Jig Blog

Nick Clegg: "Call me Chas"

I've created a new political facebook group. The noble aim is to get a nick-name to stick for Nick Clegg. Apart from performing at a few SNP and Lib Dem party parties in the past, that's about as political as the Jiggers is going to get, to be honest...

Nick Clegg Needs A Nickname. I vote for "Chas".

Eco Coke Bottle design

This new coke bottle design looks very cool. I would buy it. They should make it.

The world's greatest mullet

 Simon Varwell, like a sociopathic Apache with highly specific depilatory tendencies, collects mullets.

How does one go about doing that without incurring the wrath of the judicial system? His new book explains all.

Simon is a travel writer, and is also a friend (and occassional photographer) of the Jiggers Ceilidh Band. This, I believe is reason enough for you to consider buying his book.

Billy Collins - Litany

As a ceilidh caller and a performer, I always like to look for examples of how better to connect with an audience, hold their attention, make them laugh. Billy Collins communicates in a comfortable, droll way that is unhindered by false confidence.

Choir of the Year 2010

A spine-tingling choral performance down the Duck and Switchblade. Maybe Bigdaymusic should see if these guys are available for singing at weddings.

How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?

For animal rights reasons, we will not be recommending putting it in the oven until its bill withers.

Watching this sublime performance from the man himself, however, would be a good start.

David Ford, Go To Hell

A stunning video from David Ford, a hugely engaging singer-songwriter. I loved this when I first heard it. It's being looped and recorded (and quite possibly mixed as well) live, in real time.

How to know you're tweeting too much...

Twitter may be the reason some children originally to be named Nathaniel Obadiah mercifully ended up as Bob.

Apple Iphad announced

Apple's new tablet PC. Full unbiased reviews, pros & cons, measured and thoughtful analysis of the Apple iPad. On the Jigblog? iThinknot.

 

 

(yeah, these are all from b3ta, obviously)

10 very funny websites to enjoy over Christmas

I realised that it's probably a good idea to relax over Christmas, so I'll give you my next ten posts in one, keeping inane chatter to a minimum.

In my opinion, the following ten websites are funny. Go look at them.

The Onion - America's finest news source.

I can has cheezeburger - Cats. Captions. Enjoy with your gran.

Dilbert - Office humour.

XKCD - Geek webcomic

Penny Arcade - Gamer geek webcomic 

Failblog - Picture + FAIL = WIN

Today's Big Thing - WYSIWYG

Cake Wrecks - Specialist cakes gone wrong.

Awkward Family Photos - Make your own this Christmas

Write Badly Well - The web needs more illiteracy. Learn how you can help.
Have a great Christmas. I'm off to eat some more Quality Street and listen to Rage Against The Machine.

Now the x-factor final is over...

Well, I realise as I post this at 5.51 pm on Sunday that x-factor has not in fact finished yet. At this hopeful time of year,though surely I can be forgiven a little optimistic expectation that it will, like war, eventually be over.

So how do we fill the time now that it's behind us? Good old interwebs steps into the breach once more.

One site I often go back to is This Is Photobomb

What is a photobomb? It's basically a snap taken at an inopportune moment which captures more than the intended result. This is one of my favourites... 

I'll post links to some more of my favourite inane timewasting sites in the run up to christmas. Hopefully that should help you forget all about any recent televisual travesties you've been forced to endure.

Noel Fielding and Phil Jupitus on Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is fast becoming a Great British Institution. I'm a huge fan of this show. Jupitus and Fielding are very funny guys. These are the extra bits you get when you press your red button after the show.

 

 

More from BBC's Comedy Extra website

An amazing celebrity endorsement

Always nice to get a Christmas card from celebrity fans of the band...

No, really!

Update: Jiggers Ceilidh Band on Scotland's BBC Live hogmanay show?

I have a theory that if everybody spoke like Robbie Shepherd, there wouldn't be any wars.

Sadly, this year the Jiggers ceilidh band will NOT be performing on Radio Scotland's live Hogmanay show. A bit gutted. That would have been fun. It was an honour to be asked, though! We've got some of our musicians playing at Hampden, others at the Hilton, AND (to further disappoint those of you who like fortuitous alliteration) at the Mormon Church. (maybe they could call it a Hootenanny?) It's going to be a pretty tight stretch as it is...

Good news, however, is that I discovered the DV tapes from the original BIG JIG were NOT corrupted after all, it was just the video camera I was playing them in! D'oh! Well, that means that I'll have TWO events to get a new Jiggers video from (the other being the Wee Jig on Saturday night there). So all in all, things are going OK.

 www.bbc.co.uk

Jack of all trades, master of..all of them actually...

You have to wonder what drives this guy.

The internet...raising the bar just a little higher for the rest of us.

The Wee Jig, Saturday 21st November, Glasgow

Anyone want to come to a FREE SECRET CEILIDH on Saturday night in Glasgow West End? Email us or call 0141 419 9558 for details.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=173860259333&ref=mf

Glaswegian translators wanted. Gonnie Geeza Joab?

I noticed this BBC article  last month about a company needing Glaswegian-English translators.

Since running Scotland's best wee wedding music agency seemed like tough work in comparison, I decided to email them my application. 

Hi there. You've got to be kidding, right? Do you really need people to translate from Glaswegian? In what context?

I may be able to assist, having a fairly strong haunel oanna Glesga patois (though I have rarely seen it written). Sometimes I slip into it without realising. Gizza joab, eh?

G’oan yersel’

(Kind regards) etc...

----------- 

Today I received the following reply:

Dear Greg Thank you for your interest in the position of Glaswegian Interpreter. We received applications from a large volume of candidates and have been following a careful process to determine the individual best suited to the job.
Unfortunately, on this occasion you have been not been selected. We appreciate your taking time to contact us in relation to this opening, and wish you the best of luck in the future.
With best regards,

Andreas Schwarz

Trainee Project Manager

todaytranslations ltd

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Shockaroonie.

Big Jig video : Strip the Willow instructions

I've finally gotten around to getting the video from the first Big Jig off of 8 digital video tapes. Unfortunately, the tapes seem corrupted somehow,which is quite disappointing... I think I have a "be Kind Rewind" video jinx thing going on...

***edit*** 11/12/09 as it turns out, the videos WERE working after all...I'm currently editing videos for both the Big Jig last year and the Wee Jig last month. Expect new "moving picture!" videos in the new year... ***edit***

Luckily, I recorded the audio separately so here's a promo video I put together with some stills (courtesy of good pal Simon Varwell) using the good ol' Windoze Movie Maker. It's hard to capture the energy of your typical Jiggers Scottish ceilidh using static images, but it'll have to do until we get another video made! (maybe the Big Jig 3 beckons?)

Not Very Amazing Motivational Posters

Today's XKCD comic got me reminiscing.

When I was younger, I had this poster on my wall. I thought it would impress the girls.

It did. They thought it was a really impressive poster. They still thought I was a bit weird, though.Which was true, I suppose.

The motivational poster has become something of a cliche in recent years, to the extent that sending them up has become something of a pastime for many.

 I love the quotes of Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt. But sometimes, you just need something like this to ground you in cold hard reality:

You know you have dealt with this company. More here

Star Wars Uncut: could this be a cult smash?

Made entirely by fans doing 15 second segments each.