The garden gets more colorful every day...
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Rose
The garden is coming along nicely this summer... I did a little beading today but it's hot, I can't concentrate on anything for very long!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Pink & Green India Beaded Necklace
I love these Indian beads. I could easily buy some in every color possible...
Orange & Teal Necklace
I've been better about beading again...making some stuff for myself...and trying to be more disciplined about getting into the studio!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Flickr & ipernity
OK. I get it. Ipernity is just like the old Flickr (except they don't care if you mention you are selling something). But the thing is, I don't want an ipernity account. I'm not happy with the way Flickr slammed us with all the new stuff either; I was doing stuff there when it changed over and it did freak me out. My Facebook page from that night is filled with me freaking out, in fact.
I hate the way this whole Flickr fiasco is scattering people, friends and people who are in the Blythe community, and I'm sure people from other hobby communities are feeling the same way, going through the same things. I also don't blame people for going to ipernity--people have to do what is best for them. And I don't blame people who have accounts at both places now, whether just to see which is the better fit or to keep in touch with everyone. I get that.
Here's the thing, tho. I'm starting to feel like, to a certain extent, some people who went to ipernity think the people who didn't need to be cajoled and they will just go there and everyone will be happy. It's not everyone, for sure, and maybe they feel like the people who stayed at Flickr are doing the same thing to them. I guess what I'm saying is, it seems like this whole Flickr mess has turned from people being angry with Flickr to people feeling like they are bad or wrong if they don't do what other people are doing. It is getting me down, because it seems so silly.
I don't like everything at the new Flickr, and as I said I HATE the way they managed the transition. But the thing is, I did have a nose around ipernity just to see that all the fuss was about, and I wasn't really bowled over by it, either. I mean, is it even cool, the way they seem to have so blatantly copied (old) Flickr, right down to an Explore feature? I don't know; it doesn't seem so cool to me. I guess if I'm going to move 9,000 photos and break ties with someplace I have been for 6 years it's going to be for something amazing, not for a copy of something. Again, that's just me (when I left Pinterest I looked for something that was different enough that I didn't feel I was just back at the same old place).
Many of the things that people are upset about at Flickr can be avoided fairly easily. For instance, I agree that the home page is way too cluttered and I would like to choose which activity I see. So I just skip it--as soon as I land on it I don't look, I just click whatever I want at the top--recent activity, contacts, whatever. I get that justified view can be annoying, but I've had that for months with the exception of my photo pages, so I got used to it a long time ago (I get the feeling that Flickr foisted that on some of us much earlier than others, from what I have read recently...?). I'm not crazy about the crammed together photo page layout, but I will say that a couple weekends ago, when I took and posted a ton of photos, it was nice that all those new photos weren't immediately buried pages back merely because there were so many. So maybe the layout has some advantages (options would still be nice, tho!).
Also--and here's the big thing--I use Flickr for a lot of reasons. Yes, I use it for Blythe photos, and for keeping in touch with the dolly community. I also use it for garden photos, travel photos, nature photos, other interests like old graveyards and historical stuff, you name it... It's the place family and friends can easily see photos so I don't have to e-mail a bazillion photos a bazillion times (I'm from Wisconsin, but I moved to Scotland; so all my family and lots of my friends live on a different continent than I do). I admin groups there; some don't really need much attention at all from me, but some do. And then there are all the friendships I have built up. Not everyone else has moved elsewhere, and many have 2 accounts, so there is not a huge incentive for me to just up and leave. As for having 2 accounts, we're all different, but since I already have Flickr, Facebook, ArtFire, Tumblr, LoveIt, Google+, Blogger, and other things I know I am forgetting at the moment, do I really want or need yet another place that requires me to devote time to being online? For me, the answer is no. I considered it quite seriously, and for me it would be moving towards that line where I would just resent all the time I felt I had to be online. The thought of loading the same photos twice also doesn't appeal to me at the moment.
So, the thing is, I guess, I understand that some people like ipernity better, and I am glad it is there for them. But I don't like it, and while I think Flickr is far from perfect, I also find it is not the worst place in the world. I don't want to feel bad that I don't want an ipernity account. I am not betraying anything or anyone and I'm not a Flickr toadie; it's just that all things considered, there's no compelling reason for me to leave (and I would leave if there was; I left Pinterest when they decided they needed to censor art and I really loved Pinterest before that). If I left and went to ipernity, I wouldn't be doing it because I wanted to, or because I really like it there; and if I went both places, I have a strong feeling I would just end up resenting them both. It's just not for me. Not because I think Flickr is perfect; far from it. But ipernity isn't perfect either, and I already have a history at one place, and for that reason, it "wins" even tho it's got problems. And that's all there is to it.
I hate the way this whole Flickr fiasco is scattering people, friends and people who are in the Blythe community, and I'm sure people from other hobby communities are feeling the same way, going through the same things. I also don't blame people for going to ipernity--people have to do what is best for them. And I don't blame people who have accounts at both places now, whether just to see which is the better fit or to keep in touch with everyone. I get that.
Here's the thing, tho. I'm starting to feel like, to a certain extent, some people who went to ipernity think the people who didn't need to be cajoled and they will just go there and everyone will be happy. It's not everyone, for sure, and maybe they feel like the people who stayed at Flickr are doing the same thing to them. I guess what I'm saying is, it seems like this whole Flickr mess has turned from people being angry with Flickr to people feeling like they are bad or wrong if they don't do what other people are doing. It is getting me down, because it seems so silly.
I don't like everything at the new Flickr, and as I said I HATE the way they managed the transition. But the thing is, I did have a nose around ipernity just to see that all the fuss was about, and I wasn't really bowled over by it, either. I mean, is it even cool, the way they seem to have so blatantly copied (old) Flickr, right down to an Explore feature? I don't know; it doesn't seem so cool to me. I guess if I'm going to move 9,000 photos and break ties with someplace I have been for 6 years it's going to be for something amazing, not for a copy of something. Again, that's just me (when I left Pinterest I looked for something that was different enough that I didn't feel I was just back at the same old place).
Many of the things that people are upset about at Flickr can be avoided fairly easily. For instance, I agree that the home page is way too cluttered and I would like to choose which activity I see. So I just skip it--as soon as I land on it I don't look, I just click whatever I want at the top--recent activity, contacts, whatever. I get that justified view can be annoying, but I've had that for months with the exception of my photo pages, so I got used to it a long time ago (I get the feeling that Flickr foisted that on some of us much earlier than others, from what I have read recently...?). I'm not crazy about the crammed together photo page layout, but I will say that a couple weekends ago, when I took and posted a ton of photos, it was nice that all those new photos weren't immediately buried pages back merely because there were so many. So maybe the layout has some advantages (options would still be nice, tho!).
Also--and here's the big thing--I use Flickr for a lot of reasons. Yes, I use it for Blythe photos, and for keeping in touch with the dolly community. I also use it for garden photos, travel photos, nature photos, other interests like old graveyards and historical stuff, you name it... It's the place family and friends can easily see photos so I don't have to e-mail a bazillion photos a bazillion times (I'm from Wisconsin, but I moved to Scotland; so all my family and lots of my friends live on a different continent than I do). I admin groups there; some don't really need much attention at all from me, but some do. And then there are all the friendships I have built up. Not everyone else has moved elsewhere, and many have 2 accounts, so there is not a huge incentive for me to just up and leave. As for having 2 accounts, we're all different, but since I already have Flickr, Facebook, ArtFire, Tumblr, LoveIt, Google+, Blogger, and other things I know I am forgetting at the moment, do I really want or need yet another place that requires me to devote time to being online? For me, the answer is no. I considered it quite seriously, and for me it would be moving towards that line where I would just resent all the time I felt I had to be online. The thought of loading the same photos twice also doesn't appeal to me at the moment.
So, the thing is, I guess, I understand that some people like ipernity better, and I am glad it is there for them. But I don't like it, and while I think Flickr is far from perfect, I also find it is not the worst place in the world. I don't want to feel bad that I don't want an ipernity account. I am not betraying anything or anyone and I'm not a Flickr toadie; it's just that all things considered, there's no compelling reason for me to leave (and I would leave if there was; I left Pinterest when they decided they needed to censor art and I really loved Pinterest before that). If I left and went to ipernity, I wouldn't be doing it because I wanted to, or because I really like it there; and if I went both places, I have a strong feeling I would just end up resenting them both. It's just not for me. Not because I think Flickr is perfect; far from it. But ipernity isn't perfect either, and I already have a history at one place, and for that reason, it "wins" even tho it's got problems. And that's all there is to it.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Spring!
The garden is looking more colorful every day and today we are also enjoying some nice sunshine. Yay!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
LoveIt
So, I'm getting my LoveIt Collections a bit more to where I was at Pinterest--though I have several thousand less things posted so far! :p I have restarted many of the boards I had while at Pinterest, and have also added some new ones as well as fine tuning some of ones I wasn't quite happy with before. I'll get there again...
So far, I think LoveIt is OK, though not as all as busy as Pinterest. I miss all my old contacts and having lots of people see what I put up, but at the same time I don't miss having Pins removed for no reason, so I won't complain. Plus I have found I feel a bit more focused this time around--more choosy--which is actually more relaxing.
If you're interested you can see what I've been up to here: http://loveit.com/ElizabethJuddTaylor
Of course among other things I have re-started all my crafting boards (collections, whatever)...
So far, I think LoveIt is OK, though not as all as busy as Pinterest. I miss all my old contacts and having lots of people see what I put up, but at the same time I don't miss having Pins removed for no reason, so I won't complain. Plus I have found I feel a bit more focused this time around--more choosy--which is actually more relaxing.
If you're interested you can see what I've been up to here: http://loveit.com/ElizabethJuddTaylor
Of course among other things I have re-started all my crafting boards (collections, whatever)...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
First Five
This year I'm doing a craft project called "First Five." I received and sent my first items in the past week or so, and am looking forward to doing the rest (I am spreading them out through the year)...
Do not reply to the above photo--it is just explaining what First Five is. :) The slots were already filled at Flickr.
Here's what I've sent so far, to a Blythe friend:
I will be making a selection of crafty items, as not everyone I am sending items to like the same things! :)
Do not reply to the above photo--it is just explaining what First Five is. :) The slots were already filled at Flickr.
Here's what I've sent so far, to a Blythe friend:
I will be making a selection of crafty items, as not everyone I am sending items to like the same things! :)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Buddhas for Disaster Relief
Just a reminder--all necklaces sold from the Buddhas for Disaster Relief section will result in a donation to the Red Cross! For each necklace purchased I will donate $6 to them for help with disaster relief worldwide. Here's just some of the designs (see more at http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Bebopgirl1969Jewelry/1/7/746// ):
Monday, March 11, 2013
Pinterest Weirdness Part 3
Ha-ha! The form e-mails are getting ever more vague. Now the pin "might" have nudity in it (that seems to be the norm, the might bit) but they don't even tell you what the pin was (how can you check you don't have others like it if you don't even know what is was), or provide a link (when they e-mailed me back when I complained about the 4th pin they removed of mine they were going to provide links again--I still don't know what it was), and they don't even know if you or someone else pinned it; also, they don't even bother to define nudity any more and they are sorry if they screwed up. Maybe they could just start sending e-mails saying they have no idea why they are removing pins and they may very likely have made a mistake but could you please remove any similar Pins anyway even tho they can't tell you what they removed or why they actually did remove it...
My husband got this very non-helpful e-mail from Pinterest tonight (I removed his name and the Board name):
Hi --,
I'm sorry to say that we had to remove one of your pins from Pinterest. The reason is, it looks like the pin may have had nudity on it.
The pin was on your board "---" and it was originally uploaded by you or another pinner. Could you please remove any other pins like this from your account?
Right now we don't allow nudity on Pinterest, because a lot of people use our site at work and around their families. We’ve outlined all this in our Help Center and acceptable use policy.
If we made a mistake and your pin didn't have nudity on it, we're really sorry. Please let us know so we can keep improving our process.
Thanks so much for using Pinterest.
Sincerely,
Ben & The Pinterest Team
Ben & The Pinterest Team
Saturday, March 9, 2013
LoveIt | Elizabeth Judd Taylor from Scotland
LoveIt | Elizabeth Judd Taylor from Scotland
I'm getting there...added some new Collections today...and added to my Collections...in a way it's nice to have deleted all my Pinterest Boards (I found out after I did it I could have just imported them--eeeeeeeep!) as I can rethink categories. It's like moving house without having to pack anything. A totally fresh start.
I'm getting there...added some new Collections today...and added to my Collections...in a way it's nice to have deleted all my Pinterest Boards (I found out after I did it I could have just imported them--eeeeeeeep!) as I can rethink categories. It's like moving house without having to pack anything. A totally fresh start.
Getting Back to the Studio
I have not been making much jewelry-wise lately, but I'm trying to get out of the rut I've been in and get making again. I finished my Buddha Chakra Necklace a couple days ago and am hoping that it is the start of me getting back into the studio on a more regular basis!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Buddha Rainbows
Time to make a necklace for myself... I need to get myself out of this sort of crazy funk I've been in lately, so am thinking of making myself a Buddha necklace based on rainbows and chakras...
Monday, March 4, 2013
Beads, beads, beads!
I haven't been as busy a beader as I could have been lately, but I have added some awesome beads to the studio in the past few months and anticipate some quality beading time soon...
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Let's Hope This Site Is Better...
Have decided to give LoveIt a try. In the meantime I have reactivated my Pinterest account, but only in case I want to nab a link from over there (I put a lot of time into my Pinterest boards!) and to see if any more weirdness and pin blocking occurs--no more Pinning for me, unless things change drastically as far as the way they are dealing with things.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Spring!
Well, it's starting to look like Spring here, at least... I got a nice surprise when I went out today--lots of daffodils!
Pinterest Censorship, Part 2
I almost forgot to mention that when I tried to Pin this photo I was told I could not because, again, Pinterest does not allow nudity. From what I could tell, they had blocked the entire site, which appeared to be a Spanish gossip magazine site and on which I saw nothing but celebrity photos. Ummmmmmmm...???
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Why I will no longer be part of Pinterest... They seem to be going censorship crazy
UPDATE, August 13,3013: Well, given this news: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/pinterest-nudity_n_3361917.html and the fact that LoveIt seems to have been basically abandoned by whoever runs it, I am giving Pinterest a second chance. I will still leave my boards at LoveIt but am in the process of copying them over to Pinterest a bit at a time. Let's hope Pinterest is serious about being more open to art!
UPDATE, March 11, 2013: Still give them credit for sending an e-mail, but since then have read about lots of other non-TOS breaking pins being removed. So am still highly unimpressed. I get it. They have 2 main audiences: artsy types and extremely conservative types. They need to figure out a way to deal with both (perhaps, as I suggested in my e-mail, they could institute Safe Search and Moderated Pins? They didn't acknowledge that in their reply, instead asking me if I could help them think of a way to protect 13-year-olds from seeing art photography that might contain a hint if nudity. Ummmmmm, maybe read my e-mail again?). Still, that won't help the moms and midwifery boards, who appear to be having breastfeeding and birthing pins being removed now, in the name of both nudity and porn. Please, Pinterest, ART IS NOT PORN AND NEITHER IS BREASTFEEDING.
UPDATE, March 6, 2013: Well, it came a day too late, but I did just get an e-mail from a person at Pinterest offering to unblock the pins they removed. It seems they found this blog post after they read an e-mail I sent them yesterday afternoon. So, since I removed everything it's a bit late for me, but at least they read and listened to my concerns. And it was a nice e-mail, and they apologized for being confusing. So credit to them for that.
EDIT TO ADD: I have now read multiple accounts of this happening to other users as well, via blogs, Tumblr, even the Pinterest Facebook page... At least I know it's not just me, but what exactly is going on over there?!
So, in the past week Pinterest has removed 3 pins from my Pinterest boards, for breaking their nudity rules. Only problem? They say they define nudity as visible breasts, buttocks, or genitalia, and none of my photos that were removed showed any of those things. Well, I take that back; the third pin they removed was a *painting* and there were nude breasts; but supposedly they allow nudity in painting so...????? The first pin was a burlesque dancer, who was wearing pasties and panties (I assume by breasts they mean bare breasts, ie nipples) and the second was a profile of a ballerina--no breasts, buttocks, or genitalia were visible at all. They also removed one, again for "nudity," from my husband's boards; she is wearing a crop top and shorts...!!! Here is the e-mail I received:
Hi Elizabeth Judd Taylor, We removed a pin from your account because it contained nudity. It was originally pinned from the following address: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GDQ03E1lu2F2JeX3r3P199Fe9mGzXMWPLLH_3cJWUhxMvtFvMpfX8YnE-V1OZKQRMYHG2mMSHZzT9PplXiemUGfXsdrwToiBQdh1MXV8sPY5sbenzJ7BGM9K34S2UlcxOZfTKONbwA4/s1600/tumblr_ltnsw2i7PT1qarsb0o1_500.jpg. We don't allow nudity—photos that show breasts, buttocks or genitalia—on Pinterest. This applies to pins on both public and secret boards. Please remove any other pins you've added that contain nudity. If you don't follow our policies, your account could be suspended. On behalf of the Pinterest community, we thank you for understanding. The Pinterest Team
All the pins in question can be seen here (the burlesque one I can maybe see, but she does have pasties and panties, and there are a lot of similar burlesque photos all over the place there). So--not sure what is going on over there, but they don't seem able to even follow their own rules, and they seem to just be removing anything they find at all offensive or...well, I don't know what. I'm going to go ahead and just deactivate my account as I have NO IDEA what they will take offense to next, or why. There is a huge amount of actual porn there, so if they are worried about offending people they might want to get rid of that instead of worrying about paintings, artful nudes and cheesecake shots!
UPDATE, March 11, 2013: Still give them credit for sending an e-mail, but since then have read about lots of other non-TOS breaking pins being removed. So am still highly unimpressed. I get it. They have 2 main audiences: artsy types and extremely conservative types. They need to figure out a way to deal with both (perhaps, as I suggested in my e-mail, they could institute Safe Search and Moderated Pins? They didn't acknowledge that in their reply, instead asking me if I could help them think of a way to protect 13-year-olds from seeing art photography that might contain a hint if nudity. Ummmmmm, maybe read my e-mail again?). Still, that won't help the moms and midwifery boards, who appear to be having breastfeeding and birthing pins being removed now, in the name of both nudity and porn. Please, Pinterest, ART IS NOT PORN AND NEITHER IS BREASTFEEDING.
UPDATE, March 6, 2013: Well, it came a day too late, but I did just get an e-mail from a person at Pinterest offering to unblock the pins they removed. It seems they found this blog post after they read an e-mail I sent them yesterday afternoon. So, since I removed everything it's a bit late for me, but at least they read and listened to my concerns. And it was a nice e-mail, and they apologized for being confusing. So credit to them for that.
EDIT TO ADD: I have now read multiple accounts of this happening to other users as well, via blogs, Tumblr, even the Pinterest Facebook page... At least I know it's not just me, but what exactly is going on over there?!
So, in the past week Pinterest has removed 3 pins from my Pinterest boards, for breaking their nudity rules. Only problem? They say they define nudity as visible breasts, buttocks, or genitalia, and none of my photos that were removed showed any of those things. Well, I take that back; the third pin they removed was a *painting* and there were nude breasts; but supposedly they allow nudity in painting so...????? The first pin was a burlesque dancer, who was wearing pasties and panties (I assume by breasts they mean bare breasts, ie nipples) and the second was a profile of a ballerina--no breasts, buttocks, or genitalia were visible at all. They also removed one, again for "nudity," from my husband's boards; she is wearing a crop top and shorts...!!! Here is the e-mail I received:
Hi Elizabeth Judd Taylor, We removed a pin from your account because it contained nudity. It was originally pinned from the following address: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GDQ03E1lu2F2JeX3r3P199Fe9mGzXMWPLLH_3cJWUhxMvtFvMpfX8YnE-V1OZKQRMYHG2mMSHZzT9PplXiemUGfXsdrwToiBQdh1MXV8sPY5sbenzJ7BGM9K34S2UlcxOZfTKONbwA4/s1600/tumblr_ltnsw2i7PT1qarsb0o1_500.jpg. We don't allow nudity—photos that show breasts, buttocks or genitalia—on Pinterest. This applies to pins on both public and secret boards. Please remove any other pins you've added that contain nudity. If you don't follow our policies, your account could be suspended. On behalf of the Pinterest community, we thank you for understanding. The Pinterest Team
All the pins in question can be seen here (the burlesque one I can maybe see, but she does have pasties and panties, and there are a lot of similar burlesque photos all over the place there). So--not sure what is going on over there, but they don't seem able to even follow their own rules, and they seem to just be removing anything they find at all offensive or...well, I don't know what. I'm going to go ahead and just deactivate my account as I have NO IDEA what they will take offense to next, or why. There is a huge amount of actual porn there, so if they are worried about offending people they might want to get rid of that instead of worrying about paintings, artful nudes and cheesecake shots!
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