Another great time lapse...........

This video was inspired by this guy and now that chain of creativity continues with the following video, check it out........


Tuesday 1st of July 2008 from Nigel Elliott on Vimeo.

Nigel has embraced the tumblr blog platform and stuck with it for while now, well done on that man, it is a cool platform BUT i have some issues with it! Anyway Nigel is my cousin and we share a love of music, macs and being miserable! Ok i'm kidding about being miserable! He has done a great job with this video.........

[crave]: creative chaos........

The majority of the photoshop work you saw in my time lapse the other day was for [crave]: (pictured below). Last year i designed the artwork for their latest album 'Waiting Games', i blogged it here, do take a look. These guys are awesome so it is great to be working with them again.....


as always the excellent photography is by Connor

Chaos@ragamuffinsoul.com

Today in Technicolor......

June 19th from ally simpson on Vimeo.

Thanks to this innovator and his Creative Chaos for the inspiration to do this!
I used this little program to make the clip

What traits do you have............?

As i read this great post i was trying to figure out where 'supersimo' fits in with each of the '12 traits.' The truth is, i need to work on a few, i need to newly discover a few and i need to get better at a few! So, i thought id pick out a few things that i already am working hard at or need to work harder at;

Connectors: "Most successful bloggers that I’ve interacted with have an insatiable desire to connect with as many people as they can." I have begun to work harder at this in recent months, via the blog, facebook, twitter etc I have met some wonderful people via these avenues. I need to keep this up though.

Perseverance: "Successful bloggers know that it takes time to grow a blog" I have been doing this for over 3 years, you need to be patient if you want to build community or attract readers. It can be frustrating but i am "in for the long haul", are you?

Curiosity: "They are curious people who are always asking ‘what if….?" Now, i ask this a lot but i don't implement that "what if" on my blog/web presence enough so this, i have to work on. I have been given a great opportunity to do this at work, given a clean slate to innovate and direct a new area of our business so here goes........

Read the full article here. Which traits are you working on?

This resonates.............

"There is no such thing as an overnight success. It takes years and years of small victories. One small step building on another creating momentum."

H/T Brewster

Connor the photographer

Check out these awesome new pics from the ONEHUNDREDHOURS photo-shoot on Connor's flickr. He was running about last night taking pictures and when i got home late and signed into iChat he was online editing the pics! Its was LATE!! The guy is a pro and incredibly talented, its a pleasure to know him. Go say hi on his blog

the Pope 'could' have a blog.........

I was about to go to bed BUT had to post this! The site this was posted on said this "I have no idea if the pope has a blog, but it is always interesting to me how organized religion can embrace modern ideas and technology, while keeping one foot so firmly planted in the dark ages."


H/T Jake Bouma

Diana

The 120 film arrived today for my Diana! I was petrified of screwing up the camera as i popped my first film into it. That sounds daft but the thing is, i am not a photographer, i am not sure what i am doing and i also am notorious for not reading instructions properly. So, we got the thing loaded up and then i entered a new world. I am not in the artsy fartsy world where i "relinquish control" just yet but i have struggled with 7 shots so far. 7 shots that i have no idea about now, they are trapped inside the plastic body of this thing, they could be rubbish, they most likely are but to change from my canon digital brick to this lump of plastic is just plain weird. I am excited about what my first film will reveal, though not expecting too much! I have to say though, i get very lucky shots with my digital so hopefully that fortune is in my fingers in the future when i click click on the diana!

I CANNOT wait for this............

The Hold Steady

Young me vs Now me.........

Ok, i didn't recreate the pose in the old picture so i guess this rather lame BUT what the heck, i like the contrast........



See better ones here
H/T Los

Better Blogs you should read...........

So often i get recommended great blogs that are on the other side of the world, which, of course is fine BUT we have some very talented bloggers on our little island, check out my favorites....

My Wife Cherith : funny, beautiful, lovely and yea i would still check out her blog if she wasn't my wife!

Andru : i employ this chap on fridays & saturdays & he is a very talented photographer, slightly inconsistent blogger but when he blogs it is good.

Connor : another great photographer, i remember him hanging about "Pulse" with his camera before he was shaving!!

Emma : worked with me in my coffee making days, she saw my random absurd moments as most people who have worked with me do! Got any Polaroid? Go here to give it away to a good cause.

Coffee Helps : This insanely talented blogger is a phenomenon, you should all be reading this blog & laughing out loud. Keep an eye out for a book me thinks................

So, go say hi to all these talented folks, link to them and give us Irish bloggers a "big up"

'Guitar' Solo...........

Well, i like a good T-Shirt, i blogged a great one recently here. This one is great though, i do not own it but perhaps i will get one ordered. Buy it here

My Wife...............

Sometimes my Wife takes great photo's



and often she writes a great blog

Last Night part 2.........

I forgot to say that we 'discussed' Web 2.0 last night! Well, a couple of us did and the best we could do was to say how awesome things are becoming, how great Los is and how much it is taking over our lives! Web 2.0 is, not Los!! hehe! Thats the short version! Anyway, check out some great Web 2.0 app's here

H/T Tall Skinny Kiwi

Its a fact............

Threadless, Nude No More

Flight of the Conchords........

Yea so we are loving these dudes right now.........



Not only are they hilarious but they are musical geniuses! Oh heck here is another great clip.....



HAHA..................

How we Interact................

The web never ceases to amaze me! Los is one of the most fantastic bloggers around and he continues to innovate and create brilliantly through his blog. Here's the thing! He just filmed a Promo for a new series at his Church via a really cool site called Mogulus which i have an account with but have not yet used! So, while they filmed, those of us who had been following his blog today or who stumbled across him were able to join in. Join in? i hear you ask! Well, we chatted on-screen while he filmed, with occasional checks by Los to see what we were all saying to each other. It was awesome to be able to interact in this way with someone on the other side of the world while he worked. It was awesome to be invited to see Los and his crew at work and mmm playing cards!! hehe!! Connor stopped by also and we both got to say hi to Los, yes, geeks we are!

One more thing, some of you know i manage a Bookshop. Well, it is becoming more popular in N.Ireland for Churches to have bookshops in their buildings, or at least a few have taken the lead and others are sure to follow. Buckhead Church, where Carlos is on staff have a bookshop, go take a peek here

Meeting people in the street........

Have you ever been walking toward someone in the street and realized you are going to have to do what Larry David calls a "stop & chat?" Well next time it happens just be glad it isn't like this..............

The Future of Music

Lots has been said about the future of music & where it is headed, but truth is none of us really know what is around the corner. I love to hear of someone taking a bold step in the way that radiohead did last year with their "pay what you want" download but is that realistic for the average band? What about Muse? The band claim they are likely to ditch the traditional album format for a more single based approach. Frontman Matt Bellamy said: "I don't think we're going to approach the next album like we're making an album... we're just gonna make a load of music. Read more here
This certainly is bold but will it work? Will we not still want an album? I love to have a cd, with a booklet and all the beauty that can come with that. Then i do love vinyl also so call me old fashioned if you will. I have found though, that i am becoming more convinced by downloading and have bee drawn to it for single tracks when i dont want to buy a full album. Yes i may just have contradicted myself there!!
I am curious to see who steps boldly out and leads the way within Christian Music, will Bill Gaither offer free downloads this year? Seriously though, if someone who shifts as many units as him or Hillsong were to do something like this it could set the pace for the rest of the market, any thoughts?

Edison Glass thoughts.....

Ok so I just blogged their video but i wanted to share what Christianity Today Online said about the album.

"Time Is Fiction, the sophomore effort from Edison Glass, is comparable in many ways to an art-house film. It'll never get radio play beyond college stations, and it'll struggle to find an audience in a marketplace that favors familiar and predictable pop over alternative expressions (especially the Christian music scene). However, it's thoughtful and different enough for critics to embrace, as well as the minority of music lovers that appreciate such albums. In other words, it's rather brilliant, though probably a tad inaccessible to most ears."

Read the full review here

I love their honesty but i HATE that what they say is true. "Predictable pop" is such a great expression for what a lot of "Christian" music is and when i hear a great new band who are different from this it excites me but also troubles me. The truth is that a lot of these great bands will only ever gain a cult following due to their fresh & "alternative expressions." I may come back to this though, i simply would love to highlight some of the lesser known bands in "Christian" music who deserve to be heard, not just on the blog but also at work and maybe in other ways.

Any ideas?