GIMP - Best Free Software

The best free software of the moment is the GIMP: Gnu Image manipulation programme - it's basically a free alternative to Photoshop and the options are endless. I mean I'm an utter beginner at this, and I could knock up the above in about 3 minutes

It is a truly amazing program, and even better for the fact that it's so powerful, and people are writing new plug-ins/additions for it all the time. Open Source, we love you.

For more go here

Click Here to Read More..

Watch TV Online

Want to see why thousands of people are refusing to pay their TV licences (not including me, of course) to see Strictly Come Shite and BBC "News"?

Visit www.all2c.tv, a new aggregator for TV-streaming sites, packed full of wonderful TV shows like the award-winning The Wire, which Brit TV execs in their infinite wisdom decided to turn down; Battlestar Galactica, a new, intelligent, gripping, politics-heavy spin on the 70s camp classic, and many, many others.

Just visit the site, search for the name of the show, then click on the episode title of your choice, and you're away.

WARNING: Will result in lengthy sessions at the computer as you delve into thousands of hours of entertainment.

If you've saved money on boxsets through this tip, why not send me a donation, my details are on my Facebook page. Cheers!

Click Here to Read More..

Retracing Salford

This exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery documents over 50 years of Salford’s recent history. The exhibition includes

• Photographer Maria Murphy’s view of regeneration in Salford
• Mixed-media artist Tim Garner’s collages of photography & painting
• Lawrence Cassidy’s family photographs, films and memories from residents of demolished Salford streets.

I spoke to Maria Murphy as she reminisced about growing up in Broughton in the 1960s. She said, “We used to have play streets, the road used to be closed so kids could go out and play in the streets. But you go there now and it’s hard to find anyone on the street at all.”

The regeneration projects of the 60s, including the flagship flats at Hanover Court, had become eyesores by the time they were demolished in 2005. Through the 70s and 80s the housing deteriorated in structure and remained under-funded for refurbishment. They were recently condemned for providing substandard living conditions to Salfordians.

It throws a spotlight on the hotly-contested local redevelopment that Salford City Council is undertaking; the regeneration flats at Chimney Pot Park; “affordable housing” way out of the reach of local residents and the Council’s habit of ploughing money into short-sighted housing renewal projects.

The exhibition runs until 20^th April, entry free.

Click Here to Read More..

Manchester Freebies II

Krispy Kreme's Trafford Centre launch has resulted in the one thing obese Britons really don't need: free doughnuts. However, taste one of these little beauties and you'll see why Chris Rock said:

"Krispy Kreme Donuts are so good, if I told you it had crack in it, you would be like, "I knew it was something in there. These donuts are too good. Got me going there at 4 o'clock in the morning going, "Come on, man, open up. Let me have at least one donut. I'll do anything. I'll suck your dick!" That should be the new slogan. Krispy Kreme: So good, you'll suck a dick."



Anyway - to the freebies. The setup of Krispy Kreme at the Trafford Centre is a coffee shop and doughnut-making facility on site. Approximately every half an hour, the staff give away free doughnuts as a fresh batch comes through.

Enjoy. But not too much.

Click Here to Read More..

Free Stuff in Manchester

There's a simple pleasure in getting something for nothing. Whether it's finding hundreds of 80s new wave albums at a car boot sale, a pound on the floor or an extra few chips with your kebab, free stuff is a great find and produces a great feeling.

So my advice is to sign up for free cinema tickets with See Film First. You get alerts to your email inbox on new releases that are coming out in your area. So not only is it free, you can also irritate your friends by telling them the ending of the film they're about to see. I've already seen Juno (good) and Dan In Real Life (not good) for free at my local - Parrs Wood Cineworld, Didsbury. You'll have to be quick on the draw though, the seats are very soon booked up after details have been released.

For those of you with higher things in mind than a flick at the local, the Royal Northern College of Music is presenting "Opera Scenes" for free: RNCM students from the School of Vocal and Opera Studies perform staged excerpts from Britten’s Rape of Lucretia and Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande.

That's going on at the RNCM Bruntwood Theatre, just off Oxford Road at 6pm, Friday 25th Jan 2008. See you there!

Warning: chance of popcorn unlikely.

ENDS

Click Here to Read More..