I said I was going to talk more about the Walking Dead series but my head is so full of cold I've mostly been sitting semi-prone going 'woooooo!' due to the amount of pain medication in my head.
I am, however, branching out in a desperate bid to work out what to do with my life and setting up a shop on Etsy. Which will shortly be all linked up here, don't you worry.
I'm starting with my comic books, hopefully putting together some sewed items, and eventually some more personalised knitted items and greeting's cards. I've been making cards for my friends for so long, but it never occurred to me to keep a record of the designs. There are countless Nicole Holgate originals drifting out there that may be worth untold riches someday...
Well anyway, here's hoping this new venture works out!

YEAHZOMBIESYEAH

Well I'm insanely excited about all of this so I just thought I'd shove this straight up here and actually chat about it later on...
An Epic Walking Dead Interview

100 Stories for Haiti, the follow-up

Well I have been a truly terrible blogger, it's been over a month since I last put something up, and for anyone out there still reading, I apologise hugely. Rest assured I shall come storming back with a tower of pointless frivolity.
To start us off, as I have also neglected to review anything for a while *ahem hem* here is the collection of short stories that mine was not good enough to get into (unless they failed to tell me about it for some reason...):
100 Stories for Haiti Preview

I'm not going to put my story up on here either, to be honest I'm not surprised it didn't make the cut...
However if you are interested by the successful and genuine authors they did make use of then this should be worth attending:
Author's Reading, Brighton Waterstones
That's all for now, more soon, I promise.

Stuff

I found this. A fairly old video of my debut - or entire singing career if I'm being honest. Very embarrassed me directly behind Rowan. How lovely. I wonder if I can still fit into that dress...

Le Réveil Union Chapel June 2009 from Rowan Coupland on Vimeo.

Quickie

I can't actually remember if I've posted this up before but as I've been too busy to post in a while I thought I would just sling it up here. A short and sarky one:

Jeff the Brotherhood

I have a couple of nice posts planned, honest!!!! They are on their way and involve my usual pseudo-philosophical rantings. Also, looking forward to this (maybe).

A more personal version of a CV

Me as a Work in Progress

It's long been suggested that as a hip and happening young Brightonian woman (hrm), my blog could be used as my personal CV. This would be because, obviously, I'm a highly creative person seeking to break into a very competitive industry and thus need to prove myself before anyone would remotely consider giving me a chance.

I do think it's a good idea but also have several qualms. Frankly, whilst I am massively desirous of a job that I truly enjoy, that I am passionate about even, let alone really good at, I'm unsure how appropriate it would be to direct people here. Aside from the naturally weird side of this blog, it's always a danger to expose employers to your more creative side without knowing exactly what they are looking for. That said, it might work. However my other objection is that although I am incredibly, suffocatingly addicted to the internet, I don't particularly desire it to be part of my job description. I'm a huge, passionate advocate of books and printed publications. Real, live books, made of trees, (but sustainably), that you can hold and take out of libraries and smell the musky scent of old glue and essential, fascinating knowledge. I've decided instead of trying to continue some kind of clever showcase of myself I'm going to rant about all the reasons why I am perfectly suited to all kinds of work and yet can never seem to acquire any.

I have a single-mindedness towards most tasks which makes me brilliant at selling and researching, providing I have just enough interest in the task. Not to say that I cannot multitask, but I am far better when given one specific thing to see thoroughly to the end. Thorough-ness is another extensive attribute of mine. I'm a perfectionist and so like to know exactly what I'm doing or the standards required of me. I've had so many jobs where the continual micromanaging and moving of boundaries made it impossible to do something correctly. Or even worse, where the boss expected something of me that I simply couldn't interpret, and every action, even asking for help regularly, seemed to worsen the situation. Simply put, autonomy would be essential for me too. Set me off and give me space to shape the role around myself. Obviously while checking that I am doing what is required of me: feedback is essential. I just can't stand continually being told off or frowned upon because the way I work is not the way my superior works. Either I'm doing the job correctly, or I'm not.

And I usually am – I'm reliable, resourceful, polite, and honestly, not stupid. I like thinking on my feet, and enjoyed my times in cafes and restaurants most when rushed off of them. I'm punctual and I'm genuinely hardworking. I worked my arse off for 8 months doing a cleaning job whilst writing my dissertation, when I worked at H Samuels as a Christmas temp I was on the board in the stockroom with the full time members of staff because of my selling abilities, flourished as a waitress at an Italian restaurant over a summer of madly busy lunchtimes (but aren't they all), spent hour after hour litter-picking with Oxfam at Reading festival, and generally submit myself to all kinds of backbreaking labour for very little money.

I volunteer in the Amnesty Bookshop whenever I can, write reviews for a website andBrighton Source magazine and in general do a lot of things for no monetary gain whatsoever. I would happily continue doing so would it not mean that I would be unable to survive. I was a cleaner rather than having no job at all, and subsequently this has actually meant that it is more difficult to get away from it and find another job because all the Job Centre wants of you is for you to not be on the dole, despite the fact that I would be technically better off.

I'm bad at crosswords, but this means I don't faff around trying to do them. Too often.

Took me long enough.... THE BLUE LIGHT INITIATIVE LAUNCH NIGHT!!!!

I cannot for the life of me work out how to embed a flickr photostream, but here is a rather comprehensive record taken by the lovely Freiya of the following:
The Blue Light Initiative Launch Night

The Latest Bar has long been the attractive host of more esoteric and open-ended events, such as The Ukelele Research and Development Society, charity auction evenings, parties, and any and every kind of live music. The starry backdrop of their downstairs venue was thus the perfect mixture of dimly lit and enchanting required for the launch of The Blue Light Initiative.

The Blue Light Initiative is the musical brainchild of Alastair Gray, lead singer of The Stars Down to Earth, and is looking to recruit as many bands as possible for regular nights around the venues of Brighton, not only seeking to open doors for Brighton bands of any genre but also to give the public what it wants: sweeties, raffles, the occasional on-stage live-action snapping of drum-kits, and a large amount of excellent music at reasonable prices. Wilkommen Collective, be afraid.

Aside from the copious amounts of sweets lying around, every punter was provided a ticket on entry which gave them a chance to win one of several amazing prizes later in the night, including the illustrious beat-box stylophone, which has no doubt provided its new owner with literally hours of entertainment. However, we're not really here to talk about the quirky and essential touches which make an interesting evening a truly special one: we want to talk about the bands who are already a part of this exciting new musical endeavour.

The Bobby McGees were on usual twee form with their mixture of rhythm, love of love, ukelele, and super-strength adorable-ness. Don't let them fool you though, their songs turn on a sixpence, and what you thought was a beautiful if sugary love song becomes a shouted tirade against everything that can go wrong, while an impressive snapshot of paranoid loneliness becomes a reminder of cosy friendship. It's all celebratory, and set to a shimmying and self-aware mix of do-wop beats and non-stop uke. Always worth a watch.

Yokoko struck me, brutally, with the impressive cohesion of incredibly varied influences – the perfect harmonies between dual lead guitarist Sam and keyboardist Sev are spot on. They are also mind-blowingly happy, even while Sev professes to songs such as 'Cold Black Heart' being largely centred on her or, in the case of 'Castanets with Bells', one hideously annoying flatmate. The cheery Japanese pop vibe is shouty, adorable and all-pervasive, reminding me in particular of the severe catchiness of Dogs Die in Hot Cars. Each song is similarly toe-tapping, loud, and above all, happy. Their sound provides a genre-defying meld of pop, folk, disco, ska and indie in crazy fusion, which nonetheless makes total sense to hear live and was inspiring a (very small) dance floor at the time. My only suggestion is that at the next gig they play someone ensures a larger floorspace is cleared...

The Beautiful Word appear to me as a band of two halves. Fronted by the blonde-and-redhaired duo of Emily and Megan, they are backed by a rhythm section to be reckoned with (six string bass!!!! Yeah, I'm somewhat biased...) and some of the most technically perfect rock guitar technique I have seen in a long time. This makes for an interesting folky balance between an almost lounge-act style rock foundation and the ladies' acoustic and vocal dexterity. However the focus on the incredibly high-pitched vocals of the girls, and the cutesy glockenspiel and guitar, make for a rather samey selection of songs. Standout was their closing cover of 'Sweet Like Chocolate', ironically a suitably saccharine comment on a rather soppy set.

Then there was a raffle – I didn't win anything, but then, I got in for free, so I guess that balances out.
The headline act was, of course, Mr Gray's own band, The Stars Down to Earth. After an evening of vaguely disorganised but compellingly fun acts, their performance was a self-assured reminder of how good songwriting can be. They are proof that six rather disparate looking players can form one truly beautiful sound, with a powerful mixture of astute lyricism, jaunty melodies and a fantastically violent rhythm section. In short their songs are quite literally stars dragged down to earth: moving between the fully formed, glowing, burning, and forcefully brilliant to the subtle, blue-white and twinkly. 'Escape from the Robot Monsters' is the dark and anthemic opener, 'Black Maria' is the show-stopping, rock'n'roll pounder, and 'The Futurist' is a quietly pulsing, spellbinding sound-scape. There are other songs, too, but I won't spoil it for you.

It is increasingly rare to get to see so many acts in one evening for less than £5: let alone to be assured of their presence and ability to make nice noises on stage. With any luck, The Blue Light Initiative will continue to further heights of success, and be able to guarantee you exactly that.