Doctor Who - the End of Time figures

Just announced new Doctor Who action figures based on the final two part tale that saw the end of David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor, there's a set of End of Time figures coming soon, with the injured Tennant Doctor, the blonde Master, Timothy Dalton's impessive, be-robed Time Lord and - wait for it! - the first Matt Smith Doctor Who action figure, with him right after the regeneration, still in the previous incarnation's clothes.







And on the fun side there's also a new Time Squad set of Doctor Who figures coming, with the collection coming together to assemble a Master figure. Funky!

Brrrsville!

Walking along the gorge of the River Almond by the weir and ruined old mill by Cramond, big chunks of ice floating in the river, large, flat sheets which the ducks were using to sit on, and huge rows of icicles hanging down from the overhanging rocks like enormous fangs. Couldn't resist taking some pics and shooting a brief video 360; the roar of water over the weir and the current in the river below it were both very strong, presumably with some of the snow and ice melting into it (going to be a lot more of that over the UK when the cold snap actually lifts properly). The temperature was actually slightly better during the daylight hours today than it's been recently, but on the banks of the nearby Forth the ferocious wind felt like it was straight from the Arctic. Still, at least it was good for the kite surfers who were having fun when we passed along the windswept and still icy prom.

The mysterious White Isles...

Somewhere, legend tells us, off the western end of the dark sea by the very edge of the known world lie the mysterious White Isles, a strange land blanketed in snow and ice where few may travel... How cool is this NASA satellite image of frozen Britain (via the BBC)? There's barely a scrap of colour to be seen, the entire British Isles appears to be white (must be a BNP dream!). Check the larger version on the Beeb site, its beautifully detailed and clear, you can easily see Loch Ness and the Great Glen in the north of Scotland while the western coast of Scotland looks astonishing

4, 000 pictures

My Woolamaloo Flickr stream has just reached the 4, 000 images mark after uploading a few pics taken while out playing in the snow today, including these ones (below) as I enjoyed yomping across deep, almost unbroken snow on the rugby pitch at Meggetland sports centre - it was so nice and deep I could take big 'Moonwalk' steps (as in actual Apollo mission 'kangaroo' leaps, not Jacko style gyrations) as it cushioned each landing, it was great fun. Still wondering exactly how I managed to hit 4000 photographs and video clips and not sure if its something to be proud of or worried about. Although I am pleased that some have appeared on the BBC website and others have been shared to use on communal news sites by citizen bloggers, online galleries, various other sites and a handful even got borrowed, printed and framed for display at a community art project in Edinburgh. Which I have to say I really like - I'm old school internet, been online since 1991 and like many who started then still cling to at least a remnant of the ideals we had in the early days that it was a medium to empower ordinary folks to give them voice and share work and art online.






a pic from today, the sun settting behind the modern Meggetland sports centre as I was playing in deep snow on the rugger field.



The 4000 photos range from pictures of family and friends...











... to hundreds of photos and short video clips of Paris...



















...black and white work...
















...images of Scotland, city and country and wildlife...




















...cute kitty cat pics...








...even the occasional celebrity...




...and naturally lots and lots of pics of my beloved Edinburgh. In fact over 1500 of the city and over 600 of the Festival. Hmmm, guess it all does mount up!
































I make no pretense to be a proper photographer (sometimes I get very lucky with the odd shot though), I'm really more of a gonzo photographer - I just shoot anything that catches my eye from historic buildings to jugglers to everyday life to famous writers at the Book Festival; I don't rework them in PhotoShop so what you see is pretty much what I saw, not re-touched, shot purely for enjoyment from the compact camera I almsot always carry with me.

Alma

BoingBoing points out this delightfully creepy animation by Rodrigo Blass: Alma is a short, five minute piece with some lovely animation and the feel of the old style fairy tales (before they were all made acceptable and twee for small children):

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Merrie Melodies

Via the invaluable Internet Archive folks comes this wonderful and very early entry in the career of a rabbit who would later become one of the most enduring celluloid stars and a personal role model for me when I was growing up, Mr Bugs Bunny:

Sleeping Tree

One of my photo friends online pointed me to Giulio Frausin and some rather lovely music - you can listen to it online or download it here, check it out and if you enjoy it pass it on.