Earlier this year, I started working with Birmingham production company 470 Media with a new project of theirs, called 'The Hidden City'. It's aim is to uncover and tell the stories that happen around Birmingham & the West Midlands that often get unreported by traditional media outlets. Stories of inspirational people and places, local champions, and feel-good stories that are often truly heartwarming.

The Hidden City is a project that relies on a great team of hyperlocal bloggers that want to tell these stories so they get heard by the masses. So, check out the website, get involved, and subscribe to the monthly podcast round-up, narrated by yours truly

The Hidden City - http://thehiddencity.net

Subscribe on iTunes

The Kindle. A tool of the modern age. So long, paper! You're history!

Ok, maybe a tad too dramatic, but suffice to say, I LOVE my Kindle. - But, it wasn't always that way. There was a time where I (quite unjustly) thought they were useless.... 'I don't want to read off a screen' I would proclaim, saying that I looked at screens all day, why would I want another one to read my books on? I was a paperback purist, and nothing would change that.

However, one day a few weeks ago, after hearing numerous reports about how good they are from trusted people I know, I bought one on a whim. The 6" Kindle at £89. It's one of those things that at the previous price of around £150, I wouldn't have bothered, but at that price I was willing to risk it. (Then again I could always have sent it back if I didn't like it.)

And, ever since, I've been an absolute Kindle convert. My prejudice against it was unquestionably unjust, as to hold it, touch it, feel the screen, it's just like looking at a printed page. It now goes everywhere with me! In it's cute little pouch it goes in my work bag, my 'man-bag' (don't laugh), and whenever I've got a few minutes to spare, I'll just whip it out ("matron") and get through a few pages or so.

I was also surprised how easy it is to buy books for it too, as using the on-screen clicky keyboard thing was a bit of a nuisance, but on Amazon's actual Kindle store on the website, you can buy/download samples and it delivers them instantly to your Kindle. Pretty damn awesome.

And in case you're wondering if this post if sponsored or affiliated in some way, you're wrong! It's just a post that highlights that we shouldn't be quick to judge what something is like without having experienced it, as that's exactly what I'd done; which was unjust and wrong. I've always been a keen reader, and, if anything, I'm reading even more now I'm using my Kindle.

And one of the things it's absolutely best for? Big chunky hardbacks that are just tooooo heavy to read in bed. Kindle to the rescue. Am reading a business book at the moment, after that, anyone's guess. What will be your 'Next, of Kindle'?

(Pic: Have Kindle, will travel...)

A few days ago, BBC News online released a video article talking about the world of movie trailer voiceovers, and how it's a field dominated by men. And it is. For so many years, the typical ultra-deep gravelly tones such as the late great Don LaFontaine adorned pretty much every major Hollywood movie trailer going!

In fact, it was Don who I believe coined the phrases 'In a world where..." and "In a land...." that appeared in so many film trailer.

See the video on this link, then read on....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17264883

Even now, in this day and age, female voiceovers when it comes to film trailers are still fairly rare. And there's no real reason for this as far as I can see. It's just that having the deep gravelly VO is 'just the way it's done'. Not to say that's right, at all. It just seems to have been the adopted style.

From my point of view, choosing a male or female VO should be thought about at the time of making the trailer, and seeing which one suits each one best. It shouldn't automatically be a male 80% plus of the time. There are undoubtedly many types of trailer that have been made which could easily have suited a female VO better. So why not? I don't have the answer to that by the way, I'm just putting it out there!

Maybe one day we'll see a turnaround and have more of an equal pegging when it comes to movie trailer VO, who knows.....

Or....whatever they end up calling it! There have been rumours of it being called the 2S in line with the current iPhone. It all depends on how much of a revamp this model of iPad has had.

I must say, I'm an iPad fan; I use mine every day for many different jobs. Not only is it a great browsing tool for when you're chilling out on the sofa without having the need to fire up a laptop, but I keep in touch with what's going on in the world, via Twitter, blogs, using Flipboard to check out various articles, plus it's obviously a really good gaming platform. (Just how big do you WANT those Angry Birds!)

The main use I have for my iPad 2 is as a script reader/prompt in my voiceover booth. No longer do I have to print all my scripts out, with the risk of having rustling with page turns etc. I just swipe down as I go whilst recording. This also means it cuts out a lot of the waiting time turning pages, and having to cut out page turn noises whilst editing; let alone the cost saving long term from all that printing. (And of course being better for the environment etc).

So yes, I, like many other people am eagerly awaiting what the next generation will offer in terms of specification; and I shall have to decide at the time whether it'll be worth my while upgrading to get it's benefits. (Chances are I will...).

I have to admit, I don't get too immersed in all the rumour sites guessing at what the next big tech will be inside the new device, as most of the time they're wrong; I just like to sit back on the day and find out from the horses mouth what the score is. So, come March 7th, I shall be watching that keynote, and quite possibly dribbling just a little bit.

So - will you be upgrading?

We knew it was too good to last....

One of the mildest winters ever was had at the end of last year and beginning of this one; and I for one was very thankful for it. I'm not a fan of snow, not when there are things to do, people to see etc. When it's snowing at Christmas you don't mind as much as you can barricade yourself in and forget about it, get yourself warm and drink mulled wine. Not so much when it happens in normal working times.

Luckily this recent cold snap was over a weekend so no major issue, and it's now melting very well indeed. The other good reason for it not being too disruptive for me personally is the fact that as I work from home, if I barricaded myself in, I'm not in a bad position. I can continue working as if nothing's happened, clients can contact me, I can still record voiceovers, send them off, & get paid all fine. (Especially as most people pay via BACS these days, no special trips to the bank!).

The people I do feel sorry for (slightly) are the ones who have to travel out for work to offices etc. I don't envy them one bit; it's not a life I would want to lead! There are pros and cons for all types of working environment, obviously, but this is my top 5 reasons why I think it's great working from home.

/Cue: Pearl & Dean intro music...

5.  An easy one, the 4 second commute to the office. It's a hard one to beat! No coats, snowshoes, wooly hats, or umbrellas. Bliss.

4. Uninterrupted supply of tea, coffee, soft drinks, lunch, snacks, all within a very short distance away. Also a nice 'break-out' area for downtime when not in a working mood. Namely, the lounge. And Netflix.

3.  To be able to have the house temperature at exactly what you want and is most comfortable - no vile air conditioning drying out your skin, throat and anything else it might reach! Also, not having to be around the rest of the human race means you're prone to a far fewer bugs and infections. In my game, not having a cold means I can work!

2.  Fantastically speedy broadband with very very low contention ratio! During the day, my provider, Virgin Media, offers me more than what the package actually states I'll get. This means that I'm never left hanging while 'Malcolm in Accounts' is hogging the bandwidth watching last night's 'Strictly' on iPlayer. I get super-fast speeds exactly when I need it.

1.  Slippers. I barely need to qualify that with any more information, but ok. I'm going nowhere, I don't need to wear tight patent leather shoes to look all smart and shiny. I'm poddling round the house and at my desk. I had some epically comfy slippers for Christmas which make my feet feel dreamy; and that, dear reader, is reason enough.

I stumbled across this video on YouTube the other day; a trailer for the film Puss In Boots (a spin-off from Shrek), but it's done in a rather unusual way; it's an homage to the now-famous Old Spice ads. You know the ones - if I say "I'm on a horse" you'll know exactly what I mean!

This kind of piggybacking has been done before with other things, so it's not a brand new idea, but I think in this case it's been done very effectively! And it's certainly done it's job and gone viral, as you'll see from it's YouTube stats. At the time of writing this well over 5.5 million views. As with all adverts/trailers, the content should be engaging, funny, informative, interesting; or certainly a combination of such. And this is one of the best trailers I've seen for a while. Made me chortle most heartily!

What are your thoughts? Is this the way the world is moving to get people engaged with films in this social networked world? Does it work for you?

Well, it's Olympic year, the big 2012. A great year. I think mainly because it's a nice round number, it feels 'whole' in a strange way.

I'm a believer that the prettier the number, the better the year will be! Although it's probably me just making it feel like that....Either way, I'm setting myself up to have the best year ever, and I trust you are too.

I don't know about you, but I found the Christmas break very relaxing; so much so that I found it hard to get going again earlier this month! I was able to just switch off and enjoy life.

And sloe gin. But that's another story.

So,  a new year, a new start, a year of new beginnings. I'm also geared up having joined a new gym which having already been twice now, I already feel better because of it. Well...it IS olympic year after all.....If I've got any hope of competing I better start now.

Whatever your plans for this year, as Captain Picard often said; "Make It So".

Live long and prosper, Earthlings.

Or, 'Why It's A Good Thing To Be Bah Humbug'

Now, this time of year our senses are assaulted by all manner of 'festive' atrocities, from glitter, retina-scorching flashing lights, bunting, blow-up snowmen and all manner of 'joyous' nonsense designed to make us feel good about ourselves. The trouble is, there is a distinct proportion of the population, me included, that simply can't stand all this rubbish, the song and dance it involves; and prefer to opt out.

Events in life should be like an email marketing list. If you don't like it - you should be able to opt out without being bombarded by niceties, goodwill and cheer in your face; conversely to also be branded a scrooge, a miser and an unhappy troll. And people who I have been speaking to recently, and people who have been reading my tweets with my favourite hashtag, '#bahhumbug' may, wrongly, assume that I'm such a person; except that I'm not remotely a miserable git. I'm actually a rather happy person! If I were one of the Seven Dwarfs I would be Happy.... (Or Dopey, as I once was in a school play, but that's not important right now).

Therefore, when it comes to all this 'festive cheer' that starts as early as September, I quite simply opt out. I don't get involved; I ignore it with every bone in my body. I don't want to walk around with a cheap nasty santa hat branded with glittery writing sending out fake messages of goodwill. I don't want to hear sleigh bells in the streets in October. I don't want to buy any of the tat you always find at the nationwide Christmas German Markets, which is just the same as the tat that was on offer LAST year but with the price raised a little bit further. I don't want to get sloshed on Gluhwein at 11am, nor eat an overpriced glorified hot dog that I'll surely regret the next day anyway.

But for some reason, people that don't want to do this are somehow 'miserable'....

Well, I want to tell you, people of Britain and the world, that that's just not on! I am festive in my own way; I'm a very positive person that sees the good in everything and everyone. Just because I don't dress it up in glitter is not a bad thing! I move silently, like a Christmas Ninja...I don't arrive with a fanfare; I do my thing, and I leave...I spread good cheer in my own way, usually subtly. And I'm not the only one like that; there will be millions of people out there that feel the same as I do, that could do without all the nonsense that the world makes us feel that we should be doing - so we can go about our daily lives and live it the way we want to without feeling we should bow to social pressure, whilst looking an idiot in a pair of velour antlers. (Because it's 'festive').

No, readers. I'm here to tell you that IT'S OK to be like this! It's positive! It's not a bad thing at all. Do not allow yourselves to be taken in by the much-hyped seasonal bull**** that it really is...

And you know what? Because I haven't subscribed to all the nonsense, I'm a MUCH happier person as a result! I have got on with things, I'm continuing working on voiceover projects on a day to day basis. In fact the last few weeks have been the busiest ever, and the near and not-so-near future are already looking incredibly positive indeed.

Why?

Focus. I've not allowed myself to be distracted in the ridiculously long lead-up to the Christmas break. I'll be working right up to next Friday, then I will be taking a break. (I'm not that stupid). However, if work came my way during that break, then yes, I am prepared to do it. Why would I refuse it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be chained to my desk every day, and I won't be proactive in finding work during the break; but if work comes to me, yes, I'm there. Absolutely.

So, ultimately, my message is simply thus, this Christmas. Do what you want. Do what feels right. Don't be pressurised into doing things you don't want to do 'because it's festive'. (One phrase I'll coincidentally ban when I'm Prime Minister.). Have fun, enjoy yourselves, and be kind to others. And as Metallica once said - 'Nothing Else Matters'....

Merry Christmas everyone....

x

Yesterday, I was exhibiting all day at Solihull's Business Growth Show. After speaking to people all day, many of whom were interested in my offerings, I ended up with a good handful of cards of people that I could easily work with in the future at any time. Now, I'm not one of these people that adds all and sundry onto a big mailing list and blanket emails everyone that I've ever met flogging my wares (Have already had that from a couple of people I briefly met) - I can't stand that. I just maintain a smaller list of people that I have either worked with, or could work with in the future. I don't 'do' blanket mails of any sort; what I'll do is follow up this handful personally.

So, what to do? You have a load of business cards that need adding into your database, and really don't want to do them individually. Well, (the immortal words), 'there's an app for that'. For a long time I've been a massive fan of the 'CamCard' app; I even paid for the pro version cause I thought it was so good. Essentially, for the uninitiated, you take a picture of the business card, and CamCard would scan and interpret the details, and reproduce it in an editable form for you to manually tweak it if it got bits slightly wrong; then press a button to add the contact to your phone's address book. I've used this setup for a couple of years and bar the odd few times when it struggles on a few cards and I've had to near as dammit enter the details manually in full, it's been pretty good.

However, I tried today a new free app that LinkedIn have produced called CardMunch. But the difference with this app, is that it integrates brilliantly into LinkedIn's database, so it will match the right person from the contact details, give you their full contact information to add to your address book, and also press another button to invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn too. Awesome little tool, I recommend it.

If you've recently watched the recent series 'The Choir - Military Wives' with Gareth Malone, you'll have seen he was training up a group of Army wives and girlfriends to be a choir. The series was superb, and has resulted in them creating a single. Proceeds will be going to two charities that help the families of active servicemen and women, and the British Legion.

The piece is called "Wherever You Are" composed by Royal Wedding composer Paul Mealor. The lyrics are taken from a poem, which consists of letters to and from the soldiers and their partners. It's a fantastically moving piece; and it's also a much more deserving cause to be this year's Christmas Number One instead of X Factor, so please do pre-order this track, and let's make a real difference this Christmas.

Order now:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/MWCAmazon
iTunes: http://bit.ly/MWCsingle
HMV: http://bit.ly/MWChmv
Universal Official Store: http://bit.ly/MWCUniversal

Official webpage: http://bit.ly/MWCOfficial
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/MWCfacebook
Twitter: http://bit.ly/MWCtwitter

Find out more about the wonderful charities they are supporting:
SSAFA: http://bit.ly/MWCssafa
British Legion: http://bit.ly/MWCbritlegion