http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/ Sat, 19 May 2012 00:41:58 +0100 MyBB http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=55 Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:25:49 +0000 sacrolatak http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=55
http://www.ultimatearticledirectory.com/..._id=684271 http://articlecity.in/entertainment-movi...kes-3.html http://affiliatedcommerce.com/arts-enter...ook-likes/ http://www.article-attic.digitaldynasty...._id=351674]]>
http://www.ultimatearticledirectory.com/..._id=684271 http://articlecity.in/entertainment-movi...kes-3.html http://affiliatedcommerce.com/arts-enter...ook-likes/ http://www.article-attic.digitaldynasty...._id=351674]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=20 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:22:37 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=20


Love you lots, Jim.]]>


Love you lots, Jim.]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=19 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:43:42 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=19
The Blunt Shank forum has 100 members, and I'd like to take this opportunity to personally welcome our newest recruit...usedculturalstudiestextbooks!

I'm sure we are destined to enjoy a long and rewarding relationship. He/she sells used textbooks, which is exactly what Blunt Shank was established to facilitate, so for all your used textbook needs do not hesitate to get in touch.

No doubt he/she will be regularly dropping by to keep us posted on events pertinent to the used textbook world and to participate in our quirky literary community, so it is important that we all make an effort to make him/her feel at home.

That means no taking the piss.

Luv, Dan.]]>
The Blunt Shank forum has 100 members, and I'd like to take this opportunity to personally welcome our newest recruit...usedculturalstudiestextbooks!

I'm sure we are destined to enjoy a long and rewarding relationship. He/she sells used textbooks, which is exactly what Blunt Shank was established to facilitate, so for all your used textbook needs do not hesitate to get in touch.

No doubt he/she will be regularly dropping by to keep us posted on events pertinent to the used textbook world and to participate in our quirky literary community, so it is important that we all make an effort to make him/her feel at home.

That means no taking the piss.

Luv, Dan.]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=18 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:22:44 +0100 http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=18
Have you thought of ever having a Blunt Shank theme song. The idea excites me greatly. I would love to hear ideas of style, genre and of course lyrics.


]]>
Have you thought of ever having a Blunt Shank theme song. The idea excites me greatly. I would love to hear ideas of style, genre and of course lyrics.


]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=17 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:30:37 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=17
My good friend Beard and I tentatively established the PAINFREAK t-shirt design company in 2003. After long periods of design work and lengthy conversations about which logos were strong enough to make the final cut, we paid a local company to produce 6 different designs (in total 120 shirts) at a cost of just over 1000 pounds. I didn’t have a pot to piss in at the time and withdrew the cash on my credit card in a number of instalments. With the t-shirts in our possession, which included a couple of long-sleeved garments and a hoodie bearing slogans like UNIVERSITY OF BULLSHIT and IRRETRIEVABLE STONER, we took photographs of my sister’s boyfriend modelling them and produced a flyer which ended up never being distributed to a soul. We paid a fee to open a post office box which never took receipt of a single letter.

What we did do was trek around Norwich town centre one afternoon visiting likely off-beat shops in the hopes that they would punt our shirts for a percentage. All except one turned their nose up and the opportunity down, and that stray lead ultimately went nowhere. It would be dishonest for me to suggest that Beard and I weren’t in some part responsible for this reception because we weren’t terribly professional and cohesive in our approach. I remember being in one shop, CULT, an outlet which in retrospect it is easy to see we could never have hoped to supply with the necessary quality or volume, and after having our suggestion politely declined the assistant enquired as to whether our company could also produce designs from pencil sketches. Simultaneously, I said “No” and Beard said “Yes”.

We concluded this entrepreneurial fiasco by paying 28 quid for a pitch at the King’s Street market, which is a lively annual event in Norwich that on paper represented an excellent opportunity for commerce. We shelled out more money for suitable metal clothes rails, duly turned up and arranged our wares, and after a full days trading during which we gradually reduced our prices and I got increasingly tetchy because Beard kept asking me questions I could not conceivably know the answers to, like “How many do you think we’ll sell?” - we’d sold one, to a friend of my mum’s. We listed a few on ebay, too. No bids.

I’d lost interest in the whole endeavour by this point but Beard expressed a desire to persevere. After giving a couple away to family members we divided up the remaining shirts, Beard took his away and figured he’d put them temporarily in his garage, no doubt looking forward to his new life as a sole trader. To my knowledge, they have been stored there ever since. I sold a couple at a car boot sale for 2 pounds each and what was left were placed in bin liners and stacked in the bottom of my wardrobe. They stayed there for innumerable months until the time came when I chose to vacate the house I was renting and move to Brighton. I told Beard that if he didn’t take them off my hands I was going to give them to a charity shop. With half a mind to still somehow recover his outgoings from this shambles Beard agreed to take possession of the offending articles of clothing and added them to his existing stash of unsold merchandise. To my knowledge, they’ve been in his garage ever since.]]>
My good friend Beard and I tentatively established the PAINFREAK t-shirt design company in 2003. After long periods of design work and lengthy conversations about which logos were strong enough to make the final cut, we paid a local company to produce 6 different designs (in total 120 shirts) at a cost of just over 1000 pounds. I didn’t have a pot to piss in at the time and withdrew the cash on my credit card in a number of instalments. With the t-shirts in our possession, which included a couple of long-sleeved garments and a hoodie bearing slogans like UNIVERSITY OF BULLSHIT and IRRETRIEVABLE STONER, we took photographs of my sister’s boyfriend modelling them and produced a flyer which ended up never being distributed to a soul. We paid a fee to open a post office box which never took receipt of a single letter.

What we did do was trek around Norwich town centre one afternoon visiting likely off-beat shops in the hopes that they would punt our shirts for a percentage. All except one turned their nose up and the opportunity down, and that stray lead ultimately went nowhere. It would be dishonest for me to suggest that Beard and I weren’t in some part responsible for this reception because we weren’t terribly professional and cohesive in our approach. I remember being in one shop, CULT, an outlet which in retrospect it is easy to see we could never have hoped to supply with the necessary quality or volume, and after having our suggestion politely declined the assistant enquired as to whether our company could also produce designs from pencil sketches. Simultaneously, I said “No” and Beard said “Yes”.

We concluded this entrepreneurial fiasco by paying 28 quid for a pitch at the King’s Street market, which is a lively annual event in Norwich that on paper represented an excellent opportunity for commerce. We shelled out more money for suitable metal clothes rails, duly turned up and arranged our wares, and after a full days trading during which we gradually reduced our prices and I got increasingly tetchy because Beard kept asking me questions I could not conceivably know the answers to, like “How many do you think we’ll sell?” - we’d sold one, to a friend of my mum’s. We listed a few on ebay, too. No bids.

I’d lost interest in the whole endeavour by this point but Beard expressed a desire to persevere. After giving a couple away to family members we divided up the remaining shirts, Beard took his away and figured he’d put them temporarily in his garage, no doubt looking forward to his new life as a sole trader. To my knowledge, they have been stored there ever since. I sold a couple at a car boot sale for 2 pounds each and what was left were placed in bin liners and stacked in the bottom of my wardrobe. They stayed there for innumerable months until the time came when I chose to vacate the house I was renting and move to Brighton. I told Beard that if he didn’t take them off my hands I was going to give them to a charity shop. With half a mind to still somehow recover his outgoings from this shambles Beard agreed to take possession of the offending articles of clothing and added them to his existing stash of unsold merchandise. To my knowledge, they’ve been in his garage ever since.]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=16 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:00:38 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=16
]]>
]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=14 Sun, 09 May 2010 01:43:31 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=14
LOW THRESHOLD FOR BOREDOM AND BULLSHIT is a unique collection of genuine letters and emails detailing acrimonious disputes between me and a variety of managers, tutors, Ebay sellers and landlords.

This quirky and very amusing book is FREE OF CHARGE - so visit http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/publications.html to download your copy now!

To whet your appetite for spectacle I thought I'd remind you of the infamous "Fat Chav" insurance document that found its way onto the internet a while ago courtesy of a disgruntled AIG employee. Apart from being very funny, it reminds me of an interesting piece of inside information about the financially troubled insurance firm that Barack Obama lambasted for “...recklessness and greed.”

Until November 2009 I was working nights for an accident management company that took calls on behalf of AIG and shared office space with one of their claims departments. During long shifts I frequently found myself with nothing to do, and so to pass the time I used to sift through the paperwork in the various “in” and “out” trays reading the combative correspondence that got passed back and forth between claims handlers from rival companies. On one occasion I found an AIG document entitled “Fraud Indicator Checklist” suggesting that if a claim bore certain hallmarks then further investigation was required. Remarkably, these hallmarks of a potential fraud were considered to be if the policyholder or driver was “...black, unemployed, a student, a taxi driver, or works in the fast food industry...”

Am I the only one that finds that bizarre?

Regards, Dan.

(By the way - they didn't really mention black people, I made that bit up. But the rest is true.)


]]>
LOW THRESHOLD FOR BOREDOM AND BULLSHIT is a unique collection of genuine letters and emails detailing acrimonious disputes between me and a variety of managers, tutors, Ebay sellers and landlords.

This quirky and very amusing book is FREE OF CHARGE - so visit http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/publications.html to download your copy now!

To whet your appetite for spectacle I thought I'd remind you of the infamous "Fat Chav" insurance document that found its way onto the internet a while ago courtesy of a disgruntled AIG employee. Apart from being very funny, it reminds me of an interesting piece of inside information about the financially troubled insurance firm that Barack Obama lambasted for “...recklessness and greed.”

Until November 2009 I was working nights for an accident management company that took calls on behalf of AIG and shared office space with one of their claims departments. During long shifts I frequently found myself with nothing to do, and so to pass the time I used to sift through the paperwork in the various “in” and “out” trays reading the combative correspondence that got passed back and forth between claims handlers from rival companies. On one occasion I found an AIG document entitled “Fraud Indicator Checklist” suggesting that if a claim bore certain hallmarks then further investigation was required. Remarkably, these hallmarks of a potential fraud were considered to be if the policyholder or driver was “...black, unemployed, a student, a taxi driver, or works in the fast food industry...”

Am I the only one that finds that bizarre?

Regards, Dan.

(By the way - they didn't really mention black people, I made that bit up. But the rest is true.)


]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=13 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:55:37 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=13
11th May 2010 - Laughing Horse, The Quadrant, 12 North Street, Brighton, BN1 3GJ
7th May 2010 - The Comedy Cooler, The Alibi, 22 Victoria Terrace, The Kingsway, Hove, BN3 2WB

See you there!

Luv, Dan.]]>
11th May 2010 - Laughing Horse, The Quadrant, 12 North Street, Brighton, BN1 3GJ
7th May 2010 - The Comedy Cooler, The Alibi, 22 Victoria Terrace, The Kingsway, Hove, BN3 2WB

See you there!

Luv, Dan.]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=11 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:01:18 +0100 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=11 I’ve had a very agreeable few days off. On Sunday I spent nearly 200 pounds on a VCR-DVD combi and I’ve been furiously transferring all my old tapes to disc ever since. Buying it proved to be a hassle though. There is a retail business park five minutes walk from my house and as I knew that Curry’s had a couple of models it made sense to buy it there. I asked the assistant why the Samsung was more expensive than the Toshiba (because what I know of these brands would suggest that it should be the other way around) and he explained that the Samsung had a higher spec, in that it was DivX compatible and had Dolby sound. It seemed worth paying a few extra quid for superior sound, so I said fine, I’ll take it.

He then tried to sell me an extended warranty, and I told him flatly that I wasn’t interested. He said, “What will you do if it breaks down?” I said, “You’ve just told me that it has got a 1 year guarantee…” He then responded, “What will you do if it breaks down after that?” Although I’d no wish to be rude, I’ve been taught sales techniques and I hate it when I can sense that people are trying to “objection handle” and coerce me, so I laughed and said, “You can let me worry about that. I’m not paying for it.” He seemed a bit put out that I’d so summarily nipped his nonsense in the bud, but told me that he’d go and see if they had a Samsung in stock, and promptly wandered off. A few minutes later he was back, to tell me that they hadn’t got one in stock, but that I could have the display model if I wanted. I had a good look at the casing to make sure it wasn’t scratched or dented, and asked if I’d get a discount. He said he could give me 10%, which would save me 20 quid, so I agreed.

He then disappeared again to fetch all the bits and pieces that went with it so we could seal the deal. About five minutes later he was back to announce that they’d lost the remote control. I was informed that they could order a new one (which would take over a week to arrive!) or I could pop over to their Hove store and collect one that day. I couldn’t be arsed with all that so I told him not to bother.

I came home and looked up VCR-DVD combis on the Argos website. I noticed that their cheapest model was a Toshiba which got good reviews from customers and looked suspiciously like the one they’d had in Curry’s, so I wrote down the model number and went back there. It was the same model, which is significant because it turns out that the Toshiba was DivX compatible too, and had Dolby sound, so the assistant had managed to misinform me on that score as well.

I told a different assistant that I’d like to buy the Toshiba. She said, “Certainly…” and went into the stock room. A short while later she was back; “I’m afraid we don’t have any in stock. I can order you one…” I told her not to bother and went and bought it from Argos.

Epilogue...

My precious new VCR-DVD combi destroyed one of the tapes that I rented out last night. I’ve had it 2 weeks.

I’ve just read a really funny review of the film that got chewed on a site called http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk. The film is called The Godsend, and it involves a large family that get saddled with this homicidal little girl belonging to Donald Pleasance’s daughter, who then goes on to murder all their existing children so she can have mum to herself. She does this with (in the words of the reviewer) “…assorted drownings and pushings-off-high-ledges…” He also notes, not unreasonably, that the couple don’t really seem that bothered by the deaths of 3 of their 4 children, in that they comes to terms with each new loss quite rapidly, and mum in particular seems happy to accept the demon child as a substitute. I’m really glad that the guy in the video shop didn’t make me pay to replace this tripe. When I showed him the state of the tape he just laughed and said, “Don’t worry – you’re insured…” ]]> I’ve had a very agreeable few days off. On Sunday I spent nearly 200 pounds on a VCR-DVD combi and I’ve been furiously transferring all my old tapes to disc ever since. Buying it proved to be a hassle though. There is a retail business park five minutes walk from my house and as I knew that Curry’s had a couple of models it made sense to buy it there. I asked the assistant why the Samsung was more expensive than the Toshiba (because what I know of these brands would suggest that it should be the other way around) and he explained that the Samsung had a higher spec, in that it was DivX compatible and had Dolby sound. It seemed worth paying a few extra quid for superior sound, so I said fine, I’ll take it.

He then tried to sell me an extended warranty, and I told him flatly that I wasn’t interested. He said, “What will you do if it breaks down?” I said, “You’ve just told me that it has got a 1 year guarantee…” He then responded, “What will you do if it breaks down after that?” Although I’d no wish to be rude, I’ve been taught sales techniques and I hate it when I can sense that people are trying to “objection handle” and coerce me, so I laughed and said, “You can let me worry about that. I’m not paying for it.” He seemed a bit put out that I’d so summarily nipped his nonsense in the bud, but told me that he’d go and see if they had a Samsung in stock, and promptly wandered off. A few minutes later he was back, to tell me that they hadn’t got one in stock, but that I could have the display model if I wanted. I had a good look at the casing to make sure it wasn’t scratched or dented, and asked if I’d get a discount. He said he could give me 10%, which would save me 20 quid, so I agreed.

He then disappeared again to fetch all the bits and pieces that went with it so we could seal the deal. About five minutes later he was back to announce that they’d lost the remote control. I was informed that they could order a new one (which would take over a week to arrive!) or I could pop over to their Hove store and collect one that day. I couldn’t be arsed with all that so I told him not to bother.

I came home and looked up VCR-DVD combis on the Argos website. I noticed that their cheapest model was a Toshiba which got good reviews from customers and looked suspiciously like the one they’d had in Curry’s, so I wrote down the model number and went back there. It was the same model, which is significant because it turns out that the Toshiba was DivX compatible too, and had Dolby sound, so the assistant had managed to misinform me on that score as well.

I told a different assistant that I’d like to buy the Toshiba. She said, “Certainly…” and went into the stock room. A short while later she was back; “I’m afraid we don’t have any in stock. I can order you one…” I told her not to bother and went and bought it from Argos.

Epilogue...

My precious new VCR-DVD combi destroyed one of the tapes that I rented out last night. I’ve had it 2 weeks.

I’ve just read a really funny review of the film that got chewed on a site called http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk. The film is called The Godsend, and it involves a large family that get saddled with this homicidal little girl belonging to Donald Pleasance’s daughter, who then goes on to murder all their existing children so she can have mum to herself. She does this with (in the words of the reviewer) “…assorted drownings and pushings-off-high-ledges…” He also notes, not unreasonably, that the couple don’t really seem that bothered by the deaths of 3 of their 4 children, in that they comes to terms with each new loss quite rapidly, and mum in particular seems happy to accept the demon child as a substitute. I’m really glad that the guy in the video shop didn’t make me pay to replace this tripe. When I showed him the state of the tape he just laughed and said, “Don’t worry – you’re insured…” ]]> http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=8 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:54:42 +0000 danblunt http://www.bluntshank.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=8
Many thanks for taking the time to explore the site and for stopping by at the forum. This section is designed to keep visitors, customers and authors abreast of what is going on, to address any issues and answer important questions.

I expect to be kept very busy throughout 2010 generating publicity for the site, adding the finishing touches to our first products and sifting through contributions to determine what will be coming next. The goal is to provide discerning readers with unique and entertaining books, so if you know of a writer or an artist with a desire to be published that might be interested in what I'm doing please steer them in the direction of the site.

I would like also to take a moment to introduce you to the Please STAND-UP, Please STAND-UP thread, a place where comics, promoters and fans of good comedy can commune. If you're a comic looking to discuss comedy, a promoter with a show to plug or if you feel like posting a review of something you really enjoyed, feel free to sign in.

It seems reasonable to assume that as people begin to tune in to the strange discordant whine emitted by the Blunt Shank machinery, the existence of the BSP forum will render the likes of Facebook and Twitter obsolete (ahem!) and I therefore expect this corner of the site to be a'buzzing as allegiances are a'switched in droves. For your chance to add to the writing on the wall sign up now and visit the Feedback thread. Frankly, I insist.

I should probably also mention what thorough surfers will have already noticed, namely that the YouTube link doesn't go anywhere yet. Do not despair! As soon as BSP-TV is transmitting I will let you know.

Take it easy,

Dan Blunt.]]>
Many thanks for taking the time to explore the site and for stopping by at the forum. This section is designed to keep visitors, customers and authors abreast of what is going on, to address any issues and answer important questions.

I expect to be kept very busy throughout 2010 generating publicity for the site, adding the finishing touches to our first products and sifting through contributions to determine what will be coming next. The goal is to provide discerning readers with unique and entertaining books, so if you know of a writer or an artist with a desire to be published that might be interested in what I'm doing please steer them in the direction of the site.

I would like also to take a moment to introduce you to the Please STAND-UP, Please STAND-UP thread, a place where comics, promoters and fans of good comedy can commune. If you're a comic looking to discuss comedy, a promoter with a show to plug or if you feel like posting a review of something you really enjoyed, feel free to sign in.

It seems reasonable to assume that as people begin to tune in to the strange discordant whine emitted by the Blunt Shank machinery, the existence of the BSP forum will render the likes of Facebook and Twitter obsolete (ahem!) and I therefore expect this corner of the site to be a'buzzing as allegiances are a'switched in droves. For your chance to add to the writing on the wall sign up now and visit the Feedback thread. Frankly, I insist.

I should probably also mention what thorough surfers will have already noticed, namely that the YouTube link doesn't go anywhere yet. Do not despair! As soon as BSP-TV is transmitting I will let you know.

Take it easy,

Dan Blunt.]]>