Area 4 Festival 2010

Little Review of all that FUN

Spent the better part of my weekend burning some rubber (1'900 km to be exact) to see The Editors again along with Placebo, Monster Magnet, The Sounds, Blink 182 and some other great acts.

Missed Biffy Clyro unfortunately and apparently they were stunning. But I thoroughly enjoyed The Editors again after I love them at last year's Southside festival. Blink's drummer Travis Baker, who reunited with Blink 182 after recovering from a horrific plane crash in 2008 stunned the audience again: he's just an animal!

But more importantly: here are some observations of that event that I enjoyed bunches (except the one-stage concept which won't allow for more bands to perform in three days plus stage changing time sucks).

Check out my Area 4 2010 photo gallery here:

The festival itself was really well organized. The campground and RV parking are right in front of the stage so even if you were hanging at the tent you could enjoy the show from a distance.

Food courts offered the usual standards at festivals and beer catering was well set up (Beck's). However, as with any one-stage festival they could have taken care of some more fun merchandise booths and some activity stuff like trampolines and some such as the band changing breaks suck at times (much better at Southside where there is music all the time fro three days at  three stages).

Overall though you can say Area4 is one of the better festivals albeit a bit far out and remote so you need to factor in some extra rural driving time.

Demolish the School

Becky's Proposal

In a hilarious phone prank 8-year old Becky from Dublin, Ireland asks to have her school demolished or (better even) blown up.

See more pranks and practical jokes at my other blog where I collect and exchange that stuff with other pranksters.

Molson Canadian

There is an unwritten code

Just love the Molson Canadian commercials! Enjoy this series and let me know about other, equally grand commercials.

If you don't find these commercials entertaining and intriguing there is a strong possibility that you are dead.

"There's an unwritten code in Canada. If you live by it, chances are; You've left your coat on some pile, and knew it wouldn't get stolen. You've never made a move on your buddies girlfriend. You know that on a road trip the strongest bladder determines the pit stops. You've kept all your hockey trophy's. You've replaced someones pint if you've knocked there's over. If your buddies in trouble, you've got his back. You've clapped for a dancer even though she shouldn't be a dancer. You've used a blow torch to curve your stick. You've used your arm as an ice-scraper, and, you've grown a beard in the post season. This is our beer, Molson Canadian." "Theres an unwritten code in Canada. If you live by it, chances are; You have a hockey scar somewhere. You've gone on a road trip with a car that had no business going on a road trip. You're proud to know a girl who got jiggy with a pro hockey player. You feel kinda bad reclining your seat in an airplane. You've used a cheesy pick-up line because your buddy dared you. You fill your friends pint before your own. You think hockey tape can fix anything. You've gotten kicked out of somewhere, and, you've turned down a booty call in the post-season. This is our beer, Molson Canadian." "There's an unwritten code in Canada. If you live by it, chances are; You've driven an hour for 19 minutes of ice time. You've been to a bar that starts with Mc or ends in Annigan's. You appreciate a woman who's into sports. You'll call anyone with goalie equiptment, a friend. You know what a J-stroke is. And sometimes, figure skating is worth watching. You know the sippy cup lid isn't as dumb as it sounds. You've worn a canoe as a hat. You've assembled a barbeque, and, they're not dents, they're goals. This is our beer, Molson Canadian." "There's an unwritten code in Canada. If you live by it, chances are; You've overcome bad directions to find your friends cottage. You know what happens on the ice, stays on the ice. You've come face to face with some kind of freaky bird. You hold a pint with all five fingers, and it's never okay to rub another mans rhubarb. You know the last box in, is the first to get unpacked. Your soap smells like soap. You've guestimated a phone number. You've cooked with a flashlight, and, you recycle. This our beer, Molson Canadian."

How to newscast

Charlie Brooker shows it all

Ever wondered how to approach the creation of a newscast? Here is some professional expert advice. Charlie Brooker: How to report the news.

I especially like the boring dowdy man in his kitchen.

0:00 - Before long a standard 'news report' visual language established itself; one that's immediately recognizable to anyone. Me, has this report.

0:10 - It starts here, with a lackluster establishing shot of a significant location. Next, a walkie-talkie preamble from the auteur, pacing steadily towards the lens, punctuating every other sentence with a hand gesture, and ignoring all the prigs milling around him like he's gliding through the fucking Matrix, before coming to a halt and posing a question: "What..comes next?"

0:32 - Often, something like this, a filler shot designed to give your eyes something to look at while my voice babbles on about facts. Sometimes, it'll slow down to a halt, turn monochrome, and some of those facts will appear one by one on the screen.

0:44 - This is followed by the obligatory shots of overweight people with their faces subtly framed out, after which the report is padded out with a selection of lazy and pointless vox-pops.

0:53 - "Um, usually get some inane chatter from people."

0:56 - "I think they do have too much. I think what we want to hear is actually what's happening and not what other people think of it."

1:02 - "I hate these sou..sound bytes...that..uh..I don't want some punter's opinion, usually. No."

1:10 - Another bit of dull visual abstraction to plug another gap now before the report segways gracefully into a bit of human interest courtesy of some dowdy man opening letters in a kitchen, and explaining how he's been affected by the issue.

1:20 - "When I'm watching the news...I don't really..y'know there's a person talking to me, telling me what's going on, and I don't really listen to what they're saying. It's just news. It's just news."

1:30 - He, unfortunately, was boring so to wake you up this is an animated chart, this is a silhouette representing the average family, and this is a lighthouse-keeper being beheaded by a laserbeam.

1:40 - As we near of the report, illustrative shots of pedestrians, and signs and a pipe out a window..

1:45 - ..And then the final summary, ending on a whimsical shot of something nearby, accompanied by a wry sign-off. If you're lucky a bit of wordplay fit for a king, or, in other words, a 'Regent Street'.

1:56 - Charlie Brooker, Newswipe, London.

Don't like your colleague?

Carry it out in public.

I mean PUUBLIIC! - Newsroom fighting