Join Me…(Part One)
Posted by Paul | Filed under Blog etc., Essays, Life, Tech
Yesterday, amid much fanfare, I joined Twitter. I’d been sceptical about it for quite some time, but also aware that it was seen as a ‘good thing’ by a large number of people that I was keen to get involved with in terms of work, so I thought I’d give it a go. Coupled with the ongoing use of Facebook, and the concurrent questioning of similar tools by parents and others, I set out with the intention of writing a blog post on why Twitter, Facebook and even blogging can be useful and fun, and *why* I feel the need to share my innermost (Well, sort of) thoughts with, potentially, the global population (or more likely at the moment, one or two people at most). I haven’t got round to fully fleshing this post out yet, so I may end up returning to this theme, but for the moment, here’s some quotes from a blog post by Jemima Kiss who sums up the reasons and advantages of this type of social interaction far better than (currently) I can - although I’ll have a go soon…
“Think of Twitter messages in three ways: functional messages (’Does anyone know a good site for cheap flights?’), discussion (’Can someone give me feedback on these photos?’) or, for the more poetically inclined, haiku-style notes about your day or observations on life. These are fascinating mini-insights into fleeting moments in our life that we may not remember otherwise and become quite special, in retrospect. (’Beautiful day, and walking with Mum by the river. Hoping the apple crumble doesn’t burn while we’re out!’)”
“There are so many possible uses for Twitter. It’s a very functional group messaging service - if your ten closest mates were signed up you could say ‘I’m in the pub’ and would only have to send one message instead of paying for ten. And you could also use it for more creative projects, something I’d like to explore when I clone myself and have some time to do ‘art’ outside of all-consuming work time.”
“It’s far easier to dismiss something out of hand than to be open-minded, creative and playful.”
So there you go. Join me - it’s free, it’s fun, and it’s up to you. Gwan, gwan, gwan, gwan, GWAN!
I’m out.
Posted by Paul | Filed under Comedy, TV
Before we begin, it’s just been announced that, amongst others, Ian McDiarmid is to star in “a
BBC2 drama about Margaret Thatcher’s final days in office…as the men
‘who loved her and those who betrayed her’…McDiarmid, Emperor Palpatine
in Star Wars, will play Denis Thatcher;”. I wonder what kind of message
they’re trying to send out? Ach, that makes me sound like one of these
‘Biased BBC’ bloggers, which I’m glad to say, is further from the truth
than you could ever imagine. Besides…
All hail the return of Dragons’ Den. As I’m obliged to point out, it’s not the Apprentice (copyright every other review of Dragons’ Den ever). Indeed, it’s more in the Pop Idol vein. I won’t bother to explain the format, you can watch the latest episode here. The main reason for tuning in for the first of the new series, is to discover the answers to the following questions:
1. Does each episode stick to the ‘traditional’ (see also:
‘tired’) format of two winners per episode, with the final competitors
always reaching a deal? In short, yes. Although it’s an
entertaining show, I think that there’s a noticeable pattern to each
episode, as explained above. There was a slight twist this week, with a
deal being reached so early in the show, but it tends to ruin one of
the main ‘hooks’ of the programme if you know that all the ‘quick’ parts won’t get a deal, and the last contestants always
get a deal. I’m sure that the programme-makers spend a great deal of
time working on the ‘narrative’ of each episode, but perhaps the
pattern that emerged in the first couple of series, and has grown stale
over the last series, should be changed? How about stretching the
narrative over a series, so that the ‘wins’ are spread throughout the
series, rather than throughout each episode? Of course, this may well
be what they’re doing already, and I just haven’t been paying enough
attention, but I think it’s still true to say that a definite pattern
to each episode has been established, which can lessen the enjoyment of the show.
2. Are contestants seriously seeking deals, or do they just want exposure?
For the majority, it’s still the former, but it’s undeniable that
merely by making an appearance on the show (preferably one that lasts
more than 30 seconds), contestants will reach an audience of between 3-4 million,
thereby gaining a great deal more exposure than would come from their
planned marketing budgets. Case in point, the first contestants on this
week’s episode, Hamfatter
(crazy name, crazee guys, as Private Eye might say). By playing their
material on a national broadcast, with a much wider audience than would
be able to go to one of their gigs, they’ve raised their profile
considerably.
2a. An aside - on the topic of bands making money in the current
entertainment world - a couple of recent articles highlighting the
changing landscape of the market - Last.fm wants to give money to unsigned acts, and some good points made (in another aside) about how most bands now make their money from performances,
rather than releasing music. To me, this kind of makes sense, just as I
can see the television industry changing (more on which, another time),
it could be argued that listening to music is a form of ‘passive’
activity that could/should be free, whereas seeing the band in question
putting in the effort and performing live before your eyes, is
a more active and personalised activity, which is where the real value
to the consumer lies…Anyway, back to the Den..
3. Has anyone ever been to (or even seen) a Bannatyne’s Gym?
Given that we’re repeatedly told that this is how the ‘lovable’ grumpy
Scotsman made his fortune, why is it that I’ve only ever seen one of his gyms, in Central London? Ignore the fact that I don’t go looking for gyms in my spare time, but still…and mention of Mr. Bannatyne also leads me to ask..
4. Has the number of Duncan Bannatyne’s Dragons’ Den investments reached single figures yet? I’m exaggerating, but having watched for at least three years, I’m pretty sure he’s only invested in one, possibly
two ventures. I’d be happy to be proved wrong. However, it does bring
me on to the way in which several of the Dragons now have defined
catchprases or personality traits:
Duncan Bannatyne - “You’re rubbish, your idea is
terrible, I’m out.” Usually heard 10 seconds after the contestants’
initial pitch. Also usually heard 50 times per episode.
Theo Paphitis - Must ensure a mention of his house, his children, their education, and especially ‘Mrs. P’ at least three times per episode.
Deborah Meaden - Guaranteed to be shocked and seem
morally and personally offended by one contestant per episode.
Especially if the contestant is female.
Peter Jones - WARNING: Do not wear anything
other than a suit, shirt and tie in this man’s presence. For your own
sake. I can see where he’s coming from, but there was at least one
contestant last series (something to do with alternative eco-friendly
fuels or summat) who dared to wear something different, and this then
descended into a slanging match based mainly on attire, rather than the
merits of business ideas - uncomfortable viewing…
James Caan - No, not that one (again, copyright every Dragons’ Den review ever). Despite the first episode of the new series running against the grain of established wisdom, James Caan always
makes an offer. For anything. At all. Maybe because he’s in the seat in
which the Dragon gets replaced most often - perhaps the producers are
forcing quotas on him?
5. (Almost there) Can we hear more from the Dragons?
Not of their puns, which now seem to be a competition between Theo and
Peter to send the contestants packing in the least amusing way
possible, but given that the show is ostensibly a ‘business
ideas/advice’ show, I’d like to see more feedback from the Dragons.
Sometimes the most interesting parts are when they don’t sit there and
slag off contestants, nor do they make offers, but instead they give
out sensible advice. We get ‘after the pitch’ interviews with Evan
Davies and the contestants, but can we have, dare I mention it,
Apprentice or Weakest Link style interviews with the Dragons’, saying why they made their decision, and what could have been better?
6. Finally, who on earth thought shaky-cam would be a good idea? Is early-to-mid-90s ‘MTV’ or Wayne’s World ‘Extreeeeeme-close up!’ camera work back in fashion?
Dangling on a Motorbike
Posted by Paul | Filed under Blog etc., Doctor Who, Life, Tech
Grrr. Well, this isn’t working quite as I’d hoped. I am going to try to make more of an effort to post here. I’ve been tagging various things on delicious with the intention of then commenting on them here, but with no result, obviously. Check the link instead to see what might have been (including evidence of the bees returning..) So, in the hope of bucking the trend, let’s bring you today’s “misinterpretation of the day”:
From this BBC news report:
“The man was taken outside and left on a motorbike, but no further action was taken against him by police officers present.”
I can just imagine it - hurled out of the building, and placed carefully on a nearby motorbike…
Perhaps that’s not quite what they meant, though…
P.S. There is something on your back! Poor Donna 
Links, Plugs and Elderly Men
Posted by Paul | Filed under 'Career', Comedy
Just a quick one tonight..
Found this from Peggster.net (go to ‘Simon’s Blog’ and read the June 25th entry) - if the US remake of Spaced was going to go ahead (which, thankfully, it seems won’t happen), it appears there were plans afoot for Pegg, Hynes et al. to shoot a small clip in response. Thus, we would have had the nearest thing to a new episode, the (draft of) script can be read via the link.
Yet another link for you - On the way home from work each day, I pick up a copy of thelondonpaper (not the London Lite, which is mostly rubbish). The reason I plump for thelondonpaper though, is based mainly on the inclusion of the superb Em cartoon, which always gives me a good laugh at the end of the day. There is a website with the archive of the cartoons, but it’s at least a week behind the strips published in the paper. Still, well worth a look - now why can’t we have an RSS feed to get daily updates? Please?
Quick plug, there’s about a month to go until my final comedy gig (i.e. the last one that I’ve still got booked) - So it’s almost time to start stressing over material again, but at least this time I should be able to prepare more. It does seem to depend a lot on the audience, though - so, if you’re reading this, come on down to the Monkey Business club in Kentish Town on July 31st and laugh at me. Otherwise I may never appear in public again.
{EDITOR} Unfortunately there then followed a hilarious piece of tube-related satire in which a sign calling for seats to be given to the less-able-to-stand was given a twist, hence the ‘eldery men’ of the title. At the moment, however, I can’t seem to upload the picture properly, so until then, you’ll just have to imagine how funny it was.
Start from the beginning, skip to the end…
Posted by Paul | Filed under Blog etc., Comedy, TV, Tech
…and so begins the start of my (hopefully semi-) regular posting. Few things to mention today:
1. iPlayer 2.0 finally launched. It’s looking pretty good - having worked on the 1.0 version, I know that some of these features have been talked about for a while, so it’s great to see them finally out there. Of particular interest to me, and a feature which others might have missed, is the ability to watch/listen to something, leave the page and then come back to the same point automatically when you return.
I’ve not tried it out yet, but given that I like to watch stuff from iPlayer on the Wii whilst I’m having my breakfast, but I rarely have time to finish a whole programme, this will be a godsend, for instance when watching programmes like Doctor Who Confidential or…
2. MeeBox - The latest offering from Adam Buxton (of Adam & Joe fame) - reminds me of a cross between ‘The Fast Show‘, ‘The Adam and Joe Show‘ (of course) and Armando Iannucci’s ‘Time Trumpet‘. It’s apparently been a year in the making (or at least in the scheduling - and it’s pretty good. Some bits are funnier than others, but it’s great to see older characters making a reappearance (BaadDad, the alien from Takeover TV etc.), but I can’t help think there’s something missing…Joe?
Now that’s probably unfair, since I’m sure they’d rather not be seen as being joined at the hip, but I get the feeling that, given the short nature of the sketches, it loses something when Mr. Buxton appears in *every* one of them, almost straight away…
Worth checking out, though…(available until Monday morning)
3. Although it looks like I’ve got my arse into gear just as she’s leaving on a summer holiday, I just wanted to give a mention to Caroline Clifford’s superb “Local Girl’s Day in Pictures” - a very funny, appealing blog made up (mostly) of cartoons describing the life of a typical North-East Londoner (I hope that’s an fair description…)