Got round to watching a one hour show entitled R.E.M. at the BBC which, as expected, was a retrospective of some of their best live performances on BBC TV. Produced following the announcement that the band is splitting up, it was a reminder of their inventive music, how great they were as a live act, and how many of their songs have marked significant moments in my life.

Even though I already have most of their albums, it was off to iTunes to buy the double album reflecting their thirty year career. Have been playing it ever since and have had to revert to headphones following one of those looks from she who must be obeyed.

Sudden post lunch urge to take a photo or two and raided the limited balcony flower collection for a few shots. All with Panasonic GX1 and either Voigtlander 25mm or Yashica 55mm Macro. First two processed through Topaz B&W Effects, the last one just in Lightroom.

She who must be obeyed just asked me how long we had been together. This was a rhetorical question because she knew I would have no idea. Turns out she wasn’t sure either and she resorted to her email store of memories. The answer was “almost nine years”, an excellent result because that means there is no immediate need for significant anniversary gifts.

In spite of our extended relationship, I regret I have to announce that I got married to someone else last week; albeit briefly. Fortunately for the sanctity of my genitals, this all happened within the world of Skyrim.

Dear Starbucks Thailand,

I often ask myself why I frequent Starbucks. It certainly isn’t for your coffee. I can find better coffee at lower prices at a number of other outlets, and indeed I must admit I can pull a pretty good shot myself with my coffee machine.

But this morning, as with many other mornings, I found myself at your outlet in Central Beach Pattaya for a morning coffee in the company of my dear wife. We go to Starbucks for what I am sure your marketing people call “the Starbucks experience”. We can sit in comfortable chairs, in pleasant surroundings, without being blasted by techno and only occasionally being annoyed by other people’s children, nursing a substantial mug of coffee for as long as we choose.

Only this morning, we couldn’t. Because there were no mugs.

Sacrebleu! I exclaimed (I tend to revert to old French when surprised). Your charming sales lady explained that you are moving to a new logo and the mugs had the old logo so they could not be used. Instead I was given my cappuccino in a crappy cardboard cup festooned with Xmas motifs. If I had wanted a coffee in a crappy cardboard cup festooned with Xmas motifs I would have gone to a cheaper outlet. At Xmas.

Now listen here Starbucks. I understand the importance of brand, I really do. I spent more than thirty years working for an oil company who considered that their rendition of a sea shell was more sacrosanct than Mona Lisa’s leer. But if you are going to change your brand logo, plan it properly. Get your new branded items ready and then swap them for the old. Don’t throw away the old and then fob off your customers with cardboard crap in what could be seen to be as a feeble attempt to clear old Xmas stock.

Were you worried that serving customers with coffee in mugs bearing last week’s brand was somehow going to offend them? Oh my God, this brand is so last week! I demand a refund and might well projectile vomit the coffee over this finally upholstered chair in protest! Hate to let you down, but we are just aware of a green blob on the mug; if it were a different green blob we wouldn’t notice. But if the mug was suddenly a cardboard cup bearing effigies of a reindeer in what appeared to be an advanced state of paralysis, with fairy lights, then yes we definitely would, and did, notice that.

I note your mission statement includes the line: “Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time”. I am neither enthusiastic nor satisfied and will not be back until you are serving coffee in mugs again, and I don’t care what logo is on the side.

Yours Sincerely, Spike

Just waiting around till he gets a good kicking.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there were two main types of cameras. There was the DSLR, a camera where you looked through a viewfinder and saw through the lens. This required a flapping mirror device which had many shortcomings; but was the only way you could effectively work with different lenses on the same body. And then there was the point and shoot camera for those who just wanted to take snaps and had no interest in fiddling about with lenses.

And Panasonic and Olympus saw this situation, and verily they saw that it was nonsense. Surely there was a market for an interchangeable lens system without the size, weight and complexity of a DSLR? And there was, and they called it Micro Four Thirds (MFT) and it was announced in August 2008.

Damn right….

Had to make a trip to Bangkok today, and on the way back I stopped off at a Chinese cemetery that I have wanted to visit for some time. The light was dull; so I stuck most of the shots through Topaz B&W Effects. Particularly like the first one which has an infrared treatment, and I used the local brush in Topaz to bring back the red lettering. All shots taken with a Panasonic GX1 with an Olympus 45mm lens, because that is the only lens I had with me.