Auto Draft

Really stoaked

I have a lot of painting coming up, all projects are my own and are for gifts for my friends. But I am so excited about it.

The only one I can talk about is Christmas cards. Sick of having to buy cards, or getting 'handycraft' cards, I decided that this year I am going to make handmade cards. It is going to be painted scenes, and festive colours mostly. Just something a little different.

It feels really personal if someone has done that. I also have a few winter photographs from last year I may use. Like of photos of the glen, like nice snowy pictures. Actually never been this excited about christmas cards, actually never been so excited about christmas so early. But I can't help it.

I have been stuck in this almighty rut all summer, and now I have the motivation to do something, I can't help but get excited. Whoooo!

friends forever

I probably haven't done anything that would warrant me needing a relaxing day, I am still going to have one.

Feel very satisfied right now with the friendships I have. Friends are some of the most important people in someone's life. They motivate you, can make you laugh, make you cry, make you feel good about yourself, and most of all, they make you feel supported. As people grow older, friendships change, but you know that even without contact, your friend still 'has your back'.

Unlike family, you can chose your friends, and that is what makes them so special. You spend time with people you 'click' with. And that makes you happy.

And with the magic of the internet, person can contact more people who have similar personalities to them. Most of my online friends, I have met through Good Charlotte, either from websites or even from seeing GC live. These are girls who know me better than some of my real life friends.

But whether school, college, work or websites, its the people who we take with us on our life journey that really matter.

Mates come and go, true friends are there for life.

umm.....trying to thing of a post which isn't me fangirling everywhere

Photography. Best Good Charlotte pictures. Because.....I cannot get anything else in my head.
Its their fault for making me see them planning a EU tour and figuring out they have a 2/3 week gap with no UK dates announced yet.
Blame Good Charlotte.


Over photoshopped to the point they all look weird.

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation

So if you have talked to me at all reccently, you'd know I've been stuck in a rut.
Well, I have been flat hunting. The usual places around me. Then I had the rather ubsurd (and probably never going to happen) idea of moving to New York.

Why? It is known for its influence on art, and the huge art and music scene it has. And I have a few interweb friends, I 'd love to meet and have them become IRL friends. Sounds silly, but meeting all my internet friends is a massive ambition of mine, cause they have been a big support to me over the years, and I want to personally thank them.

Sue Says: Urban Art

Urban art is a newly added tag to what used to be known as street art, graffiti and the like. It is now common for the stylings to be called Urban, seeing as the style has worked its way into exhibitions and influence more traditional artists. I have been looking at a lot of this style, and I like the precision of it all.

Images, like the one above, is created by using stencils to get the desired effect. This is something that is very consuming and takes a lot of paitence and practice. One of the best practicioners of this art is, Brittish geurilla-artist, Banksy. First he was a nuisence, spray painting on walls with no warning. Banksy is annonymous, because what he does, no matter how much someone pays for it, is still an act of vandilism. So noone knows what he looks like, which for an artist is rare. He has a spokesperson who does all his dealings on his behalf.

Although Banky still deals with the same political ideals he always has, the publics reaction to him has changed. Once a scourged member of society, now he is a much loved figure in the art world. Like desipite it still being vandilism, it is accepted.

This change has lead to the graffiti style been used more regular within all branches of art. It has become attatched to music, with it being used within the punk rock and hip hop areas, which it was before, its just a lot more widespread.

Advertising Campaign: Orange

My dad recieved junk mail from Orange (mobile phone carrier) and I thought it was awesome.





Its taken the spin that kids moaning is like a broken record, so it is a paper sleeve (which acts as an envelope with address on the back) with a carboard record inside. The record is scratched, and has a label which is 'dad can you top-up my phone' by the Kids. And this side is a total mock-up of a regular record, and the back is the advert about phones.

This is the best mailer I have seen in a long time, and it works well, as I think the unique style of it, will draw customers. in.

Hey dudes.

Again, very little to say without me going into a massive rant about the suckiness of life.
So have some pictures of some awesome pictures.

Disturbed-Asylum


Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown shirt (I know people hate them, but it is a cool desigh)


LOL :)

Not much to say, so have some tuneage.

Means exactly what it says.
Gonna post some videos of what I have been listening to today.

Minor Threat- Stand Up


Bad Brains- Give Thanks and Praise

What time is it?

Umm...I was going to go an plan this big intellectual blog, but realised I have to get ready soon for work. -.-

So, I am running around like an idiot. Been trying to get some sketchbook work done, but never got very far. I have been having issues sleeping, so I have no energy for anything.  And that's about it.

So, in lack of anything better to say, have some vidjeos. First one is Good Charlotte (feat Harlow) being all nice and happy. *still peeved that 'everywhere' does not include UK or Ireland, cheers guys, really*



Also, jQuatchi (one of my fave vlog channels) is 1 years old today. So we have Yan and Jon baking cakes. *Note- Jon replied to me on twitter and I screamed in pure joy. I am THAT kinda person*

Motivation such an aggrivation

What is happening?

I am so lazy right now. It feels like everything I am attempting to draw is so bad right now. And more often or not, I get fed up and just give up. It's so frustrating.

It also feels strange that I am not going back to college this year. All the people I have spent the last few years with are either going back, or going elsewhere. 4 years in a row I went to college, and it really did change my life.

Before I went to college I had a few friends, but 1 really close friend who treated me like crap. But college helped me meet a lot more people who I had a lot in common with. And it kinda helped me make proper friends, and feel a bit more appreciated. I now have people who I trust a lot in my life, and it makes me feel better about me.

Which leaves me a bit gutted, cause that period of my life is over. But its on to the next chapter, and hopefully it will go as well as the one that's just closed. Fingers crossed.

Death of the Interweb

Ok, slight exaggeration.

But yesterday my internet router packed in. It won't even power up anymore. It wasn't a progressive thing, it just died. So most of my online activities have been placed on hold, as I can't access anything. :(

This sucks when I am trying to start off work things. Luckily thanks to my Blackberry I can still email people and view stuff over that, but I still can't access large websites. So if anyone wants to contact me about work, either contact me on twitter or email me.

Better news, I entered a competition at my work to take photographs about the arts where you live. Basically you send like an application for it, and 5 people get chosen to take pictures for the competition. The person with the best photos will win a trip to London, where they will get a professional photography lesson. It seems a really great opportunity. So fingers crossed, it goes well.

The Future's Still Unwritten

Noone knows what is going to happen.

Which although seems a simple concept, it can be controversial, especially when religion comes into it. Some religions believe that you have a pre-destined path to take, like someone has already written the plot-line to your life. I guess some people find that idea uplifting, but I find it really depressing.

To think that no matter what you do in your life, that someone else has already planned your life out? How can that be anything but depressing?

I am of the belief that the only person who can decide how your life pans out, is yourself. The reason, I think, that people tend believe that something else is controlling their fates, as if something goes wrong, then they can shift blame from themselves.

People like to wash their hands of responsibility.

But then people will pray to God, in some hope that He will change their life. I'm sorry, but if you don't stand up and do something for yourself, then how can you be stupid enough to think things will change? But people obviously do, and then blame other people for their own failures. That is just passing the buck.

Take responsibility, go out and make your life yours. Because as the, very inspirational, Hannah Montana says: 'Life's what you make it'. If your life is a mess its noone's fault but your own.

Techwaffle

Like tech/mobile phone news delivered to you with a comedic twist?

Well check out Jon Quatchi's Techwaffle site.

Jon used to do Vlogs for Tehkseven, a popular phone site which gave away free themes, and such. He has recently left the successful Tehkseven to start of his own project, Techwaffle. Here he still does his vlogs on mobile news, but he also does things like humourous cartoons.

The Best Way To Combat iPhone 4 Reception Woes


I came across Jon when he did his Phonage vlogs for Tehkseven, and loved his style. Although you'd think that talking about phone specs and software releases may seem pretty boring, Jon has a way of keep the information interesting and fun. It is obvious that all his videos are planned out, with him using various techniques to get a lot of laughs.



Visit Jon on http://techwaffle.net

Vloggiez

No I didn't forget about doing vlogs, I just had this thing called a life, which is why a lot of my reccent blogs have been posted via Mr Blackberry.  Soooo...watching would be appreciated. Also, if you have a youtube account, I sub back.

Blink And You'll Miss It

Ok, I was going to try and do this big deep and meaningful post, but I can't do it. I just want to write about Blink 182 and how awesome they were at the Glasgow SECC last night. Although I only arrived 2 hours before the doors opened, still got to the barrier.

The Setlist

1. Dumpweed
2. Feeling This
3. The Rock Show
4. What’s My Age Again?
5. Violence
6. I Miss You
7. Stay Together For The Kids
8. Down
9. Always
10. Stockholm Syndrome
11. First Date
12. Man Overboard
13. Don’t Leave Me
14. Not Now
15. All The Small Things
16. Reckless Abandon
17. Josie
18. Anthem Pt2

19. Encore:
19. Travis’ Solo
20. Carousel
21. Dammit

Also. Travis Barker? Best drummer in the world. No arguements. I have no idea how the man isn't terrified of heights, cause I would be, after all he's been through. But the drum solo he did during the encore. Never seen anything like it EVER.



(video from the Aberdeen show on Monday, but couldn't find one from the Glasgow show)

Apparently the crowd was really bad. Honestly, I didn't notice. There was pushing, and I was squashed against the barrier, to the point I couldn't get into my bag to get my camera. Gutted. Could have got some awesome pictures. And people compaining cause beer was getting thrown?!? What have they never been to a gig before. But the floor was slippery, and a lot of people fell over, which in a hall filled with 10,000 people, is no good thing. So a lot of people (mostly young girls) were pulled out.

When I thought I was never going to see Blink again, the fact that I got to see them, was good enough. But they never missed a beat, both Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus keeping up a great level at banter. Both guys were so funny. Even Mark with the 'thanks to Jedward for letting us cover their song', before 'All The Small Things'. And little ad-libs during songs, which were probably rehearsed like crazy, but were so funny.

I just wish I knew that they would be back again, because I would relive that gig in a heartbeat.

The only pitfalls, are the floor of the arena, which is this rubbery stuff. Awesome when its dry, but a few spilt drinks and it turned into an ice rink. The SECC need to do something about that, cause I think that was the main reason so many people fell in the pit.

Sue goes fangirl

Yeah, I doubt this has any interest of anyone other than me.

First, Good Charlotte's new song 'Counting the days'. Queue me squealling like a pained cat for most of yesterday.


And for the fact that I am seeing Blink 182 tonight, have a video of them live at Madison Square Gardens, New York.

giggage

What's the best thing about being an avid music fan?

Gigs! I love going to see a band live and the anticipation it brings. You get to meet other fans and usually make some new friends.

I am going to see Blink 182 tomorrow, after much to-ing and fro-ing. They are playing at the SECC in Glasgow, after playing Aberdeen tonight. After not seeing the band for years, I am so excited.

Planning on going through tomorrow, but I know some people are heading through tonight. Yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that if i was staying in Glasgow, but I'm not, so just going through in the afternoon. Still gonna be epic though. XD

Music Recomendation: Dip Dap

Dip Dap are a punk band, which hail from Glasgow. They have played many gigs throughout the last few years, and they are a popular sight in the Glasgow/Edinburgh punk scene. Following the punk ideals, this band produce and sell their own albums and merch. They are constantly looking for gigs.

The current band line up, features Jen on guitar/vocals, Kipper-man on bass and Budgie on drums.

Dip Dap take influences from bands such as: Astrid Oto, Blatz, Tilt, Nirvana, Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Fifteen and The Gr’ups.

visit the band at http.myspace.com/dipdappunk for more information including booking details.

I met Budgie and Jen in 2008 when we were queueing for the Eastpak Antidote Tour. I was first in line, and they came after. I have since met them at a few more gigs, including their own at Ivory Blacks in Glasgow. Very nice guys, and the amount of work they do, they really deserve this band to do well.

Free Dip Dap downloads
Dip Dap - What To Do
Dip Dap - Cheap Ass Beer
Dip Dap - Repeat
Dip Dap - Fool To Think

I've Been Workin'

So been busy.

I'm at the point where I am half way through my website, which I am pretty pleased about. But I have been spending a lot of my holiday with friends and family, which is something I don't often get a chance to do. But with me not going to college next year, I am aiming to use all my free time during the day to work on websites and other projects.

Due to my financal status, I am planning on using the next few years to do small scale work and get my business plan in gear. I hope that by the time I am in a better situation, I will be getting more work through the door. Because at the moment, it is hard getting enough work to properly start my business.

Luckily I still have the evening job, so that has made the situation of earning through my work, not quite so bad. And it is also allowing me to take opportunities, such as working towards blog sponsorship (which is a possibility) in the coming months. I am also in a position, where I am working towards showing in an exhibition next year, which would be awesome.

So things are moving, and the next year or so will be deciding the best way to move further. Exciting times in the life of Sue.

FREEDOM

Freedom! What gives you that sense where you feel completely free?

For me, it's music. It is something that moves me so much. Whether I am listening to Tchaikovsky or N Dubz or Slayer, music is just so expressive.

Me and Gemma were talking about it yesterday. Because music is written from the heart and involves emotions, it easily effects other people emotionally. So because it's based on emotion, it should also be open to interpretation. Compared to how a person is feeling, or what they have been through, they may think differently about a song. And artists should be able to accept this.

If people expect their work to be accepted on an emotional level, then they should be aware that people may view it differently. But that's why I love music so much. It is all open to how I feel, not what others say its about.

Throughout history music has been used to voice opinion when people feel like they have no voice. In states which people feel as if their rights have been. taken away, they often rebel through art such as music. It is a way to get their voices heard. And this sense of unity, as the music brings people together, make the opinion louder.

With the UK on the cusp of becoming depressed under Tory rule, there is great expectations that the underground music scene will become more active again. With the unlimited amount of cutbacks getting pushed forward by government, people will feel jaded.

Because you can use music to describe anything, it will always have a sense of freedom, wherever the music itself comes from.

Rebellion 2010 ---A Playlist

I have been talking to a lot of people about my experiences in Blackpool at Rebellion festival. With the type of festival that it is, other than a few bands, most people have never heard of a lot of the bands. Well, people I know, don't know the music I listen to.

So as a way, of spreading the love for the music that I enjoy, so I have created a playlist for the bands I have been raving about seeing at the festival. It's full of 14 of my favourite bands of the weekend.

1-Slaughter & The Dogs- Where Have All The Bootboys Gone
2-The King Blues- Save The World, Get The Girl
3-The Aggrolites- Dirty Reggae
4- Sonic Boom Six- City Of Theives
5- Radio Dead Ones- Take It On Trust
6- Stiff Little Fingers- Johnny Was
7- Big D & The Kids Table- L.A.X.
8- Goldblade- Strictly Hardcore
9- UK Subs- Stranglehold
10- GBH- Race Against Time
11- Discharge- Realities Of War
12- Bad Religion- I Want To Conquer The World
13- Subhumans- Mickey Mouse Is Dead
14- Gallows- In The Belly Of A Shark

I have built this playlist over on Spotify, so check it out:
http://open.spotify.com/user/casualties_army/playlist/79Vq7ptpsvJn2Tb62yZaXX

Money made?

I'm sure everybody reading this has had poor service at one time or another. But what is it that makes the service so poor?

Most of the time its because customers aren't fully informed. People feel that they aren't always told the correct information, when they speak to a company. Surely that is ridiculous, how can you give the money you earned to a company you don't trust?

But nowadays, people are forced to accept these problems, as they HAVE to deal with companies. For instance, it is no longer possible for you not to have a bank account, whether you are on the dole, get a pension or work. Because money is now deposited automatically and controlled by the banks, and other companies. Too many people in this country never get to see a penny they have earned, because money is paid in and out of their bank account without them doing anything. We are forced into having bank account, because that's how everything is done these days.

What about the people who don't agree with the banks and how they act. There is no opt out. The banks earn millions of pounds day for looking after OUR MONEY. How is that fair? How is that looking after people? And to make things worse, you have issues and a change of circumstances, and you are punished with charges on your money. The banks run the world, because WE fund them.

I think that the economic crash, which has been going on for the last few years. The banks poor invested OUR money, lost it all, and the economy crashed. So you would think that governments would learn, and would give people more choice. But no, if anything they want to increase peoples' reliance on the banks. That will not solve anything long term, and eventually there will be another crash.

We need to find a stable, better model for our society to run off. It is something that would take years, even decades to sort out, and I don't even l know where we could go. Just it is obvious that the current model hasn't worked, so we should look at something else to make our country successful, rather than just money.

But that is something that businesses and governments need to decide. Due to how society is now operated, a single person no longer has the choice to operate 'cash in hand'. How is it correct that people are not allowed to take full control of their own money. If we can sort that out, I believe a lot of other things will follow.

To view more views on the state of our world, visit adbusters.

http://adbusters.org

...and the roof went off.

Bad Religion.

That band was amazing last night. Thanks to Rebellion, I have seen many of my musical heroes in the last few years. And if that isn't inspirational, I don't know what is.

There was a section yesterday, where John Robb (Goldblade, The Membranes) interviewed Charlie Harper (UK Subs). Charlie Harper has been playing music since 1965, and he is still going strong. That in itself is inspirational, but when he starts talking about things such as borrowing The Rolling Stones kit for a gig, it hits you how much this guy has done. UK Subs started in 1975, and they do still pretty much continously.

Makes me sad that Charlie doesn't get any respect from general music fans, in fact most of them don't even know he exists. I mean Charlie has some amazing stories about a fantastic career.

Bad Religion get endless praise and most fans of rock music have at least heard of them. But Charlie and the UK Subs, don't get all that much. I suppose it would be great if all bands got the same attention. But, hearing Charlie talk, he seems satisfied with the level he is at, as he says you either stick with your art, or you do it for money.

How can you not respect someone who has that ethic, and is still making music after so long? Mr Harper deserves the respect of music fans and the industry, alike.

I am feeling very motivated right now, thanks to Rebellion and guys like Charlie Harper, who I spoke to yesterday and he was so nice.

Punk does that, inspires you to do what you want, live life to own your rules.

You can pick up life lessons almost anywhere, it's all about your state of mind. If you are in a bad mood, then it is often hard to find anything enlightening. But that's where I think music is different. Songs can effect your mood, you can't say that for a lot of things. But because music involves someone's emotion just to create it, so I figure that is why it effects people so much. I mean, I have albums that I listen to when I'm depressed, happy or angry.

I think if the musician writes and plays from their heart, then someone will always become connected to the song. But what I love about music, is the sharing aspect. If you like a band, share it with your friend. Word by mouth is how most rock bands get more attention.

So do music a service and share your favourite bands with friends. Because without fans recommending bands, there wouldn't be much of a music industry. If you get a copy of an album from a friend, go see that artist live and buy some merch. Get the money to the bands, and not to the suits.

Fuck the record companies, trying to force money out of someone elses art.

So before I go, check out the UK Subs, and be inspired.

What Makes A Fan

So, think you're a fan?

If the answer is yes, whether it be music, sport or anything, then you would have most likely been told that you aren't a real fan. Sucks don't it? Who are they to decide you aren't a fan?

Shouldn't it be as simple as you are a fan, as long as you like a particular thing. But, things are never that simple.

I think it is another case of people liking to put themselves on a higher peg than other fans. Almost as if that makes them a bigger fan, because they say that you are not so good as them.

I can think about this in two ways, in which that happens to me.

First, is the Good Charlotte fandom. No matter how much you buy or go and see the band, someone will always try to out-do you. People seem very quick to dismiss other GC fans. We take pride in calling ourselves a big family, but some people seem to be spiteful about that. Its like, 'I don't visit GC.com, cause its filled with posers'. Yes, I have actually heard that. People refusing to go to the bands actual site, as if doing so gets them some kind of merit badge.

The way I look at it, the fandom (whatever the subject) is there to act like a community for the fans. So it should allow people to express themselves. And as long as you don't say anything negative, you can express yourself. The moment you say something against what one of the band members has done, you are immediately told you are not a fan. This isn't how a family should react. I do believe that its just people trying to heighten their self-importance.

Another area where I have felt this superiority complex, is the punk scene itself. As soon as I declare my love for the afore mentioned band, I get told I know nothing about punk. No matter what bands I have gone to see, or who I listen to, one band makes me not punk.

That's the issue with punk, there's too many idiot elitists, who believe the only true punk is that of the 70s and 80s, and that anyone who is under 30 and a part of the scene is a poser. I find this ignorant, I mean I doubt that punk festivals like Rebellion (where I am now) would be here, if there wasn't young blood going into the scene. I think that a lot of the original punks, don't want the scene to change, and just reject anything new. There is a few ignorant teenagers who feel they know all about punk, and say punk is dead. I say its ignorant, because I don't think the mindset of punk, will never die. People are always trying to better themselves and make things happen. Maybe it's just something I pick up from punk *shrugs* But I have talked about that before.

So. What's the moral of the story? Like what you like, fuck everyone else!

Music taste, personality trait

Because, I am at a music festival this weekend, it was kind of obvious that I would be talking about music. But I have been thinking about what music says about your personality.

Everyone knows that music creates stereotypes, like listen to Oi! you are a racist thug, listen to happy hardcore dance music, you are a scummy scrounger. I suppose it all has to do with our natural instincts of classifying things. Almost as if, we feel less afraid of something if we put it in its place. This sounds very stupid, but its not like anyone thinks about it. We have to make a genuine effort to not jump to conclusions on someone. And it's not as easy as it seems.

The best way for someone to stop jumping to conclusions on people, is to think if that's the way you want to be treated. If you don't like people judging you, then don't judge them. Simples.

But because of the very nature of music, then surely it can effect the way a person acts. For instance, dip your toes into the Good Charlotte fandom for a minute, and you'll see the most dedicated fans in the world. Why are they so dedicated? Because most of them feel that Good Charlotte has inspired them to get through another day. I'm sure that when people start bands, they don't ever think that they will be deemed saviours of their fans.

All music has an effect on someone, which is what makes a song effective. No matter what the music, even if you don't like it, for it to even be published, it needs to effect someone. But even 'hating' a band, means that said band has effected you in someway, so they are doing their job. People choose what they like because it goes in line with their mood.

It is actually a proven fact (read it somewhere) that people who listen to heavy metal and angry music, tend to be more balanced individuals, who are in tune with their feelings. Then it is also said people who listen to nothing but pop music, set unreachable goals and avoid conflict. Of course, this is all stereotyping, but it is an interesting thought.

Me? I am a big fan of punk rock. It has given me a sense of self, a place to belong. I am longer afraid to do what I want. That sense of motivation comes from being sick letting others decide what I want to do. I wouldn't be where I am today without punk. From Blink 182, to The Sex Pistols to Discharged, punk is the soundtrack to my life, and I wouldn't skip a single track.

Almost Normal

I kind of touched on this yesterday, but I love the feeling of normality that you get around people who are similar to yourself. The feeling that I'm not strange for liking the things that I do.

When I'm at this festival (Rebellion punk festival), I am not as out-there as some of the people here. Its a strange feeling, that as soon as I walk out out the venue and onto the street, out come the stares and whispered comments. The reactions themselves don't bother me as much as they used to, in fact I get a sense of satisfaction about it. But sometimes its nice to not have bitchy whispering behind my back. I like that there is no negativity that comes with me being myself.

How much does that say about our society? We are encouraged to be ourselves, but then mocked for doing so. People are still so closed up in their opinions of others that they get all defensive when they see someone act differently to themselves. But this festival, there is none of that. The place is so friendly, and anyone is welcome. Be yourself because that is what punk is about, and to me, festivals like this celebrate that fact.

Forget the trends, fuck what anyone else says, listen to good music and unashamedly be yourself.

Have a good Friday everybody.

Welcome to Blackpool.

First day at Blackpool has been brilliant.

This year looks to be the busiest, if today is anything to go by. Thursdays are generally the quietest day of the festival, with a lot of people not coming till the Friday.

The place is looked upon as a massive punk rock reunion, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that is always a highlight of my year. People fly in from all over the world to the festival, as it always seems to manage both a great atmosphere and a fantastic lineup.

Some thing that also really amazes me is the variety of people here. There is no set age for the festival, you have a few guys in their 70s, and then the 16 year olds. It also seems to be popular with families, with loads of mohawked kids running around playing tig. Although most people have unusual hair and band shirts, there is no dress code and anyone is welcome. And it all means that everyone feels welcome and there is an awesome atmosphere.

Bands I've seen already today include The Kirkz, Rebel City Radio and Charred Hearts. A bit upset that Middle Finger Salute are on the same time as The Restarts, but that is life, I guess.

Oh well, gonna go and find my pint.

CHEERS

Blackpool- I have arrived

Me and My Blackberry

A few weeks ago, I got a new phone, seeing as my poor old Nokia had gone on strike due the neglect it received. Poor thing.

So when thinking of a new phone, I decided I needed something which would enable to answer emails and so things, such as blog, when I am on the move. Yes, you read that right. I blog a lot, so it is a relief to me that I can do it easily from my phone. So, I was advised that maybe I should get a Blackberry, as they are ace at things like that.

So a few weeks ago, I renewed my contract and got a Blackberry Bold 9700. I thought I would leave it a few weeks before I posted a proper verdict on the phone. And after a few weeks, I need to say that I am shocked at how well the phone fits into my life. I can now see why people say that smartphones are the future of people surfing online and things.

The first that concerned me, was the QWERTY keypad, as I initially thought it might be a bit small. But due to each key been angled in such a way so that all the keys are reachable, it is a practical size.

It does everything else just as well as any other phone, such as texting and calling. The apps available for the phone have been really good quality, and again very easy to use. The only app I had an issue was OpenBeak, which refused to upload tweets 75% of the time. I then switched to UberTwitter, which is flawless. The only other app which I was disappointed in, was the LiveJournal one, which takes you to the LJ mobile page, which sometimes just refuses to post entries. I am hoping someone comes up with a good one soon.

I got the phone on a 24 month contract with O2, for £25 with unlimited texts and 300 minutes. You seem to get more for your money, than what you used to.

Overall, I am very happy with O2 and RIM for giving me such a brilliant phone at this awesome tariff.

Music Makes The World Go Round

Tomorrow, I am away on holiday. I'm going to Blackpool for the Rebellion music festival.

It's a punk festival, that I have been to the last few years. It is always really good and I get to see some fantastic bands. I mean this year, I get to see Stiff Little Finger again, and also Bad Religion. The atmosphere at the festival is always really amazing, and it's like being near people similar to myself. It's almost like a family.

I'm going to try and take a load of photos, and also take my sketchbook to do some work. I seem to be really inspired when I am down there. Which is awesome.

God, I am all excited.

Almost there

So it's almost summer. Hooray.

When I say summer, I mean my summer, because as from tonight I am off work for almost 3 weeks. Which is brilliant.

Since I am on my Blackberry, I have already typed up what I have been up to over on LJ. So skip over there if you wish to read about what I have been up to. Sorry, I'm just not too keen on typing everything up again, especially using this tiny screen.

Visit my LiveJournal

For lack of a better title.

Though I'd check in on here, and say hey, because I am in one hell of a good mood.

Was paid yesterday, and paid all my bills today. Just have to pay for hotel, which I will do when I get to blackpool. I am relieved, and feel good that I am tackling everything head on. Going to take money out of the bank, so that I have everything to hand. And then all I need to do is make sure I don't spend it all.

I know, personal finances is something I try to keep away from here, but I am so happy and relieved, I can't help but share this elated feeling I have. It feels good to be planned and focused on things for a change. So hopefully this is a sign of things to come, that I will actually manage to keep my personal finances under control. The issue is, you miss a few months payments, and everything goes awol.

I am talking to a debt advice company, and I am looking to find a way to consolidate all my debt, so I just have to pay one bill a month, even if its a high payment, it can never be as high as what I am paying out already. And that will also allow me to afford to start some kind of savings. Which then all-in-all help me when it comes down to starting off the business properly. *thinks* I hope this works.

Well, I decided that this summer wouldn't be all the usual me in front of a PC thing, and have decided to try and do things with people. Ok people, is Gemma, and 'doing things' is us doing anything to stop us dying of boredom. Yes, I know, not the levels of 'high activity' I previously talked about. But, I guess I can be a little bit lax on myself, seeing as I am on holiday from work next week. Once I have that out of the way, it will be easy to focus on work. *cough*

Anyway, one of the things that we decided to do, was to go on a drive to somewhere we hadn't been before. So we decided on Loch Lomond. Let me tell you something, it is so beautiful. Makes me really lucky to live in Scotland. I think I touched on this on a previous post, but I don't think people appreciate where they live. I mean, so many people I talk to want to live in LA or London, and I think as nice as those places are, it cant beat being able to visit scenic places and walk through the counrtyside. You can see places where people work with nature, rather than just destroying it. I will add the pictures later, seeing as I am struggling to get the pictures off my phone.

Anyways, hope everyone has a nice week.

Why am I excited over this?

The fact that I am now able to blog from my phone has me really hyper. That is obviously just how sad I am, lol. Seriously though, the first things I did with my nice new phone was download the apps for twitter, tumblr and wordpress.

Actually, it's not that strange considering blogging is what I mostly do over the internet. What it has done, is make the prospect of heading to Blackpool without my laptop a reality, cause I can do everything I need over my phone. So I am received over that, as I really wasn't wanting to have to leave it in my hotel room all day. I get nervous doing things like that.

Wakey wakey

I am up early today. Makes a nice change, to me missing the whole morning to being asleep :P
The main reason I was awake so early, was because a butterfly was flying up against my bedroom window. I have no idea how it managed to get stuck inside my room, and why the first time I noticed it was at 6.30 in the morning. I just opened the window and let it out, cause I remember that you aren't supposed to pick them up, cause the 'dust' comes off their wings, and apparently it can cause issues with them being able to fly. Actually, the dust on their wings is tiny little scales used as protection, so predators can't grab a hold of them.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="452" caption="<strong>A butterfly like the one that was in my room</strong>"][/caption]

Another reason I am awake, is possibly because I am eventually getting a new mobile today. Something which I have needed since I dropped my Nokia in a pint of juice a few months ago. The poor phone is like completely dying, it can't even hold on to a call, it keeps cutting people off. Considering I think I drowned it, the fact that it is still working at all is some kind of miracle. Anyways, due to my need to access my emails when I am at work at Sky, but not being able to access them through the work pc, I am thinking about getting a Blackberry. We'll see what happens when I go to the shop.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="708" caption="<strong>Blackberry Bold 9700</strong>"][/caption]

Clear away the cobwebs

Sometimes, as you may be aware of, if you read this blog, I think too much about rubbish. Sometimes when it gets a bit too much, and I get a bit of a headache due to over-thinking, I like to go for a walk. It's something that has always had a calming effect on me, think it must be all the fresh air. So on Sunday, tired of sitting around and thinking too much, I decided to go for a walk to North Queensferry, which is just the next town over from where I stay.



I guess, I am really lucky, at where I live because I have the chance to walk place other than just streets. Fife has a coastal path, which allows you to walk or cycle along the coast on paths created to keep people away from the roads. It leads to having loads of walks along dirt paths, and admiring the scenery including lovely beaches. It makes me really greatful to having grown up in a place like this. I mean we have shops and good railway and bus links, but we also have so much countryside set aside for walking in.



Although I utimately would like to move to a big city, like Glasgow, I think that I would miss walking through countryside.Yeah, I'd walk through the city, but it doesn't have the same feeling to it really. But I have done that before, I just love walking around and listening to my ipod, being in a world of my own. People do come a long way, especially to see North Queensferry, seeing as ex-PM Gordon Brown lives there, and the Forth Rail Bridge. Which is something that has always amazed me. I mean, I can't think how anyone would go about making a bridge like that now, let alone 120 years ago, when it was built.

Music Recommendation: The Guilty Pleasures

The Guilty Pleasures are a punk band from Lancaster, England. They are influenced by bands such as Anti-Flag, Bad Religion and The Unseen. This band first came to my attention in 2008, when I heard of them through Rebellion Festival, which is an annual punk festival in Blackpool, England. Around about this time, word started to spread that these guys were fantastic live, and they were spotted in national magazines such as Big Cheese.

They began to get a lot of press when the recently received a KKKK review from Kerrang! magazine, currently the only alternative Rock weekly magazine in the UK. The also made an appearance on the Radio 1 punk show, which is a major thing for any band. BBC radio 1 is widely acknowledged for launching the careers of many a band. They have a successful history of championing bands, so that they get their deserved success.

To date the band have released two E.P.'s, 'Freedom Of Speech' and 'Think Of England'. And June 2008, they released their first full album, 'What Are We Fighting For?'. They have also supported bands like The Subhumans, UK Subs and MC Lars on tour. These guys are one of my favourite band, in the current wave of UK Punk, and they put on an amazing Live show. The band have a good energy and presence that the crowd thrives on. A definite must see for any punk fan.

Free Authorised Download
The Guilty Pleasures- Kick In The Face,

My Dream

I like to think I have the motivation to do this.

But what if I don’t?

What if I fail at this worse than anything else I have ever done?

You can work hard at life and get nothing.

It happens to people everyday.

I tell myself that it is achievable.

But wasn’t I always told, not to lie.

If it all goes wrong, and ends right now.

I won’t be here, to see it burn to the ground.

Cause seeing the ashes of what could have been.

Might just be the end of me.

Blog sites are no.1

As a run-on from yesterday, I am still thinking about why I love the internet so much.
I mean, yesterday I ranted about how the internet is blamed for bad parenting. But as I said I use the internet mostly for blogging, so it has ended up being an important source of self-expression for me. Although I do have a lot of friends i know purely on line, a lot of them were made through sites like LiveJournal, which I feel has the best online community of all other blogging sites.

Although sites like Facebook are designed to help you socialise with people online, I think that it is ultimately fairly shallow in that it is very hard to judge someone based on their Facebook profile. I mean other than a few blurbs about them, and random comments, you can't actually tell how that person things. So on blogging sites, you naturally write a lot, and this really shows at least some of your behaviours and attitudes. And, call me self-centered, but that's what I think all these personal websites are there for, so that you can easily create your own little piece of the internet. And facebook doesn't really allow that, as there is no way to even express yourself through the colour of your profile, I mean even Bebo had that.

So in my opinion my blogs come above any other site, because I like to feel that someone can accurately see who I am and what kind of person I am. And you know that if you make friends on these sites, you know it is because they agree with what you say or you talk about the same interests.

Tumblr is a tricky one. I like it and all, but I can't help but think it is mostly kids slagging each other off publicly. All that tacky 'drama' should be kept on Facebook. But in essence, I think that's what Tumblr is trying to be, a bit like a blog site, a bit like Facebook, and a bit like Twitter. It hasn't decided what it wants to be just yet.

Caught in the Interweb

I, Sue Buckle, am an internet addict.
I can admit it. *It was hard*

Honestly though, people seem to be demonising the internet. Blaming it for the failings of their parenting, 'OMG, that perve took our little girl away'. First of all, people need to understand, the internet is no more dangerous than being outside, if you take away the stale air.

Teach your kids to be vigilant where ever they go. Don't blame the internet when you allow your child to have a computer in their room, and let them use something you know nothing about. As a parent, you need to teach kids, don't think its funny to start up a facebook page for 7 year old Sarah, and complain when she is talking to perves.
Kids think everyone is out to be their friend, just like a puppy, and the only way you can get it to behave is to train it well.

If you were a parent, you would check what friends your kid made online, just like you would do if they were playing outside. If you don't check up, you lose your right to complain.

The thing I don't understand, is that there are plenty of safe social networking sites aimed at kids (like Club Penguin), where every message sent and all users have their activity through the site checked. Because to be honest, Facebook was not made for school kids, its for the over 25 market. Which are still the people who spend most time on the website.

And the worst thing is, the panic button installed on Facebook. Do you really think that kids aren't going to abuse that. I mean we are talking about the chance to get someone you don't like banned off a site. To a kid, that may seem funny, like a good windup. And to be honest, these perves, aren't thought to be a threat. I mean if a guy says he's 12, why should other 12 years fear him and press the panic button. Usually the kids aren't aware of the issue, untill they attempt to meet up with the individual in real life. No buttons in the world is going to stop a teenager contacting someone the want to.

So the focus should not be on the website, which is nothing but a platform for meeting new people, it should be the parents who are willing to push the blame to someone else. Education is a powerful tool, use it.


I was told to never talk or accept anything of strangers, and that translated to the internet. Its what you tell your kids, if you tell your kid not to bother you, and to piss off, they will look for attention off anyone.

I don't think the internet is this evil monster. I think that if you don't disengage your brain, the internet is fun, and over the many years as a user, it has done so much. It has been somewhere for me to vent, to find new friends, to contact people I love and to share my art. And with my reccent 2 day absence from the internet, I had comments of people worried about me and things which (for once in my life) made me feel part of something.

And is that a bad thing?

I am motivated.
Finally.
Ok, well still not completely, but I am doing work in my sketch book. I have been doing drawings and things in the book within the last few weeks, and am finally starting to feel good about the way I express myself again.

I know, it sounds like history repeating itself, but this wasn't just me not being able to do work. It was more like, I had been stuck so long, I was losing my main method of expressing myself. For those who have never exprienced anything like that, it is like cutting off a limb. And at least with disfigurement, there is a route of action to resolve or better that situation. It's not so easy fixing something like expression.

I have drawn, painted and written down things, ever since I was a young child, call me geeky, but these things helped relax me. And to have that taken away, it was suffocating. I felt almost restless. Like I couldn't relax. So I sat and read Mice & Men, it was the only thing that I seemed to be able to sit still for. And I went on a few artists blogs and vlogs about scrapbooking. And I eventually, after almost 2 weeks, got my mojo back.

I sat and doodled a face at work.

Sounds like nothing, but I was so happy. I mean, I am planning to use my creativity as my career, so if it was gone, I really don't know what I would have done. I have never had a creative block like it and I'm so glad it's over.

Plans for the summer

*Finish learning Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car on the guitar

*Get my website planned and built

*Get some more tshirts designed and up in the shop

*Try and learn some basic German

*Work some overtime

*Get myself highered as a designer

*Really get into scrapbooking again. I am doing things, it’s just a bit slow right now.

*Blog and Vlog my summer.

*Dye and re-cut my hair.

*Have some time off work, and relax a bit.

*Try and see friends whilst there is some free time.

——

On a good note, I am working on my sketchbook whilst I am at work, because drawing and doodling away, helps keep me more focused (sounds strange I know). Going to try and draw one thing each night. Maybe. Probably not, but I am going to TRY and do one thing a night in my sketch book. So lets see how that goes.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

What is respect?
Respect is something that every person feels that they deserve. This is something which came into my mind after me and my dad had a 'discussion', where he raised his voice, but when I attempted of countering him by raising my own voice, I get accused of having no respect for him.

What is respect though, really? Respect is giving 'kudos' to those around you. It's treating people well, it's listening to their opinions, and accepting what they say, even if you have differing thoughts yourself. It's not difficult, it is all about treating others the way that you want to be treated. It is a quality that is forever being claimed by various religions, especially Christianity. I remember as a child seeing that being kind and respectful, was being Christian. It isn't, it is a part of human nature, which I don't believe to be lumped as a religious action

Not that I am against religion or anything, but I don't think that basic human behaviours should be tarred with some kind of cliquey movement be it religion or political. This is something that I believe strongly in, and it is a pet hate when I get told that certain mannerisms make me part of a certain group. But, that in itself is human nature. We find it easier to associate with anything, if we divide it into groups. So, its like behaving a certain way, immediately makes you become part of a social grouping, based on how people seem to stereotype each other.

Just like how because I was quiet at school, and liked to read, I was classed as a 'geek', and so many people I had this idea that I lived in a big house and listened to classical music all the time Where as my brother rebelled a bit more at school, and was called a Ned, mostly because I wore sports gear, without doing sports. And people would get that idea about him and hos friends, and automatically think that they were out to start bother, despite the fact that they weren't.

Well, I happen to have gone on another rant about stereotypes. I swear that was not the purpose of this blog, but I have put a lot of time and thought in to it. *shrugs* It must be said though, I am rather good at this whole 'going off on a tangent thing'.

Umm.....hey

It is said that people only think of themselves when they are in a crisis, and that only people who think of others should be rewarded. But that is human nature. We are born with something inside us, which is there to protect us from things we deem to be risky. We are criticised if we think the world revolves around ourselves, when in reality we CAN only observe that which goes on around us.

Obscure sentences, or valid point,s I don't know, but the topics I mentioned above, are what I have been thinking about today. So I suppose I should explain myself a little bit.

The whole 'fight or flight' part of ourselves is something there to protect ourselves against danger. But in civilised society, we are taught that it is respectable to reject our instincts to protect those weaker than ourselves. But what does that bring to ourselves? A sense of worth, a sense of knowing that you have done right by someone. So it isn't really for that person you protect them. Its for your own satisfaction, makes you feel good, gives you a buzz. Does that not make heroes completely selfish, because they do these 'commendable acts' for themselves. No different from anyone else.

In fact, is someone who does not allow themselves get bullied into 'heroism', and look after themselves, not more heroic. They get called selfish, when it is other people who intrude in others' lives to make themselves feel better. Which one is more selfish, they are both looking for pleasure and a feeling of purpose, but only the 'hero' uses other people to get that feeling of worth.

**Note: that is what happen when I watch the 'no such thing as an unselfish good deed' episode of Friends. **

The second thing was this trend of calling someone selfish because they think the world revolves around them. How is that selfish? Of course the world as we know it, revolves around us, because we observe it from our olace. So you form your own opinions and looking at it from when you stand. This isn't selfish to think others are there to help you, as that is how we automatically think of them, seeing all interaction we have with people usually involves talking to one another.

It is an automatic usumption with the lives that we lead, that we are to think things revolve around ourselves, so why should we be made to feel guilty about it. 'Think about others first' we are told, but why? In this life too many people pass the buck and like to blame their failure on others, and I think that this is just another way of doing that. It's like passing all your aggravation onto other people. Because your life is so meaningless you have to use any excuse to berate another, perfectly happy person.

Sometimes I think I should just lock myself in my room and be a hermit.

Sad days

Looking through my blog, I found this entry, from about 7/8 months ago. http://rgraphics.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/my-home-its-where-im-fae/

Why am I mentioning it. Well, I finish work tonight to find out that the Paper Mill was set on fire, and is basically destroyed.


This is something which marks the history of the town I grew up in. I always like the olf building, and how its two chimneys looked over everything. After a fire which lasted over 5 hours, the place is destroyed. 1914, the building was made, it was 96 years old, and it's gone. This is weird, because I feel this sense of loss. I mean it was a building, none of my family ever worked there, why should I be upset?

Reccently I have really come to appreciate where I live, because of the countryside, and because of the history. History is what make places different, it gives places a sense of purpose. But at the moment, the powers that be, seem to be set on building houses on top of everything. That was what was supposed to happen to the site where the paper mill was sited. It was supposed to be flattened and turned into housing. Housing, not for the people of Fife, but for Edinburgh snobs. *sigh*

Anyways, the owners have been wanting it flattened for years. And it is suspected that it is an inside job, with the council stalling, as people wanted to turn it into a historical center. The owners had to pay for security, so the burned it down, and made the decision a lot easier.

HYPERNESSSSS

Vlogs

Just a quick catch up on my vlogs.

First one, I show some of my sketchbook work.


Second one, I talk about my 5 most visited websites websites
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK6QDxZht8Q

The Internet: Social Networking

Social networking is undoutably big business on the internet. I mean, as of March 2010, there is over 400 million active Facebook accounts. Facebook is used as a free tool to contact friends and family, as are other social networking sites, such as Myspace, Twitter and Bebo.

Myspace, was the first to be used to promote services, mostly music artists. Where they could set up a free account and stream music to visitors to their site. This was music getting back to its routes, where you would pass cassettes of your favourite music on to your friends. And Myspace quickly became the best way to stay in contact with favourite bands as well, with being able to add bands such as My Chemical Romance and The Editors as friends. This improved contact with bands, made people become more involved in music.

And this concept has spread to other sites, and to other types of promotion. For instance, fast food outlet, McDonalds' Facebook page as over 2,000,000 fans. This means that the groups can send offers to the people who like their business, and to the people who are their customer base. This reaches people, who may not read daily newspapers or don't watch a lot of tv. And the best part is, it is free. Doesn't cost McDonald's a penny.

Then Twitter, which is now being actively used in offices, where people can send each other short messages to discuss information. It means that rather than having long distance calls, which can cost a fortune, they can 'tweet' each other, and it costs nothing. Twitter is widely used to promote businesses or offers, where again, if someone follows you, you can send them out new updates or offers. Which again, closes the gap between customer and business. And the more involved the customer feels with the company, the more likely it is, that they will use them for work purposes.

And yet, when doing online advertising, too many companies still overlook the power of social networking. Some think it is just for teenagers, some think it is a fad. But fad or not, free advertising is free advertising, and businesses should learn to uses this new media.

If you run a business and considering social networking to advertise, think of this: More people under the age of 25 use the internet and social networking sites, than they use any other type of media, including TV.

Crazy that isn't it. If that is the case, how benifical is it to still spend so much money, advertising on TV and in newspapers?

The thought of this makes me ill.

Walking + Vlogging =Vlolking

Because of lack of updates, I bring vlog on the move. Just for a change.



There hasn't been too much going on, worth writing about, so I have another topic blog I may type up later, seeing as how the Punk one seemed rather successful, and I have a few interesting things I want to talk about.

The only thing vaguely exciting is that I have given myself a daily vlog challenge, where I have to upload a new vlog every day on youtube. What this means is that I should post them on here as well. :) I started yesterday, and to start of the whole process, I thought it would be a good idea to recommend the 5 channels which made me want to make videos.



And all my Vlogs will get posted here, seeing as I would like to keep this updated with all things Me.

Punk rock is not dead

If you are talking about the 70s and 80s where punk was publicised everywhere, then yeah, punk is no longer at that stage anymore.

The ideal of punk was that people stood up for themselves, that no matter what society may tell you to do, you only do what you want. Its the ethic that it is YOU that can change your life, not putting your life in the hands of other people.

And now that DIY attitude is in the public domain, it will never die. Punk is the kid brought up on classical music, who goes to see Coldplay in concert. Its the man who wears a bright tie, where his work has a strict dress code. Punk is the little girl wanting to be a singer, when her folks want her to be a doctor.

I suppose, it depends on how you look at punk. But, to me, after being a memeber of an active Scottish punk scene for the last 5 years, I can say that it definately isn’t dead. People all too often, seem to think that punk is just about anarchy and sticking it ‘to the man’. So when they don’t see the national media covering punk, they assume its dead.

Punk has ALWAYS been about being true to yourself. And to be honest, I hope that NEVER dies

What's in an impression of someone?

I had a discussion online today, about people and how they react to someone they don't know.

We are taught from a young age,  that first impressions count. But how tainted is your 'first impression' if someone imposes their judgement on you. For instance, Paris Hilton. I have had many chats with fellow Good Charlotte fans about Paris, and a lot of people think she is a stupid bimbo. But where do they get this idea from? I mean, they have never met nor even talked to the girl, but yet some will say they hate her.



Hate. Is that not a bit severe to describe someone you actually know nothing about. They get these impressions from tabloids and the 24 rolling 'celebrity' news. These are preconceived ideas about people, which are created to sell the idea of fame as if it were some product that could be picked up from the supermarket. So the hate people feel, is not for Paris, herself, because they no nothing of her true personality, and her behaviours, they hate the Paris which appeared in The Simple Life,  and still is in endless tabloids.

But, if hating someone blindly is wrong, so is loving someone surely. I mean love and hate are such extreme emotions, that you can't feel them for someone we have never met. Is it maybe that we live in a society filled with extremes, that we can only describe things in extremes? Its like the whole obsessing over things ( which I am prone to) where a band, you maybe have never seen in real life becomes a main object of interest and your life works round your obsession. Love is a word, not that much different from hate, but you can openly love something, but hate is like a swear word. How is that fair?

So your childhood lessons of passing judgement is rendered useless by the input of other sources. How does this effect our judgement? It obviously does, because our enviroment is so busy, we can't help but take in almost everything we see. And the way our brain works, is that it absorbs everything we read or hear. And what you absorb, effects how you make judgements about what you see.

So, I think that it's the enviroment that you put yourself into, which decides how you judge others. As a child I used to be very judgemental, but as soon as people started judging me (e.g- was beaten up for 'being a Goth'  for wearing a Green Day shirt), it effected how I thought about others. And I now, pretty much live by treating others how I want to be treated. And by that, I mean I make a conscious effort not to judge someone untill I have met them. It has led to me making more clear assessments on people, and in turn has made me happier for it.

*******

And nonsensical ranting over. This is something that has been getting on my nerves lately.

Is playing way too much Xbox

Bought UFC 2010 and the Sega Megadrive Collection.

I am trying to boost my GamerScore, because at 630, it is pittyful. And the SMC is perfect for doing that. I mean they have an achievement just for playing all the games.

Note: I know this isn't that intresting, but I felt like I needed to update. *shrugs*



lol. He so does. But I have got myself hooked on Glee. Right at the end of the series. Yep, go me.

But I like that it is all about trying at something, no matter what your circumstances. And its that kind of thought which is helping me getting going about starting my own business *nods* So yeah, there is no bad positivity.
I still stand by the fact that it should just be a tv show, and thats it. Though I do truely think that me and Sarah should do commentry on the boys Kiss preformance.

Good news everybody

My website is online.

http://riot-graphics.co.uk
I feel so happy at this. I was panicking about it, but I was doing my usual of making things more complicated. This is something I have been planning to do for the last  few days, but due to me acting like an idiot nothing happened.

I was stressing that I wouldn't find out how to upload the files to the web with in what little time I have left in college. Seeing as I am not coming back next year, I have decided that I needed to get it done where I could actually talk to someone about it.

I do need to actually point out that the site is not a completed design, and that I still have a lot of work to do on it. It is a base site, which is just basically a background with links on the page. Nothing spectacular. But, as I said I wanted to upload it, and I needed to do something, and that was made in the space of one day.

So I got the details to log into the server, I think its the server *scratches head* and it was uploaded in no time. So exciting seeing that I have my own site online. I was hyper for about 15 minutes.

I then, started thinking about a project I was planning on doing this summer. What it is, is that I am looking to do something focusing on music, as it means so much to me. What I am thinking of is doing an accoustic cover of a song, and record it on video, and also create some art work to go with it.  Its supposed to show the change I am going through, and to look at how music has played a massive part in who I am today. What do you thing? Good idea? Bad idea?

Speaking of music, been sitting listening to Hanson's live album all day, in anticipation of getting their new album within the next few days. Been a Hanson fan for 13 years and counting.

Angst

I have already said how I had to bail the course and my reasons for doing so.

Well, today I had to explain to one of my tutors why I was doing it. He was alright actually, but I hated telling him. It felt horrible.

But I did manage to get my website sorted a bit. That's right, I know own the domain, http://riot-graphics.co.uk. At the moment there is nothing on line, because the server is being sorted out so I can add my files for the site.

This has made me so happy. Its like after all this planning something is getting me somewhere. I am building my base page, and should get that finished tonight. :) And it will be uploaded to the service tomorrow. This feels like I am achieving something.

Sue's Interweb World

Youtube and Tumblr. I seem to be living on those sites right now. I have got so many Vloggies to catch up on. :SIf you want to know where else I live on the interwebs—-

Youtube for Vlogs http://youtube.com/user/riotgraphics

Tumblr for randomz http://riotgraphics.tumblr.com

Twitter for verbal diarrhoea http://twitter.com/SueRiotGraphics

Livejournal for fanfics and whinging http://representgc.livejournal.com

DeviantART for arty stuffs http://riot-graphics.deviantart.com

And I frequent many forums including Paramore.net, GC.com, punkrockers.com and viewaskew.com.

Anyone is more than welcome to add me on any site I go on. I talk to everyone

Updateez

Ok, this week has been a bit of a minefield, with my brain wanting to explode on me.

I have been left with the dilemma on whether I should finish college this year. I mean I have already decided that I am not returning to the world of education this year. Why? Because I hate it.

To put a few things straight here, I don't hate everything. I hate my work being in direct comparison with others, when whether its better or no, makes no difference.  I hate the atmosphere. The college seems to be such an uninspiring place at times. Because everything is in an open enviroment, as in one big room, lots of classes within that room,  and if one person decides to fuck around, it distracts everyone.

Well, I've spent my last few weeks of bloggie silence to think about what I want to do. Because I have been so uninspired at college, and I work every night, I have fallen behind in my work very easily. And it gets to the point where I was wondering whether I should rush everything, just to pass, when I know that passing grade won't get me anywhere, due to me not continuing with education. Is it not better, that I take time over my projects, do a good job, and use them to build my portfolio? I think that is a lot more beneficial to me.

Now don't get me wrong, I liked the course, and I love the people at the college, it's just everyone gets to the point where that can no longer work in that enviroment. To me, in the overall task of getting my business up and running, this is the best decision.

Its kind of taking a step backwards, before you can go forwards.

Google Vs Viacom

This is one story which has not been getting nearly enough publicity. Which is suprising, it seems to have been going on for a while.
Cut a long story short: Viacom tried to sue Youtube owners' Google for $1 billion due to copywrite issues.

What happens, is that on youtube, as most know, people upload videos of things they like. So that would mean South Park snippets and clips from The Hills, would be shared by kids, and Viacom would take them down. Simples you would think, right? Wrong!

Who Are They?

Viacom are a huge corporation, which owns many brands, such as Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike TV, Paramount Pictures, Nikelodeon, Neopets, and many more well know brands.

Google is primarily a search engine, which is the most used search engine on the Web. Google also provides an online office suite called Google.docs, and owns, video sharing site, Youtube,

What Happened?

Well, as said above Viacom accused Youtube of knowingly uploading copywrited material, and then profiting from it. Youtube says this did not happen, as there was no way they could moniter ALLLLL the content that gets uploaded. This all happened in 2007, when Viacom said that 16, 000 videos had infringed their copywrite and were deleted. It has since been said that:

1) only 3,000 videos included copywrite infringement, as it is stated by US law

2)almost 120,000 videos were infact removed by Viacom.

Anyways in 2007 Viacom started procedures to sue Google for $1,000,000,000, because of the damage this infringement had.

And now?

There is no love lost at all between Google and Viacom. In 2008, MTV.com posted almost every music video ever made onto its site, an obvious attempt to get Googles back up. This kind of failed, as to date, Youtube is still the most popular way to watch music videos.

So other than music videos, what else is Youtube reknown for? Viral videos. You know, the videos that you revieve in emails, and are posted on every site under the sun. The one that has about 22 million views? Yep, that one. These viral videos are (as in still happening) stolen from youtube, and magically appear on Spike.com. Spike is another video sharing site, which also shows premium content such as UFC events, but this site is owned by Viacom. Well, the videos appear on Spike as being embed, which is when you can post the whole video on a site. Now, Youtube has no issue with this, in fact it promotes sharing videos in this way. The only rules are, that you cannot edit the HTML code, because the video MUST link back to Youtube (fair enough). Well when the Youtube video appears on Spike, it DOES NOT link back to youtube. These are popular actual youtube videos just embed onto Spike, and there are no link backs at all, or any credit to the original video's maker. So therefore, this breaks Youtubes T&Cs, and the original author is NEVER notified.

Note: in Spike.com T&Cs they say EVERY VIDEO is checked before it is posted.
So how can Viacom cry about Copywrite, when they dismiss others' rights so willingly?

And, this does go into somewhat murkier waters. There is proof from various Youtube users, saying that there are fake Youtube channels set up, where they post things such as South Park clips. They then block their own clips. Why? To show that Youtube is allowing copywrited material onto their site. It is a very mean trick. And basically attempting to use dirty tricks, to sink Youtube and Google.

But that's not all, now other 'powers-that-be' from the internet, have sided with Google in this battle. Yep, usually they may not be best of friends, but Facebook, Yahoo, ebay and IAC (InterActiveCorp) have all sided with Google. Basically saying that if Viacom are successful in sueing Google, it will effect the freedom of the internet. This has to be a good side, as I do believe that this will hopefully stop this war.

Ok seriously?????

Cheers weather.

You seem to know I haven't got a weekend right now, so you have decided to make it the hottest day of the year.

Grrrrr.

I have been doing my Riot Graphics logo all day, well for a couple of hours. I like it :)





I can see the 'R' being quite brandable, and I like that. I am getting my designs together for shirts as well, so they should be posted up here within the next few days before I send them off.  I have decided I want a few shirts with just my new logo on them, just to so that I can wear them.
Hence the reason, if you know me, this is posted everywhere.

So that I can see what people think. *sigh*

So if you view this blog AT ALL, or see the logo anywhere else, please tell me what you think about it.  I need to gage opinion before i get business cards and stuff printed out. Right, off to try and cool down for a bit, seeing as it is so so uncomfortably hot.

Ciao

A Cliff To Climb

I am still making steady progress on the mountain of work I need to have done within the next week. Today I completed 3 pages for Shaun's website. AND I finally managed to get a contact form sorted out, with the help of Paul.

So I have a bio page, which is just going to be writing, so I am planning that tonight at work, and will type it up when I get home. Then I have the portfolio, which will be done using 'lightbox', a javascript item, which gives your site a pop-out gallery thing. I have done Lightbox before, so I'm not really that worried, I will just fill it in with different colours untill Shaun gives me any images he wants to be in it.

So, that is a major unit, pretty much done. This one is important, because I know I have to design my own site, and get it online over the summer. So its good to know, I have only really come across one bump. And that was getting the contact form to display on the desired page. But that was more me, putting the wrong size for the container box (25555 px wide, when the site is 1028 px, d'oh). So yeah, me and Dreamweaver are good pals right now.

Going to be busy this weekend, need to try and get my t-shirt designs sorted and sent to the print shop, for pickup next  Saturday.  So yeah, get one thing done, but its not even a dent on what I still have to do. :S

I'm in overload

Sooo...progress from both sides today.

Got some more of Shaun's website designed, and its looking a wee bit better. It has a welcome banner and everything. So kinda happy that is getting somewhere. But nothing else is. :/

It's like I have so much to do, I don't know where to start. Most of it has to be in on Monday, and to be honest, that is kind of an unreachable target. *sigh*

But, I spoke to Caron, my tutor, today, and she showed me a bit about where the exhibition will be, and it looks a good space. And she said that I could put a few of my t-shirt designs up. So I need to have them ready to be picked up for next weekend, so they can be put in the exhibition come Monday/Tuesday. So I need to get the designs ready to be sent in by next Wednesday, so I can pick them up on Saturday. And at the moment they are still being finalised.

Graeme, web design tutor, told me about a company called Be Your Own Boss, where they partner with Scottish Enterprise, and they help people get their business off the ground. So I sent them an email, in hope that they will be able to help me.  I hope.

Way too much stuff going on right now. My brain is about 3 different places at once. :S

Stressfully Numb

Still stressed, and still not much further ahead. *sigh*

But I magically found time to do this :-



Isn't it brilliant how I always find time to blog. *rolls eyes* To be honest it does relax me, and helps me get out all my agro out. So I am half way through 'The History of New Media' which is good.
But because of my laptop's tendancy  to overheat itself, I ended up going on to Play.com and looking ath Laptop coolers. Saying that, it will make things a lot better, as my laptop will be able to site on my knee or my bed, and work without getting too hot.

So yeah.

Over Stressed

Today started off well. I went into college and did work on my Graded Unit. Was actually quite chuffed, cause I did a lot. Actually did about 12 pages of developement work. Which made me rather happy, and totally motivated about the project. So was happy, and for a change felt I had spent time in college well.

That was untill I went to Web Design, and completely wanted to cry. The class was so noisy, and something as simple as adding a contact form onto a website, did not work. *sigh* So I ended up in a two hour class, and the only outcome was that I wanted to kill myself :/

So I finished this afternoon, totally dejected and just wanted to go home.  Then, to top off my feeling of uselessness, I lost my bus pass. As in, I had it this morning, and now its gone. Where the issue is, that I have no money, and can't afford to go to either college or work. *sigh*

So I have such a headache cause of all this, and I just want to cry, everytime someone asks how I am doing.

Riot Graphics' Progress

After months of being static in where I want to go, with my work. I am now offically starting Riot Graphics as a business. 

I know what you're thinking, 'so what have you been doing this past year'. Well, to be honest, I have been trying the name out, and seeing what people think of it. And it has seen some good feedback and interest. Also, I have been at college *cough*. Seriously, I have. :P

What has started this, is that the clothing store I was in contact with, has contacted me saying that whilst they like my designs, they are not going to be able to print out the designs themselves. So, this means that I would have to pay for printing and send some prototypes, so that they can see what they look like.

To get these prototypes, I am going to have to order them from an online source. Which involves me sending them the designs, and them printing them for me. Ideally, I would love to screenprint them, but that is not going to be workable, given the amount of time that I have. Which is not very much, at all.

So, I am starting work on my business plan, and am going to start pricing up different resources which I will need. A business plan, shows what your company is, and where you expect it to be within the next year. You need to estimate turnover, and sort out taxes. It seems very complicated, and after reading over things, it seems like it is complicated. But you know what, the prospect of people paying for my work, is my motivation for this. I am so ready for this, can't bare college for another year.

Booyah Son!

Too much Red Bull [x]

Not enough sleep [x]

No college work done [x]

Wishing was out at pub [x]

That's all I need to say about my Friday, to be honest. I went to college, just to go to the pub. And then I had to come to work, when all I wanted to do was to get a pack of beer, and go home. :(

And then, I remember I am booked in for overtime tomorrow, when I could do with lying in. *sigh* The things we do for money. I supposed it is only four hours, and it IS time and a half. So it ends up at about £12 an hour. Which is good.

I mean, at least I get the chance to do overtime. A lot of people can't work, never mind work extra. So I guess, I should stop moaning, and just get on with it.

Ha. Me stop moaning, I can be a commedian. lol

No Happy

If you know me, then you are likely to know that I have been having issues, with a lot of my internet accounts being hacked. *sigh*

It all started with the college, and the fact that the majority of their PCs have been getting viruses, which are 'infostealers'. For the uniniciated, infostealers, steal info, like passwords, sites you visit, etc. Well, these viruses seem to be on the network, so every PC seems effected.

Well at the start of the week, I access my facebook, youtube and hotmail account, and my details were sent somewhere. Facebook  went on shut down, after someone tried to access my account from North America, when I am in Scotland.

If that was not enough, some dodgy emails were sent from my hotmail, my youtube videos were deleted and twitter password changed.

So last night, I went and changed all my details, and thought all would be ok. Well, today I recieved a call from Ticketmaster, saying they attempted to take a £400 bill out of my bank. I was raging. Then facebook locked me out AGAIN, then I went to YouTube, and all these animal sex videos were uploaded on my account. WTF!!!!!

To be honest, its making me very reluctant to using the college PCs for anything. But I know I need to. *AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH*

Brighter note, I passed a unit on digital imaging or something. Which is good. Also passed an animation test today. So progress is finally happening, well, progress of sorts

Muse-day

Another day gone, and another day closer to the unreachable deadline.

I went to college today, and got really, really frustrated with the fact that I couldn't get anything done. So everythings due in, and I have done nothing. *bangs head off wall*

My graded unit book does look pretty awesome, but its the general layout and not the volume of work which gives that appearance. Which is sad. I do love it though. Its like a wee child, so I want it to do well. (How sad do I sound?)

I'm gonna try and get some more drawings done tonight, for it, so that I can at least appear that I have done some developement. The horrible thing is that my other project is nowhere near this one. *sigh*

Talk about fail :(

Big wheels keep on rollin'...

Aye, so there's been no updates, due to crap internet, and crap me, being too busy to :P

Its approaching 1am and I am doing college work. Shocked? So am I.

But seriously, I am seriously close to just bombing this course because I haven't been bothered by anything the last few weeks. Which has just lead to me being a very stressed out Sue. *sigh* I do this every year. :( I wish I had more brainpower sometimes. It would be handy, for when I decide to go and watch videos rather than do college work. *She says as she blogs away*

I am an obsessive person, so things such as vlogging and blogging got in the way of me doing actual work. *sigh* But, again, I can't blame anyone but myself. I either work slowly, or I stress myself out to the point, I just stare at the PC, completely devoid of emotion. :( It's no good, like.

Anywho gonna put on SLC Punk, and do work when that is on. I have stuff to print out, and scanning to do. And stress lines to deepen across my forehead.  Wish me luck.

Today is Notsome

I am stressing. Again!

I have stuff due in for Gillian, from the first semester, where I went all stupid, and didn't hand things in :/

I also have to hand my Graded unit in for marking next week. The developement is where most of the score comes from, and do you want to know how much I have done? Absolutely sweet FA. :(

It's all my fault, I have been total uninspired over the last few days. Also next Thursday, I need my first animation finished, and all the paper work done, like my storyboards handed in, again, this is not done either.

So stressing out about that, and I come into work, to be told that my manager will listen to a few of my calls. :( I hate that, it makes me feel like everything I am doing will be scrutinised.

I suppose that needs to be done.

Hopefully I don't fuck it up too much. ButI know me, and I probably will make a complete disaster out of it.

I wish I was at home.

Music Reccomendation- Middle Finger Salute

Middle Finger Salute began in Blackburn, England in late 2005, aged just 15 and 13 at the time the band have now gone on to establish themselves firmly in the punk scene in the UK having toured the Easter Punk Feast 5 tour with Angelic Upstarts, Deadline, The Vibrators and Drongos For Europe, and holding support slots to bands such as Rancid, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, Glen Matlock from The Sex Pistols, Towers of London, The Adicts, Sham 69 and many more.

The band have been on the bill for the last few years of Rebellion festival, a punk festival which occurs annually in the seaside resort of Blackpool, UK. And last year the band touring America as part of the Vans' Warped Tour, something which helped them gain an international following.

In 2010, the band are on the Warped Tour again, and will come back to the UK to feature at Rebellion.

Get more information of the band at http://middlefingersalute.co.uk

Free Mp3 Downloads

Middle Finger Salute- All The Way
Middle Finger Salute-Falling Down