Where to start?… No seriously, where do I start, I really have no idea. I’m out of it’ whatever it may be, and not just generally either, I’m talking in a grande scheme of things, if I could right now I would impersonate Kevin Kline in an arduous manner. I haven’t blogged for over a year, (excluding the previous post) well close to a year, and there’s quite a bucket load of thoughts stories and general hoo-hah, floating around “up in yo’ windows” that I need to be gettin’ of my chest. Even though the last two posts are on my blog and I ‘blogged’ them, I did take heavy influence from other peoples editorials so in a sense, I feel a little like a stole the idea and therefore are not really want I would want to say, so I shall delete them. *puts on a brave face* It’s been an amazing year for me I’m now the proud father of a baby boy, Quinn.

As of late I’m still hunting down work, I question myself on a weekly basis as to what I feel I could be doing with myself If i had been given at least some form of guidance, whilst growing up. I didn’t even care about our works experience whilst i was at school, i wish now I had leaned in a general direction that would have at least benefitted me in some shape or form. It’s never to late though, and I know with a little perseverance and initiative I can be well on my way to doing something I can make a living from and that I would enjoy doing to put bread and butter on the table.

Perseverance is an awkward spelling. Who’s to say that you can’t Triumph with a job that you like, life doesn’t have to be as dull as your average joe bloggs makes it out to be. I’m going to apply this ideology to a couple of living methods over the next couple of months, who’s to say that just because work at the minute is dodgy as hell, and I know you lot know how hard it is just to get a bog standard retail / bar / call centre job now days, its not what you know, it’s who you know and how you go about approaching the role. This attitude comes from listening to a pop song to much, this one yes I know its by that dude from Fall out Boy, but If I’m honest, even though Patrick is the least punky one in the band, he’s been my favourite, while on the subject, I actually like Fall out Boy a bit to much, I just hate Pete Wentz with a passion, .. don’t get me started.. anyhoo, So I have a man crush on Patrick Stump, and so when I heard that he was going to continue to make some tunes after FOB had broken up I was intrigued, when he said he was naturally going to lean towards his style of singing soul, I was put off, however.. I found his EP on Spotify and it’s what I expected, soulful R&B with an attitude, but one song stands out for me and it’s ‘Spotlight’. Spotify, Spotlight, yady-yada. The song is about taking whatever life gives you and appreciating it with a finer degree of detail, to the extent as to where you can put yourself in your own limelight with a Danny Kaye , Walter Mitty-esque like look on life, Believe in something with such bravado that you shouldn’t have any problems believing it’s possible. From listening to the song I cam to realize that when I was listening to it, I was actually noticing how I assess my life, and thus started thinking about applying a lifestyle trait as soon as feasibley possible. With Quinn in the picture now things are going to get serious, I can’t help but question my position with two kids and no real job, it’s just not something really worth talking about, a taboo subject for me if you like, but like I’ve been saying it’s not the end of the world, all I need to do is start concentrating on the bigger picture and not taking things to seriously.

I would like to thank everyone who congratulated me on the birth of Quinn, (the few that you were) It was a natural birth, and it was one of the most traumatizing things I’ve ever witnessed, and I didn’t feel a thing, well, my hand was broken but that’s obviously nothing in comparison to what the other party had to undergo that day, I distinctly remember being covered in sweat, and mucus, and it stunk, but in the end it’s all worth it, when a cute little worm like creature pops out making that distressed noise they make (like they’re struggling to breathe) strangely Quinn didn’t cry for very long, he cried for about 2 minutes, maybe a minute and a half, then he was tidied up and cleaned, I got asked if I would like to cut the cord, this is something I now regret, not for any real reason other than that of the fact that the dad is supposed to do that kind of thing, and I was actually there for the birth of my son, my dad was at a football match, mind you I did bail on Ellies birth only due to stress. Quinn was tidied up and popped in a towel and placed in my arms, did I say popped in a towel, I meant pooped in a towel.

Was it emotional, yes it was, did I cry? Of course I did.

I’ll be looking for a Photography friends, to come and take some nice piccies, before he gets to old, and I’m sure I know plenty who can give me some mates rates

Socially Networked

I haven’t really blogged since February so I thought I should put some things out there as soon I’m looking to start treating this blog which started of like a mini free website, as more of an actual blog/website, about me, I don’t really know what I’m doing with the whole domain malarkey, but I’m sure it’s a learning curve that i can enjoy, since I love design and the blog is really the worlds window into my life. The reason I’m starting to dedicate more time to the blog is because I’m just generally starting to loose appreciation for social networks, .. not the websites themselves but the people that divulge in the system, ironic I think, considering I started blogging on MySpace and moved to here for more freedom. Speaking of MySpace, Last month was a landmark month for me on the internet, I deleted my MySpace account, the social network that’s unexceptionably good at sidetracking teens lifestyle choices, yes the website that is personally responsible for my grades dropping at college, MY_____ is gone. It took a chunk out of my life, I won’t deny that, but it’s where my infatuation with web started, yes Tagworld, Hi5, Friendster were all around, and on the blog front, there was live journal and such, but the only site that really combined the two was MySpace, blogging in a social network, heck even Facebook never really pulled that off.. Notes, please? I started to get addicted to blogging when I was on MySpace because it was the one element of the site which didn’t really require any feedback from people, it was just nice if you got some, and in doing so this allowed me to escape from the world for a little while whilst continuing to indulge in literary gems. Whilst it was fun blogging away and managing my profiles look’ I realized that without actually intending to do so, I was starting to learn HTML, sadly now MySpace seems to stick to recurring themes of php and css so to me it makes people profiles look the same and uninteresting, I wanted to keep my HTML ‘olds cool’ look. I started getting bored of Myspace when I realized that nobody uses it anymore, that and well complete slags continue to use it, but even so, I’d had it for 8 years so it was, as sad as this sounds dear to me and it was a struggle to get rid of it.

With Google plus just out and on fire, at the speed of growth (18 million users in 3 weeks) it seemed like a logical choice to get rid of Myspace, when I look at my blog, in the side bar, it’s cluttered with loads of social networks, heck even ones I don’t use, like my Opera page, yep the web browser Opera has a built in social network, sort of aimed at developers and for reasons be known to myself I felt inclined to create an account, just so I can have another socially amused concept of a network, that well, nobody uses. I’m going to focus on myself from now on and anyone who feels the need to comment on things I produce will be met with high regards, as I’m surrounded by creative types and I continually decide to lounge around, not pursuing what I know I’m capable of, nodding my head towards art ofcourse, (lets not do the music talk, cheers) I have to acknowledge that decent art can not be rushed, yet this philanthropic look on the matter goes in one ear and out the other, when I pick up a pencil, I expect near instant perfect results and it’s just not how any self respecting artist approaches a project, everything has layers, much like mixing music tracks, same priciple, heck, that’s why photoshop has ‘layers’.

Like I said I want to start focusing on art and stop wasting my time trying to fully complete every video game I own (damn you OCD), I’ve already blasted about 40 days into MW2, which in itself is 1050 hours, heck.

Erick's first... oh, wait...

I’m going to start focusing on CGI, I’ve been playing with Mudbox and 3d max for a while, and I started teaching myself Maya, but ultimately its the entire process of sculpting a model beforehand and spending time with the lighting that can really blow people away. I’ve been spending time on CGHUB and cgsociety and it’s been rejuvenating my love of Digital Art, and I intend to pursue it over the coming months!

New Blog soon!

So I stumbled across this remix the otherday of the Spotify advert which was originally by 19 year old Swedish artist Tove Styrke and then remixed by fellow Swede Familjen. For those outdoor BBQ’s or just to get you in a happy mood, it’s simply perfect and finding this gem literally made my day.

I’d previously never heard Tove Styrke, but on research I found out that not only is she incredibly good looking, but her music is actually not too bad either. Border-lining on electro-pop music, her sound is very similar to electro bands like Chew Lips, but not quite as edgy and with a definite wider audience appeal. Think Ellie Goulding meets Bag Radiers on a hot sunny day!

This track was released back in 2010 but a quick google search showed that barely any blogs picked it up – making it an absolute pleasure to be able to present this awesome track to you!

Tove Styrke – Million Pieces (Familjen Remix) 

(just right click and save as, to DL)

Hey, I just thought I’d throw this out there because I could. Its quite an usual experience trying to appreciate other peoples favourite music, as well, you can’t simply connect to it as they do, it, in this sense is sort of a shame, because not only will you have to put up with the misdemeanour’s of their affluent expression, but you will have to try and appreciate what they are offering to you as a sort of gift, and appreciate it. Music is a Godsend to humanity, I can’t narrow down on it to the extent of the cool kids, that feel the need to re-evaluate every new band, every five minutes, when I find a song I like, I listen to it over and over, and hone in its simplicity, complexity and overall granduer, and when I say music is a Godsend, I really mean it, it has the ability to create emotions and trigger memories. The earliest musicical instrument discovered is 35,000 years old!

Since The dawn of man we’ve been apreciating man made sounds of an unatural origin, even if it were a vauge flute of sorts, and to those who say complacentcy is important are being cynical, the way music changes describes the way that we identify the humanitarian aspects of our perception on life, scientists in Germany suspect that music may have been one of a suite of behaviours displayed by our own species which helped give them have an edge over the Neanderthals back in day!!

Heck I wish I could play a guitar, I won’t lie, but I bet half you didn’t know that I can play the trombone and keys… not particullarilly mainstream intruments still, but non the less its a nice compliment on the way and the order of how explore culturalisim as an art form. I know I haven’t Blogged like I said I would, every five minutes sort to speak, but truth is, I just can’t be bothered, in the mean time I would like to share with you my top 10 favourite songs, that I can think of, via spotify, keep in mind, its ludicrously hard to choose a top 10 favourite songs, and this list could very well be dramatically different by this time next year!

10. Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds To Mars

9. Failures Not Flatering – New Found Glory

8. Sell Out – Reel Big Fish

7. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur – Sigur Ros

6. Hurry Up And Wait – Stereophonics

5. I Still Remember – Bloc Party

4. Digital Love – Daft Punk

3. After Hours – We Are Scientists

.

2. Living – Josephine Collective

And number 1 is, obviously………………

1. Last Summer – Lostprophets

Just click each cover art to listen, alternitavley, I have all the songs in 1 playlist here. Ciao x

Well, sort’of.

Hello, I haven’t been here for a very, very long time, I’m not quite sure what drew me here today, but one things for sure it definitely constitutes as an embankment on a bigger society in respects of my outgoing look on the plethora of finely tuned necessities that this void of friendships has to offer itself. I want to cover loads of topics because obviously I haven’t properly blogged since the end of november last year, and trust me when i say I’ve been bombarded with life altering news and but ofcourse important syndicalist news. As of late I’ve been through a turbulent phase in my life, some might say even depressed, but an event has arisen that provoked me to want to shout out to the heavens with joy and anger, whilst at the same time ‘Tweeting’ about my life’s indifferences with itself, I found out that not but 5 weeks ago, that I am to be a Father again to a baby boy. I know right!? I say anger, because yet again I’m in a situation as to where I can not fully indulge in the joy that comes from finding out your going to be a parent, no, I still have no “Propper” job, and it is in my respectful recognition to realize that I have an obligation to devote everything I am to these small little people that I made, with help from alcohol. The fact that I have no real job or income really makes me want to assess my situation and posistion in society, take Mark Zuckerberg for instance, by the time he was my age he was a multi millionaire…… What have I done with my life, at the same time I could question myself, Has my life started yet? I could go on and on and debate with myself as to what I’m going to be doing all year, but we’ve established that I don’t really know where I want to go, and hence I think we’ve established that I have embellished the idea of trying with help from my ever active, ADD making every new idea feel like the greatest one yet, only to have it thrown back in my face when I come up with a new one five minutes later. Lets look at my recreational time one that I have to myself…. My day starts like this 10:00am Wake up – 10:45am Get breakfast – 11:30 Play on Xbox – 4:00pm Check Twitter – 7:15 Get grub, scoff face, loud burp – 11:00 Bed –  And repeat. One would say that I need to sort myself out, just a little but and they would be ever so right in this scenario, taking this into thoughtful consideration (and you have to, under these circumstances) I have decided that there is no rush and that I should not be punishing myself, as the baby is not due until June, so the more effort I put into actually sorting my self out should take that turbulent pressure of my head for the forthcoming weeks, still, amazing news though!

Moving on, I’m just recalling a conversation I had with a chap I was speaking to in The Cross keys the other day, a random cheeky – chalky chap he was with a slightly tainted attitude towards life, bearing this in mind, I’d had about 8 pints so I was almost accidentally mimicking this guys character through an unintentionally strong will to connect with him on the subject, which was of course modern day social networking, He knew fine and well what Myspace was, but said that he couldn’t be bothered with facebook as he did not have the time of day, and he had no idea what on earth twitter was and or why anyone would want to document their lives through a series of “mini blogs” as I ever so affectionately put it, only to be returned with “what’s a flog?” It was evident that this conversation was not the kind that you would normally put in the middle of a pool match, but it sufficed the latter, which was Southampton’s football match on the big screen, anyway, the outcome of the tail, that I was trying to put to the chalky man, was that people or society must have a minute form of ADD as they all seem to get bored very easily, or they can’t help but hop on a larger bandwagon when it comes to the world of social networking, where is Myspace now? Where is Tagworld, freindster, Hi5? Its funny though, you couldn’t call the likes of blogging a form of social networking, more so social documenting  as live-journal and the likes still exist and heck they even put the ability to blog inside Myspace and even Facebook (The notes app). Twitter however is a mixture of both formats and for that reason I think it will be around for ages, but mainly because its almost because its a sort of news application, accidentally given to itself through popularity, a bi-product of a medium which was intended to document your own life, it has changed the way i think about social networking and my freinds. The reason I’m recalling all this new media malarkey is because last night I watched the social network (did you guess?) and It set me of on a journey of thought, but more in light of the shadow, that is the eclipse of a social momentum leaning towards lunacy in terms of moral appeal, I feel myself not wanting to now delete all my accounts (Which you can see here on my blog) I will however stress to anyone reading this, that you have to give twitter a try as it much, much more current, fresh and fun, yes it might not have all the games and ingenuity of Facebook, but its straightforward and simple! I do however find myself wanting to make a proper website with my own domain, this is what I do, I see something that looks like i’m capable of doing and I set my goals, that’s if the ADD doesn’t beat me to it, I was on Jim carrey’s website the other day, I say other day, it was more like december some time, and I was blown away, at what you can do with Adobe flash, photoshop and catalyst, I think I will make this a propper project of mine in my spare time, to keep my illegal downloading to a minimum, and just to focus on the job at hand, I still need to finish the video montage that I’ve been working on for, what 3 years now, that’s not getting ridiculous!? But before I fix that issue, I need a fresh External hard derive and to get my buffalo hard drive fixed, then I’ll be sorted, WATCH THIS SPACE!

I’ve been following what Lee’s been doing, writing 1000 words a day, getting ready to put them in a book, his book will probably make a couple of sales, but I think I’ll do the same, sticking my blogs in a book, but not for sale as I found a website called @Blurb that actually allows you to publish your own book, with full creative controll, this is right up my geeky street, however I have quite the distance to travel if I allow myself to believe I could fill a book with my ramblings, this should be fun, in a bizarre strategic way, much like organizing your ingredients for your sandwich that your about to pack to take to work, or something of equal linear dependency. I think I’ll blog up to 3 times a fortnight, see where that gets me.