This is cool :: Flannel's player

Flannel, the non-profit behind the Nooma films now has a player on their website... that allows you, for a fee, to watch the film there and then.

For example, The Gods Aren't Angry is $15 to buy on DVD and $2.99 to watch now.

I think that is pretty cool... albeit... I would prefer the content to be free but then that would make me some form of anti-capitalist or something.

Check it out :: http://player.flannel.org/

Oh and you can buy the Nooma films on iTunes for £2.99 each.

Tx

My friend Robert

a lost tire

Saw this tire today when I was taking some glass to the recycling bins... and was glad I had my camera with me. I looks staged but isn't. Just another random moment in Motherwell.

Tx

This is cool :: nerd merit badges

This will makes sense to some of you (if you are obsessed with foursquare for example... and will appear complete nonsense to others. Regardless... you have to love these nerd merit badges. I so want the "local" badge for my Manhattan Portage DJ bag.

Tx

A wee trim...

I got a wee haircut... my mum will be pleased!

Tx

Inspiring... the movie title stills collection

An awesome collection of screenshots of the opening and/or closing credits of some great films. Well worth a donder through.

Tx

(via coolhunting with thanks)

This is way cool :: Safari London by Rick Symonds and Roddy Macintyre

Safari London from Rick Symonds on Vimeo.

This is simply one of the best videos I have seen in a long time... and I watch a lot of videos. It was shot on a Nikon D300 for the 2009 International Bicycle Film Festival by Rick Symonds and Roddy Macintyre... with a soundtrack by "Operator".

Fab!

Tx

(via Pedal Consumption with thanks)

Ideas for overcoming creative block

"Whenever I run out of ideas I often use music to put me back in the mood – music is a huge source of inspiration for my and much of my work has been created while listening to tones from artists such as Sigur Rós (alltime favorite), Hammock, Max Richter, Air, Dead Can Dance, Helios, Johann Johannsson, Jonsi and Alex, M83, Olafur Arnalds, Trentemøller and I could go on and on…"

Kim Holtermand on ISO50

"Diversify your interests. The broader your interests and your absorption of culture the more relevant your designs become for your clients. Put yourself in your clients place and try to imagine how they will receive your thinking. Throw up lots of ideas, exchange opinions with your colleagues, road test your thinking with them, think around the subject, look at it from all angles then apply relentless rigour in creating your design. OR not. Go with your gut instinct because you are so bored of laborious over-worked responses it takes all the joy out of life and you can’t remember why you started in the creative industries if everything is designed by committee and compromise. Draw a lot just for the sake of it. Ignore style. Have the courage of your convictions provided you are extremely talented, if not, listen. Listen in any case."

Airside on ISO50

I would recommend you read the whole article on ISO50... and be inspired.

As for my advice - read widely... do it (whatever it is you do) even when you don't want to... listen to music... talk with likeminded people and people who do not share your interest... walk about... look up... look down... and become a regular at your local library, park, museum. At the end of the day, inspiration is an opportunity... be willing and able to drop everything to take it.

Tx

(via psfk.com with thanks)

This is way cool :: Giorgio Moroder Promo Video

I saw this video on boing boing and couldn't resist posting it... very cool indeed!

Tx

flavours.me

I'm on flavors.me... Tx

A couple of netlabels worth checking out

I loved "Hydrophobia" by Entertainment for the Braindead when it was released... back in 2008... and am glad our paths have crossed once more with the release of her 5th album Roadkill on the fab aaahh-records netlabel.

I'll post more on the album when I've listened to it... but in the meantime... please check out aaahh-records - their releases look special with a definite indie folk leaning... and will, no doubt, give me a great deal of pleasure as I explore them this weekend.



Whilst we are on the topic of netlabels... please check out the no-source netlabel too. Music is in a similar vein as aaahh - experimental indie folk... but with some electronica flavours thrown in too.

Check them out.

Tx

This is way cool :: "Go Quiet" by Jonsi

jónsi - "go quiet" from Jónsi on Vimeo.

More Jonsi for you...

You can preorder his solo album here :: http://jonsi.com/limited-edition#preorder. Can't wait for it to drop.

Tx

Photog coffee

I recently started a "Photographers catch up & blether over coffee" where a group of my colleagues get together to talk cameras and photography in an unbridled geeky manner.

Its becoming something I really look forward to... with the interaction really stimulating and inspiring me to shoot... and shoot better.



I would heartily recommend the work of Marc de Ridder (left)... Jonathan Kerr (right) and Euan Fraser (below).



So here's a wee question for you... who do you meet with regularly who inspire or stimulate you to do what you do... and do it better?

Tx

This is cool :: Filming myself in the snow by Stebs Schinnerer

Filming Myself in the Snow from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

I thought this video was wonderful when I saw it on kitsune noir and just had to share it. Filmed with a 5D MkII camera with a Sigma 70-200mm lens... using Efterklang as the soundtrack... pulled together in 3 hours. Fab!

More here.

Tx

This is cool :: The Bookcover Archive

For a dose or two of design inspiration... head over to the Bookcover Archive for a swatch at 1,218 bookcovers. Nice!

Tx

(via coolhunting)

March 2010's calendar... for Mac & Windows

I know I am early with March's calendar... but I had a spare moment and thought I'd get it done.

As before... we have three flavours :: Mac (1280x800), Windows (1280x800) and Mac (1024x768) for my dad.

Enjoy.

Tx

The snow imposed silence...

The snow imposed silence by Cousin Silas was released today on the wonderful bfwrecordings netlabel. I think its fab... but then I am a huge fan, did the artwork and have been listening to a promo copy for over a month now.

Please check it out... and, if you like it, tell you friends. Tx

"Time Zero" :: Poster + Trailer

Time Zero Movie Poster, originally uploaded by Grant Hamilton.

I have to say I love this poster... and am really excited to see this film. For a film geek / aspiring Polaroid film geek... Time Zero pretty much hits all the buttons... especially considering this awesome movie poster.

Watch the trailer and you'll see what I mean...

Tx

Two rolls of film... #2

I got another two rolls of film developed today... 2 rolls of Kodak ColorPkus ISO200 from my Olympus [mju] zoom and my Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim.

Whilst I am pleased with the output (I think 4 pics didn't make the cut) I am less happy with the film... and think I will be making the transition to Fujicolor Superia Xtra ISO400 in the next wee while as I run my stocks of Kodak down.

Anyway... the top three pics are from my Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim... which is really growing on me. The bottom three are from the Olympus [mju] zoom which is impressing me too...







I love film!

Tx

Scanned... A Child's Bible (illustrations by Charles Front)

Have you ever wondered when you first got a taste for the things you love/obsess about now?

I have a love of illustrated Bibles. I think, for all their dangers like presenting an erroneous picture of Jesus (He wasn't a member of some European hair metal band!) ... they also have a lot of joy for visual people like me.



My favourite illustrated Bible is A Child's Bible : New Testament by Shirley Steen with illustrations by Charles Front.

I got this book thirty years ago in 1980... when I was six. It has been a well read but treasured possession ever since because I have never seen any artwork to rival it... in all that time.

Seriously... I have never seen artwork that comes close. The characterisation is wonderful... backgrounds are vivid in their simplicity... and the typography is still fresh today, imho.

I don't know much about Charles Front other than he did some illustration for Jackanory... did the lettering for The Beattle's Rubber Soul and illustrated the Carbonel series of books. I think I may need to do some further digging... because if anyone deserves a wikipedia page its him, imho.

Anyway... here are some selected pages from my treasure copy to whet you whistle for his artwork:



Map



The Birth of Jesus from pages 14 & 15



The story of Mary & Martha from pages 136 & 137

If anyone knows a way of contacting Charles Front... or where I could get a pristine copy of "A Child's Bible" then please leave a comment.

Tx

This is way cool :: "Go Do" by Jonsi

Jónsi - Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

Pretty mental but sounding awesome... I can't wait for Jonsi's album to drop.

Tx

(via kitsune noir with thanks)

Two rolls of film...

I got two rolls of Fujicolor Superia Xtra (ISO400) developed tonight... and I am delighted with the results. One roll was in my Olympus Trip 35 and the other my Minolta P's.





Top two pics are from the Olympus Trip 35... and the bottom two panoramas are from the Minolta P's. See the rest of the pics (50 in all... from 2 x 24 exposures) here.

Proof... if proof is needed... that film isn't dead.

Tx

An overnight in Dunfermline...

Yesterday we (Olly, Dayna, Miriam, Pippin and I) went to Dunfermline for an overnight. We fancied a couple of days away... so I redeemed my Holiday Inn points and stayed at their Express Hotel in Halbeath, Dunfermline.

We have been their before... on our own... this was the first time we'd taken the we'ans or the dog. Its pretty awesome that Pippin was allowed (for a £10 surcharge) and she was good as gold!

Dunfermline is a pretty cool town. It is the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie and the town bears witness to his life. I'm really interested in Carnegie's philanthropy... especially his libraries... and was disappointed that the museum that is situated beside his birthplace was shut. Will need to go back.



The Pitencrief / Carnegie park in Dunfermline is massive... and a lovely walk albeit not in your best Vans.

After checking in after lunch... we headed out to Aberdour... to the beach, rocks and harbour there (see pick at top). We spent a couple of fab hours dondering about.

Afterwards we headed to Nando's for food... it was St Valentine's day afterall... and then back to the Hotel to watch Race to Witch Mountain.



Today... after a hearty breakfast in the Hotel... we had a proper donder around Dunfermline's town centre: Looking around the Abbey and the charityshops... before having lunch in a sweet wee spot recommended by our pal Louise.

All in... it was a fab overnight. Would recommend the Hotel and Dunfermline as a place to visit.

The rest of my pics are here with my beloved Olly's pics here.

Tx

In appreciation of the New Times Square...

Two years ago... almost to the day... I stood in Times Square and was utterly disappointed. Sure... it was busy and bright (see above)... symbolising Manhattan... but I was gutted as well because there was nothing there. It wasn't a square. There was nowhere to sit. It wasn't George Square in Glasgow, thats for sure!



Anyway... I was delighted to watch this video on streetfilms.org. I hope and pray the Mayor keeps it this way.

(copenhagenize.com with thanks)

Screensavers...

I'm not usually a fan of screensavers... but I have found two that really work for me.

First up is the one displayed above... Fliqlo by 9031.com (via swiss-miss) which is a flip clock simply & beautifully executed.



The other one I really dig just now is the Polarclock from Pixelbreaker. I was given the heads up to it by a commentator on my blipfoto submission for today. I love it. In fact, I loved it so much I bought the Polarclock iPhone app (for 59p).

Nothing beats a cool quirky clock screensaver. What's your screensaver?

Tx

Ideas :: "the best innovators are people who..."

"Innovators tend to network with people different than they are. Evidence suggests that the best innovators are people who read outside of their industry, interact with people from many different backgrounds and interests and seek to bring solutions from outside their industry to the table. People who are very deep in one industry but ignore signals and solutions from other industries are usually not very innovative."

Innovate on Purpose

If you are a person of faith... do you do this when it comes to church? If not, why not?

Tx

This is cool :: Google's Super Bowl 44 ad

Simple... yet very powerful! Focussing on the benefits... not the features. Nice.

(via swiss-miss)

This is cool :: Scrabble animation

Scrabble Animation 01 from Richard Baker on Vimeo.

(via Jonny Baker)

This is cool :: Splitting the atom

Massive Attack-Splitting the Atom-directed by Edouard Salier from edouard salier on Vimeo.

I am loving the new Massive Attack album and this song... Splitting the atom... is already one of my faves... and this video is just brilliant. More later. Tx

(via notcot #28,234)

Scanned... The Drought

J.G.Ballard is a writer whose canon of work I would love to have read but haven't. I picked up this book in a charity shop for 59p (which wasn't far off the 80p it cost new back in 1978)... as a result of the cover picture, the compelling blurb on the back and a genuine desire to read more of his sci-fi stuff.

I find the main theme of the book - the ramifications that come from a lack of water - to be wonderfully up-to-date for now, especially when you consider "the great Pacific garbage patch"... and acknowledge the need to make the time to read it.

Tx

Inspirational stubbornness...

From time to time I have a blether with a chap from Lanark. He's a big fan of the Newton and was "checking his emails" when i sat down beside him on Friday.

Why did I find this inspirational? Well... you and I probably can and do check our email on a number of devices... predominately on a PC or Mac... and our phone.

My friend was checking his mail on his Apple Newton Messagepad... and this was no ordinary feat - his Newton was connected via a wireless card to a mifi device (the mifi device is a 3g dongle with a router).

I am fascinated with this kind of stubbornness... I find it a very creative and inspirational state of mind... and something I can be inspired by.

Its about seeing the intrinsic value and worth in something... and making it work regardless of the obstacles that are faced.

The Newton, from my friend's raving, was an awesome device lightyears ahead of its time... and is something that, with a bit of care and bloodymindedness, can still add value 17 years after it was released.

I suppose its like me and my 35mm film cameras...



I recently received this camera : the Voigtlander Vito CL : from an elderly couple in church. They knew of my love of photography and figured I would appreciate their cherished camera. Whilst I was delighted... I was also a little sad - their son had refused the camera... because it was film.

There is a sense of the counter-cultural in all this... rejecting the consumeristic notion of obsolescence... and deciding for yourself when something is "passed it".

There is also a sense of contentment... in the acceptance of something for what it is and... by hook or by crook... making it do what you need it to.

As change continues to intensify... I wonder if we will see more of this... see more people accepting what they have and being creative in how they adapt for their current needs.

I am an advocate of the "its not what you have but what you do with it that counts" - I see this stubbornness as an extension of this idea. Its not the Newton but the fact my friend can use it to email that counts... using an ingenious method that mixes old and new tech. Similarly, its not the camera but the pictures that count... afterall, your megapixels mean squat when your composure is lousy.

I see a day coming when I'll need to start shooting in black and white... and developing the films myself. When that day comes... I will welcome it for the opportunity it is.

Creativity is about new ideas, new technologies and the freedom of being a pioneer... but it is also about working within constraints... within the limitations and making the lemonade from the lemon.

Long may there be people prepared to make lemonade!

Tx

This is cool :: eye'em

eye'em are...

a young international team of creatives, designers, developers and thinkers located in Berlin, Germany.

...who...

love beautiful places, people, moments and pancakes (especially pancakes!).

...and...

love capturing those things with their mobile phone cameras.

Well worth checking out... Tx

This looks way cool :: Yummyfun Kooking

Does anyone know if this show is on in the UK? Just found out about it... and the cool host Clare Crespo from The Urban Grocer.

Read more about Clare and here obsession with cupcakes at The Urban Grocer and Gothamist.

Sweet!

Tx

Scanned... round the world in eight dishes

I found this book in a charityshop last Saturday. I snapped it up immediately because of its quirky illustrations and content. It is a cookbook / travel journal from 1955 (the edition I have is from 1962) by the wonderfully charismatic Lesley Blanch.



In addition to writing the book... she illustrated it too. The Golem above is to illustrate "Gollum's Dumplings" from the Ukraine... and her picture below is to bring a flavour to the roast lamb dish from "all the Arab countries".



It was an awesome find... and one that I treasure.

Tx

BTW... Olly and I were given a Canon Pixma MP490 printer/scanner for our Christmas from my folks. The scanner is particularly useful... and I intend to use if to share some of the glorious books I have. As such... I have started a new label - "scanned". Enjoy.

My first 36 of Project365:2010

My first 36 of Project365:2010, originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I wrote a poem : "open fire"

I haven't written poetry in ages... years, in fact. But in some weird turn of events... I was given these words last night as I walked from the station to meet Olly. Tx

Posted via email from headphonaught's posterous

My next challenge...

I think portraiture will be my next challenge... thankfully, I have a very photogenic family.



What is your next challenge?

Tx

Sorry for being quiet...

Hey everyone... sorry I've been quiet on the ol' blog front. Been busy doing stuff... taking pics... watching "Supernatural" with Olly... reading an essay... that kind of thing.

Thought I'd touch base... say "hiya"... and see how you all are doing. I've three things for you:

1) Here's a live recording of a Radiohead concert... that's available to download for free :: Radiohead live @ the Henry Fonda Theatre. The band have put this concert online to raise money for Haiti... so drop some cash in when you pick up the mp3.

"The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.”

Jessica Hische

2) The above quote is taken from a fab wee blog called distractivity... that is well worth a home in your rss reader. Their attitude is refreshingly inspirational:

"Distractivity is what you’re doing when you get distracted from what you should be doing. It’s generally what you want to do, often what you need to do, and arguably, what you’ll do best."

My thanks to swiss-miss for the pointer.

3) Watch this video... then ask yourself the following question:

"Are you being the real "you" or are you a parody..?"

Sure... parodies are funny... but will they be remembered or still relevant... in the long run?



Will be back soon...

Tx