doesn't really fill me with joyous anticipation.


:: It may be flattering to have "the Getty Images team having noticed" my work on Flickr and being offered "an invitation-only service for Flickr members to license their photos for commercial use." But the idea of stock photo, exclusivity and the vagueness of pricing - no I will not sign up. 


:: I just know there were more things I'd thought of jotting down in this post, but they're nowhere to be found at the moment, at least not in reach within the head of undersigned.

So instead I'll finish this post of on a lighter note, as it begun if you will. Ztina and Zigne, 4,5 weeks old, pure candy joy for the eye and mind. More of them tomorrow. Beware of cuteness overload.

instagram statigram

Since this is another day of me being crazy tired - but oh no, in bed yet I am not - this will be another very short post - but meaningless, nah, not on my watch - about a nifty li'l thing regarding one of my most used iPhone apps, Instagram. Which is kind of like Twitter but with pictures only. The beauty of Instagram is that you can snap a picture, use different filters (and tilt shift) or snap publish as is. And that's what I use it for only.

I have to say that I find it completely pointless and ridiculous to publish old photos, upload SLR photos or subject the photo to all sorts of super-magic-photoediting-apps before publishing. For that there are other forums, like Flickr and such.

Instagram is just what the name indicates, instant snaps in the here and now. The built in filter-options are just a nice bonus, to fiddle with sharpness and light is a no-no. And that is the almost natural beauty of it all. Especially for us, in some parts of life if certainly not all, perfectionists that learn to see and accept the beauty in quick, unedited snaps. Because true beauty it is, in many cases if not all.

My Statigram (which is the statistics of Instagram, ah lists, love them, however silly they may seem...) can be found at statigr.am/piaktw (also, needless to say, but I'll do it anyway, my Instagram user name, if you care to follow me there. As if the blog isn't enough of me already.)

Like with Twitter I'm not really interested in following as many as possible, or being followed and getting as many "likes" as possible (even if they are appreciated indeed). I like good interaction. In life as well as online. So I like to keep the following to a graspable amount of users.

As seen above, three of my most "liked" photos show cat, semla, Café Lyran and Stockholm City Hall. Which aptly enough are some of my favourite things in life. Instagram style.

shoe per diem

There's a group on Flickr called Shoe Per Diem, eventually I joined.

Even though I wouldn't say I'm addicted to shoes - really - I do enjoy a good pair. These days mostly because they have to be really comfy, up for long walks without giving sore feet and be the source of blisters, at the same time they certainly need to look quirky good. Since it's actually not too often one stumble over those to features in one shoe I'm always looking for shoes that offer both. Definitely not always buying, but yes looking. And drooling. And wishing. And hoping.

Because shoes that are good to feet are essential.

The purpose for Shoes Per Diem has been summarized like this; "we wear the same shoes for long periods of time depending on the season and current obsessions, but the idea here is to catalog time so at the end of the year we can look back and see where our shoes took us." Which I find an appealing idea.

And no, I most certainly do not belong to the clique who believes group is a great excuse to buy new shoes, no, no. I like lists and cataloguing, I like taking quirky snaps, I like shoes and that's that. Yup.

Shoe Per Diem exists as a blog too, I've never posted on it since I'm quite satisfied with just adding my own odd photo to the Flickr group now and then. Yes, because another good thing about the group is that you really don't need to post a shoe photo every day, once a week or on special occasions is alright also. Besides, all days, no matter how good the shoes are just aren't worth commemorating in shoe snap.

What one can safely say about my Shoes Per Diem is that the difference between what I wear at home and what I wear when out and about, it is miles and miles apart. In-house most always these brilliantly comfy extremely shabby full of holes old Birkenstock slippers. I do believe they turn 10 years come autumn and back then it took quite a while before my feet got accustomed to their orthopedic soles. Once they did, they kind of got glued to feet as soon as I was inside my own home. Come summer come winter.

I suppose I should get looking for another pair before these fall totally apart (the holes a b.i.g even if not all visible in photo) but it is kind of sad and I keep putting it off. Because I do heart my beloved shabby grey wool gnome shoe pair.

Only eight members so far, found here and there on the planet, more members welcome, for information how to join check out the group.

sunday evening

Sometimes one weekend, two days, just isn't enough time to relax and wind down and prepare for another week. Quite often I find that being so. Unless one absolutely love the way one spends the week of five days I suppose. Which I, alas, don't particularly do at the moment.

For the weekend that was I had many fine plans, big and small, errands, crafts, outings, relaxing things as well as uplifting stuff. I think I completed about 20% of them, because there was also a dire need of good long sleep and necessary be me-time to spend. And sadly not nearly as much reading that I would have liked. Now it's once again Sunday evening and I can't see the week offering a lot of time to complete those things either.

I also had plans to write this and that on blog, but there seem to be something seriously wrong with the uploading and downloading on Flickr. Not only my own photos seem to be 'the dreaded red X' photo not available or only half visible, but that's what I'm met with on other blogs that use 'the Flickr-method' too. Or maybe it's just my computer misbehaving. Anyone having the same problem with Flickr pics?

Anyway. Hopefully it'll be sorted, one way or the other until tomorrow. When I hope to finally be able to announce the winners of the postcards - bookmark giveaway. I already know who they are, soon you will too. In an ideal world I would love to be able to give each and everyone who left a comment in that post a set of the above, since I was (and am) truly chuffed about their absolute sweetness. Instead I offer tulips on blog and wish you all the finest of weeks ~

*tulips will have to wait, Flickr will just not cooperate,

for now there'll be only heartfelt wishes*

postcard - bookmark giveaway ~

Recently the camera hit the # 30.000 photos taken - snow bouncing!

Now there are 10.000 plus photos uploaded to the Flickr account (which I use also as an extra 'safe-keeping-online' place).

I thought it would be nice to share the special moment(s) with a little giveaway here in blog.

Little as in a set of 3 postcards and a wee bookmark - similar to the ones for sale in the Prosit shop on Etsy - will be given to two (2) recipients that leave a comment to this post and tell what kind of posts you enjoy the most (be it cats, dogs, food, Stockholm, crafts etc and so forth). Leave comment no later than January 31st CET and you'll participate in a draw (in which I hope to get the best of furry helpers as usual). The two lucky (I hope) recipients of postcards-bookmark will of course recieve something with motifs that match their comments...

And which was the 10.000 photo?

- One of the photos from Gdansk past October that I had forgotten to upload until now.

in dalhalla - peter carlsson & blå grodorna

Dalhalla is a unique outdoor musical event stage situated and built in an ancient lime stone quarry in Dalecarlia. It's supposedly quite an experience to see a concert there, at the bottom of the quarry surrounded by the forest, the dark sky, the lights, the performances, the acoustic makes it magical. They claim, some say. Since 1993 there have been 20-30 performances from May-September.

Until a few months back I had only seen the stage and quarry from outside the surrounding fence. Then we had the opportunity to see a musical entertainment with Peter Carlsson & Blå Grodorna (Blue Frogs). A mix'n'match band (music from different genres, jazz, Swedish folk songs, rock, French chansons, blues, pop, ballades, quite a bit of tall tales, sing-talking and so forth....) that has been pretty much sold out since the band got together somewhere around 1993.

-

This Dalhalla show was my first proper encounter with them and we had a lovely (even if not everything in the repertoire appealed to me) evening, even if I wasn't all that impressed by the venue and the acoustic, lots of mosquitoes, and alas not the least bit of magic. (For some reason I always find it difficult to "feel the magic" when one has to share a live show with thousands of others...) So, no, I would probably not jump at the opportunity to attend another event at Dalhalla - well, perhaps if Pet Shop Boys would perform I would find it quite irresistible - but I'm glad I've experienced the place from inside at least once.

-

The first night of the Dalhalla season was a lovely light, warm, early summer evening, a couple of the best seats "in the house" (front row, as close to the stage one gets, still not as close as one would think since there's a moat separating the stage from the audience), an appetizing picnic, a brisk walk uphill after the show ended (when the night had far from fell as far as light was concerned) made for an overall rather awesome night with or without magic and spell bounding acoustic.

A film glimpse from the show itself,

a couple more pieces with the band can be found here and here,

more of my Dalhalla - concert photos on Flickr

random photos athens, IV

ancient agora, the stoa of attalos

acropolis seen from the ancient agora, ancient art meets...

... a modern running man, sculpture "dromeas" at evangelismos. amazing piece all made of glass sheets.

one lucky dog in the plaka district...

oh the joy to have an inspiring workplace looking like this.

these steps on the lycabettus hill may be nothing compared to the hellish staircase at möns klint in denmark. but if you're anything like the tin can woman it might as well have been...

the view from the top was breathtaking. once again, can you spot acropolis?

after the steep, long walk one ridiculously overpriced pistacchio icecream for two hit the spot.

eyes that haunt me still, the hard life as a stray cat in athens.

glimpses from one amazing sculpture park cemetery, 1st cemetery. grand, yet time-stained, serene, eerie, fascinating and so very different from a Swedish cemetery. If it hadn't been for the qualmingly strong flower fragrance everywhere (that I obviously in my state of the flu couldn't smell but made me cough and made my eyes hurt) I could have walked around there forever and ever.
.

.

one of the creepiest tombs i've ever seen, really, what were they thinking?

.

evil chucky turned tombstone.

last supper in athens. simple and reasonably nice greek salad. way too much olive oil though.
~

More on Athens in previous posts and other places;

random thought on athens

random photos athens, I

random photos athens, II

random photos athens, III

athens photos on pomp & serendipity

athens flickr photos

random photos athens, III

Befittingly, in this heat - as far as us Swedes, Northerners are concerned of course - here are a some more photos from Athens. And the omnipresent question in this case being; why isn't warm/hot weather nearly as difficult/sticky to deal with when abroad compared to at home?

Military parades and procedures like these evzones at the monument of the unknown soldier are so. not. my. cup. of. tea. Ever.

The dog's point of view of the whole fuss.
I can relate.

This quite obviously isn't the Stockholm underground. This impressive one is clean, pretty and with trains running as scheduled.

Frappe, with a taste which can be described as cold, burnt coffee made with dishwater. Once, never again.

Colourful and quaint in Monastiraki.

Old meets new in Monastiraki.

In the backstreets of Monastiraki, oh if more scaffoldings could be covered in such wonderful fabrics!

These guys played some enchantingly lovely music in Monastiraki.

A whole lot of clothes going on despite the obvious heat.

A Swede in Athens, Carl Larsson painting on a sign for what I presume is a restaurant...

One of many picturesque churches.

The shining exception to the rule of crap vegetarian food in Athens, this salad with marinated mushrooms, halloumi, mixed fresh vegetables and sesame seed breadsticks was quite, quite lovely in all its simplicity.

A glimpse of the controversial new Acropolis museum.
And a very blue Beetle.
Under an orange tree.

Acropolis at night.

random thought on athens
random photos athens, I
random photos athens, II
athens flickr photos