Just Say No

Much gnashing of teeth about the latest company (GSK I believe) to ask agencies for a fee for the pleasure of working on their business.

These kinds of request are clearly absurd, but there is an easy way to stop this from happening.

You don't need trade bodies to step in, or collective agreements, crisis summits, or any of that bollocks.

All you need is for any agency involved to simply take responsibility, grow some balls, and say no.

Clients will quickly rethink when they realise that they can't get anyone of any quality to work on their business.

A brief history of Computer game title design

Computer games have come a long way since pacman.

Website Of The Year, Possibly All Eternity

The best website of this year by far. Possibly in all eternity.

Motherfucking website: find it here.

Going Nuclear In The Sound Booth

This is a brilliant bit from Toast Of London, with Steven Toast (Matt Berry) in the sound booth. You can tell Berry has done loads of voiceover sessions as this is uncannily true to life. "Have fun with it" is such a lame/brilliant bit of absurd direction, I've heard it used in real VO recordings more than once. And I think we've worked with that Clem Fandango chap...

Monkey Hanging Tuesday

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we proudly present Monkey Hanging Tuesday.

You may or may not know that, according to legend and folklore, during the Napoleonic wars the good people of Hartlepool put on trial and executed a shipwrecked monkey as they believed it to be a French spy.

In fairness to the townsfolk, the monkey was dressed in full French military uniform so you can see how their suspicions were aroused.

Another theory abounds that they were only able to claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the shipwreck and they needed to put paid to the monkey so they could fill their boots with the booty.

Either way, this act of simian capital punishment has given Hartlepool unique notoriety and fame. Fans of Hartlepool are affectionately labelled "monkey hangers"and its own mascot is a monkey named, you guessed it, H'Angus.

This ridiculous and bizarre incident has provided a rich source of comedy ever since 1810 as this witty little ditty from Boothby Graffoe demonstrates.

Dave Trott Lecture

Dave Trott breaking it down nice and simple. I think everyone - 'professional' or otherwise - could do with watching this.

National Geographic Found Tumblr

Today, you lucky people, I'm going to share with you one of my very favourite places on the internet. The National Geographic Found Tumblr. If you don't already follow it, you are in for a treat: FOUND is a curated collection of photography from the National Geographic archives. In honor of our 125th anniversary, we are showcasing photographs that reveal cultures and moments of the past. Many of these photos have never been published and are rarely seen by the public. It's updated very regularly, the images are of an unbelievable standard and breadth, and every time I go there, they blow me away. Pure photo-porn. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite...

Westinghouse demonstrates an electric razor using x-ray technology, May 1941.

A man and his dog on the Overhanging Rock in Yosemite National Park, May 1924.

Three adolescent Jewish boys, their heads traditionally covered with skullcaps or top hats, sitting in front of school lockers in Brooklyn, June 1982.

Original William Henry Jackson print held in the collection of the Colorado Historical Society. This is a hand-tinted print.

Botafogo Bay and Rio de Janeiro at night, September 1920

People watching a solar eclipse squint through smoked glass or film on Rebun Island in Japan, March 1949.