That said, my groundless opinion on what has happened follows. I make no claims that this is anything other than speculation.

The most striking thing to note about the riots is that they had no political motivation. Rioting for social justice I can kind of get behind. This was merely a wanton spree of violence and opportunistic greed. Labour will tell you that it is in retaliation to cuts and the coalition will probably claim it’s because we need more cuts. I doubt that the majority of rioters can even spell recession. They don’t care about politics and they don’t read newspapers. They get all the news they want from 60 second newsbursts between episodes of Snog Marry Avoid.

The shooting of Mark Duggan acted as a catalyst that in conjunction with a host of other factors led to the riots. Mark Duggan was alleged to be a drug dealer and a gang member and in what seems like revenge his fellow gang members turned the peaceful protest at his shooting into a violent one.

What’s recently been developing that turned this disturbance into a full scale national riot is large amounts of people can be organised at very short notice due to the internet, smartphones and social networking. This allowed our current generation of disaffected youth, particularly those who don’t see themselves as a part of society, to seize the moment.

Once the idea of riot was in the air everyone wanted a piece of the fun.  Anyone who cared more about the chance to smash things up and steal things than the state of their high street or their community took to the streets and did just that. I think it’s unlikely that the majority even knew what had started it all or even who Mark Duggan was. They just wanted a new flat screen TV.

The trouble is Pandora’s box is open now and riots have ceased to be something that only happens in the past. Everything is still in place, all we need is another spark and it will all kick off again.

Hopefully I’ll start writing a lot more than I had done. To be honest with the level of work I was doing for university I kind of got burnt out on writing and had to take a rest from it. So as a way of building myself up slowly I’m going to start writing a few bits and pieces here for my own enjoyment.

Any feedback on the new look of the site would be nice as well, it still needs a few tweaks, I need to get something better written in the sidebar and the favicon is doing all manner of crazy things. Anyrate,

onwards,

NjClarke

I Am Kloot released three perfect albums, Natural History, I Am Kloot and Gods and Monsters. I Am Kloot then released Play Moolah Rouge, a studio album which sounded like a live album, an album that became more and more powerful with every listen. But with four incredible albums behind them I Am Kloot have never reached the levels of success they deserve.

From the very start of the album it is clear that Kloot have moved back towards a more “studio” sound, with lush string arrangements and more varied instrumentation that they have ever used before. It works fantastically well with John Bramwells voice (he’s probably my favourite singer working today) making the overall effect less britpop and more reminiscent of Richard Hawley or even moments of “Wee Small Hours,” era Sinatra.

The most obvious comparison that will be drawn is with Elbow, and that’s not surprising seeing as Kloot and Elbow are old friends and Guy Garvey and Craig Potter have been brought in to produce Sky At Night. It wouldnt be too much of a stretch to describe Sky At Night as the moody alcoholic brother of Seldom Seen Kid especially with tracks like Radiation which build to a climax of the same quality as One Day Like This.

The Sky At Night is classic I Am Kloot, only more adventurous, with beatles style backing vocals on Lately, the aforementioned strings and even a saxophone at one point. It always works though, bringing enough variation to the classic kloot formula to keep it fresh.

I doubt I Am Kloot will ever have huge chart success, but I’m confident that they will continue to keep making fantastic record after fantastic record. They have been one of the best bands of the last decade and no-one has heard of them. You really need to listen to this album.

I came out of the cinema thoroughly confused by Kick-Ass. I think it’s the cinematic equivalent of herring flavoured ice-cream, two different flavours which shouldn’t have been mixed.

The first half of the film seems very much ground in reality. It works well as a gentle teenage comedy about a good natured loser with a fragile grip on reality firmly in the Judd Apatow tradition. We’re expecting him to have a few wild but believable antics, grow up and get the girl, and if this did happen it would be a perfectly decent movie.

The rest of the film is such a contrast to this that I found my suspension of disbelief severely tested. From the moment that Hit-Girl and Big Daddy enter the movie it suddenly abandons it’s own internal logic. It moves from Apatow to Tarantino with over the top stylized violence and characters who simply wouldn’t function in a real world. It’s like Superman suddenly turning up about halfway through Saving Private Ryan, completely out of place and a violation of the world that has been presented to the audience.

The thing is that this too would have made a fantastic film if only it didn’t have to sit uncomfortably alongside the teen comedy scenes. The action scenes are some of the best of any film for a good few years, well choreographed and without the irritating shake-the-camera-so-much-the-audience-feels-sick approach that JJ Abrams seems to have popularised so that you can actually see every gory detail. The only exception to this would be the final scene which goes a little too far into the realms of rediculousness. I could see a film focusing on Hit Girl and Big Daddy working well as a satire on comic-book violence and the sexualisation of children, or maybe exploring the complex relationship between a father who has turned his daughter into a psychotic killer for his own personal vengeance. Instead the film barely touches on this and seems to approach its violence and sexual imagery without even a hint of irony suggesting that it really is just dumb entertainment with a questionable moral compass.

To sum up, Kick Ass has excellent action scenes and is very funny at times, most cinemagoers will love it. But for me it didn’t quite work on several levels, it was inconsistent, felt like two different films and worse still seemed to have a seedy lust for 12 year old girls and the old ultra-violence that made me feel deeply uncomfortable.

I am ridiculously excited about Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and think that there’s a good chance it’s going to be the best film of the summer. Here’s a quick list of the reasons why.

1. “C’mon he’s Scott Pilgrim!”
Okay, I have to admit, I am a massive fan of the comic books and can’t wait to see them adapted for the screen. For those not familiar with them they follow the life of Scott Pilgrim (to be played by Michael Cera), a 23 year old slacker from Toronto who spends his days playing computer games and being the bass player in his band, Sex Bob-Omb. Scott soon falls in love with Ramona Flowers, a mysterious ninja delivery girl, but finds that in order to date her he must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends whilst dealing with his own emotional baggage. It’s a long way from being a typical story, but it’s quirky, stylish, brilliantly funny and utterly addictive. The final volume is coming out just before the movie’s released and I can’t wait.

2. It’s directed by Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright has got a pretty much perfect directorial record going on including, Spaced, Hot Fuzz, and Shaun of the Dead. This is going to be a really telling test of his skill as a director though as it’s his first major hollywood film and his first away from the Simon Pegg, Nick Frost team. Luckily it does look like the perfect project for him as he’s apparently a big fan of the comics and he definately has the geeky credentials to make sure all those video game references stay in there.

3. The soundtrack will be amazing
You can’t make a film where half the characters are in bands and that has so many references to alt rock bands (Scott Pilgrims name is taken from a Plumtree song) without music being a massive part of it and luckily it seems that there are some fantastic bands already writing music for it. Most notably Beck has apparently written the music heard on the trailer which sounds pretty damn good. I’ve also heard that Metric are writing music for The Clash at Demonhead which I think would be a perfect fit.

4. Scott Pilgrim The Game looks fantastic in its own right

Ok, so it’s not technically a reason why the film will be great but I’m also pretty excited about the tie in videogame which has an equally fantastic pedigree. From what’s been announced it looks like it’s going to be an old skool side scrolling beat ‘em up a la Streets of Rage. What makes me think that it’s going to be awesome is that it has art direction from the genius behind the pirate baby cabana battle video and music from 8-bit rockers anamanaguchi.

Other than that? well the cast looks pretty solid with Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim (hopefully he’ll try to differentiate the role from the standard one he plays) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead playing Ramona Flowers, and what people have said of early test screenings it seems pretty good.

But really though the main reason I’m excited about it is because it’s Scott Pilgrim, and Scott Pilgrim is as the poster says “An epic of epic epicness.”

Sounds nice. But surely it’s just not realistic is it?

Well no, in actual fact more and more people are living this lifestyle, using the Internet to work from anywhere in the world and make continuous travel possible.

They’re called Digital Nomads or sometimes Vagabonds or Location Independent and due to the rise of the Internet and new technologies they’re becoming more common all the time. If you were to type the term into a search engine you’d be rewarded with pages of links to pages about and often written by Digital Nomads.

Its appeal and advantages seem obvious to anyone who loves travel or who has an adventurous streak. Justin Wright, who runs Life of Justin, one of the most popular blogs written by a Digital Nomad says “The main advantage is being able to travel and enjoy the things you love. Instead of being isolated to a specific area, you’re free to roam around, travel, or move as often as you like. It’s also nice because you can choose your own schedule and work hours.”

Christine Gilbert, writes Almost Fearless another top blog that deals with travel and the Digital Nomad life, said “I think most people would like to work remotely. There’s no commute, less distractions and a much improved quality of life. If I want to take a little nap, I can. If I want to travel and work on the beach somewhere, no problem. It basically frees you completely from the out dated notion that the amount of time spent at your desk is your value as an employee. Most digital nomads know they can get their work done faster and better at home, and have plenty of time for whatever other interests they have.”

So how easy is it to start doing?

Generally it’s thought that the hardest part about being a digital nomad is getting into it. It takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work to build up an income from working freelance especially if you’re used to working in a different field.

Christine’s view is, “If you have a career established, it’s easier. If you are working in IT, software, writing, graphic design, consulting, programming or any other area that already has a strong path developed, it’s simple. In general I tell people it’s about as hard as getting a new job. If that’s something that takes you 3-6 months in your field, expect the same.”

and Justin adds “For me, it was a long process. I started by freelancing and blogging while I still had an office job. For the better part of a year I constantly worked on the side building my credibility, portfolio, and online business. Once I felt that I could survive off of my own business, I decided it was time to leave my full-time job.”

But, is it getting any easier?

10 to 15 years ago, the idea of being fully location independent and of making all your money through your laptop would have seemed incomprehensible, but then again so would such everyday things as Wikipedia, Google and Facebook. My point is that advancing technology is making it easier to stay connected to the world and there are less and less places left without internet access. But with all of this is it actually getting any easier to become a Digital Nomad?

“Yes it definitely is.” Says Justin “Technology is rapidly improving and it’s making everything easier to do, regardless of location. Internet applications, storage, and communication tools are making it easier and easier to stay in touch.

The current global recession however is making an impact on everyone regardless of if you live in one place or not though, according to Christine “with the current economic conditions, workers have lost a bargaining chip. It’s hard to push for a remote environment, when you’re feeling just lucky to have your job.”

What are the downsides?

Just like any long term travel it takes a certain kind of person and there can be a certain degree of loneliness to deal with.

Ori Bengal is another Digital Nomad who details his couch-surfing adventures on his site called Couch Surfing Ori, he says that “The downsides of being on the road are few, but are quite noteworthy. The most obvious (at least after a while) is loneliness. If you’re not staying somewhere, and you just met the coolest people, you start missing them. On long drives, I often wish there was someone riding along”

There’s also more practical problems that come with moving around so much “I’ve had difficulties with companies that have sent me mail, which I hadn’t received, ’cause I was on the road… and then I have to deal with collection agencies, etc… ’cause they think I was ignoring their letters or bills,” says Ori.

Becoming a Digital Nomad may be a difficult process, it can be lonely and it’s often means hard work but it’s rewards still outweigh the downsides, and none of the Nomads I’ve talked to would want to return to a normal life just yet, according to Christine “I was just reading one of my friend’s posts about being home after a year around the world and it makes me sad. She wrote that it was like someone forgot to add the salt to life.”

I’m sure that over the next few years more and more people will realize that their careers no longer require that they stay in one place and will join the Digital Nomad revolution. It can only be a good thing really, the more people who travel, the more understanding people will be of other cultures and more people will have the opportunity to see the world.

So if you’re still interested in it Ori offers these words, “The main peace of advice I can give anyone who wants to try this is to forget everything you know, and be open minded. This is a very eye-opening experience. You will learn a lot about yourself, the people you knew in your past, and people in general.”

Or not.

I really don’t buy into all the hype which surrounds the latest wave of 3d films. Heres a quick run through of the reasons why.

1. The Gimmick Factor- This is probably 3D films most obvious weakness. It’s only really a novelty and the problem with any novelty is that it wears off fairly quickly. Unless 3D can actually add something new to the experience of watching a film it will get pretty boring pretty quickly.

2. It’s seems to be artless- 3D can be fine for cheap pulpy entertainment but would it really improve a serious piece of drama. can you make a serious artistic point with 3D. take david leans brief encounter, would it really be improved if that famous shot of the train rushing through the tunnel flew straight at your face?

3. The silly glasses- because to be honest, anyone wearing them really does look like a prat,

I’m pleased to say that Them Crooked Vultures on the other hand are simply fantastic. They even have released the last truly great album of this decade.

If you haven’t already heard by now Them Crooked Vultures is made up of Josh Homme of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age Fame on guitar and vocals, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters on drums and John Paul Jones from a little old band called Led Zeppelin on bass.

I’m really trying to not sound too gushy on this one. I’m really trying to be a fair and objective journalist here but it’s really not working. Ever since I heard the first teasers of tracks and heard who was in the band I have been very, very excited and now that the album has finally been released I can tell you that I am very, very happy.

The riffs are just so damn heavy. This is not a bunch of old guys making comfortable music in a comfortable room, some of this stuff is scary. I’m not even sure where you’d start when trying to decide on a single from this album. Every track sounds like a winner to me.

There’s clear influences from all the members former bands but it still manages to sound like something new. Mind Eraser No Chaser sound like the Foo’s at their best with a psychadelic twist. Scumbag Blues contains an unexpected funk organ section that would fit right into Houses of the Holy and Hommes vocals bring back memories of Songs for The Deaf.

To sum up. I like it lots. I have hardly stopped listening to it, and from someone with such a ridiculously short musical attention span as myself this is uite impressive. They’ve have build on the sum their parts and added something new to make what is one of the best hard rock albums of recent years by far.

1. His music.

Pretty obvious this one, his music was fantastic. Serge Gainsbourg started off playing Chanson music, a traditional French music following french lyrical patterns. Pretty soon however he started moving in a jazz influenced direction, and then once the 60′s kicked in he changed again to a more rock and pop influenced sound. Collaborating with Brigette Bardot on the fantastic Initials BB album and then with Jane Birkin on his masterpiece Histoire De Melody Nelson. He then continued experimenting with different styles like reggae and electronica throughout his career.

2. His sense of humour

While Serge Gainsbourg can’t really be described as a comedy songwriter a lot of his songs are very funny, often self consciously silly, featuring utterly obscene content and full of clever word play between french and english lyrics.

3. How he courted controversy

He often seemed to be doing all he could to be provocative and controversial. He released an album, 1975′s Rock Around The Bunker which was a tongue in cheek look at the Nazi’s, which for a french jew who suffered under the Nazi’s takes some serious balls. His most successful single was banned by the BBC for featuring orgasm noises towards the songs climax. His best album Histoire de Melody Nelson raised a few eyebrows for being a concept album based around a doomed relationship with an underage girl and then later Gainsbourg almost pushed it too far by recording a duet called Lemon Incest with his 12 year old daughter. It was all part of his sense of humour trying to see just what he could get away with.

4. Histoire de Melody Nelson

It’s just a perfect album, full of chilled out, near spoken word lyrics, slinky sexy bass lines and full on psychadelic pop. It’s a pretty essential listen and is just under half an hour of sonic perfection, accomanied by a fantastic music video of kaleidoscopic go-go dancing.

Them, starts with Ronson following Omar Bakri Muhammed around as he attempts to raise support for his Islamic extremist ideals but soon he finds himself far more interested in the unshakable belief that Bakri holds that the world in run by a small elite of men who meet to conspire against him and further their own agenda. So begins the journey that takes him around the world meeting with extremists, conpiracy theorists and other assorted nut-jobs who are all certain that the new world order are out to get them.

Jon Ronsons distinctive style of journalism is what makes the book so enjoyable, he treats his subjects with a bit more respect than some other journalists, always giving the benefit of the doubt letting them lead him into ever more bizarre situations. The result is something which is both a very funny read and something which has a some really important things to say.

Them, gets a recommedation for anyone interested in the truth behind many new world order conspiracy theories, Jon Ronson does genuinely get to the bottom of it and thoroughly investigate it. That’s not it’s main audience though, I would also recommend it to any fans of quality, entertaining journalism.