likes

Area 4 Festival 2010

Jens Thieme — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:38:09 +0000

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

Jens Thieme — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:35:40 +0000

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.

Everybody's free 2 wear sunscreen

Jens Thieme — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:52:09 +0000

Baz Luhrmann

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99: Wear sunscreen. Two official versions of Australian director, screen writer and producer Baz Luhrmann.

Full caption: If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.

Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future.

Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you. Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts.

Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters.

Throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body.

Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines.

They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths:

Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund.

Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.

Find more information on genius Baz Luhrmann and the background of the original Wear Sunscreen or the Sunscreen Speech essay titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997 at Wikipedia.

Hurts - Wonderful Life

Jens Thieme — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:16:38 +0000

Newcomers from Manchester

If you liked the 80s with Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Gary Newman, Soft Cell or Joy Division you will absolutely love HURTS!

Hurts is about to release their first album ever and they already amaze 80s fans and many other brit pop listeners around the world.

Hurts' MySpace site, their Facebook (you know why I don't link to FB) and Youtube feature some of the debut songs. You can also download a free mp3 file off their official website.

Largest Digital Photo

Jens Thieme — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:34:58 +0000

Highest Resolution yet

After recent records for highest resolution digital photographs in Prague and Paris some new records cast huge shadows on these: Budapest with 70 Giga Pixel and Dubai with 45 Giga Pixel cleared the way for even crazier records.

70 Billion Pixels Budapest!

Prague High Resolution Digital Photo

Paris High Resolution Digital Photo

Dubai High Resolution Digital Photo

Molson Canadian

Jens Thieme — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:00:29 +0000

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

Jens Thieme — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:50:54 +0000

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?

Jens Thieme — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:48:21 +0000

Carry it out in public.

I mean PUUBLIIC! - Newsroom fighting

Apocalyptic, Epic, Finnish

Jens Thieme — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 06:01:31 +0000

Apocaplytica - Crazy Creativity

One of the most exciting creative Scandinavian bands is Apocalyptica from Finland. The combination of classical music instruments with hard rock and heavy metal music art is not everyone's cup of tea I reckon but you got to admit that it looks and sounds pretty awesome.

I like the Fins, having been there many times and having worked with them quite intensely over my years in Competitive Intelligence I grew on their many special ways of creative life style and crazy arts. Maybe it's the dark during the cold polar nights or the great outdoors they enjoy to the extend during the White Nights there.

Anyway, Apocalyptica seems to manifest what I cherish in the Fins when spending my time with my Scandinavian friends: sincerity, creativity and fun mixed with a tad weirdness and craziness.

Paris 26 Gigapixels

Jens Thieme — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:56:33 +0000

Highest Resolution Tour

Amazing! I am just wondering when the first private law suits trickle in cuz someone finds their undy's lying in the floor at the cute neighbor's apartment...

Paris 26 Gigapixels is a stitching of 2346 single photos showing a very high-resolution panoramic view of the French capital (354159x75570 px). I was amazed and somewhat shocked about the level of detail when sneaking around and zooming in on people's privacy.