Hello readers!
Another very swift post to let you know I have another blog charting my progress as I train for the Edinburgh Marathon in May, which can be read here.
Happy New Year!
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Now playing: Tom Waits - Downtown Train
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Thursday 30 December 2010
That Time of Year Again...
As we're approaching the end of 2010, it's time for the obligatory end of year lists. So here are my top 10 albums of 2010:
1. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
2. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
3. Menomena - Mines
4. Aloe Blacc - Good Things
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Standard Fare - The Noyelle Beat
8. Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Back
9. These New Puritans - Hidden
10. Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
Sadly Gonjasufi is not on Spotify, so if you're curious you might just have to buy that one. As a further treat for you, here's my Best of 2010 playlist.
Happy New Year!
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Now playing: The Fresh & Onlys - I'm A Thief
via FoxyTunes
1. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
2. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
3. Menomena - Mines
4. Aloe Blacc - Good Things
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Standard Fare - The Noyelle Beat
8. Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Back
9. These New Puritans - Hidden
10. Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
Sadly Gonjasufi is not on Spotify, so if you're curious you might just have to buy that one. As a further treat for you, here's my Best of 2010 playlist.
Happy New Year!
----------------
Now playing: The Fresh & Onlys - I'm A Thief
via FoxyTunes
Monday 4 October 2010
Tales of the Un...Employed
It's now been four weeks since I finished my Masters, and I am still unemployed. So how have I been filling my days I hear you cry? Well, first and foremost I have been applying for jobs, obviously. Frustratingly this is not a process I am particularly fond of, primarily because nowhere these days seems to accept a CV, instead insisting that you fill out an online application form. Fair enough I suppose, I assume this ensures all of their applications are uniform. However, for us poor suckers who want to apply for more than one job a day, it is soul destroying. Filling out all of your work experience and qualifications in slightly different formats is incredibly tedious, and then writing what is basically a small essay for each job on why you want the position is remarkably time consuming. I swear that this affects my chances, because I'm so bored by the second application that I end up copying and pasting a lot of information without really thinking it through. Unsurprisingly I'm yet to hear back about any interviews.
My alternative to job hunting is to either do a PhD, the idea of which I'm warming to more and more, or to do a more practical course that will supply me with all the essential practical skills needed to work in the environmental sector. This second option is less likely at the minute because most of these courses cost, and are not in Birmingham, so I need money for accommodation and such. Whose bright idea was money?!
Elsewhere, I've been re-immersing myself in the world of music, starting up both As Well Continue To Run and Couthe again, much to my delight. The former had a very successful gig in Hinckley on Friday which seemed to go down well with both the crowd and the management, as we've been invited to play three more dates at Praha in the next few months. I've also signed up for the Birmingham half marathon, a decision I'm regretting slightly having realised I only have three weeks left to train. In fact I better start warming up for tonight's run...
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Now playing: Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2
via FoxyTunes
My alternative to job hunting is to either do a PhD, the idea of which I'm warming to more and more, or to do a more practical course that will supply me with all the essential practical skills needed to work in the environmental sector. This second option is less likely at the minute because most of these courses cost, and are not in Birmingham, so I need money for accommodation and such. Whose bright idea was money?!
Elsewhere, I've been re-immersing myself in the world of music, starting up both As Well Continue To Run and Couthe again, much to my delight. The former had a very successful gig in Hinckley on Friday which seemed to go down well with both the crowd and the management, as we've been invited to play three more dates at Praha in the next few months. I've also signed up for the Birmingham half marathon, a decision I'm regretting slightly having realised I only have three weeks left to train. In fact I better start warming up for tonight's run...
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Now playing: Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2
via FoxyTunes
Friday 27 August 2010
My Life as a Guinea Pig
I'm currently balls deep in writing up my Cornwall project, whilst also trying to get any cash I can together to make rent and generally live. My first, quite successful plan, was selling some of my possessions on ebay. I always said I wouldn't sell anything, but needs must and I'm only selling things which I've either never used, or are simply collecting dust in my admittedly dusty room. My other means of income currently is whoring myself out to medical research.
Okay, I'm not technically prostituting myself, nor am I involved in any medical research as such. I have signed up to help out at the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham with a study that is apparently to do with eyesight. I personally believe it is more to do with how the brain perceives certain images, but no one's telling me anything. So for the last couple of days I've been sitting in a dark room staring at a computer screen which is intermittently flashing a series of dots up on the screen. I then have to press buttons to say whether I think the dots look like a hexagon with its point at the top or on the side. This continues for two hours. I can say in all seriousness that this is one of the dullest things I've ever done. Jesus, I'd even consider getting a job rather than this! Thankfully no one is watching me, and so I've taken to listening to my iPod whilst laboriously pressing "1" or "0" for two hours straight. I'm not sure if this affects the results, but iof no one can be bothered to monitor me I'm just going to keep doing it. By then end I have the appearance of a man who has been awake for three days doing nothing other than smoking marijuana and rubbing his eyes. I'm fairly sure it's not good for the brain to be sat in a room with flashing lights for that amount of time, in fact I'm sure of it as yesterday I was sick in my mouth a little during the "experiment". Maybe that's the point...
I shouldn't complain though, I'm getting paid for it and next week I'll be subjected to an fMRI scan as part of the research. I just hope the study provides some fascinating results. It is paying for me to go to the last weekend of the Edinburgh Festival this weekend with Sam though, so it's all worth it.
Okay, I'm not technically prostituting myself, nor am I involved in any medical research as such. I have signed up to help out at the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham with a study that is apparently to do with eyesight. I personally believe it is more to do with how the brain perceives certain images, but no one's telling me anything. So for the last couple of days I've been sitting in a dark room staring at a computer screen which is intermittently flashing a series of dots up on the screen. I then have to press buttons to say whether I think the dots look like a hexagon with its point at the top or on the side. This continues for two hours. I can say in all seriousness that this is one of the dullest things I've ever done. Jesus, I'd even consider getting a job rather than this! Thankfully no one is watching me, and so I've taken to listening to my iPod whilst laboriously pressing "1" or "0" for two hours straight. I'm not sure if this affects the results, but iof no one can be bothered to monitor me I'm just going to keep doing it. By then end I have the appearance of a man who has been awake for three days doing nothing other than smoking marijuana and rubbing his eyes. I'm fairly sure it's not good for the brain to be sat in a room with flashing lights for that amount of time, in fact I'm sure of it as yesterday I was sick in my mouth a little during the "experiment". Maybe that's the point...
I shouldn't complain though, I'm getting paid for it and next week I'll be subjected to an fMRI scan as part of the research. I just hope the study provides some fascinating results. It is paying for me to go to the last weekend of the Edinburgh Festival this weekend with Sam though, so it's all worth it.
Tuesday 17 August 2010
One Big Mac and a McCurry Please
Just a very quick one, here's that Steve McCurry photograph I spoke about in my previous blog. I popped back into the gallery to find out what it was called, so enjoy!
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Now playing: Phoenix - Lasso
via FoxyTunes
----------------Now playing: Phoenix - Lasso
via FoxyTunes
Monday 16 August 2010
46 Cakes
All is well with the world at the minute. I finally figured out where I was going wrong with my Cornwall data and so my maps are actually looking like they should, or at least will be once I've converted around 800 co-ordinates into the correct format. I've had a great weekend this weekend darting about for Sam's birthday (happy birthday Sam!). She had some friends down from Scotland, and from London, and some more local friends, all of whom congregated at the Yardbird last night for many drinks and eventually wine and cake back at hers. Good times.
Today we went along to see the Steve McCurry exhibit currently on display at the Waterhall Gallery in Birmingham. I was unaware of his work, apart from one very famous picture, but Sam and my brother had been harping on about it for a while so it was nice to finally see what all the fuss was about. I was very impressed I must say, some of the photographs captured the emotion of the subject flawlessly. I wasn't as keen on some of the blatantly set up scenarios, but his use of colour and subject matter is always exquisite. Here are a few of my favourites of those on display.
That first one may be my favourite photograph ever, although it's very hard to look at. There was another picture that looked like an oil painting but was in fact a monastery built into a cliff face, but I can't find it anywhere! If I do though, I'll be sure to post it...
Today we went along to see the Steve McCurry exhibit currently on display at the Waterhall Gallery in Birmingham. I was unaware of his work, apart from one very famous picture, but Sam and my brother had been harping on about it for a while so it was nice to finally see what all the fuss was about. I was very impressed I must say, some of the photographs captured the emotion of the subject flawlessly. I wasn't as keen on some of the blatantly set up scenarios, but his use of colour and subject matter is always exquisite. Here are a few of my favourites of those on display.
That first one may be my favourite photograph ever, although it's very hard to look at. There was another picture that looked like an oil painting but was in fact a monastery built into a cliff face, but I can't find it anywhere! If I do though, I'll be sure to post it...
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Was I Really In Poland?
Okay so I'm back in Birmingham now but thought I'd continue the blog anyway for the time being, seeing as it's acting as a fantastic procrastination device.
After deciding sorting out my entire room was a valuable use of my time yesterday, I cracked on with some actual work today. First and foremost, I wanted to see if the numerous co-ordinates I had spent the last 9 weeks collecting actually amounted to anything. Unfortunately, this has meant me teaching myself how to use DIVA-GIS, a free online geographic mapping tool. I've realised I am incredibly lazy when attempting to read tutorials, choosing to simply scan for key words as opposed to reading the whole thing. This meant I got nothing done for a good hour, and my first attempt ended up with all my co-ordinates appearing at various places around mainland Europe. Thankfully, I was being a moron, and had in fact mixed up my longitudes and latitudes. Half an hour of cutting and pasting later...the maps still don't look right. This could mean one of two things. Firstly, my co-ordinates are all off, and I've just needlessly subjected myself to 9 weeks in a damp caravan, or the more hopeful second option, the software I'm using is a bit crap because it's free. So tomorrow I'll begrudgingly pay the train fare and head into uni to use the posh mapping software.
I'm also applying for jobs at the minute, which I hate doing. I'm only looking for money currently and not a career job, just whilst I finish the course. I'm so lazy when it comes to this though, and most applications end up with me cutting and pasting my somewhat lacklustre CV onto various forms in the hope that the sheer quantity of jobs I apply for means one of them has to give me a go. We'll see...
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Now playing: Cymbals Eat Guitars – Like Blood Does
via FoxyTunes
After deciding sorting out my entire room was a valuable use of my time yesterday, I cracked on with some actual work today. First and foremost, I wanted to see if the numerous co-ordinates I had spent the last 9 weeks collecting actually amounted to anything. Unfortunately, this has meant me teaching myself how to use DIVA-GIS, a free online geographic mapping tool. I've realised I am incredibly lazy when attempting to read tutorials, choosing to simply scan for key words as opposed to reading the whole thing. This meant I got nothing done for a good hour, and my first attempt ended up with all my co-ordinates appearing at various places around mainland Europe. Thankfully, I was being a moron, and had in fact mixed up my longitudes and latitudes. Half an hour of cutting and pasting later...the maps still don't look right. This could mean one of two things. Firstly, my co-ordinates are all off, and I've just needlessly subjected myself to 9 weeks in a damp caravan, or the more hopeful second option, the software I'm using is a bit crap because it's free. So tomorrow I'll begrudgingly pay the train fare and head into uni to use the posh mapping software.
I'm also applying for jobs at the minute, which I hate doing. I'm only looking for money currently and not a career job, just whilst I finish the course. I'm so lazy when it comes to this though, and most applications end up with me cutting and pasting my somewhat lacklustre CV onto various forms in the hope that the sheer quantity of jobs I apply for means one of them has to give me a go. We'll see...
----------------
Now playing: Cymbals Eat Guitars – Like Blood Does
via FoxyTunes
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