Blauwe Kamer
Just visited the Blauwe Kamer today. It's where I used to live. It was beautiful, the weather was really nice. Everywhere you can see spring nearing. Of course I couldn't resist to take a few pictures. The images you see here were taken with my digital Olympus (E 410 DSLR), and I used Paint Shop Pro to make this strip. Hope you'll like it.

Canada
Fall, 2008. Clockwise: Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, Train in Agawa Canyon, Ragged Falls (Algonquin Provincial Park)

Hugh Sloan Wilson
Not too long ago I read a book written by Hugh Sloan Wilson. It was called: Evolution for everyone. Appropriate and fitting in this Darwin year. It was an eye-opening book for me. In it Mr. Wilson describes and explains what evolution is. He points out that the recipe for evolution is actually very simple. Not only that, it can also provide you with explanations in other scientific disciplines than biology. Ask yourself, why an animal behaves the way it does. Does that behaviour have an evolutionary compound? So, was it beneficial for its survival in the past? The same goes for human behaviour and even culture, try to see it in an "evolutionary way" and a lot of incomprehensible and amazing things can be explained. He proves his point with many examples. The book reads like a novel and I can absolutely recommend it. Yesterday I read an article about religion and evolution. Here on Noorderlicht, and here on RichardDawkins.net. Quote: "Scientists say they have located the parts of the brain that control religious faith. And the research proves, they contend, that belief in a higher power is an evolutionary asset that helps human survival." That's a fascinating thought and puts religion in a whole new perspective. I had already read this in Mr. Wilson's book and to me it seemed very plausible. Another quote: "When we have incomplete knowledge of the world around us, it offers us the opportunities to believe in God. When we don't have a scientific explanation for something, we tend to rely on supernatural explanations," said Professor Grafman, who believes in God. "Maybe obeying supernatural forces that we had no knowledge of made it easier for religious forms of belief to emerge." Anyway, this makes interesting reading, I think.

Vase
I made this vase with Paint Shop Pro and I think the Sinedots filter. I'm not completely sure though. The creative process is often one of trial and error - I just do things, change settings and see what comes out. If I like the result I save the image, or try another filter. That's the way I work. Hope you'll like it too.