Beautiful Losers

I watched this documentary yesterday afternoon and it was sooooo good I watched it a second time! Another quality purchase from my favourite shop in Dublin. This film is as much about friendship, love and life as it is about skating and art. It follows a group of artists from various backgrounds, some from broken homes, brought together by a common interest in creating art, living a life of choice, freedom and friendship. The art movement they created eventually became massive in the New York pop art subculture and helped shape the way for everything that followed. Watch it!

You can buy the dvd here if you are interested and the film trailer is posted below. The sound track to this doc is also really good and it flows very nicely!

Susumu Yokota - Kodomotachi

Hello there!

Slaters man! I'm outta here!

Eelus

Eelus is a lovely chap. I've been a big fan of his work for a good while now. Having viewed his pieces on the interweb and in person, it reaffirms my love of this free art form.

I've passed by his 'Lost Angel' (left) many times on South William Street in Dublin while out for a tasty pint or two of Guinness. It's an amazing piece of stencil work. One of the best in Dublin (there's a few) and is only spoiled by the obstruction from the local restaurants and bars wheelie bins at times (Sort that out). It is in a great area of the city, with many an amazing, rustic, untouched, gloomy, decaying drinking spot near by.

Last year, having looked at his work for awhile I decided to purchase one of his prints. I bought 'I said I'm happy, what more do you want'. Thinking it may appeal my fiancée as well and thus pose no threat when framed and up on our walls!

Delivery:- Can take up to five weeks. So I knuckled in, waiting for its arrival (like it was Christmas). Each day...'has it arrived'.......'sorry, not yet'. Days turned into weeks until the five weeks passed. Then seven weeks. So I emailed Eelus through his website. He was very apologetic, and reassured me that the print would be on its way once he got into his studio the next morning. Once again, weeks floated by until finally a delivery from Eelus.com. Yay, it's here! On collection, the package turned out to be a bunch of postcards! Holy Mackerel! What are you trying to do to me man!!! I emailed him again.... 'The postcards are lovely, thank you'. 'But on another note, the print that I ordered, I'd love to actually have it here'. More apologies and he explained that he was a one man band and had been out of the country a lot recently (which I was aware of). So we chatted back and forth over the net for a bit and he seemed like a genuinely nice fellow. A week later, I picked up my cardboard print tube from the post office. I walked back to the flat, with a feeling of contentment and joy wrapped around me.

Opening up the tube I was pleasantly surprised to find that the good man himself had slipped in a second print for my tales of woe. I was chuffed to bits. This was a very thoughtful thing to do! The second print 'taken' was awesome. And to cap it off it was an artists proof! What a nice guy!

He's doing very well at the moment with quite a few projects on the go and in many a great location! Teaming up with some great artists including Logan Hicks (who is, on a technical level, one of the best). His studio is absolutely amazing, a thing of beauty, in essence, all I want in life! Ahhhhhhhhhh, one day.....

Uh huh

An undisclosed location somewhere north of the Pyrenees.

Well, I do say Dr *****. Not that I would advocate this type of behaviour or practical agricultural science projects, but this years harvest appears to be doing very well! June 2009.

Well, hello there!

Dublin Airport, December 2010. I spend a lot of hours in this place. Killing time before my flight boards for home. This was taken on my Lomo LCA (before it was broken) using expired Fiji Neopan 400cn film which is a little too grainy for my liking. It's not a particularly great photo but as I spend so long in this place every month, it's valid. I am very much looking forward to time travel in the (near) future.

Storoway - Zorbing / Fuel up

Unsigned (at the time), indie-folk band Stornoway (they are from Oxford) making their Later with Jools Holland debut after enchanting all who saw them on BBC's Glastonbury coverage. November 2010. It was a Friday night. I was sitting enjoying a few drinks when I first seen these guys on Jools and thought, wow! Beautiful sound! And the trumpet player in Zorbing is tasty! (not the dudes!). I replayed it many times (the wonders of sky+). I wish Jools was still on the telly as it was a real treat on a Friday night!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like...

Johnny Flynn - The Wrote And The Writ

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be locked in a very nice bar situated in the Town Hall Market Square area (better known as Raekoja Plats to the locals, I think) of Estonia's capital, Tallinn. I must say, the Old Town is beautiful, in body and spirit. (More on that later).

Late into the evening my good friends and I got chatting with another group of cool people (courtesy of Continental Pek) who turned out to be very good friends with the girl behind the bar. The place was alive! Friendships were quickly formed, stories told and a great time was enjoyed by all, over pints of beer, mojito's and a host of assorted shots. We were made to feel very welcome and are indebted to those we met. So thank you.

I spoke to a pretty young lady, who's name I shall not mention. As we talked we discussed music and in particular folk music. Seemingly, we had a similar taste in this subject and she mentioned this guy, Johnny Flynn. In return, I am always keen to promote the good word of 'The Tallest man on Earth' and 'Stornoway' respectively. So back in Aberdeen I checked him out and was super impressed with what I heard. He's awesome! So thanks...Kris!