Pre-Pandorica Reading (Dr Who linkage)
Ah, the Doctor Who season finale two parter looms close. The Pandorica will open and silence will fall...
I've been really enjoying Andrew Rilstone's Fish Custard series, which starts here:
Seasons 3 and 4 were so bad, and the End of Time was so jawdroppingly shameful, that one is tempted to rave about Steven Moffat on general principles – to give him the Nobel Peace Prize simply because he is not George W. Bush. On the other hand, the degeneration from Dalek and the Satan Pit (as good or better than anything in the Original Series) to, say, the Stolen Earth (literally beneath contempt) happened so quickly that one feels one should err on the side of caution.
Suffice it to say that he gets a lot more positive as the Fish Custard flows on, right up until some interesting speculation about the finale.
And this look at disability in the current series of Who is worth a read, too:
I don’t mind telling you that I’ve spent a lot of time watching the new series and cringing, waiting for something to go terribly, horribly wrong. We’ve had two characters show up on the screen with a disability, and neither of them have been evil or horrible, and neither has died valiantly so that more worthy folks can live. It’s been kinda awesome.
Yes, I know this isn't going to fill much of the week's wait, but it's a start...
A View From Childhood
This was the view from our back garden in Dollar, around 1987 - September or October, I'd guess. I can't claim any credit for the photo, as it was Mum's work.
I could have shared a photo of my brother in a very mid-80s Miami Vice-style outfit.
But any jury in the country would acquit him of my murder if I did so…
80s Brothers
I'm spending some time scanning my way through a big bag of negatives, and this morning I was working on a film from the early to mis-80s. This is my brother, on holiday, in very 80s mirror shades - with me very clearly reflected in them.
I'd have been pleased to have taken this shot today, let alone 25 years ago.
Why Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Caucasian blondes are usually slightly higher in oestrogen than brunettes and are likely to exhibit other infantile sexually selected traits (indicating low levels of testosterone) that are considered desirable by males, for example finer facial features, smaller nose, smaller jaw, pointed chin, narrow shoulders, smooth skin and less body hair, and infantile behaviour such as higher energy levels and playfulness
Science doesn't do political correctness very well. ;-)
That said, I married a redhead...
The Very Last of the Summer Wine
Long-running BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine is to be axed after 37 years, the BBC has announced.
via news.bbc.co.uk
I've 'fessed up to my deeply unfashionable love of Last of the Summer Wine before.
This news makes me sad - but I can't help but think that 37 years is a pretty good innings for a TV show...
London's Hidden Theatre Treasure
The building itself is tucked behind high security fencing around the back of Olympia and looks like it was once a rambling Victorian mental hospital.Access is through full-height turn-styles which are electronically operated once your name has been verified on the intercom. I kid you not. They must have some valuable stuff in there somewhere.
Reception is access by fire-escape-style external metal steps and once you've signed in and been given a security pass you are escorted to the reading room through a card activated turn style, and two card activated doors down a long, silent corridor. Once at the equally quiet reading room you have to deposit your bag in a locker and only pencils are allowed.
Rev Stan passes through the endless security of the V&A's little-known theatrical archive.
How many people outside academia even know that this exists?
London's Photographic Density (a nerdy ramble)
via londonist.com
The picture above represents the most photographed areas of London, based on the geotagging data found on images in Flickr and Picasa. (More here.)
Now, we have to introduce some caveats here. This image is shaped by the combination of people who have cameras that automatically geotag photos, and those who can be bothered to do it later. But, given the density and distribution, I think it's pretty accurate.
And this is something the archiving nerd in me finds interesting. Here, a whole agglomeration of data (or photos, if you like) has been used to create something else simply through analysis of the metadata associated with them.
We geeks get excited about tagging the things we create - but my experience suggests that explicit tagging (where people choose to apply the metadata) is a minority support at best. Automated tagging, where metadata is applied at the moment of creation (like geotagging) or as the image passes through software (face recognition)opens up far more opportunity for us to analyse and understand the world, through our join creative endeavours.
Isn't that cool? :)
Fashionably Recessional
There was a small debate on Twitter this morning, possibly triggered by Glynn, about the relationship between hemlines and the economic conditions. He found this reference:
Almost anything can be an economic indicator. Back in the 1920s, the economist George Taylor conceived the hemline index, finding that skirts got longer as the economy slowed. These days, there's been talk of a haircut index, with short locks signaling a market drop.Now, this season seems to be all about maxi dresses. And this story about stars shearing their locks short just popped up on a fashion blog.
Double dip recession anyone?
Kids and social networking – at what age is it acceptable to let kids get online with friends? And what are your rules for keeping tabs on it?
Never. Darn kids should stay off my virtual lawn.
When I was a kid we had to network using a 28.8k baud modem… (etc, etc, etc)
<blockquote>
Never. Darn kids should stay off my virtual lawn.<br />
When I was a kid we had to network using a 28.8k baud modem... (etc, etc, etc)
The Value of Tribes
I've found the idea of tribalism to be increasingly useful in understanding political behaviour. Faced with the need to make a decision based on incomplete information, people may often attempt to understand how others like them are behaving and behave in that fashion. This isn't really a new insight; politicians have been playing to group identities forever.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons I've always been so uncomfortable with tribalism, particularly in politics. It's so open to manipulation and abuse by the unscrupulous.
Donate them to a good cause, recycle them... What do you do with your old computers and phones?
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
<blockquote>
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.<br />
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
What Adobe is Still Good At
I sometimes think Adobe is fighting the wrong fight. The current spat between the two over Flash is well documented (and I rather like Jeff's take on it). But Adobe's real strength, to me, is in its Creative Suite product, and Photoshop in particular. And last night I had my first chance to play with the latest version of it. I've been looking forward to the new Content Aware abilities (see posts passim), because I'm in the process of digitising and restoring a whole bunch of old family photos.
Here's what I started with last night:
Faded, damaged, parts of the edges missing. It's not in a terrible state, but it would be pretty time-consuming to restore under previous versions of Photoshop.
30 minutes later, extensive use of the content-aware tool and this is the result:
And, you know what? I'm pretty pleased with that. I intend to go to work with some more challenging images in the next few days.
Telegraph reviews the new Photoshop
CS5 has four major improvements that – on paper – jumped out at me. The most exciting is content-aware fill – and when I first used it on one of my photos, my jaw dropped.
I had taken a picture of a French manor house, which was perfect, except that a gardener was standing in front of it. Using the lasso tool, I drew very roughly around the man and pressed Delete. The Fill dialogue box appeared. Into that, I chose content-aware fill. Photoshop, almost magically, replaced the gardener with the brickwork and the climbing plant that he was standing in front of. It was as though he had never been there
I've just bagged my upgrade, and will be playing with it tonight - I'm really quite excited now.
Do you want a 3D TV? Why or why not? And will you ever get one?
No. No. No.
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
<blockquote>
No. No. No.<br />
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
Where Were You When Gordon Brown Resigned?
Well, two of the major parties that went into this General Election were promising change, and they have delivered on that promise, but not in a way many of us expected.
Gordon Brown has stepped down, and New Labour slips from power 13 years after it swept to a landslide victory. When New Labour came to power, I was sat at home, celebrating. When Gordon Brown resigned, I was, rather prosaically, in my car, driving home from work and listening to Radio 4. While I feel no sadness in the political passing of Brown, I’m not exactly celebrating the arrival of Cameron in No. 10 either.
As I tweeted once I was home: .bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/1930642/header.png) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}
Appear to have left work under Labour and arrived home under the Tories...
Adam Tinworth
adders
The truth is, no-one really knows what this coalition government will bring. We’re in unexplored territory, and that’s intriguing.
I have, despite myself, really enjoyed the days since the election. The possibility of something different has opened up in British politics - and, while that potential may turn out to be illusory, we are very much just at the end of the first act. We have plenty of drama ahead - the revelation of the full cabinet, the deals that have been done of policy to pull this coalition together, the fight for the soul of the Labour party in the leadership election - and thus have a long way to go until we know what the new status quo is.
If your heart and soul is in the Labour Party, you have reason to be despondent tonight. For the rest of us, well, we’re living in interesting times. Somehow, a party with a large, working majority never seemed very interesting to follow. This curious alliance of the centre left and the (claimed) centre right? This should be very interesting indeed.
My (Personal) First Reactions to the General Election
I've become something of an internal hung parliament myself.
The journalist in me is delighted. Think of all the stories that will emerge from this situation - the political deals that will be done, the knife-edge votes, the constant possibility of a fallen government. Oh, and a second election within the year - two at the outside. Brilliant.
Another part of me - the part that wants to buy a house and start a family - is a little nervous that we don't have a majority government, that the massive deficit will not be addressed properly, and that the markets will panic, harming the economy. A related, but far from identical, part of me is gutted that the LibDems didn't make more progress in the polls.
And a last, but vocal, part of me is glad that whatever emerges from this mess will be a government that will have to govern by consensus and debate, rather than just pushing their own, narrow agenda through with their majority.
As soon as a few of these parts of myself manage to form a coalition, I'll let you know. ;-)