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Thursday 20 November 2008
Local time 0910.
I'll do a fuller update later on the journey, etc, but I couldn't *not* mention that the hotel is near to where Liza Minelli is appearing in concert from this evening, and heading back to the hotel after a quick drink last night, we walked right past Liza-with-a-Z, standing chatting to someone before getting in her car. Best New York celeb story I've ever had....
"Sitting like a mindless clone, wishing he would tap my phone
Just to hear the breath of the man, the myth, the monotone."
Last night, in preparation for the trip, I was playing a bunch of the albums that I bought while I was living in New York, so the Foo Fighters made a major appearance, and a few others too, including Bree Sharp's Cheap and Evil Girl, with its really quite wonderful tribute to David Duchovny.
Full lyrics are here - you have to near it for the best effect though.
That's it - I'm off - catch you later.
I was watching the coverage this morning about today marking the official end of the WTC clean-up operation. Weird that it's the very day I'm going back for the first time in so long.
Important Notice
Since I've been very diligent and been in the office since 7.40 this morning, I actually do have a moment to make one very important comment. I have set the tape for tomorrow night's Big Brother fun (still time to vote for Jade....), and of course I can check the Big Brother website to see the results of the vote, but what I need is reaction. So this posting is here specifically to provide comment space for thoughts, opinions, whatever about tomorrow night's eviction. Even if it's not Jade (how can it not be Jade?), tell me how it went - the looks on their faces, the reactions, what you thought about it, everything. I'll watch out for the comments.
Well, I managed to get myself organised to go away relatively early this evening - clothes ironed, ready to go in the bag - all the additional stuff (CD player, discs, books, etc) all lined up ready to go - it's not normal....
I'm in the office tomorrow morning then heading off at lunchtime, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to update in the morning. I intend to do some updating from New York anyway.
I'm really looking forward to catching up with lots of people I haven't seen for ages, and I'm really looking forward to relaxing - as you may have noted, I've been stressing a little lately - more than I'd realised. I'm not looking forward exactly, but I have a sense of great anticipation regarding seeing Manhattan without the WTC - I've lost count of the number of times I've been to New York, and on very many of those trips the towers were the first landmark I would see. Ever since last September I've felt that I had to go there before I could believe that they're gone. I guess that tomorrow I'll have no choice but to believe.
I should also note that the previously-mentioned emotional wringage, coupled with an unexpectedly little amount of free time has meant that I have been sadly failing in my duties to do the round of other blogs and pass comment where appropriate. You should probably all be thankful for the lack of time - you might not have appreciated a visitation from the emotionally-wrung one....
"As one door closes, another opens."
It's not quite right, but it does represent something of how I've been feeling the last couple of days. I put myself through something of an emotional wringer (or to be strictly accurate, something somebody did caused me to do so) for a while, and ended up venting in a fairly major way. Then I felt bad about having done so (more wringing), only to realise/discover today that actually, I was entirely justified in being so worked up. Sometimes, people really do live down to my expectations of humanity.
But the past is another country, and I'm making a conscious effort to cross the border. Or to return to the original proverb, I'm making the closing and opening of these doors my own conscious act.
Don't worry that this makes no sense - you had to be there :-)
This is turning into a TV blog:
With a typical lack of fanfare, Channel 4 start a new series of one of their best series tonight: Previously-mentioned here, Oz is an American prison drama unlike any other US TV series I've ever seen.
C4 are also trailing another series from the same source, HBO, at the moment. I haven't seen Six Feet Under, but it comes highly-regarded in many circles, and is the story of a family who run a funeral business.
And finally, for now, Will and Grace is back on C4 this Friday night.
Graham Norton just threw a gratuitious dig at Jade into his opening monologue:
"150,000 applicants....and Jade got through. How did that happen? If it wasn't cruel to kick a pig, you would, wouldn't you?"
He went on to paint a less-than flattering picture of Spencer:
"All that stuff about extensive psychological profiling....and Spencer got through. Sitting there all zipped up and rocking. I wouldn't sleep knowing he had access to cutlery."
As Charles has thrown down a bit of a gauntlet on the subject of 24 (see his comment on the last posting), I thought I'd pick it up. (One non-critical mini-spoiler ahead.)
Charles' opening position is: 24, victim of its own novelty value.
In many ways I won't disagree that it's somewhat formulaic, it does push all the right dramatic buttons, and it is derivative. The most significant influence on it structurally, I think, is actually Murder One. The issues of pacing that you mention were neatly avoided in that series, because everything was much more leisurely. Yes, there was drama, but it was essentially courtroom drama, and its twists were revealed at a more leisurely rate. It had a quiet intensity, rather than the frenetic intensity of 24.
And 24's frenetic nature can indeed be off-putting. It's interesting that there's a point of something like resolution coming up and that the last few weeks (since 9am, in fact, the point at which the series might have ended if it hadn't been picked up) have felt a bit like they've not moved things on in a significant way, but it feels to me that the creators were almost caught out by their own success, and it's taken them a while to pick up the slack once the original extent of the story they'd fully-planned was over. But while the last few weeks of Jack tracking down the rest of the Bauer clan does indeed feel like it's taken forever, I can't help but think that the important work is being done in the other arcs:
The stuff going on around Palmer is clearly far deeper and darker than at first appeared (and I don't trust that wife of his at all....), something's clearly wrong with Terri, the mysterious Drazen brothers must have a pretty impressive grudge against both Palmer and Bauer, to go to the lengths they have, and I'm far from certain that there was only one mole inside CTU (my money's still on Nina by the way).
On top of which, the thing about watching it in the way Charles suggests he does, of catching the last fifteen minutes of each episode, will certainly bring you up to speed on the primary plot, but will mean you miss out on the sheer density of the way it's plotted.
It's not revolutionary TV, nor profound, nor in some ways is it really taking advantage of its time structure. But it is well-made, dramatic, very, very well-acted, and is cranking up the tension in ways that I've never experienced on TV before, certainly not sustained this effectively for this long.
And I accept the beers and working out the outcomes challenge....
Tangentially, Peter Preston has a few things to say about US TV, UK TV, media ownership and in passing 24 in his comment in today's Guardian (Spoiler for ER post the point Channel4 is presently at).
Couple more links:
Here's a shot of the Daredevil costume that one Mr Ben Affleck will be sporting in the movie.
[Via Parallax View]
112 Reasons to Lead a Barren, Childless Existence That Ends in Your Death - took the words right out of my mouth.
[Via Sore Eyes]
Round up of things that I've noted in the last couple of days:
"The monkey encourages small children to play with matches near a local gas station in Clarksdale, Mississippi." Charles mentioned Furious George the other day - mindless fun for all the family.
The Matrix website has a section of new material by various comic creators, including work by Paul Chadwick and Bill Sienciewicz, and a new short story by Neil Gaiman.
Get Your War On is a comic strip created in the wake of September 11th and the ensuing 'War On Terrorism' - well worth a look.
And in today's news, Cannes Film Sickens Audience.
Loads of car alarms have just gone off because of the *almighty* clap of thunder that just cracked overhead. Fantastic storm.
Diverting from Big Brother for a moment - let's talk about Eurovision....
I'd never heard the UK entry before, nor (not having watched Pop Idol) heard of Jessica Thingy, but it seemed okay, and she's got quite the voice - not sure I'd have expected it to be a winner, but did expect it to do well, and third is surely the most respectably we've done since Katrina won?
I was interested to note how few ballads there were this year - the only two that stood out were ours and the French on, and even though the French woman was trying *way* too hard to be Celine Dion, it was pretty good.
Rounding up some of the others -
What were the Greeks thinking of with that group of men in skateboard padding and the strange 'dance routine'?
Spain's Europe's Living A Celebration was apparently selected via a huge, Big Brother-esque process lasting months, and involving half the population, and I'll confess was catchy enough that I went to sleep with it going round my head.
Russia, as Wogan noted, subverted the usual traditions of the boy band by presenting a group of unattractive middle-aged men singing a not-at-all bad pop song.
The host nation did well with a song that had the potential to turn them into the Ireland of the 21st century by winning a second year in a row.
Generally though, the Scandinavian nations presented completely forgettable numbers.
I'll admit that Bosnia-Hertzogovia was one of my top three for the evening, and Maja, who sang it, was one of the best performers.
Germany was apparently the favourite before the contest, though I couldn't see it - it was a good song, but needed to be delivered more strongly. But I also think it deserved better than barely to get into double figures.
Malta was robbed royally, I reckon - if it wasn't for all those Baltic states voting for each other it would have walked away with it. I thought it was fab, and really well performed.
You *know* I'm going to mention the Slovenian transvestites, don't you? Apart from the glittery cabin crew outfits, I thought they were awful.
Though immediately followed as they were by the winning Latvian number, with its quite blatant lesbian overtones, I thought in retrospect they were the very model of understatement.
Wogan was on good form, though he's starting to get wearying, banging on so constantly about political voting - yes, it happens, yes, we all know about it, so we don't need to keep being reminded. (Though he was unusually reticent about mentioning how Israel failed to give a single point to any country with a sizable Muslim population.)
Generally, in terms of sheer 'pop', I think this year was pretty strong.
Though given that the BBC ran a programme called There's Only One Kylie fifteen minutes later, I don't think anyone needs to be in any doubt about what really strong pop sounds like....
A quick trawl through the mini-profiles of the BB3 contestants produces the following details:
Adele's favourite book is Wuthering Heights and her favourite pop star is Michael Jackson.
Alex (who's a model....) lists Kangaroo as his favourite food.
Alison's favourite food is chocolate orange, and her favourite film is Raging Bull, which demonstrates good taste on two fronts.
Jade says that her favourite food is Kebab, and doesn't list a favourite book, possibly because she can't read.
Relaxing in the sauna makes Jonny happy, and his favourite pop star is Robbie Williams.
Kate's a Madonna fan, and her favourite film is True Romance.
Lee's favourite film is American Pie (that's right, favourite film *ever*), his favourite book is David Ginola's autobiography, and his favourite food is Pasta (What, *just* pasta? Isn't that a bit bland?)
Another Mdonna fan, Lynne's favourite film is The Shawshank Redemption.
PJ's favourite film is The Godfather (though his third favourite is Teen Wolf....) and he wants to get off with Natalie Imbruglia.
Sandy's favourite pop band are U2, and he likes the simple things in life. (Will he get on well with Jade then?)
Spencer's favourite pop star is Michael Jackson, just like Adele, and his favourite book is Roald Dahl's The Witches.
Sunita likes playing on her Playstation, and is obviously eagerly-awaiting the multi-player shoot-em-up version of her favourite book, Memoirs of a Geisha.
Oh, and.....
....in a masterstroke of crap timing, E4 suddenly died on my Sky Digital set-up on the very day that Big Brother started. Unbelieveable.
To nominate JADE call 09011 154409
As Mike noted in his comment to last night's Big Brother posting, Jade is running last in the popularity rankings, a full 30% lower than Lee, who is next last.
Let's see if we can widen that gap, shall we?
(Calls cost 25p)
So....Big Brother 2002.
Has promise. And the nicest thing so far is that there's a surprise eviction that the housemates have no idea will be happening next Friday which the audience at home get to set up. I already know who I'll be voting for - the dreadful Jade, resident of this very borough. Details at the Big Brother website.
A large, formal-looking envelope hit the mat this morning - it's my "To All Known Creditors" letter regarding ITV Digital. I'm invited to attend a meeting of creditors to address the issue of the Administrators' proposals for 'meeting the purposes specified in the Administration Order'.
Translation - 'making sure that the government gets as much as possible, that the insanely greedy football clubs get whatever's left, and that those poor unfortunates who actually paid for a service they will now not receive get bugger all'.
(Note that the proposals naturally contain gaining approval for the almost £2million that will go to the two organisations managing the Administration for their time and trouble.)
It's tempting to go along just to cause trouble, but I'm not sure I've got the energy. Or maybe I should try and gather a large number of people in the same situation as me and cause trouble en masse....
It's a while since I did a big TV posting, so here goes:
(Spoiler-free as long as you're up to date with ER on Channel 4 - if not, skip the next paragraph.)
I just watched a pretty crucial ER on E4 - the emotional fallout from a tragic piece of news that people watching the Channel 4 run can probably already anticipate. It was a beautifully-performed hour of television, with every one of the major characters given a moment to shine, and some little moments when odd pairings would come together to deal with their reactions to the news that were simply wonderful. Painful viewing, but utterly compelling.
Elsewhere, Buffy and Angel both finished their series in the US this week - and of the two, the one I'm going to mention is Buffy. This season has been generally not-so-well regarded by the online community, but its occasional lapses have caused people to overlook that thematically, it's been one of the strongest. The reason the fanboys have been so down on it is that the makers dropped the idea of a season-long 'Big Bad' that has always threatened to tip the otherwise strong series over into formula. Instead, the characters have had to deal with grown-up responsibility and their own personal demons instead of the usual external ones. This has made for a much more intense, close-up kind of drama instead of the more usual OTT stuff. It's not exactly the same Buffy as before, but it's probably better in the long run. Joss Whedon says that next year will be like Buffy - Year One; back to basics, "the idea that this little woman who no one takes seriously is actually the most powerful person in the world". I like the sound of that.
24 also finished in the US this week, and so I now have to work very hard for the next eight weeks or so to avoid any possibility of hearing about the ending. I want to extract a commitment from all the people I'm going to see in New York next week that no one's so much as going to mention it.
And of course, Big Brother starts again tomorrow. Based on the last two years' model, I'll tune in tomorrow to see what the mob they've assembled are like, and pay some attention to it for a week or so, forget about it 'til the last two or three weeks and then get entirely engrossed. The big question though, is why on earth would anyone go into that house tomorrow knowing that if they're successful, they're going to miss the end of 24??
Lara is giving the New York trip next week almost more build-up than I am. I'm really looking forward to seeing her and the others.
There's an ongoing discussion in some circles about whether US Pro-Sports (sub-category, Team, Male), is ready for an openly gay player (current player, that is, there have been a few who have come out after retiring).
One of the topics that exercises those with nothing better to worry about, is an ongoing rumour that Mets player Mike Piazza is gay. This one has circulated so widely that he was recently reported in the New York Post as refuting it categorically. Ironically, the New York Post has not exactly been unwilling to support the continuation of such rumours.
Where it gets interesting as far as I'm concerned, is that one of the Post's own columnists, Wallace Matthews, wrote a piece condemning that paper's coverage of the situation, which the Post then refused to run. So Matthews published it online, on a site to which readers can post their comments. And was allegedly fired for it.
Reading the article and the reactions raises several interesting points:
Does a newspaper, which is paying for a columnist's time, have the right to censor what they write, if it's critcal of the paper?
Does a columnist then have the right to publish it anyway, given that it was paid for by the paper and could certainly be regarded as theirs, not his, once he's turned it in?
And in circumstances like these (as is pointed out in the thread), how do the readers know that it even is the columnist who's put the content into circulation?
The question of whether it's okay to rumour-monger about people's private lives is in there, too, of course, but I think that's a different discussion.
Well, Our Glorious Leader(tm) was seen, in Up For Grabs, and my views are very like many others I've seen reported:
It's a good play, well-structured, and with some very entertaining dialogue and set pieces.
The non-Madonna performances are all very impressive, with Sian Thomas as Dawn Grey and the guy (whose name I can't remember) who plays Madge's husband particularly good.
Madonna isn't at all bad - she's not a theatre actor, and her lack of projection was woefully apparent alongside the others who are, but she was adequate, and managed a fine line in unspoken communication, and brought a degree of wit to the role. She also managed some surprisingly sharp ad-libbing when something unexpected happened.
The staging and set are *excellent* - there were so many clever elements to the staging that I lost count.
And of course, it was Madonna - there's no point pretending that anyone expected high art - people expected to get closer to Madonna than is ever likely in any other circumstance and have a good time in the company of others who wanted to see her. From that point of view, I loved the whole thing. I heard one man, in the interval, comment that he was annoyed with the audience for the way they were behaving, which betrayed a pretty significant mis-expectation of what was actually happening, I thought.
Also, heading back, walked across the newly-opened Hungerford foot bridge, which is pretty damn' impressive.
Linkslut Loyalty Corner:
Via a bunch of emails I've received in the last week or so from people who stumbled upon me via other blogs (Hello, Paul, Elaine, and James), I realised that I'm being linked from some new places. So I've added such of those as I've been able to backtrack to the People page, and they'll all be showing up as the 'Blog of the Day' in due course.
And as overyourhead is today's Blog of the Day, and I'm off to see Madonna in Up For Grabs this evening, it seems an appropriate time to link to Jonathan's own comments after he saw the show last week.
Also, Graham has given his blog a new title; "Reassuringly Shallow", which makes me think warmly of the days when I was trying to come up with a name for this thing, and "Reassuringly Pretentious" was one of the options I seriously considered.
Went out with Liz last night and ate and drank well, if not wisely. Good job I don't get hangovers.... Actually, I haven't seen her for just a one-to-one catch up for ages, so we had a *lot* to catch up on.
I don't often do big nights out in town these days, and I'd forgotten the inestimable joy of being ripped off by a minicab home.
Well, as I'm awake, I might as well attempt something meaningful(ish).
I was reflecting on last week before I went to bed last night. Catching up with someone I haven't seen for several years was an interesting experience. Years back, when we'd both gone off to our respective universities, Simon and I used to remark that we were always able to pick up right where we'd left off after months apart. But even though our phone calls since we got back in touch have been very comfortable and in the old style, I was nevertheless worried that in person things would be different. I needn't have been concerned. We both remarked on Friday how exactly like picking up an old conversation it had been.
One thing that seeing him has made me do, though, is consider my own life's progress in relation to his, and I'm not sure I emerge from that consideration very happy: It feels to me like he's moved on in all sorts of ways (getting married, for instance), and I'm pretty much the same as I ever was - yes, I'm doing something different work-wise, but I don't feel like I've progressed much in myself. Chris tells me that I'm a very different person than I was when he first knew me; calmer and more balanced, but maybe that change has just been too progressive, or I've been too close to it, for me to be aware of.
I should probably ask Simon if he thinks I've changed....
It feels like it's been the longest night I can remember - I kept waking up after what I thought was hours to find that it was only twenty minutes since I last looked at the clock, then it took me ages to get back to sleep.
In other news, Google has been Dilbert-ised.
I suspect that most people who stop by here also visit Chris, so you probably already know about this, but if anyone doesn't, and they know much about trademarks and the like, please head over there and examine his current problem.
I took a half day to go to Canterbury yesterday. Simon went to university there, and wanted to show Kim - it made a great afternoon out, and sitting in a pub beer garden in the English summer sunshine is a highly recommended way of passing part of a Friday afternoon.
After dinner, back at the flat, I finally opened a bottle of very fine whisky that was given to me as a leaving present from a job over a year ago. I'm amazed that I've kept my hands off it for this long, but I've been waiting for a suitable event, and this seemed appropriate. Simon and Kim's view was that if all whisky was like that, they'd probably be regular drinkers. Anyone who chipped in for it that's reading this - good choice all, well appreciated.
After seeing them off on the train out of town this afternoon, I've embarked upon a domestic weekend. Well, having got the flat into some sort of order for their arrival, it would be a pity to let it slip again so soon....
One Time Only Offer
Due to a late cancellation, I have one spare ticket to see Madonna in Up For Grabs next Wednesday (22nd May) evening at 8pm, at Wyndhams Theatre on Charing Cross Road.
It's a good seat, reflected in the price (£37.50).
I will happily welcome to our group of six the first person to email me and say that they'd like the ticket. The clock is ticking....
The wait is over, Graham and Lisa-Jane - I've put the Episode 2 review up in Opinion.
I also meant to mention that we were sitting on the front row for last night's screening, which was excellent, that we had the Spider-Man and Die Another Day trailers, and two young men who worked for the cinema had a lightsabre fight at the front of the auditorium and wished us a jolly "May The Force Be With You" before the film started.
Well, Episode 2 was seen, and I will certainly avoid spoilers here. I'll try and get something up in Opinion sometime tomorrow. It was interesting to see it with someone who had never seen any Star Wars film before....
Simon and Kim had a day of sight-seeing and gallery-wandering yesterday, so I met them in the evening, and we went to one of the pubs up by the river for a pint with a view of Tower Bridge, then I made dinner and we chatted, did some more catching up, and generally chilled - all most agreeable.
Gerard had organised a get-together for various people last night, that was unfortunately going to be too much of a drag to take them to. I say 'unfortunately', but judging by one description I got of the venue this morning, I'm not so sure:
"Because it's a very cheap pub, it's full of ruddy-faced street people who would usually be drinking from three litre bottles of White Lightning, and fights"
Attack Of The Clones tonight....
Dillon in "Acting Like A Real Cat" Shock!
In a real turn-up for the books, Dillon (AKA Barrell Cat, AKA The Fattest Cat In Christendom(tm) ) actually went out this morning and brought back a mouse as a prize. Admittedly, it was the teeniest, tinest baby fieldmouse you've ever seen, but still, by Dillon's standards, a pretty impressive piece of work....
Journey time from the flat to Heathrow starting at 5.45am: 56 minutes.
Journey time coming back during the London rush hour: two and a half hours.
Sometimes this city drives me mad.
Anyway, I collected the visitors, one of whom I haven't seen for many years, and one of whom (his wife) I've never met before. And after so long a gap, I was more than a little nervous that things would be uncomfortable, or that we wouldn't have anything to talk about, or something. Fortunately, at least as far as I could tell, none of the panicky fears I'd had at one in the morning were founded - we did some reminiscing, we exchanged some news, we generally acted like two old friends who haven't seen each other for a while.
One of the great things about talking with Simon (for it is he) is the sheer wealth of little things that we shared (incidents, stories, etc) just through having been so close for so long; like, he reminded me of the incident I'd forgotten when my mother visited a friend of hers who'd recently moved house and seeing the God-awful wallpaper said "You'll want rid of that as soon as possible, won't you?" before realising that it was what they'd put up themselves, not what had been up when they moved in.
Gary Numan is appearing on Graham Norton, and he doesn't look like he's changed in even the smallest degree since the 80s....
Right - I think the flat's as straightened up as it's going to be. I'm moving out for a few days to give the visitors space, and I'm off to the aiport to meet them off an early flight in the morning, so it's time for an attempt at an early night.
*Nice* analysis of the Spider-Man movie in relation to the comic that gets to the heart of what Spider-Man has always been about - the dichotomy between Peter Parker; geeky loser, and Spider-Man; wild and wacky superhero. It's a funny thing - broadly speaking, I've never been a Spider-Fan, but just lately, Marvel have pushed a bit of interest into the Spider-titles, and it's suddenly been worth reading them again - I'm still not a *Fan*, but I'll always appreciate well-written and drawn funny books.
[Via Sore Eyes]
How mad is this?
I bought a Heathrow Express ticket for the trip to San Fransisco back in January, and the charge only just appeared on my bank account on Friday!
Out of interest, I checked with the bank, and they tell me that as long as the card was legitimately used, there's no time limit on when the merchant can put the payment through. Even though it's in their interests to get the money sooner rather than later.
So effectively, I've just had almost four months interest-free credit on a £23 rail fare....
Chris noted by email that most of by posting recently has been more in the way of blogging than journalling, and I have to admit to having been rubbish about posting at all over the weekend, but the sad truth is that not much of note has been happening lately, and I spent the weekend getting the flat straightened up ready for some guests I've got arriving tomorrow. I'll do my best to get some stuff up today that demonstrates me back at my best (whatever that means....)
US Governor Freezes Executions - The Governor of Maryland has halted all pending executions following a report that the state's (and potentially the entire country's) system is racially biased.
"Stephanie Gibson, member of the Maryland Coalition Against State Executions says that the statistics show that the majority of those on death row have killed a white person, even though an overwhelming 80% of the state's homicide victims are coloured people."
Is it just me, or is this news to no one? Surely there've been reports along these lines for years?
As part of a discussion on what 'Wilco' is actually short for (it's "will comply", by the way - I win), I discovered AcronymFinder - it's amazing - the number of random letter combinations that actually represent legitimate acronyms is huge....
Q: When is a film review not a film review?
A: When it's the summary of the entire plot of Episode 2 published on page three of this morning's Metro. You have been warned.
"You should now be the owner of a smooth and sexy bald head."
Returning to a recent topic, even though I've decided against shaving my head - too high-maintenance, and I hate shaving my face, so doing my whole head every few days would be a nightmare - it's nice to know that there's somewhere to go for the people who decide they do want to.
PS - And a special razor to do it with.
Lara's embarking upon a period of irritating waiting to see if her visa is sorted in time for her to go on holiday (and get back into the US). Here's hoping it does, or she'll lose what she's spent on the holiday.
Been out for a catch-up with Gerard this evening - always entertaining, and apparently no one else tells him the kind of stories that I do.... Can I help it if I have an eventful life?
Oh dear. Trust those rabble-rousing gays and lesbians to be stirring up trouble in the otherwise peaceful, well-ordered, and clearly very tolerant streets of Jerusalem.
[Via Metafilter]
Did you know that 'Eurythmic' is an actual word?
eurhythmic
a rarely used word meaning "in harmonious proportion". Used especially to describe architecture or works of art, it comes from the Greek noun euruthmia, "proportion". A related word in English is eurhythmics, the name for a system of rhythmical movements to music evolved by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze and used both to teach musical understanding and for therapeutic purposes.
AskOxford's Word Of The Day for today.
It's amazing what you can unexpectedly find at the end of a search:
Reason Magazine, which I confess I'd never heard of, contains an interesting article on the ostensible subject of the concerns Hollywood and other entertainment providers have about high-speed net connections and the technology people use on them. I say 'ostensible', because along the way, it takes in some interesting observations on the basic differences in viewpoint between those who think in terms of the web, and those who think in terms of narrowband, mediated content.
"One way to understand the conflict between the Content Faction and the Tech Faction is to look at how they describe their customers. For the content industries, they’re "consumers." By contrast, the information technology companies talk about "users."
If you see people as consumers, you control access to what you offer, and you do everything you can to prevent theft, for the same reason supermarkets have cameras by the door and bookstores have electronic theft detectors. Allowing people to take stuff for free is inconsistent with your business model.
But if you see people as users, you want to give them more features and power at cheaper prices. The impulse to empower users was at the heart of the microcomputer revolution: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak wanted to put computing power into ordinary people’s hands, and that’s why they founded Apple Computer. If this is your approach -- enabling people to do new things -- it’s hard to adjust to the idea of building in limitations."
The BBC News site is offering the breaking news that UK MPs are to be given a free vote on the subject of legalising gay adoption. Could prove interesting.
UPDATE: Some details.
Quick news round-up:
Topically, a first-edition of Amazing Spider-Man #1 was among the comics stolen at gunpoint in New York at the weekend.
"The US have really isolated themselves and are putting themselves into bed with the likes of China, the Yemen and other undemocratic countries..." Once again, the US decides that it can do what it likes: Even though commited to signing-up to the International Criminal Court by Bill Clinton, the US has now withdrawn from the treaty establishing it.
And it's nice to note that Aung San Suu Kyi is getting straight back into agitating for change in Burma, having been released from nearly two years of house arrest at the weekend.
Well, it looks like Spider-Man has broken all the records set in the US by Harry Potter last autumn: $114million in three days. It opens in the UK next month, but I'm planning on seeing it when I'm in New York at the end of this month.
Which reminds me, as well as the Blog of the Day and Link of the Day additions over on the left, I've added a small countdown to the trip. Alison and I are going over the Golden Jubilee long weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of people I haven't seen for *far* too long. So I thought it was worth counting down to.
There's a Panic Room review in Opinion, if anyone's looking for one. Saw the trailers for Dog Soldiers which I want to see), and 40 Days And 40 Nights (which I don't).
So Chirac wins convincingly, and all's well with the world.
Yeah, right. I can't help but think that the repercussions of the situation with Le Pen, and that with far right groups all over the world, aren't going away anytime soon.
One of the downsides of parliamentary democracy is that there's a tendency to think that a defeat of a candidate equals a defeat of an ideology. But unfortunately, ideologies, especially the strongly-felt ones, just go away and try to find another way to be expressed.
I can't wait.
Reassuring to see that the great British tradition of public figures saying stupid things continues without a pause:
Prince Philip was at it again earlier in the week, and now it transpires that Ann Winterton, MP has been sacked because of a racist joke she made at a rugby club dinner on Friday.
The former I suppose is just stupidity - the latter, from as experienced a politician as Winterton, I simply cannot fathom.
[Price Philip story via abraxas.]
Hastings was a nice run out - I've only ever passed through it before, so I've never appreciated some of the better bits. It's got one of England's last remaining beach-launched fishing fleets, which is interesting, but makes for some gruesome debris on the shingle. Celia's new place looks out over a great park at the front, and she has a terraced garden over about five levels at the back. I took some photos, and I'll put a few up, tomorrow, probably.
Hastings, of course, is just along the coast from Rye, where we were originally going to go too, and coinsidentally, Philippa loaned me her tapes of the TV version of Mapp and Lucia, which was filmed there, and on which the location of Tilling in the original books was based. I saw the series when it was first broadcast, having been introduced to the books not long before, and as far as I've ever been able to tell, it's never been repeated, so I'm looking forward to revisiting it.
I'm off to Hastings with some friends for the day shortly, to visit Celia, who's recently moved down there, but I thought that before I went, I'd mention that today is Free Comic Book Day. Essentially a North American thing, it's an interesting concept, from the point of view of getting more people reading comics.
One less heroine in the world - heroine of mine, anyway:
Barbara Castle has died, aged 91. She was one of the first women politicians I was aware of as a child, and far and away the one for whom I had the most admiration. Unwavering in her political beliefs, outspoken when women were absolutely not supposed to be, a socialest in the truest, 'social' meaning of the word, and dedicated to her causes well into the kind of age where most people would be thinking of taking it easy, she was, quite simply, unique.
We're indulging in something sparkling to mark the company being a year old today. I just thought I'd mention it.
The 20th Century Eugenics Programme you may *not* have heard about. I certainly hadn't, until very recently. 30 of the US states carried out policies of forced sterilisation on 'genetic inferiors'. The state of Virginia, which ended its policy in 1979 has just become the first to apologise.
Tales From The Tube #1: Given the usual order of things, I can understand why they might want to do it, but I can't stand the degree of smug involved in station staff writing up on those whiteboards they have that everything's actually working for once. Though the phrase "All services running normally" is certainly open to two very distinct readings.
Tales From The Tube #2: I found my usually deeply-buried faith in the world dragged to the service on the way to work this morning. There were two men standing by the doors of my carriage - mid 40s, suits, chatting away, looked like they might be co-workers. Then one of them got off, and as he did so, they kissed each other goodbye - not a luvvie air-kiss, nor a continental both cheeks deal, a proper kiss, followed by the one staying on the train saying "Love you" to the departing partner. Aw.
Apparently, Cats are now more popular pets in the UK than Dogs. (Says the Cats Protection League. Hmmm....)
Local elections, always a slightly freaky phenomenon in the UK, have once again demonstrated that no matter what actually happens, everyone will try to claim that it's a good result for them.
During the course of the night, I've watched members of the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and British National Party all try to lay claim to the hearts and minds of the country. The tendency to try and use local results to claim trends valid at a national level is so demonstrably flawed that I don't know why anyone even bothers.
Even here in London, where the Conservatives have made some gains, it's not really that surprising, as last time they did so appallingly badly the only real way they could go was up. Interestingly, my own borough shifted from being Labour-controlled to having no single party with a controlling majority, having been a real target for the Liberal Democrats.
The BNP gains in Burnley are worrying (unless you're one of their supporters of course), but more for the share of the vote they got than for the couple of seats they gained. Yet in context, it's one council among hundreds, in a place where they engaged almost all of their energy - I'm not really worried that the entire country is about to fall into facism. Though I suppose that's how it happens....
I was a bit annoyed with my lovely new Broadband provider last night, on account of my inability to log on for several hours, but it came back, and (confronted by the difference from the dial-up I was using in the meantime), I found it in my heart to love them again.
Dave pointed me in the direction of this, which seems appropriate to link.
So now I'm reduced to duplicating my own comment on someone else's site because it's finally kicked my into offering an opinion on the ITV Digital fiasco.
The site is Graham's (much recommended), and the comment is:
IMHO - ITV Digital's offering was perfectly adequate for people who didn't want dozens and dozens of channels, but just a somewhat wider selection than the standard range. It's annoying that we've lost it essentially because they made the huge strategic error of deciding that they wanted to compete in the sports broadcasting market when Sky so clearly already had it stitched up (three channels!).
It was interesting to note that the BBC News site Talkback on 'The Future Of Digital TV' was actually all about people bitching about the way once again non-sports fans have lost out because of the obsession with showing every possible minute of football (a view I'm very much in sympathy with). The other common thread, by the way, was how excellent their customer service was....
I'll certainly miss it because my area isn't cabled, and installing a dish is against my building's rules. So I'm feeling like I'm suddenly deprived of any options regarding broadening my viewing options.
Sorry - I seem to have taken over your site for one of my own postings....:-)
Meant to post this up last night, but for some reason it got away from me.
The thumbnails don't do it justice, but the new photos from the Hubble Space Telescope are absolutely stunning.
This is hysterical - PetitionOnline.com has had a petition launched on it condemning Peter Jackson's cynical naming of the second LOTR film The Two Towers because the title "is clearly meant to refer to the attacks on the World Trade Center". Just how stupid are people?
Don't forget to check out the petition against the petition while you're there.
[Via Metafilter]
So ITV Digital will be switching off its pay channels in around 30 minutes - it seems that the various efforts to find a buyer are coming to nothing, and everyone who's part way through a pre-paid period (like me, about 3 months into a 12 month contract) loses out big time. Joy.
Actually, up until yesterday, their site was still delivering the "you should see no change to your service" guff, which was ringing increasingly hollow.