I am Durban

I AM DURBAN from Kierran Allen on Vimeo.

A very cool time lapse film on Durban, the city I live in and love, by two very talented local fellows
Kierran Allen - facebook.com/kierranallenphotography and Matt Wilkes - m.facebook.com/MattWilkesPhotograghy

Great work guys what a beautiful city

At the heart of it

The Ships engines deep thrumming in the distant background - the sound and smell of the Ocean lapping against the Harbor wharfs, while its distant body rages itself against the shore, lights glinting across the bay and the murmur of people after a satisfyingly relaxing Sunday chilling to all of the above.

That’s what greeted us as we arrived at Zacks @ Wilsons Wharf. After helping Loz unload and set up his drum kit we took our beers around the side of the building and sat with our legs dangling over the worn concrete wall that dropped down to the harbor waters.

Absorbing it all as we sat there four, the shear size of the cranes used to load the ships against the size of the ships themselves which aren’t small, the realization that this part of the city never sleeps and as such the city doesn’t sleep. Just rests, there has always been a vibe about Durban, a great one, and I’ve always had the sense that it never sleeps, merely moves into moments of restfulness (which are beautiful when you’re in them).

Now I was looking at its heart surely, the clank and clunk and deep thrumping sound of the engine that drives the blood of this city, surely Durban is a tourist town – but this is where it started this is where it grew from, the rest is just the prettiness that has been appreciated. This is the biggest shipping port in Africa, and you can tell, though so often we don’t see it as we’re absorbed in one of its other many beautiful distractions…

I liked seeing the grit of what pushes its pulse though, attractive to me in its own right, the same way that a fathers sweat work streaked arms are attractive to his young child. There’s a security there in its solidity, as Loz said so long as you see the Ships lining up to get into Durban Harbour you know the economy is doing okay.

We finished off our beers and headed inside to tune up our guitars and get ready for the show, it was our first performance in Durban as the band, and we didn’t want to disappoint.

We gazed back over the water at the bump and clang just as we’d loaded the last of Loz’s drums back into his Car, sipping at the last of our beers. The shake of hand and hugged shoulders for a shared experience, then a drive like slumbering pushed blood into one of the city’s resting organs.

Where we is at

Wow two years gone, well almost – without anything. I’m surprised the powers that be didn’t just pull down my blog. No excuses it’s just life – to be honest I only kept regular updates on here when I first started the blog

I’m not going to make the promise of keeping my posts regular. I think my motto going forward is only make statements or commitments you definitely intend to keep. While I’d love to post to my blog regularly, it will end up taking I back seat to many other things in my life, saying that I’d like to post more of where I’ve been and what’s happening.

There are many experiences in the intervening year and a bit that would have been great to share as they happened… who knows perhaps if I get struck by the memory of it or find photos of them I might put a post up about it.

A lot has gone on during my Hiatus, in the world at large in my life and in my head, a big part has been getting myself right emotionally, something I think we all go through from time to time a big part of this was also my choice to move to Durban and New Jobs, all the while moving further away from Family and friends and the core of where our band was. I’m glad to say I was moving to other good friends at least and that I am now really settled and happy in my current Job and Durban as a whole – I see friends and family in the midlands at least one month a weekend, and the band are back to working at our music and getting out there and playing.

I don’t think anyone goes through life without picking up emotional scars; just don’t let them affect the way you carry on with your life.

So yeah I’m good and 2012 holds promise.

I’ve posted a couple pictures from a night out playing foozball with two of my best mates down here.

just saying

its all blue, and in the end it's still you. Where did you go? I heard the sound of tears on the street below my window. Muffled by snow, that wiped away the evidence of the crime.

It's all flat and bare, But Ill manage to keep things going until i get there… why the end of course, or the beginning to something more.

We can hope

… that is life.

sometimes you have to wonder where it all changed, did it need to change?

Why change a good thing when all it sometimes needs is a fixing.

Sometimes fixing something could seem like an awful lot of hard work… but that never hurt anyone anyhow…

- just saying

Feed burner

Just added feed burner to my Blog, whereby you can subscribe (to the right of screen) and recieve emails whenever there is an update... so basically just testing.

To My Fellow South Africans

I’ve had some thoughts these last couple of days with the continuous strikes going on in our country (south Africa – I’ve been reading that there are a couple happening in Europe at the moment too) and while they’ve been put on hold (for now, who knows when they’ll flare up again) I can’t help but reflect on the damage it has done.

I’m all for equality, decent wages and benefits but I question the manner that it’s taken place and think there may be better ways to make yourself heard.

The Major strikes have involved the public sector with teachers and Nurses coming under direct fire for the lack of responsibility for their actions, both fields by striking directly influence the well being of another (many others in fact) people can (and have) died without the required medical attention. Student’s education will suffer and I’m sure many Students in their final year of school will fail as a result of the strikes.

To add to this there is still an international recession happening, I know this makes everyone feel like they need more money but what can you do if it’s not there to be had, and I’m not attempting to attack what the strikers were striving for more the means, which brings me to the main part of my thought and possible solution.

The Government pays your wages and half the strikes I’m sure are started because you see higher officials lavishing their money on New vehicles, Fancy trips and beautiful houses. While they still fail to meet you’re measly in comparison demands, they know they haven’t left enough money to do so and quite honestly don’t seem to care.
So what’s my solution? Vote in the opposition, they’ll do a better job, and if they don’t and also seem to be bent on spending all the countries Money on their own lavish lifestyle. Then vote against them too, I know the ANC was very instrumental in playing the part of gaining this country and it’s people it’s Freedom, but now it’s using the Loyalty gained from that to enslavement of another kind.

You have a voice, use it, it’s the only way government can become liable for their governance. If the country stood up and started using its votes as a voice, people in charge would have to take notice and start trimming their budgets in order to make sure that the money was going to the right places. If they don’t they will be replaced, like any ob you can often become complacently comfortable not doing it to the best of your ability and you need a kick sometimes to realize it.

In addition to my appeal for you to use your “voice” to make Government accountable, I’m asking each and every one of you to do your job the best you can, and honestly. You’ll be surprised at how your hard work can pay off; people will notice and hopefully lead you to greater things. If you’re already in a good job and you’ve become complacent in the job, then perhaps it’s time for you to move on and allow someone with a fresh desire to take over. You’ll be surprised at how a change will make a difference in your approach to work too; you’ll find excitement again where you lost it.

So stand up South Africa, like you did in the world cup, and let’s work to make this country all it can be. We’re a proud Nation all of us, lets not let ourselves down.

Toe & Hitch - "Gone Fishing"

(Colour Version Coming Soon)Hey They're back! With a lot of help from Caroline - while I love reading Cartoons and drawing them, I battle with the right thought process to be able to come up with a convincing series. Where the characters are developed and they have a background so you can come up with funny situations and continuations of stories time after time.

Anyway thanks to Caroline for feeling bored enough to tackle another "Toe & Hitch" strip for me, she put a lot of thought behind the characters & their backgrounds I know you don’t see it all here but it helps me when I’m drawing their expressions when I have a solid understanding of what the character is like, and obviously for any future strips you’ll do. I mean there’s a whole new cast of characters she’s created with her character background. And of course this funny storyline… well we think its pretty funny. Hope you enjoy!

Beyond the Subconscious Pond

In between an out of sort mind
My thoughts will wonder on
Trying to find
A simple thread to ponder on.

Something to grasp between
Their intellectual teeth
Something barely seen
Just floating underneath

The Level of my subconscious pond
Where the gateway to answers lie beyond

fix you...

(click on image to view larger)

"Fix You" by Coldplay This is definitely one of my favourite songs of all time... beautiful lyrics and awsome song and melody to it too... been singing it to myself all day for some reason... the Lyrics continue ....

"And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And on your face I...

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your faceAnd on your face I...
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones

And I will try .... ....to fix you."

Time for a change…

…I was reading some blogs recently and noticed that some of their layouts werer pretty awesome. Seeing as I hadn’t added anything to mine recently I hadn’t noticed the new design functions blogger has. SO decided to play around and change my blogs layout. Hope you all like.

Time enough for everything....even if only briefly

....Haven’t posted anything in ages….
...Need to do more…
....Going to stop making excuses ….
...There’s time enough for everything if you make it…

(Thorts: I’ve been thinking recently – quite awhile now of starting a comic strip… online -:- though if I haven’t made time to blog will I find time for this? Maybe I’ll just post some pictures up here and if they happen to follow a story so be it ;) Seroiusly though I’ve run through a lot of Characters and plots and I don’t want to end up being too divided in it though.. well at least start simple. So if any of you out there have any ideas or plots for a comic please share. Hopefully I’ll be posting again soon.)

Off to play some Music

I’m off in a bit to go and set up and get ready for the bands gig tonight, it’s been a couple weeks since the last one , and then this gig is also different in that it’s basically a pub gig – which means we’ll be doing a lot more covers and playing for longer.

It’s nice and sometimes nerve racking at the same time, because you’ve got to entertain the crowd for a longer period and we haven’t’ done some of these covers before (as a band). That being said though pub gigs can be a lot of fun, you’ve got more time to interact with the audience and if the crowds good you enjoy playing so much more. I haven’t played for three hours or more for a while, so I’m expecting my fingers to be pretty tired at the end of it all.

The Bands been coming up with the beginnings of some really cool new songs too, they just need a bit of refinement and some lyrics added but once they’re done I’m really looking forward to get them out there.
There’s something about playing a new song to the audience, I guess it’s what’s being a song writer is all about, sharing your songs… I’m going to have to go into writing songs on another post, there’s a lot that goes into it and a lot you get out.

Anyway just sharing my thoughts for the day.

Liam out.

30 turns around the sun

Sometimes I find life so utterly amazing and I find absolute beauty in it, even through the hard times and tragedies that cross our path, when I find myself in a moment like this I try to hold onto it for as long as I can, drinking it in like cold fresh water that refreshes my soul and fills me with the spirit.

I’ve been meaning to write another post for a while, now, but every time I get distracted by something else I need to do, or I feel what I have to say isn’t worth reading (maybe it isn’t but I’m writing it anyway) – this year has brought much and maybe I’m just being an optimist, but I think a lot of it has been good.

Like anyone out there the worldwide financial crisis has affected me in one way or another, and I’ve found myself worrying about things more than I used to (a habit I’m trying to break) I’ve always been a in the moment kind of person, why try and change of fix something in the future when you never know what may have happened by then. That’s not to say I believe you should live in the moment and not pay heed what you may need for tomorrow or what your actions today could bring you tomorrow. I believe that you need to be responsible for all that you do and the consequences of that, and I do think you should have goals of where you’d like to be and what you’d like to achieve but worrying about how your going to do something next week when your actions in this moment could be build the steps to the bridge over next weeks problems. So basically focus on what you can do now.

I think turning 30 (it happened to me earlier this year) has brought about a lot more thought to my life and what I do, and more focus on where I’d like to be. Turning thirty for me wasn’t the big thing many people seem to make it out to be, it was a big thing in that I’ve reached a milestone age, but being 30 is very cool, I know who I am I’m happy with who I am and I can live with the mistakes I’ve made along the way. I realize that I only have the power to go halfway in certain things, that the other half often has to be made up by other people and if you try band do their half you end up very tired and disappointed because there are something that you can’t do alone, but if you do your half and wait someone will inevitably be there to take up the other 50%.
I’ve realized that you should take pride in all work you do, a job done if you’re unable to keep in contact, so long as both of you are willing to put in 50%). There are many more things I’ve learnt, but either you’ve learnt them or you’ll learn them on your Path to 30 or 40 or 50 or 20 or 10.

More has happened and more is happening all the time, hopefully I’ll be on here to tell you more about it more often. ;)
Till next time.
Peace be with you all.

Selfish and sorry for it

We are all at the heart of ourselves selfish – not necessarily in the mean selfish way, but In other ways that we are not always aware of, many of our actions have selfish roots, in pain physically and emotionally (especially emotionally) we always feel our pain is worse than any one else’s pain, their pain isn’t as bad as ours and they can’t truly understand how it feels – well on that one we’re right, no-one truly knows exactly what you’re going through, but then also grant them the thought that neither do you know what it’s like living in their skin.\

We also tend to think we are more right than the other person, that if we could just swing the round to our point of view that they would understand and praise us for how right we were… and generally around emotional points you can never truly convince someone of their failings in thought or convince them of your superior thinking – in fact you’re likely to spark an even fiercer battle.

There are many more examples of our selfishness (thinking of yourself above others), it’s in our nature, we’ve learnt in this world (through the many ages that man has been on our planet) that in order to survive we need to put our own priorities first, also we have found that working together can make things easier and more bearable. So maybe we need to keep this in mind when dealing with one another, that although we feel the worst done by, so does everyone else and we need their companionship and assistance to make these burdens lighter… I know I can be completely selfish much of the time, and need to remember my pains aren’t the only ones.

Road Trips are Fun.

We (Caro & I) went down to near port Alfred in the Eastern Cape recently for Caro’s cousins 21st. The party was good, and the location was amazing – right on one of South Africa’s most amazing wildest coastlines, with large dunes and a very cold sea (Caro’s got more photo’s of those so I’ll have to get them from her before posting them up here).

What I really enjoyed though was the journey, I know being stuck in a car for over 10 hours can be a bit much, but road trips like that have there own appeal. We did the journey in Caro’s Uncles Kombi and with her Sister Mother and younger Cousin there was plenty of space, so when I wasn’t taking my driving duties from Caro’s mom or sister, we were using one another as pillows as we napped, or enjoying the Beautiful scenery of the Eastern Cape. Or talking reading and entertaining one another.

Road trips are fun.

Jason Rocking Idols

This is a very good friend of mine Jason, absolutely rocking out the current version of Idols South Africa – I openly an honestly say with a wide smile on my face to whoever I can, I’m privledged that he’s a friend of mine, and he’s Jammed with us and the band on occasion, in fact he was going to be playing at Splashy fen with his brother and my brother and myself if he hadn’t done so well at Idols.

Anyway if you’re in South Africa (or even if you’re not you can) I’m giving this man props and asking you to vote for him. Either sms JASON to 34685 or phone 0862277710.

Click on the title above for a link to his blog.

Latest Illustrations

Wow – it’s been a long time, I keep telling myself I’m going to start blogging more consistently, but I never do, I think it’s because I never feel I have much worthwhile contributing, and then when I do think of something I never get around to posting it and then when I do it’s old news *sigh*.

Anyway Thought I’d share some illustrations I’ve been doing recently with you – I love the fact that life is a constant learning curve, just when you think things are starting to get mundane and you’re not learning anything new. You go and discover something cool, or a new way to do something – like my recent dusk/evening Cartoon’s playing with gradients and Shades an d shadows, there’s so much more to explore here, unfortunately I had Deadlines on these so couldn’t spend to long on Details. Let me know what you think, hope you like.

I've Included the same picture Below with some slight Variances - in the first the girls working on a Laptop, in the second she's looking in a games box, while her partner is in the tent his shadow being lit from inside.

Christmas Bear

With the publication out and me not being so busy I end up doing a whole lot of smaller projects or tasks for the company, Like this Christmas polar bear Cartoon I did which I’ve added to our letter head for all correspondence going out around Christmas. Getting to do little things like this lightens up my day.

I'm still here

It has been an extremely long while since I’ve posted anything on my blog and there are many reasons why though none of them on their own a huge factor. Up until recently I’ve been really busy with work, getting out our annual publication, this one has been a lot of work, mainly because we’ve changed the name and a few other things on it, but overall I’m really happy with the final printed product. As a designer you always get a great feeling of accomplishment when you hold something you designed and created as a finished piece.

So what else has been up?? Just the usual run of life and the ebb and flow, with a couple happenstances – my lovely lady is away in Madagascar with a research group doing research on the white collard brown lemur, she’s there for just over 3 months, though she’s already worked a month and a half of that, so I’ve been missing her loads.
Then my very good friend and drummer for our band recently immigrated to Majorca, which has also been a shift in life, while myself and my brother are going to continue on with the band he’s been busy with studies so we haven’t really worked on much recently.

So I’ve been caught up in life and my thoughts and reflections, much is changing in the world at the moment, a global recession that has seemed to have stabilized but which has thrown many people into a state of chaos, I’m sure it’s not over yet but emotions seemed to have calmed people have seemed to accept it and readied themselves to weather the storm. My message to anyone out there who is feeling the pressure and the stress of the current world situation, is to look within and take stock of where and who you are you may not be able to afford many of the items you’d like to or believe you need, but if it were all to collapse inside of you there is a strength to survive and make it through. Don’t let the stress of financial wealth get you down, look to the wealth of love you have with your friends and loved ones and realize that is far more valuable than financial wealth could ever be.

Parrots, Sunsets & Sunrises

I spent the weekend with my lovely woman up in the Ilangeni forest counting Cape Parrots with her varsity group – which was just one of many groups spread throughout the areas these parrots inhabit on the two day national birding weekend.

We journeyed up in a well traveled Bakkie with my lady driving, and met up with another of the groups that was doing a count in the area. After finding out where and what was expected of us first timers, we split our group into smaller groups and were allocated strategically placed points above the indigenous forest to watch for our feather friends.

The weather was cold but the scenery was beautiful, and though our group didn’t see any of the parrots on the first day, we could still appreciate our surroundings as the sun dipped below the mountains bathing us in its golden glow.

Back at camp there was talk over who had seen what as we munched happily on our much needed supper – most groups had spotted at least one parrot, so we weren’t feeling so good about not spotting any. It was off to bed early and up earlier, we were up in the darkness at four in the morning so we could get to our posts before the sun rose, as the Parrots are most active in the morning and the afternoon.

Tired cold bodies climbed into the bakkie and we headed up the rocky drive to our vantage point, then making the last hundred meters on foot our over the rough terrain by torchlight. Our fearless team leader (my lady) decided we should change our position as where we were originally positioned didn’t offer us a good view over the forest below. We settled ourselves in against the cold wind (great excuse for me to cuddle closer) and awaited the dawn and the Parrots. I think the parrots decided to cuddle up as well because at about 7:30am they hadn’t made an appearance, getting restless I convinced our fearless leader to join me on a walk into the forest, hoping maybe we’d be able to spot some parrots close up… …we didn’t we did come across a pair of Knysna Louries though, very beautiful brightly coloured birds, and they were perched not three meters away from us.

After our excursion we regioned our fellow group, to continue our vigil, not long after we had our first spotting, and postioned in a better spot to view the group, we watched the parrots until about midmorning, before we headed back to camp to make breakfast up camp and return home.
Tired but happy I climbed into my warm bed on Sunday night ready to dream of Parrots, susets and sunrises, in the company of someone you love.

http://www.ukzn.ac.za/Biology/CapeParrot242.aspx