I was lucky enough to get a private tour of an exhibition on its very last day. It was at the Hanmi Gallery, in Maple Street, Fitzrovia, which is in itself a space in transition. The exhibition is curated Maria Marro-Perera and shows photography work by four different photographers, “exploring the idea of space, time and decay”. I particularly went because I know Maria, and also Susan Johnson Mumford (founder of the Association of Women Art Dealers and Be Smart About Art Academy) and one of the 4 photographers, Chris King.

Why I am blogging about it

I decided to blog about it here to prove that everyone can be a “roving reporter” and also to show how a blog can be posted on the same day the thought occurs to you. Today is a Saturday so I thought a relaxing way to spend my evening would be to do a spot of blogging.

And one more very important reason

While this exhibition has gotten some press, I don’t think enough. The exhibition such an interesting concept, dreamt up by Maria, and the gallery where it is held is actually a “space in transition” due to undergo extensive renovation itself. Today though it’s in “pre-renovation” mode, and so the space has it’s own visual interest and beauty. Check out the pictures below!

Spaces in Transition - work by Chris King

Spaces in Transition - work by Fernando Perez Fraile

Spaces in Transition - work by Fernando Perez Fraile

Spaces in Transition - Chris King

Spaces in Transition - Susan Johnson Mumford and Chris King

1. Instead of telling people about this “thing” you saw and saying “Google it, there are loads online” you can send them a link to your blog post
2. You can share the post itself on your social networks, and it’s another piece of content that can be shared and share.

Anyway, I am sure you don’t want me waffling about content curation blog posts for long, and you are itching to play these videos. Enjoy!  And let me know in the comments if you have more for me to include here.

A bit of background:

There are these amazing special houses which have been rigged up with lights and synchronised with music – must be seen.

Idaho Christmas House Lights Show to Dubstep

Awesome Skrillex Dubstep Dancing Christmas Lights House

Christmas Light Show 2011 – Sexy and I Know It

Fantasy Christmas 2011 – Wizards In Winter

Found this incredibly cute animated video which had to be shared! It was created by Metro Trains Melbourne. Loads of gems here, so watch it over and over and over!

This isn’t some fad self-help blog. I am not writing this to make money. I am not just inventing a catchy title to get people to read this (ok maybe I am a little bit). I just want to put this out there and see who agrees – that 70% of the time – this is the score.

The reason I am putting this onto this blog – as it’s important to add context – is that this post is a good example of an observation on a reality (with a catchy title)

This is – I admit – a generalisation about how men and women behave in the early stages of a relationship – where they haven’t yet found their balance. The relationship is typically one sided – with the girls pouring lots and lot of love into the relationship and the guys being aloof and non-committal.

The guys started off by gracefully prancing and showing off how smooth their coat was, how graceful they run and how high they jump. How could a girl resist?

How are women like dogs?

Imagine this scenario. You come home tired and stressed. Your dog bounds up and wants to lick your face and engulf you with unconditional love. They give wholeheartedly. You feel overwhelmed by it all. You just want to sit and calmly pet the dog – not be bowled over and have the dog lick you all over your face – yuck!

If you leave the dog too long he whines pitifully and looks at you with sad eyes. You feel guilty and give the dog attention. The dog loves you more.

How are men like  cats?

Imagine the scenario. You come back home from work. Your cat is in the next room snoozing. In order to get your cat’s attention you have to go over and pay attention to it. But not too much or the cat will run away. You feel insecure and wish to be continuously validated.

The cat – if left alone in the other room – will eventually saunter in and ask for food. It will wrap itself around your legs purring and may even sit on your lap. It may scratch you but without any real maliciousness – more an absent minded pain infliction. The main purpose for the cat is to keep clean and groomed and in tip top shape – win a bit of adventure (tearing around the house, chasing bugs and mice and squeaky toys) and of course plenty of rest and relaxation! You may want more from the cat but it isn’t your decision and if you try and force the cat to love you it will distance itself further from you.

Dog people and cat people

Is this a thing? I am not sure – but use the comments box below to respond. Do dog people love more? Are cat people emotionally unavailable or distant? Discuss!

Why backdate your blog posts?

It’s about the impression you are giving. You don’t want to look like you have a blog which you haven’t kept up to date – even if it’s true. It’s possible to make it SEEM like you were super efficient and blogging all along. You see, when you share a post, and people land on your blog, they see the other posts and when you wrote them.  This is a good thing – as it means your older posts can be read. But it’s also a bad thing, if you have been neglecting your blog.

I recently had a creative brainwave and posted a post about cats and dogs. This wasn’t appropriate to put onto the Top Left Design blog as it had nothing to do with marketing or design.

I then noticed it had been over a year since I last put a post onto this blog. And since this is a blog about blogging, that’s really bad. But my evil plan is to cover my tracks. So eventually, no one will know (except you). And WordPress allows you to publish a post in the past, or schedule it for the future. It’s magical blogging time travel!

How often should you be blogging?

For a business blog, I think it’s best to have at least one blog post per month. One a week is better. And since I hadn’t done this, I have to make it seem like I had. Fill up the calendar, cover my tracks!

So, I will have to write 11 blog posts about non time sensitive topics, and somehow relate them to blogging. And I will do this!

These will precede this one, so if you are reading this – it’s my confession and I am scuppered. To help me out I will be on the lookout for guest posts, list posts, recommendations and reviews – from other writers. I may even go and dig out those emails I keep getting from people saying they would like to provide content for this post, and ask them to send me what they have.

But rest assured, I will only accept high quality, useful content, as there is no point otherwise! Comments welcome below.

If you find something interesting, that you didn’t know about before, well there’s perfect inspiration to blog about it!
For example, I recently saw a tweet by Jorgen Sundberg about the Wilhelm Scream which lead me to a video of a compilation of this often used screaming sound effect which was originally recorded in 1951.

I didn’t know about it but it is a very popular sound within many Hollywood films – including Star Wars films, Indiana Jones movies, Gremlins 2, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek the Third, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and several Pixar films.

Check out the video:

You can read all about it here on Hollywood Lost and Found.
And there is a complete list of the movies with this effect here.

I recently read an article about the dangers of a society which spends its time communicating digitally. The author in grave and sonorous tones indicated that eventually our brains are going to become rewired in a way which will make communication in person unmanageable. He mentioned facial expressions would soon be lost and tone of voice would become redundant. Computers have had some success in installing emoticons in a lot of chat forums. Personally they just don’t quite do the job. In the realm of real life contact, I hope that hugging survives.

There are many different hugs. Each one telling a tale about the huggers.

5 types of hugging you’re likely to have encountered:

“Hey I haven’t seen you in ages-two arm hug”

This is mainly done with the arms long and shoulders. The connection is all in the upper chest and lasts around two seconds. The arms are thrown around loosely and the hug usually ends with a little embarrassment and very little eye contact. Both huggers generally laugh a little till one of them breaks the ice with a “how the hell are you?” or something to that effect.

“You’ll get them next time hug”

This one involves one arm over the top of the shoulder and a double forearm shake. It says I still support you no matter what and even though you weren’t good enough this time keep working at it. It usually follows with an ego nursing breakdown about how the other person cheated.

“Heart hug”

This one is a little more intimate. Both huggers are opening themselves up to the other by connecting from the heart upwards. Proximity is tight and the arms wrap inwards and around the other person. The hug is slow and gentle and is held for about five seconds. Both huggers feel warm and connected afterwards and it is often followed by comfortable silence.

“Don’t let go hug”

This one is usually initiated by one of the huggers hugging the other with ferocious intent. The arms constrict the huggers and the hug is held much longer.  Usually only one of the two huggers hugs this way, the stronger hugger bringing the other deep into them. Sometimes it is reciprocated by the second hugger at the end of the contact with a confirming “I’ll never let go re-squeeze”, or occasionaly the arms of the second hugger go limp and the back bends with submission as every last drop of air is squeezed out. The answers are different in each case- either the huggee holds fast and says “don’t worry I won’t” or “you are literally suffocating me-let go”. This can depend on the strength of the initiator.

“Whole body hug”

My own personal favourite. This one starts up high and travels down the body as the chest, abdomen, pelvis and legs connect. It usually involves one of the two huggers staggering and sliding in the hips so there is a little more connection down under. It is a sneaky hug because from the outset it looks like the “heart hug” however there is a lot more going on in other areas- “if ya know wot I mean”

I am hoping that as we delve deeper into our digital communication habits, with the need for face to face contact becoming less of a priority- that we don’t forget the things which truly connect us. Personally I plan to practice hugging a little more regularly. It’s an art that is well worth developing.

He was also recently on the Today Show and he got all the hosts of the today show to try his acapella – see the video below for the story!

Here is the video Dave was referring to!

That’s why below, we have linked to 2 fantastic blogs, which should hopefully inspire you into becoming a better and more active blogger yourself!

Copyblogger was founded in January of 2006 by Brian Clark. Brian is CEO of Copyblogger Media, a serial entrepreneur, and a recovering attorney.
The website focuses on creating compelling content as a way to drive traffic to your website. Making content that people want to read is an art in itself, and one of the most fundamental parts of being a successful blogger! If you don’t create interesting content, nobody will want to read it, or share it!

Problogger is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium.

Darren Rowse started the site in September 2004 mainly because he wanted to keep a record of what he was learning about blogging for money. Since then he has added well over 3500 articles, tips, tutorials and case studies to the website archives.

So get reading, and get inspired!