Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last river poisoned, the last fish caught, will man realise that reciting red indian proverbs is pretty pointless.

Out with the old, in with the new…..

The MBA tries to teach the fisherman about business, the fisherman teaches him about life.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Liz. It was cold, wet and a bit miserable down in Brighton and Hove however the church was full of love and warmth for our departed friend.

Tears were shed and laughs were had remembering her life and although she has gone, her soul lives on, in the memories of those who were fortunate enough to have spent time in her company.

I think she would have been pleased with the send off she was given today.

My thoughts are with her family, especially a young boy who will be without his mummy, this Christmas.

In the desperately sad video above Jonah’s emotional and physical wellbeing are held hostage by the views and comments of bullies at his school.

Now it appears his emotional wellbeing is at the mercy of people on the internet who’ve questioned whether this was in fact a real video at all.

He posted a follow up vid a few months later where he seems incredibly happy, and states that all the bullying has ceased. But there are also rumours that he posted a video where he claimed the video above was actually made up.

So, what have we now got. His emotional state is a roller coaster based on the approval of others, initially those at his school but now by anyone with access to the internet. And as you would imagine, celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin have waded in and offered him there support too. So his emotional wellbeing is now also dictated by the approval, or not, of celebrities.

Some have stated that whether or not the original video is real or not doesn’t matter, as the message is one about bullying, and that’s what’s important. I’m not so certain.

Of course bullying is bad and it should never happen but the reality is that it does, however when I watch an “advert” on television that is supporting something like Cancer it tugs at the heartstrings but I know it’s an advert as it appears in an advert break. It makes me think about cancer, and they want me to donate, as thats what the advert is for. But what abotu this kind of thing on the internet?

If someone posts a video like this on the internet I watch it as if the person is talking about their life, damaging their body, perhaps they might take their life at some point. And that then influences how I feel. It will upset millions of people, who will go to bed that nght perhaps wondering whether Jonah will be alive in the morning. So is it important whether it is fake or real? Damn right it is.

I wonder whether his position has actually got any better at all? Does he still need help? More than ever…….

I’d love to know what Charlie Brooker and Oliver James make of this.

So far he has raised about £200 in offline fundraising (taking us near to £3,000 in total) and will be sporting his new look until the weekend.

You can donate to Richard’s fundraising here

Before

Whats it be,  electric blue or intense red?

Wait for it…..

The new look is unveiled!

Last night, a group of us, representing Team Achieve, attended the Movember Gala Party at the Rose Villa Tavern in Birmingham.  It was an amazing site, a pub packed to the rafters with mobro’s and mosista’s.

We hadn’t thought much about pitching up and entering for any of the various titles on offer such as Best Mo in Character, Team Mo, Man of Movember 2011  so it was a good job that Rachael, pictured below whilst working at the Travelodge in Coventry, brought along her rather fetching fake tash.

She caught the attention of the various judges circulating amongst the crowds of mo’s. Here is Rachael having just been handed her “You’ve been nominated” lanyard and pass.

Rachael then made it to the final three. They were invited on to the stage and for the people in attendance to vote for them by way of shouting and screaming at the top of their voices for person they wanted to win. I’d like to say it was a close call, however, I’d be lying as Rachael won hands down!

Rachael wearing her “Miss Movember” sash.

I’m not entirely certain what happens next, however, I think Rachael may now go on to a national event where the regional Miss Movember winners will compete for the UK title.

If you cant get to Travelodge to see her, donate here

Some of the delicious cupcakes on offer to staff at Travelodge

The Reception area at Travelodge. It’s all about Movember. Get in!

In a final push to raise funds before the end of Movember he has decided that he’ll dye his tash whatever colour people want.

If you want to have a say as to what colour Richard should go for donate via the link below. Please include the colour you would like in the comment box. He’ll be dyeing his tash on Sunday so be quick.

Donate to Richard Barber

How he might look with the colours people have suggested so far!

A friend of mine, met the comedian Jason Manford at a Slimming World Ball recently. Not shy in coming forward she told Jason all about what our team of mobro’s and mosista’s were up to and he promptly donated £20 to the cause. how cool is that!

But what a view!

Photo c/o Darren Checkley

One Wolf is evil: He is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment and deceit.

The other Wolf is good: joy, serenity, humility, confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion.”

A child asked, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?”

The elder looked him in the eye. “The one you feed”

Take a minute to think about which Wolf your feeding!

Here are a couple of the photos and a link to the pdf of the article which appeared.  Photos c/o Lee Busby of the Coventry Telegraph

Download the PDF of the article which appeared via the link below, or via google docs here

Some may feel that this seems a very simplistic piece of film-making, however films work on many levels. You can sit back and be awed by huge explosions and amazing car chases and fight scenes. Other times though, the devil is in the detail, as one very observant chap pointed out in an email to Steve.

1. ‘Jacob’s Red Eye the Same as the protagonist ‘One’ and ‘Gas’ theory.

Both Jacob and One have a red eye. A Red eye for me suggests Terminator and for that does this suggest they are both Cyborgs?

Jacobs glove/Robot hand is clearly of a metallic Robotic look but ‘One’ did not have this - Are they similar models? Is this to do with why they are pursuing him?

Also did you notice Jacob did not eat any of the Deer? He only gave it to Wolf to eat. This would also suggest Jacob does not need to eat if he is a Cyborg.

The GAS - One of One’s soldiers says ‘Sir don’t you want to put your mask on, it’s an ‘X-Zone’ Does this mean One and Jacob are not effected by a potential Gas in the air? However if this were the case then would One need to put his mask on at all - Is Jacob a more advanced model? Maybe an ‘X-Zone’ is a strong area and where they are now is not high risk and One is just abit of a lose cannon. Also the gas must only be respitory as they did not have gloves on so must not damage the skin.

2. The Person in the Photo

Both ONE and JACOB are holding a passport photo. Both gazing in to it fairly lovingly. Would you look at a photo like this of a guy? My theory is firstly this is a photo of a woman? So who is the Woman and why do they both have a photo of her? Secondly if this is suggesting at some love triangle then it wipes out the previous theory of them being Cyborgs unless they have advanced A.I of somesort.

3. The year of Existence

Did anyone notice Jacobs T-shirt sat around the fire?

The word on the T-shirt is ‘Russia’ in Russian along with a Football in the middle and clearly the year 2018. The T-shirt is made to look old. Are we to think that this is potentially set some time after this period ie 2020 - 2021?

4. Will Wolf ever return? What is the purpose of Wolf? Animals not infected?

One of the opening shots of Existence we see a Deer. Then we see Wolf and at one point in the background we see a pigeon flying behind Jacobs head?

If we are going with theory one about the Gas - Why does it not effect animals? And does Wolf have a purpose? If you watch how he walks closely. Before they get to the City. Wolf mainly walks behind Jacob. When they do get to the City, Wolf walks in front and to the side. Are the Citys more dangerous? Is Wolf a guide for Jacob?

At one point before the Quad bike approaches them, Wolf almost alerts Jacob to the sound.

Also the last line of the episode was One saying ‘Let’s kill the f**king Wolf aswell’ As One put the picture away suggesting the picture and Wolf and Jacob were connected and to get to Jacob they would need to Kill Wolf - Is Wolf a guardian of somesort?

I was chatting with Steve over a coffee yesterday and he said that the guy is not too far off however there will be lots more twists and turns during the 6 episodes, a bit like Lost really.

Following hot on the heels of the release of episode 1 of action series Existence, by Coventry based filmmaker, Steve Reynolds, comes more great news from this incredibly talented guy.

Steve has been locked away recently, working night and day, finishing a script for an action comedy called Played. The film will reunite Tamer Hassan and Danny Dyer, who both starred in The business and Football Factory. 

Eddie (Tamer Hassan) and Macca (Danny Dyer) go head to head as rival sports agents, but after a run in with notorious Irish gangster, Gerry McDermott, these two men must work together to get themselves out of the mess they’ve created before they end up six feet under.

The film is being shot before Christmas to be released in 2012! Played Facebook Page IMDB Official website (awaiting development) Black And Blue Films Watch this space for further news