Language

From my oldest brother's Facebook update - a clever use of language...

A linguistics professor was lecturing to her class one day.

"In English," she said, "A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Nice, Grasse, Vance and beyond

Here are a couple of images taken over the past 2 days in the South of France... including some beach totty. There are so many sexy French guys around! :-)

Street photography - Menton & Monaco

Pete and I are in Nice for a few days. We took the bus to Menton yesterday and then another to Monaco.  It was a wonderfully warm day (my head got a bit burned!).  Here are a few 'street photography' style images - i.e. candid shots of people...

A couple of random images

Here are a couple of photos that I have taken this week that I thought I would share with you.

I was playing around with the camera a couple of days ago and came up with this shot; it's a bit flawed in places but I like it anyway...

And taken on the tube, some clever person has amended an Underground warning sign...

Images copyright Stephen Chapman 2011

Jacob Von Hogflume

Pete came across this image yesterday and I thought it was brilliant.

Jacob Von Hogflume was said to have invented time travel and has been honoured with a blue plaque and was known to have lived in various parts of the UK before his death and after his death as well.

Actually, Jacob Von Hogflume is the fictitious inventor of time traveller, as well as a former and future resident of London. Invented by Dave Askwith and Alex Normanton, and documented in their book "Signs of Life", the Von Hogflume sign proclaimed to mark the residence of the 19th century inventor. This sign was one of many signs created by the duo.

Other made-up signs from their book are below:

The Tube

Over on Andrew's blog, he occasionally highlights an iconic image.  One of the most iconic is the London Underground logo, which the organisation cherishes and takes legal action all over the world to stop any abuse.  The roundel was designed in 1908 and the simple shape, colour and font are instantly recognisable.

 

If you want to buy the real thing, made by fusing glass particles to sheet metal, the London Transport Museum can arrange it for you... for a price!

 

The metre squared option (i.e. those used on the platforms) is a snip at £895.  A slightly smaller version at a bargain £795.

 

Due to the price, we will stick with our own much smaller version that is on our bathroom door...

 

Five on the fifth #28

Welcome to '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading up to the 5th of the month. Remember to mention my blog on your own blog, so that your visitors can find the other contributions. You can take 5 random pictures or follow my suggested theme: PLEASURE.

You no longer have to leave a comment with your details (though comments are welcome) - just complete the form below including your name and location in the 'link title' field and like magic, you will appear in the list of contributors.

My images are below:

A place that gives me a lot of pleasure is a mile or so from my Parents house in Kent.  It's a Neolithic burial site called Coldrum, that sits just below the North Downs and it's a strange place to visit. There is something "different" about it that I have never been able to put my finger on - it has a presence about it. Along the route to it are a few seemingly random stones (about 3 foot across) just laying on the ground - these are clearly marker stones put in place 4000 years ago to link other burial places, including a long barrow in the village my parent live. I took these pictures on Sunday during a heat wave in England...

Poor service

Customer service data over many years tells us that when we receive good service from a business, we tell 5 people on average. When we receive bad service, we tell 9 people.

So here I am telling my 9 readers about Tesco Mobile.  :-)

Pete has had a contract for a little under a year but around 2 months ago, his mobile phone stopped working.  Basically, people could barely hear him though he could hear them.

After sending the phone back THREE times and it being returned without being fixed, they now want him to send it back again.  He has refused and demanded a replacement... which they will not do.  Now I believe that they are breaking several consumer laws, but who do you complain to? The call centre staff are simply defensive and are unwilling to help.

The staff have cared little all through the process and one even refused to pass him to a manager when asked.  He has now cancelled his plan and will be going elsewhere.

As we know, Tesco is huge and is trying to take over the world.  I am sure that they couldn't give a damn about one small mobile contract.  However, I will avoid their shops and petrol stations for a while to dent their profits by a few pence!

30 second movie #5

A silly video filmed last Saturday featuring Pete and Sonny discussing a waste of food - I used an iPhone app to make the recording look like a Super 8 film from yesteryear...

5 for October

Here we are again just a few days away from the next '5 on the fifth'. Take 5 photographs on the days leading up to the 5th and publish those on your own blog and then add the link to my blog so that others can find your images. 

You can either take 5 random pictures or follow this months theme:

PLEASURE