About the size of it.

The internet is angry - is it winning?

2012-02-13T12:11:00.000Z

What's more important, the case of Hamza Kashgari or internet freedom?

BBC News - The internet is angry - is it winning?

Hearts & Minds

2012-02-12T21:59:00.000Z

A forty year old documentary that's as relevant today as it ever was.
War is fucked-up!

Gratitude

2012-02-11T22:02:00.000Z

Michael Moore reading an extract from his book " Here Comes Trouble" funny and profound!

Gratitude by MMFlint

This guy must be one of the coolest men alive

2012-02-11T08:37:00.001Z

This guy must be one of the coolest men alive: Linsey Pollak. [VIDEO]

Why the Fossil Fuel Industry Fights So Hard

2012-02-07T17:17:00.002Z

"If we could see the world with a particularly illuminating set of spectacles, one of its most prominent features at the moment would be a giant carbon bubble, whose bursting someday will make the housing bubble of 2007 look like a lark. As yet -- as we shall see -- it’s unfortunately largely invisible to us."
Read the full article [HERE]

How to "Police" the World | TomDispatch

2012-02-06T09:29:00.001Z

Engelhardt, Kicking Down the World's Door | Read it HERE

A background to the Wall Street Protests

2011-10-13T17:15:00.000+01:00

Tom dispatch gives us an insight into the historical precedents for the "occupy Wall Street" movement.
"If Occupy Wall Street signals the end of our own, atypical period of acquiescence, could a return to a version of “class warfare” that would, once upon a time, have been familiar to so many Americans be on the horizon? Finally!"
Read it [HERE]

Goldman Sachs Rules The World

2011-09-29T16:41:00.001+01:00

A ~~man~~ creature who told the truth.

'Rogue Trader' My Ass

2011-09-16T12:08:00.000+01:00

Matt Taibbi telling us what we (should) already know.
"...making insanely irresponsible decisions with other peoples’ money is exactly the job description of a lot of people on Wall Street. Hell, they don’t call these guys "rogue traders" when they make a billion dollars gambling."
Read it [HERE]

Remembrance of things past. In the Name of 9/11

2011-09-08T19:12:00.000+01:00

At a time of remembering, Tom Engelhart calls for a reflection on what exactly is its purpose.

"[The USA] has become dependent on the dead of 9/11 -- who have no way of defending themselves against how they have been used -- as an all-purpose explanation for our own goodness and the horrors we’ve visited on others, for the many towers-worth of dead in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere whose blood is on our hands."
Read this powerful polemic [HERE]

Matt Taibbi on Obama and Jobs

2011-09-06T19:09:00.000+01:00

"...I remember following Obama on the campaign trail and hearing all sorts of promises before union-heavy crowds. He said he would raise the minimum wage every year; he said he would fight free-trade agreements."
Read it [HERE]

Mornington Crescent on Computer

2011-09-02T06:18:00.001+01:00

You are NOT the centre of the universe.

2011-09-02T05:59:00.000+01:00

Danny Schechter on Obama's Ignominy

2011-08-31T11:52:00.000+01:00

"Yes, I knew, I may have been rationalizing a false god, who was only another, if more attractive, politician who says one thing and does another in a political system where power, not personalities prevail."
From the indispensible ICH Site [HERE]

24 years with the Same Woman

2011-08-29T15:18:00.000+01:00

The joys of Holy Padlock.

The Criminalization of Poverty

2011-08-10T09:08:00.001+01:00

From Tom Engelhardt's Site.
"But at least we should decide, as a bare minimum principle, to stop kicking people when they’re down."
Sobering stuff from Barbara Ehrenreich.
[Read it Here]

“the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges...” - Anatole France

"Trippy Skippy"

2011-08-02T11:47:00.001+01:00

"We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high."

May or may not be stoned!

From the BBC The comments are priceless.

Pigpen Cipher for Excel

2011-08-01T14:13:00.000+01:00

I was playing around with Excel and I created this little thing to produce pigpen ciphers.
It is by no means a finished product; just a bit of fun.
If you're interested in looking at it, you'll need Excel 2007 or above.
It's protected but there is no password.

Feel free to do with it as you wish.
If you make it all posh, then, let us all have a look.
DOWNLOAD FILE

An Act of Kindness.

2011-07-29T10:00:00.000+01:00

Bhutan spreads happiness to UN

2011-07-22T17:00:00.000+01:00

Some good news for a change.
[See Here]
And for those of you unfamiliar with the "Land of the Thunder Dragon"

[See Here]

Where's the Outrage?

2011-07-22T04:24:00.000+01:00

This from Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone.
"As it is, leading members of the Senate are seriously considering giving the most profitable companies in the world a total tax holiday as a reward for their last seven years of systematic tax avoidance. Hundreds of billions of potential tax dollars would disappear from the Treasury. And there isn’t a peep from anyone,
anywhere, on this issue." [READ IT HERE]

Seriously, what is it going to take to make people realise that they are being systematically screwed by the corporations? When are the barricades going to be manned and the tumbrils start rolling towards the scaffolds? Do we love our fetters so much and our humiliation so dearly that all vestige of dignity and decency can be submerged beneath the flood of corporate greed?
God help us all.

Portugal's Drug Experiment...Ten Years On.

2011-07-17T08:38:00.001+01:00

In 2001 Portugal decided to legalise all drugs. Most people predicted disaster; so, what happened?
“Judging by every metric, drug decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success. It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country."
Read the story [HERE]

Pastafarians recognised at last (at least in Austria).

2011-07-13T20:23:00.000+01:00

The church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (TBHNA) has gained at least partial recognition in Austria.
More; from the BBC

Religion in Harry Potter

2011-07-13T19:00:00.001+01:00

Good article from E-skeptic on the use of religion in the Harry Potter books. Both the Religious Right and the Atheists seem to want to claim him for their own.
As usual they've both got it wrong.
[LINK]

Office 2010

2011-06-30T22:49:00.000+01:00

I've been pretty lax over the last two months with keeping this blog updated.
My excuse is, that having recently installed Office 2010 all my time has been taken up with playing with it.
For those of you still running Office 2003 or previous versions I can't recommend upgrading enough. It's an awesome bit of kit, and those of you using versions prior to 2007 are just putting off the inevitable.
Learning the new ribbon interface that was introduced with Office 2007 can be a bit daunting but, it really is a vast improvement.
You're just postponing the inevitable.
As for price considerations, well, it's available for students for £37.89 (you need an academic email address) but, who doesn't know a student? The place is awash with them ;-)
You'll find that particular deal here.

TDL-4 The Latest Threat

2011-06-30T22:13:00.000+01:00

The latest threat to computer users is reputed to be the botnet TDL-4. According to the BBC "...4.5 million PCs have become victims over the last three months following the appearance of the fourth version of the TDL virus."
Whether this turns out to be just another storm in a teacup remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Kaspersky have released a small app. which will check for infection. You can download it here

Obama Takes On Trump

2011-05-01T07:35:00.000+01:00

Here are two great videos one, by the President of the US and one by a comedy show scriptwriter.
See the other by going here.

<br>S

An Impassioned Rant on Stupidity

2011-04-28T20:48:00.000+01:00

Here's a man who has put into words what many must have felt in their hearts.
Contains some strong language (quite rightly). Via RollingStone

Chomsky tells it like it is.

2011-04-21T23:25:00.000+01:00

Noam Chomsky, in a lecture given in Amsterdam expounds on War, Economics and the Environment. With his usual mix of erudition and common sense he outlines the worlds most pressing problems and explains why only we can change the path to perdition which we are currently following. [READ IT HERE]

Photo effects

2011-04-10T19:53:00.000+01:00

To see the effects move your mouse from left (rain effect) to right (night scene).
Impressive stuff.

Tax Cuts for the Rich on the Backs of the Middle Class

2011-04-07T22:54:00.000+01:00

Matt Taibbi with a classic piece of character assassination upon a new republican (well, new to me) sleaze merchant.
Brilliant, Taibbi gets better by the day.

[LINK]

Rolling Stone's Quotes of the week.

2011-04-01T21:02:00.000+01:00

Rolling Stone rounds up some classic quotes.
Here's a snippet, "Well, a third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion..."

Read all the loonies [here]

How much tax does General Electric pay?

2011-03-29T21:40:00.000+01:00

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart ripped GE for paying no federal taxes in 2010 on its $14 billion profit, while canning American employees and hiring overseas; and Obama for punishing the company by...naming GE CEO Jeffery Immelt to chair his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness! (Announcing Immelt's new side gig, Obama exulted that "GE has something to teach American businesses.") This is much bigger than GE, by the way: Two-thirds of American corporations paid ZERO federal tax on their profits in 2005 (latest figures). Stewart: "I know the Supreme court ruled that corporations are people, but what I didn't realize is that those people are assholes." Meanwhile, pundits are shown calling for corporate tax cuts and freaking out about the "greedy, parasitic public employee unions" bankrupting the nation.
[Via Rolling Stone]
Note: The videos are not available in the UK.

Anti-cuts march: Tens of thousands at London protest

2011-03-26T19:01:00.000Z

Tens of thousands of people have attended a rally and march in central London against public spending cuts.

People of all ages attended the rally.

I was beginning to think that the British people had lost their sense of outrage...maybe not!
[LINK to BBC coverage]

The Butterfly and the Boiling Point

2011-03-20T15:12:00.000Z

"A young Tunisian college graduate, Mohammed Bouazizi, who could find no better work than selling produce from a cart on the street, was so upset by his treatment at the hands of a policewoman that he set himself afire on December 17, 2010".

A very poignant and moving piece from Rebecca Solnit for Tom Dispatch.
..."We live in interesting times."
[LINK]

Bradley Manning: Guilty before his Trial?

2011-03-12T11:26:00.000Z

The continuing mistreatment of Bradley Manning.

Story Via The Guardian
[LINK]

The Wisconsin Protests

2011-03-11T00:35:00.000Z

An interview with Michael Moore about the protests in Madison Wisconsin.
A subject lamentably under-reported here in the U.K.

[LINK]

Why isn't Wall Street in Jail?

2011-02-20T22:29:00.000Z

A great article from Matt Taibbi at RollingStone. On the crime of the century. It's pretty long but worth every minute.
"...build prisons and fill them with people for selling dime bags and stealing CD players. But for stealing a billion dollars? For fraud that puts a million people into foreclosure? Pass. It's not a crime. Prison is too harsh. Get them to say they're sorry, and move on."
[LINK]

Forest sell-off abandoned?

2011-02-17T04:49:00.000Z

Maybe our little campaign actually worked.
Thanks!
[LINK]

Sign a petition to stop the sell off of the Forests

2011-02-11T18:01:00.002Z

Here is an opportunity to help stop the proposed sell off of English forests to the private sector.

[Sign the petition here.]

In Defense of Bradley Manning

2011-02-10T21:33:00.000Z

Civil rights attorney Chase Madar outlines the case against––and the defense on behalf of––the soldier who allegedly provided the documents for the latest WikiLeaks release as well as the now infamous "Collateral Murder" video, Private First Class Bradley Manning.

In Praise of the Nanny State

2011-02-06T09:22:00.000Z

Alain de Botton asks why the idea of a nanny state is so unappealing. He says complete freedom - left totally to our own devices - is rarely what we want. He says there's a lot to be said for the odd paternalistic nudge in the right direction.
[Via BBC]
[Link to Broadcast(10 Min.)]
[Link to Transcript]

Robin rules the roost at CO-OP

2011-01-29T00:18:00.000Z

A robin has taken to turning up at an Aberdeen store for breakfast.

[LINK with short video]

The Demon Drink

2011-01-24T18:46:00.000Z

Find out just how much the booze is Really costing you!
[LINK]

If it were my home

2011-01-20T19:21:00.000Z

The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?
IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another.
A fun way to compare countries, although I wouldn't take it too seriously.
[LINK]

Quiz

2011-01-17T08:48:00.000Z

You used to see these quizzes all over the place, but I haven't seen on in a while.
So, here, for your delectation...
Example: 16 O in a P. Answer: 16 Ounces in a Pound
Now the test...... Good luck!

1. 26 L of the A 2. 7 D of the W
3. 1001 A N
4. 12 S of the Z
5. 54 C in a D (with J)
6. 9 P in the S S
7. 88 P K
8. 13 S on the A F
9. 32 D at which W F
10. 18 H on a G C
11. 90 D in a R A
12. 200 D for P G in M
13. 8 S on an O
14. 3 B M (S H T R)
15. 4 Q in a G
16. 24 H in a D
17. 1 W on a U
18.

19. 57 H V 20. 11 P on a F T
21. 1000 W that a P is W
22. 29 D in F in a L Y
23. 64 S on a C
24. 40 D & N of the G F
25. 76 T in the B P
26. 50 W to L Y L
27.
28. 20,000 L U T S
29. 1 H on a U
30.
31. 7 B for S B
32. 21 D on a D
33. 7 W of the A W
34. 15 M on a D M C
35. 6 D of S
36. 101 D

I've removed a couple of questions as they seemed too Amerocentric.
Have fun!

John West Advert

2011-01-13T21:52:00.000Z

For the 5 or 6 people who haven't seen it!

Merry Yultide and a Happy Hogmanay

2010-12-24T21:00:00.000Z

Click to Enlarge

Life - Keith Richards' Autobiography

2010-12-18T15:15:00.000Z

Keef's new autobiography hits the shelves.
" Life is probably the best rock'n'roll memoir ever written, easily as good as Bob Dylan's Chronicles, but much longer. "
Read the full review [here]

Google's Zeitgeist 2010

2010-12-11T19:56:00.000Z

What did we search for in 2010?

John Pilger on the State of Modern Reportage

2010-12-11T10:08:00.001Z

John Pilger (left) gives us his thoughts on the state of modern day reporting, embedded journalists and Wikileaks.
He seems to me to be one of the last of those prepared to "speak truth to power".
Read the article [HERE]

Fun and Games and Wikileaks

2010-12-08T18:59:00.002Z

Assange arrest sparks Cyberwar.

Update December 8, 2323: Anonymous has taken down Mastercard's global website and hackers have targeted the computer networks of the lawyers representing two women who initiated Swedish police action against Assange.

Read the details[HERE]
Via the J-Walk Blog

New E-Book Service from Google

2010-12-06T21:07:00.000Z

Looks interesting!

Did You Know

2010-12-04T20:32:00.001Z

This is the original "Did You Know" video. Others have since been added, but this is the best of them.

The United States of Fear

2010-11-30T17:56:00.002Z

A new post from Tom Dispatch on the insanity of searching for 100% security.

"So you wanna be safer? I mean, actually safer? Here’s a simple formula for beginning to improve American safety and security at every level. End our trillion dollar wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; set our military to defending our own borders (and no, projecting power abroad does not normally qualify as a defense of the United States); begin to shut down our global empire of bases; stop building grotesque embassy-citadels abroad (one even has a decorative moat, for god’s sake!); end our overseas war stimulus packages and bring some of that money home. In short, stop going out of our way to tick off foreigners and then pouring our treasure into an American war machine intent on pursuing a generational global war against them."

Read the rest [here]

The US of A Breaks the Soviet Record

2010-11-27T09:07:00.000Z

Something to consider, when contemplating this never-ending horror.
Via: Information Clearing House

The Nile Valley by night: from Space

2010-11-25T23:27:00.000Z

Great picture of the nile valley at night taken from the space station,

Via: Juan Cole's excellent site Informed Comment .
( There is also a funny article on Sarah Palin).

Don't Touch My Junk (the TSA Hustle) by Michael Adams - NaturalNews.tv

2010-11-20T23:51:00.000Z

Don't Touch My Junk (the TSA Hustle) by Michael Adams - NaturalNews.tv

The land of the Free: my arse!

Bookdrum - A new way to explore books.

2010-11-20T16:03:00.000Z

Bookdrum is an immersive book review site. Which sets out to try and put some depth and context into your reading experience. I used it to check-out "Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and found it to be very informative. If your writing a book report for school or a teacher setting a book to discuss in class, you could do worse than check this site out.[LINK]

Cannabis fed to ducks by French farmer for 'deworming'

2010-11-20T13:35:00.000Z

An interesting defence by a french farmer accused of growing cannabis.
The last sentence says it all [LINK]

REGRETS OF THE DYING

2010-11-19T20:16:00.000Z

The sort of things that I think about when it dawns on me that:
"Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity."
Food for thought from [HERE]
We would all do well to consider these points, whatever age we are.

Libel reform campaign petition statement

2010-11-16T19:54:00.000Z

Libel reform campaign petition statement

A worthwhile cause.

That's the thing about reading: You find stuff like this...

2010-11-16T18:51:00.000Z

Discovered at:
http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2010_11.php#016852

Dante was standing near the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that crosses the Arno River in Florence. It was just before 1300... Dante saw Beatrice standing on the bridge. He was a young man, she even younger, and that vision contained the whole of eternity for him.
Dante did not speak to her. He saw her very little. And then Beatrice died, carried off by plague. Dante was stricken with the loss of his vision. She was the intermediary between his soul and Heaven itself.
Six hundred fifty years later, during World War II, the Americans were chasing the German army up the Italian "boot." The Germans were blowing up everything of aid to the progression of the American army, including the bridges across the Arno River. But no one wanted to blow up the Ponte Vecchio, because Beatrice had stood on it and Dante had written about her. So the German army made radio contact with the Americans and, in plain language, said they would leave the Ponte Vecchio intact if the Americans would promise not to use it. The promise was held. The bridge was not blown up, and not one American soldier or piece of equipment went across it. We're such hard bitten people that we need hard bitten proof of things, and this is the most hard bitten fact I know to present to you. The bridge was spared, in a modern, ruthless war, because Beatrice had stood upon it.
-- Robert Johnson
"The Figure of Beatrice in Dante's Divine Comedy"
[LINK]

Excit - A fun little Flash Game

2010-11-08T01:24:00.001Z

[LINK]

A flash game based on Excel.
Gets pretty hard, pretty quickly.

Gitmo torture "nothing new"

2010-11-04T22:13:00.000Z

A video podcast from the wonderful "Tom Dispatch" site.

BBC News - What was Jon Stewart's rally in Washington all about?

2010-10-31T06:26:00.000Z

BBC News - What was Jon Stewart's rally in Washington all about?
"And in some corner of the hubbub couched make game of that which makes as much of thee"

Writer Evan Ratliff Tried to Vanish: Here’s What Happened | Vanish | Wired.com

2010-10-30T00:39:00.000+01:00

Writer Evan Ratliff Tried to Vanish: Here’s What Happened | Vanish | Wired.com
Good Article:lots of fun!

John Lennon

2010-10-25T23:22:00.000+01:00

I still miss him.

Net Neutrality and the BBC

2010-10-22T12:27:00.001+01:00

Net Neutrality and the BBC

Post categories: net neutrality

Erik Huggers | 10:04 UK time, Tuesday, 19 October 2010

It is very easy to take the internet for granted. For many of us, it has become an integral part of our lives. It has transformed how we work, communicate, access media, and contribute to debate. It's only during those rare moments when some technical hitch means that you can't access the internet that you appreciate how great it is to be connected to all the content, services and applications that you want.

The companies which provide our broadband connections occasionally struggle to cope with the amount of traffic on the internet. And as traffic is only going to increase, it's critical that there is continued investment in next generation networks in order to cope with that growth and power a connected, creative economy.

Until that capacity is in place, the BBC recognises that traffic management may sometimes be necessary for technical reasons - for example to cope with legitimate network congestion. But this should be the exception. An emerging trend towards network operators discriminating in favour of certain traffic based on who provides it, as part of commercial arrangements, is a worrying development.

Why? For companies that can pay for prioritisation, their traffic will go in a special fast lane. But for those that don't pay? Or can't pay? By implication, their traffic will be de-prioritised and placed in the slow lane. Discriminating against traffic in this way would distort competition to the detriment of the public and the UK's creative economy.

The founding principle of the internet is that everyone - from individuals to global companies - has equal access. Since the beginning, the internet has been 'neutral', and everyone has been treated the same. But the emergence of fast and slow lanes allows broadband providers to effectively pick and choose what you see first and fastest.

There have already been a couple of incidents where access to BBC iPlayer was seriously restricted at certain times of the day. But this is broader than the BBC safeguarding online access to the public services we provide. Along with many other organisations, we recognise the benefits and endless possibilities that come from everyone being connected - sites like theyworkforyou, Mumsnet, and Audioboo have become highly valued democratic and social tools for so many people, while others like Facebook, youTube and Skype have become essential parts of our everyday lives - all having emerged as a result of the open internet. It's exactly these sorts of services that inspire people to go online in the first place, something which we try to help people with through BBC websites such as /connect and initiatives such as 'First Click' - our recently-launched media literacy campaign.

This innovative and dynamic ecosystem, that enables huge public value, could be put at risk if network operators are allowed to use traffic management to become gatekeepers to the internet.

Some say that traffic management is OK in a competitive broadband market - because people can switch broadband provider if they don't like the service they're receiving. In principle that could be right. But in reality, people don't tend to switch broadband provider because it's too complicated, expensive, confusing and often locked in to other services such as telephone and pay-TV. And even if switching were made easier, much more work is needed to deliver real transparency about the traffic management practices used by different broadband providers.

We've expressed this and other concerns to the industry regulator Ofcom and to the European Commission as part of their consultation on the issue. At this stage new legislation is not needed , since effective new EU rules have already been passed. But we do need the determination of regulators to now fully implement these rules, to prevent the emergence of practices which undermine the open internet which we so often take for granted.

Erik Huggers is Director, BBC Future Media & Technology

Pasted from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/10/net_neutrality_and_the_bbc.html>

Walkers to Make Crisp Packets from Potatoes

2010-10-08T20:51:00.000+01:00

Walkers Crisps have stated that they want to make crisp packets from potato peelings.
They also stated that they were going to continue trying to make packaging from cellulose as it is biodegradable.
That seems odd! Surely, potato skins would also be biodegradable...
[LINK]

Land of Hope and Glory (from Last night of the Proms)

2010-09-29T09:31:00.007+01:00

Amazing to think that a classical concert, in 2010 could generate such enthusiasm,
Loads of fun or a jingoistic anachronism?

Deficit Reduction Graph-O-Rama

2010-09-26T14:06:00.000+01:00

Graphing the madness.
excellent post from the DAILY KOS

Excel Hero Academy

2010-09-18T15:42:00.001+01:00

Daniel Ferry’s first rate site Excel Hero, is starting a new venture to try and turn everyone into an Excel Hero just like him.

You can find out about it here.

And, if you’d like some kind of affirmation of his abilities; who better than that grand panjandrum of the spreadsheet John Walkenbach (PBUH)

Lso's; SuperCookies; Flash Cookies etc.

2010-08-25T17:29:00.001+01:00

Local Shared Objects are better known (if known at all) as Super cookies and are not removable using your normal spyware/malware cleaner.
All this was news to me until this week when it was brought to my attention by a friend.
More info from Wikipedia [HERE]

Free removal software [HERE]

Firefox add-on (this is what I use) [HERE]

Fry's English Delight

2010-08-22T22:49:00.000+01:00

This weeks program addresses the subject of gender differences in language. Are men really from Mars? Are women really from Venus? Another excellent, thought provoking program which should please any and all lovers of the English Language.
[LINK]

Fry's English Delight

2010-08-12T02:51:00.000+01:00

The new series of Fry's English Delight kicks off with an investigation into why the QWERTY keyboard is ubiquitous, when it is notoriously inefficient.

Listen to it [HERE]

What Happened in my Birthyear.

2010-08-10T20:27:00.000+01:00

Here is a great little site which manages to describe many of the significant events of your year of birth.
It seems as though this would be a nice thing to send someone on their birthday.
See what you think.

iPhone Vs Evo

2010-08-04T10:52:00.001+01:00

A foul mouthed dig at Apple fanboys and girls.
Rude, but VERY funny.

Gravatar

2010-07-27T07:04:00.000+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

An interesting site that I recently came across is called Gravatar and it provides a useful service for those of us who post to multiple forums, sites etc.
Instructions and information can be obtained from the above link.

Gasland

2010-07-26T23:04:00.000+01:00

A documentary concerning the search to exploit the vast natural gas reserves of North America and the price paid for the method of extraction, called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking".
A first film for the director Josh Fox, this is an important film which attempts to explain the conflicts between the long time environmental cost and the short term financial benefits.
The documentary can be viewed [here].

The Films of Todd Solondz

2010-07-26T22:34:00.000+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

Having, over the course of the last two weeks, watched two movies from the director Todd Solondz I felt that I had to write about my experience. The Two films in question were "Happiness" & "Welcome to the Dollhouse".
These films constitute two of the darkest, blackest, comedies that I've ever seen. Such was their impact on me that, at first, I was unsure of how I felt about them.
I've since decided that they are masterpieces of the first order.
Let me tell you that these films are not for the faint of heart, they are deeply disturbing and worryingly funny. I say worryingly funny, because, I found myself laughing at outrageous scenes and situations which, under normal circumstances, would be profoundly sad or simply disgusting.
"Dollhouse" concerns itself with the early teenage angst suffered by an unatractive and unpopular girl in junior high, whilst "Happiness" tells the story of three dysfunctional sisters and their extremely weird relationships.
Watch these movies and spend your time switching between toe-curling embarassment, hands-over-eyes horror and guilty pleasure of the worst kind.
I'm off to find his newest movie "Life During Wartime".

BBC Promenade Concerts

2010-07-15T09:26:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow sees the start of the BBC 2010 Proms season

More information can be found {here}.

There will be 76 performances, including the world famous "Last Night of the Proms" on the 11^th September.

Those of you reading this outside of the UK will, unfortunately, not be able to watch the performances on the BBC iPlayer, but, you can listen to it all using the Radio 3 website (link on the right).

Even if you're not a great classical buff, there should be something here to please everyone.

Give it a try.

Pubs in Ayr

2010-05-18T20:41:00.000+01:00

I did a bit of experimenting at this site[LINK] and this is what I managed to come up with.
As you can probably guess Ayr is my home town.
The possibilities seem endless. Why not give it a try? I'm sure you can come up with a much more worthy example. (Hospitals, Police Stations etc.)

UK Press (Election Stuff)

2010-05-06T13:35:00.000+01:00

40 Ways we still use floppies.

2010-04-29T20:52:00.000+01:00

The BBC have published a list of 40 differing ways in which we still use the venerable floppy disk.
Apparently millions are still produced and used every year.
Some innovative uses include beer mats; art and a roofing project!

[LINK]

Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano

2010-04-26T09:06:00.000+01:00

Spectacular picture of Iceland's volcano erupting.

Michael Shermer on strange beliefs

2010-04-22T00:05:00.000+01:00

A great talk from Michael Shermer at TED.

Count the Passes

2010-04-19T11:53:00.001+01:00

This has been around for over 10 years and still some people have not seen it.
It's very impressive.

[LINK]

Prof Lovelock says "It's too late to save the planet."

2010-03-31T12:15:00.001+01:00

Prof. James lovelock says that the time to save the planet is past.
Listen to his interview at the BBC. See also [here]

CIA World Factbook

2010-03-06T21:11:00.000Z

The CIA World Fact Book has been around for ages but I'm still surprised at how many people are unaware of this marvelous resource.

Information on almost anything to do with the country you're researching. From % spending on education to the number of airport runways to the number of people living with HIV. It's all here.

[LINK]

Food Supplements - Are they any good?

2010-02-28T21:09:00.000Z

I take a Multivitamin and 2000mg of Fish Oil.
I don't know if they do me any good but I feel it's worth the effort. Just in case!

[LINK]

What's in a Name?

2010-02-26T20:03:00.001Z

Make sure you think twice before naming your child. You could save it from a lifetime of ridicule.

'Most unfortunate names' revealed

[From the BBC]

Music for Sleep & Relaxation

2010-02-06T01:58:00.000Z

Nice ambient sounds to nod off to.

Set up your own choices. The ones above are mine.

[LINK]

Maths for the Challenged

2010-02-03T16:23:00.001Z

For those of us fascinated, but baffled, by Mathematics.
A new series of articles in the NewYork Times.

[Link to first Article]

[Link to RSS Feed]

[Via Lifehacker]

Howard Zinn

2010-01-31T20:04:00.000Z

Howard Zinn, The great American historian and activist died this week.
Here is a 5 minute tribute by Bill Moyers.

[LINK]

Marc Emery

2009-12-18T09:53:00.001Z

Help prevent the extradition of Marc Emery to the US.
A cannabis activist and libertarian, Marc faces a politically motivated extradition to the USA in direct contravention of Canada's laws.
Please read the background and sign the petition, here:-
Online petition - Stop the extradition of Marc Scott Emery

Bill Moyers Essay: Restoring Accountability for Washington's Wars

2009-12-11T04:10:00.000Z

An excellent Bill Moyers essay on the responsibility of all, not just the poor, to accept their part in either stopping the war, or, stepping up to the plate.
[LINK]

Thoughts on Illegal Drugs

2009-11-10T22:47:00.000Z

Clive James gives his thoughts on the taking of illegal drugs.
Thought provoking stuff.
You'll find it [HERE]

Relaxing Music

2009-11-05T17:36:00.001Z

Need to Chill? Need some music to send you of to sleep?
Look no further. Cryosleep (No Beats Guaranteed) is just the ticket.

I've taken to putting this on when I go to bed. Believe me, sleep comes in about 10 minutes. If you have a music player which has a sleep function (I use Media Monkey) set it for about 30mins. and I promise you, you won't hear it finish.

Go [Here] and click on

Enjoy!

Did You Know?

2009-10-30T07:04:00.000Z

Nice video, with all kinds of (unverified, at least by me) "facts".

Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.