Writing Samples

Nil by Mouth takes its name from the signage besides the bed of Raymond (Ray Winstone's) abusive father. Lying in bed, before death, Raymond's father (a terminal alcoholic) was declined the passage of food through his mouth. This name and the miserable setting of a parental death, emphasizes the drear minutiae of the moments in an alcoholics life that aren't the high. The long waiting that alcoholics report, the boredom, and the pathetic loss of function are recurrent parts of the characters' lives. Bodies in poverty that act at the whims of need; as if nothing else mattered, indeed in the acknowledgement that sometimes nothing else matters at all.

Nil by Mouth is ostensibly a stripped down South London story of two wideboys, that feature first and last, but also of their families whom have compelling stories of their own. Gary Oldman directs, and writes, and its clear that he has made some effort to de-centre character so that although the two men are the physically dominant figures, Raymond's wife Valerie (played subtly by Kathy Burke), and a younger heroin addicted Billy (Creed-Miles) have their own tales. Valerie strives for safety from her husband, as her pregnant body needs to be protected, while Billy grifts for money and heroin. But in each of these stories the passage of narrative is interrupted by the fists of Raymond that police the others with a terrifying, sobering, and unspeakably life-like violence.

Early in the film Raymond and his friend Mark (played as utterly unlikeable, by Jamie Foreman) act out a burglary somewhere off camera, and then play out a hackneyed crime narrative. Visiting Soho brothels and strip clubs with their earnings in order to realise the fantasy with the most immediate vigour; taking huge lines of cocaine to emphasize their wealth they become momentary high-rollers; proper, British, gangsters. But the high does not remain, the returning loss of function results in an episode of marital jealousy that sees Raymond beating Valerie hard enough that she miscarries. Raymond's subsequent breakdown sequence and the logorrhea of his drunken babble is an exceptional moment, as deep memory and mechanisms of repression all collapse together like the thought patterns of the senile. Earlier, a vhs in a smackhead's house plays out Dennis Hopper's monologue from Apocalypse Now, and in post-modern style the junky performs it. Now later, Raymond's state closely resembles that of Martin Sheen's inner devastation in that films prologue. Men in a crisis of work, or of war, the film gently allows the audience to draw comparisons. 

Nil by Mouth takes the everyday stories that go under-examined, under-empathised and creates a kind of cinema that isn't quite cinematic. It doesn't flow or weave together as plot, instead it tangles like a set of vignettes, closer to a TV soap or Play. Nil by Mouth, like the apocrypha that says the blind develop greater powers of hearing, is a story where character and dialogue are magnified by a lack. A delicately made, and challenging film.

About the App

Welcome to Nobius! We are the only social app able to amplify your message to the world exactly how you want it to be heard. Unlike other apps, via Nobius, you can choose to receive only the content you want and broadcast your own message to only the most responsive listeners imaginable. When you send out a message - age, gender, tastes and even location can be chosen so that, if you so choose, you can talk directly to Japan's OAP Wrestling fans, or millennial disco dancers in Italy with just the flick of a  switch. Imagine the power at your fingertips!

With the Nobius app, at any time, you'll even be able to hear feedback from your posts so that you'll know what people want, when they want it, and what makes them say 'wow!' Or  'うわ〜！プロレス' Our up-to-the-second analytics will help you with that. 

But how do you fuel a machine as powerful as Nobius? Energy, and lots of it. You start with 80 Energy and every time you post you'll use some up, but don't worry because the more you use Nobius, the more Energy you'll collect. So share pictures and videos, links and thoughts but also participate in the community. Remember to view other users' posts because that's the way to earn Energy back. Try it, it's fun!

Advertising

It's our belief that advertising can and should be a useful thing for all. And that's exactly why we've filtered out the noise to only show you the ads that we think will genuinely interest you.

It makes little sense trying to market stuff to people who are intrinsically outside of that product's scope. We wouldn't try and sell shoes to a snake. Nobiusthinks it's better to focus shoe adverts on the centipede market, where the seller can sell hundreds of shoes. Unlike in the wider web or on the street where you are bombarded with random adverts; on Nobius app you choose the ads that you want to see. Centipedes can look for all kinds of shoes while snakes can look elsewhere.

When you joined Nobius, you picked the categories you are interested in. We promise that we'll do our best to make sure you only see the ads that fit into these categories. But if anything gets through our super-smart filter system, you can simply block that ad at the click of a button. And if you find a user creates posts that don't quite gel with you, despite our matchmaker, then you can block them too. But use this wisely, and not on a whim, once you block someone it means you will never hear their content. Like your other friends, if someone's having a tough day then it might be worth giving them another chance.

Nobius is all about sharing with loads of people. But sharing doesn't mean giving your stuff away without a say. At Nobius no one but you can use your own content for advertising. Advertising on Nobius empowers everyone.

FAQs

Hey! Got a Q? Take a look below and if you still don't have an A then we also do a Q and A via info@appnobius.com.

What is Nobius?

Nobius is a network where you, the creator, have infinite control. We believe that when You speak, then You should be listened to, and so we empower creators to target key audiences as broad as everyone between the ages of 0-100 and as narrow as just tweenage Beliebers on the North Pole. Whoever you need to speak to - Nobius delivers, and it even lets you know exactly how many people liked what you had to say.

And... Cough cough... How Much is Nobius?

Have no fear- Nobius is absolutely %100 free! Just take a look on Google Play or the App Store.

What is Energy? How Do I Get Some?

Money makes the world go round, but in Nobius world Energy. Is. All. You need to spend Energy to make posts, but you earn Energy by consuming them; this keeps the world of Nobius spinning smoothly. We give everyone that starts out in Nobius 80 Energy because we're kind like that. You'll earn 2 additional Energy for viewing a post, 4 shiny Energy if that's an image and 10 sparkling Energies if that's a video post you watched! We have jazzy promos and snazzy conditions for the upper-crust VIP users too.

How is Energy Spent?

Just as you earn Energy from viewing good stuff, you spend it when it's time to show your content off. So, it'll cost you 12 for a text post, 32 for an image (but a 'picture is worth a thousand words' so that's a bargain) and 52 Energy for a video.

Can I Buy Energy?

Woah there high-roller! You certainly can, just take a look in the drop down navigation menu (in the upper left). You can go there and get all the Energy that money can buy. Just remember money can't buy you love. Only Energy can do that... Which you can buy... With money.

Can I Block a Post?

Nobius gives you complete control over what you see. When you first joined we asked you what interests you so that only relevant content should be sent to you. However, if you find individual users annoy you (hey, it happens!) feel free to block them. But remember that one annoying post will go away, but blocking is forever. Sometimes it's best to give people a second chance.

How Do I Complain About an Innapropriate Post?

Let us know right away- [email]

How can I Contact You?

Aw, we'd love to hear from you!

You can reach us at info@appnobius.com or on Twitter, FB, G+ & Instagram.

Censored 2011 highlights and summarises the top 25 news stories of 2009-10 that have been overshadowed or misrepresented in the US corporate media.

The researchers show the perverse logic of profit behind Barack Obama's record budget for the US Department of Defence - now "the worst polluter on the planet". This is a budget that contributes to the future securing of the resource-rich frozen Arctic Ocean while simultaneously accelerating the melting of that ocean, opening it for capture and exploitation.

Other stories provide a frightening insight into increased authoritarian measures inside the US, many of which have been completely ignored by the British media. The Cyber Security Act of 2009, for instance, has given the president the ability to entirely shut down the internet in the US.

While the stories are compelling there is sometimes a disproportionate lingering upon the minutiae of the decade-old 9/11 conspiracy argument. This seems to pale into insignificance alongside information such as that of the new barbaric restrictions on water imposed on the Palestinians. The mistake arises out of a faith in the truth, rather than people, as the key agent of progress.

With this insightful collection of news, and a compelling piece of analysis on the media, Project Censored continues to oppose the co-opting of journalism in all forms. Censored 2011 could be a powerful tool for activists.