Never a dull moment
- 31 May 07, 02:54 PM
Die hard Manchester City fan must be wondering if he'll ever get a chance to have a break from his beloved club this summer. The season may be over, but fans are not being allowed to sleep as there seems to be a constant flow of uncertainty and speculation about the future ownership of the club.
Stick with it Danny! -
Meanwhile, never one to shy away from the attention, Clare Sudbery's signed up for an Internet version of Big Brother - . Expect strong language, community bathing and shameless attempts to influence the public vote.
I wish I鈥檇 gone to Chorlton
- 21 May 07, 03:07 PM
See that down there? That cavernous thing? It鈥檚 my naval and I鈥檝e be contemplating it for a couple of days now wondering how on earth to fill in the time between the next two really big events in my diary - a strategy meeting I have in Derby on Thursday and a PTA meeting at school a fortnight later.
reports that 鈥淭he Chorlton Arts Festival kicked off in style on Saturday with the fantastic Arts and Crafts Market - even the FA Cup Final didn鈥檛 keep the crowds away!鈥 Well after wasting an hour and a half of my life listening to John Motson saying the words 鈥榥ew Wembley鈥 two hundred and forty three times, I wish I鈥檇 gone to Chorlton.
So who鈥檚 blogging about the Chorlton Arts Festival then? There鈥檚 been a few advance postings 鈥 , and err, that鈥檚 about it. Even the Festival site itself doesn鈥檛 appear to have a Blog, which is a shame as legally I鈥檓 not allowed to link to them as this is only a blog about blogs. If I post about other stuff I'll get hauled up in front of the Head of 大象传媒 Blogs and forced to look after Motty over the summer.
Oh what the heck, I'll take him to Rhyl. There鈥檚 loads going on at the for the rest of this week and to be honest I鈥檓 sick of the sight of my belly so the looks like a great alternative. I was always led to believe that Chorlton was a hot bed of creative media types so can one of you blog about the Festival. Please.
Baby distraction
So I'm sat here trying to write while all around me women are talking about babies. Having them, about to have them, never having them. I politely suggested that they contact who is thinking about setting up a parenting blog. The looks. I'll get my coat.
I'll put a hex on you
- 6 May 07, 02:56 PM
Look, it鈥檚 the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend and I鈥檓 in work. Short straw? Upset the boss? No mates? Nope, none of those. It鈥檚 just that once every six weeks or so it comes round to being my go in the office and it just so happens that it鈥檚 my turn today, Bank Holiday or not.
So, I get a bit of extra time to gorge myself on Manchester Blogs (extra large latte to the right of me wine gums to the left 鈥 he I am stuck in the middle with you).
So what鈥檚 caught my eye? 鈥檚 . 鈥淢odern Life is a blog about the web - development, design, search engines and statistics.鈥
Right. So what鈥檚 up first?
鈥溾 - 鈥淔or a fortunate few, working with hexadecimal colours comes naturally - my experience stems from working with colour palettes whilst programming in BASIC some 15 years ago,鈥 says Stuart.
OK perhaps you have to be interested in this kind of stuff. What about another posting then?
鈥溾 鈥 鈥溾ere are five examples which raise my typographical hackles.鈥 Um. Actually, this is one of those subjects that does cause more trouble than it鈥檚 worth. I have been accused on more than one occasion of colluding with the Devil when using Comic Sans as my font of choice. (It鈥檚 OK, I鈥檓 a born-again Verdana now). And going by the amount of comments this particular posting has attracted, it would appear that it鈥檚 only a matter of time before talking fonts replaces discussions about the off-side rule in the drinking houses of Manchester.
Finally (I鈥檓 running out of latte here), one post on Modern Life that all Bloggers should read is Stuart鈥檚 鈥溾 - 鈥淐reating a blog is easy - but alas, building a readership is somewhat more difficult. So where do nascent bloggers most commonly go wrong?鈥 he asks. Some great content follows with more tips and comment from dozens of readers. Stuart says, 鈥淚f you have a decent amount of content in your archives, then new readers will be more inclined to stick around and subscribe to your feeds for future material.鈥
I鈥檓 going to top up the coffee now and have a dig around the archives.
When an ASBO is a good thing
- 3 May 07, 04:45 PM
The incredible spring weather we've enjoyed up norf this week has definitely been enjoyed by one group 鈥 the city鈥檚 skaters. There鈥檚 a very active skateboarding scene in Manchester, and the blog has it covered. Their latest post shows that skaters definitely have a sense of humour about their often persecuted and misunderstood sport:
鈥淭he final competition in ASBO (April Skate Bonanza Ohyeah) was a great success! Over 100 skaters came down to the Projekts Mancunian Way Skatepark to enjoy the weather, the skating and the competition鈥 Congratulations to the TWOmanchester shop team who walked away with the coveted ASBO Ashes Trophy after coming 1st in 3 of the 4 competitions throughout April.鈥
has been enjoying the wildlife in Whalley Range, and has written a vivid description of the surprising animals who seem to peacefully coexist in her urban 'hood. Here鈥檚 a bit:
鈥淚 was washing up and saw the fox from the kitchen window. It seemed very long and pointy, as if it had been squashed into the wrong aspect ratio and sharpened like a pencil. It prowled first toward and then away from the opposite neighbour's yard鈥︹
Enough already! is sick and tired of hearing about Manchester鈥檚 Sabi Rock guy:
鈥淗e鈥檚 been featured in an American tourist guide, there鈥檚 a Google map tracking his movements and a Flickr group for pics, but sadly no sign of that elusive recording contract. It鈥檚 been fun looking out for Sabi Rock Man in the rush hours, but maybe it鈥檚 time to call it a day.鈥
And fashion/design blogger Vic at is dismayed by the shopping scrum that surrounded the launch of the Kate Moss line this week at Topshop, and the sudden mania for designer plastic bags at Sainsbury鈥檚:
鈥淎ll of this fuss, the pushing and the sharp-elbowed shoving, makes me wonder if it鈥檚 really worth it. At the end of the day, they鈥檙e just clothes. In fact, they鈥檙e just cheaply made clothes that thousands of other women around the country will be wearing. Sure, they鈥檙e affordable clothes with the designer touch but I feel like all this hype does nothing but cheapen them.鈥
Indeed. It鈥檚 hard to believe that people would queue up outside a supermarket at dawn to buy a 鈥渟tatement-making鈥 plastic shopping bag. Is it something in the water?
The Little Picture
- 1 May 07, 05:06 PM
It's often the case that a big story hits the headlines, only to disappear a day or two later leaving all the little stories untold.
Take the big yesterday. Front page news online and in the papers. Then the morning after, as the smoke clears, and the real stories start to emerge, something else has captured the interest of the media.
's Kate has posted this: "The fire spread to two nearby buildings which between them house many of the small creative industries in Manchester, 20 Dale Street and 24 Lever Street. I've been working in 24 Lever for years, and if there's any Manchester building I feel a sense of ownership about, this one - with its knackered elevator, East German loos, odd smells and odder people hanging about - is it."
Read the for more details and let us know about any one else blogging about the fires.
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