18% Shades of Grey

A very grey or even black day. Started yesterday afternoon, set off by a pure chance look at Sky News doing an item about a new report claiming "Dogs can read their owners moods" . They can't think this is serious journalism: we animal owners all know our animals can read our moods and that since time immemorial (Anno dazumal in German)

Suddenly the idea came that maybe there was a BlipFuture opportunity. Instead of begging readers of my daily rantings to pledge money to save Blip (ok if you insist, here is the link) I would try to get some big publicity. But how do I get through to Kay Burley? She mentions several tweets ( I am a Twit and even have a Twitter a/c but don't understand it) and then suddenly Facebook. Ah, have an a/c there and while I don't really like it, I do understand 15% of how it works. So off to the FB page but sadly not a post on the subject found and so I couldn't tell the Rest of the World about Molly The Bliping Collie and her daily informed, literate, readable, intelligent (i.e. all the things mine aren't) journal about her owner, Ann.

Shame - but then I saw the item about the tragic avalanche in the French Alps and read the first viewer comment - I simply could not believe that there is anyone so heartless, so .... so..... so sick, so..... to write such words. Went something like "own stupid faults for wanting to be in f******* mountains".  I can't bring myself to look at the site and see the persons mug in the icon and copy the words.

Felt very depressed and then saw another FB posting on another page and closer to home and that finally did it - social networks they say. Blip has to be saved simply as a "Champion" of how it should be. I say this despite the fact that today I got a comment on a recent posting describing my thought processes as "diverse". I take that to be an honour - "couple of missing screws" or similar would be nearer the truth.

I simply was no longer up to Bliping my entry from the previous day, in a state of sadness when the news came through of the newest terror attack, in Jakarta. As if we haven't got enough problems with health, natural catastrophes, hunger, poverty.

Get to the stage where you wonder if future life will be possible without Blip. Looks like your own home will be the only safe place, using Blip to see what is happening in the world but I guess if we all sit at home  and photograph our cats it could become boring.

So as my old chum Phil used to say "Don't let the b******* get you down".
Come on everyone, get out and  keep the colourful Blips coming.

This positive vibes message I was giving myself was however dashed in to miniscule pieces when I opened the morning (e)mail. Today came the  week 2 message for the photography course headed "Shooting a black cat in a coal cellar is the hardest photograph you'll take!" and going on to inform me that regardless of everything I do, all my photos would be 18% grey. Black on black, white on white, it doesn't matter, it will be 18% grey. I didn't understand a word but a look out the window at the 82% grey remaining in the sky, I had to agree. Weather forecast is for lots of snow starting Friday, when it has finished brushing over the British Isles. I thought I would prepare myself for a photo shoot of Sultan (grey horse) prancing in the snow so grabbed camera and Cindy our black cat sitting on the light coloured sofa. Fired off a few shots until Luna came and B&W bombed our photo-shoot. This has just gone too far. Cleared everything and being off the sofa and laid down myself ..........Cocooning, I guess one calls it nowadays.