Monthly Archives: March 2007

YouTube Video Awards - Achieve Your Dreams With Kiwi!

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on March 27, 2007 – 1:22 pm
Filed under Everything Else, Media (Films & Music)

The winners of the first YouTube Video Awards have been published today with much fanfare. The announcement has already garnered quite a bit of mainstream media attention with the BBC covering the story both online and on TV. As for the videos themselves - they’re well worth a look.

Of the seven winners, selected in differing categories, three really stand out as superb creations. These are, in no particular order:

Most Creative: Here It Goes Again by OKGo

OK Go are a Chicago based rock band who dress themselves in so-called ‘geek rock’ outfits consisting of waistcoats, sweater vests, ties, shirts and smart trousers. Here It Goes Again is a music video uploaded by the band for the single of the same name and earlier this year it also one the Grammy for the Best Short-Form Music Video. The video, shot in one sequence, shows the band performing a superbly choreographed dance on a set of eight treadmills. The song’s good too!

Most Inspirational: Free Hugs Campaign by PeaceOnEarth123

It sounds simple, and it is - a man walks around public spaces with a big banner proclaiming ‘Free Hugs’. Strangers come up to the man, and they hug… on camera. That’s essentially the premise of the entire video, but it really is quite inspiring.

Most Adorable: Kiwi! by Madyeti47

The Kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand and in this short animation one is brought to life in an attempt to realise its dream - to fly. For me, Kiwi! is the Most Adorable, Most Inspirational and Most Creative video all in one, but could only win in one category. If I had to choose an overall winner, this would be it.

(Spoiler Warning) The animation starts with a Kiwi nailing trees horizontally to a large cliff face. At first it’s confusing, but before long all is revealed when the Kiwi adorns itself in flying gear and jumps off the cliff. With the trees horizontal, and the Kiwi falling to the ground at a rapid rate towards certain death, it appears as if it is flying for the first time. The Kiwi realises that it has now achieved its goal of flight against all odds, and just before its death the tear of joy makes you realise that fulfilling its dream was worth the struggle. No matter how difficult the struggle was, or how impossible it may have seemed, it was, in the end, possible for the Kiwi to fly and be truly happy for the first time.

The other winners are (with my favourites first):

As for the Kiwi; I think we can all learn something from that small, flightless bird.

Helping you Blog with a Mission Statement

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on March 23, 2007 – 4:02 pm
Filed under Everything Else

In the 10 months since its creation, there have been 70 posts on this blog, with topics ranging from pirates and Intelligent Design to a brief explanation of the Enron scandal (in under 500 words, no less). Yet my posting schedule is even more varied than topics covered, with September and October 2006 having 3 each and January and February of this year having 11 each.

March has been a slow month: with only 4 posts so far I’ve found myself wondering what has caused this downturn. It’s definitely not a lack of inspiration, as in the last few days alone I’ve read articles in the media that I would like to comment on and have even written full posts on a number of subjects that I just don’t want to ‘publish’. It’s not a lack of motivation either - I enjoy writing here and consistently look forward to doing so. So if it’s not these - the two main obstacles to writing - then what is it that’s causing this slump?

I believe that the problem lies in the fact that this website has no identity - it concentrates on no particluar subject(s) and has no defined ‘purpose’. It has no ‘mission statement‘ and without this, I have no focus when writing. I have never stopped and considered what this site is attempting to achieve - did I create it for business or pleasure, and what were my reasons for doing so? Do I write about what I’m interested in, or what I think you’re interested in? Who visits, and who do I want to visit, this site? These questions have to be answered so that I can produce my blog’s mission statement.

I did not create this site to make money online; I created it for friends, for family, and for myself. It’s not a business venture; it’s a place where I can be contacted conveniently; a place where people can see my work and find out what I am currently doing; and also a platform for me to construct thoughts on topics that interest me. I’m not trying to break into the Technorati 100 or pay my rent from this, I want to improving my writing and communication skills by writing informative, and sometimes amusing, articles. I want to portray my personality on subjects and topics I am interested in and would like to discuss. Therefore, my mission statement is:

Through LloydMorgan.co.uk, I hope to inform and entertain by giving a novel, yet personal, take on topics that interest me personally, and projects that I am working on.

No, it’s not profound and not exactly ‘clear-cut’, but it’s exactly what I want - it’s enough to keep me focused - at least temporarily - as I know exactly what my interests are. Currently they are personal development; science and technology; business; and politics. These may change, and this statement allows for that - I don’t want to lock myself into one subject!

You’ll notice some changes as I experiment to find my niche and attempt carve my own little alcove into the Internet. While I do that, why don’t you discover your mission statement? For your blog; your career; or life in general… what else can this be applied to? It’s definitely helped me, and it’s only been a few hours since I ‘discovered’ it.

Not Your Usual Paris Metro Journey (Concert Sauvage Dans Le Metro)

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on March 17, 2007 – 9:48 am
Filed under Everything Else, Media (Films & Music)

You’re in Paris. You join the metro at the uninspiring but shop-laden La Défense on your way to the Louvre six stops later. You’re in the mood to slowly descend the stairs underneath that famous glass pyramid and make your way through the museum to admire the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. You’re also hoping to stop at Charles de Gualle Étoile, the second stop on the journey, to visit the Arc de Triomphe and soak in the upmarket atmosphere of the Champs- Élysées.

You reach Port Maillot, the first stop on the line, quite quickly and a lot of people join the train. You shuffle around a bit for some space and make your way to the door ready to leave at the next stop. Just then you hear someone behind you break into song. You listen for a minute and realise that he’s singing Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’ and it actually sounds pretty good. You turn around, and just as you do so, six more people turn this solo into an amazingly harmonious rendition complete with some beatboxed percussion.

Charles de Gualle Étoile comes and goes - you’ll come back later. This is Naturally 7. This is amazing, and it’s all being filmed.

I’m not a huge beatboxing fan. Yeah, it’s impressive and it can, occasionally, sound pretty good, but this video is amazing. A few years ago I saw Rahzel perform in Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff - a club more commonly referred to as ‘The Welsh Club’ - and was blown away. I wasn’t sure what to expect, going to see a beatboxer perform live at a club. Sounded pretty lame for £10 ($20) if I’m being honest. How wrong was I. Rahzel is amazing and was the first beatboxer to combine vocal percussion (beats) with singing simultaneously! I was blow away.

With a helping hand from Boing Boing however, I’ve watched a lot of videos in the last few weeks of beatboxers in action… and I now think it’s awesome.

Naturally 7’s ‘In the Air Tonight’ on the Paris metro is the best I’ve seen so far and is actually better than the studio version. Then there was the beatbox contestant on a French TV talent show who wooed the judges when he performed a mix of songs including Kraftwerk’s ‘Trans-Europe Express’.

Want more? Well here’s a favourite a house-mate pointed me towards… BeardyMan (the UK beatboxing champon) showing us how to cook-up a beatboxing storm in the kitchen and also telling us about climate change (or not). And one final one, courtesy of Ben… a flute and beatbox rendition of the Inspector Gadget theme. Bravo.

And yes, this post was just an excuse for me to point you towards some YouTube videos.