it had to be done
25 August 2005. Inspired by punning linguists.
In the spirit of Bin Laden putting a bounty on Kofi Annan's head, I see that BA's on strike again.
a princely indulgence
25 August 2005. Inspired by a story waiting to be written.
Inside today's Life of the Day [Shaw, Sir Eyre Massey (1828-1908)]:
"Shaw moved easily in London's aristocratic clubland (he belonged to the St James's, Carlton, and Marlborough clubs) and was honoured by royalty, indulging the prince of Wales's taste for attending fires in fireman's uniform."
currently showing in my mental screening room
24 August 2005. Inspired by a life of adventure.
It's as if we were twins.
unholy trinity
23 August 2005. Inspired by an email, a webfeed and neil gaiman.
Three marvellous things:
Creatively challenged
18 August 2005. Inspired by a link spotted in Matt Jones' de.li.co.us tags of the day.
I'm not entirely sure what kind of VJ is into remixes of the exterior of Exeter Cathedral combined with calculators on the Money Programme, but either way the Beeb's first Creative Archive leap is a joy to behold. Lots of media goodness, and I for one will be adding a Pingu soundtrack to the Adelie penguin asap.
I can understand why they want to release content under various brands, in this case Radio 1, though surely the joy is in taking samples from unexpected places, rather than being told 'these are for music'?
But I quibble. As soon as I have a decent amount of free time (I'm thinking October 2011) I'll have a proper play. In the meantime, expect a lot of amateur, illegally soundtracked Lord Privy Seals from now on.
Prophet share
09 August 2005. Inspired by a google adword that just begged to be clicked.
Question of the day: "Why are relatively small powers like Egypt, Syria and Lebanon mentioned in Bilblical prophecy, but no nation recognizable as the United States can be found?" (Answers on a pizza to the usual authorities.)
Tooth and nails
08 August 2005. Inspired by Lord Frederick of Edgbaston.
Nails. When the cricket gets that stressful, I'm chewing on twenty a day, which requires a fair amount of flexibility and the removal of some lower ribs. As wickets tumble and the commentary burbles on, I'm chainbiting, leaving discarded ends in ashtrays and dustbins. Filthy habit, I know, but what other option do I have? Now they only have four days to grow back before we start again at Old Trafford. Like everyone else, by the end of the summer I'll be hammering the keyboard with two bloodied stumps. And it's worth every mouthful if I can have many more moments like the one I had alone on Sunday morning, kneeling in my pants, fists clenched, hollaring at the blank wall as the radio commentary screamed "is he... yes HE'S OUT!"
Less disturbing for your visual imagination, two updates on previously noted things: Roy Greenslade further discusses the phonecam journalism scenario, and Jamie Kane, the Beeb's fun alternative reality game aimed at teenage girls (free to play!) and written about back in the day, is now finally up and playable. I've heard talk of this being the first of many interesting things in the development shed, so go play, and help give them the numbers to justify a bigger toy box. It's rather good, too.
Update: Jon has a rather wonderful tale of not being there, seeing it or hearing it.
Independent thought
02 August 2005. Inspired by a familiar story of independence.
In November 2003, I sent a few ideas to a literary agent. Nothing really came of it in the end, but one idea in particular seemed popular, based on a theme I'd started to explore on here.
It was about trying to create my own country from scratch. The agency became very interested in the logistics of it... until word came back that Danny Wallace was about to do it too. Already known for his humourous books and TV series, and already with a contract, there seemed little point in trying to compete.
21 months on, and Danny's efforts are appearing on British screens. They will undoubtedly be better and more amusing than my effort would have been. Bastard. I'm sure if I go back enough through my server logs, I'll find grounds for a cut of the profits...
Anyway, for those who care (actually, I'm not sure I do any more), here's the rough first outline I sent in, and that could have led to me leaving Spain and living in a Yorkshire field for a year, if it hadn't been for that pesky Wallace.