I'm pleased to see that the book I co-authored with Silvia Cambie is now an eBook!

It's great when, after a lot of hard work, your initial inspiration comes to final fruition. I've been watching Angie design and build Annabel Mountford's new website and it's been fascinating to see the design process (working with the client to capture her style and personality in the look and feel of the site) and then the code writing and tech stuff (translating the design for viewing on the web).And now, at last, the site can be unveiled to the public!

Angie does all the code by hand (ie without using Dreamweaver or Front Page software) so that she can have an in depth understanding of how it all works - it's rather like a hand crafted bespoke suit, if you like, rather than a one size fits all off the rack approach to web design and construction. No doubt, she'll be adding to her arsenal of tools and software programmes in the future but for now, building a strong foundation in CSS and HTML is going to stand her in good stead going forward.

Here are the pics from the British Malaysian Society event the other evening where Silvia and i gave a talk on Social Media for Business. I enjoyed meeting a number of interesting Malaysians and Brits, and having the tasty fried rice and spring rolls after our talk!

For a more detailed debrief of the issues we discussed, I've written it up on my blog at http://www.fusionview.co.uk/2010/01/british-malaysian-society-social-media-ta...

Let's see now. Everything is covered in snow outside. Every time I've been out so far, I've slipped on the ice, which is unnerving even if I've only fallen on my bum once. Today, I'm at home with the central heating on and under my ordinary clothes, I'm wearing my Damart long johns and undervest to shield me from the cold. I have an outdoor adventure fleece over the top of all the layers. I've got fingerless gloves on to stop my fingers freezing off while I type at my computer. I'm starting a cold and I'm feeling very sorry for myself.

So imagine how depressing it was to catch this news item from the BBC about some hearty chaps who paddling happily in the icy Serpentine in Hyde Park, proclaiming that an icy swim is what you need to cheer you up and stop you from getting colds...

Even mad dogs stay indoors in these arctic conditions, only Englishman go out in the midwinter snows!

We caught this exhibition today and found it fun, fascinating, weird and repulsive all at the same time. It takes as its starting point Andy Warhol and explores the artists he influenced.The main themes seemed to be those artists who were expert at self-publicity, commercialising their work and branding themselves - and of course those who did all those three through being controversial (so there were lots of photos of penises and vaginas and artworks about sex and death). So I think you can guess that the featured artists included Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin.

The one piece that amused me was Damien Hirst's identical twins artwork where a pair of twins are stationed under two of his dot paintings. When we were there, it was two pretty brunette sisters with pre-Raphaelite hair and matching grey dresses. It was interesting to watch people milling around wondering whether or not to stare at them: were these two girls part of the exhibition or were they just a couple of regular visitors who had found chairs to sit on? I have to say, I felt very odd staring at them as they looked back at me!

I chatted to one of them later and learnt that they had a four hour shift before the next set of twins took over. This was their first session and they had three more lined up over the next few weeks. I asked if they had to audition and she said, no, they just had to send their photos in. I asked if it felt weird and she said that it was not as weird as she had expected.

I wonder if any rich art collector has bought this art piece. The logistics of installing it in your home would be very interesting....

We are so relieved that we hadn't planned to travel anywhere this holiday season - the whole of the UK is frozen and it seems that the Continent and the north east of the USA are also locked in the weather's icy grip. I've been watching the news reports of all those people stuck at airports and also traumatised by the Eurostar breakdowns (reported as due to the "wrong sort of snow" by Channel 4) - ooh, I really feel for them. What a hideous way to start the Xmas festivities!

We're planning to spend the next few days snug at home. We have a full fridge and freezer, lots of wine and chocolate as well as a stack of books and DVDs. I've brought down some duvets and knitted rugs to the living room so we can sprawl on the sofas cosily. I also plan to catch up with some blogging and social networking on my cute little netbook - which I've worked out how to use while lying down!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season - and to those who are trying to travel to friends and family: the very best of luck for getting to your destination as soon as possible!

We've just got back from this exhibition. We loved it, yeah, yeah, yeah!

The blurb:

"This major exhibition explores the leading pop music personalities who helped create 'Swinging London' in the 1960s. Over 150 photographs, together with a range of memorabilia, illustrate how the photographic image, music and performance made these popstars the leading icons of their time.

Featuring key pop cultural figures the exhibition begins in 1960 with hit groups such as The Shadows and The John Barry Seven. As the decade progressed, early portraits of singers such as Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and Billy Fury were followed by those of bands such as The Kinks and The Who.

Huge cultural and social changes were reflected in the styles and imagery of the pop music scene. The classic rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones is played out visually by a variety of top photographers such as David Bailey, Gered Mankowitz and Robert Whitaker, who helped create and endorse their changing images.

From pure pop, through psychedelia and the birth of progressive music, Beatles to Bowie explores the dramatic developments of pop music and culture, and their lasting impact that continues to live in the memory today."

... and also an amusing ukelele band