TGIF. 14/10

It seems that I've been pretty much rushed off my feet this week, the Job Centre will be pleased. I've been in newspaper and everything, surely I can categorise that as networking or something.

Anyway, even though I've definitely not been bored, I'm definitely knackered, it's so nice to finally get a chance to relax. The job hunt has been going quite well, I've been put forward for two roles within Nikon, which would be cool, and I have an interview with a fashion PR and marketing agency for an internship. Obviously, as usual, I've applied for a lot more jobs than I received replies for, but I'm feeling a lot more upbeat about the situation.

Other than the usual job hunt and being a celebrity, I've spent the remainder of my time this week internet shopping, Tumbling, watching TV and getting into Patrick Stump. Nothing particularly exciting but here are some nice things I've seen/found this week.

I just bought this online from River Island,I really hope it works out as a decent camera/handbag, it would be a nice alternative until I get enough dollar for a Jo Totes bag. It is advertised as a camera bag so here's hoping.

(via tr0llop)

I hate it when things like this come up on Tumblr, where do you actually find them in real life?! I'd love the burgundy pair.

(via BuzzFeed)

There's a whole Tumblr dedicated to these kind of images. They are cute though, and in some cases really well done in terms of matching colour schemes and the type (I know what I'm saying) to the point of fashion.

(via Whatacatchdonnie)

I guess that you've probably realised now that I do love a good mash-up and I apologise for last week's poor efforts, but I think this might make it up to you. Now that Fall Out Boy don't exist anymore it's probably perfectly acceptable to appreciate Patrick Stump's voice again right? I've discovered that his debut solo album, 'Soul Punk' is coming out next Tuesday and I'm on it. I also think that he looks quite nice. I was once a Fall Out Boy fan but I grew out of it, his new album possesses qualities found in FOB's metaphorical/visual lyrics but it's much more upbeat, and look at him. *Swoon*
I can't believe that he ever looked like this:

You can currently listen to the album in full over on the Rolling Stone website. Soul Punk is due for release on 18th October.

(via TotalFilm)

Links:

The Only Way is Dalston: As if I needed an excuse to hate East-London hipsters any more. Seems mildly amusing, but I think that it's only because of Vice's spin on it. A mock-trailer can be seen here.

Little White Lies print shop: So many films I appreciate/prints I need.

The Jane Doze appreciating me appreciating them: ♥

My guest blog over at TheEmployable.

News about the new American Pie movie and a redband trailer: All the cast are back and it looks like it might actually be funny.

I was told this week to 'play up my stats' if I get the chance to to in an interview. I think I will, but I have also thought that even if no one actually looks at this, it's nice to have a visual record of things.

Vice Style: China Gyal shoot.

I didn't even cotton on the the fact that this was shot in Wing Yip when I was reading the physical magazine. I love this shoot though, it's so bright and energetic, I really like the notions of culture clash too. A full gallery can be found on the Vice Style website.

Photo credit: James Pearson-Howes
(via Vice.com)

I'm Here.

The short Spike Jonze movie, 'I'm Here' is currently being streamed on the official movie website.
This makes me very happy, I won't talk about The Creators Project and not being able to go anymore.

www.IAmHereMovie.com
UPDATE; watched it, amazing, do it, it's half an hour of your life you should happily give up

Vice/Creators Fail.

It is a fail on my part too though; after having to send my address to them and them knowing that I am to receive 5 tickets for the Creators Project before they even had the first draw for the London exhibition last month, they have now sent me an email saying my name is on the door for Saturday. Oh, well that's great but someone else can have them then, I can't go, don't want to go (lie) and you are quite poorly organised. I guess guestlist might mean something important but I hope it doesn't.

I guess it doesn't bother me too much anyway because I don't look like this;

© Richard Kern via www.RichardKern.com

...so I'm not entirely sure I would fit in and as I would have most likely been on my own, that is kind of a big deal.

I also have no comfortable shoes with me at the moment, my feet are so sad. This will not help me tomorrow either.

I don't think I've mentioned that Moon won some tickets to Guilfest, so I do get to go after all, not that I think I ever said I was dying about going anyway, but it's always good fun and if it does turn out that Moon was scammed by some 65DOS faker, we can walk round Guildford instead - this is no comparison btw. I am worried I will be disappointed by it because at Glasto I was walking around comparing - with Guilfest being the only other festival I'd been to before - and it's hardly surprising who came out on top. Guilfest is more expensive in nearly every single away apart from admission price, in any case I will probably still have a fun time and if I don't - because it's obviously going to rain - then at least I can come home to a nice hot shower and a nice warm bed.

Here are a few of my favs from previous Guilfests; I will now have been four years in a row, even if we're only going for the day tomorrow.

© Ruth Johnston 2010.

Hoopla.

My O2 Wireless tickets arrived in the post today.

Along with an apt Vice Guide to Festivals booklet, which is almost no use whatsoever and incredibly against most festivals for some reason, thanks Vice, the photos are nice though, even if they are teeny tiny. That's right, that's me kind of dissing Vice, still haven't read this month's issue though..

I completely feel like this today;

I was so bored, everything on TV is going on about football, and I've still got World Cup fever, just because it's more exciting than watching Big Brother - who cares if it's the last ever series, total good riddance.

I've been loving seeing these billboards and adverts all over recently, I'll take a better photograph of my own when I'm next out and about, they have a massive one of everyone in Dorking at the moment. They're from a wonderful art project call 'Got, got, got, need!', for which artist Elliot Quince has created large 'football card' canvases of the stars of the World Cup 2010. The work is currently being exhibited at The Offside Gallery in Islington and all proceeds are going to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

© Elliot Quince via Got, Got, Got, Need

I also came across a neat series today which shows the World Cup stars as vegetables/fruit, it's just for absurd amusement really, but I do admire Park Pea-Sung, Frank Yam-pard is a joke though, there's something really awesome to be done with Wayne Rooney, but that's not for me to work out.

© Kyle Platts and Rupert Murphy at Yep via Viceland.

I have re-done my website but there's still stuff to be done, I'm quite proud of what's there at the moment, but I am starting to realise to limitations of Mr Site, despite singing it's praises when I started the site in January.

Ladj Ly, Kourtrajmé; The Creators Project.

Kourtrajmé is a group that were involved making a creepy film I watched last summer called, 'Sheitan', it was brilliant, they're a really interesting movement and I'm very excited that they're being featured in The Creators Project with Vice and Intel. Kourtrajmé were also involved with making the cult short, 'La Barbichette', starring Vince Cassel, who they have had quite a bit to do with.

Ladj Ly, a member of the movement is who is being interviewed for this video, he cites Mathieu Kassovitz - director of La Haine - as one of his main inspirations. There is also mention of working within the African film industry to bring it forward, I wonder how far it will be taken and in what part of Africa they are involved with. With Kassovitz's involvement with Johnny Mad Dog - a film shot in Liberia - as well as his and Vince Cassel's close involvement with Kourtrajmé I really hope it's there, not only is it something Liberia needs, but it would also be great for my dissertation. I can't wait for The Creators Project to come to London.

via Electric Sheep Magazine for The Creators Project

Mark Ronson, The Creators Project.

Here is Mark Ronson talking about himself and his work as part of The Creators Project, a collaboration between Vice and Intel. It looks at creativity and culture across the media and how technology is changing things. This is pretty interesting, even if you're not a fan of Mark Ronson and believe in the myth that he ruins people in the same way Kate Moss does.

Dammit.

There's an amazing job at Vice right now, but it's to start in a few weeks for the next three months and in London, it would be completely perfect if it were over the summer.
Developing film, sitting a front of house, being a guinea pig for blogs. I hope something comes up for the student crowd when it gets the end of the school year.

Actually.

It doesn't feel like it yet but I think that I'm going to have a lot of work to do this semester, I think I was starved from doing nearly nothing. Maybe the stress will make me less fat.
I'm really looking forward to it, and talk about dissertations, I'm vaguely looking forward to the introductory lecture tomorrow, once I know what I can do, I think I will be straight on it. I'm also really pleased about The Body unit, although I can't do the dressing up idea that I wanted to - it can be kept on the sidelines for now - I do get some more practical skills experience and it sounds like it will be a lot more energetic, meaning I won't get in a slump mid-project like I usually do.

So The Body is now an editorial-based project and split into five smaller briefs, culminating in a final brief which will be a magazine spread - for an existing magazine - featuring at least four images and one advertisement (the advertisement should be lifted/existing too). I thought I should mention this now as it's probably one of the main things I'll be blogging about and featuring images from from now on, if I actually have the time that is.
I am really enjoying taking photographs again at the moment though, I'm completely into the habit of taking one everyday for my 365 project, even if it is sometimes only on Photobooth, I think it's a sign of things to come and perhaps my work ethic improving slightly, just hope that the research doesn't bring me down.

I'm so pleased that my mum was pleased with my results, I am also looking forward to my sister visiting next week, I really like it when she comes down, hopefully work won't be piled too high by then, I get the whole of Tuesday off to do something with her though.

Valentines day is this weekend, it's joint with Chinese New Year so I'm going to try and overcome my fear and go down to Gunwharf to see the dancing dragon, I think I prefer Chinese New Year as an event to Valentines, despite the dragon. Valentines is so contrite, even with a boyfriend, it feels so silly, I like presents as much as the next person, but this is so forced, and it's not like I get nothing the rest of the year anyway, my relationship has plenty of romance without chocolates and flowers throwing up all over it. I'm not rejecting it, Moon and I always have a nice day together, but then there are lots of days like that, I just wonder whether there are other couples who are then only nice to each other because it's Valentines Day, that must be rubbish.
I'm still looking forward to this weekend and the days that follow though, even if by the end of it I'll probably be pulling my hair out from the stress of my invisible (so far) neglected work.

I wonder if I could relate any work this semester to the upcoming Vice documentary, Swansea Love Story, it's looking like it's going to be pretty badass. I loved the photo essay, I can't wait to see it.

Photo credit to: Adam Patterson
Swansea Love Story is a film by Andy Capper and Leo Leigh

VBS, VICE, VICE, VICE.

As a Vice student ambassador, I should pretty much love everything Viceland does, I should be careful with my words now because they could be watching me, but I only get the magazine for the photographs - and the occasional amusement gained from their one-off 'Vice guide to...' booklets, it's very rare that I'll read even 90% of the content. Nan Goldin has done shoots for Vice so I guess I am programmed to respect it, and I totally do, but I usually only look at the pictures, unless it's mega-engaging, which it usually isn't. It can border on pretentious a lot of the time and you just know that the kind of people it's aimed are really arty rich people who look scummy and dirty just to be considered different and beautiful - it still has nice photographs, but those are the kind of people I want to punch in the back of the head.

For the people who don't want to bother reading the magazine, there's always the online articles which you can pick and choose from and that's usually where I go. However, with recent time off I have also discovered the wonder that is VBS.TV, considering it's spawned crap even more pretentious than the magazine, I've even amazed myself. However, their travel series is amazing, if their not shitting us, because some of the stuff their discovering is pretty unbelievable, I think I've found a new hero in Shane Smith, I'd love to do what he's doing, but he must have nerves of steel, I think I'll stick with my flakey unfounded dreams for now. I've ordered the Travel DVD and I can't wait for it to come so I can watch it, just because the adverts in between videos are so irritating - if I was going to buy Dante's Inferno, I'm definitely not going to now.
I can't wait until Tuesday now, all this time twiddling my thumbs is getting very dull. More than anything I can't wait to go out and do things again. It's not even like once Moon finishes his exams we'll be doing stuff all the time, but at least when we're not doing the things we have planned, we won't be doing it together.
My friend Tom is coming down to stay next week, I'm looking forward to it, I love that some old friends are just like that and it's like you never lost touch. There are other old friends that are just rubbish though, the ones that you talk to a hell of a lot more than the ones you lost touch with, but never do what they say they're going to do, they're the worst.

Bump.

Having gone through all the Pixar Shorts now, THIS ONE is by far the best, probably one of the best bits of animation I've seen in a while. So lovely, I wish real-life things were that cute. ♥

Partly Cloudy (2009), Pixar ©

Two of my images are on the Vice Student photo channel - they didn't put in the other three. But I'm happy with two. There's not that many photos on there yet so I won't quite drown just yet - I'm on the first page today :)

Out of choice I'm still working on the Project Management RDB - typing and dragging and dropping pictures is much easier than cutting and sticking right now.
Nearly done, then I'm giving myself a break, I've been sat here since lunchtime, just doing work. Wahhh.

Thank you Mr. Postman.

These came in the post.

From It's Nice That.
From Vistaprint.

I don't know if I'm obligated to promote Vice as a Vice student ambassador, but I'm doing it at every opportunity anyway. Apparently they're not taking that many on anymore.
Quite like my business cards, feel so professional, they came with a neat 'business card case' too, but that's too shiny to Photobooth. I'm not sure if the cathedral will let me use them at the exhibition because the woman that works there didn't want 'undesirables' getting hold of our information and ringing us etc. How would 'desirables' be able to get in touch though?
Regarding the exhibition, most things are going alright, but my group has to wait on the others for information on sponsors and guest speakers, as well as addresses for who other students want to invite. It's got kind of tense between the group as well, which is a bit annoying but I can deal with it because I don't actually care enough.
Brief two is coming along alright as well because I have plenty of research - I still need to put it in my RDB, but once it's in there it will look badass.
For tonight though, I am going to drink wine in my pyjamas and watch Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, because it's the weekend and I have actually done stuff today.

I slept 11 hours last night - I went to bed at quarter to 11. It was quite good. But I think it's slightly too much sleep. For some reason I was mega-tired yesterday.