This has been going on so long it no longer feels like news to me.
Nonetheless it *is* news and it’s good news.
Say hello to VROOM Magazine – my latest web launch and a project that I have really enjoyed developing along with stv21 (that’s Tamara to you and me) – who helps run the BatiFans network of sites as well as her own blog, Sonrisa de Talavera.
VROOM Magazine has been in build since late 2009, and has been the subject to ongoing development, content backfilling and design tweaks to bring it up to a really spiffing launch standard. And of course that’s all well and good, but the key question is *what is it*?
There are plenty of websites out there dedicated to MotoGP (mainly the top class admittedly) and to bikesport in general. VROOM Magazine was built because in running BatiFans it became apparent that fans who support one Spanish rider quite often support or follow or take quite an interest in others – often, many others, too. It’s not everyone of course – and we all have our likes and dislikes – but it has definitely been a genuine and widespread phenomenon.
And basically we thought it was worth exploring… Was it worth publishing a full-blown webzine whose mission is to focus solely on Spaniards? Read the rest of this entry »
Got to post this. One because I love it, and two because I’ve not posted in way too long. Again.
Anyhoo… This is the video to “Castillo de Arena” by El Pescao, the pet project / sabbatical project of David Otero from El Canto Del Loco. (Album in September I believe).
It’s in my head in a big way and runs the risk of being the sound of my summer; which I must admit I’m okay with ;-)
Enjoy.
And if you like it then you can get the song on iTunes by clicking your mousey here….
Well it’s official – I’ve been utterly crap at updating this blog recently.
I do have the excuse that I’ve been on Twitter a bit, but nonetheless this place wasn’t supposed to get covered in cobwebs and tumbleweed.
There is another excuse, to be fair – Moving out of London…
I’m now pretty much settled down here in south Wales, not too far from where my mum came from (she’s from the Rhondda Valley – I’m just over the other side of the stunning Bwlch down in Bridgend) – and really enjoying a different lifestyle. Read the rest of this entry »
As you may or may not know, as well as being a total Alvaro Bautista nut, I’m also a big fan of the Brit riders – especially Scott Redding who I am privileged to do official websites for. The latest enterprise to support him financially on things like travel and accommodation through the season, and in a broader general way by bringing together fans globally through a website, newsletters, competitions and Facebook, is the arrival of his new Official Fanclub – the Official Fanclub website (or my initial v1.0!) is here to help get spreading the word. I’ve also joined up of course, and I’d ask you to consider doing so too if you can…
Fancy joining the Scott Redding’s Official Fanclub? Well, this is what you get…
For £25 (plus an extra £5 if you live outside the UK, to cover additional postage costs) you will get the following yearly subscription package: • Signed photo of Scott
• A3 art print
• “Full Gas” logo sticker
• Exclusive quarterly newsletter
• Entry to special ‘Members Only’ competitions, where one lucky winner can get to meet Scott
It’s not only MotoGP’s main classes that are in action this weekend, following the volcano induced long break since the season opener at Qatar… I’m also kind of excited because Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup kicks off its 2010 season in Jerez this weekend as part of the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez. With practice on Friday and a race both on Saturday May 1st and on Sunday May 2nd it is a crucial double header for all 25 of the sport’s fastest racing teenagers. Read the rest of this entry »
Lots of people slag off Twitter.
They’re idiots of course.
But they do.
And sometimes you can accept that there’s differing levels of usefulness, triviality and purposelessness to the phenomenon in an already crowded world of communications and technology.
Nonetheless, any MotoGP fan should find themselves very grateful that Twitter exists this coming weekend, when the world’s first genuinely virtual sporting event takes place on the service – a completely virtual MotoGP weekend played out in the absence of the *real* Japanese GP (which has been postponed until October due to the travel chaos caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption).
It’s not a real race of course – but it’s definitely going to be a great exercise in fun and entertainment, and a genuinely sweet and fun way to lift everyone’s spirits.
Already attracting the notice and apparent cooperation of high profile MotoGP media figures, the event is spearheaded by a Twitterer/Tweeter called @twitgp – who is promising a weekend of full sessions, celebrities and typically MotoGP fun.
If you’re not already on Twitter, then you should be – so get signed up and get following (there are plenty of MotoGP riders and personalities already on there that you can follow) and search for and follow @twitgp – who you can also find on this URL: www.twitter.com/twitgp
You can also search for news about the event using the hashtag #twitgp
It sounds like a big load of fun: A great idea and a great cure for the blues that the race postponement has caused. So join up and join me in following this sporting and technological first!
Great news from the good folk over at REV’IT! – an amazing prize draw to win an unforgettable VIP MotoGP weekend at the race in your country.
This is too good not to enter!
REV’IT! is raffling off a MotoGP VIP package for two. The winner will not only be their VIP guest for the weekend to the MotoGP in his or her own country, but can bring a friend too. The two of you will get to see the races from a very good position, take a walk through the paddock and meet the REV’IT! riders (that’s Alvaro Bautista and Randy de Puniet for a start!) in person. And you will also receive a complimentary stay in a quality hotel, compliments of REV’IT!.
What are you waiting for? To enter the contest, you only need to sign up for the REV’IT! digital newsletter before April 30th. So visit www.revit.eu/en/win and sign up now!
(*Correspondence about the result of the contest is not possible. The winner will be notified through an e-mail.)
I think I’m generally known now as a bit of an El Canto Del Loco nut, happily raving about them to whoever will listen, and running www.elcantodelloco.co.uk to spread news about the band around the English-speaking globe.
One thing that’s frustrated me hugely – particularly now I’ve managed to see them in concert in Madrid – is their absence from any concert venues in Britain.
There’s clearly fans here, witness the Facebook “UK Fans” group for instance, and it’s clear from films/clips such as “De Cerca” that they’re as comfortable in smaller venus as they are in large ones. So why not try and encourage the band to come over and play some kind of mid-size venue? – Although the lighting rig for the “Personas” and “Hasta Luego” tours was superb, they don’t actually need it to put on a kicking show….
So I’ve set up a petition over at www.elcantodelloco.co.uk to try and get as many names online as possible to back a UK show (or shows…) Please show your support and add your signature; it would be really good to get enough momentum going for Sony BMG and the boys themselves to take the plunge and give us a treat. CLICK HERE FOR THE PETITION…
Oh, and please spread the word and share the link too.
Thank you!
Here’s a fairly random clip it’s high time I posted.
It’s something I filmed years ago on 8mm. The long story is that I was writing “Rivercity” at the time, which puts it mid to late nineties – and I wanted to grab as much visual reference and inspiration as possible; ways to describe colours, textures, movement etc – that communicated the atmosphere of the Old Town as evocatively as possible.
I had a certain aesthetic in mind and along with Polaroids, standard snaps and scribbles, I took a load of 8mm footage as well – I just love something about the fuzziness, the saturation of colours, the depth of contrast and the strange sense of movement. The plan was to use all this material to look at and to help get my head around how to articulate Hull’s very particular ‘down but beautiful’ vibe from the time.
So here’s some of the bits I rather liked in conveying the ambience of the place – I filmed some of the ripple shots upside down as I thought they’d look just a tiny bit odd (as if there’s something wrong but you can’t quote figure out what). And now I’ve ifnally cobbled it together into a clip, I avoided any kind of special edits whatsoever, left it completely linear, and added “Sketchpad With Trumpet And Voice” from Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to the Alan Parker film “Birdy” over the top (for no better reason than it’s fab).
Nestlé don’t want you to see the video above, because they complained to Youtube that Greenpeace were infringing their copyright. Youtube removed the video but now Greenpeace would like to offer it to you, as a gift. Download the video and put it on your favourite video sharing site. The more people who join in, the more interesting it’ll make things for Nestlé.
We all like a break, so it’s time to give orang-utans one. Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations.
As a result, threatened species like orangutans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gases are being released, accelerating climate change.
Nestlé have so far refused to stop buying palm oil from the worst suppliers, so it’s time to make them change their minds.
Write to board member André Kudelski to demand they act responsibly and cease trading with companies that are destroying Indonesia’s rainforests. More info here and an in-depth piece here…
A quick update on the #hulldailyfail fiasco (as the delightful Twitter hashtag puts it) with a very positive note.
It’s not clear how long things may take to get resolved over the newspaper’s original sleazy and hypocritical trashing of local online newspaper competitor Paul Smith, but it’s good to know that the Press Complaints Commission are investigating the matter.
They say that that have received “numerous complaints” from across the UK – including one from Mr Smith himself, which means they can properly investigate it. Although the others who complained cannot be regarded as genuinely legal or legitimate complainants it can only be hoped that the level of revulsion at the Hull Daily Mail’s actions will therefore not be lost on the PCC and will be a factor in assessing the impact of their articles.
This nasty little farrago tends to suggest that the Hull Daily Mail may well not be the best people to carry the torch of online community news in the city, the area and the region. And that may be where the Hull Free Press comes in…
If you like the idea of a news and community project by the people for the people then I’d strongly suggest you take a look at the Hull Free Press startup page.
I think that a genuine enterprise that is guided by and existing for the community, and which is less likely to lose its way in the mire of thrashing around at commercial objectives, can only be a good thing for all.
Very best of luck to the project: If I still lived there it’s something I’d love to be working on, and so I’m really looking forward to seeing how this shapes up and I really hope it takes off in a big way.
In short, my name's Gareth and I'm the Director of VROOM MEDIA Ltd. I'm a designer, writer, musician and MotoGP nut. I'm a shameless fanboy for Alvaro Bautista & Apple. I go moist over Spanish band El Canto Del Loco, and I'm a total Mac geek. This blog is an ongoing journal of random notes, thoughts and bits of stuff...
...And things.
The latest recordings by my solo music project, The Rain Dogs. These are tracks I'm pulling together over a period of time - some old and some new - and just putting out online for sharing.
My 'formerly industrial' band with my mate Rob.
We grew out of wanting to be another NIN some time back and have developed into a far more interesting, singular, challenging and fun.
With Rob's emigration to the USA, our way of working and creating was fundamentally altered, but we continued to push the boundaries of possible musics as we always have.
Rob's return holds promise to pick things up some more - to develop more ideas, sketchpads, rhythms and approaches to keep us on the cutting edge - and maybe a refreshed approach which might even see us revisit and complete our unfinished masterpiece "BACKLASH".
Yeah, right...
Fifteen minutes into the future, a hot, dry summer in Hull: Coates, a researcher and investigator, is hired to trace the whereabouts of missing adolescent Dominic Russell.
Is he the latest in a number of gruesome blood-letting murders attributed to the city’s “Marginals” that exist somewhere in the underbelly of the population?
That’s what the Police say, but it’s not what the boy’s mother believes - and as Coates digs deeper into that underbelly he discovers that Dominic’s disappearance is just a tiny part of a much bigger story: one that will bring his world crashing down and endanger all those around him...
Rivercity is a book that can be read at many levels, weaving a main plot - a clear homage to the “noir” detective genre - with a vampire story and a myriad of strands about perception and reality, human nature, signs, superstitions, the histroy of Hull, aesthetics, the occult and political expediency. Above all it's a novel about philosophy and the nature of truth and knowledge in the electronic age.
This has been going on so long it no longer feels like news to me.
