Sometimes 'Stumble Upon' brings up some real goodies!
Monday, 27 October 2008
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
FilmAmora.com breaks Top 100,000
It ain't much, but I'm happy. Not bad for only 6 weeks open:
FilmAmora.com - the innovative DVD-Rental website has broken the top 100,000 sites visit by people from Spain.
In operation for only 6 weeks, FilmAmora.com has taken Spain by storm as the new, exciting and inexpensive way to rent movies. With unlimited rental plans starting from €9.99 a month there is no cheaper way to get your DVDs. And with the biggest selection in Spain, more than 35,000 titles, its the way to finally see all those movies you’ve head about!
FilmAmora.com - the innovative DVD-Rental website has broken the top 100,000 sites visit by people from Spain.
In operation for only 6 weeks, FilmAmora.com has taken Spain by storm as the new, exciting and inexpensive way to rent movies. With unlimited rental plans starting from €9.99 a month there is no cheaper way to get your DVDs. And with the biggest selection in Spain, more than 35,000 titles, its the way to finally see all those movies you’ve head about!
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
More recording
It's been a busy month! FilmAmora launched, another new venture - an ice hockey pool site in Canada - ramped up development, and there was more time in London in the studio with David Waldner.
We recorded another five tracks (though technically last time I think it was 4 as I didn't play on one). Once again we were recording at The Way Studio, with Luke Buttery behind the console.
I also got a chance to listen to the last set of songs and I have to say it is sounding SWEET!
Hopefully in a couple of months the whole thing will be done and you can pop over to Dave's site to start buying it!
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Donald Beskine, Lifetimes Magazine
I don't like to be the person that complains all the time, but, it seems that things are happening that have to be commented on in public.
Back in May FilmAmora.com purchased a half page ad in a new magazine called 'The Lifetimes Magazine'. They have an embarrassment of a website that I won't bother to link to.
The contract clearly states that we are buying space in the July issue. Well...it's almost September and no magazine has come out. So, a few weeks ago I started enquiring and the person in charge of the magazine - Donald Beskine, who also runs the Marbella Business Centre - referred me to David Townsend of something called Global Media, the company that would be handling the advertising now. I had several lengthy conversations with David where it was agreed that as the Lifetimes Magazine would not be happening any time soon that my money should be refunded.
So, I turned to Donald Beskine for the refund. On average I phone Donald five times a day. This week alone I have left 15 messages. He will not return my call. He did, however, send me this email:
"I have now had a chance to review the file for your advert.
I do not understand the basis for your demand for a refund.
There is no basis so far as I can see for a refund and we are confident we will be providing you a good advertising service." -- Donald Beskine
Well, Don, the basis is that THERE IS NO MAGAZINE! Donald refuses to give me a publish date. Or even let me know if the magazine is in pre-production.
Now, of course, getting ahold of David Townsend at Global Media also becomes impossible. A further 6 messages this week alone to him.
All in all I have phoned the two of them over 40 times. I am starting to feel like a stalker! But I have to ask - what kind of company doesn't return calls, from PAYING CUSTOMERS, after 40 attempts?
All I want is to know what's going on! Is there a magazine coming out? If so...when?
So - if you are thinking of doing business with Donald Beskine, Lifetimes Magazine, David Townsend or Global Media (all down here in the Marbella area) then I would offer you this cautionary tale.
I have emails, phone bills, contracts and so on to back all this up by the way.
So, dear reader, if you have some time and want some fun, why not phone Donald at 952 850 052 and see if you can get through! The first one who gets Donald to call me gets a free month's subscription at FilmAmora.com!
Back in May FilmAmora.com purchased a half page ad in a new magazine called 'The Lifetimes Magazine'. They have an embarrassment of a website that I won't bother to link to.
The contract clearly states that we are buying space in the July issue. Well...it's almost September and no magazine has come out. So, a few weeks ago I started enquiring and the person in charge of the magazine - Donald Beskine, who also runs the Marbella Business Centre - referred me to David Townsend of something called Global Media, the company that would be handling the advertising now. I had several lengthy conversations with David where it was agreed that as the Lifetimes Magazine would not be happening any time soon that my money should be refunded.
So, I turned to Donald Beskine for the refund. On average I phone Donald five times a day. This week alone I have left 15 messages. He will not return my call. He did, however, send me this email:
"I have now had a chance to review the file for your advert.
I do not understand the basis for your demand for a refund.
There is no basis so far as I can see for a refund and we are confident we will be providing you a good advertising service." -- Donald Beskine
Well, Don, the basis is that THERE IS NO MAGAZINE! Donald refuses to give me a publish date. Or even let me know if the magazine is in pre-production.
Now, of course, getting ahold of David Townsend at Global Media also becomes impossible. A further 6 messages this week alone to him.
All in all I have phoned the two of them over 40 times. I am starting to feel like a stalker! But I have to ask - what kind of company doesn't return calls, from PAYING CUSTOMERS, after 40 attempts?
All I want is to know what's going on! Is there a magazine coming out? If so...when?
So - if you are thinking of doing business with Donald Beskine, Lifetimes Magazine, David Townsend or Global Media (all down here in the Marbella area) then I would offer you this cautionary tale.
I have emails, phone bills, contracts and so on to back all this up by the way.
So, dear reader, if you have some time and want some fun, why not phone Donald at 952 850 052 and see if you can get through! The first one who gets Donald to call me gets a free month's subscription at FilmAmora.com!
Saturday, 16 August 2008
A tip I have about Dufflet Pastries
The chocolate and raspberry cake is the best cake I have ever tasted. When we used to live in TO we would buy them… since moving it is one of the things I miss the most!
When I was over a few years ago doing some consulting I bought three of them and had them delivered to the office… and they were STILL amazing!
See more progress on: Dufflet Pastries
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Amazing - my favourite place
I was reluctant to go at first – but I literally fell in love with the country in between getting off the plane and getting into the car to take me to Tokyo. I’ve been back at least once a year ever since.
Japan is the only place I’ve visited (and I’ve been around the world) that I enjoyed WHILE I was there – it wasn’t something I thought back on how great it was. It was great in the now! (Ok, other places have had flashes of that, but Japan was the only one from start to finish).
See more progress on: Visit Japan
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
CADE Marbella
The government of Andalusia have a division called CADE (Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa). For NINE MONTHS I have been trying to solicit their assistance in ANY way with FilmAmora.
I thought maybe they would be interested in helping me find employees: No
Funding for innovation: No (we aren't innovative, despite the fact that no one in Spain is doing what we will do)
Funding for a creative pursuit: No - we aren't creative because despite the fact that we will be producing video content and streaming video content of other filmmakers in Spain.
Today was the last straw, really. A month ago I went up to Marbella to meet the particularly unhelpful and incompetent Eva Pizarro Leon. She asked me for a business plan, which I supplied (all 25 pages of it with SWOT analysis and everything! Aren't I clever lol).
It took her a month to read it. Until this morning. She read the first 2 pages, did a google search and told me that because we weren't in the first page of results (duh, we aren't accepting customers yet! How can we be high on Google!) and because there were 4 other companies doing this already she thought we were a waste of time and to go away.
Of course, all she did was look at Google. So, if she had looked at the companies she mentioned she would have seen that one was in Argentina (!), one simply had Alquiler (rental) in the keywords and pages but actually only sold, one was the website from our supplier listing titles that video shops could buy to rent out and the other was the one I listed in our business plan as competition (though they only have 8,000 titles to our 38,000 and cost 3 times the price).
Yes - she is that incompetent! But, she is the guardian of the money. It is seemingly in her best interest to not give it out!
She told us we were not innovative even in our technology... but she never asked for information about the inner workings of the website. She said 'it was just a website' and of course websites can't be innovative, can they Google, Amazon, Facebook?
Anyway, that's that I guess. We are doomed to failure now (according to her).
CADE, Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa - you are simply an excuse to give incompetent bureaucrats who can't contribute to society a job.
I thought maybe they would be interested in helping me find employees: No
Funding for innovation: No (we aren't innovative, despite the fact that no one in Spain is doing what we will do)
Funding for a creative pursuit: No - we aren't creative because despite the fact that we will be producing video content and streaming video content of other filmmakers in Spain.
Today was the last straw, really. A month ago I went up to Marbella to meet the particularly unhelpful and incompetent Eva Pizarro Leon. She asked me for a business plan, which I supplied (all 25 pages of it with SWOT analysis and everything! Aren't I clever lol).
It took her a month to read it. Until this morning. She read the first 2 pages, did a google search and told me that because we weren't in the first page of results (duh, we aren't accepting customers yet! How can we be high on Google!) and because there were 4 other companies doing this already she thought we were a waste of time and to go away.
Of course, all she did was look at Google. So, if she had looked at the companies she mentioned she would have seen that one was in Argentina (!), one simply had Alquiler (rental) in the keywords and pages but actually only sold, one was the website from our supplier listing titles that video shops could buy to rent out and the other was the one I listed in our business plan as competition (though they only have 8,000 titles to our 38,000 and cost 3 times the price).
Yes - she is that incompetent! But, she is the guardian of the money. It is seemingly in her best interest to not give it out!
She told us we were not innovative even in our technology... but she never asked for information about the inner workings of the website. She said 'it was just a website' and of course websites can't be innovative, can they Google, Amazon, Facebook?
Anyway, that's that I guess. We are doomed to failure now (according to her).
CADE, Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa - you are simply an excuse to give incompetent bureaucrats who can't contribute to society a job.
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