Capital Ash

Ashley Simpson

2007-07-04T14:22:00.001+01:00

Fortress Dare

2007-06-07T13:36:00.000+01:00

Built to withstand a rigorous briefing from Producers, complete with the Rabid Beast On The Threshold. General Goodall looks on and surveys his handiwork.

My Alter Ego

2007-05-15T17:54:00.000+01:00

Based on classic 8-bit hero, Mega Man.

The WorkWalk

2007-05-03T14:22:00.000+01:00

Hello

Recently, I've been walking to work quite extensively. Having been directed to walkit.com by one of the techies here at Dare, I decided to give it a bash. Except I just disregarded the suggested route and went my own way by consulting my A-Z. As you can see here, the blue route is Walkit's suggestion, at a mere 4.6 miles. My route, highlighted in a fetching bilious green, is just over 5 miles. I seem to have developed an almost-permament double-blister on my right foot, but I'm doing well in my pavement-pounding pursuits.

The interesting side-note to all this leg work is the tendency to see something more exciting than the inside of a tunnel, and I'll try to upload a selection of photos as I come by them on my travels. For now, I'll just post these two; 1. Of a fetching leopard-skin mini and 2. Of an inspiring quote which I is ironically achieved through the act of vandalism.

Bits & Pieces

2007-03-30T10:45:00.000+01:00

I've been slack, and for that I apologise. A few things to say:

1. I've had my head shaved again. It looks mean. But I've had a lot of stick this morning from co-workers.
2. Check out the new songs from the mighty Kings Of Leon here - I can't stop playing them.
3. On Wednesday I fell asleep on the tube after getting pissed and ended up three stops past mine. First time that's ever happened.
4. How cool is this guy's shirt:

The Science Of Sleep

2007-03-05T07:09:00.000Z

Michel Gondry is a creative visionary par excellence. He could be also be accurately described as totally off his rocker. His latest film, The Science Of Sleep, is so bizarre, you will be scratching your head and chuckling in bemusement. Gondry is one of those select few which can be classed as a risk-taker; you will have never seen a film like this before. Even his creative flourishes in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind pale in comparison to the all-out, stream-of-consciousness approach to this film.

The basic premise is that Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal, of the wonderful Motorcycle Diaries fame) cannot distinguish between when he is awake and when he is dreaming, oftentimes leading him to commit acts of randomness in his waking life. The plot revolves around his attempts to construct a meaningful romantic relationship with his neighbour, Stephanie (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, also seen in 21 Grams). Although the plotline is a little thin, the dream sequences are so brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed; that this become a moot point. Much of the dream sequences are created using traditional stop-motion animation techniques, and the 'studio' of Stephane's mind is made entirely from corrugated cardboard. At one point, Stephane is made to dress up in a mouse suit and play the drums as he sings a song to Stephanie.

In a world where the banal is king, and every form of entertainment seems to follow the same rules, Gondry is a brilliant breath of fresh air. He has set himself apart in the world of filmmaking (with only two films under his belt) with a kind of surrealism that even Salvador Dali would be proud of. When future generations look back on the Noughties, Gondry will be a brilliant speck of cellophane shining amidst the dross.

The Genius Of Jack Kerouac

2007-03-04T18:03:00.000Z

For my second 'rare genius author' post this year, I'd like to bring your attention to 'King of the Beats', Jack Kerouac; the legendary beatnik poet/author of the 50s and 60s, who encapsulated his wild travels in the form of his 'spontaneous prose'. I have been a huge admirer of Keroauc since I first read 'On The Road' a number of years ago, even creating a self-promo Flash piece | Abstract Birth | in my final year at Uni which was based as his free-form, almost Jazz-like expression of images and ideas.

I reread 'Dharma Bums' last year and have recently followed that up by finishing 'Big Sur' this week. If there is one man responsible for the raging wanderlust that is currently surging through my veins, it is Jack Kerouac. He is also responsible for my recent fascination with Buddhism, and the meditation practices of samadhi and vipassana, culminating in my visit to the British Museum to learn a little bit more about the Buddha's history (more coming in a future post).

'Big Sur' is one of Jack Kerouac's later books, and details his descent into a feverish insanity after the unimagined and huge success he had obtained after the publication of 'On The Road'. Struggling with his own demons, Kerouac enters a booze-fuelled state of madness, and as such, this book is a dark, tempestuous read which left me feeling a little depleted. This is Kerouac's darker half to the exuberance of 'On The Road' and 'Dharma Bums' but is still essential reading for any Kerouac fan.

Also, the cover is rather beautifully designed...

The Black Keys, Shepherds Bush - 28.02.07

2007-03-04T17:42:00.000Z

Only once in a blue moon do I find a new current band whose every new album contains songs that I like; not like, love. The Black Keys are definitely one of those. I first heard their music back in my Uni days, maybe as long as 3 years ago. I heard the second album Thickfreakness and was blown away by the dirty riffs of singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach over the primal urgency of Patrick Carney's drumbeats. I caught them live at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth, and finally got around to seeing them again in Shepherds Bush last Wednesday with my cousin (pictured below).

They opened with the opening track of their latest album, Magic Potion, and from them on it was just over on hour of hard-hitting blues-rock. The Black Keys generate a surprising fullness of sound for only two members - and Dan, the singer, is surprisingly charismatic, and was often speaking to the crowd between songs over a sheet of feedback from his guitar. They played one of my favourite tracks - 'Have Love Will Travel' - but sadly didn't perform their romping cover of the Beatles' 'She Said, She Said'.

My only minor gripe was the way Auerbach sung the lyrics a fraction more protracted than he does on the recorded versions - I'm guessing this was an attempt to put on a show that wasn't identical to listening to the albums on volume 11, but it made it difficult to scream along with a moronic grin on your face, as you thrashed your foot against the floor!

God bless rock'n'roll.

(Below is a picture of my cousin Daniel and I in the midst of the gig, beneath that is a video of The Black Keys' latest single, Your Touch)

Bognor Beach

2007-03-04T12:33:00.000Z

Taken during 'fairly' early morning on my recent weekend trip to Butlins:

Me In A Nutshell

2007-01-30T09:57:00.000Z

This is my Tanita Body Composition Analyzer results as taken by the Fitness First team that came into our workplace yesterday:

Body Type: Standard
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Height: 183cm
Weight: 71.9kg
BMI: 21.5
BMR: 7551kJ
Fat%: 14.5% (Desirable Range: 8-20%)
Fat Mass: 10.4kg (Desirable Range: 5.4-15.4kg)

There you go, everything you didn't want to know about me, in a nutshell. Looks like I'm basically straight down the middle...

The Genius Of Ayn Rand

2007-01-23T10:55:00.000Z

I don't use the word genius lightly, but Ayn Rand certainly had genius. These books celebrate the glory of man - man as hero, as God; where his highest aspiration is to himself and his own happiness. Rand argues her own philosophy, Objectivism, through these novels; with the central theme being selfishness as a virtue. Not the current societal impression of selfishness, but the idea that man's most precious gift is his work - not in giving his work to others, but in the act of creation itself.

I can't explain it well enough to do it justice. Although I read Atlas Shrugged first (which was actually published after The Fountainhead), I actually enjoyed the latter more - it's core tenet seems less diluted. It has it's four major protagonist's - the hero, the woman who deserves the hero, the 'second-hander' villain, and the man who nearly achieved the title of hero, but who ultimately succumbed to his own desire of dominion over other men.

Please read these books! You can find out more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism by following these links: The Fountainhead | Atlas Shrugged

It's Dare

2007-01-18T11:14:00.000Z

AB

2007-01-18T10:24:00.000Z

These are my initials in the Proto-semitic alphabet, obviously.

25th Birthday

2007-01-18T09:21:00.000Z

Drinks in The George after work... Taken around about the time I'd had five pints, four shots of Sambuca and a Southern Comfort and ginger ale...

South Bank Sunday

2007-01-15T14:12:00.000Z

'And the walking man walks, he doesn't know nothing at all. Any other man stops and talks, but the walking man walks on by.'

For the second Sunday on the trot, I found myself on the South Bank. This time, however, I had my digital camera charged. I took a few cliched shots of the London Eye juxtaposed with Big Ben (cue tagline of 'Old Vs. Modern London Architecture') and also some shots of the crazy Carsten Holler slides in the turbine hall of the Tate Modern.

And a few more... :-S

2007-01-11T13:09:00.000Z

Uni Bufoonery

2007-01-11T12:54:00.000Z

My good friend Kev emailed me this morning with this little golden gallery taken during my Uni days. Although most of these show me in a highly embarrasing or compromising moment, I felt they were too good not to share!

Enjoy!

Guitar

2007-01-11T11:51:00.000Z

I'm selling my Ovation Celebrity guitar in order to raise funds for a new guitar... One that's sleeker, with a natural finish, and with a softer, more blues-y tone. So you can find my old guitar on eBay. If you know of anyone who is looking for a new guitar, and doesn't mind picking it up from London, please send them the following link:

Ovation Celebrity eBay Auction

The Apple iPhone

2007-01-11T11:47:00.000Z

This particular topic has had some lengthy discussion in the office this week, so much so that Jonny remarked that he had never seen everyone bonded over something so much at Dare! This is possibly because the Apple iPhone, due to be released in Q4 2007, is a thing of absolute beauty. A marriage between an iPod, a mobile phone, and a mobile Internet browser, it is sure to be wanted by every Mac owner on the planet, and other people besides.

So, for all you (6-7) readers of my blog - I want one, so please club together and buy one for me!

I haven't got the words for it...

2007-01-10T11:53:00.000Z

Browsing some of my most-looked at webpages, I noticed how text-heavy they were. Imagine a world without words - would we still be able to get around using signs and symbols only? What if you couldn't read? Does that then impact how you would view the web... Of course it would, but does that call for a re-think of website navigation; relying more on pictorial elements than words?

As an experiment, I created this image of a My Ebay page, and removed all of the words. Despite being rather lovely in it's abstraction, it's all rather confusing isn't it?! Try and make head or tail of that! The only things close to being easily navigable are the webpage icons in my favourites bar on the left.

Holiday Photo Dump

2007-01-08T10:37:00.000Z

Some Recent Work...

2006-12-21T09:31:00.000Z

MPU banner for Woolworths' sale:

Landing page image for Barclays regarding loan choices:

Tornado Damage

2006-12-15T11:41:00.000Z

I took this photo this morning to show the extent of damage the tornado caused to houses in our street. This (rather blurred) photo was taken from my doorstep... Thankfully, the damage to our own house was a few misplaced tiles from the roof, but as you can see, a whole row of houses opposite got hit pretty bad, hence the maze of scaffolding. Our street is rather surreal at the moment. A mixture of steel and builder day-glo jackets.

The Morning After...

2006-12-15T10:40:00.000Z

The hangover from hell landed around 7am the following morning... The words 'Free bar' sum up the punishment my liver took. As an antidote to this, a group of us headed off to Little Portland Street for a fry-up. This beast of a breakfast arrived on the table in front of me. Despite being excellent... I actually felt worse afterwards.

A fry-up is clearly not a hangover cure in some circles...

The Night Before...

2006-12-15T10:09:00.000Z

Last Thursday was the Dare Xmas Party. As you can tell by my previous post, we were fashioning some rather unusual costumes. And, as evidenced by these photos, we went as Tetris blocks - considering it is a Russian invention! So, five of us strapped on our costumes, and then walked from the office to Bar Red in Soho, attracting many many pairs of eyes and a fair few laughs (and even one or two photos - from the Japanese obviously!) I was wearing the orange L-shaped block which was around my ankles, making it utterly impossible to walk. When we reached the venue, I had to navigated going down a flight of stairs... which almost resulted in my death.

After thirty minutes of standing around immobile in our suits in an impossibly cramped bar, we evacuated them and tesselated them against the back wall. Then we abused the free bar...

Takin' Shape

2006-12-06T10:24:00.000Z

Work began last night on building(!) the costumes for the Dare Xmas Party on Thursday. The theme for the night is 'Red Square', so we have taken it upon ourselves to dress as something Russian-related. There are five of us in the set, each with a different costume. Can you guess what it is yet?

More to follow...

Ain't Nothin' But Blues

2006-11-14T08:53:00.000Z

Saturday night was a very heavy night. Nestled in Kingly Street, about five mins walk from Oxford Circus station, is the pokey but atmosphere-drenched Ain't Nothin' But Blues Bar. Despite it's cramped interior and impossibly small stage, the venue packs a punch - with blues bands taking to the mic every night. On this occasion, this black, trampy, dreadlocked dude with ONE tooth rolled up his sleeves and belted out some awesome blues. I've been to this place twice now, and can safely say I'll be back here many times again.

With me on this occasion was Hayley, a friend from Uni who also lives in London. The drink she has here is a mixture of wine and vodka/soda water/lime - a combination only thought wise after she had had 3 shots of Amaretto.

Sunday didn't exist the following day...

Ed's Diner

2006-11-14T08:47:00.000Z

Last Thursday, we found ourselves in Piccadilly Circus, close by the Trocodero, and came across this crazy 50's-style American cafe called Ed's Diner. Inside were all the usual things you would expect from such an era - red bar-stools, table-top mini-jukeboxes, spotty waiters...

With my cheese burger and fries, I ordered a classic vanilla shake. Wow. Very nice. I may just have to return to this place again.

Hello

2006-11-14T08:45:00.000Z

Hello all

I've set up this blog in order to document my experiences in the Big Smoke, and also as a place to upload a few of my favourite photos that I've been taking in the capital city. Eventually, I'll try and expand it to have something interesting to say about design and such-like. Initially, it's just going to be a place for friends and family to see what I've been up to... but hopefully it will turn into a monster! ;-)

Ash