Darkness and Light

Sal Like Elvis Gallery

2009-06-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

The gallery is now ready for viewing by all. You are free to browse the gallery, but if you wish to receive a print then please do email thatsme@luximaging.co.uk choosing either 6x4, 9x6 or 8x12 as your desired size and we will be happy to reply with a price.

Sal is a hugely successful Elvis impersonator, and has had numerous television appearances. His vocal talents do the songs he sings justice, and it is all in the spirit of remembering the King.

Sal Like Elvis Tribute

2009-06-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Just finished photographing at the Sal Like Elvis Tribute act. It was a night of fantastic food, brilliant entertainment and enjoyment for everyone who attended at Zara in Mayland.

Sal is an award winning Elvis impersonator, and a brilliant showman who has been featured on many TV shows, including This Morning. Tomorrow night he will be supporting Alvin Stardust at the Brighton Casino. His ability to hold an audience is second to none and his vocal talents do the songs he covers true justice.

An image gallery, all the pictures of which can be ordered online (or our alternative slideshow DVD) will be available by the end of this week. You are more than welcome to browse through the pictures to spark memories of the night - but why not surprise an unsuspecting member of your party with a professional snap-shot from the night?

Please check back here - and on the home page for more details when the gallery is available.

Tweeting with Ray Garton

2009-06-14T03:58:00.001-07:00

During the week I had a Twitter conversation with Ray Garton on how he first broke into writing, and his advice for those starting out in the industry. He raises some interesting points, and some that contradict some current thoughts on self-publishing.

Ray Garton is the writer of over 50 books in the horror and comedy genres, including several television tie-ins and the 'non-fiction' Living in a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting book which has caused much controversy since it was published, though Ray is happy that it is now out of print, as he was never happy with it being published as a non-fiction novel, when his sources could not keep their story straight.

As well as being an award winning author, he is also a massive film buff and regularly writes movie reviews. He is very generous, and offers many 'unknown' facts about celebrities and moments in history. He is one to follow on Twitter, most certainly.

KierHeath: @RayGarton what was your initial breakthrough moment in writing?

RayGarton: @KierHeath It might have been birth. I've been writing ever since I could write. Even before that ...

I used to draw stories in panels, comic-book-style. It's just always been a part of me. The breakthrough might have been ...

my first novel, in 6th grade. It SUCKED, but had beginning, middle & end, characters who developed, & it was 350 manuscript...

pages. Then I realized I could do this in a way that might allow me to do it professionally.

KierHeath: @RayGarton is writing a job for you or do you still do it for the passion of writing?

RayGarton: @KierHeath It's both. Passion & job. I've never held any other job. Sold first novel in '83 at 20 & have written almost 60 books.

I don't know anything else, really. A job, a passion. I'm fortunate to do what I love.

KierHeath: @RayGarton In an interview you said that you had an easy way into the industry, how hard do you think it really is for new writers?

RayGarton: @KierHeath I came along at a fortunate time. Horror fiction was REALLY hot. That made it much easier.
However ...

things are much different today. Totally different business. It's much, MUCH harder for a newcomer. I don't envy them.

KierHeath: @RayGarton what hope do you see in the self-publishing market, to possible main stream when the fan base and sales are there?

RayGarton: @KierHeath Don't get me started on self-publishing. Not a supporter.

KierHeath: @RayGarton if u dnt support it, how do you see new talent breaking through without magazines, short story Market etc of the past?

RayGarton: @KierHeath Self-publish does nothing for new talent. ANYBODY can self-publish. Talent has nothing to do with it.

KierHeath: @RayGarton so you're saying that self publishing provides more noise than signal? Interesting point. So it's try try and try again?

RayGarton: @KierHeath Yes. SPing has allowed every talentless schmendrick out there who can afford it say, "Look! I'm a writer now!" Uh-uh.

Persistence is the only advice I can come up with. It's harder today, but there's still only 1 way, no quick fix.

I would like to thank Ray for his time, and for allowing me to reprint this short interview with him on this blog. His new book Bestial is available now.

When Will People Realise how Awesome the iPhone is?

2009-06-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

Really, people, start looking at the world a little differently will you. All the time, when people criticise the iPhone (which I have), they are always going on and on about how it doesn't have this or that feature.

When I initially discovered that it didn't have media messaging, I thought: well that's a bit stupid. But, I didn't miss it at all. In the whole history of media messages, I've probably sent about five. And as for video calls, do not even get me started how completely useless that is.

It can sometimes be a little embarrassing to describe to people why such an expensive device doesn't have features which many phones have enjoyed in the past. It is easy to think that, for all its wizz-bang fashion icon status, the iPhone is useless to most people. It is, however, normally those same people who think like that who have nothing better to do than send pictures of their genitals to each other on smart phones.

You only realise the iPhone's true potential when you begin to see it as more than a phone. Instead, it is a media and software platform like no other device we have seen yet. It is what the PDA should always have been. When you first watch a movie, or television episode on it, you realise the last time you saw anything similar was on a sci-fi movie. This is the future in your hand.

And the journey is not complete there.

The iPhone is evolving, as any great product should. The lack of features, and the limitations that Apple impose upon the product are there for a good reason. Yes, unlike the Palm Pre, it does not support multi-tasking, but the Pre allows you to run so many tasks that the phone will die. Yes, it did not initially ship with cut,copy and paste, but Apple have been given time to develop a solution which is in keeping with the UI's style and most likely with the capabilities to see how such a feature would work across what is now a vast selection of 3rd party apps. We can learn to live with these limitations, because we have so many alternatives in our lives to having everything housed all in one device.

Why are we not content with a product that does what it says it will do, and do it to the best of its capability? I don't think that you can argue that any other touch-screen phone is able to accomplish anything near what the iPhone can. LG, Samsung, Palm...please. They are cheap imitations, and lack true innovation.

I'm not arguing that you should only buy an iPhone... it is not a perfect product, but it is a growing platform that can constantly improve. Why is it awesome? Because it is the only device I have used that has made so much capable, and been able to accomplish all of its features to the best of my expectations.

Other phone manufacturers need to leaf from Apple's book. They have attempted to cram so much into their phones without worrying about the hardware specs, user interface and expandability of their devices. Instead, Apple decided to slow down their development, rethink some established ideas and build a device that was missing some well-known features, but had been engineered to work smoothly and perfectly.

And now, Apple is leading the marketplace with constant innovation, refinement and outside development. The iPhone is here to stay, and it's going to be a huge, huge life changer. I think it could well be comparable to the release of the modern personal computer, but its impact has been deminished by the fast pace of computer development, and the proliferation of phones, computers in most western homes and the internet.

We all need to slow down, and stop expecting everything from everybody. Why do we not search for those that can achieve products, services and work that is of a superior quality, instead of being able to do everything and wash the dishes at the same time?

13 Ways to Remove Obstacles

2009-06-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Stop talking and takes action

Do not worry about charts and action plans; use the extra time to start working

Become deaf to negativity and pessimism

Absorb and share praise

Fight for your ideas, they are bullet-proof

Do not panic about that day job getting in the way of your business; create an outfit that can allow you to work around it

Remember that you have the right to tell people to get 'out of the way'

Do not get trapped into the mentality that you need to rent an office, a shop or hire a sales team to be a success

Focus on creating a business that can deliver your products smoothly and swiftly

Talk to everyone and make sure they know your name

Ensure that anyone can walk up to you and say 'hi'

Learn to see difficult situations as part of the journey, rather than the end

Recognise that the sweet is never as sweet without the bitter, baby

Should My Friend Photograph My Wedding?

2009-05-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

NO!!!!!!

Now, I really don't care who photographs your wedding, it's your wedding after all.

But I want to ask you this: do you want to flick through wonky, under/overexposed, unposed, purely awful photographs and try to remember what happened during your wedding day - a day that flies by at such break-neck speed?

I don't think you do. There's a lot of talk during these unescapable financial times, that people are choosing friends to photograph their wedding, over professional photographers who do unfortunately come with a price tag.

Yes, every person can go out and buy a digital camera and snap some pictures at your wedding. Its easy, that's why so many couples give out free disposable cameras for you to take photographs with. Do you know what happens to almost all of those photos that get taken on those little cameras - they are binned. That's because there is a difference between having the equipment, and being able to use it.

But Kieron, you are asking, isn't your reportage style of photography just the same as running around and snapping pictures? Well, that's how I might explain it to you, because yes I will be running around a lot and snapping a lot of pictures of people enjoying themselves. However, every shot is composed, I click the shutter at the right time to get the best shot, and I use a camera that I have trained myself with to get the best out of a given moment - because I am a hunter. I am hunting for the shot, hunting for the moment, hunting for those photographs that will spark your memory.

Do you know why else I will get you better photographs than any of your friends or family? Because that is what I am there to do - everyone else is interested in getting drunk. I'm not. After your wedding, I start working straight away on developing your pictures to get the most vibrant colours, most emotional black and whites, and I ensure only the highest quality in printing. I am a professional, and you will only receive the images that are worthy of having my name on them. Uncle Jeff isn't too bothered - he's quite happy he got everyone in the frame; it's just a shame that the bride wasn't smiling, the groom had his eyes shut and Bobby was picking his nose.

Just recently, I completed a job for a friend of mine, Brian. He had his wedding, and asked a friend to photograph it for him. In fact, that friend said he used to be a professional photographer. The day was done, the photographs were taken, and Brian was given the memory cards.

Woo, sorry Brian was given the memory cards and expected to print them himself? Yes that's right. It turns out, that friend wasn't a professional any more for a reason. That was when Brian came to me, and I finished off the work. I was able to offer Brian all of my services that I would have been able to supply after the wedding.

What made me so proud to be a professional photographer - and what is an important lesson for you to learn - is that when Brian was asked, 'did Kieron take those photos?' Brian replied: 'he should have done.'

11 Ways You Know You're Good When

2009-05-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

You can look at someone else's work and break it apart

People come to you with questions

Your customers talk about you to others

You've written a book about what you've done

A newspaper has interviewed you

The world seems to revolve just a little bit about you

You can teach someone

You can hold your side in an argument and win

You've done a presentation on your work

People take the time to thank you for your efforts

You can lie back and be happy with yourself

Increasing Your Receptivity

2009-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting quick tweet conversation with Scott Ginsberg, the Nametag Guy.

I asked Scott how you would deal with an audience that wasn't interested in your subject matter. He brought up 'increasing your receptivity'. This is the things that you can do to keep your audience interested; little humour breaks, images, anecdotes all of which help to break up the boredom and mundanity of your subject matter.

Scott's second point was about listening to what others want. How do they best learn, interact with others, or what they expect from you. You can tailor yourself to their needs, and that way increase your receptivity.

It's a bit of a circle. If you listen, you can learn how to help others learn themselves.

Who Did you Meet Today?

2009-04-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's not what you know, it's who you know.

In some ways that phrase is true, but just because you know a person it doesn't mean that they find you interesting.

When you meet a new person, make sure that you give them time to talk. Once they are done, bring out a real GEM to impress them and grab their attention.

'Scuba diving? Man, I have to tell you about the time this hammerhead shark came circling round the cage when I was on holiday...'

Don't forget that networking meetings aren't just about selling your services, it's about chatting and getting to know that group of people. You never know how useful your friends will become in the near future. If you can look at your contacts list and see it much like a Yellow Pages, then you know you have succeeded it being a great networker.

It's cool to work with friends, so I see all of my customers as friends. So, who did you meet today?

How Coca-Cola Almost Killed Themselves

2009-02-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

Did you know that in 1985 Coca-Cola made one of the biggest mistakes in history?

Coca-Cola is about a secret recipe of ingredients that blends into one of the best known drinks across the world, so you can understand why all of their customers went crazy when they changed the recipe.

In the April of 1985, after four years of development and testing, they released a new, sweeter version of the drink. As soon as the drink hit the shelves, customers began boycotting the company and hoarding crates of the original recipe drinks.

What went wrong? Well, whilst spending so much money making and testing the drink to 190,000 people, they forgot to ask people how they'd feel about losing the taste that they had loved for so long.

Groups of people formed clubs that served out the original formula and refused to buy the new recipe drinks in protest against the change, forcing Coca-Cola to bring back the original. This is why the drink's description includes: Coke original formula.

Weeks after the company announced that the old recipe was gone, and would be nothing more than a dusty piece of paper somewhere (a scrappy piece of paper at that, so I've heard), they brought it back - outselling the new recipe almost instantly and rescuing their sales.

What should be learnt from this? Change is good, but fixing something that isn't broken can lead to heartache. Keeping in touch with your customers is one of the biggest priorities of any business, and in this case Coca-Cola got it desperately wrong.

Start Raiding Your Idea Bank

2009-02-05T04:24:00.000-08:00

Now is the time to start looking at that list of ideas you have, what can you make a reality from practically nothing?
What supplies can you order on demand to service possible customers?
Who do you know that can make this idea something you can touch?
How many of those ideas do you think you can start?
The internet makes it so easy to start a business idea from nothing
Get a pen, some paper, make a website (might need a friend for this)
Put a price on your idea
Sell, sell, sell!!!
Sell more, get more profit!
If you don't have an idea, find one!
Everyone has problems, so solve one

Now is the time to start raiding your bank of ideas, get out there and make it a reality. Fine you've been made redundant, but stop watching repeats of Quincy and start working.

Hunting: Entering the World Within the Lens

2009-02-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

Held within the glass chambers of the camera lens, the world changes; frozen in time for eternity. These moments can never be captured by the human eye, we can only imagine what a scene may look like captured on the emulsion of a film, or the CCD of a digital camera. This is the world that only the lens can see, and it is this world that has captured my imagination and my passion.

I was fourteen when I got my first film camera. Before this age I had no focus, fleeting between one fantastical notion to the other, and I hardly cared for anything that required more than a moment of my attention. But suddenly something clicked, I enjoyed viewing the world through that eyepiece, and my mind began to think about how the world would look with this setting, or that setting.

The camera was nothing more than an advanced point and shoot, but it had enough customizable buttons to keep me interested. I reveled in taking pictures of the graffiti on the Berlin wall, the monuments and park of Alexanderplatz and my friends enjoying themselves. When the pictures came back from the lab, my parents were surprised at the quality they showed.

My dad, being a hobbyist photographer, got me my first digital camera. It was a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom. It wasn’t much of a camera, but its lack of controls made me use the camera to the extremes of its limits. Ikea desk lamps became studio lights, household objects and ornaments were my subjects. I captured images that were rich in texture and delightful in their use of interesting lighting.

It was in the first few weeks of using this camera that I knew I had found a passion, one that would stay with me for the rest of my life. I now carry a camera with me everywhere I go (mostly being an iPhone if I’m not working, as I find DSLRs don’t fit in pockets well) and if I see that ‘Shot’, an image that would be a crime not to photograph, then I have to drop everything and grab a camera.

Photography can be gripping, so emotional it can pull at your heart strings, so humorous you are left crying, and so full of depth that you can look and ponder for hours at an image. If you know a young person that shows interest in photography, nurture that passion, tell them how good they are and do your best to keep them snapping.

My nephew is seven, he now has that first camera of mine and I can’t believe that he wont let it sit idle. His family are caught within its aim, his pets, his home, his friends all of them now part of that world that only the lens can see. I’m happy to see that the photography bug has leapt to the next generation once again.

Do you have an interesting first camera experience, or know someone who does? Tell me about.

Snow Fall

2009-02-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

These images were taken just before the whole UK began panicking about the recent snow fall we had, which has now become nothing more than the odd block of ice here and there where I am.

The snow stopped before I could get to the position I really wanted, thus losing the true effect the lights were giving it and I was insufficiently booted for such a task - my North Face jacket and layers did well, while my Puma trainers screamed to be away from cold wetness.

Had the snow stayed around when I had time to get out and get some shots in the fields you'd have some darn good photos, but as is my luck it's gone now.

If you like any of these photos I'd be happy to take orders in our standard hand-made frames.

Valentine's Make-Over Gift Voucher

2009-01-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

This year, why not spoil your lover with a make-over that will make her (or him!) feel like a goddess.

Starting off with a manicure, eyelash tint and pedicure, our make-up artist with 7 years of experience and a BTEC National Diploma (she also has a kitten, you know) will then make your special someone feel refreshed and make them look gorgeous.

Following from the make-over, I will then spend an hour photographing your lover with my relaxed approach to photography in the comfort of their own home. Your lover will then get a print of their choice in a hand-made frame, signed by the photographer.

This package costs £160, which is a credit cowboy beating price compared to my competitors who offer a similar service in excess of £200. You can present your wonderful surprise to your lover with our specially designed gift voucher in a fully customised Valentine's Day card.

For more information, visit the Gift Card page.

Lux Imaging is an Essex based photography business with a relaxed approach to photography, offering your images in hand-made frames, on canvas wraps and in photo-books.

Hello? Hellooooo? HELLO!!!

2009-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Getting your message out there can be difficult. A lot of people, who don’t know you, couldn’t give the foggiest what your product, service or level of experience is like. In fact, they see your invasion of their private time as a threat and an annoyance.

So, how can you get people to notice you? Well, Tim Berners Lee invented this thing called the internet. It’s a wonderful emporium of information that’s jam packed with directories listing companies that do a thousand different things. Getting yourself listed on as many of those as possible is going to increase the chance that people will find what they’re looking for (which should be you). It also makes your website friendlier to search engines.

Your copy should be informative and engaging, offering exactly the information that a prospective client needs, whilst also keeping them hooked to look deeper. In a lot of cases, a clever customer will compare your prices and offers between several companies, so provide your possible clients with everything they need.

I completely believe in being as amazingly helpful as possible, whether that person is going to pay me or not, because in the end I’m working for people’s trust not just their money. To me, happiness is worth more than a cheque… even if it does not pay the bills. In the end, what are your clients going to remember, the business that blindly charged their customer for a half-hearted service, or the business that was more than happy to help a person out for free?

What doesn’t work is pushy over-selling of your product. I don’t like being spoken to by a commission hounding, inarticulate sales person. I came across just this sort of thing when I was looking round one of my competitor’s photography stands in a shopping mall. Whilst some of the photos weren’t my sort of style, I could appreciate it, but then the saleswoman opened her mouth, and all that works’ credit went ‘aht da windah’.

So, if you want to get your message out to the right people and make them happy; ask their permission to approach, give them plenty of opportunity to find you, and have a well-thought out, articulate message to give them.

The Worst Photograph Ever?

2009-01-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

Is this the worst photograph, ever? Well, from my experience working in a minilab, I would have to say that this is certainly not the case. There are plenty of people taking blurry pictures of the pavement at different angles (I never could work out what it was these customers were trying to illustrate) which beat this. However, Leibowitz's photograph for the Espresso calendar is a very good contender.

It lacks any sense of style, context, good composure, or taste. I fail to see how any of the subjects relate, and see this more as an example of what not to do with a budget and with guys working on photoshop with some Mac Pros. Honestly, what on earth is this image about?

I have calendars from suppliers that have their images sourced from amateurs that are blazingly more interesting and better thought out than this image.

Perhaps I am biased in that I fail to appreciate photomanipulation artwork, but I've never seen any example of that medium which has been this bad. But I do think that even those blurry pavement images have a little more style than this image does.

Happy Christmas From Lux Imaging

2008-12-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Posting will resume in January.

Movember Gala Parte

2008-11-21T04:40:00.000-08:00

The whole team will be attending the Movember Gala Parte in London, and I'm sure that you will see us all there in fancy dress in the theme of each of our moustaches... now where can I get a highway patrol uniform?

On a different subject, it's my birthday today!

Mo Update!

2008-11-18T10:59:00.001-08:00

Now that's a Mo!

Don't forget to sponsor my Mo!

Law of Annoyance

2008-11-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

There are many companies out there who base their business and marketing strategies on the Law of Averages. It doesn't work!

Victor Antonio, a marketing speaker, used the analogy of a nightclub to describe the idea of the Law of Averages. You go up to a woman and ask her for a dance, she says no, so you move onto the next one, and the next one until the 14th one says yes... but then a track comes on you can't dance to, so you have to start again. That, Victor Antonio explains, is the Law of Averages. The more people you ask, the better your chance of getting a 'yes'. I see, that makes you look like a desperate dick.

This is the idea behind all those amazingly annoying cold calls you get from about 11 o'clock onwards. They spend their whole day having people scream and shout and swear at them to go away, because they are talking to people who simply are not interested. I mean, who is really going to say yes to double-glazing just because someone called them up in the middle of their lunch.

Apparently, we are one of the luckiest households in the country, we've managed to win £10,000 worth of double-glazing three years in a row. And yet, we still haven't won that damn lottery.

According to Victor Antonio, we should embrace negativity and rejection as part of the marketing game, but why? If you're calling 100 people and only getting 2 or 3 yes, or maybes then how much time and effort have you had to waste to get there. Stop worrying about how many people you've managed to call, and start concentrating on who you're trying to talk to.

As a marketer and business owner, I want to be talking to people who are actually interested in my services. I don't need a radio ad (who the hell can see what my photography is like, let alone remember my web address), or a witty TV advert (a good advert doesn't make me drink a certain type of beer, or buy a certain washing up liquid) or a whole page spread in a magazine (positioned just nicely between the letters section and the sports pages).

If you're out to annoy your potential customers, then by all means keep making those calls - but I can guarantee you'll be the last person they think of when they are looking for a service you provide.

All Lobsters are Red

2008-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

'People don't want that...'

'If you were a woman you need...'

'When you're over 60 you...'

I hear comments like this all the time. Endless lists of expectations that are more often than not unfounded and without evidence.

Just because a million white, British families enjoy caravan holidays doesn't mean that 100,000 Indian families wouldn't. Invite them along and let them see what it's like. You'll probably find that when they enjoy it, they'll talk to their friend's about it and, before you know it, 100,000 Indian families are enjoying caravan holidays, and that customer base continues to grow.

Recently, I photographed a client as a portrait for her mother's birthday. The client was adamant that her mother would choose a regular 'seen it before' studio portrait. So, I took the studio shot, but then moved into the kitchen and took a few photos there. The client was more relaxed and less concerned about how they looked, where their hands were and what they were wearing.

So, what image do you think the client's mother chose? That's right, her mother went against her daughter's expectations and chose a portrait that was taken in the kitchen, when her daughter was more relaxed.

In truth, it doesn't matter how well you think you know you're friends, family or customers, they can always surprise you. In my case, people want to see a photograph of you, not how you can pretend to look like. If you have a product, and it's not going to be popular to that main section of the bell curve, you need to figure out how to make your product attractive and interesting to the long tail of that curve.

Ignore expectations and go for the unusual option and you're sure to get the best prize.

Sit, Stay... Go!

2008-11-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

I don't buy my dog Pedigree or Baker's, or any other budget brand. I buy him Royal Canin, who make a range of dog food that is specifically designed for individual breeds.

As it's not readily available at all pet stores, or superstores, I have to travel about 25 minutes down the road to a place called Pets Corner. What a treat this place is.

I was having problems with my dog constantly getting an upset stomach, resulting in a bit of a mess coming from both ends. I tried altering the amount of food, the frequency of his meals, but nothing would help. He was on Baker's at the time, and after enquiring at Pets Corner, they let us know about how horrible this stuff really was.

They gave me some really sound advice on his diet, what the best treats were to give him, and even what toys would last with him.

Recently, when I had to switch him to adult dog food, I wanted to know if I should slowly intergrate his new food with the old stuff. I had a pleasant chat about it, and when we stumbled onto a hole in the assistant's knowledge, she was more than happy to go and compare the ingredients of the old stuff with his new adult food.

This experience was so much more pleasing than your average retail experience of, 'dunno' or 'I'll get the manager'.

Hire passionate people to sell your products, and give them the training they need to not only sell to your customers, but to help them as well.

Don't make customers, make fans!

I Told You So

2008-11-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

Judging by my latest addition to the Quotelog, Shakespeare could see this financial catastrophe coming.

"Neither a Borrower nor a Lender be"
William Shakespeare

I don't have a credit card and I rarely borrow money from the bank, except when there is no way to save cash fast enough for what ever it is I am looking to do. I live within my means, not far beyond them.

Society needs to relearn how to use money. Rather than living surrounded by credit, why not earn the money, save and then spend it. Borrowing with no idea how you're going to repay that debt is crazy! Slow down, the world isn't going to end tomorrow, there's time for that American style fridge, or that fancy sofa from DFS.

Borrowing can be a good thing, but you need to do the math first.

Mo Update!

2008-11-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

That's right, folks. It's time for an update!

As you can see, it's just been trained, but it will start coming through a look quicker now and should be rather nicely defined by the start of next week. I'm looking forward to the odd faces. That'll give me plenty of opportunity to explain my cause.

Don't forget, you can donate and sponsor my Mo!

Murder a Prostitute...

2008-11-06T12:06:00.001-08:00

Classic Clarkson.

That's all it was, nothing more. In the last Top Gear episode, the first of a new Series, Jeremy Clarkson made a gag about truckers changing gears and murdering prostitutes. It was a joke that made me laugh, and I like to think that I have a very wide sense of humour. I can handle the darker, dirtier side of comedy, and I can find the humour in a simple, classic style of joke. Clarkson's joke was nothing more than a mild one.

I don't think that Jeremy should apologise for it, nor should the BBC try to remove it. I most certainly do not think that calls from MP for Ipswich, Chris Mole, for him to be fired are right. Chris Mole decided to complain to the BBC, and call for Jeremy Clarkson to be fired, even though the families of the victims of Steve Wright, a serial-killing trucker, had not complained about the comments that were made. When a friend of one of the victims heard the gag, it didn't even cross her mind that Clarkson may have been referring to the Ipswich murders.

Jeremy Clarkson's persona on TV is that of an over-exaggerating, highly opinionated, and rather conservative stereotype. He makes jokes of many topics, and his humour is always expected to be close to the mark. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, or distasteful about the joke he made on Top Gear.

I do love how our society gets on a band wagon. If it's not a recession, or constant killings in a country far away, its upheaval in the BBC - with a lets fire everyone mentality. I do, however, agree that Ross and Brand's joke went far beyond the line of taste. How funny really is it to listen to two men shouting to someone's voicemail... I would have wanted Sachs to be on the phone, at least he could offer something in return.

With Russell Brand's sense of humour, you could see this coming. Brand was always pushing the boundaries of what he could say on TV and radio, and most of the time his ramblings and over-excited nature did little to tickle my funny bone. But if we've learnt a lesson, it's that if you're going to throw insults at someone on their voicemail, do it to an old person. Sachs didn't even know about the messages until the complaints started pouring in.

I don't think Jeremy Clarkson needs to be fired, nor do I agree with the complaints that people put in. Comedy can explore almost every subject you can imagine, even death, birth, driving... and I believe that no comedian should have to apologise for a joke that offends an individual, it is a comedians job to bring laughter to the many. But, perhaps I can see past the laughter and see the cogs working.