New Year

Does anyone actually think that New Year's is anything more than an extortionately expensive night out? It appears to be a simple opportunity for club and bar owners to fleece the gullible public out of as much cash as possible for as little effort as possible. Rip off. That said, I'm going out tonight!

Late again

Was meant to be in work at seven o'clock this morning, must have slept through my alarm as I was up and about at 8:30. Oops. My boss called me a dumb shit but laughed in the same sentance. I like him all the more for it. I felt so bad, though got over it when I was making up the time later on in the day - time drags when noone else is around to work with. Start later; end later. Bookshops are a collective effort, like a family.

The Return of the King

That's me by the way. I'm the king and I'm back. I've just returned from a stunning film, a tale that unfolds in front of your eyes and a beautiful and lamenting episode; Cold Mountain. The stars depicted in the marketing posters are not shown in the same way in the film where there is no aura of 'star vehicle' like some of the other films of the moment. On an unrelated note, I have no plans to see S.W.A.T - starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Meanwhile in Cold Mountain, Ruby Thewes (Zellweger) accompanies Ada (Kidman) in a struggle to keep a home together whilst the her friend waits for sweetheart Inman (Law) to return home from the Civil War. The film is mainly set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the 1860s though shot in Romania's Carpathian Mountains. "Cold Mountain" recounts the pilgrimage of a wounded Confederate deserter who slogs across North Carolina toward the promise of love waiting in the hills of home. There are poignant moments but little mopping of tears - the dramatisation appears real and elegant - something Kidman seems to be specialising in. Go see it.

Pornolize your site

Not safe for any sort of work environment,. naturally. Read it at home and laugh....
Any official site make even more fun: Department for Education and Skills

link

How not to get fired by blogging. Fun

And linked from Blogger's homepage - something I'd forgotten until just now.
link

I'd forgotten how beautiful the images here were.

Having found the site about a year ago I was entranced by the colour of the images as well as their continutally and consistentyl beautiful composition. This was part of what prompted me to purchase a digital camera recently - I wanted to be able to take photos like this but not have to deal with the hassel (and expense) of developing film. Check it out.
Quarlo photos

A Christmas Tune We Can All Hum To

As long as everything's working the way it should:

http://www.comeallyefaithful.co.uk/

I love how Betty from Gragham Norton's show finishes off the whole scene - she's a real cracker - just keeps going and going like the Energiser Bunny. Appropriate analogy I think.

This is who I really am

I was out at the bar in the centre of town last night, sitting drinking with some friends. Up to the window walks one of my old 'friends' from school. I immediately wanted to hide in a hole somewhere – to retreat back into myself. I was so panicked, it was odd. I rushed to put my jacket on over my wonderfully camp t-shirt - something I didn't think I'd ever do, but part of it I think was that I didn't want to be honest with them- I didn't want them to have the recognition of knowing who I am as a person - who I REALLY am
But then part of it is that I'm scared- I don't like that stage of coming out to people I know from the past. People I’ve known previously scare me yet people I have only just met I can be brutally honest with, something I regret but something I acknowledge. For now, it’s the way life has to be .

By the way

Stay safe, not stupid over the holiday season: The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, a charity based a few hundred metres from my home, tells us how around 350 people in the UK will need hospital attention this year as a result of accidents involving christmas tree lights. Read their warning

"About 1,000 people are hurt by trimmings or when decorating their homes. Many small children bite into glass baubles, adults fall while use unstable chairs instead of ladders to put up streamers or tumble out of lofts while looking for decorations."

They get this information by having people interviewing thousands of those who attend Accident and Emergency departments throughout the year and ask them in essence: "Why are you here?". It's very funny to be asked this by someone simply because it seems like stating the obvious sometimes. I was asked how I sprained my ankle a few years back after telling the woman that I was running at the time. 'Well, I'm running along, my foot rotates, I fall over, my ankle kills!' Very strange. But interesting once we are able to find out how many people needed hospital treatment because of electric knives which are overall one of man's most idiotic and dangerous inventions.

I love George W

Through a rather long link chain I get to the page of thousandreasons.org which links to an interesting chart from the Economic Policy Institute here showing how though the 'economy' has been showing strong growth over the last two quarters, the growth in earnings has shown an overall decrease of 0.1%. This isn't good news considering how much Bush has been touting his supposedly successful warming of the US economy through trillions of dollars of tax cuts:

Economy watchers have been ebullient over recent evidence that the recovery is finally gaining strength. At the top of this list is the very strong 8.2% pace of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter growth of 2003. However, as the figures reveal, the expansion is not showing up in the one trend that arguably matters most to working families: the growth of real hourly wages. Economists correctly point out that wage growth responds to overall growth with a long lag, but this is of little consolation to the working experiencing significant cognitive dissonance as they hear the economic cheerleading coming from most market analysts.

What does this mean? Well, it seems that economically influential markers such as manufacturing, export and inward investment are up, leading to GDP growth. The problem that remains is that businesses pass on their successes to employees last and their failures first so they're still being pessimistic about the recent recovery of the economy continuing. This will be good news to most of us in about six month's time when we'll get cheaper clothes, our more adventurous options in supermarkets will return and the rate of new product launches will increase again. Do you care much about that? Nor do I, but the thing that would get you is this: your employer may be more likely to give you a raise if the CEO knows that his shares are doing well so he can cash some of them in. It's a trickle down system and time is needed for the rain on the mountain to create a flood down in the valley. Lol.

Passaporte

During a quiet peruse of The Captive State, a Christmas gift from my mother which I dipped into this afternoon, a noise erupted from the depths of the house. My first impression was of something like two horses fighting to the death on some floor above me, but it turned out to merely be my mother and sister having a go. As you well know the lot of them are going on holiday leaving me to fend for myself (!) for a week. Shock turns to horror and then we get bored and realise how much of a non-event that is. Speaking of which, my cousins were surprised I was being left - they're locked out of their house when their parents go away... I'm not enough of a party freak am I!
Anyway, there's this storm going on above me and I kind of ignore it, what's there to do! A few minutes later I garner from the noise that my older sister has left her passport in London. She's going to France tomorrow and seemed to think that one doesn't need a passport; thought one didn't need to show it. Well, you do need a passport and as a result she had to go all_the_way back to London to get it, then come all_the_way back again. Eugh. That's the kind of thing I'd have nightmares about. That and setting my alarmclock wrong and waking at something like 7:30 rather than 5:30! I hate that phoning in thing saying you're not going to be in today. Though I always push myself to the limit before considering not coming in to work, I still feel like I'm cheating if I do call in sick. I just feel bad. So whilst laughing at my sister I also feel sorry for her because I know how I'd feel there; shit.

Phew

It's now 8:30 PM and my cousins and I have been sleeping on the floor by the fire. Due in part to the combination of red wine, good food and a warm room as well as the fact that I only slept for four hours after wrapping presents until early in the morning and then waking to 'do' stockings this morning. We've had the usual Christmas situation - too much wonderful food, family to visit and presents for all. I remain steadfast in my preference for giving to receiving. Whilst giving you can acknowledge far more easily the effort you've put into finding something that's right for someone whilst when opening a gift it's often hard to tell, or on the other hand all too easy to realise the thought that was not put in. I did however still enjoy getting - I'm not trying to pretend to be completely selfless! My sisters gave me an unexpectedly wonderful gift: a corduroy material French Connection satchel. Often these bags feel slightly tacky because the material is a thin canvas which makes them insubstantial, but this one is a weighty, well made thing. Loving that stuff!
On a theme, the tops that I got for my sisters did fit in the end. I had so much trouble working out whether they would. I went to a club wear shop a few weeks ago to get them some stuff since, my younger sister in particular, they often don’t wear clothes that make you stand back and realise it’s unique. Thankfully they have something just their own now – not only did I have to use their sizes (ie UK size 12 etc) but I got t-shirts of theirs and compared them to the size of top which I bought – in an attempt to match up the fit. It worked… Yeah!

On a related note...

I work in a bookshop. That means that now I appear to be able to predict the coming trends in cultural movements before most people realise them since I see the books that fly off our shelves every day.. The sad fact is that as a result I also notice how we are sheep. Whilst on the one hand I see the new phenomenon 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves' selling 25 thousand copies in a week, I also notice how it goes on to sell over 225 thousand since the publisher calls a reprint. We have received over 250 Atkins diet books over the last few days for the planned rush of dieting that will occur immediately following Christmas. All these people follow the crowd - why not start a diet before christmas and look great during it, then return to your NORMAL size from the gluttonous food you've consumed.

Trendsetter's Top 10 Trends for 2003
1. Overweight
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people worldwide are overweight, 300 million of them obese. Part of the problem lies with our caloric intake, which, according to The New York Times, has risen by more than 10% since 1977. The worldwide export of the U.S.’ super-sized, fast-food culture is affecting weight from Ireland, where 13% of the population is now overweight, to France, where 5 million French are. The trend does present opportunities. Mexico’s Freedom Paradise bills itself as the world's first “size friendly” vacation club, with 37-inch doorways and seats in the showers.

merry christmas all

my fingers ache from wrapping presents, my eyes hurt from looking for gifts, and it seems the season of goodwill has passed before it's supposed to have started. Enjoy the holiday season all!

The Lord of the Rings is a scream

It flits and flies about like a wasp chasing a fly, whilst somehow maintaining a plot. The action jumps from fast paced thrills to somber contemplative serenity within seconds, but the story doesn't suffer for this but revels in the constantly changing pace. Whilst there are fewer panoramic scenery shots that appear to be an advertisement for New Zealand tourism, the cinematography and general look of the film remains as stunning as the former two. Go and see it.

Camping it up, toning it down

We've had some guests from the states over this weekend; nice people, rather religious. They're not governed by their faith, but it's there. As a result I'm not feeling 100% at ease around them, should something I say or do sound a bit odd, but more for my own protection, should something they say upset me or exercise me to an extent that I can't not say something. Before they arrived I was just walking towards a window, it was dark out, and so the glass acted as a mirror. As I walk forwards look at myself in the mirror and think that the image I portray does appear remarkably set. There's no mistake in the fact that my t-shirt is small and my trousers aren't baggy, there's no attempt to hide. But whilst I'm not attempting to hide my body or who I am, I can't feel like I should be less extrovert, more subdued whilst they're here. The question is whether, to appease someone else I'll tone down my impact on everyone else or whether I tone down who I am. I don't know, and can't decide whether it's wrong to do the latter all the same.

Been out it birmingham

And saw this reflection of the wheel that we went on earlier on in the day... It's the one I was ruminating on earlier on in the month - the one that has a commentary in French that sounds like it was recorded in a cave. I don't think it helped that when we were on it the weather was some of the worst Birmingham has seen for months - rain and wind buffeting the little plastic seats about throughout the ride. Slightly disconcerting.
On leaving the wheel and walking away in the cold, dark, wet night we admired the reflection on the lights on a neighbouring hotel. Ugly hotel, beautiful image.

Swim to slim?

But I don't actually want to slim, but to tone, so it should be more like swim to tone. However the alliteration there really isn't so great. However, the swimming part still applies. I've missed swimming. It's such as great workout as it completely knackers you if you're not used to doing it or don't do it right. The move from being able to swim to being a 'good swimmer' takes a while, and I'm moving through that stage right now. Until about three years ago I was on my school swim team and water polo side. We were good - I was good. Then however, I got bored with the constant work and dropped out. I do all the running 'stuff' instead, but it's not the same kind of workout, it's not something that makes your whole body work in conjunction. The attraction of and skill in swimming is that to be successful you have to be fluid.

• If your arms slice into the water just right when doing crawl, it's no good if your legs are simply dead weight and slowing you down; you must create a whole package.


• Swimming makes you breath properly as you can only breath when your head is above the water (!) and so have to time correctly what in all other situations is seen as the most obvious and natural action - taking a breath.


• You can't really be overweight or bulging in the wrong areas - you slow yourself down and make the whole business a lot more difficult. If you try and become a good swimmer whilst fat you'll have trouble. Lose some weight first and then swim to get the rest off.


• One thing I try to remember when swimming is to use several different strokes and different speeds - bursts of full effort sprints in crawl or backstroke to create variation from the normal 60% effort of the majority of your time. Faster swimming exercises muscles in a different way and also stresses some muscles more than others which might be used in 'maintenance' swimming where you're just going at a speed which keeps you going but is nothing special.
  

Is this a guide on how to be good at swimming: no. It's just a few thoughts on swimming that occurred to me during my exhaustion in the gym today. Ignore them if you like - you probably don't swim.

Power Mac G4 Cube

Someone in Japan has made a G4 cube esque G5 cube all on their own. I think it looks a lot more interesting than the original cube, but hey. It's got all the grills and handles of the G5 but it's more boxy. Love it! Power Mac G4 Cube
via Buffoonery

Fight

I'm now fighting with my mother which I really hate because of the calm way she'll throw insults my way. If someone is really emotional when they're insulting me, arguing with me or even 'fighting', I don't really mind because they're showing how much they want to get their point across. If the person is cool, calm and collected they just make me feel awful because they're really just trying to harm, to make the recipient feel awful. Meet my mother.

Tobacco manufacturer 'giving' product away

By paying the good looking boys and girls of the United States to pretend to love their product so much that they are prepared to give it away to their new-found friends. To prevent the new employees from simply giving the cigarettes away to their friends they make the kids photograph those how ‘benefit’ from the free cigarettes. How underhand, how sly, and divisive. Why do we now have to beware the intentions of strangers for yet another reason – because of profits. Wonderful:

"The Salem cigarette brand is marketing itself by paying attractive young men and women to give away its product. To keep these employees from making mass donations to their friends they've been given digital cameras. They're asked to photograph a unique driver license for every 3 packs given away. I witnessed this at my first visit to Dee's Cafe on the south side. It's a favorite hangout of Pittsburgh bike messengers, hep cats, artists, and smokers. About 30 packs were given away in the hour that I was there."

link via BoingBoing

"The mother of all news stories: how the world's front pages united around a single theme"

For the first time in just more than two years - since the terrorist attacks brought the towers of the World Trade Centre to the ground - yesterday's newspapers looked almost identical, no matter where in the world they were published.

The New York Post issued a special edition with the headline: "We Got Him!", like so many papers across America. The Post said: "American soldiers captured a bearded and haggard Saddam Hussein, pouncing on the once-feared Iraqi dictator while he hid in a cramped underground tunnel 'like a rat' in a hole."

America's heavyweight press was more sober, The New York Times saying: "Saddam Hussein's capture leaves the United States facing the same profound questions about how best to create a stable and democratic government in Iraq".

The Jerusalem Post said the capture was "fabulous news", and Russia's Kommersant predicted the ensuing trial would be "a beautiful PR stunt for George Bush".

But not every editor was grateful. De Standaard, in Belgium, said: "Showing degrading pictures of a prisoner, even if he was a cruel tyrant, does not increase the moral authority of those who overpowered him."

link

By the way, one great place to have a look at the different ways newspapers cover issues around the world is to look at a website called, suprisingly enough, 'Today's Front Pages' where you can browse over 250 frontpages from newspapers around the globe, which turns out to be a really fascinating study.

Look forward to a tour of the clubs around the area. It could be fun...

Especially if you don't live here!
Pinch my ass and ask for my number

I was reading a book trilogy the other day

by Peter F Hamilton... It's called the Night's Dawn Trilogy, and in it he mentions about the butterfly flapping idea. In a world where Earth's atmosphere has been decimated and the world is suffering the effects of massive storms orders of magnitude more powerful than those today, a phrase was coined. Supposedly a newscaster mentioned how it would have to have taken an armada of butterflies flapping their wings in the Amazon to create the storm then raging in Europe. The idea stuck and from then on the storms were called Armada Storms. Little piece of random information for you there, I thought that was interesting.

ahhh - the fate of the ignored blog

It gets more hits this way than any other.... Is this sign that people prefer it when I shut up and sit back or that some technological wizardry is influencing my traffic? Probably neither, but a butterfly in the Amazon flapping its wings made someone click on a link to my site... It's all random. Btw - I'm back and feeling nosy, so I took a photo of my schnoz. Get that camera-in-shot action!

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW YEAR'S READS.

At the end of every year, The Black Table goes through the heap of magazines we subscribe to, kill off the ones that disappointed and load up on a whole new batch. But with 4,600 magazines on the market, nearly double the number there was in 1986, finding nuggets of gold in the oversaturated marketplace is a chore. No wonder newsstand magazine sales dropped to 1.6 billion from 2.1 billion over that same span.
To make life a little easier as the holidays approach, The Black Table has tackled the magazine rack and found four magazines you should take a shot at over the next 12 months, four you should shun from the mailbox and one you need to keep an eye on. (As a convenience, you can click the picture to subscribe to the magazine through Amazon.com. But know that prices are often cheaper when bought through the magazine inserts.)

link.

How gay is Britain, and is it just the chattering classes who 'accept' 'us'?

A Labour MP is exposed for subscribing to a gay internet dating service, but middle England condemns his choice of underwear, not his sexual orientation. A gay pop star is at No1 - and no one bats an eyelid. So has Britain finally accepted homosexuality, asks Libby Brooks

It was a deviation for which the decent soul of middle England could muster minimal forgiveness. In a poll for the Mail on Sunday last weekend, the public were not gentle in their censure of Chris Bryant, the Labour MP lately exposed as an active subscriber to the internet dating site Gaydar. His underwear, revealed in the near-naked self-portrait that Bryant posted on the site alongside a profile in which he described himself as "very versatile", was deemed wholly unacceptable. Only 3% of women, it transpires, prefer a man to wear Y-fronts.
The rest of the results were rather milder in tone. That the honourable member for Rhondda had a right to privacy, it was agreed, was beyond question. That his decision to share with the online community his love of "a good long f***" was not a resigning issue was similarly supported by the majority of respondents. Instead, the behaviour that most exercised those questioned was not related to Bryant's sexuality, nor his chosen means of its expression, at all.

link




From a recent interview with one of the UK's most popular television presenters:
Q Are you really in the gayers or is it just
your TV persona?

A It was my agent's idea...She said, 'How do you
feel about going homo? It's the new black.'

link

If you have any taste you'll love this book.

I read the one from 2002 last year and have been dipping into it throughout the year to enjoy the style again and again. I'm sure this one will be just as good. From Houghton Mifflin Books:

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, the very best pieces are selected by an editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field, making the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. Dave Eggers, who will be editing The Best American Nonrequired Reading annually, has once again chosen the best and least-expected fiction, nonfiction, satire, investigative reporting, alternative comics, and more from publications large, small, and on-line -- The Onion, The New Yorker, Shout, Time, Zoetrope, Tin House, Nerve.com,and McSweeney's, to name just a few. Read on for "Some of the best literature you haven't been reading . . . And it's fantastic. All of it." (St. Petersburg Times).

is THAT the time

I was having a few minutes power nap (read that phrase again slowly.. then assess how gay it sounds to you... email me the result) before going out clubbing last night. I got to sleep at about 7:30 in order to be back out drinking by nine. I messed around trying to programmed my radio to wake me in time; it normally wakes me with a deafening blast of noise each morning. Unfortunately I seemed to have messed up somewhere and so didn't wake up in time; instead I woke at eleven in a panic. What could I do about it then? Nothing could be done, so I phoned the friends I was meant to have met at nine and wimpered down the phone. I don't think I wimpered very well as I was still half asleep, but it worked: they still like me.
On the flip side of not having gone out last night is the fact that I feel amazing today. It's great what a good night's sleep will do for you. Also, P phoned me to say that the dj was dreadful anyway, so I didn't miss much. Yah! I'm so glad their evening was dreadful too!

Finally a techie doesn't have to do anything

Was visited today by the god of all wonderful luck. Over the last few days/weeks I've been wasting my time (and that of a highly paid engineer) by attempting to fix a 'till' or 'cash register' as you Yankees would call it. The thing's been broken and the company that deals with them had to send me a part. They send me a part, I install it, the engineer comes in, being paid four times as much as me, agrees with what I've done, makes a phone call and says 'yeah, they sent you a broken part'.
Rinse and repeat FOUR TIMES.....

So about a month on, (today) I get a package from the company, and they've mailed this thing out from Michigan. Finally they've stopped sending me shitty parts and the thing bangs in. I whip out my barcodes (how sexy does that line sound!), programme the damn thing, and as though we're in some sort of retail heaven, the thing works! My relief is unbelievable. I can now stop doing real work and go back to looking as though I'm doing work, but actually sneaking around gossiping about ugly staff members. It's a hard life in the working world!

Popbitch and the tardblog

I get the Popbitch email every week which comes out with all the rumours and falsehoods which are circulating around the web, some of which so wrong that with a few moments research even I can prove they're wrong. The email comes on a Thursday but I'm so put off by the bitchy style that I often don't read it for a full week. As a result I'm now reading last Thursday's email. In it there's a link to a blog called the Tardblog. It's about children with mental or physical disabilities, often of course known as 'retarded':

We decided on the word "tard" mainly because it is not a word. We picked it for this reason, and thus we can assign our own meaning to the word "tard."

When using "tard" we no not mean necessarily mean "retarded," "stupid," "slow," or any other such word that carries a negative connotation with it. We did not call this the "Retard Blog" or the "Really Stupid Kid Blog" because that is not what it is. This is a journal that is written about the daily happenings in a special education/behavioral disorder classroom.

The children in Riti's class have a myriad of issues, and no two are alike. Some fit under the conventional definition of "mentally retarded," or "developmentally impaired," if you prefer that term. Some are autistic. Some have highly developed neuroses. Others simply have run-of-the-mill behavioral disorders.

It's an interesting site because of some of the tales that it contains:

#18: Supermarket serves fresh tard:
I was going through the supermarket around 12:00AM last night. I usually shop late at night, as there is less of a chance of bumping into anyone I know. I was going through frozen food section, when I see one of my tards on the other side of the freezer glass, mashed in between packages of frozen corn and peas. He was smiling and fogging up the window while beating on the glass and saying "Miss Hammon!" over and over.

I'm think to myself, "What a fucked up supermarket--they serve frozen tard."

After that I thought, "Were the hell are his parents?". I was relieved to find that it was one of the push open kinds of freezer doors as he let himself out and walked over to me. I told him what he was doing is very dangerous and he could suffocate. This agitated him, and he consequently told me I was a cunt and that he thought I would like the surprise. He then spit on the floor and walked away.

Like their FAQ page discusses, I can't decided whether to be mildly amused or completely appalled by the way the site is written. Clearly it's not meant to make light of the children or to mock them, but the simple fact that there is humour coming from their actions makes me apprehensive.
The Tard Blog

Dowdy looking ass

I'm running along on the machine and I sweat like a pig since I'm going at 12kph which is relatively fast even if you don't consider the fact that there's a constantly changing incline on the machine. I'm using the bikes to warm up, doing some leg weights, arm weights etc. Througout this some guy is checking me out. I'm liking this more than anything because I'm wearing what must be the most old and raggedy looking clothes that have ever graced a gym. Now since I'm no heffer anyway the look isn't completely dreadful, but I wouldn't check myself out! Thanks though man, like the thought.

Under Pressure

I’d forgotten how much pressure and tension swimming puts on your hands. That’s the one thing that I really notice when I go back to it after not having swum for a while – the palms of my hands hurt. It's not like the exertion feeling that comes after you've been running or doing weights, but a much deeper ache. I think it comes from the fact that your hands are under almost constant pressure from the water and you can't let up otherwise you'd be going nowhere. For me as a result much of improving my swimming is making my hands strong again just as much as it might be the aerobic strain being accomodated. But then I suppose some of that is due to the fact that I don’t kick enough with my legs and so tire my arms our rather badly. Funny since I do so much running; the muscles I use must be completely different, or at least used in a completely different way. I think I'm going to like getting back into swimming.

The hallucigenia. one odd 'car'

It moves sideways and has eight wheels.
http://stream.zdnet.co.jp/news/0312/05/yokoslide.mpg
http://www.cacheop.com/archives/000409.html

Look at the ipod, gawp at the price

Slashdot discussion on the reasons behind the iPod being SO expensive - namely the level of control that Apple manage to maintain over those resellers that are allowed to stock it. I suppose this isn't thought of as artificially inflating the market because they are only one company and so can charge what they want, but it seems pretty sneeky. 'If you want to sell it you've got to charge more that 300 bucks' - kind of thing.
"Hoping to cash in on a holiday season bargain, I've been keeping my eye on the sales circulars that come in the newspaper. I've seen plenty of discounts for MP3 players of all kinds (Rio's, Dell's new HD-based player, etc), and the iPod has also shown up. Christmas does not yet seem very merry to me. They're always at the regular $299/399/499 price, never at a discount of any sort. You read that right, it's 'for sale' at the *regular* price. "
link
particularly this post

i'm copying boingboingagain

and it's fun to do. they have some interesting stuff. in fact, why even come here, just go and read their links once a week and you'll be fine.
here's more
The 12 Days of Kitschmas is a gallery of twelve utterly tasteless (and apparently sincere and unironic) items of religious paraphenalia. Don't miss the five-inch-nail-Xmas-ornament, a $8.99 remembrance of the crucifiction for your tree. Link (via Making Light)

BoingBoing is right

This site is cool. The person here does loads of 'onceuponaforest'-esque shockwave flash thingies. Sometimes they're completely random, but others are inspired. Click on the long slash of line to get to a minipage which shows you filaments of grass? blowing/lying downing against the wind?. Anyway, it'd odd but interesting.

What it means to be a wimp

That was my lesson for today, and by way of demonstrating said observation, I joined a gym and attempted to use the weights. I was RUBBISH at it even when the 'fitness instructor' was standing right over me telling me how to do it. All the running, cycling rowing, moving feet in circles machines were fine, but when it came to weights I was lost. I've never done weights before and my upper body is of no substance. So the picture you've got to visualise is me, lying on my back on a bench thing. Notice I don't have the jargon 'down' yet either, don't even know what the thing I was lying on was called! I'm lying there and the guy is standing above me encouraging me to hold the two 15lb dumbbells I've got in my hands wider apart. I'm really trying to be helpful, moving my arms wider apart and everything, but it seems that whenever it comes down to moving the things themselves I'm useless at it. He was guiding me through an exercise, showing me how to move the weights whilst lifting them (in order to exercise more muscle groups) and then he tells me to have a go. I suddenly realise that he's been helping me a lot during his 'guidance' because they two weights get a lot heavier all of a sudden.
After doing twelve reps of these weights I go back to the rack in order to put them away and I see that they're the second smallest ones there. Come on, one and all, poke fun at the guy with no arms! Admittedly I did ask to now have much weight. I’m not trying to actually put on muscle mass, but simply tone the stuff that‘s there. I’m not really THAT bad. Honest!

Dennis Publishing CEO bitches at Fortune Magazine

Over a article penned by Fortune's David Leonard commenting on the Dennis Publishing's supposed decline in circulation. Stephen Colvin, the CEO, wrote:
"By publishing an article that wildly distorts the facts and by displaying zero knowledge of the industry, you've got as much credibility covering your own magazine business as if you had hired Jayson Blair to be the magazine's ombudsman"
Meow!

via Adrants

Birmingham: It's Not Shit

The phrase everyone around here gets used to reciting at the drop of a hat has now got its own website. Celebrating all the dire aspects of Birmingham - the lack of all colour except grey, the cold, the wet, the cultural wasteland, the site embraces them all:

"Brum is the sort of place that we slag off cos we live here, but whenever we find ourselves in a different part of the country or world, when faced with a piss take of a black cuntry accent we will defend the place to the end after a lengthy conversation in the pub with the lads over a pint and a bag of pork scratchings."

"Well it's better than Coventry."



the website

New Billboard Signs

Courtesty of Adrants, Dribbleglass has made a series of ads parodying some of the most famous brands around. Fun stuff, definitely too racy for your grandparents though. Like the Ray-Ban style.....
link

I've got my christmas card design

Actually, it's just the one that I was going use last year but ran out of time. I had it all ready, but by that time it was something like the 20th December by then, too late. I love this though. I'm not sure whether to try and incorporate some side on views of my family into the design in some way - linear obviously. You think?

Babes Against Bush!

love this! - 'tis the kind of calender not for me, but for my friends!


Babes Against Bush!

Overnight

Just came home from doing an overnight bbsit. It could have been awful with my two year old charge playing up, but he turned out to be sweet as pie last night - to my great relief. His older siblings were also great in dealing with any things I needed to know about what their morning routine involves - something I'm never normally around for. It feels kind of pathetic to be babysitting at the moment whilst I'm working in other things, but at the same time on a good night out I can get almost a day's worth pay in fewer hours and with less stress. When you're on the bottom of the ladder, taking cash some other way doesn't really seem like such a bad idea. Plus the fact that there's no tax on it and the whole deal gets all the more sweet. Speaking of which my tax office/human resources department at work STILL haven't worked out my tax code so I'm still being charged the extortionate 'emergency tax' rate. Laughable that I've been working with them for over 4 and a half and they still haven't worked out my tax!

Ferris wheel in Birmingham

As the original Ferris wheel was a bit different to what was around before it, the Ferris wheel that's been put up in my town of Birmingham is rather odd too. The original was made to be a form of competition to the Eiffel tower erected in Paris, and was made for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. This Ferris wheel also has a link to Paris; it used to be there. Though now rebranded the 'Wheel of Birmingham' it still retains some of the charms of Paris; the commentary is describing the paris skyline and is in French! It's quite an experience to look over the industrial heritage of Birmingham to be told that we're looking down the Champs Elysées which is were it used to be.
The City Council say; "[It's] disappointing, as there are so many great things to say about our city.". There really are loads of great things about our city, but one of them is a wheel which talks at you in French! So far there are no plans to change the commentary to English any more, we love being odd like this, and the wheel is getting tonnes of visitors with the current styling, so why change it!

Guardian sketch

Crazy art kids

Alaina introduced me to this stuff.... It's GREAT!
I love the mixture of markers and oil and computer and pencil that he uses in the images. So much of the time it's extremely difficult to make out what the media is that's been used since the effect is so seamless. Plus, the subjects are so varied - not just a few of his friends but seemingly a whole cast of characters!

link
via the pants press sketchblog

Infection whilst in hospital soon a thing of the past?

A breakthrough technique of stopping the transfer of dangerous pathogens from patient to patient whilst in hospital is going to be studied by Leeds University. The University's 'aerobiological testing facility' will be leading the research into the use of ionisers on wards - negatively charging the air particles - in a hope that the current finding that this prevents diseases caused by Acinetobacter pathogens will be backed up by solid scientific theory. The reason for the success isn't yet known - hence the study to find out what's causing this effect.

Lead researcher Dr Clive Beggs said: "This is the first epidemiological study of its kind into the use of ionisers in hospital wards and the initial results are very promising.

"We believe that the negative air ions are removing the bacteria from the air, so stopping the transmission of infection.

"Our tests have focused solely on acinetobacter, but it's possible the ionisers may have had an effect on other airborne bacteria. "

Leeds press release
BBC story on original results
medical news link

Tip...........

This is not a good idea if you're going to be working the following morning especially when one has to get up as early as I do. My new colleague and friend Neile (a woman) has shown herself to not quite understand this idea. Last night she was in one of our new gay bars berating the clientele and generally making a fool of herself. I love it when people are kind of risky like that when we're out. I really don't like it when they're drunk when we're out. That means I have to be responsible and watch out for/over them, ruining my night. Guess what: she got shit faced drunk. This morning (she rolled in at 10:30. Nice one!) I asked her how she had coped. Her bathroom sink was blocked this morning with her sick; she'd had to clean in out before coming to work. If she weren't staying in a hotel room during the week then she could have just left it.

I love doing the London Marathon

...SHAME I'M NOT GOING TO GET TO DO IT!

I'd been so looking forward to doing that. The marathon was going to be my pet challenge to get me through the next part of this year - something that was going to be like a bolster onto my psychology making me want to work. I've been looking at gyms (as I've said before) and a large part of the point of joining one would have been because I wanted to be able to get really fit for the marathon. Now I just feel vain when I say I 'need' to tone up or increase my muscle mass. I like to have something to reach for, something to beat. Running is never the most exciting activity at the best of times, but without having something to look forward to, to be able to say "I did that", what fun there is in running is rather decreased. Ok?

A friend of mine sent me some porn through my email.

That was fun. People should do that more often..... Thing is, I wouldn't even know how to start looking for 'hot' lesbian porn for my friends!

I'm joining a gym

And I'm actually feeling a bit scared of it. It's much worse than the first day of school, in a new job or whereever, because you're competing with yourself (supposedly) but at the same time subconciously comparing yourself to those also in the gym. I don't like that. I'm no slouch, I can work damn hard, but with everyone watching you struggle the feeling is different. The first time on a treadmill and the uneasy steps into the rhythm, not being sure of yourself and where to go in the gym, the customs of the place etc, it all takes time to adjust to and to familiarise oneself with. I don't like that stage, the stage of being the outsider. I've had enough of that in my life already without paying to be that way.

Then you leave

the concert and are assuaged by all the men selling posters which decrease in price the further away from the building you get.
“only four pounds, great pictures only four pounds”

to: “mega posters for a pound each, one pound only”

I was waiting for them to reach 50p before I bought one to defile my walls with, but somehow they never reached that price. Funny that

Timberlake

I was underwhelmed by the whole experience of going to see Justin which is a real shame as he's such an amazing performer. As the knot magazine link tells, the show was much more about effects and stunts than about the music. He played a dreadful version of 'Gone' which segued into 'Girlfriend' which in turn was amazing though far too short. His voice is strong yet in reality sounds extremely young; it has the tone of a fifteen year old. The start of the concert was what started to turn me off. We had a 'dj' set by Mark Ronson which went on for an enjoyable half hour. The venue liked that as the music was familiar and upbeat: something you've heard on the radio and like. What the crowd (and myself) did not enjoy was Dizzy Rascal's warmup which followed. It followed after a half hour wait for him to start: we didn't care that much to wait for 30 minutes! The crowd of about 10,000 didn't warm to his style of rapping which was unintelligible and extremely fast meaning that if you did recognise anything about the song you couldn't work out what he was saying anyway. However I could understand that just about every song he sang was "for the ladees in the house!". Yawn, get a new shout.
His debut album recently won the Mercury Music Prize which awards achievements in songwriting. This does not however mean the artist is in any way popular, a mistake Justin's management seemed to miss. 'Boy in Da Corner' is the album, listen to samples on Amazon or somewhere if you can be bothered. He's not worth it really.
We sat (not worth standing for it) through an hour of the awful durge of increasingly out of tune rapping, watching without the aid of the video screens present. When Justin finally came on (1:45 after the start) he started out fine. The set begins with a video edit which has many Jazz influence beats building up in time with the synchronised video. You get dancers with faces obscured and flashes onscreen of feet coming up stairs. When you think the volume of screaming can get no louder, it increases another notch. He starts with his best song 'Rock Your Body' which is energetic and fast paced to say the least. How he manages to sing and dance the way he does I have no idea. However the act is not really about him singing as often the songs are drawn out and ruined by overblown ego led renditions shown in songs like "Take It From Here". He uses his 'accomplished' guitar skills? no way, they're mediocre.
I was disappointed he didn't give us any of 'Worthy Of' which I consider one of the strongest tracks he's done, but they must have thought it didn't fit with the rest of the set.
The music was cool - things like the crane which held him up above the crowd who were on the floor of the venue meant that it became a little bit different. That was interesting, he did some beatbox stuff which was also nice, but there was something about the whole thing which seemed rather safe. He hasn't changed anything throughout all the shows that he's been doing - whether in Tacoma or in London or Paris it's all the same. I have a video of his first ever solo live show which was in Britain earlier this year and his set is exactly the same as it is now. I felt like I'd already seen it.
Don't get me wrong, he was great and interesting and all this, but there were things that disappointed me.
Plus the venue, the nia is the most awful sounding place ever. There were loads of bass speakers at the front, but nothing anywhere near where I was seated which meant that the sound was very flat and one dimensional. One didn't feel immersed in the concert as you'd expect. A real shame.


PI review link
knot magazine

It isn't interesting to anyone who isn't myself

But I thought it was rather impressive. Having been out shopping and at work for so long on Monday, and then to a Justin Timberlake concert on Tuesday, I slept for 12 hours last night; 5PM until 5AM. Sleepy.

I was at work.

I was there for over 13 1/2 hours. As a result my mind has gone into shutdown and body as disintegrated beyond belief. The best thing possible would be a swim or a run and then a shower. However, I haven't managed to view this new gym yet so don't have anywhere to go. Damn it. Must endure.
There was a staff discount day at my store today which was interesting because of the people other members of staff brought in to helf them buy books. My parents wanted to take advantage of 40% off books and so were around the store for over two hours umming and ahhing. This is the reason I was working so late; they needed me there to get the discount. Thank god I was as they spend over £200 on books which would equate t o around $500 before the discount. Scary amounts of money just on books.
I really liked how some people were really friendly with their loved ones whilst others were rather distant. Some of my colleagues were almost embarrassed by those with them: either that or embarrassed to have someone with them. One of my bosses was scooting around the store with her mom ducking behind isles as though trying to pretend that she didn't have family - as though there was nothing unusual. In a way perhaps it's an attempt to not look cheap, to be using the excuse to not spend money, but at the same time that's a really bad excuse as everyone likes to save money even if it's just a little. Noone thinks less of you if you take advantage of a bargain.
I wouldn't; I'd be in the line behind you.