Getting things clear

I've been working a lot on creative stuff recently. My profession is in the field of web design. I've been posting artwork onto the Ride Earth flickr photo album, and other creative nuggets of inspiration and perhaps they don't belong there.

My photos headline on Citizenside.com

I heard about a public-driven journalism website from a friend, http://www.citizenside.com and I uploaded some photos I took of the 'cells' that appeared all over the main street, Rustaveli, Freedom Square and around the Parliament building yesterday morning.

These metal framed cuboids covered in plastic sheeting are housing protesters claiming the president Saakashvili has been wrongly imprisoning people. When I took photos some people were still sleeping on makeshift beds inside the symbolic cells.

I was pleased to see my photos validated by the website and they appeared on the front page getting lots of exposure!  The link to my story is here.

A life without goals is going nowhere

Being in a new location, and having hatched new plans I'm finding myself at that stage of tilling the ground and sowing the seeds to hopefully grow into burgeoning new projects.

Writing etc

Writing is going ok. It's new territory and a new challenge and I'm enjoying it.I have written about a previous adventure before- a mountain bike ride from Inverness to Fort William in May 2006. You can read that account in the earlier blog archives. I feel that my writing then was particularly stylised to appeal to a highly surreal sense of humour, which is my truest sense of humour as a Brit. I intend to include some of this where appropriate but not quite to the same extent because 1. I'd rather be writing more about my experiences, memories and I have more extensive journals this time so less filler and 2. I think it would make some people go 'eh?' e.g. those of the readership who aren't British... (esp. the French).

A new mission

So, I'm hanging up the panniers for a while and I'm living in a flat with Fanny in Tbilisi.

I decided to write up my journals into a book which will cover my journey from England to India and Nepal.

Demonstrations in Tbilisi

I arrived back in Tbilisi in Georgia just in time to witness a demonstration in a similar mould to the one Tom and I witnessed when we arrived for the first time back in January 2008.

50,000 people gathered on the main street, Rustaveli, outside the front of the parliament building. There is a large stage with a banner proclaiming the purpose of the demonstration 'Saakashvili for Resignation'.

Saakashvili has been president since he came to power through the 'Rose Revolution' of 2003. This was the bloodless revolution that displaced president Eduard Shevardnadze.

The reason for the demonstration is because of the Russia-Georgian war that occured in August 2008.

The Paradox of Choice

I watched this today and it really struck a chord. Luckily I think I've worked a certain amount of what he is saying out over the past few years and been able to act on it.

Youtube video: Is cycle touring becoming boring?

In response to a Youtube video: 'Is cycle touring becoming boring'?

Back in Tbilisi- On the lookout for work

"Build it up, tear it down"

"A period of expansion, and a period of consolidation"