Let England Shake by PJ Harvey

Three songs from her latest album, no need for a running commentary, i love it.

Email Scam

I recently received an email from a Mr Raymos, unfortunately i wasn't the only one. Names, locations and professions may change, but it's the same scam to steal your money. Be careful.

Hello
I saw a preview of your work via a friend of mine Sarah Edward she reside in London United Kingdom she a send me a link to a site that previewed your work so am writing in request to know if you can direct me to your own personal website where i can view more of your work and see if we can reach an agreement in purchasing some of it.

I am aconstruction engineer by profession in Madrid Spain am going to be displaying your work in both my office and resident my friend also tell me about your creative approach to you work and it's creativeness i do not reside in the England which as been a major concern to me on our to purchase your piece can you send me images or website to your new work.
Thanks
Raymos

The Tale of the Suspicious Spaniard..

I had an unexpected email last night from a spanish labourer who'd saw my work through somebody else's suggestion, and was interested in buying some things. All very nice, of course my first thought was that it was some sort of spammer, trying to rob of my much needed money. But there was no links in the email, no attachments, it was pretty straight forward, even the email address was without suspicion. And anyway, if you were going to try to scam someone of money, you're best bet isn't to pick on some struggling out of work artist.

I was also a little bit afraid too, it is much easier it is much easier to remain 'comfortably numb', to accept that no-one likes your work, no-one's interested, and no-one's going to buy it, because when someone comes up to you, out of the blue, with an interest in purchasing it.. i feel startled, cornered, i want to LASH OUT! But instead, i got over myself and replied very nicely, with a link to my personal website. Numbness and fear of some sort of success doesn't last very long when the other option is to carry on painting daily in a greenhouse.. in winter.. alone.

who knows, he might not get back to me.

....

Cecily Brown - a great artist, and a very good book.

Etsy

online at ETSY!

Etsy, the arts version of Ebay, now has a wastelandnumberseven shop! So alongside the shop at www.wastelandnumberseven.com you can now order my work alongside a whole host of other peoples!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/wastelandnumberseven

Robot

I find this to be quite an amazing video, robots, walking, they can walk up stairs, run, bicycle, play violin, just check youtube. But some reason this just makes me really sad, teary in a way. Is it the attempt at innocence in the design? is it the empty headedness of a 'being' which has none of it's own thoughts or desires? (are those numbers and codes it is programmed with, thoughts?) is it the childlike way it trustingly holds the hand of someone? or does it remind me about something of us.

It's all very touching anyway, in a cold sort of way. Someone commented on the violin playing robot video, that the playing "lacked soul". I, like many people i suppose, don't know what a 'soul' is, maybe 'feeling' or 'intuition' would be a better word. But it made me wonder if the whole of human life and activity could not live on, posthumously, within robots. Whether you could programme 'feeling'. To make a robot a living breathing record, an archive, of humanity.

It seems interesting also that robots take on the look of their makers. Surely there are much more effective designs for creatures, three eyes? 5 legs and a wheel? wings? but no, the attempt seems to be to make it look and move like a human. Assimilating human life.

On second thought, this sadness.. maybe it is some kind of hope, a brand new little creature, with no feelings, no thoughts of its own.. how are we to know, maybe that's not so different from ourselves? but experience, what little understanding i have so far, makes me doubt hope, it makes me sad when i see the brightness in childrens eyes, considering how little of it is left later on. but maybe that's my own shortcoming.

BUY MY WORK ONLINE!!! (or not.. up to you)

we've just finished the new Jules and Crispin, our late new year special:) and are raring to go on the next one!! www.julesandcrispin.com

[inter]sections - the latest magazine of peer-reviewed essays and reviews on art and other things from the faculty of American Studies at Bucharest University is now online! oh, and i submitted the cover drawing! http://www.americanstudies.ro/?article=144

also, i'm busy drawing something for a new blog (which i also have nothing to do with).. about horses and bikes, with hands.. very odd.. but here it is - http://horsewithhandsridingabike.blogspot.com/

oh, and did also mention you can now buy drawings and paintings of mine on my website, via paypal! very easy to use (only if you speak english though, unfortunately) and something which i've been nagged into doing despite many protestations by myself. (but it is lovely:) http://www.wastelandnumberseven.com/online-shop