The Death of Total Request Live...

Here is a link to an article about the demise of
mtv's flagship "music" show , which I was interviewed for on account of working on its precursor, the slipshod and fun if unimaginatively-titled, "mtv live". As the crotchety quotes they use imply, not an especially sad day for me.

People often ask me what the best thing about working with Carson Daly was, and it's an easy one to answer: it was the sex.

Halong Bay from home.

Here's what my camera saw as we were chasing the magical light at the floating village in the extraordinary Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Halong Bay - the orange that pre-empted the pink.

The knights of the road.

Hanoi has famously mental traffic, operating on a more intuitive flow [chi?] principle more than the western concept of stop and go. Still it's fucking terrifying, even when you understand that the key is simply to "go with the flow".

Because people spend a lot of their life on two wheels in Hanoi, it is one of those places where you feel the city on the move - their mass transit system being a never-stopping river of scooters.



Also the gear people wear on their bikes is subject as much to fashion as practicality.



I was also struck by how much the folk on their scooters and step-throughs looked like medieval knights as they fought their way through the other riders on their mounts.

Most fortuitous.

I have been remiss

and have left the updating of this later than seems polite, apologies if you [and we both know it is only you], felt you'd been kept waiting.

So what to do?

Well today it's been nothing, and I feel I have so little to provide. Having been lurking on the so-called"internet" and frankly pillaging blogs for their music, especially this brilliant one:

http://cicodelico-obscure-grooves.blogspot.com


I feel I should give something back to the out there.


A picture?

A soup recipe?

So here's two pictures from Rachel Blackman's powerful performance in her one woman show "The Art of Catastrophe" where you can see just how far she lets herself go inside and out in the context of a relatively short performance.

God's Fireworks.

From Sea of Ice and Fire.

When sitting at this desk my back is to the sun as it sets. I try to leave the door open as much I can, so I can hear and feel the outside, even whilst working. This afternoon, I had the sense I should go down to the sea and this is what I was rewarded by.

It took a while to get it. Sunsets are such a photographic cliche, usually the best thing to do, is sit down and enjoy them.

Could I?

Obviously not. When the option of having such exciting and vivid colours to play with was there.

Plus I had to let the freezing sea water wash around me up to the knees to get the reflective picture I wanted.

I had to give to get what I got and right or wrongerly I like the pictures better because they weren't easy.

Icarus Groyne

From Sea of Ice and Fire Again

Whitecliffs lost in a cherry pink sky.

From Sea of Ice and Fire.

The Wire.

From Sea of Ice and Fire.

I was after some tension here, but also like that the wire was lit the street light above me and the traffic zooming past on the South Coast Road.

The reviews are in and the tears are flowing...

In showbiz, you're not meant to pay attention to the reviews, especially the bad ones. But what about the lazy ones? Or the lazy, bad ones?

As Britain feels the fangs of it's worst recession for decades puncture deeper into it's over-leveraged flesh, guess who's poncing about a series of glamourous and expensive parts of the world?

For the record I did suggest we visit some affordable locations, even some in the UK, but our programme has been about exciting, desirable "dream destinations" and there's nothing I can do to change that. I do wish reviewers could come up with something other than "Nice work if you can get it", a phrase repeated in at least three reviews of the show so far, and as a voracious critic and reader of reviews I think they could try a little harder...

Having said that I can only wait for the very considered and specific excoriation of my failings as television presenter and human being.

Some great faces well lit.

The glamour photography of Rocky Schenk I have become facebook friends with the divine Anne Magnusson [a big deal for me], and one of the shots of her on the site was by Rocky who does that Old Hollywood style of lighting which is so difficult to master. I keep on trying it but it's a surprisingly subtle style to do, and I think best done with real lights as opposed to flashes as the set up has to be both technical and then I think, a little bit intuitive. in other words, it's magic.

The agent for Toby Amies

is now Vivienne Clore , no longer Money Mgmt. Please contact Vivienne if you have any enquires regarding, presenting, writing, or directing.

Havana good time.

From Cuba, Mexico, Columbia

Here's a shot I took at the boxing school we visited in Havana in between sweating and puffing during my intensive boxercise for the cameras. If you manage to visit Cuba you should make it your mission to hang out with the people who live there as much as possible, if only because the government's not too keen on it, but mostly because they are friendly and funny and really enjoy interaction with people who can come and go as they please. Watch out for the young hustlers though, we ended up buying an $80 round of drinks thinking our new friends were best friends...

If you came here via the Rough Guide tv show, welcome! please let me know and thanks for watching.

From Cuba, Mexico, Columbia

The boxing school in Havana is called Gimnasio de Boxeo Rafael Trejo. They were friendly, patient AND pugnacious.

Who Listens To Techno

is the name of a programme I made with Llinos Jones for Radio 4 a while back.

Llinos made the packages and I wrote and said the bits in between.

There's currently a copy available here which I'm sure is very illegal.

http://share.ovi.com/media/futureimage.public/futureimage.10030

I'm afraid you have to copy and paste it as I can't make the html link work properly. Feel free to tell me how if you know so.

If you listen, please let me know. I really enjoy making programmes with and or about music for Radio 4, but it's odd to make musical documentaries on a speech station huh?
Or not?

Photographing something that isn't there

Lovely and sad:

Todd Hido

That was weird

I went to beautiful Blackheath today to have my picture taken to publicise The Rough Guides Series 2. It was for OK magazine; not, it has to be said, my organ of choice , but my sister was very excited. My co-host on the series Julia Bradbury managed to perform for the camera with enthusiasm and I have a nasty feeling I willjust look desperately uncomfortable. The photographer Cameron was very understanding and forgiving though.


But I still can't work it out, and I wish someone would let me know, am I F, E, or D list now?

Drako's tattoo

From TRAVEL PICTURES

It's his motto, modus operandus. Trust. Absolute. Unconditional. Could you?

Flores Island, Indonesia.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Malecon, Havana.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Oxaca, Mexcio.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Nature porn, Santa Marta, Columbia.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Meanwhile on the slab

From TRAVEL PICTURES

The sushi chef.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Sashimi in Zanzibar

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Seen from the sea.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Taken on the way to swim with a manta ray! Flores Island, Komodo National Park. Indonesia.

Shot with the Leica, and weirdly exposed due its being dropped from a scooter. But film shots now look like history don't they? Even if only taken a couple of months ago.

The most relaxing spot available at the foot of the active volcano.

The terrace of the extremely casual hotel/house we stayed at on Stromboli.

From TRAVEL PICTURES

Let's try a photo

From TRAVEL PICTURES

The River Avon. Worcestershire.