what?
twitter!
archive
feed
26 Nov 2010
→
I really dislike Kanye West and his music. However, George Condo’s cover for “Power” is great.

I really dislike Kanye West and his music. However, George Condo’s cover for “Power” is great.

16 Nov 2010
→
They used to always use this image when advertising BBC Radio Scotland on BBC One Scotland. The thing on the left is the shadow of a microphone, but in my youth I always thought it was some sort of beaked stinging spider.

They used to always use this image when advertising BBC Radio Scotland on BBC One Scotland. The thing on the left is the shadow of a microphone, but in my youth I always thought it was some sort of beaked stinging spider.

→
21 Sep 2010
→

Order Now: using infomercials to sell CDs

This is the ad for the new* album by Weezer, the US rock group. I guess this is one way of selling CDs in the age of MP3s and rampant piracy - bundle your album with a blanket:

I don’t know if this ad is actually being broadcast, or if it’s just a clever YouTube-only thing. Watching the Weezer ad, though, reminded me of the infomercials the Beastie Boys did for their album, Hello Nasty, back in the late 1990s. Apparently these were actually broadcast on US television:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


* New to me… it says 2009 on the info.

29 Jul 2010
→
How about this for the ultimate chill-out playlist? All these works are available to purchase on Amazon and iTunes. John Cage - 4’33” Boards of Canada - Magic Window (from ‘Geogaddi’) Sly & the Family Stone - There’s A Riot Goin’ On (from “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”) If anyone knows of any others, let me know! Meanwhile, on Facebook, there’s a campaign to make 4’33” this year’s Christmas number 1. I like it.

How about this for the ultimate chill-out playlist? All these works are available to purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

  1. John Cage - 4’33”
  2. Boards of Canada - Magic Window (from ‘Geogaddi’)
  3. Sly & the Family Stone - There’s A Riot Goin’ On (from “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”)
If anyone knows of any others, let me know! Meanwhile, on Facebook, there’s a campaign to make 4’33” this year’s Christmas number 1. I like it.
8 May 2010
→
The Fairy Coffins at the National Museum of Scotland. Genuine fairies. In coffins.

The Fairy Coffins at the National Museum of Scotland.

Genuine fairies. In coffins.

5 May 2010
→
After impulse-buying about 100 unused Victorian/Edwardian chemists’ labels on eBay, I have been struggling to find a use for them. Until tonight. Turns out they make great tamper-evident seals on parcels and envelopes.

After impulse-buying about 100 unused Victorian/Edwardian chemists’ labels on eBay, I have been struggling to find a use for them. Until tonight.

Turns out they make great tamper-evident seals on parcels and envelopes.

3 May 2010
→

Android apps that don’t suck

There’s a lot of rubbish on the Android Market. These are the good apps I’ve found. I’ve split them up into normal and ‘techy’ apps.
($) indicates paid app
(x) indicates not available on Android Market

Astro File Manager - Explorer-style file manager
Vignette - Brilliant camera replacement app ($)
Twidroyd - Twitter client ($)
3G Watchdog - Monitors 3G usage
Carrom3d Pro - 3D pool/snooker game ($)
Speedx 3D - Fast-paced 3D tunnel game ($)
Retro Clock Widget - Clock widget
IMDB Movies & TV - Interface to IMDB
Jorte - Calendar/diary app
Smooth Calendar - Calendar widget
Smart Keyboard Pro - Enhanced keyboard ($)
Gensoid - Mega Drive emulator ($)
GBCoid - Game Boy emulator ($)
Text Easy - Lets you text multiple contacts
Tuner - gStrings - Detects frequency of tones
Google Maps - Maps
Bubble Level - Spirit level inside your phone
Google Sky Map - Astronomy tool
handyCalc Calculator - Scientific calculator
Pure music widget - Music widget ($)
Robotic Guitarist - Virtual guitar ($)
Barcode Scanner - Barcode reader (2D/3D)
Drop7  - Addictive puzzle game ($)
Solo - Virtual guitar ($)
WordUp! - Wordsearch game
eBuddy Messenger - Multi-network IM client
ConnectBot - SSH client
StopWatch - A stopwatch
Documents To Go 2.0  - Full-featured Office software ($$$)
Google Earth - Google Earth! (x)
F-Secure Anti-Theft - Remotely track/lock your phone (x)
ViewRanger - Official Ordnance Survey mapping client (x)($)

Techy ones

Wifi Analyzer - Measures wifi signal strength
AndFTP - FTP/SFTP client
Network Discovery - Port scanner
GPS Status - In-depth GPS information
MapDroyd - Open source, offline map tool
c:geo - Geocaching tool
android-vnc-viewer - VNC client
Tasker - Sets up complex automated tasks ($)
OS Monitor - Task manager and system info
OI File Manager - Required for some apps

28 Apr 2010
→
Taryn Simon An American Index of the Hidden & Unfamiliar Book of photographs by Taryn Simon, who gained access to secure places to take photos of things seen only by a closed group. Featuring nuclear waste, the KKK, banknote printing presses, undersea cables, ultra-orthodox anti-Zionist Jews, quarantine cages, prisons, and more. Recommended! (Also, the book is huge and heavy. I injured my arm trying to read it on the lav.) TED: Taryn Simon photographs secret sitesBook link

Taryn Simon An American Index of the Hidden & Unfamiliar

Book of photographs by Taryn Simon, who gained access to secure places to take photos of things seen only by a closed group. Featuring nuclear waste, the KKK, banknote printing presses, undersea cables, ultra-orthodox anti-Zionist Jews, quarantine cages, prisons, and more. Recommended!

(Also, the book is huge and heavy. I injured my arm trying to read it on the lav.)

TED: Taryn Simon photographs secret sites
Book link

12 Apr 2010
→
I stopped watching Doctor Who because Catherine Tate was in it. Now I have started again, because she’s gone, David Tennant’s gone (outstayed his welcome), and I strongly approve of the Doctor’s feisty new Invernessian assistant Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her Scottish antics. Going by the series preview, this is going to be a great one! Oh, and the Doctor actually looks like a Time Lord again.

I stopped watching Doctor Who because Catherine Tate was in it.

Now I have started again, because she’s gone, David Tennant’s gone (outstayed his welcome), and I strongly approve of the Doctor’s feisty new Invernessian assistant Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her Scottish antics.

Going by the series preview, this is going to be a great one!

Oh, and the Doctor actually looks like a Time Lord again.