The casual browser certainly doesn't want a whole bunch of out-of-date news clogging up the front page of a site, so I moved the news bulletins from past years here!

My Soap Box Is Up!

July 21, 2010 - That's right folks, I've built a sturdy soap box, put it out into the middle of the busy internet and I'm standing on it with a megaphone in my hand and a brain full of attitude!

Finally I've got the opportunity to spout my opinions on any subject that takes my fancy and broadcast it to the four winds. Not only that but these closely argued opinion pieces will stay put for the life of this web site so they'll always be here when you need them. check it out.

Martian Art Galleries Are Up!

February 14, 2010 - Uploaded this brand new area.

Yes. I do painting and drawing as well as music and science and all the rest.
Here are some galleries of my best work. You don't have to like it, but you should definitely check it out.

My Photography Pages v2

February 10, 2010 - Rewrote the entire thing and added the section on Theory.

I rethought and rewrote my array of pages on Photography mostly last year. They now contain a more structured section on camera and lens reviews, a more general purpose set of galleries and a detailed technical section.

The reason it has taken so long to finally finish this rewrite is because my in depth exposé of The Physics of Digital Cameras proved far more tricky and difficult than expected. I ran into a number of hurdles along the way and made a few blues, but at last it is complete and available for viewing. For those interested in the technical side, who are not afraid of Physics and Maths this is a MUST READ! I guarantee that you will be surprised at what your digital camera is ACTUALLY delivering! Check it out.

The Martian Way website rewritten!

November 9, 2009 - Rewrote the old website in pure HTML.

Most of the old stuff is still there but there are also some new additions such as the "Life On The Dole" section. You can also download that album as well as "A Young Man's Love" and "My Sister Is A Teenybopper". Furthermore I note that the songs now stream on my browsers thanks to the new Quicktime Plugin. Check it out.

Enjoy!

Martian Forums are back!

June 24, 2009 - Reinstalled and converted the old forums to phpBB 3.

That's right folks, back from the abyss, along with all your favourite members and all the old posts.
And now with the fresh feel of phpBB v3! Check them out.

If you were a member before, your old login should still work, try it and see.
Any problems email the Forums Administrator.

Blog's Up!

March 31, 2009 - Completed and uploaded my Blog.

The idea of this blog is to keep you informed about my activities with respect to my work and my additions to this site. I previously had a MySpace blog but now that I have my own I have ceased using it. Not only do I keep a firm hold on the content, but writing the HTML myself gives me the ability to shape the blog the way I want it, without restriction. Say no more!

This Web Site rewritten!

March 3, 2009 - Uploaded the guts of the new version of this site.

Yes, I know it's been a long time coming but it's finally here! Rejoice! I'm back in business after 18 months, and regular additions, alterations and updates will now resume.

This website was originally written in the execrable Front Page and when Microsoft decided to discontinue it I had no choice but to rewrite the whole lot. I tried some other web generators but in the end I found writing direct in HTML and CSS was the best way to go. It took some time to learn to do it right and setup my templates. Once I got to that stage it was mostly just hard slog, copying stuff across, reformatting pictures, rewriting sections etc. I have opted for a fairly simple style in the interests of reliability and future proofing, there's no Java Script, at least not yet...

"Life On The Dole" demo finished

This album, the second by The Martian Way, has been my prime focus all year. It contains 12 songs in the rock idiom, providing a comprehensive insight into what life is like for the long term unemployed. This album has been 25 years in the making, with many of the songs being written in the 1980s, the remainder come from the last decade or so and provide the depth and perspective to really seal the work.

I have learnt quite a bit about recording and arranging over the past few years and thanks to some new equipment, samples and software this album is the most professional yet. It was a lot of work but I am well proud of it!

I began writing the arrangements in January, 2007 and finished them in May.
I started recording soon after and finished in October.
Final mixdown was done on 18th October, 2007 after a few beers.

Copies of the CD have been sent off to the usual suspects touting for commercial backing. In the event that they are disinterested I will post it on The Martian Way's website, in the new year.

"Songs Of Travel" demo finished

I have added to Ralph Vaughan Williams' settings of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Songs of Travel" by setting an additional 12 of RLS' poems to music, whilst keeping to the genre of classical lieder for Bass Voice and Piano. The end result is 21 songs that form a cohesive package of universal themes, offering memorable melodies, complex harmony and the opportunity for a standard Bass or low Baritone to really shine.

As expected, the commercial record companies were not interested in taking on this project despite its low cost and low risk, so it is just sitting dormant for the moment. I may in due course make the demo available here, but not yet. If you are interested in hearing it you could email me...

October 30, 2006 - Mixdown complete for the synthesized backing demo.
August, 2006 - Finished the arrangements.
July, 2006 - Finished writing the songs.

The "Martian Photo Pages" released!

April 23, 2006 - Nothing like having content on a web site and here's another chunk.

My photography section contains ideas and opinions on various aspects of photography, but most of all it contains over 100 samples of my best work. These pictures are FULL SIZE and come with full EXIF metadata. There is also a reduced size version for those with dialup. Check out my hotshots!

More fruits of the extra space.

"A Young Man's Love" now available for direct download

April 15, 2006 - Setup the Martian Way downloads page with the necessary links and uploaded the MP3 and auxiliary files for "A Young Man's Love".

The first fruits of the extra space I now have at my disposal. I realise most people don't use P2P so you can now get the stuff direct. Future albums will be distributed this way, ... , at least until I run out of bandwidth.
Check it out.

Changed Web Hosts

April 12, 2006 - Moved the site to Bluehost yesterday and today.

I now have a lot more room and extra flexibility and this should give me the opportunity to put more content on the site. Stay tuned for more details soon.

Sorry for any inconvenience in the transfer period.

The Hedgehog Song Recorded

January 27, 2006 - Released "The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All" MP3 onto the web.

I know it's just a joke, but it's a popular joke, and perhaps this might be the first serious recording?
Anyway, I bet no one else has done it as a barbershop quartet!

Read all about it and download the MP3 from the bottom of my Hedgehog Page.

The Martian Way

November 13, 2005 - Finished the webs for "The Martian Way" and their first album "A Young Man's Love".

The Martian Way are the vehicle for my rock music. You can download the music, (albeit not directly from this site), view pictures of the band and read the track sheets, (including lyrics, info and theme pictures).

I expect The Martian Way to release more albums in the coming years, perhaps every 1 or 2 years. Their output will, I expect, represent a large proportion of my total work, so this section of the site is a real cornerstone.

Excelsior!

Mr Mars' Poetry

September 16, 2005 - Just uploaded a new section, namely: my poetry.

This does not include my song lyrics, (of which there are many), just my stand alone poems. These are not great in number but the quality IMHO makes them worthy of publication. They come in a diverse  variety of styles and subjects.

Go check it out: Mr Mars' Poetry

Infinite Dimensions

June 19, 2005 - Today the doctrine of "Infinite Dimensions" was released onto an unsuspecting web.

This is a radical new religion and metaphysics for the new millennium. Gone are the hide-bound archaic notions of God & the Devil, Heaven & Hell. In their place is an intricate conception of sparkling dimensions, immortality for all and a path of infinite variety and self development.

Forget the tired old faiths, and the wishy-washy hotchpotches of the new-age, this is the one that can take us forward through the next thousand years!

I commend it to you all.

Don't Just take my word for it. Check it out: Infinite Dimensions

Bulletin Board

May 24, 2005 - I have done the setup and the fine-tuning and am proud to say that this site now boasts a charming bulletin board. Go to "Forums" and check it out. Much thanks for this goes to the people at phpBB for producing such an excellent product free of charge. Thanks guys!

Songs from The Lord of the Rings

May 8, 2005 - It has recently come to my attention that someone has released the demo of my album: "Songs From The Lord Of The Rings" onto the Bit Torrent and Gnutella networks. This action is not something I can condone since Tolkien's Estate have not yet granted me permission to use Tolkien's words. However, since it is out there, I might as well provide a bit of background about the project and provide a forum in which to discuss it.

Check out this page for more.