Moving the blog to the I-Zine

Hi guys,

As of this week I am moving the blog to the new webzine format we are using for Inspired, so if you would like to continue following Random Acts online then please feel free to subscribe to Inspired.

I will leave this webzine ups for the archives, but as of today for the foreseeable future I will not be posting any further comments on this blog.

Kind regards,

Rachel

The Hub

Hi guys,

I wanted to give you an insight into The Hub, and our intentions as a business for the long term. The Hub is a concept which I have been working on for the last year, and while it is still embyronic at this stage my intention is to build and grow it into something that everyone can benefit from. It is personally very important to me to give people a chance to develop their creativity, and so for me The Hub is very much a personal project.

What is the conceit behind The Hub? It springs from the desire to nurture and develop creative talent, which is at the heart of our business ethos. It is something which many people can derive a benefit from, and hopefully over the next year we will showcase talent, ideas, and great people at the events we will be putting on.

I am looking for ways to develop this over the course of 2010, and in the next six months watch out for more details about how we intend to build up these foundations.

Rachel

February events and shoots

Hi guys,

February 2010 is shaping up to be a very interesting month for the RA team. We are in Paris the first week in February, followed by the Empowerment through Style Event in York on the 12th, then a shoot on the 13th at Revolution, with further shoots to round out the month.

February also sees the relaunch of Inspiration which will see a massive growth in content for the webzine. If you want to get involved please leave a comment or email Rachel at rachel@randomacts.biz.

Finally, and possible most interestingly, we are in the process of launching a new creative networking group, more of which will follow in late February.

In the mean time I hope you have a fab month.

Rachel

O Red week 123 - After Dark

Mix link

I hope you've all had a great week and the weekend is proving to be fab. here at RA towers we are in the process of relaunching the webzine, finalising the new website, and generally gearing up for the rest of 2010. As far as O Red is concerned I am determined to keep the high quality mixes coming thick and fast, and I have a few things in the pipeline which will mean that O Red will expand quite significantly if they work out. Check out the blog - http://randomacts-blog.blogspot.com/ - for regular updates, and follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/inforandomacts for all the RA gossip.

Anyhow, this week's mix is a funky house mix, which should get you in the mood for partying.

Hugs,

Rachel

Track list:

Hypnotized by Paul Oakenfold
Beauty Never Fades (Animatrix Edit) by Junkie XL & Saffron
Just Can't Get Enough (Freemasons Mix) by Abigail Bailey/Head & Fitz
Cross The Sky by General Moders
Eighties (Ozgur Can Remix) by Yilmaz Altanhan
No Stress-doh by Laurent Wolf
Who's Your Daddy by Benny Benassi
It's Time by Ferry Corsten
Wind Him Up by Villa Vs Gant
I Feel loved (Danny Tenaglia's mix) by Depeche Mode
Dont You Know by Voodoo and Seranodo
Find (Markus Schulz Intro Edit) by Ridgewalkers feat. El
Unprepared (extended mix) by Marco V
The Closest Thing To Heaven (trance mix) by DJ Fire
Numb (remix radio) by Crystal
Mnemosyne by Micah
Moments (Original Mix) by Hammer And Funabashi
Starline (original mix) by Corderoy
Love Kills (Rank 1 extended vocal mix) by Freddie Mercury

Inspiration

Hi guys,

I am pleased to advise that as of 1st February 2010 we will be relaunching Inspiration to the world. Me and the team have discussed the style and content of the webzine over the last few weeks, and we have decided to change the way we produce and request content. Basically we are going to change the style of the webzine from a weekly theme to an open content structure, with a broad editorial theme. This means that we will feature any article that fits in with our ethos, while at the same time producing editorial content to fit the theme of the month.

What this should mean is that the webzine is more dynamic re content, and hopefully a more enjoyable read for all concerned. We'll still continue with the interviews, features, and editorials, but we'll also be throwing in some very cool ideas into the mix, more of which will be covered over the coming weeks leading to the relaunch.

In the mean time I hope you have a great week,

Rachel

O Red Week 121 - New Beginnings

Download link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/rejs71/new_beginnings.mp3

O Red home page: http://rejs71.libsyn.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/inforandomacts

Hi guys,

welcome to another fantastic week for O Red. This week we have mostly been enjoying the new year, the awesomeness that was NYE, and the snow here in York. I want to give a shout out to http://www.audiojelly.com/, as this site is doing a great deal to push new music, as well as supporting the wider dance community. This week's mix is made up of songs I downloaded from the site, and I can hand on heart say I have fallen for so many of them.

I hope you have a great week,

Rachel

Track list:

Glennmorrison (Original Mix) by Blue Bkies with Linda

Liquid Soul (Martin Roth OMFG Remix) by Global Illumination

Gumsmack (originalmix) by Nick k

Alpha9 (Original Mix) by Bliss

Festival Daymix by Ali Wilson

Shotokan (OriginalMix) by Ashley Wallbridge

Jupiter (OriginalMix) by Setrise vs. CJL

Staten Island (Original Mix) by Kismet

Antarctica (4AM Mix) by Maarten de Jong

Love theme dusk (air base presparcre mix) by Mike Foyle vs Signal runners

Body Lotion (Amex Remix) by Roger Shah presents Savannah

Dreamon (Luke Chable remix) by Shiloh

Fumar (Roland Klinkenberg Remix) by Mat Zo

Spark of attraction

A subject which is very dear to my heart, and has a lot of personal resonance, is gender and sexuality, and how the two are invariably betwixt. Obviously they are separate and unique concepts, but for the vast majority of people it seems that they are entwined and interlocked. The reason for mulling this fathomless topic over is that on new years eve I had a fantastic evening, which involved quite a lot of me exploring my sexuality, and allowing others to use me to explore their's.

Suffice it to say being bisexual, or more precise omnisexual, means that I find the person attractive, not just the exterior gender, and to be honest I was completely surprised by the turn of events that happened. In some ways I think because for once I was utterly relaxed about myself I presented an attractive option, and the people who ended up attracted to me saw me for being me. I like to take pride in my image when I go out, as despite my tomboy reputation I know that I can scrub up well, and the effect it seemed to have on people was very heart warming.

So why the musings on gender and sexuality? Well, the eponymous spark of attraction which flared was unquenched by being honest, at least with one spark, about my personal history (because they asked about my throat), and they were utterly unfazed by it - which for the first time in about 12 months were someone who does not inhabit the trans sphere has actually shrugged it off. For me, being in a 'straight' club at the time, was a big eye and heart opener. Thanks to this epiphany I think I will have the confidence to put myself out there more often, and actually channel this inner me, which people seem to find innately attractive on many levels (not just desire).

Honestly, being found attractive gives me a glow, especially when I am able to reciprocate. It is like the sweet dream, memory, and reality rolled into one, and each time I have one of these moments it reinforces the fact that who and what I am is the person I am comfortable being. With a smile on my lips I know that I can face the world, and be the tomboy on one side of the coin and the siren on the other.

In summation it boils down to the fact that I am innately willing to let the spark flare, and whatever fire is lit I will run with it. Food for thought indeed.

Rachel

Ice Queen Stock

I just wanted to share a little background about the Ice Queen stock I posted today. The dress is a wedding dress I brought about 8 years ago during a sale, and I have been dying to use it ever since. Today was a completely random shoot, done almost on the spur of the moment, and I am really grateful to Jaymie and Jo for helping me pull this shoot off, and I definitely think the wait was well worth it.

Ultimately these type of shoots are what make my creative juices tick, and it always a joy to shoot stock which is both creative and different from what has gone before. It is also a joy to work with Jaymie, and as always I think the images speak for themselves.

I will be posting the finalised images on the RA gallery in the near future, and I will post a link on the blog when I do.

Hugs,

Rachel

Reflections of 2009, and hopes for 2010

So 2009 is almost over, and what a year it has been for me. I have previously talked through my highlights for this year, and I just wanted to reflect on the things that have happened over the last 12 months.

In the space of 365 days I have split from three partners, travelled across the USA, left my permanent job in chase of my dreams, realised that creativity is the corner stone of my left, met new wonderful friends, and generally learned a lot about who I am. In that time I have grown as a person, and come to realise that actually the things that hold value are not the possessions with own or the clothes we wear, but the inner self and the people you surround yourself with. Profound, or not, it has allowed me to see more clearly what I need to do, and that is fully round out my creative passions.

So what for 2010? The first thing is make sure the bills are paid and I get to eat, basic needs, then it is to make Random Acts a true nexus of creativity. I honestly believe that I have to put aside the idea that I can make a living as a professional in the short term, only because it is eating me up the idea that I have to let go of the giving spirit within me. Too soft, maybe, but actually it boils down to the fact that I value the spirit of who I am over other concern.

To answer anyone who knows me, yes I will make a success of getting paid in due course, but this will only come if I am able to give these gifts I have freely, without the fetters of business. I know that it is possible, but until I can commit my heart and soul to the endeavour I just want to enjoy my gifts with others. I love too many passions to ever loose this creative spark, and maybe that is the reason I have struggled for so long to find my place in the world. Now that I have found a small part of it 2010 is going to be epic for me.

To all my friends and family I raise my glass to you, and to all of you who follow me I salute your dedication to me. Here is to 2010, the year we rock this world.

Rachel

New site layout part 2

Hi guys,

As you will have undoubtedly realised I have updated the podcast to reflect a more intergrated look for all the Random Acts sites. O Red, the blog, the home page, and the webzine will now have the same styling, though each will continue to have its own feel.

I intend to use the blog a lot more in 2010 as way of connecting with you, and along with Twitter and Face Book Random Acts is going to have a far bigger web presence in the coming year.

In the mean time I am going to drop the NYE 2009 mix on Thursday evening, so I will post the track list on here and the podcast once it is up.

Rachel