the blog of chris

Letter to Chris Mole MP RE: Ian Tomlinson

2009-04-08T10:04:00.001-07:00

Below is a letter I have just sent to my MP, Chris Mole via writetothem.com about the police assault on Ian Tomlinson. It is a reworking in part of this letter from the guardian website with my own added anger. Feel free to use either but please write to your MP so that this can not be covered up.

Dear Chris Mole,

I am sure by now you will have seen the shocking video of a police officer attacking an innocent bystander – Ian Tomlinson – who happened to be walking past one of the many G20 demonstrations.

He suffered a baton attack from behind by a police officer and after striking his head on the floor he later died.

The police are unapologetic about his death, describing their actions as 'maintaining order' on Radio 4 today.

After seeing the video this seems hard to swallow. It makes it reasonably clear that he was not presenting a threat to anyone, nor was he causing trouble.

The police officers involved and the way the matter has been handled so far have shown a disregard for the law and for common decency, which erodes the publics confidence in the police as a whole.

This matter has also made clear to me and many others that the recent Counter Terrorism Act 2008 which restricts the photographing or filming of amongst others police officers is entirely ridiculous and yet another needless clamp down on the civil liberties of the people by this government (Along with the entirely useless, and as the economic crisis continues, immorally expensive ID card scheme). If the police had realised this incident was filmed could they have used this law to confiscate the footage? If so its repeal should be immediate.

Please – I urge you to raise this matter in the House of Commons and put pressure on the police to ensure that justice prevails.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Plowman

Results vs Predictions

2009-02-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Mickey Rourke - THE WRESTLER
Wrong - Sean Penn won

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger - THE DARK KNIGHT
Correct

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Kate Winslet - THE READER
Correct

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz - VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
(Although it should be Marisa Tomei - THE WRESTLER)
Correct

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
WALL-E
Correct

Achievement in Art Direction
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Correct

Achievement in Cinematography
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Achievement in Costume Design
THE DUCHESS
Correct

Achievement in Directing
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Best Documentary Feature
MAN ON WIRE
Correct

Achievement in Film Editing
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Achievement in Makeup
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Wrong - Benjamin Button won

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - "Jai Ho"
Correct

Best Motion Picture of the Year
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Achievement in Sound Editing
THE DARK KNIGHT
Correct

Achievement in Sound Mixing
WALL-E
Wrong - Slumdog Millionaire won

Achievement in Visual Effects
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Correct

Adapted Screenplay
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Correct

Original Screenplay
IN BRUGES
Wrong - Milk won

Well I wouldn't have won any money but 16/20 isn't bad

My oscar predictions

2009-02-22T14:21:00.001-08:00

As I have not been able to find an online bookmakers who will let me do a accumulator on the oscars tonight I thought I'd put down my predictions for tonight. There's a few categories missing because I haven't seen the films competing.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Mickey Rourke - THE WRESTLER

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger - THE DARK KNIGHT

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Kate Winslet - THE READER

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz - VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
(Although it should be Marisa Tomei - THE WRESTLER)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
WALL-E

Achievement in Art Direction
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Achievement in Cinematography
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Costume Design
THE DUCHESS

Achievement in Directing
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Documentary Feature
MAN ON WIRE

Achievement in Film Editing
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Makeup
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - "Jai Ho"

Best Motion Picture of the Year
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Sound Editing
THE DARK KNIGHT

Achievement in Sound Mixing
WALL-E

Achievement in Visual Effects
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Adapted Screenplay
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Original Screenplay
IN BRUGES

£3 of free mp3s from amazon

2008-12-23T02:57:00.001-08:00

Just a quick heads up. On xmas day and boxing day Amazon will be giving away £3 of mp3s to every customer. At current prices this will buy you albums from Elbow, Santogold, Fleet Foxes and others. Simply enter FREEMP3S at the checkout.

Details here

the carbon atlas

2008-12-16T14:00:00.001-08:00

interesting work from the guardian detailing the amount of carbon emitted per country

my five favourite albums of the year

2008-12-16T12:17:00.001-08:00

Here is, in my humble opinion the best albums of the last year in not particular order. (Films to follow)

Anathallo - Canopy Glow

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Foals - Antidotes

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling

Portishead - Third

The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely

Sigur Ros - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song

this is where we live

2008-12-12T02:04:00.000-08:00

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

the wrestler

2008-11-25T12:31:00.001-08:00

although i think the fountain is a brilliant film it wasn't well received and darren aronofsky has had to play it 'safe' with his next film the wrestler. it is being lauded as one of the films of the year and tipped for oscars. hopefully aronofsky will fall into a one safe then one out there pattern in the future.

and now the work begins

2008-11-05T14:38:00.001-08:00

at last, the voice of reason

2008-11-03T00:05:00.001-08:00

charlie brooker has given his views on the brand/ross "scandal" and as per usual is spot on.

"maybe, just maybe, it's time to establish "Counter-Complaints": a method of registering your complaint about the number of knee-jerk complaints. And one should cancel out the other - so if 25,000 people complain, and a further 25,000 counter-complain, the total number of complaints is zero. It might lead to a lot of fruitless button-mashing, but at least we can keep our shared national culture relatively sane. Because judging by the rest of the news, if the ship's going down, a few unrestricted taste-free laughs now and then might make things more bearable for all of us."

read the full article here

obama knew it was coming all along

2008-10-11T02:38:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that this is needed.

2008-09-21T14:19:00.001-07:00

An advert urging people to donate money to the GB paralympic team for 2012. I'm astonished that they aren't receiving adequate government funding.

inspiration

2008-08-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

ive uploaded a series of images ive collected of things that inspire me or i just think look nice.

you can see them here

Feist sings 1,2,3,4 with a subtle difference

2008-08-25T02:34:00.001-07:00

BBC Olympic Animation

2008-08-15T18:43:00.001-07:00

Still not sure on how I feel about watching the Olympics and the related programmes but this animation by Jamie Hewlett of Tank Girl and Gorillaz fame is frankly excellent.

new dove advert

2008-08-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

to the bat-elephant

2008-08-07T14:35:00.001-07:00

the role of spectacle...

2008-06-21T09:06:00.001-07:00

Just for the hell of it heres my dissertation from university for anyone who wants to read it.

The Role Of Spectacle, The Media And The Internet In The War On Terror And Its Coverage

happy firefox day

2008-06-17T11:42:00.001-07:00

good news: today is the release of firefox 3 and a better internet. anyone using internet explorer or firefox 2 stop it and get it. Spread Firefox. Get it before 6pm UK time tomorrow to add to the world record attempt for most software downloads in 24 hours

bad news: due to the record attempt and awesomeness of firefox the servers at mozilla are down. oh dear!

A Silent Film - Born Slippy cover - live

2008-06-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

This really shouldn't work but it really really does.

roll of heroes

2008-06-11T15:59:00.001-07:00

36 Labour MPs rebelled against the government in the vote to extend the terror detention limit to 42 days.

They were:

Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington)
Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield)
Katy Clark (Ayrshire North & Arran)
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead)
Frank Cook (Stockton North)
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)
Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Andrew Dismore (Hendon)
Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras)
David Drew (Stroud)
Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Paul Flynn (Newport West)
Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow)
Ian Gibson (Norwich North)
Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Sparkbrook & Small Heath)
John Grogan (Selby)
Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney)
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall)
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North)
Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Highgate)
Lynne Jones (Birmingham Selly Oak)
Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool Walton)
John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington)
Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock)
Bob Marshall-Andrews (Medway)
Michael Meacher (Oldham West & Royton)
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North)
Chris Mullin (Sunderland South)
Doug Naysmith (Bristol North West)
Gordon Prentice (Pendle)
Linda Riordan (Halifax)
Alan Simpson (Nottingham South)
Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury)
David Winnick (Walsall North)
Mike Wood (Batley & Spen)

Well done.

Its not over yet, the lords may save our freedom.

keep it on the down low but...

2008-06-03T05:09:00.001-07:00

he's coming back and this time they're organised

the phone the iphone should have been

2008-06-01T04:25:00.001-07:00

welcome to the google phone platform, android.

sigur ros return

2008-05-27T14:15:00.001-07:00

sigur ros will release their new album "með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" translated as "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly" on june 23rd. there's a download of the first track off the album available here. personally i couldn't be more excited

amazon recommendations

2008-05-22T14:39:00.001-07:00

usually amazon reommendations are pretty solid but this one is a little weird

Sometimes words fail me!

2008-05-08T02:36:00.001-07:00

from the Guardian "Police should be harassing badly behaved youths by openly filming them and hounding them at home to make their lives as uncomfortable as possible, the home secretary will say today.

The crime initiative is part of a government strategy to win back voters by proposing more radical approaches to tackling deep seated problems.

As part of the crackdown on bad behaviour, she will urge police forces across the country to follow the example of Essex police, who have mounted four-day "frame and shame" operations by filming and repeatedly stopping identified persistent offenders on problem estates."

What a brilliant idea. Lets take a pissed off disenfranchised section of society and piss them off even more. Obviously it will gain loads of votes among the Daily Mail readers, they would get a few more if they went the whole hog and just hug them in public. When we will some in power just sit down with some of this group of people and find out the real reason why its going on? Ill put my money on boredom and feeling of them having no future. Youth clubs, boxing gyms and apprenticeships could save this country!

Humphrey Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008)

2008-04-25T15:53:00.001-07:00

Very sad day. Humphrey Lyttelton died today following surgery. He died peacefully surrounded by family.

"As we journey through life, discarding baggage along the way, we should keep an iron grip, to the very end, on the capacity for silliness. It preserves the soul from dessication." - Humph

at last...

2008-04-25T01:09:00.001-07:00

...the news the world has been waiting for

todays interesting use of google

2008-04-24T06:20:00.001-07:00

type "french military victories" into google and click the 'i'm feeling lucky' button!

spare any change?

2008-04-20T01:20:00.001-07:00

from here

Ipswich Town 2-1 Norwich City (13.04.08)

2008-04-14T02:11:00.001-07:00

oh how i laughed

2008-04-13T14:34:00.001-07:00

just found this beauty on the eastern daily press website

booo apple

2008-04-11T03:23:00.001-07:00

looks like the new ipod has some of the same problems :(

bravo apple

2008-04-10T14:37:00.001-07:00

today i received a brand new ipod from apple, exactly a week after i contacted them to say mine was dead.

in that time:

apple sent me a ups package containing ups packaging to ship the ipod to them
ups collected the ipod, 5 minutes early!!
received email to say ipod was received
ipod has been checked and confirmed dead
received email to say new ipod is on its way
received new ipod the next day

apple and ups can be bloody proud of themselves!!

brilliant song, brilliant band, brilliant video

2008-04-07T14:58:00.001-07:00

new coinage!

2008-04-02T10:01:00.001-07:00

bloody marvelous!!

the 100 year government

2008-03-27T02:44:00.001-07:00

I read John Hutton's, the business secretary, speech yesterday

For him the future is nuclear.

He has a 4 year job.

Maybe an 8 year job, if he is lucky.

But making decisions that you will not be responsible for is a pretty good work -if you can get it.

He won't be the one holding the glowing can in a hundred years time

He won't be the one working out where to put all the ever growing waste.

(Is wrapping it up in concrete really a long term answer?)

He won't be picking up the bill to moth ball power stations when they come to the end of their days

He won't be swimming in the polluted seas in years to come.

He won't be the one looking at the true cost in a 100 years, in 200 years, in 300 years time.

Politics is short term.

Planets are long term.

from howies blog

lib dem no to nuclear campaign
greenpeace nuclear site

new nissan advert

2008-03-26T23:29:00.001-07:00

NOW!!!

2008-03-18T15:31:00.001-07:00

image from nytimes.com

the greatest piece of graffiti ever?

2008-03-15T06:35:00.001-07:00

via wooster collective again

brilliant

2008-03-12T05:13:00.001-07:00

by Dr D via wooster collective.

visit NO2ID here

animation discovered on 5,200-year-old pottery

2008-03-12T03:12:00.001-07:00

Animation discovered on 5,200-year-old pottery: "A 5,200 year old piece of pottery from Iran has been discovered to embody the oldest known animation in the world -- a wild goat eating vegetation:

The wild goat motif can be seen on Iranian pottery dating back to the 4th millennium BCE, as well as jewellery pieces especially among Cassite tribes of ancient Luristan. However, the oldest wild goat representation in Iran was discovered in Negaran Valley in Sardast region, 37 kilometers from Nahok village near Saravan back in 1999. The engraved painting of wild goat is part of an important collection of lithoglyphs dating back to 8000 BCE.

However, wild goat representation with a tree is associated with Murkum, a mother goddess who was worshipped by all the Indo-Iranian women of the Haramosh valley in modern Pakistan, which culturally had closer ties with Indus and subsequently the Burnt City civilisations, than Mesopotamia, which could had influenced the ancient potter who made this unique piece.

Link

(Thanks, Robbo!)

(Via Boing Boing.)

happy sigur ros day

2008-03-07T01:55:00.001-08:00

today is officially sigur ros everywhere in the world, well when i say everywhere i mean youtube.

every featured video today is by sigur ros and it also includes the complete film they made of their icelandic tour, 'heima'.

Star Wars vs. Saul Bass

2008-03-04T07:49:00.001-08:00

If Saul Bass had made the Star Wars titles!! GENIUS!!

the first time ever i've agreed with sepp blatter

2008-02-15T01:53:00.001-08:00

"This is definitely abuse of association football. To try and have additional exposure and revenue by expanding the league around the world, I think this is not acceptable. It will not be acceptable to the Fifa executive committee, I am sure. We have already heard from two presidents of confederations [Uefa’s Michel Platini and Asia’s Mohamed bin Hammam] and, if I went through the different press coverage, I have not seen a lot of support. If you go against the authority of Fifa and the executive committee, then you cannot expect them to be in your favour later on. England will not be the only World Cup bid. So, if Mr Scudamore says that [it will help 2018], let him say it. I will not deny chances to any of the candidates for 2018 but I cannot imagine that when you go against the deciding body for the decision on the World Cup that you will enhance your chances. It will not be diplomatic."

for the first time ever i agree with bumbling idiot and generally corrupt fifa president, sepp blatter.

loved it loved it loved it

2008-02-10T12:57:00.001-08:00

Juno MacGuff: You're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know...

Paulie Bleeker: I try really hard, actually.

premier league considering games abroad

2008-02-07T07:59:00.001-08:00

"The English Premier League is considering playing some matches overseas, BBC Sport has learned.

At a meeting in London on Thursday, all 20 clubs agreed to explore a proposal to extend the season to 39 games.

Those 10 extra games would be played at venues around the world, with cities bidding for the right to stage them.

It is understood the additional fixtures could be determined by a draw but that the top-five teams could be seeded to avoid playing each other.

Should the proposal get the go-ahead, changes could come into effect for the 2010/11 season, with points from those extra games counting towards the final league table." - from bbc news

Im stunned that this is even being considered.

the computer the macbook air should have been

2008-01-28T05:42:00.001-08:00

introducing the modbook

full touch screen macbook. this i would buy!!!

fully flared

2008-01-25T13:52:00.001-08:00

yet another amazing intro to a girl skate film. this time, fully flared.

the tracey fragments

2008-01-20T14:21:00.001-08:00

ellen page seems to have a amazing ability of choosing intriguing and interesting films to star in.

the website of the film allows you to download the ENTIRE shoot and the soundtrack (by Broken Social Scene) for the film and re-edit it yourself.

unfortunately there is no uk release date yet

my personal macworld keynote reaction

2008-01-16T08:04:00.001-08:00

movie rentals - nice, if it worked in the uk and the streaming works at real time
apple tv - looking more attractive than before
time capsule - brilliant idea. when im in a household with more than one mac this is a must buy
macbook air - whats the point? i dont get it. yes its ultra-portable but so is a macbook which is more powerful and cheaper. it has no disc drive, no ethernet, no firewire. what are you going to do with this thing?
ipod touch upgrade for $20 - ridiculous!!!

there is nothing right about this headline

2008-01-12T16:03:00.001-08:00

'Princess Diana preferred men with back hair,' says former police chief

my must have mac apps

2008-01-12T12:52:00.001-08:00

just cause i know some people i know have updated puters recently or are planning too heres my top mac apps for people to try.

in no particular order

1. Growl - allows you to set notifications when pretty much anything happens on your computer.
2. MarsEdit - blog editting greatness
3. NetNewsWire - for RSS feed collection, now FREE.
4. Camino - fastest most stable web browser ever.
5. Transmission - clean and quick torrent program.
6. Amnesty Singles - for those with slower computers avoid running power hungry dashboard by converting widgets to stand alone apps
7. Scrivener - writing any kind of essay or thesis?? you can not afford to be without this
8. Perian - adds codecs for everything into quicktime. Also for video playback see VLC and NicePlayer
9. Salling Clicker - control your computer with your mobile phone (require bluetooth)
10. BluePhoneElite - receive and reply to text messages from your computer.
11. Little Snitch - see what on your computer is trying to connect the internet and allow or deny it
12. Quicksilver - general program launcher and swiss army knife
13. PeerGuardian - stops known nasty people from connecting to your torrent downloads

2007 Darwin Award winner announced

2008-01-11T14:49:00.001-08:00

2007 Darwin Award winner announced: "The winner of the 2007 Darwin Award has been announced. The Darwin Awards go to people have removed themselves from the gene pool by killing themselves or making themselves sterile.

The prize has gone to 'The Enema Within' - the story of a man named Keith (58) who was addicted to alcoholic enemas. He died after having two 1.5 litre bottles of sherry (over 100 fluid ounces) poured into his rectum.

When toxicologists examined Keith, he was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.47%.

Story from The Darwin Awards

Details of 'The Enema

(Via QI News.)

some amazing new products

2008-01-07T14:45:00.001-08:00

Some incredible new and concept products via Smashing Magazine.com. My personal favourite being this mp3 player/cd player.

the world is mad

2008-01-06T03:24:00.001-08:00

"A security guard at the Fareham Shopping Centre in the UK accused a middle-aged couple of terrorism and banned them for life when they took out a camera to take a picture of their grandchildren. After the press jumped on the story, the manager of the mall said that they weren't terrorists, but that taking pictures of their grandchildren in the mall did pose a "security risk" and that they could come back provided they didn't take any pictures."

from boingboing

obama wins in iowa

2008-01-04T04:37:00.001-08:00

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET THIS MAN BE PRESIDENT!

radiohead joy

2008-01-01T13:34:00.001-08:00

podcast and new years webcast and thom yorke on the big fat quiz of the year

clever blokes that pixar lot

2007-12-29T14:05:00.001-08:00

a lovely list of pixar in jokes and references

Hellboy 2 trailer

2007-12-21T01:54:00.001-08:00

i'm officially excited!!!!!!

the prize for todays most pointless tv programme goes to...

2007-12-18T15:20:00.001-08:00

coming soon

2007-12-14T12:58:00.001-08:00

cardboy calender 08

2007-12-13T03:13:00.001-08:00

cardboy has again put up a lovely calendar for the year ahead.

bbc iplayer

2007-12-13T03:10:00.001-08:00

now with mac supported streaming.

very sad news

2007-12-12T12:14:00.001-08:00

from the guardian

"Terry Pratchett, the bestselling author of the Discworld fantasy books, is suffering from a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's.

The author has published a statement on a website calling the diagnosis "an embuggerance". Pratchett, who is 59, says that he is taking the news "fairly philosophically" and "possibly with mild optimism". He adds that the statement, posted yesterday on the website of his illustrator Paul Kidby, "should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'" and says that he expects to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments."

freesheet mountain

2007-12-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

"London Underground passengers are discarding nine and a half tonnes of freesheets a day on three of the tube network's busiest lines, it emerged yesterday.

Commuters on the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines are cluttering carriages with copies of Metro, thelondonpaper and London Lite, according to the contractor in charge of maintaining the lines. Tube Lines said the amount of waste paper has tripled since Associated Newspapers, publisher of London Lite, and News International, owner of thelondonpaper, launched a freebie battle for London readers."
from business guardian

this is just wrong. im not one for knee jerk reactions but i think these papers should go. no-one really wants them, no-one would miss them.

either terrible or incredible i cant tell.

2007-12-06T05:38:00.001-08:00

the link below has stills of the upcoming wachowski brothers film speed racer based on the 60s cartoon. i'm not sure if they look amazing or terrible.

speed racer movie stills

my favourite podcasts

2007-12-03T15:38:00.001-08:00

for no particular reason, my favourite podcasts.

five live book panel - book reviews
simon mayo - highlights from his radio show
fighting talk - grown men and women arguing about sport for points
radio 4 friday night comedy - radio 4's friday night comedy slot, currently the now show previously the news quiz
macbreak weekly - mac greekery
mark kermode's film reviews - film reviews by mr kermode
the naked football show - men talking about ipswich town
pods & blogs - news of blogging, citizen journalism and the like
the rissington podcast - design geekery
russell brand - the russell brand show
russell howard - the russell howard show
thinking allowed - social sciences discussion

bsm advent calendar

2007-12-03T04:40:00.001-08:00

everyones favourite record label big scary monsters is doing a advent calendar giving away some lovely stuff. so far a £1 voucher, a chance to buy a bargain christmas hamper, a meet me in st louis mp3 and a house of brothers mp3. i personally recommend the last one!!!!

3hive

2007-12-01T15:44:00.001-08:00

3hive.com is an excellent looking site that lists free legal downloads from official sources. the current second post is two tracks from the sublime band of horses. go grab them

Is There A Ghost [MP3, 2.7MB, 128kbps]
The Great Salt lake [MP3, 5.4MB, 160kbps]

free atlas

2007-12-01T04:45:00.001-08:00

the free itunes single this week is the bloody marvelous atlas by battles. video here, single here

ID cards clearly a brilliant idea

2007-11-20T16:58:00.001-08:00

"The government was forced to admit the most fundamental breach of faith between the state and citizen yesterday when it disclosed that the personal records of 25 million individuals, including their dates of birth, addresses, bank accounts and national insurance numbers had been lost in the post, opening up the threat of mass identity fraud and theft from personal bank accounts." from the guardian

this obviously means that all the proposed data that will be collected for id cards will be perfectly safe.

www.no2id.net

tiger woods

2007-11-11T05:07:00.001-08:00

this weeks fighting talk reminded me of this, so thought it deserved an airing.

random idea of the day

2007-11-03T15:27:00.001-07:00

albums should contain extra features just like dvd's. why aren't there making of documentaries, band commentaries and the like on every cd. would make me want to buy more cds.

Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost

2007-11-03T15:21:00.001-07:00

top 10's of the year - albums

2007-11-03T10:50:00.001-07:00

i realise its only november but there isn't going to be much else but greatest hits and compilations released for the rest of the year and i was bored.

albums

in alphabetical order

arcade fire - neon bible
band of horses - cease to begin
battles - mirrored
biffy clyro - puzzle
the cinematic orchestra - ma fleur
explosions in the sky - all of a sudden i miss everyone
feist - the reminder
radiohead - in rainbows
the strange death of liberal england - forward march!
thrice - the alchemy index
UNKLE - war stories

im going to guess...............no

2007-11-01T01:41:00.001-07:00

interestingly a search of the express website brings up nothing on the recent revelation of the gap still using children in sweatshops.

woooooooo

2007-10-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

stephen fry now writes a weekly technology column for the guardian

things i don't care about

2007-10-26T04:12:00.001-07:00

number 2 - anything advertised by carol vorderman

convergence but not as we thought

2007-10-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

If this is real, it's very cool... -

The VinylDisc is a combination audio CD and special record. It consists of two attached layers. The silver layer contains digital audio information, while the black upper layer can be played on every record player.

Translated version of http://www.optimal-online.de/CD.13.0.html - [via] Link.

(Via MAKE Magazine.)

in rainbows

2007-10-12T05:05:00.001-07:00

it is now 2 days since the release of in rainbows and i'm on listen 5 or 6 i think. its solid gold radiohead and i'm loving it. there's more to hear in every listen.

the experiment seems to have paid of as well as the current estimate for downloads is..........1.2 million. aswell as that more people paid the £40 to pre-order the boxset of vinyl and cd than pre-ordered the download on the first day this service was available. so all in all radiohead are sitting pretty. and why not. they are at a level where they can generate buzz without any need for a record company to do the job for them and then take a slice of the profits.

james blunt has decided to make a little statement on the issue. saying “I definitely think there is value in music. I don’t think they should devalue it. I’ve got to pay a band, a producer & a mixer. I don’t know how I’d necessarily pay them if I sold my albums for 1p. I’d have to work it out, but maybe they know how this works in practice.”

missing the point entirely that not being talentless oiks like himself radiohead are able to produce, record and mix and album themselves. i guess he's just worried he'll have to sell his yacht to pay for his next album or dreary dreary songs.

New Sony Bravia Ad Rips off Illustrator Duo Kozyndan

2007-10-07T03:46:00.001-07:00

New Sony Bravia Ad Rips off Illustrator Duo Kozyndan: "

From here.

‘Its hard to think that people at Passion Pictures did not have this early panoramic of ours in mind when they created this new spot for the SONY Bravia line.

To add insult to injury, someone from Passion Pictures contacted us about a year ago asking to see samples of our work (including this panoramic) as they were interested in working with us. We sent them samples and then heard nothing from them ever again.’

Bravia Ad:

Portion of the KozynDan Panorama: [full size here]

(Via You Thought We Wouldnt Notice.)

at last!!!!

2007-10-06T06:56:00.001-07:00

LOW FAT WATER!!

dida demonstrates all that is wrong with football

2007-10-06T06:54:00.001-07:00

there is no excuse for the fan coming onto the pitch but the reaction is so abhorrent that his own teammates are coming out and saying it was terrible.

possible arsenal owner not very nice?

2007-09-23T04:31:00.001-07:00

from boing boing

"Several British MPs' personal websites and blogs (including that of the popular London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson) were forced offline earlier today when Alisher Usmanov, an Uzbek billionaire (he's the guy who bought an entire auction for £20m on Monday) complained about a blog posting by Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan. Fasthosts, Murray's ISP, pulled the plug on his blog, apparently also killing the sites of several other customers.

Murray is the author of the fascinating "Murder in Samarkand - A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror", which - to say the least - does not portray Usmanov in a good light. Schillings, the lawyers acting on behalf of Usmanov, have already succeeded in getting Murray's host to alter some of his posts to present Usmanov in a different light. They also appear to have sent threatening emails to owners of Arsenal Football Club fan sites (Usmanov is an Arsenal shareholder), threatening libel action if any of Murray's statements appear on their sites.

The Google cache of Murray's blog makes for some interesting reading.

Yet More Schillings Bollocks

On my article about Alisher Usmanov which so incensed his lawyers Schillings, let me ask this question. Has anybody seen an argument posted or published from any credible source to argue that what I say about Usmanov is untrue?

I ask the question because one of the edits to this log my webhost made at Schillings' behest was to say that my claim was "regarded as false by many people". I have altered that edit, because there is no justification for such a claim. I have yet to see evidence of anybody, not one solitary person, arguing that I am wrong about Usmanov, other than his lawyers. Who are these "Many people", and why are they peculiarly silent?

I am very sympathetic to my webhost having to change things for Schillings, but not to the extent of altering things to become defamatory of me!!!

ipswich man changes the world (possibly)

2007-09-13T15:13:00.001-07:00

from the telegraph

"The way fresh water is supplied to disaster-hit regions could be revolutionised after an Ipswich-based businessman invented a £190 bottle that makes foul-smelling water drinkable in seconds.

Michael Pritchard hopes that the bottle could be a life-saver for refugees in disaster regions where access to clean drinking water is vital.

However, the military are already latching on to his idea. Four hours after Mr Pritchard launched his new "Life Saver" bottle at the DESI defence show in London yesterday, he sold out his entire 1,000 stock. "I am bowled over," he said."

more here

mario level that plays itself

2007-09-12T02:01:00.001-07:00

battles - tonto

2007-09-11T14:59:00.001-07:00

i love this band!!!!!! its amazing to see a band prepared to make a 7+ minute video and to make one this interesting. excellent stuff

(ps. the last.fm video player is rather well done)

september eleventh

2007-09-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

a tribute today for those who suffered and those who continue to suffer be they american, afghan, iraqi, solider or civilian.

the acts committed six years ago were evil but they were NOT an excuse to create more evil

the shock doctrine - naomi klein

2007-09-09T05:05:00.001-07:00

naomi klein author of no logo and fences and windows is releasing her new book the shock doctrine. the book looks at how shock tactics, events and disasters were and are exploited to spread free market capitalism.

the above video is a trailer of sorts for the book directed by alfonso cuarón director of the outstanding children of men.

im really looking forward to reading this.

disappointed in apple

2007-09-05T13:53:00.001-07:00

apple today announced the new line of ipods and i'm a little underwhelmed.

the shuffle colours are nice and its good to see a project (red) one.

the new nanos look like someone sat on a ipod video.

the classics feature massive hard drives now but arent as feature sexy as the touch

but

the touch only comes in a 8gb or 16gb version. i have 25gb of music on my laptop. if im going to spend £269 i want to have it all on my ipod. i'm not sure where the touch sits as im now more inclined to wait for the iphone release than buy one.

however i did try out the new imac keyboard recently and to call a typing experience amazing may seem silly but it is so incredibly comfortable, i was amazed.

things i don't care about

2007-08-30T15:38:00.001-07:00

the first in a series of things i don't care about.

number 1 - the anniversary of diana's death

arsebook

2007-08-30T04:22:00.001-07:00

"arsebook is an anti-social utility that connects you with the people YOU HATE.

upload blackmail material or publish lies • get the latest gossip from your fiends • post videos on your profile • tag your fiends • use privacy settings to hide your info from enemies • join a hate-clan to disturb people who live, study, or work around you"

the NEW iphone

2007-08-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

nokia today released its answer to the iphone. if you cant beat them copy them!

itunes update

2007-08-29T01:32:00.001-07:00

today apple launched tv shows on the uk itunes service, and again uk consumers get screwed.

episodes cost £1.89 compared to $1.99 in the u.s. which works out at about twice the price.

they may have shot themselves in the foot however as a quick internet search finds commander in chief, the only interesting show available at the moment, on dvd for £24.99 where as buying all episodes on itunes would total £35.91. not to mention the inferior quality of the itunes download.

also this week the free single is the brilliant bat for lashes.

feist on letterman

2007-08-28T05:12:00.001-07:00

below is the video of feist's recent performance on the david letterman show. the "star" studded chorus behind her includes members of grizzly bear, the new pornographers, mates of state, broken social scene and the national.

my new favourite band

2007-08-25T14:17:00.001-07:00

found about this band a long time ago but kind of forgot about them. have just got hold of their album and it has blown me away.

ladies and gentlemen

the strange death of liberal england

website | myspace | last.fm | wikipedia | youtube

the middle east and the u.s.

2007-08-24T03:54:00.001-07:00

the situation in the middle east explained by the daily show.

iphone on o2 in the uk

2007-08-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

ft.com has reported that the iphone will appear in the uk on o2.

which is a shame.

if it was on t-mobile with its web'n'walk service id be highly tempted to buy one, especially if it appears near the end of my contract.

ft also reports that apple will get 10% of all calls and texts so expect the contract to be hefty!!

stop it! stop it NOW!!

2007-08-21T07:00:00.001-07:00

if you don't have an original idea don't make a film!

from the register

"Warner Bros has announced it will remake 1973 Kung Fu classic Enter the Dragon, AP chillingly reports.

The rehash - cunningly entitled Awaken the Dragon - will be directed by The Shield's Kurt Sutter and will feature "an FBI agent who investigates a Shaolin monk and underground kung fu fight clubs", according to Warner Bros publicist Laura Kim."