goodonpaper.org

May 12, 2008

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After sitting down with the council to discuss the possibility of some cash, we’re submitting a proposal for consideration this week - and getting the ball rolling on establishing a not-for-profit as well as applying to smaller funding groups. We’re getting to the guts of it now - where interest needs to become definite answers - and money starts (finally!) playing into the conversation.

Are you willing to take a desk full-time at Coworking Belfast?
If not, are you interested in signing to part-time contracted hours in the space for a reduced rate?
Are you in a position to pay up front for more than the first months rent + deposit?
Are you willing to invest financially beyond that?
Are you willing to provide, if not cash, but assets to the space - such as computers & furniture?

Anyone who has previously expressed interest should have received this questions in an email last night - if you didn’t please get in touch with me as soon as you can - we want to include as many names in the final proposal as possible to reflect the support the space has been receiving. If you’re planning or taking a desk or not, a few kind works in the comments that would suit quoting would be welcomed also. I’ll put the final version up for everyone to see later in the week.

May 11, 2008

flickr

meetup

photography

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Belfast Flickr Meetup

Flickr meetup

One of the first Belfast Flickr meetups to happen for quite a while took place yesterday lunchtime. While it was only the four of us, it was actually really interesting to poke round some of the lesser spotted areas of the city center (read: we dug around in alleyways) and get a bit of practice in for the meetup in a few weeks time.

It’s interesting how people - not too long ago - were happy to tout that the internet would completely destroy standard social structures as people flocked to social networking. Not too much time has passed between those statements and the advent of Flickr meetups, OpenCoffee and even local Mac User Group meetups - all of which would never have started without the internet as a bootstrap. Support the movement - NIMUG on the 19th, OpenCoffee on the 21st and Belfast Flickr Meetup on the 24th!

May 7, 2008

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Details appear to be sketchy at best right down, but word of a new festival from the people behind Shine & The Stiff Kitten - Belsonic - have started appearing both online and in local newspapers. Held over (at least) four days at Custom House Square, The Flaming Lips have been confirmed as headliners for Monday 11th August - with local indie-popsters Oppenheimer also chipping in as support. Expect more of the lineup to emerge in the coming week as the site goes live to deal with tickets for the ‘Lips this coming Monday (12th).

Not discounting The Flaming Lips - who put on one of the most amazing live performances I’ve ever witnessed - this has the potential to be exciting yet. Expect regular updates!

Update: The Zutons now confirmed to headline the 15th.

May 6, 2008

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If someone came along and half-ripped a poster for a gig you were putting on - (often) specifically the details - would you consider it sabotage or a valiant effort to keep the streets clear of messy posters? What if said person was the local council, doing this twice daily, and spending tens of thousands of pounds doing it?

The council have every right to rip down posters pasted on their property, and I’m supposing the developers who own a lot of the derelict buildings that are postered on would likely side with the council if it came down to it - it’s just something we have to live with. My problem, however, is that the argument for ripping posters down is that they are a visual nuisance and that they make Belfast look dirty - but those removing the posters have absolutely no regard for leaving the sites “tidy” - they’re just there to rip down as much as they can before they clock off. When posters are half ripped, the remnants left strewn over the footpath in a mushy pulp, where is the justification for a cleaner Belfast and the counter-argument that they are doing little more than undermining local independent promoters?

The second prong of the councils solution to dealing with fly-postering was to be dedicated poster sites - promised at least 3 years ago and even plans of which are still no where to be seen - inaction which again is damaging local promoters, deliberate or otherwise. In the past, depending on individual promoters to state their case has proved ineffective (namely the meeting the council arranged to debate the issue that no one turned up to), so maybe it’s time we grouped together to lobby for not only what the council has previously promised - but for better support in the future.

With Belfast now trying to find a cultural foothold that it can pitch to tourists, the council should be in a position of support and cultivation when it comes to the local music scene, not trying to discreetly brush it under the carpet. There’s only so far a handful of hateful murals and a sunken ship can take us.

May 4, 2008

photo366

scones

success

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Four down, eight to go …

I’ve unwittingly created these monthly retrospectives on the progress of my ‘366, so I may as well continue. Another month spent moving house, taking in the occasional gig, heading to London for Future of Web Design and then - more towards the end of the month - teetering off into monotony. A lot of things have been going on that I haven’t been able to photograph - I reckon snaps of emails or letters informing me that a project is moving forward would get pretty stale after a while - but they’ll be represented physically in later months.

Scones

Lesson learnt this month; try to be a uniformly more interesting person.