Tim's Periscope

Podcast feat. Daniel D Prescott, Chris Mitchell, Jake Karim, Tom Callum Lee, Skander Lafif , Lois and me. Covers  subjects such as Ian Huntley,
peodophiles on facebook and the use of having a PS3 in prison.
Podcast Debate by Tim EP

 

 

A recent interview with Simon Foster of Kane FM.

Photos by Louisa Seaton

Simon Foster Interview Mar2010  by  Tim EP

Just a quick post to say that I have started a new site over at Wordpress.com called Pilgrim's Travels.

It will feature travel stories and reviews and will be updated regularly as part of the Online Journalism unit. It also includes a fairly large gallery of my best travel photo's.

Feel free to check it out here.

I will still be using this as my main bit 'n' bobs blog, however all travel related stuff will now be put on Wordpress

First draft- over 2 mins long


Evaluation:
TV: Christmas Shopping Package
Before we went out to record our footage we thought it was important to first assign roles to each member of the team for two reasons. Firstly we thought it would make the whole process of creating the piece simpler, as much like in a professional environment everyone would understand their task and what was expected of them. Secondly we thought it was a good way to avoid friction within the group as it would be clear who had the final say of on each aspect of the project.

The first creative task for us to complete was to write the scripts that would be used in the package. Two scripts were required, one for the P2C and one for the link. I helped Edward write his piece to camera for which we used short, punchy sentences, so that the purpose of the story would come across in only a short space of time. Because of the visual nature of TV, the script didn’t need to ‘paint a picture’ in the same way it would need to for radio or print. Although we were happy with what we had written at the time, the script for the P2C did need amending slightly once we were out in order to make the words flow better and to allow Edward breathing time. If we were to redo this task I’d recommend that we practice the P2C a bit more in the classroom so as to avoid having to rewrite parts of it once out.

Once we were out of the classroom and into Farnham my role was to be in charge of the camera. This involved not only the operation of the camera but also picking the shots I wanted to use and positioning the camera so we were able to get our chosen shots. This portion of the project went well, however there were a few times when the tripod was not moving freely so our tracking was a bit jerky. In future I have learnt to check the equipment more thoroughly before commencing shooting.

My final role in this project was to edit the piece with Louisa. I felt this went really well however I also feel that in future editing may best be left to one person as the equipment available only really allows one person to work at a time so the other person is left somewhat redundant.

Berlin Wall piece 

This is the piece that we did about the Berlin wall. Link by Louisa, voiceover by myself. The rest of the group helped with script writing and editting.








My first Voxpop, recorded in Farnham town center a few days before Remembrance Day.

Although I didn't have the original sound files, I have re-editted the one from Edward's blog using Cubase SX, rearranging the order slightly, adjusting the volume so it wasn't so up and down, and cutting it so it sounds like it's just me asking the questions.

The team of trainee journalists making this Voxpop was myself, Louisa, Edward and Laura. Otherwise known as the 'A Team' :-)

Many thanks to the people we stopped in the street for taking the time to help us out with our Voxpop.

Voxpop Re-edit by Tim Pilgrim




Radio Evaluation
Once we had been set our assignment of going out into Farnham to gather some vox-pops regarding Remembrance day, our groups first task was thinking of some questions that would get us some good sound bites from the public. As our time to complete the assignment was short, we decided quickly on our questions before heading out. The questions we decided on were ‘Do you think Remembrance Day has lost its significance?’ and ‘In 70 years time do you think the soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq will be remembered with the same reverence?.’

Although at the time we were quite happy with these questions, we encountered problems with them pretty quickly.  The problem was that the questions were too closed, so it left the opportunity to give a one word answer, meaning we had to encourage people to give us more in depth answer. If we did this assignment again we would definitely need to rethink our line of questioning to encourage more naturally full answers, for instance we could have reworded the first question ‘What do you think about the significance of Remembrance day?’

Our first visit out into Farnham to gather vox-pops was fraught with technical problems, as after speaking to a couple of people our mini-disk recorder ran out of battery and all the recordings we had made were lost. I think we were just unlucky to get a faulty recorder as we checked the battery level before setting off and found that the recorder had a full battery. In future it might best for us to address the technical problems as soon as we encounter them, rather than just leave it and hope for the best, which is the tactic we used to our cost.

Once back in class with our recordings, having been out for a second time with a working recorder, Louisa and I worked on a first edit of the vox-pops. We cut out any long pauses as well as most of the questions, so the whole piece ran shorter and the same questions weren’t repeated too often.
I then did a second edit myself once I had got home to make it sound like it had been just me asking the questions and cutting down the responses to shorter sound bites.


News Bulletin

Here is my first attempt at doing a radio news bulletin.

The task was to find two local stories then write a short bulletin for them. Although I most definetly don't have a voice for radio, Im quite happy with how it turned out as I seemed to get through it without 'Umming' and 'Arhhing'.

The piece was then editted slightly in Cubase to get the volume up and I rearranged the stories so the one about the convicted police officer played first, as I though that was the better story.

Below is the completed recording and a copy of the script I was reading from.

NewsbullitenradioEDIT by Tim EP


*****************
Burglary
24/11 TP

Hundreds of pounds worth of damage has been caused to a charity shop in Ash following a break in on Sunday morning.

A burglar broke into the shop by smashing through the front window before making off with 40 pounds in cash.

The burglar is white, in his mid-twenties and was wearing a black and white hooded top.

Police are appealing for witnesses.


Prison Officer
24/11 TP

A prison officer has today been sentenced to 12 months in jail following a conviction for wilful misconduct in public office.

Between 2007 and 2008, Raymond Wilson, of Margate, communicated with a prisoner by mobile and text.

Wilson was also found guilty off helping the prisoner to transfer money between bank accounts

The conviction follows a lengthy joint operation between Surrey Police and High Down’s Corruption Prevention team.

******************



FIRST DRAFT

As some of you may have seen, a few weeks ago I changed my name to The Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality Tim Pilgrim.

Although happy with this wonderful addition to my otherwise drab name, I still think it needs a little something else.

A little va va voom. A pinch of pinache. A dollop of drama.

My current problem with it is the Tim bit. It's just not cool enough.

You never see a great leader called Tim Mandela or a Martin Luther Tim. No famous film stars called Tim Pitt or QuinTim Tarantino. No ruthless dictators called SadTim Hussein or insane fundamentalists called Osama Tim Laden.

Never has there been a famous rock star like Tim Jagger or Timmy Mercury. No even an Eltim John.

Instead people called Tim are usually twats like Timmy Mallett or Tim Nice but Dim.

Or cripples like 'Timmy' from South Park and Tiny Tim from Dickens Christmas Carol.

There's even a film called Tim. This would be ok if it were a big Hollywood Blockbuster with guns and fast cars and sexy women, but no. Tim is a film about a slow person.

And by 'slow' I don't mean shit at the 100m sprint.

To almost hammer home the point there was even a Canadian TV series called The Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim (they got the whole whammy in there). Was it a show about a sleek secret agent, who drinks fancy cocktails and gets the girls? No, of course it wasn't.

It was about a time travelling tramp called Tim Pilgrim.

I'm not even making that up sadly.

So this leaves me with a problem. I need a new name. But what name?

I need a name that portrays my genius, my wit and my dashing good looks (I'm not delusional, honest)

Something heroic and God-like will do. Hercules or Thor perhaps?

Or something exotic like Tiki or Popolimbo?

Popolimbo Tiki Thor Pilgrim does have a nice ring to it I must admit.

Or maybe I could use Princes method and just use a symbol?

Something like Ω or @.

Arggh, decisions decisions.

For now I'll have to stick to Tim I suppose, but one of these days I'm going to march down the depole office and give those bastards something to really snigger about.


Until next time, peace be with you.

The Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality Popolimbo Tiki Thor Pilgrim.....esquire.

Holiday Inn Preston Review

Coming up in the taxi toward the Holiday Inn I felt a feeling I’d never felt before. Maybe it was the dull weather, the tiredness or the two cans of Red Stripe I’d drank on the train-perhaps all three- but for a brief moment I felt like a Russian political dissident, being driven to some god-awful Soviet police station, where I’d no doubt be tortured thoroughly before being sentenced to a life of hard labour in the Gulag.

It is fair to say my initial impression wasn’t good.

The outside out the building is pretty grim, being as it is completely devoid of any nice colour, save the white and green Holiday Inn logo plastered at the top. One side of the building overlooks a perfectly constructed four-way junction, while the other side faces the equally stunning multi-storey car park/bus terminal.

Once inside however the mood improves. Although the welcome when you walk through the door is non-existent- the front door just leads you to a lift and a staircase- it’s modern and well kept. The reception, restaurant and bar are all located on the first floor, all of which give off a contemporary feel and fit nicely with the ‘all-business’ mood of the place.

My room was on the 4th floor, which was reached using possibly the world’s slowest lift- a lift so slow I think there’s probably moss growing on the pulleys. One other note on the lift, it features possibly the most pointless sign I have ever seen.  On the inside there is a plaque which states “Please leave lift when doors open.” What could possibly have happened in the history of the Holiday Inn to warrant that sign?  Maybe we’ll never know...

The room itself was very nice albeit slightly on the small side. All the mod-coms were there- Plasma TV, Ethernet port, Mini-bar etc- although if you need things life irons and ironing boards then you need to ring down to reception who will dutifully bring one up to you.

Dinner was good but the prices would have put me off if I were paying for it myself. My first meal from the fairly limited menu  was a steak and chips but be warned, if you order the steak well-done then expect it to come back looking like it’s been cooked in a toaster. Second night I went for the fish and chips which although damn tasty was definitely not worth the £11.50 they are charging. The third night I went for the Cumberland Sausage, mustard mash and red onion gravy and I must admit it was the best meal I’ve had in ages.

Breakfast is a typical full-English buffet. It’s best to leave it for a few minutes after you’re asked which toast and drink you’d like because all three mornings I’d manage to finish my breakfast by the time the toast and coffee turned up.

So in summary, if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of being stuck in Preston for 3 day and are looking for somewhere to stay, I’m sure you could do a hell of a lot worse than the Holiday Inn.

With Golf and Rugby having just been added to the roster of Olympic sports for 2016, I would like to suggest my own sport for 2020..... The Danny Dyer Drinking Game.

What you need before you get started (every sport needs equipment at the end of the day)....

1. A crate of beer/cider/wine/anti-freeze
2. A TV....the bigger the better
3. Somewhere to sit/stand. A floor will do (surely everyone has a floor?)  
   
4. Either a DVD/VHS of Danny Dyer's Real Football Factory or a cable TV connection with BRAVO (which has pretty much constant reruns of Danny Dyer's programs on it.)
   

The rules of the game are very simple.  A group of people sit around with their drinks watching Danny Dyer. Whenever either Danny or one of his interviewees say ' You know what I mean?' then you have to take a good long swig on your drink.

When I first suggested this game I didn't realise quite how often 'You know what I mean?' would be said, but it comes up so often that sometimes you can't even get the drink away from your mouth before you're having to take another swig.

Try it for yourself and show your love for this amazing sport by writing to the IOC suggesting it's given the proper status of a leading sport that it deserves.

Mr Timothy Pilgrim- that's my name. Always has been and until today I thought it always would be.

Thanks to this website however I can now legally (in the USA at least) go by the name Rabbi Timothy Pilgrim (even though I'm not Jewish), The Mother Superior Timothy Pilgrim (even though I'm neither Christian nor female), Guru Timothy Pilgrim (even though I'm not a...ummmm....Guru) or my personal favourite- The Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality Timothy Pilgrim. I could even call myself The Soul Therapist Timothy Pilgrim if I wanted to- but that just makes me sound like a failed Motown Singer.


Not only have I now got myself a cool title, I can also legally perform marriage ceremonies in some states. Reading through their website, so long as the ceremony includes the words 'Do you (fill in name) take (fill in name)....' and they both say 'I do' then I can marry anyone.

Want to marry your gran? Then you're sick and wrong

Want to marry your parrot? Then with some training that might well be possible.

Now, I appreciate that some religious people might find it offensive that I, an atheist, have just got myself ordained as a religious minister. And to those people I can only say.....Boo hoo, maybe you shouldn't be so easily offended.

There is a serious point to be made from all this though.

A lot of people think that those who hold a title, be it a Royal title (Lord, Baron, Sir etc), a professional title (Doctor, Professor etc) or a religious title (Reverend, Rabbi, Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality etc) hold  authority over them.

I've just proven that this isn't the case. 

Just because someone calls themselves a Reverend, Iman or Rabbi, it doesn't mean that they have any right to a higher social standing than you do. At the end of the day they might just be a bored student with too much time on their hands, looking for something random to write a blog post about.

Peace Be Upon You

Signed...


The Spiritual Warrior Timothy Pilgrim

The Church of Questionable Authenticity


FOR A FULL LIST OF AVAILABLE TITLES
CLICK HERE

Since the smoking ban was forced on us back in 2007 pubs have been closing at an alarming rate, with recent figures showing that that seven pubs close down every day.That's seven publican families who's livelihood is lost EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Shocking I think you'll agree.

Of course, with the economy being in the dismal state that it is the blame can't be fully attributed to the smoking ban but it's hard to argue that it hasn't had a negative effect. At the time the smoking ban was being introduced it seems most people were happy with the idea of 'smoking pubs', that being that landlords can decide whether their pubs are smoking or non-smoking. The government however then countered that the staff in the smoking pubs shouldn't have to be subjected to other peoples second hand smoke, so they cast this idea into their 'good Idea's we'll ignore' bin.

I'm not happy with this argument though. 

Surely if you don't like smoking then 'DON'T WORK IN A SMOKING PUB!!!'    It's just like if someone doesn't like heights I wouldn't recommend they become a professional wire walker. Or if they hate dogs maybe they shouldn't pursue a career as a vet.  Racist? Then don't apply for the immigration service. It's really not a hard concept.

The Labour government in their arrogance would never admit they have made a mistake, so the only hope for the pubs is that this government is dethroned next spring when an election is called. Both of the main opposition parties will be trying to push a Freedom of Choice message and I think it would be a perfect time for one of those parties to write an amendment of the smoking ban into their election manifesto.

At the end of the day Freedom of Choice means freedom for all, so having smoking and non smoking pubs will finally readdress the balance. People who like to smoke (and people DO like it, namely me) have somewhere to go as do those who aren't so keen. The pubs can make it clear on the front door whether or not they are smoking or non-smoking and then everyone knows where they stand. The pubs might then be able to pull themselves out of this downward spiral that is currently looking like it will decimate them.


Do you agree or disagree?

Feel free to join the debate in the comment box.

Google Docs is a fully featured Office Suite similar to the suite offered by Microsoft, the main difference being that Google’s product is offered exclusively online.  Any work you do in Docs is saved onto Google’s servers rather than your hard drive, meaning it can then be read or edited from any internet enabled PC or Mac. This may sound like a small difference but it can save you the hassle of saving all your work onto a USB stick and the worry that you’ll lose all of your work should your computer break or be stolen.  Another interesting feature of Docs is the ease at which it allows you to collaborate on a project. Simply open a new document, spreadsheet or presentation and invite the other people working on the project to access your work. They are then free to read and edit your work however they like and should you not like the changes made it’s easy to highlight recent changes and then change them back if need be.

There's little denying that Google do 'freebies' better than most. With products such as Gmail and Google Docs already added to most techies bookmark lists it's hard to imagine how Google could improve on their already impressive list of 'free' products.
 
Well, we need imagine no longer...

Skymap for Google Android is one of the coolest little gadgets I have used, not because it's in anyway useful but because it's rekindled in me the pleasures of gazing at the stars. If you have an Android OS phone simply download the Skymap from the Market, wait for the next clear night and then point you phone towards the sky. The phones inbuilt GPS and accelerometer then work together to work out the phones location and orientation and display onscreen exactly which stars, planets and constellations you are looking at.


Check it out for yourself here...  http://www.google.com/sky/skymap.html 

So, here we go, my toe has been dipped into the blogging world but before I can fully immerse myself into the lovely warm waters of the blogosphere I must first think if something inspired, profound, jovial and interesting to say. Sitting here, it's tough knowing where to start.

Should I write about Technology?  I'm not exactly a closet geek, I'm geek and proud and would happily attend a 'Geek Pride Parade' should anyone ever want to set one up (I'm not offering by the way, unless it can all be done online) but like most  self confessed geeks there always that niggling worry that should the full extent of my geekyness become public knowledge I will be cast down the social ladder to a level shared with sex offenders and power walkers.

Maybe then I'll write about my travels. The worry there however is that upon reading my travel stories people will draw a mental image of me as a tramp with air-miles. And who could argue? Living in dorms with smelly people in need of a hair cut, eating 5p noodles and drinking super strength larger doesn't exactly portray an image of cosmopolitan jet setter often wrongly associated with back packing.

I'll have to make it an opinion piece then, covering everything from Gordon 'The Psycho Cyclops' Brown to the advantages of eating thick sliced bread instead of medium sliced (that's a blog in itself).

Or maybe I'll mix the three.

Yeah, I'll do that....

.....so, now introducing...

Tim's Periscope
"A place for Geeky Opinionated Jet-setting Tramps"


Catchy eh!

Check back soon.......or I'll hunt you down.