More inspiration for alongside your Sunday breakfast –
- The Worlds Best Presentation 2009 – over on Slideshare they are running a competition to decide the best deck of the year – lots of great influences to get your creative juice flowing
- Sunday Girl by Blondie - listen to it now on You Tube – if this doesn’t put an extra 10hp in your engine this morning – I’m not sure what will!
- View from the Ledge – a cancer survivors blog, similar to ‘A Power Within’ – written by my Mum, on dealing with caring for a myeloma sufferer.
- The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz – one of my favourite books, the story of young Polish cavalry officer, imprisoned in Russia who escapes and walk thousands of miles to his freedom.
Who or what gives you inspiration?
Not much great new music this week, but these are worth checking out – don’t take my word for it – click the link for the Amazon page for each of these albums.
What are you listening to? What should I be listening to?
Despite having two Zunes at home (a new HD and a 30), we still have three iPods on the go, and despite loads of changes – I am still not a fan of iTunes. Here are three alternatives the bloated Apple client.
- DoubleTwist – available for both the PC and the Mac, DoubleTwist is a full featured client that allows music to be downloaded to a number of devices including the iPod. The current release allows the Amazon MP3 store to be used to replicate the iTunes experience, as well as allowing video to be converted and loaded to your device.
- Anapod Explorer – from Red Chair software allows you to load music directly from Windows Explorer to your iPod and has a number of companion tools for backing up and recovering your precious shiny MP3 player.
- DOPISP – daft name, useful software that integrates your iPod with Windows Media Player, works with Windows 7 and is a lovely integration. I’ve used this for a while, and it has never let me down.
What other tools are you using to escape the Apple hegemony?
Picked this up on the recommendation of a friend after discussing 1950’s calypso music, it’s a modern classic I hadn’t heard of telling the tale of a small group of (mainly) Trinidadian immigrants in London in the fifties.
Buy The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon on Amazon now
Sam Selvon eschews ‘Standard’ English and fuses the patois of the main characters into the language of the book – it is an interesting concept and challenges the reader to hear the characters much more clearly.
As the stories develop, the book exposes the pathos of an immigrants life in London, the colour bar, austerity Britain and a lack of jobs are in conflict with the natural indomitable spirit of Moses, Sir Galahad and Cap – the standout scene being a dance attended by all the key characters and hosted by a ‘lahdedah’ friend who tries to impress the white guests he has bought. Priceless images of calypso dances and ‘slackness’ ensue.
This is a marvellous book, that shows how cold and unforgiving London can be, and how the diversity of the city can also shine through.
Monday morning – the day that all the new releases come out – and here is another selection of tuneage that will plump up your MP3 player or CD collection. Don’t take my word for it – follow the links, listen and buy.
- In This Light & On This Evening by the Editors – a significant shift of gear from this most fantastic British band, dark, brooding and mesmeric.
- My Way by Ian Brown – from the opening stomp and piano hook of Stellify, this signals the return of one of the most enduring voices in British rock music. Forget all the Stone Roses reunion guff – they aren’t needed.
- Music for Men by The Gossip – the voice is completely unique, but this album takes The Gossip to a new dimension. Easily straddling the void between club and concert – these songs will be ubiquitous into 2010.
- Skream! by Skream – innovative and completely original this is the future sound of London. If you haven’t discovered dubstep yet, then this is the ultimate primer – dark, dancey electronica at its finest.
- For lack of a better name by Deadmau5 – I’ve featured them in my DJ mixes (they are free to download!) for some time, but this third artist album really could propel them into the big time. Trippy, techy house music with collaborations from Rob Swire and Flipside.
What are you listening to? What should be listening to?
Another slice of inspirational links to take alongside your Sunday newspapers -
Who or what gives you inspiration? How are you tracking them?
This is a great book, combining sound theory, relevant examples and actionable suggestions with an easy readable style. The main premise is that cultivating ‘trust’ will enable you and your business to succeed. Most of this is talked about in terms of social networks or online media – but the key points can be practiced offline as well – be a trusted advisor and people will gravitate towards you when they need something, and then trust you with their information and leads.
It is sage advice indeed – and I ripped through this in a few days, coming away with some great suggestions on how to increase trust. Chris Brogan has an authentic voice in this area – having established a successful blog and social network, as well as putting his money where his mouth is – he is even open to giving the book away for charities and non profits.
The book proposes that it will help you drive sales, get hired without a resume or just make your business more awesome than the others. At the very least, it will be a disruptive influence in your current working styles, and that is never a bad thing
I wouldn’t disagree with any of that – I am confident this book will help you develop any relationship you have, beyond business.
Excellent read – buy Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith now.
What are you doing to build trust?
More inspiration for alongside your Sunday breakfast – 
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