Knight of Cups Trailer

Straight off the bat, I'm a Malick fan. I got Tree of Life, I even enjoyed To the Wonder. However this, I really ain't sure. It's got to a stage where it's a parade of a pastiche. The eagle eyed of you will have noticed the first two images are from To The Wonder. 

It feels like a formulaic process of knowing what has been done before and recreating it with a very lose and slightly different plot and some great* actors.

In the same way all the greats have a style that can be replicated but of course never perfected. This however looks like a replication of a Malick film. 

At the end of the day it's just a trailer, for all we know big Terry may have a totally different film ready and all of this is on the floor.

We shall wait and see.

Larry gets his first letter....was the vet. #VSCOcam

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Winter Glasgow commute #VSCOcam #vsco #glasgow

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Moving from Wordpress to Blogger: Image size issues step by step guide

If you are like me and constantly change your blogging platform on a whim you will no doubt have images of varying sizes.
When moving from Blogger to Wordpress you can run a plugin that automatically re-sizes all the images, when moving the other way between Wordpress to Blogger there are not the same plugins.
Instead you have to add the custom CSS. How on earth do you do that ey? Well here is a step by step guide.

First of all open up your blog overview. Then on the left hand side menu select Template

Once Template is selected the above screen should appear, select Customize.

On the left hand side select Advanced, then scroll down to the bottom of the Advanced section and you should see Add CSS. This is where you add your code.

Below is the code I have used. This makes the max width an image in a post can be 600px and then the height will automatically change to fit the 600px width dimensions. You can change this to suit your template.

.post-body img { max-width:600px; height:auto; }

Hope this of help to anyone else with image re-sizing issues on blogger.

Parks and Rex-creation

Finally the wait is over, The Parks and Rec / Jurassic Park Mash up is here from the wonderful peeps over at the HuffPost UK Comedy and Handface.

Video here if embed down

It's all rainbows and sunshine in Glasgow #whitagram #VSCOcam #scotstorm

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There is so much of the cold. #selfportrait #vsco #VSCOcam

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Traquair Jacobite Ale. A very tasty treat from a friend #VSCOcam #vsco #ale

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Wednesday Music : 03/12/14

Little bit of chill out from the West Midlands of all places to finish up a weird sort of Wednesday that seems to not want to die. Bibio fits into the influenced by Boards of Canada band wagon and this album Silver Wilkinson from last year is working nicely for me. Give it a wee listen.

The Glasgow Graffers

I like to imagine they compare and contrast spreadsheets. Then go crazy at some serious y and x axis.

MeetThe62 : A documentary project

After my blog regarding the fact only 62 people work full time in the Scottish film industry I have had a few interesting chats and tweets off people. A very interesting chat was had today with a colleague who said why don't you go meet them all and make a film about it. So that's where this ball starts rolling, I want to try and at least find these 62 people. So if you are working full time in the Scottish film industry please leave a comment or send me an email. If you are just generally interested feel free to contact me also.

My day in Manchester visualised

Meeting the 62 people employed full time in Scotland's Film Production Sector

It's a pretty crazy fact but indeed there are only 62 people in Scotland who have a full time job within Film Production (Source 1). I have been working within TV for the last few years, not out of a burning love for TV and the online world it also absorbs but from a love of production and creation. I have aspirations of becoming a film maker and have found it strange that coming to Glasgow hasn't developed that opportunity compared to being in Northern Ireland. I have actually only been funded by NI Screen since moving to Scotland a few years ago ( for the award winning 15 second film Vinyl Touch) .

After reading of this 62 within Creative Scotland's Review of the film sector I found it rather staggering but also fascinating that not only could you meet and greet all of these people in a few hours. It also means that with Scotland's estimated population at 5,327,700 that only 0.001% of Scotland's population works full time in Film Production (Source 2).

That got me thinking of the various people that I know who currently work on films, they all work freelance though. I couldn't actually think of anyone that I know who would consider themselves one of the 62. So this is an open invite to introduce yourself people of the 62, I wish to say hello and find out exactly what do you do? and a bit more about you rather than just the facts and figures I see. Perhaps there is a story in there worth telling.

One gallon mead recipe and artwork #homebrew

So here it is in all its glory, I only wish I had taken the original gravity and could say what the ABV is. I followed this recipe below for a 1 gallon batch of traditional mead.

Equipment 

1 Gallon demijohn
1 Airlock
1 Bung
Some sterilization

One gallon recipe

1.5kg Honey
1 Large orange
1 handful of raisins
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 cloves
1 pinch of nutmeg
Half a pack of wine yeast
Balance water to one gallon

How to

Put all this in and shake it about. Put it in a dark warmish place. Check on it in a few months.

Artwork



After a quick wax of the mustache and a turn up of my chinos I went for a pastiche of the classic Smiths album Meat is Murder. Shall be labeling up and forcing upon people over the festive period. This stuff is rough as a badgers ticks back.

 

 

New shoes and Bushmills ahoy!

Great Friday had by one and all.

Exploring Scotland with #vscocam

A few days of exploring Scotland's nature with the wifey for lifey.

An album for the Scottish Independence Campaign. #indyref

It has come as a bit of a shock for myself as the looming date of the 18th September catches up with us. I am yet to hear the indie blah of Zooey Deschanel LOZER Ex -husband Ben Gibbard pumped out across Dear Green. Having been a fan of the band for years and like totally loving their earlier stuff I am appalled that the SNP has not embraced such classic tracks from the some what popular album like "The Employment Pages" or "No Joy In Mudville". Can you even imagine the size of the smirks on bearded sock-less men?

What perhaps may come as more of flabbergast is the fact that, and I've checked plenty of them, no hipster joints in Glasgow have the 14 year old album playing on vinyl. Glasgow I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.

Say hello to Vehnäolut

We at Phenix Brewery pride ourselves on obscure hipster names for our beers and with this latest brew there is no exception. Welcome to the Phenix Brewery line up Vehnäolut. A 4.33% wheat beer with a cheeky Columbus dry hop.



As you obviously know it's name is Finnish for wheat beer. The reason being my wonderful bee keeping friend Jussi supplied me with some of his honey from Finland to add to my brew instead of dextrose. This is some seriously yumi honey!
You may also be able to tell that I still have no label on my bottles. Although I have knocked up an option B I am still interested to have the input of a designer with a taste for beer. Otherwise its the below design being put onto 40 odd bottles. Some is getting shipped as far a field as Japan.

Strathaven Hot Air Balloon Festival 2014

An early dawn drive out to Strathaven to see the dawn launch of the hot air balloons. What a treat it was seeing them drift off across the landscape as the sun rose.
We arrived at 6:15am and with a quick search set up to watch the balloons fly over us. A great collection of colours and a great atmosphere with kids running around in pyjamas and half awake adults.
It was a ridiculous 6 degrees and our feet got well and truly soaked and frozen. Thankfully some (my mum would be proud of my prep) coffee helped but that soon ran out.
Overall a wonderful time and would highly recommend a trip out to the sleepy town of Strathaven. More info on the festival on their website here.

Chambara - Dare to Be Digital 2014 - Gaming

I was having a browse through the various wonderful games on display from this years Dare to be Digital.  I came across this game, Chambara and it very much grabbed my attention. The game is a local multiplayer stealth deathmatch. Whats not to love? Take a look at the trailer below.


A very simple idea but looks like amazing game play. You can get a download of it on their website . I for one will be giving it a cheeky download later on tonight.

Design a label for me, get paid in beer

One of the joys of running your own 'brewery' is the fun of naming and designing the labels and brand that goes with it. I have been brewing and designing my own labels for the past four years. Some have been better than others. Below is a selection of said designs.



So aye, I ain't that great with design, but at least the beer tastes good. Currently I am brewing a wheat beer that have Columbus hops added at the dry hopping stage.
What I want is a name for this beer and a designer (someone with MS Paint) to come up with a lovely label for it. In return you will get beer, tasty tasty mini-brew beer.

If that sounds good to you then post a name or label suggestion below.

 

Beats and beans for the weekend

I work in the digital world as I am sure most people currently do. Our life revolves around things that we will never even touch. Photos, Illustrations and even books, some never see the light of the physical world. That is why I love people who make physical items. A break from the current norm.

One of those people is a colleague who in exchange for some EH! gave me his latest musical treat.



 

The Nuclear Family is a combination of Tom Churchill & Laurence Hughes. I gave it a listen last night and loved it. My favourite track has to be Blind Spot

[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=49517551 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 track=2563503374]

To quote Innate " “Blind Spot” is a clear ode to Chi-town – jacked up beats meeting a mayday style flange that gives way to a heavy sounding raw-edged bass, countered with jazzed out chords. "

Exactly not what I was going to say anyway.

Alas yesterday evening also meant a trip out to the land of Artisan Roast, another section of Glasgow that self publishes but in this case beans.



 

The Nuclear Family playing on the Amstrad and these beans getting ground will make for a wonderful start to the Weekend. Coffee a go go.

The most Ron Swanson quote ever from Nick Offerman's new book

Choose your favorite spade and dig a small, deep hole, located deep in the forest or a desolate area of the desert or tundra. Bury your cell phone and then find a hobby.

Nick Offerman

 What a fine quote.

Nias - Re(lex)ed : Tasty tune for a Tuesday afternoon

Big fan of 8tracks.com and the wonderful mixes people make. Means you can discover some new tunes and perfect for chilling out while I edit.

Found the above track on a mix with Grimes on it and it's a rather tasty beat so thought I would share.

Plagerising, copying, Lucy Rose and the New Ancestors

You may remember the  music video I made for the New Ancestors a month ago. If you haven't seen it then its below and you should watch it before reading on.


This video was made using the technique TTv where you use a digital camera (Canon 550d) strapped to a contraption of wood, cardboard and cello tape with an old analog camera(Kodak Duaflex) with a large viewfinder to film through inside. The technique is a bit of a pain but makes for some really interesting images and a lot of weird looks. I have been shooting TTv for about four years and have had a few experiments with film such as last years "Of The".



Yesterday however a lovely friend from Finland mentioned after watching the New Ancestors music video he felt a strong correlation between it and a video for the amazing Lucy Rose. I had to have a look see and this is the video below.



Now I am not one to gossip but it's pretty clear auld Lucy has herself a time machine. The resemblance between the two video is rather weird, I watched it a few times last night in a bit of shock thinking people probably think we got the idea from that.

This got me thinking, so many times I have seen music videos or short films that seem so similar to others that I have struggled to even consider they were independently created without at least seeing the other one. Alas now I have a new appreciation for the poor person at the brunt of "err you stole this idea" comments.

Sorry person, I shall rush less to judge.

Phenix brewery goes big rather than having to go all the way home

I have often not been a fan of ebay( I still wake up in a cold sweat at night thinking about that "genuine" Del Boy autograph!) But this evening it came up trumps.
Not only have I doubled my fermenting volume, I now have a five gallon keg, seven awesome glass demijohns, a tonne of bottles and the icing on the cake...a heat plate. Not sure if I will ever use it but I now have one.
All for £20 out of the back of a jeep in Coatbridge. Why thank you ebay.

Half-handed Cloud - Flying Scroll Flight Control

Have been listening to the latest offering from Asthmatic Kitty Records. Half-Handed Cloud has been getting a good bit of play over the last few months so rather excited for more upbeat, catchy tunes with tambourines galore. It's rather uplifting once in a while to drag myself away from the likes of Joy Division and The Knife to be given some joyful noise in my ears. Take a listen.

Man standing on path near veranda of large house

There is not much I like more than a creepy old photograph and this certainly fits the bill. Titled as "Man standing on path near veranda of large house" (source) this has it all, blurred foliage, moustached man, black and white, vacant stare and confusing. I tend to spend days thinking about photographs like this, is it a self portrait with slow shutter speed which enables him to get into shot yet allows for the blur on the foliage or is part of a series of people staring at their own homes. Too many thoughts from one photograph.

Hop plant in Glasgow update #homebrew

Left this wee fella while I was away for a week and he won't stop growing and well vining. He has finally started to outgrow the windowsill and I fear the balcony just won't have the space for him so he now has this space.

It's not perfect, a bit too shady but for growing hops in Glasgow it's not a bad spot for him. Haven't got much hope for this years crop but hopefully next year I will have some homegrown hops for some dry hopping.

Bottled: Canadian Blonde with 100g of cascade hops

My first experiment with dry hopping was bottled about 7 hours before I left for Mexico. Nout like a bit of last minute bottling.


Not gona lie, it tastes pretty amazing. I just had a wee cheeky pre-carbonation taste but it's yum! Will begin designing a label ASAP but possible names are currently

EH!

Moose knuckle

PAM AND

Any suggestions very welcome but EH! Is the current favourite.