Kieron Barrett - Broadcast Media

2009-03-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Skam Poetry...

Take one internet scam artist, an internet translation device (such as babel fish) and aan open mind and what do you have... poetry. Here's a marevlous skam sonnet that floated into my inbox recently.

In the galaxy where all is beauty i fine it necessary to approach your Platform these way, well i apologies for the inconvenient it will take you to listen to my magistrate, I got your contact when i was searching for business partner, one fact to know is the essential sadness to pass through life without experience, yet is also sad to pass through life without sharing once experience and weakness to others, if this is truly of me, i remain my humble self "

Barrister Mumford Danso by name from United Kingdom.

2009-01-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

Barry Norman, Jonathan Ross and now.... Claude. Give this man their job next.

2009-01-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

I’ve just been watching the news and a report of the ‘first’ Parkour classes in the UK. Now I’m pretty sure that’s not true, with all the hype it received a few years back I’m certain somebody else must have thought to start classes. I also have a major problem with this for another reason. Programmes such as Jump London, in order to fit into a documentary form had to narrativise the ‘sport’ and come up with rules that simply shouldn’t be there. It’s this version of Parkour that these spotty little well to do kids are copying, and they’re killing it. I can’t go anywhere these days without seeing a group of extremely nerdy looking kids hanging out making half hearted attempts at jumping over walls and thinking they’re capturing the spirit of the thing. Now I’m no expert, all I’ve really seen is the same films as they have, but I can also see the big difference in style, attitude and ability. These kids here are generally shite. Not all, I occasionally see some crazy little kids in hoods and tracky bottoms doing insane flips off high walls but that’s rare.

My issues with Parkour are the same with Breakdancing. If you’re doing that shit simply because you think it’s cool, then stop doing it – it’s not. If you’ve got nothing better to do then hang out in the streets, and in order to break out of the mental prison they can become you start to look at them as a playground. And if in doing so you push yourself to break further barriers of fear and hurdle over the obstacles that get put in your way. Wicked, you’re getting something out of it. Same as if the only way you can truly express yourself to a heavy breakbeat is throw yourself around in an athletic, stylised fashion then great, you are a Breakdancer. Anyone else is just frontin’.

Okay this is slightly unfair, let the kids have their fun I know. But what I object to is the seriousness with which these people take themselves when all they are really doing is messing about. Same as people who go to Salsa class (another breed of people that get on my tits, and I’ve been to a few classes myself) or learn line dancing. It’s a recreational pursuit and not a lifestyle, if you run your life around it it is not because you are dedicated. It is because you are sad... Rant over. I think I might have more issues with this Postmodern age then I realised.

2009-01-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

One of our assignments over the Christmas holidays is to collect adverts that we like. This has proven to be rather tricky due to the masses of shite out there and the very limited amount of quality that speaks to me in a way that an advert should. It is possible that I have become simply too far out of touch with the human race but in the words of Banksy “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit”. After a good time spent routing through the magazines at WHSmiths I have managed to find a few that I like and will attempt to find them online maybe so I can post them up here. However whilst browsing the Creative Review I came across their ‘British Television Advertising Craft Awards 2008’ which has restored my faith in this form of salesmanship after spending a whole morning recently with my girlfriend’s house mate, slagging off every single advert that came onto the telly (all of which were utter dross). These thankfully are rather better…

This advert for Sony Bravia made by Artem); and joint Best Use Of Recorded Music (Parv Thind @ Wave & Juan Cabral).

PLAY DOH

Best Camera Operator (Jess Hall) went to this Carling advert by Sonny London (agency Beattie McGuinness Bungay).

SPACE

This Anti Drink Driving Advert (Production: Leo Burnett) won both Best Casting (Wendy Brazington) and Best Performance By An Actor (Adrian Schiller).

FROZEN IN DOUBT

And actually whilst searching for this last advert I’ve just discovered the Creative Review blog which has all the winners on so if you’re interested then go check it out here however my favourites from the rest are...

This advert for Sony Playstation 3 (Blu Ray) which almost takes pot shots at its own ideals but looks great in a rather wrong and freakish way. It won Best Costume / Wardrobe (Kate Halfpenny) and was made by Independent) through TBWA / London.

DR BEAUTIFUL

A great advert for Brylcreem , although it would never get me to actually use the stuff. This won Best Live Action Special Effects (John Pennicott & David Payne @ Asylum). The production company was Sonny London and the agency was WCRS

EFFORTLESS

And in a bid to sell out my principles here’s a great advert that promotes both Coca Cola and China in one foal swoop...

BIRD’S NEST STADIUM

The winner for this was Eric Lerner at Partizan who got Best New Director.

And finally Best Editing (Art Jones @ Speade) and Best Sound Design (Paul Hartnoll) go to this Golf advert (Prod: Outsider / Agency: DDB London).

ENJOY THE EVERYDAY

2008-11-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Obviously doing a media course a large section of our theory over the last few years has been based around Post Modernity. Never have I felt like I've had such a small grasp of a subject I've used so much. One area I would like to grasp rather more tightly is Lyotard's observations on the decline of the metanarrative. Although my hold is loose to say the least, this morning's Guardian newspaper certainly carries stories that cast doubt on these metanarratives, or maybe only people's handling of them. Obviously the situation in Mumbai (story link) throws up all sorts of arguments against Politics and Religion. A terrible situation but one which is made worse for me by outlining my own selfish attitude to such disasters. I know a few people who were, or were likely to be, in Mumbai yesterday. One of my best friends was catching a flight home from Mumbai airport a few hours after the initial incidents started, my girlfriend's sister and her boyfriend were travelling there, another friend of mine is a Bollywood dancer. All were fine, I can't say I was too worried as I knew the likely chance of any of them getting caught up in it was slim, but that's the problem. I can still register what a terrible tragedy it is yes, the personal attachment has gone however. I'm sure there is another Postmodern theory which covers this condition as well actually. Been caught out before however. During the July 7th bomobings in London I relaxed after I realised my sister's were okay, but didn't even realise that my mother, her husmand and various aunties and uncles were at a memorial service not far from some of the bombings, plus my cousin was actually on one of the underground trains that got bombed. Thankfully she was okay, I guess the Family metanarrative still holds some sway in my world.... more than Shannon Matthew's mother anyway (story link)whom the defining Meta-narrative seems to be Money, why this would still be the case in our current economic climate baffles me however, of course there are several stories in here which throw doubt on that one.

But of course that greatest of Grand narrative's Love - certainly gets a battering in this story. It's the biggest excuse to be a c**t there is I think, course one can't blame a whole concept for one lunatic and I'm still a fan of my concept of love which I tend to try and grasp some kind of truths from. Bugger Lyotard :)

2008-11-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

it's interesting that trawling through information on identity for my dissertation that I haven't come across much about names. having gone by the nickname Kaptin for some years I am used to people asking 'what's your real name?' and my answer usually depends on how impertinent I find their question. Sometimes I'll simply tell them Kieron to save their simple souls too much confusion, at other times I'll fight my corner and explain that my real name is Kaptin, as this is the name most people call me. Every now and then I'll tell them it's Bob.

People judge 'real' names differently I guess, but I figure that those who find the idea of calling people by their nicknames or stage names hard to fathom might find it harder to argue against a 'legal' registered name. So therefore I salute the young man from Glastonbury called Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined - or Captain for short. This is not only a fantastic name on many levels but sticks two fingers up to those who feel that names should be governed by tradition and legalities. It seems unfortunately his grandmother might be one of those people though as she refuses to speak to him.

I have to admit I found it rather strange when my father first changed his surname to one chose between him and his wife. But I guess we all find it hard challenging the norms drummed into us sometimes, I'm glad that this course has helped to widen my narrowness and opened my eyes to the possibilites of challenging the myths around me... and in doing so has given me the utmost respect for Mr Combined rather than just viewing him as a silly twat. It may not prove practical in future years, but hopefully it will provide some fun for him at the very least.

actually on closer inspection of this artcile you can change your name online for just £10...interesting :)

2008-10-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

I still can’t understand why such a large section of society is determined to pull down this country’s greatest institution. If anybody feels that the privatisation of the BBC will have positive rather than negative effects then I would strongly question their judgement. But wait, the BBC pays extortionate amounts of our tax payers money to foul mouthed arrogant gits like Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross I hear the jealous, miserable and faint of heart cry. Well I’m afraid I for one, even believing myself that they are perhaps over paid would still gladly shell out more for what they stand for in terms of exciting, intelligent and progressive humour. But wait, again I hear the old people who never listen to them and confused who don’t understand them shout . They phoned up a sweet old granddad and made sexual lewd comments about his grand-daughter! That’s disgusting! Well okay, if somebody had phoned up my grandfather and started saying things like that about my sister then I’d be more than a little peeved and I’m sure neither would find the funny side. But we’re not dealing with your average girl and Grampy here really are we. Sachs can hardly be a stranger to crude and rude humour. He did after all act alongside John Cleese for many years. Yes Monty Python were far more civilised then this childish and offensive (yes I do still feel it was offensive and actually wrong regardless) behaviour but they certainly helped to push the boundaries of taste and decency to allow the Brands and Ross’ to grow and I’m sure being in the entertainment industry anyway you get to experience some pretty challenging humour. Sachs may not have liked what happened, and I honestly don’t blame him, but it wouldn’t have disturbed him to the degree we are led to believe it should have and deep down he would have understood. And let’s not forget the poor innocent grand-daughter, the apple of his eye that poor delicate flower whose chastity was so wrongly questioned. Now I’m not saying that because she broadcasts herself as a sexual deviant that she’s fair game, but let’s not lose sight of why she was targeted in the first place. If she thought it all so bad then why go running to the biggest publicist in the country to have him plaster it all over the news, protecting her decency and that of her grandfather I’m thinking was the last thing on her mind. Profiting from the following persecution I would suggest was foremost in this case. But what all those who don’t like Brand (I don’t like Brand, he’s funny at times but he is generally a bit of an annoying s**t) and Jonathan Ross, or those who love to fire arrows at rich celebrities (and let’s face it that can be great fun too at times) don’t understand is that they are falling right into the hands of those who would sell out the soul of our nation for the sake of a phat paycheque of their own... I have to respect both Brand and Lesley Douglas for recognising this and sacrificing their positions to help try and save the BBC, but whether what happened was right or wrong, they didn’t deserve to lose their jobs. Both I’m sure will return, Douglas to a similar position back in the BBC after a couple of months and Brand, well he’ll move to a commercial station and have to go further down the route of ‘shock’ tactics to boost up the ratings, probably in a way that is extreme but not really that intelligent or important.... well done everyone, you really struck a blow for British standards this time.

2008-09-15T01:23:00.001-07:00

The world of fashion is possibly a million miles from where my heads at but I have to admit that after seeing some of Gareth Pugh's designs in the Independent this morning I might just be a fan. I have plenty of bits and pieces cut out from Newspapers from articles that have interested me in the past and rarely refer back to them so this time I'll just make a note up on here instead...

Course sometimes I wonder if fashion designers throw in the occasional red herring just to see if some unfortunate fool will actually wear it, Pugh is no exception.

it might be big, but it ain't clever.

2008-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

These posts are taken from my originals at Chrome Kids http://chromekids.blogspot.com - head over there to catch the soundtrack to go with them too.

Electric Picnic Vs Bestival

I didn’t have time to write about Electric Picnic before heading to Bestival and I was so impressed with it that I thought I might have found my favourite of the year (an accolade usually bestowed upon Bestival), so decided to do an Electric Picnic Vs Bestival write up of the two. I have to say though, now that I’m back from Bestie, at the risk of being like one of those annoying people who tells you the football scores before you get a chance to watch the game… I was foolish to ever doubt its standing.

Electric Picnic

As I can’t actually remember a large chunk of Electric Picnic and saw few bands or DJs, it is possibly unfair to pass any kind of judgment, but then I don’t really have anything bad to say so I shall carry on regardless.

The Festival is in County Laois, a couple of hours outside Dublin, and has been going since 2004. This was the first time I’d been but had heard great things beforehand so had quite high expectations. They certainly weren’t dashed by first impressions.

The site, especially the Body & Soul area contained some beautifully crafted stages and general artwork, my favourites being the Lucent Dossier circus stage and one that was built around a big tree. A fine selection of Festival favourites including Chai Wallah, Lost Vagueness and the Inflatable Church were present, as was the Arcadia DJ Booth from Trash City in Glastonbury, which I am determined to DJ on at some point – for those who haven’t seen it this is a fire spurting metallic beast of a booth that looks as if it was stolen from the Thunderdome straight under Tina Turners nose.

Now I hardly ever plan to see acts at festivals and remain content in bimbling around discovering new and exciting things but there were a few unmissables artists playing at Electric Picnic such as Diplo, The Roots and Modeselektor. Unfortunately I missed all of them and some how managed to watch uninspiring performances from Gomez and New Young Pony Club. I did manage to go and see Toddla T on the first night but with only 4 other people in the tent I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to stay long.

There were a few others: Spearhead still remain one of my favourite live bands; The Congos niced up the place beforehand and I was slightly gutted to have missed most of their set; Funkadelic / Parliament were great but with a lack of George Clinton to bring them focus for a good 20 minutes I kinda lost interest. Bootsy provided some quality bitching entertainment by bringin out a ‘F**k George’ banner on stage but I was disappointingly informed he was just a lookalike; and aside from my sets on the Time Machine and The Asylum (Lost Vagueness) that was pretty much all I caught. For much of the time I fell victim (if you can really call it that) to the infamous Irish hospitality and got royally wankered in a small karaoke bar run by a true party prince called Duncan (McGuire I believe). Didn’t actually see any Karaoke but there was a lot of bar.

So you see, even though Electric Picnic had the potential for greatness and was certainly a good craic, I didn’t quite get the most out of its attractions. Still I think it would have been hard pushed to top Bestival, even with all the problems I had there.

Bestival

One of the things I liked about both festivals was the travel. Electric Picnic by plane and Bestival by Ferry gave them a real sense that I was ‘getting away’. However it also means that if things go wrong it’s bloomin hard to correct it without a good blag.

Luckily I had one available as I turned up at Bestival to discover my name wasn’t on the list. Now I don’t necessarily condone blagging for the sake of it, festivals struggle as it is to reclaim revenue, but when I’d been offered a few ways in and the one I took was a shambles, coupled with the fact I was supposed to be deejaying at a couple of places anyway, I had no guilt in pulling one out the bag this time. That wasn’t the end of my problems however.

Now I wouldn’t normally trust anyone with my tunes but traveling by train meant I was limited to what I could carry and so it seemed like a good idea to leave them with somebody else to bring… it wasn’t. My tunes didn’t arrive! Neither did my tent or the majority of my clothes. Not the greatest start you might say but that wasn’t going to spoil my fun by any stretch. I had brought some clothes with me, enough to see me through but not enough to get creative. The good fellows at Tangerine Fields hooked me up a tent once I’d explained my situation and much as I was looking forwards to playing, it was nice to have the freedom to see what I want when I want and not have to worry about leaving them some place safe.

There were only two other obstacles to overcome. Due to losing my cash card I was relying on meal tickets to keep my body fueled up for the fun. Unfortunately with the lack of list came lack of tickets, I wasn’t exactly penniless but by this point the insane mud situation was becoming an issue and I wanted to keep some cash back for emergency bailing out if necessary. Have to give my great respects to the fellas up at Solace with their free tea and cake (and pot noodle) for keeping me going for most of the time. Sometimes food isn’t top priority at festivals but after such a major mash up weekend before I’d decided to stay straight and sober for this one… and I pretty much did  I have to say, it’s so nice to wake up on the morning after a fantastic weekend without any hint of regret or self loathing in tow.

Anyway, to the mud. I’ve been to every Bestival so far and have never know it to be muddy at all, this year it made up for all 5, with a quagmire to rival Glastonbury at its worst, although not quite as bad as some of the mud pits from last year. There were literally floods of mud. It flooded tents, teepees, stages, the Pie Minister truck, took out electrics for the BBC Introducing stage so that many of the acts were either pulled or had to find slots on other stages, and generally reeked sludgy havock on the site.

A complete nightmare you might say and I’m sure many at home who didn’t manage to sort tickets were consoling themselves smugly with the news reports, but did it ruin the festival? Not a chance. Certainly it made every journey an effort and the vain had no chance to retain their vanity, but everybody was still smiling, still partying and still made a fantastic effort with their costumes for the fancy dress parade (my favourite being a half Transformer, half cephalopod – Octopus Prime). Infact there was the sort of ‘we’re in this together’ camaraderie one might expect in a war zone (only with less crying and no dead people thankfully) and the fixed friendliness that seems to define the Bestival crowd. Actually this is probably one of the main factors of the Bestival’s superior status, there is no topping the Irish for natural charm and hospitality and this was made very clear at Electric Picnic, infact they’re practically spoilt with happiness. The Bestival crowd tend to be those who don’t have such a privilege, they might long to smile and chat at the person next to them on the tube, or school their landlord /boss on the notion that ‘it’s not all about the money man’ but unfortunately many have one leg trapped in the rat race, which has them running round in circles for 360 days of the year. So for these 4 days in a field, when they finally get a chance to shake off their shackles, they positively brim with goodness and are literally happy to be happy. You can see it in their smiles and their cheery morning greetings, they can’t quite believe that everyone else is smiling and saying hello back, but they love the fact they are. It is this subtle difference that pushes the atmosphere at Bestival just slightly over the top of the warm Irish reception at Electric Picnic.

But what about the music I hear you cry. Well yes I actually saw some of the people I wanted to see, had a few nice surprises and very few disappointments. It’s probably a good idea to go through the relevant ones I remember step by step from Friday night.

First band I caught were Ebony Bones in the Big Top who were lively and interactive enough but not quite what I was after at that time, what I wanted was some dirty beats to lift me up out the dirty surroundings. I found them on the BBC Introducing stage courtesy of two DJS who I believe go by the joint name of Good Books. They were dropping such booty shakin’ Hip-hop remix gems as ‘Still Dre’ (by Tenzin I believe) and DMX ‘Up In Here’ (by Mightyfools – see below), and even though their crowd weren’t quite as lively as the music demanded I was determined not to be a ‘stick in the mud’ (boom boom) and bubbled there til it was time to bimble off again and find some friends to play with before going to catch Santogold.

It is tempting to include some of the adventures and encounters over the weekend that would probably fuel a tabloid gossip column for a week… but this isn’t that type of blog I’m afraid and so aside from my personal revelations, what happens in Bestival, stays in Bestival… on with the music.

I’ve mentioned my toddler’s attention span at Festivals a few times and Bestival is not necessarily any exception. I saw Grace Jones play ‘Pull Up To My Bumper’ and that was good enough for me, the other surprise set from The Specials kept me entertained for a tune or two but believe it or not Santogold kept me there for the whole set. Not that it was a spectacular stage show, or it included wild diversions from the expected set. There was no glammer and glitz here, just straight up heavy beats, good songs, the occasional rhyme and relentlessly tight Paula Abdul style dance routines. There is something about Santogold and crew though that makes it easy to underestimate the stage presence and charisma at hand, an effortless cool leads to a powerful understated performance indeed. Plus after experiencing Creator blasting out of the monstrous Big Top system I doubt I’ll ever be satisfied with hearing it on any other speakers again.

Saturday was definitely DJ day for me, after missing A Trak at Electric Picnic I was determined to catch him here, but before him in the Bollywood Bar was supposed to be South Rakkas Crew. Now I’m pretty sure it was Alex G from the Florida based digi-dancehall kings, but Dow Jones was certainly nowhere to be seen. Still, whoever it was absolutely tore down the roof of the marquee. Definitely my favourite set of the Festival with sheer dirty and disgusting beats and basslines that dared you not to dance, I had to literally drag myself away to go check Roots Manuva in the Red Bull tent. That turned out to be a waste of time. The tent was wall to wall revelers and was spilling out the doors. It was far to ram up to even attempt to have a good time in there so I headed back to catch some more of the Rukkus (probably).

Eventually A Trak came with a selection of the phattest, nastiest house tracks, which was actually something of a surprise but far more favourable then the follow up set of classic Hip-hop intros, juggled faster then a Jamaican sound system and to be honest, slightly worn by now, especially with DJs like Yoda doing exactly the same thing. The crowd were happy enough but I decided to wander off to find more inspiring pastures anew. They appeared in the shape of Radio One DJ duo Bobby Friction & Nihal. After following the Pied Piper of Dubstep into the Klub Dada tent the pair proceeded to slam a set of the heaviest D&B from the criminally under represented (and possibly unfairly pigeon holed) ‘British Asian’ scene followed by a few timely classics to top things off.

Next up came Natty who had been forced off the BBC Introducing stage earlier and reappeared at Klub Dada. A shame really as earlier on I might have been well up for some of his sunshine brand of gentleman reggaeness but unfortunately by this time of night it was starting to lullaby me and so I had to move on. I didn’t quite move to the right place however. Found myself heading to the main stage to catch a bit of Amy Whinehouse but was forced to leave after two and a half tunes before I caught the full brunt of her butchering ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’. I have to say I like Amy and was generally gutted for her, but even though when I returned a while later to meet some peeps she had perked up slightly, half the crowd had already decided to leave her to it.

By the night we had picked up a fair posse of friends and followers so it was quite hard to maneuver effectively, but we did mange to catch the end of Hercules Love Affair and the beginning of Aphex Twin. Being right at the back meant we couldn’t feel the full force of the Warped one and a splinter group of us decide to jump ship for the Bollywood Bar which had been pretty consistent so far. It didn’t let us down this time either. We arrived just in time to hear Annie Mac drop a plethora of party tunes from Baltimore Mash Ups to D&B Bangers and every other form of ‘get the f**k up’ in between. Once again I found myself staying the course.

The rest of the night saw us trying to squeeze into the remaining tents and catching the last few tunes of 808 State and the last few of Babyhead but after that the party was sadly lacking. The only place we could all find to fit was the Cinema tent who praised our perkiness but politely asked if we could refrain from dancing round the whole tent and keep to the sides… time to move on but we slowly wilted to one and so I decided it was time for bed.

Sunday saw something of an early exodus as the mud finally started to break down the wall of fun for many… but not all. The rest looked spaced and slightly battle scarred but still had those winning smiles. If the party at the end of the world looks anything like this, we’ll all be okay as long as there’s enough fluorescent wigs to go round. For me though it was time to go and so, forsaking most of the Dubstep and another chance to see Roots Manuva, I headed out early with a bag full of muddy clothes, a smile and a bunch of good memories (that I was thankful and somewhat surprised to still remember) from the weekend, and waved goodbye to the summer festival season for another year or so.

2008-08-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

Just done a Britishness test at bbc.co.uk/panorama but only got 6 out of 14 correct so I guess I’m not very British. Of course being very proud of my Britishness (at the same time as essentially disagreeing with the construct of National identity) I would have to disagree but then I’m not sure if my British values are quite the same as the tests… so here’s a quick list of things that make me proud to be British:

Fairtrade Tea; Grime; Roots Manuva; Mystro; Task Force; Wales; Multiculturalism (both in theory and in practice); Jungle / D&B; the BBC; Guardian and Independent newspapers; Glastonbury (Festival & Town); easily climbable Mountains; Tea and Scones; Roast Dinner (even if it is Nut Roast); Greasy Spoons; Fish & Chips; Kebab shops (they don’t quite to seem as good in other parts of the world); Baltis; diverse regional accents; gritty dramas; Rik Mayal; Notting Hill Carnival; reasonable press freedom; snowball fights (although it’s been a while); past music subcultures such as Punks, Ravers, Mods, etc; actually there’s plenty more but you probably get an idea of what I’m feeling being British means, hit me up with your own lists

2008-08-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

I first heard of French photographer JR a few years back,can't quite remember the exact situation but just remember loving the idea of taking photography to the streets and exhibiting as a Grafitti artist would. The Guardian this week printed a double page picture by Antonio Lacerda of JR's 'Women Are Heroes' exhibit in Rio De Janeiro (See Below). Exhibited on the side of Favela buildings, the subjects have all lost loved ones to the continuing drugs violence in the Favelas. I have only just found out that this is part of a wider 'Women Are Heroes' exhibition by the artist which has already included Sudan, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Liberia and will move onto India, Cambodia, Laos and Morocco also.

Below is a film of the project which in itself is part of JR's '28 Millimètres' video project (28 Millimètres is also the name of his book published in 2006).

2008-08-11T03:35:00.001-07:00

started another blog so apologies if I stop showing this one as much love again but my ears are controlling my head once more and this time - Chrome Kids is the latest way to keep on track of things and hopefully share my love of the tunes included with the outside world. I'm hoping this blog will eventually evolve into a club night, radio show and sound system but we'll see how the blog goes for now. The main focus is on 'the digitally mutated bastard offspring of Hip-hop'- of which there are many strains, often over lapping or with dubious genre titles such as Electro Crunk or Glitch Hop (my personal favourite). I'm sure I shall explain myself further in future but for mow, check it put for yourself http://chromekids.blogspot.com

2008-08-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

I should have known that when I came up with the geniusly witty term 'Glitch Hop' to describe the Hip-hop based electronic musical meanderings of artists such as Flying Lotus, eDIT, Modeselektor and Glitch Mob that plenty of other people had thought of the same blatantly obvious tag and had created a whole scene that I was furiously behind... so the last couple of days have mainly been spent playing catch up, but...

I did manage to tear myself away from the computer long enough to have a flick through yesterdays Guardian G2 section whilst bath bound. As I mentioned in a previous post, tabloids push emotional buttons to provoke reactions in their readers, usually of hate against the scapegoat of the month. The Guardian also has this effect albeit with an opposite set of targets, today's though has pushed my hater button at two ends of an invisible and possibly irrelevant lifestyle scale.

Target 1: The Rich (G2 Article)

This is an obvious Guardian target, rich arrogant fat cats talk about how their not really that rich, they don't pay tax because it would be badly spent (cos of course they spend it better), nobody's really poor in this country and they deserve to be stinking rich cos they wanted it and went for it (I'm sure shoplifters have tried this same argument to lesser avail). For me this is showing signs of spoilt child syndrome. I personally like to pt my goals through a vetting system that kind of goes - 1. What do I want 2. Should I have it 3. How do I get it? - Fairly simple but the number 2 part is sadly missing in some people's process. However I am by no means the one to jump on my moral high horse about this, partly cos such preaching is my reason for my second hater complex -

Target 2: The Buddhist (G2 Article)

Now don't get me wrong, I have alot of respect for many Buddhist teachings and agree with them too, in so far as I try and adapt them to my life. However what I can't abide are those for whom the wealth of spiritual satisfaction carry a similar smug arrogance to those with material wealth. Maybe it's the fact that (for Westerners at any rate) it usually comes from a reactionary stance to 'normal' life. In other words their pretence of love actually hides a hatred for the life they are turning against. I have an instant mistrust of any reactionary movement in this day in age. I think we have reached the point where we don't generally have to rebel to the same degree as our forefathers - it's all been done - instead we can simply use some of their teachings and adapt the lives we already have - subtle growth rather than destroy and rebuild. There's no need to become religious, simply take on some of the bits you happen to like and then maybe do the same with the other religions too. I also have a sneaking suspicion that some Buddhists use hours and hours of mediation as an excuse to simply be lazy... I hear similar excuses from stoners all the time. Of course I have been sat in my bath for nearly an hour - this is both my mediation and lazy time, I need no excuses.

I don't actually hate either of these groups, I would quite happily be super rich or spiritually happy - my main issue is with the level of division between the two. I think maybe I shall be both, that makes more sense to me. Thank you Guardian.

2008-08-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

I entered the world of corporate entertainment (media related naturally)) on Saturday by DJing for a Bloomberg (Business and Finance News & Media Company) Staff Party at Ravenscroft Park in London. I actually had to sign a secrecy agreement so can't say that much about it but let's just say they had laid on an all inclusive small festival for their employees... not sure it's really the area of media I'd like to go into but the wages they must be offering certainly wouldn't go a miss at the moment.

It was also the official unleashing of Stefan & Jorgen (see below article from 24/7) which went pretty well. We supplied the tunes for It's A Knockout' with Keith Chegwin and some other games and challenges cooked up by my good friends Rob from Lost & Found (www.myspace.com/getlostandfound) and Hannah Morris from Wildlife Artists and Events Company (www.wearewildlife.com). Basically we got paid well for playing music and acting silly all day with some great people, now that's more my idea of a job.

For those who can't quite remember Cheggers (a legend to us Brits over the age of 30), he's the one giving Ricky Gervais homophobic advice in this 'Extras' clip.

2008-07-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Just finished a weekend of Hip-hop here in Cardiff with Roxe Jam - a Free weekend of Graffiti, Rapping, Deejaying and B boying that I am involved with. Went really well and was also an insightful glance into media practice too. Infact the main organiser Lou (check www.roxejam.co.uk for full story behind the festival) said the main thing she didn't want next year was a media presence. I can see her point, the weekend is a very personal and private affair for Lou, and reporters don't seem to be very good at understanding emotion, preferring to remain at surface level, even when trying to give the impression of 'getting to the heart of the issue.'

I'm not going to go into specifics, but there have been certain things over the course of this event that make me feel that generally this is the case. However there are certain things that lead me to believe that I'm wrong and actually this isn't true.

I was told recently that one of the reasons for my inability to read instructions or learn from text books is that I learn 'emotionally' rather than whatever the other way is, let's say factually for now. This might be true and it might not be, but it kind of makes sense and I like it so I'm going to give it some credence for now at least. But if this is the case then why do I prefer factual newspapers such as the Independent or The Guardian (okay so they may be biased to the left still and not quite factually perfect but they are comparatively so compared to the alternatives) to tabloid trash papers which rely heavily on pushing emotional buttons, usually of ignorant hate from what I do read. I'm pretty sure from them that journalists do understand emotion extremely well, they just don't care about other peoples.

I'm rather tired and this argument seems to lack direction, structure and purpose, if indeed there is any argument in what I've just typed but hey it kind of made sense in the bath just now and at least I've written something in my blog about the weekend... kind of.

2008-07-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

So it seems that actually the crime figures in the UK are falling quite a bit, and despite the new high profiling of knife crimes, they are down too. Even as a cynic to the tabloid scaremongering that exists I was rather suprised at this. Of course I was not suprised to learn of the new police stop and search powers that slipped by in the knife crime hysteria, funny that.

Of course it is true that something should be done about the extent to which people feel the need to carry knives, however as most people claim to carry knives as self protection, telling them that everyone else has a knife might not be the best way to stop it. Of course the truth is that carrying a knife yourself is no protection at all, it just increases the likelihood of you getting stabbed yourself, or stabbing a person simply through fear or drunken stupidity. I learnt this as a teenager and I thankfully haven't felt the need to carry any kind of weapon for years.

At my school it certainly seemed as if everybody had a knife. There were a few kids in my year who worked at the weekends in Bailey's Army Surplus store. They robbed the shop blind over the few weeks they were there before getting caught, and used to sell all kinds of knives in the playground, not to mention a few pellet guns too. I myself brought one or two, it just seemed like a normal accessory to have back then.

During this period I had knives held at my throat and flashed at me in threat, I hate to say that I too threatened at least one other kid with incidents that I can't quite remember or don't really want to go into, but the one that woke me up most was when I was mugged by a group of kids in school and one of them found my blade and decided it would be funny to jab it at me. I jumped backwards just in time for it to poke into the edge of my gut, i don't think I ever carried a kinfe after that. The kid in question was recently on the news, he had been arrested for selling crack and had pulled a knife on the arresting officer before punching him and trying to escape... I'm glad I'm no longer the sort of person who feels the need to carry a knife, or live anything close to that kind of life anymore.

Since then I have seen at least 2 people flip out on hallucinogenic substances with a blade and a good friend of mine was stabbed 3 times whilst buying a Sunday paper in Swindon (he thankfully survived but had to endure a punctured lung and extensive time in surgery) at 8 in the morning. Funnily enough I have developed something of a fear of knives over the years, I have trouble using them normally and would never dream of using one in a violent way . I kind of hope that this recent wave of media scaremongering will affect people in a similar way (although not to the same degree, just to stop them from carrying one), but I some how doubt it very much.

2008-07-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

2008-07-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

It's pretty scandalous the amount of posts I've put on here recently... none since January! So even though I haven't got anything in particular to write about I figure I should really get back in the spirit of things. I'm now onto my dissertation and preparing for Year 3 of my course. This mainly involves downloading Rockumentaries (well I did buy a load from Fopp in Bristol then some cheeky bugger nicked the lot from Bristol library whilst I was studying - a greater person may see some kind of Karmic irony in this but not me) and brushing up on Dennis Potter - I'm still not quite sure why but he's an interesting enough chap I suppose.

There has been a slight dent made in my studies from going to Rock Ness and Glastonbury but I'm sure I can justify it as some kind of research for future projects, somehow. Actually, from a media perspective this year's Glastonbury was an interesting one. Many people avoided the festival for the rather bizarre reason that Jay Z was headlining, a rather lame excuse if you ask me. I personally try to stay away from the main stages at Glastonbury anyway as a far better time can be had stumbling across random Ukrainian bands in a little circus tent or something. With thousand of bands on offer and such a large expanse of land (trust me after getting lost and having to wander round the whole thing to get back to my tent... it's big!) you're bound to find something you like, even if Jay Z isn't to taste. Of course I have a sneaking suspicion that most of the hype surrounding the rapper's headline slot was propagated by one person in particular... Jay Z! This is a man who knows exactly how to use the media for stirring up controversy to suit his own ends and fair play to him. I remember the furor caused over a concert he threw back in New York. At the time he seemed to be having wars of words a plenty with other local rappers, especially Nas, and this was to be the concert where he 'declared war' on everyone... The concert, fittingly entitled 'I Declare War' was a huge success but instead of turning Hip-hop into another war zone he brought all his enemies out and turned the event into a unity jam... clever showmanship and genius promotion.

Jay Z shrewdly ensured his appearance at Glastonbury would remain 'legendary' as well. Not only did he put on a fine performance (I checked it back on BBC IPlayer after watching a boring Massive Attack at the wrong stage - "I'm sure Jay Z is on in a minute") with a full live band but he came out singing 'Wonderwall' in tribute to the man who first complained publicly that Jay Z should not be playing at Glastonbury - Noel Gallagher. You may not like 'Jigga' or 'J Hova' but you do have to admire his media savviness and sheer chutzpah at times... even if such stunts as declaring his own colour (yes 'Jay Z blue' is out there) is perhaps the work of a dangerous egomaniac.

Well there you go, hopefully I can keep up this posting thing now... and for those that missed his performance

2008-01-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

Have been following a group called Optimas Prime as part of my 'Writing For Radio' module, as I'm doing a documentary on Dubstep music in Cardiff. On Wednesday I went with them to the BBC Studios in Llandaff as they were appearing on the 'BBC Introducing In Wales...' programme with Bethan Elfyn on Radio One. MonkeyDubz was performing a 20 minute set, comprised of Cardiff Dubstep tunes (although the mix was pre-recorded) and Stagga was asked to give his 'top tips' for tunes, however as I was going with them I was also asked for my music tips. Was a good chance to play people a track I've been listening to for months but hasn't got a British release yet, by a group from Canada called SoCalled, the track is 'You Are Never Alone' and it is well worth looking up the video on YouTube. My other choice was a cover version of TLC's classic 'Waterfalls' by a great singer / songwriter / musician called Pete Lawrie. I had something of a vested interest in playing this as I'm putting on a live show for him in March and it gave me a chance to plug it... marvelous. If you happen to read this post in time the show is up til next Wednesday over at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bethanelfyn. Go check it out.

2008-01-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Would be a bit tedious to put my whole essay on UK Hip-hop as a subculture up on here but here's the conclusion which should give you some insight into the rest. Far too personal for an essay I realise but by the time I'd written it I didn't quite have the energy to be anything but...

Overall conclusion

Although there were definite group characteristics of UK Hip-hop, it is still some what problematic to define any singular characteristics as specifically relating to the individuals, past their love of UK Hip-hop music. I do feel that collectively, however loose, the UK Hip-hop scene is a subculture of its own, according to definitions of subculture laid down in previous studies. However this does rely partly on the notion that Hip-hop as a whole goes beyond being a subculture and is now simply a global culture in itself which has spawned within it, subcultures such as UK Hip-hop. This has meant that UK Hip-hop follows some of the rules laid down by the hegemony of Hip-hop, fixed primarily within the US, however it also reacts against the materialistic, violent and misogynistic nature which some relate as being intrinsic in this hegemony, and remains more inclusive of different ethnic and social backgrounds. Despite pessimism within the scene and music, I feel this is a positive attribute for the followers of UK Hip-hop, as it will hopefully inform them against such negative stereotypes, and in turn they will ensure that UK Hip-hop is not swayed in that direction. However the scene is in danger of not being able to sustain itself commercially, the further it becomes the domain of the initiated only. It is in danger of creating its own micro hegemony which will in turn further dissuade others from involvement, particularly those from outside of the UK and women.

However if it cultivates its links with other Hip-hop scenes, as well as other ‘street cultures’ such as skateboarding, and the ‘drum & bass / dubstep / grime scenes and turns its back on the metanarrative[1] that is Hip-hop, which shouldn’t be too hard for a culture which within its very nature is Postmodern, Then the artists within may be able to broaden their commercial capabilities without necessarily having to sacrifice their artistic integrity. Certainly there seemed to be frustration within the fans as to the limited appeal of the music, however as long as artists and fans alike compare themselves to US artists it will be difficult to break free of that feeling of inferiority which both fans, artists and artist fans appear to feed into each other.

Maybe the apparent decline of UK Hip-hop is a decline of Subcultures in general, perhaps society on the whole has been so fragmented that it cannot pick one set of rules with which to define itself, however there are messages and an ideology within UK Hip-hop that still serve as a healthy reaction to modern capitalist rule, and a growing consumerist and materialistic society. There is some evidence that these messages are being used by its fans but whether they can translate outside of the boundaries these fans have created, as yet remains to be seen.

2007-11-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Myself and Holly have written up our documentary programme proposal for the Current affairs & Regulation module. We've called 'Lost In The K Hole.' I won't put the whole thing up here but here are a few (would be) choice moments from the programme:

Russel Brand takes us through a short history of Ketamine, from it's creation in 1962 by Calvin Stevens to the 1978 publications, John Lilly’s ‘The Scientist’ and Marica Moore’s ‘Journeys into the Bright World’.

Some of the people who were around during the late 80s and early 90s Free Party, Goa & Rave scenes, recount some of their tales of how Ketamine was viewed and used over this period. Then James St James, one of the Manhattan 'Club Kids' from the New York party scene of the same period and author of 'Disco Blood Bath' (later turned into a documentary and film - both called Party Monster) discusses some of the effects Ketamine had on their style and general outlook on life.

Jeremy Joseph – DJ and Club Promoter for London club night G-A-Y tells us what impact the drug had on the British Gay scene.

We then talk about current Ketamine usage with various DJs, Promoters and Bands as well as experts such as Ruth Gold from DrugScope and Karl Jansen, author of '‘Ketamine: Dreams and Realities’. We already have research and an interview with a regular Ketamine user which indicate some of the information we might uncover such as:

The effects are kind of like "Saved By The Bell when they went into a dream world and it was all a bit hazy (or) being a marshmallow in a fantasy world."; Someone in a K Hole typically looks "Eyes glazed, white crusty polo nostrils, and if they’re moving they look like their limbs have been taken off and then put on back to front."; It costs "£10 a Gram, unless you’re at a free party then it’s usually £15."; and "Bristol it’s everywhere..."

Finally we examine Ketamine's recent mainstream media exposure from such episodes as: Pete Docherty's arrest for posession of it; Amy Whinehouse's overdose on a cocktail of drugs including it; and Pete from Big Brother being on the front page of The mirror snorting it.

Of course there is loads more information in out proposal but unless you want to make this documentary then it has little relevance to you. If of course you do wish to make it, get in touch :)

2007-11-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

Went into BBC Radio Wales yesterday to talk about the film 'Brick Lane'. A new adaptation of the bestselling Monica Ali book. Was with 3 people from the Bangladeshi community (the film is based around a Bangladeshi family in East London). The main focus of the questioning (or at least the answers) was whether the film was a fair representation of the community. Maybe trickier for me to answer although I did feel it was slightly unfair to expect the film to represent the whole community when it is only centred round one family on a small London housing estate. However it is a problem when this is one of the only representations of the Bangladeshi community within British cinema, as there is the danger of it being taken as the norm, which was the other guests main point I believe. The film itself is beautifully shot and there is a good empathy with all the characters as it avoids the stereotypical Good Vs Bad where such a binarism could easily have been made. Other typical binary oppostions of 'British Asian' cinema are present in abundance however, East Vs West, Traditional Vs Modern, Colour Vs Bleakness, etc. It is not a happy film, most of the characters are fairly tragic but it is a beautiful film in it's own way. It's out now at the cinema and the interview goes out on Radio Wales this Saturday (24th November 2007) at around midnight (the show Mixing It is from 11pm - 1am and we were somewhere in the middle). You can also listen again for a week afterwards at...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/mixingit/

2007-11-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

Have just started writing reviews for Out Of Hand Magazine, a free 'what's on' guide for the Wales and West area. Also, in association with a Hip-hop night that I help run, they are printing my Monthly Top 5 (relative to Higher Learning). Here's the latest one.

Most of the reviews are Breakbeat and Hip-hop related, although this month I have been sent some nice random albums such as one by a New York artist called JayMay whic his definitely worth checking out.

2007-10-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the result of a writing exercise we had from our 'Writing For Children' module. We were given words from a book of 'British Hit Singles' which we had to use within a story, mine were...

Clockwork; Ride The Tiger; Rat Trap; Sugar Moon.

and it ended up like this...

By the Light of the Sugary Moon

Norman the Gnome lived at the bottom of the garden. He was a fisherman, and although he never actually caught any fish, he’d sit by the side of the pond day and night with his fishing rod, waiting for one to bite. Not the most exciting life you might say. He had no Nintendo DS, no remote control car, not even a football to play with, but he was quite happy just sitting there and talking away for hours with his best friend George.

George was a snail, not your average snail mind you, but a snail nonetheless. Not that he was actually that different to other snails, but he did have a bright shell which was a mix of red, blue, purple and green, and he was incredibly intelligent, infact he knew everything.

The shell had been painted by the little girl who lived in the big house at the other end of the garden. She thought he looked better that way, and so did Norman, who had no idea why George knew as much as he did but was glad of it all the same.

“What do the plants talk about?” Norman would ask.

“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to tell you.” Replied George, “It’s very secretive, which is why you can only hear them whispering to each other every now and then.”

“Why do the raindrops come down one by one? “ Norman would inquire, “Surely it would make more sense for the clouds to just pour the water out all at once.”

“Why that’s easy,” said George.” If they did that, then the grasshoppers wouldn’t be able to dance to the beat of the raindrops.”

And the question that Norman had been wondering most, “What’s the difference between the moon in the sky, and the moon in the water?” to which George answered “Another easy question my Gnomadic friend. The moon in the sky is made of cheese, whilst the moon in the water is made of sugar.”

“A sugar moon?!” Now Norman was excited. “That sounds amazing! How do I get there?” Luckily for him, George already had a plan worked out.

Later that night, on the advice that George had given him, Norman waited by the side of the pond with his rod at the ready next to a tiger lily he had placed there and holding a piece of cheese (which he believed had actually fell from the moon) in his other hand.

Every night at around the same time, a rat would come down to the pond for a swim, and Norman planned to put the cheese down in front of the rat, trap him with his rod and then ride the tiger lily over to the sugar moon using the rat to pull him along.

The plan worked like clockwork and Norman was now right over the moon. He jumped from the lily and sank down, down and down to the bottom of the pond.

You can still see Norman on some days, although when the moon’s out it’s far too dark so we must just assume that he is there. Whether he made it, we shall never know, but he seems quite happy sat there amongst the fish, which he still can’t quite manage to catch, and every now and then George will peer over the side of the pond to check on his old friend and see if he’s got a question for him, which he never does, so maybe he’s finally found all the answers too. Again we can only assume.

The End

end note: pointing out that a tiger lily and a water lily are not the same is simply bypassing the magic of storytelling...don't do it.

2007-10-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

It's all getting a bit too much... well actually it's not that bad, my hands and face haven't swollen that much it's a technique we've just learnt whereby we clone certain parts of the picture and copy them into a new layer. then use the 'liquify' filter to bulge those parts. then delete the excess bits and place back over the original picture... a voila!

2007-10-10T15:30:00.001-07:00

Here's a copy of an article I wrote for Art / Fashion Magazine 'Format' about one of my housemates...

Peaceful Progress
Oct 7, 2007 – Spraycan Stories – by Kaptin

Not everyone likes Bryce ‘Best’ Davies’s work. Many traditionalists in the graf scene he grew up in have snubbed their spraycans at him, but he doesn’t really care. His incorporation of fine art techniques into his graffiti work has found him a wider more accepting audience, as well as some great friends and artists with whom he can collaborate. It has also helped him find himself.

Born in South Jersey to an American mother and a Welsh father, Bryce moved to Bedwas in South Wales with his parents at an early age. However, his father died when he was three years old and he eventually settled with his Mother, her partner at the time and his son in Cardiff at aged 10.

It was his step brother who would first influence Bryce artistically. He was inspired by the art student’s paintings, which themselves were inspired by graf writers such as Mode 2 and Vaughn Bode. It wasn’t until age 12 when given the chance to decorate his room himself that he first picked up a spraycan. The graffiti wasn’t great, think bad Calvin and Hobbes characters, but the buzz was addictive and Bryce was soon out bombing the streets and tracksides.

Unsettled at school, and pretty much anywhere except while painting, Bryce spent most of his time out painting and at 15, alongside a fellow Cardiff writer, set up a legal Hall Of Fame in Haley Park, Cardiff. Here he could spend all day developing styles and working on his letters. The bombing continued until South Wales Police raided his house three times. Luckily for him they went to the wrong person’s house each time and he managed to get tipped off. Many others in the scene weren’t so lucky and after rather too much finger pointing, Bryce decided it was time to go legit.

One of the other major influences on his artwork was Dafydd Fortt. Bryce’s vision was very much rooted in the graf scene but Dafydd influenced him to look at things from a different angle, and be happy in doing what you want rather than worrying too much how things are supposed to be done. He showed him how to stretch canvas and make frames and pushed him to try new techniques. In the studio together Bryce finally found the direction he’d been looking for and painted all the free hours he could. In 2003 both Bryce and Dafydd moved to the Kings Rd Studios in Cardiff. It was here that Peaceful Progress was born.

There were soon many collaborations with other resident artists in the studios, especially Andy Fung and James Charlton, and a number of exhibitions such as Slice which included all the Kings Rd Artists. Peaceful Progress began as a website to showcase both this work and each artist’s solo work.

Around the same time he started painting, Bryce also took up B-Boying and helped to form the Welsh B-Boy crew Uprock Addicts. These were his main expressive outlets and they also became his main income, meaning that he could literally do the things he loved all day. As well as commissions with his painting and various shows with the Uprock Addicts, Bryce began to pass on his skills to the young people of Wales in graffiti and breakdance workshops. Dealing mainly with the kind of teens that he had once been, restless - unsettled and quite a handful at times - he enjoys seeing the familiar spark in their eyes when what he is teaching manages to connect. He is also part of Bassline Circus and has been touring with them for the last three years. Living in a trailer, travelling and the alternative lifestyle of the circus along with regular visits to Coed Hills, a self sufficient community where many of the residents are artists living in yurts and tepees, has lent Bryce’s work a natural, organic feel and helped him to think more about the environment he’s painting in and for. A lot of the work and exhibitions recently are site specific and he thinks more about the placement of pieces, his murals are also noticeably fuller, with the background, shapes and letters all working well together. Some of his recent commissions have been for, amongst others, Glastonbury, Bestival, Green Man, MTV, Cargo and Big Brother.

The most important for Bryce is getting on with what he enjoys in a positive and true manner, and working with others on a similar vibe. With a Peaceful Progress tent in the pipeline for next years festivals it looks like we shall be seeing many more collaborations with this ethos.

More Info: http://www.peacefulprogress.co.uk/

2007-08-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Newsnight just ran a piece on Channel 5 stopping 'noddies' and staged questions in an attempt to regain viewers trust after a couple of months of this trust breaking down. Think part of this is a chance to try and regain some viewers but would be interested to see what alternatives they come up with and who follows suit.

It's easier in a studio situation but out on the field when you've only got 1 camera, how do you keep momentum in an interview situation. Just filming one person then the other would get stale and the other alternative is more cameras, not always practical. Now these current techniques have been brought to light however it will be harder to get away with them. I remember after doing a programme for HTV for the first time and staging phone calls that didn't happen, noddies and the like that I could spot them all over the TV. But it's not really lying, unless the general facts of the story are forgotten or it insinuates something that may be damaging or embarrasing such as (what could have happened) in the case of the Queen in the BBC documentary.

It's not about telling the truth, it's about being more believable.

2007-04-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

I wonder how Jade Goody feels at the moment that a headline previously applied to her by The Sun ('Face Of Hate')has now been reused to describe Cho Seung-hui the Virginia Uni Killer. The evidence of his 'hateful' ways has been shown by one of his classmates who put up a couple of plays written by Cho. I had heard that his work was extremely 'dark and disturbing' as his creative writing lecturer says how she was so disturbed by his work that she had to take him out of lessons for one on one. If we really want to find a scapegoat for this (usual parents, bullys, etc) we can do worse then blame this lecturer. She probably tried to stifle the poor kids only creative outlelt for his anger. I've read the plays, of course I did, how was I to resist after they'd been built up so much (wrong maybe, but true). They're not happy but I think there's probably worse sentiments (although maybe not language) in your average nursery rhyme. They're certainly not on the level of something like a Takeshi Miike film. Maybe we should be keeping an eye on him, but no luckily he has made a fortune on writing and directing twisted distrubing films so he's probably ok. It sounds like Cho Seung-hui was bullied not by taunts and jibes but from too many 'normal' people trying to help him by pointing out what a freaky disturbed kid he was and really shoudln't be writing stuff like that as it's 'wrong'. I'm all for disturbed, twisted and violent movies / books / music / plays, everyone has a dark side and such films, both for the creator and the audience help to indulge this side without having to actually let it escape into everyday existence. Otherwise I think Irvine Welsh would long ago have gone on a sorded drug crazed killing spree in Ibiza.

2007-02-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

A few Bob Marley images for a project relating to Icons. Computer not working so figure I'll keep them safe up here for when I need them.

Bob Marley is a big tourist attraction for Jamaica. His house is a national monument and everywhere you go it's impossible to escape his influence on the island's culture and history. This is from a set of coins issued by the Bank Of Jamaica to celebrate his 50th Anniversary. However in keeping with the stereotype of a 'tek it easy' society they were issued a year late. It's quite an easily justified stereotype if you visit the island as well. I once witnessed an old one legged rasta stood at the corner of the road playing 'One Love' on his guitar. The tempo was more in keeping with the original ska version then the one found on Exodus, a policeman walked past the man and shook his head, after sucking his teeth he remarked "Slow down bwoy, you gone too fast".

Two of the biggest associations with Bob Marley are 'ganja' and Rastafarianism. This is a typical poster of the man against a backdrop of Red, Yellow & Green (the colours of the Ethiopian flag adopted by Rastafarians) smoking a spliff. A must for any school kid who has just discovered ganja and wants to have a marker for their new found 'rebellious' past time.

This image adapted from the 'Rebel Music' album goes to show that for many people Bob Marley signifies the message of One Love, this time the poster is in the colours of the Jamaican flag. There is something of a binary opposite here as 'Rebel Music' and 'One Love' seem to contradict each other. Some would argue that the idea of people living together in harmony was rebelious. There are arguments on both sides and Bob Marley tended to have conflicting opinions, largely due to the difference between idealism and realism.

Confirming the association between Bob Marley and ganja, here his image is being used to sell rolling papers. It's also worth noting that as a teenager growing up I often heard large cone spliffs referred to as 'Bob Marleys'.

2007-02-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

FAMOUS HEADLINES

GOTCHA

The sinking of the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano in the Falklands War
(The Sun 1982)

EVICT THE FACE OF HATE

Aimed at Jade Goody after her racist comments on Celebrity Big Brother.
(The Sun 2007)

ZIP ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO

George Michael gets arrested in an LA public toilet for ‘lewd behaviour’
(The Sun 1998)

IF KINNOCK WINS TODAY WILL THE LAST PERSON TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHTS.

The Sun claims this headline helped John Major to win the 92 General Election.
(The Sun 1992)

NATIONWIDE HUNT – JOHN REID’S BRAIN IS MISSING

The Home Secretary fails to solve the problem of prison over crowding.
(The Sun 2007)

SHIP SHIP HOORAY

Serial killer Harold Shipman is found hanged in his cell.
(The Sun 2004)

BONKERS BRUNO LOCKED UP

Frank Bruno sectioned under the mental health act – changed after 1st edition to ‘SAD BRUNO IN MENTAL HOME’
(The Sun 2003)

YOU’VE LOST THAT LIVING FEELING

On the death of ex Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield
(The Sun 2003)

TETBURY MAN TO WED

The marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
(Bristol Evening Post – South Gloucestershire Edition 2004)

FREDDIE STAR ATE MY HAMSTER

Publicist Max Clifford made up this story to get Freddie some media exposure
(The Sun 1986)

2007-02-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

One of the things that didn’t seem to come out of the whole Big Brother row these last couple of weeks is an open, honest debate on the multi headed beast that is racism. As with so many ‘issues’ it tends to be oversimplified into a black and white matter (excuse the pun), when the truth is there’s a whole grey area to be addressed if we’re really to understand and approach the problem effectively. This is a play which deals with the grey area. Not in a middle of the road, wishy washy kind of way, not at all. It doesn’t tip toe round the issue and it doesn’t apologise, preach or exaggerate . It deals with the issue in such a brutally honest and realistic way, that we can deal with it as a brutal, honest and real problem.

The pub where this play is set is not the realm of stereotypes. Nobody here’s perfect and despite our obvious disdain for such characters as the far right bigot Alan and the tightly wound bullies Lawrie and Big T, nobody is a crystal clear cut villain either. But all here have a big bag of issues, especially when it comes to race.

With an impressive cast (many of whom you may recognise from TV shows such as Eastenders, Holby City and Skins amongst others) and an inspired script from Roy Williams (who also wrote ‘Babyfather’ and is currently working on a musical with Damon Albarn), this slice of English life, set around the passions and prejudices that an England v Germany match can create, is one of the most relevant plays to date and should not be missed!

Expect some strong language and an impromptu moony.

Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads is at The Riverfront Arts Centre in Newport for the next couple of days.

2007-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

I've been explaining to the local 'Canton Crips' gangleader about Post Modernism as he was trying to impress one of the ladies on my course. He thought it was all just bollocks but took it on board and then tried to explain it in his own way by writing his own version of the lit review we had to do. Here's some of what he wrote...

Hyper Reality

My Nan watches Coronation Street all the time and constantly batters my eardrums about who’s doing what with who, as if they was real people. She even sends them wedding cards. I always thought it was cos my Nan was just mental but it seems she ain’t the only one who can’t tell the difference between real life and TV. This is because she lives in a Hyper Reality, kinda like The Matrix but without that fanny Keanu Reeves. Infact we all do, which is why my Grampy reckons we’re being taken over by Asylum Seekers, even though he was an illegal immigrant himself and has never actually met a proper Asylum seeker… But this is because he stays in all the time watching telly and gets my Nan to get his pension for him cos of his dodgy leg. He says it’s from shrapnel in the war but my Nan says the closest he got to fighting was watching Battle Of Britain on the TV. Then again some bloke called Baudrillard reckons this is what war is, or something like that.

Fakeness

Like when 2Pac was fronting that he was a Gangster in his videos and on his tunes but really he was just a dancer and a bit of a pussy. He even admitted it before but reckoned he made pure dollar from talking bollocks about being hard. Fair play really, I’m hard as fuck but don’t make much money from it. In school was easier cos I robbed the kids that wasn’t hard. If they never had money I’d rob their clothes or trainers but only if they had a decent label. This is also very Postmodern.

The Breakdown of Metanarratives

This is just a poncy term for saying that History, Religion, Love and Politics is all bollocks. I’ve been saying that since school and all I ever got was detention.

Bricolage

When Snoop Dogg dresses like a 70s pimp or samples old records to make new ones, this is bricolage. You can rob anything from anywhere and it’s okay cos it’s all postmodern. Because history is bollocks it doesn’t matter robbing from it to make new things cos it’s all been done before anyway. However the same doesn’t apply when you try to rob an antiques shop. Even if the owner was a bit of a wanker. I tried to tell the police that the law was just a metanarrative and therefore didn’t apply anymore but they still banged me up.

2007-01-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas I thought I'd done okay on presents until Christmas Eve when I was travelling down to see the family and realised that I had completely forgotten to get my 2 nephews anything. luckily i had pen and paper with me and on the journey down I wrote them a short story in rhyme about them, their mum (my sister) and the snow queen. This year I was too skint to buy any presents at all, so for them I decided to have a go at writing part two.... and here it is.

SANTA & THE SNOW QUEEN

It’s difficult to say how the room felt that morning
Did it feel the excitement inside that was forming?
Was it quiet and still? With no clue and no care
Til Charlie and Jack came crashing on in there
Riding on a wave of sheer anticipation
Built up from the weeks they’d been waiting and waiting
And now they could wait no longer to see
What fun Christmas day was going to be
They ran straight to the tree to see what was there
But Santa it seemed had hid presents elsewhere
They looked under the settee and behind it too
But they found no presents and they found no clue
As to where they were hid, in which room they were waiting
They looked all round the house, spent hours investigating
They searched all the kitchen, the bathroom, the hall
They searched in the cupboards, behind every door
Til Jack said “We’ve searched this whole house everywhere”
“Let’s head to the garden, they must be out there.”
So they headed out back into the cold frost
With fog so thick that they soon got lost
Charlie said “We’ll never find our presents out here”
“Let’s face the fact that they’ve just disappeared”
“No they haven’t” said a voice “They never arrived
And that’s why your presents are so hard to find”
“Who said that?” cried Jack “Wasn’t me” replied Charlie
“But this day is getting mighty strange if you ask me”
Then down by their feet the voice came once more
“I don’t think that Santa has come here at all.”
They looked at the ground and found a strange sight
“A Squirrel!” they cried “No this can’t be right.”
“Do you mind” said he ”I’m not a squirrel at all
I think that you’ll find it’s a Squiggle I’m called”
“We’re sorry Mr Squiggle, this is all quite a shock
But did you just say that our present were lost?”
“No” said the Squiggle “Not lost I fear, no”
“But the Snow Queen has kept Santa somehow and so
There’s been not a present for any of us”
Charlie and Jack shook their heads in disgust
“The Snow Queen again. We should have guessed
That she would be the cause of all this mess
Only one thing to do, we’re not scared of that witch
We’ll save Santa somehow and find all our gifts
We need a lift though, to take us that far”
The Squiggle said “Oh that shouldn’t be hard”
“I have a friend who can carry us off
He lives over there in that tree at the top
Come with me and we’ll see” “Who is he?” The boys asked
“The Da Da Bird, he’ll be up for the task”
So they climbed up a tree they’d never seen before
They climbed and they climbed and they climbed up some more
The tree was so tall they were scared to look down
Though the fog was so thick that it covered the ground
It covered the top, all around them in fact
They couldn’t see forwards and couldn’t see back
But still they kept climbing til out from the mist
They finally found where the Da Da Bird lived

A strange sight indeed was the bird they agreed
His wings made of bus tickets, receipts and leaves
His body a mish mash of gloves, scarves and hats
Roughly the size of an overgrown cat
Wheels for feet and not a beak to be seen
But a hobby horse head where a bird’s should have been
Though the Da Da Bird was the name it was given
Patchwork Pegasus might have been more fitting
Still no matter, whatever the name or the title
It’s help in this mission was mightily vital
So as Mr Squiggle explained the dilemma
The boys both hoped that he’d act for the better
They crossed their fingers, made wishes galore
While the Da Da Bird listened and listened some more
He listened until the whole tale had been told
Then he looked at the boys and said “Quick then let’s go
Climb on my back and strap yourselves in
To the Snow Queens Palace let the journey begin”
And he cooed and he cawed and he swooped and he soured
Over mountain and hill, over valley and gorge
Over river and lake, over loch, over sea
Til the land they were headed was finally reached
There was ice and snow and snow and ice
If it wasn’t so cold then it might be quite nice
But nowhere in sight was a soul to be seen
Til they came to the Palace of the evil Snow Queen
The Da Da Bird dipped and downwards they dived
Crash landed so bad they were glad to survive
Now they could tell why the bird had his straps
But at least they were there, they were thankful of that
Off they climbed and made their way to the gate
All except for the bird who decided to stay
He was tired from the journey, he was knackered in fact
So he said “I’ll wait here and have me a nap”
They left him to sleep and all headed off
Got to the gates but they found they were locked
Then “Stop!” said a voice, quieter than the squiggle
“I can’t let you in til you answer this riddle
You can see I’m a mouse” Jack said “Yes now we can”
“But what type of mouse do you think that I am?
I’ll give you a clue, where I live, what I do
And if you can answer I’ll let you pass through
Now if it wasn’t so cold then it would be revealed
That under the snow is actually a field
But I don’t live there, or up in the palace
I live where I work and with that I manage”
Jack thought a while and Charlie thought too
So did the squiggle, but hadn’t a clue
Then Jack thought “Got it” and shouted it out
“I know what you are, the answer’s a Dormouse!”
“That’s right said the mouse you’re all free to enter
Please think twice though cos I don’t remember
The last time that anyone left here alive”
Charlie said “Thanks but we’ve just got to try
There’s presents at stake” “Fair enough” said the mouse
“I’ll be waiting to see if you all make it out”

Inside the palace was a sight to behold
Everything made out of ice and white gold
The chairs, the tables, the doors and the walls
And the throne where the Snow Queen sat watching them all
With a snow leopard each side to keep watch on her
Looking like the queen’s robe, black spots on white fur
The crown on her head was diamonds and ice
And she had the most coldest look in her eyes
She fixed everyone with a frosty stare
And if they weren’t before, then now they were scared
Still a mission they had and they wouldn’t stop now
They knew they could do it, they just didn’t know how
They’d made it this far and they’d last til the end
They knew that was soon, they just didn’t know when
Then all of a sudden the queen rose and spoke
“Tell me, why have you come to my home?”
Jack plucked up courage said “Well…” then he paused
He was too scared to say it but ‘be brave’ he thought
“We’ve come to save Santa, so please let him out”
The queen threw her head back and laughed out aloud
“Santa’s not here, you silly little boys”
“But if that’s true” Charlie said “Where’s our toys?”
The queen laughed again “Santa is where he lives
But maybe I did freeze his heart, just a bit
He’s perfectly fine, but if I’m not on his list
Then why should I let him give gifts to you kids?
He’s lost faith in Christmas, he thinks it’s a con”
Charlie and Jack both cried out “But he’s wrong!
You’ve turned his heart cold you wicked Snow Queen
So now it seems Santa’s gone nasty and mean
We’ll stop that for sure, we’ll warm up his heart”
“No you don’t” Said the Snow Queen “You won’t have the chance
Leopards Attack! Bring their bones back to me”
Mr Squiggle yelled “Quick! I think it’s time to leave”
With the boys close behind him they ran out the palace
The snow leopards snapped at their heels but they managed
To make it back out where the Da Da Bird sat
They jumped in the air, landed square on his back
He cooed and cawed and he swooped and he soured
And just about got out the reach of those claws
Then he dipped and he dived and decided to fight
Cos to tell you the truth he was too tired to fly
But as soon as he did the cats turned to run
“Don’t hurt us” they cried “We were just having fun”
“Fun my feathers” the Da Da Bird shouted
“You would have killed all of us, I don’t doubt it”
“No” both replied “That wasn’t our aim
We only wanted to chase you away
We need to be seen to be nasty you know
Or else we’ll end up as the Snow Queens new robe
And we can’t have that, so we put on this act
But in truth we’re really just two scaredy cats”
The Da Da Bird thought then said “I have a way
That you can help us and we can help you escape”
“How?” asked the leopards “Easy” said he
“All you have to do to escape now is leave
To Santa’s grotto, I’ll show you the way
I’m too tired to fly so I’ll act like a sleigh
I’ll carry the rest if you pull us along”
“Okay” they agreed “But let’s get a move on
We have to leave before the queen knows we’ve failed”
So the Da Da Bird’s wings grabbed the snow leopard’s tails
And off they shot over ice, over snow
How long it would take them, they just didn’t know
But they knew that they had to reach Santa real quick
To try and undo the Snow Queen’s evil trick
So they slipped and they skidded and slithered and slid
Til they finally arrived at where Santa Clause lived
They came to a halt and pulled up outside
Charlie and Jack both said “Thanks for the ride”
“No problem at all” Replied the Da Da Bird
“No problem at all” The snow leopards purred
Mr Squiggle said “Take a rest fellas you’ve earned it
And look there goes Santa your timing was perfect”
Sure enough there he was pulling up by the door
But he didn’t quite look like old Santa at all
His face held a scowl as he got out his sleigh
He said “What do you want? I’m busy go away”
They had to agree he was being unpleasant
“Busy with what?” Charlie said “Not our presents!
We waited and waited til Christmas day came
But there was no sight of you, Santa you’ve changed”
“Ha it’s not I who have changed it’s you kids
All you care about at Christmas is gifts
You don’t know the real meaning, that’s long forgotten
It’s like everybody out there now is rotten
I never get ‘hey Santa, how are you feeling?’
Or ‘fancy a drink, coming clubbing this evening?’
Nope it’s all ‘Santa that’s not what I asked for’
Or ‘Santa how come my brother’s got more’
Or sometimes even it’s ‘Santa you smell
Cos I wanted a Happy Feet penguin as well”
“But we’re not like that” Said Charlie and Jack
“You’re not?” Replied Santa “Is that a fact?
Well why have you come here today just to see me?
Is it not cos there’s no presents under your tree?”
They had to admit this was true for the most part
“Okay” Santa said, “Well I’ve got loads I suppose
I can’t see a reason to keep them around
So boys help yourselves, go on knock yourselves out”
Mr Squiggle was first to be over excited
Ran inside to the presents and dived in
Charlie was next, well at least he was close
But Jack thought a second and shouted out “No!
It’s not right we should all get so many
When most of the other kids, they won’t have any
Thanks for the offer but we must turn it down
Cos there’s no way now that we can give the rest out”
Charlie agreed, it wasn’t fair to keep
The presents so he said “I guess we’d better leave
Well it was nice to meet you anyway, thanks for all those other times
You brought me my presents” Jack agreed “Yes thanks for mine
It’s a shame that you won’t be coming round again
It must get quite lonely up here without your friends
If you like we can try and visit you from time to time
And bring you some brandy and one or two mince pies
We know that you like them cos we’d always leave them out
And they’d always be gone when we came back down
Anyway it’s time to go” Then Charlie said “Before we do
There is one person that I’d like to give a present to
I know it’s not quite fair but is a small one okay?
So we can give it to our Mummy to go some way to say
Thank you for everything you’ve done for us this year”
Charlie looked up at Santa and thought he saw a tear
“Why lad of course you can but I’ll do better than that
Help me get all these other presents in the sack
I know not everyone really gets what it’s about
But Christmas time is too important just to go without
I’ll make sure everyone gets a present in the end
Except for that old Snow Queen, but no then again
That’s not really fair cos I guess nobody’s perfect
I’ll leave her a small something, I think it will be worth it”
So they gathered up the gifts, they really were quite heavy
Then they put them in the sleigh and got the reindeer ready
“But Santa” Charlie cried “It’s too late, Christmas is finished”
Santa gave a smile and simply said “Is it?”
Then sprinkled magic dust onto Charlie and Jack
Then sprinkled some on Mr Squiggle and the scaredy cats
He sprinkled some on the Da Da Bird then all went off to sleep
Then Santa set about his journey, he had deadlines to meet

Charlie and Jack both woke at the same time
Both had the same dream and the same idea in mind
They went running down the stairs for they were back inside their house
And it was still only Christmas morning, though please don’t ask me how
Santa’s special magic is incredible indeed
And look what’s that waiting underneath the tree
A great big pile of presents and a little note to say
Thank you Jack and Charlie, hope you have a great day.

2006-12-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Meant to put this up a few days ago but haven't had the chance so here goes...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1967367,00.html

Explores in more detail the whole 'War On Christmas' and how it's basically bollocks.

To be fair to The Independent they did print a story the next day which explored the stories but I can't find the link again.

2006-12-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

Seems that I've limited much of these posts to work that links directly to the course, however there are a few things that I do which link indirectly so might try and include some along the way. For example on Wednesday I was DJing for a Media company in London. They were extemely hospitable and I learnt much about the industry on the night, mainly how much business is actually done from inside a toilet cubicle.

On the way home I picked up a copy of the Independent, a paper which I normally give much cudos to (hmmm never used that word - cudos - in a sentence before, think it should be brought back). I was rather dissapointed however to see that Janet the Street Porter was jumping on the Daily Express style band wagon about minority faiths being offended over Christmas things such as decorations in the work place. To me this is a simple media construction from the right wing and has no real basis in the real world. Not once have papers such as the Express or the Mail been able to find one Muslim, Sikh, Hindu or otherwise who actually find anything about Christmas offensive. Not even one of the wild eyed fundamentalists front men that they like to wheel out as a representative to Muslims in this situation. From what I know of previous stories about councils changing the name of Christmas, etc, they are not trying to 'do away' with the celebrations but simply make the Winter holiday period more inclusive to other faiths who also have celebrations around this time, it's nothing to do with 'offending' anyone. But this Myth has played right into the hands of some companies who have probably worked out that their annual budget for Christmas decor is far too high and putting them up takes the workers away from their duties... thus losing the company even more money. Far better to cancel Christmas and blame it on a scapegoat. It's nothing to do with faith, it's money. Well that's a theory anyway.

2006-11-27T04:27:00.000-08:00

Check out...

http://www.myspace.com/danbuckjoyce

The videos on the site are made by Dan himself. Filmed on his phone and edited on IMovie.

2006-11-27T02:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my long and short term goals. You can take from them what you will but they might not make much sense until they have actually been fulfilled. It is however, good to finally put them down as now I have to see them through and they don't look too exhaustive (although this is by no means a full comprehensive list, merely a quick summary).

Short term goals...

Keep head above water with regards to juggling uni work and everything else.

Quit smoking

Start planning and sourcing material for podcast show

Finish first EP

Start a cult

Long term goals....

To have lived long enough to be a succesful...

Rock star

Gangster rapper

Cult Leader

To have my own...

Media Channel

Cafe bar

Record Label

To have been to...

Brazil

India

Bulgaria

To have written and made...

3 EPs

3 TV Series

3 Feature length Films

To answer to nobody except everybody.

2006-11-13T03:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a link for my presentation based around the following brief...

Produce 6 images that represents
the ‘City’ thematically or exploits
its formal and aesthetic qualities

Attempt to make the images
‘sequential’. This means that they are either linked by a theme or linked by such elements as colour, architecture, light and dark etc

Scan the images and display as a Power point presentation link in your PPJ Blog

Consider the follow starting points for investigating the ‘city’.
Feel free to compose your own brief if you wish.

Themes.

Arteries. A sequence of images that explore ‘networks’ that link the city
as a whole e.g. cables, power lines, surveillance cameras, grid shapes etc.

Under-belly. A sequence of images that explore ‘behind the scenes’ of the
city façade.

Excess A sequence of images that explore consumerism

City Versus Nature A sequence of images that represents a small but
significant battle between the man made and nature

http://www.uploading.com/files/HIB00EUR/Presentation2_1_.pps.html

The presentation satisfies 2 of the criteria for the project. The characters in the photos are all part of an underbelly within Cardiff. This does not mean they are part of some dark side to the city. On the contrary, there is a really positive scene bubbling under the surface of Cardiff. These are just a few that I managed to snap over a couple of days. I will add a few more of the pictures I didn't use shortly.

These are also some of the arteries that for me hold Cardiff together and keep it running as it should do. They run from other cities and back out again but all help to make Cardiff proper and all are part of the 'Proper Cardiff'

Please leave any comments regarding this presentation. Thank you.

2006-11-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

Textual Analysis of Edward Scissorhands Using Mis-En-Scene within a Frame.

It is often possible when watching a film, to establish much information relating to it, from just one frame. In this textual analysis of the film ‘Edward Scissorhands’, I will show how, by using a Barthes Semiotic reading of the Mis-en-Scene within a particular frame we can work out:

1. Where the film is set
2. The general representation of the characters within the scene
3. How they are represented in relation to their surroundings.

I shall pay particular attention to set, props, lighting and costume. The frame features 2 characters from the film, Peggie and Edward in a 2 shot. Both are preparing food in the kitchen.

frickin blogger does it again the picture to go with this will hopefully be coming soon. If anyone knows why this site refuses some of my pictures please let me know.

The Sitcom Suburbs

Most of us are well acquainted with images of American Suburban life as represented here. The setting is within the kind of suburbs pioneered by William Levitt in the 1950s, also known as Sitcom Suburbs, due to their representation in such American family sitcoms as I Love Lucy and Bewitched. They have been well satirised in other more tongue in cheek sitcoms, Married with Children and The Simpsons as well as the films Pleasantville and The Truman Show. Because of this, automatically we can identify this frame as being set in a similar one family, cheap yet sturdy, assembly line style construction and already carry the myths associated to this. There are such distinguishable features as the ‘Open Plan’ kitchen, which leads into the living room. At least we assume it is the living room as there is very little detail shown except for the television, but this is enough for us to make such an assumption. It is within the kitchen itself however that we find the most stereotypical signifiers.

Kitchen Clues

Some may consider such kitchen implements as: a chopping board; scales; sieve; and mixing bowl to be standard essentials for any kitchen, but then not every kitchen has the essentials. The fact that this kitchen does says something in itself. Additional to these are:

A Flan dish – Used in this particular instance for a fruit flan. Not exactly the most extravagant of deserts, infact the simple mixture of tinned fruit, sponge and custard
verges on the mundane. But nevertheless it is a desert which requires some degree of thought and preparation and is not simply a pre prepared one from Walmart. If you
tie into this the lack of any strong cultural identity then it has much in common with it’s surroundings, and says more than a first glance might possibly identify.

Casserole Dish – Possibly home here to that classic of American suburban cuisine, the Tuna Noodle Casserole. A quick and economical, yet substantial dish made mainly from canned foods. Although not actually shown, it is easy to attribute this image to the pot, which once again says a fair amount about the surroundings in itself.

Tupperware Dish – Possibly acquired from a Tupperware party? The suggestion is there at least. Although not exclusive to American suburbia, ‘perhaps no product line epitomizes post-World War II American suburbia as much as Tupperware plastic kitchen containers’ (Wendy Woloson, Tupperware, 2002).

It’s of note that all these dishes. Bowls and plates are fairly plain in design. The closest that any come to having some kind of pattern is a red ring round the edge of a plate. There is no real individual style or identity. The main emphasis here is on a basic, standard, practicality.

Oven Gloves –A less equipped kitchen may rely on a simple tea towel. But then it would hardly be fitting to take Mom’s home baked apple pie out of the oven using a
simple tea towel now would it? Again there is no particular pattern or character to these oven gloves but they do provide a more homely feel to the scene.

Washing Machine – Or possibly a dishwasher as there are certainly no dirty dishes around. Both would not be out of place in our expectations of kitchen appliances to be found here. A student bedsit this most definitely is not.

Cooking Stove – Adding to the feeling that there is some importance attached to this kitchen within the household. It is also suggestive of the fact that there is actually a household. A single professional person would have little need for such a good sturdy family cooker.

Recipe book – It is doubtful whether Peggie really needs to consult a recipe for the Devilled Eggs which she is making. She has probably prepared them a thousand times. However it does add to the general atmosphere of a kitchen at work.

There is also what looks like a recipe holder here on the counter between kitchen and living room. Whether it is for decoration or any practical use is irrelevant. It gives the general impression of ‘just being there’. A trait which Tim Burton attributes to many items found within middle class suburban homes. Resin grapes, which are on top of the TV set here, are an example of this which he remembers being in his own childhood home. Other decorations which give this impression are the blue glass cube and the glass vase, half full with orange liquid (possibly sand).

Peggie

If we can agree that this is indeed a typical representation of a middle class American suburban home, then Peggie here is the archetypal good, honest, dependable, house wife in correspondence with this setting.

Characterised in her appearance, firstly by the lack of any ‘imperfections’, unlike the gaggle of housewives and batchelorettes who appear in the film as Peggie’s friends and neighbours. These ladies are generally found either with robust frames, sporting rather dodgy haircuts or wearing excessive make up.

Peggie has none of these traits. Her haircut is shoulder length, well kept and in a sensible style.

Adding to this air of sensibility, the hair is pinned back out of her face so as not to be a nuisance whist she is making her devilled eggs. She appears to have an unblemished complexion with a light application of make up, and a slim figure, which is modestly covered by a ‘house’ dress. So called because it’s simple and comfortable design make it an ideal garment for tackling household chores. It’s high collar and loose fit are unrevealing, but this is not the pious covering of a nuns habit. It is light and sleeveless with a bright apple pattern. This could be to show that Peggie, despite a seemingly tedious lifestyle, has some flair at least. It would be harder for the audience to sympathise with a complete prude, or anybody who was too dowdy.

It is interesting that, in a film where one of the prominent themes is ‘not judging people by their appearance’, the representation of this character should conform to such hegemonic expectations of perfection.

Edward

Contrasting to the ease with which we accept Peggie within this environment, Edward looks more than a little out of place.

His large blades which substitute for hands can be viewed as being rather threatening or destructive, however we do not get this sense from him at all within this scene. They certainly appear to be the tools of an artist, not the weapons of a psychopath.

This is enforced partly by the way in which Edward is standing. The pose is studious and there is a balance implied that connotes a careful consideration to his task at hand. The task itself is chopping lettuce, in itself not the most threatening of activities.

There are also other reasons why we don’t feel that he is particularly dangerous. The clothing he is wearing is just slightly too oversized to suit and so comes across as being somewhat comical.

Also the lighting is bright, with sunshine pouring through the windows, this along with the pastel coloured set lends a warmth to the scene so does not imply any sinister characterisations or activities. It is obvious to Peggie that she is not in danger as her back is turned to Edward with no fear of what may be happening behind her.

We can also question why he is in the kitchen in the first place. There are no other men present, the difference in age would make it improbable, at least within this scenario that Edward is her husband, child or in her direct peer group. Nevertheless she is content for him to help her in the kitchen whilst she is preparing food, so there must be some form of close relationship.

So even without a prior knowledge of the film we could establish that it is at least in part set within a white American Middle Class suburb, although the actual time frame is not clear. This is in keeping with the fairytale feel of the film. We also know that it features opposing representations of safe and trustworthy characters who have formed a bond between them despite obvious differences.

2006-11-10T12:47:00.001-08:00

For those who have succumbed to the might of MySpace come and check out some of my pages:

http://www.myspace.com/whosthekaptin
My Personal Page

http://www.myspace.com/higherlearningwales
The Welsh Hip-hop night I'm involved with.

http://www.myspace.com/higherlearningsounds
Similar but with more sound and video.

http://www.myspace.com/biglovefestival
A Micro Festival in Cardiff I help organise.

http://www.myspace.com/airdeathcount
The amazing Air Death Count Band - Children Of The Hydra's Teeth

2006-11-06T02:21:00.000-08:00

Just been getting my head round putting images in Power Point for the next piece of work we have to do, so here's a little sample. The photos here aren't mine but were taken at a night I'm involved with called Secret Garden.

http://www.uploading.com/files/DZ78US0W/revolution.pps.html

2006-10-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

The next Photoshop exercise involved taking these 2 images and merging them together. Then I copied the image of the walker twice and reduced the opacity on 2 of them to give a 'walking shadow' effect.

And here it is....

2006-10-09T02:24:00.000-07:00

What's In Photoshop?

As an introduction to using photoshop we were asked to open a document to a specific make up then scribble randomly with a paint brush, changing the colours and brush size. After applying a Gaussian blur to the scribbles, text was written (in this case it's the all round classic 'Safe') then blurred using a motion blur. As we were following step by step instructions and there was no foresight for what it might turn out like, it ended up looking horrendous, as you can see here.

WARNING: This first file may be damaging to your eyesight and general well being.

I couldn't let that be all, so decided to not change up the colours so much, pick a different font and add more blur so the word becomes almost irrelevant but looks alot better.

To have a go at this exercise and more yourself check out http://www.cunninglingo.co.uk/lofa/

2006-10-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

What's In A Blog?

There are almost as many different types of blog as there are types of people. Because of this, the benefits and difficulties are also varied. Generally blogs are a kind of journal or diary, open to anybody who is either invited to read or happens to pass by the page that it is on. Content ranges from sexual exploits to ‘What I done on my holidays’ (sometimes one and the same).

Because of the access and availability of blogs, it is possible to find personal accounts of life in areas not easily monitored by outside observers. For example the Baghdad Blogger, Salam Pax (also a pseudonym) became a press darling in the west for his coverage of life in Iraq via his blog ‘Where Is Raed?’ However such blogs are not bound by the same editorial guidelines as your average news company, and although it’s fair to say that no news is unbiased, blogs are almost strictly personal opinion rather than a fact based information source. Of course this also leaves them open to extremism and straight up propaganda. Although the blog ‘Free Speech On Trial regularly brings up the subject of immigration, the fact that it is kept by the BNP leaders Nick Griffin and Mark Collett means you can almost guarantee there won’t necessarily be a balanced viewpoint. What blogs do however is offer an uncensored look inside the minds of those that write them, whether it be for publicity, political reasons or just because they want their lives to be recognised in some way. They can offer insights into other cultures and lifestyles helping to better understand the world around us. At times reading them can be like finding your brother or sisters diary and taking a sneaky peep, at other times though they might just contain a few pieces of work from somebody’s Broadcast Media course.

2006-10-02T01:55:00.000-07:00

Bic Razor

It’s quite common for me not to make it home of an evening, for whatever reason. When it does happen however, I try not to look as if I’ve been out all night. Some times you’ll find me with toothbrushes or shower gels in my pockets but more often a Bic razor will find it’s way in there somewhere. Handy if I have to go straight to uni / work / wedding / etc. This razor is left over from last weekend, which was my fond farewell to a crazy summer or rather, a grand finale.

Wage packet

This is from my bar job at Buffalo which I’ve been working at for a year now. The envelope is addressed to Kaptin, a nickname I picked up in my late teens. Reasons behind the name are varied. I’ve just read in the NME student guide that it’s to do with my taste in rum, but that’s a new one on me.

Flyer

Something that is always on my person somewhere. This is a flyer for the next Higher Learning, which was my first venture into promoting, 6 years ago. The night has been a platform for Hip-hop artists in Wales and has also provided an outlet for visiting Hip-hop crews and dignitaries such as Afrika Bambaata and Kool Herc, 2 of the founding fathers of the culture. Higher Learning is still going strong but is not the only night that I am now involved with, many of which you will hear about no doubt due to mydevelopment of the ‘promoter’s curse’. I very rarely have any conversations which don’t at some point steer past the next upcoming night.

Phone number

Says a lot more about me than a first glance might reveal. It’s probablythe most tell tale sign of my occasional scatterbrain tendencies. The reason it’s written on a piece of paper is because I rarely hold onto phones for longer than a couple of months, and infact my last phone was only a week in my possession... That was in mid July. It also shows my habit of writing any numbers, notes or lyrics on various pieces of scrap paper, rather than anything as organised as a notebook, or address book. I have a whole bag of these bits of paper in my room waiting to be transferred to a more solid and orderly vessel.

This number actually belongs to my girlfriend, I make sure this is on me at all times so that if I’ve arranged to call her I can. Only because last time that I didn’t (I lost her number during the grand finale weekend), I ended up seeing a really bad chick flick as penance.

Key

The fact that I have my key means I'm not doing too badly on the scatterbrain front today. The whole of last weekend was spurred on by the fact that I couldn't get into my house (therefore I had to stay out partying, naturally). It has been known for me to garden hop over neighbours walls then scale up to my open bedroom window like spiderman (well maybe not as slickly as him).