Visitors to the Houses of Parliament each get a sticker to wear once they have passed through security. Down at the exit (by Westminster Hall) is some piece of signage, onto which the visitors plaster their redundant stickers. It is The People’s Cairn, tolling the number of people who have come to see our representatives at work.
Tag: Photo-Blog (Page 4 of 10)
Impromptu photos I’ve taken, usually with my mobile phone
I was in the Royal College of Surgeons for a conference the other day, and wandered past this vast canvas.
It is one of a number of paintings hanging around the place, depicting various committees and groups of Fellows of the Royal College. The other pictures depict small groups of people in natural looking poses. The result is a convincing ‘action shot’ of the Great and the Good, and they look quite dignified. This one, however, is clearly a composite of dozens of individual portraits, and the inaccuracies of scale and sightlines make for a slightly disconcerting effect. It was surely conceived as a pacifier to satisfy the members of some bloated committee.
Most bizarre is the inclusion of a tea-lady, centre-right. She has a neat plait, and her head turned shyly away from the viewer. Even so, she towers above the Fellows she is serving, and is by far the most compelling figure in the image.
I spotted this gentleman at Trafalgar Square, reading the Evening Standard, while he waited for a set of traffic lights to turn green. I wonder if he reads the paper at every junction, or whether he knows which lights have a long enough delay to allow him to get through the leaders without interuption?
I meant to post this image yesterday. A few people commented on the (in)appropriateness of the Prime Minister giving his speech set against a lush Tory blue.
The choice of blue is unwise not only because of the political symbolism, but because of the technological implications too. The even blue is the perfect colour for CGI work. Anyone with the most basic CGI software can take an excellent ‘key’ from that blue, and will be able to add Gordon to any number of amusing or satirical locations – the most obvious being the Tory party conference. In this, the age of the ‘mash up’, I do not doubt several such projects are already underway, in upstairs bedrooms in cul-de-sacs up and down the land.
The Zidane footage from the World Cup last year had similar benefits. The assault was filmed against the green grass of a football pitch, and easy to replace with whatever the comedians wished.
The satirical mash-up, perfectly given a platform due to the wonders of YouTube and its ilk, will only become more common as time passes, and more and more people become more and more savvy with software that is less expensive.
Update
Compare the pictyure above, with this one from later in the week.
This caption, from BBC News early on Saturday morning, caught my eye:
China Buddhism
New Regulations on Reincarnation
There is plenty of debate in the UK (and in Europe) about the parameters of political discourse, and the role played by religion. Our governments are accused of disingenuous behaviour and doublespeak. But let us be thankful that we do not have to deal with dictats so utterly senseless and evil as those reported here.
The move by the Chinese is another depressing chapter in their suppression of Tibet. My interview with the Dalai Lama is here.