I should probably apologise in advance for the puns.

This weeks PhotoFriday is “Cleanliness.” I came up with a number of ideas, a few of which I tried, most of which didn’t work. Then I decided that the various liquids kept under the kitchen sink might be suitable since they tend to be used to keep things clean. While fairly colourful it wasn’t quite enough. It needed something else.

One of the phrases I’d been thinking of was “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Ours is not the kind of household to have a copy of the Bible or Qur’an to hand so I had to improvise. This may require changing the phrase to “Cleanliness is next to godlessness” but it works. Kind of.

I didn’t have an entry in last weeks PhotoFriday so there’s no need to feel guilty for not voting for me.

People are impressed by the Academy Awards ceremony, all the glitz and glamour, the celebrities and the recognition for their work. However there are much easier ways to pick up your own Oscar statue.

• Tits and Apps – About most of the 'sexy' iPhone apps being pulled last weekend: "What developers see is that the App Store is a shaky foundation upon which to build a business. One day you’re prospering, the next day your app is gone. There are awesome iPhone OS apps that aren’t being built because developers don’t trust Apple not to yank the carpet out from underneath them."
• Infer.NET – Seen at the BCS/IET Turing Lecture by Chris Bishop. Looks interesting.
• Sources offer peek at Adobe Creative Suite 5 for Mac – PhotoShop CS5: what do you do to the app that has everything? Not a lot, visually at least…

I’ve missed the New Year celebrations on the 31st December for about fifteen years now so it’s getting beyond the point where you could consider it an accident. Indeed, the cold and the crowds both in Trafalgar Square and afterwards on the Tube don’t exactly encourage me to make an effort. Luckily Chinese New Year is at a more civilised time, is less busy and slightly warmer.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve ever made it!

The crowd was pretty diverse, with people wearing everything from Vans to colourful umbrellas to traditional Chinese outfits. (Well, I think.)

The main stage had a constant flow of dance and music, and between acts these two women provided banter.

Many in the crowds has purchased mini-drums and dragons from the many vendors found a short walk away in Leicester Square. Kids (of all ages) entertained themselves throwing caps to the ground to make them go “bang.”

After soaking in the atmosphere for a while I headed out of Trafalgar Square into Leicester Square and towards China Town. Lanterns were everywhere!

Overall, it was a nice way to spend an otherwise dark and grey February afternoon.

This weeks PhotoFriday, “Nature,” is a much broader theme than we’ve had in the last few weeks. So lots of choices this time — too many — and in the end I figured that showing the vastness of a natural area, barely touched by man was the way to go. This image is originally from my tribute to Ansel Adams.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Lightness.” I’m entry number 220.

I had a really hard time finding a suitable image for this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Lightness.” I note that a few people have submitted sunsets or sunrises. Nice, but that’s light not lightness.

I visited Iceland over Christmas and remember the constant flickering of candles and open fires and the cheer of the locals despite the long hours of darkness. This image, therefore, represents lightness both in terms of the candles and the spirit of all in the parade. (That sort of sounds cheesy when you write it down but I’m being genuine when I say it!)

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Surfaces.” I’m entry number 195.