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31.12
New Years Eve frolics. Someone with particularly bad dandruff was shaking their head on an upstairs balcony. A man appears to have forgotten to put his shirt on too.
29.12
My friend Tim has just re-vamped his website, and has included a picture of Sam and I (and a dog we kidnapped from a friendly passer-by) on Constitution Hill in Aberystwyth re-creating a classic pose from a 1940s postcard we found in town. Visit Tim's site here and make sure you visit wonderful Aberystwyth in the summer. The club on the pier is great on a Friday night.
28.12
Went out on the town in Stoke-on-Trent last night. We had a great night but the club entertainment made me think we had walked on to the set of Phoenix Nights. We had a smashing night and made some new midlands friends who sound like Robbie Williams when they speak.27.12
If you enjoyed The Office, I strongly recommend you buy Animals - the new video by Ricky Gervais. Make sure you watch the video right to the end. We tried to get tickets when he was on at the Bloomsbury Theatre but it was already sold out. He's great.25.12
Listening to Happier by Guster is a bit like the rush of euphoria you get from a huge dose of heroin. Very underrated band.Don't choke on your turkey bones, and remember herpes is for life, not just for Christmas.
24.12
Went to Blacks with my friend Jonny last night. He'd just been shopping and had bought some night vision glasses. Don't ask what for. Alan the manager kindly turned out all the lights and we spent ten minutes walking around re-enacting Silence of the Lambs (only without wearing lipstick or carrying out any brutal murders). I hope the other customers didn't mind too much.22.12
Marvellous Christmas lunch with Nikon. They make smashing branded giveaways too. *fiddles with new mouse*.21.12
I saw a set of postcards produced by a major global branding agency which were designed to communicate one of their client's brands in words and images. One or two of the images were startlingly similar to the work of some recent artists (Damien Hirst's Argininosuccinic Acid / Opium being one example). When I asked the client in question about what deal was forged for the artists to provide the images, the response was 'we didn't use the artists, they're ripped off'. I find it quite funny that they are quite happy for their retained branding agency to be representing their brand with 'ripped off' images. Hmmm.20.12
Congratulations to my good friend Indy who yesterday not only found out he got distinction on his MA from Goldsmiths (to go alongside his first with distinction from Oxford), but has also secured a very well paid job at KPMG. Good for you Indy - it's what you deserve. Let's go and get drunk to celebrate new horizons.Pop Idol. Apart from their families, does anyone actually care about who wins? Perhaps one album that won't get any get any higher than 45 in the charts, and then we'll never hear of them again. Having said that, congratulations to the talented Will Young who's done a good job on his new album. Great phrase from Simon Cowell tonight: "Michelle is looking hungrier than I've ever seen her tonight". Best keep an eye on your pies.
Cancelled my £226 Amazon order which included a book on sports injuries, Hoagy Carmicheal's Greatest Hits and a guide to bars in Reykjavik.
19.12
Drunken spending spree on Amazon. Oops.16.12
I had a great day with Andy - it was the first time we'd met but I'm very happy to say we're going to be doing plenty of stuff together. Andy took me along to meet his friend Steve who is chairman of the Advertising Producers Association. I get the feeling with my new role I'll be doing a bit of stuff with Steve too. We had a really good evening and I also got to meet the people who make Wallace and Gromit - wahey!15.12
Hoorah hoorah hoorah.14.12
Having studied at a Jesuit theological college I'm not dismissive of the Christian religion. But I have to say the average Christian service is full of so much nonsense and claptrap. It baffles me that people going to church either don't mind or are completely immune to it. Having said that, if it's bad over here it's dire in the States (I was there to witness the 1987 Tammy Fay Baker 'PTL' fiasco). Wouldn't church services be great if they provided a forum to discuss Christian theism and challenge beliefs? The product they're selling is reasonably strong afterall. The Church of England should also start being a bit more aggressive and adventurous with their marketing, bearing in mind their current target market is about to die. I'm not going into detail at the risk of offending any Christians Without Brains. Hallelujah.Hmmm.
13.12
Well, it was meant to be a week of trundling the countryside in my campervan. But the van was having none of it. The moment the tyres touched my drive, it died. Just some goading German clicking noises at the turn of the ignition key. I should thank my dad for spending almost four days solid with his hands deep in Seymour's engine compartment. We got it going eventually - minus the use of the stereo - about an hour before I had to leave for London. Seymour, you better be saving your energy for some mammoth expeditions over Christmas or there's no underseal for you this winter. I did have a very enjoyable and much needed relaxing week with my parents however, and it was great to get out of the smoke.Aside from temperamental campervans, the other big development this week was the overdue arrival from Amazon of the new Shins album. It deserves some attention so read more about it here.
It's a bit disappointing that the only funny part of the British Comedy Awards this year was Ricky Gervais. Some of the 'comedians' must be violating the Trades Description Act. Take 'Bo Selecta'. Torture. With some canned laughter thrown in to dull the pain (us imbeciles need to be told when to laugh, silly!) I am amazed that some commissioning editor somewhere could so easily confuse genuine talent with some tosser that puts on rubber masks and swears a lot in silly voices. 'First series available on DVD'. Why? Bring back The Office, The Day Today and Brasseye.
There's some great ads on at the moment. I love the Virgin Mobile 'the devil makes work for idle thumbs' campaign - the one with the remote controlled bedroom curtains is smashing. I also really like Mr. Kipling's nativity play production - Mary groaning in the background - hoho. Another one is the Carling ad with the chap propping up the bar urging his wife to give birth on his mobile. Great stuff.
Finally on the subject of TV: Bedsitcom. People aren't really that dim are they? Are they?
Here are some fun websites I've come across this week: cockeyed has some fun stuff. Look for the story of making the banana skin coat. Reminds me of sausages on dance floors. Another lovely one is nobodyhere. Click on 'chat' for one of the most unusual chat interfaces you're ever likely to come across. You adopt the avatar of an insect in the bottom of a grubby bath, and convey your personality by the way you move as well as what you say. Being a spider is great. It's the first chatroom I've been in where people were boasting about their wingspan, life expectancy or ability to eat their fellow chatters. If you're still bored have a look at some of the funky designs on letsmaketshirts. And if you like those you'll probably like these.
This week I read a book called Sticky Wisdom. Compiled by the people at What if and edited by Matt Kingdon. It's sold to be a guide on practical ways to bring creativity into the workplace. The £15 price tag is steep for a flimsy softback of less than 200 pages, but the content is spot on. No theorising, no bullshit, but lots of good simple tips. Buy it.
11.12
Happy birthday mother. Remember to send me 'the menu' *wink*.8.12
Just having a bit of a laugh over the new 'Tracey Emin of ceramics' - the transvestite winner of the Turner Prize. 'Hmm how would that shelf look with a nice paedophile vase?'... Speaking of Tracey, Ananova and Barnes and Noble - you might want to spell her name correctly, I hear she's prone to be quite a volatile lady. As Lynn Barber says, 'Her art demands a sort of subservience to an Eminocentric vision of the world that feels like surrender'. I couldn't agree more.Look at this as a case study for brand loyalty. It could only be Apple for whom I have ultimate respect. My Advent laptop is great but I still feel a bit dirty using a PC. Wally, you should do a bit on this in your next book.
As I go to bed I'm really enjoying listening to No Danger by The Delgados - the orchestration is perfect and the tone of his voice is appropriately curious. Lovely. This is a good song. Tonight I'll have lovely happy piano-filled dreams - thank you delgados.
7.12
One of the very best episodes of 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue' on Radio 4 today. A great section with a child putting 'difficult' questions to the panel was really funny. Question: "Why did my cat die?" Answer: "He didn't exactly die, he went to live with Jesus who has a small flat under your compost heap." You can listen to this episode by going here. Jon Naismith, the producer is a genius - It's one of the best things on the radio.4.12
Thanks to my parents I'm a complete Radio 4 junkie. But Mark and Lard on Radio 1 between 1 and 3pm is great. And they play quite a bit of Belle and Sebastian which is a bonus.Had a great night with Elaine from Nikon last night. The wine flowed and between us we put everything right with the world of PR. Kind of. Browns on Upper St Martins Lane is a nice cosy haunt on chilly Winter days.
3.12
Last night I met up with Libby who I met while we were both working for Biss Lancaster. She went on to head up the PR for National Magazines, then went off travelling around the world for a bit, and has come back to do marketing for the Discovery Channel. She laughed at my 'highly developed' taste in music and we downed some nice red wine as we listened to Guster and The Shins.Then I downed more red wine with my friend Sam. Apparently I'm going to be a character in her new novel which is a bit scary. Sam - remind me not to develop a drug habit, get fat or fart when I'm with you.
On the way back from work I popped into Kallkwik to drool over their nice big colour printer.
2.12
My friend Ben read the comment on Sunday about the slogan on the side of the van and has sent another great one from a van he saw: 'Dan's Office Waste Disposal- phone me and I'll talk rubbish'. Nice one fella.Look at this website - Very nice looking, and on the homepage David allows you to have a go at pretending you're someone else by sending an email in his name. Very brave. Apologies to all my friends who have been receiving cryptic messages about old an lady who has never seen a swan and getting to know badgers.
1.12
I've sought out and admired cog magazine ever since a friend wrote some stuff for their fashion section over a year ago. The boys in Glasgow do a suberb job at creating some great quirky content. The magazine is also pleasing on the eye to say the least. They've got a nice website too. Today I called them to put a couple of ideas to them for a proposal I'm working on. The great news is that they seemed as keen as me and it looks as if we're going to be able to do a lot of stuff together which I'm really excited about. If some of the ideas we talked about today end up happening it'll be big. Get yourself a copy - you'll like it.
30.11
A van belonging to a butchers shop went past me on Tavistock Square. On the side it had in big letters 'Let Us Meat Your Needs'. I nearly wee'd myself on the spot, sniggered all the way to Sainsbury's and then realised I have the mission statement for my new brothel website without doing a thing. Thank you meat van.29.11
Last night I saw Sam and Tim. Sam blew up some glue balloons, we had two games of Frustration, three bottles of wine and tried watching Gladiator without being distracted about the fact that Russell Crowe is such a knob. We also started talking about the content of a website I'm planning to advertise a brothel in North Wales run by a bunch of old hags.
28.11
Picture of the day - some anti-war protesters I bumped into down by Marble Arch. I suspect the nun at the back with the big grin is actually a man - perhaps a homosexual.
27.11
Favourite saying of the day from the Telegraph: "I like having a big overdraft, it makes me look educated". Turned up for a party in Clerkenwell tonight and nearly orgasmed when I saw a really lovely campervan parked outside the venue. L reg, immaculate body work, no visible rust whatsoever -well maintained and really, really nice - I could tell it had a vw obsessed owner. Turns out it belonged to one of the DJ's of the party so I enjoyed a good half hour of dweeby campervan chat 'ooo i have a nightmare with the gears, don't you?' ~ 'Yes, especially going from third from second' ~ 'hmm mine is more second to third' ~ 'oh, really?'... He was telling me about the 'Run to the Sun' event which takes place in Newquay in the summer which I'd already heard is great. Roll on summer.26.11
A fun day. A good morning with one of my most creative friends, Floyd who is creative director of Cunning Stunts, an enjoyable and educational lunch with Mary who runs Maiow and a lively and fun evening with a nice lady called Rachel who runs Shine - arguably the most highly respected consumer PR agency in the UK. And Rachel - thank you for typing 'www' and I owe you a ride in my campervan.24.11
Today I've been in touch with a young designer with immense talent. Have a look at his great site. Diogo plans to study in London soon and I plan to work with him. My friend Paul did street dancing in Covent Garden tonight. If I wore a hat I'd take it off to you Paul.22.11
Today I've had fun designing our company christmas card. Here's a couple. The finished product will have a clear gel on the front with snowflakes that move as you squeeze.
21.11
Why do women with pushchairs have no manners?
Does anyone (and I mean anyone) find Graham Norton funny?
Why do gay men wear vests?General Gubbins
I like
Randy nuns
Typography on 70s french films
Hammer horror
Old radios
The new interior of international hall, university of london
Design of local newspapers
Big white words in a serif font on a light blue background
Mod stylingI dislike
Jeremy Clarkson. what a complete and utter cock
Cats
Got to the shop and buy
Idea 301 2003.11 - inspirational
Graphic Magazine issue two- too lovely for words
icon 007 - fruity fonts and scrumptious sofas
Creativity in Public Relations by Andy Green - brill book by a very nice bloke
On Brand by Wally Olins
Branding by Mono
All books by Pockoall available from wonderful Magma apart from Andy's book which is available here.
Go to the library and borrow
Integrated Branding by F Joesph LePla and Lynn Parker
Everything You Want by Jennifer Wood and Barney Allan
Brand New by Nancy Koehn
Living the Brand by Nicholas IndAmusing
Michael Jackson
Clothes horsesFood
Potato
