For Her this Xmas: Mime, Make-Up & Body-Mods

Right, now xmas has been successfully bypassed this year...

The other day a friend sent me a YouTube link of two girls miming to 'Im so Excited' by Le Tigre, and a thought occurred; Is video-miming the new karaoke? I wonder if there are serious video-mimes, like the ever so sad 'serious karaoke artists'?



Another ego-centric series of YouTube videos found is all about putting on make-up, much of it gothy. I just picked this one cos strangely I've just listened to the same track myself ('Black No.1' by Type O Negative). Note the way she demonstrates her roots need dying to the lyrics? Important.



While on a more gruesome topic, there's plenty of body modification on YouTube and there's certainly some weird and wonderful stuff going on. Have a look these tricks you can do... if you ever fancied getting your tongue split...;



Other mods include tattoo's, scarification, under-skin inserts, extreme piercing, suspensions... all in the name of... erm.. Image? Is fashion the new religion? Eek!

And here's a girl that's done it all; here's her rendition of Barbie Girl, you can also see her put on make-up and get her septum pierced from her profile.



Sharken911's YouTube Profile

I HATE VISTA

I am REALLY hating Windows Vista and as much as I want to resist moaning (and particularly about computer related things) - I have got to get this out of my system!!

What I HATE about Vista;

• Ten thousand, "Can I do this? - Can I please? - Are you certain about that? - What really? -Well I did warn you..." Messages popping up every 2 bloody seconds - I'm all for security but -- fuck off!!!
  
  
• Sometimes it'll detect your broadband connection, sometimes not. If not I have to disable the connection in my network settings and re-enable it, sometimes it displays this as a little icon, sometimes as a list view. Well thats consistency for you.
  
  
• The search tool - what the hell is this all about - I can't search by file type or anything more useful than a tag name?! What??!! Apparently it's really great.. no it ISNT!
  
  
• Why cant I listen to my media player without constant skipping and stuttering? ARGH! I've got 2x 64bit processors in there, what are they doing if I can't even word process without the occassional skipping?
  
  
• "Windows has just updated itself and as a result has decided that it would like to turn it's self off and restart - I assume this is the perfect time for you right now?? No? Oh well, would you like to postpone this irritating message for 10 mins? Yes? Great I'll try to shut you down in tens mins then instead of right now..." Thanks a lot.
  
  
• "So your a web designer ey? Well let's upload some images then... Ta-da!! there you go.. What? Iv'e split it in half, coloured parts grey or otherwise mangled it? Dont be daft! Look it's not Vista it's your FTP software, try uploading onto your Myspace.. aah.. OK maybe it IS Vista." -- HOW do I fix this? It's doing my nut in - I have to use my old machine to upload image files just to be sure they work?? Blaaargh.
  
  
• Copy and pasting - yes there's something we'll be using a lot... Slow? Hmm let's compare with your old XP machine - what? It works better and at 3 times the speed? How strange... I thought Vista was supposed to be an improvement.
  
  
• A Password, that's good for security - what vista does is not allow you to save any passwords in Outlook etc. just to really irritate the shit out of you, and make your use of Windows even more labour intensive. Oh and so you have to buy the new version on everything.
  
  
• And just to REALLY take the piss - none of your other old software or hardware will work - FUCKING SUPER..!!
  
  
• Well Vista's been around for a bit now and yeah, there's always teething problems, I know, but how about some bloody fixes then?!
  

The only positive features I've found on Vista are: The combination of Explorer and File Browser, the bigger image views and Preview app, and the new Media Player. WOW. I've never really taken part in the PC/MAC debate but I would now say BUY A NEW MAC & NOT A PC to anyone who asked. If I had a copy of XP I'd partition my HD and install that. Vista is a rubbish attempt to level with OSX!!

Fuck off and die Bill Gates!

Me + Music + Technology =

Now you can witness my current musical addictions courtesy of Last FM!



Last FM if you don't know, monitors whats on your media player and feeds it through to a networking website. Press 'play' and you get a personalised radio station. It's also got few cool features like recommending similar artists, the widgets (like the one featured on this blog on the right) and the comfort that your musical taste and trends are being monitored by a corporate body, probably for marketing purposes.

I've been addicted to a few artists and a few individual tracks and am unable to stop listening!! A strange and feverish musical bathing that I'm currently subjecting myself too. A reward maybe after moving pretty much my entire CD collection onto my PC. Anyway, since a computer far far away is probably working through this I thought I'd give it a go to.

Here's the situation since i joined a month ago.... You'd have seen a hell of a lot more Joanna Newsom if I'd have joined earlier...

Artists: plays:

1		Tori Amos	223
2		Meet Me in St Louis	166
3		Björk	131
4		2 Many DJ's	120
5		Joanna Newsom	101

Tracks: plays:

1		Meet Me In St. Louis – Why Thank You Suzie	31
2		Meet Me in St Louis – I Am Champagne And You Are ****	24
3		Meet Me in St Louis – Well You Damn Well Should	23
4		Meet Me in St Louis – The Torso Has Been Severed In Mid Thorax	21
5		Tori Amos – Bouncing Off Clouds	20
6		Meet Me in St Louis – Right this way, you maverick renegade	18
6		Meet Me in St Louis – Eins zwei drei Hasselhoff!	18
8		Meet Me in St Louis – All We Need Is A Little Energon And A Lot Of Luck	16
9		Joanna Newsom – Sadie	14
9		Meet Me in St Louis – I Beat Up The Bathroom, I'm Sorry	14
9		Björk – Unison	14
12		Joanna Newsom – Cosmia	12
12		Meet Me in St Louis – Come to New York, there were fewer murders last year	12
12		Tori Amos – Teenage Hustling	12
15		Nine Inch Nails – [silence]	11
15		Tori Amos – Big Wheel	11
15		Calyx – Follow the Leader	11
15		Various Artists – Track 9	11
15		Meet Me in St Louis – I've Got Knives In My Eyes, I'm Going Home Sick	11
20		Various Artists – Track 1	10
20		Gabriel Ananda – Süssholz	10
22		Calyx – Get Myself To You	9
22		Joanna Newsom – The Book of Right-On	9
22		Joanna Newsom – Sprout And The Bean	9
22		Ed Gein – Robert Flaig	9
22		Ovuca – Afternoon Girl	9
22		Shitmat – Bloodclot Jungle Tekno	9
22		Meet Me in St Louis – You're Doomed	9
22		Hellifish – Radical Digital	9
30		Sasha – Bloodlock	8
30		Tori Amos – Digital Ghost	8
30		Rolo Tomassi – Fuck The Pleasantries	8

So heres the trends;

Song-based music with real instruments - for when I'm feeling all emotional and need an outlet:
MMISL / Joanna Newsom / Tori Amos

Cool as fuck and textural electronica - for audio pleasures, a time to appreciate genius and production values hand in hand:
2 Many DJs / Byork / Ovuca / Nine Inch Nails

Euphoric Dance - in nostagic yearning for more clubland!:
Sasha / Gabriel Ananda / Various Artists (Track 9 is 'Wrong Direction' by Leandro Gamez, Track 1 is from the spanish Electro Trax Magazine CD #29 from Sonar)

Brutal hardcore and breakcore - for bustin heads to on the dancefloor when I'm feeling physical:
Rolo Tomassi / Hellifish / Shitmat / Ed Gein / Calyx


See what hot on my Last FM profile right now here : http://www.last.fm/user/phluxm

Rock Art & Dressing Up

Played the Barfly with Jazz Thrash Assassin on the 15th dressed in a pair of turquoise slacks and a tiny jumper. Sadly my hair kept falling off and lasted on my head all of about 3 seconds. The idea was to be dressed as an old man, but I looked more like some kind of deranged Erasure fan. I had worn the wig at a previous gig but had a hood and cap to keep the thing on then. Mental Note: Duck tape needed for next time. Random Conflict were pretty impressive again, found myself moshing out with Mr.Pea. Went out after with Ben Screamer, Pea & Walt and poor Walt got so hammered he blacked out on the stairs in the Xposure Rock Cafe, fell down them smacked his head off the floor at the bottom! After spazzing out at the gig & then playing football I was aching all over by Wednesday.

Saw Gogol Bordello in Wolves & they were excellent. The encore went on and on - i figure that endless partying is probably part of the Gogol lifestyle! The support band were good too, kind of French punk-Drum n Bass-dub thing goin on. No idea what they were called. Spotted some photos online from there somewhere too..

Emma Bowen's Periscope show was also good, lots of bits of MDF and other items dotted about the small space. It's good that she finally made it happen as it was due earlier in the year but didn't materialise. It's the final show for the space, as I believe it's moving somewhere else. Got slightly sozzled in the bar after. Which was nice.

Saw the final show at Crowd 6 last night too. It seems that 2008 is going to see a change for these little art venues. The walls of the gallery had nicely and tastelessly been decorated. I just missed the AAS performance but managed to see what Stuart had caught on video - 4 robed performers pulling dripping tinsel entrails from their stomachs and hanging it on a Christmas tree. Nice concept, would have been good as real entrails or similar meat-based substance thought I. Just found this of it online:



Captain Ed & Dave Miller's performance was enjoyable - a storytelling really. Dave was a mermaid in top hat and Ed was great as he tongued at his 'melted cheese' rubber pirate mask. I was particularly liking the mini-Marshall amps they wore on their belts, which were completely unnecessary to amplify their voices in the small space, but somehow they made them appear tooled up for the job.

nu imgs

Recent Drawings (2)

More drawings... I really should update my website and add some of these. Cy Twombly has obviously been a lasting influence on me. I've never really been sure how to display these, so if you've got any ideas let me know;)

copyright © Ben Neal 2007

Help me!! I'm too generous!

Anyone got any bright ideas on the following problem..

I made a piece of software (www.phlumx.co.uk). I tried selling it with little success. So I made it free. It's now being downloaded/used, but its costing me every month in datatransfer (ie, the process of many people downloading it). What do I do?

Friendly Spamming & Culture Jamming

Today, thanks to Ian at 7 Inch Cinema, I got introduced to Flash Mobbing, a strangely simple idea; Lots of people arrange to meet up at a place simultaneously and all do something odd, then quickly disperse.

The results are funny, explosive and profound. Obviously a favourite sport at Universities, Flash Mobs, you'll be pleased to find out, have a Birmingham contingency who are on the Mob tomorrow I think: www.myspace.com/brumflashmob
(although i am currently unable to check that link as myspace's usual ' Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred.' message has appeared at that page... **king MySpace!! Moodle??! I should write a bloody book of hate for MySpace..! They should update the page to say; Sorry! another expected error has occurred.)

Anyway, I digress.... Flash Mobbing ranges from hundreds of people simultaneously shooting each other, to silent raves and pillow fights...

See below;


Heres a nice one from Manchester;



Just a small addition here on the end - You've gotta love the latest 'forward this' message going round on Facebook it's the only one with a point to it.

Sort your music out

Ever got your Speed Garage mixed up with your 2 Step, or Glitch confused with IDM? Ishkur's guide to electronic music can help you... http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide. Not great explanations, but good samples.

Some crazy experimental instruments here too, just in case after that lot you wanna go write a tune; http://www.oddmusic.com



Also just found some wicked videos from the folk at Pleix, check these out!
http://www.pleix.net/films.html

Finding LOADS of great stuff courtesy of www.stumbleupon.com

Little Moments of Clarity & Genius

Indexed: A Blog in which little graphs and charts are made on the curious relationships between sometimes seemingly random elements. http://indexed.blogspot.com

Another Specialten promoted gem. One of the vids is based on the blog. Have a look; http://www.specialten.com/issues/19/CLEMENS_KOGLER.html


In fact while we're on the subject of Specialten check out the site here: www.specialten.tv. Fullscreen viewings of the finest audio-visual treats you can imagine.

Are you me too?

Years ago I did a fellowship at UCE as an entrepreneur and attempted to develop a business around my Phlumx software. As part of this I had a professional and expensive psychometric analysis done on me. This was basically a huge set of questions I had to answer on how I'd react in different scenarios, and from this was produced a document which stated what my strengths and weaknesses were and how I should be aware of these in order for my business to work.

The guy who analysed the results met me afterwards to discuss things. His main reason was to assess whether I had lied wildly throughout the test or whether I was actually quite an unusual personality. I am proud to say that he found out it was the latter.

Despite my unusual profile, he was then able to reel off a prediction of how I behave, with alarming accuracy. He didn't know I was teaching, but when I told him, he was able to guess how I taught, how students reacted to me and what was good and bad about the work they produced in my lessons. Reading this back, I suppose the fact that I'd answered a whole series of questions was probably a big help to him (doh!), but at the time it did make me wonder 'Does everyone fit a basic profile? Are people really so predictable?'.

Actually, for some reason this reminds me of Derren Brown when he found a group of people in 3 countries and gave each of them a piece of paper with a description of their personality on. Each person was amazed how accurate he was, then he revealed that eveyones description was exactly the same in each group and in each country - they couldn't believe it.