Steady blogging: Three years strong. Strangely, the longer this blog has been around the less concerned I have have become with keeping it updated. I figure that if you've stuck with me this long you're prepared to wait around. This means I can concentrate on the quality rather than just rushing something out. Or perhaps I am just lazy, one of the two.

This post is actually a stop gap. I have a nice selection of photographs from a recent trip to Newcastle and Manchester but I'm not sure just how to treat them right now. I'm hoping at least some of them might get used for another project...

Anyway my mind is wandering, back to the here and now. In my last entry I completely forgot to mention that Angus has joined the migration to Wordpress and has a nicely revamped edition of Tricklist awaiting your perusal. Ill Thought Actions has also been forged anew. Quiet Corners has seen plenty of elbow grease and a fresh lick of paint leaving it looking all shiny and new (and funnily enough, so has Paul's bike). Curb Debris has sadly met it's demise but to not be dismayed as it's successor, Forever Circling, is superior in every way (and has swiftly become a favourite site of mine).

Today's photographs are from yet another trip to Newgale. We do go elsewhere, honest. This time we walked the full length of the beach, past the lagoon and across the rock field beyond. Once we got right to the end we managed to scramble up a thousand feet of cliff face (that's distance it was only two hundred feet in height). This was a little dodgy but it did mean an unparalleled viewpoint for photographs.

Actually, if you scroll down to the entry named, Funky Kingston, look beyond the far end of the beach to the rock that stands proud of the cliffs. The first photo in this entry was taken from the other side of that rock (well just about) so it shows the next beach along in the chain. If you don't understand what I mean then you can always check the map. The tower in the second photograph is a remnant of Newgale Colliery which in the reign of Queen Victoria, supplied coal for the fires of all the royal households (nothing like a bit of local history: we don't have Coast on DVD for nothing you know..).

Seeing as this is the bit where I just thrown in random links, I like Hippy Tree. I also enjoyed this interview with James Jebbia. The leather bike that appeared on Arkitip was interesting too (a bit weird though if you ask me). Oh and you have to check out the New York Time's attempt at youth fashion because it is so achingly,wincingly bad.

I fear that I desperately under sold Russell Davies blog last time but have since remembered the Blackboard Pro™. The man is a genius.

The Part Time Heroes' podcasts are very, very good but equally good (if not better?) are those compiled by Scrimshire. So far there have been around ten Splendidly Blended podcasts, each one a sonic jewel. Number three in particular is a banger but they are all a wonderful mix of jazz, soul, funk, afrobeat, rare grooves and bossa with a smattering of hip hop thrown in. They were basically the only things keeping me sane when I had to work a week of night shifts, earlier this month.

Talking of The Part Time Heroes, their pianist Stephen McCleery has some cracking compositions on his myspace, including one hauntingly beautiful piece. I don't know what it's called but it's the one that is embedded as a Youtube video rather than listed on the jukebox thingy.

Howies have started a new series of interviews called Crafty in which they aim to highlight, "British craftsmen." The first one featured Nick Larsen, the guy behind Charge Bikes and you can find it here. I am intrigued that they have gone down the route of producing 'soundslides' rather than videos (though if I were to be cycnical I might suggest this implies certain logistical advantages). Still, a well taken photo can say far more than just another headshot of the interviewee.


There has been a lot of sunshine lately which means the garden is starting to wake from it's Winter slumber. It also means that it's time to start repairing Winter's damage: the fence has been ravaged by high winds and fat sparrows. In the last few weeks we managed to repel the rodent invasion. My shed took brunt of their offensive and I definitely don't think it can take much more abuse. There have however, been the faintest of stirrings in camp Supershed so hopefully we will have the replacement structure up and running sooner rather than later.

Actually there is another reason that I want a new shed: I managed to score a new frame and forks on eBay so I'm working towards a new fixed gear build and I need the extra space. I'm going to take my time with this one though as I want to make sure I do it right.

Right then, that's all for now, sorry it took so long. I hope you're all doing well out there, go out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Hey look: A blog entry that's actually made it out of my imagination and onto the computer screen! We should get straight on with the nonsense, else we'll be here all day...

To cut a long story short, I decided set up a Twitter account and quickly became ever so slightly addicted. I like how the service lends itself to protracted (and oft interupted) conversations which really suits the way I keep in contact with people. I've also found it really useful for when I just want to put something out there without clogging up my blog with aimless drivel.

I was hoping that using Twitter might encourage brevity in my writing. No chance. I seem to spend most of my time trying different variations of words to fit as much into one hundred and forty characters as possible.

I suppose one of the main aspects I enough is that this is still a fairly new phenomenon and thus there is still lots of excitement and creativity surrounding the idea: There is a plethora of widgets, gizmos, doodats and thingermees nibbling away at Twitter's API.

At the moment my favourite is Twistori which I came across a few months ago. I don't think I blogged about it at the time because though I really liked the idea, I found the site a little too static. In the time since my last visit they have solved this problem by transforming the site into a screensaver (Mac OS X only I'm afraid).

I love it. Every time I get distracted enough to wander away from my computer, I come back to a beautifully mundane stream of reality.

I have also signed up to Last.fm. The instigator for this was the Lastgraph project from Aeracode.org. To be honest it's more for me than anyone else: What I'm interested in is documenting my listening habits. Especially whether there is a contrast between what I might tell people I listen to and what I actually listen to.

Gary Hustwit, the dude who brought us Helvetica, is working on a new film called Objectified. The website does a far better job of explaining the plot than I can though I will say that it looks dope and I am very excited. You can watch the trailer here.

Howies have pulled their finger out and uploaded last years Do Lectures to the internet (they are also available on Vimeo). The Trevor Baylis video is a must watch. Seriously, it's just under an hour long but it's much better than most of the mulch they show on television: Make a brew and stick it on! I also really enjoyed the presentations by Andy Kirkpatrick and Matt Davies/Russel Davies as well.

Speaking of Russell Davies, I have just finished reading his blog back to the very beginning (I think there are about five and a half years worth of entires). I was going to list my favourite entries but there are just too many interesting bits and bobs.

It's a bit hard to explain who Mr Davies is because I have only the vaguest of ideas but he was one of the people behind Honda's Cog advert with should be all the encouragement you need to check him out. He is also the author of Egg, Bacon Chips and Beans (the blog and the book). If you are the sort of person who is prepared to take your time and delve through you will be rewarded.

I have spent a lot of time checking a lot of blogs that are purely image based. My favourites include: Yimmys Yayo (I imagine that one counts as NSFW), JJJJound, Matty Magpie, Anthony Burrill, and of course, The Knife.

I recently rediscovered Copenhagen Cycle Chic which definately deserves a mention.

I'm sure I've mentioned George Plemper's Riverside School photos before but I know that if I did, I didn't have a link to the full set before. You can see the collection in it's entirety here. I highly recommend that you do so: Portrait photography doesn't get much better than some of these images.

Any other news? Errr... I popped over to Bristol last week to catch Jam Factory's Made On a Mac talk in the Apple Store. Oh and I finally bought myself a fixed gear bike after two and a half years umming and ahhing about it (still not had chance for a proper thrash about though).

Right then, I'll take up no more of your time. Thanks for sticking with the blog despite my rather erractic and delayed updates (I'm hoping RSS will be my saviour and I won't have lost too many readers).

As ever, if you read this and you won't to get in touch feel free, my contact address is under Extra Beans or you can reach me using.. well if you've read this far, you know how!

*Edit* I have edited this entry since the original publication because the Last.fm paragraph was pure gibberish. Thanks Thom!

This entry has been sitting in Google Documents, half completed, for quite a while now. The truth is I am suffering from a severe lack of motivation. I haven't had a proper conversation in weeks and I'm going a bit stir crazy. I haven't been riding much either (mostly due to the atrocious weather) so most of my time has been spent staring at a computer screen, waiting for something to happen.

At least Tweaker Freaker was a solid, real life, concrete, tangible consequence of my online interactions. Against the odds I even managed to get down to London to see the show! It was trippy to see my own pictures on the wall of Slam (I would never have imagined that all those years ago sat at the back of the science class reading Sidewalk and Document). I have had smoother trips to London though...

To cut a long story short: I got Earlham Street confused with the Clerkenwell Road. Don't look like that, I live it the sticks, it all looks like the metropolis!

Anyway, it all came together eventually. I'm not sure I'd go all that way on my own again though. No one on the streets want to look at you let alone smile and the shop assistants are apparently far to busy to chat. It's a long day when you've got no one to talk to.

There was one beacon of hope amidst the grey walls and greyer skies though, the Howies shop on Carnaby Street. Now if you know me well my probably know that I have varying opinions about Howies as a brand and company, the choice of London as their first store being one bone of contention.

I suppose it my have been down to the crappy day I was having but the shop felt like a sanctuary. it was bright, clean, airy and quiet. The interior design was very nice (nice is an important adjective to me, it means more than it might look written down). They were even playing Graceland on the stereo! When I left there my wallet was much lighter but so was my mood.

By now I'd decided on the early train home as I figured if I got lost again, things could only get worse after dark. I guess I'm just out of touch with the city but not all cities are the same. I get the same sort of vibe in London as I do in Cardiff but Newcastle and Manchester and really nice places to be. As for St. Davids, that's a whole new kettle of fish..

Last weekend we were faced with a choice. Go to the shiny new Howies shop in Cardigan or check out the, recently opened, Oriel Y Parc gallery in St. Davids. We pumped for the latter and it was definitely worth the journey northwards. The gallery is a new venture by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park with support from the National Museum Wales.

They are currently exhibiting the work of Graham Sutherland which was a happy coincidence since I've been meaning to check out more of his work. I'm not really cut out for art criticism so I've just pasted some examples of his work into my Notebook (I can't find any for the paintings which actually comprise the exhibition, presumably because they've been hanging in Picton Castle for the last thirty years..). but yeah, check him out.

Also on display were several works by Alison Hayes. Now these were interesting not least because as I'm sure I've previously mentioned on this blog, I don't really do video art. It tends to leave me cold. However, I found these pieces are little different.

You can see some low quality reproductions on the artist's website but they work much better full scale. Basically there were several large LCD TV screens playing a looped seven or eight minute video (I can't confirm whether they were seamlessly looped but i assume so since I don't remember hearing any big gaps). So what you have is a single shot of a scene from the Pembrokeshire coast such as swell of the tide or flowers swaying in the breeze, captured like the single frame of a photograph but enhanced with sound and motion.

I'll be honest, it was more the concept than the result that intrigued me not least because it is similar to an idea of my own. It is work like this which made me less inclined than most to dismiss Flickr's new ninety second video feature. If you still don't get it put it this way: how many times have you taken a photo and then when you get home it is mediocre at best because you failed to include the sound and movement, the excitement of the moment? This might do something to address the balance.

Whilst collating the links for this entry I found out that a large selection of Alison Hayes work has been on display at the Torch Theatre for the best part of two months.Hmmm see the thing about the Torch is that it's a great theatre run by nice people but they don't exactly go out of their way to publicise.. anything. I mean, I've been to there in the last month (to see Rhod Gilbert) and I still didn't know they had an exhibition on!

Anyway, after the gallery we wandered down to the cathedral for lunch in the refectory (which is thoroughly modern and worth visiting though it is hard to find if you haven't been there before). The reason I mention this is because having traipsed all the way down there we popped into the cathedral shop where I spotted this. I know I often use the word genius lightly but surely if any invention was worthy of such an accolade...

All this time spent online has inevitably meant I've been receiving a lot of parcels lately. I've bought a few nice things through the door: Wednesday it was the turn of my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 E Series (one of these).

I don't have a good reason to justify this purchase, I just wanted one but it's been lots of fun. The D300 is imbued with some special magic which allows me to use Matrix metering even though this is a non Ai lens. It has to be manually focused but the focus ring is so smooth that it's a pleasure to use.

I have also invested (possibly the wrong word) in a netbook. I'm running an Asus Eee 1000 on Ubuntu Linux. It's got three times the spec of the laptop I bought about fives years ago at half the price and half the size. It allows me to waste time online all around the house rather than just in my bedroom and to enjoy the full advantages of the internet as a I perch on the loo.

The plan is to use this integrate the internet into Project Super Shed (which is currently on hiatus: I'm wating until the Spring or extended dry weather, which ever comes first).

Nigel Peake has a new show on at Analogue called Maps. My copy of the accompanying book arrived this morning and it is wonderful. It has all the intricate penmanship of Sheds but with bright splashes of colour.

You can clearly see how Nigel's architectural training has affected his work. Every pattern and mandala is part of a wider masterplan and every masterplan is as much a web of image as much as an expression of cartography. I know I go on about this guy quite a lot but the thing is, he has been successful in capturing the essence of why I chose to study Landscape Architecture (though apparently without the shortcomings). I like architecture but it is the visual language of architecture that I really love.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that image XVII is what the human soul looks like.

I have at least been trying to fight the blues by bugging out to Ninja Tuna and the latest Shapes compilation. Oh Soul II Soul via Last.fm (there was a good Radio 4 piece about them this week).

More web beased tomfoolery for you now. First off, Kaimana have finally crossed all the tees and dotted the eyes on their new musical venture. You can listen to three tracks by Leed's own Liam O'Donnell with more tunes from some great unsigned artists available in the coming weeks and months (you need to click 'Tunes' on the Kaimana website and then the speaker symbol). I know that they have some other sonic projects in the works so I will keep an eye out and keep you informed of any further developments.

Scruffian has also been busy on the musical front. Over the past few weeks Ben has been producing a live broadcast from his garage, the result of which is essentially, digital busking. He even does requests! Check the website for a head up on the next performance.

I think this is intriguing not just because of the content but because it shows us just what is capable now with a home computer. You wouldn't have imagined you could genuinely create and distribute your own television program from your bedroom, only using online resources.

Apparently the average reader spends ninety-six seconds per blog: so if you've read this far, thank you! I'll wish you all Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda just in case I don't get around to updating.

Take it easy and I'll see you next year.

Toodles.

So I've been away for a while. Well, actually I've been here all the time, I've just not broken cover. This is going to be a long one so before you get yourself comfortable, might I suggest you sort yourself out with a cup of tea (and perhaps a biscuit or two)?

So what happened? September did, that's what. September is my favourite month. I tend to find it a melancholic time. A time of changes and upheavals: people move away, the landscape starts to change, the Summer evening starts morph into a dwindling twilight. It's still bright but with a colder, harsher light. I love that it is still dry enough to play out but it is not quite so comfortable: the Autumn makes you work for your fun.

The cold snap of Winter has yet to come (though we expect it any day and I have been wearing thermals for the last few weeks, but then, I am a wuss). After a particularly wet and dreary Summer I relished the chance to scramble through the woods, clear out the garden (we had three bonfires in as many weeks: try clicking this link) and generally steel myself against the oncoming Winter.

Then October started. I'm sure that I've mentioned before my dislike and general distrust of October. As it goes, this year it hasn't been too bad but due to one thing and another I've been kept away from this blog even longer. Anyway, I'm back now so we'll start out with a bit of news and then I think I'll rummage through the contents of my 'temporary' bookmarks folder and see what I can fish out that's of interest.

The most exciting thing to happen to me in months was thanks to Tweakerzine. The inaugural Tweaker Freaker show opened at Slam City Skates on the 16th (and runs until the 16th November) and I was lucky enough to have four of my photographs included in the show. Big shout outs to Gorm and Gonella. There are loads of little write ups all over the skate blogs and everytime I find one, I immediately examine the background to see if any of my pictures have managed to sneak in. You can now see a retrospective of the exhibtion in Tweakerzine (which also includes a handy map showing which photos were taken by whom).

According to the Today Program, Wired have declared that blogging is dead. Is it? No one told me. I didn't listen to the show (so I may have the wrong end of the stick here: I tried using the listen again feature but there was no way I was going to put up with John Humphries for three hours!). Apparently it was something to do with Twitter (and social networking sites) taking over from traditional blogging or something.

To which my response would be: that's all well and good but blogs, even mundane personal blogs, have the potential for editorial content and the abiltity to post pictures which I absolutely could not live without. Besides, I could never be concise enough for 140 characters! I actually rather like Twitter, I see it as lying somewhere between blogging and emailing/instant messaging though I can't honestly see how it would fit into my life (perhaps if I worked in an office or something). Here is a more thought out response from Rory Cellan-Jones.

Hutchinson have commisioned a web video advert thingy which has turned out rather well. To quote the Youtube comments: "The video is awesome, trick-hungry bike messenger against a laid-back diva."

I have high hopes for the future of belt driven bikes so it's nice to see that someone is finally making a real effort that both works well and looks good. Talking of alluring bicycles, you have to check out the work of Olli Erkkila: his Winter Fixie and Sidewalk Surfer are my favourites.

I've been reading through a lot of oudoors and adventure type blogs recently. I think PTC* was my favourite. I think whoever came up with the name for this device deserves a raise.

I've also really been enjoying Smosch. I love the simplicity and tranquillity of the photos and I wish that it was present in my own work (part of me says I should step away from Photoshop for a bit but part of me has been really happy to get back into it and learn all those little tricks that had slipped my mind).

Both Jam Factory and Quis.cc have make major updates to their websites. Gavin is really pushing the limits of what the Tumblr format can do (and I though I was clever because I used a semi transparent .png file as a background to my entries...). Quis' site is looking a slick as ever, yet each new version is always swisher than the last.

I've found come across quite few nice interviews lately. First up is John Trippe of Fecal Face gives us a guided tour of the gallery and provides a little insight into the very beginnings of the website. Jeff Staple speaks to Common Magazine (the Mash SF and Benny Gold interviews are also blingual). My Love For You has a nice chat with Miss Suzy Q and Nigel Peake discusses his work and influences for 4Talent. Speaking of which: my Peakey print from Tiny Showcase has just shown up.

Yo, where the hell is Yak? Someone go and poke him in the eye until he starts a new blog or something.

I have finished reading 'Here Comes Everybody: The Power Of Organising Without Organisations' which I heartily recommend, especially if like me, you write/peruse/devour blogs on a regular basis. Last week I polished off The Bog People by P. V. Glob as well as Alan Moore's masterpiece: Watchmen (I want to read it before the film is released).

Right, that's a monster post (and I've already cut out a sizeable chunk). I hope it goes some way to making up for my absence. I like writing but sometimes the lure of the sunshine is too strong (I have a butterfly mind and am easily distracted). I keep my Notebook updated in fits and starts so you might want to check that out from time to time. Until next time...

Loop.

P.S.

你好 Kinoko

My copy of The Ride Journal arrived last week and it is even better than I had dared hope. At it's most basic, what we have here is: a perfect bound book printed on nice heavyweight paper (it's like a Howies catalogue only twice as big). There are one hundred and forty-eight pages (including the front and back covers) and only seven of these are given over to advertising. Compare that ratio to the last magazine you bought! The content comprises of hand drawn art, computer art, beautiful photography and a shed load of well written articles, most of which are quite short (though perfectly formed) which is handy if like me, you have a short attention span or if you like to have something to read whilst on the loo (and who doesn't?). Oh, and the profits go to Re∼Cycle.

But it's so much more than that. This book/zine/journal is an inspiration to go ride. Whether you ride big wheels, little wheels, skinny tyres, fat tyres, no brakes, hydraulic brakes, one gear or thirty. Bikes are ace.

If this were a publication about skateboarding rather than cycling then, even though it would be just as good, I wouldn't have been so pleasantly surprised. I'm so stoked that someone has finally managed to present cycling in the way it deserves, by celebrating the experience rather than reading like an industry brochure. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly a gear freak and I love bike checks but what makes this special is that is discusses the ephemera of cycling without descending into product promotion. It's nice not to be treated like more than a consumer (though I guess it helps that the book isn't actively trying to sell anything other than the desire to ride a bike).

It appears to have come straight from the printers as it's still got that lovely new book smell mmmmm.... Oh, and I found another little preview over at We Heart Stuff. In short, go buy a copy!

Looking back on what I've written so far it seems a bit odd seeing as I've hardly ridden my bike this Summer. This has almost exclusively been due to the atrocious weather and I am sad to report that I appear to has lost what little cycling mojo I once possessed. That said I have managed to partake of some bicycle-based tomfoolery this week. I was bored enough to change the bars on my big bike. Out with risers and in with what I refer to as my 'messenger bar.' It's a 22in flat bar (small but not tiny) fun for messing around but I doubt it'll stay there long as it means I can't pull wheelies.

I've spent a lot of time reading through fixed gear blogs lately. My favourites include the Southsea Fixed Gear Fight Club, CLE Fix (I want one of these)and I Heart My Beard (this post in particular is wonderful). What I enjoy is observing how a new sport and it's associated culture and scenes develop. It's like witnessing the birth of street skating or a time when the bmx scene was still naive enough to be about having fun. That's not to say all the fun has been sucked out of bmx culture but it sometimes takes videos like these offerings from Circuit, Lotek and 50/50 to remind me it's not all about the haters.

Yeah, so I've had better holidays. It didn't so much rain as the sky seemed to fall in every day. My bike was out of action anyway as I'm waiting for (the infamous) H Man to sort me out with some spacers. I've been messing around with my back wheel so much that my brake is completely out of alignment which means it currently sounds like an irritated goose, a fact which amuses me no end.

I've been staving off the boredom of the wet afternoons by listening to the Guardian's daily comedy podcasts from the Edinburgh Festival. I also finished my book. I was reading Terror Inc. which I thoroughly recommend to everybody.

At the moment I'm dipping into an Encyclopedia of Superstitions compiled by E. & M.A. Radford. (I have the 1961 Edition which has a much better cover art but I've totally failed to find online to to give you an idea of what it looks like, it's called; The Sabbath: St. James the Elder combating the diabolical enchantments of a magician compiled by Breughel the Elder.)

I'm going to risk a little déjà vu here and post a link to an interview with Pointer's Gareth Skewis (don't worry it's a different one to last time).

Gulp is a new blog (I prefer their 'fanzine' moniker) which, in the creators' own words is,"the latest online source for Fine Art, graphics, product design, Fashion and everything dope and innovative in the design world." Looks good to me, I love the way the audio tracks are embedded into the posts.

I'm not saying I'm absolutely into everything that's been covered so far but that's the beauty of these kind of resources, you're drawn in by the things you're already into and pick up a little bit of unexpected inspiration along the way.

This is why I try to be careful about how I use Flash (don't forget to check the rest out, click the arrow). Mind you, speaking of Flash, this next link is ace though you need to turn on your speakers for the full experience.

I'm currently waiting for my copy of The Ride Journal to arrive. As I've not received my copy yet I can't actually say whether it's any good or not but it looks promising and as I've not heard anything about it in the useful places I thought it needed some more publicity. You can find a sneaky preview on HighSnobiety courtesy of I Love Dust.

P.S. I was concerned about the lack of colour in this post (especially compared with my last entry) so if you click this link to my Flickr I've left a special, bonus picture there for you. It's the photo from the 8th of August. (Remember to view it full size!)

Everybody should watch this video. Go on, do it now before you prepare to read the rest of this drivel.

Feeling better? I know I am.

I've written and rewritten this introduction many times. Basically, it's been very hot and sunny but I didn't get chance to make the most of it since I've been working constantly to cover my mates holidays. The start of my holiday period coincided with a nasty spell of torrential rain. I've also had to cancel my proposed trip to Newcastle which sucks (and doubly so because it means I lost my excuse not to paint the kitchen meaning I've been splashing mellow yellow at the walls all day. Well technically the colour is Lemon Squash though I think it's more of a Mashed Banana).

I'm guessing that if you read my blog you also read Defgrip (if you're about to head over there, check out the Chris Noble interview, it's dope) which means you will already have seen this next link but I'm posting it anyway since I if I'd been less lazy and blogged it as soon as I'd seen it on FormFiftyFive I'd have beaten the 'grip to it. anyway for those of you that missed it, Scott Hanson has created an in depth explanation of the design process behind his recent Obama campaign poster.



I received one of the new coins of the realm in my change yesterday (which I meant to blog about but appear to have forgotten about). I have a penny so far and I'm hoping to collect the whole set over time. I love it when they release new coins because it's great design that anyone can collect, without actually having make any effort to collect. Plus it doesn't cost anything because,well, it is money.

I don't have much to say about the next link except that I love this blog. Not a lot to say able the next link either but if you haven't heard, Southbank's safe. Nice to hear some good news about an endangered skate/riding spot for once. I still can't get my head around the fourth frame. Tightest wallride ever?

Wait, you want more skateboarding links?

Well, OK. Michael Sieben's company, Bueno, recently went belly up but undeterred he and Stacy Lowery have started a new company, namely, Roger Skateboards. The reason I mention this is because a) they're awesome and b) Sieben's been getting a lot of attention recently for the advert he directed for his new signature shoe on Adidas (dude's like a cross between Spike Jonze and Michael Gondry). Anyway, yes the advert is genius blah blah but if you ask me, this line sheet is even better - the Skate Switch board is golden!



Design Observer recently ran an article on Steampunk. It's reasonably interesting though I think it would have helped a great deal if the author had understood the origin of the term Steampunk (i.e. that it's a jovial spin on the term Cyberpunk). The reason I've included it is for the phrase, "In its essence Steampunk seems . . . nostalgic for an imagined, non-existent past." This sums up perfectly the way may attitude is developing towards the digital vs film debate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater, much love to my analogue brothers. Hell, I don't care even you even do without a camera to make your photographs.

Quick links; interviews with Jamie Hewlett, James Jarvis and Burial. Has anyone got a spare three million quid laying about? I'm after a unicorn. I can't think of a clever segue for this next link, it's just nice to hear someone talk sense.

I'll try not to leave it so long between updates next time. I'll keep my fingers crossed for dry weather and adventures...

The past couple of weeks have felt more like deepest Winter than high Summer. The weather has not been conducive to... well anything really, so I've spent lots of time just staring at the Internet. When I have had to step outside I saw lots of bats and toads - very witchy.

We'll start off with a (vaguely?) weather related issue - climate change. I was intrigued to know if our house would survive if all the ice caps melted. Annoyingly, the sea level would rise by 68.3m (according to this website anyway) and as our house sits at 65m it'd survive but we'd be stuck on the roof. That's what you get for living in a bungalow I suppose...

Now the subject of flooding leads us nicely onto this next link. Click it and watch the movie. What I really like is even if I didn't think the subject was very interesting (though of course, I do) how stoked is that guy on architecture?! It's nice to hear people get excited about what they do.

I found the next link on the Verde blog. It should take you to an old Gizmodo post which directly compares current Apple designs which those of Braun in the Sixties.

I've never really given Brian Tunney's blog the time it deserves (the name is rather off putting). Seeing as the grey skies showed no signs of letting up I spent a good while trawling through the archives and I'm glad I did because otherwise I would never have found The Lost Bob Scerbo Interview. Basically, what you have there is a conversation between my two favourite personalities in bmx. This then sent me on a mission to watch loads of Bob's old video parts, a selection of which have been collected here.

Actually, while you're there, check out the first minute of the am:pm edit, I love it! You can tell I've got cabin fever, that's two exclamation marks in the space of one post.

This won't be the most cohesive blog entry I've ever produced since it's been written in fits and starts over the past too weeks (I was ill, got better and fell ill again - I reek of Vick's Vaporub). Still, that means there should be something to interest everyone (blatant lie).

Congratulations to Ed Salter (BlewBMX) for making it to the finals of the Times Young Photographer competition. Also props to Lloyd for winning King Of Street at the recent Street Vs Tweak 2 jam in Southampton. Check this vid to see why he won (whips on lock!).

Recently I have been been keeping one eye open on Nike's Art Of Football project. What I find interesting is that they have taken a subject that I am familiar with but have no love for (I don't have the attention span to appreciate sport) and repackaged it in a manner which perks my interest. By treating what is normally a mainstream culture in ways usually reserved for subcultural activities even I am intrigued enough to pay attention. The best example of what I'm waffling on about is the 1-1 exhibition.

In a similar vein i like the direction of the NSW (Nike Sportswear) collection. What I find interesting is the way that it is presented as a bridge between dedicated sportswear and casual attire so that the result would leave one neither looking like they had just stepped off the playing field or like another token streetwear poser.

I like the marriage of casual sensibilities (which have the emphasis on aesthetics) and genuine technical ability. This is fashion meets function but instead of appropriating practical garments, the staple items are designed with practicality in mind.

Having sorted out a new computer I am now in the process of acquiring a new font I've had my eye on. Namely, Johnston Underground, which was originally designed specifically for the London Underground signage and was the main inspiration behind another favourite of mine, Gill Sans.

Eric Gill's most famous work is often seen as an icon of post war British style (and as thus is a fitting partner to the original Penguin paperback covers) but I managed to stumble across a couple of less than favourable evaluations of it's design. This Typotheque article is the better of the two whilst this entry on Typographica has plenty of links to alternative but similar styles (I particularly like the idea of Wayfarer, otherwise know as Sheffield Sans).

I wrote some of this post whilst listening to the latest Tru Thoughts podcast. I've been slacking off on them lately but I had to check this one out as it features the one and only Natural Self. The new Shapes compilation is also out now.

I've still not got used to my Macintosh yet. It's like trying to walk in a borrowed pair of shoes, familiar and yet, at the same time, completely alien.

P.S. Bonus points if you can spot my Mam in the top picture.

The bluetits have returned. There is a sizable squadron of fluffed up, yellow-faced fledglings twittering away in the garden. I saw the piebald blackbird on my way home from work the other day, his whole head is white and the rest is black so he looks like a tiny Bald Eagle.

On Friday Thom (who happens to have started a nice new blog which you can find here) and I went down to Newgale and we found a dead badger washed up on the beach. At first we though it must be some kind of dog but then we recognised the remaining tufts of fur. It was probably the most disgusting thing I've seen in ages. I went back to Newgale on Saturday with my mum. No badgers but we did find a three legged Starfish (which I guess makes it a Mercedes?).

Scott Hansen (ISO50/Tycho) has created a poster to support Barack Obama's political campaign and I really, really want one. Unfortunately the store is only open to residents of the USA. Gutter. I'm hoping it may yet appear in Scott's own web store. Oh, and just in case you haven't seen it, Shepard Fairy made one too.

Speaking of both twittering and Obama, I found this article quite intriguing.

I was watching the Young Ones the other day and spotted the Protect and Survive poster in the kitchen. I had a quick skeg on eBay for a print but no luck (I can't even find an example online to show you). I did however find this website which has full scans of the accompanying booklets which were issued in 1980. I love the diagrams. These then introduced me to Raymond Brigg's, "When The Wind Blows" (which I now really want to see - Raymond Briggs is amazing).

If you watched the extended edition of The Culture Show on Friday night you will have seen an animation called, "Procrastination," by bright young thing, Johnny Kelly. I'm pasting up a link here in case you missed it because, if you did, you missed out (you'll have to let me know if the video doesn't work since I don't currently have either Windows Media or Real player so I can't test it out).

I imagine if you're into your 20 inch bicycles then you've probably already seen this Nigel Sylvester ad but it's definitely worth a second look. I've been wondering for a while why people don't use monochrome footage more often? I don't mean just using desaturated video, I mean punchy black and white.

Any other business... Even the least observant of you will have noticed the new site layout. I wanted to make something a little more streamlined and that acted as a better background to display my photos. I tried to make the typography friendly in case the black was too severe, I hope you like it. Be warned though, I haven't quite finished tweaking yet.

I'm still missing a links page but I'm hoping to sort that out asap though I may be delayed by the fact that after two years of saving, I've finally made the switch from PC to Mac. I'm now running a 24-inch iMac (3.06ghz with 4gb RAM for the geeks) but I've yet to sort out software. I still need to pick up Photoshop and something I can use to make webpages.

The screen is fantastic, it's the best TFT/LCD type display I've seen and it really brings photographs and video to life. Any kind of image looks good and to make the most of it I've been trawling through lots of photo-based websites. At the moment I'm digging Rural Bicycle and Curb Detritus.

All that's left to say is; shout out to Jam Factory, thanks for your help dude. RIP theshovelload (nah, I'm sure they'll be back) and where's my brake bolt Kirkby?! (That last link is to Tom's new blog as I think Agenda has gone belly up - though I'm not sure if it's dead or if it just ate a big dinner and has gone to sleep it off).

Once again I must apologise for my prolonged absence but i hope the extra long blog entry helps to make up for it. Toodles.

We have seen a week of dozy buzzards, a sparrowhawk in the garden and dueling greenfinches. It was also a week of pain - Tuesday morning saw me trundling down the cyclepath to work, travelling at a fair old lick and then decelerating rapidly as I skidded across the tarmac on all my delicate bits.

This was followed by a week of squirrels in the woods, rabbits on the verge and toads in the shed (oh and at work, the robin who lives in the warehouse has found a mate).

I've been doing some serious thinking about the future of my blog. Nothing drastic, I just wonder if things could do with a shake up aesthetically. Not sure yet as I don't really have a strong idea in my head. I need to sit down and sketch it.

My new camera has finally arrived! I now have a Nikon D300. Rather than increase my productivity I fear this may actually have the opposite effect as I'm still trying to work out what everything does. That and the fact that it shoots black and white and that it's big and heavy and metal and it feels (and sounds) like a big old film camera and it's the bestest ever...

These things all take me back to my schooldays, so I've been messing around, gleefully shooting off b&w than concentrating on actually making photographs. I'm hoping I'll be more inclined to make more monochrome images now, which is another reason I'm thinking about switching up my blog a bit.

Right then, I'd better add some links in here somewhere:

The buildings in these photographs from English Russia are amazing They're like the drawings of Nigel Peake come to life! I'm also really digging Gus' screen print book (click the picture for a larger version).

I've been checking out some nice blogs recently. I like the intricate, fiddly papercuts and tiles made by Rob Ryan and as a complete contrast, the stark utilitarian meets graffiti styles of MSTRPLN. This entry by Elph must be a contender for best blog post currently online. I found the next link hiding in Flickr so not technically a blog, but it's still ace. My final link is from the Guardian's photography section.

I am painfully aware of the fact that if I rode a fixed gear I'd die instantly but that said, I'm still fascinated by them. I love the latest video from Charge Bikes.

The puppeteer must have mad skills.

I picked up some toy lenses from Loreo (hence today's packaging picture). Basically they turn my dslr into a pinhole aperture with a variable aperture. They're not very sharp but they're fun to play around with.

It was my 23rd birthday last Saturday so I'm afraid I'm going to be terribly vulgar and use this post to list a load of my new stuff. For starters I've been slowly making my way through watching Tomorrow We Work.

Fresh from the fair hands of Mrs Muju I have a new toy to keep my Yetis happy.

I have also acquired an original manual for my Kodak Brownie 127. I wish they still made electrical appliance manuals like this. You can see a scan here (though be warned, that link is to a .pdf).

I'm currently reading 'Penguin By Design' which explores the history of the Penguin paperback and how their iconic cover designs were created (there are lots of pictures too). I think I may have to steal a few of their ideas! It's worth buying the book just for the two pages displaying the evolution of the Penguin logo.

Last but not least I have a new favicon (so you need to delete and renew your bookmark). The design is taken from some type that my mother bought me. When I say type I mean actual blocks of movable type (to be used in a letterpress, had I such a thing). The font itself is made up of leaf-shaped dingbats rather than letters. Maybe I should buy a printing press, hmmm...

I haven't spent much of my computer for the last couple of weeks as I've been too zapped from working.However, the time I have spent meandering through the internet has thrown up a nice crop of links for us to peruse.

We'll start simply. I want one of these even more than a shiny new iMac.

Tricklist has finally awoken and stumbled, blinking, into the light after a prolonged period of hibernation. Also, Angus has finally provided me with a link to his design blog, and I can see that he has in fact been a busy bee (but just forgot to tell me about it). I was a bit weird reading through since I've already seen a lot of the articles that the blog links to but from entirely different sources. It's been like a mix of déjà vu and parallel experience.

Tweaker zine recently saw a healthy dose of new articles though I have to admit it took a lot of effort to get past the current cover photo, it's so good (coincidentally, I'm a sucker for; leaves, tre flips and the juxtaposition of blue and yellow).

I really enjoyed this article that I read over at the Design Observer.

Sticks & Stones is another online zine-thingy (about skate/bmx/art/music/you know, all the good stuff) which is currently doing the rounds and deservedly so since it looks amazing (I saw looks since so far I've only had the energy to look at the pictures rather than read the articles). It pretty much blows all my zine ideas out of the water and I am obscenely jealous.

I manged to pick up some (really beat) Air Jordan IVs for seven quid! If you don't know then let Mars explain. You don't know who Mars Blackmon is? Why, he's this guy.

I think I've probably wasted enough of your time by now so I'll wrap things up. Just one more thing though, I've altered the .htaccess file for wearehomegrown.co.uk so if any of you encounter any problems either viewing the site of linking to it could you please let me know asap. Thanks.

No updates last week as I was either making the most of the sunshine by exploring with my camera or because I was focusing my attention on Dreamweaver rather than Blogger. As a reward for your patience you can view the initial fruits of my labour here.

Recently I've been enjoying Pacifica, which is the first book to be released by Quiet Corners. The book documents Paul's recent trip to the Pacific Northwest through black and white photography and Super 8 film (which features on the accompanying DVD). You can find out more and purchase your own copy here.

I've also acquired some new prints from the Keep Calm Gallery, namely; Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining, Make Your Own Path (so stoked to get this since I was gutted when I missed out on the first run) and Get Lost (scroll down that page to see a short 'making of' film).

I love this flyer for an Alleycat in Connecticut. Ben Wilson has finished his Monocycle (dude needs to get some video footage up)!

I'm poaching links again (sorry) but you have to check out Matt Stuart's website, the juxtapositions he captures are amazing. While I'm at it I may as well steal another link, this time I'd just like to reiterate Chaz's reccomendation that you check out the Style43 interview with Aversion's Louis Mikolay.

That's all I've got for now, if you fancy something a little longer to read, I really enjoyed this interview with Joe Corre (founder of Agent Provocateur) and this article on one man's love for Wikipedia.

Yo Holmes

Short DOF? Check. Leaves? Check. Cross processed? Check. Vignetting? Check. One trick pony? We are homegrown.

I can't remember where I stole the following link from (but I think it was either It's Nice That or Form Fifty Five) and I can't really explain properly without giving the game away but trust me, it's genius. I present to you; The Hørselstest.

Only a tiddly update today but then if I was you I'd still be checking out the bokeh in the photo, instead of reading this nonsense.