memorable – Page 14

Scatman’s World

[this page was originally posted to AvAngel.com but is archived here; the links have been adapted to improve usability]

Introduction

After playing around for some time with Corel Photo-Paint and Adobe Premiere, I decided it was time to make a cool music video that quite blatantly took the piss out of Bagpuss, a friend of mine with whom I used to share lodgings at University. I believe that when he saw it, his exact words were “I’m going to kill him.”

Well, not content with having made a fool out of him, my next project was to make a fool out of myself (what do you mean, I do that all the time anyway!)… and so my next video project was…

Scatman’s World

After my nickname among many folks in Aberystwyth, Scatman Dan (a reference, of course, to the late Scatman John), I made this music video, which made it’s big-screen premiere at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre Cinema on Saturday 4th May 2002 (after a two-week delay caused by numerous technical problems). And now, for your viewing pleasure, it’s available to download here (it’s a DixX-encoded file, so you’ll need an appropriate player). Being, as it is, filled from top to bottom with in-jokes, it’s probably not even remotely funny if you don’t know who I am.

Download The Video

Warning : This file is just under 30MB in size, and will take a considerable amount of time to download, even on a fast connection. You have been warned.

Warning : Owing to explicit content, this video is not suitable for viewing by anybody under the age of 18 years, without parental consent and supervision.

Note : It is recommended that you attempt to save this file to your hard disk, rather than attempting to play it directly from the site, as this corrects a lot of potential download problems with this file. In most browsers, this can be achieved by right-clicking on the link and selecting “Save File As…” or “Save Target As…”.

[the download is no longer hosted here, but you can view the video on YouTube]

Team CompSci’s “The Matrix” (Aberystwyth University Student Skills Competition 2001)

Until 2006, Aberystwyth University (then The University of Wales, Aberystwyth) ran an interdisciplinary competition for 2nd year undergraduate students to showcase the skills offered by their degree, by producing an educational stand and a presentation. Employers from various industries were invited as judges, and prizes were offered for the best stand, best presentation, and best overall.

Prior to 2001, the presentation aspect had typically consisted of, at best, a handful of PowerPoint slides and students taking turns to list off some of the reasons that their department was best at producing versatile, highly-employable graduates. But in 2001’s competition, Team CompSci (from the Computer Science department) changed all that, by producing a mixed audiovisual and stage performance presentation, inspired by 1999’s hit movie The Matrix.

A film shows a young Neo, unskilled and unemployed, as he’s picked up by the crew of the Aberchadnezzar and “trained” (using a brain-jack interface) with the skills of an Aberystwyth CompSci graduate. The audience then saw a clip of Neo ascending the stairs to the theatre, before he would appear on stage and undergo a job interview with an “agent”. In this version, the interview segment was (hasily) re-filmed and inserted directly into the clip.

Also available on YouTube and on QTube.

Dan Arrested; Carrying Offensive Weapon

Dan gets stopped by two police officers while carrying a battle-axe through the streets of Aberystwyth. Original content on AvAngel.com appeared, as follows:

Andy’s account –

I wonder how many police officers, when asked by the guy they’ve just stopped on the street for carrying a battle-axe, will actually go to the URL he tells them. Well; here’s hoping at least one, given that that’s what just happened to me! Take a look at this picture on Dan’s Picture Page for an overview of the events. The picture is taken by Rory, with his brand-spanking new digital camera. Thanks, Rory!

Dan’s account –

“Well, what do we do with you now?” asked the police officer, after the search (which had revealed nothing more than lots of keys, a phallic-looking torch, a pack of cards, and a tampon) was complete.

“I expect that’s mainly up to you,” replied Dan, “You being the police officer, and all.”

“Well, we could take you and your axe up the hill and escort you home,” he said.

“Mm-hmm,” Dan said, “Could my friends come along for the ride?” He gestured across the street, where Rory and De were waiting, looking bored. The police officer shook his head disdainfully. “What’re the other options, then?”

“We could take you back to the police station under arrest for carrying an offensive weapon.”

“I don’t like that idea, either. What’s the third option?”

“There isn’t a third option.”

“Guess I’ll be riding with you then.” Dan turned and spoke to Rory and De. “I’ll catch you two back on campus,” he said, “You can pay for your taxi!”

As the police car pulled away, Dan had one more question for the confused officers:

“Have you ever visited AvAngel.com?”

Crosslink: the axe can be seen in photos taken at Christmas.

Cool Thing Of The Day

Cool And Interesting Thing Of The Day To Do At The University Of Wales, Aberystwyth, #48:

Discover, by sheer coincidence, that one of your more recent aquaintances down here (Claire) went to the same high school as one of your longer-running friends up North (Faye), and that they know one another! Freaky but completely true: the two parties are contactable on storm_lady0@yahoo.com and clb9@aber.ac.uk, for verification!

The ‘cool and interesting things’ were originally published to a location at which my “friends back home” could read them, during the first few months of my time at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, which I started in September 1999. It proved to be particularly popular, and so now it is immortalised through the medium of my weblog.

Cool Thing Of The Day

Cool And Interesting Thing Of The Day To Do At The University Of Wales, Aberystwyth, #10:

Lose your virginity. Retain the box it came in. Keep the reciept, too – you might get a refund.

The ‘cool and interesting things’ were originally published to a location at which my “friends back home” could read them, during the first few months of my time at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, which I started in September 1999. It proved to be particularly popular, and so now it is immortalised through the medium of my weblog.

Cool Thing Of The Day

Cool And Interesting Thing Of The Day To Do At The University Of Wales, Aberystwyth, #4:

Buy a ticket to see Craig Charles, Still Live On Earth, on November 20th, at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre (a.k.a. My Doorstep). Not bad.

The ‘cool and interesting things’ were originally published to a location at which my “friends back home” could read them, during the first few months of my time at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, which I started in September 1999. It proved to be particularly popular, and so now it is immortalised through the medium of my weblog.

This post was later revisited as a nostalgic look back.

Avatar Diary – Solar Eclipse

A blog post, now lost, was published in August or September 1999, and discussed (among other things) the 11 August 1999 solar eclipse which I’d been lucky enough to witness from one of the few places on the path of totality that wasn’t plagued by heavy cloud on the day: Paris. This image, taken on that day (although never used in the blog post) was shared here in hindsight, on 25 May 2019.

Dan with his sister and his mother in a Paris cafe, in advance of the August 1999 solar eclipse.

Avatar Diary – Birthday Aftermath

These photos, originally published in the Avatar Diary during January 1999, were recovered and republished here on 25 May 2019 on a post dated the day they were taken, 9 January 1999 – the day after my 18th birthday party. They were originally accompanied by a blog post mocking everybody who’d participated in (drunken) silliness the night before. In particular, I laid-into Gary and Faye, who ended up sharing a bed on the night, but in actuality I was hiding the fact that I was heartbroken: at the time, I had an intense infatuation with Faye which wouldn’t completely abate until a year or so later.

Placeholder for Dan’s First Blog Post

Dan’s first blog post was made on this date. Its existence and the date of its publication can be derived from other sources, but its contents have been lost. It didn’t have a title. It will have been available at http://castle.onza.net/ (and then later http://castle.onza.net/diary/) from the date of its publication through 1 October 1999.

This post acts as a placeholder in the unlikely event that its content can one day be recovered.