If Sacrum & Colman united...

PLUS

EQUALS:

A very funny chain email I've received, as I'm sure you all have. Just note the surname and the writing style, and there you have it (though I wasn't aware Paul had any African brothers) :

FROM MR MILIK COLMAN BILL & EXCHANGE MANAGER/ AUDITING.AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK(ADB)BURKINA-FASO WEST AFRICA.

My Dear,

I am the bill and exchange manager at FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPT,In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of U.S $10.5million US dollars, TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS in an account that belonged to one of our foreign customers who died along with his entire family in a plane crash.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or a business associate to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidlines and laws, but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you so that the bank can release the money to you as the next of kin or a business associate to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

Since the bank law and guidline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after Six years the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund.The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occassioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin.

I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for expenses incured during the usiness and 50% would be for me and my Family.

There after I and my Family will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated and for some possible investment under your kind control.Therefore, to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged,you must apply first to the bank as a business associate or next of kin of the deceased person.

1. Your Full Names and Address. 2. Direct Telephone and Fax numbers.

please i will like this transaction to be strictly between you and i Upon receipt of your reply, I will start by giving to you the application which you will fill and send to the bank.
I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail,

Trusting to hear from you immediately, Yours faithfully

Milik Colman.

Notes from a large island...

Usual rules apply - picture belongs to Chauss513

Whilst not quite what I thought when I came to America, certain parts of it have definitely left their mark on me; I certainly weigh more than I did before.

Anyway, some random thoughts:

1) From a purely aesthetic view point, I can understand why David Ogilvy hated billboards. These things are EVERYWHERE. From advertising to any form of religious or nationalistic message they can stick up. So I can understand why the consumer (at least on t'other side of the Atlantic) has a dim view of advertising.

2) The exchange rate meant I could buy lots of cds/beer/clothes/women/John Deere hats (one of those is a lie). This was a very good thing.

3) Alabama, and indeed, the whole south of America is far, far, far, far, far more cultured than I gave it credit for. It's very easy to rely on some form of stereotype, and I suppose that's true, especially when they like to propagate the dixie ideals to such a great degree (yes, I saw the odd Confederate flag). However, talk to the average American and they are incredibly articulate, thoughtful and considerate. It's sad when the liminal elements of society have such a hand in making it (and the same is true for the UK).

4) Nashville is a great city. Brilliant bars, great music (indie, not country - though more on that in a bit).

5) IHOP is the way forward in eateries. And open 24 hours to boot. I would weigh 5 times my weight if this ever came to the UK.

6) The overly English accent does well out there. Natch.

7) Beer, whilst it doesn't come in pints, does come in fluid ounces. You can order a 36 fl oz beer there. Admittedly, it's Coors Light, but damn.. that's a lot of beer.

8) American radio stations are brilliant. Especially classic rock ones, and those with loads of local adverts.

9) You can win a lot more drinking games if you are English/shameless. I'm saying no more.

10) I secretly like Country music...yes, even the ultra religious stuff....but especially the uptempo, almost bluegrass kind. Like folk music, but quicker.

11) Playing a game where you can compare how many fast food places there are to churches is fun. Though you are never quite sure which wins.

12) I rescind my previous allegation about American sweets; Paydays & Butterfingers are damn tasty. Hershey's still tastes like grit and sick mixed together.

13) I still find it strange that American teens can tote around a massive truck at 16, yet can't drink until 21, nor gamble at all. The aforementioned truck is far, far more dangerous than our little cars - it has a crap stopping distance.

14) America has no squash. Just (bleurgh) Gatorade, which tastes oddly like a combination of medicine and weak flavoured water.

15) I need to see more states, and with more local people.. the only times I've been out to the US has been with American people I know; it's by far and away the best way to do things.

Anyway, just a few notes on this post - check out my flickr for some pictures of the trip. Not enough there, I'm sorry to say.

Jetlagged..

Soon I will post more. But now I must sleep. Alabama was fun; sadly, I didn't make it to Baton Rouge or Nawlins, but ne'er mind.

Oh, and in my brief scan of the blogs - Sacrum is bloody brilliant. Hope the Naked experiment goes well. I want to be Sacrum's friend.

A Final Thought (before my holiday starts)

I'm not eschewing research (on the contrary, you can mine some great insights from it), but overly rely on it and you'll have no idea how to achieve that wonderful magic that communications is founded on.

Unless the comms answer is bloody obvious, of course. Which it rarely is/should ever be.

To extend the aphorism - you can know you won't get pissed on today, but will you need that umbrella tomorrow?

Any thoughts, readers?

*And on that note, I'll see you guys in two weeks time.

An American Tune..

Just before I go, I've decided to leave you with a couple of things. The first is a podcast, which can be downloaded here.

It's very Americanised, with good reason - if you are a regular reader, you'll know why.

Hope you all like it.

Exercise for the mind and body..

Well, seeing as I'm buggering off for a bit in a short while, this post is simply to implore you, gentle reader, to see what I could do to improve myself:

I'm probably going to be drinking a lot out there, so copious exercise will have to wait until I join a gym into the smoke/start MMAing like all the cool kids do/playing 5-a-side (one of those won't happen).

On the other fronts - I need to broaden my reading. Since finishing University, I've been reading easy things which I denied myself whilst on the course. Sure, interspersed with all of that has been some Robert Graves, some Huxley, some more Austen.. but for the most part it's been finishing off my collections of Pratchett and King.

I need to read more 'weird shit' as Richard puts it. Just finishing the Ghost Map at the moment, and have read some more Johnson before that.

As for music, I'm doing my bit for eclectic music listening - though I didn't know about Sufjan Stevens before Lebowski told me about him, so clearly my lack of buying a cd every week (unlike University) has been my undoing.

You can get an idea of the sort of things I currently want/my tastes by looking at my Amazon wishlist.

As for other things, I'm going to re-take up golf, after leaving it in the doldrums for a long time, as well as finally getting round to picking up a guitar. God help my flatmates.

So, does anyone have any recommendations?

Come on take me to the Mardi Gras..

In a period of unprecedented change, I'm buggering off to Alabama/Louisiana to see an old University friend for a little while... but not quite yet - will be going on the following weekend.

I'm looking forward to this holiday, as I've not had one for bloody ages, and I fancy seeing some more of America.

Will be bringing my digital camera with me, so much happy snapping will go on.

It also (happily) happens to fall during Mardi Gras. Think I might be going, if all works out, to soak up some of the atmosphere.

Should be good fun (and a million miles away from my last American adventure to California/San Fran).

I probably have the most English accent in the world, so should stick out like a sore thumb/be stoned to death, so that's also good.

I'm moving...OR...City living well it ain't for most, and that's a fact not an empty boast..

Well, I'm about to do it. About to fly the coop, settle in pastures new and leave the glorious countryside behind for the big smoke.

And I've not got the slightest idea of how this whole 'moving' business works. However, I do have two friends coming to London with me, coming to seek our fortunes like some band of nineteenth century ragamuffins.

These miscreants will be coming with me:

So yes, it should be good fun... at least before it turns into some bitter, Peep Show esque 'land baron' argument.

Anyone got any tips/advice for moving down? I know about Gumtree... NABs? Any other places? I'd like to try for Zone 2 at a reasonable standard of living (and that's saying something, because I'll be the tidy one).

Getting used to all the big buildings and fast pace will be the biggest challenge. Only used to Worcester, and its gentle Midlands ways.

I just can't get you out of my head..

La la la..la lala.. lalala la la la...

Ever have one of those days where you simply can't get a tune out of your head? I've had one today with this tune.

I tell you, it makes the days at my temp job fly by. Tomorrow, it'll be 'Do you know the way to San Jose', despite the fact I only know one line.

But why do these tunes stick in my head, and others don't? Yes, you've guessed it, it's because of simplicity.

I remember the very simple tunes (with the exception of Bohemian Rhapsody) and the oddly catchy melodies. There is something in this. People remember complex stuff when they are determined to listen to this.

I've probably watched one Banana Splits episode in my life, yet I know the theme music because it's simple and catchy. Similarly, I've knowingly bought the Economist maybe twice in my life, but I sure know about the advertising and respect the brand because of its comms and brand presence.

Generation Why?

The picture is from Lerema (usual policy applies; I'll take it down if you wish)

Imagine you are a marketeer.

You know that your audience is creating more of those strange videos online; you know about MySpace, but that's all fine, because Rupert Murdoch has bought it out for a large amount of money, and is going to conventionally market to them.

If you are particularly savvy, you know that that isn't going to last. They'll move on, and virtual tumbleweeds will inhabit that space.

User generated content may get passe'; after all, as a lot of abandoned blogs prove, people can't keep on being creative and innovative. It's why most blogs are simply link-fests with few original thoughts (including this post, inspired by Adnostic's post on the subject).

So how do you tap into this new generation's revenue stream? Well, firstly, you can accept that the pace of change is coming faster and faster than ever. Trends are found out not only via social networking sites, but by a mixture of the generations that have gone before them. Converse, for example, may have been originally regarded as a Gen X'er brand, but it's coming back in a big way.

To make you realise just how this new generation is changing - they don't regard Michael Jordan as the face of Nike, or maybe even basketball. Oasis, to them, weren't the biggest band in the world, ever.

And this is a generation which is much larger than the 17mill X'ers that made up the last wave. If anything, this picture paints a grim one for those who rely on mass-market trends. Those who will succeed will be those who spark a mass trend, and, I believe, those who are niche brands to begin with.

I'm not saying 'down with Levi, Nike & Coke'. That just won't happen. However, those niche brands which may never have had the spotlight may find their '15 minutes of fame' more forthcoming in this new media landscape.

Yet, I think those brands which try and court Gen Y with freebies and help them make their own content do the other Generations a disservice; I just don't think (in that respect), Y is that much different than other Gens. Y, like X and all of those before them, like smart ads which don't treat them like mugs/acknowledge their message - this last point is perhaps the most important; being self-aware to this generation is the key.

So why all the fear over Y? Branding (to our fictional marketing manager) has become more of a tightrope - but it's also never been more exciting.

Respect your audience and their love for the next cool thing, and you'll be fine. Trying too hard is death; but then, it always has been - it's just this time around, the next Generation has the power to sink your business in one nochalent 'huh'.

Layered thinking and symbolism..

Click on this picture. Go on, I dare you. Expand it to as large as it'll go.

Does it inspire you? Have you seen the real thing? It looks amazing 'in the flesh'.

Well, I love this picture. It sums up all I like about art; hidden meanings, different types of symbolism that are interesting whether you know anything about the period or not.

It got me to thinking about just how I respond to visual stimuli. Now, I first saw this in the National Gallery, where you are supposed to be appreciative of the art.

Would I have thought the same if I'd have just viewed this picture on this blog? Obviously not.

My point in this post was simply to draw your attention to the fact that not all ads/comms are created equal, and why I think media needs to come back into the fold if advertising is truly going to prosper in years to come.

Sounds bloody simplistic, but in order for any message to get through, I have to be prepared to listen and pay attention. I'll look out for all the clever little bits of symbolism in an art gallery, and I may even do so online, when I have time of my own - it's why the internet could potentially be the pandora's box of communication.

The below painting is what the majority of POS work and posters do, and people don't appreciate it:

So much is going on in this painting that it's impossible to take it all in on first viewing. Yet so many creative executions try to do this, in the hope someone will simply 'get it' straight away.

They won't.

Neither painting would succeed as a TV spot because, let's face it - where do you view ads? Unless you are Alan Fletcher, it's not in a museum.

You need a message people will remember, an impactful one. It's why so many pieces of COI work make great posters - one message, and people understand and respect it.

Aspirational Advertising. Oh, and a Podcast..

When trying to tap into human emotions, advertising often has a difficult task.

Making people laugh through comedic stuff like the Pot Noodle campaign or the recent Burger King spots sometimes runs into problems simply because there's no way of knowing precisely what certain people will find amusing.

I love the Old Spice/Burger King work; I find it hilarious - yet for every one of me, there'll be a few who are completely alienated by it and dislike the brand.

There's also probably evidence to suggest that people are becoming more unshockable. However, that doesn't stop those who advertise for the COI attempting to amaze and horrify us with cautionary tales of how it doesn't pay to drink and drive or to take drugs.

So...with that in mind (and with more than a nod to Maslow, thank you Mr Colman), why don't more brands try the aspirational approach in their work? I'll show you an example below which I don't think quite pulls it off - though I love the strategic thought:



What did you think of that? Personally, I think the strategy would have been far stronger if the ad had interspliced 'real' people with the kids; showing just how imaginative the children can be, and how they are far more creative and aspiring than the adults.

I think a lot of brands don't paint their products in aspirational terms because it is very difficult to get people to go along with you for 30 seconds, or even longer. Also, given that the public are quite cynical, and that most brands have the subtlety of Johnny Vegas attempting to be a prima ballerina, it's often a very difficult task.

Now....the challenge becomes to make your brand aspirational without ever directly saying so. All of the world class advertising is able to do this, either via its execution (Sony 'Balls'), its line ('Happiness is a Cigar called Hamlet' / 'At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise you can hear in a Rolls-Royce is the electric clock') or its positioning (The Economist, Innocent, John Lewis).

Aspiration should be the fist inside advertising's velvet glove. More often that not, it's a poorly aimed and ill-disguised blow with a knuckle-duster.

Oh, and podcast 3, 'Oh No Cucumber Sandwiches' is up. Enjoy.

Orwell's pursuit of 'happyness'

Does the above make you angry?

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Do you even notice what's the matter with it?

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No?

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Well, this sort of thing makes me cross. It's a lazy bastardisation of the English language, as annoying for me as someone calling University 'uni', or, for a designer, someone using Arial rather than Helvetica. Grr.

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*Gets off soapbox*

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I am an ex-English student, so I am probably more of a spelling nazi than most, as well as a stickler for commas and full stops in their right place.

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Anyway - to get to the meat of this post - I was having a discussion on Friday with Richard, and we were discussing about how Orwell essentially taught himself to write. I don't think Orwell's treatise 'Politics and the English Language' was brought up.

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Read it here; it should be required reading for anyone who is looking to write professionally/writes run on sentences that last more than 400 words.

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For what it's worth, I think my writing has become much worse recently - I'm going to make an effort to adopt Orwell's stance. More short, punchy sentences. Less rambling (disclaimer: unless a post of mine my sparks another thought).

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Sod choice. YOU NEED IT BECAUSE YOU'RE WEAK.

Yes, forcefulness may be devoid of subtlety, occasionally lacking charm and not always the most insightful thinking out there.

But it can be as effective as a hammer to the forebrain. That's right pop pickers, I'm talking about brands which say to the outside world 'I'm right. And you'll listen'.

I respect Jaguar so much more ever since they stopped dicking around with the faux English pretentions and told us what they were, in so many words, or at least told us why we buy them:

No, I don't think 'Gorgeous' is perhaps the best ad in the world, nor is it wholly all there strategically. But (in addition to the very good execution) it is unapologetic.

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When you know who you are, and can say it - 'We are good because of x', it's brilliant. Of course, you have to commit - the below ad would have just been a good ad rather than an all time classic, praised for its excellent positioning and thinking, if not for the company's commitment:

Ballsy advertising, is, of course, not the refuge of the timid client. But being unafraid, honest, able to back it up and above all - a talking point - should be what every brand aims for.

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As well as a healthy dose of humility if they overpromise.

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I'm not eschewing thoughtful stories, seeded across many mediums and with 'easter eggs' in them. No. Those can exist as well. But I think the world needs its fair share of the arrogant brands - Old Spice is perhaps the closest example I can think of being able to bridge the divide.

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A friend in need is a friend indeed.. a friend with uh.. offal..is better..

Blogs are great things. I become more and more convinced about this with each day.

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Sure, I've not managed to meet another Stoke City fan (Jim Thornton, are you reading this?), but the range of interesting people I meet because of the blog increases daily.

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In fact, the purpose of this post is just to say how much I'm looking forward to the meal I'm going for at St John with Lebowski, Angus, Beeker, Meme Huffer and Paul (also, drinks afterwards, if anyone else is keen - give me a bell - number's on the CV).

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Unsure whether I'll try the most random thing on the menu (that honour, I think, will go to Lebowski or Angus), but we'll see.

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This is why blogs are great - do I engage in this way with any other communications medium with total strangers? No, none, not unless I want some random encounters.

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It's this medium which has such great potential, if it can be harnessed correctly. Yes, it can even get me eating offal.

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Also, I promise I'm not as strange as Lebowski; though if he does the answer dancer at any point, I think he needs a drink bought for him.

Are Lovemarks Bollocks?

Kevin Roberts. Much maligned man? Complete Genius? Or massive advertising charlatan who is peddling old ideas from the 80s?

Well, if you read these articles, you'd be forgiven for thinking that yes, his theories are a bit overstretched.

However, I've found a little defence for his argument here.

Let's consider what he's got to say:

"Lovemarks transcend brands. They deliver beyond your expectations of great performance. Like great brands, they sit on top of high levels of respect - but there the similarities end. Lovemarks reach your heart as well as your mind, creating an intimate, emotional connection that you just can’t live without. Ever."

"Take a brand away and people will find a replacement. Take a Lovemark away and people will protest its absence. Lovemarks are a relationship, not a mere transaction. You don’t just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them passionately. That’s why you never want to let go."

Let's consider the penultimate line for a moment. 'You don't just buy lovemarks, you embrace them passionately'. Barring people queueing round the clock for the sales or the latest games console, I can't say I've ever seen this happening. Much as I love my adidas trainers, I don't hug them or call them a special name.

However, there is a simplistic truth to all of that. There are certain brands that people would buy ahead of anything else. But again, there's a limit to how far that can be pushed.

What stops me from agreeing from Kevin's thesis is simply that I don't believe that people value brands highly enough to make them Lovemarks. Russell Davies made the point very eloquently when he compared brands to a small figurine (the link is a download) - simply put, people don't value brands on anything like the same levels Kevin thinks they do.

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Moreover, people are fickle - what he describes as a Lovemark can easily become a fad quickly. People respect people - they don't respect brands in the same way. It's ALWAYS going to be a fad, and the only way it commands a repeat showing is by it living up to the image the communication or perception has generated.

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So no, I don't agree that the future is Lovemarks. Parts of the concept are interesting (if a little obvious, but that's about it).

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Mind you, it poses an interesting question; if people can be brands now, can THEY be what Kevin describes as Lovemarks?

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Edit: Good Lord, he has a sequel out. Proof 1000 admen can't stop it...

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The more you know, the funnier it is/The Birth of Easter Egg Advertising...

I've got a confession to make. I'm shallow.

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I love quick, pithy statements. I prefer reading Stephen King to Jane Austen or Dickens. I prefer playing football than sitting down to play chess. My dissertation appeared to be a fusion of two wordy texts (Hobbes's Leviathan & Milton's Paradise Lost), but it was really inspired by two Nick Cave songs ('Red Right Hand' & 'Song of Joy').

But my redeeming feature is that I LOVE complex things which appear to be simple. Whether it's a book, a song or a person, I find them far more compelling.

Now, this 'knowing a little bit about a lot' is happily quite useful in some circumstances; I'm damn good at pub quizzes and hopefully this will be useful in my future employment.

Yes... getting to a vague point now. The picture is of the first book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I love the series, if only because they are like episodes of the Simpsons. The more you know about literature/life in general, the more you get them. Take Wyrd Sisters. If you've not read Macbeth, a lot of it will be lost on you.

To be able to relay a deeper message in your apparently simple approach is a great talent, even if it's not immediately realised. Thinking about it, I suppose this is why so many people love Damien Hirst/Tracy Emin, because the viewer believes they HAVE to fill in the gaps with their thinking.

Anyway, to do a Godin on this post, the relevance the likes of Pratchett, the Arctic Monkeys or modern art have to do with comms is that any message relayed has to increasingly work on a more deep seated level, to get you to think about it afterwards. Yes, even the latest Burger King TV work - which got banned, so evidently someone took something away from it.

I think this resonates with Henry Jenkins/Faris Yakob's ideas about transmedia planning. Give me a dialogue that rewards me for spending time with it, yet doesn't confuse me at first point of contact, and I'll keep interacting. Actual brand channels would appear to be forms of this, but I do wonder if it'll ever be completely accepted and not sneered at. However, I have a theory.

Where I differ with some thinking that is common to at least one major agency is that a brand will ever be able to do the true 360 degree immersion. Russell's post about the size of brands seems to illustrate far more neatly than anything else I've seen. People just don't care about brands enough to engage with every touch point.

(N.B: Photo belongs to Pgilliver - let me know if you want me to take it down)

But...that's not to say, in the computer game parlance, if you give them easter eggs - hidden little nuggets of information or rewards (and the clues to find them) they won't try to find them. Whilst in reality brands pale into significance when compared to real emotional things (unlike what some agencies will have you believe), people enjoy feeling clever - so give them it. Or entertain. Whichever.

If brands can do either, then true comms effectiveness will be found. However, I think the former, that of playing on the consumer's need to find out and discover will be more successful. Especially for major ATL communication campaigns with massive spends.

Seeing as ad blogs seem to bring theories to light, I'll dub this my 'Easter Egg Advertising' theory. People like surprises, and (especially in the case of Generation Y) are used to finding out new, hidden depths to things.

I think hiding things away for discovery will become more prevalent as technology continues to march on and overlap. It ties in nicely with Ogilvy's own quote - 'The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife'.

The great debate/more podcasting..

(NB: Photo is from Assbach's collection - let me know if you want me to take it down)

Just to draw my readers (those that don't already read one of the best ad blogs on the net) to this debate at Adliterate.

Is blogging killing planning? Well, as a non-planning blogger (but someone who wants to become one, by hook or crook) that reads a helluva lot of ad blogs, I don't think it will.

There is a risk that those on the outside looking in (such as myself) overvalue opinions of those people who we 'read on the internet', regardless of whether they are Planning Director of United, Darth Strategist or unwashed oiks like myself with no planning credentials.

Also, there's a concern that we forget about the role of 'proper' qual research in the planning cycle. Well, I very rarely read blogs for their statistical content, unless they are the brilliant Indexed. Looking at stats makes up a proportion of my current job, and I think the role of reading blogs for me is to (first and foremost) unwind, and secondly to improve the amount of opinions and advice I have at my disposal. Others may have it t'other way round, but hey - I like to learn and relax.

Essentially, if someone really is junior and trying to get into planning, I think they'll have realised that the job isn't just about reading blogs for a living, and certainly won't take blogs to be the gospel truth - more a place to store thoughts and act as stimuli/a forum for debate, depending on your point of view or requirement for the blog.

Also...

Download my second Podcast here if you don't want to scroll down - it's in the sidebar. Featuring more random tuneage. For some reason the link auto plays the tunes, but just click 'stop' and download it normally.

Mistakes are made...

But when they are done in this way, you can't help but smile.

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Whilst I've bemoaned brands adopting the Innocent tone of voice, when it's inappropriate, I think it's quite endearing for certain brands. Oddly enough, digital companies can do it and still 'cut through' the reflex action of swearing at having to wait or be denied.

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I have a theory about this - firstly, you expect machines to bugger up occasionally, so it's conditioned at the beginning, and secondly, most software vendors don't have a 'voice' per se, so to have little disembodied comments like this work.

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As it is, the likes of say, Burger King's packaging voice just doesn't seem to work. I have an idea of what Burger King stands for (big budget, sometimes dumb Americana), and when the work sticks to this - the excellent 'I am Man' spot - it succeeds. When the packaging became 'pally' and wise to the game didn't to work for me. Maybe it would have done in the States, what with the CPB work to back it up.

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Apologise; but do it in the right way - if that means a whiter than white corporate press release, do that. If you can do it more personally, do that. But don't mess with your established image.

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Podcasting nonsense/Oh No..Cucumber Sandwiches!

Well, Meme Huffer's podcast 'Sleazy Listening' made my mind up. It was time for a spot o' podcastery myself. Please find my first effort in the sidebar, entitled 'Oh No Cucumber Sandwiches'.

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Don't ask me why, but hey.... the music itself is a random mixture of all sorts of things. Next week's (or however long it takes me to make another) will undoubtedly feature just as much frippery.

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I was tempted to speak into my microphone, but I'll let you all imagine what I sound like (unless I get bored and do so next week).

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If you are lazy, and can't be arsed to scroll down, download it from here.

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