December 2010
1 post
Map of the Decade, ExaTrends of the Decade, and... →
chrisdymond:
Ross Dawson and the guys over at Trends in the Living Network have published a 3-page visual ‘trends framework’ that captures their thinking about the Internet’s impact on the connected world, technology, economics, governance and the social sphere.
Their model covers the last decade - the components of which they label ‘exatrends’ to indicate the vast overarching impact of those...
November 2010
1 post
“Next time, I’m looking at hate (pdf). How has the web has changed how we hate:...”
– Aleks Krotoski untangling the web: Topic: Hate
September 2010
1 post
1 tag
The Decline Agenda: Paper.li puts Twitter to work →
declineagenda:
The technology behind paper.li is impressive but more important is how it harnesses your Twitter followers, lists and hashtags to create something of low key beauty on your screen.
So many newspapers but not enough readers is a problem for Paper.li as more of these daily papers appear….
June 2010
1 post
“The question is whether and how the production of high-quality and pluralistic...”
– http://bit.ly/cO6t8m
January 2010
7 posts
“The message from biology is that we are a group of animals: intensely social,...”
– Frans de Waal (The Age of Empathy)
Listened to the excellent Crossing Continents on...
Listened to the excellent Crossing Continents on #r4 focusing on Sri Lanka and asking if the Sinhalese nationalists and Buddhist monks are winning the ‘peace’. We meet Tamil Tigers who are creepily being rehabilitated. A word in use in places such as Saudi Arabia but feels less benign and Orwellian double talk when applied to politics not crime.
As the Sinhalese go about what is seen...
1 tag
My favourite films of 2009
The Wrestler: Mickey Rourke at his very best. Sad, emotionally charged and a fascinating insight into the theatre of wrestling.
Frost/Nixon: Broadcast and politics collide. Period design par excellence. The build up to the interview is like that of Las Vegas fight.
il divo: Sometimes stylish at times gritty. The mafia middleman gets his due.
In the city of sylvia: Intimate Cinematic...
“ET phone Rome”
– Republican graffiti against critic Bishop Daly.
Pictures: Barnet walk
North London countryside with @MetWalkers Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
1 tag
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have...”
– Helder Camara
1 tag
“In the City of Sylvia reminds you that most cinema discourages you from looking,...”
– Peter Bradshaw, Guardian, 13 March 2009
December 2009
8 posts
1 tag
Film Review: Nowhere Boy (2008) Not about the band...
Nowhere Boy (2008) is about the early life of John Lennon a boy caught between an emotional pincer movement of his mother and aunt. The film is an emotional roller coaster as Lennon oscillates between his free spirited aunt played by Ann Maria Duff who is to become an influence on his future musical development. The film is about hints rather than spelling it out his aunt’s depression...
Pictures: Wimbledon Common Walk with @Metwalkers
Great snow and dogs too. Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
A view on blogging in response to Davepress
A provocative blog that has done the trick; attracted comments (conversation) and led to some soul searching amongst those whose blogging efforts have waned for understandable reasons. As with many blogs related to the public sector I leave many of these posts more wiser and welcome the insights and tips. So my forays into blog posts are really to extend my knowledge. I am a civil servant who...
Testing
test
Pictures: Eaton Court Hotel
Hotel building then it’s demolition. The end of a suburban hotel. Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
Clapham Common Walk
Picture: Great @MetWalkers Urban walk via Clapham Common. Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
Pictures: Metwalkers, Primrose Hill
Taken on a rainy Wednesday with the Metwalkers #ramblers Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
November 2009
3 posts
Picture: squirrels at play.
See and download the full gallery on posterousNo sign of the Fantastic Mr Fox. Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
Picture: Sparks fly in Sutton
Picture: sparks fly in Sutton. Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
Sutton
Posted via web from Photoplay | Comment »
October 2009
5 posts
Blogging about #Micromen Sinclair, Acorn and a...
Micromen follows the fortunes of two early pioneers of the British Computer market. A slice of electronics history, hardware not software. The narrative is classical with Freeman (The Office) plays Chris Curry who would leave Sinclair and set up the rival Acorn Computing. Freeman’s character is that of the prodigal son, he is Roy Keane to Sinclair’s Brian Clough persona. sinclair...
Picture from a Met Walk London Parks
A sunny day on October 16th 2009. From Queensbury we crossed some great parks, saw some great statues and even listened to poetry. At the Serpentine a poetry marathon was in play. Sent from my iPhone Posted via email from Photoplay | Comment »
Say hello or wave goodbye first impressions of...
Being a cinema enthusiast I am no stranger to hype however since the announcement of Googlewave I have been eagerly awaiting it’s arrival. Perhaps not as sought over as a Willy Wonka gold wrapper to see the Wave invitees flaunting their invites on Twitter produced in me only mild envy. However this did not stop me doorstepping @paulocanning but help arrived via my good friend @pcliffe with...
Posted a blog in support of @blogactionday...
For much of my life to be honest I did not take a great deal of interest in what are called Green issues. I believed the science of Climate Change but like many things it came under the umbrella term ‘stuff happens’ However three years ago I joined the UK Ramblers Association. Going out on countryside walks enhanced my appreciation of the environment immensely. Climate...
Reading Carl Bildt's blog and liking the personal...
Using the power of Google translator which I have re-discovered via a Sidewiki Firefox add-on I set about reading Carl Bildt’s blog. Bildts blogs from a position of power and prestige. He is afterall a former Swedish PM who now finds himself as Swedish Foreign Minister. Add to that longtime blogger and something of a digital pioneer. A digital diplomat long before the phrase came into...
September 2009
1 post
Film Review: The End of the Line. Documentary as a...
The End of the Line is part of a new wave of documentaries that not only seek prizes at Film Festivals but just as important; get screened at No 10 Downing Street. The purpose of the documentary is not primarily to make money but change opinions. Age of Stupid is another example of this current crop of documentaries. What is happening to the world fish stocks is an under reported issue and...
June 2009
2 posts
Looking for Eric (film) - Which one?
Eric Cantona or Eric Bishop that is the question. Having seen Looking for Eric what I wanted to find was Eric Bishop. To borrow a Manchester Utd chant “who the fuck is Eric Bishop” well he is the suicidal postman who like James Stewart in Harvey Eric Cantona not a rabbit appears to him and him alone. Think back if you will to Woody Allens Play It Again Sam’ were Bogart appears...
1 tag
Drag me to Hell (Raimi) - Quelle horreur
Drag me to Hell is well directed by Sam Raimi or is it the film feels like it has been orchestrated. Raimi waves the baton summoning up the dead, throwing them around and placing them in surprising positions. A film in two gears slow then fast, slow again and that is horror Raimi style. Think back to the Evil Dead (1981) when all seems relaxed and friends unload the car for a weekend away in the...
May 2009
2 posts
1 tag
The Damned United (film) Some dream of becoming a...
First kicks, I have read the book by David Peace ‘The Damned United’ and yes I like football. This is the baggage I take into my review. The film of Damned United takes Brian Clough and gives you the essence of the man through his years managing Derby, Brighton and of the course that damned team Leeds United. A good decision in my book was to take out the Nottingham Forest glory days...
My film review: Delta - A waterside view of...
The Hungarian film ‘Delta’ only by language denotes that the film is actually based in that country. A real strength of this film lies within the brooding atmosphere that envelopes the film like a strange weather day. A son arrives at a small town. He greets his mother and then his sister who has just been doing some rather bloody work with a pig moments early. Very little...
April 2009
2 posts
1 tag
Tony Manero: Slow Disco
Tony Manero a Chilean film that revolves around a man obsessed by the film Saturday Night Fever. For him the obsession is not a Fully Monty style escape from unemployment but instead from dictatorship. In many ways he is a reflection of the Pinochet regime or perhaps a product of that regime?
Tony Manero is for the most part a solitary figure like many characters in cinema of late. Thinking...
1 tag
Wendy and Lucy (2008) Just passing through.
The film Wendy and Lucy brings together a girl and a dog alas not a child in tow. Just as well as the emotional core of the film is that between Wendy and her dog. Substitute a child for the dog and a more traditonal cinemactic bond would be played out. This is a small gem of a film that can be viewed as both a comment on the hidden homeless or a reflection on the recession in America.
The...