This is the celebrated journal of Mr. Simon Collison A.K.A Colly

Colly’s end-of-year review

31st December 2004

Yes, it’s yet another end-of-year overview. Well, a selfish list. So, let me take a stroll through the year that was and try and make some sense of it from a work, play and culture viewpoint.

Paragraphical overview

Got CollyLogic off the ground, and it was considerably more popular than I’d imagined it would be. Met a fashion agent who dances for filthy electro-punk band Gobsausage by night, and am still going out with her. Loved Iceland Airwaves, Glastonbury, and (not so much) Euro 2004. Also, after four happy years, I left the arts org I founded (You Are Here) mostly due to the appalling press witch-hunt over a piece of artwork we programmed.

The incredible Expression Engine blogging/CMS tool was launched quietly, but revolutionized the way I build websites, and I even won a prize in the template competition. Client highlights included work for The Libertines, The Beta Band, Alan McGee/Poptones, Paddy Hartley, plus the first stages of some coding for Jon Burgerman.

We also had a lovely Christmas in Scotland, and my friends surprised me by pooling cash to have my name engraved on the Walk of Art.

Music, film and all that cultural stuff

Single of the year: Bloc Party, Banquet.

Album of the year: Mylo, Destroy Rock And Roll.

Others of note: Interpol, Pink Grease, Grey Album.

Live highlights: Elbow, PJ Harvey, Interpol, Wilco, Adem, 22-20s, Leaves, Toots and the Maytals.

Films: Eternal Sunshine, The Incredibles, Motorcycle Diaries, Spidey 2.

DVDs I loved: Live Aid, SFA songbook.

Web blogs and wordsmiths

Blogs that inspired me: Hicks, Orchard, JSM, 456 Berea St, Simple Bits, Malarkey, Authentic Boredom, Stylegala.

Writers I kept reading: Drew, Malarkey, Keith, Cameron Adams, Roger Johansson, Cederholm (for the book).

Evil, robbing bastards

Downers included some callous, evil fuckers robbing my Mam and Dad’s house, making my Mam ill and adding to My Dad’s long illness. I should also mention the loss of a good friend this Christmas, which I wish not to say any more about at the moment. I’m also still utterly shocked by the Asian tsunami/quake, and the ever-rising death-toll. Difficult to comprehend.

I also smoked a million cigarettes, drank way too much alcohol, was incredibly unpunctual, and failed to visit friends and relatives as often as I should. I also went off art (the gallery-based, made by artists kind of art) after years of it being central to my life. I now find inspiration and innovation elsewhere.

Anyway, that’s that sorted - something nice for me to read in ten years time.

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