By the Book

I’ve totally rinsed BBC Iplayer recently (no suprises there!) Really I should have been reading whilst indisposed in bed but I tended to just fish my way through the deepest, darkest corners of the weekly iplayer archive.

Today I’m having a go with BBC Four’s The Book Quiz and yes, it has totally washed over me. Kirsty Wark is a greatly factual presenter who often comes out with some great quips. Like Paxman with good dress sense and a pleasant demeanour. However, it just feels like University Challenge! (They even have a gong.)

I used to read all the time but the quiz makes me feel quite naive and silly foolish. There just isn’t a great deal of humour; infact It’s taken very seriously. As a first time viewer I’m not overly familiar with the ways the rounds work and perhaps that is why…..

….however asked for the seven titles written by the Bronte sisters and one of the contestants missed out Agnes Grey! (as well as two Charlotte Bronte titles.) Suddenly I feel a bit better,

Also today I walked down my road to the Burnfm.com studio at 8.30am with a piece of toast in hand.

I haven’t been able to eat/walk properly for days! Now I’m doing both at the same time! Result!

Frank x

Oh and I wrote a new song for the first time in ages. It’s called Just Like Jenny. It’s not like most of my older stuff so it’s kind of odd to watch/listen/play personally. Should be popping to an open mic night in selly tomorrow.

Surfin’ USA

Hey,

Popped to hospital yesterday and it turns out my illness from three weeks ago was a chest infection and it has now spread to my kidneys. But its okay as I now have antibiotics! I couldn’t get any yesterday as there wasn’t a pharmacy open near me and walking about 50 yards would cause me to retch. Hmmm.

ANYWAY after that pleasant explanation of what must seem like lazyness/obsessive moaning…

I checked out Nylon magazine‘s site this morning as I wanted to see examples of Peaches Geldof’s work (yes I clearly am obsessing here!) and checked out their blog which directed me to this interesting site. 

300 Colours is a project which involves the artist who I believe to be called Alex, writing different sorts of love letters to various people such as friends, family, lovers, strangers and anybody. It’s visually great. The main page is filled with small coloured squares. The colours show who the letters were written too and also provide a kind of colour code…

Well I found it cool!

Frank.

Lazy

I’ve got this recurring illness that keeps coming back so I’m off to the doctors asap… I’ve even had to miss most of Gigbeth, which as the blogger, totally doesn’t make sense. I’m absolutely gutted. If I dwell on it I know the stress will make me feel worse so I’m going to sweat/shiver it out for as long as I can bear…

Anyway, back to more bloggy stuff.

I’m shocked today at the cheek of the media. Cadbury’s have reintroduced their two ‘joy’ adverts (i.e that crazy expensive Gorilla one and the wierd large lego truck one which didn’t work as well) and just changed the music! Huh?

Also the NME have compiled a ‘non-rocker’ Cool List which had laughable ‘thrown together at the last minute’ cracks. Richard Ayodae of Garth Marenghi and The IT Crowd I totally understand…but Wall-E???

I also believe that NME are no longer cool or respected enough to make judgements such as putting Heath Ledger on the list with this description…

There was something about the actor’s drug-induced death at 28 – coupled with the manner in which his posthumous turn as The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ held up a mirror to troubled times – that was more reminiscent of Kurt Cobain than, say, James Dean.

This horribly misjudged statement implies that Ledger was some kind of Class A drug addict rather than a celebrated actor and father. Kurt Cobain killed himself, this comparison also implies the same of Ledger. Accidental death is not cool. And nothing NME can say will change that.

Working on the side

I have done less work recently, uni wise and writing wise recently. I’ve had more time to do what I want to do I guess. I like to be busy, but recently I had someone to make time for… Now I don’t again so I’m wondering whether to keep things at the same pace or to pick more stuff back up again. Something tells me to stay at the same pace but at the same time I know I’ll dwell on stuff and be worse off. I don’t know what to do. So much for having a ‘strategic mind’!

Rhubarb Radio Press Release

Press Release

3rd November 2008.

 

Gigbeth Goes Interactive

 

On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th November, Birmingham’s live music festival, Gigbeth, has announced that many of the performances will be broadcast live on Rhubarb Radio.

 

Available at www.rhubarbradio.com , the live performances will be broadcast live with direct feeds coming from the stages, featuring interviews with all the artists performing, keeping visitors in touch with this exciting festival.

 

A first for Birmingham, Rhubarb Radio is based at Digbeth’s Custard Factory, and is run entirely by Birmingham-based volunteers, all of which have backgrounds in the arts and multimedia.

 

All performances will be recorded and made available via the website through the ‘Listen Again’ feature.

 

Visitors to the website will also be able to interact with performers and audiences throughout the weekend, via email and Twitter, the social networking website.

 

Paul Hadley, Station Manager said “This is truly a first for Birmingham. We’ll be taking feeds from all the major events, so listeners can hear their favourite bands for free via their computers and mobile phones, even if they can’t get to the gigs in person.”

 

Also running on Saturday 8th November is Drop Beats Not Bombs at The Rainbow Pub in Digbeth. Rhubarb Radio will also be broadcasting live from 2 of the stages at this regular dance music event, and Boogie Dave is a regular presenter on the station.

 

To see the full Gigbeth schedule, visit www.gigbeth.co.uk .

 

Tickets are available via the website.

 

Sian the superstar and halloween eve…

One of my best friends, Sian, was in a play last night. Along with a few members of UoB charity drama society Infinity, she helped put on and star in a performance of John Godber’s Shakers, a multi rolling one-act play about four hard working cocktail waitresses. It was a high energy, well directed show and I enjoyed it immensely. They even set it in Beorma Bar (upstairs bar in the Birmingham Guild of Students) which meant we could feel more ‘there’. The proceeds from Infinity throughout the year will go to Banardos Birmingham.

The day before I casually got the train down to london and a couple of tubes in a not so casual dress (well not too over the top but very pink and in my opinion, very cute) to see the edited footage and vlogs for Internet Zombie Movie. Unlike everyone else there I didn’t have any guests, my sister and eternally busy boyfriend couldn’t make it and I didn’t ask anyone from Birmingham (ridiculous cost of train fare.)

The work itself was amazing. Directors Tim Keeling and Pete Curran and of course, project originator Bryony Matthewman stood up to introduce the film and following a couple of video ‘Hi we couldn’t be there’ clips (including the lovely October Road Film boys) The film started. 

The film we saw was brilliantly begun with clips of different vlogs contrasting with each other and building up tension. All the vlogs were unscripted and filmed by IZM contributors from around the world. A low synth pedal note accompanied these and just worked beneath the surface, building up tension. The film then cut to the footage we filmed in Shoreditch which was awesome. I couldn’t help laughing at some of the memories though…..swinging haha!

Hat Trick, the company making a BBC Three documentary about the film wanted to film us entering the cinema with everyone clapping but I felt a bit silly as I felt I hadn’t done that much! I’ve been fairly active on the forums however I felt like my image being used might give people the wrong idea, or cause irritation. However I think the actor who played Ethan, Joseph Ripley had his head in front of mine in the shot anyway so I think I’ll just be a flash of pink anyway. 

Frank.

Disappear Here…?

So apparently Peaches Geldof’s bratty behaviour and disrespectful attitude to producer picked staff on MTV documentary ‘Peaches- Disappear Here’ proved that there is no justice.

Apparently because she is ‘only 19’ she is perfectly fine to act this way.

I am 19. I work (usually for free,) and would never dream of acting the way Miss Geldof does.

Never mind eh?

 

IZM screening tonight

Frank.

p.s

Does Peaches even have a blog?

u r a little fat…

I’m on my way to 80 subscribers on my you tube channel which is a bit of a daymaker. I posted one of my original songs in response to a video of Diana Vickers of the X Factor (who is seriously popular on youtube it seems!) and am getting more hits than ever on one of my original songs.

I can take negative criticism. Some people are on youtube just for the purpose of spreading the hate however today I recieved a comment on my new video in the made over Burnfm studio. It was someone Greek. They said ‘you are a little fat.’ …I was a bit taken aback by this. Fat? You could only see my face and a little bit of my shoulders in the video…including a hint of collarbone. Perhaps I have a fat chin, but I am not fat, and even if I was, my video was nothing to do with weight or appearance.

This is what I don’t understand about youtube. Some of the people are utter fools, and some are lovely. Why try and knock someone’s confidence however? I’ve also been called irritating ‘because I talk too much and really need to find something I can be good at in life’ and ‘nothing special.’ This however, is usually from people with far less subscribers than myself! haha!