[](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendarlington/4872223660/ ““City of New York” drain cover by stephendarlington, on Flickr”)

Last time I went to New York I wrote a reasonable amount about it so I’m not sure that I have much to add this time. Instead I’ll mainly just let the pictures do the talking.

The hotel I was staying in was not far from Times Square, so I passed through on a number of occasions. It’s always busy, especially early evening when this image was taken¹.

It’s been a while since I got back from Paris but things have been so hectic since then that I’ve not found the time to document my trip.

The last time I was in Paris as a tourist I did most of the obvious stuff which meant that this time I was able to just hang out and wander around without any particular aim. That I also had great weather and some luck factored in to make a great weekend.

• iPad App Pricing – Nice analysis of iPad and iPhone application pricing.
• The Value of Ideas – “Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything.” Or actions speak louder than words.
• The IBM Muppet Show – “IBM. The Muppets. Two venerable institutions-but not ones we tend to associate with each other. Yet in the late 1960s, before most people had ever seen a computer in person or could identify a Muppet on sight, the two teamed up when IBM contracted with Jim Henson for a series of short films designed to help its sales staff.”

• May 25, 2001: Towel Day Honors Hitchhiker Author Adams – Do you have your towel with you today?
• Twenty Years Later, Remembering Jim Henson – Still funny…
• Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 – “I wish I had more time… but the weather wouldn’t co-operate. Typical Iceland.” Really nice time-lapse photography taken in Iceland.

We see symbols pretty much everywhere, both graphic symbols and metaphorical ones. Lots of other entries to this weeks PhotoFriday went for the metaphorical option — indeed my first thoughts were crosses, minarets, the pyramids, stone henge — so I decided to head in the opposite direction with this instruction painted on the pavement of the Brompton Cemetery.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “The Coast.” I’m entry number 223.

I know I say this every week, but I had difficulty picking my image for this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “The Coast.” And that’s because my first reaction was, well, any picture with the sea or ocean in it. Then I realised that “The Coast” is a little more specific than that; it may be where the water meets land but, to my mind at least, it doesn’t conjure images of a beach. Hence this picture take towards the end of my week in Corsica, in Porto.

This is one of my favourite pictures from my one and only time in a studio. I’ve used it for PhotoFriday once before, although this time — for the theme “Sexy” — I have done a new crop and some other adjustments.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Sunshine.” I’m number 245.

One common refrain after the BNP made an appearance on Question Time last year was that if only more people went out and voted then right-wing extremists would not get elected. Of course that’s not the whole story but there’s some truth in that. Since we will have a General Election this time next week this becomes a very important point.

This got me thinking about my experience with the British electoral system. As far as I can remember, I’ve voted in every election that I have been eligible except for those when I have not been at home. In fact I was in California in this last election when Griffin was elected to the European parliament.

As I write this I should have just returned from a trip to Istanbul. Unfortunately the now infamous Ash Cloud put a stop to that before it even started. I spent a Friday evening going through cancelling my flights, hotels and tour.

Dispiriting doesn’t begin to cover it.

But I wasn’t going to let something like that completely ruin my week. Limited to the UK, I decided to go to Salisbury and the near by Stone Henge, two places that I’ve not been to for a long time.

• No sense of humour at all – “Personally, I’d love to see the Pope in a debate on abortion, where he would actually have to address difficult questions and defend his own ideas. Best idea yet would be a debate on various controversial topics, like birth control, abortion, the role of women in the church, and homosexuality…with the Pope on one side, and Stephen Fry on the other. It could be perfectly respectful, and it would be hilarious.”
• Audio slideshow: Hubble’s first 20 years – Amazing. Beautiful.
• Do liberals read only liberal blogs? – The dangers of the “long tail…” I deliberately go read Daily Mail headlines on a regular basis just to check that I’m sane. The moment I start to agree, please shoot me.