Indie music rants, fables of old men skateboarding in the past, lamentations on baldness, heroic tales of failed culinary experiments and expansive essays on personal detachment from the modern world.......
Today, me, Phil Hackett and Nikki Chappell took an early motorised jaunt over the Severn bridge to the new 'Jamie Clapp Memorial Skatepark' in Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire (near Bristol). It's about half an hours drive from Newport just off the M32, head left straight off the M32 onto the ringroad and follow that road (over a few roundabouts) until you get to the Emersons Green Retail Park (where Sainburys is), the skatepark is situated right by Boots.
Nikki on the flat bar with a cheeky smith.
The weather forecast was rain at 11am. We got to the park about half ten and at 11 it absolutely chucked it down for about 5 mins of the heaviest rain shower I've experienced for a long time (why is the weather forecast only right when it's for bad weather?). Honesty butt they were like tuppences falling from the sky. The park was soaked.
Rain stops play.
Not defeated we popped into Sainbury's cafe for a cooked breakfast, half an hour later the park was dry again, SWEET!!!!
Black coffee, two sugars for energy.
Full english................errrrr we were in England.
Nikki managed to throw all of the tricks down in the edit below in about half an hour, before another torrential rain shower stopped play for the day. I liked the park, it fairly close, the local guys were nice and the street layout is super good fun. I did an ollie down the steps. SAFE! The music in the video is Man or Astroman? 'Engines of Difference' off the album Eeviac (that is if you tube don't disable the sound like they always do)
Over and out.
Lt Meat
Saturday 18 June 2011
This was due to take place today!!!!
Unfortunately the day has to be postponed as some of the works to the skatepark haven't yet been formerly signed off, which sucks. Although on a selfish note I'm currently skint, with no fuel in my car, so getting there and back was going to be difficult............and sober. Still, I'm now even more hyped for this day when it's rescheduled!!!!!!!!! Once I know when it is I'll forward the details on to all five of you loyal followers!!!
In the meantime check out some teasers from the exist video below. All shot and edited by the very talented John Fisher. John is one of these annoying types of guys that has an effortless natural talent, both as a filmmaker and as a skateboarder, he also has good hair. Don't get me wrong, I imagine John works bloody hard to get his videos (and no doubt the full Exist video) looking and sounding pretty damn professional and I believe he's now working in the film and tv industry, I'm just jealous............and bald.............and crap at skateboarding.................and I have no concept of quality control.
John, I salute you, I salute Rick and I salute all of the Exist team, individually and as a skateboard gang for your awesome videos! Keep up the good work, I can't wait to get to see the full video once the premiere is rescheduled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also salute the Freestyle team, for no specific reason.
See what I mean? Raw talent..........................and he has good hair.
GWAR are damn AWESOME! They are playing in the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd on Tuesday 14th June 2011 with the other rather awesome band Clutch. I'd like to go who's with me?
Unless there's dry weather and a GNARLY session goes down on my skateboard, in some far away land where people are nice and beer is cheap, which just doesn't happen anymore as my body has lost the GNAR power, people in the UK are generally disgusting and beer is moderately priced (but not cheap).
Today is Sunday, I have been mostly rendering videos as it's raining outside and I've got a hard drive full of raw video footage that needs a home. Sounds like fun? No, it isn't. Rendering is the process of creating a single, finished movie file by exporting a, broadly speaking, completed edit from your editing software time-line, after you are happy that the editing process has allowed the piece to take coherent shape and is now ready to be thrust upon the savage and critical world of the internet.
Rendering is probably one of the most important parts of the internet video editing process. It's when you find out if you video is shit or not. It also takes hours to complete, and if the video does turn out to be pants of the soiled variety, or you've spelt the title wrong, or the sound has inexplicably drifted out of sync with the pictures, then you're back to square one and you have to render again. I've buggered the video I'm currently working on four times today, uploaded it to the internet and had to pull it to get yet another mistake corrected. I am literally watching my life ebb away via the means of the render bar. I'm glad I don't edit videos for a living...........................actually I wish I did, I work for the Council and they don't pay me much and those Tories in Whitehall are after my job.
Here's the last video I managed to render without any major problems cropping up, it also has a bespoke Lt Meat soundtrack, enjoy it!!!!! It's free, I don't get paid for this shit............................yet
Over and out.
Lt Meat.
PS. I've also been listening to a lot of The New Pornographers lately, here's a good 'un from 2002.
This is probably the best quality version of this video on You Tube! An excellent Frank Black song Headache from his second solo album 'Teenager of The Year'. I wish I was a fat party animal like Frank!!!!!
