The online adventures of dooza
Dooza
These are just general posts.
Powered by WordPress, one year on
Nov 22nd
Its now been a year since I replaced my Blogger powered blog with one powered by WordPress. The transition was very easy, I didn’t lose any Google Juice and have now seen my traffic increase.
WordPress as a platform is very easy to learn, and was much more flexible that Blogger. It has jumped in functionality with numerous new releases, more than I ever counted on. I had previously toyed with Joomla but it never worked the way I wanted it too, and was very frustrating.
To celebrate the year of use, I have changed template, and will be fine tuning it to my liking. One day I will make my own from scratch, but need more time to get my head around what is possible.
I am growing a moustache for Movember
Nov 1st
I am growing a moustache this year for Movember. I have decided to put down my razor for one month (November) and help raise awareness and funds for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer.
What many people don’t appreciate is that one man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK, more than 35,000 men will be diagnosed this year and that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Facts like these have convinced me I should get involved and I am hoping that you will support me.
To donate to my Mo, you can either:
• Click this link http://uk.movember.com/mospace/248012/ and donate online using your credit card, debit card or PayPal account
• Write a cheque payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity – Movember’, referencing my Registration Number 248012 and mailing it to: Movember – The Prostate Cancer Charity, First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London, W6 0LE.
Movember is now in its third year here in the UK and, to date, has achieved some pretty amazing results by working alongside The Prostate Cancer Charity. Check out further details at: http://uk.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.
If you are interested in following the progress of my Mo, click here http://uk.movember.com/mospace/248012/. Also, http://uk.movember.com has heaps of useful information.
Thank you
The Correspondents In Leeds
Oct 28th
You may have read previous posts about these guys after I had the pleasure of seeing them at Till The Cows Come Home and The Glade Festival. They have just played in Leeds, and I came across this excellent review/interview. I wish I had the writing skills that the author has!
Here it is: http://charliestewart.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/the-correspondents/
There is also a download at the bottom of the post, you should check it out and see what all the fuss is about.
To listen to more from the Correspondents check out there website: http://www.myspace.com/thecorrespondentsmusic
My Kirituhi Tattoo
Aug 2nd
On Saturday 1st August, for my birthday, I went to see Tony from Kirituhi Tattoo based in Ilkeston, near Nottingham. I had the appointment booked for about 3 months, and was very excited about.
Loo and I left Wycombe at 8am to get there for a 10am. I was booked in for 6 hours but was prepared for it to take longer, you can’t rush these things. We arrived just after 10 due to the rain, and after some introductions got started.
The first couple of hours was spent designing the tattoo freehand on my arm. I soon realised that this really was the only way a sleeve can be done, as Tony could follow the curves of my arm perfectly, to create a very special and unique design.
Once the main lines had be drawn and tidied up we started with the inking. It took about 4 hours including a few breaks. Tony then drew in the patterns and started inking those. It was hard work at times, I forgot how sensitive parts of your wrist can be. We finished just after 6pm and had a final cup of tea to steady my nerves. Being tattoo’d for 6 hours isn’t easy, but I just wanted it finished, I didn’t want to come back another time.
Tony had an assistant named Richard who is an amazing illustrator. He is learning to tattoo, so stuck around most of the day making cups of tea or coffee, and even made Tony some toast! You can see some of his work on his blog: http://ume-toys.blogspot.com/ and follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/umetoys. The banter between Tony and Richard kept me entertained all day.
We worked to the sound track provided by a Canadian radio station streamed over the internet, London FM96. The music was alternative rock, and there wasn’t any bad music at all. You can check it out here: http://www.fm96.com/
I am very very happy with my new tattoo, it is my first free hand tattoo, and I am so glad I trusted my instincts and got Tony to do it for me. You can see the photos of it being done here: http://www.dooza.tv/photos/my-kirituhi-tattoo-being-done-by-tony. Loo took most of these photos, and Richard took some too, including the under arm shots.
Tony made me feel very welcome as his studio is in his house. This may sound strange to some, but since its fully licenced and professionally kitted out, its actually nicer than being in a shop. His family and friends were dropping in and out during the day, and I felt like I really got to know him. We didn’t have random people interupting us whilst working, I actually preferred this to a normal tattoo shop.
If you want a custom designed and well tattoo’d Maori inspired Kirituhi design, please speak to Tony and see what he can do for you, I honestly think you can’t go wrong with Tony.
Server Downtime
Jul 27th
Sorry for the time off line over the weekend, we don’t know what happened, but are working to prevent it from happening again.
