Jade Walker posted a quote on Facebook:

"It's not the news that keeps upsetting you. It's what's happening that keeps upsetting you." - Dan Slott

I disagree. Its the way the news is being reported, with lies and propaganda (misinformation, or whatever that trendy word is these days), that's upsetting me. How the news is reported does matter. People are influenced by body language, tones in speech, and the words chosen. The news should be reported without bias, plainly, a little on the flat side. News is serious, not a game, an upsell, or a campaign. Editorials were used to give an opinion about the news.

When did all the news reports become so biased. Like marketing campaigns instead of news reports.

I'm trying to understand about NFT's (non-fungible tokens). The more I read the more this seems to be some kind of backlash to online games in which you work/grind/farm to get what is essentially a digital image or file, one copy of it, which you in fact do not own.

NFT seems to be a way to own something which you still don't really own. You may have fought, worked, or otherwise feel you own it, but you did not create it so you have no copyrights to the original image/game/whatever digital file it is.

If the original artist does not create an NFT for their image and then agree to sell the rights along with the NFT, what does anyone who buys the NFT really own? Kind of claiming to own something without having any real rights to do so. Or, do they own a copy, like a screen capture of the original, and then believe the artist no longer has rights to the image?

Complicated.

Do you remember BookCrossing? It's been years since I last logged in. Funny that I was thinking of the book which I had last read the last time I was at the site. I couldn't remember the author or the title, but there it was, first on my profile page.

"Second hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack."

• Virginia Woolf

A friend who joined the site with me, Skye Truheart, I have not heard from for many years. Each time I find something, a link to her somewhere, like her old Blogger account, or now this, I try again to find her. No luck. I'm sure I had her name and address to send a Christmas card but I've lost it long ago. I'd like to find her and know she is doing ok.

This quote is about the break between having the dream and living with it. But, you can read so much into a few words.

I’m a fan of writer Ann Patchett, whose book, Truth and Beauty, is one of my favourites. This week, thanks to the website, Brain Pickings, I came across a fantastic Patchett quotation that hit very close to home, especially the last line:

“The journey from the head to hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write — and many of the people who do write — get lost… Only a few of us are going to be willing to break our own hearts by trading in the living beauty of imagination for the stark disappointment of words.”

The stark disappointment of words is something I know a little too much about. So often the idea in my head, which initially seems so good, falls apart once I begin to try to assemble the words on paper. Suddenly my remarkable idea becomes frustratingly ordinary.

Source: Lindy Mechefske

This quote makes me think about writers having to kill their babies. That was a quote I read about editing your writing. Your words and phrases being taken out of existence. Deleting unnecessary wordage. Editing.

But, I find in life, the idea of editing things or deleting them, or exterminating... there are lots of good words for it... is an important skill to have. All things but in moderation. If you can master that in life you will save yourself a lot of stress, have more space (physically and mentally) and save money too.

Of course, no one should literally kill babies, or other children. At least let them get to adulthood, or the age of 20, and be guilty of something on the extreme side, first. Its ok to be a little dramatic, just not too literal about it.

I haven't heard of all of these, so I expect some will be news to other photographers too. This matters especially when you are selling your photographs. If you are writing out something about the rights people have with your photos, these would be good terms to know.

Photos have copyrights assigned to them and you need to make sure you’re following the laws. Here are some things to consider:

• Editorial Use: the right to use in blogs, websites, magazines, newspapers, etc.
• Commercial Use: Can be used to market products/services.
• Retail Use: Can be used to create and sell physical products.
• Exclusive: Only one person can buy the license to use the photo. No-one else can use the photo.
• Non-Exclusive: Numerous other people can buy the license to use the image.
• Public Domain: There are no restrictions on the use of the photo.
• Creative Commons: Can put conditional usage of the work, until it is not required by law.
• Royalty Free: Anyone can purchase a license for the photo and use it for an unlimited amount of time and duration.
• Rights Managed: There are distribution limitations when you purchase a license. This is often the number of times the image is used/viewed by users.
• Rights Of Publicity: The subject of which the photo is used for is restricted.

Source: How To Sell Photos On Shopify - ShopThemeDetector