Busy

I have been really busy but I have much to post when i get chance - don't get disheartened. For now here is a picture of my friend Rob.

Weaknesses

Yesterday somebody asked me if I had any weaknesses, this is all I could think of

The Turkey Incident

My friend Adam just sent me this...I don't know where to start. This clip is surreal, it's like something from a sketch show. Palin talking absolute shite while the village idiot slaughters turkeys behind her...i'm laughing my head off just thinking about it, you couldn't write it. I am so fucking glad she is in Alaska blessing Turkeys before they die rather than working on a plan to bail out the american car industry, thank god the world got it right just this once.

BNP members list

For those at the back BNP members list. The emails are hilarious, there is a family from Snaith (the village next to mine) and there is someone with the same name as my brother. 

Vice did a very funny piece here or below is a grab

BNP Award Nominations

The Lana Show

You should watch The Lana Show. Lana is head of music video  at The Directors Bureau (if you haven't seen all of Patrick Daughter's videos watch them he is one of my all time heros) In the Lana show, Lana choose bands she like and interviews them in the stock cupboard at the directors bureau, as well as playing great music videos. It is very funny at times, No Age were very good. Arctic Monkeys were going to do it when they were making the teddy picker video but they decided to watch the England match instead.

P.S. Lana owns a copy of 'Tracks One' but she is yet to mention it on the show.

Floating in Space

If I wasn't so busy paying rent/buying tomatoes/making omelets/dodging bus fares/talking to Agi I would probably make a video for Tv On The Radio's Lover's Day using this vice story as inspiration. Lover's Day is track 11 here

Michelle Blade

Peter Doig is probably my favourite painter (and I know at least 4) so when I saw Michelle Blade's work here, I thought Ooo that's nice. Her Website for more.

New Bon Iver Ep

Exciting news, hits the shops 19th of Jan includes four new songs Blood Bank, Beach Baby, Babys and Woods. I have heard Blood Banks, it's really good, a bigger band sound than previous stuff, almost a bit 80's MOR but in a good way in promise, still has the killer harmonies and melancholic  undertones....overtones? it's melancholic. Not sure why he is still playing the cold isolation card with artwork, we all know he's been touring the world making new friends for the last 18 months.

Fish

New Campaign

Rob
Me & Rob
Charles

Danielle

There is no need for these I just thought it would be fun.

Other

I was touched by Kanye's post

Misc

Behind The Scenes

Lot's more pictures and brilliant stories about each one here

Researching

Today I have actually had to do work so no blogging has occurred, it is now the end of a long days research and I have actually found some really cool stuff...to do with work

I found a flicker stream/album of an American guy called Vermont Ferret here. He has scanned and uploaded hundreds of pictures from his and his family's life and written stories about each of them, I started casually scanning through them looking for things I needed for a script but after a while I got a lump in my throat seeing someone live out their life and all that. It looks like he had a very privileged up bringing (he met Eisenhower as a kid see), then went off the radar for years with mental health issues I think,  there is a woman called Maggie in the 70's who appears to be the love of his life but she disappears after a couple of years only to reappear 32 years later, and also quite interestingly his Dad was one of John McCain's teachers and a great inspiration to him apparently. 

Then Danielle told me about Hugh Crawford who took a Polaroid everyday for from 1979 until the day he died in 1997, take a look pretty incredible.

My Thoughts....

I am so unbelievably happy...

If I think about the feeling after Bush won in 2000 and 2004, 

If I think about all the hours I have spent watching speeches, reading about the presidential race and the subsequent inspiration I have felt about Obama's candidacy.

If I think about all the people who desperately hoped American will no longer be in the grips of the religious right, be it writers, bloggers, artists, designers, my favourite bands, and nearly every American I have met in the last few years...I am so unbelievably happy.

I wouldn't be quite as happy and emotional as I am if it wasn't for Obama's speech last night. It was truly brilliant. He didn't run on the stage all smiles and fist punches, he remained his ever measured and calm self, he didn't make empty promises full of self congratulation and blind hope, he knows that the mess his country is in is going to take years to even begin to turnaround, and that winning the election has only created the opportunity for change, it hasn't changed anything yet. But everything he said in that speech reaffirmed what I/we have always believed - he is a brilliant intelligent man that wants to be president for all the right reasons, and after 8 years of the Bush administration he is the dream president, we could not have hoped for a better person.

It has already been said but McCain's speech last night was great too, I think he finally showed his true self and the man that we liked before he put his campaign in the hands the republican machine, you could see his distain for the people booing Obama. He is a good man and hopefully can distance himself from his terrible campaign and carry on serving American as he once did.

I have really enjoyed this election, it has inspired and entertained me like nothing else I have witnessed or probably ever will again. Part of this is down to the wonderful electronic world we live in, the speed that information can be passed around the world, and the ease in which people can voice and share their opinions is at times staggering. I have particularly enjoyed the Michael Tomasky blog on the Guardian, he is such a knowledgeable kind spirited man his insights have been a joy, and when in his last post he mentioned continuing to blog about Obama and America passed the election and beyond I felt like I had gained a good friend for life. Obviously I have also immensely  enjoyed The Daily Show throughout all of this, I used to download every episode long before it was on British TV and to see it have such a strong and prominent voice throughout the campaign has been great. 

Good luck Barack, I hope everyone listens to last night's speech, it really said it all....it isn't just up to him...

Tom x

Good Luck America

America The Gift Shop

Cheney shredding secret documents snow globe, 2008
Inflatable Guantanamo bay bouncy prison cell reinforced nylon, 2008
pre-emtive strikes cotton y shirt, 2008

When you come to the end of a great adventure what better way to celebrate than visiting the gift shop and picking up a few keep sakes to remind you of the good times? Check out 11 other gifts at the photographer and artist Phillip Toledano's website here

Let The Right One In

I have never been a fan of horror films or anything even slightly scary, I put this down to my friend Steve making my watch Candyman aged 10 and me not been able to sleep for the whole of 1994, but having accidentally seen the brilliant The Orphanage at the cinema and really enjoying it I have become more open to such things, I even quite enjoyed the bits of Dead Set I watched. Above is the trailer to 'Let The Right One In' ...what a trailer! it looks crazy, I'm sure it will come out over here it's getting great reviews but I'm not sure when...keep em peeled

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

This is the cover for the new Animal Collective album coming out in January...Don't look at too long you will forget where you live and spend the rest of your days walking under buses.