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Archive for ‘other rambling’

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Occasional Comics

by supersim65 on December 7, 2011 at 1:13 am

I made my friend Matt a birthday card the other day, it had a little comic strip on the front. It made me realise I often write little comic strips for birthday cards and at work and for fun sometimes.

I started doing it a little while ago after hanging out with some friends who had a comic collective called London Underground Comics (which I don’t think exists anymore the co-founders seem to be Modern Monstrosity now) and enjoyed everyone I met there having their little characters and story lines and their passion for the medium, so I started doodling every now and then.

I have no real talent for drawing, but I quite enjoy writing these little comic strips, especially little three-cell shorts, so I thought I might as well start recording them for posterity. I think I may have put some up here before that I once drew for Nedry‘s tour blog, the strip I made for Matt’s birthday was inspired by those.

Anyhow, I’ve made a new page in the above menu for them, Occasional Comics, where I can add some blurred mobile phone pictures of any I write in the future just in case anyone else out there might enjoy looking at them.

└ Tags: comics, london underground comics, matt parker, modern monstrosity

Golden Aubergine

by supersim65 on July 28, 2011 at 11:38 am

Posted In: other rambling

Alginate setting.

Last week my housemates Emile and Kim created a golden aubergine for their friend as a present. How cool is that! I think it’s worth writing about in case anyone else wants to make golden fruit of vegetables as a present for their friends.

Resin Pouring

Emile stuck the aubergine on a skewer and put it in a jug, filling it with a quick-setting alginate. When it is dry it resembles silicone and is squashy and rubbery. He then sliced it in half to remove the aubergine, and cut a little hole in the top before replacing it in the jug. The alginate will not stick to anything at all, so we ate the aubergine for dinner, no waste.

He then mixed up the two parts of a quick-setting resin and very quickly poured it into the newly formed mould. It sets pretty fast once it’s going so there was no time to waste, and it turns into plastic when it’s dry so you don’t want to spill it anywhere.

Bare resin aubergine.

It took a little while to dry. Once it was done, there was a stump where the hole in the mould had been which needed cutting off, and there was a little bit of sanding and touching up to do around the seams.

Finally Kim (aka Queen Midas) covered it in gold leaf. I have no idea how she did this as she did while I wasn’t there. She seems to be a bit of a pro at gold-leafing though, apparently she went through a phase of plastering everything she owned in gold leaf. She still has a golden boom-box in the house.

Et voila. One golden aubergine. I for one would have been over-joyed to receive such a present. You can safely use this as a hint for my next birthday.

└ Tags: alginate, aubergine, gold, resin

Nedry Tour (Europe)

by supersim65 on November 30, 2010 at 10:58 am

Posted In: music, other rambling

I have been away with Nedry again through the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France and Belgium. It was great to visit some new places and hang out with 65daysofstatic again. I took a great deal of layers to prepare for the cold of the north eastern continent. The weather was great, above freezing throughout, and when we got home the weather had turned and and the UK was the coldest place we’d been.

Nedry in Brussels

Anyway, it’s back to work now, got to get winter over and done with. I’ll sign off with a link to Nedry’s new Apples and Pears single which is now available. Handmade with three remixes by Sideshow (aka Fink), Ambeson, and everyones favourite Leeds boys, Worried About Satan. Get them while they’re hot. You can also buy the tracks as downloads from Boomkat.

Oh, and there’s some photos I took here…

└ Tags: 65daysofstatic, ayu okakita, chris amblin, europe, matt parker, nedry, tour, worriedaboutsatan

Save the Velodrome

by supersim65 on September 27, 2010 at 3:06 pm

Posted In: charity, other rambling

Herne Hill Velodrome was built in 1891, played host to the 1948 Olympics and is steeped in all 119 years of it’s history. The original stands are still standing, albeit barely, and inside you will find grass polo bikes from the 1908 Olympic games as well as being the only velodrome in the country where races are still run behind Triumph motorbikes. On top of its past, it is still well used throughout the year and hosts a small but dedicated community of cyclists who all get involved in the different events hosted at the venue as well as the weekly training sessions and competition meetings.

The future of the Velodrome is currently under threat. A number of factors are leading to the site struggling to find the funding it needs to maintain the deteriorating structures and facilities and no doubt the impending completion of the venue for the upcoming 2012 Olympic track racing is not helping the case.

As a member of the group of cyclists who call Herne Hill their own, I will be attending the public meeting on the 6th of October to hear in more detail the plight we are facing and perhaps find a way to contribute to the solution. I am very confident given the strength and size of the community that the future of Herne Hill can be secured but if you have any interest in cycling, track racing or would like to have an interest in it, now’s a good time. You can come down to the meeting, come down on a Saturday to get involved or just show an interest on the link below.

Herne Hill is a wonderful place and will stand for another 100 years given a chance. Register your interest in the campaign at http://www.savethevelodrome.com and check out the normal website at http://www.hernehillvelodrome.com.

└ Tags: bikes, cycling, dulwich, herne hill, london, pista, track, velodrome

Facial Hair: A Muse

by supersim65 on May 7, 2009 at 9:54 pm

Posted In: other rambling

Ignug During the last four weeks I have been trying, in vein, to grow a thick coat of hair on my face. ‘Trying’, I thought, would be used in the loosest sense as the whole process would simply involve me not shaving. How wrong I was.

I begun the endeavour by laughing my way through websites such as beards.org which told of the necessary commitment and attention to detail required to grow, nurture and maintain successful facial growth. By the beginning of the second week, I was struggling not to shave of the pathetic fuzz congregating around my chin, my commitment was put hard to the test.

Now I sit proud on the 28th day of my conquest, proud that I have undertaken the task at hand and got through the four weeks, although not entirely so of my unkempt stubble which barely constitutes a ‘beard’ by most peoples standards (picture above). My plan has been for the last few days to successfully complete the task then immediately shave the mild abomination off, but I’ve started to feel a little bit attached to it now, like it is something I have worked hard at and do not want to lose.

So why do I feel like this? What is it that makes a man so proud of an accomplishment that does not seem to require skill or effort of any traditional form? Pictures in the beards.org gallery show happy smiling men with a great sense of pride in their eyes, a feeling I relate to, although do not completely share in. Is it a status symbol? A demonstration of testosterone that makes a man feel strong or powerful in a group of his peers? Pellegrini wrote in his 1973 study, “…the male beard communicates an heroic image of the independent, sturdy, and resourceful pioneer, ready, willing and able to do manly things.” Would people see me that way if I had a thick, full coat of hair on my face? All I know is that I would certainly feel that way, which I do not doubt would go some way to boosting my confidence in life.

It will be a very difficult decision for me tomorrow morning on the 29th day, to give in now at the probable extent of my growth, or to hang in a little longer on something that has brought me such ups and downs and disdain and pride. Whatever I choose, I implore every man (and woman, let’s be politically correct) to go on this journey, 28 days, no trimming, no shaving, no plucking, no waxing, no nothing. It is a voyage of discovery that will make you feel part of a wider community regardless of your successes and/or failures.

I found these links encouraging…
http://uk.movember.com/
http://www.beards.org/
http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/
http://www.beardcommunity.com/