February 22, 2008
My political views have been, well, less than subtle on this website, but I’ll try to keep this one from being too aggressive.
I’ve just received my ballot paper for the internal elections, and was promised that a copy of the manifesto of each candidate would be available online. It might have been there, but I certainly couldn’t find it.
I just spent half-an-hour trawling around the internet just so I could vote, when it should be a fairly simple process.
You know who you are, get your act together.
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Some time ago I posted a link to the last.fm page of The Winter Revolution who had released all there music on last.fm for free.
Since then, as pointed out in the comments (thanks!) and on my last.fm shoutbox, they have renamed themselves The Lady Sails and released some more tracks.
I started playing the first track and thought it was quite good, having been slightly disappointed with their offerings in their previous incarnation as The Winter Revolution. And then I realised what it was that I didn’t like.
I don’t know whether it’s the actual vocals or the production, but in my opinion there is something wrong with the vocals. Somehow they don’t seem to fit quite. The music is great, but something seems wrong as soon as the lyrics kick-in. As I said, it could be production, which is what it sounds like. It sounds as if the music calls for James Mercer, Colin Meloy, Ben Gibbard, or some other unusual vocalists.
Incidentally, they released an updated version of the album having redone the vocals on one of their songs, Autumn Grace.
All this is opinion as usual, so see what you think. It’s pleasant indie stuff, and worth a listen either way. Say what you think in the comments!
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Editors have done a playlist for Last.fm, which you can listen to here. There aren’t any full tracks (although I suspect for at least some of them if you look them up on last.fm you can find full versions).
Just listening to it now, and personally I’m not sure that there’s much that matches my taste (surprising considering I practically worship Editors). Still, anything like this is worth having a listen to.
Editors – Editors Playlist – Music at Last.fm
[EDIT] Just listened to it a bit more, and there are some full length Editors tracks in there as well, so definitely worth a listen!
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February 20, 2008
Script Frenzy | Your ticket to creative adventure
From the randomly generated plot machine half-way down the page:
Dressed as Liberace, a flock of radioactive parrots gets mistaken for Elton John and goes with it.
’nuff said.
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February 18, 2008
Neat for fans of Oblique Strategies, the little deck of cards that give little quotes and food for thought, there’s a nifty thing you can do on a Mac. Visit the page where you can draw a card in Safari. Choose to clip the page into the Dashboard, and hey presto - an oblique strategies widget that changes each time you go to the Dashboard. Nifty, eh?
[From Oblique Strategies]
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February 16, 2008
I know that people like me are always on about backing-up your files, mostly because hard drives do fail, even if you think it will never happen to you. For example, a few months ago my laptop hard drive failed completely despite me treating it very well.
But there’s another point. Apple advertised their backup system “Time Machine” as being “in case you accidentally delete something”. I have to confess to rubbishing this principle slightly. I have accidentally deleted a folder once, but that was with a broken mouse on an Acorn computer, before the recycle bin or trash was invented. With the recycle bin, you get a second chance.
Actually, it’s handy for something you created years ago, and deleted thinking you’ll never need it again.
I just recovered a detailed summary of some work experience I did a few years ago, which means I don’t have to search the dustier corners of my memory when writing my CV. This was kept on an old backup from not just before I switched to a Mac, but from before I did a system recovery on my laptop thinking I’d saved everything.
Moral of the story: Backups are fantastic.
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February 13, 2008
Jack Straw is apparently due to make a speech in which he is to drop hints about a written British constitution, partly based on a Bill of Rights.
This on its own would be fine, some would say inevitable. But the wording of the BBC article linked below is concerning. Firstly, it’s not just a Bill of Rights (as previously proposed by David Cameron and also suggested by the government), but instead a
Bill of Rights and Responsibilities [which] would spell out an individual’s obligations to society and place a new emphasis on the concept of civic duty
This is troubling for a start. A constitution has traditionally been used to establish rights and the structure of the country, not to impose responsibilities on the population. Often actions by a government will be accused of being “unconstitutional”, but can you really label the actions of an individual who is not doing their “civic duty” as “unconstitutional”? At what point will these be clarified in the form of a series of new laws and crimes?
The wide ambit of a constitution means that any subsequent crimes are likely to be broad as well.
Also alarming is the comment that “the government is ready”. There is no clue in the article as to whether or not this is BBC elaboration, but if this is the precise wording of Jack Straw’s speech then the government need to completely reexamine their position.
The implementation of any legislation or bill, especially a bill of rights or full-blown constitution, is not a matter of whether the government is ready, but whether or not the country is ready. Given the vast amount of negative media coverage over the Human Rights Act, I would suggest that this question needs to be taken very seriously, and not merely glossed over because the government thinks that it is ready.
Open thread: what should the bill contain, and do we need it?
[From BBC NEWS | Politics | Straw's written constitution hint]
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February 9, 2008
Spoiler alert: Major plot spoilers ahead, particularly in the comments
Ashes to Ashes was shown on Friday, but I only got round o watching it last night. Seemed like a good start (with some great comments like “Langley? Is that near Macclesfield?”) with an already confusing plot.
One thing that seems to occasionally crop-up is a creepy clown, who seems to be the equivalent of Life on Mars’ test card girl. One thing I just spotted was the clown appearing in the reflection on the desk in this shot when Alex is conducting an interview. The clown of course, is only in the reflection.
Any suggestions for what’s going on?
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February 1, 2008
Every Friday on Radio Five Live, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo say “Hello Jason Isaacs” and pause for him to reply, in reference to his being a great fan of the show.
Yesterday however, they managed to get a reply, as Jason Isaacs was in the studio.
Cue: one very interesting debate between a controversial film critic and an actor with knowledge of the workings of the industry.
One interesting point that came up was whether or not critics should spend any time on set. Kermode argues no: anyone who spends time on the set of a bad film won’t recognize it as a bad film. Isaacs argues yes: anyone who spends time on the set of a film gains a better understanding of how the film is made and can then be justified in any criticism of the production.
Personally, I side with Kermode on this one. Film reviewers have to review a film from the perspective of the punter, and not everyone is going to get to go on the set of every film they see. Commentary on the production of a film comes from what appears on the screen, not what happens on the set.
But, are critics just talking about something of which they know virtually nothing?
You can download the interview with Jason Isaacs from the BBC Radio Five Live website.
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