Website woe

A lot of you will know (especially if you've been reading this blog) that I'm working on a documentary on the concept of the future of the news industry. Well, the good news is that filming has officially ended and we are in the final days of editing. As part of the design brief, we have to make an accompanying website to compliment what is presented in the documentary. The job of designing the website and sorting out the content is in the hands of myself and the presenter on the documentary. I'm acting as the code monkey - frantically punching html code as fast as I can and creating the graphics - while the presenter works on the content. It promises to be something very special indeed with behind the scenes footage, clips of the full interviews, cool shots we took but couldn't put in, and loads of funny mishaps. I'll let you guys know when it is finished. It's going to be a lot of work as the deadline is on Wednesday but all of us involved are very proud of what we have created and are looking forward to hearing what you guys think of it too.

[just a little edit to say I've finally fixed the problem I was having with the 'About Me' section on the menu bar on the right. A quick fiddle around with some html editing sorted everything out. Much love.]

Jambo out.

Fizzy Pop League

Well, today marked the end of Newcastle United's 16 year stint in the top tier of English football. To be honest, I'm extremely glad to see the back of this campaign - a season that has seen five different managerial set-ups, fans staging full-scale protests outside of SJP demanding that Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise kindly **** off, a heart attack rendering our interim manager useless, players being sold behind Kevin Keegan's back, all the money being spent on expensive foreign kids who didn't even get a run out for the first team, and players who are too old picking up their last big pay packet before they quietly fade out of people's memories.

This has arguably been the worst day of my Toon supporting life. It wasn't so much the fact that we got relegated, Hell, we deserved it after the way we 'contested' the other 37 games this season, no, it's the fact that the players genuinely didn't look like they gave a **** whether we stayed up or not. Quite frankly there's too much dead wood at this club. It's like these surplus players and the board are a parasite on the club, slowly draining away money and support, driving fans away with their blood-sucking actions. I honestly can't say I've despised anyone involved with Newcastle United as much as I hate Mike Ashley. His decisions have single-handedly cost us our place in the English elite. Now we have to endure the humiliation of relegation, the demoralisation of seeing "top clubs" such as Hull, Wolves, and Birmingham circle our club like the vultures they are and pick off players we need to guarantee a speedy return. They're welcoem to players like Owen, Geremi, Caçapa, Smith, Ameobi, and Coloccini - they can on frees for all I care. But losing players like Martins. Jonas. Steven Taylor. Bassong. Beye. These are players who really busted a gut for the club. These are the players I feel for.

I'm hoping Alan Shearer stays on - he will take no **** from Ashley and will motivate the players a whole load more than Kinnear or Hughton ever could. I hope we can keep a few of our players such as Guthrie, Enrique, Carroll - youngsters who still have a lot to learn but give it their all each game.

Oh well. Here are the important bits of 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. If everyone involved in Newcastle United can keep these words in mind for the next year, I think we'll do alright.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

At least we'll have a chance of winning something next year...

The final hour

As some of you may know, I'm in my final year at University. My dissertation is basically a practical project in the form of a 30 minute documentary with a little written critical evaluation tagged on at the end. I've been working on this project since January, having pitched the initial idea in December, and I'm constantly amazed at how much progress the team and I have made over the last few months. There are only 10-11 days left of University and we are halfway through the editing process and, without meaning to blow my own trumpet, it is looking really professional. All three of us in the team have put a lot of time, effort, and money from our own pocket into this project and we are confident that the final piece will be strong enough to get us a job in documentary film making should that be a path we wish to pursuit.

The last three years have been fun. I've met a lot of cool people, done stuff I'd never done before, and been more independent than I've ever been in my life learning how to manage budgets (for two months I lived off £1 a day) and look after myself. I'm not looking at the end of University as the end of an era, if anything it is just the beginning. I'm going to travel the world for a year starting in September which I am really looking forward to and will chronicle in this blog and on Twitter. I'm going to do a Masters degree when I come back (probably at one of the three local Universities) and then after that I'll be let loose into the real world. Although a chapter is coming to an end, all that's really been revealed are the minor details, the crux of the story is yet to unfold and there are many, many pages ahead of me full of discovery and wonder. This is my book, and I'm determined to make it a bestseller.

Jambo out.

On the cusp

Well, this weekend signals the end of the 2008/9 Premier League campaign and could also signal the end of Newcastle United's thrill-a-minute 16 year tenure in the top flight of English football. Now, I'm a Geordie through and through - if you cut me I'll bleed black and white (I should really see a doctor about that...) - so naturally it would devastate me if the Mags were to be relegated this Sunday. However... It could also be a blessing in disguise. I no longer dread the ultimate day, I look forward to it. Either the club stay up another year and make big money changes or we drop down to a league where we have an excellent chance of bouncing straight back up and the opportunity to get rid of some of the dead wood clogging up resources.

Now, all three of the North East clubs are facing relegation. With Middlesbrough all but gone, it is up to Newcastle and Sunderland to scrap it out for local bragging rights. It is strange to see a club that 10 years ago was finishing consistently in the top 5 each year and putting on spectacular European shows in the UEFA Cup and Champions League now on the brink of relegation.

The last few seasons since the departure of Sir Bobby Robson have been miserable. Nobody has come in and motivated the players quite like he did until just recently with the appointment of Alan Shearer. There have also been far too many managerial shake-ups and off the field distractions - it would be an understatement to say that Newcastle have become a bit of a joke club to many outside observers. But for those of us who follow the club, who live and breathe every minute of it, it is far from a joke. If things stay as they currently are, with Shearer in charge, the much maligned continental management system sidelined, and the players playing with a bit of self-belief, I've got every reason to believe that the future of NUFC isn't looking too bad at all, regardless of whether we go down this Sunday or not. No matter what the result, fans will always pack the stadium, fans will always cheer their team, and the sea of black and white shirts will be flowing as hard as ever before.

I'll leave you now with an exert my favourite poem - Rudyard Kipling's seminal 'If' - which I feel sums up the situation quite nicely:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

Jambo out.

The Future of News

This is a class project I'm working on. I've never done a title sequence before but figured I'd give it a go. Opinions sought.

A gun made of bacon?

The perfect weapon for a hambush.

Jambo out.

Rhythym

Ooooh, keep it steady
Yeah, that's it, keep it up, hon
Keep up the rhythm.

Swing with your hips, hon
Put your legs there, yeah, like that
Keep up the rhythm.

Use your arms, baby
Hold on tight and don't let go
Keep up the rhythm.

Push harder, baby
In then out, yeah, in and out
Now jump off the swing.

***

Just a little poem for any readers of this blog.

Hatton vs Pacquiao

Now, I don't mean to brag, but that's what I'm gonna do so I'm just gonna cut to the chase:

I told you! I knew Hatton wasn't good enough!

*Ahem*

Yesterday I was having a heated debate with one of my friends. I was trying to convince him that Pacman was the best pound-for-pound fighter around but he wasn't having any of it. I even said he was going to get knocked down in the second but I didn't think he'd be down twice in that time. The only reason Hatton has had much success over his 12 year career is because he knows how to take a hit. His offensive game is all over the shop. Before you all jump on me, let's take a look at the stats (they don't call me Statto for nothing...):

The Filipino landed 73 blows to Hatton's 18, 65 of them power punches, while Hatton only landed with two jabs.

Sauce

Maybe it's time for the Hitman to hang up his gloves?

Jambo out.

Firstly...

I'm going to apologise for neglecting this blog. It's been about 7 weeks since the last update but I assure you there is a really good reason for this: I'm Hella busy. Seriously. It's almost unreal.

The documentary (now entitled 'The Future of News' is coming along really well. The last couple of days filming have made me really proud both of my production team and of my own development as a cameraman. We did a piece to camera (PtC hereon) and I got to be really artsy with some close-up camera shots. I did a rack focus on an extreme closeup of the Macbook keyboard and got this really cool shimmer effect as a result. I love it when you're just messing around with settings and features and you end up filming something that looks really cool. Our last interview was with one of the lecturers at Uni and we did shot on location at the beach. After filming we took the tapes back to the Uni and played them back on the big screen. It was my first time working with the fig rig in an interview format but the team and I were pleased with the result. The background was stunning; it looked like the clouds had been painted on! This whole project has made me realise just how far I've come in the three years.

This weekend is the first time in ages that I'm not having to rush around with scripts, working on essays, or having commitments to other people. So, seeing as I had three days off (including the Bank Holiday Monday) I thought I'd have a selfish weekend. I've got over a month's worth of television to catch up on so I'm gonna get a takeaway pizza tonight, get some beer in and just park myself in front of the TV in an orgy of Bones, 24, Heroes, and - naturally - some Call of Duty 4.

Got my student loan in last week so I spent today duly spending as much of it as I could! Went on the footlocker website and bought some sweat pants, an Adidas original hoodie, and these bad boys:



I was torn between those and the footlocker exclusive iRobot padded collar Converse Allstars:



I'm happy with my choice but I reckon by Tuesday I'll have probably bought a pair of the above as well.

Took stock of a couple of deliveries this week too. My copy of #9 of Robert Kirkman's seminal zombie masterpiece 'The Walking Dead'. I haven't started reading it yet but after the cliffhanger #8 ended on I cant wait to see what's going to happen to poor ol' Rick next! Along with this, I was also pleasantly surprised to see my Michael Moore collection show up. The DVD box set contains his three major works: Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. It's been a long time since I saw BfC but I can appreciate good auteurship when I see it and look forward to watching the other two.

On Friday evening I went and chilled with Ahsan in town. We grabbed a Nando's (I was fast-tracked to getting Extra Hot chicken - delicious !!) and saw Observe and Report. The Jambo low down: Probably not worth seeing. Wasn't funny enough to warrant the price tag.

Jambo out.