Rylan Holey

Silvermoths got a big fat mention in the Guardian

// August 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Me, Music

Wow. I’m so excited for Silvermoths to get such a great mention in the Guardian’s review of Standon Calling 2011. All the effort for Standing Calling 2011 was worth it!

Here’s what they had to say about us (and me):

Silvermoths show promise, their angelic frontwoman given extra dimension by her multi-disciplinary band, including a classical Indian raga from cellist Rylan Holey

Just so awesome.

What made it even better is that just before us Goldheart Assembly were mentioned. Love them too. I’ve done some recording for their drummer Nicky Francis.  So that makes me part of The Quill!

Make sure you get to Standon Calling next year by the way, it was an amazing festival that’s fun, accessible and with great music to boot.

Why is this advert with a QR code so annoying?

// July 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Me

Simply because it feels like one big targeted gimmick.

Firstly it is in Wired magazine, a great read for digitally minded people like me, but seriously how gimmicky can you get? It feels like Intel’s marketing team have gone ‘oh wired readers must be into QR codes as they like mobiles so lets make an advert with one in it just like everyone else was doing last year cause they think that It’ll be cool’. Well it’s not and QR codes never really have been.

Secondly the zebra QR code looks crap within the design. Great, the code has a zebra eye in it that matches the real zebra’s, but to feature the ugly thing in the middle of the advert?

Thirdly, the main message, that Intel’s new generation of processors are here, is hidden at the very bottom of the page.

Out of sheer bitterness I have not yet scanned the QR code and also I’m on a train so reception keeps on dropping off. So I have yet to see if the URL is mobile friendly or not.

All in all I don’t believe QR codes work in adverts like this. Waste of too many minutes of my time to check out the link.

Kids on the bus

// June 22nd, 2011 // No Comments » // London

The 381. One of the buses I use to go home. It’s not only completely filthy. It’s full of French kids. Or maybe they’re from Quebec. Either way I don’t want them here. On my bus.

Still it could be worse. They could be London School kids.

Saigon 15 Years Later

// January 24th, 2011 // No Comments » // Me

One of Saigon's many busy streets at night

How can a city change so much? I didn’t think it possible to see such a drastic difference. Since 1995, the last time I visited, the quiet streets with the rambling cyclo drivers have become overridden by swarms of motorbikes and cars jostling to reach wherever it may be.

Ho Chi Minh City is undergoing breathtaking development. Large-scale construction projects spring up on nearly every corner – most of them end in soulless sky scrapers with glass facades giving a view into their hollow insides. Sadly all the construction is at the expense of many of Saigon’s beautiful architectural gems, which are now pulled down nearly without question thanks to the greater powers of a booming economy.

Two of Saigon’s greatest assets haven’t changed though. The food and the people.

The taste of Vietnam is very much still at the heart of this city. It’s a gastronomical paradise. The variety is astonishing, and now cuisine from around the world has arrived in full force to satisfy the expat community and tourist masses.

Four Girls live happily in this room. They pull the mattress out every night and put it back in the morning. With a smile.

All I hope is that the people of Vietnam do not change. I pray their openness, generosity and intelligence is kept. With so much on offer now in this country it is in danger of being taken over by a consumerist agenda, injecting lethal quantities of greed into a society which barely knew the smell of money thanks to a war and, with it, the consequences of victory – the draconian, cruel and petty US sanctioned embargoes.

Visiting as a fat kid in 1995 I was somewhat of an attraction to the locals. I remember the astonished eyes of all my relatives and everyone on the street – and soon after the pulling apart of my chubby cheeks to check they are real. They’d never seen anything like me before – nearly everyone was stick thin, from the elderly to the children. But now, I am still on the larger side – and no one seems to care. Being fat has become a regrettable norm in Ho Chi Minh City. Tonnes of money really can be heavy.

You just have to look at Vietnamese history to know that they are a proud race and will prevail, with the core of what makes them such spectacular people intact.

Cafe East in Canada Water

// August 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // London

Thank god it’s open again! The best Vietnamese restaurant in London had been closed for a 3 week summer break. But it’s back and I’m sitting in it, salivating.

This place is cheap, clean, friendly and most importantly serves the most authentic Vietnamese food for a restaurant anywhere in the UK.

Oh, and it’s always packed full of Asians (and Eurasians like me) which is always a good indicator of the standards.

Well I’m hungry and gonna eat smiling.

No white people here...

Junk at Macau – 30 Dec 53

// August 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Me

Junk at Macau – 30 Dec 53, originally uploaded by philroeder.

This photo is fantastic and brings so many memories back of my life in Hong Kong.

There are hardly of these types of boats left now in Hong Kong and Macau – they are classic symbol of the region.

I’ll be back there one day.

Shopping trolley death valley

// August 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // London

I always feel sorry for the trollies at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. The poor things can’t go past an invisible line.

So they’re just left here. In a deathly loneliness. Trollies have feelings too.

Where do you clip your nails?

// August 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Me

The other day I was treating my self to a rare spot of male grooming in the bathroom. Only to hear Scott yell at me – ‘I hope you’re not clipping your nails in there’. Of course I was. I was even getting the little buggers into the bin.

Currently Scott is clipping his nails in the bedroom into a plastic bag from Zara. How can this be better than in the bathroom?

Where is the best place to clip your nails? The answer may eventually lead us to world peace.

Do I need to get my eyes tested?

// July 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // London

Isn’t this a bit stupid? How the hell do you get your eyes tested whilst waiting. Or are they saying you’re so passive whilst someone pokes things in your eyes you may as well be waiting for something else?

I hate myself sometimes for working in marketing.

Sesame Street Celebrity Lollaby

// July 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Fun, Me

Despite being a son of the British Empire due to my birth and early years in Hong Kong – I was bred on Yankee TV.  We didn’t have the psychedelic children’s TV like The Magic Roundabout Brits seem to talk about.  Instead there was a big yellow bird and a cookie monster to guide us through losing our milk teeth.

Then there came Transformers – which totally smashes the crap out of Grange Hill. It made me the tough macho man I am today.

Anyway my nostalgia glands got working thanks to this clip of Ricky Gervais singing a celebrity lullaby to Elmo.  Does anyone know what Elmo is supposed to be?