Apologies for the lack of head****ing last Sunday (we had an inspection of all the house electrics the next day, plenty plenty tidying needed!) To make up for it, here are links to a bumper crop of stereograms to give you eyestrain in time for Monday morning.
Taken from Eyetricks.com, who have over 100 more examples for you to go goggle eyed over.
Being able to see into stereograms is a bit of an acquired skill but it's easy once you know how. I find the best way is to pick 2 bits of the picture that look the same and go cross-eyed so they merge together. If you're not sure how best to view the pictures, here's some handy hints from Eyetricks.
46 years ago today (which was a Saturday) the BBC aired the very first episode of its new family adventure series. The story was about two school teachers becoming concerned about one of their pupils who was behaving oddly and giving her address as a place that didn't exist. Deciding to tail her home, they discover her bizarre real life living in a police box with her crotchety grandfather.
In that moment, one of the greatest British icons of the twentieth century was born.
Sadly, the TV schedules were overshadowed by the tragic shooting of President John F Kennedy the day before, so the BBC took the wise decision to repeat episode 1 of Doctor Who the following Saturday, forming a double bill with episode 2.
In week 5 the Doctor's most famous enemy, the Daleks, made their first appearance and the series grabbed the public's imagination in a way very few shows have ever done, before or since.
So, performing my duty to show you the very best in art, design and media, here's that very first episode, An Unearthly Child, in all its YouTubed glory. Compare and contrast with David Tennant to your heart's content.
I know it's a good cause, think of the kiddies, yada yada yada, but I have to hold my hands up and confess I can't sit through the annual Children In Need telethon. Just the thought of singing newsreaders has me reaching for my off switch. Every so often, though, it throws up a little corker of an item and last night, while waiting for the sneak peak of the Christmas Doctor Who special, this one popped up.
Comedian Peter Kay has an amazing ability to gather the biggest names in British entertainment to take part in his charity pop videos. This time he promised a cast of nearly 100 famous faces, and he didn't disappoint.
There was just one thing that wasn't mentioned...
...not one of those famous faces was human.
Two years in the making, this is an incredible collaboration that brings together so many of the best loved cartoon and puppet characters that have been on British TV over the last 60 years. So whether you grew up on Muffin The Mule or Iggle Piggle, there's something here to bring back happy memories.
The song and video are already available to download on iTunes, and will be in the shops on Monday.
As I'm having a Waters Of Mars celebration weekend, here's my regular optical illusion with a Timelord twist.
It comes from a one-off 2008 BBC programme called Don't Miss A Trick, which was a spin-off from BBC3's highly popular The Real Hustle. In this clip, an 8 year old Doctor Who fan gets taken inside a real TARDIS (honest).
Unfortunately, the person who kindly posted this on YouTube didn't also post the solution, so you can't see how it's done. Thankfully, I remember it well so I'll give you my own explanation afterwards. To avoid seeing it as you watch the video, I'll include a lovely Waters Of Mars photo showing David Tennant defining the word dashing. You scroll past the photo, you see the secret. You have been warned. (Of course once you've seen the video you'll be gagging to know how it's done, anyway, but it's more fun if you take a few moments to come up with your own theory.)
The main deception in this trick is the right-hand monitor showing the top-shot of the TARDIS. It's a very clever split screen. The left of the shot (the front of the TARDIS) is live. The right of the shot (the back of the TARDIS) is actually a photo, lined up at precisely the correct angle to match the rest of the image. But it's only flipped into place once the girl's led the boy round the back of the TARDIS (which she does to prove there's nothing behind it). Then Kate, the presenter, distracts the parents and sister to look at something on the left-hand monitor so they don't see the right-hand one being changed.
While the man is telling the boy all about the keys, the behind-the-scenes crew are opening up the back of the TARDIS and the white wall. Full-length curtains mask the join between the open sets of doors. So when they eventually enter the TARDIS, they're actually walking into the room behind the white wall.
When they decide to take out a souvenir, they deliberately pick a statue that's way too big to fit in the police box, to add to the illusion that it's bigger on the inside.
Hey, if you can't play a prank on an 8 year old, especially one that makes his year, who can you play it on?
If, like me, you're hyperventilating with excitement waiting for the last Doctor Who special before The Big Two-Parter (gulp), here's your chance to relive the Easter episode, Planet Of The Dead...
Café Press have added 3 new colours to their range of aprons so you can look extra stylish cooking your Christmas turkey/goose/vegtetarian alternative.
Khaki and lemon aprons have been added automatically to all shops. To see them, click on the white apron in the Home & Office section and you'll see the other options. Select the colour of your choice and you'll then see what it will look like with my design printed on it. (Here's a clue - bloomin' gorgeous, that's what it'll look like!)
Aprons in white, khaki and lemon
Dark (navy blue) aprons are also available but I need to add these manually to the shops, so I'll be rolling them out along with the general update I told you about last week. So far you'll find them in the heart, apple and beachball designs.
Navy blue aprons - turkeytastic!
All aprons are 31" long x 29" wide, made from 100% heavy cotton twill and are machine washable. They feature a neck loop and waist-level drawstring. Two generous pockets are fitted to hold your cooking utensils, paintbrushes, gardening tools or whatever other use you want to put them to.
At £14 for the light apron and £15 for the dark*, these are great value, hard-wearing and stylish. You'll stand out from the crowd in my eyecatching exclusive artwork and I won't even mind if you get gravy all down it, honest!
To visit the shops, just click on a design you like from the buttons on the left of this page.
* Prices are set in US$, prices in other currencies are based on the daily exchange rate and therefore may vary.
Just to prove head****ing isn't a modern phenomenon, here's something which dates from around the late 19th century (actual date unknown). It was produced by the Liverpool photography agency of Brown, Barnes and Bell.
You might want to click on the image to see him in all his gloriousness (and work out his secret.)
For more about the gorgeous young thing in the photo, visit the source article at Mighty Optical Illusions.
If the dodgy weather's stopping you from getting to a real display over this bonfire weekend (it's never just November 5th now, is it?) here's a crazy (and totally safe) firework display to keep you amused for a few seconds.
Take a couple of minutes to check out PES' other animations as well, they're all really creative and very funny.
I'm in the process of updating all my Cafe Press shops to make sure the full range of products are available for you to order in time for Christmas. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be highlighting some of my favourites. If you're enjoying reading my blog, please lend my shops your support. Each one contains over a hundred products that are perfect for all your gifts, greetings and homeware needs.
In the current update, I'm adding Cafe Press' new range of organic T shirts to each shop. There are 13 styles, to fit everyone from babies to adults. Adult shirts come in standard and fitted cuts, and most of them are available in a range of colours.
The T shirts, produced by companies such as American Apparel and Econscious, are made of 100% certified organic cotton, so you can be guaranteed of their quality and comfort.
Here are some examples from the apple, beachball and heart shops, which are the ones I've updated so far.
All other shops will be updated over the next week and I'll keep you posted with my progress. You can get instant updates by following me on Twitter or Facebook, just click on the round "t" or "f" buttons on the left.
Also on the left, you'll see the buttons that take you to the shops. Just click on the design you like, and you'll be taken to all the amazing products you can have it printed on.
Just to make you feel that little bit worse after a night celebrating all things horrific (or watching the X Factor - same thing) here are some nice creepy ghosts to freak you out.
Click on the image to start the animation. Keep staring at the red star and you'll soon see things glowing at you.
In between caring for my elderly Mum I work on my ambition of being a freelance artist/designer specialising in greetings and giftware. I've got so many exciting ideas planned but money is tight and a little more financial support would help me to develop them. If you've enjoyed anything you've seen on this blog, I would really appreciate it if you could please browse my Café Press and Zazzle shops or just leave me a donation, however small. Thank you!
A freelance artist/designer since 1991, currently on a career break for family reasons. My Work In Progress blog is where I showcase my own art and my Electric Scrapbook celebrates stuff that inspires me, distracts me or just makes life a happier place.
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