10 years after the original series, Planet Earth II has been released, mesmerising viewers with its extraordinary landscape views and detailed insights into animal life. Narrated by legendary broadcaster and famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough, it is expected to garner as much acclaim as its original, which was five years in the making. Below are eight different photographs taken from the Islands, Deserts, Jungles and Mountains categories.
And as your fantasies are broken in two
Did you really think this bloody road
Would pave the way for you?
Taken from the song Eternal Life by Jeff Buckley from his debut album Grace (1994). Buckley had one of the most gentle, ethereal voices ever recorded and is who I would most like to sound like when I sing.
Birds get cold too! This kit of pigeons (and their shadows) gathered together and just had to be taken.
I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.
Roger Rabbit (as voiced by Charles Fleischer) in the fantasy comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1998). Set during Hollywood in the 1940s, the film combines live action animation as a hired private investigator has to prove Roger innocent.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
The famous quote by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett from his novella Worstward Ho (1983). Winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature, Beckett was one of the most celebrated creative and influential literary minds of the 20th Century.
After seeing the magnificent Arrival film, I was inspired to do a quiz on other films about extra terrestrial forms of life. There really are far more than you might think. Quite a few have these visitors as violent and threatening, but there are some friendly ones in there. How many will you get? If you’ve seen Arrival where would you rank it among these?
1. (1950s)
2. (1970s)
3. (1970s)
4. (1970s)
5. (1980s)
6. (1980s)
7. (1980s)
8. (1980s)
9. (1990s)
10. (1990s)
11. (1990s)
12. (1990s)
13. (2000s)
14. (2000s)
15. (2010+)
Answers below
Creativity comes from the freedom to fail. And the freedom to fail comes from experimentation. That’s what gives something its individuality.
As said by multi-award winning musician Peter Gabriel when describing Kate Bush on BBC programme The Kate Bush Story: Running up that Hill.
As a lover of animals, photography and comedy, I just had to include The 2016 Comedy Wildlife Photography awards, which I saw on the Yahoo website. As well as highlighting the humour within the animal kingdom, the awards also serve as highlighting awareness of global conservation efforts. I’ve chosen eight of the most memorable images from the winning entries. Do you have a favourite? You might also be interested to see how they compare to these neatly timed animal shots which I posted a while back.
A view from the Millennium Bridge on the River Thames. In the distance you can see the Shard and Tower Bridge. The reflected orange lights added so much.
Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
The opening lines of Counting Stars by One Republic from their third studio album Native (2013). The Colorado band have been consistently popular since their debut album Dreaming Out Loud (2007) which included among other hits, the brilliant song Stop and Stare.
Alex Raphael 