©Sean McManus - www.sean.co.uk
Twitter RSS www.sean.co.uk

UK freelance journalist and author Sean McManus

Home > Blog

Download my new single for free

23 December 2008


Artwork for 'We work to earn our sleep'Okay, so calling it a single is perhaps a little bit of a stretch. But I've uploaded a piece of music I've written for the first time today, and I'd be delighted if you downloaded it and let me know what you think. It's called 'We work to earn our sleep' (a title which will be familiar to you if you've read 'University of Death'), and it's about two minutes long. The download includes an Easter Egg, too. I've created this track using a sample-based music tool, so it's different to the music I usually write using a guitar and piano.

Feel free to leave any comments in this thread. I'd like to release more of my music in 2009 (which is highly unlikely to sound like this track, incidentally), so this is partly an experiment to see whether this is a good way to share music and get feedback on work in progress.

Labels: , ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

2 comments

AC/DC excels at web promotion

22 December 2008


AC/DC has released an ASCII art video of "Rock N Roll Train" to promote the band's new album.

The video runs as a macro in an Excel spreadsheet. It has been created using ASCII art stored in cells starting at Q100 and working their way down the sheet (the Q column is hidden), and Visual Basic to show the frames in turn. It's an impressive effect.

Unfortunately, the video is incomplete, presumably so that they don't have to give everyone the song for free (the Excel chart references a WAV file stored externally on your hard drive, which you download with the Excel file).

Even established bands can get lost in the amount of free music online today, so this video is a neat way to stimulate word of mouth and encourage fans to spread the word about the new album.

Labels: , ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

0 comments

The true value of art

18 December 2008


snail sculpture shown blocking the gallery doors

This sculpture of a snail by Salvador Dali is an extremely limited edition, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Most of the time, it is shown in the hallway of the museum, with a small plaque on the wall above it.

When the gallery owner goes to lunch, it's used to block the shop doors.

Labels: ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

0 comments

How to train to be a journalist

15 December 2008


Over the years, I've received quite a few queries from website visitors asking me about whether a journalism course they're considering is any good or not. I've usually declined to comment because it's not fair to judge courses I haven't been on, but I've now uploaded some guidelines to help people pick the right educational path for their journalism career.

The article answers the following questions from readers:
The answers are just my own opinion, but I hope you'll find them useful. This journalism training article is part of my journalism resources section, which includes tips on novel writing, self-publishing, web writing and freelancing; and some exclusive proofreading and editing exercises.

Labels: ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

0 comments

Philosophical bridge in Lincoln

02 December 2008


Bridge with the words 'where are you going?' carved in its design

Bridge with the words 'where have you been?' carved in its design

Labels:


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

0 comments

Dip into the blog archive

June 2005 | July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 | October 2005 | November 2005 | December 2005 | January 2006 | February 2006 | March 2006 | April 2006 | May 2006 | June 2006 | July 2006 | August 2006 | September 2006 | October 2006 | November 2006 | December 2006 | January 2007 | February 2007 | March 2007 | April 2007 | May 2007 | June 2007 | July 2007 | August 2007 | September 2007 | October 2007 | November 2007 | December 2007 | January 2008 | February 2008 | March 2008 | April 2008 | May 2008 | June 2008 | July 2008 | August 2008 | September 2008 | October 2008 | November 2008 | December 2008 | January 2009 | February 2009 | March 2009 | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009 | October 2009 | November 2009 | December 2009 | January 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | Top of this page | RSS