Magic Tate Ball.

(Source: itunes.apple.com)

Bff.

There’s this girl I call Emer, she calls me Joni T. I feel so guilty that I’m probably not as good a friend to her as she is to me but she’s so painfully kind she’d never tell me anyway. The last time I saw her we ate ice cream and played our favourite board game. A week today I’ll be arriving in Sheffield to spend a few days with her. Excited doesn’t even come close.

It’s not every day you find someone to dress up as fruit and vegetables with.

I don’t care how clear the retina display on an iPad is, travel board games are unbeatable on a long train journey!

I have been to the National Media Museum once before about three years ago but it was even better than I remember it being.  It’s in Bradford which I know is not the first place you think of for a day out but I kind of like that there are museums well worth going to outside of London.  It reminds you how big and varied the country actually is.  If you have any interest in photography, media, animation or just fancy an afternoon playing Sonic on a Sega then I’d definitely recommend going!  The museum starts with at introduction to early photography through to the modern day with references to Flickr and social networking.  There is one floor dedicated to the TV studio where you can present the news, weather and/or be in your own soap/sitcom whilst learning all about the cameras and lighting that make everything run smoothly.  I thought a lot of the text was targeted at children and perhaps could have been a bit more informative for adults but to be honest I guess everything was pretty self-explanatory.

The animation area was really (sorry for using this word) interesting.  Although seamless digital animation is pretty much what makes our world go round these days, stop frame animation is in a league of its own.  Seeing the intricate craftsmanship that has brought sets and characters to life is a real privilege and I envy and admire anyone who has the skills and patience to create such beautiful art.

Anyway, who doesn’t like Wallace and Gromit or Morph!

I have heard the Cultural Olympics mentioned a few times in the media over the past month or so but have not really understood what people are referring to.  To my delight, a good proportion of the museum has been dedicated to the relationship between sport and art.  Science and art have often informed each other throughout history and display was a varied exploration of capturing movement.  This film was of simple 3D vectors that had been programmed to mirror the bodies of athletes in motion.  I particularly liked the diving and gymnastic sequences as you could see the shapes constrict and dilate in the same way human muscles would as the body changes shape through flight. 

(Source: vimeo.com)

One of the best bits of the whole museum was the area in which you could choose TV programmes, ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, from a large catalogue to watch in two-seater booths.  It was just like TV on-demand from a bumper Radio Times spanning five decades.  Back to the 21st century, we then saw a Deep Sea IMAX film which was pretty impressive.  It’s fascinating what lives at the bottom of the ocean and I really like that there are still undiscovered species out there – where’s the fun in knowing everything?  After the IMAX we entered a room filled with video games.  Ranging from original arcade games to an Xbox 360, needless to say we spent a considerable amount of time in there.  I was shocked to find that Harry did not have a Sega as a child!  Playing Sonic definitely took me back.  I just love the sound of jumping through rings!

The last room of the museum was all about the future of the internet.  I really liked this typeface they’d constructed out of string and magnets.

Chip Kidd, you legend!

I am doing some seriously thorough research into what magazine to next subscribe to.  If my income were higher I’d sign up to loads but at the minute I’m going to have to choose just one. Choices, choices!

There are a few very popular drinks that I dislike. It’s not one of those “I used to like this before it got popular and now I’m going to hate it because everyone else loves it” scenarios, I just do not like:

- Tea

- Coffee

- Wine

- Beer

Social protocol requires tea to be offered when you’re a guest in someone’s house. There’s always an awkward situation when I say “no thank you” because people assume I’m ill or allergic. I try to assure people that disliking tea is not contagious but no one seems to understand. I like making tea! In fact, my cups of tea are cups of joy. Well, so I’ve been told. Anyway, what I ask of you, reader, is that if you offer someone a drink they don’t like, don’t be startled or offended when they politely decline, it’s really not a big deal.