Unemployment Limbo

Well, fellow failures, the Respectable British Educational Institution with which I interviewed did not hire me. I take some small comfort in the fact that they have re-posted their ad more than once since I received my rejection e-mail, which means that none of the other candidates they interviewed were what they were looking for. I guess they know what they want.

In the meantime, I’ve been to one more interview — which I went in for on a moment’s notice. I had sent in my resume for an office/sales position with a car importer-exporter, and they wrote back telling me I should give them a call so they could tell me more about the position. When I did, the guy suggested I just come in to talk to them in person. I was totally unprepared for an interview, not having showered or eaten yet that day, but I threw on some respectable-looking clothes and hopped the train to Shinjuku. The guy met me at the station and took me to a coffee shop in the bottom floor of their office building to interview me, only for one of the first things out of his mouth to be, “We’re looking for someone to stay long-term …” Right. I’m willing to be a little evasive with potential employers on the subject of how long I’m staying in Japan (which really is until August at the latest barring, an amazing job offer), but I’m not going to lie outright, especially not for a position which I was just told may involve training for up to six months. Ever the optimist, I offered my services for any short-term work they might have — and it’s possible they may be able to give me a job translating their website into French. WHICH WOULD BE AWESOME. It’s been over a week and I haven’t heard back yet, but one can hope. Oh, the hope.

Meanwhile, recognizing the distinct possibility that I might not find a job by the time my tourist visa expires and will have to hop a plane back to the States, I’ve started perusing the Denver job listings again. Nothing much listed for positions starting as far out as April, but I did apply for a couple government jobs and one position with a travel company. Don’t think I’ve given up on Tokyo: I’m still scouring the dozen employment websites I check constantly and sending in my resume for the few that I can actually in good conscience apply for. But the more time goes by, the more likely it is that this will be just a tourist trip. Either way, I intend to enjoy it.

[Via http://generationfail.wordpress.com]

Machinima Winner - archonmerc!

Remember the machinima contest that Allods Online NA had? Well the winner was announced, and it was a damn good video. The winner was archonmerc. Check out the video:

We happened to get an interview.

The winning video was the recruitment advertisement for Bloodpact. Can you tell us a little bit about Bloodpact?
Once I start, I could go on forever! I’ll just say that we are a mature bunch, we really don’t care for drama. Although we are a hardcore guild, my philosophy is that you don’t have to be a jerk to be a badass. (Can I say that?)

As for our history, we started in Corum Online (gPotato land!) over five years ago, and since then played 2moons before we came here. The core members and leaders are like a family, and instead of making cliques in such a huge group, we include everyone! We are lucky to have many members from the EU, Australia and Asia too, keeping it active 24/7!

As for me, Bloodpact is on my mind all day long, that might not be healthy, but it’s surely good for the guild.

Now how about a little bit about yourself?
My name is Thomas, I am a 23 year old journalist and photographer from Norway. I play on the North American servers (and have brought friends!) because of the language barrier and clique nation/region-centric guilds in the EU.

I just got out of the Royal Norwegian Air Force a little over a month ago where I completed my one year draft. I had actually signed up for news about Allods months in advance, and was bummed the closed beta testing started before I could complete my service. It hasn’t hurt me though, and I’m glad I could manage to ’scramble’ Bloodpact on such short notice with a lot of help from my sidekicks Arteigon and Aewa.

What was the inspiration of the video?
Actually, Allods is inspiration enough! It was everything I hoped it to be and more. I always like to make videos for guilds, but now my interest was piqued with the fantastic foundation for getting majestic shots in Allods Online.

It was actually never my intention to enter the contest, just because it was a guild advertisement. A guildmate, Kemwer, pushed me into it though! Haha.

How long did it take you to make this video?
Not long enough… When I say that, I mean I love the process of making it as much as seeing the finished product. But I’m sure I lost a few potential levels on my characters to say the least due to being wrapped up in video making. Better time spent now than in open beta, am I right? Overall, I think I spent upwards of 10 hours and 200GB of hard drive space on recording it, and 40-50 hours on the editing.

It’s OK though, the sun never comes up in Northern Norway during the winter anyway, so I’m not missing anything!

I’m constantly adding new Allods videos to my YouTube profile, and have already made 3 of them since the contest entry, so I guess I’m an avid advertiser for the game and Bloodpact.

Did the video come out the way you invisioned it?
Truth be told, yes. Funny enough! Although I made the mistake of not uploading it in high definition, in this case for me it just adds some more character. And the movie itself, I am quite content with just because I found the right music, and patched the shots together just how I planned when recording them.

Who did the voice over?
Actually, I’m wondering that myself. I found the line on a CC sample sharing site, and when I asked for who to credit I just got back a generic answer. It does however fit quite well!

Did any others help you with the video?
Yes! First off, Kemwer, the Brazilian stallion, got the shots from the end of CBT#3 dance of the old square, and made our new logo as well. So much credit goes to him here. Also, the entire Bloodpact guild of course! At that time we only had around fifty members, but there were no problems getting suggestions and critiques, or people to come to the “set”. And of course, Astrum Nival who’s amazing art direction makes such beautiful scenery possible – and gPotato for giving this magnificent game to us through the intertubes.

Anything you’d like to say to The Novograd Times readers?
Support Allods, and respect your fellow players =)

It’s a monster high quality game made with love and care and detail. Might be sounding like a fanboy here, and maybe I am, but I just urge people to stay with it and keep it up! The community over all is pretty nice, and I don’t want that to change ever. You guys rock!

–

Once again congratulations to archonmerc. Enjoy your Razer Megalodon Headset!

[Via http://novogradtimes.com]

Logan Sama: The Grime Minister

Little Dee, Logan Sama, Blacks and P Money at KISS

Logan Sama has become like the Prime Minister of the grime scene. You’ll always catch him being blunt, straight to the point, controversial and protective (when it concerns the grime scene anyway) and he has obtained great respect for doing that over the many years that he has been involved. I caught up with the KISS DJ to talk about grime, mainstream radio and…The Chemical Brothers?
MindOfGrime: Over the years you have become known as the Prime Minister of the grime scene. Why do you think that is?

LOGAN SAMA: My radio show has always been about promoting the scene. From keeping the live sets going on legal radio, to showcasing the most exciting talent to a commercial radio audience. I guess it is by default seeing as I have the only 100% grime show on legal radio, I got ”elected” to that role. I’m a public servant of grime.

MOG: Servant you know [Laughs]. Okay, so tell us about your DJing history…

LOGAN SAMA: I just started buying records when it was called garage in like 1999, listening to guys like Ez, Karl Brown and Fonti. I used to have a mess about on friends decks, because I only had a hi-fi turntable. I got proper decks in 2001 and ended up getting a show on Rinse FM in 2002. In 2005 I got onto KISS and that’s how it I got here.

MOG: Your show every Monday night on KISS has been a huge part of the grime scene getting out to the masses…

LOGAN SAMA: It’s like the first rung of the ladder for guys who are really hot on the underground to climb into mainstream visibility. All these guys in the charts now have to come through my KISS show and 1Xtra to become commercially viable artists. Of course I focus on the grime sound though, rather than the artists specifically.

MOG: What was it about grime music that made you decide to make a career out of it though?

LOGAN SAMA: Just out of chance really. I happened to do really well, really quickly and I have to thank my family for being supportive and understanding when I dropped out of university to ”be a DJ”. I know my dad thought I was fucking mad.

MOG: I’m sure he’s proud of you now Logan. In January the station decided to cut your show from 2 hours to just an hour. Tell me honestly how you felt about their decision?

LOGAN SAMA: Well firstly it wasn’t just my show, it was all four shows in the 11-1 slot. So that’s the funky house, drum & bass and electro shows too. It was just a scheduling shuffle, not anything reflecting on the popularity of the genres, obviously I am disappointed that I have an hour less time to promote the music I love and the live bars get cut down as well, because that’s my favourite part. It’s going to be tough to work out a new format for the show, but I am sure we will manage. Radio is always changing and nothing stays the same, these things happen and I am glad there’s still a place on legal radio for a 100% grime show.

MOG: That is very true! Do you personally like any other type of music apart from grime? I mean, what did the parents play when you were growing up, because I’m pretty sure they weren’t into Tempa T or Big H?

LOGAN SAMA: I like loads of different music, random shit. Dean Martin, Nirvana, Chemical Brothers and Masters At Work. Before I got into garage and the underground stuff I used to listen mainly to some mad electronic stuff like old Prodigy, The Crystal Method and a load of other stuff. When I was growing up it was all 80’s bands and I remember my old man used to have a load of cassettes like Sting & The Police, Dire Straits, Genesis, Adam & The Ants and Blondie. I enjoy 80s pop music cos’ they use a bunch of cool synth sounds that I often hear people going back and using today with plug-ins for their software sequencers.

MOG: You run a label, Ademantium, right?

LOGAN SAMA: There’s just so much music being made and I saw that not enough of it was coming out. I started the label up to try and get some of the tunes I was playing on the radio out into the shops and I know it must irritate the piss out of people to hear tunes getting played by DJs on the radio and they can’t get them. When I was a fan of underground garage, starting out I wanted every tune I heard and then when I got into DJing, guys like Slimzee and Mak 10 had all this amazing music. I just wanted to make sure more of it ended up in the shops and hopefully that can continue into this new decade with new sales models.

MOG: What do you have planned for 2010 and beyond?

LOGAN SAMA: I just want to continue to promote the grime sound. This decade is going to be really exciting, because with the Internet we really have all the tools to do everything ourselves, so I am going to try and do as much with it as possible. Multimedia shows, live events, connecting with the buying market, that’s what I want to do and just really get this great music out there as wide as possible.

Catch Logan Sama on KISS every Monday 12pm – 1am

(This was a 5-10 min chat with Logan, he couldn’t done it any longer)

Huge thanks to Logan Sama for this interview,

Mind Of Grime.

[Via http://mindofgrime.com]

Ethnographic Research

Research is on.

This week started on a Saturday, like most Student weeks do. Me and flatmate, coursemate and friend Alice set out in Wood Green, equipped with camera, boards, questions – and warm clothes. It was a windy London day, and we were all ready for approaching unaware and innocent- looking people on the streets for quick interviews.

We divided between our projects, and decided it was best to go for one project per interviewee, as the girls we interviewed initially seemed relatively overwhelmed by the amount of questions. For my project I got the girls, a man who ate a snack bar – andErnie, a body builder promoting his nutritional scheme! Oh lucky day. They were all wonderful, and it was very interesting to hear a quick opinion on what they think was ‘healthy food’.

Later this week I had an intertview with a fellow student, Ryan, one of hopefully many interviewees this week to reveal insights and to dismiss/reinforce stereotypes and statistics in my research. Another interview was made of one of my friends, Katharina, where I got the insight from the girlfriend-perspective – how she percieves the way this group interacts with a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle. First interview of Ryan is filmed, second of Katharina is taped and noted.

HOOK – TARGET GROUP – BRAND

So, for updates on how the research fits into the plan of mapping my project in terms of a key target user, here’s my thoughts:

• HOOK: My hook, I have decided, are men between the age of 24-35, and in a pre-/no family lifestage, which is based on statistics shwoing this particular group as more likely than anyone to have an unhealthy lifestyle. I’ve renamed this week ‘Research-Week’, where I will only focus on ethnographic research to ground my concepts into a real scenario with real people. The research this week is divided between; Full interviews, on-the-streets interviews, ‘consumer safari’ and revising of earlier diary research. As I have limited time, and in the need for insights and opinions, I have decided to focus more on the full interviews of the actual target group, than to spend time analysing what they eat, to draw cocnlusions from that. As I tried this with the food diary for one day, it seems more rewarding to go into a discussion around the topic in an interview. All the interviews are filmed with notes.
• CONSUMER PROFILE: Will be a summary of the insights, different types of people and common features from the interviews and observations. This will be made at the end of this week when all the interviews are over. Monday is set for analysis and idea generation.
• Personal VIEWPOINT, brand, or both?: I think it would be more interesting, and more suitable for the diverse nature  of my products (old, new and future) to choose a person, and include some of the brands in his life. So a mix of both I assume. I will be looking at brands that have coherence with my project brief and target group, to form a story behind him. Examples now would be: A beer company, a pub, a sandwich or kebab shop, a supermarket, a gym, a soda company, a workplace and a phone company. Ish. More info coming next week.

And – I saw this advertisement for Google Chrome in the tube today, which I think tells a nice story of the consumer.

[Via http://maidmonica.wordpress.com]

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Devin McKee Is Here!

Today I’d like to welcome romantic suspense author, Devin McKee. Her debut novel, Dangerous Magic, is available with The Wild Rose Press. Thank you for interviewing with Amber Scott Project, Devin! Let’s dive in:

AS: What was the initial spark for the idea that evolved into Dangerous Magic?

DM: Living in Texas, I’d always been fascinated with the Texas oil boom. You can’t live there, especially in Houston, and not know someone who works in that industry. I used to walk through the Pennzoil Tower every day when I worked in downtown Houston and loved the lobby. As far as the characters, Riley sort of evolved in my head after I’d left Texas for Arizona. I decided he was the kind of guy you’d want to take home to mom. Laura was a little more difficult. I had to peel her layers off one by one until she became the person who, I felt, would compliment Riley

AS: If it were up to you, what actors would play Riley and Laura on the big screen and why?

DM: Chris O’Donnell and Jennifer Garner (with auburn hair).

AS:  What do you love most about your publishing experience with the Wild Rose Press?

DM:   They have been awesome. They’ve answered any and all questions, let me know what it was they wanted from the book and my editor, Johanna, was absolutely wonderful. The two of us worked really well (and hard) together with the requested edits.

AS: If you were at your dream booksigning, who would be asking for your autograph, gushing over your novels?

DM:  Ah, that’s an easy one. Nora Roberts or Catherine Coulter!

AS: What writers do you most want to meet and why?

DM:  The two above mentioned. I love Catherine Coulter from her FBI series to all of her historical novels, including her oldest ones. I have a collection and the only way I’ll give them away is after I’m gone from this earth. Also, Nora Roberts is so very talented. She kicks those books out like candy in factory line. Amazing!

AS: If there were one piece of advice you could give to any aspiring writer, what would it be?

DM:  Never give up. I wanted to. Many times. I just didn’t think I was good enough. I’d never done anything so outrageous as to write a book. Some authors know from a young age that this is what they want to do. I was nearly 50 before my creative side reared its head. I had to really learn to believe in myself, believe in my work and my characters. And I found out I loved to write. Don’t EVER give up!

AS: I’m so excited for this book, Devin! May it be the first of many, many successes for you.

Please leave Devin a comment or question. She’ll be here all day with us!

Buy Link for Dangerous Magic:

The last thing Riley O’Connor needs is a distraction as the fate of his family’s legacy lies on his shoulders. But a distraction is exactly what he gets when he collides with the beautiful wildcat on a Houston sidewalk. Could she be the woman of his heart, the woman his Irish grandmother predicted existed?

Travel agent Laura Marshall is sure the arrogant man she’d encountered in Houston has followed her to Cancun for the sole purpose of ruining her vacation. Her friends invite Riley to join in their plans, forcing Laura to face her growing attraction to him.

An unforgettable night of passion entangles them in a deadly power game. Someone wants to destroy Riley’s oil company and will use any means possible, including his new love interest. Riley and Laura fight to hold onto the magical fairytale they once believed in.

***

:}Amber Scott

[Via http://amberscottproject.wordpress.com]